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Review of Extravaganza ~Mushi Mederu Shoujo~

SubjectExtravaganza ~Mushi Mederu Shoujo~
ByHelpfulness: 21
Vote: 9
GhostGaming on 2022-05-07
ReviewSince there are no reviews yet, I'll be the first one.
Just let me talk about how amazing this VN actually is.

1. It's not exactly what it looks like.

I know it may sound weird, but this VN is not as fucked up as it may look at first. True, the first chapter is brutal. It left a much stronger impression on me than, let's say, Maggot Baits as a whole. Then why didn't I stop there? Well, because this VN managed to make me care about the protag, Yumemi. I wanted to know what happens next. And how greatly was I surprised to see the second chapter being mostly just a great and MUCH needed break after the first one. It was mostly just... slice-of-life. And there's more. Most chapters after the second one aren't fucked up either. I can count only one whole route that is pretty damn horrifying and several bad endings, which are optional here. Then there's also one evil route with A LOT of weird scenes. But they are not really bad, just weird. Then again, I'd say that if you avoid bad endings, then this VN will be 90% plot and only 10% gore, torture and rape. I was really surprised since I was expecting something even worse than Maggot Baits, but... got a hidden gem.

2. The unique setting.

Yes, it may be pretty weird, but I loved this setting in the end. It's very close to reality with just one tiny fictional element and that is bugs (or mushi) and the whole clan of insect users. This is very unqiue because most VNs are either full on fantasy or no fantasy at all.

3. The brilliance of horror.

Let me explain why I think that this VN is simply amazing in terms of horror. It mostly derives from the first point. You get to see the first chapter which is SO fucked up and SO brutal that you don't want to see something like this EVER again. And you don't want to see something like that EVER happening to Yumemi again. That's why you are always on the edge of your seat the whole time you're reading this VN, especially considering the flowchart system with many bad endings. You don't know what to choose to avoid them, you are afraid of what's coming next. And the VN just continues to deceive you. At certain points you start to think something like: "Here, now this is gonna be bad". However, if you choose everything correctly in the flowchart, you'll find that... everything's okay. Or the game can just tease you like this. And this is BRILLIANT! But don't get used to this chill atmosphere. The VN isn't called one of the most fucked up for nothing. Yes, there are SCARY and DISGUSTING scenes and even one whole route like this. And if you ended up on a bad end... Too bad for you and Yumemi, I guess? (Not only for her though. There are bad endings with other girls like Miyaka's or Anzu's for example.)

4. Yumemi, my beloved.

Let me just express my love for this brave, strong-willed and caring girl. She's amazing. Yeah, there are moments when she's a bit dumb for some reason, but most of the time Yumemi kicks ass and not only by force. The girl went through shit so bad where most even very strong characters would've given up or been broken. But not Yumemi. Her mind and nerves are made of steel and only hardened after the horrible events. In some endings she may not act like her usual self (these are usually evil routes), but she never stops being a badass.

5. The bug.

Yep, you got it right. There's one certain bug among the characters who is just as cool as his.... I won't spoil this, but have you ever seen a badass bug as a character? And he doesn't even have his own sprite. Still, that chad did more than most characters in this VN.

6. The music.

While I was reading the first chapter, I was honestly annoyed with it. It was mostly mechanical and rough soundtracks which made me even more uneasy. But then I heard more of them and actually those mechanical tracks started growing on me. I think that this OST is perfect for this VN and creates a great dark atmosphere of constant uneasiness and tension.

7. I wish more writers did a passage of time thing in their VNs...

Yep, that's a great plot feature if done right. And Izumi Ban'ya did it absolutely right. You'll see Yumemi grow as a character from a cute smol girl unable to live in this world on her own and defend herself to a mature adult. And by the end you're gonna cry from happiness for her if you reach the good ending (and there is one ending which I consider the best, it was also my first one). I just wish more VNs did this, it's a very unique feature now.

8. It's like Baldr Sky (Force), but better.

This point may be a bit confusing, especially if I try to avoid spoilers. You see, there are certain factions in this VN and there are also different endings. And in these different endings you usually either act independently or join a certain faction (like in the Baldr games), so this way you get to unravel their intentions and means from the inside. And it's really cool. And why is it better than Baldr games? Well, because there's no shitty repetitiveness with every route being very similar to each other. No, the routes here are different and characters act differently depending on which path you choose (or end up on, heh) while still having the same goals.

