Reviews

• gamedeal user

  Apr 7, 2018

  Great story! Pretty straightforward on what tha task are, make money off of potions. Then use said money to pay off your love interest debt :D William, my love, I will have you soon!!
• gamedeal user

  Apr 11, 2018

  Its a good story and a wonderful charming game. I backed it on patreon and got the plus 18 version from them, and then I bought this version to support them further. The two games are completly different, with completly different scenes and images so the storylines with the men are very different, even if the plus 18 version is longer. Overall a wonderful game.
• gamedeal user

  Apr 21, 2018

  So far, I've finished Samuel's route and I'm almost finished with Brian's. I plan to update this review once I finish the game. Being split between an RPG and a visual novel, it's not particularly strong on either front, but it's still entertaining enough to recommend. The dungeon-crawing element gets repetitive after a while (for reference, I still have 3 routes to go and I'm getting bored), but it's relaxing in a mindless sort of way. As for the characters...they're a mixed bag. I get that not every gamer likes nice boys (I do), but Samuel's route left me kinda floored in some of his early behavior. I'm not looking forward to Ben's route (again, he seems super rude, though I'm sure there's an audience for that), but William and Walter seem pleasant enough. I can say one thing: it's rare to see a dating sim with characters this overtly flawed and zero excuses for it, so that's at least interesting. Further, it's nice to see a dating sim with older men released in English--I feel that that's a sadly overlooked niche. This game has some pretty hilarious dialogue. Brian's route is a gold mine of tongue-in-cheek entitlement from our resident ex-noble, and Maria's refusal to take (most of) the guys' crap leads to some pretty funny scenarios. I'm particularly fond of Walter and his sweet-smelling zombies. Overall, I'd recommend this (especially on sale). It's kinda grindy and the characters may not appeal to everyone, but it's pretty funny and pleasant enough to warrant playing.
• gamedeal user

  May 19, 2018

  First of all, the game itself is lovely. Funny, although a bit repetitive. BUT: THIS IS NOT THE 18+ VERSION! STEAM ONLY OFFERS THE PG RATED VERSION, A SHORTENED GAME WITH A DIFFERENT STORYLINE! IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR THE 18+ VERSION, GO LOOK SOMEWHERE ELSE! THERE IS NO PATCH OR DLC TO UPGRADE TO THE EXPLICIT VERSION EITHER! If you are looking for a short and sweet game with some romance scenes though, go for it. On a different note, the tags on this game are really misleading. I was very disappointed that it turned out to be a different game than the one that had been recommended to me. Unfortunately it is impossible to tell before you play through the game and - guess what? - then it's too late to ask for a refund. STEAM, PUT THE RIGHT LABELS ON THIS GAME! NO EXPLICIT CONTENT HERE! NOT THE 18+ VERSION!!! FRAUDULENT LABELLING AT ITS BEST!
• gamedeal user

  Dec 26, 2018

  This is a simplified, all-ages version of an erotic otome visual novel (you can find the 18+ version on Denpasoft store), about a talented herbalist in a small fantasy town, trying to find a husband after being dumped by her mentor. Still, it's not low-effort conversion with just h-scenes removed, but a general revamp, with a heavily modified and much gentler story. In the original game, the protagonist is arguably being abused by her lovers in most, if not every route, here everything is highly toned down and generally cute. The game has an interesting, retro-inspired artstyle, which I personally liked a lot, although many people find it ugly, especially when it goes to male characters - they're all grizzled, middle-aged men and some of them look properly nasty. The protagonist is meant to be rather average, but I really like her design and personality - she's pretty behind her humble style and kind, but courageous and assertive whenever it's necessary. The bachelors are all shady types with huge issues, but they grow throughout their routes and become better people thanks to the aid the protagonist gives them. All arcs are rather linear and straightforward, but fun in their own ways. You can, BTW, romance all five of the bachelors in one playthrough, with no need to start over - I even think it's the game's canon that Maria ends with five husbands. The game has simple dungeon crawling gameplay, to which the story progression is tied - you explore dungeons with one of the romanceable heroes as your bodyguard, earning money and finding potion ingredients. You then use all that to pay off heroes' debts, unlocking new story content with him, up to becoming a couple. The progression is pretty simple and if you invest heavily in one hero (there's no need to switch between them after taking each to a dungeon for the first time and unlocking their routes), after a few hours of gameplay he'll become virtually invincible. This, however, turns the whole game into a bit of a monotonous grind. With no time limit or real penalty for losing in a dungeon, it'll take only your patience and a basic understanding of the mechanics to farm enough money and unlock all the story (and yeah it does get pretty boring). In the end, I still quite enjoyed this game - if you can see past its bizarre, smartphone aspect ratio and the aforementioned grind, its a very pleasant distraction for one or two evenings. Not especially deep or involved, but fun and unusual enough to be worth experiencing. Also, the 18+ version always remains an option, allegedly featuring tougher gameplay and a much darker story. And either way, I recommend giving The Bell Chimes for Gold a chance, especially with the fandisk's translation successfully funded on Kickstarter.
• gamedeal user

