Battlefield Waltz is an otome visual novel where players follow the story of Lan, Maiden of the Cursed Sword, and how she lives out her new life in Nirvana. Read our review to see what it did well, what it didn't do well, and if it's worth buying.
Battlefield Waltz Review Overview
What is Battlefield Waltz?
Battlefield Waltz is an otome visual novel set in the fantasy world of Ortesia where players are put into the shoes of Lan (default name), a young girl from a countryside village whose hometown gets ambushed by mercenaries in search of the fabled cursed sword. In the midst of all the commotion, she ends up being the wielder of the said sword, and is immediately brought to the military school of Nirvana to hone her capabilities. Battlefield Waltz is Lan’s tale of finding her true purpose in life, a place to belong, and of romance.
Battlefield Waltz was initially released only in Japanese back in 2014 for the PlayStation Vita, and it has now made its way to Western shores a decade later for the Nintendo Switch.
Battlefield Waltz features:
⚫︎ 6 Love Interests
⚫︎ A Heartwarming Fantasy Tale With Twists
⚫︎ Charming Characters
⚫︎ Full Voice Acting
⚫︎ Stunning CGs
| Digital Storefronts | |
|---|---|
 Steam |
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| $49.99 | |
Battlefield Waltz Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
 Six Leads to Choose From Chapter Skipping Fully-Voiced Characters Charming Anime Art Style |
Pacing Can Be Slow Illusion of Choice Lack of Hands-On Gameplay |
Battlefield Waltz Overall Score - 76/100
Battlefield Waltz is a gripping romance tale set in a land where the peace is threatened by forces who are vying for power, and the protagonist is caught in the center of it all. The compelling plot, charming cast of characters with six unique male leads, and pleasing visuals made for an engaging experience. However, as well-written as it is, it may feel sluggish at parts. Its $50 price tag may also intimidate most people, but if you’re an otome enthusiast looking for a new love in war, Battlefield Waltz might just be your cup of tea.
Battlefield Waltz Story - 8/10
Battlefield Waltz’ story is interesting, with a protagonist that has her own character arc and personality, and the consequent romance routes are also engaging with their own shocking plot twists. Each romance route also reveals more lore about the Cursed Sword, and is not solely reliant on the romance to keep things fascinating. However, the overall plot may feel draggy at times with its slow pace.
Battlefield Waltz Gameplay - 7/10
Gameplay is what you would expect to the standard of your run-of-the-mill visual novel where you will need to read tons of dialogue and make choices ever so often. It’s not much of a negative trait as most otome visual novels are more or less interactive novels or audio-visual books anyway. There is a sort of exploration mechanic every once in a while where players can choose who to interact with, but it’s nothing amazing. However, Battlefield Waltz gets plus points for having a Chronicle mechanic where players can just hop right into a certain scenario without needing to play from the beginning, making it much easier to finish romance routes.
Battlefield Waltz Visuals - 8/10
The game’s anime art style is charming and pleasing to the eyes, slightly reminiscent of 2000s anime which may strike a chord of familiarity. Its characters are well-designed, each with unique traits and a complete set of expressions—even the supporting characters you see only once or twice in the game have different sprites. While the backgrounds are usually just the same few sets, they’re still highly detailed and give a good picture of what the game’s world looks like.
Battlefield Waltz Audio - 9/10
Battlefield Waltz also shines in its audio, from the background music, to the sound design and effects, all the way to the fully voiced dialogue. In terms of voice acting, every single character is accounted for (except the self-insert main character) and has a voice, from the main leads to Mercenaries 1 to 10. It made the game feel much more alive and immersive since you could put a voice to a face.
Battlefield Waltz Value for Money - 6/10
For $50, it may be quite a steep price to pay for barely any gameplay, but hours of fully-voiced and engaging content between the main route plus six different romance routes is just worth your while. It’s not recommended for those who are just starting to dip their toes in the otome genre and would not want to commit to a full price, but enthusiasts would definitely see the bang for their buck.
