General Eroge Impressions & Discussion [Archive] - Page 17

Mahou

2013-05-14, 17:00

I finished Kaho's route in Unmei Yohou o Oshirase Shimasu. Honestly, that VN is a very mixed bag. The light-hearted moments were very enjoyable and even some of the serious topics were handeld quite well for my taste. But, the makers added still too much heavyness/drama overall.

Why? 1. The structure: 4 girls of where you have 2 choices for the first two: Accept thhe confession or reject*, and for the latter two a simple "I like x or y" decision. Okay, that were all choice-selections in the VN. Given the serious tones of some plot elements of the MC,*the former will leave you with a bitter feeling in EITHER case. The flow of story, as example of Kaho's route, is first confession rejected -> move on the character bonding of girl 2 -> confession rejected -> character bonding of girl 3 and Kaho -> choose Kaho -> her "main route" and more drama. Sure, all girls move eventually on from being rejected, but it gave still a rather strange or tacked feeling of the story flow.

2. The MC had either way rather harsh events in the past, which obviously have been influencing heavily his present self. And while those elements were used well enough within the plot, it gave also the impresson that the writers overdid it, even if only to a degree, in making him flawed/"tainted". That special case ruined, for example, the very good interaction between Mizuki-chan and he, which was developed/shown throughout the VN by the way, when he had decided to reveal his worse past-self. Let's ignore that in the end they could return to being friends, it felt simply too much of a "hey more drama and heavy atmosphere for ya!"
And the scene changes happened, regardless of minor ones or major ones, abruptly, i. e. with the BGM stopping suddenly and the screen shift to the next location. There's no smooth fade out? Don't know how to properly call it :heh:

Anyway, based on my personal bias I would have loved a more comedy/lightheared approach or at least the normal amount of dama like in the GIGA VNs that dealth with a similar scenario of an item helping in finding true love.
Personal conclusion, as I doubt the other routes will change much of the current impression: A story with a sweet, but generic synopsis, that has its fair share of serious topics. Ignoring the point that the MC was painted as maybe too "damaged", the VN is a rare case where a social inapt/unskilled MCs was rather well done. In contrast to, eg. CureGirl. The female cast was very likeable, especially the MC's, Soujirou, interaction with Mizuki. Probably my favorite moments in the VN. His self-proclaimed "best friend" was very annoying, again him messing with the MC was way overdone, unless that was the point. The BGM whenever he would show up was kept gloomy? and I mostly skipped his scenes during the latter half of Kaho's route. The for me non-satisfying structure of my afore-mentioned "1." dampened the mood, however.
-> Might be worth to check it out, but remaining careful while doing so is to be recommended from my point of view.

johnishida

2013-05-14, 21:11

Finished the Gaku-Ou series that include both the PC games and the PSP ver. The game itself was quite enjoyable from beginning to end with a light-hearted and fun story paired with equally fun and rather unique characters, between themselves at least.

The common route was the best part of the game for me mainly because how it brought together all the characters as they struggle to clear all the trials the Eleven Masters put them through. Yep, I surely love those friendship, hard work and hot-blooded themes.

Proper routes focused mostly on romance and comedy with a bit of drama to spice things up a bit. The quality of the routes varies quite a bit with Hinayu's being the weakest; it felt disjointed and it never resolved (or explained) a rather important (or so it seemed) part of the it's plot. Uduki's and Annemarie's route were pretty nice overall, but since their focus were their respective heroine so the main plot of the game was completely forgotten which bring us to Akari's route which was easily the best; her route is directly linked to the main plot so it resolves it entirely. It also inherits those themes that made the common route so enjoyable, adding romance and ichaicha to the mix. It may be a bit biased since Akari is no doubt my fav. heroine, she's just too lovely.

The fandisc had short stories for all the girls and extra events you can unlock by changing the date of your clock to the heroines's birthday or christmas eve. As for the PSP ver. besides the route for the protagonist's little sister Sorano, it doesn't add much new material for the four original heroines which was a bit disappointing. Sorano's route was pretty good as it developed on her's and the main character's background as the princess and prince of their home planet.

So, after all that I'll say check it out if you are interested.

blitz1/2

2013-05-14, 21:35

The game had such a nice buildup and the climax was good but the endings didn't resolve much and were lacking because it was either vague (sana) or left many things unanswered. Another problem was that the 4 routes were roughly 80% the same. i didn't like her story because in her route Shun tried to rape her 3 times
This is exactly my point, where was my wincest pure love?!!

Snuffle

2013-05-15, 07:07

I'm still going through Lovesick Puppies (quite slow I know), I finished Maruna's route a few days ago and I'm currently about half way finished Sofiya's route.

Maruna's route was a very cute story, the second drama event felt too convenient... I mean, what are the chances of that happening for a character with her background? :rolleyes: The final drama felt rushed but I'm glad it was since it tried too hard to be a tear jerker, which to me, was out of character for the tone of the story. I realize that final event was required due to how the characters meet Maruna, but I find the story would've been perfectly fine if how they met Maruna was changed and kept the light hearted tone up until the end.

Sofiya's story seems pretty simple so far, genki all over the place, at least it keeps me entertained. :heh:

BTW, I don't really feel the love sickness in this game, the title seems to be exaggerated for the level of love content. Well, maybe that's just me expecting the game will have a bunch of girls desperate to fall in love and be all cute. :p And when I think of puppies within the title, I think of cute puppy dog eyes. :heh:

The game had such a nice buildup and the climax was good but the endings didn't resolve much and were lacking because it was either vague (sana) or left many things unanswered. Another problem was that the 4 routes were roughly 80% the same. i didn't like her story because in her route Shun tried to rape her 3 times
This is exactly my point, where was my wincest pure love?!!

I didn't start Shoujo Shin'iki yet, and I'm hearing many negative comments about it. It doesn't bother me, but I'm wondering, is the game really worth playing? I don't mind putting a delay on playing it, but there's something I'd like to know. I don't mind minor spoilers, I've already seen all the CGs of the game.

Should I take those above quotes are implying that Sana is not a brocon? That would be a little let down, but it really depends how her character is played out.

Finished the Gaku-Ou series that include both the PC games and the PSP ver. The game itself was quite enjoyable from beginning to end with a light-hearted and fun story paired with equally fun and rather unique characters, between themselves at least.

The common route was the best part of the game for me mainly because how it brought together all the characters as they struggle to clear all the trials the Eleven Masters put them through. Yep, I surely love those friendship, hard work and hot-blooded themes.

Proper routes focused mostly on romance and comedy with a bit of drama to spice things up a bit. The quality of the routes varies quite a bit with Hinayu's being the weakest; it felt disjointed and it never resolved (or explained) a rather important (or so it seemed) part of the it's plot. Uduki's and Annemarie's route were pretty nice overall, but since their focus were their respective heroine so the main plot of the game was completely forgotten which bring us to Akari's route which was easily the best; her route is directly linked to the main plot so it resolves it entirely. It also inherits those themes that made the common route so enjoyable, adding romance and ichaicha to the mix. It may be a bit biased since Akari is no doubt my fav. heroine, she's just too lovely.

The fandisc had short stories for all the girls and extra events you can unlock by changing the date of your clock to the heroines's birthday or christmas eve. As for the PSP ver. besides the route for the protagonist's little sister Sorano, it doesn't add much new material for the four original heroines which was a bit disappointing. Sorano's route was pretty good as it developed on her's and the main character's background as the princess and prince of their home planet.

So, after all that I'll say check it out if you are interested.

This is actually on my list of things to play, I think I'll move it up on my backlog since your review was helpful to me, thanks. :) It's nice to know that there's a decent amount of comedy in this, I wasn't really sure what to expect since 99% of the time I don't read the synopsis.

hyl

2013-05-15, 08:36

I didn't start Shoujo Shin'iki yet, and I'm hearing many negative comments about it. It doesn't bother me, but I'm wondering, is the game really worth playing? I don't mind putting a delay on playing it, but there's something I'd like to know. I don't mind minor spoilers, I've already seen all the CGs of the game.

Should I take those above quotes are implying that Sana is not a brocon? That would be a little let down, but it really depends how her character is played out.

She is a very deredere, brocon and childish imouto. Unfortunately the game doesn't actually develop Shun's relationship with Sana romantically.
The game punishes you with a bad end if you give in to your "inner demon" and rape her (at 3 opportunities)and giving you her H-scenes

As for the game itself, I don't think it was that bad. In fact I find it quite good (with some nice surprises) up untill the ending , especially if you like the characters. I thought that the main heroines were all very likable and some side characters were also very good.

But my problems with this were the endings, lots of unlikable side characters and that almost every route is the same. Because it essentially has 1 route with some variations on the endings and some events if you go for a specific heroine Maybe the exception being Sana's route because lacks a romantic development unlike the other 3 routes, but the main story of the Seikousai is still the same

blitz1/2

2013-05-15, 12:46

She is a very deredere, brocon and childish imouto. Unfortunately the game doesn't actually develop Shun's relationship with Sana romantically.
The game punishes you with a bad end if you give in to your "inner demon" and rape her (at 3 opportunities)and giving you her H-scenes

As for the game itself, I don't think it was that bad. In fact I find it quite good (with some nice surprises) up untill the ending , especially if you like the characters. I thought that the main heroines were all very likable and some side characters were also very good.

But my problems with this were the endings, lots of unlikable side characters and that almost every route is the same. Because it essentially has 1 route with some variations on the endings and some events if you go for a specific heroine Maybe the exception being Sana's route because lacks a romantic development unlike the other 3 routes, but the main story of the Seikousai is still the same
I guess it's like 11eyes then with the endings.

hyl

2013-05-15, 12:55

I guess it's like 11eyes then with the endings.

Both games are made by Lass :p

blitz1/2

2013-05-16, 18:33

Does Shoujo Shin'iki at least make references to any of the prev. Lass's games, I was hoping there would be some connection like 3days to 11eyes.

hyl

2013-05-16, 18:43

It's not much of a reference but rather a very minor cameo.
When snooping around in Honoka's room, Shun accidently stumbles on a very old picture with someone who is probably his ancestor (because Shun thinks that the women on the left resembles Sana alot) and a certain character from 11eyes crossover :p

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v508/hyl/aeaad07a-e67f-40ed-bc09-32195bdf11cf_zps8e8a4816.jpg

edit:
I am aware that Honoka has the same last name as a certain glasses wearing character from 11eyes, but that is IMO not a good reference to their past games.
And I haven't played other lass games aside from 11eyes to notice possible other cameos or references though

ArchmageXin

2013-05-17, 08:20

hyl

2013-05-17, 08:39

My last post was directed to this one
Does Shoujo Shin'iki at least make references to any of the prev. Lass's games, I was hoping there would be some connection like 3days to 11eyes.

johnishida

2013-05-22, 16:58

Still going through the backlog. I picked Studio Ryukocha's most recent title: Shukufuku no Kane no Oto wa, Sakura-iro no Kaze to Tomo ni. Already finished three out of the four routes.

There is not much to be said about this game. It's just the standard love-comedy themed eroge and nothing really stands out. Sure, is not a bad game (over average?), but it's just too normal when comparing it their previous game: KoiSora.

A tolerable MC, cute heroines, some comedy, the standard romance, some nice, but short-lived drama and a generic plot. It's a safe game to pick if you have the time, but nothing memorable. Hopefully, the company will put a little more effort in their next title.

Hemisphere

2013-05-23, 23:29

Unexpectedly having a hell of a lot of fun time playing Demonion. I'm reminded of my Sudukuri Dragon days, but having this hammy, cheesy, hetare of a Maou and his demon maids who view him with contempt and his heroine captures with jealousy, takes the freaking cake. I can't help but have fun with it (even if the gameplay is a bit rudimentary).

Newprimus

2013-05-24, 22:40

I must be under some sort of banchou fever because after I finished Koiseyo Imouto Banchou, I decided I might try another game with banchous, so I started Tsujidou-san no Junai Road.

So...... cute......

doyalike

2013-05-24, 22:42

Does anyone here know if Corona Frizini has a route in Madou Koukaku?

hyl

2013-05-26, 20:47

Finished Grisaia no Rakuen completely (well minus the extra H-scenario's) and while playing it it seemed very good. But after letting it all sink it, it seems that this story is very flawed.

Let's start with the good. The first 60- 70% of the game was very good. The girls decided to undertake an operation to free Yuuji with the help of "Thanatos".
IMO that was the best part of the story. It showed the very good character interactions between the girls and what they felt for Yuuji to risk their lives for. The preperation before the rescue felt similar to the "Ocean serie" movies and it was very well done.
The occasional serious tone were nicely interupted with some humour (most often by Michiru)
The rescue itself was very and very good , because it had incredible badass (Sachi :3) and tense moments

My main problem was the final actwhen Yuuji litterly "rambo's" in and kills every soldier in the secret base of Heath Oslo. That part showed how dangerious Yuuji can be when he wants to kill, but it gets quickly stupid....
Yuuji first faces his "younger brother" (I think he was called "the pawn" and he is even voiced) as a "sub-boss", who is a "imperfect" clone of Yuuji raised by Oslo. The fight was nice untill it became some kind of doping fight.
Then he faces Heath Oslo, who uses a sword that was initially used by Asako and he took it as a souvenir in their fight. Also i forgot to mention that out of nowhere before the final battle JB reveals that Heath Oslo was the one who injured Asako (happened before she met Yuuji) which eventually lead to her death >_> So this fight has also become a personal vendetta for Yuuji

Then after killing him, Yuuji finds out that Heath Oslo was a clone of someone who is the "real" Heath Oslo who has lived for over 160 or so years (forgot how many years exactly because the plot became too stupid), who is a warmonger who controls the war and peace of the world in shadows.
And then he offers Yuuji to become the next Heath Oslo ...............
Which leads to the good and bad ends

edit: Oslo also has an henchman who has a name (Travis IIRC) and voice, but i never saw the point of that because he gets killed of so anti-climatically fast and easily as if he was some random grunt that Yuuji kills in the final act.....

My other complaint was the out of nowhere sci-fi, which was almost nonexistent in the previous 2 Grisaia games
Which is some kind of national defence supercomputer that can monitor any kind of activities made by anything electronic and it's very early revealed that Kazuki (!) is pretty much the core of Thanatos.
She helps the girls as a supercomputer for most of the story and she becomes the brain of the resecue operation

The Afterstory was meh.An epilogue to the main route , but it's primarly a harem route with H-scenes. Also the WTH ending

The prologue chapter on the otherhand was very goodIt's Yumiko's story when she first came to Mihama as the only student and how she later met the other 4 main heroines after they transferred in one by one.
The route ends with Yumiko hearing that next spring a male is going to enroll and after trying to find out about his past she proclaims to never accept him.

It was however still a fun but short ride and reading Rakuen felt like as if i was watching Iron 3. The pacing, tension, characters and twists were good. The execution to the buildup of the first half of the story was excellent but the actual climax and main story was lacking

edit: i don't think Rakuen has explained what exactly happened in Kajitsu >_>
It seems that Yuuji has "saved" every one of the 5 heroines, but in a way that he didn't stick to one route. (something which i find wierd but i think this can work as the plot for the upcoming anime, but i doubt that this was intended when they made Meikyuu last year)
So apparently Meikyuu and Rakuen follows a nonexisting harem route of Kajitsu

Also for the people who haven't played the game, don't read my spoilers. It takes the fun out of it if you decide to play it :p

spasdas

2013-05-27, 15:52

no kazuki end? :(

hyl

2013-05-27, 16:02

no kazuki end? :(

Unfortunately no, but there is a heroine choosen at the end of the afterstory and i know already that some might not like it
It's Chiruchiru, because she was the first one to get pregnant due to her stupidity......
And that's why i said earlier a WTH ending

edit:
forgot to add this: for me Rakuen has so far the best soundtrack from any eroge that i tried/read this year

Mahou

2013-05-27, 17:37

Mah, I think I'll remain content with just Grisaia no Kajitsu. Some dramas were a bit too extreme, but overall I have enjoyed my time with it. I was never interested in part 2 and have no real motivation for Rakuen for the time being, at least. Just waiting for Da Capo 3 x-rated :).

In the meantime I'm killing time with Maou to Odore - Code: Arcana and playing Sakurasou on PSP. It's not much VN-ish due to the heavy emphasis on the game-development schedule, but it has its share of funny moments so that I can hold out until the end. I won't go into further "details" as that would belong the thread in the sakurasou sub-forum, but Sorata's perma-tsukkomi act nearly every dang second sentence is nerve-wrecking after a while.
And I may try Ojousama wa Gokigen Naname (for no special reason).

Cold~as~Ice

2013-05-27, 17:52

can someone give me their thoughts on this game.
http://vndb.org/v629

I'm trying to fill in the hole the Grisaia series left :( so I need some suggestions please

Newprimus

2013-05-28, 03:29

Half-time (sort of) report on Tsujidou-san no Junai Road.

This game is made by Minato Carnival, which I think is a sister company to Minato-soft, which is responsible for the Majikoi series. Playing through Tsujidou-san, I can see the resemblance; the humor, wacky characters, and quality story writing. If you liked Majikoi, there's a very good chance you'll like Tsujidou-san no Junai Road.

So I finished one of each of Ai and Maki's routes. This game is sssoooooooooooo gooooooood. I love it. It's got hilarious humor and heart-pulling drama, and everything on the spectrum in-between. I'm so glad I started this game on almost a whim after looking for another banchou game after Koiseyo Imouto Banchou. From my experience so far, both Ai and Maki's routes have their vast breadth of humor and great drama; emo enough it pulls the heartstrings but not so much that it becomes annoying. While the theme is similar, of a normal person like the protagonist and a delinquent girl falling in love, how each route does it is uniquely different and enjoyable in its own way. And I love how heroines don't just conveniently disappear from each others' routes, and instead play some part in each story.

Now if you really, really hate stories about delinquents and banchous then maybe you won't enjoy Tsujidou-san no Junai Road, but this game is soo damn good with its characters and story that I have to strongly recommend this to everyone. I marathoned Maki's route a whole night, slept four hours, and finished it after midnight. That's how much this game just holds you.

Soviet

2013-05-28, 04:10

can someone give me their thoughts on this game.
http://vndb.org/v629

I'm trying to fill in the hole the Grisaia series left :( so I need some suggestions please

The problem with the Akatsuki no Goei trilogy is that the writer really can't be bothered to write proper endings. They are usually rushed and unsatisfying, with Shuumatsuron being totally unfinished, guess they ran out of time or money during the production.

Now, in terms of pure entertainment value it doesn't get much more awesome than Akagoei, the humour is amazing and always present, the characters are so much fun and with Kaito and Tsuki you pretty much get the best protag and the best maid of all time.

Kaito basically acts like a weak joker, so everybody always assumes that he is all bark and no bite even though he is freakishly powerful so it is always entertaining waiting for the wolf to shed its sheep clothing.

Read it for the humour and Kaito being a total badass but don't expect a grand conclusion for anything ever in this series. Also, Reminiscence comes out this Friday, it's set 150 years after Akagoei and shares some characters, with the main heroine being Kaito's daughter. My most wanted game for this month, can't wait.

Kirayuki

2013-05-28, 04:34

Now, in terms of pure entertainment value it doesn't get much more awesome than Akagoei, the humour is amazing and always present, the characters are so much fun and with Kaito and Tsuki you pretty much get the best protag and the best maid of all time.

And there is Son, on top of that he is voiced by Midorikawa Hikaru with his several references to some of his other works. Can't really go wrong with that setup. Some of the gold moments came from Kaito's interaction with this guy.

can someone give me their thoughts on this game.
http://vndb.org/v629

I'm trying to fill in the hole the Grisaia series left :( so I need some suggestions please

What Soviet wrote, though I'm not sure if it can replace Grisaia. It's definitely a fun series, but prepare to be offered with improper conclusions for most of the time.

Hemisphere

2013-05-28, 04:44

Read it for the humour and Kaito being a total badass but don't expect a grand conclusion for anything ever in this series. Also, Reminiscence comes out this Friday, it's set 150 years after Akagoei and shares some characters, with the main heroine being Kaito's daughter. My most wanted game for this month, can't wait.

Holy shit. Really? Oh god now I have to check it out.

I loved the humor in all of Akatsuki no Goei's titles, and Kaito and Tsuki's tandem are the best for me with their witty and snarky back-and-forth banter. And I agree, the game falls flat on its face whenever it tries to come up with satisfying endings. And Shuumatsutron was completely screwed over during its first release, being a broken, glitchy mess that needed a patch just to get route progression right.

And Midorikawa Hikaru being reduced to a butt monkey was just comedy gold for me (I liked his character's sister in the third title though).

n0m@n

2013-05-28, 04:50

I love Akatsuki no Goei series. You dont look at the plot. You have to enjoy the conversation between the characters and their humour to enjoy it. Yeah, plot-wise it wont satisfy those people who is looking for eroge with strong plot. But the dialogues and jokes are the funniest among all the eroge I played. Hence my favourite eroge of all time.

If you play the fandisc(the second one), you wont be available to stop laughing when you play the extra route about Son losing his virginity. There is a warning sign which pops up saying, "Due to his wishes, his pen$%& is portrayed bigger"(Kaito said its small like hell).

Hemisphere

2013-05-28, 05:13

Don't get me wrong, I loved the hell out of it, and I really wish more comedy eroges were around like Akatsuki no Goei (and MapleColors/MapleColors 2/Unival/that Sengoku Gakuen title by the same company). I just wished that it had better endings and a better, more coherent story so that overall it'd be strong, but its humor was enough to win me over.

I enjoyed the fandisc so much my sides were hurting at most of the gags, but I also loved the Tsuki-Kaito dynamic in it in Tsuki's route.

Now I have to go off and reinstall Unival Paranormal Girls whachamacallit. The humor in that one cracked me up badly too.

n0m@n

2013-05-28, 10:25

Lol. Yeah, the ending is weak. The PSP version added a special ending for Reika:s route in the remake of the second one. Though PSP version had to take out certain comments/dialogues which was quite disappointing. I loved Raita:s philosophy of Used-product(secondhand girls) are trashes and stuff and how he was the victim of bullying.

Hemisphere

2013-05-28, 12:53

ArchmageXin

2013-05-28, 15:19

Anyone tried G-Senjou Mahou yet? It has very little sex scenes and not much in term of rape...but god the story is sad :upset:.

The first branch the MC tried to corrupt an innocent girl. The second heroine you have Daddy recommending you to rape her. The third girl your family is busy crushing via economic scandal...and the true ending? You get sent to jail for 8 years to save your lover from....your own brother. :twitch:

And that is the good ends. I don't even want to see the bad ends

Soviet

2013-05-28, 15:46

I wish I found out about Reminiscence earlier. Trying out the trial now, and the option to bother Aksella's cleaning had me in stitches (and the resulting "reward" as good eye candy, mmmmmmmmmm).

I missed this kind of humor. All the tongue-in-cheek insults, tsukkomi-boke, breaking the fourth wall gags, oh god how I miss them all since my last AkaGoei title.

Reminiscence seems more plot-focused and not really mostly a comedy like the Akagoei games though. The humor is still awesome and the character-interaction is ace but it has a much more serious tone going by the trial.

