Genso Manege Review – Pastel Perfection

As I’ve mentioned in the past, I have mixed feelings about visual novels, so I was hesitant about diving into this Genso Manege review. I love the concept of a strong narrative, and I can appreciate decent artwork, however the lack of gameplay elements has always made me wary of the genre. However, Genso Manege (technically Genso Manège, but that’s not great for SEO and is inconvenient to type, so my apologies, but I’ll be typing it without the accent for this article) caught my attention despite my misgivings.

I was instantly enamoured with the bright colours and the promise of a magical story. I enjoyed the trailer, and I was keen to get to know all the characters. But did the game live up to my hopes? Find out in this Genso Manege review!

I was kindly given a key for an advance copy, however all opinions are my own. The full game is available from 31/01/2025. This review is based on content up until the end of chapter 3, as per the rules given to me by the publisher.

Story – A Magical Wonderscape

The story of Genso Manege centres on you, a young woman who secretly possesses the power of magic! Orphaned in a strange incident as a child, you’ve grown up hiding your true self from all except your closest loved ones. People fear witches, even good ones, and so you’ve had to keep your magic firmly under wraps. This hasn’t been too much of a problem, since the childhood incident also erased large chunks of your memory, including how to practice magic. Now, an intriguing funfair has come to town, and it’s your duty to help the staff who are all magically bound there.

This premise was immediately exciting for me to dive into, and I love how it develops the more that you play. The story builds organically through a mixture of narration and dialogue, and I love that the lore is slowly woven in, rather than huge exposition dumps all at once. I feel immersed at every step of the way. One thing I noticed is that there’s a lot of focus on food. There are often full sections, lasting minutes, just describing the various dishes that our character encounters.

The story mainly revolves around the funfair itself, but it’s not limited to just that. A lot of focus is also given to character development. We learn more about our character’s history, as well as that of those people we interact with. The story is set in a reimagining of France, so it’s a fun trilingual experience. The game is written in English, the setting is French, and the voice acting is Japanese! I’m impressed by how high-quality the writing is, and except for a couple of minor grammar/ spelling issues, it’s flawless. They clearly put a lot of effort into proofreading.

Characters

You meet multiple characters throughout the game, and they all have their own unique personality. It’s fun getting to learn more about them. My personal favourite is Lyon, since he’s such a cutiepie, but I’m sure there’s something to suit everyone. Here are some of the main characters:

• Hugo – The enigmatic director of La Foire Due Reve, Hugo knew you as a child, although your memory of him has disappeared. He’s the one who first recruited you to try and break the magical curse binding everyone to the fair. He’s got a cheeky, flirtatious personality, and uses his authority sparingly to keep everyone in order.
• Arnaud – Your adoptive brother, he and his mother have looked after you since you were 10. He’s sweet and caring, and very protective of you.
• Lyon – An adorable young man who perpetually wears a bunny mascot costume. Although we don’t see his face, his voice is very expressive, and he’s friendly and welcoming from the outset.

• Clara – A young girl around your age, Clara is one of the first friends we make. She has a bubbly, outgoing personality, and helps settle you into the fair.
• Serge – Although at first he may seem standoffish, he’s more stoic than cruel. When he realises that his gruff demeanour sets you on edge, he warms up a little to try and put you at ease.
• Crier – For some reason, Crier takes an immediate disliking to you, and is often quite cruel and cutting with his words. Despite that, it’s clear he has a softer side that’s waiting to poke through the rough exterior.
• Luciole – Only introduced in chapter 3, I don’t know as much about Luciole, yet. However, he comes across as a bit of a loner, and his contempt for you is made very clear.

Romance

This is where one of my huge problems with Genso Manege lies. If you’re going to involve romance in a game, why oh why would you make the character underage? You play as a 17 year old girl, and her age is mentioned multiple times. The developers could so easily have made her at least 18 without having to change the storyline, but nope, they chose to make her a minor. This is also uncomfortable when it comes to the romance options, since they’re mostly either underage themselves (Crier), or age inappropriate. In fact, Clara explicitly mentions that Hugo and Serge are considerably older (they’re 25 and 27 respectively).

On the game page, they mention that there are 6 male romance options available. So far, I’m guessing Hugo, Serge, Arnaud, Crier, and Luciole, so I’m not certain who the last option is. I really hope it’s not Lyon, since he feels more like a child, but unfortunately I think it probably is him. I’m also surprised that they decided to be so heteronormative with it, since Clara would’ve made a good addition to the roster for anyone who would prefer to date a woman (assuming she was of age).

And another very concerning aspect of the romance – one of the options is Arnaud. Yup, your adoptive BROTHER is a romance option! I was really hoping the game wouldn’t go that direction, but there’s a portion at the start of chapter 3 that’s incredibly cringeworthy to watch. I don’t understand why they’ve done this. Yes, Arnaud is cute, but their relationship dynamic is more sibling energy. He literally describes himself as her big brother, before later saying he wants to kiss her!

Gameplay – A distinct Lack of Choices

Thus far, I’ve played until the end of chapter 3, which has been around 4 hours of playtime. That’s roughly 1 hour per chapter, and honestly, I’ve been a little disappointed with the lack of interactivity. The prologue was the worst for this, as there wasn’t a single choice or minigame the entire time. It makes it feel less like playing a game, and more like watching an anime. Even in the first 3 chapters, the choices are few and far between (1-3 per chapter), and feel pretty low stakes. I’m hoping this improves as the game goes on.

