B-PROJECT RYUSEI*FANTASIA | Switch Review

November 2, 2024 Alyssa White

Those who are acquainted with me, even to the smallest degree, know that I’m a massive fan of K-pop and J-pop. I have my ult groups, biases/ichibans, and other keywords that fly over the head of anyone not enchanted by this world. To my shame, I didn’t realize B-Project was a real-life vocaloid band until after I started playing MAGES’ B-PROJECT RYUSEI*FANTASIA. Luckily, there’s not a need for prior knowledge, but you’ll probably enjoy this even more than I did if you’re a fan.

Of Course He’s My Ichiban

The story of B-PROJECT revolves around Tsubasa, a young woman who is scouted to be an A & R for a record label immediately after graduating high school. She skips college to pursue her love of music, but is thrown into the deep end. She’s assigned to the titular boy group, which is actually formed from four different groups: MooNs, KITAKORE, THRIVE, and KiraKin. I know this is a lot to wrap your mind around, especially if you’re not familiar with this fandom. The game does a wonderful job of explaining everything, though, and making sure to keep you informed of all the important information you need.

There are fourteen young men that Tsubasa is tasked with helping, and just like the player, she’s overwhelmed at first. Slowly, though, she gets to know each of them individually and eventually discovers their deepest truths. If you rolled your eyes at the mention of fourteen guys, don’t worry. Romance is not a focus in this game; you’re purely focused on encouraging the band members and helping them out. Of course, you’ll have your favorites, but you can’t woo them. Bad news if you’re a fan of otome games; great news if you don’t want to worry about obtaining your ichiban’s heart.

Music Heals

B-PROJECT has simple gameplay (seeing as it’s a visual novel): read through dialogue and interact with the members. I loved chatting with the guys during my playthrough. Tsubasa has an app on her phone called JOIN that allows her to chat with the members at certain points in your journey. They’ll often ask for advice, and it added a warm touch to my time with the game. Some are simple, such as asking for your preference in food. Others are deeper and provoke thought. This is an especially important element of the game because your dialogue choices will influence which one of two endings you’ll receive.

I was pleasantly surprised to see the game address tough topics during its twenty-plus hour runtime. It respectfully places a spotlight on these issues, but I’d still advise checking trigger warnings if you feel like you could be triggered. It can be tough to read about certain events that occur, but it adds a human element to the narrative.

Killer Style

B-PROJECT has your typical visual novel graphics; it looks like you just stepped into an anime (of which B-PROJECT also has outside of the game). Dialogue boxes evoke the spirit of Persona, though, and I loved the look of these. It’s a small detail, but one that I thought added flair to an otherwise genre-specific graphical style. The music is, of course, catchy as hell. The game features B-PROJECT songs as well as chill instrumental songs, and I definitely want to listen to these songs more outside of the game. Here I come, Spotify…

The Final Performance

B-PROJECT is an easy visual novel to recommend. It has a huge cast of likable characters, addresses heavy topics with grace, and features fantastic music. Being an A & R and supporting the guys as they navigate fame is a treat, and I adored my time spent with the title. Now I need to dive further into the discography and lore of the titular boy group.

To hear me talk more about B-PROJECT RYUSEI*FANTASIA, be sure to listen to the July 17, 2024 episode of The Gaming Outsider podcast around the 1:24:30 time stamp.

This review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy of B-PROJECT RYUSEI*FANTASIA provided by PQube for coverage purposes. It is also available on PC via Steam.