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"Other Age", otherwise known as OA, is a mildly entertaining work in the evolution of a small indie darling, "Zeiva Inc.", which mainly consists of Lady Zeiva, Mirage XXII/XXIV and Nitarou who specialize in making Japanese style Visual Novel / Dating Simulation games that are often parodies of the genre. While they've been producing games for many years now (releasing their first game in 2002 and also going by the hook, Orz Corporation, on other areas of the net), they have a rather small but dedicated following, and many of their earliest games are currently free to play. While I have played some of their other works, I chose to upload this video in conjunction with its commercial follow-up, OASE (Other Age Second Encounter). Their games are made using Flash / .exe (for Steam) and I certainly get those early Newgrounds nostalgia vibes from playing many of their titles. They sometimes collaborate with others such as Jesse Hodges and Nekomura Games.

Released between 2005 & 2006 and spending 10 months in development, Other Age is a short Otome game with many suitors (10 guys) and possible outcomes (31 Endings) based on a preliminary questionnaire, proper dating location, and answers on said dates. The characters are actually drawn together from two prior works, "Imaginary Realm" and "Genetic Glow" and is a game by fans, for fans, as prior knowledge of both titles is practically a must to enjoy this game to the fullest. Actually, many of their titles build upon each other or feature cameos to prior works and are not self-contained, which would be the main thing I consider a blessing and a curse. The goal of the game is simple: you play as the Princess of Zeiva Kingdom and summon the boy of your dreams through Chancellor Nitarou's "Luv Luv Nitarou Deluxe" to commemorate your 16th birthday, but it hasn't been fully tested and brings attractive males with various "quirks" instead. This doesn't mean love won't blossom, it just means... you gotta work harder, lol.

It is fair to say that this game is rough around the edges like most of their pre-2010 works, but they are integral to experience at least once to fully appreciate their evolution. I'm a guy, so I'm perhaps not exactly the best person to look at the Otome genre objectively, but one of our mission statements is to try not to be biased in the material we cover, so I can look at it from a male's perspective and other criteria (and I'm not foreign to them, owning several like" Hakuōki" and "Angelique"). That said, the characters are drawn in an interesting but rough style that's a little unique, the writing is rather rough in some spots but certainly comprehensible, and the gameplay is your run-of-the-mill "choices matter" selection-based affair with branching paths, though several scenarios are hard to clear due to less-than-refined parameters (the crime scene, Lenz's quiz, etc.). The English can be forgiven as the author lived in several places for many years such as Singapore, the U.S. and British countries (creating a strange sort of broken Singaporean-English hybrid) but not overlooked.

While there are guides available, playing the game without one doesn't always feel natural as some choices lead to dubious conclusions. The game's brevity in this case is actually a strength, as each run is short, doesn't overstay its welcome, and is charming enough to compel you to try again. The characters are fairly interesting, but only get better with future titles as the world-building of each subsequent title bears fruit. Even then, the games are enjoyable more from a character development standpoint than any grand over-arching story or themes. The music is pretty simple and soothing. There is a fair deal of effort overall given the size of the team and aspirations involved.

This is a video of the game in action going through Lenz's scenario. You can play it at:

https://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/352736

Enjoy.