Yo-Jin-Bo: The Bodyguards

Tags: GxB | historical setting | otome | romance | visual novel

Otome visual novel set in feudal Japan

Yo-Jin-Bo: The Bodyguards is one of the rare Japanese otome visual novel games fully translated to English! You play Sayori, an ordinary high school student who is spending her summer vacation helping at an archaeological excavation site. She stumbles upon a magical pendant that transports her through time into feudal Japan, in the role of Hatsuhime, princess of the Mochizuki clan, who's about to meet her tragic destiny.

Mochizuki clan is facing turbulent times and Hatsuhime's life is being targeted by ninja assassins in a war of succession. It seems that the protection of Muneshige, the strongest swordsman in the Mochizuki clan, won't be enough so additional samurai come to her aid as bodyguards.

A word of warning: Yo-Jin-Bo The Bodyguards is not the kind of game that takes itself very seriously. Breaking the fourth wall is common, numerous pop culture references are made and the guys are constantly causing the princess (and the player) to wonder whether these are really samurai or a bunch of clowns. If this sounds like fun, you'll probably like the game. If not, there are other otome visual novels.

Features:

• timed choices
• multiple endings
• a story featuring action, drama, and romance
• the romanceable bodyguards are voiced by some of Japan's top voice actors, including Hiroki Takahashi (Kikumaru in “Prince of Tennis”), Masakazu Morita (Ichigo in “Bleach”), and Hideo Ishikawa (Itachi in “Naruto”, Leon in "Kingdom Hearts")
• many songs feature male vocalists
• compatible with both Mac and PC

Note:
This is the Download Edition of Yo-Jin-Bo ~ The Bodyguards. There is no demo. System requirements: Windows 95, 98, Me, 2000, XP, Vista, 7); Mac OS 10.2 or higher, 128 MB RAM, 1 GB HDD space. The game is rated "Teen" and is recommend for ages 15 and up.

Windows and Mac Versions: Get It Now ($17.95)

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Posted: 2 weeks, 4 days ago by Bornsecular #430

I loved this game. I cannot say it enough. I thought it was hilarious. I suppose I didn't expect the humor, so I appreciated it even more. I love things that don't take themselves too seriously, and this definitely fits that bill. The voice acting is also great and the PC definitely feels desirable with multiple guys literally fawning over her!

I gave it a full 5 stars because I don't know of a way to partials. I would take 1/2 stars off due to the repetitive endings: each romanceable guy has the same "good" ending, but their "bad" endings are varied. Also there are only about 5 choices total to make in any playthroughs. There's a bit of blatant fan service (which I quite enjoyed!) and at least one scene that makes me question the teen rating, but maybe I'm too uptight.

-1/4 star for being too short! (just kidding) I want more comedy otome games! I even found myself smiling during fast forwarding just remembering some of the jokes.

If you are looking for something light hearted and a teeny bit raunchy, this game might be for you.

Posted: 2 months, 4 weeks ago by RayRayTea #362

It's true it's a bit on the silly side but I actually enjoyed playing it and even laughed a few times (although I'm probably not the target audience).

I wouldn't say it's anything super special but it works - even the story execution (but also graphics, sound, design etc). Solid 4/3 stars overall, 4 because it's solid and 3 because some parts are a bit too stretched.

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