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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

Tamayura Mirai

Tamayura Mirai is the latest game by Azurite, the company behind Shinsou Noise and Akumade Kore wa.  Unlike the previous two, it is not a guro mystery.  Instead, it is a fantasy with an extremely similar setting to Monobeno (which had a great setting, even if the lolicon elements were outright disgusting).  It also shares a writer (Touta) with such excellent games as Kin'iro Loveriche, Floral Flowlove, Gin'iro Haruka, and Ojousama wa Gokigen Naname.   Before I go any further, I want to spea
Clephas

Clephas

0

Taking a short break (by my standards)

I'm delaying playing through anymore VNs until at least Saturday, mostly because I realized my fatigue was reaching its peak.  The reason why I realized this was fairly simple... I wasn't enjoying the bloody scenes in Sen no Hatou, which is highly unnatural for me.  Normally, I would have been on a blood high after that first scene, but after replaying Evolimit, I was a bit glutted on battle scenes.  As such, I came to the conclusion that I can't fairly assess Sen no Hatou at the moment.  Also,
Clephas

Clephas

3

Sumire

Wow. This is definitely a case of not being able to judge a book by its cover... or by its summary, either. I don't think I've encountered a VN with as much emotional impact as this one since Houkago no Futekikakusha, last summer. Sumire is by Nekoneko Soft, one of the oldest existing VN brands... They are one of the 'founding names' of the moege umbrella genre, while also producing more serious works through their subsidiaries, such as Cotton Soft (of Reconquista and Owaru Sekai to Birthday
Clephas

Clephas

3

Suki to Suki to de Sankaku Ren'ai

This VN is pretty straightforward.  It is a comedy charage with about 90% of the emphasis focused on the comedic aspects.  What about the romance?  At its best, it is a bare bones generic type, constantly interrupted by jokes that break the mood (deliberately).  What about the story?  Irrelevant to nonexistent. This is a VN where you get almost all the enjoyment out of the comedic aspects and character interactions.  Even if I were to compare this to the 'average' charage, the romance would
Clephas

Clephas

1

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

Clephas

8

Studio Ryokucha

Since I decided to go back and play two of their old games, I thought I'd explain my experiences with this company. Studio Ryokucha, like many older charage/moege companies, tends to produce two types of games... the standard 'empty candy' charage where there is no central plot to deal with, and the 'candy with filling' type, where there is a central story/plot that serves as the backbone of the game.   To be blunt, their 'empty candy' charage are second-rate at best, due to their tendency
Clephas

Clephas

0

Stubbornness and Burnout

For those familiar with me, you know I spent year after year doing VN of the Month and that I ritualistically complained about how tired I was of this or that trope or bad habit that plagued the industry or games.  I was asked repeatedly why I could still plow through so many VNs, despite the stress?  The simple answer is that I have always been stubborn as hell.  I've experienced 'burnout' numerous times in my life, mostly because I have a naturally obsessive personality.  Once I start obsessin
Clephas

Clephas

3

Steam: Silverio Trinity append stories

A few weeks ago, I picked up the Steam versions of Silverio Vendetta and Silverio Trinity.  My reasons in the latter case were pretty self-explanatory... I wanted to read the append after story that Light so cavalierly and cruelly only included with the all-ages version previously only available on the Vita.  Considering that the after story append serves as a bridge between Trinity and Ragnarok, as well as giving you what amounts to a four to five hour extension to the true route... I can say i
Clephas

Clephas

4

Spiral!!

