Clephas

I don't see Light games as flop candidates... I say that most localization companies won't even look at them due to the inevitable cost of the translation stage (almost all Light games after Dies Irae are at least 80% of Dies Irae's total length). The risk factor is much higher, and without full funding from crowd-funding, I can't see it happening (more companies taking the risk, that is).

I threatened to sue, so I got it back.

'Selling well' for any VN in the West is breaking even within the first six months to a year, lol. As I said, they'd actually have to make an effort to get the word out, though.

Understand, chuunige mostly appeal to a very core fanbase. The style, the fact that they don't translate well, and the fact that most of the action/story is so 'out there' makes the games unapproachable. The sheer amount of text means that localization costs are through the roof, which makes things worse, of course. I'm being realistic, ignoring my inner fanboy who screams everybody should love chuunige because charage suck in comparison. However, that is the flat-out truth. So, I decided to make a list of chuunige I believe would sell in the west/appeal more to the western brain... and not just the core fanbase. I have these ordered by the most likely to the least. 1. Bullet Butlers- I say Bullet Butlers is the most accessible precisely because it uses a lot of elements that Western audiences can easily grasp without having to be 'deep' into otaku media. Zombies, elves, dragons, and orcs. Firearms as the most common weapon type, superviolence, and a film noir atmosphere to a great deal of the game. If I were to name one chuunige that has the potential to be a hit (by VN standards), if properly advertised, it is this one. 2. Draculius- If I were to name a sort-of chuunige that is accessible to people that don't particularly like chuunige, this would be it. If you liked the best parts of Libra and hated the rest, you'll probably like this game. It has aged somewhat, but the characters are unique, the story is excellent, and the humor is recognizable on both sides of the ocean. 3. Hello, Lady- Yes, I went there. If you can enjoy Narita Shinri, you will like this game, regardless of your genre preference. Narita Shinri is a protagonist who will earn as many haters as he does lovers, and there won't be that much room in between. However, his story is very much one that is visceral and easily comprehensible for any human who has lost someone they loved. 4. Shinigami no Testament- 3rdEye's chuunige are accessible. I could put any chuunige by that company in this spot other than Bloody Rondo and say that it has the same potential for success. Even Bloody Rondo does have some appeal outside its genre (in fact, it probably has more, lol). 3rdEye is a company that I can use to brainwash newbies without overwhelming them, which is why I was happy when Sorcery Jokers got localized, lol. 5. Gekkou no Carnevale- I can guarantee someone is going to ask why I didn't mention any other Nitroplus game besides this one. However, the themes in this game are very Western, for the most part... and werewolves and murder are always guaranteed to catch the interest of a certain (surprisingly large) crowd over here. Put in living dolls and mafia connections as well, and you have a recipe for success. I actually thought of naming some others, but when I seriously thought about it, the hurdles for a Westerner and non-chuunige addict for playing those were just too high. Anything Bakumatsu is going to be translated poorly, so Last Cavalier is out. Evolimit has potential, but I thought BB is more likely to catch hold of westerners who aren't already part of the scene. Anything like Dies Irae is almost guaranteed to flop if it isn't 100% crowd-funded (as in, all costs paid for by the crowd-funding), so Bradyon Veda and the Silverio series are out. Vermilion has similar problems. Muramasa suffers from swordsmanship infodumping that will probably cause the average reader's brain to go numb early on. Tokyo Necro has zombies, but the chances of people actually getting past the prologue are relatively low, despite the coolness of the story and setting. Izuna Zanshinken has enormous potential in the US, because of the style and the themes it tackles, but its episodic 'feeling' is a huge negative for some of us...

In this case, yes, fortunately... If they had been willing to put TB more on sale near the beginning, its sales wouldn't have been so bad, but pushing for that much made it an impossibility, since it isn't exactly a casual title. Pygmalion was doomed from the beginning, most of its sales coming from the yurige fanatics. BB would probably be a decent success over here, if I were to pick any chuunige that would have a chance of success, that is. Guns+Recognizable Fantasy Races+Superviolent Death and soul-eating weapons... almost guaranteed to gain at least some interest. Dies Irae suffers from being a mountain (most people start going 'What is this?' inside the prologue, lol), Muramasa is so out there on a philosphical limb that only the core fanbase and those desperate for story will buy it, and I honestly can't see anyone but a very small crowd of strange people falling in love with Devils Devel Concept (I love it, but I recognize that it takes a peculiar mind to like psychopathic heroines and protagonists).