Looking forward to how Aki's route is going to play out in the game, you don't see this kind of brother-sister relationship very often. They really fucking hate each other. And not in the cute harmless "onii-chan no baka!"-way, it's actually deep burning hatred, pure and absolute.

n0m@n

2013-05-28, 20:35

Reminiscence seems more plot-focused and not really mostly a comedy like the Akagoei games though. The humor is still awesome and the character-interaction is ace but it has a much more serious tone going by the trial.

Looking forward to how Aki's route is going to play out in the game, you don't see this kind of brother-sister relationship very often. They really fucking hate each other. And not in the cute harmless "onii-chan no baka!"-way, it's actually deep burning hatred, pure and absolute.

Maybe something a bit similar to what happened between Kaede and MC from Shuffle! Kaede hated the MC(forgot his name) after her mother:s death since she believed her mother died because of MC, though she changed before the game began(It wasnt his fault, but he just made stuff up to help her get her conciousness back or something). Yeah, its definitely not a love-hate sibling relationship but a pure hate-hate thing. Its really hard to imagine what you have to go through to hate your sibling to that extent.

One more good thing about Reminiscene is.....we have Yuuki back! It doesnt hurt to have a character we are familiar with(Though his hair changed).

Hemisphere

2013-05-28, 23:31

Reminiscence seems more plot-focused and not really mostly a comedy like the Akagoei games though. The humor is still awesome and the character-interaction is ace but it has a much more serious tone going by the trial.

Looking forward to how Aki's route is going to play out in the game, you don't see this kind of brother-sister relationship very often. They really fucking hate each other. And not in the cute harmless "onii-chan no baka!"-way, it's actually deep burning hatred, pure and absolute.

I love the comedy because it's familiar ground, but the serious tone of the story has me wondering if I should take it with a grain of salt or not - mostly because my experience with AkaGoei is still fresh in my mind. When it comes to coming up with stories with serious tones, this writer starts off strong enough, but starts to lose it when he has to tie things up altogether or end them properly. I'm afraid that the main game is going to have some severe out-of-character moments once you go down certain routes (like Aki's, probably - though this is just early speculation on my part).

And the sibling loathing thing, yes. It's not just something new you see aside from the oniichan imouto pandering that's common out there, but their hatred of each other is so genuine that it's just refreshing to behold for some reason.

One more good thing about Reminiscene is.....we have Yuuki back! It doesnt hurt to have a character we are familiar with(Though his hair changed).

Same. I was laughing pretty hard when Yuuki showed up and he and the lead suddenly bonded together over breasts.

cranston

2013-05-29, 00:26

Has anyone got recommendations on imouto-moe games? Moe being more important than H.

Newprimus

2013-05-29, 04:55

Has anyone got recommendations on imouto-moe games? Moe being more important than H.

I have one: Koiseyo Imouto Banchou. Unless you dislike banchous, this one's got insanely cute and moe imoutos up to your ears. It's also more moe than H. And icing on cake, it's got great action too.

Eina. Greatest tsundere, easily-embarrassed imouto ever.

Cirno

2013-05-29, 05:26

Has anyone got recommendations on imouto-moe games? Moe being more important than H.

Monobeno (http://vndb.org/v8435), the loli imouto is voiced by Mai Kadokawi (Illya/Rorona/Sanya), my heart can't take her. >.<

Pick Koiseyo!! Imouto Banchou (http://vndb.org/v11433) and Imouto Senbatsu☆Sousenkyo (http://vndb.org/v8037) if you like all imouto heroines. :heh:

Mazyrian

2013-05-29, 05:36

Has anyone got recommendations on imouto-moe games? Moe being more important than H.

It's not the main part, but Yoake Mae yori Ruriiro na has a great imouto route.

cranston

2013-05-29, 21:41

Newprimus

2013-05-29, 22:06

Monobeno looks nice.
Regarding Imouto Senbatsu and Imouto Bancho, how interactive are they? And how long and/or repetitive is it? (I'm assuming there are 364 endings?)
I've tried sister princess and the number of imouto in that game was already too many.

I've only played Imouto banchou but they're both by the same company so I assume they're very similar in style.

Interactivity, it's your typical visual novel. Just click, read, and daaaw. Imouto Banchou at least is so simple that even picking whose route to go with is brain-dead simple, just pick the girl. And no, there's not 365 routes. At least with imouto banchou there are five routes, each with one of the five most promiment and closest of the MC's imoutos. The vast majority of the 365 are background characters. Some of them are prominent side characters.

Also imouto banchou is very fast to complete. Each route is fairly short, but by short I don't mean lacking but I mean the writing doesn't inflate the length with unnecessary dialogue or filler. So finishing this game should take you relatively no time at all.

Micchi

2013-05-29, 22:16

Hi, I heard imoutos.

Imoban and Imosen are both good choices. I'll throw out Kurano-kunchi no Futago Jijou if only for Ema and Yae. Love the art and there's plenty of H if you want it too. It's there if you don't want it too.

For imouto routes, Mai's in Yoake is indeed a great one. Real Imouto ga Iru Ooizumi no Baai is also a good choice (both Shiori and Mai), or maybe Sorairo's Ai too.

If you're more interested in a particular imouto that has quite the impact, I'd go with LoverAble's Kaho or SuGirly Wish's Hina. Your mileage may vary though.

By the way, Monobeno has a fandisk coming out soon too, if you want more Natsuha (or loli Alice).

Snuffle

2013-05-29, 22:51

Okay so I finished Sofiya's route in Lovesick Puppies quite a while ago, it was nothing special. Although, her "lovesick" mode was very cute. I'm going to give this game a rest for now and I might get back to it later for Yuki's route.

I've decided to try out "Yuyukana," a 2 year old game. I'm playing this cause I was "stalking" a seiyuu to this game, and went for her character route right away. The art style is pretty nice, however the story surely surprised me. I'm enjoying this game a whole lot, all the characters, including the side ones, are very likeable, and have a very good balance on how they fit into the story.

I'm just about done Kukune's route, maybe just another hour read. But damn, this story which I thought was going to go take some very dumb and boring turns came out to be such an engaging story, I'm loosing sleep because of it! :heh: I have to say, I'm really impressed with how the story progressed. Now this may be stretching it, but for me, it comes pretty darn close to KEY level of story telling (I'm not even a KEY fan, so that might not be saying much). As soon as I'm done Kukune's route, I'll be starting Ako's route pretty much right away.

Hi, I heard imoutos.

Imoban and Imosen are both good choices. I'll throw out Kurano-kunchi no Futago Jijou if only for Ema and Yae. Love the art and there's plenty of H if you want it too. It's there if you don't want it too.

For imouto routes, Mai's in Yoake is indeed a great one. Real Imouto ga Iru Ooizumi no Baai is also a good choice (both Shiori and Mai), or maybe Sorairo's Ai too.

If you're more interested in a particular imouto that has quite the impact, I'd go with LoverAble's Kaho or SuGirly Wish's Hina. Your mileage may vary though.

By the way, Monobeno has a fandisk coming out soon too, if you want more Natsuha (or loli Alice).

How dare you expose Ema from Kurano Family to the world! Only those who would worship her, pet her, and dote her at least as much as Kazuya deserve to spend time with her. :eyespin: (/creep mode)

After checking out the artwork for Monobeno, I've decided to put that on my list of games to at least try out. And I didn't know that LoverAble had an imouto, that's interesting, it's been on my list for some time now. And it's from SMEE, their H scenes can get pretty crazy sometimes (kinda like HOOKSOFT). :heh:

hyl

2013-05-29, 22:57

I always tend to pick Ai from Harupoco or Nanagi from Aemushi as my direct choices for bracon imouto characters, eventhough the games themselves are not centrered around them.

Sana from Shoujo Shin'iki, Shoujo Tengoku is an extremely moe imouto but unfortunately i didn't like her route :/

relentlessflame

2013-05-29, 23:09

And I didn't know that LoverAble had an imouto, that's interesting, it's been on my list for some time now. And it's from SMEE, their H scenes can get pretty crazy sometimes (kinda like HOOKSOFT). :heh:
Well, SMEE is a sister brand to Hooksoft, so it makes sense in that regard (though I guess I never thought of their H scenes as being that crazy, but LoverAble was the first game of theirs I played, though I have played many Hooksoft titles). But that aside, I'd say that LoverAble is pretty much the gold standard in terms of games of its type. It's 100% (110%?) cute romance/"puppy love", with just enough story and a good sense of humour to carry it along. It's a game you basically only play if you like this sort of game, but if you do, you'll probably like it a lot. Kaho and Tsugumi are the two highlight routes/characters. It also has a fandisk with extended after-stories for each heroine, which is always nice in my book. But again, it's entirely a genre game, so it's sort of "take it or leave it" -- it doesn't claim to be anything more than it is (but it is pretty good at that).

That aside:
Ai from Harupoco
She's definitely an unforgettable character, even in the (over-extended) realm of imouto characters. Worth playing that game for that character alone, though I did like the other characters too.

Snuffle

2013-05-29, 23:36

Well, SMEE is a sister brand to Hooksoft, so it makes sense in that regard (though I guess I never thought of their H scenes as being that crazy

Yes I'm aware that SMEE and HOOKSOFT are affiliated companies, it's part of the reason on why I mentioned the later. What I meant about the "crazy" remark was that H scenes from the games those companies make tend to do a bunch of silly things. The H scenes can have a silly conversation going on, they could be doing it in a strange way, the location can be absurd, in short, it's just amusing what those two companies have a custom of doing. :heh:

Lovely Quest is a good example of this, specifically Iroha's route (only route I played, I plan to get back to it eventually for the student council girl). A scene which is suppose to be erotic turns out to be something very humorous. :p It's actually pretty hard to look at Iroha as someone to H with, she's more of the best friend ever. Even though she's very pretty and her seiyuu does an outstanding job with her character (her first role afaik, although her voice during the H scenes are terrible, sounds like a crying baby), those H scenes with her are more of a comedy skit for me. :heh: Unlike other companies (usually), the H scenes are there just for the sake of being there (I'm generalizing here, I know there are stories where the H fit in nicely).

I always tend to pick Ai from Harupoco
What is Harupoco short for? I'm unable to find it. :uhoh:

hyl

2013-05-29, 23:41

Shunki Gentei Poco a Poco

relentlessflame

2013-05-29, 23:43

Edit: Too late on the title...
What I meant about the "crazy" remark was that H scenes from the games those companies make tend to do a bunch of silly things. The H scenes can have a silly conversation going on, they could be doing it in a strange way, the location can be absurd, in short, it's just amusing what those two companies have a custom of doing. :heh:

Yeah, I see what you mean by crazy now. Iroha's route was definitely pretty funny, and you're quite right that a number of Hooksoft/Smee games have this trait. (Actually, Iroha in Lovely Quest is sort of similar to Anna in SuGirly Wish in a way.)

Snuffle

2013-05-29, 23:49

Shunki Gentei Poco a Poco

Thanks I looked it up.
....... How the heck did I miss a new ALCOT title??? That's another company kinda like SMEE and HOOKSOFT, good comedy. :D I'm definitely going to check this one out.... Damn my list just got bigger by 3 titles today. :uhoh::heh:

hyl

2013-05-29, 23:52

While we are still on the subject of Smee and Hooksoft, let's hope that their upcoming 2 games (Priministar and Fureraba) won't disappoint

I still need to check out Fureraba's trial

Snuffle

2013-05-30, 00:15

While we are still on the subject of Smee and Hooksoft, let's hope that their upcoming 2 games (Priministar and Fureraba) won't disappoint

I was aware of Fureraba, but I wasn't aware of PriministAr.

I still need to see more CGs for Fureraba, I'm not satisfied with what I'm seeing so far in order to decide whether I'll check it out or not.

PriministAr is looking really really good so far. That blond girl looks just like the girl from Sakura Bitmap (I found her annoying btw, such a flat personality. The tsun was better than her, at least she was funny).

erneiz_hyde

2013-05-30, 00:29

Fureraba
omg, sorry, I need to comment on this because I find this title hilarious. "raba" in my native language means "fure" in Japanese, so to me this almost meant like "fure-fure" (touchy-feely, that sort of thing). :heh:

Mahou

2013-05-30, 00:40

So I played for while while Ojousama wa Gokigen Naname. And while the female main cast is quite nice and the bracon-imouto absolutely adorable, the VN itself didn't click with me somehow. Maybe it was the permanen scheming throughout a large part of the game? Can't track it neatly down. Comprehension-wise, I had my large amount of difficulties. It seemed to have a lot of business-language explanation around stocks and company stuff around the main ojuo-sama's family tradition and house, those dubious debt/loan-granting and collection comapnies, etc. But, that wasn't the reason for my above "dissatisfaction". In either way, I would have prefered a standard-fare Ojou-sama VN with the usual bunch of drama happening in the 2nd half of the story or chara route.

I would normally also test the latest pea-soft VN, but most of their MCs are of that kind of dense-type that can annoy me faster/"harder" than the usual dense MC :heh:

ArchmageXin

2013-05-30, 12:19

Need a new English eroge or vn. G-Senjou Mahou was very sad, :upset:, I am still playing it, but it is a trial knowing Haru's route is the ultimate ending, and the bad routes break my heart :upset:.

Anyone care to recommend me a new one? :D

So far I am thinking of

Period - But it kind of just a classic romance thing with nothing special.

Rewrite-No H, but if the plot is great I wouldn't mind. How is it?

Soul Link-I love sci-fi but I heard the story is awful and review I seen most generous review rank around B-

Arie of Eternia-I probably butchering the name here, I heard it is both good and bad, but the graphic look a bit poor for a VN.

Princess Waltz-Looks very generic with a card game.

Anyone else got a recommendation? Has to be English with a great plot/in depth game.

Snuffle

2013-05-30, 13:27

Anyone care to recommend me a new one? :D

So far I am thinking of

Period - But it kind of just a classic romance thing with nothing special.
Rewrite-No H, but if the plot is great I wouldn't mind. How is it?
Soul Link-I love sci-fi but I heard the story is awful and review I seen most generous review rank around B-
Arie of Eternia-I probably butchering the name here, I heard it is both good and bad, but the graphic look a bit poor for a VN.
Princess Waltz-Looks very generic with a card game.

Anyone else got a recommendation? Has to be English with a great plot/in depth game.

Rewrite: Aside from one route (which is obvious they're doing H), the H will be out of place since the romance in that game is not the primary focus when compared to the typical romance VN. Rewrite has a pretty deep plot but I don't rank it over Little Busters. Not sure if that helps, but give it a shot, it will be worth it if you like Little Busters.

Soul Link: Honestly, watching the anime would be good enough unless you want an ending with a different girl. I watched the anime first then played the game, I was bored since I already knew everything and hardly anything was different unless I was trying to romance a different girl than what the anime chose (which is still not much different). Plus, you might need a walkthrough to get past that "free time" part of the story, I know I did, it was frustrating.

Eien no Aselia: I think this is the game you mean, maybe not, but anyways... The battle system is repetitive, if it had more depth I would've probably finished the game, but I got to bored. However, the story is a little bit interesting, I still want to know how it gets concluded. If you can tolerate the battle system hardly changing or being so simplistic, then it might be worth a try.

Princess Waltz: Hated it, only played it for the art, glad I forgot about it until you mentioned it. It was boring, flat characters, uninteresting plot. That's all I remember. :p

Some suggestions:
My Girlfriend is the President - not really about the plot, it's a great laugh though.
Sharin no Kuni - If you liked G-Senjou Maou, you might like this, has its depressing moments though.
Hoshizora no Memoria - nice story, not too deep, plot is kinda interesting, and I like the characters.
Wanko to Kurasou - cute story, has some sad moments, lots of H for actual plot reasons. Although, the plot is not deep, just a simple story.

sona-nyl

2013-05-30, 13:27

If you liked G-Senjou you should also try Sharin no Kuni, Himawari no Shoujo which is made by the same team.
EDIT: *Ninja'd*

ArchmageXin

2013-05-30, 14:30

Rewrite: Aside from one route (which is obvious they're doing H), the H will be out of place since the romance in that game is not the primary focus when compared to the typical romance VN. Rewrite has a pretty deep plot but I don't rank it over Little Busters. Not sure if that helps, but give it a shot, it will be worth it if you like Little Busters.

Soul Link: Honestly, watching the anime would be good enough unless you want an ending with a different girl. I watched the anime first then played the game, I was bored since I already knew everything and hardly anything was different unless I was trying to romance a different girl than what the anime chose (which is still not much different). Plus, you might need a walkthrough to get past that "free time" part of the story, I know I did, it was frustrating.

Eien no Aselia: I think this is the game you mean, maybe not, but anyways... The battle system is repetitive, if it had more depth I would've probably finished the game, but I got to bored. However, the story is a little bit interesting, I still want to know how it gets concluded. If you can tolerate the battle system hardly changing or being so simplistic, then it might be worth a try.

Princess Waltz: Hated it, only played it for the art, glad I forgot about it until you mentioned it. It was boring, flat characters, uninteresting plot. That's all I remember. :p

Some suggestions:
My Girlfriend is the President - not really about the plot, it's a great laugh though.
Sharin no Kuni - If you liked G-Senjou Maou, you might like this, has its depressing moments though.
Hoshizora no Memoria - nice story, not too deep, plot is kinda interesting, and I like the characters.
Wanko to Kurasou - cute story, has some sad moments, lots of H for actual plot reasons. Although, the plot is not deep, just a simple story.

More questions :)

-Rewrite is H? I thought it was labeled for all age and no sex content.

-Little busters-Isn't it an all loli game of some kind? To my understanding it is not even fully translated. (I am not a fan of Downloading mass loli games-you never know if it is actually legal these days)

-Eien no Aselia-Question, is this a Final Fantasy style game? I just want to avoid FF style game if possible (I.E you walk in dungeon for a few steps, screen flashes and mob pop out every few step or so)

-Sharin no Kuni- I heard it is very depressing. And having Maou as my "drama to go" for now is enough. Unless it has a action oriented story as well?

Hoshizora no Memoria -What is this one about? haven't heard it.

Also, anyone know any good, translated Ojou-sama type of stories? :heh:

Cold~as~Ice

2013-05-30, 14:35

ArchmageXin

2013-05-30, 14:40

we're close to getting an english patch for grisaia no kajitsu so that should be on your list.
http://tlwiki.org/?title=Grisaia_no_Kajitsu
you'll definitely love the characters more in grisaia than g senjou

Oh Nice. Will add.

G Senjou would been great if they designed it better. Specifically instead of treating each non-true girl as a "chapter", let things branch out so each girl is a route, or alternative universe event. Instead, they made things consecutive and made you break 3 hearts in the process. Sometimes I wonder if the game was punishing the MC for breaking 3 girls heart rather than shooting his brother.

Snuffle

2013-05-30, 15:05

More questions :)

-Rewrite is H? I thought it was labeled for all age and no sex content.

-Little busters-Isn't it an all loli game of some kind? To my understanding it is not even fully translated. (I am not a fan of Downloading mass loli games-you never know if it is actually legal these days)

-Eien no Aselia-Question, is this a Final Fantasy style game? I just want to avoid FF style game if possible (I.E you walk in dungeon for a few steps, screen flashes and mob pop out every few step or so)

-Sharin no Kuni- I heard it is very depressing. And having Maou as my "drama to go" for now is enough. Unless it has a action oriented story as well?

Hoshizora no Memoria -What is this one about? haven't heard it.

Also, anyone know any good, translated Ojou-sama type of stories? :heh:

Rewrite has no H, it's all age.

Little Busters has only one loli, you're thinking of Kud Wafter, the "sequel" to the game, if you can call it that. It stars the same loli character from Little Busters. The original game is fully translated but the "expansion" game is not, which is just extra stories with the side characters and one new one afaik. I'm not sure how the new character fits into the story so I can't say for sure if the core story of the game is complete, but still, the original game is fully translated.

Eien no Aselia has no dungeons, just a world map. Think "Big Bang Age" or "Rance" with much simpler mechanics. There is no H in the English version btw.

Sharin no Kuni is very heavy drama, not action oriented at all. It goes very deep into the psychology of the characters, something I tend to like as long as it's not a bunch of bs.

Hoshizora no Memoria "Wish Upon a Shooting Star." Don't mix it up with the sequel called "Eternal Heart." It's a fairly light hearted game, it doesn't really get depressing but there are some moments where you might feel bad for the characters. The base of the story revolves around Mare, a grim reaper, according to her. While romancing your girl of choice, you may or may not (depending on route) learn more about her, like what she really is. At the same time, you, the MC, is searching for your childhood friend, which is heavily implied to be your first love, but the MC can't remember her name for plot reasons. It's a pretty interesting story, but be warned, it's in dire need for the After Story (Eternal Heart) to be translated.

ArchmageXin

2013-05-30, 16:09

Snuffle

2013-05-30, 16:28

A few more questions:

Eien no Aselia-

http://vntls.org/project/aselia/ (Project tracker, not actual download)--This thing indicate the project has sexual content, but there is also another one meant for 12+. Is there a way to tell which is which? o_O

There are also a couple title I am looking into

Duel Savior-Is this any good? It does not appear to have any game plan but straight VN

Harem Party-How is this one? Is it straight VN as well with an RPG cast?

Koihime Musou-I heard it is based on Romance of 3 Kingdoms with great strategy and girls, cept meeting the female version of Cao Cao sounds rather odd. Do they all use the original cast's name? o_O Or just a parallel fantasy world?

I'm not sure how to tell the 12+ and 18+ apart for Eien no Aselia. But if you look here http://vndb.org/v74, you will see only the 12+ is in English.

I've only sampled Duel Savior so far, I didn't find it that interesting. I'm not really fond of any of the characters except that red haired one. But to get on her route, you need to finish every other route just to start hers... ya... I'm not too keen on doing that so I found a save data to start her route right away. :p I started the route but I stopped to play something else, will get back to it eventually. There is a battle system in Duel Savior, a very very basic side view action one, which is pathetically easy. It's so easy that it feels like a waste of time to even give the player control of the battles. :eyebrow:

Never tried Harem Party, so I wouldn't know.

I tried Koihime Musou because I liked the anime. I couldn't really enjoy the game, the battles have even more basic mechanics than Eien no Aselia, which is not fun. But that's not the main reason I stopped playing it, I can enjoy simple battle systems, don't misunderstand me on that. The real reason I stopped is because Ryuubi is not in that game (she's in the 2nd and on, no English version though), I didn't really feel like continuing it without having a character to look forward to seeing. Plus, I read somewhere that the battles take a really long time to finish later on.

Not sure what you mean by "original cast name" and "parallel fantasy world."

ArchmageXin

2013-05-30, 19:28

Ahhh, can't decide XD

Oh, when I meant original cast or parallel world is like

for example, original cast, the story is based on 3 kingdoms fighting each other. There might be some similarities, but still unique. You won't see a female version of Lu Bei for example.

Parallel world instead you do, seeing female version of Cao Cao and the entire cast. (I am having a hard time digesting the entire cast of Romance of 3 Kingdom as cute girls, sorry, :heh:)

Hemisphere

2013-05-31, 00:57

Managed to progress a bit with Reminiscence's trial.

