I am super excited to share my review of Jakou no Lyla! I had an amazing time playing this game. Shout out to LinLinLavender because I first heard about this game in one of her videos! She said the game was steamy and I was like “yep, I’m buying it.” 
Jakou no Lyla also kicked off my impulsive need to collect and try out older otome game titles, and hunt for more steamy otome games.
Disclaimer: the route overview section contains MAJOR spoilers, proceed with caution.
Contents
Basic information
Dev/pub: Idea Factory (Otomate) x Idea Factory International
Director: Tatematsu Fumiyoshi [other work – Cupid Parasite, Winter’s Wish: Spirits of Edo]
Scenario writer: Yoshimura Ririka [other work – Cupid Parasite, My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! ~Pirates that Stir the Waters~, Shiro to Kuro no Alice, Ken ga Kimi, Glass Heart Princess]
Illustrator: Yuuya [other work – 9 R.I.P., Café Enchanté, Cupid Parasite, Bara ni Kakusareshi Verite, Hanayaka Nari, Pub Encounter]
Console: Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch Lite
Genre: Mature, Drama, Romance
CERO Rating: D (17 years and above)
Japanese: 蛇香のライラ~Trap of Musk~
Visit the official website here.
Synopsis
Shirien is a dancer who works in a show bar in Kamal. However, her real job is a spy – where she bewitches men to get information for her clients. One thing led to another, and she finds herself trying to seduce kings and princes from different kingdoms. Can she fulfill her objectives without falling in love? Jakou no Lyla: ~Trap of Musk~ is an Arabian-themed, sensual triangle love story.
✤ Trigger warning.
This game contains sensitive and mature themes, including prostitution, child trafficking, kidnapping, drugs, dubious cons, harem, abuse, sexual assault and implied sexual scenes.
Main characters
Shirien (シリーン）
✤ Voice actor: Not voiced.
✤ A dancer who works in a show bar in Kamal. Her true occupation is actually a spy.
✤ 21 years old. Strongly dedicated to her work, and well-known for her beauty.
Vince Lugan (ヴェンス•ルーガン）
✤ Voice actor: Taniyama Kishou.
✤ Same voice actor as Natsuki (UtaPri), Ikki (Amnesia), Gawain (Princess Arthur), Chiaki (Kin’iro no Corda) and Souta (Fortissimo).
✤ 25 years old. Prince of Lugan kingdom. Cannot handle alcohol. 😂
Rolan Crydelle (ロラン•クライデル）
✤ Voice actor: Tachibana Shinnosuke.
✤ Same voice actor as Henri (Piofiore), Kosei (Ayakashi: Romance Reborn), Akito (KLAP!!), Kyohei (School Wars), Shiraga no Judgement (Bad Apple Wars) and Sousuke (Tengai ni Mau).
✤ 22 years old. Prince of Crydelle, a fallen kingdom. Shy and sheltered.
Rin Korei (鱗 皇驪）
✤ Voice actor: Okitsu Kayuzuki.
✤ Same voice actor as Masaomi (Brothers Conflict), Kyrie (OZMAFIA!!), Leon (Reine des Fleurs), Jack (Shiro to Kuro no Alice), Rindo (Cendrillon PalikA), Joker (Spade no Kuni no Alice), Ankou (Shuuen no Virche) and Youji (SympathyKiss).
✤ 27 years old. First prince of Rin kingdom. Very smart, can be obsessive.
Rin Kirei (鱗 希驪）
✤ Voice actor: Satou Takuya.
✤ Same voice actor as Silvio (IkePri), Genjuurou (KimiYuki), Masamune (Norn9) and Kazu (Variable Barricade).
✤ 25 years old. Second prince of Rin kingdom, Korei’s stepbrother. A flirt!
Lizaru Shanasa (ライザール•シャナーサ）
✤ Voice actor: Morikawa Toshiyuki.
✤ Same voice actor as Isaka (Junjou Romantica), Thoth (KamiAso), Carla (DiaLovers), Shigure (Yoshiwara Higanbana) and Eiichirou (Lover Pretend).
✤ 30 years old. King of Shanasa kingdom. Well-respected and flawless in every way.
Jemiru (ジェミル）
✤ Voice actor: Murase Ayumu.
✤ Same voice actor as Hitaki (Nil Admirari no Tenbin), Atsumu (Caste Heaven) and Utsuri (Jack Jeanne).
✤ Age unknown. Shirien’s tsundere “little brother”, also an assassin.
Side characters
Master (店主様)
✤ Voice actor: Katsu Anri.
✤ Owner of a show bar in Kamal (ショーサロン・カマル).