There is a fun minigame that I enjoy, and that’s the one to raise your evail (magic) level. You have to collect stars that appear on your screen, then at the end, you need to use your reaction times to click when the outline is perfectly aligned with the star in the centre.

I feel like Genso Manege would be significantly improved by offering choices to the player more frequently. Even just small ones that don’t have too much of an effect on gameplay, but would affect dialogue, or your relationships with the other character. There were many times throughout the game where I felt like it would’ve fit really well to have me make a decision, but instead my character gave a pre-programmed response. More minigames would’ve been welcome, too.

Settings

The game offers a multitude of settings so you can try and tailor your experience the way that you like it. You can adjust the opacity of the text window, or change the colour of text you’ve already read. There’s also the option to change the speed with which the text appears on the screen. You can adjust a slider all the way from it appearing slowly one word at a time, to all at once.

There’s also the option to put the text on ‘auto’ mode. This is very convenient, as I quickly became bored with having to click every time to move the story along. Auto mode will automatically click through narration/ dialogue until you reach a choice. My only gripe with this is the odd speed options. There’s no happy medium. It’s either too slow, or too fast. I used the 3rd fastest option, which was too slow for me, but the 2nd fastest option was a ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ situation.

Aside from the text itself, you have a lot of control over the sound options. You can adjust the background noise, sound effects, and even the individual levels of the character voice acting. There are a number of other small changes you can make, such as turning your character sprite on/ off. You can even scroll back through the story so far, in case you miss a particular piece of dialogue.

Audio & Visuals

This is going to be the crowning jewel of my Genso Manege review, as it’s the area that deserves the most praise. The art, after all, is what initially drew me to check this game out, and my interest was only exacerbated upon watching the trailer and hearing the beautiful soundtrack.

One thing that really stood out to me whilst playing the game was the sheer quality of the voice acting. It’s all done in Japanese, and even though I don’t understand the language, it adds so much to the experience. There’s so much passion and emotion in every word that’s spoken. You really feel connected to the characters in a way that wouldn’t be possible by just reading it. If anything, I almost feel like it’s better than having English voice acting. By not understanding the words themselves, I could focus purely in the emotion conveyed.

Overall, the combination of stunning visuals, gorgeous soundtrack, and dedicated voice acting created an incredible experience.

Soundtrack and Sound Effects

The soundtrack for this game is nothing short of exceptional. You’re playing the chapters for about an hour at a time, and most of that is spent just reading words on a screen. However, the soundtrack helps time fade into this meaningless notion, and lets you focus purely on the experience. It’s cosy and engaging all at once. The music changes depending on whereabouts you are, so you learn to associate different settings with different sounds. It creates this immersive vibe that’s impossible to overlook.

You can tell how much love and care went into the craftsmanship of the music. It simultaneously sounds like something you’ve heard hundreds of times in an adorable slice-of-life anime, and yet also something entirely unique. The soft instrumental tunes transition into more urgent, upbeat melodies as the drama ramps up throughout the story.

The sound effects, too, add that little something extra. Whether it be footsteps approaching, the clatter of plates, or the steady whirr of fairground machinery, there’s always something to keep you engaged.

Graphics

The piéce de resistance of Genso Manege is without a doubt the graphics. They’re so beautiful! I’ve literally changed my desktop background to a shot of the merry-go-round since I love it so much. The game uses such gorgeously bright pastel colours, and it’s so vibrant and eye-catching on every screen! I love discovering new settings, if only to inspect the beautiful art that’s on display. In an ever-evolving world where AI art is becoming more and more prevalent, these deliberate, hand-drawn masterpieces are even more appreciated. You can tell the love and thought that’s gone into them.

The characters, too, each have their own unique style, and it’s fun to admire all the little details. It’s not just front-facing sprites we see, but also side-views, back-views, and a myriad of facial expressions. One small detail I noticed is that the characters will blink as they’re on screen. The animation isn’t perfect, but this does make them feel more alive. One slight criticism here is that they still blink even if they’re already winking as part of their expression. This just comes across as creepy, and I wish they hadn’t included that.

Although I can’t sing their praises enough when it comes to the graphic, there is one small comment I’d want to make. A few of the settings can appear quite empty. Sometimes, the narration will refer to large crowds, or tables covered with food, and yet the background image remains the same. I would’ve loved to have seen the crowd/ food right there on my screen. It would’ve added to my immersion, and made the experience even more special.

Verdict

Overall, I’ve really enjoyed playing Genso Manege thus far, and fully intend to keep going even after finishing this review. Of all the visual novels I’ve played in the past, this is probably my favourite, with the possible exception of Coffee Talk, since the latter had more gameplay options. I was impressed with almost every aspect, from the story, to the artwork, to the voice acting. I just wish that there had been more interactivity, and I REALLY wish that the main character wasn’t a minor.

Hopefully, my Genso Manege review has helped you make a decision on whether or not to play this game! Personally, I’d definitely recommend it if you’re a fan of visual novels. Heck, even if you’re not, it might be a fun reintroduction to the genre.

What’s your favourite visual novel you’ve ever played? Join the discussion in our Facebook community, or tweet us over on Twitter!