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What are your favorite and least favorite locked routes?

sylvenna

sylvenna

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乙女
Sep 30, 2025
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What are your favorite and least favorite locked routes (not counting non-romantic truth routes)?

My favorite is Akaza's (Olympia Soiree). I had my sight locked on Akaza after just 2 lines of dialogue in the common route. The journey to unlock his route was long and painful, mostly because I did not like 3 out of the other 5 LIs. Thankfully, his route was amazing and lived up to all my expectations. I won't gush about him too much since he's already popular enough.

Honorable mention: Iseya (Yoshiwara Higanbana). Technically, it's only his Best End that's locked. It was an emotional ride getting his true HE because first you had to unlock his Tragic End (which was devastating 😭) on top of everyone else's HE.


Now my least favorite (or should I say most disappointing): The Phantom (PersonA: Opera Za no Kaijin).
screenshot-17-2-26.jpg


This has got to be the most disappointing final route of all time for me. I bought this game because I love Phantom of the Opera, and the Phantom especially. Not to mention his character is voiced by Kondou Takashi, and it's an R18 game. The stars were aligned.

(If I had a nickel for every time Kondou Takashi voiced a locked LI in an R18 Otome, I would have two nickels, which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice).

Imagine my surprise when I checked the walkthrough and saw that The Phantom, the titular character, only has 3 endings while the other LIs have 4-5. Some random guy who's not even a character in the original novel has 8 endings. I already had a bad feeling, but I told myself maybe his route is just longer than everyone else's and that's why he has fewer endings. Well...

The first ending was just a retelling of a previous route, but through the Phantom's POV. The second is a BE, which was very short but okay. That means the last ending has got to be the big finale, the one true route with a happy ending and a beautiful CG, right, right...? 😔

I had to believe the production team ran out of budget when they got to the Phantom's route because there was no other explanation for why his HE was the only one that didn't even have a CG. He's the poster boy, the titular character, the one on the main menu. But you're telling me his true ending doesn't even get a CG?
The readers didn't even get to see him and the MC have a HE either. It's just heavily implied.

TLDR: His route was very rushed, shorter compared to all other LIs. His HE doesn't even have a CG... I have no words.

What is your experience with locked routes like? Tell me about your fav and your biggest disappointment.
 
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personally, i either don't notice that the characters are locked, because the requirement for unlocking them isn't that strict, or i just can't make myself to unlock them... so, my biggest disappointment is that it's been several years now, and i still haven't unlocked the character in S.Y.K....
also, aiji's route from collarXmalice was too boring for me, i was really disappointed that literally everyone else was more interesting... well, he's a good guy and all, definitely a husband material... but for the sake of an interesting story i need more drama, i guess :unsure:
 
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le salut and scien's salvation end comes to mind first, i also really loved misyr's route in cafe enchante. i think the first locked route i played was lupin from code:realize so i have a huge soft spot for him too.

least favourite has to be goemon from tengoku struggle. it's unfortunate because i was looking forward to his route because i love when the locked route is a character that has yearned for the heroine all this time. but his route overall felt so underwhelming, too long and some of the story elements i just plain didn't like 😭 i think it would've been more bearable if they cut down some of the fat
 
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mizumachi said:
least favourite has to be goemon from tengoku struggle. it's unfortunate because i was looking forward to his route because i love when the locked route is a character that has yearned for the heroine all this time. but his route overall felt so underwhelming, too long and some of the story elements i just plain didn't like 😭 i think it would've been more bearable if they cut down some of the fat
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i dunno, i actually enjoyed it being "fat", so to each their own, i guess :unsure:
 
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My favorite is Vilio from Radiant Tale. I really had fun playing that game and I really like Vilio from the start. He made going through all the routes worth it.

I can't really think of a least favorite routes.😅 Maybe Henri from Piofiore? But that's mostly because it was so short(if I'm remember correctly). And maybe Peter from Cupid Parasite since I keep feel bad for Allan the entire route.😂
 
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bomgangter said:
My favorite is Vilio from Radiant Tale. I really had fun playing that game and I really like Vilio from the start. He made going through all the routes worth it.

