Many Americans may not be aware of it, but MAGES is a big player in the visual novel world. Even if you’re not familiar with the company, you’ve probably at least heard of Steins;Gate, Phantom Breaker, or the latest entry of the Famicom Detective Club franchise Emio the Smiling Man.
Previously known as 5pb, MAGES has some big titles under their belt, with Iwakura Aria being their latest new project. Featuring art from Hyakunen, Iwakura Aria steps a bit further away from most visual novels with its painted style and sketches.
Does the latest title from MAGES live up to the expectations of their past work? Find out in our review of Iwakura Aria.
Iwakura Aria
Developer: MAGES
Publisher: PQube
Platforms: Windows PC, Nintendo Switch
Release Date: August 14, 2025
Price: $39.99
Iwakura Aria is a sapphic romance story between Kitagawa Ichiko and the titular Iwakura Aria (I’ll be using Japanese naming order for the review, but I’ll use given names going forward).
Ichiko is an artistically talented orphan who’s just been fired from her work with a construction company. Life is hard for a young woman in 1966 Japan, joining the workforce directly after middle school.
Her big break comes when the wealthy businessman Iwakura Amane takes a liking to her artwork (which is on sale at an orphanage yard sale), and just so happens to be looking for a live-in maid. Ichiko jumps at the chance, not only for the new job, but also because Amane appreciated Ichiko’s artwork, something she puts a lot of her self-worth into.
Ichiko and her relationship with art are emphasized throughout the entire game, Ichiko is constantly sketching little things she sees. These sketches can allude to clues in the narrative, but also give context for the things Ichiko values and remembers.
In fact, art itself is a constant theme throughout Iwakura Aria. From the get-go, you’re confronted with the game’s unusual art style. Rather than a typical anime aesthetic, Iwakura Aria intentionally has an oil-painted look to many of its backgrounds and portraits.
This is broken up with sketched scenes that give a sensation of motion, it’s not animated but moreso like a “motion comic”, but I’d also consider that a misnomer.
The art style is just one of the things that separates it from your typical romance visual novel. The second is that it’s a sapphic romance story, you don’t have to be a lesbian to appreciate a heartfelt romance so don’t let that scare you off.
The term “Visual Novel” is just as much a “novel” as it is “visual”, and Iwakura Aria fits the bill as a well-crafted romance. The words paint a picture of the protagonist as a hapless but curious young lady, Aria as an enigmatic heiress of sorts, and the mystery that surrounds the two of them.
The voicework is just as impressive as the art. The most frequent voices you’ll hear are Suzushiro Sayumi as Ichiko and Nakamura Chie as Aria. Suzushiro is largely known for her role as the tomboy Takemoto Uruka in We Never Learn. Meanwhile Nakamura is a veteran of the industry most famous for voicing Haruno Sakura in Naruto.
Despite the game’s artistry in both paint and prose, it’s not without flaws either.
I’m a little put out that the English translation has chosen to forgo honorifics and titles, but overall the writing feels tone and setting appropriate for Japan in 1966.
Also the branching paths follow the same problem that many other visual novels have, they’re either too simple or superfluous.
Without going into spoiler territory, one choice I made locked me onto an alternative end. I went back to my previous choice and made a different one, only to get the same end. I had to go back several choices in order to return to the main route.
To its credit, Iwakura Aria frequently auto-saves, and you can always skip dialogue to get to where you were.
The second issue I had was the “investigation” or whatever you want to call it. There are segments where you can explore as Ichiko, the required rooms to visit are marked in red, with gray rooms being optional.
More often than not, these gray rooms don’t add anything beyond some set dressing. I’m sure there are secrets and the things I discover may or may not impact the ending, but overall the investigations felt more like a facsimile of gameplay just to advertise that it’s “not just reading”. I think it would have been better to just own the fact that it’s a well-written visual novel, it didn’t need half-heartedly “game-ified”.
Ultimately, Iwakura Aria is one of the best stories I’ve read in recent years. Not only that, but the artwork, the voicework, and the prose tie everything into a neat little bow to lose yourself in.
This is a story that takes hours to complete, and honestly I enjoyed myself the most when I took it slow, grabbed a snack, and set it to auto like I was watching a movie. So it’s surprising that this isn’t coming out for PlayStation.