9. The villains.

I can say that there's one major villain and one minor. But overall, some good characters may become evil and vice versa depending on the route again. But this major villain is... great! The opening movie spoiled me one thing about them, but it actually made me even more interested. You actually want to AT LEAST beat this villain to a pulp. There was one scene where the villain reminded me of Senator Armstrong, haha. That was just as funny as it was cool.

10. The endings.

I mostly want to talk about the major endings, especially the ones in the very last chapter. There is one good ending, one normal and one evil. And all of them I absolutely loved. I really enjoy VNs with strong endings and these are just what I wanted to see. No, it's not like they are predictable, just very good, even the evil one. I won't spoil you anything, but I finished this evil route last. And when the opening theme started playing in the final scene after all that happened, I was at a loss for words.


Overall, I gave it a 10. I rarely rate VNs this high. Only the most impactful and enjoyable pieces of media get this score from me. And I'll admit that I really didn't expect that. I thought that I would drop this VN on the first chapter, but I decided to stay with it. And I got to experience a brilliant horror story unlike anything else I ever experienced in the genre. Definitely want to read more Izumi Ban'ya and Black Cyc works in the future.
21 points
#1 by funnerific
2022-05-07 at 21:49
< report >Sounds a lot like Eternal Torment. No wonder, since it has the same writer and all.
#2 by GhostGaming
2022-05-07 at 22:24
< report >Yeah, I heard about it, also written by Izumi Ban'ya. There's also a female lead, but the VN is shorter. Maybe it's just that I'm a slow reader, but Extravaganza took me even more time to finish than these 40+ hours stated here. I'd say it was about 50-60 hours. Maybe it's because I tried to finish all the endings.
#3 by atavar
2022-10-10 at 02:55
< report >Incredibly helpful review. I'm not a gorehound first and foremost, but a lot of the novels I like best are gory. I had a feeling this one would be right up my alley, and you sold me on it perfectly. More importantly, really well written, and I always appreciate writers taking their time to explain why they like or dislike something. Means a lot more then just throwing out numbers.

On that note, it's a good time to delve towards Black Cyc; we're allegedly getting a GOAH screaming show english translation, which I'd never imagined possible, so who knows what else is in the horizon. Apparently even Kusarihime is getting an english patch, did niche VN just get tonnes of love while I was out..!?

I unfortunately don't have any recs that quite hit what you've talked about here. Best of luck finding some, and thanks for encouraging me to take the plunge!Last modified on 2022-10-10 at 02:55
#4 by GhostGaming
2022-10-10 at 20:44
< report >Oh, thank you so much! I really don't deserve this praise. I just wanted to express my thoughts on this game and try to tell people it's not THAT fucked up as they thought. But you know, you still need to be careful. The first chapter is incredibly traumatizing and so are a couple of endings. But overall, yeah, it's just a pretty wholesome (!) story about family.
I heard not very good things about GSS and don't really look forward to it. Besides, I tried MinDeaD BlooD and didn't like it at all. I think Extravaganza may be the only really good Black Cyc VN. May be wrong though. I'm still interested in Gun-Katana, but don't know how to play it since there aren't proper guides for that one and the ending system is much more complex there.Last modified on 2022-10-10 at 20:44
#5 by atavar
2022-10-10 at 22:50
< report >You absolutely do deserve it; writing is tough, and I find it's more difficult the older I get. And I promise I'll be careful - I tend to have a pretty strong stomach, but if I really feel it getting to me, I'll pace myself. I'm afraid I can't help much with Gun-Katana, as it's been on my backlog for years, ahaha...

But I hope that, even in the sea of questionable content, you can find some real diamonds to your tastes. Best of luck, out there..!
#6 by zany25
2023-02-19 at 02:44
< report >Your review made me put this on my holding out for a translation list, it sounds like the kind of horror themes I tend to enjoy (and I've enjoyed other games that were translated from this company.) I hope I get to read it someday along with many other Black Cyc games!