Since this is a continuation of the previous article, if you haven’t read that one, then shoo, go read it.
In this one, I will be covering the rest of the Meteor World Actor series, in this case, the 2nd game Badge & Dagger (B&D), and the 3rd game Gaslight Bullet (GB).
It will be pretty obvious why I did it this way, once we get to talking about them proper.
As for Meteor World Actor The Strange World X, that one is a gacha game which has no connection to the mainline series, non-canon spin-off if you will, so I won’t be covering it, I don’t even know if its still going, is Japan only and there is only so much I can be bothered to investigate. The only good thing it has, is the HCGs so go look them up on sad panda or something.
As of the time of writing, Meteor World Actor Gaslight Bullet doesn’t have an official English translation yet, it will probably take about a year or so (from time of writing) to release, maybe longer since its a long VN.
Also, B&D does have an all ages version, if GB gets a Steam release, it will have an all ages version as well.
Just like last time, this one has similar trigger warnings: references to sexual abuse and assault, a few torture scenes, and references to child abuse. The game doesn’t show them, but it describes the crimes as the MC sees/learns of them.
Learning From Experience
Since this is pretty much Heliodor’s 1st original series, you can definitely see them trying things out, for good and for ill.
Sadly, they got unlucky, and Covid happened. How much it affected development is up to speculation, but I do believe B&D suffered because of it, and, to a minor extend, its probably the reason why it took 5 years for GB to be released.
The biggest issue with B&D, is that it feels more like a DLC for the 1st game, rather than an actual sequel. Specially taking into account how short it is, its only 1/3 of the length of the 1st game.
GB on the other hand, its a clear improvement upon the 1st game, in most aspects, although it does suffer from the very same issues all long VNs suffer (more about this at the end).
I gotta say, Artemis is a pretty good VN engine, it really has the best hotkeys, and the best skip option I have seen in a while.
Since the 1st game did quite well, Heliodor played it fast and loose with the sequels, which really shows on how much better the routes are handled.
Although I find B&D underwhelming, GB does pick up the slack and provides a really good finale to the series.
At least this one is only 3 games, unlike the other VN series Kinugasa is working on, which is reaching 5.
The 1st game wasn’t allowed on Steam, due to how inconsistent Steam is when it comes to anime games, its hard to tell exactly why that was the case.
When it comes to a potential GB Steam release, its a pure guessing game.
Sadly, they got unlucky, and Covid happened. How much it affected development is up to speculation, but I do believe B&D suffered because of it, and, to a minor extend, its probably the reason why it took 5 years for GB to be released.
The biggest issue with B&D, is that it feels more like a DLC for the 1st game, rather than an actual sequel. Specially taking into account how short it is, its only 1/3 of the length of the 1st game.
GB on the other hand, its a clear improvement upon the 1st game, in most aspects, although it does suffer from the very same issues all long VNs suffer (more about this at the end).
I gotta say, Artemis is a pretty good VN engine, it really has the best hotkeys, and the best skip option I have seen in a while.
Since the 1st game did quite well, Heliodor played it fast and loose with the sequels, which really shows on how much better the routes are handled.
Although I find B&D underwhelming, GB does pick up the slack and provides a really good finale to the series.
At least this one is only 3 games, unlike the other VN series Kinugasa is working on, which is reaching 5.
The 1st game wasn’t allowed on Steam, due to how inconsistent Steam is when it comes to anime games, its hard to tell exactly why that was the case.
When it comes to a potential GB Steam release, its a pure guessing game.
Back To The 7th
Ruka’s lone war on The Cult continues, yet, he is making very little progress, the more thugs he kills, the more the executives notice, eventually putting him, and everyone he knows at risk.
Unless he finds and eliminates the leader, Ruka will be stuck playing whack-a-mole, and, he doesn’t have the luxury of time on his side.
The more he relies on his powers, the more years off his life he burns, but, he can’t fight The Cult without his powers, whatever it takes, The Cult must be stopped.
But, things aren’t so simple, the darkness and corruption of the 7th Republic run deep, and The Cult keeps escalating their activities.
