Game review: Omerta ~Chinmoku no Okite~

Made by: Karin Entertainment

Genre: Yaoi, Mafia, Action, Revenge
Summary: The city is split between two big mafia groups; The Dragon Head and  The King Caesar organization. J.J is a assassin who was set up 5 years ago and been trying to keep a low profile, but more problem is coming his way.

J.J
Main character of the game. His parents were killed and he grew up fighting in a war zone. Brainwashed, raped and now a cold blooded murderer he soon forgot everything he was before. J.J stands for "Jap Junior" which was what they called him at the guerrilla camp.

5 years ago he was set-up during a assassination. He was one of the most famous killers around and went by the name "Death Scythe". There was a big party at a hotel where both the Dragon Head and King Caesar mafia attended to. J.J went to the room he was instructed  to only to find Azusa's parents dead on the floor. Taking the boy with him, he fled and hid up until the story starts, only killing when necessary.

J.J is a lone wolf and very unsociable. Even with Master whom he known for the longest he is pretty cold towards.

Something I hope Karin Entertainment change when they create their next game is to come up with a better name. It's not that J.J is a bad name, but when people said it it sounded so weird and funny that I burst out laughing at times.Everyone said it different too; Yay-Yay, Jiy-Jiy, Jii-Jii, Jeh-Jeh and other versions.

Another thing I really love about he game is that you get to see many different sides of him.
When joining King Caesar and becoming part of the family, we see him being more social and the fact that he probably does feel pretty lonely and wanting to have a place to call him. At the end of Kiryuu's path he still decides that he want to belong to the family, but working on his own is what he likes best. I can think that maybe he feels it's too much emotional attachment and the risk of fighting together in a big group.

In Ugajins and Liu's route J.J is very suspicious and always watches his back. Even if Ugajin is the one that grows most during those paths, it's all thanks to J.J in the end.

Young J.J before hee meets Master, who helps him get his life back

 Azusa
Azunyan Azusa thinks J.J killed his parents and swears to kill him someday. Not sure how he is going to do it, he decides to stick around J.J while figuring out a plan. Time passed by and for 5 years they lived together without Azusa being able to hurt him (he tried poisoning him but it didn't work).

From what I've read on forum and so on, people usually think Azusa is a spoiled brat who doesn't know when to shut up. I thought I would feel the same but he was a somewhat decent character. (I find him extremely cute too)

After meeting Tachibana Azusa decides to leave J.J, saying that he is too weak to teach him how to kill. J.J tries to chase after him and learns from Todou that the kitten joined the Dragon Head mafia. Devastated J.J still can't let Azusa go and a year pass without him finding him.

They finally meet again in a hotel owned by the Dragon Head, but Azusa can't recognize him and acts very different. J.J had just given up on the boy when he hears rumors of a new assassin named Ice Pick who never misses. Interested but worried, he later meets the mysterious person who of course is Azusa. The boy had got his memories back after seeing J.Js face, even though the drugs they had forced him to take was supposed to make it impossible. However, he got new orders from DHs boss to kill J.J and the big showdown between them starts.

Overall I did like Azusa since he and J.J is the "official couple" (or so it seems). He was also the only J.J had a longing for and strong romantic feeling compared to the others where he just went with the flow and eventually fell in love.

Tachibana

When I first saw the picture with all the characters I was drawn to Tachibana the most. His appearance and voice samples made me hope for a carefree and trigger happy guy like Gian from LUCKY DOG 1. I also played his route first, but boy how anti-climax and disappointing it all was. Tachibana is (unlike Gian) more annoying and stupid, rather than quirky and sarcastic. His seiyuu just made me more annoyed and I kept disliking him more as the story went on.


Tachibana tells J.J about his past and how he used to work as a host until he found his co-workers taking drugs in his apartment. This made him disgusted beyond anything so he simply pulled the trigger and killed them all except his friend who helped him out when he first arrived in Tokyo. Now that guy is after him but nice as J.J is, he decides to help him out and finish it all so the Tachibana can put his past behind him.

