Clephas

Just finished the Stork Tower novels that have come out so far... more cliffhangers. I love Atherleah, but the way things keep expanding reminds me of a lot of sci-fi series that collapsed toward the later books because they couldn't keep track of all the balls in the air. Atherleah has some of the best qualities of a fantasy or sci-fi protagonist in a litrpg: a firm set of ethics, if not morals; the cleverness or intelligence to think outside of the box and challenge the system; and a personal goal that never quite gets lost in the constant deluge of events. I just wish the author had organized this into arcs instead of just making things endlessly complex. The way Leah runs on a near-24/7 schedule due to future science makes me wince in sympathy regularly, and her schedule just keeps getting more packed.

In terms of books I sampled (read the first ten chapters at least) the number balloons to 300 or so... the seventy I'm talking about are the ones I was finding the most interesting. Here is a list of the ones I enjoyed the most (even if some were trashy). The Chaos Seeds (think an isekai/other world story with a protagonist who constantly swings back and forth between enlightened self-interest, pragmatism, and lust for power/stat geeking). The Stork Tower (extremely interesting dystopian future with a genius street rat who makes powerful enemies in the virtual and real worlds) Light Online (protagonist starts out as an out-of-luck NEET who is about to be turned into a virtual slave and then manages to rise high by playing a VRMMO in an unusual style). The Ten Realms - Protagonists are an amputee mercenary named Erik and his comrade and best friend Rugrat. They end up in the Ten Realms, two soldiers in a land of magic, and they quickly realize the only way to be themselves is to gain power and challenge themselves. Sort of a blend of Wuxia cultivation, military fantasy, and craft obsessive nation-building with two foul-mouthed soldiers with hidden depths leading the way. The Dark Elf Chronicles- In a future where a 'zombie particle' has contaminated most of the lifeforms on Earth, a few survivors try to live long enough to find a way to copy themselves into an online game while also stabilizing said game so it won't be a pure hellworld when they do so. Tons of ups and downs in this story. The Shadow Sun series- In this one, a mysterious System essentially unleashes massive numbers of super-powered monsters to cull humanity in preparation for aliens bidding on the land and resources. Very much a survival apocalypse story for the first three books. The Silver Fox & the Western Hero - Pure Wuxia with hardcore cultivation and horrid levels of racial prejudice... and a young former American plopped down in the middle who has a stat sheet in his head. The protagonist seems fairly normal, until he isn't. He is intelligent to the point of being brilliant, and absolutely devoted to the path he chooses. However, he is also capable of rising above his own desires at key points. Honestly, I can't wait until the next one comes out. Battleborne- First in a new series about a soldier who dies with his unit and gets reincarnated as a combination of several races by a Valkyrie as reward for his life of war and bravery. All Trades- A former conman goes into a virtual reality game to earn the money to give back to the family that supported him after his term in prison. He really has turned a new leaf, but he quickly finds himself riding the figurative tiger by the tail as he tries to do right by those around him while also earning enough money to pay off his loan shark.

Needless to say, when I hit my latest speed bump in the form of another partial burnout on VNs, I was left wondering what to do with all that free time. For about forty hours of that time, it was Ghost of Tsushima, but when that was over, I accidentally picked up my first litrpg on Kindle Unlimited... and oh god, I almost wish I hadn't. The problem, when I analyze it in retrospect, is that my fondness for anime like SAO, Log Horizon, and Overlord had primed me perfectly, my addictive personality instantly latching onto the familiar elements to draw me in beyond retrieval. While roughly two-thirds of the books I downloaded weren't worth reading, the ones that were left me unable to stop (The Chaos Seeds, in particular). I'm pretty sure anyone who paid attention during the peak of my VN of the Month years can probably guess that I have a tendency to throw myself into my addictions rather than trying to restrain myself. In this case, it was made worse by the fact that I'd been 'starved' of anything worth my attention (new) for months on end, so when my first litrpg dug its claws into my stimulus-starved brain, I became incapable of stopping. In fact, I haven't really stopped even now, despite 70 different books completed from over a dozen authors in just under forty days. I even ignored last month's releases, despite Phantom Trigger's latest episode having come out. I don't even remember the VN I was playing at the time anymore, because I've consumed so much content of late between long bouts of stress working with even more stressed out clients who want even more for less than usual. I'm mostly writing this post to laugh at myself, since I have absolutely no intention whatsoever of ceasing to indulge in reading the near-endless list of litrpgs available for free with my KU subscription...

mmm... NTR can be problematic for people who find it easy to suspend disbelief and also think relationships should be honest and straightforward. This is especially true of the 'forced NTR' that makes up most of the genre. If you find it easy to get behind protagonists' eyes, it is merely a painful experience, not an exciting one... unless you are already that far gone, anyway.