Battlefield Waltz Review: A Great Blend of Love and War
Ah, otome games, the bread and butter of every female out there who find themselves attracted to fictional, 2D men (me included). While I’m no expert on it, I have dabbled on several titles over the years, such as the classic Tokimeki Memorial: Girls’ Side (1, 2, and 3, yes) for the Nintendo DS, to the more recent and modern titles for mobile like Mystic Messenger, and Love and Deepspace. There’s a certain allure to the whole dating sim genre where you’re free to act and choose as you will. It’s a kind of comfort that people seek for, which is why while the genre is quite niche, it’s still a very robust and passionate community.
With that said, I’m quite familiar with the titles of Idea Factory and subsequently Otomate, though I’ve only ever gotten to play their works on Hakuoki for the PC. I have been playing otome games for quite some time now, and I fervently remember when there was a time that most (and there are, still) otome games were only available in the Japanese language, which I am not fluent at. English or English-translated otome games were hard to get back then, but luckily in present time, there has been more and more of the genre available for the consumption of a poor maiden (aka. me). Battlefield Waltz is one of those games that are now available in English after being released way back in 2014 for the PlayStation Vita.
In Battlefield Waltz, you will play as Lan (default name, can be changed), a young girl from a countryside village whose hometown gets ambushed by mercenaries in search of the fabled cursed sword. As she, her mother, and a young girl tried to escape, they were caught by the attacking warriors, who threatened them for any information on the sword’s whereabouts, lest they be killed. By sheer determination and hope to protect the last family she had, she awakened the very cursed sword, and ended up merging with the sacred weapon, knocking out all their assailants…and causing her to pass out from the overwhelming power she just unleashed. Upon waking up, she finds herself taken prisoner in the Nirvana military academy, and finds out that she may well be the catalyst of a full-scale war on the continent. Uh oh.
With that said, let’s get to the review of Battlefield Waltz—a tale of love and war.
A Colorful Cast
The cast of characters are a lovely and charming bunch, with each having their own unique personality and motivations for things. They all feel fleshed out, including the side characters, who I would have thought to not be as given importance as the male leads. All characters, even the non-romanceable ones, also get their own share of the spotlight—there’s not one love interest that’s being explicitly pushed as the central character, and you get to see their individual personalities unfold. One of my favorite characters isn’t even a male lead—it’s Lan’s best girl friend, Yuriana. Her personality and warmth were a joy to see especially when Lan was still down in the dumps early on, and you really feel a connection form between the two girls especially in a male-dominated field.
Also, truth be told, I wanted to know more about Asaka and Collette, but as supporting characters, they’re only interactable during exploration sequences. I would have loved to romance Asaka though…
Another thing I’d like to point out is that it’s nice that the CGs are not only of the love interests or some kind of flirty moment between a romancable character and the heroine. Other characters such as Yuriana, Lady Ignis, and even King Serazar get featured in their own CGs, showcasing that you’re just not in a little bubble with you and your romanced boy in their own world—there are other charismatic characters out there as well that makes the game feel more whole and immersive.
Great Sound Design and Fully-Voiced Characters
Audio is well-done in this game—from the background music in the forest or the corridors of Nirvana, to the sound effects such as the continuous footsteps when you walk with a character through the streets of downtown Frontier or the exciting clashing of metal weapons during a combat scene.
It’s always a plus if the visual novel is voiced, and Battlefield Waltz fully delivered on that. All characters (except for the main character, of course) are voiced, and I like that if you keep the heroine’s default name as Lan, the characters will also refer to you as Lan. And they didn’t play with the voices either, as the Japanese voice cast is full of well-established veterans that more or less people will be familiar with. I’d have to admit I’m quite the fan of Japanese voice actors and I was more than delighted to hear very familiar voices.
The Balance Of War And Love
One thing I’d like to note about the game is how it’s not overly cheesy or cringe-y and it still has a solid plot to keep going. For one thing, the game is set in a land where war may be just right around the corner—and the protagonist might as well be the very catalyst for war to occur, with the Cursed Sword settled in her body. Since it’s a visual novel catered to women who would be wanting all that romance, they could have breezed through the fact that the continent is about to wage into full-scale war and focused on the moments that make a maiden’s heart beat a hundred times faster, taking away the military setting entirely.
