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About this blog

This is a blog primarily focusing on but not limited to VNs.  It is primarily designed to express my opinion on otaku media (jrpgs, anime, manga, LNs, VNs, etc), individual VNs, and otaku community issues.   Most of the posts are related to my VN of the Month and Random VN columns, originally started in threads in the forums. 

As of March of 2017, I'm also looking for people to help with VN of the Month.

Entries in this blog

JRPG: Tales of Berseria

It has been a while since I bought a new jrpg and played it all the way through in under six months...  To be blunt, most new jrpgs just aren't worth finishing these days.  I gave up on Atelier shortly after Mana Khemia, Square hasn't produced anything interesting in ten years (for a story-addict), and most of the best old series are dead or in semi-permanent hiatus stasis.  Before this, I played Zestiria, and if you read my comments on it, I mostly liked it, though there were some aspects
Clephas

Clephas

5

Suisei Ginka

Suisei Ginka is the latest VN made by Akatsuki Works, the makers of such classic VNs as Ruitomo, Comyu, and Devils Devel Concept.  This was written by Morisaki Ryoto, the writer of multiple kamige including Hapymaher, Komorebi no Nostalgica (as an assistant writer), and Re:Birth Colony.  He is one of the most flexible and skilled writers out there, and I've yet to fail to enjoy a VN he's had a hand in. This VN is based in a port city half-owned by a company that caused a disastrous chemical
Clephas

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8

VN element: Slice-of-life

One of the single biggest elements of most VNs in existence is slice-of-life.  This entire post is based on this fact, and it isn't one that can seriously be argued against by anyone who has read more than a hundred VNs. So what is slice-of-life?  With VNs, it is a type of scene where bits and pieces of daily life, without any particular conflict, are portrayed.  These can be humorous, mildly touching, or informative.  So what is the value of slice-of-life as a tool for storytelling? 
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4

Random VNs: Otomimi Infinity

Why did I pick this game to play?  Because, when I went into Shugaten, I was actually wanting a bit of charage goodness.  So, it seriously pissed me off when I got a mindless loli moege.  As a result, I decided to pull out one of my favorite fetish games, Otomimi Infinity.  Otomimi Infinity is based on island in a world where beast-people and humans live side by side (it isn't mentioned often enough to reinforce this, but the beast-people were originally artificial creations).  On the islan
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5

Shugaten: Almost forgot

Sadly, I couldn't bring myself to finish this one... for a certain type of person (moe-addict plus lolicon) this is a heavenly game, but... it so boring for someone who actually wants some substance under the fluff.  This is one of those cases where there is no possibility whatsoever that an ending could justify me going through twelve hours of torture (four hours was enough for me to want to sell the game on Ebay...).  The biggest problem was the fact that there is no balance to the realit
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2

Ouka Sabaki: Some preliminary comments

Because I'm a mystery-hater, there is an even chance I'll drop this VN somewhere along the line, so I'll describe what those who are interested should look at when it comes to this game. For lovers of the Ace Attorney games who don't mind or like ero content, this game is looking to be an interesting one.  Each chapter has an evidence-gathering part, followed by a part where the protagonist and his allies (I say allies because several of them are backed by outside influences or are outright
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4

Random VNs: Ouzoku

For a lot of old fans, this is Softhouse Chara's defining masterpiece... and with good reason.  It has superb, complex gameplay that rewards careful forethought and strategic thinking and more than thirty unit types to play around with, running from common infantry to dragons.  It also has a solid story with decent storytelling (though, true to Softhouse Chara form, it isn't the focus of the game). First, I should say that the first time I played this game, I seriously screwed up in my earl
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VN of the Month January 2017

This month was almost a no-brainer... while there were some halfway-decent charage releases, there weren't any that made a significant impression.  I'm afraid I don't have time to read Giga's newest half-hearted-but-pretty-looking charage (work is busy) and I haven't actually played any VNs since i finished Ninki Seiyuu last week.  Silverio Trinity is VN of the Month January 2017.  Normally, I wouldn't name a sequel as VN of the Month, on principle.  However, in this case, the game itself w
Clephas

