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Even in this YouTube generation, I enjoy reading gaming magazines like GameInformer, Retro Gamer, Edge etc. Today, I just want to rave about what my dream VN magazine would be. I love old school things. Sometimes I post about stuff from ONE ~Kagayaku Kisetsu e~, Sakura Taisen and the like, so I would love to follow a VN magazine that focuses on titles from the 80s and 90s. Maybe every issue highlights one game in particular and explores behind the scenes details. The pages will be designed professionally for that quality finish. Man, the things I would do to read an issue on Ever17, ONE, Sakura Taisen, Utawarerumono, 999 (not that old but hey) and so on. I cannot start that type of series because game development takes up most of my time, and also: 1) Old school VNs are too niche perhaps. 2) Not enough of an audience compared to video materials. Does anyone else sub to magazines? I for one hope they never die out. What would your dream VN magazine be like? Even if no one starts a series, we can at least dream about it. I am secretly hoping someone does do it. Can't imagine how it can survive honestly except out of passion, but I would show my support on Patreon for example if the presentation is up to par. Thanks for hearing me out .

Just finished Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid, which was actually really good. My expectations were pretty low given that 99% of what I heard about it on the internet was "OMG thicc", so thanks for the pro tip, @Jun Inoue. I'm a sucker for sweet, positive stories with quirky, unique characters, and this delivered that in spades. Edit: I picked up Ping Pong on the recommendation of a reformed weeb friend who said it's one of the greatest shows he's ever watched ("Shows. Not anime."). Three episodes in, and I have to admit, it's looking to be pretty damn good.

You can tell his translation changes as he progressed throughout the game, but it was never wrong originally, just fine tuned how he wanted to handle certain phrases and situations. The main TL did say that he may do a full TLC over the next 2 weeks to clean up any inconsistencies or awkward sounding phrases. Either way amazing fast progress, quality TL, and a really good VN. Enjoy it.

Well this is the last update from me here in regard of HatsuKoi, because just as Decay said the complete patch (ie Yukino's patch) was released this morning. Here's the last progress below, and have fun in regard of HatsuKoi. Prologue: 100.0%Common: 100.0%Midori: 100.0%Yukino: 100.00%Runa: 100.0%Kyou: 100.0%Maya: 100.0%Total: 100.00% As for the translation, I think it's fine enough to me here although to be honest I didn't care too much about that in the first place though. Neverthless, if some of you in doubt with HatsuKoi translation I'll just suggest that you try it first before decided whether the translation was good or not imo.

Kazoku Keikaku VNDB Link Summary Tsukasa, a fiercely independent youth who lost his parents at an early age and now spends his days working at a Chinese restaurant to make ends meet. Reluctant to form interpersonal ties lest they be shattered, Tsukasa is nonetheless unable to abandon the illegal immigrant girl he finds collapsed in the alley behind his workplace one day. Confronted by her utter helplessness he takes her in, an encounter that opens the door to a new life - one where he faces the challenge and wonder of being no longer alone. Tsukasa soon finds himself at the unwilling nexus of even more lives, attracting a band of misfits and social outcasts around him that swell beyond the confines of his small apartment. They find shelter in an abandoned house, where despite Tsukasa's lingering doubts a pact is formed: the "family project", an alliance of mutual convenience and utilitarian support that despite the mistrust and antagonism among its members soon comes to mean much more. Ending Guideline / Suggested Route Order In this vn there is a really long common route and then 5 heroines to choose, finally 1 bad ending. The game branches this way so save and remember the savestate because you cannot name them and you will need them later on. Route Guideline Common path Kawahara Matsuri Wang Chunhua WARNING: The guide to Chunhua's route may not working as intended. (14/06/2019) (31/01/2021) Itakura Masumi Ookawara Jun Takayashiki Aoba Bridge (bad) ending Attribution This walkthrough is based on this, this and this with some adjustments made by me.

