Clephas

Nothing really good this time around, except continuing series. Re;Zero is my most hated isekai (except for the oni girls), so I don't care if it gets cancelled, lol. Probably Plunderer, Kyokou Suiri and Dorohedoro. If that was possible, the number of anime I'm interested in has actually decreased as this season has gotten closer.

Ikusa Megami Zero Kamidori Alchemy Meister (basically all of Eushully's Dir Lifyna games) Ou no Mimi ni wa Todokanai Any Kyonyuu Fantasy game Princess Frontier Hyakka Ryouran Elixir Racial Merge Curio Dealer Boku no Te no Naka no Rakuen Bullet Butlers (well, technically it is a 1920's style setting, but elves, dwarves, lizardmen, and dragons are all around, lol) Ryuukishi Bloody Saga Primary ~Magical★Trouble★Scramble~ Ouzoku Valkyrie Runabout Sekai o Sukuu Dake no Kantan na Oshigoto

Dies Irae Ayakashibito FSN Tsukihime Tokyo Babel Sorcery Jokers

Primal Hearts is a game I have an odd relationship with. At the time I first played it, I don't think I gave it a completely fair assessment. The reason why? I was hitting the first of my many 'charage doldrums' periods. However, in retrospect, it grew on me... sort of like mold. First, I should note that the game is actually fairly old-fashioned, despite its modern visuals. The wacky concept, larger-than-life characters, and the sometimes ridiculous 'coincidences' that pop in all hearken to a previous era. At various times, this game channels such famous games as Haruka ni Aogi, Uruwashi no, Majikoi, Shuffle, and any number of 'golden age' games. Of course, it doesn't go as far as any of those does, but the makers' fanboyism is fairly evident throughout the game on a second playthrough (something I didn't notice on the first playthrough). First, the resemblance of Majikoi lies in the larger than life characters and sometimes crazy abilities some of them have (the protagonist included). The protagonist's casual manipulation of the other characters for his own amusement (and for their own sakes, more often than not) is very much reminiscent of Yamato, without ever actually approaching his level. Perhaps the strongest resemblance to Haruka ni Aogi, Uruwashi no lies in Haruhi's path... to be blunt, Haruhi is a redesigned version of Miyabi, with Kanna a reformed version of Lida who also happens to be a heroine. The resemblances and relationships are so obviously drawn from fanboyism of that particular kamige that I just had to shake my head during this replay. Shuffle is channeled, along with a lot of other early charage, through the setting. While the specifics are drastically different, the wacky, overblown occurrences, the general madness surrounding the 'elections', and any number of other factors in the setting make me nostalgic for the middle of last decade (soon to be the decade before last). I perhaps didn't notice all this the last time because I was focused on heroines... and I was playing charage rather mechanically already, two years into VN of the Month. A peculiar element that you generally don't see in most charage in general is character designs like that of Mizanori. Most charage tend to make all their regular characters (the ones at the center of the cast) attractive to one degree or another. However, Mizanori stands out as a character who was made comically unattractive, which struck me as hilarious at the time, since I used to make some of the same excuses he did to eat more as a teenager, lol. The common route of this game is excellent. The relationships between the characters are formed and deepened appropriately, and it actually makes sense that the heroines would fall for the protagonist by the end. It helps that the protagonist is really a 'great guy' in every way, though he can lack common sense at times. The decision to avoid mediocrity in the protagonist and those around him is one that is rarely made in charage, which just made it that much better as a result. Sadly, after the common route, this game stumbles somewhat. The heroine routes lack some of the depth the common route does, perhaps because the shift to romance automatically debuffed the intelligence of the writers. Oh, the heroines are unbearably cute when they go dere (Sera's dere makes me giggle hysterically even now, and Haruhi's is as strong in its own way), but the 'drama' included in the heroine paths pales a great deal in comparison to the drama that pops up in the common route. In that sense, it felt almost like they were running out of ideas at the end... Overall, this is an excellent charage that manages to escape mediocrity by channeling some of the best parts of a number of famous VNs into its characters and setting. I won't say it is a kamige (because it isn't), but if you are just looking for a good charage to add to your collection, this is a good choice.

reincarnation

Incidentally...have you ever secretly thought that Gilgamesh's Noble Phantasm sounded like Enema Relish in the depths of your heart? I always get a picture of that twirly black and red sword inserting sweet pickle relish into a fat guy's butt when I hear it without the video. Maybe it's just my twisted sense of humor...

