Okarin

Funny thing is, in 2014 I was so hooked on Virtue's Last Reward that I brought my 3DS to the doctor's waiting room (that's what the console is for, right?). I literally couldn't stop playing. So the game has to be damn good, because so few games have caused this behaviour on me.

A friend I had back then lent me a copy of "Divi-Dead". That was the first time I played something VN, but I didn't know what a VN was (I went by "anime game"), nor did I know how VNs worked, so I got random endings. Then some years later, I was bored and decided to check out a game, "Shira Oka Second Chances". That was my first official VN, followed by things like DeIz (Mike Einel), Ori, Ochi, Onoe, and Katawa Shoujo. This was when VNs were blooming in the West, so I knew what was on my hands. I also played Knights of Xentar in the halcyon days (that was pretty infamous).

Those games that are almost a movie would be controversial too. But for me, they're videogames. They come in software format. It doesn't matter what gameplay they have. Besides, most typical moege where you pick a girl to romance give you a bad ending if you make the wrong choices. Others have bad endings within the routes if you make the wrong choices. It's still trivial for most gamers, but there's still decision making, and some long VNs have intrincate decision trees.

Even if you read them, it's still a different medium from books.

Do e-books have sprites, music, CGs, backgrounds, and branching story too...

Do they look like books to you? Can you play them without wasting electricity? With a book, you can.

I guess there are people generally involved with VNs but not necessarily avid S;G fans who will thank the opportunity to have this at Steam. Steamspy reads 0 sales for the novel yet, what are you doing?? Rush to buy it so we can get Chaos;Head, Chaos;Child and Robotics;Notes, at least. It's in jest, but I think it's all because it's been barely a day since it released, I also think eventually, it will meet a good sales number.

There's also the main scenario writers, Maeda leaves a lot of his ideas on VNs such as Little Busters, but he doesn't actually write the heroines' routes. So, Little Busters' main story is Maeda's handiwork, but not the details in the routes. The routes themselves include the bland (Komari), and the overboard (Kud, Haruka). However, Maeda has been moved more to musical tasks, so nowadays we see Key leaning towards superpowers and whatnot. I'd say Angel Beats is the last Key work influenced by the traditional way, which I think is mostly Maeda's work. "Harmonia" was a true nakige kinetic novel contrasting with Planetarian, it really strives to leave a fuzzy feeling. However, Maeda isn't involved with it.

A beautiful moral. I add: if DRM annoys you to the point of not playing a game you would otherwise, do boycott the game and see what happens.

Never underestimate the disparity in political views between you and a given person. I can't understand why tattered (and old) ideologies such as nazism and communism still have considerable following. But then again, I don't think like those people. Our personal stories can trace a path for us to follow a given ideology or to support a certain politician. For example, some people like how communists present themselves as History's chosen ones to save us all, so they're all in for it. Other people fear the doom of Europe at the hands of migrants, and thus align themselves close to fascist views. Trump is same old shit -an alleged saviour who isn't going to change anything dramatically. In a way, Obama was the same (not in political stance but in the hope of a big change) and also failed. Big leaders like Mao or Stalin did dramatic changes, and some respect them for it; too bad that there was a lot of repression, people thrown in jail or killed. Then again, don't fear for Trump, because he operates within a democracy, unlike these leaders. You can't just trample over the opposing party or even discordant voices within your own party. Trump is not omnipotent.

The more annoying it is to play a game with DRM, the less we'll actually play it. I'm afraid this only encourages playing a pirate copy with the DRM removed, like with regular videogames. The thing is, companies, especially in the West, want to secure their meager sales, so they'll adamantly lock up their games. They don't understand that sales would naturally come by following an ethical stance and doing a good job (for example, with translations), so they pursue the lazy, easy way. There will always be the old games and some patches applied over Japanese original games. My fear is that DRM actually is applied over OELVN, that seems like a virgin, untamed land (virgin, heh).

Best girl always first, I don't want to torture myself. I tend to play other routes as well even if I don't like them the same. They have to be legally bad for me to drop them. For Little Busters, however, I followed a suggested play order. It wasn't half bad.

Depends if you're an OCD completionist, or if you're a smooth criminal that steals one of the girls and never touches the rest. For plotge such as Root Double or Steins;Gate, I'm afraid you've got to play the whole game to grasp it all. A typical VN lasts more than the average videogame, but it's not insufferable to sit through those 30-something hours usually, unless you've got ADHD. I'm sure that if you pay 30-something dollars for your game, you'll want the most out of it, thus playing through all content. * Disclaimer: clinical terms are used very loosely here, don't take it to heart.

Samey shit. Nothing to rip off since there's nothing "questionable" in there to begin with.

Yume miru not farfetched...? Yeah, right, even adolescents, crazy as they are, know that raping your classmate can ship you up to jail. Well, maybe not in Spain if you're a minor, you can practically kill maim and destroy and you'll be alright.