The protagonist is reminiscent of Kaito in several familiar ways; he's stumbling around trying to find his way while making a living; obligatory deep, dark past; and is a crouching moron, hidden badass. I can't help but think that the writer has a penchant for male leads like this, though admittedly I do miss Kaito's taste in literature (or to be more precise, the author's self-insert thoughts on contemporary literature with Kaito as his speaking agent). It wasn't a big thing, but it did help in solidifying him more as a character, what with his literary opinions and reading during his off-duty hours, and the like.

Seeing Hidetaka in action on his own terms were really interesting moments to read through, because you get to see just how flexible and adept he is at catching cues and then coming up with strategies for his own benefit. He's apparently good at using people thanks to his diverse connections. The re-negotiation as well as the following investigation event were quite interesting in terms of portraying is competency; especially the re-negotiation scene for me because of the way the author's written it out with such a decisively business-savvy approach (though I would have appreciated a bit more in-depth economics, but this is just personal opinion). I can't help but see Hidetaka as a big, fat liar to himself when he mentioned that it'd be impossible for him to catch up with Madoka and the others...only he gets to seal the re-negotiation on very amicable terms and leave them eating his dust. Or maybe he really just loves lying to himself and this was just one of the many scenes pointing it out which I most likely have missed out on.

Is it just me, or does Madoka, despite all her disappointed and disenchanted take on the current Hidetaka, come off as wistfully...I don't know, pining? It's like she's disillusioned yet at the same time, her every interaction with him has this undercurrent of eager hoping, as if at any moment the Hidetaka she's familiar with would suddenly reappear out of nowhere and blow all her expectations away. Or maybe, as mentioned earlier, it's just me.

Seeing Aki with those empty eyes vocally and scathingly proclaiming her hatred for Hidetaka as well as her sheer sadistic delight at seeing him as an empty shell of his former self...brrrrrrrrr. Her request to Aksella afterwards didn't do much to help lift the creepy factor. This must be some REALLY fucked up history we're talking about.

And despite Mizuno Rin featuring heavily in the main promotional materials for this game, I don't see how she could have much on an impact on Hidetaka, or the the main story for that matter seeing as Hidetaka pretty much ignores her presence whenever she gets mentioned pre-Kizuna's appearance. I hope she isn't just an extra character tacked on for shits and giggles.

One last thing: Can anyone mind telling me why Kizuna and that loli scientist's DNA had a common match? My familiarity with AkaGoei is admittedly rusty; hell, I even thought that Kizuna was Kaito and Reika's kid (you'd think the hair, the name, and the teacher's route in Shuumatsutron would have already given it away, argh).

cranston

2013-05-31, 03:55

Soviet

2013-05-31, 07:35

One last thing: Can anyone mind telling me why Kizuna and that loli scientist's DNA had a common match?

Yuuki wears an USB stick around his neck so Reminiscence obviously follows Tae's route.

Cosmic Eagle

2013-05-31, 07:39

Eien no Aselia was once ported to PS2, a non-H version.
When the successor title, Seinarukana came out, the PS2 Eien no Aselia was re-ported to PC and given as a bonus item. The english translation patch was made for this version of EnA, full name Eien no Aselia: Kono Daichi no Hate de.

Don't know about the English version or its source, but the special edition of Aselia is H.

Kirayuki

2013-05-31, 07:44

Yuuki wears an USB stick around his neck so Reminiscence obviously follows Tae's route.

Wouldn't that ignore what happened in Shuumatsuron ?

Hemisphere

2013-05-31, 07:46

Yeah, I wanted to ask that question. How exactly would we know which route Reminiscence follows after? Would it be one route, or would it be a culmination of various plot elements coupled together from each of the routes on which Reminiscence is then built upon?

PS. it's out

Would anyone mind if there was a separate discussion thread for Reminiscence? Just throwing it out there.

Kirayuki

2013-05-31, 07:50

I personally think it's just a loose continuation, the continuity question will just pop out if we only look at it from just one route's perspective.

Soviet

2013-05-31, 07:53

And Shuumatsuron ignored the first game, or mostly Reika's route because she got a new one anyway. It's not like the games are big on continuity.

Hemisphere

2013-05-31, 07:56

Mmm, cool, that works. Means I won't have to try too hard when it comes playing "spot the threads". Thanks.

Kirayuki

2013-05-31, 07:58

I believe the first game used Kaoru's route (yes, it's more like a sub route) as the base for shaping up the way to Shuumatsuron. But yeah, the continuity itself in general doesn't really exist here.

n0m@n

2013-05-31, 08:04

I actually found Kaoru is one of the good heroines in the game lol. One of the good thing about Shuuratsumon is that it has Kaoru's route(She did have a sun rouute diverged from Kanzaki, but......yeah...):D
I wonder if a character that carries the name "Nikaidou" will appear?

@Hemisphere
Yeah, we should build a separate thread for Reminiscence.

Edit:
Yeah, build it here.
http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?p=4703204#post4703204

Lets discuss it here since it will be easier.

ArchmageXin

2013-05-31, 08:53

Don't know about the English version or its source, but the special edition of Aselia is H.

Isn't that one done by Donkdoms (sic) and meant for 12+:heh:

Cosmic Eagle

2013-05-31, 09:00

I'm talking about this

http://www.xuse.co.jp/product/042_aselia-se/

Mahou

2013-06-02, 17:14

I've started playing one of purplesoft's older titles "Memoria", which features some form of cohabitation between humans and a race that looks human and has animal ears (and tiail) + an elven-esque slow aging trait. Similar to Koi+Choco you are forced into one route during your first playthrough (which is still my on-going one). Our dear main character Kouichi is sadly one of his fellow dense comrades. To be precise, that kind of dense, where the writer loves to rub it in your face, even though the first half wasn't *that* bad under that aspect. And I don't believe that his memory loss, which was revealed in the beginning, is at fault for it.
-> Dense towards his tsuntsun "bad mouth" childhood friend (nothing unusual)
-> The most obvious dense moment: He receives one of the partner-pendants in heart shape (those where in all other stories both partners wear half the heart as a pendant) and doesn't realize its true meaning (as a present from a girl), just the meaning of a commemoration of the partnership of the afore-mentioned two worlds :heh: And he's also one of the bad-at-school types, but I'll resist to complain about that trope? this time >_<. Anyway, I'll see how the other routes may turn out.

Otherwise, there's finally Da Capo 3 X-rated and the new Ex-one VN

Newprimus

2013-06-05, 23:48

I'm playing Harukaze's らぶおぶ恋愛皇帝ofLOVE!, and I've learned what it feels like to play an eroge that is suffering from a severe case of ADHD. I'm gonna keep at it and hope the story becomes more coherent once I'm on a heroine route.

Mahou

2013-06-06, 12:03

I just completed the Memoria-route of the same-named title and it gave a beautiful and heartwarming (albeit short) conclusion to Haruna's route, which was also the route you are forced to complete at first. The largest part was the flashback of Kouichi's life before his memory loss and switched afterwards back to present time where Haruna's route ended.
However, how the happy end for her was executed felt a bit forced.
You have Kouchi during his time in Eteria being the same from Aseria present-time sent back to the past with memory loss. And apparently he was in a time loop of being shuffled from past to "future" both with a memory loss until Memoria route, where the cycle was broken when he decided to not seperate the pendant and regained his future memory thus being able to reunite with Haruna for good in the in-game present time.

Based on that it seems like with the pendant complete and both crystal in place he could "freely" control the time jump? And withou both crystals reacting to the gate, his memory would never have returned in both timelines.
That parts felt a bit strange, though :heh:

Anyway a happy end still well deserved. Poor Aika got the short stick somehow, even though she was one if not the most important side character plot-wise.
Otherwise: Tomoe with contacts and her more honest self was quite lovely and probably the best "normal" route.
Arisa while irresistable to hug had the annoying drama with her father, yet her moments with Kouichi were themselves very cute.

Newprimus

2013-06-08, 16:29

Down with the sempai cliches!!!! Because the trial I'm playing of ナマイキデレーション, has no sempai characters at all! Everyone is either the same year as the MC or is his kouhai! And Hatsuyuki from Hatsuyuki Sakura doesn't count cause there's Aya.

What's more, the osanajimi character isn't the extremely common gentle girl who likes cooking and housework. The one in this game is a love freak who wants to rape the MC's face. The little sister's the one who's good at cooking and housework, but she's a cooldere. And what's more she's actually busty, unlike practically every other imouto character who's flat-chested!

Mwahahahahaa!! Take that established cliches!!!!

hyl

2013-06-08, 17:38

Down with the sempai cliches!!!! Because the trial I'm playing of ナマイキデレーション, has no sempai characters at all! Everyone is either the same year as the MC or is his kouhai! And Hatsuyuki from Hatsuyuki Sakura doesn't count cause there's Aya.
There are many games without senpai characters 0_0

What's more, the osanajimi character isn't the extremely common gentle girl who likes cooking and housework. The one in this game is a love freak who wants to rape the MC's face.
There are lot's of osanajimi characters that don't do housework and cooking :p

The little sister's the one who's good at cooking and housework, but she's a cooldere.

The capable imouto and kuudere imouto are both common, eventhough it's less common to see both traits

And what's more she's actually busty, unlike practically every other imouto character who's flat-chested!
They
http://s.vndb.org/ch/36/14236.jpg
http://s.vndb.org/ch/30/14130.jpg
http://s.vndb.org/ch/24/14224.jpg
and many other imouto's beg to differ

Newprimus

2013-06-08, 19:02

hyl, the right thing to do is to join along with the mood, not crash the party. :bash:

Mahou

2013-06-10, 16:42

Two routes done in Ex-one's latest VN Tsukiakari Lunch. Except of Futsuno Fantasy, there'll also be an unlockable route after the remaing ones (in this case 3 routes) are completed. There are like with Mantsu no Monogatari quite a few myteries flowing around, yet also seems that during each route a few information are leaked out + the IMHO interestingly done "epilogue" of a route. Said epilogue is actually not a happy ending (to my surprise or shock? :heh:). Obviously based one the unlockable routes it seems the major mysteries are spun around the two Haruhiko's and Aki. With witches, an abnormal school location and people being dragged there from different worlds you can expect a colorful group and it's nice to see how each member represents his/her own train of thoughts/principles of the world, circumstances, etc. As with the other ex-one titles the MC is partly-voiced.

Anyway, short route stuff:

Natsuno's route was a fairly good starting decision for me. The dramatic moments acutally helped to progress the plot and deepend the bond between the two pre-confession even stronger. The farewell scene was quite impactful and heartwrenching in a way correctly done.

Fuyu: The "war doll" comingn from a winter world of eternal war and her wish to be granted was to know what love is and in return "receiving" a heart. Based on character progression, her route was very powerful. The whole mini-stepups from unconscious tears, to her first slight smile up to finally love was simply great. Her motivation to become a teacher once she returns was a nice conclusion to her progress. But, the final drama of the witch-killing witch was somehow over the top. The epilogue scene made up for that rather sour impression. Her route made my initital speculation about Haru's role a bit more confirmed.

I hope ex-one will keep up their - for me - good work and also throw a few light-hearted titles in-between like Futsuno Fantasy was for the most part :D.

blitz1/2

2013-06-10, 17:46

Achiuakuna

2013-06-11, 03:43

If you need recommendations for other awesome eroge, Subarashiki Hibi is I think the second-highest ranked VN on erogamescape and supposedly eclipsed Muv-luv alternative for some time. I've only played a little bit of it so far and it's very, very good.

Gotta love the search function. I guess one person in this thread mentioned this game before(back in 2011:blush:).

I just started playing it as well. It's almost too good. Can't really define what it is in words or pinpoint what makes it good though. It's quite magical. Can't wait to savor it in its entirety.

Dagger

2013-06-11, 08:06

I'll be interested to see what you think of it as a whole. It's very ambitious and very bizarre.

Cosmic Eagle

2013-06-11, 09:04

I'll be interested to see what you think of it as a whole. It's very ambitious and very bizarre.

Keep hearing how much it involves philosophy. Is that accurate description?

And is it as chuu2-ish in application as Masada did with Nietzsche for Dies?

ArchmageXin

2013-06-11, 10:28

Questions for the pros again-

Period-Guys, any opinion on this? The Art work is very....alternative and watery like (The girls look like some kind of odd oil painting), despite the advance graphics, is this worth it?)

Himegari Dungeon Miester-Is this canceled? I used to be able to find it on VNtracking, now is gone totally.

Demonbane: this series throw out a lot of Lovercraft terms, like the Necromoncion, but after like prologue it seem to be a classic Mecha/Superhero story a-la-power-ranger or something. Is this series has any twist or turns or even horror element to it?

Achiuakuna

2013-06-11, 13:11

I'll be interested to see what you think of it as a whole. It's very ambitious and very bizarre.

Indeed. They do try to accomplish a lot. I'll see how it goes.

Keep hearing how much it involves philosophy. Is that accurate description?

And is it as chuu2-ish in application as Masada did with Nietzsche for Dies?

Yes, but it's not the in-your-face type of show-off philosophy. I haven't played that game you mentioned so I can't really compare. I would be the last person in the world who would take an interest in any sort of philosophy, and I expected the philosophical parts to annoy me. However, it did not. I think they incorporated it well into the game as a whole and I found those parts quite interesting to say the least.

Mahou

2013-06-13, 04:36

Another bunch of impressions because Mahou has too much time during the period when the university district of the city is under high water :heh:

I completed Tsukiakari Lunch. And while I liked the overall game, I would have felt easier with some miracle magic to create a happy ending for MC and Aki D:. Well, I'm aware it's an overall good ending before an indivual happy ending, but still ... . The truth about the MC was what I thought would have happened to Aki-chan.

Anyway all girls were extremly cute and their routes had touching moments.
Favorite route-order: Aki = Fuyu > Natsuno = Avril. Again, I loved Fuyu's character growth and while Aki's route progressed romance-wise somehow slower, I liked her caring and quiet character. Natsuno's route was probably the most balanced in terms of drama. You didn't have a "doomsday" feeling like with the finale of Avril's route and her cheerful side and "attachment" of Haruhiko after the first progress was adorable.
Avril, again, as a character was *hnnghhhh* once her dere-dere side appeared, but the finale of her route was a bit "WTF!?"-inducing :heh:
I wished there'd be an happy-go-lucky afterstory for each heroine like in Manatsu Monogatari instead of additional ecchi scenes D:.

Secondly: Koi Shiyo~:
Overall the VN *is* quite ordinary with nothing really outstanding story aspects, but so much might have already been clear from various story summaries. Still, it was cute how they showed the (clumsy) steps of how each heroine (and MC) come to realize the feelings of love and romance.
My personal favorite routes are Misaki's (only after one route is completed) and Miyabi's, once you look past the pre-confession drama. Chika's route probably the most balanced, due to her aggressive nature to purue her Ouji-sama :D. Still, large amount of *hnnngghhh* for her.
Misaki's route was personally quite good, BUT it would have been muuuuuch more enjoyable if the confession had happened before the first two h-scenes. It was obvious that both already had the same feelings for each other. Seriously, their growing bond and Misaki's growing trust from friends to best friends up to those fishy line between best-friends and lovers was done so nicely for me.

Lastly: Short question about Kisaragi Goldstar: Does it have the same amount of "tragedy" and/or melodramatic vibe/ending as Hatsuyuki Sakura and Natsuyume or is it (hopefully) more lighthearted happy ending-ish?

Hemisphere

2013-06-13, 11:51

Lovely x Cation 2: Seine's Birthday append. Mmmmm-mmmm-mmmmmmm. Seine floundering about in her deadpan, clueless manner is just adorable.

hyl

2013-06-13, 12:15

Mahou

2013-06-13, 13:23

Kisaragi Goldstar is far less "dramatic" than Hatsuyuki Sakura and Natsuyume Nagisa.
edit:
If you are going to read it, you might want to hold it off for a while because there will be an all ages psp port with an extra route for Kuon. Unless you don't have a psp

Thanks, I have a psp, so I'll keep your information in mind. Guess, I'll test the available version for a bit. Otherwise reading it again (depending on the "final impression"), isn't much of a concern as I did the same with Mashiro-iro Symphony.

Period-Guys, any opinion on this? The Art work is very....alternative and watery like (The girls look like some kind of odd oil painting), despite the advance graphics, is this worth it?)

Yeah, Artwork is a bit hard to get used to. Otherwise, I had my enjoyable time with Period, for all my opinion may be worth. Drama was acceptable, Kohane-chan absolutely adorable and hug-tempting *lol*. However, there are a few plot elements that simply were not explained any further other than introduction and maybe a few bits here and there.

Newprimus

2013-06-13, 13:37

Lovely x Cation 2: Seine's Birthday append. Mmmmm-mmmm-mmmmmmm. Seine floundering about in her deadpan, clueless manner is just adorable.

Is that a separate game or is that in lovely cation 2?

Hemisphere

2013-06-14, 00:42

It's from this (http://www.getchu.com/soft.phtml?id=770634). Comes with clock, calendar, wallpapers, and a bonus append much like the monthly appends, only this one is heroine specific (as it's for their respective birthdays).

hyl

2013-06-15, 08:47

The seiyuu cast for the main heroines is revealed for Karumaruka ＊ Circle
(and earlier this week it was also announced that the release date for it was 27th of september)
http://sagaplanets.product.co.jp/works/karumaruka/character.html

The seiyuu's should be pretty easy recognizable even if you are playing eroge casually

Let's hope that the story by these new writers will be as good as Saga planets previous few games after Niijima Yuu left the company last year

Dagger

2013-06-15, 17:55

So I just played a free doujin game called 強盗、娼婦のヒモになる (which I downloaded because I saw quite a few positive reviews on erogamescape).

The creator's site and download links are here (http://blog.livedoor.jp/i_love_anata/archives/26696011.html). There are one or two NSFW thumbnails on that page, but most of the blog itself is pretty clean.

It's really good, you guys. Like, I don't want to overhype it, but the writing is up there with the top tier of commercial games, as far as I'm concerned. It's blissfully short--no unnecessary padding whatsoever--with great characterization and appealing characters. The quality of the characterization carries over to the ero-scene dialogue and narration as well (there's only a tiny bit of ero, but it felt like a smooth-flowing and natural part of the story).

Go play it! I would think pretty seriously about the possibility of translating this myself if I had more time on my hands...

Mahou

2013-06-16, 05:21

Himwari no Kyoukai: Yomi's route. It had one ridiculous element in it, but the last scene before the credit roll was touching. Based on the walkthrough, I'm looking forward to Hina's route(s). But, the flashback between Yomi and Kuroneko-Yomi + the long farewell and explanation scene between MC, the two and the cat-god thingy was very touching. It was also funny how spirit-Yomi made fun of "Nana-chan". It was also positive that the MCs explanation of being able to see the spirit of Yomi all the time was actually hinted before, just that the context was missing.

Mystic_Vegetto

2013-06-17, 02:57

I just recently finished Naka no Hito Nado Inai. I have to say, I really enjoyed it. To me it had that nice good mix of Comedy and Story similar to My Girlfriend is the President. If I had to rank the Heroine routes, it would be:

1. Louis
2. Ayano
3. Luka
4. Saori

Since I've played Osanadai and Nakahito, I'm wondering if I should try out Onigokko. Anyone ever try it? Currently I'm playing Hapymaher and finished Maia's route. Hoping to start another route tomorrow or later in the week. Very much looking forward to Tsujidou-san no Virgin Road in August.

hyl

2013-06-17, 03:39

I just recently finished Naka no Hito Nado Inai. I have to say, I really enjoyed it. To me it had that nice good mix of Comedy and Story similar to My Girlfriend is the President. If I had to rank the Heroine routes, it would be:

1. Louis
2. Ayano
3. Luka
4. Saori

The stories were somewhat cheesy like a Tokusatsu serie (probably intentional) but nevertheless very enjoyable because of the characters and the comedy.
That's pretty much the same ranking that i would give, eventhough i would tie Ayano and Louis' stories for the best because i liked their routes equally because of the slight better story in Ayano's story but the more deredere Louis. Yuka's route was also nice but overall slightly weaker than the previous 2 and i didn't like Saori, but it was more a problem of her charactertype that i didn't like rather than her actual route.

Since I've played Osanadai and Nakahito, I'm wondering if I should try out Onigokko. Anyone ever try it?
I didn't like it as much as Osadai or Nakahito, but Onigokko was still very enjoyable. Also a psp port will be out at the end of the month (with an extra heroine), so that is also an option if you own a psp

Mahou

2013-06-17, 06:28

Finished Kisaragi Goldstar. Uhm, ... I'm a bit at loss of words. Saya: The first half up to h-scene one were fine enough, but the latter half once the supernatural element appeared (or rather re-appeared?) was for me somehow a headache. Koutarou was probably the most annoying jerk-ish character of her route and he should have gotten the crap beaten out of him. Even the "final stage" of her route wasn't tha appealing, but I loved the flashback between Futami-tachi and Saya's first encounter.
Overall: A somehow wobbly start of the VN, but I guess if all routes are based around some supernatural element, I know what to expect. Especically that some of the potential mystery element for Ichika was already foreshadowed. So that's good in hindsight.
After completing it, I would still say to have generally enjoyed the ride. Some annoying/too drama-esque aspects, but nothing really outrageous. I liked the soundtrack during the mystery/supernatural elements. The side character route were similar as with Dolphin Diver very short. I think the longest route would have been Tori's feeling-wise.
From the other characters: I like the teacher and Ririko.

The true end, despite giving a final conclusion to the MC's dream and such, felt somehow missing something. When it ended with *girl-of-choice* welcoming him home and *end* I was like "Huh? That's all?" Again, it was nice that the MC could reconcile with his mother and decided to follow his dream. Ignoring this, I was actually expecting that the true roue would touch upon the "battes happening at the moon", hence why Saya said she had to return -> to support(?) her people, but that's not meant as a complaint :). Maybe I just misuderstood it.

Favorite route order: Tsubasa > Ichika-chan (her dere-dere side <3) > Mikoto > Saya. Mikoto here not as the second worst route, but as the solid middle.
From the side character's I only really liked Nanako.
Obviously due to the heavy rabu-rabu and icha-icha I loved Tsubasa's route. Mild drama + *awww* and smiling-scenes. Here again, Ichika's plot-part occured differently than I thought it would, but in the long run I was okay with it.

Balzac

2013-06-20, 00:07

Since I've played Osanadai and Nakahito, I'm wondering if I should try out Onigokko. Anyone ever try it?

