General Eroge Impressions & Discussion

[Cosmic Eagle]

Originally Posted by Klashikari

I always have hard time to discern their styles, but I think Sena was designed by Muririn actually (as far as it goes, Kobuichi made the design of Shizuru and Maya among the main heroines).

Eh.....? The art all looks like Kobuichi....unless there's a Yuzusoft school of drawing or something.

[Mahou]

Originally Posted by Crimson Cloud

So like, anyone here a monster girl fan?

Spoiler for monster girl asking a question lol:

Alice is wondering if anyone played a Monmusu Quest?

It was short, nice and entertaining even though I'm not really a fan of monster-raep stuff. The only thing I didn't know was that it's only part 1 of the series (I think). Hence my "WTF" thought when suddenly the credits appeared .

Spoiler for Monster Girl:

The main hero has to be one of the most clueless ever regarding the identity of the Monster Queen . Even his unfriendly companion loves to comment about it.

[Klashikari]

Originally Posted by Cosmic Eagle

Eh.....? The art all looks like Kobuichi....unless there's a Yuzusoft school of drawing or something.

There were always 2 artists for Yuzusoft games, ever since Braban, although it is hardly obvious when you look at the tachi e/CG.
And actually, Kobuichi and Muririn are pretty much a duo working together for a lot of stuff. I think one of the rare solo work by Kobuichi is Hidan no Aria.

[Crimrui]

Originally Posted by Nanya01

Good game, though some of the things that you have to go through to get CGs is kind of annoying.

True that. Not really a fond of in getting a second CG end-rape from some of the more freaky monsters.

Originally Posted by Mahou

It was short, nice and entertaining even though I'm not really a fan of monster-raep stuff. The only thing I didn't know was that it's only part 1 of the series (I think). Hence my "WTF" thought when suddenly the credits appeared

Yeah I jumped into the game without any prior knowledge about it as well so my surprise was the same. The second chapter should be out pretty soon.

And yeah the character was all goody and innocent. But honestly if he wasn't then all the bad ends wouldn't be a bad end for him.

[Cosmic Eagle]

Originally Posted by Klashikari

There were always 2 artists for Yuzusoft games, ever since Braban, although it is hardly obvious when you look at the tachi e/CG.
And actually, Kobuichi and Muririn are pretty much a duo working together for a lot of stuff. I think one of the rare solo work by Kobuichi is Hidan no Aria.

I think KoreZon is solo too...That's why I didn't know he had a partner...never really paid much attention to the credits in the games.

[relentlessflame]

A bit late to reply, but...

Originally Posted by Klashikari

Spoiler for Akari's route:

However, the crisis was a bit overdone for what it was: it would be indeed a disaster if Akari were to be engaged with someone else, but assuming Takumi -and- Isumi can't do a thing. Whilst Takumi was rendered powerless or so, Isumi was far from being dead. Assuming Takumi couldn't do a thing, I really doubt Isumi would be fooled and let Akari accepting the director's arranged marriage, especially that 1) he witnessed how she loves Takumi 2) that he didn't choose that candidate himself.
These 2 reasons are enough to conclude that Isumi would definitely not let things go this way, and it would immediately render that shady director powerless the very moment he wakes up and catch wind of this mess.

Therefore, the whole deal was a bit unbelievable: if that director was indeed trying to pull out a plan to seize the control of everything while hiding the fact he was doing some shady deal with dirty money, how come he made such oversight, as in: having Isumi clearly able to stop this farce?
I'm maybe missing something here, but so long Isumi can make a decision, it is game over for him anyway.

Spoiler for Noble Works Akari's Route:

I think the bad guys are under the assumption that everyone will believe that they are acting in accordance with Isumi's wishes and along with what would be best for the company, since Akari is the family heir. When Takumi (disguised as Shuri) visits, he comments to the bad guy that he understands that this arrangement is necessary; of course he's trying to fool them, but the fact it works indicates that's what they assume everyone will believe. The bad guys may also not know the details of Isumi's condition, and may think that it's more serious than it really is (in fact, they may think he's already dead). Once Chiaki figured out what was going on, it would have been in her best interest to try to make everyone believe that the situation was dire in order to expose the bad actors and their motivation. So they obviously didn't think Isumi either could or would stop them. (Edit: I replayed this section to refresh my memory, and it seems they just think his condition is critical, but don't know what'll happen. They're just taking advantage of the opportunity to push forward with something they had already been pushing for, I guess. They still clearly don't think he'd oppose even if he did come back, which is obviously a bit puzzling. Edit 2: Kept re-playing, and in Akari's bedside conversation with her father, the implication is that the reason for the arranged marriage proposal (and resulting alliance) was actually a legitimate attempt to save the company that the father was in fact supportive of. That said, he was aware of Akari's feelings too, and chose his daughter's happiness over the fate of his company (though he intends to find a different way to solve the issue).)

