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Visual Novel Translation Status (10/08/2016) Since image header from this week was from Higurashi, I think the book Tales of Tinfoil would be fitting for Higurashi there considering that the subtitle for real book was 'Stories of Paranoia and Conspiracy' and we knew enough that Higurashi was full of those two (The first 6 arcs arcs at least). As for Hinamizawa subtitle, obviously it was from the setting of Higurashi there. Anyway, this is another my VNTS Review obviously and I'll admit that I'd just find about Tinfoil book right now. As for Decay's musing, I'm very agree that Mangagamer update was more exciting than their announcement from last week. Other than Mangagamer, there's also good news from fan translated one in regard of Majokoi. So let me tell my opinion in regard of this week progress one by one. Oh, and still no progress from JAST by the way. Other Thanks to our new friend PhleBuster who also work as Fruitbat employee there, we got some juicy news in regard of the progress from Fruitbat Factory there. Admittedly I should list this back at Monday, but I missed that. So let me tried to write some of my thought here. There was some progress from the project that didn't had VNDB page like Lionheart which had 95% for both of translation and editing, Dungeon Girl which was 78% translated and 72% edited, and Acceleration of SUGURI 2 which was complete for both of translation and editing. Those 3 were more in line with game than Visual Novel, and for the gameplay Lionheart would be alike classic JRPG, Suguri was sone kind of bullet hell only with dueling instead of avoiding it (Maybe), and Dungeon Girl was more like Huniepop or Puzzle Quest if we talk about puzzle game with some RPG element there. From three games which were either completed or almost, only Dungeon Girl game that was picked my interest, while for the other two not so much. For visual novels project, they announced 2 VNs which had the progress (Enigma and Miniature Garden). As for Enigma, it was already completed the translation and for the next plan they'll release it at this winter, either late this year or early next year. Once again, the premise looks promising there, although I won't count on it for now. For Miniature Garden, they already started the translation there and they planning the release for Spring 2017 which could be at around March or if we follow Australia it'll be around September. While they write that they had good production from the art and seiyuu (The character design was quite good indeed), I would like to elaborate that Yazawa Nico (Love Live) seiyuu also voicing one of the character in this game. From the looks at VNDB, looks like it'll be quite a bad VN here but then again it's still too early to said that. Seven Days, apparently this game that XReaper tried to tell the news earlier here, and they had gathered around 4,2 million yen (US $ 42,000) while the goal was only at 2 million yen (US $ 20,000). My comment here the art was very good and apparently they'll had Steam release if they managed to bring it overseas. The reason was because there's Shimizu Ai as seiyuu and she used her real name here, while we also knew that she was voicing eroge characters (The seiyuu usually using alias if they work in an eroge as seiyuu) so it's safe to assume that this VN will be all age. As for more comment, I think the production value was very high for the VN which had target 20,000 gathered looking from seiyuu, and I think it kind of make sense because Fruitbat announced that they also handling the funding here (Outside crowdfunding). As for the news, they'll reveal more the closer this game released at Japan (2017) so it'll take a while there. This week we also had the progress from Libra, but too bad that the release will be pushed to May 2017 so no 2016 release there. As for the progress, they managed to finish 2 bonus routes here (Aoi's and Harem). Once again I would like to comment that those bonus route was quite short, and I think they could managed it first there (Although I far more interested to see the progress for the routes though). For the recap, the completed one was common routes, Calen's, Mari's, and those 2 bonus routes (Aoi's and Harem) there. I'll be waiting here if you ask my opinion in regard of delay. Sekai Project Seeing Libra release was pushed back to March, I think Chrono Clock release will definitely suffer delay there, more so if we looking at the progress not even reaching 40% mark yet (39.81%). Well, let's just waiting then in case this game will be delayed (Of course I hope there's no delay for Chrono Clock, but if there is couldn't be help there). As for the usual progress, they still did good job there albeit slowly (Tenshin Rahman was 57.14% translated and Maitetsu was at 39.71% translated). And this time they also add more of their project to their tracker there. One of them was Boku to Koisuru Ponkotsu Akuma (Too mouthful, so I'll just called it Bokukotsu) which announced back at AX and for the progress it was at 8.85% translated