I can't really think of a least favorite routes.😅 Maybe Henri from Piofiore? But that's mostly because it was so short(if I'm remember correctly). And maybe Peter from Cupid Parasite since I keep feel bad for Allan the entire route.😂
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I totally agree with you on Henri in Piofiore. However, his route is much, much better in the 1926 sequel.
The sad French man 🌧️ 😔
 
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I have the same feeling about PersonA: Opera Za no Kaijin! Ugh, I liked Phantom so much, but I also felt that his route was shorter than the other characters. I always go back to replay his route when I miss it, but I was quite disappointed by that. I loved the character so much, it's a real shame. Iseya is, as far as I remember, the true route of the game, right? I have to go back and do the rest of the Higanbana routes again. I had to format my PC when I was playing and didn't finish completely, so I lost the save, but it's worth replaying from scratch. I remember I was enjoying it a lot. I really like games that have closed character routes to explore; I'm curious by nature. I think Trick or Alice has someone with a closed route, but I don't remember exactly who.
:akazukin_down:
 
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Marrychan said:
I have the same feeling about PersonA: Opera Za no Kaijin! Ugh, I liked Phantom so much, but I also felt that his route was shorter than the other characters. I always go back to replay his route when I miss it, but I was quite disappointed by that. I loved the character so much, it's a real shame. Iseya is, as far as I remember, the true route of the game, right? I have to go back and do the rest of the Higanbana routes again. I had to format my PC when I was playing and didn't finish completely, so I lost the save, but it's worth replaying from scratch. I remember I was enjoying it a lot. I really like games that have closed character routes to explore; I'm curious by nature. I think Trick or Alice has someone with a closed route, but I don't remember exactly who.
:akazukin_down:
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I don't think Higanbana has a true route but to me he is! He is the poster boy after all.
:akazukin_puppyeyes:
 
i can't think of a favorite right now, but my least favorite is yanagi from collar x malice... i had a burnout trying to finish the game in one day and i was already out of patience when it was his turn, i made some bad choices there 😔

if i ever replay cxm, maybe i'll change my mind, but for now that's it!
 
One of the worst locked route was John from Mistonia. I had high hopes for him, but he turned out to be somehow empty, dull, and quickly forgettable. I think it was who Ascot overshadowed him, although he also overshadowed the heroine herself :D oh, yeah, and that astray end was def good :D
I'm reeeally biased, but for me, the best were Ohtaro and Tomonari from Kimi wa Yukima ni Koinegau, and especially Ohtaro. His route was exactly the roller coaster I wanted. Despite all the plot holes, his ending conclude the whole story very nice, plus he himself is cute 💖
 
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Well, out of all the otome games I've played, only two have locked routes. And I absolutely loved those characters, so I don't have a least favorite locked route. They're Makoto Mikami from Sweet Fuse and Ukyo from Amnesia: Memories. I actually think that in both of those games, the locked routes were the ones I enjoyed the most.
 
Least favorite would be Eiichirou's route in Lover Pretend. I was already apprehensive about it before I even started the route bc of his role in the previous ones. The game somehow managed to do the unexpected and made that route even more terrible than what I'd thought it'd be >_>

Favorite would be the Le Salut route in Virche easily. It's been 2yrs since I beat that game and yet I think about it regularly!
 
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So far I enjoyed every locked routes I've played, but Amnesia is still the first place for me as it's my first Otome game :D

My least goes to Virche FD, there's an exclusive Le Salut route for Ankou but you've to run through the same story with minor changes like 11 times to reach there which really fed me up. Especially when the original story was peaked.
 
sylvenna said:
What are your favorite and least favorite locked routes (not counting non-romantic truth routes)?

My favorite is Akaza's (Olympia Soiree). I had my sight locked on Akaza after just 2 lines of dialogue in the common route. The journey to unlock his route was long and painful, mostly because I did not like 3 out of the other 5 LIs. Thankfully, his route was amazing and lived up to all my expectations. I won't gush about him too much since he's already popular enough.

Honorable mention: Iseya (Yoshiwara Higanbana). Technically, it's only his Best End that's locked. It was an emotional ride getting his true HE because first you had to unlock his Tragic End (which was devastating 😭) on top of everyone else's HE.


Now my least favorite (or should I say most disappointing): The Phantom (PersonA: Opera Za no Kaijin).
View attachment 90271

This has got to be the most disappointing final route of all time for me. I bought this game because I love Phantom of the Opera, and the Phantom especially. Not to mention his character is voiced by Kondou Takashi, and it's an R18 game. The stars were aligned.

(If I had a nickel for every time Kondou Takashi voiced a locked LI in an R18 Otome, I would have two nickels, which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice).

Imagine my surprise when I checked the walkthrough and saw that The Phantom, the titular character, only has 3 endings while the other LIs have 4-5. Some random guy who's not even a character in the original novel has 8 endings. I already had a bad feeling, but I told myself maybe his route is just longer than everyone else's and that's why he has fewer endings. Well...

