Arcana Famiglia (アルカナ・ファミリア)

Title: アルカナ・ファミリア
Company: HuneX
Release Date: October 27, 2011
Platform: PSP
Official Site: http://www.comfort-soft.jp/products/arcana/top.html
Walkthrough: http://arcana.stgtk.com/ ; http://momokan.chu.jp/momokan/frame-arcana.html

Synopsis:

The island of Regalo is being protected by a mafia family named Arcana Famiglia. The family’s Papa, Mondo, has announced the Arcana Duello where only the major Arcana users in the family can join. Whoever wins get the top spot and be able to marry Mondo’s daughter, Felicita.

I finally played this game! Woot! o/ Most of the people I know who played this have mostly liked the game. I instantly liked this too as soon as I start because of the funny and lively conversations that the characters shared.

Arcana Famiglia has a unique style from other games that I’ve played. Unique in a lot of ways. I got a little confused with the system at first since it’s as if you save within a save file. But then I got used to it and since I rarely turn off my PSP I just leave it as is. Still, I am very careful when saving so as not to accidentally overwrite a save file.

So as you can above, I have already saved it in the usual slots and within those slots are these other slots. See those silhouette characters in the upper right side? You can get them after every route you finished (even if it’s only one end I think). Now can you guess who’s who? 😀

Another thing that confused me at first is getting the Ed 2 of each route. It says that to get it, you have to have an Amore lower than 600. So I follow the guide but when it comes to the save point where ends are supposed to branch off, I couldn’t load Ed 2 from there. I forgot that whenever you read their hearts, you get one point each. I had to always look out for my Amore points so that I could save before it hits 600 and not missed Ed 2 for the nth time. orz

Anyway, moving on to the start of the game. When you don’t change the heroine’s name, her name will be mentioned by the guys just like other recent games. While you can choose whether or not Felicita will have a voice, all she ever say are “un” “ah” and anything resembling that. Our ojou-sama here have a pet owl and you may choose to have it the voice of a girl or boy.

The story flows in a way where everybody talks and shows you what they are doing instead of describing what is happening through walls of texts. That I find refreshing and gives off an “active” vibes. Plus it helps people like me to actually see what is happening and not just plainly read a bunch of kanji. The downside is that you don’t get to know Felicita’s personal thoughts on things unless you are choosing a choice. It’s like Amnesia all over again. JUST on that aspect okay. 8D

It has a shounen-ish art style which gives a more kickass feel. It is so pretty, I feel like screencapping every scene thinking they are all CGs or mini CGs lol. Ever see an animix? (Probably not if you are not a BL fan ><;;) The scenes are sort of like that.

I love the music! It’s nothing soothing but more of it raises the action hype. As for the character songs, my favorite is Amore Bambina by Debito. I concentrated on his endings just to listen to his song. XD

One nifty feature of the game is Felicita’s Arcana which enables her to read a guy’s heart or practically anyone. You just have to hit your joystick to read hearts. It is entertaining and handy to use since you’ll have what goes inside the guys. Some of the lines are hilarious even. xD

There are lots of other bonuses that will unlock once you have finished the game. Mostly added voices and characters facial expressions etc. Also, they have a free talk for every character even Sumire and Mondo. I thought free talks are for drama CDs only lol. It is enjoyable to listen to the seiyuus talk. Liberta, Pace, and Luca are the ones that I enjoyed listening to the most.

Characters

Felicita

Despite not knowing what goes in her mind, she figuratively and literally kicks butts. It is such a shame that while you can learn what the guy is thinking, you cannot even read the heroine’s heart. So I feel a little distant with her. ^^;;

That aside, Felicita proves to be a strong-willed lady worthy being the head of the family. She has this caring side in which I think, what attracted the guys lol. Oh and not to mention, she is natural in almost anything though that might be because Luca taught her well.

Debito

I’m already sold the moment he said “Bambina” lol. Debito is a sexy beast which shows up to his reputation being the ladies’ man. He has a grudge against Jolly and planned to kill him if not for Felicita.

You know that I like them flirty lol. And Debito being a combination of flirty and mysterious is just perfect. I enjoy his personality a lot. On the other hand, his route is sad ; A ;. The most touching part of his route for me is when Felicita hugs him to sleep. He surely needs that kind of comfort every now and then.

