Crystal Maidens is an adult browser game on Nutaku where you command your harem army of elemental maidens and heroines to stop an evil wizard. Aside from “you” the player character, you are also joined by Nuka, a bubbly and mischievous shaman, and Helen, a sultry and fiery swordswoman who loves to put her best asset first. These two are your point of view of the game’s narrative and provide you a tutorial to get your bearings during the game.
As for the other maidens in the game, you get introduced to some of them in various points in the game’s campaign. However, these are just introductions or just interludes to get a feel of their personalities. To obtain them for your army, you contend with the “Shop” on your island. There, you get maximum of three free draws from the game’s “Gacha” system every 24 hours. However, the draws are random between both new maidens and the equipment you kit them out with. If you get a duplicate of a maiden that you have already recruited, that maiden then becomes a collection of elemental orbs based on her rarity.
Helen utlizes her signature technique to draw enemy fire.
Elemental orbs are used to romance the maidens in your company and unlock support conversations with them, akin to modern Fire Emblem games. These conversations range from insights to their backstory to outright hilarity. And with each scene, you get stat improvements to your maiden. Once a maiden is fully romanced, you are treated to h-scenes we all have come to expect from visual novels. I found these scenes to be quite beautiful, but they are reminiscent of an art-style more like western fantasy as opposed to anime/manga. Also, all portraits and scenes are available from the maiden’s stat page if you want to see them again.
Once your maidens are ready for battle, you then head to the game’s campaign. The campaign contains levels and maps where selections of your army goes against the AI. Success grants you money and equipment. With this being a very simple RTS, you will mostly find yourself clicking and dragging your maidens from your toolbar to the field. They will take the battle from there, but you will have to command them to use their special abilities and spells. A few abilities, such as Nuka’s, can be placed to your exact specifications with the mouse. Additionally, you can move your maidens around the field for repositions and to avoid damage outright! Naturally, most of your interactions with your army are timed to mitigate abuse, so plan carefully.
Ultimately, I found Crystal Maidens to be quite enjoyable. I rarely find a free-to-play game that both keeps my attention and challenges me in such a way. With gorgeous art, engaging character building, and promise of PVP early 2018, it’s an easy recommendation. If you would like to pick it up, you can find it here.
