adamstan

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

And update script files to add voice play commands. Actually quite a lot of work.

Today I started reading PSP version of Kono Aozora ni Yakusoku o It's one of the VN I found while clicking on random screenshots on vndb front page. The description caught my attention, with the setting and kind of nostalgic mood. Let's see how it turns out.

I just finished Ano Hi no Tabibito, Fureau Mirai It was just like its predecessor - short, but good. Although I wouldn't mind, if it was longer. Still, if publishers prefer to release smaller titles, I think I'd rather have such stanadalone short VN over episodic releases. Almost all characters from Sora to Umi ga, Fureau Kanata reappear as side characters in Anofure as well, so the cast is bigger than in previous game. The story begins with Yuuri (MC) coming to Chichijima island, looking for Tamaki. Tamaki was Yuuri's girlfriend during middle school when she was manager of athletic club Yuuri was member of. He was great sprinter, and his dream was to win the Olympic Games But after graduation, Tamaki became an actress, and this caused them to drift away from each other, since they went to different schools, and didn't have chances to meet. Then one day she suddenly retired, disappearing from show business world. After learning that she has retreated to Chichijima, he goes there wanting to get some closure, and at least say proper farewell. On the way to the place where Tamaki is supposed to be staying, he meets strange girl sitting on the side of the road, and doing one-man-show with Hamu-chan, a mascott character from children magical girl anime "Prettier" ("Pretty Cure" reference? ). It's Eri - shy girl, who dreams about becoming voice actress. For that reason, she wants to try working at local radio station "Bonin FM", which is supposed to be at the top of the hill. Incidentally, that's the same place Yuuri is heading to, but as far as he knows, it shoud be "Sunset Station" hotel It turns out that indeed former hotel has been trasformed into radio station. And that station is on the verge of bankrupcy, since apparently nobody listens to it. Tamaki is also there, but she's in pretty miserable state, and Yuuri cannot believe, that it's the same girl he used to date. To protect the place for Tamaki to recover, to help Eri chase after her dream, and to have some place to sleep (since he didn't take enough money to afford proper hotel ) the three start to live at the station and do their own show, in attempt to gather new listeners and drive away the looming shut-down. The school club or other institution at the verge of collapse. and group of teenagers trying to save it - yeah, that classic Konno we all love (or not ). We've seen it already multiple times - Soaring Club, Stargazing Club, or even the school (and later, whole world) in ATRI, and now Bonin FM station - but I'm still not tired of it There are two routes selected through game's only choice near the end of common route. I started with Tamaki's route. Tamaki's route's main theme seems to be accepting one's and other's true self, without resorting to acting. And of course it's the story of reunion between former lovers. Nice. Then there's Eri. Eri is very shy and has almost no confidence in herself. Her family - especially her older brother Ryouta - keep treating her like a little child who cannot do anything on her own. And her route revolves around overcoming that shyness and gaining the confidence needed to make the dream into a goal, and then reality. Eri's relationship with her mascott Hamu-chan is very much - almost exactly - like Majikoi's Mayucchi and her Matsukaze - quite funny After seeing the prologue one could easily think that Tamaki would be main heroine, but I actually feel like Eri's route is more fleshed out, and it has longer epilogue. Still, I enjoyed both. Recently I've been listening from time to time to japanese local radio stations - which are called "Community FM" over there - and this VN captures the mood and formula of those stations pretty well. There's also one Konosora easter egg/reference: All in all, it was very enjoyable experience, even if a bit short. But no major complaints - 8/10 from me - same score I gave to Sora to Umi ga, Fureau Kanata. *************************************************** And now I'm actually a bit lost, not knowing what to read next... There are so many titles in my backlog to choose from... Sukimazakura to Uso no Machi? Flyable Heart? Bokuten? Or maybe I should finally tackle Grisaia? Or something else? Basically, this is my "immediate backlog" - what should I choose...?

Both this, and Flyable Heart (and few other unison shift VNs I think) are on sale on DLSite now, so I bought those recently. What order would best? Should I read Flyable Heart or this one first?

Amber Quartz - https://vndb.org/v1198 For me it was really a hidden gem - it exceeded my expectations. It's a very good VN, but in 2009 there were so many great VNs released, that it got overshadowed by other more popular titles.

Yeah, deepl always makes its best to make its output readable. Thanks to that, if it gets things totally wrong (which happens from time to time) and you don't know Japanese, you'll have no idea that what it says is total garbage - but written in readable English You can try it out online - it has a page similar to google translate, so just paste some lines into it, and check for yourself how it does: https://www.deepl.com/translator

Perhaps indeed this approach is more popular among women than men, but I actually like it, and I feel similar - although it's still purely theoretical in my case. BTW Harumi, during one of his internal monologues also said something similar - while pondering how the sex has meaning only with the loved one, and how he wouldn't like to use it just to "release the tension", he also added something like "Perhaps it's just the virgin in me speaking, but that's how I feel". Yeah, it has some interesting points. But if the MC managed to annoy me with his donkan-ness and emotional instability, I suppose after a while your head would hurt from all the facepalming you'd be doing Well - it's Palette's VN, and we already have some of their titles translated, so maybe one day it will get translated - who knows? Although when it comes to Palette's untranslated VNs, I think Mashiro Iro Symphony should be done first.

I just started reading it. The music is wonderful - you can instantly recognize that this is Pulltop VN Or rather, that it's TWO-FIVE's music. General feel and sound is similar to Konosora. I love that.

Usually it was much faster for me. (I'll probably get that one on Steam, and maybe apply H-patch later.)

