Summer is around the corner! What better way to soak up the sun than with an all-expenses paid trip to Paradise? JAST BLUE’s newest Boys Love (BL) visual novel, Paradise, is ready to set sail with Azuma to a historical resort island for a week of fun and relaxation.
A winning lottery ticket lets Azuma escape his boring life as a convenience store clerk and forget his troubles. It’s time for a break from surviving off cheap curry and just…
Trouble in Paradise
Paradise (in the game, Paradise) lasts about three or four days. When the supply ship never arrives and the travel agency sponsoring the trip falls out of contact, Paradise suddenly becomes an insufferable hell. This visual novel is all about survival. No rescue in sight. Everyone’s on edge. Food rations diminish daily, the escape boat never nears completion, and the remains of an old civilization loom eerily overhead. Something is watching. Then members of the retreat are killed off, one by one. No one is safe.
What’s truly happening on this island and who’s behind it all?
I remember seeing promotions for Paradise when it was released in Japan in 2021, but I didn’t know what to expect. Paradise is the first Pil/Slash game localized outside Japan. Playing it now I can see why it became one of the company’s staple titles.
Why did the supply ship never return? Where’s the rescue crew? Why did radio communications die out? People are dying in freak accidents, daily. Is someone murdering everyone? Who could the traitor be and why are these people their targets? What’s the common connection? Why was the island abandoned decades ago? Are they really alone on the island? While you can imagine every deserted island castaway trope, Paradise keeps you guessing throughout all story routes and endings.
Summer Romance?
Azuma is trapped on the island with eight or nine other men. Three are “romance” options. That term is used loosely because each story route is anything but romantic. It’s common for BL visual novels to push gruesome and tragic relationship dynamics. Paradise takes full advantage of the narrative setting and dials up the tragedy porn to eleven. I sped through some of the sex scenes due to their presentation and, specifically, Irakusa Netoru’s (Azuma) disturbing voice acting.
Romantic Routes
I’ll introduce the romances in the recommended play order.
First up is Matsuda! He’s your average office worker and his route focuses on survival elements. When everything is down to the wire, he becomes the self-proclaimed leader. Mad with power, he takes advantage of the situation for his selfish desires.
The next route is Mitsugi’s, who was sent to the island for his job as an architect. He has a short temper. He and Azuma immediately clash. Their relationship changes when Mitsugi gets a feel of Azuma’s oversaturated curry bussy. Oddly enough, many Japanese guides I read recommended his route first, but I say the opposite. Save him for your second playthrough. His route focuses on uncovering the island’s history, which is significant for the final route. I feel it’s best to have those details fresh in mind leading up to…
Takara! The baby-faced twink is where the stories merge for a final chance at survival. His route is the most interesting. Besides combining elements of the other routes, it’s the only route that continues the story after the cast manages to escape. There is still more to learn, and bigger threats to survive off the island. This begs the question of whether or not they should have ever left.
Bad Endings and Safe Mode
Anyone who’s played a visual novel knows bad endings are common. Paradise is full of them, each more gruesome and disturbing than the last. Each story route has its good ending and anywhere from 2 to 4 bad endings. Typically, you’ll get a few on your own, but you won’t need much of a guide to navigate to the good endings.
This game is the first visual novel (to my knowledge) that features an Easy Mode! Better to show rather than tell how it works.
Confused or unsure about which choice to make? Safety Mode gives away the correct answer per route option, right away. Toggle Safety Mode on and off from the title screen at any time.
The Down Side?
Besides the disturbing sex scenes, there is very little to complain about. The occasional use of words like zoomer, boomer, or English-specific metaphors like “cool your jets”, the unimpressive soundtrack, and — coming off from Slow Damage — the downgrade in quality of the artwork didn’t distract from the experience.
Overall Impression?
Paradise offers a gruesome and thrilling survival story that keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. After every Nitro+CHiRAL game set in a dystopian future, it’s refreshing to have a hard left turn and a change of scenery. The launch of Paradise hopefully means we’ll see diverse narratives coming to the West, soon. It’s an exciting, gripping, and triumphant showcase of diverse storytelling for boy’s love horror games.
Paradise is available now on Steam or directly from JAST USA. The NSFW content for the Steam version is available as a separate download via JAST USA, free of charge.
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