Clephas

Nao's isn't a route, its a ten-minute (for me) set of scenes that basically reveals one vital thing about her then ends. Edit: Incidentally, I'll be starting Minori's new game next, and after that, hopefully the newest Soleil game will have a release available for me, as I intend to make that the last one I play from January for now. Edit2:... just saying this beforehand, but I don't really like Minori, as a company. I'm only playing this because I know the fanboys want someone to tell them what it was like and whether it was any good. Also, leaving a Minori game out of the candidates for game of the month would be an abuse of my evil power as the master of this thread. Production values for their games are always high... but the only time I felt a sense of satisfaction after a Minori game was Eden* I'll strive to evaluate the game objectively, but I'm just warning yall in advance that a game being from this company is always an automatic -1 one for me.

Just finished Sekai to Sekai no Mannaka de. I'm glad to see that Lump of Sugar has regained its magic after two disappointing releases in a row. This is a nakige, with a surreal fantasy story that is centered around the heroines. Unfortunately, revealing any of the details would ruin it for those who want to play it, so I'll avoid spoilers. There are four heroines in the story: Kokoro the imouto, Minori the two-faced honor student, Haruka the mimikko mathematician, and Aira, the poker-faced girl with the beautiful singing voice. Overall, this game feels like a shorter version of a Key game, and each of the routes - except Kokoro's - follows this pattern: split off from the common route>fall in love>ichaicha with occasional foreshadowing>drama and nakige-tears. This game doesn't really make you laugh, which is the biggest difference from a Key game. Rather, it is more of a 'chicken soup for the soul' type of game. As such, if you want to play something that will leave you feeling warm and fuzzy inside at the end, this game is a good choice.

For me... Tokyo Babel. It had some really screwy bad ends. Raziel's bad end was particularly interesting, if more than a little creepy and gruesome.

Incidentally, there is such a thing as moege with good story... but Feng didn't write any of them. Try Lump of Sugar or Whirlpool for that.

Because Feng's VNs are all straight moege with no real value except cute girls and mindless ichaicha. It is a complete waste of time to translate that type when watching a few love-comedy or moeblob anime will fulfill the same needs. Also, that company seems to be incapable of writing a real story that is worth reading (speaking from experience). They fulfill the needs of 'mainstream' otakus in Japan, but their games aren't something worth waiting for. Edit: Let me put it this way... if you were a translator and you had the choice between translating mindless drivel and a masterpiece of VN literature, which would you choose? (this is a valid comparison, as there are numerous VNs out there that fit the latter example and are untranslated)

http://vndb.org/v7777 Forgot to put this on the list. This game is based in a future where everyone has the right (yes, a right, not a privilege) to be freed from the threats of death by age or illness... and it is also a rather interesting view into what that world might be like. There are a few huge twists to the unlockable endings, and if you have a heart you'll probably cry through the first two endings you can access, if for different reasons. I know I did. This game does have its flaws, but it is still something people with a fascination for immortality should try.

God, this project is going to kill so many people. All the people who will hang themselves when they read it when it is done after all that waiting because it ends on a cliffhanger for the third game, lol

Considering how many abortive projects I've seen over the years... it is probably closer to one in fifteen. Less than ten percent, anyway. Most projects get started, do a little, then fall apart when people get frustrated.

To add one more onto my list... Kokoro from Evolimit

If there is a harem ending, it always has h-scenes. Non-ero vns tend to be single heroine or no-heroine endings only.

http://vndb.org/v13342 Just finished this. It looks at first glance like your classic moege, but as you go deeper into it, it becomes apparent that it is really a story-focused VN. The story is focused around a dueling system where groups of 'knight students' from each of the twelve branch schools in this imaginary town that seems to promise success to all those who come out of it. In the system, the ones who hold the 'princess' when the 'king's power' awakens gain the right to grant a single wish. Overall, the story isn't the best I've ever read, but it does reach a high enough level that I feel like I could recommend it to those who want something lighter than a chuuni game but heavier than your average nakige. If there is an aspect that stands out about this game to me, it is the protagonist. He is... a strategist/tactician with an incredibly ruthless side that he shows early on (I won't spoil it for you). Honestly, this type is pretty rare in VNs outside of dark nukige (usually revenge fantasies and the like) except as an antagonist, and so it was quite interesting to have his type as a protag. The biggest downside to this game is that there were no heroines I felt matched the protagonist. All the girls (except Vivian, who is too simple to be normal) are fairly archetypical, and I didn't really find a heroine I fell in love with (though I love the antagonist of the true route, which is also an extension of Kei's route). The true route is defined by a mindfuck twist, so there is a minor treat in there for those who like that kind of thing.

