Alxariam

I noticed Steins;Gate isn't on any of your lists. It's 100% worth checking out. I've sunk around 30 hours into it so far, and I can't be more pleased with how it's turning out. The time travel aspect is very tastefully done. It also does a good job of balancing out the serious parts and the slice-of-life parts. The Muv-Luv series is also fantastic, but it's an enormous time investment. If you're anything like me, it's hard to stop reading once you're hooked on a good story. If that's the case, be prepared for more than 100 hours.

At least you don't know who it is. I subconsciously expect every VN's heroine to die while I'm playing, but I still end up surprised when it actually happens.

I'm excited. Tsukhime is awesome and all, but it hasn't aged that well. A fresh breath of life will do it worlds of good.

I'm not very good at getting my point across on these kinds of things, but hey, I'll give it a shot. If I made it to the end, then that means I liked the story enough to see it all the way through. That also means I've built up a considerable attachment to the characters, the story, etc. In every case, one of two feelings spring up in me. I'm either satisfied or unsatisfied. That has more to do with the level of closure I receive than anything else. I'll use examples to make my points. Since we're discussing endings and I'm using examples, there are obviously going to be some heavy spoilers below. Little Busters! is a good example of a satisfying ending for me. Muv-Luv Alternative is an example of an ending that left me with some seriously mixed feelings.

I love it so long as it's not the only thing going on. It's more of a seasoning for me, rather than the actual meal. For example, I LOVED Little Busters, but that's mostly because there was clearly some serious shit going down behind the scenes and I love that stuff. Also, the humor was pretty rock-solid, which I'm also a huge proponent of. Oh yeah, I can totally see that. If that's what you enjoy, then by all means. You just asked why the majority bash Extra so much, so I thought I would share my opinion on it.

I don't think Extra is bad, like so many people say. I just think it's nothing special, and would probably be pretty forgettable if it was standalone. On top of that, it's in the same series as Alternative, which IS something special and extremely memorable. It's hard not to compare the two for most people. That being said, I'm one of those people who only played the 2 main heroines so I could move on... and I can't remember, but I think I skipped most of Meiya's (and Meiya was hands down my favorite heroine by the end of the Muv-Luv series). The romance stories found in the actual routes just aren't my style, but I did enjoy the common route where it wasn't quite so serious, and focused on the humorous side. I'm not bashing them or anything, it's just that I personally do not enjoy them. I enjoyed Extra for what it did for the overall story, by building up the characters and creating an attachment for the player. If I hadn't played Extra, I probably wouldn't have cared at all for Takeru's struggle (not going into detail to avoid spoilers). Also, Miki is available as a route in Unlimited. She's not available in Alternative, for which there is a very good reason for. I'll leave that for you to figure out the reasons for, since you asked for no spoilers.

I agree 100%. I've got 2 spam posts sitting in the soundtrack thread because of a connection error.

1. Taichi, from Cross Channel - I have a huge soft spot for protagonists that are fucked up in the head. 2. Shouichi, from DEARDROPS - One of the few cases (in my opinion) where a protagonist with a face is handled well. That and he's a beast at violin. 3. Kyousuke, from G-senjou no Maou - I'm not a big fan of the stories that Akabeisoft2 write, but their saving grace for me is ALWAYS the amazing protagonists/antagonists they write. Out of these, Azai Kyousuke wins by long a shot.

Clannad does a WONDERFUL job. It's more-or-less the same quality as the VN all across the board, but there are parts that I feel the anime handled better than the VN (they made Yukine's route interesting, which I thought was impossible), as well as parts that I felt the VN handled better (the light orbs weren't explained very well). One of my favorite VNs and also one of my favorite anime.

I played (and loved) the VN and watched about 10 episodes of the anime. Immediately, it was painful to see the VN's wonderful artstyle change so drastically, but I figured I'd be able to look past that still. As for the anime itself, my opinion is that it isn't BAD, but it's certainly nothing special. If it wasn't for the VN, it would have been forgotten about by now.

Personally, my favorite is the Deardrops OST. I love that punk rock feel that permeates the entire thing, along with the violin parts in some of the songs. The song that plays at the end of Riho's route is one of my all-time favorite songs from a VN, right up there with the intro to Little Busters!.

Finally started Steins;Gate! I was hooked as soon as I watched the prologue video. I've temporarily shelved Hoshizora no Memoria. I enjoyed the common route and the Komomo route, but I just don't feel motivated to continue on anymore. I plan to play more in the future, but I just don't think it's my usual style.

Ah, Katawa Shoujo... such fond memories of my time with it. I actually just started watching SAO a few days ago! Pretty awesome, so far.

I normally don't drink, but my uncle was VERY persistent that I drink with him tonight. I'm amazed he's even alive after everything he drank tonight.

Welcome to Fuwanovel! Looking forward to talking with you around the boards.