I'd frankly rank onigokko above osadai, which is itself above nakahito. I felt there was something missing in the latter - the exact of which I can't exactly pinpoint: comedy, overall atmosphere, premise, etc. - which made it seem a waste to buy (personally). To compare, it was like reading AS2's W.L.O. then moving to Okiba ga nai (which by itself is a slightly unfair comparison, as I read the alcot games within a single week while I read the aforementioned titles within their respective releases)

EDIT: I'm considering ensemble's new game - hanaoto wasn't too bad and I quite enjoyed most of koi no canvas' routes. Can anyone who's read ojounana write in their impressions?

hyl

2013-06-20, 00:30

Aside from the used economics (which bothered some) I thought that Oujonana was ok, but not something great.
Initially i didn't like Naname much because of her very wierd personality, but i started to like her more later in her route.
Hana also had an ok route.
Shiaya's story was very different than i expected
Otoha's and Touko's routes were somewhat meh, eventhough i think Touka's had the weakest route

Personally while i find it ok, there are much better VN's to pick.

edit:

I have seen lot's of good about ChuSinGura46+1 , so i will be trying that next before Fureraba comes out

hyl

2013-06-27, 05:39

Couldn't resist to post the カルマルカ＊サークル opening movie, because i am hyped for it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=na8EzJVC4Qc

edit: i am kind of annoyed that Palette still has almost no news about 恋がさくころ桜どき , eventhough it was teased last year. The only thing announced today was the "Palette Premium Festa" somewhere in october with guests such as the artists who sung the opening and ending songs and the seiyuu's of Mashifoni

hyl

2013-06-29, 13:20

Amairo Islenauts Trial has been out for almost 5 hours now and my impression so far, despite not having the time to finish it yet, is that it looks like a comedic charage with various oddball characters and interesting settings (on a floating island with a more old fashioned European feel , because of the look (like the buildings on the island and the school) and less modern things because electricity is scarce on the island. Eventhough people still have cellphones)

edit:
An overall entertaining trial. All the main and sub heroines (aside from 1, who only appeared at the very end of the trial) are great , like dracu-riot it has interesting settings plus i liked the comedy, eventhough it's probably fairly standard RomCom/harem ecchi level of comedy.Speaking about ecchi, it definitely has more fanservice than the past Yuzusoft's titles
Amairo Islenauts also seems less focused on the story than Dracu-Riot Aside from the main character's failure in the past pointed out in his thought and some flashbacks and the cliffhanger at the end in which a girl (Konoka) magically appeared out of the lake in front of the main character
In fact the story is pretty nonexistent and it feels like a moege/charage (probably more emphasis on moe)

later edit:
While reading the trial I entirely missed this news.
Lovely Quest on the psp
http://www.piacci.co.jp/lq/

Tommorow i will try fureraba, eventhough the trial was somewhat disappointing compared to Lover able.

even later edit:
!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHrNOxcT1lc

Mahou

2013-07-07, 14:41

Anyone has or plans to play Cuff's latest game Berries? With at least two (for me interesting) Vns of 7+ GB my poor notebook's remaining 19 GB HDD would reach its crtical point, so I'd rather want to avoid possibly disappointments (*coughImoutoKatachicough*).

Otherwise @fureraba: The conversation time with *girl-of-choice* seems to suffer the same implementation as with CureGirl aka none of those topic/information are being used during the other parts of the VN other than serving some invisible affection boosts. Nontheless, the amounts of smile-making moments were easily worth it for me :). Never knew that a simple question of wheter you'd offer an eldery lady your seat could lead to such a "catastrophic" discussion :heh:.

hyl

2013-07-07, 15:21

I have been starting Berry's. While i am not even out of the common, my impression so far is that seems to be a pretty fun moege with a large cast of characters and a pretty nonexistent plot

-Necromancer-

2013-07-07, 15:35

Does anyone know if there is any legal eroge you can play online for free? as a taster? Im sure there isn't but might as well try xD

If not where would you buy them in countries other than Japan?

relentlessflame

2013-07-07, 18:54

Does anyone know if there is any legal eroge you can play online for free? as a taster? Im sure there isn't but might as well try xD

If not where would you buy them in countries other than Japan?
Most eroge have free downloadable trials, and even many of the officially-localized (English translated) ones do (for example, see this list on MangaGamer (http://www.mangagamer.com/freedownload.php?page=1)). The whole point of the trial is a "taster" for the game.

Other than that, the two main brands for legal English-translated eroge are JAST (http://www.jastusa.com/) and MangaGamer (http://www.mangagamer.com/). They have links to buy their games there.

If you want untranslated Japanese games, then the purchasing options are a bit more limited and/or may require you go through a few more hoops/expenses... but it's doable. I've been importing new Japanese releases for many years now.

ArchmageXin

2013-07-08, 21:12

Anyone tried http://vntls.org/project/world-end-economica-ep1/ yet? It is billed as investment banking + VN.

Mahou

2013-08-03, 04:40

Another buch of short impressions as I have too much time during my semester vacations:

Fureraba: I have only finished Rina's route, but loved every bits of her route. It was hngghh^10 and quite lovely how the teasing-childhood friend(ship) developed to such a tightly-knit lovership. Sure, that's not really uncommon at all, but I found it lovely in combination with Rina's "hidden" strong lonelieness. I would have prefered if her epilogue would have manifested the deal even more, instead of the more comedic approach of the actual epilogue, but that's just me.

Zutto suki shite, takusan suki shite: Uhm, ... A bit strange seeing that the MC's approach after the only choice-selection becomes quite bolder (like an "CHAAARGE!" command); as much as an instant-confession in one route. Though, that confession didn't lead to a "yes" straightaway. From the two routes I glimpsed at, Serina's was the most straightforward due to both having ultimately mutual feelings towards eachother. Plus Serina is extremly huggable -> my first impression when she first appeared. Her first apperance as harmless/generic as it was, left the "best girl early-game"-impression :heh:

I also orgininally planned to test the new cosmic cute VN, but after looking at vndb I discovered the -for me - alarming tags: Gore + Bloody Scenes and backpaddled without hesitation. Nothing against a serious settings in general, but I got somehow bad vibes from it *lol*.

Dagger

2013-08-04, 01:52

Finally got to play Kimi to Kanojo to Kanojo no Koi. Loved it. Couldn't stop playing. And I had such mixed feelings about who to pick......

I liked meta!Miyuki best as a match for kimi/me as the player, but it was really really hard to choose between her and hairpin!Aoi. I preferred hairpin!Aoi to normal Miyuki, and preferred normal Miyuki to normal Aoi.

All that said, I was 100% satisfied by Aoi's ending, because that way, Miyuki gets to have a happy ending too.

Really looking forward to whatever this team of creators comes up with next.

Cosmic Eagle

2013-08-04, 02:10

Dagger

2013-08-04, 02:24

I doubt it! This is basically the romance game to end all other romance games. I came away from it feeling like I pretty much never need to play a standard romance game again, haha.

hyl

2013-08-04, 19:57

Finished Amairo Islenauts a few days ago. While I did like it , but didn't exceed my expectations.

It's overall a nice moege with good characters, but none of the routes had a real good story (imo Airi having the weakest and Yune have the best) which is normally not a huge problem for a moege. However I think that some routes (Yune and Masaki) had a little too much drama for my taste but more on that later.

The music is imo not as catchy or good as the 2 other Yuzusoft titles that i have played (Dracu-Riot and Natsuzora Kanata), but still ok. I did like the ending song(s) Amairo sung by the various main heroines

While the main character Tohru is a teacher and all of the main heroines are his pupils, the problem of a teacher-student relationship was only an issue in 1 route (and that wasn't even the direct problem).

Route impressions
Decent route , eventhough Shirley's problem / minor trauma with "wanderers" at the end of the common route and beginning of her route ended being almost a nonissue for the rest of her route.
Her route was the only one that explained the backstory of main character but my problem was that this issue made me feel that Shirley's route focused less on the heroine than the other routes
It had a pretty satisfying conclusion with Shirley's "global warming" plan though

Shirley's delusionional side was funny and "Kitami Rikka" did a great job voicing those

Probably the best written route. I did like how the story turned out because Yune felt pretty generic in the common route (seemed like the typical nice and obedient character , but with a ドS flavour ) but she was a far more complex character. While her route has a fair amount of drama I didn't think most of it was bad because it added more depth to her character.
The conclusion of her story was very good and touching, but the epilogue was a little cliche :p
However i still have no idea why she wanted to have a master, but whatever.

Also I liked every moment of her fake crying , "よよよ"

I really didn't like her route, her character and personality. It's quite a shame because i usually like characters voiced by "Natsuno Koori".
I didn't like Airi moping and complaining so many times about minor things (wanting to be treated as an adult, having a small chestsize, getting angry after she lost her mobile phone etc.)

Even the issue at the end of her route was Airi's own fault. Because she almost had to leave the school because of her average grades and her lack of motivation why she wanted to transfer in the first place.......
It doesn't help that Airi probably had the shortest route of the main heroines.

One of the things that i like in her route was her epilogue chapter, because it skips forward to the graduation and it was a nice conclusion to the story

The route for my favorite heroine and it's also the longest route in the game.

Because of the trial i expected a lighthearted story for her, but i got treated by more drama and angst than any other route.

The route began to start after Masaki's father Owen got hospitalized and he had to go to japan to undergo a surgery. While the surgery was a succes Owen did not go home yet for unknown reasons, which made Masaki worry (she tried to hard to act cheerfull at school)
As an attempt to cheer up Masaki Tohru asked Owen permission to temporary reopen the bar/inn. However he know that he can't prepare the same meals as Owen can, so he decides to make curry (with the tail meat of some kind animal) because the people in Lyserg aren't familiar with japanese food. The reopening was a huge succes and it even had more customers than it did before.

Slowly Masaki fell in love Tohru during all of this, but she can't confess to him because of the complications of a teacher-student relationship . So she decides to become his pet ................
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v508/hyl/3ef5d3b0-7c4c-435a-b057-7e964f9a8918_zps61ab141e.jpg
Eventually she yearns to be more than his pet (despite that i can't exactly call it a pet-master relation , but it's closer to a lovers relationship except with a collar). However she knows that she can't, as it will cause problems for him (Tohru could get fired and if that happens, he has to leave Lyserg because he has no job or residence permit for the island)

While all the previous things were happening, Tohru also stumbles on book with a research on therianthropes (Masaki is an half human-therianthrope) , which is rather conveniently written by Masaki's mother (a researcher on therianthropes) in japan and he reads more on it during the route. Tohru later buys followup research book and reads that if a therianthrope decides to hold back on their mating/love instincts on their first love, then the therianthrope will forever lose the ability to love someone ...................

Masaki ran away after having a fight with her father. After some phone calls (including one to Masaki's mother asking for a solution for the whole Therianthrope instincts issue and her answer was that breaking Masaki's heart was a solution ) Tohru, Masaki's friends and some teachers including the head teacher went looking for Masaki and they find her at the lake.

There Tohru finds out that Masaki was already aware of the consequences of supressing her instincts because she accidently read the book before he did.
Masaki is fine with that as she doesn't want to cause any problems for Tohru and she can still stay as his pet.
However Tohru doesn't want that and persuades Masaki out of that by confessing to her and with a kiss, while knowing (and probably not caring) that the head teacher was nearby.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v508/hyl/30bdf988-1063-4175-8992-e1b4809faba8_zpsbd0b13fc.jpg
But the head teacher was sent away in time by the 2 teachers and Masaki's dad, who already knew about the relationship
So the two finally became a real couple without the problem of the school knowing about their relationship (except for their friends Airi, Shirley, Yune and Fran and the teachers Kogura and Tia )

I skipped alot in the mini summary , but i probably have most of the important things covered.
Despite being a little too dramatic, I did like her route and it was still very well written. Masaki still has very moe moments in her own route (like her date) plus Kiritani Hana's voice was perfect.
わふ!

The subheroine routes were as expected very short, imo probably too short. Konoka's route was far better than Tia's ,because Konoka's route had some mystery and answers, while Tia's route almost had no plot

It turns out she was a Japanese girl who apparently drowned 30 years ago in Japan, while helping some people during a flood. Because she didn't want to die and wanted to live, her wish was heard by the island and she got magically transported to the future (or something like that).
While it's not directly mentioned, i think it is implied that Lyserg appeared near japan because of Konoka because both things seemed to have happened 30 years ago.

While the sub characters were likable, none of them appeared that much in the game. My favorite of them would be Francesca Palamidi (Fran) , the pink drill haired otaku from Italy, but too bad she didn't have her own route. Her craziness is atleast on par with Shirley and perhaps even worse

erneiz_hyde

2013-08-07, 08:14

Been playing Kajiri Kamui Kagura since the last few weeks, and only now I remembered that I was playing 'ano ko ha ore kara hanarenai' before that. Let's talk a bit about it.

It's...what do you call this type of game again? Not exactly moege (although the illusts are a lot more moe than your typical GIGA game), the selling point seems to be the characters and/or the whole atmosphere of the game so...charage? fuuinkige? Whatever, but as you might know, GIGA produces these kinds of game every now and then between the gameplay heavy ones (which I suspect also acts as debut or training roles for new seiyuus, but not quite sure).

Sadly though, the only other game of this type I've played from GIGA was Sakaagari Hurricane (though that one had a bit more drama in it). But, with this and that included they strike right in my comfort zone.

AnoOre used the riajuu theme like Haganai, and even the overall composition seems to overlap quite a bit but didn't really felt like a blatant rip-off and doesn't stop it from being a fun read. However, I do sometimes feel like some of the settings introduced at the start of the game and character introductions became less and less prominent as the story progress in favor of the dynamics between the club members (perhaps it symbolizes the change in them, I don't know).

As for the individual routes, I've only finished one (Momiji) and in process of another (Manami). My general impression is there's a lot of sweet and fun moments, and a bit of problem solving with nice ero moments thrown in. Very fun to read in between the 'heavier' games.

Aer0gam3r

2013-08-08, 04:39

hyl

2013-08-08, 05:42

I just finished Hatsuyuki Sakura and every route left a bitter feeling in my heart. Also the true route was that feeling ten times over >____>. But yeah, the game was enjoyable and I've come to expect this sort of bittersweet feeling from Saga planets. It's part of why I love them ^^. Though I would still say that Natsuyume beats Hatsuyuki in regards to how crap I felt after playing it.

imo Hatsuyuki Sakura had a better overall "true route" than Natsuyume Nagisa. While the first 4 Ayumu chapters did a great job at establishing the backstory on Nagisa and Ayumu , the actual final Nagisa chapter felt way too short but it did answer all the questions on the mystery.
Unlike Natsuyume Nagisa the other heroines and side characters in Hatsuyuki Sakura played a bigger active role in the conclusion of the story , but Natsuyume Nagisa did connect all of the routes to the true route and that was pretty nice eventhough it's very similar to little busters, but w/e

Natsuyume Nagisa was probably more a utsuge than Hatsuyuki Sakura (more a nakige) and that's why you felt worse for it. Not that I am saying that Aya didn't suffer in the true route ;_;
edit: sorry i couldn't resist this
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v508/hyl/40c798be-1660-43d1-bbf5-a6bd537ce831_zps05e7ddc0.jpg

While the music was decent in Natsuyume Nagisa, the OST in Hatsuyuki Sakura was incredible (actually i think it is still one of my favorites OST's of any eroge that i have played the last year, even beating Grisaia no Rakuen's OST)
When it comes to the characters, Hitsuji is still so far the best heroine in any Sagaplanet's game that i have played and i doubt Karumaruka＊Circle will change that

Their next title, "Karumaruka ＊ Circle", doesn't look to appealing to me to be honest. Also I hear that the writer for that one is different from the norm?

Niijima Yuu left Sagaplanets last year to free-lance. Also he is not the only one who is absent. Samoto Fuuri, who did the voices of the characters in Sagaplanet's previous games (Ayumu in NatsuNagi, Ichika in Kisaragi goldstar and Aya in HatsuSaku) won't be voicing a character in the new game

As for the new writers, i don't think they are bad though.
Seo Jun did Alcot Honey comb's Harupoco and Aemushi and i can probably expect a decent comedy.
Toishi Hiroki wrote for Sorahane's games like Aqua and Sakura, Sakimashita and can probably write a decent drama with some slice of life kind of stories.
Mikuriya Mikuri did the story of some Cabbit games, eventhough i haven't read any of those. I did read that Midori no Umi was very well received though

However having strong writers doesn't always guarantee a strong story, like having Kagami Yuu and Konno Asta for Amairo Islenauts >_>

Mahou

2013-08-08, 06:22

@Mahou I couldn't really tell by your comment on it, but how did find Zutto suki shite, takusan suki shite? I'm a bit interested in it. Also, I LOVED Fureraba XD.

I haven't played much due to other distractions, to be honest. From the few bits I have seen, it should be a-okayish. The "gearshift" in the MC's head to change in aggresive-mode seemed for me somehow forced, but beyond that I guess it's quite heavy on icha-icha. 8 h-scenes per heroine *is* quite a lot in that regard (I used a savegame to take a glance at CGs and recollection-mode). Chara-wise, there seems nothing too outstanding either: wacky-imouto, two female osananajimi, tsudere kouhai whose deredere side is (temoprary) seen quite soon and the awesome shy classmate and booklover Serina-chan :D. So yeah, that doesn't say much, but it *should* fit with the other light-hearted pure-love-VNs that don't care about story (and drama!). I finish at least Serina's route and see if my "speculations" remain like that.

Aer0gam3r

2013-08-08, 06:30

imo Hatsuyuki Sakura had a better overall "true route" than Natsuyume Nagisa. While the first 4 Ayumu chapters did a great job at establishing the backstory on Nagisa and Ayumu , the actual final Nagisa chapter felt way too short but it did answer all the questions on the mystery.
Unlike Natsuyume Nagisa the other heroines and side characters in Hatsuyuki Sakura played a bigger active role in the conclusion of the story , but Natsuyume Nagisa did connect all of the routes to the true route and that was pretty nice

Natsuyume Nagisa was probably more a utsuge than Hatsuyuki Sakura (more a nakige) and that's why you felt worse for it. Not that I am saying that Aya didn't suffer in the true route ;_;I would probably have to say that Natsuyume's true route was better. Sure Ayumu's final chapter was short, but the sense of mystery and loss was "overwhelming" and led to a grand finale XD. However what me and my fellow blogger Aedes dislike about the true route is what happens to the other heroines of the game.

Since the whole thing is a dream, the time you spent and the relationships you formed with them means pretty much nothing. They also don't contribute ANYTHING to the true route and basically just disappear

I enjoyed how the heroines in Hatsuyuki played a good role and the sense of friendship was heartwarming. Sakura's active role leading to the grand ending was awesome and the last CG brought me to tears (MANLY TEARS DAMN IT!!!). Also I had to hold back because I was playing on train...I was desperate to finish the game and I had uni >____>.

I suppose I'm probably won over by how emotional Natsuyume's ending was compared to Hatsuyuki. But again, this my personal preference and I'm actually not too sure of things myself actually =p.

However I would say that Hatsuyuki is overall better than Natsuyume.

edit: sorry i couldn't resist this
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v508/hyl/ayastaleisover_zps5d6366cc.pngSEEING THAT ONCE WAS BAD ENOUGH DAMN IT!!!

While the music was decent in Natsuyume Nagisa, the OST in Hatsuyuki Sakura was incredible (actually i think it is still one of my favorites OST's of any eroge that i have played the last year, even beating Grisaia no Rakuen's OST)
When it comes to the characters, Hitsuji is still so far the best heroine in any Sagaplanet's game that i have played and i doubt Karumaruka＊Circle will change thatHands down Hatsuyuki's sound was awesome. The sad music made me blue and the action ones got the blood boiling ^^.

Niijima Yuu left Sagaplanets last year to free-lance. Also he is not the only one who is absent. Samoto Fuuri, who did the voices of the characters in Sagaplanet's previous games (Ayumu in NatsuNagi, Ichika in Kisaragi goldstar and Aya in HatsuSaku) won't be voicing a character in the new game

As for the new writers, i don't think they are bad though.
Seo Jun did Alcot Honey comb's Harupoco and Aemushi and i can probably expect a decent comedy.
Toishi Hiroki wrote for Sorahane's games like Aqua and Sakura, Sakimashita and can probably write a decent drama with some slice of life kind of stories.
Mikuriya Mikuri did the story of some Cabbit games, eventhough i haven't read any of those. I did read that Midori no Umi was very well received though

However having strong writers doesn't always guarantee a strong story, like having Kagami Yuu and Konno Asta for Amairo Islenauts >_>Haha I'm not very good when it comes with stuff outside the realm of the game. What I mean is that I don't really remember names of voice actors, writers, artists, etc. Though I do the bear minimum of knowing some companies ^^.

I'm glad to hear that some decent writers are there for SP's new game. Though I have my doubts that they'll go for an utsuge. Please correct me if I'm wrong because I'm basing that on basically nothing >____>.

hyl

2013-08-08, 06:40

I would probably have to say that Natsuyume's true route was better. Sure Ayumu's final chapter was short, but the sense of mystery and loss was "overwhelming" and led to a grand finale XD. However what me and my fellow blogger Aedes dislike about the true route is what happens to the other heroines of the game.
Since the whole thing is a dream, the time you spent and the relationships you formed with them means pretty much nothing. They also don't contribute ANYTHING to the true route and basically just disappear

The problem is , the sense of the main mystery in the common route was mostly lost in all of the routes untill Maki's (which sadly was the weakest route)

Actually the dream part is probably not my biggest concern. My problem was what happened to all the characters.
Apparently Haruka doesn't exist, because she was dreamt up by the real world version of Aria (who was that nurse Arita)
Hitsuji is probably still suffering , because I think her backstory is actually what happened to her in the real world. Except that there is no Nagisa to comfort her when she wakes up from Ayumu's dream. If you think about it, it makes her happy ending even more heartbreaking , especially what she has to say at the end ;_;
edit: recorded that small scene on youtube
cdQYGc6Psp0

Couldn't care too much about Tsukasa's story though

relentlessflame

2013-08-08, 07:53

I added more spoiler tags to some of the recent posts, because you're really getting into it in terms of specific routes and endings. Please just put the whole thing behind spoiler tags rather than only trying to hide the "plot points", because in the end you're giving away a lot more than you think.

Micchi

2013-08-08, 12:06

The problem is , the sense of the main mystery in the common route was mostly lost in all of the routes untill Maki's (which sadly was the weakest route)

Actually the dream part is probably not my biggest concern. My problem was what happened to all the characters.
Apparently Haruka doesn't exist, because she was dreamt up by the real world version of Aria (who was that nurse Arita)
Hitsuji is probably still suffering , because I think her backstory is actually what happened to her in the real world. Except that there is no Nagisa to comfort her when she wakes up from Ayumu's dream. If you think about it, it makes her happy ending even more heartbreaking , especially what she has to say at the end ;_;
edit: recorded that small scene on youtube
cdQYGc6Psp0

Couldn't care too much about Tsukasa's story though

Damnit, why did you have to remind me :(

Hitsuji T_____T

Aer0gam3r

2013-08-08, 14:36

The problem is , the sense of the main mystery in the common route was mostly lost in all of the routes untill Maki's (which sadly was the weakest route)I suppose that "fault" of Natsuyume Nagisa is what makes the true route stands out for me compared to Hatusyuki =pBut what hell do I know; I'm a terrible judge of quality T____T.