This was my assessment while doing VN of the Month. Relatively few commercial non-nukige VNs were unworthy of at least being called 'decent' if one looked at them in an unbiased manner... at least by the standards of the individual genres. If I were rating things entirely by taste, I probably would have subtracted points from most charage, but I was making an attempt not to do so for much of that period of my life. Most people vote based on what they like, rather than the actual quality of the game. One trick to make your way through a site like vndb is to find a member whose tastes mirror your own to some extent and use them as a base to add to your potential playlist. If you want to try a little of everything, people like me are a better choice, since we actually make an attempt at being fair. VNDB asks its members to refrain from giving 10s to everything they like (though some people do anyway), and I generally followed this policy, often examining games more deeply for flaws that would keep them from being a perfect 10. In the end though, generalized vndb scores are rarely a full measure of the game's quality. You can get a generalized idea of whether it might be horrible or not, and if you see a lot of bars near both the bottom and the top at the same time then it is probably a game that causes extremely diverse reactions from various people (like Eustia or Subahibi, where people either love it or hate it).

I am a prolific abuser of ellipses myself. I abuse them because... well, it is so easy to use them as a means of expression. Emotion, humor, hesitation, etc. These things can all be expressed in a wall of text to indicate the state of the writer's thoughts using an ellipses. They are just so darned convenient.

As I was one of the members that burned out a while back (too many VNs played for the sake of my blog on the site), I know something of where you are coming from. I was spending something like 50 hours a week playing VNs, many of them I didn't like or whose concept I found boring and pedestrian, to be able to be fair when doing my VN of the Month column. I was using a tiny scoop to try to get through the piles of hot steaming brown stuff to get to the stuff that shone regardless of genre, and my satisfaction levels kept falling until I just fell apart. I was even working on one screen while playing on another at times, while using meal times as a time to get caught up on a VN. To this day, I have to be careful not to play too much in the way of VNs, or my trauma comes back, despite the fact that I am loving what I'm reading. Heck, I'm currently recovering from another bout of that while doing something else to put myself back together. More recently, I was becoming increasingly depressed that the only community I still enjoyed being a part of was doomed. With the increased rl stress that hits every time I leave the house over the last four months, I was on the verge of collapse when I decided to get online and do my latest scan of the forums... and saw this. To be honest, just the fact that you are getting involved in the site again at all eased a lot of the pent-up stress that has been weighing on me every time I come online of late, so thanks for coming back.

If you keep in mind that all translated VNs have inflated scores, it is more reliable than erogamescape, at least for Westerners' tastes. There is also a tendency to inflate SOL game scores in general. Disregard any votes made within two days of or before the release date for the full version, as these are usually based off of partial playthroughs or off of the trial version (if not actual trolls).

Samayou Mitama- I tried this game and dropped it, though I can't really recall any details. It should be noted that I almost never drop chuunige. Ruitomo- Akatsuki Works first 'classic' game, perhaps the company's defining work. Most of Akatsuki Works games have, since this came out, been to a greater or lesser extent similar to Ruitomo in character archetypes and style, if not in concept in themes. Most of Hino Wataru's AW games have been based in the same universe as well. This is also perhaps one of the more obvious examples of how the 'golden age of JVNs' had a tendency to birth truly unusual and good games. Prima Stella is unusual amongst Atelier Kaguya's works in that it is not a pure nukige. It is actually a quite good charage (one of the better early ones) that remains a fond memory for me. I can honestly recommend it to someone who wants a charage in the classic old style that has a bit more nuki content than the usual. Princess Lover is a perfect example of why interesting concepts sometimes make horrible games. When I first began playing untranslated VNs, I grabbed everything with non-human heroines... and Amakami Vampire was one of the more horrid examples. Not worth playing. Ikusa Megami Zero has the single best story of any jrpg or jrpg/VN hybrid made in over a decade and a half. Part of this was due to the sheer scale of the story and the advantages of VN storytelling. Part of this is due to the fact that jrpgs have been on a downhill slope story-wise since the turn of the century. However, the fact remains that, despite some excellent games (like the Nier series and Tales of Berseria) it is Ikusa Megami Zero that remains as my favorite.

