General Eroge Impressions & Discussion

[Mahou]

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

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]

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]

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]

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.

Spoiler for not really a spoiler, but just in case:

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 .
Anyway: Riina's route has been quite lovely despite all my rants. It's very adorable how attached she became to the MC .
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]

Originally Posted by Leon_Lelouch

Spoiler for :

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:

Spoiler for :

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.)

Spoiler for :

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.

[Mahou]

I actually finished Natsu no Osananajimi, Fuyu no Kanojo a while back, but forgot about it in my last post.
Anyway: A very normal and soothing Visual Novel with a likeable female cast and drama moment that were kept so short you hardly noticed them (a big plus for me).
My personal favorite route was Hikari: nephrite did a really great job with her german origin and her occational german phrases, which were also correctly used . Her "shuuun"-time as an opposite reaction to her tsun-moments is one of the most adorable things *lol*. For some reason I kept thinking that her name was Mizu due to her Kanji name being exactly that

Spoiler for Hikari Ending/epilogue:

And her route is one example, where the "confrontation" with her father was - instead of a painful dragged-out manner - being kept shortly as a flashback when both reminiscenced before their wedding ceremony started during the epilogue.

Don't try it if you are looking for an actual story, though, because the general theme is more about making memories than your usual plot.

And I completed next to Akatoki, Shirley's route of Amairo Islenauts. I had a good share of laughs, *hngh*-moments and the final "drama" resolution made me shed tears for how touching it was, to me.
As for Akatoki: The grand route had awesome moments, but had also its weaker parts or rather not all the developments I wished for.

Finished Izumi's route of Usotsuki ouji-sama. Meh. I was pretty disappointed. The drama was too absurd for its own good and ultimately nothing got really resolved. Heck, the core problem of Izumi's issue were never really brought up. I mean, I'm glad for her happy end, but on a "global" view it's a slap in the face.
I'm really split whether to play the other routes or just let it be. Based on Izumi's route, a weak title from whirlpool

[DingoEnderZOE2]

Bringing my old classic topic back up to ask a simple question to those who may know the answer:
Ever since ShopHimeya closed down I've been stumped on finding an online store that delivers Ero-games to the U.S. while also still having a decent selection, about the only one that looks to have some potential is Amazon Japan....BUT they don't ship outside of Japan...Is there perhaps a way around that?

[hyl]

Originally Posted by DingoEnderZOE2

Bringing my old classic topic back up to ask a simple question to those who may know the answer:
Ever since ShopHimeya closed down I've been stumped on finding an online store that delivers Ero-games to the U.S. while also still having a decent selection, about the only one that looks to have some potential is Amazon Japan....BUT they don't ship outside of Japan...Is there perhaps a way around that?

Amiami had a decent selection of eroges and they seem to ship worldwide

Or you could use a proxy site if you were aiming for a specific shop bonus

[PhoenixG]

Originally Posted by Wigwams

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...

If you haven't get the true route you can do that. If you have done that you could try the sequel Corona. But don't think it's translated or planned to be translated. Also the story and gameplay is a lot weaker than Yumina

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by hyl

Amiami had a decent selection of eroges and they seem to ship worldwide

Or you could use a proxy site if you were aiming for a specific shop bonus

Yup, personally, I order most games from Japanese online retailers like Sofmap, Getchu, Trader, AmpNet, etc. and have them forwarded through Tenso. This does add to the cost, but gives the possibility of getting some very nice bonus items. If it's just a matter of finding a store that ships the games, Amiami is likely your best bet now, and they do sometimes have bonus items as well (like telecards).

[Mahou]

I have been powerplaying Yumina the Etheral as well the past few days and am on my Very-Hard-route (Yumina) chapter 6. Overall I find it enjoyable. The general humour suits my poorly developed sense (of humor), the OST has a handful of nice tracks and I enjoy most characters. Similarly, characters who are made to be jerks make you really hate them *lol*

The meh-parts? - The battles can be a bit tiresome after 2 runs, but thanks to ctrl speeding it up, it's not as I originally feared.
- The romance aspect seems also very poor. Kirara did have an earlier development (by the h-scene), but it didn't feel that natural(?) somehow. Ai wasn't sooo much better with it all being put in the last chapter together with the normal story-finale.

The in-between: - The endings are by itself okay-ish, but can feel rather sudden. I don't know what could have been done differently as the conflict was resolved afterall. But again, that was mostly a concern with Ai's route.
- Another point: Yumina's stupdidness. I know that I complain about that aspect also in other VNs when it's the MC being affected, but it's something I find strange to see as funny or interesting. In Yumina's case, at least, she has her (useless) efforts going for her, but seriously the writers could have made her a bit less useless outside of her failing grades. As such, the everyone-trolls-Yumina scenes range from being funny to painful

And I played Aozora Stripe: For some strange reason I cannot venture into Satsuki's route despite having followed the walkthrough step-by-step. Instead, I got into Misato's (which I planned to do afterwards).