Also... it takes all the fun out of playing a game for the first time when they tell you everything about it... I love stumbling across hidden gems as a result of my random game purchasing habits.

As a contrary bastard of the first non-Japanese otaku generation, I naturally take an instant dislike to games that get over-hyped. Initially, this was because of the contrariness I mentioned above (a stage every jaded gamer/reader/watcher goes through eventually), but my dislike for over-hyped games eventually transformed into a dislike for the injustice companies frequently did their games by hyping them, even if they weren't worth the hype. Companies will frequently hype a game made by a particularly experienced and successful team far beyond what any sane person would. This will frequently lead to gamer disappointment and a general sense of dissatisfaction. Personally, regardless of whether the game is worth this commercial hype, I think it does the game in question a disservice by raising expectations to levels far beyond what is possible. (did anyone seriously expect Xenosaga to match Xenogears?) Fan hype is... somewhat more insidious, because it is usually based in experience. You hear that a game is good (usually hearsay from someone else who also heard it from someone else) and you find your expectations rise. You might even recommend a game to others based on this hearsay. This creates a self-propagating spiral of hearsay that frequently results in merely 'good' games being hyped as if they were masterpieces (ie. Aiyoku no Eustia, my personal bone to pick with community hype). For people like me, this will frequently causes us to go berserk when we have to hear others praising the game and raising it up onto a pedestal. It also causes us to overreact in our disappointment. I loathe nothing more than playing a game based on hype, only to find the game is far below even my 'adjusted expectations' ( I long ago learned to tone my expectations down when I began to hear hype about a particular game). Considering the sheer number of VNs I've played, you'd think I would have gotten used to disappointment... but I don't go into most VNs with anything more than the vaguest of expectations. I'm actually harsher on my favorite genres than I would be on moege or nakige, because I know what I like and I hate being lead into a minefield by the nose. What are your experiences with hype, commercial or otherwise, and how do you feel about it as a social phenomenon in general?

1/2 Summer is a fairly straight-up non-Key style nakige from an established company that usually does a good job, so even if I didn't recommend it it would probably be a safe game to try. Nonetheless, I'll say that yeah, it is good. As for Eustia, duh. I have never even considered replaying Eustia and with good reason. Considering that I replay all action-fantasy VNs I even like a little bit at least once, that says a lot. (incidentally, August is a company that produces games that look good at first glance but let you down in the end... every game I've played from them, including Hitsujikai and Fortune Arterial followed that same pattern) Edit: I've heard the 'Ruriiro' series is good, but it is sitting in my backlog. For all I know, it might be an exception to the rule with August. However, I won't hold my breath.

No. I hate that game. Edit: A small addendum. I am a Eushully fan, and as all Eushully fans know, kodzukuri banchou, Himegari and Kamidori are the three worst games ever made or produced by that company. As such, I wouldn't add them even if you put a gun to my head and demanded it. Edit2: Thank god that at least Banchou was written by a subsidiary rather than the main company...

