Release Date:February 14, 2019 (North America)
Developers:Idea Factory, Otomate
Publishers:Aksys Games
Platforms:PS Vita, PS4, Nintendo Switch
ESRB Rating: T(Teen)
This fandisc contains the following stories:
- Cantarella (Side Story) – Walkthrough available here.
- Finis’s Epilogue
- Sholme’s Epilogue
- Love Triangle Stories (Short Stories)
- Wintertide Miracles “First Christmas” (Alternate Stories)
- Beach (Summer) Short Stories (Nintendo Switch content exclusive)
- Special Epilogues (Epilogues for White Rose’s stories in Future Blessings)
ART AND MUSIC
I know this is probably redundant as I’ve gushed about it a few times in my reviews for Guardian of Rebirth and Future Blessings. But, the artist Miko has done it again! I could not for the life of me, describe how incredibly beautiful these CGs are!There were also new sprites available for all the main and side characters, wearing their cozy winter outfits. Even Queen Victoria gets a new sprite wearing her royal fur faux garb!
What I also loved about this fandisc were the new BGMs added for the series, they were all memorable and were specially made for the game’s Yuletide theme. One song that really stood out to me was the second Ending theme (Finis’ and Sholmes’ ED) “Beside You” by the artist SHOJI. Listen to the full track below:
***Full soundtrack for Code Realize: Wintertide Miracles can be purchased in iTunes. Link here.
***To purchase the physical copy of Code Realize: Wintertide Miracles soundtrack CD click here.
NEW CHARACTERS
Cantarella (CV: Mamiko Noto) – Fuuka (Persona 4), Kotomi Ichinose (Clannad), Inia Sestina (MuV Luv),Felicita (Arcana Famiglia), Marvis Vermilion(Fairy Tale)
Miles Strand (CV: Keiji Fujiwara) – Kagura Mutsuki (Blazblue), Jiro Hyuuga (Binary Star), Reno (Final Fantasy), Kiriya (Senran Kagura), Sakuya Tougane (Psycho Pass)
Baron of Aiguille (CV: Sugiyama Noriaki) – Akito (Norn9), Thor (Kamigami no Asobi), Suou Hana (Ayakashi Gohan), Katsuragi Naomasa (Yunohana Spring), Kashika Galle (Cendrillon Palika)
SIDE STORIES AND AFTER STORIES
I did Cantarella’s route first, followed by Finis and Sholme’s epilogues, then knocked out the love triangle dates before I played the main course, which is the “First Christmas” alternate stories for Wintertide Miracles. I myself, enjoyed this play-order, though I suggest doing whatever story you feel like going for first (that’s the whole point of a fandisc after all!)
CANTARELLA (Another Story)
This story happened somewhere in the middle of Guardian of Rebirth’s common route. On their way home, after watching a performance at the Royal Opera House, Cardia and the rest of Lupin’s gang witnessed an attempted kidnapping of the Opera House’s beloved songstress, Cantarella. The gang managed to save her (of course), after sending her perpetrator running for the hills. They then took Cantarella to her home for safety measures, which lead them to meet her so-called “father” Miles.
In this story, Cardia finds a friend in Cantarella and later on, discovers her true identity as both their existence managed to connect each other’s fates.
Just like “Lupin’s Gang’s” (side) story in Future Blessings, Cantarella’s route offers new likable characters and an interesting new plot to follow. Although I’ve very much enjoyed this story, I’m not sure how I feel about the writers throwing in essential(not to mention, lovable)characters on the third game, sincecanonically,the main plot officially ended in Future Blessings. 🥺It felt kind of unfair for Cantarella, Miles, and Auguille as side characters to get disregarded like that after this little episode. 🥺
Although the choices you make in Cantarella’s route, will not change the whole outcome of her story. It will, however, change a few scenes and dialogues in the game depending on the guy (main characters) your choices are inclined to. You can view my walkthrough for this route here.
FINIS’ EPILOGUE (After Story)
This after-story took place right after the end of Finis’s route in Future Blessings.