  Dec 21, 2019

  DON'T BUY IT. There's no sexual content in this game at all. It took me past 2 hours to play the game and enjoy dialogue to realize there's no H scenes what so ever in this. So steam won't refund it since it hit pass the 2 hour mark. >:T Either sell the game that's actually 18+ or remove the sexual content tag. At most there's hugging and kissing. That's pretty much it. If you like that stuff kudos on you.
• gamedeal user

  Apr 23, 2020

  The Bell Chimes for Gold is a casual dungeon crawler/Visual Novel hybrid. You play as former alchemy student Maria, who was dumped and fired by her master. While they put off their marriage due to money problems, the master started a relationship with Marias coworker and finally decided to marry her instead. Heartbroken Maria decides to heed her former masters final advice and opens her own alchemy story, making her ultimate goal to earn so much money she can buy herself a new hubby! First of all please keep in mind this is an all-ages-Version of the game. There exists an 18+ version, but you can't get in on steam. There is no patch or paid DLC available. But unlike many other games, the h-content wasn't just cut out, the scenes play out differently and were even redone. This is actually nice for a change, even though the all-ages-version is still shorter then the original game. As for the gameplay, you`ll mostly cklick with your mouse through the dialoges, until you reach the dungeon crawler parts. It's very easy and casual. You hire one of the 5 bachelors as your bodyguard. Everyone of the five has their own strengthes and special skills that make them a better fit for some of the dungeons. You will travel through the dungeon of your choice, picking up herbs and other ingredients clicking on them and defeating random enemies along the way. If you manage to walk 100 steps, you'll encounter a boss enemy. By defeating it, you'll earn some nice price money and special item drops. On the other hand, there is no game over or penalty if you don't. You just return to town. There's also no kind of time limit, the guys just wait for you to pay their dept off. It makes the game very easy and relaxing. So if you are looking for a challenge, this game is not for you. Aside from the gamplay mechanics, the bachelors and romance/event scenes were really nicely done. Everyone of the five middle-aged grooms has their own quirks, reaching from a heavy drinking mercenary over a grumpy thief to a goody-two-shoes elve. There is also one formerly rich and aristrocratic priest (now poor) and a mysterious necromancer. The tone is lighthearted and I was grinning or even laughing out a lot playing through the events. So, I really enjoyed The Bells Chimes for Gold. The only downside is it can be a little repetitive to earn the money, but as I don't mind grinding and stuff like that, it was no issue for me. The dungeon crawler part is casual enough that even people who don't like visual novel hybrids should be fine, but you can't skip that part out. As this version is shorter then the original, I think the price might be a little high, but I definitely recommend it on sale.
• gamedeal user

  Sep 6, 2020

  I don't recommend this game for any "bad reason". It wasn't something that I really enjoyed. If you're looking for something cute that won't tie you in emotionally, this is for you! It's also super short. However, I enjoy otomes that make me fall in love with the characters, and this one wasn't it.