PAX EAST 2020 | "Ambition: A Minuet in Power"
The French Revolution was a barrel of laughs, or were they screams of peril seeing as said barrel was attached to a guillotine? Within the walls of the rich folk of Paris were the thickest of gossip and rumors. That is your weapon of choice in the upcoming visual novel Ambition: A Minuet of Power.
At Joy Manufacture Co.’s booth, I had the chance to play the first couple of chapters of Ambition, where I took on the role of a young woman entering Paris for the first time. Her fiancé appears to be missing when she arrives, leading her to wonder where he could’ve gone. At a party, she discovers that her fiancé isn’t quite looked at favorably, leading her to be thrown out and mocked by the guests. That’s when she starts to put a plan in action, a plan where you can choose who succeeds in the French Revolution in the end.
The demo had me experience the first couple of trials, as I attempted to build up my credibility and avoid being lumped into a bad crowd. I took to the streets of Paris, seeking places to trade gossip and rumors. Depending on who you tell and how you go about doing it, you can either be placed into two categories: in the favor of the rich bureaucrats or with the people of the French Revolution. However, should you not succeed in either, and you could bear witness to a failed coup d’état or find yourself awaiting the chopping block.
Using your words and fashion sense, you can be seen as a powerful ally or foe. As I attempted to chat it up with my fellow gossipers, I found it very challenging to read a room, as half of my experiences led to terrible scorn and audible gasps from the patrons. It’s a surprisingly deep experience, one that’s full of true 18th-century jargon and style. I couldn’t quite guess where my words were taking me when I finished the demo, but let’s just say an axe with my name on it may have started to be sharpened.
It’s impressive to see how much Ambition: A Minuet in Power has evolved since I first got wind of it three years ago. Filled with deep world building and an appreciation for world history, Joy Manufacture Co.’s tale of an elegant woman bent on revenge is shaping to be the talk of the highest council. Although a release date has yet to be announced, fans of visual novels can expect to play Ambition: A Minuet in Power “soon”.