 When he was younger he also had a mentor (similar to Azusa and J.Js relationship) except that his mentor was cruel and cold. Jealous of the friendship between Azusa and J.J, he does his best at destroying the trust between the two.

Even after playing all his endings I couldn't say that I was happy with what I've read. I guess my expectations were too high

Todou/Master

I don't like the idea of having a romantic relationship with the father-figure of the game, but at least I finished his good end.

He is the nice old man who have been looking after J.J ever since he came to Japan. (I'll just refer to him as Master since not even J.J called him by his name). After Azusa left J.J goes to the bar to drink his sorrow away but Master helps him out. Turns out Master is some kind of old Solid Snake and pretty good shooter. Ready to go they save Azusa from the Dragon Head mafia and everything ends well.

I did like all the action when saving Azusa but it was pretty easy to see how it all was going to end. Master is very romantic and caring, with a few pervy comments here and there. He lived in Italy and was involved with the King Caesar organization before coming to Japan. In the end it felt a bit cliché and as I mentioned before, I wasn't very fond of the father-son like relationship.

Kiryuu
He is a member of King Caesar family, the nemesis of Dragon Head. He used to be a detective until he met Luka, the boss of KC. Kiryuu eventually fell in love with Luka but so far it's been one-sided.

When J.J joins KC Kiryuu is very suspicious and the two of them doesn't get along. It's hilarious to watch though, Kiryuu calling J.J murderer all the time and J.J isn't afraid of biting back.

When Luka later announces that J.J will be staying and working with Kiryuu for good, they realize they have to get along. Still, their relationship is a power-struggle all the way through. Kondo Takashi was his voice actor and did an awesome job. Only complaint I have is that he sometimes sounded like he had a cold, but most of the game it was fine.

 Just like Azusa I liked the character but the story was weak. The only good action was when DH surprise attacked the mansion (which was at the end). But it was worth playing since Kiryuu is such an adorable character. He is hotheaded, very innocent when it comes to his feelings for Luka, dog-type-uke and very dere-dere in the later half of the game.

Just before they part for the final battle J.J hugs him and says "I want to hold you again, so stay alive"
I don't like the fact that Kiryuu loved Luka even until the end, but since his character is very loyal it does make sense. The bad ending was extremely good and bittersweet. I cried like crazy even after the credits had ended and had to replay the happy ending to make me feel better (´;ω;`) 


Luka

The boss of the mafia group callled King Caesar. They've been fighting with the Dragon Head for years and
hates traitors. Family (inside the organization) means everything to him and when a new member joins they swear loyalty by blood oath.

Luka is the classic playboy-ish foreign type of character. He sleeps around a lot and likes to enjoy life in every aspect. Very carefree  and takes everything as it comes.
I didn't really like Hirakawa Daisuke in this role, but I can't really figure out why.

His route was mostly about Kiryuu (which I certainly don't mind) and how they tried to save him after he got kidnapped.

Even though it was great and the fight between the two mafia groups was awesome, there wasn't much time for J.J and Luka to evolve and get to know each other. Luka told J.J about his past and how he hated his father, but other than that, there wasn't much.

Luka got one of the hottest sex scenes in the bunch too, which fits his character.

Funny thing is how tsundere J.J becomes in his route. Super cute~

Ugajin
The second person in charge of the Dragon Head mafia.
Easily one of the best characters in the game, if not number one. Cold, cruel, megane character voiced by Oriaki Sugiyama, complete with evil England (Hetalia) voice and all.

In this scenario J.J ends up joining the Dragon Head to get Azusa back. Ugajin is totally emotionless but still seems to have taken an interest to J.J. After doing some missions to prove himself, J.J gets a personal request from Ugajin; To kill the boss. Ugajin explains that he is in the same situation as our assassin, and that he's been searching for his father ever since he joined. They fail during their attempt to shoot Liu but Ugajin instead tortures him to death after finding out where the hostages are.