✤ 28 years old. Very kind, but a little sus.
Aisha (アイーシャ)
✤ Voice actor: Taira Ellen.
✤ Shirien’s childhood friend, a waiter at the Kamal show bar.
✤ 18 years old. Flirty and energetic.
Theodor Ballish (テオドール•バリッシュ)
✤ Voice actor: Ookawa Genki.
✤ Captain of Lugan kingdom’s Imperial Guard.
✤ 26 years old. Vince’s childhood friend.
Milan (美蘭)
✤ Voice actor: Sendai Eri.
✤ Korei’s fiancée candidate.
✤ 17 years old. Actually has a crush on Kirei.
Route overview
Vince
PLOT THEME: Power and betrayal.
✤ Crueldere, but very misunderstood!
✤ Sees women only as a political tool.
Vince’s route started with his childhood friend, Theodor, hiring Shirien to help Rolan find his missing sister, Pamela. Theodor and Rolan were convinced that Pamela was held captive by Lugan kingdom, and Shirien’s objective was to obtain information related to Pamela from Vince. Theodor of course told Vince that Shirien was simply there to please him, but surprise suprise, they fell in love. Vince then found himself betrayed and exiled from his country, and him and Shirien worked together to get things back in order.
Vince shows the most cruel, stoic front – in the game, he was known as the “cruel prince”. His route slowly revealed that he wasn’t actually as cruel as people say he was. In fact, he is quite calculative and cares a lot about people’s wellbeing, but unafraid to make what he thinks is the right decision no matter the cost. BUT. He would occasionally say the most mind-blowingly derogatory things. For example, he told Shirien to take a bath because he hates “filthy people”, like the palace maids. Dude, are you serious? While he did become kinder and softer to Shirien, he would still say those questionable things at times. Someone please educate this man. 
I also found it bizarre that Shirien would dismiss them quite easily as well. Anyway, I am a kuudere apologist, so I just can’t hate him. Red flag, who is she? Visually, he is also probably my top 2 characters – I really can’t decide between him and Lizaru!
OVERALL THOUGHTS
Plot-wise, Vince’s route was the most predictable imo, but I still had a good time. Vince was really dedicated to running the country, and he viewed women as mere distractions. He mentioned multiple times how he never falls in love with anyone no matter who he sleeps with, and kept questioning why Shirien was different. Man was literally head over heels and horny for her 24/7, haha! I think I do have a soft spot for his route since it was the first story that I experienced in Jakou no Lyla, and despite the drawbacks, it did made me fall in love with this game.
Vince’s route rating: 8/10
Rolan
PLOT THEME: Childhood trauma.
✤ Carries a caged doll of his sister. 
✤ Feels obligated to please women.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
To be fair, he wasn’t a yandere, but does have yandere tendencies. This was on full display in his bad ending – it was so f*cked up. In the end, I am happy to say I really enjoyed his route – it was such a roller coaster and kept me at the edge of my seat. His tragic past made me so sad for him, but he also had the most character growth and development of anyone in Jakou no Lyla. I’d give my heart to him.
Rolan’s route rating: 9/10
Korei
PLOT THEME: Obsessive first love.
✤ Mysterious and very smart.
✤ Thinks Shirien is a hakujoushi (白娘子).
Korei is a my-pace type of person. He had little interest in women and would often appear out-of-focus. But he is actually a smart and talented leader! In the common route, Shirien was hired by Kirei, Korei’s stepbrother, to seduce Korei so that he becomes more interested in women. Kirei and Korei had a short stay at Shanasa kingdom, and Shirien basically stayed at Korei’s side to fulfill this mission. Korei was intrigued by Shirien because he genuinely thought Shirien was the character from his favourite book – that she was hakujoushi (literal translation: “The White Woman”).
Korei’s route had the most questionable start. In a nutshell, Korei asked Shirien to come with him to Rin kingdom, but was turned down. Shirien then found herself thinking a lot about Korei, and visited a place which was memorable to them. She was out of luck that day as she ended up getting kidnapped and brought to Rin kingdom. She escaped and met Korei, who promised to protect her. They were horny and had their hatsu ecchi. Then literally the next day, Korei annouced to the whole kingdom that he was to marry her, and had their ceremony. Even Shirien was confused – he took the phrase “that escalated real quick” to the next level!
OVERALL THOUGHTS
I LOVED Korei’s route. He was such a complex and interesting character. His beauty honestly parallels Shirien’s – he’s straight up gorgeous! My favourite part was when Shirien was getting anxious when Korei suddenly started being distant with her. Shirien confronted him and was in tears because she thought he was using her for political needs and only ever cared about her because she is hakujoushi. I actually felt really sad for her when the whole thing unfolded!
