Jump to content
  • entries
    772
  • comments
    1841
  • views
    568078

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

Kikaijikake no Eve: Better than its concept

I'll start out saying this. The primary reason I hadn't played this up until now was because the concept just sounded so silly on paper, no matter how many times I read it. I mean, making sex toys as a gameplay element? Seriously? However, I don't regret playing this game in any sense of the word, and it escapes being a nukige despite the concept. First, the gameplay... There are two major aspects to the gameplay, a phase where you research and make sex toys as well as other daily activi
Clephas

Clephas

2

Draculius Characters

Ogishima (Brandole) Jun The son of Id Brandole and Yukari of the Ogishima family.  He was raised as a human by his mother, who sealed his vampiric nature on a regular basis since early childhood.  While he seems mild-mannered on the surface, he has an incredible capacity for rage and ruthlessness in defense of those he considers family.  He is highly intelligent, even brilliant.  At the beginning of the story, Belche arrives to inform him that, if she thinks he is fit to rule, he will take
Clephas

Clephas

0

Wizards Complex

Hmm... I could say a lot about this VN... NOT. To be honest, this VN is a perfect example of how a VN can have a decent concept, a decent staff, good art, good music, and an interesting (if derivative, at this point) setting... and fall flat on the details. Wizard's Complex is a fantasy VN, based in a future where magic and magic technology have become an accepted part of life (this is a setting type first done effectively in Suzunone Seven by Clochette).  In this world, all magic user
Clephas

Clephas

0

Random VN: Silverio Trinity

In preparation for the release of the Silverio series' conclusion, Silverio Ragnarok, next month, I decided to replay Silverio Trinity, one of my favorite chuunige.  First, I should note that I consider the Silverio series to be one of the three most well-designed VN settings in existence.  One is Eushully's Dir Lifyna, the other being the Nasuverse (Type-Moon's Fate and Tsukihime universe).  In terms of details, unique aspects, and generally fascinating fun, they all have their high points.  Di
Clephas

Clephas

2

Thoughts on Tokyo Babel (a summary after my fifth playthrough)

First, as I state in the title, I'm coming off my fifth playthrough (all paths and endings) of Tokyo Babel.  As such, I am - very obviously - deeply fond of the game.  I'm also a fan of the writer Higashide Yuuichirou (for reference, he also wrote Ayakashibito and the scenario for Fate/Apocrypha).  However, in this post I wanted to address some of the complaints I get from those who play the game.  First, I will address the major complaints I've taken personally from those who read or have
Clephas

Clephas

2

Love, Vampire Flowers Part 1

Love, Vampire Flowers was one of the VNs I have been looking forward to, if only because Lovesick Puppies (by the same company) was such a hidden gem at the time. I won't say this approaches Lovesick Puppies for impact, because it doesn't. In comparison, it begins much more slowly and the problems tend to be more of the 'classic charage' type (well, the heroines' ones anyway). The big draw of this is that the protagonist is about as psychologically mature as you could hope for from a 'good g
Clephas

Clephas

2

The relativity of inconvenience

One of the things I've experienced more and more in the last decade as a part of 'the generation gap' is a difference between our interpretations of the word 'inconvenience', especially when it comes to games and devices. Understand, when I say 'inconvenience', it generally means 'it doesn't have the functions I find useful'.  When I talk to people who were born after the year 2000, it is almost always 'too many functions I don't know how to use/are not intuitive to me'.  Perhaps the m
Clephas

Clephas

4

Blade x Bullet - Kinrin no Soleil

Blade x Bullet is the latest in the Soleil series (search my blog, I played all but the most recent previous entry in a marathon a few months ago).  This series is based off of a series of parallel worlds that proceeded from the end of Ragnarok, the last battle of the Norse gods.  Some of those worlds are similar to our own, others are of a greater technology, and others are worlds of magic.  The world in this VN is in the midst of its own apocalypse, mechanical monsters from the sky invulnerabl
Clephas

Clephas

0

Random VN: Zero Infinity - Devil of Maxwell

I've been saving a replay of this VN for years.  My original opinion on this VN was excessively influenced by the fact that this VN is filled to the brim with Masada and Dies Irae worship.  However, it is also the VN that, separate from that, defined the second Light team's style.  The base character archetypes, roles, and numerous aspects of their settings were almost universally drawn from Dies Irae, if you strip away the specifics.  This is the biggest reason I had so much trouble properly ra
Clephas

Clephas

0

A preview of the first quarter, 2018

I felt like giving a you all a preview of the first quarter of 2018, after reading this blog post: I generally choose to refrain from posts like this that cover the future of an entire year, but I feel that I have a good grasp on what is coming out over the next three months that is worth paying attention to, based on my own experiences. Grisaia Phantom Trigger Vol. 4 This is something to look forward to for anyone who has liked this series so far... more assassin action based in
Clephas

Clephas

6

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
Clephas

Clephas

0

Chrono Belt

Why should you play Chrono Belt, fans of Ayakashibito and Bullet Butlers? This is your reason. Do you really need another? But seriously, this fight is told entirely from Kuki's point of view, and as a result it is suitably awesome. Rather than doing it in order, I went ahead and did the Kuki-viewpoint segment first solely so I could re-experience the awesomeness that is Kuki Youkou. Anyway, Chrono Belt isn't so much a fandisc as a true-ending crossover of both games. Basically,
Clephas

Clephas

0

Monobeno Happy End part 2: Alice, Natsuha, and a few thoughts

I'm not going to go into detail like I did with Sumi's path, if only because my love for youkai isn't fulfilled to the same degree in Alice's or Natsuha's paths as it was in that one. Also, another reason is that the progression for both is far less dramatic than it is with Sumi's path. In Alice's case, the actual events leading up to the end of the main story are really dark and sad, and the path itself tends to be quite a bit more gloomy than the other two. In exchange, there is a lot mor
Clephas