Anohana feels more forced than Key, but Evangelion was a pretty depressing thing to behold overall if you were an adolescent back in the late 90s. Not like... sad, more like... "doom is upon us" or something. Didn't make me cry but did unsettle me. To make things worse, the series is a crescendo in destruction, agony and despair. Damn those Aum Shinrikyo fuckers. Shortly after Evangelion, Cowboy Bebop hit, and though its themes vary a lot, the corpus of the story is sad (noir genre) and ends on a bitter note. Those were stories full of quality and impact, but they were really sad, less gentle than, say, Escaflowne. Escaflowne is amazing too. The only 2000s series that plays on the major leagues for me after those is Fullmetal Alchemist. But if you really want to know sad, do watch Steins;Gate 0. Steins;Gate is another anime from the "major league", and there are a lot of people of the same opinion.

When I say "VNs cost a lot in the West", I mean it literally. For the consumer. A new release normally carries a 40-something dollar price tag, quite a lot even if the game lasts long. Because you might want something else for that price. That explains the success of Steam-based VNs. About Chross Channel, that seems more a rushed release that serves an obscure purpose. It's not a game people were expecting a lot like Miagete Goran. It had a TL already and they only took over it because it's a semi-forgotten VN, i. e. because they can. It's bound to sell less because lots of people will have already read it. Anyway, it's unwise to upset people that buy it for the nostalgy.

I don't know about buying from Moenovel. While censure is indeed bad, their market is Steam, and eroge are butchered without a second thought there (but also in other cases, like Littlewitch Romanesque from JAST, and I don't see people torching JAST). It's worth noting that I find involving yourself with Romanesque's girls a bit too much, so I actually got the discounted pornless edition on Steam. In the case of Miagete Goran, I wasn't interested in the porn, so I also bought it on Steam. About the game? It's like Konosora cranked up to 11. An unfolding story with tons of slice of life and some drama (I still don't know how good it is), more ambitious and, I think, it lasts more hours than Konosora. Roughly comparable to Hoshimemo, if you liked that. Heard that some heroines from Miagete Goran (like Saya) are considered pretty good, so there's that. It's also worth mentioning that, if I'm not mistaken, this game has heavily anticipated as one of the most desired novels to come West, prior to its release. I guess it's pretty harsh to keep yourself from tasting what you like just because the company did something bad (i. e. removing porn). So, in the end, it's your choice. Depending on your economy, you also have to factor in costs. VNs cost a lot in the West. If companies did sales more frequently and with better bargains, without having to wait for 10/10, novels in Steam would sell way less. This may seem silly but it's indeed a factor. Why should I get a VN I'm in doubts with if I can get another thing, like another videogame for example? Let's face it, this time Moenovel only committed the porn-removal crime, which was unavoidable for a Steam release (the TL is decent). I don't know if we should wage eternal war on them, instead of relying on them to bring over some more titles we like. Of course, they've settled comfortably on moege, so they are bound to sell decently, but if moege isn't your cup of tea then you have a lot of reasons for ignoring them. That attitude changes a lot if you're a moege fan.

They can still potentially screw up some things from S G 0, but if they keep the trend they'll bullseye it. Mayuri was also greatly endowed in the VN, I think.

Key games are generally considered moege, even if they differ a lot from the usual formula. They portray that mix between humour that then gives way to drama, in a way it only builds up tension toward the drama. The drama in Key is not always top-notch, and it's subject to personal preference, but it's at least entertaining when not tear-inducing. I don't think moe serves any specific purpose in Key. Nakige are an evolution from previous (ancient) moege. The focus is to give you likeable characters that you only end up feeling more toward to because of the drama. It's the perfection of a formula. If Ubuntu is "Linux for human beings", then Key is definitely "moe for human beings" -my words

I'm cool with my age, which is real by the way. Thanks! I make another year here!

Conditions like heavy depression or schizoprenia are a "delightful" mix of symptoms. Weariness (even if not elicited by traceable causes) is a common byproduct of depression, it's commonly told how the patient stays in bed during long periods of time, feels drained, and so on. With schizophrenia you have the "lovely" antipsychotics, which aren't religiously used willingly by patients anyway. Those bring their own problems, but at least you shake off the worst.

Oh, I have no problem being lonely, if the alternative is people who drive me mad. Of course, I acknowledge there are people out there like me, and people who aren't so like me but with whom I can spend a good time. I hope to rebuild my social life someday. All in all, in adult life you are forced into interaction, I can still play the social game and even enjoy it. I don't know how it is for you. But yeah, there's the need for social inclusion in everyone's life. In fact, I don't know if I can endure a ravaging life of loneliness. But I'll try.

People berated my tastes, saying that Japanese media is stupid and immature. What did I do? I stopped going out with people.

Forgive me, Kyousuke, but I thought there was a blooming comic-book culture in Italy. That should include manga, but then again maybe not. Funny thing is most of the anime first shown during its explosion, here in Spain in the early 90s, came via Italy (often pre-censored and pretty much always adapting places and names to Europe). I still remember that Dash Kappei moment where the basket team was supposed to be based in Catalonia (Tarragona, I think), with a magnificent view of Mount Fuji in the background... that's a serious leap of faith there. My point is that I find strange that manga, at least, is so easily handwaved in Italy.