Hi everyone . Thank you again for letting me post my blog entry here: This time I talk about the choice systems I have used in previous games, and the method I plan to adopt in The Last Birdling. Hope you like it! A few points I would be happy to hear thoughts on: 1) If a choice has no impact on the ending, is it better for the game to be linear? I played Akiba's Trip recently, and I imagine a lot of those choices had no effect on the ending, but some of them were hilarious so they never bothered me. See, I always had this theory. If it has "attitude", you can get away with almost anything. 2) Is it dishonest to boast about x number of endings if most of them are just instant gameovers? This doesn't offend me, but when it is being done all the time, it results in a "yeah let me guess" type of reaction. 3) For those who have played it, how awful did you think Mass Effect 3's ending was? In terms of player agency, maybe it is a travesty compared to older titles like Star Wars KOTOR. That said, back in the days, cutscenes were less expensive to produce (well I wouldn't know a thing about that). Is it really possible to produce multiple vastly different endings when you know most players will miss a bunch of that content? 4) More branches means longer game length. Does it also risk potential fluff routes and less editing time (spellcheck, skim read once and call it a job done)? 5) What is the point of multiple paths if there is a true ending in the end? Though I want to be edgy and say it's pointless, I actually like true endings. Not those everything is magically okay ones, but it's good to have something that tells you yes, this is indeed the end. 6) Does it bug you when choices seem nonsensical, and you are forced to look up guides? 7) I wonder why visual novels often have multiple paths, but it's much less common with traditional novels? Of course, we have the choose your own adventure books. Maybe having to turn to a particular page is just a pain. Thank you!

ok, you fucked up. reinstall don't use AlphaROM. Use the latest patch on the website. and drop the 2 patches you get from the download. READ THE FUCKING README and to be safe delete your save folder in your document folder beforehand.

Maybe Kara no Shoujo? Making choices as a detective sure is not easy

Bullshit. Choices in The Walking Dead do not change anything, the whole storyline is created in a way that only tricks players into thinking they have any sort of "influence" over it's course; in reality everything is streamlined to a handlful of different choices and none of them actually change the outcome of the story in the end - those who are "supposed to die" kick the bucket, those that can't be saved won't be saved, no matter the choices you take. It's just a static story elevated to the level of an interactive fiction without much of it's interactivity. You'll have a hard time searching for such a visual novel. Most of vn's work in a similiar manner - they only trick you into thinking you have a lot of impact on the course of the story, while in reality most of the choices (even if many) do not change it in any way, acting as fluff or side routes that bring different flavours to the exact same outcome. We're talking mostly about static routes. The only one I could think of would be Akai Ito, but that one hasn't really been translated. Aoishiro isn't as good - it has many different endings, but most of them are very similiar, with only minor changes.

Sadly there are not many visual novels that focus on decision making on the part of the Reader. Pretty much the only visual novel that I know of that doesn't have heavily static routes, would be Cinders a retelling (if you so choose) of the Cinderella story that has allot of choices and allot of ending variants.

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 most blatant clash of the generations, at least for PC gamers like me who play games from multiple locales, is the difference between versions of Windows. A lot of the young people I encounter are perfectly willing to deal with annoying adverts and intrusive programs in exchange for the convenience of Windows 8 and 10 (and I will admit that, from the perspective of someone who likes to keep their brain as unwrinkled as possible, they can be considered more convenient *smiles dryly*). In my case, those adverts and intrusive programs eat at my RAM, my bandwidth, and record my daily activities to be sent to people I don't know. I my mind, that far outweighs any 'convenience' gained from the simplification of the system. In fact, it is that very simplification of the system (which incidentally makes it more inconvenient to purchase and play games from anyone other than Microsoft) that makes it inconvenient for people like me. Sure, we can download software that modifies certain aspects of the interface to get around these difficulties... but it becomes harder year after year. I was extremely shocked a few years back when I played Kami no Rhapsody from Eushully and saw a game that had obviously been designed by some moron who didn't understand why touch-screen functions were nothing more than an annoyance for someone without a touchscreen. The 'simplification' of the battle system made the game flat-out boring in comparison to other games I'd played by the company, and the highly-restrictive character progression that gave an illusion of freedom (I'm not exaggerating) only made things worse... because the programmer was obviously someone used to working on games with microtransactions. That isn't to say the game was horrible, but it was horrifying, in that I saw the worst aspects of mobile apps intruding on a PC experience. I don't and will never like touchscreens. They get dirty too easily, break too easily, and cost more than your standard monitor. To be frank, it is far easier to use a mouse on a PC than a touch-screen and less likely to cost you a few hundred dollars every other year. So what is the meaning of convenience to me? I am, to be frank, shockingly old-fashioned in the eyes of many because I don't even own a cell phone. I used to have one, a hand-me-down from a relative, but I disposed of it almost immediately because people were calling me and using money (unlimited texting being a bad word to cell phone companies at the time) to text me on things that could be done more efficiently by email. I also hated it being possible for people reach me when I wanted to be alone, lol. So what about a smart-phone? I honestly have trouble developing an interest in smart-phone gaming, because microtransactions offend my sense of wanting to have things 'paid for and done with'. I hate subscriptions, I hate monthly payments, and I especially hate having my personal information available to a company that sells info to others (as most cell phone companies do or want to do). I can't maintain an interest in anything that makes me pay more than once to enjoy the experience. If I spend $120 on a game and its season pass, I don't want to find out that there are microtransactions in game that nickel and dime me. I also hate that I have to distrust any game application that cost me less than forty dollars because I can't be sure half the game won't be unplayable without further piecemeal investment of money. I also hate the dead-eyed look some of the younger gamers give me when they laugh about having spent their entire paycheck on virtual items in an app they'll forget about a month later. In other words, my idea of convenience has nothing to do with what others seem to consider convenience now. My idea of convenience is playing video games on my retinas with signals from my nervous system, not playing drastically simplified games with flicks of my finger. Sorry, I rave... but I get tired of all the BS about 'convenient features' that companies use to cover up the building layers of inconvenience in the shit they try to sell me. Convenience has become such a meaningless term in recent years that it makes me want to scream.