Resurrecting this thread from the horrors of Fuwapocalypse 3.0, I give you my list of great fantasy VNs. For the untranslated ones, I'm going to split them into regular/moe fantasy and action fantasy. Translated: Tsukihime Fate/Stay Night Kagetsu Tohya Comyu Irotoridori no Sekai (partial) Eien no Aselia (gameplay) Fate/Hollow Ataraxia Dracu-riot (partial) Cross Channel Sharin no Kuni (it isn't fantasy in the classic sense, but it is fantasy in the sense that it is based in an alternative world that is so different as to not even resemble our world socially) Shinikiss Hoshizora no Memoria (and the fandisc) Zanmataisei Demonbane (even with mecha, this is fantasy...) 1/09/2015 edit Bunny Black Gahkthun of the Golden Lightning Sekien no Inganock (I honestly don't know why I didn't put this here before) Shikkoku no Sharnoth Untranslated (regular): Hapymaher Hyper→Highspeed→Genius Konata yori Kanata Made Ore no Tsure wa Hitodenashi Maji Suki ~Marginal Skip Moshimo Ashita ga Harenaraba Ruitomo (as well as the fandisc both are borderline, but I decided to list them as regular fantasy) Suzunone Seven Kamikaze Explorer Tenshi no Hane wo Fumanaide (similar to Ruitomo, borderline because there are serious action scenes) Tsuisou no Augment 1/2 Summer Gaku Ou Hatsuyuki Sakura Hotel. (end of world fantasy) Boku ga Tenshi ni Natta Wake (utsuge, some rape, a little too dark for the average reader) Kamigakari Cross Heart Karumaruka Circle Koko yori, Haruka Kono Sekai no Mukou de Lunaris Filia (vampires, Whirlpool, fairly good) Mahou Shoujo na Taisetsu na Koto (too ridiculous for the action section) Meguri Megureba Meguru Toki!? (Caramel Box, interesting concept) Monobeno (youkai, very 'Japanese' feeling in an older sense) Naka no Hito nado Nai (might be considered sci-fi by some, but too fantasy-like to even be science fantasy) Onigokko Ryuuyoku no Melodia (Whirlpool, decent) Tayutama Timepiece Ensemble Tojita Sekai no Tori Colony Toppara Tsubasa wo Kudasai Witch's Garden 11eyes (I was requested to list this one, but to be honest I'm not fond of it) 3 Days Wiz Anniversary Amatsu Misora ni Erect! (I make an exception for this nukige because it also has a good story, though it is in the end a nukige) Natsu no Owari no Nirvana (utsuge, Japanese-influenced Buddhist mythology) Mirai Nostalgica Tasogare no Sinsemillia Gleam Garden no Shoujo '&' - Sora no Mukou de Sakimasu you ni - Kaminoyu (peaceful, no human heroines) Kurenai no Tsuki (other person's recommendation/request) Lovekami (Japanese mythology/moege) Furuiro Meikyuu Rondo ~Histoire de Destin~ (horror, mystery, mindfuck) 8/13/2014 edit AstralAir no Shiroki Towa Atled Ashita no Kimi ni Ao Tame ni Majo Koi Nikki (an acquired taste, too surreal for mine) Tsukiakari Lunch Sakigake Generation (same world as Suzunone Seven, a generation previous) Hapymaher Fragmentation Dream (sequel to the original, concludes the overall story) Alia's Carnival Koi ga Saku Koro Sakura Doki Izayoi no Fortuna 1/09/2015 edit Monobeno Happy End Sakura Nikagetsu Kitto, Sumiwataru Asairo yori mo Sei Monmusu Gakuen (and the fandisc) Mamono Musume no Rakuen series Ayakashi Contract Love Rec Koitama Chrono Clock Hana no No ni Saku Utakata no Soreyori no Prologue Sanoba Witch Natsu no Iro no Nostalgia Hyakka Ryouran Elixir Kami no Ue no Mahoutsukai Nanairo Reincarnation Amairo Islenauts Satsukoi Dekina Watashi ga, Kurikaesu Untranslated (action): Bullet Butlers Tokyo Babel (non-ero, very good use of Christian angel/demon apocrypha, great protagonist, great heroines) Chrono Belt Devils Devel Concept Dies Irae Paradise Lost Kajiri Kamui Kagura Soranica Ele Vermillion Bind of Blood Yurikago yori Tenshi made Draculius Shinigami no Testament Gurenka Bloody Rondo Futagoza no Paradox (cthulu) Ikusa Megami Zero (gameplay) Shin Koihime Musou (gameplay) Soukoku no Arterial (gameplay) Gensou no Avatar (doujin, no voices) Abyss Homicide Club (some of the stuff in this game is too whacked out to call it non-fantasy) Jingai Makyou Muramasa Gekkou no Carnevale Tiny Dungeon (whole series, in order) Danzai no Maria Hello, Good-bye Legend Seven Trample on Schatten Owaru Sekai to Birthday (almost made this non-action, cthulu influence) Para-sol Shinjisougeki Carnival Stellula Eques Codex ~Tasogare no Himekishi~ (dark Mahou Shoujo without tentacles, lol) Trouble@Vampire Boku no Te no Naka no Rakuen (medieval fantasy without rape, for those who want it) Gensou no Idea Heliotrope ~sore wa shi ni itaru kami no ai (trans: That is the love of god that results in death. This game has a borderline hetare protag, so not to be recommended for those with that as a pet peeve) ExE (decent but a little too formulaic) Jesus 13th (cthulu) Kouyoku no Soleil -vii’s World- (decent but not great) Soushuu Senshinkan Hachimyoujin (more fun from the makers of Dies Irae) 8/13/2014 edit Ikusa Megami Zero Ikusa Megami Verita Tenbin no la Dea (this one and the two above are from the same series of fantasy gameplay vns) Houkago no Futekikakusha (extremely utsuge, not for the faint of heart) Tiny Dungeon series Hello, Lady (awesome new game from Akatsuki Works) 1/09/2015 edit Izumo 4 Silverio Vendetta Kyuuketsu Hime no Libra Kikan Bakumatsu Ibun Last Cavalier Hatsuru koto Naki Mirai yori Tou no Shita no Exercitus Rakuen no Shugosha Sorcery Jokers Marrybell wa Shinda to Papa ni Tsutaete Kikouyoku Senki Gin no Toki no Corona (and fandisc) Venus Blood Frontier Venus Blood Hypno Kami no Rhapsody Teito Hiten Daisakusen Unionism Quartet Hello Lady Fandisc Chuushingura Sekai wo Sukuu Dake no Kantan na Oshigoto Valkyrie Runabout