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4

Replaying VNs

I've been asked in the past many times, 'How can you replay VNs?' and 'Isn't that boring?'.  In fact, I get asked that a lot with my 'Random VNs' posts.  I thought I'd answer this question... Replaying VNs is a matter of passion.  To be blunt, if it is in a genre I don't like or hits my pet peeves too hard, I can't bring myself to replay it.  The fact is, VN experiences don't change through multiple playthroughs, and in this way they are much closer to a book than to the interactivity of ma
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0

Ninki Seiyuu no Tsukurikata

First, I should say that, left to my own devices, I would never have played this VN.  You ask me why?  It's because I avoid show-business themed VNs and anime like the plague.  If a rl friend hadn't begged me to try it, I would never have picked this VN up.  I should say that one thing I didn't like about this game is that it has a similar protagonist to the one from Aokana... a former talent in his field who gave up and ends up helping others 'rise to the occasion'.  To be honest, I loathe
Clephas

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0

Kanojo to Ore no Lovely Day

To be honest, Parasol is one of those companies I have extremely mixed feelings about.  Roughly half of the games I've played from them, i dropped before finishing out of frustration or boredom.  This company is primarily a charage maker, so this probably won't surprise a lot of the people who read this blog, lol.  That said, this game was a surprisingly good one, wiping away the foul taste left over from Hoshi Koi.  It also told me that I'd judged Hoshi Koi about as fairly as I ever do wit
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0

Hoshi Koi ＊ Twinkle

As a first effort from a new company, I didn't go in with any real expectations... and that was probably a good thing. To be blunt, this VN is one of those that keeps showing signs of promise then tripping itself up along the way.  It follows the pattern of 'charage with true endings', in that it has a central story that involves elements from the non-true heroine paths... unfortunately, the endings are a total write-off.  I'm not kidding.  I don't think I could have written a more frustrat
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2

Burned out

It's been a while since a single VN burned me out completely, but Silverio Trinity managed it.  That VN had many of the best elements of its predecessor, while being more balanced, having added unique soundtracks, and overall creating a mostly new experience that, while it didn't completely transcend the original, still managed to stand on the same plane. Unfortunately, it was a highly emotional experience, with a lot of excitement along the way... so I know I won't rate any VNs I play at t
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11

Random VNs: Shin Koihime Eiyuutan

Shin Koihime Eiyuutan is something of an alternate fandisc for Shin Koihime, including characters from the 'extra materials' that have come out over the years and a canon story flow from the original that seems to be based on Kazuto somehow being on all three sides at once during the wars (lol).  To be honest, for consistency, Moeshouden was much better, because it uses the Gaishi setting to explain everything, lol.  Having played all three, I can safely say that it is a very satisfying aft
Clephas

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7

JRPG: Tales of Zestiria [UPDATED/EDITED]

With Tales of Berseria coming out today, I pulled Zestiria out of my long backlog last week and began playing it.  I've been playing the Tales series since Tales of Destiny came out for the PSX in the nineties, and I've played most of the mainline series, though I regretted it in some cases.  To be blunt, Tales of Vesperia is still the last truly great Tales game, even after playing this one.  However, my conclusions will probably differ somewhat from the reviews out there on the net, which
Clephas

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1

Silverio Trinity Part two: Mistel Valentine, Rain Persephone, True

Mistel Valentine For those who have played Vendetta, look in the spoiler box for a small gift.  Anyway, Mistel is a Paladin of the Japan-worshiping Holy Country of Canterbury, which is based in the same region as Britain is today.  She is an older woman with a strong sense of compassion, her duty as a warrior in service to her faith and her country, and a lot of experience with the ups and downs of life.  As one of the three heroines, she shares one quality they all possess... a deep
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0

