Everett Lo (11.04.2001)
More digital-novel than game.
X-Change has a very simple idea, what happens when a guy finds himself in the body of a girl? Our hapless hero in this is Takuya, an average guy who's often surrounded by very assertive (or aggressive, depending on your defintion) women. Being changed to a female doesn't help.

Like I mention in the title, this is more of a "digital novel" than a game. You can fast-forward through most of the scenes to just catch the hentai action if you really wanted to. There are multiple endings but you can get to each relatively easily just by varying a choice or two. And once your done, there's a CG gallery so you can review those "special moments" without the fast forwarding.

I really think the storyline could have been more developed along with the characters. And even knowing that this is a humorous work, I still found a lot of it was pushing the bounds of credibility. I can't imagine all those male students, no matter how horny, suddenly being so lusty over a fellow student who was sharing a locker room with you just the previous day. And I also can't decide whether Takuya's actions are dictated by the changes physically/emotionally/chemically done to his body or whether it's because he "thinks" that's the way he should act.

Overall, a simple, straightforward game with beautiful artwork (which I did appreciate) but nothing much deeper. I felt there could have been much more to the story. There is a sequel slated to come out in 2002 which I hope will address this rather than being another "one-hour fast-forward fest".

skysenshi (10.11.2002)
Short and Sweet.
If you were a man, wouldn't you be a little curious about how women handle romance and sex? I know I would. As long as it didn't involve actually doing anything naughty with other men. I'm supposed to be a guy, for crying out loud!

X-Change presents a rather freaky scenario where you, the virginal young man, turn into a girl by way of a fluke experiment. As the good friend who gave me this game puts it, "This is a basically where you suddenly switch genders and all the guys gang-bang you." Hm. Crudely stated, but I can't blame the guy. I can't imagine, for the life of me, how you, an honest-to-goodness straight male could allow yourself to be fondled, much less raped, by his friends, colleagues and even strangers! I can't imagine friends actually wanting to have their way with you…knowing what you actually are. To make things worse, you get to listen to yourself say things like: "Suddenly, he reaches his hand out to contact my mound of Venus, probing through my panties for my lack of a penis, finding only my womanhood..." You even get to practice your feminine wiles on other innocent young students. Shiver.

X-Change has several endings; many of them bad because you can either turn into a sex addict with several male partners, a hermaphrodite, or cursed your entire life. Had my brother been forced into the same situation, he'd go to the nearest gun store and shoot himself. There are two good endings, where you get to sleep with the girl of your choice. Still, one can't just shake the feeling that neither of these two beautiful damsels truly got your virginity.

Seeing as your humble reviewer—yours truly—isn't a guy, I got to appreciate X-Change outside the realm of the male psyche. It's short and far from being a drag, which gives it excellent replay value. This is how bishoujo digital novels should be like. The fast forward button allows you to get all endings without having to go through monotonous dialogues over and over again.

The visuals are fascinating because the hero, Takuya, looks gorgeous both as a girl and as a boy. The women are very pretty, although they tend to have the same vital statistics, which doesn't provide much excitement. The men all look alike, except for an ugly professor that I honestly wish I hadn't seen. It's a good thing that the hentai scenes are exceptionally well done; you'd almost wish they were animated. The sounds are pretty much average—nothing spectacular. Newbies to the bishoujo game genre might be glad to know that there's an image gallery and a music selection at the title screen. You just have to experience the entire game first, before you can enjoy all these.