Spiral is the latest game from Navel, the company responsible for Shuffle and Tsuriotsu.  This is also based in the same world as Shuffle, albeit a generation later (which is suitable, seeing as it has been almost a generation since the original Shuffle was released).  For those who aren't aware of this fact, the original writer of Shuffle, Agobarrier, died a back in 2016, and it is perhaps inevitable that the world he created would end up looking a lot different once someone else took over comp
Clephas

Clephas

4

Soreyori no Prologue part 2: Mayura and Touwa

Mayura Mayura is the second of the two secondary heroines... the protagonist's osananajimi who, predictably enough, has hidden her love for him since childhood (*pukes sand*). Anyway, having gotten my Minori complaints out of the way in previous posts, I won't bore you further with this. Mayura's route is your basic 'genki osananajimi' route combined with Minori's love of excessive drama. There are plenty of hard-hitting moments, that I'm sure that romance lovers will follow with excitement.
Clephas

Clephas

6

Soreyori no Prologue part 1: Common and Haruka

First, for those who haven't already read it, these are my thoughts on Minori: http://forums.fuwanovel.net/index.php?/blog/46/entry-341-clephass-rave-minori-vns-and-why-i-dislike-them/ Read that if you want to know where I'm coming from when I talk about Minori, because I don't like repeating myself, unless it is to brainwash people into playing Dies Irae. Common Route I'm going to come out and say this... this is a typical Minori common route. It feels like every other Minori game (ot
Clephas

Clephas

0

Sorcery Jokers: It surprised Clephas, will it surprise you?

First, I'll give you a quick run-down on this game... it is a game by 3rd Eye, a company known mostly for producing chuunige that are more moe-influenced than is the norm. This game is actually more of a mystery/chuuni/action/conspiracy type than a 'pure' chuunige. The world in which it is based is a future where, ten years before the story began, magic appeared on the scene. Large numbers of people became capable of using magic, and a new branch of science was built up solely for the purpose
Clephas

Clephas

2

Sorceress Alive

Originally, when this game came out, I bought it, played the first part of the prologue, facepalmed over the protagonist's actions, then dropped it.  I still don't think that choice was a mistake, even now.  That's not to say this is not an excellent game (it is), but the fact is that Kouki being a total doofus at times is annoying as hell.  This game is split into two parts, Sorceress and Alive.  The two parts have significantly different story progression and outcomes, and it would be saf
Clephas

Clephas

1

Sora no Tsukurikata part two: Second Arc and Yurika

The second arc of this story is focused narrowly on the aftermath of the first arc and Yurika.  Yurika is a rare type in VNs these days... a sexy adult woman who isn't another man's wife or widow (yes, I went there).  She is a member of the 'Virgin of Chains', the more 'peaceful' of the two mafia groups dominating the area.  She is the protagonist's friend, occasional partner, drinking buddy, and sex friend.  She has a somewhat nihilistic attitude toward life and an absolute love of te
Clephas

Clephas

0

Sora no Tsukurikata part three: Third Arc and Noa

The third arc of this story focuses on the homonculus, Noa. Noa is a homonculus made by an old alchemist named Kagari, who dwells atop the hill overlooking the city.  She is the game's resident loli, a sweet, slow-speaking, kind-hearted girl who raises vegetables as something of a cross between her lifework and a hobby.  Naturally, like most characters of her type, she is widely loved by the game's characters. The third arc and Noa's path pursue knowledge of Noa's past, her nature as a
Clephas

Clephas

0

Sora no Tsukurikata Part one: First Arc, Kazuha route

As I began this VN, I decided to change my approach to how I would handle it.  My dislike of ladder-style story structures will probably cause me to go berserk when I finish the final (Haru's) route, but for now, I'm going to evaluate the story based on each arc and its associated heroine route, ignoring the VN as a whole until I've gone through the final route. Now, the protagonist of this story is a pretty archetypical character... a PI who has been scarred and run down by life living in
Clephas

Clephas

0

Sora no Tsukurikata Final: Final Arc, Haru route

Surprisingly enough, Sora no Tsukurikata has managed to avoid driving me insane with rage.  *pauses for the gasps of shock and the screeches of terror from the audience* In the end, this VN managed to mostly avoid the violence you would see in most VNs with mafia members as main characters, and it did so without going down the 'total moe-moe' route that most VN writers would have chosen in the same case.  Haru is the main heroine of the game, but her route doesn't relegate the other he
Clephas

