adamstan

PS3 version of Himawari no Kyoukai to Nagai Natsuyasumi

Now that I think about it, after finishing true route I'm unsure about some details in World End Syndrome's plot (HEAVY SPOLIERS AHEAD!) : People who also finished it - what do you think about those points?

Aaaand - World End Syndrome already finished. It was shorter than I expected. Nevertheless, I liked it. From the three "questions" routes I think I liked Hanako's the best - it had the best flow, and I feel like their relationship evolved most naturally. Then, Yukino's route was kind of detective story, and then there was great Miu's route, and true ending following that. Those parts were definitely the best for me. Later part of Miu's route, and most of the "Truth" route had lots of tearjerking moments. Loved it. Some twists and reveals also got me by surprise - but I have to admit, that I'm newbie when it comes to mystery VNs, so perhaps I'm easy to fool My main complaint about this title is map movement system. The way it is implemented it kind of kills the flow of the story, and makes the whole experience unnecessarily fragmented. Unvoiced scenes were also a bummer. Still, the story itself was good, especially the finale, so I think it's 7.5/10 VN for me. ("potentially great title hindered by some annoying shortcomings" - namely underwhelming execution of map movement in that case). And WTF with that sequel teaser at the very-very-end? It means now we have to wait who-knows-how-long for the sequel... Somebody even angrily called WES "30 hour prologue to the sequel"

Except for (badly written) h-scenes

I just finished my first playthrough (prologue) of World End Syndrome My impressions so far - I like the setting, the characters, and little animations sprinkled here and there - blinking, lip-sync and various animated elements in the backgrounds. I'm not the fan of nameable protagonist, and scenes felt a bit disconnected sometimes. Perhaps some more narration would be in order? But then, perhaps it has something to do with protagonists' condition? Also, translation has been a bit of hit and miss so far. Dialogues are done pretty decently most of the time, but some lines in narration feel rather awkward. Like the use of present tense while obviously reporting past events that happened before. Nevertheless it got me interested, and I'm looking forward to subsequent runs, romancing those cute girls and discovering town's mystery

So, I finished PSP version of Sorairo. I have kind of mixed feelings about it. It was definitely enjoyable, and the concept with three "worlds" seemed interesting, but at the same time I feel like it was kind of unpolished, lacking that finishing touch. Also, quality of the routes was rather uneven. Ai's and Hanako's main routes were decent, but rather standard moege fare, without anything standing out too much. Side routes in each "world" were rather short - but they provided nice "what-if" scenarios or showed a bit different side of given heroine. Nevertheless, if it stopped at that, it would get 7/10 score at best. But there enters Tsubame's route, which screams "TRUE ROUTE" in big letters. It was great - much better and longer than the other two. It also tried to pull off a bit of Clannad (and did quite well at that), extending into struggles of adult family life of Kenji and Tsubame. Really great, and I'm glad that I listened to Accany's review's advice and saved this route for last. It's just a shame that there was only one such great route. So, after all, it gets 7.5/10. I think now I'll try World End Syndrome. I bought PS4 version, but I'm going to play Switch version in emulator... Sadly, there's no PS4 emu yet (and I don't have the console), and Switch physical edition seems to be sold out everywhere I checked... Still, both version have the same dev and publisher, so I feel this is alright at least from the ethical/moral point of view...

Content-wise Steam versions of IMHHW + Flight Diary + Akari Route = Cruise Sign (PS3 port that combines main game and FD). They are identical - I checked it thoroughly while reading Cruise Sign. It's just that main game suffers from bad translation. But, OTOH, FD + Akari are much better. They are by no means perfect, but can be read without cringing too much

Yay! Initial D FTW

This is preview of the new album from Yoko Matsuura, released on 2021-01-11. Yesterday the CD safely arrived in my mailbox, after crossing over 9000km I love it, it's really heartwarming and uplifting (I think I might have also fallen for her, even though I know it's rather pointless...)

Recently I've been feeling strong urge to re-read Princess Evangile and Konosora for the third time. It seems that they have become my "comfort VNs" . While they aren't the greatest that I've read, my feelings about them are almost exactly as in quote above. But before that I have to finish Sorairo, and then I think I'll try Worldend Syndrome.

