adamstan

Mine too

I want to read Amatsutsumi, but in Japanese all-ages edition, so it seems that my only choice is PSV version. If Sekai's edition was bilingual, I'd probably get it from GOG. (Some of the sexual tags seen on vndb are quite a turn-off for me, so hentai version is out of the question - especially when that's coupled with "Long Sexual Scenes" tag )

Yesterday I finished the prologue for Seven Days: Anata to Sugosu Nanokakan and so far I'm really enjoying it. The heroines are pretty likeable and it looks nice The only thing I'm missing is voiced protagonist - after playing few VNs with this feature (9-Nine, Damekoi or - recently - Loopers) I really got to like it.

Plans are funny thing - they usually get changed HoshiOri is rather lenghty, HatsuSaku also isn't exactly short. And next week I'm going on vacation, and I can only bring my 12 years old laptop, which cannot run Vita emu no matter how hard it tried. And then I received notification about Seven Days: Anata to Sugosu Nanokakan being on sale on Steam (it's 30% off) So that's what I'm going to start reading today

Recently I downloaded update for the Vita3k (PSV emulator), and was pleasantly surprised at the progress it made - many VNs that I wanted to try out but weren't working are now completely playable. Therefore I think that for my next VN I might go with either Hoshi Ori Yume Mirai or Hatsuyuki Sakura. Sadly, AstralAir no Shiroki Towa boots up, but then freezes on the title screen, so that one has to wait Or perhaps the time has come to tackle the White Album 2? Too many options and too big of a backlog!

Yeah, but that point would be moot, or even void, because things like 3D OELVNS clearly have audience Although I guess the person making such argument probably wouldn't acknowledge their existence, or do not consider them "true" VNs

You really liked them?

H-scenes in KEY games are so bad and out of place that they just ruin the experience. It's no wonder that KEY removed them even for subsequent PC releases (Memorial/Perfect Editions etc). But what can I know - to each their own porn I guess, even if it's the shittiest kind of porn squeezed into an otherwise great story in a desperate attempt to boost sales

Yesterday I finished Loopers. What can I say - it's pretty typical KEY story in a short format, with all pros and cons that come with it. I loved it - but I'm easily moved, and I like KEY formula, so the fact that this VN adheres to it didn't bother me at all I think the fairy tale prologue sets the mood perfectly, and it tells what this story actually is, allowing to adjust expectations. Because I have to admit, seeing the premise and R07 as main writer, it's easy to expect more, and then get disappointed - which can be seen in some reviews. I think it's a similar case like with ATRI and PARQUET - the setting isn't the main point, it's just a stage to tell a story. And while surely R07 added his own flavor to it, especially in the early chapters, this is still unmistakably KEY story. Needless to say, it fulfilled its "nakige" mission, making my eyes teary many times. I think the closest to this from the "big" KEY VNs would be Little Busters - there are some clearly visible parallels. But at the same time it isn't just "LB! abridged" I think this was first VN I read that in addition to voiced MC featured third person narration. That was nice, made it more "novel-like" I guess Art is nice, music and voices too, although the voices have too much of dynamic range - some shouted lines are waaaay to loud. To sum it up - YMMV, but for me it was 8/10. If you're not tired of the KEY formula yet, want another dose, but don't have time for behemots such as Clannad or Summer Pockets - go for it There's English translation available in Switch version, and unofficial patch that ports this translation to the PC version. There's also multi-language Steam version in the works, but no release date yet I played Japanese PC version, so I cannot say much about TL quality. Reportedly there are some errors, but it's not bad.

Somewhere in April I started Akane Iro ni Somaru Saka, but just after the prologue I got distracted/interrupted by moving to a new flat, and haven't been able to resume it yet. Meanwhile, the "Loopers Book Club" formed on wanikani forums, so I jumped on and started reading Loopers today. I just completed the prologue, and so far I'm liking what I'm seeing I'm playing JP version from DLSite, but there's bi-lingual Switch version released, and Steam port in works, so it's possible to play this VN in English too.

Very nice performance indeed, and looks ~95% live I wonder if that show got released on some medium (VHS?), or if it was just on TV?

That's nice to hear . And when I watched the credits before OP, I realized that it's been published by Visual Arts (KEY's parent brand), so similarities with Kanon shouldn't be that surprising

It seems to be nakige, and I love those, so I'm looking forward to play it - actually it has been sitting on my wishlist for some time already. But I'm probably going to read PSP or PS2 version I saw some people complaining that it's a Kanon rip-off, but I don't care