Clephas

0

Sora no Baroque

For various reasons, this is one of the rare occasions when I didn't aggressively look forward to a Light game. The first reason is that the setting/story descriptions in the Getchu and homepages were vague and of no real use.  The second was that a crossover was announced between this and Nemurenu (the recent Clock-up title with Kurashiki as the writer) recently.  The artist for this game (at least the character design, anyway) is Ueda Metawo, the artist from Gore Screaming Show, Mind
Clephas

Clephas

0

Something to keep in mind: Why my perspective is different than yours

One thing I've noticed over the last seven years is that people frequently have subtly different opinions than I do, and I get asked frequently how I can play so many moege/charage despite the fact that it isn't my preferred genre.  The answer is relatively simple... I read about 20 times faster than most of the rest of you - with the exception of a few bibliophiles.  What is a true chore, taking up tens of hours for you, might very well only be a short eight to ten hours for me.  Reading t
Clephas

Clephas

9

Some thoughts: A few Months later

It has been almost six months since I ceased VN of the Month.  I can say now that while I do, surprisingly, miss some aspects of that particular column, the freedom giving it up has granted me is far greater compensation.  When I was doing VN of the Month, I was literally the only person commenting on most of the non-nukige VNs in a given month.  I was driven by a sense of obligation to those who read my blog to continue regardless of what it was doing to me and my life, and I can say now t
Clephas

Clephas

3
VNs

Some thoughts on Dir'Lifyna (Eushully)

Eushully has been, for the past quarter century, one of the constants of the VN cosmos.  Why?  Because, with their first game Ikusa Megami, they struck gold in terms of setting design.  Eroge VN/RPG's have created some seriously odd results and synergies over the past quarter century.  The company that most embodies that is Eushully and the setting that embodies it is Dir'Lifyna, the world of the Ikusa Megami series and Kamidori Alchemy Meister.    There are lots of arguments as to why the
Clephas

Clephas in VNs

0

Some thoughts on Digination and its subsidiaries

As I'm currently playing Sorceress Alive and have played numerous Digination games in recent years, I thought I'd talk about my thoughts on the company and its subsidiaries.  My first thought is that the company is both aggressively pushing the current boundaries of the industry fanbase while also regressing into an older time.  When I first expressed this thought to a friend of mine, he asked me if I was crazy... but this is how I explained my thoughts to him. While charage/moege have
Clephas

Clephas

0

Some thoughts on Charage/moege (positive this time)

Understand, I'm not a huge fan of the moege and charage umbrella genres.  This is something I'm sure anyone who reads this blog is already well-aware of (to the point of exasperation in some cases) and at this point, it isn't something I need to reemphasize.  However, I've noticed that I've never really mentioned what I do like about moege/charage and their positive elements...  and I thought I'd go ahead and put that down here.   1. Charage do make decent breaks from my workday, as they
Clephas

Clephas

3

Some thoughts and an update

I'm guessing some of those that follow my blog are wondering why I haven't started up any random VNs this month... there are a number of reasons. 1) I'm busy.  I have my work, with an addition of university, which takes up about 80% of my time, save for a few days like today when I have time to rest and relax. 2) I simply don't have an appreciation for anything in my backlog right now.  I cleared out most of the most interesting stuff over the last two years, and I'm keeping what little is left
Clephas

Clephas

0

Some explanations about my current state

Some people here already know that I hurt my knee falling down the stairs a while ago... what most of you don't know is that the stuff they have me on (non-narcotic pain drugs, sleep pills, and antibiotics) in combination make me a zombie for most of the day... I sleep around twelve hours a day, am fuzzy for two to three hours more, have to do rehab exercises for another two hours, and I spend around four hours of what is remaining working.  Needless to say, this doesn't leave much time for
Clephas

Clephas

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