Clephas

1

Revival Posts: Izumo and Miagete Goran, Yozora no Hoshi wo

Thanks to Zenophilious for showing me the internet cache so I wouldn't have to revive the posts by rewriting them.   Izumo 4 First, an introduction to Izumo the series.  This is just based on various scenario outlines and reviews I read (I haven't actually played any of the Izumo games before this one), but it is basically a simple rpg/VN hybrid series that involves the kami of Shinto myth in an older-style chuuni gakuen fantasy setup.  My interest in the series originate
Clephas

Clephas

0

The June 2017 releases

I am bored, so I figured I would note the non-nukige VNs scheduled to come out on PC at the end of the month, for those who are interested. Ojou-sama wa Sunao ni Narenai - This game looks to be the first serious title by Ensemble in some time (since Gokigen Naname), just going by the descriptions of the situation and the protagonist.  While the setup is definitely a twist on the Shugotate theme (sans cross-dressing), it is nonetheless one of the two games I'm seriously looking forward to fr
Clephas

Clephas

7

Wow, what the heck is this...

... something to look forward to.  Amatsutsumi is nothing like what I thought it would be, in a good way (at least from my point of view).  Purple Soft really has been going off in weird directions with their last three non-FD titles... Hapymaher was a kamige, Chrono Clock was good... this one could go either way, but the beginning is pretty fascinating (in the way watching a car crash is fascinating from the outside). 
Clephas

Clephas

4

Deciding the VN I WILL play this month

I haven't decided which of these VNs I will play this month, but I thought I'd let yall in on my thought processes. Basic Impressions (based off of previews, official pages, and Getchu pages) Hamidashi Creative- This looks like a solid charage, just from the way they actually decided to handle the intros. https://vndb.org/v27449/chars?view=2S-7Nx23xHY#chars 1) No protagonist intro- Speaking from experience, when the protagonist doesn't even have a brief introduction on the officia
Clephas

Clephas

2
VNs

Magatsu Barai: Story

First, I should note that this game suffers from what are likely budget constraints.  I say this because some of the VA choices are... questionable.  Ragou's VA in particular is something of a disaster, with a discordant mismatch between the voice and the characterization.  This stands out even more because other choices like Kaen and Diran's male VAs are actually really awesome matches.   I failed to properly articulate what the music in this game resembles at most sometimes... and that wo
Clephas

Clephas in VNs

1

For Those Who are Interested

From now on, in addition to my forum posts, I will be posting my VN of the Month and Random VN posts here, as well as occasional generalized comments on trends in VNs and the Western VN world in general. Feel free to comment and argue with me, as I welcome constructive (emphasis on that) criticism (in other words, commenting just to be a troll is not welcome). If you feel that my comments on a particular VN don't fit your impression of it, feel free to write a rebuttal in the comments.
Clephas

Clephas

3

Signalist Stars and VN of the Month, October 2016

Signalist Stars came at me from out of left field, smashing me across the face with a spike grenade.   I literally wasn't expecting anything from this VN, as my recent experiences with new companies have left me unwilling to hope for better.  This VN does, in my mind, fall into the charage genre, but it does it so well that I was left a bit stunned.  Signalist Stars is based in a city where people who have a burning passion are encouraged to pursue it, regardless of what it is.  In this cit
Clephas

Clephas

1

Random VNs: Tsuyokiss Full Edition (part of my Tsuyokiss marathon)

First, I should explain the differences between this version and the original.  The endings and part of the story are extracted from the PS2 version, which got generally higher ratings than the original PC version, and paths from the Minikiss fandisc were added on (including Konoe Sunao's route), making the game as a whole feel more complete.  This basically means that this is the definitive version of the VN and you should really play this one if you want to play Tsuyokiss. Second, I bring
Clephas

Clephas

0

Shuffle! Essence +

Shuffle Essence! + is the definitive version of Shuffle, which was originally released in 2004.  Shuffle was also the first game where Agobarrier, the now-deceased writer of the Tiny Dungeon series, made a claim to fame.  First, I should note that I originally played Shuffle in English and was not in any way satisfied with the results.  My primary reasons were the low quality of the localization (though it was better than what MG had done up to that point) and certain differences with the a
Clephas

Clephas

0

Nekotsuku, Sakura

*pukes a river of sugar* *wipes his mouth clean* Ok, I'm better.  This game is very much what you would expect if you came in knowing nothing of Lump of Sugar's past works and only knew the name of the company itself.  It is sugary sweet, adorable, and generally interminable to someone who likes a nice balance between the cuteness and ichaicha and other aspects of a VN. That's not to say it doesn't have good points... the common route is pretty funny, if you are a cat lover, and I
Clephas

Clephas

1
Japanese literature

Web Novel Review: Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou

Some people may have seen the relatively low-quality anime for Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou and are probably wondering why I am bothering to spout about this.  Lately I've been plowing through LNs and web novels because I ran out of interesting VNs, but this is the first one I feel a need to expound on at length.  Let's be clear, I am one of the freaks who enjoyed the anime, though I did so while wincing constantly at the animators' choices and the horrible monster CGs.  To me, Hajime's
Clephas

Clephas in Japanese literature

5

Hapymaher Character Special: Talking about the Protagonist

Naitou Tohru is the protagonist of Hapymaher and the character whose viewpoint you share for about 85% of the VN.  He is a character whose personality and situation are defined by a sense of loss and guilt so painful, it has literally driven him to the brink of insanity.  Oddly enough, the thing I find most admirable about him is the fact that is self-aware enough to actually rely on someone (most of the time) when he is at his limits and outside his specialty (which is altering/controlling his
Clephas

Clephas

0
×
×
  • Create New...