Thank you Aksys Games for providing us with a review code!

Many visual novels let you customize the main character’s name; Mistonia's Hope -The Lost Delight- starts the game with allowing you to specify the alias and true name of the protagonist.  I left the default names as Aprose for the heroine’s real name and her alias as Rose.  Eight years ago, Aprose’s family and everyone in the town they were hiding in were murdered.  The queen ordered the hit job, and it was carried out by the most powerful families with unique abilities.  Aprose was able to flee to a forest via a hidden tunnel and was raised by her childhood friend, John.  

Fast-forward eight years, Aprose changes her appearance and masquerades as a maid named Rose and gains employment for one of the powerful house families that assisted in annihilating her family and townsfolk.  John works for an information broker in town, and he’s fully supportive of her goal for revenge on the queen and noble families guilty of murder.  

The nobles that are employing “Rose” are facilitating regular meetings with all of the heads of the noble families in preparation for a grand event that will be hosted at the queen’s palace.  Like any otome (reverse harem) visual novel, these nobles are young (mostly), good looking, and single!  Aprose also has the option to date her longtime friend, John.  

Each character route has three possible endings.  There’s a happy ending where love takes priority over revenge.  There’s a love triangle route which leaves someone’s feelings hurt.  Lastly, there’s a bad ending route which is typically dominated by revenge.  In the main menu there’s a flowchart that shows you the percentage of completion for each route.  It will also reveal if there is any unread text that hasn’t been seen yet.  You can start from many different places in the storyline, and you can determine your affection and love triangle status.  There are multiple guides available online that will outline how to see each of the ending types.  If you want to unlock all of the short stories and character art, you’ll have to experience all of the endings.   

Many of the routes end with kissing, but a couple of the routes have implied sex before marriage.  The kissing scenes are often captured as collectible art, but the intimacy fades to black and is left to the imagination of the reader.  Some of the characters are promiscuous, so there are many sexual references made throughout the game.  

The Japanese voice acting is well done and is very expressive.  There are some minor curse words like d*mn and b*stard.  The sound effects, especially in murder scenes, are very convincing. During the peaceful moments, the background music is pleasant to listen to, and it did get stuck in my head on occasion.

Like other Idea Factory titles, the art is well done, and the character’s emotions are apparent.  There are some violent scenes, and blood is shown on characters and in their surroundings.  One of the bachelors enjoys visiting the tavern.  He treats Rose to her first beer and she gets drunk as a result.  

In this game world, society is fascinated by faeries, which have ruled over and mated with humans throughout the years.  Those with the purest fairy blood are held in the highest regard, while those without it are deemed undesirable.  The nobles have unique abilities because of their high percentage of fairy blood coursing through them.  Some of these powers include guiding lost spirits to their eternity and conversing with the deceased.  

If the many moral issues are not a problem for you, Mistonia's Hope -The Lost Delight- is a fun read.  It took me over 35 hours to view all of the endings and unlock all of the art and short stories.  The short stories are a few minutes long, and they’re not voice acted, but they’re worth getting and reading.  If you enjoy otome visual novels, Mistonia's Hope -The Lost Delight- won’t disappoint.