Written by Jin0uga, edited by Otaku Apologist
The Tower of Five Hearts, developed by Studio TsukiWare, published by MangaGamer. Released on June 13th, 2018. Available for download on Nutaku for $14.95. Available for PC Windows and Mac OS. No voice acting. Uncensored genitals.
Play a princess in search of the perfect maid. With five exotic animal girls at your disposal, who will you pick to be Queen?
We have reviewed one other game from Tsukiware. Read our review of Critical Hit!
STORY
The story follows Marie, the princess in line to be the next King of the Five Kingdoms. She has to be King even though she lacks a penis, as she is the only child of the royal family. The happy-go-lucky Marie has to face the upcoming Marriage Ritual. This ritual consists of the five kingdoms each sending their finest, most eligible woman to compete for Marie’s hand in marriage.
Her family sends Marie to The Tower of Five Hearts, where the ritual takes place. Marie is against the idea at first, thinking the five nations would send hunky, muscular men to bed her. Thankfully, they are unaware of her gender, as the royal family usually sends a Prince instead of a Princess. Five gorgeous girls with chests of varying sizes eventually arrive at the Tower and discover they must worship pussy instead of dick. They are more than okay with it.
As far as premises go, The Tower of Five Hearts is a little cliché. However, substitute the regular harem for a bunch of raging lesbians with great sexual tension with each other, and things work out. The story caught my attention from the start and it didn’t struggle to keep me interested.
The five girls sent to Marie take a liking to her upon their first meeting. Marie’s relationship with the girls is one of the most crucial parts of the game. The plot feels episodic, Marie learning more about each girl as the days pass. For example, Marie gets a nice display of their individual talents the first day they arrive. Some girls try to show off their cooking skills, while others focus cleaning, or other household chores. Everyone has great chemistry together.
CHARACTERS
Marie is the protagonist. She is royalty, but lacks the forceful, arrogant demeanour that often characterizes kings and nobles. Instead of being an untouchable figure, she is down to earth and surprisingly likeable.
Aiko is a catgirl with purple hair. She has the mildest personality among the five. She’s very petite and cute. She is easily swept along with whatever shenanigans is happening. Throughout the story, she openly displays her envy for big boobs.
Mutsumi is a lizard girl maid. She’s working in her sister’s place, who can’t work due to her broken leg. She is skittish because of this and lacks confidence and skills. She tries to make up for it by waiting on Marie hand and foot. Marie often teases her as she wears her heart on her sleeve. She is the most open with her emotions out of the five girls.
Momo is the bunny girl, and the first one I took an instant liking to. Her reaction to Marie was one of eagerness. Despite Marie’s status, she isn’t afraid to be firm when she needs to. She is also very flirtatious, with a cocky swagger and wiggle to her hips. Momo is also cunning as she is confident, constantly the first to showcase her skills and impress Marie.
Tomiko is the dog girl. Her first meeting with Marie characterizes her as the chipper, overly excited sort. But like Momo, she is not afraid to throw her weight around when she needs to get things done. She also has excellent sexual chemistry with Momo, the two constantly flirt with each other even in Marie’s presence.
Kiri is the fox girl, who Marie finds exceptionally cute. She is the only orphan among them, which puts her in different light compared to the rest who have better statuses. Due to her upbringing, she falls more on the motherly side. She has great awareness, constantly noticing the state of others around her.
GRAPHICS
The character sprites and CGs are drawn in the same style. The visual novel leans towards your typical Japanese anime art style with a western twist. The girls are feminine and have plenty of curves, small shoulders and waists. There isn’t much variety to their body types other than their breast sizes. What makes it easy to differentiate them, is their various postures and animal traits. Momo, for example, has a set of snow white bunny ears that stand at attention most of the time. When she’s feeling embarrassed or turned on, one ear droops to mirror her emotional state.
The anime art style also makes it easier for characters to express their emotions. Compared to other visual novels, the characters’ expressions are more exaggerated here. I found this adorable and very charming. People who are used to more realistic facial expressions might need some time to get used to. An example of this are the playful, flirty smirks they wear when they’re teasing each other.