there. Apparently they also already had both of Tokeijikake and Saku Saku in QA this week, or maybe they're already did it from last weeks and I missed that. The most surprising news was from Wagahigh which the translation progress was very crazy bringing it to 73.54% translated (Granted, the last update was from a month ago, but still). And for last update here Ne No Kami Chapter 2 was 33.95% translated. They also had releases for Sakura series there, Sakura Maid 2 and Sakura Nova. Other than they made the sequel very fast for Sakura Maid (Less than 2 weeks or 12 days to be exact), my comment here would be whatever ie don't care. Fan Translation As for fan translation, they still give good progress there if we talk about usual one here. For more elaboration here, Bishoujo Mangekyou was 85% edited, 80% QC-ed, and 38% proofread; Tsui Yuri was 84% translated, 73% edited, and starting the QC there (1%); Loverable was at 18.06% translated, 3.26% TLC-ed, and somehow the editing progress was regressing to 1.29% there; and finally Majokoi was almost touching halfway mark translated (47.6% translated), 33.9% edited, and 16.2% TLC-ed. That's all for those who gave the update weekly here. For the unusual one there's Kanobito, and in regard of that there's some bad news that they'll put the translation project in hold because of some real llife issue there. Although at least the still gave the progress right now which at 27% translated. And one more news in regard of Arcadeotic new project, right now the translation was going albeit slowed down a bit because of exam. Also there's some news in regard of Ushieta which although they're still not give the concrete update, they stated that Airi's route was starting the editing process and the translation for both Kaori's and Nagisa's route was begin. Mangagamer They surely had so much progress there, and once again it's definitely excited compared to the letdown back at Atlanta last week. Let me list the update one by one here, but beforehand let me state that Himatsubushi was released at Friday. Once again I'm waiting for the modding patch here, maybe until Christmas. Suki Suki was at 92% for both translation and editing progress Maggot Bait translation was begin and it was translated at half percent Imopara 2 was 90% translated Go Go Nippon 2016 was finished for both of translation and editing, and will be scripting Rance 5D testing was completed while Rance VI about to do testing Nyuu Jene was about to finishing the beta testing Boukaku was 32% translated Hadaka Shitsuji was 28% retranslated Dal Segno was 66% translated Hapymaher was 51% translated and 32% edited Sorcery Joker was 52% translated and 40% edited Pygmalion was starting the scripting Evangile W was 62% translated and 42% edited Bokuten was still doing the porting Himawari was completing the testing Da Capo 3 was about to do the testing There's a lot of update there. First of all, congratulations for both of Hapymaher and Sorcery Joker for finally halfway translated. As for Decay's statement in regard of three weeks, it maybe true that there's some bigger jump in regard of the progress there. But I think it's still depending on the translator themselves if we want to determined of translation speed there. The example it was relative to the translator would be Naked Butler (Not that I care though, but this is perfect example), because I was take a look to the previous VNTS there and after doing some comparison the progress was pretty much very little with only 2% progress there (No excuse because I saw that they managed to had 3% progress in 2 weeks). Well, either way of course I'm still excited with the progress here. As for Himawari finishing the testing, I wonder if they'll releasing the demo or not. But maybe now that they finally finishing the testing, maybe it'll be out this year. About Da Capo 3, once again they preparing the demo, so it'll be out this year although it's still my guess though. Either way, at least the waiting for whoever wait for those two games should be almost over, especially for Decay who looking forward to Himawari release the most. If I may give the reason why I guess those two release for this year, the reason would be Mangagamer pattern from last year in which they release two big one both at November and December (euphoria and Gahktun respectively). So I guess that if they want to release two big title for this year it would be Himawari and Da Capo 3, considering that the progress for those two was already done (Himawari) or almost done (Da Capo 3). Keep in mind that once again it's my guess only. Oh, and I almost forgot about MYTH. From the looks it was quite good if we talk about character design. From the premise looks like it was mystery one and I think I could the music will be good or at least fittingly place, if only looking at the staff who also working on When They Cry music there. Other than that, I didn't knew much about this VN for now. There's already pre-order there, and it'll be released at October 28th. That's all that I thought of this week, and see you next week.