That's why I give at least some info on each of the games I play from each month's releases, even if I don't like them. In this case, it got a lot of mention from me and others (as seen in the posts above), but I've yet to neglect a game of this type when it came out, though I've only been doing this thread since October.

For all-ages and games coming from an anime or light novel (and thus already have established popularity) it makes sense from a financial perspective to put them on consoles or portables, because that is the best way to reach the audience. In opposition, great 18+ VNs and unique ones tend to end up on the PC. It's just a question of marketing, really.

For your first and second requests, try the latest game I played, Bradyon Veda. It is hard sci-fi at its most extreme, with a multiverse-spanning plot. For your third and fourth, I can recommend Evolimit, one of my permanent top-ten residents. Most games by Propeller have great humor, balanced with great action and the like. The protagonist isn't one of those super-hot blooded people, but that is mostly because he isn't a moron, like most of the people of that type. If you want really hot-blooded protag, you need Trample on Schatten or Legend Seven. Most decent mech VNs (though mech-haters would say there is no such thing) don't have much in the way of hot-blooded main characters. Sorry I couldn't find you anything like that. Lagann was like a love letter to the old 'giant robot' genre, and the genre was already dying at the turn of the century. So, it is quite natural you won't find anything like that anymore that doesn't make fun of the genre. Comedy is ridiculously easy to find in VNs... but truly hilarious comedy is fairly rare. Stuff similar to Clannad is the most common (usually toned down or not nearly as good) and the comedy tends to be reliant on the character dynamics. Manzai (tsukkumi/boke) is the most common, with the next being comedy where the situation plus Japanese inside culture makes it into a joke. tbh, unless you are an all-out otaku who has given over his life to otaku culture, there is a good chance you won't pick up on the latter. Edit: At least part of the reason why there are almost no decent 'pure-comedy' VNs is because VNs with great comedy tend to also have great writers, and great writers have problems with open-ended or empty stories. A good portion of the VNs with great stories also have great humor.