I'd hate to see them get their hands on Bullet Butlers or Evolimit... they don't have the right people to handle chuunige.

I had to return mine when I found out the weight limit and width numbers were lies. The 440 lbs version is only 20 inches inside the arms (despite advertising 23) and can only hold up to 280 lbs. I found it hilarious that they thought I wouldn't send it straight back after everything important to me in the online page was a lie...

I'm curious how you would classify this one... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ty8HNvEnQO0 Or this one

"Integrated Intel HD Graphics 620" That's a no-no. This one has a rep for overheating during stressful tasks. Also, touchscreen is always a bad thing. You never want a touch screen on a computer, for the simple reason that it costs more than the standard LCD of LED screen and touching your screen except to clean it is always a bad idea with computers. https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Gaming-i5-7300HQ-GeForce-AN515-51-55WL/dp/B074Q54GSR/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1522189751&sr=1-3&keywords=gaming+laptop It isn't better on every account, but it is definitely a better deal. For the price, it is about the best you can get. The battery life is probably actually around 4 hours, but meh... you can fiddle with the settings so it uses only minimal power when you aren't doing something important, so it shouldn't be that much of an issue. Touchscreens add costs (usually about two to three hundred dollars) to any laptop. I also suggest you buy a 2TB external for extra memory storage. Uninstall every VN as you finish them and you shouldn't run out of space on the actual main SSD. Also, it needs to be said, but Dell is a premium brand, not a budget brand... as a result, you'll always end up paying more for less performance (though it has to be said, they use better materials in the casing). Anyway, that's my suggestion given your budget. I definitely wouldn't take the the Dell, since it looks like one of those 'tossed it on Amazon because it was a bad design' deals.

Before I go back to my work, which is going to take the rest of the day to finish, I thought I'd leave yall with a commentary on one of my favorite jrpgs, Growlanser 3. Growlanser 3, released in the US as part of a collection with Growlanser 2, was the final localization done by Working Designs, the company that pioneered independent localization of jrpgs in the US (up until then, most had been localized by Japanese companies or the console first-party company). It is the prequel to 1 and 2 (a battle about midway through 3 results in the world you see in 1 and 2 and remains as a legend to the people there), and often competes with IV for being considered the best game in the series. In Growlanser 3, the sun is dying, famine is rampant, rain falls eternally at some places and hardly at all in others. Plague has destroyed entire nations, and those that remain are fighting ferociously for the few places where the land is still fertile. Assassination, genocide, and cold realpolitik have hardened the hearts of leaders, and the people that remain are growing increasingly desperate, further fueling the flames of war. Into this comes Slayn, a young man with no memories and a talent for Darkness magic, accompanied by a Dark Fairy (fairies in the Growlanser universe are usually sentient concentrations of elemental spirits in a tiny female form), enters the scene about this time. As she tries to discover the truth about himself, he gets caught up in the war and ends up seeking the causes behind the slow death of his world. Growlanser's signature battle system is a combination of RTS and ATB systems, where your characters each have a speed that determines how fast their turn comes up. Motion across the battlefield is in real time (based on that character's stats), and in order to engage an enemy, you have to bring them within range. Magic in this game starts out as simple elemental spells, which increase in power as you chant them longer (based on the character's ability, you will be limited in how high the level you can reach with that character at any given time) and are one of only a few ways in which you can ignore range issues. The reason this is important is that, in order to get the true ending (where certain characters survive where they would normally die), you must get a 'mission complete' on every single story battle. Since doing so often requires preventing the massacre of running civilians or preventing the escape of a particular enemy, range becomes a serious issue from the beginning, so strategically utilizing magic and having some idea of how long it will take your characters to reach an enemy and move after they attack is important. Choices in this game have a huge potential variance, depending on how you've shaped Slayn's personality (through early on choices and a certain event which lets you shape his base personality and capabilities). If he is cold and rational, you will find yourself unable to make enraged conversational choices, and if he is hot-blooded, you will find it impossible to make Slayn take the high road in some situations. Story-wise, this game manages to touch human emotion in a way I think newcomers to jrpgs will be surprised at. Growlanser 3's world is dying, and most of the world is already dead. As a result, you find yourself walking through the aftermath of plagues, witnessing massacres, and overall confronting both the best and worst of human nature when put into an extreme situation. For a jrpg, this kind of display of human weakness is fairly unusual, since most tend to strike an optimistic note in that sense, but this is actually typical on some levels for the series. In Growlanser 2, it is quite possible to side with the villains (given that you've fulfilled the proper conditions), and Growlanser IV's world isn't exactly kind to its people, even aside from the bigger issues. The visuals in this game were done by Urushihara Satoshi, who also handled such anime as Bubblegum Crisis, Queen's Blade, and Plastic Little. As such, they are aesthetically pleasing, even now that the basic style has changed radically (this guy has a great aesthetic sense... though he is a bit overly ero-ero, from what I remember of Legend of Lemnear). Overall, if you want to start looking back into the past of jrpgs, this is a good game to start with (though at this point, you'll probably be forced to use an emulator).