This was one of the more forgettable chuuni I played... which is why I've never recommended it, lol.

If you don't want to use Textractor, have you tried switching to agth? I can't guarantee it, but if you start the game using the agth attached to TA with the h-code, there is a good chance it will work. I've actually come across a few games that can't be hooked with any of the later text hookers but still work with agth, for some reason...

To be blunt, I might or might not continue playing this game, so I thought I'd go ahead and get my thoughts down now, after finishing one path. More and more these days, I only play one path of a game before moving on, after all. Shinigami no Chou is Yuzusoft's latest release, and it is more along the lines of its more SOL-focused games like Sanoba Witch, as opposed to its more plot-focused ones like Dracu-riot or Senren Banka. As such, the ichaicha and H-scenes are a bit overly long and the common route drags out more than their more plot-focused games. That said, this game is an example of what Yuzusoft does best... amusing characters, decent settings, reasonably good protagonists, and a fantasy edge to the whole thing. In this case, the protagonist turns out to have a 'large soul' that can cause miracles by interacting with the weaker wandering souls (in the form of mystic butterflies), and as a result, when he dies, his wish to live causes time to reverse itself. The shinigami Kanna, whose job is to guide souls to the afterlife, is essentially ordered by the divine brass to watch over the protagonist to make sure he doesn't harm reality further by creating more miracles, and the solution to the problem is for him to be satisfied with life (romance in other words). This game's concept is a bit closer to a nakige than most of their previous games, which tended to be either primarily humorous love-comedies or story-focused with some action (with some exceptions). The common route supplies some decent cheap catharsis at a few points without going overboard, and Kanna's route, which is the route I chose to do, has some really nice cathartic points in the classic nakige sense (almost Key-style). I will say that my primary complaint is that the clothes the characters end up wearing for the larger part of the game (the waitress uniforms) are actually some of the ugliest clothes I've seen in a moe-influenced VN in some time. I know that is a weird complaint coming from me, but it seriously bothered me that the girls were calling those uniforms 'cute'. I won't go so far as to say they were repulsive, but they were of a style that lost my interest instantly, lol. One element that many who are tired of the usual tropes will be happy with is that the protagonist is actually in his third year of college when the story begins, and school is definitely not the focal setting of the game. The greatest amount of time is spent in the cafe where he ends up working, and, unlike many games where a cafe is the focal setting, it actually manages to be interesting (most 'cafe setting' VNs are either nukige or extremely boring moege with sugary sweet heroines that seem like you might be able to see the sun shining from their eyes due to the hole in the back of their heads). Kanna's route is an excellent example of the best way to handle a story of a soul searching for happiness, and I absolutely loved the way the ending was handled, with the relatively extensive epilogue that followed the protagonist and Kanna for at least half a decade after the climax of the path. That said, since she is the obvious main heroine, it strikes me as unlikely the other paths will reach the same level, lol.

The various Cyc companies made games I experienced relatively early on, such as Mindead or Gore Screaming Show. The aesthetic of their games is definitely geared to horror and excessive sex. It is probably best to think of them as the Clock Up of last decade.

Digital transference of consciousness, of course. My true love is in 2D, so being in this 3D world seems wasteful.

The best trap protags are of that type... though there are a few that make a good pass as 'predators in skirts' types (Ojousama no Hanbun wa Ren'ai de Dekiteimasu). Mizuki in this one and Tsuki ni Yorisou Otome no Sahou's protag are the best outright. It really is too bad that Otome no Sahou's sequel based off the Luna ending (protagonist is submissive version) sucked so badly. The cross-dressing son started out really well, but the heroine routes ruined things, because his personality changed the second the routes started. There are also weren't any really stand-out heroines.