The main thing they underestimated was Akari's change of heart. The old Akari would have sacrificed herself for the sake of the family name (as an arranged marriage had always been her intention), but she's changed now, and she knows that her father understands that too. They also underestimated the rest of the players, like Chiaki and Shuri, and the fact that they'd choose Takumi ("true love") over what would appear on the surface to be what's best for the future of the Kanamoto group. The fact that this was all a front to hide their shady business was sort of icing on the cake.

Of course, the whole thing is a little bit silly anyway... I sort of take it as a little bit of a fairytale where true love conquers evil. It's a bit campy, but I think they played it rather well.

Originally Posted by Klashikari

Spoiler for Akari's route:

My second complain with Akari's route was that complete oversight with the matter involving Makoto & friends: I surely didn't forget that Takumi promised them to talk about a certain "important matter". I was expecting it as another potential "drama", which would bring to light how strong their friendship are, regardless their identity or status (which may also involve with Hinata due to her "commoner" origins, and potentially Maya and her obvious connection with Yakuza). Thus, color me disappointed that they pulled a huge 1 year time skip, with a very brief description that Shuri could regain his role perfectly... oh well...

Spoiler for Noble Works Akari's Route (with minor allusions to other routes):

I sort of agree, but the only "excuse" I'd offer here is that this point is covered at least somewhat in some of the other routes, so if you take the game on the whole the issue is dealt with. You're right though that, in Akari's route alone, they sort of gloss over this point, so it's a bit less complete as a standalone piece.

That said, there probably is a whole side-piece that could be written about how Shuri got re-integrated into the school after they switched back, not to mention a whole ton that could be written about what would happen when "the world" finds out that the heiress to the Kanamoto group is marrying a commoner who is the spitting image of her younger brother! So yeah, if they ever did do some sort of fandisk or sequel, there'd be plenty to work with.

Originally Posted by Klashikari

I read Tenshin Ranman a little bit (Aoi's route and half of Hime's), and I must say the major problem with Tenshin Ranman was its unbalanced pace at times, and also the fact the core premise (Haruki's bad luck curse) became quickly a background trivia instead of being a running backbone plot line (whilst Takumi's role is never omitted and lead to overarching issues and plot directions).
I did enjoy Tenshin Ranman though: I certainly appreciated a lot Aoi and her route, and the comedy antics were hilarious, although there wasn't really a "solid group" together, and I should probably resume it someday (at least finishing Hime and Sana...Ruri? Not so much...).

Yes, I agree. Actually, I would say that Aoi's route from Tenshin Ranman was really the main problem in terms of the pacing. They dragged out the middle of the plot for-freakin'-ever to the point where I almost Ctrl'd my way through parts of it. The other routes were a bit more balanced in that regard. But yeah, whatever pacing issues there were in their previous game were largely fixed in this new one.

Originally Posted by Klashikari

The most notable improvement with NW is probably the cohesion between characters interactions, along with the pace (common route and drama), while keeping their fluffy and comic formula intact.

Yup, agreed. I actually think that this cohesion between the characters and a sense of friendship among the cast is one of the major things that has generally improved in these sorts of stories over the last few years. It helps to create an entire "universe" that you can get enveloped in, and removes a little bit of the artificial nature of the route-based plots. The net effect, at least for me, is that it makes you feel a bit lonely after you finish all the routes in the game, because you enjoy the time spent with the whole group of characters regardless of whatever route you're on.

Originally Posted by Klashikari

You think they will make a port? They only started with Tenshin Ranman, and I have no idea how the sales went for this port nor for NW so...
Whilst I can see a very happy guy with Makoto being added in the cast (which makes much more sense than that joke route for yasetsuna ), Chiaki route could be interesting... in a very very -very- odd way... (fujoshi stuff? S/M? The possible amount of fetish involving her might be too scary )

Yeah... with a game with these sorts of production values, I think a port is inevitable -- if nothing else, it's a way of making a little bit more money off work largely already completed. If I made a short list of games from 2010 that might get anime adaptations, this one would probably be on my list as well, especially now that two other shows have come out recently featuring character designs from these artists.