When they only find Azusa at the prison, Ugajin and the rest of them take the boat to a large cruise that the Dragon Head have sometime every third month. Right before they get on, Ugajin tells them that Liu is actually immortal and cannot be killed on land. Skeptic, J.J still choose to believe Ugajin and when they get to the boat they face Liu once again. 

I simply loved Ugajin's route and everything in it was so kinky and action packed. After he and J.J gets closer he shows his "true self", a more soft person who have a strong sense of justice. He got tattoos all over his body and each one represent a sin.

Liu

The boss of the Dragon Head organization. I'm sure you all are wondering about the immortal-part, but I'm not going to spoil it for you~

His route was actually pretty similar to Ugajin's up until a certain point. Liu is very scary and when he looks into your eye it sends chills down your spine.

Playing it I could almost feel the suspense of not knowing what was going happen next since Liu is so unpredictable. His good ending was amazing too and just by simply looking at him he screams final boss. His motto is "Do as I say or I'll kill you"

Gameplay:
 I did have some crashes while playing and options showing/not showing when they were/weren't supposed to, but reading on the forums it seems everyone had it. There is a time limit on the choices and by choosing nothing something else happens, while I did like the idea of this, I sometimes had problems reading all the options before the time runs out. Very stressful!

No music collection in the game, which makes me damn disappointed. You unlock items with descriptions (mostly guns) when finishing routes and after playing the bosses of the groups you unlock two special epilogues  and what-if-scenarios which both I really enjoyed.
After getting the full CGs you can go to a special website to download free wallpapers and read short stories as a prize for completing the game.
A neat thing about Omerta is how the story is intertwined with each other. Therefore, playing order is very important. From experience and hearing what other people say, the best way is:

Tachibana
Azusa (Available after 2nd play through)
Master (Available after Tachibana)

Kiryuu
Luka (Available after Kiryuu)

Ugajin
Liu (Available after Ugajin)

It's strongly recommended to play the Dragon Head guys last. Another option is to switch the Tachibana/Azusa/Master and instead start with Kiryuu/Luka. That way you will also get a nice introduction to the groups early with the King Caesar story. Either way, the ones mentioned above are connected and the story will make more sense if you play them together.

Final Score:
Story 7/10
While Omerta is new and original on the BL market, some of the routes had weak story. Other then that, the monologue, scenario and overall storytelling of the game is fantastic. The pacing was fine all the way through and I could keep reading for hours without getting bored or taking a break (which is a really rare thing for me!) The good endings was sweet and funny, the bad ones painful and the sad ones heart wrenching, just like it should be. Kiryuu, Azusa and Ugajin is my top three characters, but all of them is very likable.I also have to mention the side characters. You meet them in the mafia organization and all of them are very funny. King Caesar got a great bunch of colorful characters while the Dragon Head members are sarcastic and arguing among each other.

Music 8/10
The opening in my opinion did not go with the game at all and I honestly can't remember I didn't skip by it when starting the game. My guess is that they were unsure of which direction they wanted it, fast-paced to go with the action scenes or sad and slow to fit the broken-city theme? A combination of both certainly doesn't work at least. The game soundtrack was fabulous and I hope they release a OST soon! I loved every single tune~

Art 10/10
No need to say, the art for Omerta is gorgeous. The game keep the high quality all the way through the game. Character designs feel fresh and none too stereotypical.

Voices 9/10
Except for Kondo Takashi and his runny nose-voice. The seiyuu for Azusa also got on my nerves sometimes when he suddenly raised his voice way too high. Still, everyone sounded really sexy and the smex scenes were great.

Total: 10/10
This game blew my expectations out of the window. The story, scenario, characters and music come together in a great way and creates such a awesome game. Since this was the first BL game from Karin Entertainment, I thought it might be so-so, but now I'm really hoping they continue making them! Overall Omerta is a great read that definitely earned it's place to be compared with the big companies like Nitro+ and Spray titles. If you haven't played it yet, I hope I've convinced you to do it!