Clephas

In Houkago no Futekikakusha, all but the true ending are bad endings, lol.

I like Shigure Sora's definition, from Devils Devel Concept. Basically, it argues that while we are born in the shape of the species known as homo sapiens, humanity is actually a title achieved through striving on the part of the individual to rise above his nature.

Best heroine doesn't always match a true heroine... and not every VN with a true ending has a true heroine. A number of my favorite games have true routes with no specific heroine, simply because it stops being about heroines and more about the story. True paths are ultimately decided by the writer, even if we would prefer otherwise. Personally, since VNs with true endings tend to be several levels above those who don't have one (there are notable exceptions, but as a rule of thumb...), I tend to prefer for there to be a true ending. Frequently VNs will have an unstated 'main heroine' who isn't necessarily the heroine of a true route. This usually means her route is more involved, her character more developed, and she gets proportionately more screen time and lines than the other heroines. Luna from Tsukiyorisou is one of these... anyone who plays that game calls Luna the 'true heroine', though it was only stated recently by the company that she is the canon heroine (since the protagonist of Tsukiyorisou is her son with the protagonist). To be blunt, some true and main heroines are just horrible. Eustia from Aiyoku no Eustia is an example of a total failure of a true heroine, for instance... but there are also heroines that just make sense as true heroines, like Kagome from Comyu and Suzu from Ayakashibito. Even if you don't like them personally, it makes perfect sense to consider those two as the true heroines of their individual games.

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*Clephas looks up, what looks suspiciously like a human foot sticking out of his mouth*

Minimum of four maximum of seven. Create your ideal harem from VN heroines only. This is mine, as an example. Basic requirement: Having finished at least five VNs. Marie (Dies Irae) The oldest but perhaps the least mature member of the harem, Marie has only recently gained something resembling an understanding of other human beings. Her willingness to help, her essential kindness, and her inability to understand when she is being made fun of make her an ideal iyashikei for the harem. Hinaori Kagome (Comyu) The wary, sardonic, and pragmatic elder 'sister'. She possesses a deep well of passion and love, that serves as the only light in the darkness of her previous existence. Nonetheless, no matter how much she loves someone, she won't hesitate to sneer at them if she thinks they are being foolish, and she is strong and intelligent enough that she has no real reason to. She finds Marie somewhat annoying and she instinctively respects Belche as someone to reckon with. She and Kaze no Ushiro ni Ayumu Mono get along as well as can be expected from two apparent opposites that are fundamentally alike in certain ways. Welshalant D Annoyance (Belche) Draculius The 'motherly figure' and second oldest (most mature as well) member of the harem at almost two and a half centuries of life. She serves to watch over and keep order in the harem, as a font of wisdom, and as a source of gentle but strict guidance. Naitou Maia (Hapymaher) The epitome of the 'mischievous and slightly sadistic but loving little sister'. Maia, by nature, can only serve as an element of chaos in the mix. Controlling her becomes one of the prime focuses of her 'sisters', frequently driving her somewhat slow older sister Marie a little crazy. Kokoro (Chenfui) Evolimit The harem's dreamer, a wise young woman who knows the meaning of suffering and has a deep well of strength and kindness that touches those around her. She is frequently exasperated by Maia's antics and wary of Kagome's moods. However, she gets along well with Belche and Kaze no Ushiro ni Ayumu Mono, who alternately serve as a mentor and a friend in her mind. Having been frozen in time due to circumstances which I refuse to spoil, her apparent age is far behind her actual age (she is the third oldest after Belche and Marie). Kaze No Ushiro ni Ayumu Mono (Jingai Makyou) Playful, freedom-loving, and fiercely protective of her new family. She, like Kagome, possesses an eminently practical - if somewhat odd - viewpoint on life in general. In her mind, as long as she has food, doesn't have to worry about dying the next moment, has a family to love and protect, and is free to roam, she couldn't be happier. She is quite fond of Maia, whom she sees as a particularly mischievous cub, occasionally rebuking her when she goes to far, but otherwise leaving her to play as she will. She respects and fears both Kagome and Belche, not being foolish enough to think she is a match for either. Like all wolves, if she can't beat the others, she isn't the leader of the pack, so she is quite content to be beneath Kagome and Belche in the harem's pecking order.

This is enough reason to want to play it... But yeah... it's about at the same level as Ruitomo for difficulty.

Yeah, the English version is a pain... makes me wish that they'd translated one of the PC versions for the Japanese-incompetent.

Sharin doesn't really change all that much before the epilogue based on who you choose...

I've usually used the walkthrough to save at key points so that I can get back on a path as quickly as possible. I read the text I haven't read yet then skip the rest. No reason to reread the entire thing to get at the next path...

Demonbane is pretty much dominated by Al, to be honest. While it was the third Nitroplus game I played (of seven) it was only fourth in my rankings, below the three above... If you want something with characters like Comyu but without Akihito Hello, Lady (the most recent Akatsuki Works game) is a great choice. The protagonist is an arrogant bastard, but he is also capable. Eru's surface persona is pretty close to being identical to Mayuki's (and they have the same VA), for those who loved her, lol.

Jingai Makyou, Phantom, and Muramasa are my big recommendations for Nitroplus...