Silverio Trinity Part one: Common route and Aya Route

**** WARNING WARNING it is impossible to talk about Silverio Trinity without talking about the events of Silverio Vendetta, so this post is going to be full of spoilers.  Until and unless you have played Silverio Vendetta, do not under any circumstances read this post!!!!****               Silverio Trinity is based three years after the events in Vendetta's path in Silverio Vendetta, in the city of Prague.  The technology to make Esperanto warriors h
Clephas

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0

Venus Blood: Ragnarok

Yes, you were waiting for it, all you tentacle-loving freaks... this is the newest game in the Venus Blood series, as full of tentacles and sex-training as any of the others...  I come to you having finished the Law route and after being forced to go back a chapter in order to get to the Chaos route on my second playthrough (apparently you absolutely have to start the 'goddess insanity' chapter, by failing to complete one of the monster-hunting side-quests).  The gameplay will be familiar t
Clephas

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2

A Minor question

At present, I'm conflicted between playing Silverio Trinity, a VN I've been anticipating for quite some time, and continuing Tales of Berseria, which I'm enjoying immensely.  Right now, the balance of my thoughts is caught perfectly between the two, so I'd like yall to decide by tomorrow morning, lol.
Clephas

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2

Random VNs: Kono Sekai no Mukou de

Kono Sekai no Mukou de was the first game made by Orange Yell, and it is based in the same world as their second game, Sakura Nikagetsu.  This company is a low-budget maker that produces comedy/nakige (from the time between each release and the low budget, I'm guessing they are almost completely self-funded).  While they are nothing special visually or in terms of the audio, their games 'have heart' as some people put it. Kono Sekai starts out just after the protagonist, Asobu, discovers hi
Clephas

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VN of the Month December 2016

Before I announce the VN of the Month, I'm going to go ahead and apologize to those who wanted me to play Honoguraki... to be blunt, I don't have the energy for it.  Ragnarok sucked me dry, and I need to get away from undead and demons for a while.  Moreover, I hate zombies in the first place (so many reasons), so I'd be unlikely to give a pleasant review or comment anyway. Now... it is kind of startling how so many great games got packed into a single month.  December 2016 was a monster mo
Clephas

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0

Akiyume Kukuru

Akiyume Kukuru is the third (and possibly final) game in Sumikko's 'Seasons' meta-sci-fi series.  It centers around a group of five 'Holders', people genetically altered at the embryo stage to possess possibilities that don't otherwise exist in Earth's evolution using artificial DNA and RNA known as XNA.  These five people are individuals whose actions or abilities have made them a threat to society/the government/etc., and they have been exiled to Ruruan, a closed city in Hokkaido where a
Clephas

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December 2016: The remaining VNs

December was a month with a ridiculous number of highly-anticipated VN releases... and after having played three of them in such a short time, I felt a need to recall which ones I hadn't. Currently, I'm playing Shinsou Noise, which is a dark fantasy mystery written by the Liar-soft team and drawn by the Silky's Plus team (of Nanairo Reincarnation fame).  What remains after that that I planned to play is: Venus Blood Ragnarok (sequel in the 'main setting' of the series) Akiyum
Clephas

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3

Ou no Mimi ni Todokenai

Now, I've said this several times before, but AXL is a company that reuses its art, music, and character designs/features heavily.  As such, I rate their games solely based on plot/story and how those elements are used (in other words, jackasses who point out the somewhat dated art style and recycled music can go sodomize themselves with a pickle for all I care).  Unless you are a bigot who absolutely has to have the latest art styles, this shouldn't be something that bothers you anyway. Ou
Clephas

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1

Amenity's life (Well, I warned you) *shrugs*

Anyway, as I said in my previous post, I've never finished all of the routes of a Hook Soft game, despite their VNs being almost universally of relatively high-quality as charage go.  This one didn't turn out to be an exception, for the same reasons as all the others. It isn't a horrible VN.  In fact, for lovers of slice-of-life, cheap romance, and 'golden road' standard heroine routes, this VN is pure crack.  Unfortunately, the excess of any one of those elements without a good balance wit
Clephas

Clephas

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