All out war is on the horizon, and Ruka won’t be the only one involved anymore.
Time is running out.
Unless he finds and eliminates the leader, Ruka will be stuck playing whack-a-mole, and, he doesn’t have the luxury of time on his side.
The more he relies on his powers, the more years off his life he burns, but, he can’t fight The Cult without his powers, whatever it takes, The Cult must be stopped.
But, things aren’t so simple, the darkness and corruption of the 7th Republic run deep, and The Cult keeps escalating their activities.
All out war is on the horizon, and Ruka won’t be the only one involved anymore.
Time is running out.
Protect And Serve
Alright, which one of the routes from MWA is the canon one?
All of them, to an extend.
Everything story related that happened on each of the routes is canon, the romance and sex didn’t canonically happen.
Canonically, Ruka didn’t get a girl in MWA.
The fact they even added routes to what was supposed to be the 1st game in a series was a weird decision, but, as I said in the previous article, Heliodor was playing it safe, and just followed standard VN conventions.
It was bound to happen that the routes would be addressed in the sequel, although they also could have gone with ignoring them completely (wouldn’t have worked due to the story), this is the happy medium.
The game did have a big cast of characters, and the sequels introduce a few more, although, some characters, like Chiffon, Harrelson, and Mell, get downgraded to mostly background characters. Other characters get a big decrease on screentime, and that includes relevant villains from the 1st game.
And, since GB is the end, expect a few to die as well.
As for structure, standard VN thing, the decisions.
Even though B&D has decisions, there is only 1 decision which actually matters.
GB has a lot of decisions, some are for extra content, others are for who Ruka dates (the girl Ruka chooses slightly changes a scene in the final chapter). However, chapter 3 can playout differently depending on your decisions (its not THAT complex, its only 2 versions of how the case is handled). There is also a funny 4th wall break regarding a certain decision involving Claris.
Now, lets move on to the routes, well, they aren’t really routes per se, they feel more like a little extra content rather than a full on standard VN route. I will just stick to the route term for simplicity.
This time, each game has different love interests, with 1 exception.
Another big change from MWA, is that the romance is mostly non-existent, sure there are scenes which slightly build up the relationship between Ruka and the specific girl, but, its minimal, opting to go straight to business.
I did say that Kinugasa sucks at romance, but, he does have experience writing smut, so, he is playing with what he knows. For the better really, romance was very out of place in a detective story like this, going physical immediately is actually more natural.
I really liked the way the relationships were done in GB, they actually gave weight to the story, and play a big part in the final chapter, even though they don’t actually take that much screentime.
Now, lets talk about the routes.
B&D has 2 girls, Fuyumi and Ryoko, both are characters which were introduced in the 1st game, now being upgraded to love interests.
Fuyumi is the assistant of Ruka’s rival in the force, always being hostile towards Ruka and his lack of professionalism.
She plays a big part in the 1st half of B&D, with her going against protocol chasing a case on her own, which also happened to be a case Ruka was chasing as well.
They get to know each other better while working together for once, and Fuyumi gets a new found respect towards Ruka, and more, if you pick the one choice that matters.
Fuyumi going from outright hating Ruka, to being at least cordial was a pretty interesting read, I liked the way the relationship evolved.
The only problem, is that the 1st half of B&D is pure filler, and a lot of this doesn’t actually matter in the long run.
I did like Fuyumi, but she was left with the short end of the stick.
All of them, to an extend.
Everything story related that happened on each of the routes is canon, the romance and sex didn’t canonically happen.
Canonically, Ruka didn’t get a girl in MWA.
The fact they even added routes to what was supposed to be the 1st game in a series was a weird decision, but, as I said in the previous article, Heliodor was playing it safe, and just followed standard VN conventions.
It was bound to happen that the routes would be addressed in the sequel, although they also could have gone with ignoring them completely (wouldn’t have worked due to the story), this is the happy medium.
The game did have a big cast of characters, and the sequels introduce a few more, although, some characters, like Chiffon, Harrelson, and Mell, get downgraded to mostly background characters. Other characters get a big decrease on screentime, and that includes relevant villains from the 1st game.