Six months have passed since Cardia managed to save his little brother, Finis from the unfortunate Nautilus incident. During this time, both twins return to their home in Wales, and spend each day cleaning and repairing their old abandoned house while building up their relationship as siblings. Suddenly, all hell breaks loose when one of Isaac Beckford’ssupposed-to-be-quarantinedinventions called the “Knockers”, has been spotted destroying a couple of buildings in London. It is now up to the Beckford twins(Finis’ most especially, since he’s fully knowledgeable when it comes to their father’s inventions)to stop the heaving uproar that threatened London’s citizens, their peaceful days.
This was probably one of my favorite After Stories in the series. Not only we get to see Finis in his true nature (AKA Cardia’s 🥰 cinnamon roll lil’ brother). We also get to see Lupin’s Gang and the Gordon Family in action. This epilogue was very heartwarming and I absolutely enjoyed seeing Finis’ soft side while he deliberately declares threats whenever one of the LI’s flirts with his sister! (´ ω `♡)
HERLOCK SHOLMES’S EPILOGUE (After Story)
This after-story took place right after the end of Sholme’s route in Future Blessings.
It’s been half a year since Sholmes defeated his arch-nemesis, James Moriarty(in Code realize Future Blessings). Cardia is now part of Sholmes’s Detective agency together with his partner, John Watson. The three of them fight crimes for the cause of good, even to the extent of *trying* (Read: failed!😂) to stop Lupin,the gentleman thief’splanneddiamond heistof the prized jewel,“Mermaid’s Tear”.
Sholmes’s main story centers around finding a cure to Cardia’s poison. Realizing the Horologiumin Cardia’s body still poses a threat to everyone in London, Sholmes gathers anA-team ofgeniuses in the field of science and medicine to help him find a solution to vanquish theHorologium’s foreboding risk. His A-team includes Victor Frankenstein, Dr. John Watson, Impey Barbicane, and of course, the deviant genius scientist Nemo, who now lives in a tiny cardboard box located in sewers (laughs)😂Poor guy!
During the process, more problems were introduced, which forced Sholmes and Cardia make one life-threatening decision.
I like how Sholmes’ epilogue was narrated in afairytale-esquekind of way, and I enjoyed his story’s fluff content to the fullest. However, this is probably the weakest story in the game(IMO) as there wasn’t anything “new” going on. Nonetheless, if you’re a fan of Sholmes, I’m sure you’ll have an awesome time discovering a few surprising sides of our favorite handsome detective. 😘
FIRST CHRISTMAS “Wintertide Miracles” (Alternate Stories)
These are “after-stories” that happened right after Finis’ route in Future Blessings. Wintertide Miracles are alternate stories where our heroine Cardia finds love during the Yuletide season.What’s special about these stories is that Cardia falls in love with one of the LI’s while her brother is alive! ❤️
Victor Frankenstein
After Isaac Beckford’s Nautilus incident that wreaked havoc in the city of London six months ago, Victor ended up opening a clinic located in the downtown part of London to help as many people as possible at a cheaper cost.
Victor’s main story started when he receives mail from his parents in Switzerland telling him to settle down. He eventually replied telling them he has no plans of getting married anytime soon, but then deliberately starts talking about how he’s currently interested in this ‘onespecial girl’and went all out writing two whole pages regarding his feelings for Cardia(laughs). (´ ε ` )♡ The next few days, he receives another letter from his folks saying they’re coming to London for Christmas so they can meet their son’s girlfriend. 🤣
As a result, a panicked Victor travels to Wales to ask Cardia to be his “pretend” girlfriend just for Christmas while his parents are in town. 😂
***This was by far the cutest, most endearing “First Christmas” story I’ve read among the selections and I absolutely enjoyed it to bits! Besides its overwhelming romantic contents, we also get to see Victor introducing Cardia to his parents (in CG!).
Saint Germain
Six months after the Nautilus Incident, Saint Germain, visits Idea’s leader Omnibus to report that both Finis and Cardia, (AKA Isaac Beckford’s “problem twins”) are now living peacefully in Wales as normal human beings, and are no longer a threat to humanity. As one of Idea’s faithful apostles, he awaits Omnibus’s next order but was surprised when the old lady tells him to go take a long sweet vacation instead.