Anyway, of course everything was resolved nicely. They were so madly in love, I actually felt really shy watching these two! His bad end really speaks to his obsessiveness towards Shirien – it was dark and beautiful at the same time. I loved everything about his route (except that very confusing marriage LMAO), and I am totally doing a replay in the future!
Korei’s route rating: 9.5/10
Kirei
PLOT THEME: Dedication and love.
✤ Absolute cinnamon roll.
✤ Shirien’s “big black dog”. 
Kirei is a big flirt and loves playing around with women, but falling in love with Shirien turned him into a loyal simp for her (LOL). Kirei’s mother was Rin’s emperor’s second wife, but she passed away when Kirei was young. While Korei is the bright and talented first prince, Kirei is the gullible and happy-go-lucky second prince. He actually has a bit of complex because of this. He gets along really well with Korei, but has a difficult relationship with Korei’s mother.
Kirei regretted the fact that he hired Shirien to seduce his brother. He totally wanted that slice of pie! In his route, Shirien travelled to Rin kingdom because the shop master tasked her to do something – I will spare the details because it’s a key element in all three games. She stayed with Kirei and they spent a lot of quality time. Milan, Korei’s fiancée candidate, actually had a crush on Kirei. She was rage-filled with jealousy to the point she attempted to murder Shirien, but Shirien kept the truth to herself. The whole plot was basically Shirien and Kirei trying to uncover the truth behind Kirei’s mother’s death, and Kirei protecting Shirien from the murderer which he had no idea was actually Milan.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
I completely and thoroughly enjoyed every moment of Kirei’s route. I loved his flirtiness – he’s probably the only flirt who’s ever made me giggle and kick my feet with his lines! I also enjoyed discovering his honest and straightforward side, and his strong dedication for those he cares for. Because he was a flirt, I really thought his route was going to be filled with fanservice, horn-fest goodness (which I would be totally down for), but I was totally wrong. It was actually the least horny route (??).
Kirei made his feelings as clear as day to Shirien, but she kept turning him down. Kirei totally respected her decision and never laid a finger on her until she eventually fell for him. Man has my utmost respect! My favourite scene was when he helped Shirien take a bath because she was injured, it was so freaking cute!!!!!!!! 
In the special story, where the same scene was shown but from his POV, he actually wanted to bang her so bad but persistently talked himself out of it. It was hilarious. Now I’m sad because he’s not a real person and I want to marry him.
Kirei’s route rating: 10/10
Lizaru
PLOT THEME: Secret identities.
✤ Charismatic leader.
✤ Hiding A LOT of secrets!
Lyla Ali, the daughter of a noble family, was to be engaged to King Lizaru of Shanasa. Lyla then hired Shirien to pretend to be her, while she makes her escape with her lover to avoid the arrangement. This was my “omg that’s why this is called Jakou no Lyla!!!” moment. When Lizaru first saw “Lyla” without her veil, he was so blown away by her beauty he actually lost his composure for a second. 
But Lizaru had his doubts about “Lyla” because she wasn’t known to be such a beauty. Shirien also became suspicious of Lizaru after hearing from Jemiru that a bunch of young girls have gone missing, and she caught Lizaru sneaking out in the middle of the night on multiple occasions. The whole premise was pretty much them playing catch, trying to uncover each others’ true identities.
Lizaru’s route honestly had a lot of twists and turns because he was hiding SO many freaking secrets! He was no ordinary king for sure. Later it was revealed that Shirien and Lizaru had actually met when they were young. They lived together in a small cave. One day, Lizaru went back to the cave and found that Shirien was gone, and he had since been looking for her. I am a huge sucker for the “meet during childhood, rejoins in adulthood” trope. Yanagi’s route in Collar x Malice also fell into similar trope, and I freaking loved it for that alone. Oh, and Lizaru also has a pet named Karuu. The official website describes it as a rare animal called Maut Guider (マウトグイーダ or “The Guider of Death” – FYI “maut” in Arabic means “the end of life”), but I think Karuu is just a black panther…? 
OVERALL THOUGHTS
I really thought Lizaru’s route was going to top my personal chart. For some reason though, some of the events just came across as cheesy for me. A lot of their steamy scenes before they knew each others’ identities were filled with dialogues of doubts, which diminished my enjoyment of how hot the scene was supposed to be! Also, Lizaru is just WAY too flawless. Nonetheless I still enjoyed his story and getting to know who he really was. He also has the best CGs of all the routes for sure, both steamy and non-steamy ones. 
