Review: Arcana Famiglia Rinato Is Such a Stylish Otome

 Dramatic Create Switch otome games have… something of a reputation, with titles such as The Crimson Flower that Divides: Lunar Couplingand Of the Red, the Right, and the Ayakashi featuring interesting stories and poor localizations. However, it seems like it and HuneX broke the cycle with La Storia Della Arcana Famiglia Rinato, an updated version of an otome game that first appeared on the PSP! The translation isn’t perfect, but it’s worlds better than past games. Which is great, as this is a really dynamic and unique visual novel that deserves people’s attention.

The Arcana Famiglia organization defends and protects the island of Regalo, with members who join the family wielding Arcana abilities that grant them special abilities and strength. Mondo, current head, decides on his birthday that he will be holding the Arcana Duello in two months to decide the new head of the family after he retires. Whoever wins will lead and also marry his daughter, Felicita. This would also mean she would be confined to the estate. However, as an Arcana-wielder and family member herself, she’s one of the people obligated to compete alongside various members she’s known and worked with her whole life. 

Arcana Famiglia Rinato plays like a traditional otome visual novel for the most part, but the Dramatic Create and HuneX title’s presentation and execution is often rather unique. As you go through the story, images often come up as manga panels. This is complete with sound effect imagery, when appropriate. Given how dynamic the whole affair is, it really helps with the storytelling. We see Sumire engage with her daughter and Luca early on in the opening flashback, conveying the sense of movement and gestures of affection. When the “duel” quick-time-events come up, there are the sfx and often multiple images to convey successful hits and abysmal failures. These does appear alongside more traditional character portraits. All together, it’s an incredible means of showing off the narrative and better conveying characters’ personalities.

The way in which things proceed also lend itself to Arcana Famiglia Rinato feeling more engaging. Felicita will get opportunities to visit places around Regalo during her free time and not engaging in a story event, which lets us select which of the seven love interests she’ll meet. It will also mean opportunities to use her Arcana. This can be done a certain number of times per day and basically allows her to telepathically check in with someone to see two possible topics or options that are at the forefront of their mind. (One of them might have her face tied to it.) This allows you to influence affections and the direction of events. 

Honestly, the major downside in all this isn’t the localization. There are occasional issues with that, mind you. Sometimes words are missing or there’s a spelling error. A good example is one of Mondo’s earliest lines. In game, it is “Rejoice, my lovely daughter. So have so many men willing to protect you with their own bodies.” Clearly, the first “so” should have been “to” instead. Or when Sumire is teaching young Felicita to be strong, she forgets the “a” article in “Just because you’re woman, that doesn’t mean you should cry and cling to others.” Small things like this are the main issues I saw come up. Annoying? Sure. Enough to keep me from playing a HuneX otome I’ve wanted to play since 2011? Never. 

No, the real problem here is that Felicita is a silent protagonist. Everyone here has an interesting personality! Characters are funny! Bombastic! Caring! Mysterious! From how they talk about her and how we see her respond both in actions and with dialogue responses, it seems like she’s an assertive, intelligent, and strong woman! But since she never says a word outside of the choices we make, we don’t get to see that. It really detracts from an otherwise outgoing otome. 

La Storia Della Arcana Famiglia Rinato is such a dynamic, thrilling, and even funny otome game from HuneX and Dramatic Create. It’s so different from other visual novels in the genre we see. It’s a shame that the heroine is a silent one. Especially since the localization seems improved from the company’s other Switch efforts. The fact that this did seem to turn out so well and is an unexpected, deep cut makes me excited for the future of games from these two groups.

La Storia Della Arcana Famiglia Rinato is available for the Nintendo Switch. It will come to the PC via Steam in February 2026. It also appeared on the PSP and Vita in Japan.