Bad Apple Wars is not as ‘bad’ as it sounds

Bad Apple Wars is another otome game, originally developed and published by Otomate for the PS Vita, that is set to be published by Aksys ; Aksys has not confirmed the released date yet of Bad Apple Wars but has announced that the date will be sometime in 2017. A brief glance at Bad Apple Wars is all it takes to realise that this title will not be a clear-cut definite romance visual novel. There is one major system feature that differentiates this game from previous otome titles.  Once the player has completed the prologue, they will have to choose which faction they wish to belong to, the Delinquent Team also known as Bad Apples or the Disciplinary Committee team. The characters available to pursue depend on the faction the player chooses to select.  The first thing that the majority of otome gamers and lovers of the visual novel game genre may notice is how dark, edgy, and chic this title is.

The artwork and storyline both exude a sense of ambiguity and an Alice in Wonderland-esque plot theme. The story revolves around the female protagonist who is involved in an accident on the day she starts high school. She quickly finds herself on the premises of an unfamiliar school, NEVAEH Academy, a school for souls left behind after death. This school has one particular regulation that students have an obligation to follow; that is that they must obey the school’s rules then upon graduation will return to the real world and continue their lives. The protagonist learns of her demise from a man wearing a rabbit head, and though suspicious of his character, decides to follow him to NEVAEH’S entrance ceremony. Soon a deafening explosion reverberates from the school, and upon arriving, she witnesses the collision between the Delinquent Team Bad Apples, the faction who defies the school’s rules and believe that graduation means the end of one’s life as opposed to returning to life, and the Disciplinary Committee. In the midst of the battle, the protagonist encounters a red-haired man who asks her a very profound question: “do you want to live?”

Although the original release date for Bad Apple Wars was on November 19, 2015 in Japan this cool and stylish otome game is bound to appeal to not only otome gamers in the west for its sheer novelty, but also to gamers with an appreciation for Alice in Wonderland and mystery type games.