One of only two games written by Kazutaka, the writer of the somewhat comically-named Doushite Daite Kurenai no!? Onna no Ko Datte Yaritai no! (incidentally, despite the title, the aforementioned game is not a nukige, which is in itself humorous, lol). It is also the game that gave substance to Ensemble's quest to define itself as a specialist company in trap protagonist and ojousama-ge. Ironically, it is also the flat-out best SOL game the company has ever made, which makes it somewhat sad for me that Kazutaka faded out after this game was released. I can say right out that the only reason I still try Ensemble games is because of the experience I had with this one. One of the parts anyone who first plays this game will notice is that the protagonist is voiced. More than that, 'Mizuki' is voiced by a female VA that was able to put a hint of androgyny into the voice, giving you the impression that it was quite natural that most people mistake him for a girl. Another part of this game that is obviously noticeable from the start is that the writer has really done his research into the art field. 'Mizuki' has an extremely wide and deep knowledge of all forms of art and their care, and this serves as one of his (actually, it is easier to think of him as a girl with a penis, lol) charm points for the reader, along with his obvious love of housework. One part that makes it easy to regard this game's path as being far more in-depth than the norm for an SOL-focused game is the way the choices are handled. Essentially, before you exit the prologue, you will have already chosen your heroine, since all choices are concentrated in a very short period of time at the beginning of the game. By choosing to essentially get the choices 'out of the way', the writer manages to avoid one of the most common pitfalls of VNs in general... breaking engrossment in the game by inserting choices into every important scene. This game essentially ignores the lie of player agency (Clephas: Player agency in a VN, pfft), which is definitely a positive in this case. This allows the protagonist's and the heroines' personalities and actions to become clear to the reader (and there is no doubt that you are a reader with this VN) without the interference of random choices or the need to keep which heroine you want to go for in the back of your mind constantly. Ootori Rena Rena is the game's obvious main heroine. She is the daughter of the town's owner and permanent mayor (literally, their business bought the town in which the game is based). She is also an art dealer from a family of art dealers. It is tempting, at first glance, to call her a tsundere... but for once, this archetypical characterization fails. Rena is very straightforward in how she expresses her feelings, having a policy of expressing her emotions openly regardless of what they are. She is also very mature in the sense that she has a solid grasp on what her responsibilities are to those around her, coming from her upbringing as the successor of a family of primary art dealers (art dealers that primarily 'raise' artists and sell their works as opposed to buying artists' works that already have an established market value). I say she is the main heroine, and indeed, her path is one of the few paths where the protagonist is forced to confront his own issues head on. For better or worse, in most of the paths, Shin/Mizuki manages to avoid directly confronting his past and his own weakness, making this path an obvious favorite for me. That said, this was the first path I played originally, so I couldn't help but play this one first again. Chiharu Chiharu is my yome! lol Seriously, if you were to ask me which heroine (as opposed to 'which girl' since Akie is my favorite girl... I love haraguro characters) touched my heartstrings (and my libido) the most, it would be Chiharu. Chiharu is the single-minded but kind-hearted bodyguard that serves Rena. She is very serious and kind-hearted, but it often shows in odd ways, because she is somewhat socially awkward. Her reactions are also driven by her early upbringing and profession, the former of which was strict and the latter of which is professional security. Chiharu's dere is... frighteningly powerful. Oh, this can be said of all the heroines, really, but Chiharu is a very loving soul. I love Chiharu's path for a lot of reasons, but the biggest reason is that she is, at heart, someone who just wants someone who can accept her from the bottom of their hearts, flaws, disabilities, and all. This very human worry is what turned Chiharu from a two-dimensional character to a person in my mind. Also: 「だって幽霊って死んでるんだよ、死霊って生きてないんだよ、生きてなければ殺傷することもできないじゃないか、刀で死人は斬れないよ怖いよ！！」 Chiharu "But ghosts are dead! Ghosts aren't alive! If they aren't alive, you can't kill them! You can't kill the dead with a katana! I'm scared!" 「いえ、テレビは斬れます。寮の器物損壊はやめてください」 Akie "No, but you can cut the TV. Please refrain from damaging dorm property." Shizuku Shizuku is an art auctioneer and the daughter of the head of the Karasuma Group, a company that specializes in the resale of art. She and Rena are on bad terms, not the least because their places in the art industry make it inevitable. To most people, she is a sharp-tongued (dokuzetsu) but elegant-looking girl who dominates her surroundings by her very presence. In private, she is an intensely loving and passionate woman who will do absolutely anything and everything for the person she loves. However, she has a bad habit of jumping to conclusions (something that can be said of the other two heroines above as well, though not of Yuki and Anastasia), especially when it comes to Shin. Tbh, this is the most frustrating of the routes to speak of, because so much of her profile is spoilers for the other routes. Let's just say there are some seriously hilarious antics that occur partly because of Shii-cha- *coughs* ahem, Shizuku's tendency to jump to conclusions, her willingness to do anything for the people she loves, and Rena's inevitable reactions, lol. This path is primarily hilarious, but it also gets into the more intimate elements of Shin's 'why' in a way that even Rena's path doesn't. Tbh, if I were to put a recommended route order up, it would be Rena>Shizuku>Chiharu>Yuki>Anastasia. My reasoning for this is because this game actually benefits from experiencing it in an order that could be seen as 'main to sub' instead of 'sub to main' as I would normally recommend. All the paths are good in their own ways, but the knowledge from Rena and Shizuku's paths enhance the experience of the other three paths to a rather large degree. Moreover, playing Anastasia's path without having played Rena's would make it somewhat confusing, and I'm pretty sure some important points would be missed by first-timers. For now, I'm going to stop, because I need to take a rest from SOL for a few days, but I'll finish this one up soon.