Gimme the general specifications and the price, and I'll be able to tell you if your 'good deal' really is a good deal... 13 inches usually isn't good for much except the basics, because of the limited capabilities you can pack into the system. Avoid integrated graphics/video at all costs (overheats faster and is slower overall). I generally prefer an ssd or a hybrid for the main drive (starts faster, has less in the way of loading issues).

90% of the time, open endings in VNs suck.

Love Revenge

*Clephas smiles benevolently* One day you will be, in any case.

First, in my experience, chair width, chair height, and what type of chair make a difference. In my personal case, chair weight limits also make a difference (name a popular chair, and it will probably break if I sit in it for more than a few hours). First, high-back is an absolute necessity if you have back problems, as is lumbar support. You might not realize it, but sitting in any chair where the back stops short of your shoulder-blades makes your muscles tense subconsciously. At work, you are inevitably leaning forward somewhat, so this isn't as much of an issue, but at home, when you are relaxing, it is. Personally, when I was at a lower weight, I found that I was at my best in La-Z-Boy computer chairs (not the Amazon contracted-out knock-offs, but the factory-direct ones from that actual company). However, La-Z-Boy stopped producing them years ago, so that's out. There are chairs out there that are really easy on the butt, but most of them are horrible for the back... so your best option is finding a nice pillow for your ass. It took a while, but I found a nice pad that makes my beaten-up computer chair much more comfortable... Finding 'the chair that has everything' is a search that can take weeks, and most chair reviews are total BS, because of companies deliberately abusing the system. Chair width makes a difference regardless of your size. Not being able to put your arms on the arm rests is bad, and having a too-narrow space between the arm rests can lead to circulation problems in larger men. If the chair is too tall, it strains your knees, but if it is too short, it strains your back (note: knees should be level with your hips or either slightly above or below, depending on your comfort zone). Lumbar support... makes a long-term difference for those of us that spend a lot of time sitting.