Now, as I stated in the previous post, Saga Planets' has two types of VNs it primarily produces... a story-focused type that doesn't avoid the kind of bitter drama that charage/moege tend to despite the moege-type visuals... and a 'strong charage' type that essentially is a more character-focused VN with many of the same strengths as the former type. Floral Flowlove is the former type, being much closer to Hatsuyuki Sakura and the other 'Four Seasons Series' VNs. As such, as in all VNs by this company, there is a definite 'proper' play order, if you want to fully enjoy this game. First, unless you are inexperienced at playing VNs, you probably would have figured out that Kano's path is the one that touches on the core elements of the story most intensively... and that is the case, so I seriously suggest you do her path last. This is my suggested path order Adelheit>Aoi Suu>Kohane>Nanao>Kano. My reasons are that Adelheit's ending is the one that goes the most out of its way to avoid touching on the protagonist's most intensely personal issues and is the most 'charage-like' path, and Suu is a sub-heroine whose path branches off of Kohane's path. Nanao and Kano share a basic flow of events up to a point that basically requires you to choose one of them and it dramatically splits off, so it is best to play Kano's path right after Nanao's. Now that I got that out of the way, I'll make a few comments on the setting and subject matter. For those who dislike Christian mythology, this VN might make you feel uncomfortable, though - given that it is a Japanese story - it isn't full of the moralist excess that a Western Christian writer would have put into it. The focus on angels does have meaning, but for most of the VN, you won't know what meaning it has. Another issue is the protagonist. He isn't a cipher in any way, shape, or form. He is an extremely emotionally-scarred, somewhat self-derisive character who also happens to be eminently capable at whatever he chooses to do (my favorite type, lol). However, his tendency to distrust everyone, despite his ability to see the nature of people's intentions, will probably drive some people up the wall. The guy is fundamentally a rationalist (which is fairly rare in Japanese VNs), save on a few issues regarding his emotional scars and the need to protect Kano from her own bad luck. The common route of this VN is fairly dramatic and interesting, and Adelheit's path branches off from the rest almost immediately after the first dramatic point. A second turning point occurs after the turn-off for Adelheit's path that sends you digging through the protagonist's half-healed emotional wounds and his past, and it is actually pretty interesting. Save for Suu's, the paths and endings are universally first-rate (Suu's path is this game's abortion, though it is fun to watch the protagonist seduce a nun, lol). I will say that I - as always - have to complain a bit about the fact that the endings only go a few months to a few years past the climax of the story (I really, really wanted to see Adelheit five or six years later, because I thought it would be rofl-worthy). However, for most people this won't be a problem. Each of the paths gives you a final snippet of the past after the credits, and it is, in part, this that made me give you that order of completion. To be blunt, Kano's revelation is a bit too big in comparison, and as a result, it would be problematic if you saw it too early on (it is meant to be viewed right before going to the final path). About nine out of ten people are going to spend this VN wondering 'who the hell is Riku?' because the protagonist never really explains her in any of the game's main paths. So... I'm not going to spoil it for you (though a lot of you will probably figure it out anyway). Emotionally, this VN definitely has impact... but a lot of it is pitying, sympathizing, or empathizing with the protagonist. I will say that Kano has seriously awesome hidden depths that come out in all the paths (think a ditz with an intelligence of ten but a wisdom of five hundred in a D&D game), as she is perhaps the single wisest, most selfless and compassionate heroines I've seen. She isn't terribly intelligent though. On the other side, Adelheit is pretty hilarious... she is easily the laziest heroine I've ever seen (though she is also one of the more intelligent ones). Kohane is the kind of girl who would make the perfect mother for a family of twenty adopted kids, and Nanao is basically your standard tsundere (on her own merits, she is probably the second-weakest heroine). The true route... you will cry, so I predict (lol). Anyway, the true route had me crying for a while, and it was definitely worth playing. Unfortunately, it is also impossible to talk much about this route without spoiling the entire mess, so I'll just stop here. I will say that they did manage to avoid the 'true route renders all the other routes meaningless/relevant only relative to the true route' screwup, which is what happens in most VNs with a true route. Overall, this VN is Saga Planets at its best, having learned from a lot of the little mistakes in their previous games. For those who liked Saga Planets already, it is crack, and for those who like a good story-focused VN that isn't a chuunige, this is an excellent choice.

If some of you failed to notice, I've been going back over my list of ancient favorites amongst the moege/charage/slice-of-life genres. Why am I doing this? I actually have some good reasons, other than whims. First, I keep recommending these things to people, but when you start talking about a VN you last played five years ago, people tend to let it in one ear and out the other. I mean, my long-term memory for games and books is pretty good, but my brain is fairly compartmentalized, so I don't remember them actively unless I go through the effort to refresh that memory. Can I continue to say that I honestly recommend something without playing it in the recent enough past that I can compare it to other, more recent VN experiences, through more jaded eyes? Second, I want to know just how much nostalgia is coloring my viewpoint. To be blunt, the longer you are away from your favorite games or VNs, the more the memory gets beautified by distance in time. When I recently did a speed replay of G-senjou, I reaffirmed why I disliked the story structure while at the same time realizing that I didn't always do it justice due to my biases (no, I didn't blog on it, but I was mostly doing it for my own edification, anyway). Third, I like to think that I try to be as objective as possible, so I wanted to reexplore my VN roots when it came to my attitude toward charage/moege. One thing I've noticed as I replayed certain charage from the past is that the best of the older generation wasted the least time on 'everyday' slice-of-life, ironically. The gradual shift to put an excessive emphasis on the everyday life aspects of charage and moege is a relatively recent phenomenon, from what I've re-experienced. A part of this is that, as the audience in Japan has aged, so has their nostalgia for an 'ideal youth' become much stronger. The fact is, a lot of the 'devoted' moe-gamers in Japan aren't young people (at least not the ones who are also erogamers). They are older people who want to experience an idealized version of youth through a non-person protagonist's viewpoint. Ironically, this seems to be the reason why the market is shrinking, since younger generations don't find that kind of stuff as accessible as the older generation does, so you can tell to some extent what generation a company is appealing to by how weak the protagonist is and/or archetypical the characters are, lol.