Ambitious Mission - I actually liked Mitsuko and Horoko a lot!

Ambitious Mission (アンビシャス ミッション) is a visual novel developed by SAGA PLANETS and released in 2022. It also received two small (4-5 hours of content) fandisks under the "After" subtitle. These focus partially on the after-stories of the main heroines and partially on side heroines that didn't get enough time to shine in the main game.

The story follows Nezu Mikage, a high school student who just started living alone (while working part-time) after leaving the orphanage. He gets involved with Kaguya after discovering her secret phantom thief persona and is forced to become one himself after showing he has a talent for it.

He eventually becomes the main thief of the group, with Kaguya shifting to a supporting role. Kaguya wants to collect the 12 jewels called "Ambitious" because it is said that when gathered together, they can grant any wish. She has a big wish to make, even if it is not revealed what it is at the beginning of the story.

The structure of the story is very fluid and slowly adds new characters and elements as the team closes in on gathering the remaining jewels. At the same time, there is another side developing: the "cryptocurrency" plotline. Honestly, this was a bit weird for a visual novel, but considering the time this was made, they probably wanted to jump on the bandwagon.

Apparently, in this world, everyone uses this currency in their daily life. The protagonist gets entangled with its creator (an old man living at the hospital where Atena is recovering) and other people who want to steal control of the currency to use it for their nefarious purposes.

Protagonist himself has a series of secrets he doesn't even know about and learning about them over the course of the story is the key toward resolving the mystery around the events of this visual novel. The reveals one after another near the end were actually quite surprising to me.

The main heroines are:

Arise Kaguya

The titular poster heroine of the game. She puts up a facade in front of others of a typical refined lady but is actually way more down-to-earth. She tries to keep up appearances to hide her role as one of the mysterious phantom thieves. She has a reason for targeting the items that is linked to her past.

Arise Atena

Kaguya's older sister. She is in a wheelchair due to an incident many years ago when she was still a child. Unlike Kaguya, she is truly a refined lady in terms of behavior, even if she has a mischievous side that shows from time to time whenever the protagonist is involved.

Hongou Nijimu

A gal in both looks and personality. She is generally the mood maker of the group and is extremely friendly to pretty much everyone. She works as a gravure model and is the one doing makeup for the thieves.

Ishikawa Yae

Small figure and quite shy. She is the descendant of a family that has protected the city as kunoichi over the centuries, and she inherited that job from her mother. She joins the thieves despite her supposedly being in the enemy side

And the side heroines:

Arise Horoko

An adult woman linked with Atena and Kaguya. She works together with various detective and police organizations to stop the items from being stolen. She holds the antagonist role for most of the main game.

Charlotte Di Curvehorn Yeatz

A small and adorable girl who is the detective dispatched by Interpol to try and catch Kaguya and the protagonist. She is a parody of Sherlock Holmes and often displays supernatural strength and speed, justifying it by saying she is proficient in the martial arts skill called "Baritsu". She is best friends with Yae, but doesn't know she is a thief.

Nezu Miharu

The older sister (not by blood) of the protagonist who helps at the orphanage and studies at a university. She is the heroine of one of the fandisks.

Ishikawa Mitsuko

Yae's mother (not blood-related) and the predecessor Kunoichi protecting the city before Yae. She acts strict with Yae but actually loves her a lot.

The game has multiple routes, but also a True End where all the story threads are resolved at once. I suggest completing the "minor" heroines like Nijimu and Yae first because their stories are less linked to the jewel story, leaving Kaguya and Atena for last in order to keep the tension high.

The art quality is top-notch, following the typical character style of the company, and there are lots and lots of event CGs. The voice artists working on this project are all well known in the industry, and in general, the level of quality in every department is high and consistent during the entire duration of the game.

If I had to choose my favorite heroine from the main cast I would be really in a bad spot because all the characters are extremely charming. Even the extravagant Nijimu was really attractive when you start to know her better in the personal route. 

In the end, I think I liked two side heroines the most. One is Charlotte because of her adorable genuinely pure and trusting personality and ridiculous funny moments she generates. The other is Arise Horoko because once you get to know her backstory, past and the reveals unfold she turns out to be an extremely sweet character, shame she didn't actually get a route though...

I suggest this visual novel to anyone looking for a quality story; the company is one of the most solid in the visual novel world. I wonder what their next product will be...