Love Esquire (Switch eShop) Review

Visual novels and dating sims used to be hard to come by here in the West, especially on consoles. However, the Switch, with its portability and vibrant display, has enjoyed a host of games in these genres over the years. One of the latest to hit the console is Love Esquire from the Mama Morin publishing house.

Originally developed for PC by Yangyang Mobile in 2019, Love Esquire is the story of a humble squire who is desperate to lose his virginity when sent to war. You have four months to go from a freaky loser to a freaky loser with a girlfriend. As is often the case in these games, there are exactly five eligible ‘singles’ across the city for him to choose from, each with their own gift preferences, times, and history to explore.

Checkers represent a few different tropes often found in these games. There’s the smug princess, the foreign visitor, the creepy nurse, the small but surprisingly strong fighter, and the player’s foster sister (because of course she’s a choice). They all have their own story to tell, which is revealed through simple cut scenes that bring out some of their mysterious behavior and give the player some fan service for their troubles.

The production values ​​at Love Esquire are surprisingly high. The art is solid and enjoyable, even if much of it is recycled during the course of the game. Music does a good job of being nondescript without being completely bland, finding a middle ground between the pleasant and the forgettable. We don’t mean that as an insult – that’s the music’s job here, and like most parts of this game, it gets it right.

What’s impressive is the fact that each line is performed by an excellent cast of names instantly recognizable by people who watch anime or are fans of the JRPGs. Typically games like this are content to provide voice work for a few lines per character, usually with a few barks in the middle to highlight specific moments, whereby the voice for each line is played by actors from NieR: Automata, My hero academia, Y JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure it really helps bring the different characters to life and make them stand out from each other.

Love Esquire does not want the player to feel like the great hero of the kingdom. Make it clear from the start that that’s not the kind of story you’re trying to tell. The other characters see the Squire as a lazy loser for the most part, hence their need to train their stats and forge those relationships so they can get laid. Despite its intentionally generic design, the Squire manages to have a bit of a personality, especially as the player progresses through some of the sub-stories.

In addition to spending time improving statistics and relationship scores with the five available women, players can spend their days in the desert, assisting their knight in combat encounters against monsters. However, it is the knight who will fight. All the Squire does is provide support by healing, looting, cheering, or acting as a human shield. It’s an interesting take on combat and provides some strategic challenges, although all of those challenges can be overcome by simply increasing your stats.

The combat itself doesn’t provide any actual stat boost, but it does provide gold, which can be used to train stats, allowing you to advance further in the forest. Players shouldn’t need to work hard unless they choose to spend all of their money at the store to buy gifts for their favorite waifus. The game is quite generous with loot, even if players don’t spend a lot of time actively looting monsters.

The biggest drawback to Love Esquire is how secure it feels with its theme. The visual novel genre is packed with customizable main characters, so the fact that all players will be able to customize the Squire’s name in this game is a bit surprising and disappointing. Similarly, the game is limited to five direct relationship options, so fans looking for more diverse and LGBT + friendly options will need to look elsewhere. It’s clear that Love Esquire is meant to feel like a very safe and familiar option for fans, which is fine but, considering the effort that goes into other aspects of the game, a bit of a disappointment.

Love Esquire might star an absolute pervert of a main character, but the artwork never goes beyond a PG-13 rating. There are some upskirt photos and a bit of implied nudity, but it never makes it to full NSFW territory. Sure, gamers might not want to have to explain some of the screenshots to their parents if they see them playing, but it’s not going to get anyone in real trouble. There are plenty of other games that can scratch that itch, on both PC and Switch, so we don’t mind if they go a bit on the safe side here.

This is a game that serves as a solid introduction to dating sims for new players or as a simple paddle cleaner for those with more experience in the genre. Despite its high production values, it is unlikely to convince those with no interest in visual novels to give it a try. It’s not here to push any boundaries and its lack of a diverse cast of characters is the most disappointing thing about it, but it’s still a solid game that tells a straightforward story with characters voiced by some of the best in the world. deal.

Conclution

Love Esquire is a fun and simple dating sim / visual novel with simple yet effective design and gameplay, surprisingly strong production values, and a fantastic voice cast. This is not a game that tries to push the boundaries when it comes to inclusion, but it is a fun game and a relatively ‘safe’ introduction to the genre for those unfamiliar with its tropes.