Curate of Curiosities

Last time on Moe Era, we figured out what was the deal with Ermy, the one male character who was ignored by everyone else. Not only did his route turn out to be pretty mundane, but it also failed to explain what he was doing going to school alongside literal goddesses in the guise of anime schoolgirls.

However, as far as the main heroines go, there are still two routes I haven't played through yet. Normally, I wouldn't be willing to do more than one route in a dating sim, but since there is a chance that there'll be something special awaiting me, I'm willing to make an exception.

After completing the game for the first time, a Continue option, (as opposed to the Load Game option) becomes available from the main menu.

Now, didn't the teacher say during the ending that she'd give us a chance to go through the last few days again?

Like she said, you wouldn't go through all three days, so when you click Continue, you end up about halfway through the first day.

Remember the cat girl from earlier? Her purpose here is to prevent you from making choices that you've already made before. Since I've already chosen Marta and Sima at this point, Nana's the only one I can pick.

Somehow, the main character is aware that he's experienced all of this before. Nana doesn't seem to mind it, though.

Like Marta, Nana has her own baggage that she's all too willing to reveal to you.

The good thing about this second playthrough is that it cuts out most of the filler stuff from the first playthrough, like the Backrooms and your sister. Here, you just jump right to the first choice in the second day.

I pick math and beauty, the one choice I didn't pick in the first playthrough.

Nana tells us about the Golden Ratio, complete with an appropriately enticing image.

Once again, there's a scene where we have to clean up after school. Nothing too interesting about that, except for the fact that she's apparently into conspiracy theories.

To my surprise, this gets some payoff not long after, when she says that she thinks everyone around her is scripted. And she doesn't mean scripted like how DDLC's characters were scripted, oh no! She means scripted like the NPC meme!

I can understand wanting to trim the fat from the first playthrough, but you could at least have a proper transition to the career day scene.

You know what, the only reason that the game's set up this way is so you can get to the date scenes quicker. And that's the main reason we're even bothering with these games, right?

It's not too different from last time. Just pick the answers that most appeal to her. For the first choice, pick Strawberry Delight.

For the second, either choice will do, but I think the first option is more suited to her.

I didn't get screenshots of her speech here, but the gist of it is that Nana believes that it's best to be spontaneous and not worry about long-term planning, since you never know what'll happen tomorrow.

Back to the museum and the painting from the main menu.

We find out why Nana is the way she is; her parents were very strict, so she saw them as NPCs. That's pretty much it.

Then there's the obligatory kissing scene, and with that, we're back to the realm of the gods to wrap things up.

Unfortunately, if you're expecting the fact that you played through the whole game again to be met with any fanfare at all, then you're out of luck. What you end up getting is just Nana's normal ending, but shorter.

There's still one heroine left. Maybe if I did her route, I'd get a proper denoument?

We've already seen the results of her early choices, so let's just skip to the part where Sima tells us her main issue. She's worried about missing out on things. Seems like a reasonable worry for someone as high-class looking as her to have.

This seems to have led her to a philosophy that's a lot like nihilism, but isn't (appropriate given the Fathers and Sons poster.)

The Career Day sequence is more interesting than in Nana's route (though no less abrupt) since it attempts to discuss the topic of sexism in hiring.

After that, of course, is the date.

You know the drill. First choice, "Cherry D'Or."

Easy to read? Well, only as much as anyone else in this game.

I was completely checked out at this point, so I didn't get screenshots of the next part, but she goes on to ask if you think there's anything special about her. What, other than her being a literal goddess?

I'm not sure if what you pick here matters, but I picked the second option.

She repeats her pseudo-nihilistic philosophy, which might only be relevant to those who are still in high school or college, and then we move on to the ending.

Despite my having done all three heroine's routes, the game simply does not give any acknowledgement for it. Instead, we're just treated to yet another platitude that would be right at home in a self-help book for young adults.

So, that was Moe Era... I can't help but find this to be incredibly anticlimactic. I was expecting the ending for what's basically a New Game+ playthough to have something on par with the surreal, philosophical monologue from the normal ending. Was the feature rushed out the door before it was finished? Did I do something wrong? I'm not sure, but whatever it is, this is the last time I'll have anything to do with this game.