So, finally, I finished Sakura Strasse. Nice moege, but not the greatest one, and not without flaws. The biggest one was, like I stated in my first impression, a bit annoying and unrelatable protagonist. Even though VN is narrated from MCs POV (as usual), I had hard time, not even self-inserting, but just immersing. I was watching from the sidelines, like I'd watch a romcom anime. That's why completing this VN took me so long, since I had sometimes week- or two weeks- long breaks between sessions. But when I actually read it, I enjoyed it. It's packed up with comedy, and I personally found it funnny. Heroines are cute, and while I didn't care much about MC-kun, I cared about them. Also, MC is at his worst at the prologue and first half of common route. Later on he luckily improves a bit. The only thing that doesn't change, and made me cringe and facepalm is his donkanness. LB!'s Rin was "legendary no-con", and Harumi is "legendary donkan". As for routes themselves, I went in order Marie (main heroine) > Yuuka > Karin > Lulli. Marie's route was nice, but ending was rather over-the-top, so it suffered from "watching from sidelines syndrome" I described earlier. But still enjoyable. Yuuka is a (rather violent) tsundere. There are some interesting reveals in this route, and I think I perhaps enjoyed it more than main (Marie's). Also, it was amusing to see Yuuka taking lead in the H-scenes Karin is MC's overly childish osananajimi. Her route however doesn't follow all usual osananajimi tropes, and for me it was the best one. It also made realize what bothered me about protag - he was also too childish. But in this route both he and Karin undergo quite a bit of character growth. If all routes in the game were of the same quality, overall score would be much higher. And finally Lulli. Marie's companion and Weird, but nice route. Compared to other routes, here first H-scene jumps out rather suddenly, but, interestingly, the writers actually thought about an excuse for it Ah, yeah, H-scenes. I actually have to praise this VN for its approach to the H-content. All scenes have proper build-up (well, except first Lulli's scene ), and there's lots of love in them - in dialogs and characters attitude. I genuinely smiled through most of the Yuuka's first scene, and second Karin's scene was totally heartwarming. This VN really succeeded at showing during H-scenes how much characters care about each other. Also, somewhere during every route protagonist stated (in narration) that the greatest thing about sex for him, overshadowing the physical pleasure itself, was the feeling of unity, intimacy, being connected with each other. So, while it isn't flawless, it was perhaps one of the most wholesome eroge I've read so far (even if that might sound contradictory ) Art, music and voices were good, no complaints about that. SD CGs served well to enhance comedy parts. So, after all, just as I predicted, it ends up with 7.5/10 score, which is kind of my base score for good, but not exactly outstanding games (or the great ones that have some annoying flaw). It was long road, but I enjoyed it, and don't regret buying and playing it. **************************************************************************************** And now I think I'm going to read latest Konno Asta's game - Ano Hi no Tabibito, Fureau Mirai, which is kind of sequel to the Sora to Umi ga, Fureau Kanata (Adventure of a Lifetime). It is set in the same place, but features new set of characters (again MC and two heroines). The premise from the official summary sounds interesting to me, and I enjoyed previous part, so I decided to get it, since it doesn't seem like Pulltop is going to translate this one - perhaps the previous one didn't sell as much as they expected? And since anyway Pulltop's TL quality is very random, it was perhaps safer option to get original

If that helps, there's also this walkthrough on the net - maybe you can use it as a cross-reference.

Deepl is better at guessing context, and using the one provided (if there is one). Also, it always tries its best to produce naturally sounding English. But it still can sometimes get things COMPLETELY WRONG - which the reader who doesn't know Japanese won't be able to detect, because it will sound good - not like the utter gibberish Google would spit out in such cases So still - proceed with caution. No matter which service you are using, reading MTL is always kind of detective work

I remember playing "Mafia" with friends during high-school times. I wouldn't call it even board game - it needs almost no resources. I don't know how it's played elsewhere*, but we just used a deck of cards to assign roles to players. Ace was Detective, king of spades and king of clubs were Mafia, and other cards were civilians - and that was the only thing needed to play. I particularly remember one summer vacation of 2001 - we used to go to riverside almost everyday and play (damn... it sounds almost like a VN premise ) *I just read up the wikipedia description and see that we played quite simple version More on the topic of this thread - recently I finished Yuuka's route in Sakura Strasse. It was quite good. And yesterday I entered Karin's route (third out of four). Surprisingly, it might turn out to be the most interesting route. Also, it made more clear for me what bothered me about protagonist. Although he claims otherwise, especially when confronted with overly childish Karin, he's also very childish. And the route started with a twist that surprised me a bit, especially in such lighthearted game.

Whoa, that's really amazing coincidence But it happens sometimes. I feel like Raging Loop is not for me, at least for now. I'm not a fan of that art style (character design) and werewolves - I'm also not into horror in general. Some elements added for spicing things up are fine, but the whole horror VN is too much for me at the moment.

That would be nice. Since it's non-eroge console VN, it seems to be perfect for Steam release.

Since I finally managed to make World End Syndrome run in the emulator, I'm definitely adding it to my backlog. It's a pity that I cannot buy digital release without owning an actual Switch*, since it's massively discounted in Nintendo e-shop, but well, will have to cough up for the cartridge it seems. Anyway, @Eclipsed, thanks for pointing my attention towards this VN * When browsing without an account, clicking purchase button takes you to the login/registration page. I created an account, but when browsing logged-in, the purchase option is completely unavailable - the button just disappears. So that would mean that buying is possible only when browsing from actual console I guess?

Actually the names alone don't bother me that much, (especially when reading in Japanese - and in localized versions they often still get changed to more casual speech), but it really annoys me when they describe each move in several lines, and scene drags on and on. Also, I'm not a fan of HCGs that focus mainly on genital area taking up almost the whole screen.