Game: Homura: The Crimson Warriors
Genre: Adventure, Visual Novel, Otome
System: Nintendo Switch
Developer | Publisher: Design Factory | Idea Factory
Age Rating: US Teen | EU 12+
Price: US $39.99 | UK £34.99 | EU € 39,99
Release Date: March 31st, 2026
Review code used with many thanks to Reef Entertainment.
Romancing The Sanada Braves
Homura: The Crimson Warriors is a historic Otome game. It tells the fictional story of what happened after the battle of Sekigahara and about the Sanada Ten Braves at Osaka Castle. Fourteen years earlier, the battle of Sekigahara split Japan into two factions. The Tokugawa shogunate is in control now and plans to eliminate the Toyotomi clan. The Toyotomi clan plans to face Tokugawa using Osaka Castle as a base. Calls for support are made, and one of the brave warriors who answers the call is Nobushige Sanada.
Our female main character is Mutsumi. She is a trained ninja and was sent on a mission by her master and teacher, Hakuunsai Tozawa, to deliver a secret letter to the Sanada family. While on her mission to deliver the letter, she encounters an enemy ninja trying to desecrate a grave. When she confronts the enemy, her mission is almost compromised, but just in time, she is saved by the very person to whom she is supposed to deliver the letter, Nobushige Sanada and his famed Sanada ninjas.
Hakuunsai sent Mutsumi to join up with Nobushige and his Sanada ninjas to go fight in Osaka. But first, Mutsumi has to prove herself to her new master and the other Sanada ninjas.
The Sanada Ninjas
There are a total of five routes to play, and they are all available from the start. I searched for the recommended route order online, and I found a recommended order, and this was it: Sasuke -> Kamanosuke -> Juzo -> Saizo -> Nobushige. I enjoyed this order, and it gave me a cohesive experience. But it also said there wasn’t a strict order, and you can interchange Sasuke and Kamanosuke, and Juzo and Saizo.
Sasuke Sarutobi
The youngest of the Sanada ninjas. He was raised by Hakuunsai Tozawa as well, but claims to have never met Mutsumi before. Sasuke is the most skilled ninja of the group; he mostly does intelligent and protective work. Mutsumi and Sasuke have more in common with each other than they first think, being trained by the same master and all.
At first, Sasuke is serious and the most doubtful of Mutsumi potentially serving Nobushige. Even though he and Mutsumi were trained by the same master, their ninja experience is vastly different. But eventually, we see a softer side of Sasuke. He slowly starts to root for Mutsumi. He even has an adorable little monkey for a friend.
Kamanosuke Yuri
Kamanosuke is a former samurai and now a member of the Sanada ninjas. We meet him a little later in chapter 1, but immediately, he is a big presence in the group. On the outside, he appears to be super confident; he even claims to be an incredible guy who can do it all. But underneath it all, he wants to prove he earns his spot with the famous Sanada ninjas. He is kind and really values empathy above all.
Kama (his nickname) is kind to Mutsumi from the first moment they meet, and at the start, is a big advocate for her to join them. Even though he seems like an unserious guy who only thinks about fighting and having fun, he gives Mutsumi and other members of the group great advice that’s very level-headed.
I enjoyed Kama’s route a lot. Even from the first three chapters, I quickly felt a friendly connection with him. He is a wise man who always gives Mutsumi the advice she is looking for. And he even gives her new perspectives sometimes.
Juzo Kakei
Juzo is the closest to Nobushige. He is the former retainer of the Sanada clan and still an attendant to Nobushige. Instead of using a blade or another ninja weapon, he specialises in modified firearms, gunpowder and explosives. He is the most level-headed and calm one of the group and can make the best decisions under pressure. This is why Mutsumi often goes to Juzo when a big decision needs to be made in battle or attacks.
Immediately after starting his route, I thought: “he is attractive” (in an Otome game way, of course). He seems a bit mysterious, but is very smooth and cares a lot about women. But he plays hard to get a little bit, it seems. Like, yes, I am the perfect man, but you can never have me because I have morals about not dating someone I am working with.