Yeah, for me Umikana and Anofure are fine just as they are - no need for ero there. BTW, apart from Miazora's fandisc, last three Konno's games (Umikana, ATRI and Anofure) are all-ages. Maybe he gave up on H? (He wasn't too good at it )

It's been exactly 3 years today since I finished first Majikoi. I think my favorite heroine routes were Miyako, Mayucchi and Momoyo. But the ultimate best was true route, and it was what gave the VN such high score in my list (8). H-scenes in this one are numerous and while some of them were not bad, most are rather cringey. And Yamato's obsession with anal soon started getting on my nerves I think I might, just out of curiosity, check out the Steam edition, when JAST finally releases it

Akina is really great.

Yes, I read Noble Works, Sanoba Witch and Natsuzora Kanata - and liked them all. I intentionally skipped Dracu Riot because vampire setting puts me off. But Senren Banka and Riddle Joker seem interesting. (I also have BraBan and Tenshin Ranman on my "to read" list)

That's why it was relegated to fandisc But yeah, it almost kills my interest for that FD. What I'm really waiting for is Miazora's equivalent of Cruise Sign - all ages JP version of main VN plus stories from fandiscs - so I wouldn't have to deal with awkward h-scenes or Pulltop's random translation quality Win-win situation. I'd buy such release in a heartbeat, but I'm afraid they won't do it... It really puzzles me - Steam edition of Miazora is obviously translated from unreleased console version - so why not release it then? @ChaosRaven - you make me more and more interested in Senren Banka

Yesterday I finished main Ai's route in Sorairo. It was shorter than I expected, but OTOH that's understandable since each route has three versions, so if each of those was full length, it would probably get too big for rather standard high-school moege The route itself was nice - nothing outstanding nor groundbreaking, but also not boring - it was quite pleasant read, and two final CGs were very romantic If I had to complain about something - I'd like to see more interactions with other characters/group also during heroine's route, and not only in common route - I prefer that approach over the "isolated" routes focused almost solely on MC and chosen heroine. Well - it was just 1 out of at least 9 routes, so let's see how others turn out.

I used it to do thing that was impossible (or very difficult) before - to see at a glance which VNs from my list, backlog and wishlist have reviews, so I can check them out

My first impressions from Sorairo. For now it looks like quite relaxed and relaxing summer SoL So far I'm liking what I'm seeing. It has a bit unusual route system. There are 3 heroines, but apparently there are 9 routes and 11 endings. The game starts with childhood flashback prologue, and depending on the choices made in that part, you can end up in one of the three heroine's "worlds". But those aren't equal to routes - it's more like three different VNs packed into one, because in each "world" there are routes for all three heroines. So each heroine has three routes - one "main", in her "world", and two additional in other heroine's "worlds". Additionally, Tsubame's main route has two endings, and her "world" also has mini-route/ending for Risamisa-senpai (one of the side characters, sister of MCs classmate) - so that makes 3 routes in prologue, which then continue into three different common routes, and then that splits into a total of 11 endings. Currently I'm going for Ai's main route. (And school trip episode I'm now in remembered me about my unfinished Sakura no Kisetsu remake project...) According to Accany's review Tsubame's main route seems to be true route (and the best one), so I'm saving it for last.

The question is weird. I liked most of tsundere heroines I've encountered so far But sometimes I have problem with tsundere protagonists Some of my favorites: Kotori from Konosora Saki from Yukizakura Aoba from Kazoku Keikaku Mirai from Koi iro Chu! Lips Airi from Mashiro Iro Symphony Rinna from Kono Aozora ni Yakusoku o Karen from Making * Lovers

Yup, looks pretty neat for some selective browsing

I'm starting Sorairo right now. (PSP version) I loved Amber Quartz so I hope to enjoy this one too. (Yes, I know that it is different, supposedly more down to earth But still, it also seems to deal with memories, childhood friends, nostalgia etc etc - basically my favorite topics )