And yeah, if they do a port, my bet is Makoto and one new previously-unseen character get routes. If they do something for Chiaki, I can only imagine it as a short branch (I could almost imagine them doing a small such branch without even having any romance -- just a "Chiaki's secrets" sort of route).

Originally Posted by Cosmic Eagle

I think KoreZon is solo too...That's why I didn't know he had a partner...never really paid much attention to the credits in the games.

KoreZon is a partnership with both artists, and it's just Hidan no Aria where it was Kobuichi alone. But yeah, this team works so well together that you have to know where to look to catch the differences.

[Mahou]

Mahou has finished 3 of 5 routes in Kourin no Machi and it has been quite enjoyable so far. I say that as someone who isn't really a drama-fan because let's be honest, Kourin no Machi has plenty of personal dilemma for each girl in store pursued by the "drama" of the difficulty to build + keep the Kenjutsu club which is the main focus for the first 3 chapters. I have even seen the Sharin no Kuni reference, but thanks to my lack of jp. comprehension I didn't understand it

As for the girls: As with Sharin no Kuni and similar games there's no canon ending, but IMHO the closest pairing would be with Hikaru even though the epilogue drama (yes, there's even something like that) was not quite necessary. The interesting thing is that mostly the one girl you helped before, will play the deciding role to help the next girl which in turn will result in your getting one by one the required 5 kenjutsu members to make the club.

A short comment about the ero in spoilers:

Spoiler for Kourin no Machi - ero scene:

The weakest part. The build up was lacking, no epic kissing CG as with Fortune Arterial and ... the responsible who decided to start the ero scene off with a BJ or similar should be slapped. It felt reaaaaly rushed, more than maybe in other VNs

Currently playing: Love, Election and chocolate. The charater art is a bit bland for my taste and it seems to be a rather normal VN.

[Skyfall]

Originally Posted by Mahou

As for the girls: As with Sharin no Kuni and similar games there's no canon ending

Actually Sharin no Kuni does have a canon ending, as confirmed by the Sharin no Kuni, Yuukyuu no Shounenshoujo fandisc. I'm talking about Houzuki's chapter obviously, which serves as both a prequel (through a flashback) and a mini-sequel for Himawari no Shoujo.

Spoiler for Houzuki's chapter:

Before Houzuki decides to finally ditch the whole SHCP business and goes on his arguably suicide mission to save Miina (Though I can think of a guy who would argue he succeeds ) he calls Kenichi and asks how his old pupil is doing. Obviously startling Ken-chan in the process, who probably didn't want to be reminded of his old teacher. During the conversation Kenichi confirms he and Natsumi are doing just fine and are planning to get married.

So ... yeah. The canon ending is Natsumi. Which isn't really much of a surprise, the original story was clearly written with her as the destination anyway, the other possibilities thrown in there as quick afterthoughts in order to appease the marketing needs of varied ero content with other heroines

An actually confirmed canon ending is pretty rare though indeed, and while most of the time it isn't hard to tell who is considered the main heroine, the actual story rarely makes such distinctions, be it through structure or events. On the top of my head, I can think of five titles which were written with a specific "true end" in mind ...which ain't a lot. (Those being Sharin no Kuni, G-Senjou no Maou, Fortune Arterial, Aiyoku no Eustia, Rewrite). Well, there is stuff like Ever 17, but that's a slightly different issue.

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by Mahou

Currently playing: Love, Election and chocolate. The charater art is a bit bland for my taste and it seems to be a rather normal VN.

My comment about that game, for whatever it's worth, would be that it's a game that I felt was stronger on the whole than in any given route. If I look at any one route and pick it apart, I can find some things I didn't like about each. But when I look back on the whole thing and consider all the characters, the way they interacted with each other, and the overall work, I come away with a good impression. As for the art, I think it varies significantly -- I really like the overall style, but it feels like the artist is new and hasn't quite gotten the technique down to a science yet. I think they'll probably keep getting better with future works.

Originally Posted by Skyfall

An actually confirmed canon ending is pretty rare though indeed, and while most of the time it isn't hard to tell who is considered the main heroine, the actual story rarely makes such distinctions, be it through structure or events. On the top of my head, I can think of five titles which were written with a specific "true end" in mind ...which ain't a lot. (Those being Sharin no Kuni, G-Senjou no Maou, Fortune Arterial, Aiyoku no Eustia, Rewrite). Well, there is stuff like Ever 17, but that's a slightly different issue.

