Serafina’s Saga: Awakened tells the story of the titular Serafina as she enjoys life in the jungle with her father Arken. But a chance meeting with another human upends her life completely, resulting in her travelling to a nearby kingdom. At that kingdom, she learns about her birthright and what that means for the land’s future. Depending on her choices, she can end up with one of the allies she meets on her journey.
The story mostly takes place in the kingdom though it does start in the jungle and a rural area. The environments are detailed and look fantastic, even if some of them don’t look completely authentic. An indoor garden in an old castle tower looks amazing but it’s unlikely to last long without actual care. That doesn’t change the 3D visuals and it looks nice if you pay attention. Most of your focus will be on the 2D character visuals and the text, along with the choices that you make.
As a romance dating sim, most of the people you meet will be valid dating targets. They have a variety of personalities, from the fun Nikolaos, the stern Jezu, the insecure Reuben, and the trusting Valerie. None of the characters feel one-dimensional but the opportunities to increase their affection can feel forced. Serafina is on a rescue mission and she doesn’t want to spend much time in the kingdom. But you are unfortunately forced to stay and interact with people in unrelated scenarios.
For example, Nikolaos is kind enough to take you to a play to get your mind off of things. Your only choices are to happily go along with it or rudely decline. While it’s meant to impact your relationship with Nikolaos, it feels forced. As if Serafina can’t recognize that someone is being kind to her and must choose between two extremes. While it does make choosing paths easy, it also feels too simple. You can’t be a more complex individual and must love a person or be a jerk.
The story itself isn’t anything extraordinary or new as it is a woman discovering who she really is. What is unique are the romance options since you can build them all up but only choose one. It’s also possible to unlock additional content depending on how far you want to take your relationship with them. It’s great to have the option to remain friends or pursue a more romantic path if you are interested.
Unfortunately, the generic story is a let-down because it doesn’t bring anything new to the visual novel genre. Other than learning about the personalities of the characters and working together, you can predict the story. There are some non-standard game endings, but those are rare. It’s not hard to figure out what the endings lead to, even if there are small surprises along the way. The predictability sets in before the climax and while there are minor alterations to the endings, the story plays out as you expect.
Voice acting in Serafina Saga: Awakened is not bad, though it does feel flat in the beginning. But once the story warms up and begins reaching its climax, characters start becoming more expressive. A character’s personality also starts shining at this point, with people being more emotional with their tone. Not having Serafina voiced feels lacking but isn’t unusual for a visual novel.
Serafina Saga: Awakened is a decent visual novel with some great romance opportunities. However, it’s a predictable plot and the voice acting doesn’t shine until the story progresses. It’s great for some entertainment and a nice distraction, but it likely won’t be replayed too much unless you want every ending.
Victor played Serafina Saga: Awakened on PC with a review code.
