Mr Poltroon

From what little progress I've made on 3 (two routes), I'd say I prefer 2. It certainly has a better common route, if you don't mind the more generic setting. 1 is just an average to bad game all around. Real fans only. In terms of story, if you're already far into three, there might not be any real point in going backwards... Or maybe there is, I wouldn't be sure.

I played it, and I found it to be less. In addition, most reports on it/reviews seem to indicate around five hours or less. Regardless, they'll probably be similar in length. It's hard to tell and speculate about.

This thread is thoroughly lacking in information. http://prefundia.com/projects/view/a-grand-entrance-for-new-vn-series-grisaia-phantom-trigger/12084/ (Prefundia) https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/frontwing/1654338080?token=48c3cfc4 (Kickstarter Draft) As far as I can tell, and it isn't exactly clear, the purpose of this kickstarter isn't so much to fund the two volumes but to invest in physical rewards and future volumes. "Help us enhance the English release of our new visual novel series". In all likelihood, the two volumes will be released no matter what occurs in this kickstarter. Their objective seems to lie more in the localisation of the manga, physical rewards and amass money/tally the hype so they can prepare for future volumes. On the topic of length, the estimates point to somewhere around 5-7 hours per volume. That's probably a bit longer than Corona Blossom was, for comparison. Or exactly the same, around 4.

And here I am, making terrible decisions in my life. I'll start watching some currently airing shows, since I seem to love absolutely everything. Not sure whether to start with Kobayashi-san or Interviews with Monster Girls. Konosuba is reserved for when I finish forcing my sister to watch it.

But she's cute so your argument is invalid

The manga is fantastic. 9/10 My usual issues with romance and Shoujo tend to lie in characters that are dumb as bricks and melodrama. Neither issue is present in this manga, by my standards. When there is drama, I found that it originated from a reasonable situation and that it was resolved in a logical manner. Many common tropes are... subverted to an extent. Their execution is such that the presence of the trope did not bother me. Now. By all appearances, the anime adapted half, or less, of the manga. Furthermore, the anime seems to contain plenty of original material, with at least three extra characters designed by the mangaka. What this means is that the manga's wonderfulness cannot directly translate to the anime, as a lot of the good was in the interactions all characters shared, something original material cannot copy. I'd give it a chance anyway. Can't be much worse than meh. I'm not entirely averse to watching it myself. Reportedly, it also contains an ending of its own, although I cannot possibly guess what it'd be. The manga's was great.

Here's a wildcard. I came across the manga for Ultra Maniac after reading a wonderful Josei by the same author. So far so good. It's a romcom with a decent premise, and there's just something about the way that not everyone is a melodramatic moron that makes me love it. Having read 2/5 volumes it's a solid recommendation, except: I don't know what changes occurred in the anime. I don't know if the story gets worse. I don't know if the ending is good. If you're willing to put up with those caveats you may want to try it. If you aren't, you may wait for me to finish it (which shouldn't take more than a couple days).

Essentially, a video of me fanboying over a game I found the other day and that I really wanted to fanboy over.

So long as you make all the choices, at some point, you'll unlock everything. The order doesn't matter.

Absolutely nothing. You are entirely free to make whichever choices you would prefer.

Happy birthday to Solidman, I guess. CelureanGamer as well, if I could tag her, but since I can't, no well wishes for her. Too bad.

Your VN characters almost entirely seem to present overbearing personalities or large physical strength. On that count I can definitely recommend Kagome from Comyu or Fate/stay night's Saber/Rin. For other, more far-fetched, recommendations: If you're in the market for an otome, you might try The Royal Trap, for a capable main protagonist. Yuna from Kindred Spirits is neither physically strong nor does she possess an overbearing personality. She is really 'cool', though. Like, one of the few times I'd ever describe anyone as cool. The heroines in Tsukihime altogether present most of your desired traits, but any one of them on their own might not be quite it. It's also a really hard to describe the VN. It's peculiar, and by the same makers of Fate/stay night. Finally, if you're looking for a gameplay title, Yumina the Ethereal's heroines all present a strong mental fortitude... at some point. Especially the dumb one. Though at the start you might be more interested in Kirara. I'll go against Gahkthun's recommendation by claiming that I found the main protagonist, Neon, weak-willed the vast majority of the time. Frankly, the characters in this sort of story have character development such that they may sometimes fit your standards for a while, then not any more, or maybe not at the start but just afterwards. I would not start Gakhthun (or any of the far-fetched ones I recommended) if the heroines are the only things you are looking for in them. There are no routes in Gahkthun. Also, in a really weird way, Fal from Symphonic Rain. Can't really explain why, but I'd also recommend her.

Well, I'm not an otaku so I wouldn't know anything about a denial phase.

Uh, yeah. I was sort of putting this off but I finished Yuzu's. Did not enjoy the experience as much. I'm not sure what it was, but I wasn't a fun of their interactions and I'm not a fan of Yuzu's character. That's basically the main "flaw". Got better there towards the end but that's like a tenth of the route. I wish I could better explain, and I probably could, if I didn't pause right in the middle of the route for over a month and forgot most of what occurred. Moving onto Akane's. At least this time I like the character.

Such would be because our definitions of 'short' and 'focuses too much on sex' are different. Kokoro's route lasts a good 3-5 hours, but that's short by Majikoi standards, and when it also includes some 3-4 H-Scenes crammed into it, it feels like an excessive focus on sex. Margit's focuses on sex almost the entire way through, having way more H-Scene content than otherwise. Other routes are short, lasting around 3 hours, including a few H-Scenes as well. Tsubame's and someone else's feel a bit more complete in traditional Majikoi fashion, and Monshiro's has a decent length, though it lacks a traditional 'Majikoi battle/event' that routes tend to have at least one of.