Karenai Sekai to Owaru Hana- Technically, this game doesn't have a true route, but the common route is an epic emotional roller-coaster, with the heroine routes mostly an afterthought (routes are short, story climax is end of the common route). This is technically a nakige, but it is a lot more intense than the classic-style ones you'll be familiar with. Light-hearted scenes are mostly cover for the horrific truths that lie under the surface, rather than being the true face of the VN during the common route. Gensou no Avatar- Fantasy doujin focused on an onmyouji protagonist. Abyss Homicide Club- Urban fantasy action horror with a former-assassin protagonist who is something of an unreliable narrator. Kikan Bakumatsu Ibun Last Cavalier- Steampunk Shinsengumi story based in a version of Japan where some women gain immense power and intelligence at the cost of their ability to procreate and an increase in aggression. No true route, but it follows a system similar to that of Ikusa Megami Verita, where you can alter history or choose to go down the true history path. Protagonist is Okita Souji. True History is Hijikata or Kondou as heroines. Pure Shogunate path is Sakuma Shouzan (Shuuri in game)/Kawakami or Harada/Saitou. The Middle Path is Sakamoto Ryouma/Okada Izou (Iori in game). Tasogare no Folklore- Dark story based in the Taishou era.

Tales of Berseria Chrono Trigger The Neptunia games (though quality varies) Grandia Grandia II SaGA Scarlet Grace (from the series Octopath snitched its concept from) Tales of Vesperia Chrono Trigger (probably the best SNES rpg by far) The Legend of Heroes series I am Setsuna (if you want to cry)

The animation is impressive, the VA is wince-worthy. Best of a bad group is Akiha.

Chrono Belt is THE best crossover fandisc ever. The story is equal to and adds richness too the Ayakashibito and Bullet Butlers' experiences, and in some ways, it has elements that surpass both.

A lot of it is my dislike for Blue Gender/MLA type scenarios. I hate it when you have a bunch of giant monsters just trying to obliterate humanity... or rather, I find the concept utterly boring. I also disliked the protag almost immediately, and it only got worse by the end of the first season, convincing me I didn't want anything to do with the series from then on. I admit that the scenario is well-written, but that's like saying Hyperion (the sci-fi novel) is well-written. Yes, it is... but it doesn't matter if you just can't get into it. The series turned me off early on, but at the time I was accustomed to trudging through stuff that turned me off, lol.

Gouen no Soleil is my second-favorite Soleil game, behind BladeXBullet. It is the one most heavily infected with Cthulhu Mythos elements, and it also draws on Taoist mythology, in combination with the usual Norse stuff. Protagonist being a magically-forced TS actually works as a positive story influence for once, too. Chaos;Head... does this even need an intro? I'm not a fan of the series, mostly because of this game's protagonist (I was leery after sitting behind this guy's eyes gave me massive headaches). Eden is an unfinished masterpiece. Why do I proclaim this? Because the game is both a masterpiece and a story that only gets about one fifth of the way through before the writer/artist/programmer/everything else just vanished from the net one day. I love what there is, but it is frustrating it was never finished. 11eyes is one of the single most meh chuunige in existence. It proved a point that most people sort of edge around when it comes to plotge at large... splitting the paths at the end because you are too lazy to make individual stories has mixed results at best. Tsuyokiss 2gakki... um, really? This series is the same no matter what entry you get into. If you like the original, you'll like them all. If you don't, you won't. It is NOT Majikoi, though it is made by some of the same people. Stellula Eques is a seriously weird series. It tries to channel so many elements into a mahou shoujo VN while failing utterly to bring them all too life. It says everything about the game above that the best part is the path where the protagonist turns super-evil.

Mahouka S2 finally. I don't think I'll ever understand why people like Titan, but to each his own @mitchhamilton Danmachi S3 is yay, at least for me. It kind of looks like we are back to Isekai/fantasy + random stuff dominating the seasons again... though, considering how boring this season is (I'm only seriously watching two anime) it is definitely an improvement, at a glance.

Ever17 and I/O are my suggestions.

Princess Frontier created one of AXL's signature styles, the high fantasy SOL VN. They have since created a number of such games, all of which have been fun reads. The funny thing is, no one else is doing this, which strikes me as odd sometimes when I let myself think about it.

Full dive visual novels with the choice of genders.

