At this point in my writing and gaming career, I should know to always keep two conflicting ideas in my head at all times when approaching a new title. When I look upon Battlefield Waltz, which comes to us from Otomate and Idea Factory, I’m wracked with the duality of these two companies. On the one hand, Idea Factory continues to put out these games for the Switch that, in spite of their best intentions, run terribly and end up marring the list of the worst games of the year for WayTooManyGames. Yet, in the same breath, they work with Otomate to push out otome titles that put other run-of-the-mill visual novels to shame. Oh, look, this is a male gaze driven title where six girls who can’t keep their clothes on are all super into awkward, antisocial agoraphobes. Screw that: I’m playing as a woman who IS a sword.

NO! BAD! I’M A STUDENT!

In a classic fantasy land, the protagonist (who is called Lan, but you can rename her) tries to live a simple life in a simple village that’s haunted by a simple cursed sword. When warring factions end up invading and confirming they killed her father, Lan accidentally awakens the cursed sword, which bonds with her and murders every invader. She is immediately brought before the Royal Court and given a decree: attend Nirvana, the special military academy, become a mighty soldier and defend the countryside or get executed for being an abomination. Lan inexplicably chooses not to immediately be executed, and she’s soon eyeballs deep in combat theory, sparring practice and learning all about the ins and outs of warfare. In spite of trying to just keep her head down and become a machine of death, Lan simply can’t help but attract the attention of many pretty boys. Sigh.

You know the drill, or at least you should by this point. Battlefield Waltz will give you a couple of chapters to get your bearings and understand Lan’s POV, and then you’re off to the races to see how the game is going to end. Rather than be purely driven by conversational choices, Lan also has the ability to choose where she spends her time during her school day, choosing three locations to visit and knowing ahead of time who will be there when she arrives. From there, Lan can build relationships through well meaning phrases and turns, and you’ll know instantly if what you’ve said is effective thanks to a massive, glowing flower that blooms out of someone’s chest the instant their affection goes up for you. So whether you’re super into the charismatic playboy or the demure battlefield medic, you’ll get on the right track quickly.

Hell yea, no boys today, I’m chilling with Collette and we’re cooking!

One of the major reasons I bounce off harem games is that they tend to be overly simplistic in what they want to accomplish. You only need to go back to Never 7 and see my critiques about how dating tropes took the wind out of the sails for something that should have been fantastic (and, eventually, was able to). Female romance choices who hit the same tropes over and over with varying degrees of exceedingly negative backstory to explain why they’re falling for a schmuck like you. Otome games, by and large, develop the protagonist almost as much, if not moreso, than the male routes that you can explore. After all, this is romance, not just getting laid, and I want to know more about the smolder in that older student’s eyes and his deep seated confidence issues before he makes a move on a freshman.

Also, Battlefield Waltz does the player a solid by not having a rival. Maybe there are those of us out there who want to view dating as a competition where someone needs to lose, but I never felt great about that. Even if it’s just AI, I don’t want to “steal” someone away in order to get a date. Instead, Lan has a bunch of surprisingly supportive and awesome female characters, from the pretty and kickass roommate to the sweet and wise tavern worker (and you never end up dating her hot dad, thankfully!). There’s a female instructor who appears a bit thorny at first, but that’s not “you’re another girl” and it’s more “you’re inhabited by a relic said to be a harbinger of doom,” which is at least a bit understandable.

Ah, the mixed tears after surviving a teacher attempting to assassinate both me and my mother. Friendship!

Lan is, by all means and measures, one of the better otome heroines that I’ve encountered. While her setup is a bit contrived and her initial induction to Nirvana is as you’d expect (oh, this person is so special!), it quickly becomes a more engaging and interesting environment because her interests are focused on survival and also proving herself. Lan’s character changes perspective based off your reactions to different areas and her time spent during the day, but her core tenants of being about family and self-worth keep her from simply Mary Sue-ing her way through the game. Yes, you could still become smitten with the blonde dipshit named Lustin (yes, Lustin), but you still somehow maintain your dignity. We are not categorized by who we love, but rather how much ass we kick in the heat of war.

Additionally, the replay value has a bit of a unique approach. For Battlefield Waltz, you need to achieve at least one ending with each of the main loves to unlock the hidden pathway, which is par for the course. However, getting an ending also gives you credits for a shop that will allow you to further purchase specialty moments for individual characters. So, if you pursue Nike, but only get a bad ending, twenty magic stones (the currency) won’t buy anything, but grinding a couple of bad endings again and again will unlock something. If you’re lucky enough to achieve a good ending, the purse is enough to purchase all the extras for one credit, so be on your best behavior to see juicy extras like “birthday surprise” or “wearing glasses.” I am being completely serious with those examples.

I spent every stone I had on Pash, he better be worth it.

The concept and execution is mostly clean and elegant for Battlefield Waltz, but there are a couple of hiccups. The first is the sword itself, which, surprise, is alive and, better surprise, can manifest itself as a precocious lad approximately your age, maybe younger. I know what you’re asking; “can I end up dating the sword inside of me?” The answer is a very uncomfortable “yes,” but it comes at a certain costs. It’s clear the developers wanted you to pursue this route in order to get to a lot of Lan’s own backstory and that of the sword’s, but it’s convoluted and requires you to delve into the other interests fully first. I frankly liked them all more than Wilhelm the pithy sword. I’ve never enjoyed bratty characters who have a change of heart, male or female, and you don’t get a pass just because your backstory is tragic.

On a more technical side of things, the choices of animation are a bit disconcerting at first. Coming from my more recent titles where there was either static or full body motion with speaking, Battlefield Waltz splits the difference and has just the mouth’s moving on the characters. This creates this odd, almost marionette effect that frankly creeped me out the first few times seeing it. It gets better as you see more and more of it, but it’s a shock to the system after coming off a masterpiece of fluid magic like Trap Yuri Garden, so be aware before you dive into Lan’s story.

HE BOUGHT ME TACOS ON OUR FIRST DATE! CHAPEL, NOW!

Yet, at the end of the day, Battlefield Waltz hits these notes of success because Otomate knows what they’re doing in production and cadence. The text boxes are broken up into easily digestible pieces that feel natural and are well voiced, so you don’t mind taking in nibbles of dialogue and exposition. There’s enough lore constructed about the royal history and alliances with other kingdoms that the world feels lived in without overwhelming you with Three Kingdoms levels of complexity. Lan is genuinely a solid lead and her support from Collette, Yuriana, and Ignis is so uplifting. When you have encounters, you get a flutter because it’s both sensual AND romantic, and that’s some incredible work to hit a dude who has no interest in dating a twink at a magic school. In short, Battlefield Waltz is an absolute victory.

Battlefield Waltz is available now on Nintendo Switch.

Reviewed on Nintendo Switch.

A copy of Battlefield Waltz was provided by the publisher.