Route you play first in a game?

[shishy]

I follow the recommended order, but if there is none, I usually start with the one I am least interested in and then go uphill. If I start with the one that I liked the most I'd probably loose all the motivation to read the other routes.

 

[SmallEagle]

I tend to not finish the games fully, so I just play the route that caught my attention, if I enjoyed them, then I play the others routes.

 

[fleyrin]

I always stick to the route order. I'm kind of a perfectionist, so I have to read every route even if I'm not really into the LIs. That's why it takes me at least six months to finish a lot of games .

 

[TeeService]

I always check for the recommended order and stick to that. If there isnt one, I would say that I usually like to leave the route/LI Im most interested in for last. Always end on a high note

 

[osanajimimi]

Recommended order first, if there are no restrictions, the least interesting to the most

 

[star light]

I will play in the recommended order.

 

[at_chat]

I start with less interesting route to most interesting but in the middle I mix them so that I don't get bored.
If I didn't have clear ranking or the game story secrets unfolds in each route, I go with the recommended.

 

[incri]

i usually play blind, and aim for the LI i'm interested in the most (or second most, if that one's not available)! after that, i either go in order from most to least favorite, or follow the recommended route order if i don't particularly care for someone else

 

[NerysRhys]

I usually start with the character that attract me the most, (it can be their voices, their looks), I'm the type not to want to be spoiled at all in games and other medias, so I guess it means I pick a guy and go for it xD so far I don't think I've been disappointed by the one I chose.

 

[mistysea]

I usually go with the recommended route order! Some games don't really have route order per say - like the Ikemen games where there's usually a small pool of 3-5 charas you can start with that won't impact your story comprehension; with those games I usually pick whoever interests me most from that pool.

 

[RoseGold]

I tend to read reviews before starting a game, so if there's a strongly recommended route order, I'll follow that. If there's no recommended route order, or it's not that relevant for the overall story, I usually go with a character I am interested in but not the one I am *most* interested in - I leave that for last, if that makes sense

 

[wian]

I usually follow the recommended route order. It helps me get a better understanding of the overall story and what the game is trying to tell. After that, as long as it doesn't get in the way of my enjoyment, I'll do the routes I'm less interested in first, then move on to the routes or characters I'm more interested in. If I leave too many of the routes I don't care about until the end, I sometimes have a hard time actually finishing the game.

 

[softtv]

I prefer to start with the characters I find least attractive (if they're available from the start), and save my favorites for last

 

[Adoris]

I would like to balance the guide and the one I interested？I will pick the one that I interested the most if the guide suggest multiple route ti begin with. And If there are no lock routes, I think I will allow the truth route to be the final one. The only except is Clockwork Apocalypse，I play the Quart route at first because he is the most handsome one......he is the only one that I won't laugh when I see the LI...The red trousers of that magician is sooo funny.....So even though the guide suggest me to play Quart's route at the second last, I still play it and received the best experience from that game (meaning that I skipped almost most of the rest of route and went to the truth directly ). So, yeah, it depends.

 

[CQUUbCQ]

I'm the type of person who looks up the ending before I even start playing, so I usually check a walkthrough site for the optimal route and follow it. Even if a character is voiced by a voice actor I like and I'm tempted to start with them, I prioritize the recommended optimal route first.

 

[Neomii]

I have 3 main deciding factor when choosing route order/first route:

1. Recommended route order (of course). From the least spoiler-y(?) to the most spoilery one. Though I learned this lesson not from an otome game but from Fire Emblem Three houses where I chose arguably the most spoilery route first. Which I later figured out for myself that it would have been better that I had done that route last instead, since it'd give more impact/surprise feeling for the plot twists/spoiler for the other, least spoilery route. Now I apply that lesson to otome games as well and always look up route recommendations. Especially if said otome game has a stronger/more mysterious story.

2. There's an Li I'm very interested in that sometimes I'd ignore the recommended route order. I initially started Piofiore cause I reeaaallly liked Dante's design so I followed what I wanted and went for him first even though he's often in the third or second to last one in the recommended route order. Same thing happening with my current Over Requiemz playthrough where I chose Kaize as my first even though he's often second-to-last in the recommended route order because he's the one that caught my attention the most compared to the other lis.

3. Just let my choices in common route guide me lol. I don't really do this anymore, mainly for thanks to what I explained in my first point. And because the last time I did this, I got an li that ended up not really clicking with me, so much that it kind of soured my first impression, and now I've abandoned the whole game for a long while now.

 

[サカタ]

Depends. Maybe would go for the character that I deeply interested with

 

[DoDoPopping]

This is kind of a constantly shifting state.
Usually, for the sake of a good gameplay experience, I'll follow the recommended route order.
But when that order forces me to go through a character route I'm not really interested in,
it honestly feels pretty rough and draining the whole way through.
So whenever I come across another character that really hooks me,
I can't help but get sidetracked halfway through lol

 

[Yara010]

Usually it's a route that recommended first but sometimes I can mix order a bit