Thoughts on playing Female/Non-binary LI route in otomes

[otomegirly388]

I've noticed that a few Otome games have female / Non-binary LIs. I play Otomes for the men so in the beginning I wasn't interested in the female/ Non-binary LIs . However, playing witches x warlocks by nifty visuals changed it because I just enjoyed the game and wanted more lore, spells and I liked the silly interactions the LIs had with the protagonist.
This isn't always the case because I tried to finish velevet bite by everium and honestly I only played the male LI routes (and hated the experience).So I guess I play the female/ non-binary options only if I like the game. Mostly for curiosity or if I like the character interactions.
So this is a few questions for Otome game players did you ever have a similar experience? do you play the Female/ Non-binary LI route? If you do what makes you play it?

 

[Valderisek]

I do agree with you. Sometimes i tend to play more men LIs than female/nb LIs. But when i do play them, what draws me to them are their stories. If the story plot is good enough, i don't mind giving everyone a chance, just to see more of my favorite characters, the story plot and even the lore of the game.

Though, when an otome or vn talks about identity, politics, f/nb daily struggles, makes me connect personally with f/nb LIs and i go straightforward to play them first
(⁠ ⁠ꈍ⁠ᴗ⁠ꈍ⁠). Oh! I also like non romantic routes with them (very hard to find), but done it well i prefer a good friend than a man XD.

 

[otomegirly388]

i prefer a good friend than a man XD.

I 100 percent agree with this.

 

[nemaiaish]

I think its ok i dont mind lol

 

[lambdadelta]

more than happy to see them! love between girls and stories that explore gender identity and expression/include non-binary characters are things i already seek out anyways. non-romance routes are fine too, a bond that's not romantic can be just as engaging... sometimes i might wish they were an option tho (like karen hanatsubaki i mentioned in another thread!)

and sort of unrelated, but it's always nice when mc has female friends to hang out with and their friendship is given relevance throughout the story too. makes me smile

 

[Valderisek]

and sort of unrelated, but it's always nice when mc has female friends to hang out with and their friendship is given relevance throughout the story too. makes me smile

Ohhh! That reminds me of 'Life after magic'. I don't remember well, but i do believe you can (re)befriend the girls and also pursue them (⁠つ⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠)⁠つ . But it's so good to know the girls first, knowing the magical past you both share and then pursue a romantical relationship . That's a really sweet game i love, and it has female and a non binary LIs

 

[ishibashi]

I'm a nonbinary person (agender variety) and the NB routes tend to not sit well with me because the NB people all seem like invariably Just One Kind of Person. They all tend to have quirky and well meaning and a bit fluffy as their main personality traits. It honestly feels a bit eh when all portrayals are "quirky and fluffy and kind of vague" just because your gender identity is a bit off the wall and all the 'attractive archetypes' are either preferred by the majority of the audience as feminine or masculine. Where are my tragic ruthless evil sorcerors who just happen to not give a shit about being a man or a woman, goddammit. (I also don't like it when NBs are seen as just Men+ or Women+, but that's just my bias as an agender type speaking.)

I do like the f/f or female BFF route though, and there are certainly otome games where I started playing and wished I'd get a route more about the MC's adventures with her cool BFF/rival rather than romancing the men lol. The most being the newest Angelique where the rival lady just felt like a more interesting character to interact with than the guys (she does actually have an ending IIRC! I never reached it but). we were ROBBED in the All Routes Lead to Doom game

So I guess my answer is, it depends on the game! If the character in question is interesting, I'm interested in getting a route for them.

 

[hib]

Honestly, No. If It's Going To Be To Be Advertised As An "Otome", If It's As An Amare Game, Then I will Play It. I Enjoy Every Demographic, But I Don't Like How The Otome Genre Gets Misconstrued Into Being An Umbrella Term For Josei Art, Not As A Genre Under It.

I Got No Problem With Diverse Side Characters, I enjoyed Adelta's The Most. Also, HanaAwase Is A Game I Wish Had Amare/Yuri Routes, The MC Got Too Many Girls Thirsting Over Her To Just Be An Otome.

 

[lambdadelta]

Ohhh! That reminds me of 'Life after magic'. I don't remember well, but i do believe you can (re)befriend the girls and also pursue them (⁠つ⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠)⁠つ . But it's so good to know the girls first, knowing the magical past you both share and then pursue a romantical relationship . That's a really sweet game i love, and it has female and a non binary LIs

omg it looks so good? i'm definitely going to play it, i like the art a lot too! thank you for the rec

 

[Mutamento]

My English isn't very good, so I'm using Google Translate.

