Prism Ark: Prism Heart II (プリズム・アーク ～プリズム・ハート エピソード２～) is a visual novel developed by Pajamas Soft released in 2006. It is actually one of the very first visual novels I ever read in Japanese, as I was enthralled by the (rather poor looking in retrospect) anime adaptation they made at the time. I decided to do a new playthrough recently in 2023 to see how it held up.

The visual novel is technically a sequel to Prism Heart, but the connections are faint enough that there is no problem reading it as a first experience. You will just lose a few references here and there, but for the vast majority, the visual novel is standalone. Considering the age of the game, this review will have some spoilers (but not too many), so be aware.

The story follows Hyaweh, a boy who enrolls in a knight school to protect the country of Wind Land from the invasion of the neighboring Sablum Empire. The empire is using some advanced technology weapons called "Angels". As he enrolls, he encounters various girls and becomes intertwined with all the plotting happening around the school.

The game story is divided into two parts. The first one is the Common Route (around 30-ish hours) that takes place in the school. It is extremely lighthearted with lots of jokes and small developments here and there to introduce the characters and make you care for their lives. There are battles here and a lot of foreshadowing, but things don't actually get too serious at any time.

There are LOTS of choices in this part of the story, and each of them has a result in the affection of the heroines, deciding which heroine you can pursue in the second half. I strongly suggest using a walkthrough because otherwise, you would be missing scenes or even CGs by picking choices randomly.

The second part is when the routes diverge. This happens at the moment the Sablum Empire launches a surprise attack at the school, causing the war to become a more grounded reality for the students. Each route adds more detail to the storyline and clears up the various mysteries, leading to the final route focused on Filia.

The themes touched on in the second part are way heavier and more serious compared to what you would expect judging purely from the first part. War, human nature, and experiments are central themes. You will feel powerless at times, but the payback when you reach the final stage and confront the masterminds is great.

The heroines are:

Priecia

The titular "Main Heroine" of the series. She is thought to be the Princess of Wind Land living in disguise to avoid being targeted after the kidnapping of the King and Queen. She tries to stay alone to not involve other people in her plight, but Hyaweh's insistence slowly makes her open up to the people around her. She is proud and arrogant but genuinely cares for her friends.

Kagura

She has been hired to protect Priecia. She is a healer and has great skill with a bow. She usually stalks Priecia to protect her even if the princess wants her to stay away. They eventually become close friends later in the story after they have some time to talk. She has a secret that causes her to regenerate injuries quickly.

Fel

A very energetic girl who wields a magical girl staff and uses various types of magic. She is terrorized by the very sight of Angels, which seems to be connected to her past. Her route goes into detail explaining who she is and why she reacts in this way to the very sight of an Angel.

Karin Mibu

The melee instructor at the school and a member of the Tempelritter. She wields dual katanas and is extremely strong, way more than your average knight. She trusts her justice over anything else, and it takes a lot of time for her to realize that things aren't always as they appear. She was friend with Sister Hell in the past.

Sister Hell

One of the main antagonists for a big part of the story. She is a mercenary hired by the Sablum Emperor. Her real name is Theresa, and she manages an orphanage. She hates the Viellan Church, the Tempelritter, and everyone involved with them due to something that happened in her past.

Litte Ratus

A teacher at the school. She is a powerful magic user but is extremely small and often confused for a child. She seems to be completely unrelated to all the events, but appearances shouldn't cloud your judgment. There is no one who is unrelated in this story.

Filia

The little sister of Hyaweh who chased her brother to the school to help him. She ends up working as a maid at the school, but her real identity is way more surprising than what everyone could think. Her route is only unlocked after going through ALL the other routes in the game.

My favorite heroine is definitely Filia. While looks-wise there might be better heroines, it is probably because of her voice and way of speaking. I simply can't stop listening to her going "Kana kana?" whenever she is confused! Haruko Momoi did an amazing job portraying her. Plus watching her bicker with Fel is always funny!

The most emotional route though definitely goes to Sister Hell after you unlock her. I kind of struggled to read it at some point and I had to stop for a while after what happened to...I'll stop here, but be careful out there! The world isn't safe at all!

The visual novel has gameplay elements where you control the units in a turn-based RPG battle, which is quite addicting at the beginning. It is a shame that there are only a limited number of battles. After completing the first playthrough, the battles outside of the Mokujin become extremely trivial (as you preserve the levels of your characters in successive playthroughs) to the point that you just want to skip them.

Give this visual novel a chance. It is a solid story and it will surprise you in many ways, especially in the second half.