Alright, this is going to be the 1st time in the appreciation series in which I cover a multi-game Visual Novel, it was bound to happen at some point I suppose.
Bear in mind, if at some point you are interested on reading this VN series, this is a 3 game commitment.
As to how I am going to cover this, its simple, this article will cover the 1st game in the series, the next article will cover the 2nd (Badge & Dagger) and 3rd (Gaslight Bullet) together, why do it this way? Quite simple really, I am of the belief that those 2 should have been 1 game, and, even combined, they are still shorter than the 1st game.
Another thing I should mention, as far as I know, there is no all ages version of this one, 18+ only.
And, before we begin proper, there are a few trigger warnings: references to sexual abuse, references to animal abuse, and references to child abuse. The game doesn’t show them, but it describes the crimes as the MC sees/learns of them.
Who This?
There is very little info on Heliodor, when I wanted to see what else they’ve made, the only hit was a Lyrical Nanoha 18+ doujin game, and I am not joking, that’s it.
Although a subsidiary of a subsidiary of a subsidiary, they do have a connection to DMM.com, a big media company.
Meteor World Actor is, for all terms and purposes, Heliodor’s 1st original game.
A very big gamble to make a VN as a budding studio, in the big 2019, with them playing it VERY safe in the way its structured, something which you can tell while reading (I will talk more about this later).
It is likely that through the connection with DMM, that they managed to get Kinugasa Shougo to be the scenario writer (VN speak for main story writer), known for being the author of the light novel series Classroom of the Elite, a series yours truly is a big fan of.
I am also familiar with the main artist, Akinashi Yuu, whom I know from his work in Love, Elections & Chocolate, a VN I keep debating with myself if I should cover in this series. Suffice to say, that I like his art, specially the way he draws expressions.
Hell, it was because of the involvement of these 2, that I gave the series a shot.
Heliodor might have been making a gamble, but they managed to secure some pretty good talent, nothing ventured nothing gained as they say.
Although a subsidiary of a subsidiary of a subsidiary, they do have a connection to DMM.com, a big media company.
Meteor World Actor is, for all terms and purposes, Heliodor’s 1st original game.
A very big gamble to make a VN as a budding studio, in the big 2019, with them playing it VERY safe in the way its structured, something which you can tell while reading (I will talk more about this later).
It is likely that through the connection with DMM, that they managed to get Kinugasa Shougo to be the scenario writer (VN speak for main story writer), known for being the author of the light novel series Classroom of the Elite, a series yours truly is a big fan of.
I am also familiar with the main artist, Akinashi Yuu, whom I know from his work in Love, Elections & Chocolate, a VN I keep debating with myself if I should cover in this series. Suffice to say, that I like his art, specially the way he draws expressions.
Hell, it was because of the involvement of these 2, that I gave the series a shot.
Heliodor might have been making a gamble, but they managed to secure some pretty good talent, nothing ventured nothing gained as they say.
A Nation Of Darkness
The 7th Republic, a country of eternal night, dominated by humans, and the only country in which all races can coexist in a mostly peaceful capacity, on paper that is, racism and discrimination between the races is still rampant.
Despite being vastly outclassed by the other races, humans have remained on top thanks to their intellect, numbers, and technology.
Yet, that doesn’t miraculously stop crime from happening, and when the perps have magic or some other nonsense, things get complicated.
That’s why the National Police Department (NPD) exist, this story is about the black sheep of this institution, a member of the infamous sideliners of the 13th department, the department meant for troublesome cops, Ruka, a human, and the number 1 salary thief of the police department.
The laziest detective, with nothing but excuses, 10 years in the force with nothing to show for it, a disillusioned man who simply lives paycheck to paycheck, he will always give his bare minimum.
Unless its about a certain case…
Our story begins with him receiving a new partner, Claris, an elf with a profound sense of justice… As long as its on the clock, what kind of conspiracies will these 2 get involved in?
Despite being vastly outclassed by the other races, humans have remained on top thanks to their intellect, numbers, and technology.
Yet, that doesn’t miraculously stop crime from happening, and when the perps have magic or some other nonsense, things get complicated.
That’s why the National Police Department (NPD) exist, this story is about the black sheep of this institution, a member of the infamous sideliners of the 13th department, the department meant for troublesome cops, Ruka, a human, and the number 1 salary thief of the police department.
The laziest detective, with nothing but excuses, 10 years in the force with nothing to show for it, a disillusioned man who simply lives paycheck to paycheck, he will always give his bare minimum.
Unless its about a certain case…
Our story begins with him receiving a new partner, Claris, an elf with a profound sense of justice… As long as its on the clock, what kind of conspiracies will these 2 get involved in?
On The Beat
Urban fantasy with an anime flair.