Two days ago I finished Aonatsu Line It's very nice "coming of age" story, with great friendship vibe between characters. I especially loved common route for that. All characters are present and important in every route, which is another big plus. Yui's and Kotone's routes are "feel-good" routes, featuring some sweet romance, and light drama. One could say, that's "moege standard", but it was executed very well - at least it worked for me, giving me wonderful warm, fuzzy feeling Kind of side-routes, but very nice. Miki's route is more serious and longer, her being the main heroine. Apart from (obviously) romance between Tatsumi and Miki, it's also focused on the relationship between Tatsumi, Miki and Chihiro. And that leads to the next highlight of this VN - very good MC's male friend character. Chihiro is actually pretty serious and important character, not another Sunohara-wannabe comic relief. Now for the (minor) downsides. This VN lacks after-route epilogues. While no deal-breaker, I always kind of wait for them... Completing all three routes unlocks short bonus story after credits, and while walkthroughs sometimes call it "True End" it isn't one - it's actually "bonus prologue", showing four short scenes from the first day of school from the POV of four main characters - Yui, Kotone, Chihiro and Miki. Nice little touch, but I'd prefer full-fledged epilogues still... Another thing I missed are sprites for side characters. There are only four sprites in the whole game - three heroines and Chihiro. Thankfuly all "NPCs" are voiced, but I'd like to see them as well. And that's it - it took me 36 hours to read this in Japanese (without text hooking, because it didn't work on emulated version), so it isn't long VN. To sum up - nice atmosphere, cute heroines, great friendship vibe, and some minor drawbacks - that makes it 8/10 for me I guess that my initial impression of this having similar atmosphere to Konosora was because of the "coming of age story" + "friendship" combination. I hope that one day Alka translations team manages to overcome technical issues and translate this nice VN, so more people can enjoy it. I actually think it deserves official release - maybe NekoNyan could pick it up?

Yes, that's right. Starting in '90s, adventure games started to have more and more developed stories, and puzzles ceased to be the main point I think one of the reasons for going different ways might be influence of dating sims - which also gave birth to the concept of "routes". Western adventure games just kind of evolved on their own, and stayed linear most of the time, while VNs started as a hybrid between adventure and a dating sim.

I remember one western mid '90s adventure game that seems to sit at similar point that proto-VNs of this time, such as Sakura no Kisetsu. I'm talking about Eric The Unready (and apparently there were also other similar titles from this dev). It was pretty funny, and presentation is what would be called "ADV" in the VN world Wiki seems to categorize it as "Interactive Fiction" and this game, just like the other adventure games you mentioned, still focuses more on environment interaction than the character interaction. Also, that list of commands is enormous - since it was there to provide alternative for the parser, which is also present, and allows for some crazy things, like...

It seems that it isn't. I guess JAST or Mangagamer don't have it since it's released directly by Frontwing, and not by one of localization companies. DLSite also doesn't have it. Still I find it strange for Frontwing to limit themselves only to Steam, but what do I know... BTW it looks like original physical release from 2015 was also split into all-ages version and adult patch - card with download code for the patch was sold only to customers who were 18 or older (If I'm understanding the notes correctly)

Today I started Aonatsu Line - and made it to the OP movie, so I guess I completed the prologue ;) So far I'm really liking what I'm seeing - mainly the nice friendship between the characters. Even though this game isn't about saving the school club on the verge of demise, I got similar warm, fuzzy feeling like when reading Konosora :) I'm reading Switch version, and this presents additional challenge, since I have no H-code for this version so far. But OTOH this VN seems to be on the easier side language-wise, so this might be a good thing - I have to concentrate more on the text itself, and I'm not so easily tempted/distracted by mouseover dictionary. Now, since I have to look up unknown words manually, I use it as a last resort, and try to infer as much as possible from context. Interesting experience :) It seems, that Alka Translation group wanted to translate this VN, but sadly the project is stalled for now, since they ran into engine problems :(

I think you might like Planetarian from KEY and PARQUET from Yuzusoft. They're both bittersweet tales set in the future, like ATRI (although Planetarian leans more towards sad side).

No, it's not The "censorship" was already done by Elf (original developer) for Windows version in 1999 - current version is just a remaster (and translation) of that version. The only "uncensored" version is 1992 one - available for PC98 and MS-DOS. (On the other hand, it seems that after all they indeed spend lots of rather pointless efforts to make yet another more censored "all-ages" version for Steam - honestly, being all-ages junkie that I am, I can't imagine the game with the premise like Doukyuusei working well as an all-ages title. It's one of those games that seem to be projected as an eroge right from the start. Same with, for example, True Love) But my interest for this game also dropped significantly - it seems that either version is too much dating sim and too little VN for my taste. Nevertheless, it seems that Steam version is quite gutted and can be used only as a base to apply adult patch

It's also worth noting, that all those alterations were made already in 1999 for the Windows remake, and current version is just remaster of that edition - it isn't something enforced by Steam

The project isn't dead (it just smells funny ) Today I pasted another few hundred japanese lines into Ren'py script, reaching 32% (or, near the end of 6th chapter). Also, for those interested, here's the comparison of various image versions, using the train station background as an example. 1. Original 16 color version - this will be the default mode: 2. "Enhanced" version from english-only "JAST Memorial edition" - it's just the original with some basic blur applied: 3. My "256 color version" - made with few layers of blurring and re-sharpening - this will be used as an alternative graphic mode in my version: After I finish pasting Japanese text into Ren'py, I will have to solve two coding/engine problems. First will be smooth switching of soundtrack versions - current implementation requires restarting the game, and when loading a save, the music version will change only at the new track. And the second thing - which will be easy, but time consuming - will be to code grahpic mode switching. After all that is done, the "only" remaining thing will be adding English translation.