Actually the dream part is probably not my biggest concern. My problem was what happened to all the characters.
Apparently Haruka doesn't exist, because she was dreamt up by the real world version of Aria (who was that nurse Arita)
Hitsuji is probably still suffering , because I think her backstory is actually what happened to her in the real world. Except that there is no Nagisa to comfort her when she wakes up from Ayumu's dream. If you think about it, it makes her happy ending even more heartbreaking , especially what she has to say at the end ;_;>_____> I was under impression that the whole thing was just a dream (i.e. Haruka, Tsubasa and Hitsuji never existed in the first place). Guess that's what I get for playing the game using ATLAS

@relentlessflame
My bad. Will take more care from now on ^^

hyl

2013-08-08, 15:07

>_____> I was under impression that the whole thing was just a dream (i.e. Haruka, Tsubasa and Hitsuji never existed in the first place). Guess that's what I get for playing the game using ATLAS

@relentlessflame
My bad. Will take more care from now on ^^

I had to refresh my memories and reread the final chapter again.
After Nagisa went into a coma from the shock of finding the pendant, she was brought to a sanitorium. There for some unknown reasons she had the power to make other people also fall in a "coma" or rather transport them to her dream world.
The effected people were:
Nene , who became the fairy king in the dream world

Yume, who stayed the same person in real life and in the dream world

Tsukishima Masaki, who became Ryougi Maki (and her route implied that she was always a girl but due to family issue's she was raised as a man. And she looked that way because in one of the Ayumu chapters Tsukishima asked what kind of girl Nagisa liked and he answered something like a a middle long haired girl with heterochromia)

Arita, the nurse at the sanitorium who ended up falling in a coma at the same time when Yume, Nene and Tsukishima did. While not directly mentioned who and where she was in the dream world, it's probably not a coincidence that she resembles Aria, the maid who stayed near Haruka. Eventhough there was also an Arita in Hitsuji's route, so it's possible that both Aria and Haruka never existed and it will complicate matters even more

And according to Arita, there were (edit) some other patients (number not specified) who fell in a coma and most likely Mihama Hitsuji (kind of obvious if the backstory in her route is true) and Aoyama Tsukasa.

edit: all of this are mosty speculations based on the implied info though and i haven't read the novel that's the sequel to the story

edit
Come to think of it, i also need to hurry up and order the Hatsuyuki Sakura novel and see if there is some kind of happy end

later edit: it's pretty much available everywhere in japan >_>
whatever i am going to buy it anyway, eventhough i am not sure what to expect

farios

2013-08-09, 21:18

Speaking of Najima Yuu,he is going to write a new game for a new brand called Qoo Brand with Kira Inugami (Seitokai Ichizon artist), Kozakura Ryou(Natsuyume Nagisa) and Asakura Hayate

http://twitpic.com/d7e9ll

Newprimus

2013-08-09, 21:51

Aozora Stripe's trial:

Kyouko = Ultimate troll MILF. :D

blitz1/2

2013-08-10, 19:22

Oh wow...playing Amairo, Shirley's delusions are like BEYOND Sana level.

Aer0gam3r

2013-08-10, 20:33

edit
Come to think of it, i also need to hurry up and order the Hatsuyuki Sakura novel and see if there is some kind of happy end

later edit: it's pretty much available everywhere in japan >_>
whatever i am going to buy it anyway, eventhough i am not sure what to expectYou know if these novels are downloadable anywhere?

rladls716

2013-08-10, 20:47

Shirley's delusions, acting, nose bleed, and Masaki's hitting her at the end.

Newprimus

2013-08-11, 20:36

LOL Gleamgarden no Shoujo's protagonist. You know it's not your usual male lead when a girl falls from the sky, and the guy gets out of the way and lets her smash headfirst into the dirt, and then tells her afterwards to get up by herself.

Hitenma

2013-08-13, 04:55

Just finished Kara no Shoujo 2.
Being in despair :upset:

Achiuakuna

2013-08-13, 23:07

Just finished Kara no Shoujo 2.
Being in despair :upset:

Hope 3 will make 2 worthwhile because I felt that 2 is just a stepping stone to the final conclusion, which makes sense because it's the "purgatory" chapter.

Though I do think it can be its own game. If you cut off the beginning and the end it really looks like a standalone story.

Hitenma

2013-08-15, 02:53

Yeah, I'm looking forward to KnS3 too. I heard that it is named 空ノ少女 but I can't find any official information about it :confused:

Achiuakuna

2013-08-15, 11:06

Yeah, I'm looking forward to KnS3 too. I heard that it is named 空ノ少女 but I can't find any official information about it :confused:

Let's just hope that it doesn't take another five years to make like this one did...

Newprimus

2013-08-15, 21:46

Playing that new SAGAPLANETS game's trial.

Niijima Yuu, come baaaaaaaaaaaaccckk!!!!!!

I'm not sure I like this new thing from sagaplanets. I'll play more just to be sure.

Hitenma

2013-08-15, 22:34

Let's just hope that it doesn't take another five years to make like this one did...
Well, it took five years because KnS wasn't meant to have a sequel to begin with.
Now they have decided to make a trilogy, let's hope that we'll have the third game soon :D

relentlessflame

2013-08-15, 22:44

I'm not sure I like this new thing from sagaplanets. I'll play more just to be sure.I think they had a bit of a pattern already of alternating between nakige and other styles, so a shift may have been expected for this work even disregarding the change in staff. Personally this suits me fine, but I know not everyone agrees with that.

hyl

2013-08-16, 01:05

I played it several days ago and i didn't dislike it. The new story still has a mysterie that could be interesting (looks probably better than the one from Kisaragi goldstar) and the "cellphone talk" resembles the gossiping like Hatsuyuki Sakura.
The characters weren't bad.
So far i liked Natsuki the most, because she was great when flustered.
Nicol was also fairly entertaining when she voicing her turtle
Koyomi seems like an ironic character, because she is actually a hardworking character but because of her "sloth" , she randomly falls alseep.
I didn't get a clear impression of Shin what she was supposed to be like, aside from her slight rebelious attitude and her "gluttony"
Yukiha looks like the average mischievou/ teasing character (except that she is incredibly rich)
And Ren.... Well one screenshot should say enough http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v508/hyl/trap_zps429a4034.png

The overall tone does not seem as heavy as HatsuSaku. Who knows, we might still get a nakige/utsuge because i didn't expect one from Natsuyume Nagisa based on the common route :heh:

The style of comedy feels a little different but i think it was still funny.

Newprimus

2013-08-16, 01:12

Played more, and to revise my earlier opinion it's not as bad as I thought it was. The idea that they all have this curse and they create a club to perform a ritual to dispel their curses is interesting enough. The MC is the ultimate loner dude. I don't know who's got the rougher personality, him or Hatsuyuki.

Lastly I wish the rest of the girls were anywhere nearly as lovable as Natsuki.

erneiz_hyde

2013-08-16, 01:19

Newprimus

2013-08-16, 01:21

Kirayuki

2013-08-16, 01:44

Starting on Gensou no Idea, though not sure if it's such a good idea after only recently finishing another chuunibyou game Kajiri Kamui Kagura :heh:

Was quite surprised there's one h-scene right after starting lol

On the other hand, the big chunk of them are placed on the epilogue. Excluding one girl, every girl only get one that is unavoidable. It keeps the flow a little better, personally, and give more time for the main story. Though, the constant switching between protagonists on the beginning can disrupt the flow a bit too.

erneiz_hyde

2013-08-16, 05:27

You mean in Gensou no Idea or the other one?
in Gensou no Idea. The other one I played is all ages.

Achiuakuna

2013-08-19, 04:22

Just finished Euphoria. It was good despite the fact that someone partially spoiled the ending for me.

It was very touching. Gonna use this heartwarming feeling to help me sleep tonight ^^

DingoEnderZOE2

2013-08-19, 05:31

I haven't played an ero-game in a VERY VERY long time and I have to jump through CONSIDERABLE hoops to locate a online store to purchase more ero-games that I'm slowly starting to become grateful for this latest trend of releasing Ero-games online....

Anyway I just finished Maro no Kansha ha Gatenkei 1 and 2 from Elf the company that was my gateway to ero-games in the first place. And my god, it threw me off guard just like the previous game. Plus they also ended part 2 on a freaking to be continued which again was really unexpected considering how the true end turned out, but as much as I hate this new NTR craze that Elf is going through I'm actually still looking forward to part 3.

......I still kinda wish Elf would go back to it's roots and give either more comedy renai games or traditional renai games with decent gameplay.

P.S. Does anyone know what the frak Gatenkei means????

Achiuakuna

2013-08-19, 14:17

P.S. Does anyone know what the frak Gatenkei means????

Things relating to manual-laborers/blue collar jobs?

Mystic_Vegetto

2013-08-24, 19:42

Joyce_Steele

2013-08-24, 23:21

KanbeKotori

2013-08-25, 01:14

I think the real reason behind the decline of English-translated VNs outside Japan that companies, especially G-Collection importing too many nukige(VN that focused sex than story) in Western markets. Yes they do released something like Kana Imouto and Crescendo but most other releases are nukige.

Mangagamer started strong with the releases of Edelweiss, Kira Kira, Da Capo, Shuffle but they also release some nukige like Tasty Shafts for an example right alongside the those non-nukige VNs. Mangagamer could become new G-collection if they made similar mistake.

I have waited for years in order to see Yosuga no Sora get translated, be it the official one or fan-work. School Days already got official translation work last year and I don't see why YnS can't have the similar effort.

You're better off learning the language than waiting for translations. I for one, already have read more than 20 VNs so am not bothered by the fact that whether companies picked more nukige or what not since I'm not limited to their choices but for a fact you should have understand right now is ero sells. Hence the decision behind those company imports. Want to enjoy the story of VNs, go pick the language up and you'll be able to enjoy reading the story like what I do(you'll be broke, of course since there are so many nice VNs release every month. My wallet is already crying when I last pre-ordered the all age version of Kud Wafter(read the original one already)).

hyl

2013-08-25, 04:31

The main problem is that the Western market isn't that interested in eroges. So usually there is no point translating and selling them if it is not going to be profitale enough.
Even if an eroge that was succesfull in japan, that doesn't mean that it is going to be succesfull in the West. Like Minori's Ef was brought in English by mangagamer and it didn't sell too well. Although it probably had to do with some criticism and complaints made by the fans of the original and how it "handled" the fan translation but w/e

Speaking about criticism, let's not forget the recent uproar caused by the English release of "Kono Oozora ni, Tsubasa wo Hirogete" released by Moenovel under the name "If my hearts had wings". That game tried to appeal itself towards a larger audience by making it "all ages" (even removing some non H-scene moments) and i saw tons of people complaining on various blogs, forums about censorship. Despite all the complaints I am not sure how well it was sold, because i can't find any sales numbers on it.

relentlessflame

2013-08-25, 04:58

One interesting tidbit I've gotten from speaking to people who work in the English eroge business is that the sales of story-driven eroge are only marginally-higher than the sales of nukige, yet the cost/effort to translate a story-driven eroge is usually many-fold more (not to mention the potential licensing complexity). So given that this is the case, companies will tend to release a steady stream of nukige titles, and these will help pay for the story-driven titles that are basically being done as an investment in the future and breadth of the medium.

Mahou

2013-08-25, 05:54

I finally got around to finishing Hapymaher over the week. But I gotta ask something that's been bugging me about the True Route.

Exactly how much of it was "Real"? Were the other routes real at all? It seems to hint in the True Route that the other routes might have been a Dream within a Dream..or something like that. Given that when Tooru finally wakes up, Saki is back on top of him like in the beginning of the game, does that mean when the game started...Tooru was already in the Dream and didn't wake up until the end of the True Route? I just don't get it.

My Japanese is basically limited to listening to the voices, but I couldn't understand the really complicated stuff.

I shared your confusion after my playtrhough months ago :heh:.

Not that my comprehension is much better, but that was my same conclusion as well. That every route sans true was a dream within a dream (and sometimes again within a dream during a route). I thought so because once the real "Alice" has woken up, Keiko, for example, still hasn't known Tooru, whereas he got to know her normally within the common route of the dream-dream thus he kept the knowledge (one ability people, who do have those lucid dreams, possess). So yeah, True-Alice created a huuuge dream-location where her alter ego could be free and healthy and every route was basically one "fairytale" that could occur. That's at least based on my poor memory.
So I guess Tooru started in a dream and those dreams within that dream were created by Maia (his nightmares).

Speaking about criticism, let's not forget the recent uproar caused by the English release of "Kono Oozora ni, Tsubasa wo Hirogete" released by Moenovel under the name "If my hearts had wings".
The all-age-ification of the ero was one (huge) reason to my understanding. Other issues were - from what I read - the poor english translation and even removing harmess scenes like hugging, sexual harrasement jokes (which I couldn't remember or maybe blantantly missed them) and kiss scenes. The latter I found to be also head-scratching. Remove *the* important moment before it gets steamy of a romance novel and you have the same as a racing game, where you can only view the cars, but not drive them. To be fair, I don't remember if kiss scenes (as CG or not) being removed is actually common. In Sakurasou they remained, iirc, for example. Personally, I'm fine with all-ages in general, but it feels strange at first after being exposed to ero "all day along" ;).

relentlessflame

2013-08-25, 15:22

The all-age-ification of the ero was one (huge) reason to my understanding. Other issues were - from what I read - the poor english translation and even removing harmess scenes like hugging, sexual harrasement jokes (which I couldn't remember or maybe blantantly missed them) and kiss scenes. The latter I found to be also head-scratching. Remove *the* important moment before it gets steamy of a romance novel and you have the same as a racing game, where you can only view the cars, but not drive them. To be fair, I don't remember if kiss scenes (as CG or not) being removed is actually common. In Sakurasou they remained, iirc, for example. Personally, I'm fine with all-ages in general, but it feels strange at first after being exposed to ero "all day along" ;).
A lot of this was actually based on slightly-twisted information. Kiss scenes were even featured prominently in the promo material for the game. The issue was that one of the kiss scenes had a "cut-in" that had a close-up of the french kiss with saliva strands (etc.), and they removed the "cut-ins" (along with the extended kissing "dialogue" that matched) in favour of just leaving the kiss itself. Obviously, it's still an editorial change and some will object on principle, but it's one that is consistent with the tone of the revised work, and isn't intended to make the game less romantic, just a bit less explicit.

I think one of the problems is that these sort of rumours started going around, and there wasn't a lot of fact-checking so that people could decide the veracity of the claim, and MoeNovel's PR wasn't adept enough to fight back (or they decided to not try). Most of their efforts instead focused on trying to get the game out there for people who would give it a try and get positive press that way. Perhaps they considered the core English eroge market a bit of a lost cause.

Kameruka

2013-08-26, 19:24

I don't know if this counts but I found a very interesting opinion I found in other forum. It was written in 2008, the same year Mangagamer made their debut and also the same year they released Da Capo, Suika and Edelweiss.

I think the problem with English acceptance (from a market perspective) of visual novel games is that the companies who are/were trying to release the titles--Hirameki, a few releases by Peach Princess and some of the stuff from MangaGamer--are doing so in a market where a strong misconception has already been formed about the 'hentai games'. Anime is a very small niche in the general entertainment industry, and visual novels are--for better or for worse--a very small niche in the anime industry, as far as fan demographics can be considered. Thus far, the perception of the genre has been, thanks to Jast/Peach Princess/G-Collections etc., that they are simple porn games not too dissimilar from porn anime such as Bible Black, La Blue Girl, etc.

The basic assumption that you'd get from a general anime fan most likely goes something like this: 'anime-styled' character designs + PC software = hentai game. The problem is now that companies are attempting to release these same types of titles that are either not porny or have the adult-oriented stuff relegated as a minor part of a larger and more engrossing story. The public perception is already well set, and if the market for visual novels is going to open up, it's going to have to take some different marketing and a hell of a lot of word-of-mouth to get the casual anime fan to revisit PC titles in this field.

To be fair, I think Hirameki was the only one doing it right. While Peach Princess made an excellent choice in the aquisition of Yume Miru Kusuri (and could have a more lighthearted hit on their hands with the upcoming Princess Waltz), they didn't bother to market it as anything different than any of their other releases. The reality of their back catalog, fanboy frothing about Kana aside, is that most of their titles with the supposed emphasis on story are simply second- or third-rate games that lack the writing or polish of things like Yume Miru; let's not even think about things like all the X-Change games and whatnot. They do know how to cater to their established market very well; it's just that titles that would have an appeal beyond diehard fans of the Jast are not made out to be much different than the company's typical offerings, and so in a nepotistic cycle only people occupying this very niche of niches--that is, people with an interest in the Japanese visual novel scene beyond "lol, hentai maid catgirl!"--are aware of these first-rate titles that squeak out between the cracks, and that's because we're looking for them.

Mangagamer seems to be making a similar mistake. Games like Suika, D.C., and even Edelweiss are listed right alongside Tasty Shafts and Suck My Dick Or Die; to an unknowing anime fan (as in the English-speaking world that's the closest thing to a target demographic we have) they're going to see those titles, think "Oh, another hentai game company" and probably not give the time of day to a handful of titles they see as trying to tack an unnessicary story onto the porny bits. Obviously, it's a real challenge--how do you make a point that despite the adult scenes the real emphasis is on the story, especially in a market where an inflexible duality of "porn/not porn" is the only reality? Hirameki was coming the closest to breaking out of the current conception of visual novels in the fanbase with their emphasis on under-18 releases that were sold in the anime section of places like Suncoast, but they shot themselves in the foot with that terrible DVD format, and before you knew it the company had imploded leaving titles like Hourglass of Summer and Ever 17 largely unknown. They could have been a sort of gateway drug for the casual anime fan into other (not necessarily under-18) quality releases; if Mangagamer plays their cards right I could see them possibly doing something similar on the strength of Da Capo alone, but it'll take some marketing work on their part.

So to get to an inevitable point that I think I was trying to make, at this stage in the game thanks to marketing, I'm not sure the casual anime market is even a viable one for visual novels at this time. The hardcore porn game market, yes, because as I said before you'll have people picking up the something like Yume Miru because they loved Narcoleptic Catgirl Maid Screwtoy 3, but most of the casual anime market will just pass them by as "oh, those hentai games." And for all one could tell with the marketing, it's hard to fault them for that.

I think I just rambled a lot.

I can't give my own opinion about that but I think it agrees with Joyce_Steele's opinion there.

hyl

2013-08-26, 20:20

That article blamed the company's marketing strategy for the failures: lumping together the "regular" eroge and nukiges.
Something which Moenovel tried to change, but i am not sure how "succesfull" they were with their T-rated "If my heart had wings" localization.

Dagger

2013-08-27, 07:17

There's something to be said for releasing different types of games under different brands/labels.

erneiz_hyde

2013-08-27, 07:26

There's something to be said for releasing different types of games under different brands/labels.
Afaik some Japanese eroge companies did this already, so at least not entirely without precedence.

KanbeKotori

2013-08-27, 15:50

A lot of this was actually based on slightly-twisted information. Kiss scenes were even featured prominently in the promo material for the game. The issue was that one of the kiss scenes had a "cut-in" that had a close-up of the french kiss with saliva strands (etc.), and they removed the "cut-ins" (along with the extended kissing "dialogue" that matched) in favour of just leaving the kiss itself. Obviously, it's still an editorial change and some will object on principle, but it's one that is consistent with the tone of the revised work, and isn't intended to make the game less romantic, just a bit less explicit.

I think one of the problems is that these sort of rumours started going around, and there wasn't a lot of fact-checking so that people could decide the veracity of the claim, and MoeNovel's PR wasn't adept enough to fight back (or they decided to not try). Most of their efforts instead focused on trying to get the game out there for people who would give it a try and get positive press that way. Perhaps they considered the core English eroge market a bit of a lost cause.

Nah, what I find is they tried to turn an eroge into a normal VN, which is already known to be impossible. If it were possible, those parent companies wouldn't have to come out with an all age version(notable examples are Little Busters and Kud Wafter). Removing the ehem scenes doesn't make it an all age version. You're basically cutting out a chunk of the story itself and suddenly you find that the depth of the story becomes a bit shallow. It just doesn't work out that way.

hyl

2013-08-27, 16:39

Nah, what I find is they tried to turn an eroge into a normal VN, which is already known to be impossible.

Several ports to handhelds and consoles did a fairly good job making some eroges "all ages". You don't always need H-scenes to progress the story of some eroges

If it were possible, those parent companies wouldn't have to come out with an all age version(notable examples are Little Busters and Kud Wafter).

.... Little Busters actually started out as an "All ages" game

Removing the ehem scenes doesn't make it an all age version. You're basically cutting out a chunk of the story itself and suddenly you find that the depth of the story becomes a bit shallow. It just doesn't work out that way.
While some can't be removed because those are essential to the plot (in some way), in some occasions you can replace it with something similar or change it to an implicit scene

KanbeKotori

2013-08-28, 04:51

Several ports to handhelds and consoles did a fairly good job making some eroges "all ages". You don't always need H-scenes to progress the story of some eroges

True but those only apply to those eroge that allow you the options to hide the scenes if you want.

.... Little Busters actually started out as an "All ages" game

My bad then. Okay, so Kud Wafter only I guess for now(those that I've read before).

EDIT: The EX part for LB was initially an eroge, then they created an all age version for EX titled ME.

While some can't be removed because those are essential to the plot (in some way), in some occasions you can replace it with something similar or change it to an implicit scene

Not necessarily so. It'll still affect the plot someway or another.

hyl

2013-08-28, 06:34

True but those only apply to those eroge that allow you the options to hide the scenes if you want.

I was talking about ports that came out to ps2/psp/ps3 or xbox360. Those are not based of eroges with the option of hiding H-scenes (i haven't even played any games that gives me such an option, but that would be my experience)
Like the ones that i have read that worked without H-scenes: Akaneiro ni Somaru Saka, Mashiroiro Symphony, Gift, Koi to Senkyo to Chocolate, Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru 2.

Not necessarily so. It'll still affect the plot someway or another.
Then you can still "change" the H-scene into an implied one instead of an explicit one. Like in the psp ports of Mashiroiro Symphony or Koichoco

edit: made this screenshot almost a year ago
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v508/hyl/snap277.jpg
from the psp version

even later edit: apparently i was a few years ago bored enough to make so many screenshots of the psp version of Mashifoni because i found these while browsing through my photobucket account
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v508/hyl/snap190.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v508/hyl/snap191.jpg

KanbeKotori

2013-08-28, 08:52

I was talking about ports that came out to ps2/psp/ps3 or xbox360. Those are not based of eroges with the option of hiding H-scenes (i haven't even played any games that gives me such an option, but that would be my experience)
Like the ones that i have read that worked without H-scenes: Akaneiro ni Somaru Saka, Mashiroiro Symphony, Gift, Koi to Senkyo to Chocolate, Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru 2.

Ah okay, I've read those eroge only on PC so I didn't know those ports are non-eroge.

Then you can still "change" the H-scene into an implied one instead of an explicit one. Like in the psp ports of Mashiroiro Symphony or Koichoco

edit: made this screenshot almost a year ago
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v508/hyl/snap277.jpg
from the psp version

even later edit: apparently i was a few years ago bored enough to make so many screenshots of the psp version of Mashifoni because i found these while browsing through my photobucket account
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v508/hyl/snap190.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v508/hyl/snap191.jpg

Well in the end you can't just do it for most of the eroge. You need to have a suitable plot and setting if you wanna sub the H scenes out.

That being said, I might read those titles again.....I hope the all age version isn't THAT different from the original.

Mahou

2013-08-28, 09:52

That being said, I might read those titles again.....I hope the all age version isn't THAT different from the original.

