Across the many years I’ve been reviewing video games, I’ve come across a vast array of visual novels. I’m always happy to play the games in this story focused genre, and part of the reason for this is because of the sheer variety. Some visual novels focus solely on romance (be the setting feudal Japan or a fantasy circus), others are sci-fi epics full of betrayal, death and political drama. Sometimes the only interaction you’ll have with the game will be to choose between conversation options, sometimes you’ll have to solve puzzles and really engage your brain. Kamikaze Lassplanes is a visual novel about hot women who turn into warplanes, complete with shoot ’em up sections where you fly them into battle. Aren’t video games wonderful?
Your character in Kamikaze Lassplanes is Walter, a hotshot pilot living in the relatively tiny Kingdom of Velestia. This once humble place was catapulted into a position of power in the world thanks to the discovery of Light, a magical material that seems to have limitless energy potential and has been used to power all sorts of wonderful Inventions like an impenetrable barrier to keep all citizens safe. This almost sounds too good to be true, and with conversations often turning to the empire outside of your bubble that’s struggling without light there’s clearly trouble brewing.
Before any of that drama kicks off though, Walter is simply excited that he’s been chosen to take part in the Lassplane program. As a normal fella he’s worked hard to become the best the military has to offer, and can’t believe he’s been chosen to pilot one of the girls who can magically transform into a plane that are said to be stronger than hundreds of regular aircraft. Unsure what to expect when he meets his new transforming partner, he’s shocked to discover she’s a cheerful and often downright silly girl with the even sillier name Alba Trosse. She’s not at all the hardened military veteran he was expecting, but wouldn’t you know it they get on like a house on fire.
Now in typical visual novel style, Alba is very much a romanceable character in Kamikaze Lassplanes. She isn’t the only romance option though, as a few chapters into the game you’ll meet a mysterious blonde woman. Exuding power and with a much more cynical attitude, Hannah Brandenburg is the polar opposite of Alba in many ways which makes them both more enjoyable to spend time with. Whereas Alba is charming to everyone she meets, Hannah would rather not meet anyone at all, and you’d better believe that stuffy military types won’t be telling her what to do. Depending on your choices you’ll likely end up falling in love with one of these plane girls, but with eight different endings possible there’s no guarantee it’ll be a happy one.
No matter how much you’d rather be spending your time chatting up war machines, the evil empire is hellbent on interrupting your romance with war. Sprinkled among the lengthy narrative sections are typical shoot ‘em up stages, which I’ll admit I was expecting to be more of a fun distraction than anything else. They were actually the highlight of the game for me, as they’re simply wonderfully created and most importantly the perfect difficulty.
These Shmup sections don’t necessarily do anything too outlandish, but they’re just an absolute blast to play. With all sorts of power ups for you to collect that improve your weaponry, a powerful super attack to unleash, and all loads of different enemy types to gun down, fans of this typically arcadey genre will find a lot to love in this side of Kamikaze Lassplanes.
I had a great time from start to finish with Kamikaze Lassplanes, but it has a few issues that some will appreciate less than others. It’s incredibly noticeable how few character models the game features almost immediately, because it’s pretty much exactly two. This makes the game feel a little lifeless, and definitely detracts from the experience as a whole. There’s also a lot of fan-service style content, where the camera will pan across the bodies of the sexy plane girls, which will definitely give some people the ick.
Kamikaze Lassplanes might not tell the most highbrow and thought provoking story, but it’s incredibly easy to lose hours in thanks to being an easy read, and having delightful shoot ‘em up stages to break up the narrative. Not everyone will appreciate its more raunchy content, but if that doesn’t put you off then you’ll find an incredibly moreish war romance that you’ll fly through in no time.