Lesbian Visual Novel Review: Forest Guardian

Written by jin0uga, edited by Otaku Apologist

Forest Guardian, a yuri hentai visual novel developed by TsukiWare and published by Top Hat Studios Inc. Released on March 30, 2020. Download on Nutaku.net for $10.99. For PC Windows, Mac OS and Linux. No voice acting. Uncensored genitals.

STORY

You play as Anna, a traveling merchant. The visual novel begins with Anna asking for directions in a rural village. She wants to reach her final destination, a place called the Gilded Port, before winter arrives.

The villagers predict that she won’t make it in time and advise her to stay. Anna insists on making the journey. Her frantic behaviour is due to the rare, golden spice she’s obtained. The spice won’t last through the winter, and Anna decides to cut through the forest despite the legends of a hostile guardian who attacks anyone who trespasses her land.

Predictably, Anna gets lost in the forest. The situation takes a worse turn when she discovers she’s lost her supplies. It’s not long until Anna passes out from exhaustion. In a twist of fate, she’s saved by the guardian of the forest, a fox shrine maiden named Mayu.

Though the length of the visual novel is short, I enjoyed the story more than I expected. The romance that blossoms between Mayu and Anna is written believably. As the story progresses, both women also appear to have splendid sexual chemistry.

Anna has never been tied down to one place. She’s unexperienced in matters of love. It’s only when she meets the fox shrine maiden that she begins to develop romantic attraction to her.  

Maya quickly catches on that Anna has a preference for pussy, and starts teasing her relentlessly about it. But beneath her playful demeanour, Mayu struggles with a problem related to her past. While Anna deals with her confusion about her newfound feelings, Mayu has to come to terms with her loneliness once Anna leaves. This angst injects a sense of urgency that makes the resolution more resonant.

GRAPHICS

Forest Guardian has a western anime-inspired artstyle. The characters look good and are realistically proportioned. The only downside is the colour of the character sprites, which seem flat in comparison to the exceptionally vibrant background CGs.

Another thing the game needs to work on is its scene transitions. When the scene changes, characters are instantly transported to the next location. It’s jarring and breaks immersion.

The background art is wonderfully detailed. The use of a lively colour palette invokes a fairy tale feeling. Take for example, the exterior of Mayu’s shrine. Vivid autumn trees frame the traditional Japanese building, contrasting beautifully with the light green grass.

SOUND EFFECTS AND VOICE ACTING (SFX)

The game has no sound effects or voice acting.

MUSIC

What Forest Guardian lacks in the sound department, it makes up for with the music. The visual novel has simple but effective soundtracks. The piano is the main instrument for most songs, and it works to create a comforting and relaxing atmosphere for each scene. It’s a good match for the romance unfolding between Anna and Mayu.

GAMEPLAY

Forest Guardian is a kinetic novel. This means there are no choices to be made. There is only one route and one ending. You can advance the story by clicking the textbox or by pressing the spacebar.

The user interface is simple to navigate. However, the game is missing a standard key feature often found in other visual novels. Scrolling the mouse wheel doesn’t bring up the previously read text. You have to access it by clicking on an icon. Also, it only shows three previous paragraphs so you can’t scroll back any further than that.

HENTAI

The visual novel establishes a tentative friendship between the two women before Mayu makes her move. The first hentai scene takes a fair amount of time to reach.

When Anna puts herself down for being unfeminine, Mayu pushes her to try on a kimono. However, Anna doesn’t know how to put the outfit on. The fox shrine maiden then slyly volunteers to assist her and strips her naked.

Mayu seduces Anna by running her hands over her body and nibbling her ear. Anna is instantly aroused. Mayu then coaxes Anna into giving in to her lust and uses her fingers to pleasure Anna’s virgin pussy. It doesn’t take long for Mayu’s deft fingers to make the woman orgasm.

The hentai scenes are short, but well written. Though there’s no sound effects, the dialogue and descriptions should be enough to get your dick hard. Reading how the sexy, big breasted fox woman ravages her sex partner is very erotic.

CONCLUDING WORDS

Forest Guardian is a short and sweet yuri visual novel. The romance between Anna and Mayu is delectable. If you enjoy a good romance story with fantasy and supernatural elements, don’t hesitate to get the game. The writing is emotionally evocative, feeling very personal at times. This title gets my full recommendation for being a great read.

For lovers of yuri hentai who dig Japanese culture. Download Forest Guardian.