Saizo Kirigakure
Right away, I knew this was a strange character. Saizo is a confident swordsman and ninja, and loves a good challenge. He is ruthless, and you never know what he is thinking. It’s clear that Saizo loves to use women to make his life comfortable, especially Kunoichi’s. A Kunoichi is a term for a female ninja who uses their feminine charm to complete missions. One of Saizo’s first interactions with Mutsumi is him asking her to come and serve him, instead of Nobushige.
While at the start, I found Saizo appalling and kept comparing him to a snake, both personality-wise and how he looked, he did grow on me, and I felt his relationship with Mutsumi grow into some sort of enemies-to-lovers relationship. The back and forth they have going on his route was fun, and I enjoyed myself with his route.
Nobushige Sanada
This man is what the whole story is about. The second son of the Sanada family. After he fought at the battle of Sekigahara, he was exiled to Mt. Kudo along with his father, who was later assassinated. Leaving Nobushige by himself. Ever since the rumblings of another uprising, Nobushige has been waiting to go back to the battlefield to prove that the Sanadas are a threat.
Nobushige is a stern man and very serious. But there is a lot of kindness there, and we see it on a number of occasions. And we even see Nobushige’s drive to prove himself and what that does to him. He uses a unique weapon that you don’t see ninjas use often, and it is a trident of sorts. Mutsumi gets to meet this trident very early on in the game.
The relationship between Nobushige and Mutsumi was hinted at even in the general chapters, mainly in a mocking sense. That Nobushige was too old for Mutsumi, but of course, the writers made it work. And I didn’t think it was weird.
Visuals and Sound
The background music very much reminds me of the music in Olympia Soiree. The music has the same feel to it, and I enjoyed listening to it. Homura: The Crimson Warriors also has a good range of different BGM songs; some were romantic, and some were heavier and filled with tension. I always like it when the BGM makes the game better for me, because I can immerse myself more in their world.
Visually, it looked good, like all the other Idea Factory Otome games. What made the CGs beautiful was the use of lighting. Whether it was a sunset or moonlight, the lighting makes the images look idyllic, and it also puts the characters in the spotlight.
A standout for me was also the character designs. Every character had its own unique design and its own personal trinkets and patterns on its costume. The design really shows who the character is.
System of Homura: The Crimson Warriors
Apart from the standard system functions, we also got some new ones and also functions they didn’t add.
Atlas
The Atlas shows us, the reader, a strategic map of various locations that Mutsumi has visited. It is a great addition to this game, because so many places are named and talked about, that it is hard to know where we are. Especially when they talk about territories and various camps that are set up.
Energy reading
Essentially, this is the love catch overview, but designed in a new way. You can check each character’s romance level by looking at the number of lanterns lit and how far the flower has bloomed. And you can check the character’s ring level, which can be low or high. But what that means, I cannot reveal.
Ninja Scrolls
This function isn’t playable until much later in Homura: The Crimson Warriors. Here you can read summaries of the chapter you’ve played. I think this will mostly be useful when there is a long time between playing chapters.
One thing I was missing was a sort of chapter overview. I always like to know how many chapters there are in a route and if I am in the good or bad ending. I have really gotten used to my Otome flowcharts.
Overall thoughts
From the moment I started playing Homura: The Crimson Warriors, I was interested. I think the reason is that I was intrigued by all the unique characters. Mutsumi also impressed me. In every route, she got the chance to hone her ninja skills, and I was loving it. She never acted like she was the best ninja out there and knew she needed more training. And wasn’t afraid to ask for help from the others.
Okay, this game really focuses on telling a historical story. And while there is nothing wrong with that, I did get lost in the story with all of the information the writers gave us, especially in the first three chapters. The writers are giving us a lot of terms and words for us to learn about, but at some point, I didn’t read it anymore and just played the game. In the end, everything does make sense, but I just felt very overwhelmed at the start.
The pricing of the game is lower than it usually is for Otome games. Maybe because Homura: The Crimson Warriors is a little shorter than Otome games normally are. It has 9 chapters, but it didn’t take me long to read a chapter. With this lower price, I do think it’s really worth picking up.
Conclusion
I would recommend the game. If you love learning more about Japanese history and enjoy romance sprinkled in, then Homura: The Crimson Warriors is definitely for you. I really enjoyed playing it; it was history mixed in with some magic and good characters.
Final verdict: I like it a lot
Do you like our content?
Subscribe to our daily news and never miss a review!