Clephas

http://vndb.org/v12983 Just finished this. It is a pretty decent cutesy moege by Whirlpool, a prolific moege company that produces ones that range from the cute and average to the adorable and great (though most of their games end up somewhere in between). It is based in the same world as and at least a little bit later than the events in Magus Tale, and I'm pretty sure it is based on the true end of that one. The protagonist in this game is a young mage who loves to fly on his broom who finds a talking one in a ruin after crashing. This creates the basis for a typical Whirlpool story, where an average-quality plot is combined with their typically good visuals and generic music to create a high-quality moege. For those looking for the comfort food of cute girls, a mild fantasy setting, and a protagonist who is mysteriously popular with bishoujo, this is a good choice. Though, it is not a contender for game of the month, naturally. Edit: Moving on to Timepiece Ensemble. I'd like to get Boukoku no Kishidan, but my actual copy of the game won't arrive until sometime in February (my supplier forgot to preorder it, and there were no extra copies at the stores he frequented) and it has yet to be posted anywhere that I've noticed.

Welcome to Fuwa.

Welcome to Fuwa.

lol, you know I would never miss those. Those are two of my favorite companies, after all.

I just tried to play Love Replica, a new moege that showed some promise by having a sci-fi setting and a protagonist who sounded like he might be capable... but after forging through a thousand lines of text, I had to give up. First, the protag is so shallow, stupid, and donkan (without the cliche redeeming value of being kind/gentle), and it sort of felt like what would happen if a dumber Sunohara were to be made a protagonist without Tomoya to make him viable as a character. Second, rather than getting into what seemed like an interesting setting (genetically-altered clones created for the purpose of providing healthy organs immune to a deadly disease), they instead had the protagonist gathering people for a band, with him only seeming to be more of an idiot with every word that came out of his mouth. Even if the game picks up later, I don't think it is worth plowing through the mountain of junk lines that make up the beginning of the story.

Good luck with that... now all we need is a Tsukihime Day, as that game had as much influence in its own area as Kanon did...

Welcome to Fuwa *hands him an adorable android girl with eyes that melt people on sight to speak for him in cases like this*

Welcome to Fuwa.

Welcome to Fuwa. *is too tired to do anything dramatic*

Talk to me when you are ready for the untranslated, lol.

Decent AI heroines are hard to find...

*begins dancing the dance of welcome, ignoring the way the ground turns black, plants wilt, and man-eating monsters emerge from thin air in reaction* Welcome to Fuwa.

*fills lunchbox with a ham and cheese sandwich, a baggie of Cheetos and a pack of apple juice* Welcome back.

Always glad to help.

http://vndb.org/v551 This is my standing recommendation to anyone who likes utsuge. The protagonist's struggles and how he deals with his fate are what make this the best utsuge ever. For a second utsuge: http://vndb.org/v11193 This game is heavy on the fantasy elements, but it is based around Japanese-influenced Buddhist mythology rather than something in another world. It is also one of the top 5 best games of 2013, in my opinion. http://vndb.org/v2537 Ask Kaguya for the links to the download for this. It is very good, but it is also a doujin, so hard to find. Understand, I don't really play horror VNs, though if you really want one, the Secret Game/Killer Queen series in the post above applies for both (most of Secret Game: Revise is utsuge material, and there is definite psychological horror to the whole thing). As for nakige...(incidentally, nakige and utsuge are mutually exclusive genres, as an utsuge fundamentally rejects good endings and a nakige always has good endings) http://vndb.org/v604 http://vndb.org/v100 http://vndb.org/v10957

Survival, action, mystery... my best recommendation to you would probably be Kurenai no Tsuki. It is a decent supernatural mystery with some action and a logical progression of events (though the logic of it is generally hidden from the protag). http://vndb.org/v2031 Another possible recommendation for you would be the Secret Game/Killer Queen series, though that one is no so much a mystery as a battle royale/survival sort of thing. http://vndb.org/v5435 I'd suggest playing the latest version of this one first, as it leads right into Killer Queen/Secret Game chronologically... though some prefer to play Killer Queen/Secret Game original first.

*does unspeakable things to the moe, turning them into flaming tentacle monsters* Welcome.

*sets off a thousand supernovas in welcome* Welcome to Fuwa.

Welcome.

Yes, this.

Currently playing Sengoku Hime 5... a few pieces of advice. Do NOT play any of the central Japan routes first. They might start out easy, but one of the most basic necessities of maintaining stable progress is never biting off more than you can chew. Shikoku might seem easy because of how nobody can attack you from outside the island at first, but its vulnerability from like six different directions makes it untenable once that 'beginning of the game' protection is gone. Simply put, do the Date and Shimazu routes first. Both have lots of powerful generals in the area to capture and recruit and have the advantage of allowing you to make a measured advance and expansion. Once you've completed the game twice, you can bring in some generals from your other playthroughs using the points it gives you and challenge the central Japan routes. Also, the game's difficulty is overall a bit higher than 4 and the menus are somewhat more clunky. Not to mention the impossibility of getting to certain 'bound to be defeated and killed' generals before that happens to them in most cases, lol. On the bright side, the protagonist's presence and the overall story is more believable and less choppy for at least two of the routes (the Shikoku and Shimazu) and I enjoyed that aspect better than 4. As conquest games go, I'd say it is a mediocre game, but as ones made by the Japanese go, it is pretty high up there (Dragon Force being the highest and games like Sengoku Rance the worst). Update: Oda path is the best... 'if Oda doesn't get herself killed by Mitsuhide' path, though it differs in other ways as well.

*hands a pocket nuke to the moe, telling her the big red button will summon a free cake set for her to eat* Welcome to Fuwa *surreptitiously teleports away*

Welcome to Fuwa *summons a pretty girl who immediately falls in love with the thread's author, her eyes obsessed and a knife hidden under her clothing*

*summons two demons to possess the lolis, who immediately begin to rampage, killing dozens of civilians before escaping into the wilderness* Welcome to Fuwa.

Man on Fire, with Denzel Washington. I love most of his movies, but this one was my favorite.