Dirty Crown Scandal: Fantasy BL Review

A Colorful Romance

STORYTACO’s latest foray into visual storytelling comes by way of Dirty Crown Scandal: Fantasy BL. The studio’s USP aims at providing story based mobile games that cater to a global female audience. Suffice it to say, Dirty Crown serves well to the BL (boy’s love) manga and anime consuming audience, who wants to see a MM/gay relationship blossom.

As with any major romantic visual novel, Dirty Crown features a protagonist who has been provided with multiple suitors/romantic partners within the narrative. It is essentially up to the players to choose the ultimate partner for the protagonist. As the plot of Dirty Crown unfolds, every major love interest is given ample plot points that make for an interesting story experience.

So, Does This One Have Anything Interesting?

I like the way the action sequences were written. The game tried to engage the readers by asking us to tap on a sequence of shapes, given via dialogue prompts. As you quickly tap on the shapes (in the correct order), the narrative moves forward by registering it to be an attack. At the expense of giving a very tiny spoiler: the need for attack was for personal safety within the story. This is supposed to be an attack, within the narrative. Interestingly, this is something that isn’t usually employed in visual novels. This was the only time that I realized that we weren’t passive readers, there was an element of action (if only very slightly). But yes, kudos to the creators to include that. It’s a great trick to keep the reader engaging, while they are reading.

Yeah, But, What’s The Main Story?

The plot line featuring the protagonist includes four main romantic leads. There is Adriel who is the crown prince, Grand Duke Kalcion, the Lord of Magic Tower Shahmat and Jade who is an old friend of the protagonist. All four of them can be said to have different characteristic traits, and this makes for an interesting read. These four characters also change up the tone of the narrative. This makes it engaging and charging up the narrative with different types of dialogues. This essentially elevates the story of the visual novel.

The protagonist is also a rags-to-riches kind of guy. He is the heir to the throne and has to navigate the politics within the castle, which is another major plot line of the novel. Well, technically, it is the main plot line of the story. However, the romantic storyline of Dirty Crown novel is made equally important. The good thing about this visual novel is that neither storyline overwhelms the other. So, we get to have an appealing and intriguing story of a prince while he also deals with his emotions.

Sounds Too Good to Be True?

Because, it kind of is too good to be true. The only drawback within this game is the usual one: money. In order for you to really engage with a character of your choice, you have to spend money. Let’s say that you want to start flirting with one of the four guys that you find interesting. This will require gems. If you don’t have gems, you can passively read on and take whatever options are available (the free one), and enjoy the novel that way. But I have to warn you, it is a weak experience. In order to have a good reading experience, you have to interact with the characters romantically.

You Gotta Spend Some Coins

You can watch some ads and borrow gems that will help you elevate the engagement within the story. Plus, watching ads gives you 10 gems, so you can add them up and offer an interaction with the man of your choosing. There’s a deadlock in Episode 7 where you are supposed to go on a date to proceed with the narration. The snag is that it requires 500 gems. There aren’t sufficient gems to be earned by watching ads and daily logins. Many players have been said to have given up playing because it is difficult to advance due to the lack of gems.

Other than this, the visuals of Dirty Crown are beautiful and cute. Anybody who is a manhwa reader will find it aesthetically pleasing and engaging. The game never really lags, and the reading is pleasant to follow along.

Worth Playing?

Well, without giving much of the spoiler, the ending of the novel is actually pretty nice. There is of course a degree of difference to the culmination of the novel depending on the partner you choose. The ending however should be the least of your worries since it is the protagonist’s (AKA you) journey that is the main factor in any visual novel. It’s a good game, but with the flaw of a bland reading experience if you cannot afford gems, because it will factor in the gameplay.