I have the all-age version from Mashiro-iro Symphony. Part of the common route is different due to the addition of a new character (Satsuki, I think), but nothing really too oustanding. Obviously, ero removed and added Sana's route.
With quite a few ported all-age VNs you can say that in "exchange" for the ero, there are other additions to make up for it (unless you must have ero; then these additions won't compensate enough - for lack of better words"). Be it new scenes, new character routes and/or new CGs.

A lot of this was actually based on slightly-twisted information. Kiss scenes were even featured prominently in the promo material for the game. The issue was that one of the kiss scenes had a "cut-in" that had a close-up of the french kiss with saliva strands (etc.), and they removed the "cut-ins" (along with the extended kissing "dialogue" that matched) in favour of just leaving the kiss itself. Obviously, it's still an editorial change and some will object on principle, but it's one that is consistent with the tone of the revised work, and isn't intended to make the game less romantic, just a bit less explicit.

Thanks. That explains it of course quite better. In this case (i. e. the saliva strands, make-outish extended scenes) it's acceptable because the moment itself was being kept intact. Due to the ragestorm caused by it, a fan-made restoration patch appeared rather quickly. Maybe one of the faster/fastest reactions in the English VN-community :heh:

KanbeKotori

2013-08-28, 10:02

I have the all-age version from Mashiro-iro Symphony. Part of the common route is different due to the addition of a new character (Satsuki, I think), but nothing really too oustanding. Obviously, ero removed and added Sana's route.
With quite a few ported all-age VNs you can say that in "exchange" for the ero, there are other additions to make up for it (unless you must have ero; then these additions won't compensate enough - for lack of better words"). Be it new scenes, new character routes and/or new CGs.

I'm okay with all these. What I'm concerned with is will the depth of the story go down or not.

I can say I'm rather satisfied with the all age version of Kud Wafter and LB ME(those are by KEY duh so I might be a bit bias but they have not disappoint me so far). I hope the other all age version titles won't disappoint me.

erneiz_hyde

2013-08-28, 15:15

Well in the end you can't just do it for most of the eroge. You need to have a suitable plot and setting if you wanna sub the H scenes out.

That being said, I might read those titles again.....I hope the all age version isn't THAT different from the original.
Hyl went out of his way to provide you with psp galge titles, all of them in my book are high profile and high quality in both art and story. Seriously though, there are TONS more galge in psp, which in turn automatically turns it all ages. Actually the reason I bought a PSP in the first place was to play these, which often have additional contents the PC versions don't have, even though the H-scenes were removed.

What you can't do is make most nukige all-ages, but then what kind of depth do you really expect from most nukige really?

KanbeKotori

2013-08-28, 16:17

Hyl went out of his way to provide you with psp galge titles, all of them in my book are high profile and high quality in both art and story. Seriously though, there are TONS more galge in psp, which in turn automatically turns it all ages. Actually the reason I bought a PSP in the first place was to play these, which often have additional contents the PC versions don't have, even though the H-scenes were removed.

What you can't do is make most nukige all-ages, but then what kind of depth do you really expect from most nukige really?

I appreciate what he/she did but you know sometimes a company can try to be funny and anyhow sub the scenes out. I trust the parent company but not those western companies.

You know what happened to Kono Oozora ni, Tsubasa wo Hirogete. Those western companies sometimes know nuts how to change an eroge into something non-eroge.

An example I point out is EF. My friend said the Eng translations by MangaGamer were good but I find them mediocre....much much more worse than the original.

I don't read any nukige and I know it's impossible to convert it to all age. Besides all nukige have shit stories(I don't even bother to read them while tracking monthly eroge releases).

hyl

2013-08-28, 16:33

I appreciate what he/she did but you know sometimes a company can try to be funny and anyhow sub the scenes out. I trust the parent company but not those western companies.

You know what happened to Kono Oozora ni, Tsubasa wo Hirogete. Those western companies sometimes know nuts how to change an eroge into something non-eroge.

Moenovel seems to be strongly related to Willplus. It's even possible (and some others also think this) that it is even a subsidiary of Willplus and that would make Moenovel a part of the parent company.
So most of these decisions for changes on "If my Heart had wings" were probably also made by the original staff

An example I point out is EF. My friend said the Eng translations by MangaGamer were good but I find them mediocre....much much more worse than the original.
I think i once said this on twitter, but it's nearly impossible to make a translation that equals the original.
It's not even possible in other media like world literature. The translated versions of books that i read, such as Madame Bovary, Les miserables, 1984 or any work from Shakespeare, were worse than the original. In some languages , the translation were even much worse.

Besides all nukige have shit stories(I don't even bother to read them while tracking monthly eroge releases).

Harumade Kururu (which in first part of the story starts out as a nukige) and possibly some others beg to differ

Edit: because my laptop broke down unexpectedly, i am forced to play 1/2 summer+ on the psp. Let's see what they have changed with this port, because from what i can remember the original was pretty heavy on the H-scenes

relentlessflame

2013-08-28, 22:33

KanbeKotori

2013-08-29, 07:26

Moenovel seems to be strongly related to Willplus. It's even possible (and some others also think this) that it is even a subsidiary of Willplus and that would make Moenovel a part of the parent company.
So most of these decisions for changes on "If my Heart had wings" were probably also made by the original staff

I only read a few of their VNs and without translations so I didn't know that. Okay then but you still don't see reputable companies doing it. I doubt Willplus is as reputable as Key/Favorite/ALcot/Yuzusoft just to name a few. I got to admit though now that some companies are disappointing.

I think i once said this on twitter, but it's nearly impossible to make a translation that equals the original.
It's not even possible in other media like world literature. The translated versions of books that i read, such as Madame Bovary, Les miserables, 1984 or any work from Shakespeare, were worse than the original. In some languages , the translation were even much worse.

No I mean in terms of emotions and such. One notable failed translation besides EF is Hoshizora no Memoria. Yume's route was horribly translated which ended up losing lots of depths it had in terms of emotion level etc.... People who read the translated version were so confused and rage on the discussion threads in vndb.

I do know it's impossible to make it on par but at least keep the meaning like how translators did for Narcissu series.

Harumade Kururu (which in first part of the story starts out as a nukige) and possibly some others beg to differ

Okay I generally hate nukige so I have no comments here. Perhaps there are indeed some that have good stories.

...much, much worse than the original what? If by chance you mean those in the original fan translation, this is a bit dubious since the script is essentially the same minus clean-up and editing. On the whole, it was not re-translated. But I'm not sure if by "translation", you really mean "translation" or if you mean "editing" (English phrasing/grammar/etc.) or something else.

Probably as a whole, more on the phrasing portion. I just don't get the same feeling of depth as the original when I read the translated version.

hyl

2013-08-29, 07:48

I only read a few of their VNs and without translations so I didn't know that. Okay then but you still don't see reputable companies doing it. I doubt Willplus is as reputable as Key/Favorite/ALcot/Yuzusoft just to name a few. I got to admit though now that some companies are disappointing.

For the Western people, Willplus is known for making Yume Miru Kusuri.
Willplus is probably these days more known for their collaborations and their popular subsidiaries such as Pulltop, Ensemble or Propeller, rather than making noteworthy eroges themselves.
But that can also be said for Akabei Soft.

No I mean in terms of emotions and such. One notable failed translation besides EF is Hoshizora no Memoria. Yume's route was horribly translated which ended up losing lots of depths it had in terms of emotion level etc.... People who read the translated version were so confused and rage on the discussion threads in vndb.

I do know it's impossible to make it on par but at least keep the meaning like how translators did for Narcissu series.

Probably as a whole, more on the phrasing portion. I just don't get the same feeling of depth as the original when I read the translated version.
While i haven't read the English translated version of HoshiMemo or EF myself, i know that those 2 were fan translated.
Things will get lost in translation , but i think the most important thing is that the translator wants the reader to get the general idea/impression what the original game was trying to say. This way the reader (who probably can't read japanese ) can still the enjoy the story.

Okay I generally hate nukige so I have no comments here. Perhaps there are indeed some that have good stories.

The majority of nukiges still have poor stories though. But there are a few ones that have a decent story, so you can't exactly say "all nukiges have bad stories"
I also recalled Euphoria for having a good plot, hidden under all the torture porn.

Mahou

2013-08-29, 09:18

I only played the fan-traslated version of Ef, but I found nothing wrong with it. The drama was still - for me - powerful and emotionally done correctly, for example. And as someone, who studies translation "arts" (though only german, english, french), I'd like to repeat that there's nothing like *the* translation or a perfect approach. Just as there's bound to be some losses in-translation depending on text genre and such, even between western languages. And while this is surely sounding biased/like bashing, those who can understand jp. to play games/read VNs *will* often not be happy with localizations - be it objectively or not (see the QQ on some game forums when Mana Khemia's name changes had been announced or some character-behavior changes. Or how about Ar Toenlico and its own hymnos language).

Before I venture even more into off-topic, I better not start about a few elitist (the bad ones) attitudes on vndb, which I saw on occation when skimming through the database :heh:

/back to replaying Rina's route in Fureraba :)

Achiuakuna

2013-08-29, 10:50

The majority of nukiges still have poor stories though. But there are a few ones that have a decent story, so you can't exactly say "all nukiges have bad stories"
I also recalled Euphoria for having a good plot, hidden under all the torture porn.

Pretty good in my experience. On the contrary, I find that nukiges usually have the better stories, given that it has a darker atmosphere and isn't harem. But I'm probably biased because I personally consider all relationship drama/romance for the sake of romance bad stories. This doesn't leave me much to work with.

I finished Euphoria recently. It was quite decent. I think the problem isn't that nukiges have "bad" stories, but more like they have relatively more plot holes. The stories themselves are not bad. The plot holes come from the few farfetched ero scenes here and there that created inconsistencies. But generally I don't find nukige stories to be much more inferior to regular eroge stories.

KanbeKotori

2013-08-29, 15:18

For the Western people, Willplus is known for making Yume Miru Kusuri.
Willplus is probably these days more known for their collaborations and their popular subsidiaries such as Pulltop, Ensemble or Propeller, rather than making noteworthy eroges themselves.
But that can also be said for Akabei Soft.

I've never heard of them so I searched them up in vndb. Apparently they only done 3 VNs....which I don't think is a prove that they have pretty good reputation among VN readers.

Since I don't know much about the Western market(I'm not even a Westerner myself), I probably don't know how their market works but from what I see in the Japanese market, you have more eroge produced and those that are converted to all age version are usually done appropriately(like what you've shown me) and not just censoring every freaking H scenes. Either they are freaking lazy or they just couldn't be bothered producing a proper all age version of Kono Oozora ni, Tsubasa wo Hirogete which is rather disappointing. They have some good VNs but the way they handle Kono Oozora ni, Tsubasa wo Hirogete is just terrible. Not what a reputable company would do.

While i haven't read the English translated version of HoshiMemo or EF myself, i know that those 2 were fan translated.
Things will get lost in translation , but i think the most important thing is that the translator wants the reader to get the general idea/impression what the original game was trying to say. This way the reader (who probably can't read japanese ) can still the enjoy the story.

I didn't read the translated version of HoshiMemo too but it's enough to see the rage. I don't want to waste my time reading the translated version when I know it's gonna be bad already.

The majority of nukiges still have poor stories though. But there are a few ones that have a decent story, so you can't exactly say "all nukiges have bad stories"
I also recalled Euphoria for having a good plot, hidden under all the torture porn.

I just don't like nukige cos they aren't story-centric. The focus on nukige are the H scenes, more H scenes and even more H scenes..which is essentially just porn -.-

I want to read VNs that have good stories. If people like those H scenes so much they might as well go watch hentai. -____-"

I only played the fan-traslated version of Ef, but I found nothing wrong with it. The drama was still - for me - powerful and emotionally done correctly, for example. And as someone, who studies translation "arts" (though only german, english, french), I'd like to repeat that there's nothing like *the* translation or a perfect approach. Just as there's bound to be some losses in-translation depending on text genre and such, even between western languages. And while this is surely sounding biased/like bashing, those who can understand jp. to play games/read VNs *will* often not be happy with localizations - be it objectively or not (see the QQ on some game forums when Mana Khemia's name changes had been announced or some character-behavior changes. Or how about Ar Toenlico and its own hymnos language).

Before I venture even more into off-topic, I better not start about a few elitist (the bad ones) attitudes on vndb, which I saw on occation when skimming through the database :heh:

/back to replaying Rina's route in Fureraba :)

There WAS an improvement made. Before it was so terrible I want to cringe(talk about Flyable Heart being machine translated. The quality is just OMG -.-).

Even with the improvement they are still far from the standards of those who done the translation for Narcissu.

erneiz_hyde

2013-08-29, 17:21

I want to read VNs that have good stories. If people like those H scenes so much they might as well go watch hentai. -____-"
I beg to differ. In my books any nukige is still infinitely better than any hentai anime (and a lot of the best quality ero can be found in doujin format). The anime medium is best when they thread in the fanservice and risque territory rather than all out porn imo.

relentlessflame

2013-08-30, 01:11

I've never heard of them so I searched them up in vndb. Apparently they only done 3 VNs....which I don't think is a prove that they have pretty good reputation among VN readers. I think you're missing the point of the comment. Willplus is the parent company that owns/operates a ton of different brands. I'd say they're definitely a "reputable brand" among VN readers. If you were referring to Akabeisoft, the point here too is that they're a company that operates a lot of different brands, and may be recognized more for their brands than for things published under their own label.

[...] from what I see in the Japanese market, you have more eroge produced and those that are converted to all age version are usually done appropriately(like what you've shown me) and not just censoring every freaking H scenes. Either they are freaking lazy or they just couldn't be bothered producing a proper all age version of Kono Oozora ni, Tsubasa wo Hirogete which is rather disappointing. They have some good VNs but the way they handle Kono Oozora ni, Tsubasa wo Hirogete is just terrible. Not what a reputable company would do.
This is a "proper all-age version". It features a fully-edited script, re-recorded voice acting for changed lines, adjustments to the CGs, and is a polished package with age ratings in the target markets. They didn't just "censor every freaking H scene"; they adjusted the script so that it flowed appropriately. Really the only difference between what they did and what happens for Japanese all-ages releases is that typically they get some new CGs and often new routes to entice people who already purchased the original game to buy it again. But given that it was never released in English markets before, they weren't going to add content that even the Japanese market didn't get yet.

I mean, you can have opinions about whether you like their editorial choices, but there's nothing about it what they did here that makes it "not proper" or that suggests it isn't "what a reputable company would do". It's a totally legit English all-ages release by the original game makers in collaboration with a known translation company. I'm not sure how it could be any more "legit" than that. If you don't like their approach and have good reasons, then that's the sort of constructive feedback they need so they can consider what to do for their next project.

KanbeKotori

2013-08-30, 03:51

I think you're missing the point of the comment. Willplus is the parent company that owns/operates a ton of different brands. I'd say they're definitely a "reputable brand" among VN readers. If you were referring to Akabeisoft, the point here too is that they're a company that operates a lot of different brands, and may be recognized more for their brands than for things published under their own label.

I know Willplus operates under different names. VNDB have it recorded. As for Akabei Soft...I don't see that at all(I'm too lazy to go to the main site and I'm referring to them). Unless VNDB is doing something wrong, I don't see why it isn't reflected.

This is a "proper all-age version". It features a fully-edited script, re-recorded voice acting for changed lines, adjustments to the CGs, and is a polished package with age ratings in the target markets. They didn't just "censor every freaking H scene"; they adjusted the script so that it flowed appropriately. Really the only difference between what they did and what happens for Japanese all-ages releases is that typically they get some new CGs and often new routes to entice people who already purchased the original game to buy it again. But given that it was never released in English markets before, they weren't going to add content that even the Japanese market didn't get yet.

I mean, you can have opinions about whether you like their editorial choices, but there's nothing about it what they did here that makes it "not proper" or that suggests it isn't "what a reputable company would do". It's a totally legit English all-ages release by the original game makers in collaboration with a known translation company. I'm not sure how it could be any more "legit" than that. If you don't like their approach and have good reasons, then that's the sort of constructive feedback they need so they can consider what to do for their next project.

Okay to be fair I haven't read Kono Oozora ni, Tsubasa wo Hirogete yet but don't tell me all the rage were false. Why would so many people rage so hard about it WHICH in the end they had to come out with a restoration patch? It just doesn't make sense if the scenes were changed appropriately.

Besides take a look at this: http://vndb.org/r27811. The Japanese market haven't even release an all age version and the Western market decided to do it which I cannot see the point. Usually the Japanese market WILL release an all age version before the Western side do unless you tell me that this is an exception that the parent company decided to release an all age version first. If that's so, why do you need the above-mentioned link patch? It just doesn't add up.

Even if it were the parent company collaborating with a known translation company, I doubt they would have to release the above-mentioned patch if things were going well. Don't forget they DID release the eroge version in the Western market itself.

I beg to differ. In my books any nukige is still infinitely better than any hentai anime (and a lot of the best quality ero can be found in doujin format). The anime medium is best when they thread in the fanservice and risque territory rather than all out porn imo.

Well I've never read any nukige, perhaps so that it might be better but hyl already mentioned most of them have rather poor story. I guess for a person who is story-centric like me my standards for what is a good story is much higher.

You can't deny though. The ratio(it seemed so, correct me if I'm wrong) of story to H scenes in nukige is as high as hentai itself.

erneiz_hyde

2013-08-30, 04:07

Well I've never read any nukige, perhaps so that it might be better but hyl already mentioned most of them have rather poor story. I guess for a person who is story-centric like me my standards for what is a good story is much higher.

You can't deny though. The ratio(it seemed so, correct me if I'm wrong) of story to H scenes in nukige is as high as hentai itself.
I meant that in regards of the "extracting" business, I find nukige a lot more awesome than just hentai. I didn't refer to their stories at all. I play different kinds of eroge (nukige and otherwise) and I enjoy them in different ways :p

hyl

2013-08-30, 04:30

I know Willplus operates under different names. VNDB have it recorded. As for Akabei Soft...I don't see that at all(I'm too lazy to go to the main site and I'm referring to them). Unless VNDB is doing something wrong, I don't see why it isn't reflected.

Akebei soft lead to Akebei soft2, which brought big name games such as Sharin no Kuni, and G-senjou no Maou
Akebeisoft 2 made other several brands like
-Syangrila, which is very known for the Akatsuki no Goei series. Syangrila later became Tigre for the recent game Reminiscence, which is somewhat a sequel to the Akatsuki no Goei series
-The recent Cosmic Cute for lovesick puppies (which i strongly enjoyed) and last month's Gleam garden no Shoujo
-Effordom for koikishi, which was the 2nd best sold eroge of 2011 (only Aiyoku no Eustia outsold Koikishi that year ) Also Effordom has it's own known subsidiary : Applique

And i can easily go on for while, because most of these subsidiaries have their own subsidiaries. Their entire company structure almost looks chaotic

edit:

Okay to be fair I haven't read Kono Oozora ni, Tsubasa wo Hirogete yet but don't tell me all the rage were false. Why would so many people rage so hard about it WHICH in the end they had to come out with a restoration patch? It just doesn't make sense if the scenes were changed appropriately.

I have read the original but not "If my heart had wings", but not every rumour ended up being true.

Besides take a look at this: http://vndb.org/r27811. The Japanese market haven't even release an all age version and the Western market decided to do it which I cannot see the point. Usually the Japanese market WILL release an all age version before the Western side do unless you tell me that this is an exception that the parent company decided to release an all age version first. If that's so, why do you need the above-mentioned link patch? It just doesn't add up.
Even if it were the parent company collaborating with a known translation company, I doubt they would have to release the above-mentioned patch if things were going well. Don't forget they DID release the eroge version in the Western market itself.

I am sure the restoration patch was a "fan-made" patch.

Eventhough i don't agree on some of the "changes" (not sure if all of those are true, because i haven't read the English version) i actually commend Willplus for trying such a bold thing, by bringing an eroge into the Western market. They tried to get a broader audience by making it T-rated instead of Adult-only and i don't see anything wrong with that.

KanbeKotori

2013-08-30, 13:46

Akebei soft lead to Akebei soft2, which brought big name games such as Sharin no Kuni, and G-senjou no Maou
Akebeisoft 2 made other several brands like
-Syangrila, which is very known for the Akatsuki no Goei series. Syangrila later became Tigre for the recent game Reminiscence, which is somewhat a sequel to the Akatsuki no Goei series
-The recent Cosmic Cute for lovesick puppies (which i strongly enjoyed) and last month's Gleam garden no Shoujo
-Effordom for koikishi, which was the 2nd best sold eroge of 2011 (only Aiyoku no Eustia outsold Koikishi that year ) Also Effordom has it's own known subsidiary : Applique

And i can easily go on for while, because most of these subsidiaries have their own subsidiaries. Their entire company structure almost looks chaotic

Well I do get it. Perhaps it's because I don't really read their VNs(only read G-senjou no Maou). Oh well. I should probably start to see what interesting VNs they have.

edit:

I have read the original but not "If my heart had wings", but not every rumour ended up being true.

Well, not every but what if it's the most? I don't read any translated VNs so I wouldn't know it. I guess I'll have to start reading the VN and see how it is.

I am sure the restoration patch was a "fan-made" patch.

Eventhough i don't agree on some of the "changes" (not sure if all of those are true, because i haven't read the English version) i actually commend Willplus for trying such a bold thing, by bringing an eroge into the Western market. They tried to get a broader audience by making it T-rated instead of Adult-only and i don't see anything wrong with that.

Yea but making eroge T-rated makes eroge loses it's meaning as an eroge ._.

They are better of asking the original makers to first release an all age version in the Japanese market before doing such bold stuff. That, of course is a safer method I feel which what many companies have been doing.

I meant that in regards of the "extracting" business, I find nukige a lot more awesome than just hentai. I didn't refer to their stories at all. I play different kinds of eroge (nukige and otherwise) and I enjoy them in different ways :p

Ah che. I thought you meant story. For me, I read VN for story so nukige is a no no I guess.

hyl

2013-08-30, 14:56

Yea but making eroge T-rated makes eroge loses it's meaning as an eroge ._.

They are better of asking the original makers to first release an all age version in the Japanese market before doing such bold stuff. That, of course is a safer method I feel which what many companies have been doing.

>_>
How do you expect to reach a large audience if your product is rated AO by the ESRB or PEGI 18?
Otherwise it will get "lost" and lumped together with all the English translated nukige titles

Also Hooksoft's PriministAr looks so far pretty good

styr

2013-08-30, 19:23

Cosmic Eagle

2013-08-30, 20:21

So did anyone else buy the newly-released Yumina the Ethereal today?

I'm playing it now since I liked Eien no Aselia and the company that made Yumina (Eternal) branched off from Xuse to form their own company.

I do wish it was widescreen though. Not the biggest fan of the 4:3 resolution.

Wasn't Yumina released like...several years back? Or there's a new game?

styr

2013-08-30, 20:31

Wasn't Yumina released like...several years back? Or there's a new game?

Well it's true that it released several years ago in Japan, it only got an English release today. There was a demo that came out earlier this month. The gameplay is similar to Aselia for those that have played it.

Yumina has been plagued by delay after delay and JAST has finally released Yumina. I'm still waiting for Seinarukana myself, the sequel to Eien no Aselia.