And, since GB is the end, expect a few to die as well.
As for structure, standard VN thing, the decisions.
Even though B&D has decisions, there is only 1 decision which actually matters.
GB has a lot of decisions, some are for extra content, others are for who Ruka dates (the girl Ruka chooses slightly changes a scene in the final chapter). However, chapter 3 can playout differently depending on your decisions (its not THAT complex, its only 2 versions of how the case is handled). There is also a funny 4th wall break regarding a certain decision involving Claris.
Now, lets move on to the routes, well, they aren’t really routes per se, they feel more like a little extra content rather than a full on standard VN route. I will just stick to the route term for simplicity.
This time, each game has different love interests, with 1 exception.
Another big change from MWA, is that the romance is mostly non-existent, sure there are scenes which slightly build up the relationship between Ruka and the specific girl, but, its minimal, opting to go straight to business.
I did say that Kinugasa sucks at romance, but, he does have experience writing smut, so, he is playing with what he knows. For the better really, romance was very out of place in a detective story like this, going physical immediately is actually more natural.
I really liked the way the relationships were done in GB, they actually gave weight to the story, and play a big part in the final chapter, even though they don’t actually take that much screentime.
Now, lets talk about the routes.
B&D has 2 girls, Fuyumi and Ryoko, both are characters which were introduced in the 1st game, now being upgraded to love interests.
Fuyumi is the assistant of Ruka’s rival in the force, always being hostile towards Ruka and his lack of professionalism.
She plays a big part in the 1st half of B&D, with her going against protocol chasing a case on her own, which also happened to be a case Ruka was chasing as well.
They get to know each other better while working together for once, and Fuyumi gets a new found respect towards Ruka, and more, if you pick the one choice that matters.
Fuyumi going from outright hating Ruka, to being at least cordial was a pretty interesting read, I liked the way the relationship evolved.
The only problem, is that the 1st half of B&D is pure filler, and a lot of this doesn’t actually matter in the long run.
I did like Fuyumi, but she was left with the short end of the stick.
Next, is Ryoko, another character introduced in the 1st game, the waitress at the cafe Ruka always goes, the only girl in the whole series who can put up with Ruka’s bullshit, and even counterattack.
She has known Ruka for quite a while, and their interactions show how used to each other they are, very good chemistry as well.
But, saying is a route is generous, Ryoko isn’t actually a route, she is more of a booty call for Ruka.
While being busy with the story of the 2nd half of B&D, Ruka takes the side-quest of helping Ryoko with a problem, eventually leading to him plowing her.
That’s it, B&D Ryoko doesn’t have romance, its a purely physical affair between 2 people who have known each other for ages.
She has known Ruka for quite a while, and their interactions show how used to each other they are, very good chemistry as well.
But, saying is a route is generous, Ryoko isn’t actually a route, she is more of a booty call for Ruka.
While being busy with the story of the 2nd half of B&D, Ruka takes the side-quest of helping Ryoko with a problem, eventually leading to him plowing her.
That’s it, B&D Ryoko doesn’t have romance, its a purely physical affair between 2 people who have known each other for ages.
Moving on to GB, this one has 4 girls for Ruka to choose.
Unlike with the 1st game, its obvious that the Fuyumi alternate ending isn’t canon, and its left ambiguous if its canon that Ruka and Ryoko slept together, although it strongly goes towards yes they did.
And, the “route” situation is similar in GB, with it being a choice of which girl Ruka plows before going off to the final battle, with next to none romance involved.
I did like the way its done, since the point is to “give Ruka a reason to live,” since Ruka is sure he is going to die during or right after the final confrontation, already coming to terms with the fact that either he is killed by The Cult, or by his own power.
We start with, Ryoko again, she’s the only one to be a love interest in 2 games.
She is both different from, and similar to the other 3.
Similar, because she does the “give Ruka a reason to live,” thing, although way before the final battle.
And different, because Ruka doesn’t actually romances her. Ryoko retains her status of booty call in GB.
She is involved in a few parts of the main story, and in one of the best and most tense scenes in the entire game.