I would really prefer a friendship to a romance. They'd be great as friends, but I'm not really comfortable with them as romantic partners because my sexual orientation isn't female/non-binary.

 

[ninnikuryona]

im bisexual and a yuributa, so i dont really mind yuri routes in otome! however, if given the choice, i would prefer otome games sticking to the original definition.. i love my otome girlies wholeheartedly dont get me wrong!!!! but the more otome with yuri routes get highlighted, the more the entire genre gets blasted for not enough inclusivity/not having male or sexless mc/etc. in general, i think i would rather support a full-blown yuri game than settle for crumbs while demanding more from a genre thats already well established. and i think the "amare" tag should really get more widespread, because obviously theres nothing wrong with wanting to pursue both male and female love interests! i just dont think all of the genres should get lumped together with otome. i hope it makes sense.....!

then again, if theres a friendship route with a girl or two, im ALLLL for it!!!!!!!!! as i said, i love female characters in otome, sometimes even more so than actual love interests WW. otome is a genre specifically made for women after all, so exploring relationships between women, be it romantic or platonic, is not bad at all...^^!

 

[lambdadelta]

im bisexual and a yuributa, so i dont really mind yuri routes in otome! however, if given the choice, i would prefer otome games sticking to the original definition.. i love my otome girlies wholeheartedly dont get me wrong!!!! but the more otome with yuri routes get highlighted, the more the entire genre gets blasted for not enough inclusivity/not having male or sexless mc/etc. in general, i think i would rather support a full-blown yuri game than settle for crumbs while demanding more from a genre thats already well established. and i think the "amare" tag should really get more widespread, because obviously theres nothing wrong with wanting to pursue both male and female love interests! i just dont think all of the genres should get lumped together with otome. i hope it makes sense.....!

then again, if theres a friendship route with a girl or two, im ALLLL for it!!!!!!!!! as i said, i love female characters in otome, sometimes even more so than actual love interests WW. otome is a genre specifically made for women after all, so exploring relationships between women, be it romantic or platonic, is not bad at all...^^!

you've got a point, i think everything u said was very informative and makes sense! i agree that, if that's what the player is looking for specifically, playing an actual yuri game will be more rewarding rather than seeking out a f/f route in a game primarily consisting of male love interests... since i presume the guys will outnumber the girls by far, bc dating guys is what people signed up for. i might still play with my yuri goggles on sometimes but personally it's just for fun..

btw i hovered over your username and saw your location is sweet medical utopia! i really like 2kki and that author's maps ^_^

 

[usagi-k]

there have been games (such as angel from killer chat!) where the female li or character interests me and appeals to me a lot lot more than the male lis but i think we need to properly classify that any romance vn with anything other than male lis cant really be considered an otome anymore T___T

with that being said sometimes i wish more games were willing to branch out of the otome genre to give female side characters romanceable routes (maya from even if tempest give me one chance please) or atleast add in more "friendship" routes since those can be just as fulfilling and interesting !! a good example of that would be the joro spider ending in chou no doku which was in an official sense left ambiguous / up to interpretation on whether you want to consider it romantic or not - but regardless was so good and such a unique dynamic to explore ^^

 

[ninnikuryona]

btw i hovered over your username and saw your location is sweet medical utopia! i really like 2kki and that author's maps ^_^

omg im so happy!!!!!!!!:D:D i rarely see other ynfg players in the wild so to speak, so im always thrilled when i do find them!!!!! and i really love uwa's works too, the yami kawaii aesthetic and the soundtrack are all top notch!!!!!!!<3<3

 

[vivonne]

I've played a few out of curiosity but more often than not, I opt for the male LI's. Some games allow you to mesh with them as friends and I really appreciate that and prefer cultivating a great friendship instead, haha :3

 

[otofr3ak]

I feel a little odd about the otome that give routes to women only to make them platonic. I feel like you should go the whole way in the case of giving a woman a full route. To be fair, i'm also not super big on romance with women in otome games too? (´ ˙○˙ `) it's just not my thing I suppose.

 

[bugpudding]

Threads like this are super helpful for me because I've only recently started dipping my toe into otome games. I looooove NB characters but like someone else pointed out, I don't really care for the characterization that many people give them (usually a quirky blob - WHICH CAN BE FINE). But knowing that stuff like this usually falls under amare over otome helps me look for things I might mesh with better. I haven't tried too many women LI routes but maybe I should branch out and give them a try