The first ending was just a retelling of a previous route, but through the Phantom's POV. The second is a BE, which was very short but okay. That means the last ending has got to be the big finale, the one true route with a happy ending and a beautiful CG, right, right...? 😔

I had to believe the production team ran out of budget when they got to the Phantom's route because there was no other explanation for why his HE was the only one that didn't even have a CG. He's the poster boy, the titular character, the one on the main menu. But you're telling me his true ending doesn't even get a CG?
The readers didn't even get to see him and the MC have a HE either. It's just heavily implied.

TLDR: His route was very rushed, shorter compared to all other LIs. His HE doesn't even have a CG... I have no words.

What is your experience with locked routes like? Tell me about your fav and your biggest disappointment.
Click to expand...
Which other route was Kondo Takashi's route locked?

but yeah I agree Phantom's route was rushed...such a shame...I still love it just because I love him and I thought the scenes were good tho
 
My favorite locked route...very controversial but its Fei from Matsurika no Kei.
I was originally not excited for his route and was trying to finish his route ASAP to get done with the game, but then sth happened in the route (I wont say it cuz its very big spoiler lollll) and all of a sudden I became obsessed with that route and another character in that route. So basically I love it but not because of Fei lol.

My least favorite locked route is Yanagi from Collar Malice. Besides the fact I was most looking forward to play his route cuz he's so hot and mature, I just finished a roller coaster of route of Shiraishi's route, so the bar was kind of high...but yeah, just a huge let down romance and plot wise.
Romance was pretty much Ichika pursuing Yanagi, which isn't rly my thing..I just prefer more proactive men. Then plot...I dont even get what his and Ichika's past has to do with the overarching plot?! Im one of the (few) conspiracy theorists that thinks Shiraishi was the true canon route lmao
 
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woodypei said:
My favorite locked route...very controversial but its Fei from Matsurika no Kei.
I was originally not excited for his route and was trying to finish his route ASAP to get done with the game, but then sth happened in the route (I wont say it cuz its very big spoiler lollll) and all of a sudden I became obsessed with that route and another character in that route. So basically I love it but not because of Fei lol.

My least favorite locked route is Yanagi from Collar Malice. Besides the fact I was most looking forward to play his route cuz he's so hot and mature, I just finished a roller coaster of route of Shiraishi's route, so the bar was kind of high...but yeah, just a huge let down romance and plot wise.
Romance was pretty much Ichika pursuing Yanagi, which isn't rly my thing..I just prefer more proactive men. Then plot...I dont even get what his and Ichika's past has to do with the overarching plot?! Im one of the (few) conspiracy theorists that thinks Shiraishi was the true canon route lmao
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I only ship her with Shiraishi and Mineo, they are the only two viable boyfriends, lets be real.

Mineo is legit, same wavelength boyfriend.
Shiraishi is like this nice slow earned love.
 
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blackflag said:
I only ship her with Shiraishi and Mineo, they are the only two viable boyfriends, lets be real.

Mineo is legit, same wavelength boyfriend.
Shiraishi is like this nice slow earned love.
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Real. Mineo is my second fav. I really feel for what he's been through.
I like Sasazuka's route…but I just can't rly imagine him being an actual couple with Ichika.
 
woodypei said:
Real. Mineo is my second fav. I really feel for what he's been through.
I like Sasazuka's route…but I just can't rly imagine him being an actual couple with Ichika.
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What I love the most about Mineo's route is that he really steps up to become part of the family and to not overstep the brother-sister relationship bond thats already there. He also is very happy to join the family and respects them a lot. it's such a mature move from him, he's so loving. ;-;
 
woodypei said:
Which other route was Kondo Takashi's route locked?

but yeah I agree Phantom's route was rushed...such a shame...I still love it just because I love him and I thought the scenes were good tho
Click to expand...
Majima in Chou no Doku (also R18)
 
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i dont know about my favorite locked route but my least favorite is definitely yashiro from illusion of itehari THINK ABOUT A BORING AND SLEEPY ROUTE i had to fight my sleep the entire time i was playing it i almost dropped the whole game during that route
 
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My fav locked route is first Amnesia's Ukyo route, which has the highest number of bad endings. The shy romance and the plot reveal were satisfying enough, and the character himself was my hasubando for MC. The least favourite is Hugh from 'Haitaka no Psychedelica' and the "I am living like a truly feminine girl" part, which was too short and didn't really build on anything other than "that's how it is now."
 
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I'm counting non-final locked routes too :p My fav is Himuka and least fav is Yune from Steam Prison. Plotwise Yune's route isn't that bad, it was actually interesting. It could be that I didn't like it bc his personality wasn't like what I expected at first
 
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i am not sure about locked routes that much, but Café Enchante's Misyr was not my fav. Or the 7'scarlet locked true ending. I
 
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