Each girl has their own unique outfit, but they stay in the same clothing for the majority of the visual novel. This isn’t much of a problem as they are naked most of the time. Marie is dressed the fanciest, due to her status. The rest of the girls don maid outfits, but they aren’t your typical frilly blouse and apron. Their style of clothing reflects the nations they come from. Kiri the fox girl for example wears a traditional Asian-style outfit. On the other hand, Momo’s clothes bring to mind the image of Victorian era maids in Europe.
The backgrounds are realistic compared to the character art. The BGs resemble paintings, the various items and objects in the background look blurred like painted with a brush. The backgrounds have the right amount of detail. The dining hall has a brass candelabra hanging from the ceiling, with various silverware scattered on the table. The kitchen looks rustic with its earthenware pottery, fireplace, and dried strips of meat hanging off to one side.
Shadows are heavy for backgrounds, but light on the character sprites. The colour palette is mostly earthly colours like brown and shades of yellow. The exception is the hair colour of several characters, like Mutsumi who has blazing pink hair.
GAMEPLAY
The Tower of Five Hearts is a visual novel with multiple routes and branching dialogue options. There’s many endings to unlock, each with different unlocking conditions. Make different choices, get different outcomes. Clicking the textbox “turns the page” and advances the story. With choice-driven games like this, saving into the game’s many available save slots during scenes with branching options is advised.
SOUND EFFECTS AND VOICE ACTING (SFX)
Tower of Five Hearts has no voice acting. The sound effects are extremely few, and only occur during some events. When there’s a storm for example, you hear the rumble.
MUSIC
The visual novel kicks off with an impressive orchestral track. It perfectly settles the reader into the mood of a fantasy tale, reminding me of big budget fantasy movies with fancy elves, myths, and gorgeous women. The hum of a string instrument stands out among the measured sounds of the violin. As the song continues, it’s accompanied by more violins, and the low clash of cymbals. Starting off with this powerfully subtle song was a great idea on the developer’s part.
Exciting moments get an upbeat track, identified by the thud of snare drums and the occasional bellow of tubas. It’s a song that won’t sound out of place when welcoming visiting dignitaries. The snare drums are soon overtaken by violins, which energizes the song even more. The violins also make the song more classy, less like a marching band ensemble. Another upbeat track I liked plays during erotic moments. This track is playful in tone, with several instruments working together to create a grand atmosphere. There is a mix of string instruments, like violins and cellos, along with an electronic flute.
During emotional moments plays a melancholic song. It’s a mix of flutes, violins and other instruments. The flute is at the forefront of the song, lending it a gentle and calming feeling. The violins further intensify this feeling, and as the flute fades away, the atmosphere transforms into something more mysterious.
HENTAI
The sex scenes are prime fap material. The first hentai scene is a delicious masturbation scene, Marie indulging in her carnal desires. The descriptions can be a little too flowery at times, but they provide an extra flair to the action. The writing was quick to get me hot under the collar. It’s sensual and slow as it describes how Marie rubs her dripping clit. The scene quickly escalates. Marie’s gentle fingering soon gives way to hard thrusts, hitting her “special spot” until she orgasms.
The other sex scenes are of similar quality, and things get intense. The hentai is mostly vanilla, but kinks like exhibitionism, teasing, and masturbation are covered. Aiko for example, gets fingered in the bathtub during their shared bathing time. Marie secretly pleasures the catgirl until she quietly cums. Most of the girls are virgins but they aren’t shy with their bodies. I thoroughly enjoyed myself with this visual novel. Keep a lotion bottle close to avoid burns.
CONCLUDING WORDS
The Tower of Five Hearts is an excellent indie visual novel, with cute art and adorable characters. The lack of voice acting is a bummer, but expected from an aspiring western studio. Special props to them for actually finishing a project. If you’re a fan of girl-on-girl hentai action, this game will get your rocks off. It’s high in erotic content, has an engaging plot, and ultra cute animal girls. Highly recommended by Jin0uga.
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Overall
- Graphics
- Gameplay
- Story
- Music
- SFX
- Hentai