Unlike with the 1st game, its obvious that the Fuyumi alternate ending isn’t canon, and its left ambiguous if its canon that Ruka and Ryoko slept together, although it strongly goes towards yes they did.
And, the “route” situation is similar in GB, with it being a choice of which girl Ruka plows before going off to the final battle, with next to none romance involved.
I did like the way its done, since the point is to “give Ruka a reason to live,” since Ruka is sure he is going to die during or right after the final confrontation, already coming to terms with the fact that either he is killed by The Cult, or by his own power.
We start with, Ryoko again, she’s the only one to be a love interest in 2 games.
She is both different from, and similar to the other 3.
Similar, because she does the “give Ruka a reason to live,” thing, although way before the final battle.
And different, because Ruka doesn’t actually romances her. Ryoko retains her status of booty call in GB.
She is involved in a few parts of the main story, and in one of the best and most tense scenes in the entire game.
Then, there is Tamako, another girl who has been around since the 1st game, the techsupport of the 13th division, and Vars partner (not romantically).
Ever since the 1st game, Ruka uses her for anything tech related, while also playfully bullying her because she is plain, gloomy, and nerdy.
One of the ways in which chapter 3 can play out, involves her.
In all of the games, Tamako and Ruka’s relationship is mostly professional with occasional banter and teasing, which makes the upgrade to physical relationship, and then romantic one, feel very natural.
The way it happens in the final chapter, is surprisingly sweet, and wholesome.
Ever since the 1st game, Ruka uses her for anything tech related, while also playfully bullying her because she is plain, gloomy, and nerdy.
One of the ways in which chapter 3 can play out, involves her.
In all of the games, Tamako and Ruka’s relationship is mostly professional with occasional banter and teasing, which makes the upgrade to physical relationship, and then romantic one, feel very natural.
The way it happens in the final chapter, is surprisingly sweet, and wholesome.
Third, there is Linda, a criminal who has the power to mind-control children, she was introduced in the 1st game, during the Claris Route.
She was part of the 1st big case Ruka ever worked as a detective, and, for a very long time, Ruka thought she was dead, until she reappeared.
She used to be part of The Cult, until she decided that the heat from that wasn’t worth it, but, since she knows too much, she became a target.
Collaborating with Ruka, she provides him with information on whatever The Cult is up to. And, in GB, she is almost killed due to that.
In all 3 games combined, she doesn’t have that much screentime, so its hard to actually gauge how natural the development of their relationship is.
I liked how it was done in the final chapter, with Linda wanting the same as the other girls, to forget the whole criminal-detective dynamic they have, and for them to just be regular humans for a night.
They really knocked it out of the park with this one, even with so little screentime, they made her very memorable.
She was part of the 1st big case Ruka ever worked as a detective, and, for a very long time, Ruka thought she was dead, until she reappeared.
She used to be part of The Cult, until she decided that the heat from that wasn’t worth it, but, since she knows too much, she became a target.
Collaborating with Ruka, she provides him with information on whatever The Cult is up to. And, in GB, she is almost killed due to that.
In all 3 games combined, she doesn’t have that much screentime, so its hard to actually gauge how natural the development of their relationship is.
I liked how it was done in the final chapter, with Linda wanting the same as the other girls, to forget the whole criminal-detective dynamic they have, and for them to just be regular humans for a night.
They really knocked it out of the park with this one, even with so little screentime, they made her very memorable.
Finally, Daimonji, she was introduced in B&D, becomes a love interest in GB.
She is among the higher ups in the police, and she is quite hatable in B&D. With her being a general pain in the ass for Ruka, with her pulling rank to him in line.
In GB, the dynamic is slightly different, with her mellowing out on Ruka as the story progresses.
Daimonji looked at the slob of a man that is Ruka, and said “I can fix him.”
She is the biggest reason why Ruka starts to behave like a proper detective, although her methods are pretty forceful.
The other way in which Chapter 3 can play out, involves Daimonji.
At times, her interactions with Ruka feel more like a Fuyumi 2.0, with the added dynamics that Daimonji is Ruka’s superior.