Pace

Lasagna~!

I thought I wouldn’t like Pace. I don’t even think how sweet this guy can be. Him and his food-related pick up lines lmao. He is a funny guy who is married to his dear lasagna xD. At the start of the route, he keeps on saying “Lasagna daisuki!” lol. But it soon changed to “Ojou daisuki!” which I find sweet. :3c

Compared to Debito, he takes his fate with a smile. He doesn’t want to blame Jolly for this matter and accepts it wholeheartedly. Why does he have a heart-warming yet heart-wrenching route? Once I finished his route, I was left with a warm, fuzzy feeling inside. But whatever happened to his curse? :O

Luca

Felicita’s attendant. He’s been with Felicita and Sumire since his ojou-sama is young.

Gaaaahhh Luca why so sweet??

I once mixed Luca and Liberta at the start of the game lol. I don’t know, maybe because I instantly liked them the moment they appeared on the screen? XDD

Luca has this calm and composed face like nothing could faze him … unless it is Felicita no less. 8D I love seeing his expression changes as those are really cute! >3<

I love the childhood trio a lot. Their bond is so deep and they care for each other so much, I feel overprotective when either of them gets hurt. And I missed them so much in the other routes when they rarely appear. D8

Nova

Tsundere chibi ww

I was looking forward to playing Nova’s route since I find him adorable in some of the brief moments that I saw in the first few routes that I’ve played. I’m not a fan of tsundere characters, but Nova is too cute to resist.

What made me looked forward to his route more is when I heard him sing their anthem. I liked his seiyuu’s voice! Like totally! XD

Anyway, at the end of the game, Nova didn’t become my fave. ^^;; As expected, I’m not into tsunderes but I still find him cute. Other than that, his relationship with Felicita is a little… I mean, he is her cousin… O.O

Liberta

Libertaaaaa~~

This guy doesn’t know that limit of being adorkable. X3 He is a high-spirited guy, who mostly acts before he thinks, and loves masks a loooot. Him and his raging teenage hormones ahahaha.

I had a lot of fun in his route. And despite his past, he is able to get over it and grow up. Only … he is Mondo’s grandchild which makes Felicita his aunt. .. … wut O.O

Nonetheless, that doesn’t make me hate Liberta and his route. I-I just think they are never related. /bricked

Dante

Big Bald Guy

I…mostly skipped through Dante’s route…I’m sorry Dante! /o

It’s not like I didn’t like him or what. It’s just that while I love Dante as a character, I can’t see the chemistry of him with Felicita without looking like a pedobear. It doesn’t help that he is too huge for her in the CGs when they are together. He is only the big brother figure in my eyes.

Playing this route right after finishing Liberta can be both good and bad. Good since most of Liberta’s events are connected to Dante. The downside is I really liked Liberta and turning him down for his father-figure made me less like Dante.

He is not a bad character but … please give him some hair. D:

Jolly

Mad Alchemist

I wasn’t eyeing any particular guy in the game when I started, so like most of them (other than Luca and Liberta xP), I was indifferent to Jolly. Not to mention that I didn’t like how his voice sounds. Mid-game, I learned that he is voiced by Koji Yusa. My previous encounter with Yusa was during Peter Pan (I think…I’m not sure lol) and I liked his scenes and I thought if he’ll do that again here, then that’s a plus for Jolly.

I was under the impression that Jolly just looooves to troll everyone. But his ways are a little misunderstood, that’s it. That made me sympathized with the guy. Some hate him for being that kind of guy without knowing his real reasons. Good for him that Felicita insisted of sticking to him despite his attitude. That’s what he needs anyway. Someone stubborn enough to crack his wall.

It took quite a while before he turned deredere with Felicita. He could have toppled any of Luca or Liberta from the top spot if he would have turned earlier. But then again, I figured the amount of time the took is valid. It wouldn’t have that much effect if he blushes just after a few weeks or so. Anyway, the part where Felicita doesn’t remember him tugged my heart the most in the entire events of the game. I always love the painful parts /o.

Wrapping Up!

I’m just so glad that I finally played this game before Arcana Famiglia 2 releases. I enjoyed this game a lot and would have to recommend this to anyone who doesn’t mind interfamily romance. :Db