Since this one is the 1st in the trilogy, its the one which has to do all the heavy lifting in the world-building department, and you will get A LOT of information as to how this world works, together with a healthy primer on fantasy racism.
Just like most Visual Novels, there is the common route, and then the heroine routes.
In this case, the common route is VERY long, divided into 4 chapters, each one focused around a case Ruka and Claris are trying to crack, with plenty of side-quests for world-building purposes, I really like how creative they get with the magic and super powers used in the crimes.
Although there is a massive cast of characters, it never gets unruly enough for it to be confusing.
Ruka himself, well… He is a character alright, a snarky and sarcastic detective, he has seen it all, and is pretty much done with the world’s bullshit. He has his moments in which he gets serious, and that’s when he truly shines.
Since this one is the 1st in the trilogy, its the one which has to do all the heavy lifting in the world-building department, and you will get A LOT of information as to how this world works, together with a healthy primer on fantasy racism.
Just like most Visual Novels, there is the common route, and then the heroine routes.
In this case, the common route is VERY long, divided into 4 chapters, each one focused around a case Ruka and Claris are trying to crack, with plenty of side-quests for world-building purposes, I really like how creative they get with the magic and super powers used in the crimes.
Although there is a massive cast of characters, it never gets unruly enough for it to be confusing.
Ruka himself, well… He is a character alright, a snarky and sarcastic detective, he has seen it all, and is pretty much done with the world’s bullshit. He has his moments in which he gets serious, and that’s when he truly shines.
Per usual, this game has decisions, and whatever you take will eventually take you to one of the routes, some decisions actually have a hidden timer, and allowing time to pass is a decision in on itself as well.
Now, for the love interests… Let me warn you though, knowing Kinugasa’s work, I can make 1 thing very clear, this man can’t write romance to save his life.
Since its a known fact that all ages VNs tend to do worse than their 18+ counterparts, Heliodor opted to go for the safe route of NSFW, only big companies which already have a following can get away with an all ages VN.
The story doesn’t need the romance, but now you know why its there.
So, for the girls, we have 4 love interests, and, this time, I will cover them in the order I recommend doing them.
First, Chiffon, she is introduced as a suspect in chapter 2, a Seggit (a race of very strong and agile people), her whole thing, is that she is a good fighter, and she is broke, even worse than Ruka.
I recommend doing her first, because her route takes place after chapter 3, the other routes take place after chapter 4.
Her route is… Horny, that’s the long and short of it, it doesn’t add much to the story, but it does give some extra information on Seggits, and about 1 of the villain groups.
Its a route of getting to know Chiffon in a purely physical level, with occasional story and world-building sprinkled in. Although I do like Chiffon as a character, I would have preferred that she got the same treatment as the other heroines.
Now, for the love interests… Let me warn you though, knowing Kinugasa’s work, I can make 1 thing very clear, this man can’t write romance to save his life.
Since its a known fact that all ages VNs tend to do worse than their 18+ counterparts, Heliodor opted to go for the safe route of NSFW, only big companies which already have a following can get away with an all ages VN.
The story doesn’t need the romance, but now you know why its there.
So, for the girls, we have 4 love interests, and, this time, I will cover them in the order I recommend doing them.
First, Chiffon, she is introduced as a suspect in chapter 2, a Seggit (a race of very strong and agile people), her whole thing, is that she is a good fighter, and she is broke, even worse than Ruka.
I recommend doing her first, because her route takes place after chapter 3, the other routes take place after chapter 4.
Her route is… Horny, that’s the long and short of it, it doesn’t add much to the story, but it does give some extra information on Seggits, and about 1 of the villain groups.
Its a route of getting to know Chiffon in a purely physical level, with occasional story and world-building sprinkled in. Although I do like Chiffon as a character, I would have preferred that she got the same treatment as the other heroines.
Second, Komachi, a human who works in the traffic department of the NPD, she becomes pretty relevant in chapter 4, but, she is a recurring character throughout the whole game.
Her whole thing, is that she is the socialite who gets along with everyone, and its still looking for the perfect man, thing is, she has ridiculous standards. Yes, in her route, the fact she ends with Ruka is played for comedy.
Her route gives a lot of information about the most relevant villains, The Cult, you learn how bad the situation actually is for the NPD, and you also get to learn the secret of one of the main villains.
I’d argue she is the one who has the best chemistry with Ruka, her route is the quintessential “opposites attract” type of deal. When compared to the other routes, its the one which feels the more natural, Komachi and Ruka have been co-workers for ages, and the jump to relationship makes sense in the context.
Her whole thing, is that she is the socialite who gets along with everyone, and its still looking for the perfect man, thing is, she has ridiculous standards. Yes, in her route, the fact she ends with Ruka is played for comedy.
