Are true routes / grand finale routes something you enjoy?

I have a love and hate view of true/canon routes. The route usually ties the plot together and is pretty emotional. I also love the reincarnation and LI and MC has a past together trope in some true routes like Goemon from Tengoku Struggle . At the same time, it kinda decreases the effect of other LI for me to the point where it feels like the true route LI is the only one meant for the MC. For me it definitely is a good idea to make the true route only accessible after playing all the other ones cause if it was possible in the beginning of the game, I would most likely end up not playing the other routes after the canon one.

it's depend. whether the true/grand finale route sometime revolves around poster boy or secret LI, i am bias since usually my favorite is poster boy and their route being grand or true route is almost always makes me happy because maybe i find otome games like a shoujo manga. As for secret LI make up as grand finale route i do think their route serve as a plot reveal rather than true ed, so i kinda think if the secret LI is not serve as a poster boy then they're the second lead LI. In short make the true route being the last since it'll reveal a lot of plot dump, mystery and other story related in the games.

I'd rather care to play the game if the poster boy or main LI is interest me (bonus if they're clicked and match a lot with the MC), rather than my favorite LI end up as a side LI. It's rarely happens to me that i end up liking the non-poster boy if i happened to like them i do think it's the same comparison as poster boy really that's my opinion.

But i think, just serve your favorite LI as your canon route instead rather than caring which one is canon, because i think that's the aspect of otome games giving player a choice to choose LIs? Play your favorite LI only and leave out the rest if it's unbearable i guess?

well unless there's an anime adaptation like hakuouki for example, then the story is different.

Well, there are stories that do a good job with a secret LI/True Route, and I appreciate the effort to make everything make sense. However, with things like that, some routes are usually poorly written, having a simple plot just to build part of the world, and I don't like it.

Just having to write a story with 5 LIs is complex. Having five seems ideal to avoid messing up the overall writing, and adding a True Route can make things feel unbalanced.

I like to experience the story and see the development between the MC and the LIs. I would rather have that almost completely developed than half-cooked. Yes, I'm talking about you Akaza haha

Absolutely Hate It . . .

True Routes Just Feel Like A Speed Run Of All Of The Other Routes Plot Points All Sandwiched Into One , If You Removed All Other Routes Than True . . . . . . . . Would The Story Still Make Sense ? ? ? ? ? ?
That Is My Bottom Line For If A True Route Is Passable

God Forbid If You Are The Poor Poster Boy That's Been Strapped To The True Route , All Of The Plot Rests On Your 2D Shoulders . . . . . . . . .

IMO Every Route Should Be Able To Shine Without The True Route Being Fix - It - All , There Should Be Themes , Plot And Character That Stays On That Route And LI ; Every Part Should Compliment Each Route To Make A Work Shine And Stick In Your Mind Like Glue ~ It's A Visual Novel ! ! ! ! It's All About Choices ! ! ! ! If Everything Goes Back To A Single Road , Than It Should Just Be A Kinetic Game . . . . . . . .

My Perfect Idea Of A True Route Is . . . . . . . . HAREM ENDING ! ! It's Just No Fair That Everyone Else Gets Sideline For The " Perfect " Choice And All Of Their Problems Get Solved Without The LI Getting The FMC , If This Route Solves Everything Then FMC Should Get Every LI ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Keep It Vague Or Confirm It , It Also Works For Sequels If You Are Planning On Adding More Dudes ( No Need To Retcon The True LI Route To Be A Platonic Thing So To Explain Why The MC Is Single )

Better Yet , Just Don't Have A True Route ! ! ! ! ! ! Every Piece Is A Puzzle And You Divide How The Picture Looks , Every Route Just Able To Be By Itself Without The Threat Of The " Canon Answer " ! ! Also , Maybe Having A True Route For Every LI . . . . . . . .

P . S . There Are Definitely Good Ones That Make My Gripes Actually Work And This Is A Problem Of Visual Novels In General , This Was My Ted Talk Bye . . . . . .