Review: Otome3 (Image heavy!)

So today I’ll be looking at a machine that isn’t new at all, in fact I think it’s one of the oldest in my local game centre! Still there’s a few good reasons for it’s longevity so let’s take a look at Otome3.

Although it is an older machine, the software inside does get updated periodically so new frames, stamps and some functions have been added since I started using it.

Stupidly once I was in the machine I forgot to turn around and take a picture of the main thing that makes this machine stand out. You can sort of see it in the top picture, but in the middle of the booth is a block about hip height and wide enough to sit on painted the same green as the background. So you are able to sit on it or go behind it and merge into the frame. A lot of the frames are designed around this and this means that those pictures are pretty unique! Here’s a few examples of the different possible frames that you can sit on:

or get into:

or jump out of:

A while ago there was a few different machines that had benches, or ladders or rings but this is the only one that uses the green screen and has special frames.

POINT! If you are tall like me (or taller than me!), this may be a good way to get your outfit shown without leaning or bending in the “full-length” machines.

Lights

Screens

Frames

Inside the machine the monitor and touch screen are different. And here we come to the other main feature of this machine, it’s designed for many people! Once you are in you have the choice of courses based on a few people (up to four) or many people (up to however many you can fit in the booth I guess!). As we were only two we went with the few course. I’d like to try it with a lot of people at some point! As well as your usual frames you have the special ones designed for this machine and you also have two extra tabs with specific designs for three and four people.

Three People Frames

Four People Frames

I haven’t taken the four people option yet, but here’s some examples from last year with three of us.

Another thing that makes this machine a bit special is the amount of stamps! These have definitely changed as I've been using it, and they change with the seasons too. The website boasts about the stamp options, for events, school clubs, horoscopes etc.

Winter Stamps

There's a simple version of what would become making your own stamps on the newer machines, small versions of you from the purikura you took are available as stamps to be added to other purikuras.

There's a LOT of options for stamps! This machine would be really good for colour coded purikura (for any Kanjani8 fans!)

Colour-coded stamps

There's also real-looking stamps for hats and things, along with the usual kind of stamps. There's hair colour options and eyelash stamps. There's also an option for adding bangs but I think it'd be really hard to get the make up to look natural!

Real Hats

The messages come in different lengths, from just one kanji to long messages, to ones you can build the parts yourself.

Short Messages

Long Messages

Corner Messages

With the multiple people in mind there’s a section for ranking stamps. What you are supposed to do is choose a ranking stamp (funny, cute, sexy etc) then stamp the appropriate ranking numbers next to people’s heads.

Ranking Stamps

This machine also seemed to have a lot of different pens, there was a cute one we used that added a tiny ribbon to the start of each stroke so your writing is accented with lots of little ribbons!

On the print layout screen as well as the usual options you have multiple people options up to eight people, which is a nice touch for this machine. I think this is the only machine I've seen with options for that many people!

Multiple People Options

One thing to note is that although this purikura has many functions, it didn’t make our skin look as good as usual. You can still see shadows under my eyes! We used the recommended middle option for the skin tone. It did look better when there was three of us so my friend theorises that the more people the better you look. It could be that the focal point of the lights and camera means that closer up you miss the "pretty zone".

I haven't had a chance to scan the pictures yet but here's an idea how they turned out!

Good points: sit on and get into the frames, designed for many people, lots of stamps and messages

Bad points: skin tone didn’t look too great, hard to take normal pictures because of the block