Voices can convey hidden emotional meanings if you’re attuned to listen, even if the speaker tries to conceal them. Protagonist Aki of romance visual novel and management simulation Voice Love on Air knows this all too well: after a past tragedy, he can pick up on the hidden cues in a person’s voice, letting him know if they’re lying or telling the truth. Because of this unique ability, or “punishment,” as he is more apt to call it, Aki becomes a voice director. His recording studio isn’t doing well financially, so he has to take on any available jobs, leading him to record BL dramas despite an initial reluctance to delve into the genre. Can Aki keep his studio afloat after finding a small pool of talented voice actors? And will he be able to heal and move forward from his sad past, perhaps learning to love himself and potentially someone else?
Voice Love on Air is equal parts visual novel and management sim. From a visual novel perspective, the game plays like any other romance-themed VN. Players take on Aki’s role, reading through text and dialogue between him and other characters and responding at decision points, which may impact what occurs next in the story or even raise a character’s affection level.
The management simulation gameplay component of Voice Love on Air is more in-depth and takes some getting used to, mainly if you aren’t as familiar with management simulations. The game’s story spans two years, divided into week-long segments. At the start of a week, Aki must decide whether to start the process of producing a drama or take courses to help raise his stats since his ultimate goal is to build up the resources and skills to start a drama production. When the weekend hits, he can travel around the city and visit areas of interest, potentially interacting with other characters.
There are four love interests that Aki can develop a romantic rapport with: supportive childhood friend Yuki, dynamic Junichi, analytical Wesley, and loyal yet awkward Ryousei. Not only do you learn about them by advancing the main storyline, but you can also invite them out on dates on the weekends with sufficient affection points. You can even use the refreshing shop option in the game menu to buy specialized gifts for your chosen companion. Other voice actors can also join the studio, such as mischievous writer Makoto or Junichi’s self-proclaimed rival, the “punk idol” Kazunari. The overall cast is colorful and memorable, and I liked how differing bonds develop between everyone. The individual storylines get you invested beyond simply trying to keep 200,000 of currency in the bank come debt payment days. While all the love interests are well-written, I especially enjoy the romance between Ryousei and Aki, which focuses on self-acceptance and healing.
Love, money, and stats aren’t the only things you keep track of, as there’s a fatigue meter requiring you to rest on a weekend day or use caffeine drinks from the shop menu to stay in top form. Once the prep work for a production gets started in earnest, you assign recruited voice actors to the roles. Every voice actor has two or so “personality traits” they specialize in initially, and they may learn others as the story progresses. A script’s character roles will call for specific personality traits, meaning you narrow the voice actor choice to whichever way you want the role performed. The recording session starts once the voice actor knows how you want them to read their lines.
Recording sessions have Aki voice directing a drama recording with one or more actors, with the goal of keeping the mood high during the session while focusing on the specific personality traits you want the actors to convey. You can start a session over if you wish to, which is good because there’s a random component in how things play out during sessions. You also get a set number of action cards per round, and there’s some strategy involved in choosing which ones are best to play or ignore. However, the voice actors may sometimes ignore Aki’s cues entirely, or they do something after completing the round that impacts their score for the session. It gets frustrating since you have no control over those occurrences. Depending on how well a recording session goes, you earn money upon completing the drama, and Aki’s recognition increases. You can learn new voice direction skills or strengthen existing ones at specific points on the weekends.
If you are looking for specific character storylines to follow, the game has a strong “Guide Dang It!” vibe, considering you sometimes must do exact things at exact times to get on a LI route. Otherwise, you’ll likely see a default ending. It’s annoying, since the romance storylines are well-written, yet missing just one crucial detail can knock you out of a key scene. The game’s focus on realistic and surprisingly sensitive LGBT themes makes for a nice contrast with the more fantastical BL dramas that Aki’s studio tends to record. There’s a sweet wholesomeness to all of the romances you can pursue that’s quite touching.
Visually, the UI is clear and aesthetically appealing. I love the artwork used for the unlockable CG illustrations and the character designs. You should know that the BL drama CD designs used AI, however. While certainly not ideal, I don’t consider that a significant component of the game’s graphic design, and the developers have been very upfront about the limited AI usage.
Audio-wise, the BGMs and sound effects are pretty fitting, and I like the theme song “I wanna hear your voice.” A significant emphasis was placed on voice acting for Voice Love on Air, given its focus on a recording studio, and the actors go all out in their performances throughout the title. Many of them even sound markedly different depending on whether they’re “acting” in one of the drama roles versus when playing a character outside them. Special mention goes to Aki having a voice actor, too, as so many romance VNs tend to simply rely on protagonists who don’t have voice actors, which can lessen story immersion. The script translation is relatively decent, too, though it is not without a few typos and name misspellings.
Voice Love on Air is an enjoyable game if you like VN and management sim mashups, even if the sometimes random component of recording sessions and having to be exact when pursuing specific routes gets frustrating. The enjoyment factor is especially true for those who love a good romance story with a heartfelt message of self-love and healing. After all, voices can carry hidden meanings and emotions. Hence, listening to others and our hearts is vitally important: a sentiment that surprisingly comes alive when playing Voice Love on Air!