Unjou no Fairy Tale is the second game by Cosmic Cute in the series/setting that began with Sora no Tsukurikata. It is based around eighteen to twenty years after the original game in the city of Kaguya, a lawless city with many different races floating in the sky far above. It is ruled by the invincible Mayor (with thirty-seven terms under her belt) Azumaza, frequently troubled the antics of the great (and in the eyes of ground dwellers, insane) alchemist Nemo, and plagued with more criminal organizations than anyone can count. In that place, there is a neutral ground, the cafe Amelia, run by the protagonist Tsukasa, with the wannabe Great Witch Natsu as a waitress, frequented by the diva Dahlia, and visited regularly by the elven swordmistress and antique/art seller Makoto. One day, a girl in a beautiful dress comes running down the street chased by thugs and is rescued by Makoto and Natsu... only to find out that she is not only a princess but that she is Tsukasa's younger sister. Thus begins the story of the city of Kaguya and the Pay Back thieving gang. Now, before I go any further, it needs to be said that, like Sora no Tsukurikata, this game uses the 'ladder-style' story structure, meaning that heroine paths other than the true one split off at the end of arcs featuring primarily the heroine in question. This story structure does not do the heroines other than the true one justice. In most cases (such as G-senjou or Eustia), it becomes an excuse for neglecting the heroines or making internally inconsistent heroine routes. For that reason, I consider the very existence of this story structure in any VN to be a reason to automatically subtract 1.5 points off the maximum rating I give it on vndb. In other words... the story just has to be awesome for me to consider overturning my dislike of this structure. The common route of this game does an excellent job of introducing the characters and giving you a good idea of the internal dynamics of the city of Kaguya. Kaguya... is the kind of city no sane person would want to live in. The protagonist routinely sleeps through gunshots and explosions (they are so used to it that it doesn't even disturb their slumber), and the Mayor (who is over 2500 years old) seems to take great pleasure in both keeping the chaos from settling and keeping it from overflowing beyond all forms of control. I spent most of the common route smiling or laughing, similar to Soratsuku, which is a definite good thing. Now, I'll introduce the heroines... The first heroine is Dahlia... and she is already my favorite. She is a singer at a high-class nightclub, a fox-girl with the ability to control others with her singing. In the thieving group she serves as the driver and occasionally uses her voice to control pursuers or guards. She is the second oldest of the heroines, in her mid-twenties, and she has an inordinate fondness for heavy drink and teasing those she likes. The second heroine is Makoto, known as the greatest swordswoman in Kaguya, as well as being Tsukasa's first friend in the city. She is the oldest of the heroines, being an elf (there are hints that she is at least fifty years old early on), and she works most of the time as a dealer in antiques and art. She has a reserved personality, and she is often misunderstood, due to her tendency to talk to her sword (yes, she talks to her sword). However, she is also cute... in that she does things like making lists of things she wants to do with her friends and rehearsing potential conversational scenarios well in advance of even the most normal, everyday events. The third heroine is the protagonist's younger sister, Yuki. Yuki is... a strong-willed, pure-hearted princess who came to Kaguya to find her long-lost oniisama... only to find that he had become a thief and manager of a cafe in one of the most crime-ridden cities in existence. While she is generally forgiving by nature, once you manage to anger her... she is easily the scariest of the four heroines. Natsu is a wannabe witch I honestly hate the fact that she is the main heroine, because that is two games in a row that go to unreasonably naive, kind-hearted witches who frequently mess up on a grand scale. This is a mistake frequently made with ladder-style structure games, but it is usually the case that the weakest heroine in the group ends up as the main/true heroine for games using this structure. She, like Hal/Haru in the previous game, is a sugar-addict with a rather unpredictable magical ability. There isn't a drop of malice in her personality, but... Dahlia path Dahlia, as I said above, is my favorite heroine in this game, so I was more than a little angry to see that yet another great mimikko heroine was being condemned to 'lowest-ranked heroine Hell'. However, as I played the path, I stopped caring about that BS. Dahlia and Tsukasa's romance creates one of those rare situations where I actually have to take a step back and wipe the tears away... solely because of the romance. Since I'm not a fan of romance for its own sake, that pretty much says it all about that. This path has some excellent feels and is about as long as the mimikko from Soratsuku's path. I spent a great deal of the last part of the path just laughing hysterically at the antics of the characters as they strove for Dahlia and Tsukasa's sakes, and I wept at the climax. Definitely worth reading, though this definitely has my mimikko-love bias interfering with my judgment. The ending after story is very heart-warming, and it takes you to a point three years after the end, which was nice. Makoto path One thing that absolutely needs to be said about Makoto's and Dahlia's paths, but is a major SPOILER: I'm going to be blunt... this path is simply weaker than Dahlia's. Part of this is because Makoto's personality is so reserved and the romance is so charage-ish. Another part is that there really isn't that much in the way of deep feels or good action/comedy in this path, outside of the usual with Yuki losing her temper. While I like the ending, I have to say that I felt a bit cheated, because they didn't go into detail on the past that lies between Tsukasa and Makoto, despite them being one another's oldest friends. Yuki Path The Yuki path feels a lot like a true path. The simple reason is that, despite its seemingly innocent (and hilarious) beginnings, in the end it pretty much reveals everything there is to know about Kaguya and Azumaza's past, as well as the reasons why Tsukasa ended up in Kaguya. Honestly, as I finish this path, I think that it is possible that it was the true path, rather than Natsu's, and that is my hope as I go into Natsu's path (I'm writing down my opinions on the paths as I finish them). The ending is really touching, and I had to cry at some of the revelations that get put in here... Incidentally, by the time her path comes around, Yuki has been thoroughly poisoned by Kaguya's anarchist atmosphere, and this has some rather hilarious results in the fourth arc that leads to the final path split. Natsu path Aaah... I don't mean to be cruel... but they got seriously lazy in Natsu's path. I mean, it feels very much like an echo/rehash of something I've seen a dozen times before (you'll see what I mean if you play it, but I won't spoil it). Understand, Hal is my least favorite heroine from Soratsuku and Natsu is my least favorite heroine from this game (The order goes Dahlia>Yuki>Makoto>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Natsu). Like her mother, she is a clumsy doofus with a ridiculous amount of poorly-utilized magical talent. Every single element of her path past the end of the last common route arc (Arc 5) is ridiculously predictable and holds no surprises, down to the last detail. I haven't been this irritated at a 'true' path in years. If I were to just judge this game on the three previous paths, I would give it an 8.5 on vndb, but, due to this path, I have to give it an 8. Sadly, this is one of those cases where the main heroine and the final path are a hindrance, rather than closing out the story on a good note. Edit: This is just a minor addendum of some thoughts I had in retrospect or forgot to include in the main text. I honestly like characters like Yuki, who, while functionally innocent of the details of normal life, nonetheless possess an iron will. I also love it how everyone is afraid of her despite the fact that she is the weakest character combat-wise. In addition, the way hardened criminals are obviously terrified of her makes it even better. Dahlia is very similar - in background, personality, and (to some degree) relationship to the protagonist - to Yurika Vistvolg from Soratsuku. As such, even if I hadn't guessed that she was not the main by the walkthrough, I would have figured it out anyway. This writer has a definite preference for characters with an element of 'innocence' as main heroines (note that a total of two of the heroines in both the games he has written are not innocents on some level), despite the dystopian settings he creates. If we were to eliminate my personal tastes completely from the equation, Makoto is probably the weakest heroine, in terms of character development. For some reason, almost all the elements of her character that could have been used to make her route more dramatic (her sentient sword, her longer lifespan, etc) never once became an issue in the game. This is a huge red mark in my personal book regarding this writer, as I absolutely loathe failures to utilize fundamental aspects of a character's design. It has to be said that this game relied a lot more heavily on the immortal characters for humor than Soratsuku. Asumaza, Nemo, and Simone are so far 'out there' as characters that their actions can be considered an unavoidable natural disaster, so they make wonderful pillars for the game's situational comedy (similar to the vampire lord in Soratsuku and her love of junk food and torturing people who use guns). However, it also needs to be said that Simone, at the very least, should have been a heroine. That type tends to have a great dere if handled properly. It is pure negligence on the writer's part that she isn't a heroine (though she has an h-scene in the append disc).