Still dumbfounded by their leader’s words, Saint Germain goes back to his mansion to find something to do with his newly acquired free time, but since everyone in the gang went about their own lives after London’s incident, he was left, as the only resident in his house. This made him feel lonely, and even admits to himself, how much he misses the rowdy group clamoring the premises of his mansion. What’s more, is that he longs to see the face of his beloved(Cardia), whom he has not seen since his last visit to Wales.
So he decides to write invitation letters to the gang for a Christmas “Get-together” party. Though unsure if his anticipated guests would make it to the planned event. Saint Germain waits with hopeful eyes to see the faces of his precious friends again.
***The part where he waits for his friends actually made me tear. 😭 Why are Saint Germain’s stories always melancholic?I also wanna point out that this is the only episode in the whole series where we get to see Guinevere outside her armor! Seriously, you absolutely can’t miss this!
Abraham Van Helsing
After London’s Nautilus incident, Van decides to travel with Delly all over the country in search of survivors of the Vampire War.
During their travels, the duo hears about the upcoming Christmas festival in London and decides to come home for the occasion to attend the gang’s Christmas party at Saint Germain’s mansion. This made both Van and Delly excited as they haven’t seen everyone in so long.While at it, Delly proposes to take a side trip to Wales before coming to London and see the Beckford twins. Van agrees with Cardia in mind. ( ´ ▽ ` )
A few days have passed, and they both arrived at the Beckford’s home in Wales only to be disheartened to see the twins not being around. Feeling optimistic, Van and Delly decided to wait. Night falls, and finally, Cardia and Finis arrived in the most unfashionable way ever lol(their automobile almost came crashing towards the duo).😂 Right after everyone says their greetings, Cardia invites both of them to stay for the night.
Thesupposed-to-beone-night stay turned into days, and the group eventually decided to go to London together. While still in Wales, Cardia wanted to make everyone Christmas presents through knitting and Van insisted on helping her with it.
***I love this! (/▽＼*) This surprising side of Van Helsing is all I ever wanted. It’s so refreshing to see him happy, always smiling, and in his positive beaming self!
Impey Barbicane
Half a year has passed since the Nautilus incident in London. Impey, decides to re-invent the gravity alleviator, so he visits the deviant scientist Nemo in prison from time to time to take some notes and some love advices while at it.
One day, In Saint G’s mansion, Saint tells Impey that Van and Delly are coming back to London for Christmas. Since Lupin and Victor are already residing in the city, they decided to might as well invite Cardia and Finis for the gang to reunite once more this Yuletide season.
Meanwhile, in Wales, Cardia(while fixing their automobile)thinks of Impey’s constant declaration of love for her makes her heart feel allwoozy. She gets ultra confused knowing she *loves*Impey too, but also“loves”the other members of the gang, and her brother Finis. With this train of thought, she pesters her little bro and forced him to say the phrase“I love you” (to her),to which a blushing Finis,with all the effort, reluctantly did.(This was adorably hilarious! I just can’t!😂) Cardia realizes it’s different when Impey says it 😂😂😂 and gets even more baffled. ROFL.
Later that day, they received a package from London in the form of a miniature Impey doll with a recording of Impey, Saint G, and Lupin’s voice telling the twins to come home for Christmas.
***I really enjoyed reading this one! I love how Cardia was so forward of wanting to explore her own feelings and tries to discover the different meanings of “love”. Also, Seeing Impey immensely blush in this route was such an awesome treat! I couldn’t help but smile from ear to ear! Another plus point was that we get to see Nemo give love advices, and to me was the icing on the cake in this story! (laughs)
Arsene Lupin
After the Nautilus incident in London six months ago, Lupin is back doing his thievery schemes like the proud gentleman thief he is.