... I did two more ten rolls, and for some reason I got five Caster of Midrash. Yaay... now I have her at NP5... but no Abby. Sheesh. Edit: No more free missions left to strip for saint quartz, and I'm already over budget. Edit2: As a side note, I didn't have any serious ST damage-dealing Casters, so I guess it wasn't a bad thing. Still, it was frustrating. I now have all the 4 star lancers that aren't limited because of this crap (the ones I didn't have all spooked) and several of them at NP2 (none of the ones I actually like using, of course). ... I have to wonder if something is just wrong with my luck? I guess I need to give her burnt offerings to get her love back. Edit3: Though, I did manage to get Okita on a summon ticket a few weeks ago, so I guess I can't really say my luck is all bad... but by that time I was already on the verge of full-grailing Yagyu-sama and was working on upgrading the skills, so I had virtually no gems left for sabers, lol. I actually normally wouldn't be this obsessed... but I'm bored and I liked Abby in the Salem chapter. Same reason I wanted Ana and Caster Gil after playing Babylonia... collectors' disease. Edit4: Last edit, I promise... yeah, last edit... riiiight. *looks down at his shaking hands that are trying to make the motions of pulling the lever on a slot machine*

If the ending isn't happy, it isn't a nakige. By definition, a nakige exists to make you cry then salvage the situation into a happy ending. If the ending isn't happy, it is an utsuge.

Mmm... the only thing I can think of (from an amateur's perspective, since I'm not a coder) is that they must have changed something in the system when they made the game that made it bug out for you. Also, if this is a coding issue, you might need hacker help to make this work, if you want to put both names in. One potential choice would be to put only the initial for the surname in. However, I can almost guarantee that the aesthetics of that would annoy a lot of readers. Tbh, in English, having both names there is a bit aesthetically displeasing (and likely to annoy some people, whether you choose to follow Japanese order - surname then personal name - or Western order - personal name then surname), if useful if you forget names all the time.

Have you tried restricting it to the first name only? To be blunt, it might just be a space issue.

Komorebi no Nostalgica. If I didn't speak about it regularly, it would be forgotten, lol.