However, Battlefield Waltz stayed true to its name—it’s a battlefield, both in love and in matters concerning the game’s world. It will constantly remind you that while you have the freedom to fall in love and be all happy, the world is still in shambles and the little peace that’s left may not last for so long anymore. I appreciate that it’s not just about the romance and the plot balances it all out, even when you enter into a specific romance route. The male leads’ stories intertwine well with the military setting of the game, and their backstories delve quite deeply into the whole war environment.
Story Pacing Can Be An Issue
While I praised the overall story in its essence, it still has its downsides. Let’s get straight to the point—while engaging, the pacing is rather slow. There are a total of five chapters to go through (six if you include the prologue) before you can even start off on a romance route. While these initial chapters were essential to Lan’s overall character development, it did feel a little draggy at parts, especially when she was just getting bullied over and over again by the more unsavory characters who felt she had no place in the academy, as well as her own inhibitions about what to do with the cursed sword merged within her.
By the time you finish the six chapters and finally go through her character arc, you feel both proud of her…and tired of all the unnecessary drama you had to go through. It was nice to see how she built rapport with all her newfound friends in the school and how she powered through all the struggles, but it went on for a little longer than I would have liked.
No Innovative Gameplay
While not exactly a con as it is an otome visual novel and is not much of an expectation, I’d like to point it out in case anyone may be looking for something different, given that it’s a game set in a military academy, to manage their expectations. There is no type of combat-like gameplay at all, nor are there a lot of special combat scenes. Players will only see the combat unfold through a variety of slashes, sounds of metal clanging, sprites moving from left to right, and these cutouts (as shown above) of their eyes looking all fired up for battle.
For the updated Switch port, it would have been nice to add a few more things related to that like perhaps more compelling CGs—there’s a part in the story where Lan sees her comrades spar each other in the academy’s arena, and she’s very much awestruck just by how confident and stunning her friends are…and while the dynamic scenes did help, perhaps a CG showing just how awesome they actually looked would have been great.
The Illusion Of Choice
Some choices early on don’t feel like they’re real choices; for instance, when you’re first asked by Mephisto to go on flower-collecting duty, you can choose either yes or no. However, even if you say no, he still manages to make you do it anyway.
You can also see this illusion plain as day in the Chronicles menu, where two choices lead to the same consecutive node, with no indication as to whether or not your choice made a difference. While I wasn’t expecting a full-fledged web of choices leading to one another, it’s a downer to see that most of my choices don’t really matter in the scheme of things.
Is Battlefield Waltz Worth It?
Worth It If You’re Committed To Otome
Battlefield Waltz is an otome game that writes love and war well, with neither of them overpowering the other. Its charming cast, from the male leads to the supporting characters, coupled with the fascinating plot and well-placed sound elements, create a great gameplay experience. However, some people may find fault in its slow pacing and lack of impactful choices that can dampen the experience. Nevertheless, it is a beautifully put together tale that promises hours of gameplay divided across six routes. The $50 price tag is shocking and thus may not be for those who have yet to commit to the genre, but to an otome game enthusiast, I believe it’s well worth the money and time.
| Digital Storefronts | |
|---|---|
| Steam |
|
| $49.99 | |
Battlefield Waltz FAQ
Who are the romanceable characters in Battlefield Waltz?
There are six romanceable male leads in Battlefield Waltz, namely Abel, Lustin, Pash, Nike, Tifalet, and Wilhelm.
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Battlefield Waltz Product Information
 |
|
| Title | Battlefield Waltz |
|---|---|
| Release Date | April 8, 2025 |
| Developer | Otomate |
| Publisher | Idea Factory International |
| Supported Platforms | Nintendo Switch |
| Genre | Simulation, Anime, Visual Novel, Otome |
| Number of Players | 1 |
| ESRB Rating | T |
| Official Website | Battlefield Waltz Official Website |
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