I should probably just learn Japanese at this point, as there are so many VNs I want to play that remain untranslated or stuck in limbo. I already know the majority of the hiragana and katakana, but the kanji and grammar always make my conviction waver.

However... after finishing Grisaia no Kajitsu I am seriously considering 'taking the plunge' so to speak.

Cosmic Eagle

2013-08-30, 20:53

I see....

Eternal stuff actually got TL-ed? That's a surprise since it isn't as great overall as Eien Shinken

styr

2013-08-30, 21:11

I see....

Eternal stuff actually got TL-ed? That's a surprise since it isn't as great overall as Eien Shinken

http://www.jastusa.com/yumina/index.html

Yeah, the only reason I bought it was because it has RPG elements in it. Aside from that it looks like a shitty moege.

The combat system is vaguely Eien no Aselia-ish, but the real positive in my mind is that characters can get stats/skill from leveling up (not exactly sure how this works yet), can equip weapon/items and the dungeon crawling that reminds me of Himegari.

You can really tell that Eternal split off from Xuse in that they use the same "color-coded" skills that was present in Aselia: where red = nukes; green = heals/buffs; blue = interrupt/cancel spells ; and black = debuff.

I hope it's a fun game. I'll try to report in at the end of every chapter or two with my thoughts and, if anyone has a question about the game, I'll try to answer it.

I still wish the game had a widescreen option; after playing 'modern' VNs I've been spoiled by it... I loathe going back to the clunky box shape.

Cosmic Eagle

2013-08-30, 21:19

It's not a kusoge per se....Just that I feel Eternal should reach a deal with Xuse and go back to producing Eien Shinken IMO.

The latter series is floundering quite badly even if Third Destiny seems to hint things are finally coming back on track

PhoenixG

2013-08-31, 02:42

http://www.jastusa.com/yumina/index.html

Yeah, the only reason I bought it was because it has RPG elements in it. Aside from that it looks like a shitty moege.

The combat system is vaguely Eien no Aselia-ish, but the real positive in my mind is that characters can get stats/skill from leveling up (not exactly sure how this works yet), can equip weapon/items and the dungeon crawling that reminds me of Himegari.

You can really tell that Eternal split off from Xuse in that they use the same "color-coded" skills that was present in Aselia: where red = nukes; green = heals/buffs; blue = interrupt/cancel spells ; and black = debuff.

I hope it's a fun game. I'll try to report in at the end of every chapter or two with my thoughts and, if anyone has a question about the game, I'll try to answer it.

I still wish the game had a widescreen option; after playing 'modern' VNs I've been spoiled by it... I loathe going back to the clunky box shape.

I wouldn't call Ethereal no Yumina a moege. Well the first half maybe, but the second half... Also this game kinda make you want to finish the game on all difficulty, since finishing on the hardest mode will unlock the true route. Also a warning before hand, if you want to play it again on a lower difficulty after you finish on a harder difficulty, you need to have some weaker skills equiped or else...

KanbeKotori

2013-08-31, 08:24

>_>
How do you expect to reach a large audience if your product is rated AO by the ESRB or PEGI 18?
Otherwise it will get "lost" and lumped together with all the English translated nukige titles

Hence I did say that the parent company first release an all age version on the Japanese market before releasing it on the Western market.

Dark Faith

2013-09-01, 13:26

So did anyone else buy the newly-released Yumina the Ethereal today?

I'm playing it now since I liked Eien no Aselia and the company that made Yumina (Eternal) branched off from Xuse to form their own company.

I do wish it was widescreen though. Not the biggest fan of the 4:3 resolution.

I'm tempted to, but seeing how I was bored onto death with the battles in Aselia... As far as I know, the formula's the same, no?

Leon_Lelouch

2013-09-01, 23:15

I'm tempted to, but seeing how I was bored onto death with the battles in Aselia... As far as I know, the formula's the same, no?

Yumina is basically dungeon crawling grinding game... especially the forever dreams (yumina FD)
Well the system maybe the same, i nvr play eien but i have played seinarukana, if the battle system is not really different well yes yumina also contains some elements like seinarukana such as the red, blue, black, green things which mostly decides which atk can go through what defense and such ( red being magical power and can atk the green defense which is for physical and blue for interrupting opponent's support and black for mostly all rounder)
Can't really expect for a superb story, but i think it is still fun and interesting to play it, especially seeing the idiot yumina was actually fun...lol
Well for the gameplay things maybe you mustn't really compare it with eushully or alicesoft
And plus point for me with shizuka ito (hinagiku) as the seiyuu

styr

2013-09-02, 04:26

@Dark Faith: Michiru-sama, the battles are similar in concept to the battles in Aselia. The gameplay is much more complex however and there's a large difficulty spike in the latter portion of the game.

To some it might be boring but I think it's a decent time waster. VNs with actual strategy are so rare that even the slower-paced ones like Yumina interest me. I'm so glad that the CTRL button speeds up the battle sequences or I'd go insane.

In fact Yumina could possibly be called too complex. Without my experience with Aselia I'd probably be lost. The tutorials are underwhelming and reading the manual is almost a must at times to understand what some things do... and even then some things aren't explained at all. I took a screenshot and cropped out a part of the manual that explains all the various status effects, you can see it here. (http://i.imgur.com/toSDfSm.png)

Like Aselia, you "equip" skills from a pool of options, with 3 types of skills and a massive pool of possible effects. Each color also affects something called "audience" which is basically a meter split into the 4 colors; skills of a certain color generally subtract from its color and boost the other colors slightly.

Characters also level up and each character has an ability tree (think talents), with most of the skills in the game requiring certain advancement to be able to use.

Not to mention characters can equip up to 3 items to boost their stats and it quickly adds up. It's quite a bit more complex than Aselia, for what it's worth.

I'm still only on the 3rd chapter (out of 8) so I can't really do a proper review/summary, which I plan to do upon completion. So far though it seems like I should be able to squeeze out a month or so of my time since I plan on doing all 3 routes and can only play a few hours a day.

Oh, and Michiru's VA also voices one of the heroines in Yumina. It's not Michiru's "usual" voice though - which is a shame - although I suppose her 'normal' voice wouldn't fit the character she plays.

The_Green

2013-09-02, 06:58

So, I got Yumina, and I think it s pretty good. Tough not what I expected. I like eroge(s?) that have a plot like Yumina. Mainly, because it is a comedy eroge. I'm not really into the super serious plot type of eroge. I knew from the demo that there was going to be some RPG elements, but did not know about the dungeon crawling. Personally I could do with out the dungeon crawling bit. After the second time of grinding, it becomes boring and tedious. But you have to do it. Actually, when I played the demo I thought this would be similar to MGQ. While the combat does share its similarities, the dungeon crawling is what makes it different.

Shortly after I bought this game and started playing it I found out there were difficulties. What I didn't know is that playing them on different difficulties would unlock different things. I really didn't want to play this game all the way through 3 time to get the true ending, with it getting harder each time. I mainly play these game for the stories. So, finding that out is kind of a kick to face. On thing also that I disappointed about is the lack of H-scenes so far. There is the Miano Librarian chick's H-scene at the beginning of the game, but now I'm 6 chapters out of 9 or 10 into the game and have yet to see another H-scene. Now, I'm not expecting to see the Main heroines H-scenes until later in the game, but I thought I would be getting to see some of the other females H-scenes as I defeated them in the debates. I know for a fact the the shrine maidens and the student council president have H-scenes. I tried really hard to get them. I spent hours going back and forth between saves selecting different choices to get their H-scenes. I came back with nothing. Do I need to be on a different difficulty? Which, by the way, you can't change during your first play-thru. The game made it seem like you would sex up each female you defeated. I really want to know if I'm doing something wrong.

I really like getting H-scenes. H-scenes are like my proof of progression when it comes to eroge. When I'm not getting them, I feel like I'm doing something wrong. And at this point a know I really haven't said much positive stuff about the game, but I still really like. I find the characters likable, while sometimes the stereotypical. The first half of the game is a good comedy story that hints to a darker side. Which I like. But the second half gets a bit more serious and a lot of stuff that was being kept hidden from the main character comes into light. Even, while that is happening, the humor still remains, and it is not all darkness and gloom, but the darkness is still there. Even, thought I said I don't like stuff that is super serious, I actually like this. I mean it is not constantly serious all the. The break from the humor is good.

With all that said, I have yet to complete a play-thru yet. I'm looking forward to what has yet to come.

PhoenixG

2013-09-02, 14:35

To get a H-scene from the sub characters you need to see a specific certain chain of scene in each chapter. You know when you on the right track when Ayumu gets a skill. After you get that skill you need to use that skill at least once in the battle at the end of the chapter.

Mahou

2013-09-04, 07:54

A few impressions as usual.
1) PriministAr: It has the usual hook-soft-feeling and PriministArs MC carries the "annoying" donkan trait from other titles proudly with him. Character-wise most girls are very likeable, especially the support characters Koito and Yume. I really assumed that Yume would be choosable, but seeing that she's not the usual full-aged girl in loli body, but the same age as Koito (I think) made it clear why she's not girl-of-choice (please correct me if I'm wrong). Captain Dense's main deal with the dense-trait lies as with a few other hook-soft titles within the osananajimi closeness. It's not new, but I have seen better already. But ignoring his denseness, Haruchika's actually pretty decent. Skilled in handicrafting and has his firm dream/future goal based on it. Personally, PriministArs style of jokes and humor isn't that much my taste, but if you enjoy(ed) hook-soft's titles, you may give it a go.

2) Marmelade's Hoshi no On Sanctuary: The basic premisse is actually quite similar to Koiken Otome. Masato is imho a nice-developed MC and not as useless in battle as Koiken's MC (or marmelade could just hid it better *lol*). The common route was pretty decent with the required character development within that story section. The necessary drama/seriousness during the character route was kept short, which is positive for me. The bad? Past h-scene one, the other scenes feel (as in other VNs) wildly thrown in/random. The character stories are up to personal taste and I haven't finished them, yet.
-----
Zutto suki shite: I still haven't finished a single route, but I guess to get an overall impression that's not *that* necessary.
Play it if you like: the characters, ecchi, lovey-dovey.
Avoid it if you like: story, seriousness, drama
The premisse is exactly like you can find it on various synopsises like Micchi's blog, vndb (which are based on the blog's summary) etc. With ~ 10 h-scenes per heroine it really feels more like a nukige, but its sweet atmosphere and normal lovey-dovey scenes make it more enjoyable in my case :D.

Personally, games like Zutto suki shite, Fureraba, Lover Able are that enjoyable because the setting simply doesn't require a dense main character and other drama-provoking settings (coughlovetrianglecough). On the other hand, this can make one be spoiled when returning to other VNs, which have (more) story. :heh:

Wild Goose

2013-09-07, 01:22

Just got Yumina, played a bit. So far, I'm finding it funny and entertaining, and the battles are decent - a bit more fleshed out and it feels easier to setup and fight compared to Eien no Aselia. The difference charas using and generating approval in different quantities also forces you to keep shaking up your units; I find I normally Cycle Ayumu, then Yumina, then Kirika so far, in order to keep my approval use at manageable levels.

It's a little slow but still decently playable on my 7-year old laptop (2ghz AMD K6, Radeon 1100 Express, 1 gig ram)... and runs smoothly like lightning on my gaming rig that plays Crysis and Skyrim, lol.

For Extra fun, I mute the ingame music and use SRW music for battles. So Close, Yet So Far makes every battle turn from "Meh, another one?" into "COME AND HAVE A GO IF YOU THINK YOU'RE HARD ENOUGH!"

Newprimus

2013-09-07, 21:20

Playing Tsujidou-san no Virgin Road with a big grin glued to face. I missed Shounan so much.

Aer0gam3r

2013-09-08, 04:25

So yeah, "Girls Be Ambitious!" sucked. The focus on the conflict between the wealthy and the normal class wasn't very interesting and really just pissed me off most of the time. The relationship between the heroine and protag is nice, but WAY too short and not enough development. Comedy is pretty good, but was more of a side dish.

Urg, gotta stop getting tricked by game OPs >____>

Mahou

2013-09-09, 09:39

Has anyone completed Gleam Garden no Shoujo? Because I'd love to read something about it. I've stated before that I'll stay away from it due to the grim tone of the VN (and the - for me - no-go tags on vndb). I know from the offical cgs and a short impression in another forum that it's a dark(er) setting with an interesting story. And although I *could* stomache Grisaia's darker + grimmer moments, I somehow don't fee like it for Gleam Garden. Maybe a mini-shock "reaction" considering the sweetness that Lovesick Puppies was :heh: and thus my similar anticipations?

Newprimus

2013-09-09, 15:55

I've played some of Gleamgarden no Shoujo. I've finished the big-boobs' and am about 75% through the black, long-haired one's route. The way the route structure works is that you finish two of the three girls under the MC's tutelage, then do Shirayuki's, then onto the true route.

The individual girl routes so far are only strictly focused on that girl, and a problem they have, and doesn't deal with the greater issues of witches and society. I felt a little disappointed with those routes, but I'm figuring that they're saving all the deep stuff for the true route so I'm going to work towards that with some positive expectations.

Leon_Lelouch

2013-09-12, 09:20

just finished Tsujidou-san no Virgin Road...
got angry with the route of Ai after being that short and not really in focus when playing other route (well, still finish and understand it but with a bit irritated emotion), but then after finishing all of them there's still continuation of Ai route yey~
Good work, really good in showing the hard work and determination of the character in each scenario, and the truthness of Tsujidou's saying
delinquent girlfriend is not suit with Hase Hiroshi, and she being the only one delinquent girlfriend for Hiroshi while the others are not really a delinquent or stop being delinquent.... The title itself really show out the main character having Tsujidou being the central even in another girl's route
but got a bit disappointed as there's not even a little after story or the continuation after the wedding party.... well I know that the real after story had been showed in junai road, but still.... and I even waited for when they take picture together, showing most of the character with Hiroshi and Ai being in the center as the main...ughh
Good pure love game series, with their icha-icha time makes me smile and happy (hohoemashi~)

so many people asking if Tsujidou's characters go to Kawakami, what level are they in lol....

Tsujidou-san no Virgin Road (辻堂さんのバージンロード) 8/10

Hope for another great work from Takahiro-shi and Sakaki-kasa....
but please not with so much FD just for another girl in Tsujidou series like how majikoi going....
if there will be another one for Tsujidou, at least include another route for Tsujidou (maybe by making another scenario than before scenario)
well not really getting my hopes up with the last one saying Ai Last Route....

too much comment, well looking for another happy pure love that have much impact like this game again...over and out~

Achiuakuna

2013-09-18, 18:05

Finally got around to finishing Soukou Akki Muramasa. Didn't play it when it came out because a) robot looking things fighting each other >_< and b) someone I know who reeks of chuunibyou was obsessed with it so I thought it wasn't worth looking at.

Overall it was pretty nice. It touched on lots of topics that were interesting to me at one point or another. Though I'm still not a fan of those giant robot looking things or the lengthy description of fighting techniques(this is coming from someone who actually spent a few years practicing exactly what type of swordsmanship is being described in the game and was able to understand most of the descriptions. The fighting technique stuff being in the wrong context was the biggest turn-off for me. I just felt that the heavy emphasis was a bit out of place with the rest of the story.) But I guess they had to exist for the guys who are in for the fights.

I can never resist a solid, well developed male protagonist. It's indeed a rarity these days. Not to mention one that is fully voiced :blush:

Games like these come and go, but I don't think I will be forgetting about this one any time soon. At least, not the protagonist.

Cosmic Eagle

2013-09-18, 21:13

Achiuakuna

2013-09-18, 22:41

Depends on what direction Nitro+ will go from here on. Muramasa never "goes" for me though. Stuff like this is hard to come by these days. That or maybe I'm not looking hard enough

I'm fairly new to visual novels so I can't really answer that. What Nitro+ games would you recommend? I only finished playing Saya no Uta and Muramasa, with the major gripe against Muramasa being too much sci-fi, action and combat. I browsed through the titles and judging from the covers they aren't really interesting, but then again I thought the same way about Muramasa as well so I'm afraid that I might be missing out on something good despite the story settings which I find less-than-optimal.

Cosmic Eagle

2013-09-19, 08:26

Mahou

2013-09-19, 17:29

Finished Natsuki's route in Berry's. Overall lovely with an awkward(?) beginning, but the drama was annoying. Fortunately, I was prepared because when I skimmed through the CGs, I saw one particular and was like "Okay ... THAT will be the drama of her route". Other than loldrama, its main focus is more on comedy and rabu-rabu (post-confession, obviously). I would have loved an (sub)-route for Aruha, but that's not a deal breaker.
Ena's route pre-confession showed how to do a test-dating correctly without some pseudo purposes like fending off random confessions :rolleyes: *coughhatsukoi1/1,lovelyxcation1cough*

And I completed most routes in Hoshi no On Sanctuary. Again, ignoring all mid-dramas, I loved how Serina's route progressed the relationship seeing how I wondered how they'd do it after Serina's more comedic moments during the common route (although she's far from weak battle-wise).
Serina >= Hisui > Rina = Yomi. Rina's epilogue was satisfactory, but not a true happy-end. Hisui has a canon-ish feeling due to the start of common route and it's always nice to see how a MC melts the ice walls of the local cool-beauty/ice queen :heh:.

hyl

2013-09-19, 18:40

Achiuakuna

2013-09-19, 21:49

Gekkou no Carnavale, Demonbane games (depends on your tastes for this) and Sumaga for Nitro+

If you like Guilty Crown, Lost X'Mas is a must play as well.

Muramasa is pretty much the jewel of Nitro+ though

Ah ok. I guess I'll lower my expectations accordingly. Gekkou looks like my thing. Maybe I'll give it a try. Thanks:)

Cosmic Eagle

2013-09-20, 04:24

Sumaga is great as well actually.

And Nitro+ is one of those creators that focus a lot on pure action / character based stories than the usual high school moe stuff

Mystic_Vegetto

2013-09-20, 04:33

Achiuakuna

2013-09-22, 01:45

Sumaga is great as well actually.

And Nitro+ is one of those creators that focus a lot on pure action / character based stories than the usual high school moe stuff

I can deal with moe when it appears alone. In fact I prefer the art style to be moe. But if the plot is just high school harem, each girl gets a route kinda drama along with the moe, I die a little inside :(

High school/simple happy settings is ok as long as the characters are not horribly simplistic and gimmecky. In fact I like looking at moe cute things being unconventionally messed up. It's a pretty addicting feeling. Sumaga seems like that kind of game if the tags on vndb are anything to go by.

Cosmic Eagle

2013-09-22, 02:33

I can deal with moe when it appears alone. In fact I prefer the art style to be moe. But if the plot is just high school harem, each girl gets a route kinda drama along with the moe, I die a little inside :(

High school/simple happy settings is ok as long as the characters are not horribly simplistic and gimmecky. In fact I like looking at moe cute things being unconventionally messed up. It's a pretty addicting feeling. Sumaga seems like that kind of game if the tags on vndb are anything to go by.

And that is why you'll enjoy Sumaga

May I recommend Subarashiki Hibi too although that isn't by Nitro. Karory did the artwork along others so that's a major bonus as well.

Newprimus

2013-09-22, 04:05

Subahibi is pretty heavy on abstract thinking and philosophy so be ready, but it's a very good game. It's also being translated so you could try waiting for it

Cosmic Eagle

2013-09-22, 04:44

More like pseudo philosophy once you see that it's merely a fine cover for full blown insanity

Kirayuki

2013-09-22, 04:54

I'd say the insanity is just a cover, and the game can stand on its own merits even without the philosophy things on the very end (e.g : Jabberwocky II)

Achiuakuna

2013-09-22, 15:17

And that is why you'll enjoy Sumaga

May I recommend Subarashiki Hibi too although that isn't by Nitro. Karory did the artwork along others so that's a major bonus as well.

I already finished SubaHibi. I liked it a lot.

Wonder if Nitro+'s Kimi to Kanojo to Kanojo no Koi falls into the same category. Anyone read that yet?

Mura

2013-09-22, 15:26

I just read summaries on the Taimanin Asagi series. This has to be one of the more in depth eroges I've come across alongside the great art drawn by Kagami. I wonder if TA3 will be the last one.....

These summaries had me there for three hours and I don't regret one bit.:heh:

Newprimus

2013-09-22, 23:18

Playing Kokoro Function's trial, and this is great!

This is the first game I've seen that seems to take seriously the implications and possibilities of a world that's become more and more interconnected as our today's smartphones and social networks show us. It presents a serious look at a future where people are so interconnected with their smart devices that it leads to conundrums like the one our protagonist faces, which is that everything he's thinking gets broadcast to everyone else.

It also helps that the writing, characters, pacing, humor, art, music, and everything else in this game is well above the average crowd. Now my most anticipated game!

Dagger

2013-09-23, 04:16

I already finished SubaHibi. I liked it a lot.

Wonder if Nitro+'s Kimi to Kanojo to Kanojo no Koi falls into the same category. Anyone read that yet?
Yep. I highly recommend it. Best to go into it knowing as little about its quirks as possible.

KanbeKotori

2013-09-23, 04:28

i already finished subahibi. I liked it a lot.

Wonder if nitro+'s kimi to kanojo to kanojo no koi falls into the same category. Anyone read that yet?

THAT. VN. IS. AWESOME :Di

Achiuakuna

2013-09-23, 16:23

Started it today. Looks interesting so far. Thanks guys.

Leon_Lelouch

2013-09-23, 23:44

Just finished Tsujidou-san no Virgin Road. I gotta say, I really enjoyed it. For me, it's probably the most enjoyable VN I've played this year so far. One question though...

So why was Hiroshi playing the part of "Shou"? Was he spying on Benten for Tsujidou's group without her knowing? And what did Mito have to do with it? I couldn't really understand these parts, so I'm hoping someone can explain.

Nope he didn't do the spying, he never told Tsujidou's group anything about benten and actually Hiroshi himself were using Tsujidou's group to make a false rumor about him being equal to Tsujidou and such....

Hiroshi know about Mito's desire to have many subordinate and expand benten and at that time there are many delinquents going rampage here and there so he thought by joining up with Mito, he can at least lower the rampage by making Hasyu Renmei and become one of the leader... Well its Hiroshi's nature to avoid fighting, so by becoming the leader and accepted by most delinquents he can at least give order especially order not to rampage around

haven't really found VN with this much lovely icha2

Newprimus

2013-09-24, 00:31

Tsujidou-san also has amazing side characters. It's rare for a VN to make me wish for a game dedicated solely to the side cast. This one totally does.

Achiuakuna

2013-09-24, 02:07

Yep. I highly recommend it. Best to go into it knowing as little about its quirks as possible.

For maximum effect, you're probably right. But I don't think my heart can take it anymore :T_T: This is the exact kind of thing that fuels my nightmares.