I've always been a Yog-Sototh fan though... and tbh, Hokusai might be the better Servant overall. However, I can't say I want to go out of my way to get her. Edit: To be clear, I hate the aesthetics on Hokusai's character design, so I'd probably never use her unless I had to. I'd look for excuses to use Abby though, lol. Edit2: Not to mention I'd already saved all the QP, mats, and embers necessary to max her skills.

https://vndb.org/v5909 To some extent, the one below https://vndb.org/v23501 https://vndb.org/v3767 Protagonist is highly intelligent and ambitious in the one below, but only one of the heroines is the 'muscle' type. https://vndb.org/v18881 The one below is one where the protag is a mentor to a competitor/fighter https://vndb.org/v21465 https://vndb.org/v13342 Edit: To clarify somewhat, HHG is the game I find to be the closest. However, no company does games specifically the way Minato Soft did Majikoi, so you won't find any exact analogues. I recommended Tamayura Mirai because the protagonist is a wise/intelligent guy who guides the often more generally capable heroines (with the exception of his 'older sister'). Technically, all the ones but the true heroine are more powerful than him, but they still depend on his knowledge and wisdom. Tiny Dungeon as a series is somewhat closer to what you are looking for. In Tiny Dungeon, an intelligent and determined protagonist earns the respect of a large group of extremely powerful heroines (I would put any of the three main heroines up against Momoyo, at least for a brief time). Ojou-sama no Hanbun wa Ren'ai de Dekiteimasu I recommended because the protagonist is an intelligent type and two of the heroines are capable on their own (though Alice is scary intelligent herself, whereas the kendo girl has a somewhat blinkered personality) Kizuna Kirameku Koi Iroha involves a weaponsmith serving as a tutor for several competitors in the Jindou competition, which involves using tech-enhanced mystical blades to fight one another in a duel. Kimikishi is perhaps the odd duck in this group. It is a plotge centering around an odd competition between 'knights' secretly drawn from local schools. The protagonist is his team's leader and strategist, though he isn't necessarily the most powerful.

Getting nothing but spooks on the Salem banner... after 420 saint quartz I still don't have Abby (looks sad).

I remember playing this one and trying to recommend it to people... but everyone who played it other than me bashed it, so I gave up. It's nice to see someone was able to appreciate this game's good points.

It's easier with a controller... to be honest, I recall buying a controller for it because of how it made my fingers stiff after a while. Also, it is hard to do diagonals without a thumbstick. Edit: The gameplay is actually fairly enjoyable once you get a wider variety of weapons and finishers. It is also fast-paced. However, you spend a pretty ridiculous amount of time fighting in the game, looking at it in retrospect. For early bosses, I was pretty dependent on the dual sub-machineguns, though. One of the earliest bosses moves way too fast for the close-range moves unless you have high gaming skills or are just obsessed with killing everything with melee attacks.

I forgot: Chrono Trigger Shadow Hearts 1 and 2 (combined) Edit: One problem with my perception here is that my idea of what a good game story was formed when jrpgs were at their peak (1997-2004)... and, to be blunt, story has sort of fallen by the wayside in the last fifteen years both in the West and in the East. That's why games like Nier Automata and Tales of Berseria stand out so much nowadays. The rise of the MMO and reverse-transference from MMO's to normal games resulted in a dramatic reduction in story/plot quality in the years that followed. As a result, I see wince-worthy game plots being given high marks more and more often lately... well, either that or nostalgia grabs being overwhelmingly loved even though they don't meet the baseline of the rpg golden age. As an example, if Lunar were to come out today as a completely new game, it would probably get ridiculously high marks for story, but by the standards of the time when it came out, it was somewhere around the middle between the average and best games of the time. Think of it as a thirty percent markdown in expectations, lol. Edit2: Forgot to mention the other reason why story has sort of fallen by the wayside. It actually connects to the reason why story presentation has become so poor in recent years. As technology has progressed, a lot of the techniques used to present a story using the limited capabilities of a system in previous years have vanished. The first and most obvious aspect that fell by the wayside as music direction (as opposed to music composition). You can see the difference most dramatically if you play something like Star Ocean 4 after playing Chrono Trigger, which was not just known for its story but also for its exceptional soundtrack for the time. Each scene and area was situated with a particular track to enhance the atmosphere and emotions they wanted to drag out of the player, and the skill with which this was done was... magnificent. Pretty much the only games that have managed to do something similar (that I have played) in the last ten years have been the Nier series.