The reason ichaicha rarely makes its way into 'normal' manga and anime is because most relationships in anime and manga never actually make it to the boyfriend/girlfriend phase... I mean, if it did, then the viewers/readers would have to watch their waifu/husbando tossed aside by the monstrous harem-makers who dominate the romantic scenes in otaku-land.

*twisting black tentacles emerge from a gate in the sky, grasping skyscrapers and dragging them into the swirling vortex. Clephas emerges, encased in black plate armor, his inhuman features unnaturally beautiful, his orange eyes blazing with hunger, love, and emotions beyond human comprehension. The humans fleeing from the sight suddenly turn around, their eyes glowing orange, and they begin devouring one another with glee, love blazing in their eyes for their neighbors. Clephas nods benevolently, satisfied that he has once again done a good deed. He shifts into his mundane form of a fat balding otaku and settles into his swivel chair in the sky, crossing his flabby legs* Greetings and welcome to Fuwa.

Princess Frontier was AXL's first high fantasy SOL. It was of AXL's already high quality and in AXL's style, so for those who have already played the later ones, it will feel familiar. However, it does have some elements that would feel outdated now, despite AXL's tendency to keep their style mostly the same over the years. Akatsuki no Goei is a well-known classic. It is also one of the more divisive VNs out there, with haters hating it to an extreme degree and lovers defending it with fanatic zeal. The fact is, if you don't find Kaito interesting and funny and the setting interesting, you'll definitely have trouble liking this game. However, if you do fulfill those conditions, it is easy - relatively speaking - to ignore Kinugasa's bad habits in this case.

Everybody notes it. Also, racism is an extreme form of self-love, so it is oddly appropriate.

Kajiri Kamui Kagura

Shigure Sora from Devils Devel Concept- Arrogant, lackadaisical yet dutiful, animalistic yet intelligent, and cold-hearted yet kind. Sora is the type of protagonist who is difficult to define, probably because he is easier to define by his inhumanity rather than his humanity. Lacking in the softer emotions and possessing a natural tendency toward domination and destruction, it is unsurprising that the women that would be attracted to him were equally unusual. Narita Shinri from Hello, Lady- ... if you've played Hello, Lady, you will inevitably either laugh your ass off at this guy's antics or hate him outright. Narita Shinri is melodramatic, justifiably arrogant (in other words, he can back up his bark), perverted, and more than a little wordy. This is a man who can present a genuine smile to those around him while his gut boils with hatred and a cold rage that has been building for over a decade. This is a man who can be honestly loving with those he cares about while coldly murdering those he hates. Shiranui Yoshikazu from Evolimit- A survivor of the first expedition to land on and colonize Mars, Shiranui is a man all-too-familiar with overcoming impossible obstacles. Without hesitation, he gave up a part of his mind to the spirit of the girl whose heart was transplanted into him;p without hesitation, he rises to the occasion when he is needed, even when it tears him apart; and without hesitation, he will always stand between those he cares about and what would harm them. A hero in a number of senses, you would never be able to tell from his everyday joker/pervert persona, his tendency to go for the punchline even when it gets the shit beaten out of him by the females in his life. Zephyr Colerain from Silverio Vendetta- Zephyr is an anomaly on my list of favorite protagonists. He is not a paragon of virtue, nor a villain on a grand scale, nor even an anti-hero with a strange ethos that stands outside normal humanity. No, Zephyr is the epitome of the Japanese concept of 俗 or the vulgar masses. A mass of complexes, a deserter and lazy bum whose greatest achievements involved killing enemies of the state and betraying that same state for his adoptive sister, he is a person who would, logically, draw nothing but disgust if he were written about in any different manner than he was. A man who found that, whatever he achieved, whatever successes he had, those very successes would always result in him facing a worse tribulation, a more difficult problem soon after. In the end, he reached the breaking point, and he doesn't even try to hide his true nature anymore. Asagiri Kaito from Akatsuki no Goei- Another arrogant personality, a cunning, highly intelligent young man who hides his abilities out of habit. He can absorb most skills with minimal effort, and his (rather horrifying) childhood has inured him to suffering to a degree that defies common sense. Since most trouble in life presents no real obstacle to him anymore (even the potential consequences he sees as no trouble at all), he has a tendency to act like the world belongs to him, speaking and reacting on impulse to get a more interesting result that might make him feel more alive. He has no real emotional vulnerabilities because there is almost nothing out there that bothers him, and as for physical threats... well, just feel sorry for the other guy.