[DingoEnderZOE2]

Originally Posted by relentlessflame

Yup, personally, I order most games from Japanese online retailers like Sofmap, Getchu, Trader, AmpNet, etc. and have them forwarded through Tenso. This does add to the cost, but gives the possibility of getting some very nice bonus items. If it's just a matter of finding a store that ships the games, Amiami is likely your best bet now, and they do sometimes have bonus items as well (like telecards).

Ah so ordering through a proxy is pretty much the best option if you want the whole selection of games then? Hmm that's going to a new experience for me...

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by DingoEnderZOE2

Ah so ordering through a proxy is pretty much the best option if you want the whole selection of games then? Hmm that's going to a new experience for me...

Well, AmiAmi has a good selection too, but going through a proxy of one sort or another will let you get the best bonus goods. It depends on what you're after. (The way I figure it personally, if I'm already spending this much money, why not spend a little bit extra and get some goodies.)

There are basically two sorts of proxy services. Those where they order on your behalf, and those where you handle the order and have it sent to the address they provide to you. Tenso is the latter.

[DingoEnderZOE2]

Originally Posted by relentlessflame

Well, AmiAmi has a good selection too, but going through a proxy of one sort or another will let you get the best bonus goods. It depends on what you're after. (The way I figure it personally, if I'm already spending this much money, why not spend a little bit extra and get some goodies.)

There are basically two sorts of proxy services. Those where they order on your behalf, and those where you handle the order and have it sent to the address they provide to you. Tenso is the latter.

Hmmm okay one final question, if I were to say order something from Getchu or Amazon Japan would I be able to use my american debit card or Paypal card so long as I put the address of the area the proxy site gives me down in my order?

To put it in simpler terms(I tend to over type), Am I able to use American Credit cards on these sites just so long as I use a Japan address?

[Wild Goose]

Been going back to and playing Yumina (well, juggling that and Warframe).

I think Skyrim has spoiled me; I completely skipped over old school dungeon crawlers in the style Yumina emulates (hell, I didn't even play Pathways into Darkness, which was half tile crawler, half shooter) due to growing up in a jungle in the middle of nowhere and having very little access to games... and so by the time I really got into gaming it was 2011 and I was playing Skyrim. So I think that might be why I don't really care for Yumina's crawling. (also the lack of quicksave.)

Combat is initially fun, but started to get a bit draggy and boring. Mind, that was something that was easily rectified by turning the BGM down and running the SRW OGs OST in foobar in the background. So Close, Yet So Far makes combat a lot more epic.

I do like how combat has to manage elemental values and audience approval; it's a little tricky, but once you get the hang of it, it's actually quite intuitive.

Still, while it's fine enough, I find that if I have to compare Yumina grinding and Warframe grinding, I'll pick Warframe. But I plan to finish it, if only for the story.

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by DingoEnderZOE2

Hmmm okay one final question, if I were to say order something from Getchu or Amazon Japan would I be able to use my american debit card or Paypal card so long as I put the address of the area the proxy site gives me down in my order?

To put it in simpler terms(I tend to over type), Am I able to use American Credit cards on these sites just so long as I use a Japan address?

In principle, you can use any card that functions as a regular credit card (VISA/MasterCard/etc.). On Amazon JP, you will enter the card's real billing address in the billing section, and just change the shipping address. Most other Japanese online retailers do not ask for a billing address separate from the shipping address, because the Address Verification System does not generally work in Japan. So in those cases, you just provide the shipment address (provided by the proxy service).

There are some Japanese retailers that require your card be enrolled in the MasterCard SecureCode/Verified By Visa program to work, but this is usually something that will be activated automatically the first time you try to use it, or you can request it through your card-issuing bank.

[meganyot]

I just finished Hatsuyuki Sakura, but I think I missed one detail. I put it inside the spoiler tag to be safe.

Spoiler for question:

who is the owner of the cafe?

[hyl]

Originally Posted by meganyot

I just finished Hatsuyuki Sakura, but I think I missed one detail. I put it inside the spoiler tag to be safe.

Spoiler for question:

who is the owner of the cafe?

Spoiler for spoiler:

I don't think that it was directly mentioned, but the hints suggests that it was Ran because the only hints we have were that she is a ghost or wraith related to the hotel incident and that the cafe is a "doll cafe"

[meganyot]

Originally Posted by hyl

Spoiler for spoiler:

I don't think that it was directly mentioned, but the hints suggests that it was Ran because the only hints we have were that she is a ghost or wraith related to the hotel incident and that the cafe is a "doll cafe"

Oh, right
Is natsuyume nagisa comparable to hatsuyuki sakura? I seem to run out of VNs that I want to read after completing hatsuyuki sakura and dropping baldr zero

[hyl]

Originally Posted by meganyot

Oh, right
Is natsuyume nagisa comparable to hatsuyuki sakura? I seem to run out of VNs that I want to read after completing hatsuyuki sakura and dropping baldr zero

Natsuyume Nagisa is very good and in some ways similar (likable characters, nice individual routes, tearful moments and a strong true route) to Hatsuyuki Sakura because it has the same writer.