One day while on a mission to steal a prized necklace from a corrupt Duke’s estate, he ends up getting chased by Leonhartd (as usual) and while he was about to execute his dashing escape, he gets distracted(by thoughts of Cardia)and gets shot by a rubber bullet instead. This not only surprised Lupin himself but also got his perpetrators,Leonhardt, and companypuzzled. 😂 How they managed to take out the famed thief in one easy shot was beyond belief.In the end, an injured Lupin still managed to get away as he limped his way back to safety.
Back in the mansion, Victor, along with Impey, confronts Lupin saying he’s not being his usual self lately, and asks him to perhaps, take a rain check from work(theft missions). A week later, Saint Germain chimes in, telling him the same and suggests that perhaps he’s longing for“someone”.Taking the Count’s advice to heart, Lupin begins to think of Cardia and how her absence is taking a toll on him. He then concedes with his true feelings and finally admits he misses her badly, and the only way to cure this yearning is to see her face to face.So he starts writing the ‘perfect’ love letter for his dearly beloved. 😂
***I must say, this after-story has the best CGs, as expected from the game’s headcanon boy. Just like Lupin’s story in Future Blessings, it had its glorious romantic moments between him and Cardia. This route will no doubt leave Lupin fans pleasantly fed!
TRIANGLE DATES (More CGs!)
These are short scenarios of Cardia spending her day with two characters in the game (sub-characters included). Although these stories are shorter compared to the ‘First Christmas’selection, it was stillkind ofimpressive how exceptionally good these little episodes were.
Here’s a list of all the Love Triangle episodes (you can play it in any order):
- Lupin and Victor ♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎
- Lupin and Impey ♥︎♥︎♥︎
- Lupin and Van ♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎
- Lupin and Saint Germain ♥︎♥︎♥︎
- Van and Impey ♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎
- Van and Victor ♥︎♥︎♥︎
- Van and Saint Germain ♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎
- Impey and Victor ♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎
- Impey and Saint Germain ♥︎♥︎♥︎
- Victor and Saint Germain ♥︎♥︎♥︎
Secret Episodes:
- Delly and Sisi ♥︎♥︎♥︎
- Aleister and Nemo ♥︎♥︎♥︎
- Hansel and John Watson ♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎
EXTRA CONTENT: BEACH (SUMMER) SCENES
These are additional contents that are only exclusive to the Nintendo Switch port. After clearing a character’s “First Christmas” route (Epilogues for Finis and Sholmes), a special beach CG unlocks, along with a short story that comes with it. To play these extra stories, you’ll need to go to the game’s gallery in the EXTRAS section, select the beach CG of a character, and press ‘X’ to read these summer-themed epilogues.
SPECIAL EPILOGUES
These are short epilogue stories continuing the last events of Future Blessings (White Rose). These will unlock last, after finishing all of the above’s selections.
IMPEY
It’s been a few days and Impey hasn’t returned home after going on a work-related project(fixing airships and submarine engines in London).Cardia was left alone in the mansion and while she knows Impey will be returning soon, she thought of surprising him by gathering a lot of research documents related to their‘moon-project’. She leaves for Wales to collect any information her father might have written in the past that can possibly help with the project. Not to ruin the surprise for her hardworking husband, she leaves a note that says “I’m going”.
Impey arrives at home, finds Cardia’s note, then starts to panic thinking Cardia has left him.😂 So he hurries and follows her to Wales to clear up this whole silly misunderstanding.
LUPIN
Cardia and Lupin go on a date and Lupin suggest it’s about time to go on a honeymoon. The next few days, he takes Cardia to his birth city, Paris. There, they visited and the grave of his master,Theophraste,and both of them said their prayers. They also ran into the head of the French police whom Lupin coined as someone equivalent to Leonhardt. They had everyone(in the French police)chase them for fun and the couple gallantly escaped in style.