Mahou

2013-09-24, 12:11

A few half-way-in impressions of Gears of Dragoon, which has been already released for a few month.
Spoiler as I'll mention a few late aspects

I like most of the characters, even though you learn only the veeery basic information about them during the common route -> Filia, Ellen, Conrad (I think). You learn important stuff about Sheeta, Stella, Rady, Falco later on, which is needed and done quite decently. But Filia? As the "osananajimi"-esque person of the group and her affection towards Rady (and vice versa depending on route), it's strange that you only get to know that she got treated badly and discriminated during her past. And a major secret during chaos route.
Lucee's super-strong hatred towards Bestia was a huge "WTF" during the events of choosing between law and chaos route.
As for Rady: hot-blooded, yet quite weak-willed as he can't protect his "family" during common route. And for someone who apparently has already sexual experience, he lacks at times the understanding of women (even if his prior encounters were one-night-stands).

Battle: Random battles can become quite annoying due to their frequency after a while, yet you need them in order to build up your Limit Gauge for boss battles. Fortunately, the creators included an easy mode with an integrated win-button that lets you - true to its name - win any battle. Of course, you won't earn the exp. and possible item drops.
If you have bad luck, finding 3+-slot-items will be a pain and they are must-have to gain the much needed status resistance (anti-instant-death >_<).

Chaos route: The first route I'm playing. From what I've read, the many rape-ish scences will be a main turn-off and ninetails thought it would be wise to use the "Prostitute system" to unlock skills for chaos Rady. I'll miss many skills, but I don't care as long as I can avoid much of that bullcrap. I'll play this route only for Sheeta's true route. Dark-ish route or not, losing many of the playable characters is a choice, which a few jp. reviewers found unfortunate and together with raepfail was more dualtail-ish than ninetails atmosphere according to them.
The first h-scene with Sheeta was a bit stupid due to Rady's "I don't sleep with you to become stronger (plot-reason), but because I love you". When and where did this become clear? Either that was lazy or I missed the hint(s) :heh:

erneiz_hyde

2013-09-24, 16:40

I didn't play Gears of Dragoon. I unlocked the save and just view all the scences in sequence. Call me weak :heh:

But I think you should've played Order route first. Sheeta true end is like the whole game's true end despite (or because?) it being darker, and if you play Order after you cleared Chaos, it could reduce the enjoyment of the route.

Also, Chaos route H scenes being rapish was actually a major turn on for me :p also because there is one glorified bad end route I like in there.

Mahou

2013-09-25, 16:57

Well, Law route is mainly for Filia :D.
Anyway: I'm in Chapter 6 after the "forceful" skill-panel change to Chaos-Rady. Honestly, so far I can't neither see nor understand the praises of him being a "dark hero". Sure, he's at last past his hesitations, but turned on the other hand into an even worse hot-blooded, beyond any reasoning-idiot. Although he was still somewhat bound to keep his promise to protect his family, it seems at many times more like a poor reason to rage-and-kill (and rape). I hated his attitude towards Alma, Jill and Jasmine. It's not that I don't understand his built-up mistrust and anger, but overall it made me want to punch my screen more than once. One of the few redeeming parts so far, is obviously Sheeta. Their dialogue after the battle against Alma was relaxing and made them actually look like a couple (which outside of Sheeta's strong trust has hardly been mentioned nor further developed). A soothing, albeit short lived, change of pace.

Dark Faith

2013-09-25, 18:38

So after reading about Ever 17 on another thread I've decided to give it a try. So far I'm pleasantly surprised, even if I feel the routes (well, only completed one so far :P) are a bit short.
Most of my theories went under (Har har) once I started my second playthrough, but there's two things so far that have piqued my interest.

So far I've completed You's route and going for Sora's on my second playthrough. So far I'm thinking that...
One, is that I'm somehow dealing with two different timelines. Takeshi mentions that the year is 2017 when talking to Kid about his amnesia. But during You's route, it's revealed that her mother died in 2019...15 years ago. Not to mention Tsugumi (who's shady as ****) blatantly stating she's lived through the events before.

Two, is that Yubiseiakikana (aka, You from Kid's POV) is a clone of Yubiseiharukana (aka, You from Takeshi's POV). This could help explaining the discrepancies with her parents' deaths, and also explains why You's mother won't admit to being her mother, but confirms that she was born out of her body...
...but it also doesn't seem to fit in with the alternate timeline theory. Hmmm... needs more playing!

Needless to say, I've only played one out of...five (I think?) routes, so I'm probably wrong in many aspects, but I'm loving it. And I love coming up with theories anyway.

Mahou

2013-09-30, 13:44

I'm finally done with Gears of Dragoon's chaos route and obviously Sheeta's ending. Because enemies with 100k+ hp are a pain and bad luck with high-level 5+-slot equipment, I used the victory button for the last 3 battles.
Without spoiling anything: The last two chapters were much, much better especially as far as it concerns Chaos-Radi's character. The ending itself was satisfactory. Charle's was probably one of the most annoying villains ever and pretty much the Aizen of the VN (except not the true mastermind); too bad he didn't get what he deserved, ultimately.
And although I love Filia, Sheeta feels a bit more true as the "final girl". While she's star of chaos route, from the scene recollection Geist left a very strong impression in a similar way on law route :).

On to Magical Marriage Lunatics and Natsu no Osananajimi, Fuyu no Kanojo.

hyl

2013-09-30, 21:28

Managed to marathon through Karumaruka Circle.
While i lowered my expectations after i have read that Niijima Yuu didn't wrote this, i was stunned how good it was.

While most of the normal routes were fairly good , the true route was simply amazing. Definitely as good as the finale of Hatsuyki Sakura or Natsuyume Nagisa and in some aspects , it's even better.
Also don't start with Natsuki's route, because i did and thought that the entire game was going to be slightly above average. Then i read Nicol's route and the game captured me.

My route ranking
True route >>> Nicol >>Shin>Koyomi>>Yukiha>Natsuki

My minor issues were that the music is good, but i find it overall less catchy than Hatsuyuki Sakura's. Both OP's were fairly decent (2nd OP "find a piece" was very good, but i don't recommend youtubing the song because that OP contains a huge amount of spoilers) but i didn't like the ending "I wish" that much because i am not a fan of "White Lips"

Slightly more detailed route impressions in order that i have read

The overall story is that there is a school club (when the story started 5 people) who are all cursed called maka. Every person has some kind of curse related to the 7 deadly sins (like falling randomly alseep with Sloth, overeating way too much with Gluttony, being able to unwillingly charm a whole horde of females with Lust etc.) The main character Mikage Kaito, who is afflicted with the Maka wrath (it gives him incredible strength when he gets angered), is recruited in the club and the purpose of the club is to perform a ritual/ceremony at Tanbata to get rid of the maka.
Later they find the 7th person (Natsuki) and with all the 7 people gathered the group can hold the ritual (and in the mean time some group bonding and festival preperations)
But on the night of the ritual, the school director forbids them for unknown reasons from entering the room for the ceremony, so they decided to hold it somewhere else and it doesn't come as a surprise that they fail it.

end of the common route and prologue

Some route spoilers and minor comments about them
imo this was the weakest route, because it is full of bad cliches. Kaito and Natsuki were osananajimi's without the either of them knowing about it , Natsuki having a slight trauma of the past when on the day her mother died from an accident, she had a fight with her etc.
Also I am not interested in astronomy, so I didn't like most of Natsuki's explanations of the stars.

Basically her route was about Natsuki remembering her love for astronomy because she repressed it because would remind her of her mother, who was an astronomer who Natsuki looked up to.
Kaito knew Natsuki as children because they had some kind of rivalry for astronomy and ended being friends. Kaito was hurt by the "astronomer girl" for unable to keep a promise that he sent as a letter, which she never received because on that day her mother got killed in an accident.

Everything goes well untill Natsuki was called by her father to come back again to him, because the reason why Natsuki transferred was to support Natsuki's grandfather after he injured himself but her grandfather has now almost fully recovered.
The dillema for Natsuki is that she conflicted to stay with Kaito or go back to her father.

For me this was one of the better routes, because i didn't expect the story to turn 180. I was expecting a carefree, slice of life story but instead i read a fairly good darker story with lots of suspense.

Nicol seemed like a the normal genki kouhai but she turned out be very different than i expectedhttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v508/hyl/Nicolwth_zpsb8ae3008.png
She is someone (at the end of the route, it's revealed she is actually the princess but w/e) from a small and poor foreign country that is in war and she wanted to obtain "Karumaruka" to save her country. She was "using" her "friends" to achieve her goals, but when the story goes on she actually got befriended the group and later on fell in love with Kaito and she couldn't live with those lies.
But the drama in her route was better than Natsuki's, eventhough it did get a little ridiculous when after her reveal she was immediately chased down by some people in black (not exactly sure, but i think it was some people from the country where she was in war with) who wanted her dead.
His maka proved to be usefull in this route against the armed and trained agents. At the end of the story Nicol has to back to her country, because of her duties. The epilogue shows that 3 years has passed and Nicol is fullfilling her responsibilities as the ruler and then Kaito shows up as an international oceanography student and meeting Nicol again

A shorter route, because she is just a sub-heroine. Not bad route overall and despite being a sub-heroine's route, you still have to finish it to get to the true route

The mischievous senpai who also happens to have extremely rich parents. Her Maka happens to be greed, in which she uncontrollably buys random things. Because she has no use for the things she bought and she feels sorry for reyurning all the bought goods, she occasionally anonymously donates all the things to the orphanage under the allias Dandylion. Yukiha also happens to be someone Kaito knew when he was kid, similar cliche as in Natsuki's route.
The problem in Yukiha's route is that she feels that she has no freedom and has no role in life because her father has done and planned everything for her (including a fiance, but Yukiha ends up loving Kaito), but she is also afraid of opposing and betraying her father's expectations.
She decides to run away from her father and brother and stays mostly at Kaito's place. Eventually Yukiha's 2 elder brother find Kaito and after a fight, Yukiha shows up to stop it.
Yukiha wants to run away from her problems again but she gets lectured by Koyomi that running away won't solve her problems and she learns from Kaito that there are some things in life that she can decide for her own

Also not a bad route, but i felt it was trying to tell too much at the same time. We have the plot of Koyomi's "teacher", Junpei from the orphanage, Koyomi's own history of being an orphan raised in an orphanage, part time working at a cosplay cafe, some kind of contest that lead eventually to her invitation to MIT etc.

Koyomi is the genius club president and she also happens to be an extreme ramen lover. She as the hardest working person ,has ironically the maka of sloth. Koyomi was an orphan from a very young age and at the orphanage she a volunteer whom she called "teacher" , who was a huge inspiration for her. Koyomi was troubled with her disappearance and was still puzzled by what she meant when she gave Koyomi her final assignment.
Koyomi and Kaito also met an orphan called Junpei, whom they befriended, but Junpei is more or less character for Koyomi to relate to because the both of them are orphans.
At the end of her route (after Kaito and Koyomi have become lovers) because of Koyomi's talents, she invited to study at MIT in the USA. Because this is something that would greatly increase the reputation of the school, the school director forces Koyomi into taking it with the blackmail of punishing the other members of the group for the things that they have done before. Koyomi's dillema is that she herself isn't sure what is the right thing to do, because she hasn't thought of her own future yet. Eventhough she doesn't really want to go, she logically thinks that MIT is an unique opportunity.

Eventually she decided not go , but she did that in front of all the media and other important people to embarrass the school director and to make other people ponder what they would have done in her stead.

In her epilogue Koyomi receives a mail from the person in MIT who recommended Koyomi and it turned out to be her "teacher" from the orphanage. While Koyomi is a little sad for not seeing her and relieved that her "teacher" is still alive, she doesn't regret the choices she made and finally understands what her "teacher" meant

The "man-hater"(which is not strongly shown in any route) , who often skips classes and has the maka gluttony.
A good route and some parts reminded me a little of Hatsuyuki Sakura

The main problem of her route is that Shin is living with issue that her father seems to be responsible for an accident 7 years ago at the school in which 1 girl was killed by a defect in the school building. She want to believe in her father's innocence, but her father doesn't even want try to deny his involvement in this affaire and Shin wants to know the truth. She occasionally gets bullied for being the daughter of a "murderer" and it got worse after her father is going to get convicted this time because some people claimed to have more proof on this case
Everyone in the club tried their best to help Shin to find out more about this incident from 7 years ago, but with no succes. It gets worse for Shin after they find her father telling her and Kaito not to dig for the truth, but Kaito managed to cheer her up.
The club gets help from someone unexpected and they get one more chance to perform another ritual to Karumaruka to find what really happened 7 years ago. One the night of the ceremony Shin decides to ruin it , because she no longer needs the truth because she believes that her father is innocent. And coincidently her father shows up at the end to tell the whole truth and why he hid it

I am not going to spoil anything about the true route, because imo it was really that good: the mystery about Karumaruka, many surprises and plot twists, how most of the routes are connected to the true route were done excellently. My only problem with the true route was that the romance was really weak but if you want romance then you can read the normal routes.

NoemiChan

2013-09-30, 23:23

Just a question. I'm currently playing an eroge that is Eroge! S** and Games make Sexy Games. It seems I can't find the option to Save before each selections. I pressed "C" and all I got are settings. Can you help me?

erneiz_hyde

2013-10-01, 05:29

What happens when you right click? It usually takes you to the menu selections where you can choose to save.

InternHertz

2013-10-01, 09:13

hyl

2013-10-01, 11:20

Damn, this is really good news!
I LOVED past Saga Planets games and especially Hatsuyuki Sakura, so I'm glad to know it's at least as good as those storywise.

I won't read any spoilers about it so I can go into it fresh and be amazed.

Can you just tell me if the overall tone of the game is as grabbing as HS? I really really liked the mystery surrounding everything from the beginning, and how good it felt seeing the reveals happen in the true end.

It has an overall lighter tone (far less depressing than Hatsuyuki Sakura, but it still has a fair amount of drama ). The regular routes were imo weaker than Hatsuyuki Sakura's, but you have to read all of them to enjoy the most out of the true route.
The main mystery of Karumaruka doesn't play much of a role in any other regular routes, but it was done very well in the final route.

Mahou

2013-10-02, 05:28

Mahou's usual impressions:

Magical Marriage Lunatics (MML): I'm still on the common route, though. Anyways, the start aka the scenes of heroine introductions felt a bit slow. As in, there were hardly any coherent dialogues, but more stammering and surprise-reactions. Otherwise, the colorful mix of non-human financées are quite cute. You must love Julia the shy succubus, who's character is kinda the exact opposite of her brethern :D. Honestly, I have hardly encountered any succubi in VNs - other than pure nukige maybe. And while the cliché of MC forgetting about the "contracts", it's at least explained in-game in an okay-ish way. But, we're talking about moonstone so I expect drama, also drama that possibly won't sit well with me (based on my experience with Princess Evangile =/). I'll let "surprise" myself.

Natsu no Osananajimi, Fuyu no Kanojo: Karin is lovely :D. And it's a nice suprise to have the best buddy with a girlfriend, instead of idiot-friend or pervert-friend. A normal sounding title? There's surely some drama in the routes*. I can guess it for Seika and mayhaps Yume-chan.

KoixKoi Infinity: I just took a savegamed glace of the "true route". A first approach of peasoft, imho. Anyway, usually peasoft's MC are either too average or denser than dense. But, the title sounds just like my taste and their drama were - based on my memory - also reasonable in reason and length.
Seems similar to HareTen's true route

*Normally, my way of perception is: IF the title sounds beyond cute (aka suki shite, suki shite takusan suki shite) or the brand is smee, I'm sure there's no or hardly drama. On normal-sounding titles? Better expect everything.

erneiz_hyde

2013-10-22, 00:52

Been playing Love Lab (らぶらぼ). Even though it's an SM breeding game, the largely comical atmosphere (so far at least) is really a huge relief.

Saki and Ibuki's rivalry is an interesting side plot, both pretending to be the more sexually active person while both being virgins :heh: . However, since their VA is Tammy and Maki Izumi, it kinda sends the wrong image of Rin and Komari :heh:

NoemiChan

2013-10-22, 01:58

I just finished playing MLE and I find it fun to play, followed by MLU which I find kinda I the same level of enjoyment as the first but finding the main heroine missing.

Luckily after getting MLA an hour later, broke my enjoyment meter sky high... the MC was badass from the beginning until that WTF scene... After returning back, seeing my main heroine again got me emotional.... I felt tears like falling from my eye....

Finishing the later half was more emotional and action pack. My heart was racing, my eyes was on the monitor, not blinking... Every scene was awesome. Though the ending was not that great but it left me in tears....I wanna scream my most dear beloved heroine... I was tormented....that I had to play MLE again get my self back together again, to be able to meet her, to love her again, hug her again, kiss her again and see the irritating yet sweet smile of her's that I thought was forever a dream back in MLU and MLA.

It may take months but I'll go to MLAF after..

Mahou

2013-10-22, 04:18

I completed Yuma, Shirayuki and the True route of Gleamgarden.
Yeah, I managed to overcome my inital hesitation.
The non-spoilers: Gleamgarden had imho an balanced mix between the gloomy/dark-ish aspects and the happy "school life" parts in the common route. The grim aspects did make me gulp and go "eeek". The few "other point of views" scenes were quite good and made you hate Youhei (the "best friend" of MC) as soon as possible *lol*. Shirayuki's route was overall quite good, but her ultimate drama was veeery heavy and made you hate also one other character :heh:

The true route: By itself quite sad, based on the information of Shirayuki's route, the ultimate conclusive route and a - for me - surprise turnout concerning our dear MC. Yet, it didn't end/take care of all points I had hoped. I felt sad for mystery-girl and all the shiz that happed to her :(.

Wigwams

2013-10-22, 10:24

Im playing yumina the ethereal atm. i have cleared the game dungeons till lvl 90. are there more to do? like reach 100? the epilogue seems to say its over, but also hint for more...

Aer0gam3r

2013-10-31, 00:49

Recently finish Karumaruka Circle. To be honest, I found it quite the chore to play through. The true route was alright, but I found that the individual routes were a train wreck.

What interests me is that I seem to be one of the rare people who found the game to be quite bad. I've seen a lot more positive feedback in regards to the game.

Mahou

2013-10-31, 02:57

I have started to play the latest whirlpool title Usotsuki ouji-sama to nayameru o-hime-sama. The general theme itself is quite enjoyable, imho, but the MC is one of the weaker ones. A typical case of when his denseness is being rubbed in the reader's face too often/at each opportunity in at least Izumi's route. And he's quite the hetare in terms of moving the relationship to the next levels. In most everydays situation he's really alright, though. And to be honest, most confessions scenes are pretty terrible. You have all the insecurties of the girl and MCs lack of awareness and *boom* a "I love you" followed by the narration of "And thus *name of girl* and I have becom a couple". Maybe I'm imaginating things, but that seems below the average :heh:.
Anyway: Riina's route has been quite lovely despite all my rants. It's very adorable how attached she became to the MC :D.
I hope in general that all late-game drama will be kept as painless as possible.

Next to it, I also am 3/4 way through Akatoki. It may have a lot of cliché power-up moments, but I enjoy every moment of the VN. The OST is great, the characters are extremly likeable (Rinko as the girl with the most perverted mind of them all *lol*). And Kururiku from the antagonists is always good for a laugh. Only Lily's route remains before the grand route opens.

thebumdowntheroad

2013-11-01, 08:31

Nope he didn't do the spying, he never told Tsujidou's group anything about benten and actually Hiroshi himself were using Tsujidou's group to make a false rumor about him being equal to Tsujidou and such....

Hiroshi know about Mito's desire to have many subordinate and expand benten and at that time there are many delinquents going rampage here and there so he thought by joining up with Mito, he can at least lower the rampage by making Hasyu Renmei and become one of the leader... Well its Hiroshi's nature to avoid fighting, so by becoming the leader and accepted by most delinquents he can at least give order especially order not to rampage around

haven't really found VN with this much lovely icha2

Here to give too much detail on the original question and this answer for Tsujidou-san no Virgin Road:

The incentive for Hiroshi to do all this work for Mito was at the beginning of the Ai Last Route, when Tsujidou volunteers for a "wedding" shoot. This is due to a request from the club president (Iinchou/Ayumi)--whose mother owns the place that will do the shooting, I believe--that the original model couldn't make it (due to a rather comical issue). Although Tsujidou worried about Hiroshi for doing the shoot with another guy, Hiroshi understands because it's an honest request from a close friend. In actuality though--as Hiroshi admits at the end of the route--he did feel a bit jealous, so he decided to try and make himself the model. Which is a big lol on the seriousness of the whole route for the reasons continued below.

The connection between this and helping Mito was that Mito (if not someone handpicked by Mito or something like that) was the male model in question for the wedding shoot. Tsujidou and Hiroshi are told this when they go the place and Ayumi explains the situation. However, knowing this, Hiroshi--Hiroshi also explains this in the end--did the above favor about gang expansion for Mito in exchange for Mito quitting and recommending Hiroshi as the replacement male model. And of course, if you replay the route, there are hints that an exchange was made throughout the dialogue and flow of the story.

(In case anyone wants more story stuff, here's more.)

The problem arose when overconfidence for fighting/against the Three Gods of Shounan (Renna, Maki, and Ai) and the sheer number of members who actually joined ruined their intended plan. The plan was:
- Hiroshi creates "Shou" entity with help of Kumi spreading rumors to create renown,
- Rumors build Shou's reputation and helps Mito expand
- When target number reached, Mito beats "Shou"/Hiroshi and becomes rightful leader.

Unfortunately, when Hiroshi and Mito did the last part and Mito blasted Shou/Hiroshi into the ocean, Hiroshi was unaware that Mito ran into trouble with the large number/gang leaders that he had to maintain. And of course, Maki's mom didn't help matters any with her blood lust (lol). So, Mito just went with his delinquent flow (that Hiroshi is forced to acknowledge) and started a war against the Three Gods of Shounan. Hiroshi gets mad at Mito for breaking the stipulation not to start trouble, everyone has to handle the situation, and the rest is self-explanatory.

Reasons for overconfidence and huge member recruitment include: Hiroshi's natural ability to make friends and prepare speeches (for Mito), and hype created from Maki's mom, Maki herself, and indirectly Ryou/Yoiko.
- Maki's mom (Sagami) recognized Hiroshi as the child Maki played with in the past. (More information from Maki's route on that) Her strength was obviously a huge lure for reputation and members.
- Maki, who recognized Hiroshi by scent, was bribed to lose on the spot when she suddenly appeared to beat up Mito's gang. Hiroshi probably thought fast and bribed her with steak (as we see just that night that he treats her to), telling her to lose so that (1) she wouldn't ruin the plan and (2) as a side-bonus boost reputation. Also, (3) this saved Shou/Hiroshi from in-fighting in the gang as several of the notable gang leaders wanted to fight Shou because they never saw Shou fight before, only hearing rumors.
- Ryou/Yoiko recognized Hiroshi from the mask, as they played with that same mask for Hiroshi as children. (Just as Yoiko uses her mask to become Ryou.) She ends up hyping Shou/Mito's gang by giving cryptic words of advice/avoidance to Renna, who takes the words of advice as a strength indicator for Mito's gang.

And in the end, Mito even complained that although he was satisfied with 2000 members, we see throughout the route that Mito's gang/the Eight Province Alliance grew from 3000, 4000, and to even 5000 members. Poor Mito/Capt/Kazama. All dat power and that jazz. *Sarcastic remark at Capt/Kazama*
More than the status quo, but correct me if I missaid a detail or more.