*smiles dryly* more like that he has a low moe-tolerance. Considering his reaction to the SOL scenes in Tiny Dungeon, he probably won't like ninety-percent of all non-nukige Japanese VNs.

About the time I entered, you'll find that most people either started with Type-Moon or Key VNs... because those were the best translated ones at the time (in some ways, they still are).

I have a huge charage collection. What isn't there to be embarrassed about?

I would have done things differently, so no, I didn't write it. I just offered the basic setting and he ran with it.

I began with the original Tsukihime in 2008.

In another stomach, far far away through Clephas's infinite bowels, two figures that looked distinctly similar to Alden and Jazid came into being. However, no one would have mistaken them for the originals, for their eyes glowed orange, their expressions twisted with blissful glee. Whatever their pasts, their memories, it no longer mattered... all that mattered was the one, fundamental truth they had discovered. "Cannibalism is Love," They intoned in deeply happy voices, as one, their mouths opening wider than they should have been able to to show steel trap teeth and a long, sharp tongue covered with tiny teeth designed to tear flesh from bone. Yet two more Clephas Cultists awaited there, in that place, for the chance to step forth and spread the beautiful truth they had discovered to the universe.

Muramasa, if you want something that is story from beginning to end *smiles cruelly*

Story-wise, Hypno is the best, followed by Frontier, then Ragnarok. The same goes for battle system. Unless you like tentacle impregnation, I'd just avoid the other side of the series, though you could always try Gaia, which is the best of that side of the series.

Himegari sucks, so no, it isn't worth it.