Okay, so yesterday I finished StarTRain It wasn't without problems, but I enjoyed it. It's kind of mix between high-school rom-com and KEY's classics - I feel like it borrows some ideas from Kanon and Clannad. Main focus of this VN seems to be the true meaning of happiness - and, to extent, how relationships fit into that. At the beginning of the actual common route (after the prologue) Tsukasa is quite depressed after breaking up with Nami (I previously tagged it as a spoiler, but it's such a big part of the setting, that it's hard to talk about this VN without mentioning this). He's rather weak, and she was his whole world so now he feels like he lost the meaning of life. He also keeps wallowing in self-hatred. Depending on the choices, he can get closer to one of the three heroines, and there's also a "friendship" ending, which I wouldn't call bad - it's a bit like Crescendo's normal end. Kanade's route was perhaps the closest one to the typical romance VN. Tsundere childhood friend having a long-time crush on donkan protag-kun, and all problems that stem from this situation I liked this route even if it was full of cliches usually associated with tsunderes (and small tits ). Also, Kanade will get jealous in other routes, and then deny it in a classic tsundere way And I absolutely love two final CGs of this route: Asuka's route was the first one directly touching the topic of happiness. In the common route she said very important thing - "If you don't love yourself, you cannot become happy". And despite being very poor, living in a small rundown apartment only with her mother, she never gives up, always keeps smiling and encouraging others. Of course that's only the surface, and her route is focused on her family problems, especially her strained relationship with mother. I really liked it, and it's this route when I thought about Clannad, even though the setting is vastly different. Besides, Asuka is cute Yomogi's route was quite a surprising one. In the beginning, and on the surface, it looked like another cliched moege route. But soon quite creepy undertones appeared. Yomogi and Tsukasa were both in similar situation - dealing with past breakup. And so they decided to date to escape the loneliness. Not very healthy already, but Yomogi's situation was actually even heavier - After a few days and some events Tsukasa finds himself in Yomogi's room, and her in a rather miserable state, and he's faced with a choice - stay with her (forever...), or go home. (Or, in adult version - have sex with her or refuse and go home). The first choice leads to a bad end, and I think it was actually more pronounced in the all-ages version. It showed really unhealthy co-dependent relationship. When choosing to go away, some more drama ensues of course, but thanks to it the characters grow up a bit, and then finally they are able to meet together again, this time in a healthier way. Really nice route, providing some good observations and food for thought. Completing those three above routes unlocks another choice during the test of courage near the end of common route, and this is where we finally meet Nanami - who initially gets mistaken for a ghost and can proceed to the true route of the game. And this route was a hell of a ride. Nanami is a mysterious girl, who appeared at night at the school. She looks like a younger version of Nami (voice included), and she's great at playing flute. It turns out that she's on a trip (or a runaway ) and she's been sleeping there because she ran out of money. For a few nights Tsukasa goes to school and brings her some food, but then somebody notices suspicious activity at the school and so Nanami gets locked out from her temporary room, which makes her end up staying at Tsukasa's home - and that's where the fun begins. While Nanami looks like a spitting image of Nami, her personality is very different - she's very optimistic, and she finds joy in every little thing. Of course the two get closer and closer to each other, and suddenly Tsukasa noticed, that he's really happy when he's with Nanami. But sometimes she says some weird things - like that she used magic to get here, and, like in Cinderella's story, soon the magic will wear out... And that's where the story decides to hit us with a KEY punch. Another thing I'd like to praise is the Maiko and Hiroki duo. They're much more than a comic relief (although they're great at that) - they're Tsukasa's true friends, really caring for him, and helping in need - especially in true route. WHoah... this became a huuge wall of text... Time to sum it all up. I really enjoyed this VN, although the technical issues I mentioned in my initial post hampered that enjoyment a bit - the experience wasn't exactly smooth. Nevertheless true route was a great ride, and the standard routes also were decent. I also checked out PC adult version, and while I prefer the way the story was changed and extended for the console version, it also isn't bad. The only route that IMO suffers from the "eroge logic" (=="Each heroine needs a sex scene") is Nanami's route - it's the only one when it felt out of place. OTOH the big plus of PC version is resolution - 800x600 isn't much, but it looks much better than the 640x448 PS2 version. All in all - it was nice charage with a bit of a twist. 7.5/10 **************************************************************** Recently I got physical Switch versions of Daitoshokan no Hitsujikai and Aonatsu Line, and I think my next read will be one of those.

Yes, that seems to be the reason Now that I think about it, I've read yet another shinigami VN - Shinigami no Kiss wa Wakare no Aji, it was nice, but the setting a bit different

It looks nice - I don't think I'll jump into it immediately, but I'll bookmark it on Steam When reading the summary for some reason I thought about Palette's SakuSaku and Chrono Clock.