Once Battlefield Waltz was revealed by Idea Factory International in their own personal showcase I was interested in the art and the vibe of the main characters we were able to see. It is awesome to see a lot of the Japanese only Otome games finally get to be released in the west.
Game Name: Battlefield Waltz
Platform(s): Nintendo Switch (Reviewed)
Developer(s): Idea Factory
Publisher(s): Idea Factory International
Release Date: April 7th, 2025
Price: $49.99
You play as Lan in Battlefield Waltz. Her village gets attacked by some mercenaries and since she was trained by her father in swordfighting, she thought she would be able to fend them off. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. As she was trying to get her mom away from the mercenaries, she awakens an artifact in a temple ruin nearby, The Cursed Sword. The Cursed Sword merged inside Lan, and after the Sword defeated the mercenaries, she was taken to a military school known as Nirvana. As she discovers the secrets that lie within the Cursed Sword, she must also make progress by developing her talents. Lan has a variety of students at Nirvana she can be friends with or maybe even more than friends.
Strong Visuals and Engaging Routes
There are a lot of CG scenes to see in Battlefield Waltz. It feels like there are more per text than I’m used to in Idea Factory games, and honestly, they are all fantastic! Each character has a lot of personality in both the images and the cutscene illustrations you unlock. Many scenes also feature visual effects that enhance the images even further.
I really like the aspect of unlocking the final ending path by achieving the good route in Battlefield Waltz. This isn’t a unique feature in an Otome game, but the way it’s implemented here is a really cool concept. With each route where you get the good ending, you add power to a magical crystal that eventually unlocks Wilhelm’s route. That’s right—the Cursed Sword, Wilhelm, is the final secret route in this game.
Each route in the game is pretty solid. I definitely have a few favorites—Lustin and Nike stand out quite a bit—but every character you can romance adds depth to the school and the world of Battlefield Waltz. To get the full picture of the story and the school, you essentially need to complete all the routes. With its strong focus on war and battles, the game builds up themes surrounding war throughout its narrative.
Missed Potential in Storytelling, Combat, and Character Development
While Battlefield Waltz features plenty of CG artwork, this also comes with a downside. Many of the CG scenes feel static, with only a handful of dynamic shots. Unfortunately, the few dynamic shots that do exist can feel clunky, making fight scenes appear less impressive compared to the static ones, which showcase the main cast’s personality much better.
The game’s portrayal of women warriors is also disappointing. Despite characters like Yuriana ranking among the top five warriors in the academy, both students and teachers dismiss her achievements, treating them as a reflection of the male warriors’ incompetence rather than her actual skill. This misses an opportunity to add depth to the narrative—exploring the idea that fewer women become warriors by choice rather than implying they simply lack the ability. Lan’s own characterization struggles with this as well. She has trained in sword fighting since childhood and, at 19 years old, should be a formidable fighter. Yet, in most battles, she only succeeds when Wilhelm takes control, making her feel far less capable than she should be.
The game also misses opportunities when it comes to potential love interests. Characters like Asaka and Yuriana have unique models, CG artwork, and plenty of depth, yet they lack romance routes. This feels like a missed connection, especially since you can visit both of them during your free time in the game. Having routes for them would have added even more richness to the experience.
The Verdict
Overall, as a standard Otome game, Battlefield Waltz is quite serviceable. It offers entertaining and satisfying routes with well-developed themes for its cast. However, when viewed as an adventure and war-driven story featuring a female warrior, it falls short in both world-building and storytelling. While the character connections and personal arcs are solid, the game struggles to create a cohesive and immersive world.
One of its biggest shortcomings is how it treats Lan. Rather than allowing her to stand as a strong warrior in her own right, the game often reduces her to a damsel in distress, which feels frustrating given her background and training.
If you’re looking for a fun Otome game with engaging routes and great character chemistry, Battlefield Waltz delivers. But if you’re hoping for a game that subverts the genre—where a powerful female warrior chooses love on her own terms—this isn’t the experience you might expect.
Battlefield Waltz will release on April 8th, 2025, for the Nintendo Switch.
Review Disclosure Statement: Battlefield Waltz was provided to us by Idea Factory International for review purposes. For more information on how we review video games and other media/technology, please review our Review Guideline/Scoring Policy.
Affiliate Link Disclosure: One or more of the links above contain affiliate links, which means at no additional cost to you, we may receive a commission should you click through and purchase the item.
Summary
Battlefield Waltz has some good connections and character writing, but trying to make sense of its world and how the military academy fits in the narrative is going to make you crazy.
Pros
- Fantastic artwork
- Each character has a good deal of depth
- Unlocking the final route is fun!
Cons
- Lan is weak for being a warrior trained in swordsmanship
- Dynamic art angles are kind of wonky
- It would be nice if they acknowledged the war going on more in the narrative