Lizaru’s route rating: 8.5/10
Jemiru
PLOT THEME: Guilt and redemption.
✤ Tsundere cutie.
✤ F*cked up past.
Jemiru was an orphan and taken under the shop master’s care. He grew up with Shirien, who sees Jemiru as her “little brother”. Jemiru is a qualified tsundere – his favourite line is “tch.” He is also a trained assassin, but carries a lot of guilt because he actually hates what he does.
In the Arabian Night’s common route, Jemiru was tasked to assassinate Lizaru. His route pretty much continues this plot – he ended up being caught, and Shirien’s true identity as Lyla’s impersonator was also revealed. Long story short, he made a deal with Lizaru to catch the true perpetrator behind the cases of missing girls in exchange for his life and Shirien’s. Shirien kept on wanting to help Jemiru with the investigation, but he kept turning her down because he doesn’t want to become “fiithy” like him. Eventually, he slowly opened up about his past – and it was really angst filled. 
The plot later uncovered that he was no ordinary person. His Happy end was a literal fairy tale, so so satisfying!! 
OVERALL THOUGHTS
Jemiru pulled another Ryuki (CupiPara) on me. I am not one to usually enjoy shota / younger men trope (his age is unknown, but surely he’s younger than Shirien??), but Jemiru was so freaking adorable!! The fact that he had his hatsu ecchi with Shirien after he was whipped by Lizaru was just freaking insane. It was heartwarming how he wanted to be seen more than her “little brother” and to be the one to protect her, instead of the other way around. I’m glad Jemiru got to show Shirien how much how a man he was. If you guys love Ryuki, then you will be head over heels for Jemiru.
Jemiru’s route rating: 9.5/10
Double spy route 
I was absolutely in love with the double spy routes! All of them were really steamy and enjoyable – they were almost like embedded fandiscs. I was always curious how they were going to flow the story into a love triangle end – and I thought things flowed sensibly. Asian Night in particular felt almost natural!
This game honestly tripled my need for more 3P or harem ends. So far, the only other game I have tried that had these elements are Butterfly’s Poison; Blood Chains and Olympia Soiree (kinda??). But the endings I am referring were bad ends…and for me they were nothing sensual, if anything they were pretty nasty. Brothers Conflict also has something similar – I am still trying to get that triplet end. Why is it so freaking hard?! 
I have a couple of games in my backlog and wishlist that I know have 3P / harem ends, and I am super excited to experience them asap!
Route order
I actually played all the common routes first only because I was really curious about the general plot in all the three games. I don’t recommend that you do this though! For the best story progression, start with European Night (first game), then Asian Night and finally Arabian Night. Below is the route order from the least to most high spoiler content:
➀ Vince ➸ Rolan ➸ Double Spy (European Night)
➁ Korei ➸ Kirei ➸ Double Spy (Asian Night)
➂ Lizaru ➸ Jemiru ➸ Double Spy (Arabian Night)
Jakou no Lyla has two types of ending: Happy and Bad. The Double Spy route in Arabian Night is essentially the finale for all the three games and ties everything together. It is also the only Double Spy route which has Happy and Bad ends.
Since we are talking about Arabian Night’s double spy route, I want to share my ONLY complaint about this game. In the first half of Arabian Night’s double spy route, the plot was EXACTLY the same as Jemiru’s, with slight twists in that Lizaru was starting to show affection towards Shirien. Unfortunately, many of the same dialogues were non-skippable, which I found really frustrating.
Below are my personal, final rankings in terms of route enjoyment!
Vira’s main route ranking:
- Kirei
- Jemiru
- Korei
- Rolan
- Lizaru
- Vince
Vira’s double spy route ranking:
- Asian Night
- Arabian Night
- European Night
Shirien
✤ Sexiest otome protagonist
✤ Highly principled
Shirien is really dedicated to her work, both dancing and spying. She is freaking gorgeous and fully embraces her sensuality, I love her so much! The Kamal show bar frequenters call her maiyouhi (舞妖妃). I’m not sure how to best translate this, but it’s something along line of “the dancing fairy”.
Shirien is kind hearted, holds a strong front and is really considerate of others. She is very professional about her job – when dealing with men, she threads very carefully in order not to catch feelings! Shirien believes that men’s emotions directed towards her are mere lust and never love. For the most part, her character was consistent. But in some routes, I did occasionally find her to be too easily swayed by the love interests. I mean, who can resists?!?!! I think she was a great protagonist and I love the way she thinks. I feel like we can totally be friends irl and we would gossip about the smelly old men she has to seduce.
