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About this blog

This is a series of condensed articles from my main Blog.

Reviews, News and Analysis are my specialty and will be updated weekly on the main site followed by here.

Entries in this blog

Review

The Grisaia Trilogy Review – Fruits of Many Flavours

This is a condensed version of the full review which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   Genre - Romance, Action, Drama    Play Time - 100+ hours    Developer - Frontwing    VNDB    Steam   The Blind Leading The Blind   Reflecting a character’s flaws back onto them through their interactions with the heroines has long been a core of the visual novel narrative design. However, few showcase the power of this approach quite like the Grisaia trilogy which takes it as f
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Pallas_Raven in Review

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Analysis

Yaoi – Genre Deep Dive

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   Love In All Its Forms   As a genre Yaoi has an interesting kinship with masculinity which leads it down some distinctive narrative pathways. In many ways it is a mirror of its stable-mate Yuri since it also has the two extremes of commercialisation and thoughtful representation. Much of the genre’s output tends to be aimed at a female audience with the characters and relationships setti
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Pallas_Raven in Analysis

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Review

Café Stella and the Reapers' Butterflies Review - A Cup of Coffee And The Souls of The Dead

This is a condensed version of the full review which can be found on my Main Blog HERE. Genre – Slice of Life, Romance. Playtime – 40 hours. Developer – Yuzusoft. Publisher – NekoNyan and Hikari Field. VNDB A Second Chance   Dying is never pleasant, especially when you have lingering regrets. Takamine Kousei’s death is as sudden as his life was unremarkable and in his final moment he wishes his life could have been more. However, this is not the end for Kousei as he finds hims
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Pallas_Raven in Review

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Analysis

The Common Route – An Anatomy of Visual Novels

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   In The Beginning    If there is one structural element which is used by most visual novels it is the Common Route. This linear opening section contains the choices which decide the route you will be sent on as well as providing world and character building setup so that the routes can focus on their specific hero/heroine. They are so ubiquitous with visual novels that even those who are
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Pallas_Raven in Analysis

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Review

Heaven Will Be Mine – Review - Clashing Steel And Warming Hearts

This is a condensed version of the full review which can be found on my Main Blog Here. Genre – Sci-fi, Mecha, LGBTQ+.    Play Time – 8 hours.   Developer - Pillow Fight Games.   Steam   VNDB   Finding Heaven   There is a certain beauty to the simple impulse to say, “Wow that is so cool”. It is a short phrase filled with an innocent emotion many of us lose as we get older and the realities of life turn everything into a grey soup. An adult is meant to be mature and sensi
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Pallas_Raven in Review

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Analysis

Hello Lady! Analysis (Spoilers) – Pieces of Potential

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here. Academic Subterfuge   The English release of Hello Lady is a game in a strange situation. Being a translation of the Complete Edition, it is effectively three games tied into one which leads to some interest quirks. I knew that I would have to play the game since I enjoyed one of the developers previous works, Coμ. Coμ was a flawed but entertaining game and it is with these expectations I when
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Pallas_Raven in Analysis

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Review

Lamunation! Review - It's A Mad And Brilliantly Shining World

This is a condensed version of the full review which can be found on my Main Blog Here. Genre - Comedy.   Play Time - 15 hours.   Developer - WhitePowder   Steam   VNDB   Always Be Happy!   Most visual novels use comedy in some form, be it a joke to break tension or a scene to make the player empathise with the characters, but few commit to it as the single focus of their identity. This is for a good reason, humour is subjective and as such making a comedy game with a wi
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Pallas_Raven in Review

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Review

Sunrider 4: The Captain’s Return Review – A Glorious Return?

This is a condensed version of the full review which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   Genre – Sci-fi, Action, Mecha    Play Time - 22 hours    Developer – Love In Space   Steam   Return From Exile   A fall from grace changes a man and exile from all he has ever known can break him. Such is the state of Kayto Shields as the curtain rises on the fourth game in the Sunrider series. This is the tale of how he pulls himself up from the pit he has fallen into, but thi
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Pallas_Raven in Review

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Analysis

Enforced Play Order – An Anatomy of Visual Novels

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   Directions From On High   The player is a wild and chaotic beast prone to doing what you least expect and are both the joy and bane of developers. This is especially true for any game which focuses on narrative as its core element since there is no guarantee the player will experience the story in the way the designers intended and even more so if there is any form of freedom offered.
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Comedy VNs – Genre Deep Dive

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   I Laugh, You Laugh, We All Laugh   Making people laugh is a particular talent and more than any other it is dramatically effected by the medium it is presented through. Stand up comedy and visual novel humour might share a similar desire to entertain but they could not be further apart in terms of how they reach that goal. The unique set of tools available to visual novels has led to a
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Pallas_Raven in Analysis

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Polyamorous Endings – An Anatomy Of Visual Novels

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   A Relationship With Many Sides   When it comes to relationships most forms of media present monogamous pairings as the normal and rarely explore beyond this line of thinking and when they do the presentation of the opposite extreme is generally negative. Enter the visual novel, here is a space where polyamorous relationships are given an equal examination to their more traditional peers
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Space Sci-fi – Genre Deep Dive