There is also the fact that Daimonji is pretty strong herself, even being able to give Ruka a run for his money.
Its an interesting pairing, with Daimonji fixing Ruka, and Ruka helping her relax a little and have fun. There is a surprisingly amount of good chemistry between the them.
The way she is handled in the story and her relationship with Ruka, makes it seem like she is intended as the true route.
She is among the higher ups in the police, and she is quite hatable in B&D. With her being a general pain in the ass for Ruka, with her pulling rank to him in line.
In GB, the dynamic is slightly different, with her mellowing out on Ruka as the story progresses.
Daimonji looked at the slob of a man that is Ruka, and said “I can fix him.”
She is the biggest reason why Ruka starts to behave like a proper detective, although her methods are pretty forceful.
The other way in which Chapter 3 can play out, involves Daimonji.
At times, her interactions with Ruka feel more like a Fuyumi 2.0, with the added dynamics that Daimonji is Ruka’s superior.
There is also the fact that Daimonji is pretty strong herself, even being able to give Ruka a run for his money.
Its an interesting pairing, with Daimonji fixing Ruka, and Ruka helping her relax a little and have fun. There is a surprisingly amount of good chemistry between the them.
The way she is handled in the story and her relationship with Ruka, makes it seem like she is intended as the true route.
To A Brighter Future
Despite the fact this was Heliodor’s 1st foray into the VN medium, Meteor World Actor is a pretty good series, of course, they did receive some help from 2 well known figures, still, it was a valiant effort.
If anything, the VN medium needs more studios like Heliodor.
I do have quite a few things to say about the series.
Just like every single long VN, there is too much filler. I understand the filler for the sake of world-building in the 1st game sure, but, filler in the final one? Come on.
Long VNs always suffer from being too long for their own good.
It is difficult to place B&D, it feels like a DLC, but if you add it to either MWA or GB, then those games will suffer from it. Making a standalone was a good idea, the problem is that B&D isn’t that good by itself, leaving it as the weakest in the trilogy.
B&D has the Fuyumi side-quest which adds nothing to the overarching story, and the 2nd half is mostly weakened Ruka having to deal with Daimonji’s bullshit logic.
GB also has issues, we finally get to see actual Cult members committing crimes, instead of whatever Schwarld was doing.
But, what are we welcomed by after the prologue? Filler, in the final game of the series.
I understand, there was a 5 year gap between games, you wanted people to remember things, but, this filler makes it suck when you are reading it back to back.
I absolutely loved, when Ruka got his shit together, and actually got the 13th division to start investigating the big cases, everyone finally working together was great, the Galbara Chapter was kino, but then, more filler to kill the momentum.
Chapter 3 was decent, there is a lot to like, specially the extra scenes we get with the girls, but the way the whole twist is handled is horrible, having to read the same things once you figured it out is just padding.
How come its in the final game that we get to see the 1st mixed race character? The 7th Republic is supposed to be a place where the races coexist, this is a massive world-building oversight.
The scene in the Cafe when Ruka and Sousuke go to negotiate with Yasaka and Masaya, is THE BEST scene in the whole trilogy, its pure mindgames and tension.
If anything, the VN medium needs more studios like Heliodor.
I do have quite a few things to say about the series.
Just like every single long VN, there is too much filler. I understand the filler for the sake of world-building in the 1st game sure, but, filler in the final one? Come on.
Long VNs always suffer from being too long for their own good.
It is difficult to place B&D, it feels like a DLC, but if you add it to either MWA or GB, then those games will suffer from it. Making a standalone was a good idea, the problem is that B&D isn’t that good by itself, leaving it as the weakest in the trilogy.
B&D has the Fuyumi side-quest which adds nothing to the overarching story, and the 2nd half is mostly weakened Ruka having to deal with Daimonji’s bullshit logic.
GB also has issues, we finally get to see actual Cult members committing crimes, instead of whatever Schwarld was doing.
But, what are we welcomed by after the prologue? Filler, in the final game of the series.
I understand, there was a 5 year gap between games, you wanted people to remember things, but, this filler makes it suck when you are reading it back to back.