Game features & experience
Notable features
✤ Protagonist name change
Make sure to leave it on default if you want to hear the love interests call out Shirien’s name. Some beginners may not actually know this, so I just want to put it out there (and many, but not all otome games have this feature!).
✤ Love catch system
Jakou no Lyla’s love catch system has got to be one of the most beautiful ones out there. Each love interests have a coloured Arabian lantern, and when you choose the right choices, their lanterns will glow brighter! So stunning.
✤ Flowchart
Jakou no Lyla also has a flowchart system. What I really like about the flowchart is that it tells you which part has a CG and which one has choices (or both)! I really like knowing what’s coming.
Art and graphics
Yuuya is my favourite otome illustrator. Her art is really bold and mature! I think she really nailed the character design for this game. They are all insanely attractive and very memorable. I also love the various accessories worn by the characters – some of my favourites are Jemiru’s eye veil, Lizaru’s snake bracelet and Kirei’s ear pin. Lizaru’s necklace also reminded me of Jupiter in Cupid Parasite – the necklace makes them look very ethereal! Sorry for the endless comparison with Cupid Parasite – they are done by the same people after all.
One small complaint is I found a few of the CGs to be too dark. I know it’s to capture the alluring night vibe, but it was really hard to see what was going on. I had to tilt my head into weird angles to work out some of the details in the CG.
The graphics in this game are fantastic. I found the background art especially intriguing – the outlines are not only coloured, they are also multi-toned. These little details add so much personality! The dominant colour schemes are cool purples and blues, which I thought really fit the Arabian theme. I really have no compaints, everything about the graphics was beautiful, alluring and pleasing to the eyes.
Music
The OP song “Lyla” is sung by Itou Kanako. This song is CATCHY as hell!!! The ED song “Aikou no Fajr” is sung by Shimamiya Eiko. It’s a really sweet love serenade, and I love the Arabic line she says at the end which meant “I love you dearly”. I haven’t been able to stop listening to both of these songs since I heard them. I always close my game when I finish a play session just so I can watch the OP movie, and occasionally, I would take a break from a route and play the ED movie of the routes I have already completed. If you can’t already tell, I’m pretty obsessed.
The background music in this game are FREAKING AMAZING!! The menu BGM, the common route BGM, the angsty BGM, the steamy BGM – they are all so so good. One of the reasons why I was immediately hooked to this game was because the menu BGM sets up the whole game perfectly. It was probably my best first impression of a game ever (I buy impulsively and don’t usually know what I’m getting into until I play the game). Overall, music-wise, Jakou no Lyla definitely hit it out of the park.
PC vs. Switch version
✤ Switch’s 3-1 plus bonus content deal
✤ Spicy elements removed!
I just want to quickly touch on the differences between the PC and Switch version. The PC version comes in three separate games, while the Switch version is a 3-in-1. The Switch version has extra CGs, special stories and a bonus event.
There were two types of special stories. One talks about the characters’ backgrounds, while the other was repeat scenes (with CGs) from the main game but from the love interests’ POV.
The bonus event is when you will see Lizaru in thongs – and I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I mean, DAMN SIR. I am simping respectfully, I promise.
Just beware that there have been some redactions in the CGs from the PC version to the Switch version. For example, in the Switch version, they removed any reference of the LIs touching Shirien’s private parts (up and down, lol), licking Shirien or any make out CGs with tongues. Kinda sucks if you ask me. But if you prefer playing handheld (and 3-in-1 is a damn good deal anyway), I’m sure you can find the CGs from the PC version somewhere on the internet or just buy the visual fanbook like I did. The visual fanbook is STUNNING, absolutely worth every penny!
Summary
As you can probably tell from my very enthusiastic review, I freaking love this game. Everything about it just hits me the right way. The characters, the plot, the steamy scenes, the music, the graphics, everything was amazing!! I grew up in the Middle East, so the Arabian vibe was a big plus, and felt weirdly nostalgic.
One thing that people may find concerning is the way this game sexualises Arabian culture. I completely understand if some people are put off by it, particularly if one is closely connected to the culture.
Overall, Jakou no Lyla was a hit for me, and I really need more of it. Be it a sequel, a fandisc, or even an R-18 version – I would throw my money at whatever they come up with. Please Otomate, Frontiers Work, hear my prayer. If you can read Japanese and want something steamy with decent plot, PLEASE try this game!
Pros
- Steamy, steamy and steamy!
- Solid underlying plot
- Beautiful art, fantastic OSTs and catchy OP & ED songs
- Great graphics with some unique gameplay features
- Love triangle ends
Cons
- Very fanservice-y, which some people may not enjoy
- Sexualisation of Arabian culture
