Vengeance is a central theme in many stories, with otome visual novel Mistonia’s Hope -The Lost Delight- adding another tale to an ever-growing collection. Will having her revenge fulfilled be everything protagonist Aprose Randolph wants, or will her vengeance ring hollow as truths come to light? That question is the narrative’s central conceit and, for the most part, the game largely succeeds in providing a definitive answer.
The country of Grand Albion is a land blessed by the fae, specifically the powerful purefae Queen Tia. The monarch has chosen to live amongst her mortal subjects, watching over them to protect the kingdom from the machinations of invading foreigners. Yet underneath her pure-hearted benevolence lies an altogether different mindset from that of a mortal human, making her all the more terrifying.
Eight years before the game’s plot officially begins, the queen orders the destruction of an entire noble house alongside the village that harbored them. Only Aprose, the youngest daughter of the Randolph household, and her childhood friend John survive. Aprose suffers from understandable trauma, with only her desire for vengeance against the queen and those who killed her loved ones keeping her from falling into the abyss.
Aprose, consumed by her need for revenge, forms a contact with the Faerie King Oberon despite her misgivings about the purefae’s true motivations as he seeks a precious item taken from him by Tia. Disguising herself as a maid called Rose in one of the realm’s five great noble houses to gather information, Aprose bides her time until the opportunity to strike back presents itself. As she does, our heroine learns more about the events that led to her tragic past, possibly even forming attachments and feelings that are separate from her need for vengeance. Will Aprose ultimately succeed in her goal of retribution, or will she find other reasons to live?
That’s the general plot of Mistonia’s Hope -The Lost Delight-. It’s a deft narrative with numerous satisfying endings that depict how healing can begin after tragedy. The characters are also memorable, with Aprose herself being one of the most fleshed-out and well-developed otome protagonists I’ve encountered, especially as she comes to terms with her past and moves forward. Side characters, such as the enigmatic information broker Goneril, the supportive maid duo of Evelyn and Charlotte, and the surprisingly efficient head butler Nicholas, are fascinating and multi-faceted in their own rights.
Even the purefae Queen Tia and King Oberon are fascinating character studies, both similar to mortals in their mannerisms and yet capable of committing downright unsettling and horrific acts without batting an eye, because they simply don’t think about morality in the same way humans do. They’re innocent in a sense, but it’s that very innocence that makes them so potentially villainous.
Of course, this being an otome means there are also obligator love interest characters—six, in fact! Five of these potential LIs represent one of the great demifae noble houses of Grand Albion: Edward Bernstein is the young heir apparent of his home, obsessed with the concept of noblesse oblige and seemingly far too idealistic compared to the rest of his family; Albert Creswell is the stoic and by-the-book figure with more of an interest in the social division between Grand Albion’s classes than he initially lets on; the usually cheerful Linus Ward is a staunch defender of Queen Tia, though a moment from his past could potentially crack his facade; dejected Lucas Sullivan keeps to himself and doesn’t care much for the living around him or the day-to-day affairs of Grand Albion; and the flirtatious Ascot Lindel is a trusted figure to the queen, with an outlook that tends to keep those around him guessing and a demeanor of knowing more than he lets on.
You only have access to Alfred’s, Lucas’, and Linus’ routes initially, and completing two of theirs opens up Ascot’s and Edward’s. Seeing one of the good endings for either of those two bachelors will open up the route for Aprose’s childhood friend, John.
Of all the routes, I think that John’s is the strongest. Not only is the romance between him and Aprose incredibly believable and well-developed, but his happy ending also most successfully weaves the VN’s story themes of vengeance, love, and living for oneself into a concise narrative. The other LI characters also have moments to shine in John’s particular route, with Ascot being a notable example. While Ascot is arguably the most fascinating character in the game from a lore standpoint, it’s difficult to believe that mid-route a switch turned on and he suddenly developed feelings; therefore, his depiction and more gradual development in John’s route seem more realistic.
That isn’t to say the narrative is lacking, as Edward’s, Linus’, and Lucas’ routes are also exceedingly well-written. Truthfully, I tend to forget that Alfred even had a romance route by comparison, but not because it was terribly written or upsetting, mind you, but because it focused more on the overall worldbuilding than the development of feelings between him and Aprose. His feelings happen just as suddenly in his route as in Ascot’s, but without as compelling a central figure. It’s a shame, given that I’m pretty fond of Alfred’s voice actor, Yūichirō Umehara, in particular.
To their credit, none of the romances are terrible—they just happen to occur too quickly in two of them. After completing all of the routes’ good endings, a True Ending opens up to resolve the game’s few lingering plot holes. Still, I honestly feel that it’s a relatively weak epilogue compared to the rest of the routes, and that John’s Dawn Ending would’ve made for a better overall conclusion.
Mistonia’s Hope -The Lost Delight- is more or less a traditional visual novel in which you advance the story until reaching a branching decision point. In the game’s first half, Aprose is more concerned with building trust as a maid, and therefore, that’s the bulk of the plot focus rather than affection points or romance. There are also several exploration stages where you navigate a map of the royal manor and its surrounding city, talking to characters and finding bits of intel that provide you with “shards” that later reveal a past story scene if you gather enough of them. While these stages are interesting and break up the typical VN gameplay, they aren’t skippable when using the detailed flowchart later on during replays, which is an odd design choice given that you can skip previously read text or jump to the next decision point in any other area of the game to speed the narrative along.
Once a character route cements itself, the gameplay becomes reminiscent of any other otome VN, where you try to make decisions that raise the affection meter for the LI, here to reach their Dawn Ending. There are also bad endings you can uncover, and even a second affection meter for a rival LI to consider. Raising that meter can trigger a love triangle ending, but just keep in mind that these endings also read a bit negatively. With so many endings to uncover and a helpful flowchart that even informs you if there are choices in a given scene or text you haven’t read yet, replayability is very much encouraged! There are even short stories you uncover that offer further insight into the world and its characters.
Visually, Mistonia’s Hope -The Lost Delight- has gorgeous character art and CG illustrations. I do think the characters suffer from the failings of fantasy fashion, and the special effects for magic attacks and blood splatter aren’t the best I’ve seen, but they remain colorful and vibrant, fitting the game’s aesthetic. There are some noticeable errors in the English localization at times, but nothing that becomes exceedingly distracting in the long run. However, I do question the use of the “humaines” descriptor for humans, as most other descriptor elements remain spelled in a more modern and realistic style. The background music is limited yet catchy, and I particularly enjoyed the vocal music pieces, such as the opening. The Japanese voice acting is also top-notch.
Mistonia’s Hope -The Lost Delight- tells the tale of how one woman’s search for vengeance ultimately transforms into something else entirely, and it accomplishes this in a surprisingly thoughtful manner. The game’s strong-willed and complex protagonist, buoyed by a colorful and memorable cast of supporting characters, is a true standout in the otome genre. I enjoyed watching Aprose’s character growth throughout the various narrative routes. Maybe that’s where the once-lost delight found in the title truly comes from!
