Nintendo Switch: Nightshade

By ninetylives - Tuesday, March 15, 2022 - No Comments

My nuggets!!!!!!!!!

I have ascended to heaven!!! Nightshade is ridiculous, I love it so much. As usual, first play is my own, and I managed to get on Hanzo's route. I love this old man so much it's ridiculous. Ok it felt a little weird when Hanzo said he was a close friend of MC's mother, but if I closed my eyes and pretended MC is my age..

so soft!!!!!

Anyway! Let's start off real quick with plot. Spoilers as usual, so beware. Depending on the route, the plot does expand a bit, but basically, after a war started by Nobunaga, the last of the Iga were taken in by the Kouga, and MC's mother marries the head of Kouga. This bit expands more depending on the route you're on.

MC and co are tasked to capture Goemon, MC knocks Goemon out, she's asked to Hideyoshi's room alone to get rewarded, Hideoyoshi ends up getting murdered, and MC is framed for that murder. She gets thrown in jail, and depending on your choices up till then, different people will break MC out, and now you're trying to both stay alive and kiss kiss fall in love.

Right, now that we've got that covered, Gekkamaru is Mr Poster Boy, so his is the true route. His route is obviously the most plot heavy, covering more on MC's father and the clan business.

Frankly, while the plot is really engaging, it was a little hard to find the romance between Gekkamaru and MC, considering they're a little like childhood friends + the bodyguard troupe. Gekkamaru is such a stickler for details and rules, and I'm quite glad he turned out more endearing than annoying. I'd say play him or Kuroyuki last.

Kuroyuki's route is also very plot heavy, and also covers more on MC's family, but his is a complete 180 to Gekkamaru's. Kuroyuki's covers his own past, and why he was sent away for so long.

In that respect, I felt it was kind of weird why he was so fixated on MC, and how they ended up forming a romance, but I guess, after going through his route, I can see how this becomes a 'light in a dark tunnel' sort of ending. I played Kuroyuki last, simply because I liked him the least.

Chojiro's is the big brother troupe, and on his route we see a mix on both Hideyoshi and MC's father, and how they come together. Chojiro's route was more of the family vs loyalty dilemma, in my opinion, and honestly I felt bad for him, having to make the decision to pick a side and getting flak for it either way.

Their interactions are honestly quite cute and I really wish they had a better ending. I was so sad when they ended up facing off against each other because man, could you ever fight to the death when your opponent is your lover?? Anyway, his route starts to get a little deeper, and is a bit of a build up to Gekkamaru's and Kuroyuki's so I'd say play him third.

Goemon's was a little weird, but then he's always been a little weird. His route was always a bit ambiguous, and frankly, I didn't quite like the way the bad ending was. Geomon's route covers his own past and leans more towards the Hideyoshi side, which makes sense since he's not with MC's family.

He's usually flirty and easygoing, but his personality darkens when you've reached about the halfway point of his route. His good ending ties in nicely with his "thief" persona though. Overall, Goemon's is a little weird, but mild, so play either him or Hanzo first.

Hanzo! This old man is my absolute favorite and in so many ways! I played him first simply because I liked him best, but his route has the least spoilers, so yeah, it was a good choice. He turns out a little cold at first, because he's simply following his master's orders to keep you safe, but over time he gradually warms to you.

Now I say he's my fav not only because he's voiced by Kenjiro Tsuda, but throughout his route, MC actually gets to grow on her own. It was nice and different. I feel like both Hanzo and MC grew in his route, and it was great to be a part of that experience. The good ending was very very soft, and perfect. To me, Hanzo's route felt the most fleshed out, and had the most vibrancy.