Piofiore: Episodio 1926

It was interesting to read through Episodio 1926 to see what happened to the characters and how they would deal with the fascist threat that was only growing in Italy. The text issues (especially in necessary scenes for best endings) were a bit annoying, and if you're not going for 100% completion it's possible to run the story through as a long weekend read.

If you had asked me if I thought Piofiore: Fated Memories needed a sequel, I would have responded with a very firm “no.” That game is right up there with the likes of Steins;Gate and The House In Fata Morgana as a visual novel with literary merit, and arguably the masterpiece of the otome genre. But then I played Piofiore: Episodio 1926 and realised that the writers weren’t out of ideas from their first outing. This game is every bit as dark and majestic as its predecessor, and assuming you can stomach its harder edges, it’s essential (but just make sure you’ve played Fate Memories first, if you haven’t yet – don’t ruin this on yourself).

Piofiore: Episodio 1926 is much more than just a simple fandisc, packing a profound story that can be treated as a full-blown sequel. It successfully establishes a sense of continuity from the ending of its predecessor. Still, this means it’s hard or even impossible to enjoy without playing 1925. Regardless, I hold it in high regard and would recommend it if you’re in the mood for a story that manages to be heavy but also lovely in equal proportion.

As a sequel to Fated Memories, Piofiore: Episodio 1926 manages to offer an even more intense narrative that gains depth as it reflects upon the social and political aspects of the historic period represented. Though it has some dependence on its predecessor in order to offer a complete experience, this is one of the best games in the genre available on Switch, a really impressive feat when we can even say high quality is the current norm of those visual novels.

We return to beautiful Italy once again in Piofiore: Episode 1926, proving that second parts can be good and even better. Piofiore will always be a must for lovers of the otome genre.

Overall, I still love Piofiore: Episodio 1926 and I think if you are a Piofiore: Fated Memories lover, you will like this game as well. The first was a bit better for me personally, as this game was a little bit more of the same. But it had good stories that had me at the edge of my seat and the romance was really dialled up in this game for a lot of routes. Luckily this game actually had plot points and a story, it was not just them going on lovey dovey dates. So I still enjoyed this game a lot. However, this game was a lot darker than the first. It includes rape and attempted rape and involves a lot of bloodshed in gruesome ways. So, if that is not your style I would not recommend this game.