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   Breaking Through The Firmament   When looking up at the stars how can one not be filled with a sense of wonder? Since humans first stood upright we have told stories about what lies in the expanse above our heads. In the past this would have been the realm of gods and mythical creatures, but, now that people can reach it, the tales have shifted into the subject of today’s article, space
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Review

Death End Request 2 Review – Glitching Our Way Into True Fear

This is a condensed version of the full review which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   Genre – JRPG, Horror, Mystery     Play Time – 16 hours     Developer – Compile Heart/Idea Factory    Steam     VNDB   Hack The World   There are two ways to make a squeal, either you stick close to what was established in the first game and provide more of the same or you take the basic ideas of that original title and reinvent them in a new form. Death End Request 2 takes the
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Pallas_Raven in Review

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Analysis

Timed Choices – An Anatomy of Visual Novels

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   Under Pressure   As a medium visual novels lack many ways to get the player to make split second decisions and one of the few they do have is the Timed Choice. These are as simple as they sound, the player is presented with a normal choice but must consider and act on it under the pressure of a time limit. Some games show the timer ticking down while others merely state that the clock i
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Analysis

Dark Fantasy – Genre Deep Dive

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.     The Dark Night Of The Soul   Dealing with the parts of human nature we would rather not look at can be difficult to fit into many genres due to audience expectations for heroic tales. As such if a story wants to tackle these subjects it needs to build its entire world and tone around them, thus was born the Dark Fantasy. This genre takes its fantastical elements and uses them to c
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Pallas_Raven in Analysis

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Achievements – An Anatomy Of Visual Novels

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   The Completionist Drive   It is human nature to want to be rewarded for our accomplishments hence why people are so happy to get a bit of paper at the end of a university course. Games love to tap into this emotional response through Achievements and visual novels are no exception. Achievements are generally used as both a system of rewarding the player and a means of encouraging them t
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Analysis

SRPG – Uncovering The VN Hybrid

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   Mixing Words And Chess   If you want gameplay that mixes the grand feeling of strategy while still maintaining a strong character focus then the SRPG is generally the way to go. Hence why visual novel developers find this style mechanics appealing and select it to form a hybrid with in order to compliment the visual novel's narrative tone. Here the SRPG will be defined as a strategy gam
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Analysis

Multiple Title Screens – An Anatomy Of Visual Novels

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here. The Many Faces We Wear   Upon booting up a visual novel, the first thing the player will see is the main menu. Over the course of their play time they will pass through it countless times and come to memorise its details. As such altering this key feature will immediately be noticed by the player and the more dramatic the change, the greater this impact will be. A wide variety of visual novels
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Pallas_Raven in Analysis

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Science Fantasy – Genre Deep Dive

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   Of Robots And Sorcerers   At first glance sci-fi and fantasy might seem incompatible with one another since the first focuses on extrapolations of concepts from our scientific present while the other deals with impossible events and powers. However, behind these differences they share a common desire to explore the nature of humanity through situations as distant as possible from our e
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Pallas_Raven in Analysis

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Analysis

The Skip Button – An Anatomy of Visual Novels

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   Pressing Fast Forward   A simple feature like a Skip Button might seem too minor to be worth covering in any detail, after all most visual novels have one so they must be a normal part of them, right? It is only when it is taken away that its impact, both on how the player interacts with the game and their perception of it, becomes clear. Presenting the option to skip content is always
Analysis

Dating Sims – Uncovering The VN Hybrid

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   Making Yourself Desirable   Many outside the visual novel space often make the mistake of referring to romance visual novels as Dating Sims and at a glance it is easy to see why given their shared focus on pursuing a chosen heroine or hero. The two types of game have had a long and connected history with Dating Sims utilising visual novel elements to sell their story sections and buildi
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Pallas_Raven in Analysis

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Apocalypse – Genre Deep Dive

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   Until There Is Nothing Left   As a species we have a strange obsession with the inevitable demise of everything we have built in the face of sudden and uncontrollable disasters. There is a kind of catharsis at seeing this scenario play out in a fictional setting and witnessing how the characters attempt to adapt to the end of the world as they know it. This genre of Apocalypse stories c
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Pallas_Raven in Analysis

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Save Systems – An Anatomy of Visual Novels

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   Recording Your Progress   Almost every game has some form of system by which the player can save their progress since a developer cannot expect them to complete the title in one sitting. How this manifests varies wildly from the freedom to save as many times as the player wants to a single save slot only available at designated intervals to an autosave system out of the player’s hands.
Analysis

The Bad Ending – An Anatomy of Visual Novels

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   When Everything Goes Wrong   A good story is often defined by its ending and a bad one can be redeemed by it. Visual novels are no exception to this rule and must contend with this opportunity multiple times over the course of the game. The most common form of endings used in visual novels are the Good and True Endings, but there are also some games which use Bad Endings. This kind of e
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NVL VS. ADV – An Anatomy of Visual Novels

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here.   For visual novels, the written word is their backbone and how it is presented to the player is key to controlling their tone and pacing. Over the years the methods of presentation have been standardised into two types, ADV (ADVenture) and NVL (NoVeL). These two have become the dominate styles and are often positioned as diametric opposites in what they set out to achieve. When a developer creates
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Pallas_Raven in Analysis

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