Hi Zalor! I'm sorry for replying late myself. Thank you for the link (pictures are missing indeed, by the way)! I'll make sure to fill my pipe (Arrr... not promoting smoking or anything) and enjoy the article as soon I take a break from KS. In the meantime, best of luck with your finals!

The completed patch has been released: https://tsurezurescans.wordpress.com/2017/05/06/hatsukoi-11-progress-update-17-full-patch/ The translator posted about the translation on his blog, it's a pretty interesting article: https://nisekoirantslations.wordpress.com/2017/05/06/the-end-of-hatsukoi-its-really-only-fitting/ To be honest I'm a little hesitent to get the complete patch right away since it sounds like the translator wants to go back and improve it at some point.

I wrapped up Riho's route (my last one left), which was indeed head and shoulders above the rest, including Kanade's route, just as promised. I've decided that, honestly, more games should have those scenes that force you to read at the game's pace. It's a pain, but it really does work. I felt like they abused it a little bit with the very last one in Riho's route, which honestly seemed like a kind of silly scene to me (I think they probably could've timed it better for a little more dramatic ending by chopping off most of the last ~15 minutes), but all the previous ones worked really well for forcing me into the rhythm and mood the game wanted me to experience. I also want to comment on and generalize one thing a lot of people have brought up: the fact that music, and all the characters' passion for music, is at the heart of this story is what makes it tick. I deeply enjoy stories revolving around a characters' shared passion. In that regard, I think this game is actually very similar to KonoSora/If My Heart Had Wings, and I honestly can't call to mind any other VN like that (though I'm sure there are others; it's not like I've played all that many, in the grand scheme of things). I suspect that same angle is why I like a fair amount of sports anime (Chihayafuru, anyone?). VNs often revolve around romance or conflict, which is fine, but these rare few stories that set up an aspirational, challenging, shared passion as the centerpiece of the story appeal to me on a really deep level. These people live and breathe music (just like the characters in KonoSora live and breathe gliders), and it's immensely satisfying to watch them achieve their dreams together.

1) In my opinion, 'meaningless choices' are one of the biggest sins of the fad of creating the 'illusion of player agency' in gaming in general and VNs in particular. This becomes a particularly nasty trend when the choices that matter are hidden inside the dozens of meaningless ones. 2) No, it isn't dishonest. However, it can be irritating. It is quite possible to be perfectly honest and get on people's nerves, and that is usually the case with non-detailed game overs. 3) Mass Effect 3's ending wasn't unexpected. I gave up on Bioware making Mass Effect's endings making details of what you did throughout the game matter after 2. I understood the logic, but it was still as annoying as hell. Even KOTOR did this to an extent, as it was possible to completely reverse your choices up to that point by simply picking the opposite side near the end. 4) More branches can be a bad thing or a good thing, depending on the passion and sense of humor of the writer. Tsukihime's alternate endings for all the heroines other than Kohaku provided a lot of flavor, for instance... and Devils Devel Concept's dual endings for each of the four non-true heroine paths created some radically different and interesting stories. However, I've also experienced dozens of 'side-paths' that were basically excuses for fanservice. It all depends on what you do with it. As for editing... that depends on who you have got and how tight a schedule you have set. An inflexible schedule will inevitably limit your possibilities, while a schedule that is too flexible results in development cycles that fans find intolerable in many cases. 5) In many cases, the point of the non-true endings in such a case is to provide perspective on the setting or aspects of the story that add depth to a true route later on. In other cases, it is simply to make you love characters other than the true heroine so that it will be easier for you to emotionally insert yourself into the plot. There are lots of reasons to do this, but those are the two I've seen the most often. 6) Yes. Nonsensical choices that are truly nonsensical irritate me. 7) It is simply easier to do multiple paths using a game engine, from the reader/player's perspective. One of the reasons the 'choose your own adventure' novels never really gained mainstream popularity was because of inconvenience. In a game system, you can simply save at important choices and go back later if you feel you need to change things up. How many bookmarks can you place in a book before it becomes impossible to read?