I just finished PSP version of Kono Aozora ni Yakusoku o ("The promise under blue sky"). I'll try to write my impressions below, but it might get a bit chaotic - please excuse me. This VN has been written by Maruto Fumiaki (DameKoi, White Album 2) I really liked it - it's nice charage, and while no LB! or Majikoi, it's also very good at evoking that "Group of friends" trope that I love I think this CG somewhere from common route captures the overall mood pretty well: I quickly got very attached to characters. Each heroine has her own quirks and problems, there are also some minor, but still interesting twists and mysteries here and there. I also liked the protagonist, and I didn't have the "problem" I had with Sakura Strasse - this time I was reading few hours everyday, and didn't get bored for a second. There's also lot of side characters with voices and sprites. Comedic bits were brilliant - I was laughing often and loud I think my favourite routes from the main six were Saeri, Rinna and Umi. Next would be Naoko, followed by Shizu and Miya - but they were all very close. Each route had different theme and mood - quite nice variety. After completing all six routes, kind of "True Route" gets unlocked. First there's a story titled "Yakusoku no Hi" - "A promised day" (or "Day of a promise"). Very heartwarming (and tearjerking) story about our group's final day at the dorm. Then, after that, there's Akane's route. Akane was one of the side characters in the main game, and while some say that her route is just an meaningless bonus, I really liked it - it is very good continuation of "Yakusoku no Hi". It also has nice connection with one of the twists from Rinna's route And then, after completing all above, eighth route gets unlocked (PSP exclusive). This time it's hidden heroine - Chihiro. She's a shy girl from Wataru's class, who suddenly confesses to him somewhere during common route. I didn't have any expectations regarding this route, but it was lovely and heartwarming. It was also perhaps closest to typical VN high-school romance, with dates etc, but it also did good job at showing how the group of friends accepted new girl. PSP version also features four side stories from the fandisc, which get unlocked after clearing respective routes. "Hidamari no virgin road" ("Aisle under the sun") - absolutely lovely extension of Umi's epilogue "Kono Aozora ni Omoide o" ("Memories under blue sky") - side story that gets unlocked after Shizu's route, revealing a bit more about her past - how she met Wataru. It also has some small memories for other characters. "Kono Fuyuzora ni Utagoe o" ("Singing under winter sky") - heartwarming side story/extension for "Yakusoku no Hi". "Atashi no kakera" ("My fragment") - side story further connecting Akane's and Rinna's routes, with quite emotional ending. So, to sum it up - it wasn't perfect, but lovely. 8/10 ******************************************************************************* I also briefly compared it with adult version. PSP version's "censorship" level is similar to Konosora - meaning that scenario got rewritten in a non-erotic way - there's only kissing and handholding at most, but I'm fine with it . Replacement and additional scenes are quite good. Adult version was actually a big disappointment for me. It almost felt as if it was made by applying Rule34 to all-ages version First sex scenes were definitely too rushed, and whole thing seemed like just being there because "PC VN has to be eroge". Meh. It isn't reaching the bottom where Kanon's or LB!'s h-scenes lie, but I feel like in this case still non-ero version aligns better with overall mood of the story. Also, bonus content in PSP version >>>> hentai in PC version. The only drawback of PSP version is low resolution - the whole thing definitely looked much nicer in original 800x600. Also, if you are going to play it - walkthrough at seiya-saiga isn't optimal. While it works for getting all endings, it makes you miss one important scene for Rinna's route, because it does split between Umi's and Rinna's routes at a later point. So it's better to follow for example this one. Well, guess those are drawbacks of map movement system.

While reading Kono Aozora ni Yakusoku o for some reasons I remembered one silly song - "Highschool Lullaby" by Imokin Trio. It was a joke band from early '80s, meant as a parody of Johnny's boy-band groups. The song itself is from 1981, and it has pretty nice early electronic-disco sound, similar to YMO. It also features silly lyrics about highschool unrequited love And since it's New Year's Eve, I also did my take, to create a bit of party mood

For a moment I thought about "~uso" series from Campus Haru Uso -Passing Memories- Natsu Uso -Ahead of the Reminiscence- Aki Uso -The Only Neat Thing To Do- Fuyu Uso -Snow World End- But textbox in your example looks different. EDIT: Ah, I see that @Seraphim found your first example. So the four seasons thing is second question I guess?

Thanks. When I get to it, I will be reading it in Japanese, so patch related problems shouldn't bother me