Another game to throw on the pile would be Natsuyume Nagisa (by Saga Planets). August's Yoake Mae Yori Ruri Iro Na is also setup in the same way as Fortune Arterial, so you could consider that a "canon ending" in that case as well. I *would* have said D.C. (based on D.C. II), but even that is being thrown into question with D.C. III apparently being based off of a different branch in the original game. There are of course other (usually RPG-style) games that really only have one path, which makes it canon by default, despite there being optional detours along the way (I'm thinking some Leaf games in particular here).

But yeah, normally the canon ending is only implied based on who the apparent main heroine is, which I normally reason as "the route they'd probably follow if they made an anime". Like it seems pretty clear to me which route they'd follow if they ever did a Noble Works anime, for example. But that sort of reasoning doesn't actually make it a "confirmed canon ending", only an implied one.

[Mahou]

Originally Posted by relentlessflame

My comment about that game, for whatever it's worth, would be that it's a game that I felt was stronger on the whole than in any given route. If I look at any one route and pick it apart, I can find some things I didn't like about each. But when I look back on the whole thing and consider all the characters, the way they interacted with each other, and the overall work, I come away with a good impression. As for the art, I think it varies significantly -- I really like the overall style, but it feels like the artist is new and hasn't quite gotten the technique down to a science yet. I think they'll probably keep getting better with future works.

I appreciate it . As I mentioned many times before, my very few parts of self-taught/memorized japanese is too limited to grasp the majority of stories. But I agree, from the look of it the interaction between the club members leaves a good impression so far.

Edit: Finished Chisato's route which was also the only avaiable on the first run. I have underestimated the VN because it has left a better impression than I thought. Of course my being a hopless romance-VN fan helped a lot. With that as foundation, Chisato's route was quite nice and I was relieved that the drama/personal conflict didn't turn out as I feared it would and as opposed to manga ShoRom drama I could understand Chisato's troubles D:. But jeez, I'd like more protas who aren't completely oblivious to the girls. Yuki was in that regard not really better, but fortunately got quite better muuuch later on. It's always a surprise to see the radical difference between japanese student council elections and the western ones. At least I cannot remember such work emphasis in german universities/colleges.

@canon ending: It's not an eroge, but Symphonic Rain also has a true end after you have finished all available parts before and obviously Clannad. I know about Sharin no Kuni + fandisk relation, but somehow forgot to mention it. Majikoi has also a True route (if the walkthrough's describing it as such is worth something), just not in terms of pairings ... The only game that is composed of only "canon pairings" is Ef - a fairytale of the two

[Hooves]

You really can't go wrong with Ef - a fairytale of the two unless you get the bad endings Seems like this thread turned into a discussion thread while at the same time still being on-topic for eroge games

Natsuyuki - I fully supported the brocon - siscon relationship between Kazu and Natsuki. The plot itself was pretty linear and purely meant for those who are oneecons.

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by Hooves

Seems like this thread turned into a discussion thread while at the same time still being on-topic for eroge games

Yes, I did think about this and was wondering if we should do something about it. To me at least, "favourites at the moment" is pretty close to "what have you played recently, and what did you think of it"... and that's usually how I see this thread used in practice. That makes it closer to general Eroge discussion. We already do have a Suggestions forum for people to suggest/recommend, so I'm not sure if the original purpose of the thread is totally needed. A few options I considered were to rename the thread to something like "General Eroge Impressions & Discussion", or maybe even to close this thread and start some new ones that are a bit more targeted. Not really sure what everyone thinks, or if it's warranted or not.

But anyway yeah... I personally am somewhat okay with this being a bit of a general discussion thread (if people start discussing any given title/topic too much, then I guess we should create a new thread for that title/topic)... but am also open to suggestions about what would be best going forward.

[grylsyjaeger]

Currently playing Muv-Luv...

I struggled through Extra; the whole school life thing isn't my favourite setting but it was worth getting through it to unlock Unlimited.

I struggled my way through Extra though I had a lot of laughs but on the whole I only just finished it through shear force of will.

If I had known only Meiya and Sumika's routes were the only prerequisits for unlocking Unlimited I would have just done that. XD

But Unlimited was great, it's worth going through Extra just so you can notice how glaringly different but also at the same time how similar the characters are from one universe to the next.

The ending(s) to Unlimited left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth but several heart warming moments. Meiya is undoubtedly my favourite Muv-Luv girl and her ending to Unlimited was the most moving of all the heroine's to me.

I started Alternative Sunday night and am about eight hours into it and I'm really enjoying it. Although where I'm up to at the moment has a disturbing lack of Meiya...