1) Handle : eplipswich2) Positions you can fill: Translator (Japanese-to-English), Editor, Proofreader3) Types of projects (VNs) preferred : Short-to-medium length Visual Novels. Any genre except Yaoi is fine.4) Availability : Unavailable (working on Aiyoku no Eustia)5) VNs most interested in producing an ftl for: No preference6) Motivation for joining in on ftl: Contributing to the VN community, improving my Japanese7) Conditions: As long as the translation team is motivated, understanding and willing to go to the end, I am more than happy to join the team. You can contact me here at Fuwanovel, via email ([email protected]), or at Twitter (@eplipswich).

Common route: SAVE Yukino route --> Childhood friend ero-DVD (don't feel like translating her other choices yet) Runa route: Kyou route: Midori route: Maya route --> Special effects(?) ero-DVD (don't feel like translating her other choices yet) http://seiya-saiga.com/game/toneworks/hatsukoi.html

Cartagra Licensed by Mangagamer Summary The hero of this story is Takashiro Shugo, an ex-police officer that is now unemployed and freeloading at a brothel. From time to time he takes on detective work from his former superior. As the story starts off, a missing person case is dumped onto him. The person he is supposed to find is Kohzuki Yura, a girl he had an intimate relationship with before being sent off to war. While all this is being played out, a series of brutal killings occur in the background. As they strike closer to home, Shugo is no longer able to turn a blind eye and is dragged into the spiraling web of events. Ending Guideline / Suggested Route Order The game has a rather linear plot and thus the routes don't massively branch off. This walkthrough doesn't use saves as per the guidelines but some routes will have very similar paths up until a certain point. Koyuki & Seri and Kaori are bad ends rather than routes. Nana's and Takako's routes are bad ends too, there's no good end for them. The only good end routes are thus Hatsune and Kazuna. Kazuna's route has two different endings: a normal and a true one. The true one can only be unlocked after having obtained the normal one. Following this walkthrough entirely in the order indicated will get you all the CGs. When I indicate (Your choice) there's a small variation on the CG to be collected so if you want 100% completion you should do both. Route Guideline Koyuki & Seri (Bad End) Nana (Bad End) Kaori (Bad End) Hatsune Takako (Bad End) Kazuna Normal End True End Attribution This game was put together by myself using information acquired here.

Crescendo Licensed by JAST USA Summary Graduation is approaching, and Ryou looks back upon all the memories forged during those formative years. The people around him who helped him grow, the love and the losses, the emotion involved. The death of his parents, joining the literary club, watching the choices of others with confusion; it all revolves through his mind as he tries to decide where his future is going. The girls who grew up with him, all of them special in their own way, all dear to his heart even if he didn't know it. It seemed as if they'd be together forever. [From G-Collections] Ending Guideline / Suggested Route Order There are 6 characters in this VN: Kaho Nagira Kyoko Ashihara Yuka Otowa Ayame Sasaki Kaori Shito Miyu Route Guideline Kaho Nagira Good End Bad End Kyouko Ashihara Good End Bad End Yuka Otowa Good End Bad End Ayame Sasaki Good End Bad End Kaori Shitou Good End Bad End Miyu Good End Bad End Attribution This walkthrough is based on info attained on Gamefaqs.com with some adjustments made by me. Corrections help from Maefdomn.

Snow Sakura Licensed by JAST VNDB Summary My name is Tachibana Yuuji, a regular student with no particular plans for the future - until my parents left for Hawaii on a business trip last fall, leaving me in the care of my uncle in the wintry countryside of Hokkaido. Small-town life on Japan's northern island didn't have time to get dull, as from the moment I got there I was reunited with my cousin and childhood friend Saki. She's pretty demanding, but when I'm hanging out with her and her school friends I don't mind; as I get close to them I feel like I'm finding a meaning in life that I didn't know I was looking for. Legend says there is a flower that blooms here in the depth of winter... as the twilight deepens and a snowflake melts in the palm of my hand, I stand with a beautiful girl by my side. Will we be able to uncover its mystery in this fleeting moment? Ending Guideline / Suggested Route Order There are five main heroines in Snow Sakura, with no restricted play order implemented or Bad Endings. You may start with any heroine you want. Route Guideline Tachibana Saki Good End Souya Misaki Good End Hiyama Kozue Good End Kisaragi Rei Good End Souya Misato Good End Attribution This walkthrough is based on info attained on Gamefaqs.com (Created by Justnar) with some adjustments made by me.