Hinaori Kagome from Comyu: Shigure Sora (protagonist) from Devils Devel Concept: Kuki-sensei (antagonist) from Ayakashibito: Shiranui Yoshikazu (protagonist) from Evolimit:

Yeah, like I said, I can't recommend this as my game of the month for that reason. It is quite simply too much for the average reader, even setting aside mainstream readers and concentrating on sci-fi and chuuni fans. In its own way, this game has a tendency to create obsession to the same degree Muramasa did (I had dreams about both games while playing them, where I viewed alternative versions made up by my fried psyche). The difference is that it is a lot harder to access, simply because most people don't know enough physics to follow it, whereas the moral concepts central to Muramasa and the rather careful explanations of swordsmanship in the game made it relatively easy to understand (they learned significantly from the problems with Hanachirasu and applied their solutions to Muramasa).

Mmm... for me, the game was a pleasant surprise. I sometimes dislike infodumping, but Bradyon's choice to infodump as part of the battles was actually interesting. Mostly, I feel that way because it is immediately relevant information that I can understand relatively easily (though it probably woudn't be so for many). In my Japanese reading of Hanachirasu, for instance, I found myself disliking the game's infodumping on swordsmanship, because I didn't have the points of reference to understand it.

They describe doing some pretty interesting things, like transforming base particles into metals or the ingredients for TNT... If there was one I had trouble with, it was Ryou's secret attack... I had to reread the reveal scene to think it over again. Most of the others were relatively simple concepts. I thought the coolest ones were Komoe's and Shion's (her ultimate one). Shion's is pretty horrifying if you think about experiencing being killed that way... The really interesting way about the way they fight is that they are basically constructing their techniques from the ground up, based on physics theory. It is pretty scary to imagine a brain capable of that (imagine someone with savant syndrome who has no communication deficiency and a near-perfect memory for detail).

Well, having finished Bradyon Veda... all I can say is that Akatsuki Works still has the old magic. This VN is hard sci-fi at its most extreme. By that, I mean that nine out of ten non-native Japanese speakers (and a lot of those who speak Japanese) would get lost halfway through the game. This game's linguistic level frequently goes up to 8-9, and even many of the spoken parts hover around 7. This game infodumps like crazy and is something of a mindfuck, as well. If you don't know your basic physics concepts you will get lost during every battle scene... ... but god was it fun to read. I eat this kind of thing up, so I can't help but love this game. However, this is for sci-fi maniacs who like to think of the possibilities of evolution, the nature of time, and the nature of dimensions. For someone looking for a simple action story, this game would probably sink you within a few hours. The battle systems are ridiculously well-written... but what Naoto and the others are doing is so complex (and well-described) that most people won't even be able to follow it. As such... even for science fiction veterans in Japanese, this game is pretty much out of reach. Nonetheless, this is a great game I can recommend... to someone who has the ability to read it. Anyway, as I promised in another thread, this game simply gets an honorable mention for hitting all the right buttons for me, and I'll be picking another, more accessible game for game of the month. My basic reasons for doing so? Because I have an essential duty to recommend to people games that they can actually read. I love Kajiri Kamui Kagura, but the game is beyond the reach of most non-native speakers. As such, I never would have recommended it as a game of the month. Another reason is that I can never quite be sure I'm assessing a game like this appropriately from the average reader's point of view. I try my best, but in the end my tastes will always get the better for me. So, whenever a game so obviously presses all my happy buttons, I will always choose a different VN for the VN of the month, if there is one that is worthy of it. There is literally no way I can describe the story or setting without spoiling things (a great deal of the story is bound up in the setting itself and this game loves to leave you hanging early on). First, despite the appearance in the trailers, what the characters are using isn't onmyoujutsu or some other kind of mystical power, but rather they are using those motions, words, and the like to activate a particular code in those devices on their arms that has a particular effect on reality using certain particles which can effect but aren't effected by the natural forces of the universe. So, despite the outer appearance, this game is definitely science-fiction. Second, this is not 'our' Earth they are playing around on, or at least it is not the Earth of our time frame. It is at least some time in the future, gauging by the presence of cyborgs, the fact that China apparently became a feudal empire (or never stopped being one) and people have no hesitation whatsoever about using nukes in war. This game also follows a distinct route order, which is: Kaede>Shion>True. Kaede and Shion routes are directly linked to the true ending, so it is pretty much required reading to go through both before the True ending. For those of you who have the courage to play this game... good luck!!!

Draculius. In that one, they switch perspectives during the h-scenes occasionally, and it gets pretty... hot.