VAN
Cardia and Van are finally getting married and Shirley helps Cardia put on her wedding dress. Cardia decided to step outside the church so she could practice walking in her high-heel shoes when a bunch ofmen in black suitskidnaps her and takes her to another wedding location. There she finds an impatient man wearing a groom’s outfit who urges her to walk down the aisle with him. Cardia remembers the combat techniques her husband taught her and throws the man to the floor 😂. Meanwhile, a worried and upset Van kicks through the church door and started taking down the men in suits Liam Neesonstyle! 😂 😂 😂 Before things get worse, the gang stops Van and explains this was all a misunderstanding as the kidnappers and groom were actually actors and the bride actress never showed up for rehearsals so they thought Cardia was her by mistake. Moral of the Story: Don’t mess with this couple… ever! 😂
VICTOR
Cardia is now working as Victor’s assistant in the Royal Society. Though they call themselves husband and wife, they realize they never really had an actual wedding ceremony. So Victor asks Cardia if she wants to have a proper wedding, and she says yes. A few days later, they began looking for a church in London but couldn’t find any because it’s peak season. Queen Victoria, along with Leonhardt, notices Victor’s sullen expression and asks him what’s wrong. Victor tells them their circumstance, and her majesty promises to help them. On the day of their wedding, Victoria permitted them to use the newly renovated St. Paul’s Cathedral as their venue. They got married in front of their friends and the Queen, and Cardia couldn’t be any happier.
SAINT GERMAIN
Cardia is now free of her poison, and she and Saint Germain return to London, so they can hold their wedding ceremony. The Count buys the ship“Gloria” from their mafia adventures (in Future Blessings)and tells her this ship will be their wedding site (wow). A day before their promised wedding, Hansel takes Cardia to the enchanted forest, and there they meet with Saint G and the leader of Idea, Omnibus. The old lady gives them her blessing, tells them, they will no longer be in the watchful eye of Idea and Saint Germain is now finally,free!The couple both said theirthanks to Omnibus. They got married in their luxurious ship the next day, celebrating the event happily, along with their friends.
Will I be able to enjoy this game even if I haven’t played Future Blessings?
There were a lot of characters and events in Future Blessings that were added to this game, so I don’t think it’s a good idea to skip Future Blessings in the series. In addition, the main “Wintertide Miracles” stories continue from the last events of Finis’s route in FB – all the more reason not to skip the first fandisc.
SYSTEM AND LOCALIZATION
(Updated) I played both the PS VITA and the Switch version of this game, and they were practically identical minus the steamy beach CGs and summer-themed short stories that are only available on the switch. I did notice that the switch’s system was more sluggish to load compared to the VITA version. My game also crashed twice(switch version)while force-skipping some scenes.
As for its localization, there were a few typo mistakes, as well as dialogues that flew over the textboxes that I couldn’t really overlook. Nonetheless, it’s not something that’ll deter your entire experience of the game as a whole.┐(︶▽︶)┌
TRAILER
OVERALL THOUGHTS?
It took me a good 10-15 hours to finish all of Code Realize: Wintertide Miracles. Despite me trying to make the game last forever for at least, a week, I finished it pretty quickly in just a few days!
Cantarella’s side story was way better than the gang’s Mafia adventures in Future Blessings and I wish the ‘Cantarella-characters’ would’ve made a cameo in the special epilogues, because seriously,what a waste of good characters to be squeezed in, on the third game. ┐(‘～` )┌
Finis wins best boy in my book. One of the things I really appreciated most in this FD was FINIS, and I’m sure most Code Realize fans would agree. Finis’ character finally gets justice! We get to see more of his adorable side as Cardia’s darling little brother while maintaining his hostile and dubious personality.😂 Who would’ve thought this boy is such a tsun! ❤
Do I recommend this game? YES (esp. to all Code Realize fans)
Take note, CR: Wintertide Miracles is the third game of the series, Code Realize. So literally, one cannot play it all willy-nilly without completing the first two titles(Guardian of Rebirth & Future Blessings). Personally, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this game, but that’s because I’m already a huge fan of the series. Perhaps to those who aren’t into Code Realize, you probably won’t enjoy this as much.
All in all, this was a really good fandisc. The game’s romantic Christmas motif really took this title up a notch and the newly added side stories were very captivaying, it’ll surely put a jubilant smile on your face!If you already like Code Realize, loved the game’s main casts, & sub-characters, and wished for more steampunk adventures with them, Code Realize: Wintertide Miracles is certainly a must-have in your otome collection!