Deus Machina Demonbane Licensed by JAST USA Voice Patch (Imports PS2 Voices to the PC Version) VNDB Summary Arkham city is a bustling hub of commerce and industry, however it's also a center of eldrich lore: home to Miskatonic University, an institution of higher learning with one of the most complete libraries of arcane literature in the world. In the span of two generations the town was built up to the status of prestige it now has, an expansion helmed by the Hadou Group, an industrial complex and family dynasty currently run by the young Hadou Ruri. She pursues the peace and prosperity of Arkham diligently, against the forces of darkness threatening to plunge the city, and the world, back into a second dark age. Among the most sinister threats to Arkham City is the evil Black Lodge syndicate, led by the charismatic Master Therion. His nihilistic outlook shapes the group's destructive goals: with a circle of powerful sorcerers at his command, the potential for sowing chaos in the city is unmatched. Former Miskatonic University Magic Academy student Daijuuji Kurou knows little of grimoires, but what he does know terrifies him - enough that he left his university life behind, and now practices a failing detective business in the shelter of an orphanage in a quiet corner of Arkham. But just when he thought his Academy past was buried, it catches up with him and pulls him back into the dark shadows of the occult: Hadou Ruri herself appears at his door with an offer he can't refuse. The only way to combat the Black Lodge's growing magical power is to find, and retrieve, a grimoire with the power to activate the mightiest Machina of all: Demonbane. The quest to find this forbidden tome will change Kurou's destiny... forever. Ending Guideline / Suggested Route Order There are three main heroines, two of which have bad endings (they will be noted in their respective heroine guides). There is no restricted order of completion, so you may start with any heroine that you wish. The personal suggested route order for me would be Al Azif - > Hadou Ruri - > Leica. Route Guideline Al Azif Good Ending Happy/True Ending Bad Ending Hadou Ruri Good Ending Happy/True Ending Bad Ending Leica Leica Ending (There is only one ending) Attribution This walkthrough is based on info attained on Gamefaqs (created by as102) with some adjustments made by me.

If My Heart Had Wings Licensed by MoeNovel Link to Purchase Restoration Patch (Restores Sex Scenes and Story) Thank you to rusanon for the walkthrough! Aoi returned to his hometown of Kazegaura, where a gentle breeze blows through the streets, having lost his direction in life. On the hill lined with windmills, he met a wheelchair girl Kotori and watched the gliders overhead in awe. With his childhood friend Ageha in tow, they resurrect the soaring club in order to fulfill a childhood dream: to fly on a glider plane. Endings Guides **The second choice listed for each route is only available once Kotori's route has been cleared Kotori Amane (Kotori clear needed) Ageha Asa Yoru (needs Asa cleared) Bad End

Yume Miru Kusuri – ユメミルクスリ Rated 18+ Buy it here. Kouhei Kagami is a Japanese student with excellent grades and a fairly normal social life, but feels empty and transparent inside. The story revolves a pivotal moment in Kouhei's life where three girls, that have more problems than himself, get involved with him and make his mundane life a roller coaster of emotions. Kouhei must choose to save one of them or risk losing all of them to their own despair. The plot follows the same basic route for the first half of the game. Kouhei goes about his life and interacts with the three main girls: Aeka, Mizuki, and Nekoko. If the player manages to pursue one of the girls successfully the plot eventually diverges. ENDING GUIDE Only the three "main" girls can be wooed. You don't need to do them in any particular order. Each of the three girls deals with her own problem - bullying, interpersonal relationships, and drugs. I suggest that once you've finished playing the game, with everything you've done to get the GOOD END, please do try to do the BAD ENDINGS that I've included (They are quite sad). WALKTHROUGH GUIDE Aeka Shiraki's Route Mizuka Kirimiya's Route Cat Sidhe Nekoko's Route Source: This Walkthrough Prepared and Submitted by Skeith!! Edited guide posted by JJ Corley (ronin_salsolo) from gamefaqs.com