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I'll be blunt... despite appearances, this isn't a chuunige. It is a sort of cross between fantasy, science fantasy, and mystery. I'll just say that I wasn't impressed by it... if only because there were numerous technical failures throughout the game (think the kind of BGM random cut-offs you sometimes encounter in older games), and most of the story is shared by all the paths... the only difference is in the epilogue, h-scenes, and who dies and lives at the end. The protagonist is a former detective who is living in virtual exile in a walled-off city occupied by foreign military forces. It is pretty much a lawless city, where just about anything can happen... which would have been more interesting if so much of the VN hadn't been the protagonist being pushed around, unable to adapt to events. For those who start reading this VN... it isn't your imagination. There is very little 'conversation' in this VN, though there is a lot of talking back and forth. Almost no one in this VN listens when someone else speaks and half the characters are either deranged or seemingly senile. The protagonist has something resembling common sense... except when it fails solely to make the story move forward after endless scenes that were probably intended to get you to like the heroines and other characters but don't quite manage it. A few examples... Antonio the failed mafioso who forgets what he told someone five minutes later and can't follow instructions to save his life. His friend Mint who basically repeats what other people say and acts like a small child with the body of a man. Colossus, the sneak thief who got trapped in the city because he thought the ladder over the great wall was a way into a rich man's house... it goes on and on. The number of people that are incapable of listening in this VN made me want to pound my head on a wall. If it were just one or two, it would have been funny... but almost every character in this VN shows signs of this quality at one point or another. It might sound funny but it quickly begins to wear on your nerves when you realize the conversations never go anywhere and there isn't a punchline. The mystery of this VN is revealed in bits and pieces along the way... but by the time you start getting an outline of what is going on, you've most likely grown to hate the entire cast of characters. There are some scenes near the end that are definitely intended to be emotional... but simply aren't because you haven't developed an attachment to them. The fact that this extends to the heroines to one extent or another only makes things worse. In the end, what am I trying to say? Don't play this VN unless you are a masochist... a really hard masochist. It really is painful to struggle through this mess.

I wrote yesterday about the Steam Greenlight campaign for Debonosu's Kagura Douchuuki, a rogue-like H-RPG. Read my article for coverage of the announcement and a first impression. As Steam doesn't allow adult content, this release will be censored, with all adult content removed. Kagura Douchuuki contains dozens of H-scenes, so the content removed will be considerable. By my estimation, more CG will be removed than left behind. The game's art will be thoroughly gutted. Not only will the game itself be butchered beyond recognition, but if left unchecked this sets a dangerous precedent for future English releases that cannot be ignored. If Japanese developers get the impression that Steam is the one and only venue for visual novels, this will be the first of many Steam-only releases of VNs that were originally ero-games. I've contacted both Debonosu and Sekai Project via Twitter, with no response. It's time to escalate this. For those who are opposed to Steam censorship of this title, here's what you can do. Go to Debonosu's twitter account (@debonosu) and tweet this message: 神楽道中記はエロシーンが取り除けたら、その利点を失くしてしまいます。神楽道中記の１８禁版も英語化してください！ If the ero scenes are removed from Kagura Douchuuki, the game will lose its main selling point. Please give us the 18+ version in English! If enough fans speak up, they might listen and also release the original 18+ version in partnership with an eroge publisher like Sekai Project, Mangagamer, or JAST USA. Edit: On a reader's suggestion, I changed the message to make more sense to a Japanese reader. The old message was: 言論弾圧には反対です。１８歳以上用版（英語訳）下さい！ I am opposed to censorship. Please give us the 18+ version (in English)!