Much like how protagonist Ichiko could not tear her eyes away from her new mistress, Aria Iwakura, when she first saw her, I fell in love with Iwakura Aria the moment I saw the game’s art. This Switch game is a gripping suspense drama and romance that’s occasionally dragged down by its translation.
Iwakura Aria takes place during the summer of 1966, a time of rapid economic growth in post-World War II Japan. Ichiko Kitagawa isn’t reaping any of those benefits, though. She’s an orphan girl who has to sell trinkets and her artwork to raise money for the facility. Her painting catches the eye of Amane Iwakura, a rich businessman who purchases her art and hires her as a live-in maid. This is only the first life-changing meeting Ichiko has that summer, as she’s almost instantly enchanted by Aria Iwakura, Amane’s daughter.
The story isn’t a simple romance between a maid and her mistress. Ichiko keeps encountering strange rooms and odd people while working at the Iwakura manor, and both Aria and Amane are keeping secrets from her. As Ichiko learns more about the Iwakura family, her relationship with Aria shifts from its initial innocent admiration to something much darker.
Iwakura Aria is a straightforward visual novel that occasionally offers choices to progress. At times, you can move Ichiko around as she cleans the manor, which can unlock some additional dialogue and information. I personally liked the story quite a bit, especially the human drama and mysteries it presents. The game’s pacing was phenomenal, lingering just enough to pull you into the character’s thoughts or situation without overstaying its welcome. Every time it solves one conflict, it sets up another after a brief respite, so it’s never dull.
The relationship between Ichiko and Aria is the key point of tension in the game, as well as the story’s focus. “Sweet” might not be the right word, but it’s compelling with plenty of romantic and painful moments. It’s frustrating in a positive way, between Aria’s reticence and Ichiko’s subconscious toxicity. The game did a good job in making you sympathize and empathize with both of them. If you’re into darker and more psychological yuri, their relationship is a fun rabbit hole to jump into.
While the entire cast did an amazing job on this game, Sayumi Suzushiro’s portrayal of protagonist Ichiko was particularly memorable. Her sobbing and voice breaking in emotional scenes elevated them, and I really liked the way she changed her tone and speech patterns depending on who Ichiko spoke to. With Sui, her friend, she took on a deeper register and conversational manner of stringing her words together. However, when Ichiko spoke with Aria, the breathy and high-pitched way of speaking had elements of both a nervous maid and a girl in love. I liked Suzushiro back in Master Detective Archives: Rain Code, but her acting in Iwakura Aria stood out even among veterans like Aria’s Chie Nakamura (Sakura in Naruto) and Amane’s Toshiyuki Morikawa (Sephiroth in Final Fantasy).
Unfortunately, despite the mesmerizing story and artwork, the English localization falls short and can distract from the experience. There were multiple instances where the meaning of the English translation did not match the original script. For the most part, these wouldn’t affect one’s understanding of the story; they only caught my attention because I know Japanese. However, there are also moments where even someone who doesn’t understand the language would go, “Uh, what?”
In one memorable scene, the translator defaulted to using “Tch” where words like “Nrgh…” or even “Eek…” would have worked perfectly fine. It gave the impression that Ichiko really did not want to spend time with Aria, even though it was supposed to be a moment of levity or playful flirting. I didn’t appreciate the translation pulling me out of scenes like that, especially in a story with as much underlying tension as Iwakura Aria’s.
Though the story can sometimes verge on the uncomfortable—it delves into themes of child abuse, self-harm, and sexual violence—it still provided a fascinating read. The pencil crayon-like artwork of 100 Nen is also a treat, giving the whole game a unique and eye-catching aesthetic. Ichiko and Aria’s relationship developing from indifference to friendship to an obsessive love that bordered on hatred is the kind of content I always eat up, and man, did MAGES provide a feast.
Iwakura Aria will come out on August 14, 2025 for the Nintendo Switch and Windows PC.
The Iwakura mansion holds a dark secret. Ichiko the new young maid joins looking for nothing but safety and security, but would soon find herself entangled with the beautiful daughter of the Iwakura household. Unravel the secrets of the Iwakura mansion in this gripping suspense visual novel.
A beautiful and intriguing story with a main pairing that I love to support, but the translations can distract, even if you don't understand what the characters are saying. Switch version reviewed. Review copy provided by company for testing purposes.
- Sui is a breath of fresh air in the story. I simultaneously wanted her around all the time for Ichiko's sake, while also hoping she'll be so busy at her other job she's never around for any of the messes in the manor.
- Aria's writing and character design are fantastic because it's really easy to relate to Ichiko's almost immediate obsession with her. But Ichiko never becomes a self-insert type of protagonist. The story is ultimately about Ichiko and Aria's relationship, not the player's relationship with Aria.
- Some LQA could have seriously helped. Aside from the specific example I listed in the review, I remember a line from Aria that reads like the translator thought Ichiko was speaking. Five minutes into the game, I encountered a mistranslation so jarring that it immediately broke my concentration, and I believe it's an obvious enough error that people who don't know Japanese can catch it, too.
Published: Aug 11, 2025 09:00 am