I absolutely loved, when Ruka got his shit together, and actually got the 13th division to start investigating the big cases, everyone finally working together was great, the Galbara Chapter was kino, but then, more filler to kill the momentum.
Chapter 3 was decent, there is a lot to like, specially the extra scenes we get with the girls, but the way the whole twist is handled is horrible, having to read the same things once you figured it out is just padding.
How come its in the final game that we get to see the 1st mixed race character? The 7th Republic is supposed to be a place where the races coexist, this is a massive world-building oversight.
The scene in the Cafe when Ruka and Sousuke go to negotiate with Yasaka and Masaya, is THE BEST scene in the whole trilogy, its pure mindgames and tension.
Both the final battle and the ending are REALLY good, the moment when we finally get to hear Ruka’s voice, is absolute kino.
The device which can look into people’s memories was far too convenient. The same with the Musashi situation.
The Cult barely gets anything, we know a few members, we kinda know the ideology, and we know what they did in the past, it is a complete missed opportunity how little screentime Yasaka and his crew got in the final game.
The Shining Union completely exits stage left, they were a big deal in the 1st and 2nd games, and in GB they are only mentioned twice.
Its easy to forget Melissa exists, since she is often used as a way for Ruka to talk with himself without sounding crazy.
The whole Delga thing is “solved” off-camera, and the Genomland situation isn’t resolved, they will probably be left to a future game in the same universe.
Ruka is far too forgiving and merciful with characters he shouldn’t.
The moments Ruka gets with the girls before going off to war, are handled in a masterful way, the different ways in which each of them give Ruka hope, makes each one of them very memorable.
The smut is fine I guess, it does what it needs to be, and its not longer than it needs to it.
All in all, the MWA series is underrated, and its rough around the edges, the 1st game plays it too safe, the 2nd game feels like filler 80% of its runtime, and the final game is too long for its own good.
The story and world-building are really good, I am not that big into detective stories, but it got me engaged the whole way through, except the filler, that was a slog to get through.
Somethings definitely get better as the series progresses, the relationships specifically, going from boring forced romance in the 1st, to actually believable developments in the 3rd was a treat to see.
Although it isn’t airtight, the main story is resolved, and it really feels like this is where Ruka’s story should end, it was a mostly enjoyable journey.
Meteor World Actor is an underrated series very well worth giving a chance. Its not a kamige, not even close, but it gives hope to Visual Novels as a medium in the 2020s.
The device which can look into people’s memories was far too convenient. The same with the Musashi situation.
The Cult barely gets anything, we know a few members, we kinda know the ideology, and we know what they did in the past, it is a complete missed opportunity how little screentime Yasaka and his crew got in the final game.
The Shining Union completely exits stage left, they were a big deal in the 1st and 2nd games, and in GB they are only mentioned twice.
Its easy to forget Melissa exists, since she is often used as a way for Ruka to talk with himself without sounding crazy.
The whole Delga thing is “solved” off-camera, and the Genomland situation isn’t resolved, they will probably be left to a future game in the same universe.
Ruka is far too forgiving and merciful with characters he shouldn’t.
The moments Ruka gets with the girls before going off to war, are handled in a masterful way, the different ways in which each of them give Ruka hope, makes each one of them very memorable.
The smut is fine I guess, it does what it needs to be, and its not longer than it needs to it.
All in all, the MWA series is underrated, and its rough around the edges, the 1st game plays it too safe, the 2nd game feels like filler 80% of its runtime, and the final game is too long for its own good.
The story and world-building are really good, I am not that big into detective stories, but it got me engaged the whole way through, except the filler, that was a slog to get through.
Somethings definitely get better as the series progresses, the relationships specifically, going from boring forced romance in the 1st, to actually believable developments in the 3rd was a treat to see.
Although it isn’t airtight, the main story is resolved, and it really feels like this is where Ruka’s story should end, it was a mostly enjoyable journey.
Meteor World Actor is an underrated series very well worth giving a chance. Its not a kamige, not even close, but it gives hope to Visual Novels as a medium in the 2020s.
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