Generally speaking, Light, Nitroplus (pre-Sumaga), and Akatsuki Works tend to produce VNs with a really cynical undertone. They don't go for surrealistic emotionalism or unnecessarily 'convenient' outcomes, for the most part. People are people in their VNs, in all their disgusting glory (though in Dies Irae and the similar Light games, there is a tendency toward over-exaggerating certain traits for the sake of the overall story). Even Ruitomo has a seriously cynical and bitter undertone to it. A lot of it is that chuuni is a genre that throws shame to the winds... so writers can get away with not pretending people are somehow good at heart (blech). Of course, other chuuni companies, like Propeller, use chuuni to create inspiring stories or stories that show off the best in humans... but Akatsuki Works generally goes out of its way to show off the worst in people. Akihito's obsession with the 'gentle kingdom' echoes Tomo's obsession with curses and Sora's obsession with the concept of subjective evil and humanity as an earned status rather than a default one. (Tomo is Ruitomo's protag and Sora is Devils Devel Concept's protag). In a similar way, Boku ga Sadame also pursues a similar vein, with its obsessing over fate, predetermination, and the like.

Dude... it's chuuni. By definition it's pretentious. Second... you can't trust an English translation for details.

Some of the people in the city

Only people in a comyu can see the avatars.

By definition, my recommendations aren't in English, lol.

Almost forgot. VN of the Month for July 2014: AstralAir no Shiroki Towa Romantic Recommendation: Hoshi Ori Yume Mirai (just because I don't want it doesn't mean other people won't) August's releases include Sougeki no Jaeger, which is Propeller's (my second favorite company) newest game... I can't wait to play it. Too bad I have to wait fifteen days for it, lol.

Well... I finished GIB... and the only thing I can say is that, for better or for worse, this is a moege. I don't mean a charage and I don't mean a nakige... I mean a moege. While some of Whirlpool's relatively recent VNs have made attempts at having a real story (Suzukaze/Maikaze and Lunaris Filia had pretty high-quality stories), this game reminds me more of their earlier works, like Sevens. It is extremely moe-friendly and lacking any significant character depth or a strong story to serve as a backbone. The spoofs on various Western sci-fi movies and series (a 'Gray' alien with a lightsaber calling itself a Juddi made me rofl) were pretty funny, but I honestly thought 'three in a row, just when is Whirlpool going to go back to what it started with Suzukaze?' by the end of this VN. The last few games by this company were increasingly... light. So, I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised when a VN that is pretty much just a spoof on Men in Black would be full of weird jokes and silly characters... but I really had hoped there would be something interesting underneath, silly me. Still, if you want a plain apple pie moege... nobody does it better than Whirlpool. The reason? Whirlpool knows better than to fix what isn't broken when it comes to the moe aspects of their art style and characters. Their fans want cute girls, cheap romance, and slightly out-there settings, so that is what they get. The fact that two of their games strayed from the path and actually had strong plots only serves to highlight what they specialize in, looking at it from an objective point of view. Did I like this game? Hard to say... it was a bit of fun. However, I didn't feel like I'd gained anything by playing it. If I knew then what I knew now, would I have played this for VN of the Month? Probably not. I probably would have held off to when I needed some cheap laughter or uncomplicated moege romance I could be sure wouldn't make me want to puke sand.

For those who want to know my thoughts on those paths of Hoshi Ori Yume Mirai that I did complete... I'll just give you my assessment. First, the game itself uses high-quality visuals, albeit in a slightly more 'mature' style than is the norm, which distinguishes it from moege. The eye style is identical to that used in Lovesick Puppies and an evolution of the one used in Yurikago yori Tenshi Made (a slightly more metallic look to the iris and more distinct pupils). The music is good... albeit lacking in any stand-out tracks. First, understand that if it weren't for the fact that my tolerance for romance is about 20% of the average moege (in other words, if more than 20% of an average-length moege is romance, I start getting bored), which means that Hoshi Ori was way above my tolerance, with more than 60% of the game being romance. Nonetheless, I played through Yukimura's and Rikka's paths. I was impressed with the length and detail of the after stories, though they were as packed with romantic episodes as the main game, which made them stressful for me. If you were to ask me whether I liked the characters... the only heroines I liked in the game were the two I picked out and maybe Sora, the others being slightly outside of my psychological strike zone. If I had to use a word for the heroine paths... it would be 微笑ましい. The heroines are good girls, for the most part, and if it weren't for how boring I find drawn-out (normal) romantic developments, I could have enjoyed it more. Now for a slighly less subjective outlook... do I think other people would like this game? The answer is yes. For those who enjoy romance stories with young people making up the cast, this is a great choice. The fact that I despise this kind of thing doesn't make it drivel... in fact, it is just the reverse. This isn't puerile, ridiculous, or idiotic like a lot of American romance stories are (having helped write several during my early career, I should know), but it is most definitely 'young' romance. The characters are mostly struggling with problems unique to youths and the entire story is definitely most relevant to a young person, at least for the main route (the after-story being a different bag of tricks altogether). For those who use Konosora as a reference point for seishun romance, you should know that this is several levels of quality higher, but far more focused on the romantic aspects. The fact that what makes this game a possible kamige are the reasons why I can't stand it is just an overwhelming irony, lol.

Do you want Clephas' recommendations? lol

Decay, don't restart the manwhore conversation. We've had enough of that one...