Her route gives a lot of information about the most relevant villains, The Cult, you learn how bad the situation actually is for the NPD, and you also get to learn the secret of one of the main villains.
I’d argue she is the one who has the best chemistry with Ruka, her route is the quintessential “opposites attract” type of deal. When compared to the other routes, its the one which feels the more natural, Komachi and Ruka have been co-workers for ages, and the jump to relationship makes sense in the context.
Third, Mell, she is relevant for one of the plot threads which becomes the b-plot in multiple chapters, a human princess from another country (Genomland), she had to escape after a coup which killed her whole family, with assassins tracking her down.
Her route is the only route which has a bad ending.
Mell and her bodyguard are from an isolationist medieval country, so they have to grow accustomed to all the nonsense of modernity.
Her route involves dealing with the assassins, and getting some extra info on Genomland, and a little side-plot involving a secret race of people who can control minds. It doesn’t really add that much to the overall story, still necessary to learn tho.
When it comes to the romance… I don’t see it, I do pick up what they are putting down, it just feels forced, Mell developing feelings for Ruka is just far too unnatural in the way it happens, its a decent route, but the romance doesn’t sell it to me.
Her route is the only route which has a bad ending.
Mell and her bodyguard are from an isolationist medieval country, so they have to grow accustomed to all the nonsense of modernity.
Her route involves dealing with the assassins, and getting some extra info on Genomland, and a little side-plot involving a secret race of people who can control minds. It doesn’t really add that much to the overall story, still necessary to learn tho.
When it comes to the romance… I don’t see it, I do pick up what they are putting down, it just feels forced, Mell developing feelings for Ruka is just far too unnatural in the way it happens, its a decent route, but the romance doesn’t sell it to me.
Finally, Claris, her route unlocks after you have finished the other 3, since she is Ruka’s partner, she gets the most screentime out of all the girls, suffering Ruka’s nonsense all throughout the game.
Her route feels more like an extra chapter, it adds a lot to the story, we get Ruka’s backstory, information about The Cult, and a lot of world-building regarding elves.
Ruka and Claris follow a standard buddy cop dynamic, Claris being the wide eyed and naive rookie, Ruka being the grizzled streetsmart jaded detective.
We just add the fact that they fuck eventually.
As for how their relationship goes, its decent, the 2 do complement each other pretty well, specially once Claris learns how to deal with Ruka’s bullshit, and vice versa.
Her route feels more like an extra chapter, it adds a lot to the story, we get Ruka’s backstory, information about The Cult, and a lot of world-building regarding elves.
Ruka and Claris follow a standard buddy cop dynamic, Claris being the wide eyed and naive rookie, Ruka being the grizzled streetsmart jaded detective.
We just add the fact that they fuck eventually.
As for how their relationship goes, its decent, the 2 do complement each other pretty well, specially once Claris learns how to deal with Ruka’s bullshit, and vice versa.
Its Not Over Yet
The game doesn’t close any of its major plot threads. Crime doesn’t rest, and, god forbid, Ruka will have to work hard to solve them.
Which one of the routes is the canon one? I will tell once I cover the sequels.
After you are done with all the routes, you get to unlock the epilogue, which sets things up for Badge & Dagger.
At least, you don’t have to wait 2 years for the next game, and… It took 5 years for the 3rd game to release.
Meteor World Actor is an interesting game, it has a pretty decent overall story, but it tends to lose itself in the world-building more often than not, it is to be expected, being the 1st in a trilogy. Ruka can be a little divisive as a protagonist, yes his bullshit can get old sometimes, but, he makes up for it in cool moments.
Its clear it has romance and 18+ content as a means of playing it safe, failing a trilogy in the 1st game would have been brutal.
This series is quite underrated, and, if urban fantasy is your thing, its worth giving a shot, just, don't expect the romance to be good.
The translation does have a few typos, but, worst of offender is calling magazines "clips," made me cringe each time it happened.
Which one of the routes is the canon one? I will tell once I cover the sequels.
After you are done with all the routes, you get to unlock the epilogue, which sets things up for Badge & Dagger.
At least, you don’t have to wait 2 years for the next game, and… It took 5 years for the 3rd game to release.
Meteor World Actor is an interesting game, it has a pretty decent overall story, but it tends to lose itself in the world-building more often than not, it is to be expected, being the 1st in a trilogy. Ruka can be a little divisive as a protagonist, yes his bullshit can get old sometimes, but, he makes up for it in cool moments.
Its clear it has romance and 18+ content as a means of playing it safe, failing a trilogy in the 1st game would have been brutal.
This series is quite underrated, and, if urban fantasy is your thing, its worth giving a shot, just, don't expect the romance to be good.
The translation does have a few typos, but, worst of offender is calling magazines "clips," made me cringe each time it happened.
