Kozue’s Strange Journey

Gameplay

Kozue’s Strange Journey features a unique battle system and basic time management. As you pursue the main quest line, you will be subjected a number of “Dungeons” where all combat will take place. Battles are turn-based, and not too different from a standard RPG, but there are a few details which stand out. Whenever anyone is hit with a Critical Hit or an attack they are weak to, it will result in a “Knock Down”. A character that is knocked down loses their next turn, and the character that knocked them down gets an extra attack.

As you might expect, this can lead to either side stun-locking each other to death.

Thankfully, that doesn’t happen too often. During a nine-hour playthrough, I lost one battle and fled from another due to my party being stun-locked. As a matter of fact, it’s encouraged to learn your enemies’ weak points so that you may stun-lock them to death. If all of your enemies are knocked down at once, you have the option to perform an “All Out Attack”, which deals immense damage to all enemies. Dungeons must be cleared in their entirety before the end of the month they are discovered.

Speaking of time, your actions are limited everyday.

You can explore as much dungeon as you want in a single day, but all other activities will consume large portions of your time. When a day ends, the protagonist is forced to sleep and advance the story. During the day, you may shop, study, train, and engage with many NPCs (including your own teammates). Many NPCs offer jobs (that are mostly lewd) with varying payouts. Teammates provide training, which can be used to increase your skills without leveling up.

Also, you can “Talk about Sex” with the protagonist’s family and team.

Talking about sex increases both parties’ Lewdness, which opens many, many doors. When any character reaches a certain lewdness, they will (A) become interested in prostitution or (B) sexually engage with the main character. As the main character becomes lewd-er, she gains the ability to sell her sexual services and wear increasingly scant clothes (or none at all!) While Lewdness and sexual scenes as a whole are nearly one-hundred percent optional, prostitution is very profitable.

If you’re not screwing everyone in sight, you’re doing it wrong.

. . . yes, this is a game you can play one-handed!

Story

. . . in a nutshell

Kozue is a member of an elite investigatory squad of magic-slinging schoolgirls. They protect the city from Shadows, malevolent entities that are born of malformed magic. Kozue must find the mastermind behind the Shadow army, while managing her friends and schoolwork. Were you not sold on the first sentence?

out the shell. . . (with spoilers!)

Kozue breaks in to her school to retrieve her notes for an upcoming assignment. She is confronted by a group of Shadows, and she is joined by Sayuri as they defeat them. During the encounter, Kozue gains the Power which allows her to mend Sayuri’s wounds. The next morning, Sayuri meets her on the school roof. She explains that Shadows are evil human incarnates — she also says that not all Shadows are bad, but at no point in the story do you meet a “good” Shadow.

Talk about a missed opportunity.

Humans have a hidden magic potential that is known as the Power. Few can control the Power, but those who try and fail are destined to become Shadows. As Sayuri spouts exposition, Miu tunes in from out of sight. On that night, Miu is abducted by a Shadow. Kozue sees the events transpire from a dream. She convinces Sayuri to to investigate the park where the abduction occurred. She determines that a Dimensional Gate has been opened, a door to a Shadow World. Sayuri opens the Gate, and asks Kozue to provide backup. They find Miu facing off a Shadow doppelganger: she plans on replacing her in the human world (for reasons).

Whatever her motivation, Kozue and Sayuri kick her ass and Shadows replacing humans is never brought up again.

As Miu’s evil clone crumbles away, Miu devises a plan. By absorbing the Shadow, she gains the Power and joins Sayuri’s cause. They agree to call themselves the Investigation Execution Squad. Later that week Kozue has another dream; this time, she sees a man controlling a shadow. Based on her description of what she saw, Sayuri figures that the next Gate is in a nearby arcade. From this Shadow World, the Squad find (and recruit) Miu’s best friend, Hina. They find the man behind the Shadow, AKA Ace the Golden Lion.

His name betrays his otherwise super lame appearance.

Hina reveals her own Power and deals the finishing blow to Ace. He reveals that that he was granted the Power by three men, and they are the cause for his actions.

The “three men” are never discussed again.

The next character to go missing is Kozue’s classmate, Yoshino. They track her abductors to an abandoned mansion, where they free her from Jack the Mad Jester. Next to go are an old couple, and they are defeated just the same as the last two villains. The squad encounter a peculiar student named Sakurako. Sakurako is an absolute monster and she nearly wrecks the entire team, but they survive by the skin of their teeth. Now beaten, she is swiftly hijacked by a shadow (and tentacle-raped for good measure).

She disappears and is pretty much forgotten. Shame, I kind of liked her.

For a while, the Shadows stop creating havoc. Kozue enjoys a worry-free summer with her friends. Come fall and a new Shadow abducts a large crowd of gentlemen from within a hotel room. Once the Squad locate the next Shadow World, they meet Hina once again. However, she has been consumed by the mastermind Shadow. When she is defeated, she loses her Power and is forced to abandon Kozue’s team. The next night, the mastermind reaches out to Kozue and guides her to his own Shadow World.

Are you ready for a plot twist for the weeks?

The mastermind behind the Shadow invasion is none other than Kozue’s teacher, Sakomoto. . . who has (up until this point) been an utterly insignificant, forgettable NPC. Anyways, after losing the fight, he summons his own Shadow to dispatch the Squad. To his surprise, it turns around and consumes him instead — unfortunately for the Squad, it becomes the ultimate fusion, God Sakomoto. After the God of Shadows is destroyed, Kozue’s city is now able to experience one less rapey threat on the streets.

And the ending was frankly, rather anti-climatic.

Visuals

The titlescreen looks great! However, it is lacking a key feature: most RPGs have some form of “options” or “settings” screen that can be accessed from the title. A “Config” screen can be accessed in-game, where you may adjust audio and display preferences. From “Extra” you may view unlocked CGs and play “dress-up” with the protagonist. The application is irrecoverably fullscreened, though the actual gameplay is confined in a 4:3 window. The English isn’t the best, but I’d say ninety-nine percent of the time you’ll know what means what.

The Goods

There are a whopping sixty-two scenes to unlock, many of which featuring one or more base CGS with variations in art and dialogue based on the characters’ attire and experience. The artwork is very high-quality, and on-par for a high-budget title. Additionally, many characters sport nude portraits, allowing you to experience battle and dialogue with bare-breasted heroines. I was impressed by the generosity of unlockable sexual content that can encountered by simply playing the game. Be on the look-out for “H-Scene” markers, and be sure to talk about sex whenever you can!

Now, let’s talk about the goodies.

I saw a number of depraved scenes. The protagonist has a knack for stumbling across sexual partners, and you have the option to have her watch what they do. She is able to engage in incestual sex with her father and little brother, or sell her body to just about anyone at school. There are lots of blackmail and rape scenes, all of which with no negative consequences. In the world of Kozue’s Strange Journey, rape is just a minor inconvenience.

. . . expect female, female-on-female, and male-on-female sexual content.

Verdict

I highly recommend this game. I had an absolute blast, and it’s not often that I play a game where I ask “what happens next?” I would venture to say that this title is worth full price. . . though I still recommend waiting for a sale. This game is far from perfect, but it boasts a lot of depraved content — between glorified non-consensual sex and totally-eighteen actors, I definitely disrecommend this game for sexual prudes. As for the rest of you, I think you’ll enjoy the wholesome character interactions, with a (strong) side of depravity.

Adult Patch

Curator Page

Steam Review

Steam Store