2011 -- 8.0 / 10
My girlfriend recommended this game for inspiration for my own game, so we played it together over like a month and a half!
Before I get into the intricacies of each route, I figure it's best to talk about the main meat and potatoes of the game: the actual gameplay. I think the music is good. It’s not like I want a full soundtrack, but it’s at least non-intrusive and that’s all I could ask for (Especially as someone who’ll gladly turn off sounds in games). The UI is really fun and engaging and I love the way stats and day-to-day activities are laid out. It’s fleshed out enough to feel realistic while not being overwhelming either.
I also really like the shopping mechanics. The shopping mechanic allowed you to dress up which helped give a nice stat boost/woo the guys. Also, I LOVED the inbox feature– it added a lot of personality to characters, from the email they had to how they typed. Very cute feature.
I do wish the girls had more special events– It kind of got repetitive having the same 3 conversations with them if you went to get food together. However, I do like that there’s variation if you walk home with them. I know it’s an otome game and not focused on the girls, so I can forgive that because I realize they’re not the centerpiece of the game. The boy’s routes are a lot more well-rounded in that respect which made them very engaging.
A lot of the gameplay seems to have been taken from specifically TokiMemo Girls Side. However, I think they kind of streamlined it in a way that makes it a little more manageable. I think also the fact you can skip over text you've read in the past (thank you, Renpy engine!) helps a lot too.
I think it was overall written really well. Some things are unpleasant but also sadly reflective of the time it was written in (the r-word gets brought up like 2 times, and then there’s the aforementioned slur against Roma people like 1-2 times. Also, it feels like the ‘teacher dating option’ isn’t as popular anymore which thank fucking god.) [For reference, the game was released in 2011]. I really think they did really good work with all of the characters, making them unique and all stand out on their own with their interpersonal dynamics, feelings and thoughts. The game really showed a nice competency of design, allowing for a lot of small variations in routes too which was nice.
Now, onto the Routes!
Shuppin
Shuppin was the first ‘main’ route I finished, i.e., one of the guys. Shuppin is an absolute sweetheart and it really shows in his route. I really liked his character and his route felt like a very nice, natural progression of friendship into romance by the end. I like his ending a lot of them being able to follow their passions but still be in a long-distance relationship. ... Still sad he didn’t seem to like any of the movies-
Perth
Perth’s route is one that I really like, even though it’s a little silly at times. His good options are very transparent– anything that reasserts his masculinity. He’s often seen as cutesy and infantilized by those around him, and due to that is very assertive of his masculinity. It sounds like it can be an annoying route via that– but in a way, in regards to beinging infantilized by others, I get it and I sympathize with him. I really feel like it was a fun and unique way to go with a character like this who’s relegated as the ‘cutesy’ type. His route is out of the way like his sister, Petime’s, but it’s worth it to go through it.
Mardi
Mardi is the ‘hidden’ male romance option. His route doesn’t connect with anyone else’s, so there’s a lot of independent events. At first he kind of rubbed me the wrong way, but by the end, it was really fun and worth it going through his route.
Dys
Dys felt like she maybe had the most meat to her route out of the girls, but I really appreciate the depth involved. For her route, a little backstory is in order: She and Shuppin are twins who were separated via adoption. She seems to have been adopted back into her birth family, but Shuppin was adopted by a single father. They ended up meeting more recently and Dys’ route involves a lot of her internal struggle of wanting to be close to Shuppin by virtue of them being related, but it doesn’t seem as though he’s reciprocating those feelings.
I really think they handle this situation with a lot of grace. I don’t want to assume anything too much of the developer’s life (it’s not my business), but it really feels like they had some sort of insight into the complexities of adoption, which is such a nice breath of fresh air, especially as a lot of adoption narratives feel shallow, especially pitting ‘birth family’ and ‘adoptive family’ against each other as these two forces that have to be at odds with each other. Dys’ route did not feel like that at all, and it was more focused on the different ways people react to adoption. I really can’t compare another series doing it as seamlessly and as well as this. As much as I love other routes, I really think this stands out to me because of how realistic it felt.
Lamb
Lamb, my beloved. I think she might’ve been my favorite character; She’s a rich girl who comes across as snobby, but it’s hinted she’s actually very lonely and perhaps has no other friends. Her route really was fun and I really enjoyed learning about her as a character. Something about her route felt like it was really veering into an unspoken romance towards the end which I absolutely loved. Lamb... You should’ve been a romance option.
Merle
Merle was the last route I did! Maybe it’s because I had ended up doing a lot of her dialogues through other means, but it didn’t feel as full as the rest. However, as a character I think she’s a lot of fun! I really like her and Dys’ interactions especially. Also, her x Dys should've been canon, just saying.
Petime
Petime’s route is very out of the way but honestly a lot of fun. While playing with my girlfriend we were happily theorizing just what she could’ve done, as most of the route focuses on the fact she has a bad reputation amongst others despite her sweet personality. In fact, when the reveal came, I thought she should’ve attacked the girl–... But that’s neither here nor there. She’s so sweet, loved her route.
Lufika
Lufika is absolutely adorable. Her route is a little out of the way (not as much as Petime’s though)-- but it’s very, very worth it. She’s a year younger than our protag, but she becomes very cutely attached. I’d honestly say her route was on the same level of feeling like it could feel like an unspoken romantic route as Lamb’s. Very, very endearing.
LRR has 5 (6 if you count Mardi) male romance options... So you may read this and wonder where the others are. I didn’t care to date them, lol... I had a few reasons for each.
Marius
Marius was the character I was initially leaning towards, actually. However, he kept pissing me off– one with making weird comments about the MC if you dress cutely, the other is his use of a slur against Roma people. I really did not care to continue his route.
Rhett
I don’t have much to say about him other than he annoyed me. He’s not an awful option, but he wasn’t cute enough for me to pair Sal with him going down that annoying ‘he’s mean because he likes you’ route.
Beck
Pedophile. He’s in his mid-20s hitting on teenagers left, right and center. I don’t wanna be involved in this lol. Probably the worst part of the game is the fact you have to meet him every route.
Overall, Lucky Rabbit Reflex was genuinely a fun experience and if you can overlook some of the more dated parts, it’s a fun game. I think [most] of the characters were really charming and everything was paced really well. I do wish I liked the other male options given, but even in the best of visual novels, they're not all going to resonate with each player.
6:42pm .. .. // 06.06.2025