[Hooves]

Originally Posted by relentlessflame

Yes, I did think about this and was wondering if we should do something about it. To me at least, "favourites at the moment" is pretty close to "what have you played recently, and what did you think of it"... and that's usually how I see this thread used in practice. That makes it closer to general Eroge discussion. We already do have a Suggestions forum for people to suggest/recommend, so I'm not sure if the original purpose of the thread is totally needed. A few options I considered were to rename the thread to something like "General Eroge Impressions & Discussion", or maybe even to close this thread and start some new ones that are a bit more targeted. Not really sure what everyone thinks, or if it's warranted or not.

But anyway yeah... I personally am somewhat okay with this being a bit of a general discussion thread (if people start discussing any given title/topic too much, then I guess we should create a new thread for that title/topic)... but am also open to suggestions about what would be best going forward.

I would personally go with this idea since we do need a discussion thread visual novels. Especially with recent posts mostly being discussions like said before instead of just a list of which visual novels people like overall.

[Cosmic Eagle]

Originally Posted by relentlessflame

Yes, I did think about this and was wondering if we should do something about it. To me at least, "favourites at the moment" is pretty close to "what have you played recently, and what did you think of it"... and that's usually how I see this thread used in practice. That makes it closer to general Eroge discussion. We already do have a Suggestions forum for people to suggest/recommend, so I'm not sure if the original purpose of the thread is totally needed. A few options I considered were to rename the thread to something like "General Eroge Impressions & Discussion", or maybe even to close this thread and start some new ones that are a bit more targeted. Not really sure what everyone thinks, or if it's warranted or not.

But anyway yeah... I personally am somewhat okay with this being a bit of a general discussion thread (if people start discussing any given title/topic too much, then I guess we should create a new thread for that title/topic)... but am also open to suggestions about what would be best going forward.

I agree with renaming...after all VN/Eroge are the fourth of the quartet of LN, Manga, Anime and VN that form otaku culture.

[Mahou]

Renaming should work, imho. Most general discussions do also include favorite-talks sooner or later if it fits in the topic and such. Since I have started quite late into the (Eroge)VN-genre, most discussions were already over for the "classic" ones unfortunately.

/finished Love & Election & Chocolate

[Crimrui]

Originally Posted by fallschirmjager

The ending(s) to Unlimited left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth but several heart warming moments. Meiya is undoubtedly my favourite Muv-Luv girl and her ending to Unlimited was the most moving of all the heroine's to me.

I started Alternative Sunday night and am about eight hours into it and I'm really enjoying it. Although where I'm up to at the moment has a disturbing lack of Meiya...

Ugh, Unlimited was awesome until the end. That was... indeed sad, especially since I got attached to Meiya so much.

Don't worry, she will have her moments in Alternative. If only...

As for this thread, I'm ok with renaming it to ''your favorite eroge games and discussion'' kinda name. And if someone gets into discussion about particular title too much, he/she can always create a new topic with it's name and continue there.

[Wrath88]

A bit late after I played it, but I enjoyed AXL's Itoshii Kanojo no Mamorikata. It starts off sounding like a Bakatest-borrowed scenario (competition between classes for better amenities), but it has its own unique setting that I really like.

On a side note, the backlog in that game allows you to skip to any part within it.

[grylsyjaeger]

Originally Posted by Crimson Cloud

Ugh, Unlimited was awesome until the end. That was... indeed sad, especially since I got attached to Meiya so much.

Don't worry, she will have her moments in Alternative. If only...

Well I have to say "shit just got real" in Alternative.

Spoiler:

Takeru just got taken out by the BETA who attacked the proving grounds and Marino was trying to comfort him...

It really is on a completely different level to any other VN's I've played.

I always thought I'd say Ever17 was my favourite but Alternative is just so bloody good.

I know when I do finish it, I'll be sad to see the end of it...

[Crimrui]

Originally Posted by fallschirmjager

Well I have to say "shit just got real" in Alternative.

It really is on a completely different level to any other VN's I've played.

I always thought I'd say Ever17 was my favorite but Alternative is just so bloody good.

I know when I do finish it, I'll be sad to see the end of it...

Yeah, I know the feeling. Well, I was sad in more ways then one.

If you know Japanese and if you feel like hanging with the characters again, you can give Altered Fable a try. People say it's like an alternative version of Extra and many didn't like it, but I still think that it's a worthy ride. And of course, don't miss the Total Eclipse anime that is in the making.