Overview:

Highschool (sic) Romance is a visual novel set at a private school. The main character is a boy sent to the school by his parents, only to find out the admission policy changed, and that the school is now an all-female institution of learning. For reasons unknown, the principal of the school decides to admit the main character, but transvestize him to fit in for whatever reason. Along the way, the main character encounters two other girls in addition to the principal. Expecting more people to be encountered? I know I was.

Graphics and sound:

Highschool Romance cuts so many corners, the programmers would be better suited for making globes. The main thing that really stood out to me, was that gym class was being held outdoors, and yet the graphic on screen was the stock picture of the gymnasium:

Review pic: It's an outdoor gym class for a change.. And it's set inside of a gym! 

A Screenshot of Highschool Romance

By: IL PALLINO

I should have taken a closer look at the graphics when I got Highschool Romance, but for some odd reason, it wasn't until I got in game, that I noticed that every female in the game looks like they have a Hapsburg jaw. In fact, the jaws are even more pronounced on the females than the male character, which may explain why the principal thought the main character could pass for female.

My newest game: It involves a headmaster of a private school taking the main character (pretending to be a girl) lingerie shopping. 

A Screenshot of Highschool Romance

By: IL PALLINO

I was also disappointed by a scene in which another character attempts to put makeup on the main character, yet all you're treated to, is the same stock picture of the main character and his Plain Jane face. Not even the tiny picture of the main character features him wearing makeup, yet you would think that such a scene was big enough to warrant a full sized screenshot.

The sound is nothing special. The music isn't my style, but it's a letdown in the sense that it doesn't help set the mood of the game, which should be the be all, end all for a game's soundtrack. There's very little sound effects to speak of, and none that stand out.

Positives:

Although the idea of transvestized (and sex changed) anime boys is nothing new, I did have a lot of fun with the concept of this game earlier on. I was really humored in the beginning when the principal takes the main character shopping for girl's clothes. It's obvious that shopping trip was designed by a man, because there was a lengthy trip for lingerie shopping. (My personal favorite part of the game.) But absolutely no mention was made of buying shoes.

Hooray for video game transvestism! 

A Screenshot of Highschool Romance

By: IL PALLINO

Negatives:

The main character is in a school full of girls, and yet only three other people seem to exist. The only interesting thing about the trio, is that they have Hapsburg jaws. They're merely just stock characters masquerading as major characters with no interesting details or personality quirks about them. The athletic girl in the game has the same physical attributes as every other athletic girl in Anime (including warrior women): Her arms and legs are just as lacking in muscle as every other female in the game (or movie), and her breasts have the same amount of fat as every other non-athletic girl.

I'll admit to being suckered into those tags on Steam that infer Highschool Romance has nudity and mature content. Both of these were lacking. I was thinking that maybe I should play through the game again and see if there's any other path that offers nude scenes, but I lost interest in the game soon afterwards. Just as well, because I noticed that all of the "interesting" pictures from the game are online outside of Steam, anyway, and I saw none that contained nudity.

Adult content aside, when a game has the word "Romance" in the title, I don't expect anything less. The kissing I saw in the one path I took was just that; kissing without substance. I felt no sort of attachment to the girl that the main character was kissing, and I'm sure the rest of the girls would have been equally disappointing. No dialogue to infer how much in love both characters were with one another, zero passion in the pictures involving "love," and really, absolutely no sense of beauty in intimacy.

Conclusion:

The game would have been more aptly labeled "High School Transvestism," since it's an even bigger point of the game than the romance. But I've learned my lesson: Don't pay more than a dollar for a game that has only four achievements!

Overview: Highschool (sic) Romance is a visual novel set at a private school. The main character is a boy sent to the school by his parents, only to find out the admission policy changed, and that the school is now an all-female institution of learning. For reasons unknown, the principal of the school decides to admit the main character, but transvestize him to fit in for whatever reason. Along the way, the main character encounters two other girls in addition to the principal. Expecting more people to be encountered? I know I was. Graphics and sound: Highschool Romance cuts so many corners, the programmers would be better suited for making globes. The main thing that really stood out to me, was that gym class was being held outdoors, and yet the graphic on screen was the stock picture of the gymnasium: http://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1137937624 I should have taken a closer look at the graphics when I got Highschool Romance, but for some odd reason, it wasn't until I got in game, that I noticed that every female in the game looks like they have a Hapsburg jaw. In fact, the jaws are even more pronounced on the females than the male character, which may explain why the principal thought the main character could pass for female. http://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1137933234 I was also disappointed by a scene in which another character attempts to put makeup on the main character, yet all you're treated to, is the same stock picture of the main character and his Plain Jane face. Not even the tiny picture of the main character features him wearing makeup, yet you would think that such a scene was big enough to warrant a full sized screenshot. The sound is nothing special. The music isn't my style, but it's a letdown in the sense that it doesn't help set the mood of the game, which should be the be all, end all for a game's soundtrack. There's very little sound effects to speak of, and none that stand out. Positives: Although the idea of transvestized (and sex changed) anime boys is nothing new, I did have a lot of fun with the concept of this game earlier on. I was really humored in the beginning when the principal takes the main character shopping for girl's clothes. It's obvious that shopping trip was designed by a man, because there was a lengthy trip for lingerie shopping. (My personal favorite part of the game.) But absolutely no mention was made of buying shoes. http://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1137933725 Negatives: The main character is in a school full of girls, and yet only three other people seem to exist. The only interesting thing about the trio, is that they have Hapsburg jaws. They're merely just stock characters masquerading as major characters with no interesting details or personality quirks about them. The athletic girl in the game has the same physical attributes as every other athletic girl in Anime (including warrior women): Her arms and legs are just as lacking in muscle as every other female in the game (or movie), and her breasts have the same amount of fat as every other non-athletic girl. I'll admit to being suckered into those tags on Steam that infer Highschool Romance has nudity and mature content. Both of these were lacking. I was thinking that maybe I should play through the game again and see if there's any other path that offers nude scenes, but I lost interest in the game soon afterwards. Just as well, because I noticed that all of the "interesting" pictures from the game are online outside of Steam, anyway, and I saw none that contained nudity. Adult content aside, when a game has the word "Romance" in the title, I don't expect anything less. The kissing I saw in the one path I took was just that; kissing without substance. I felt no sort of attachment to the girl that the main character was kissing, and I'm sure the rest of the girls would have been equally disappointing. No dialogue to infer how much in love both characters were with one another, zero passion in the pictures involving "love," and really, absolutely no sense of beauty in intimacy. Conclusion: The game would have been more aptly labeled "High School Transvestism," since it's an even bigger point of the game than the romance. But I've learned my lesson: Don't pay more than a dollar for a game that has only four achievements!