Yes. Unfortunately, in S. I say 'unfortunately' for S actually produced some of the worst routes -- not only short, they had an excessive focus on sex -- exempting a couple. Kokoro's is not one of the exceptions.

Oh, certainly. I too don't believe there will be any sort of big divergence. I instead meant to say that if there were, it would likely be more akin to Sharin no Kuni (where only a short few scenes changed by route) or G-Senjou (where the main story would be complemented by side routes/bonus volumes), than to a traditional visual novel.

Might you elaborate on what your issue with a division of a full product into various volumes at a fraction of the price is? In every way it seems to make sense, from coming out faster to being lower priced per piece to allowing more choice for the consumer by reading them all at once or bit by bit. The one issue to come to mind is that it limits the experience to a relatively linear one, in that large divergent routes would be difficult to implement in the traditional fashion, and that a system similar to Sharin no Kuni's or G-Senjou's would be a more feasible option. On that note, why do you claim you were "scammed"? I do believe the word 'volume' by itself implies the division of the overarching story into various parts, and that the expectation that a sole volume would provide a complete story is in itself fallacious. What issue did you run into? In terms of pricing, it appears to be $30 for a medium length game somewhere around 13 hours long (I think, I have not yet played it whole). That's... not ideal, but not particularly unusual in the niche. What I will comment on are the H-Scenes. Complementary material for those willing to fork over money as they are, that's a lot of money that needs to be forked over. I do believe this division into volumes allows them to charge even more for the lot of them.

But why her jaw...? What were you expecting, actually? I more or less got what I believed I would be getting after reading about it.

Grisaia: Phantom Trigger Prefundia Page: (To fund physical versions and extra content, such as a manga being released in Japan) http://prefundia.com/projects/view/a-grand-entrance-for-new-vn-series-grisaia-phantom-trigger/12084/#project-creator-dashboard Looking at the Perfundia and FAQ, there's a few interesting tidbits: I no longer understand the purpose of volumes I mean, couldn't you just call the two that are releasing simultaneously "Volume 1"? I guess they intend to keep the price lower and more accessible per piece. Speaking of more accessible, I think they're really pushing towards making this VN the least niche they can, and I do believe the Grisaia series has a little potential, with all the spy stuff and action stuff and funny stuff. But, well... there's already some people clamouring for H-Scenes, via stretch goal, for instance, so... heck. I'm not entirely sure this move will work out for them. Disregarding the typo, this is interesting information. It looks like they're ready to make this story as long as the fanbase carries it. I'm certainly curious and optimistic about this method. I mean, I am a Grisaia fanboy, I have some trust that they will be able to pull off interesting self contained stories for as long as needed until a finale arrives. Like, have you seen the size of Grisaia no Kajitsu? They'd probably need some 10 volumes to match it. Other interesting notes are how Phantom Trigger will include references to the Grisaia trilogy but playing the original is not necessary, and that, much like Corona Blossom, these releases will feature dual language. Widen the appeal. ---- Things that are sorely missing are price for each individual volume (Looking at the Prefundia I'm guessing it's sitting at somewhere around 15 dollars -- though I find that a wee bit big for the wide appeal they seem to be going for) and their length. I imagine they're going to be around 5-10 hours each? How long was Corona Blossom? I don't imagine each of these volumes will be much bigger than those were, though if they're higher priced, they might.

Oh, I really liked that one. I very much do love myself one hell of a powerful idealist, and the ending was fantastic.

I suggest you establish your own rating system. What things must 10 tier VNs possess? What qualities does 9 tier VN need to possess? Alternatively, you could do it like I do and rate them based on how much you enjoyed them. I find that by the end I just know what they deserve, or have a very good idea. Surprisingly, given that I give 9/10's left and right, I only have a 10/10.

Majikoi -> Majikoi S -> Majikoi A; Majikoi S is a sequel, and introduces most of the new characters. Majikoi A (all five of the releases that compose it) may introduce some of them as well. Majikoi A is basically as if somebody stapled more content into Majikoi S (a great deal of it better quality than what S got), so don't imagine the term 'fandisk' makes it lower quality or less enjoyable. Only two of the five Majikoi A releases are currently translated.

I would apply the exact system as in my earlier post. Why were they removed? If there is a justifiable reason, then I don't hold it against the company and will purchase their title. ...What I just said was a lie. So long as the complete product felt wholesome and cohesive, I'd probably still buy it. My stance on censorship isn't too strong. Of course, there isn't really much of a way to know whether it feels complete or not, hence me applying the system earlier described. ---- As for your analysis on my views on sex, I found it to be the opposite. As my family was always rather open and transparent about sex (and one branch is particularly perverted), I've always been been something of a prude. These days I'm used to H-Scenes in VNs, but find myself uninterested in a vast majority of them, simply opting to skip them instead of reading all that fluff. One interesting fact: I generally prefer that they exist, even if I don't read them, as they're one of the most tangible forms to show love. For some reason, I have more difficulty recalling the romantic elements of all ages titles, making me feel they lacked them at all. Which is wrong. When I do play them they are there, clear as day. ---- I find your view on H-Scenes to be the most common one, actually. Which is why it kind of surprised me to see that just about everyone that isn't interested in H-Scenes popped out of the woodwork just to comment here.