sanahtlig

I'm from the US. We have a strong tradition of freedom here signified in the words of the US Declaration of Independence:
 
All men (and only men, but not African men) are created equal. We have a right to Life (except if drafted into the army), Liberty (except when others disagree with you), and the pursuit of Happiness (except if you're a repressed minority).
 
In addition, we enjoy unparalleled freedom of expression and as a culture we're strongly opposed to censorship in all its forms.
 
We believe in democracy and the right for the people to decide their own government, both at home and abroad.
 
We believe that America is a model for democracy everywhere, and that other nations should follow our example.
 
American, and proud of it.

I'm from the US. We have a strong tradition of freedom here signified in the words of the US Declaration of Independence:
 
All men (and only men, but not African men) are created equal. We have a right to Life (except if drafted into the army), Liberty (except when others disagree with you), and the pursuit of Happiness (except if you're a repressed minority).
 
In addition, we enjoy unparalleled freedom of expression and as a culture we're strongly opposed to censorship in all its forms.
 
We believe in democracy and the right for the people to decide their own government, both at home and abroad.
 
We believe that America is a model for democracy everywhere, and that other nations should follow our example.
 
American, and proud of it.

Yes, I said my next post would be the end of this game, but the game is surprisingly long... especially considering the obscenely high encounter rate on the world map and the fact that if you don't keep your levels up (level 10 at least at the end of chapter 1, 20 at the end of 2, etc) you really are screwed. If nothing else, you won't be able to keep ahead of the regenerative abilities each chapter's main boss (except 1's) seems to possess.

The reason for this? Primarily it is the cost of healing items and the dearth of good healing skills. Lieschu's magic healing skills can only be used once per battle and require a huge BP charge before you can use them, and Cass's healing skill also has relatively high requirements in that area. Healing items actually increase in cost every time you buy them, depending on how many of them you have, which makes flexible use of healing impossible. This pretty much eliminates any strategy other than 'hit as hard and as fast as possible' when fighting bosses.

The upside is that if you do overlevel, it is pretty rare for you to die on the story bosses and getting through normal battles is much easier.

I realize that they were trying to create a balanced system by limiting healing in this way, but in doing so they eliminated most of what makes turn-based rpg battles enjoyable, which is strategizing for survival. Not to mention that since you can't heal yourself along the way, it isn't uncommon to get really low on hp before you even reach a boss, if you aren't careful.

In other words, the substituted tedium for thinking, a common mistake many 'new' jrpgs tend to make...

Makoto Itou is often vilified as the worst VN protagonist ever. These people clearly haven't played Cross Days.

VNDB
Getchu

Cross Days is a retelling of the events of School Days from the perspective of Yuuki Ashikaga, a boy in the same year as Makoto Itou, the protagonist of School Days. Yuuki is childhood friends with Hikari Kuroda and a member of the library club, and his older sister Chie belongs to the basketball club. Good-natured but indecisive, he often puts the needs of others before his own because he can't muster the courage to say "no". His sister introduces him to Roka Kitsuregawa, whom he quickly develops a crush on. Roka likes him too but misunderstands his relationship with Hikari. Roka tells Yuuki she's going out with Makoto to make Yuuki jealous. Kotonoha, who frequents the library, tells Yuuki she's Makoto's girlfriend, yet Makoto's classmates say he's going out with Sekai. Swept up in romantic intrigue, Yuuki has to figure out how to convince Roka that he's serious about her while getting her to give up on Makoto.

Much of the plot of Cross Days revolves around romantic misunderstandings, often reinforced and propagated by gossip. Yuuki and Roka are the main couple, while Makoto and Kotonoha are the secondary couple. The way these relationships play out forms the crux of the plot. The story begins with Makoto in a relationship with Sekai, following the route in School Days where Makoto pairs up with Sekai almost from the start. Sekai herself is a minor character.

Unlike School Days's Makoto, the plot of Cross Days doesn't revolve around the protagonist Yuuki, and this is a core weakness. Yuuki is very much swept up in the events occurring around him, and he is unable to directly solve the problems he's confronted with. Instead, his influence is indirect--he influences other actors who have the power to change events, such as Makoto. Cross Days is as much about the various characters surrounding Yuuki as it is about Yuuki himself, and as a result the experience ends up feeling rather fragmented. Much of the game is spent viewing events from an "outside" perspective other than Yuuki's, really reinforcing the feeling that this isn't Yuuki's story. As a player, I felt alienated by the arbitrary perspective shifts that often had no direct relation to the events surrounding Yuuki.

This leads to one of the game's main issues: the hopelessly convoluted scenario. The triggers for the various branches in the game's plot are cryptic and difficult to comprehend even in retrospect, much less when you're encountering them for the first time. As a player, you end up feeling very much like Yuuki--lost and fumbling about at random as situations spin out of control in often ludicrous fashion. This is in contrast to School Days, where there was usually a clear connection between Makoto's choices and downstream consequences. The choices in this game left me befuddled, and I ended up using a walkthrough after wandering aimlessly through the scenario a few times and haphazardly hitting the major routes. In some cases, the flow diagram in-game isn't even accurate (i.e., flowing one-way from left to right)--instead you can end up on a route that retraces to an earlier branch point. The scenario was patched to fix some of the divergence issues, but this actually makes the problem even worse because it breaks the earlier fan-made guides. I was unable to get most of the endings in the boys' love route because I couldn't figure out the proper sequence of choices even after trying several different guides.

The game has many of the same problems as School Days. It crashes/hangs frequently, especially if you scene skip in a scene with a choice. The problem is more acute in Cross Days because there's no "skip to the next choice" feature as there was in School Days HQ. Like School Days, the scenario consists of many puzzle pieces intended to fit together in many different configurations--but not all the configurations tell a cohesive story. Certain paths detour around scenes that are necessary for explaining/instigating downstream events.

Cross Days features a total of 22 endings (8 are in the BL route, which I haven't fully explored). The endings I saw were all distinct. There's some distinct routes that diverge midway, such as the ones focusing on BL and Ai Yamagata. The actual divergence has nothing to do with these themes however. Sadly many of the endings have no epilogue (especially the ones ending in H-scenes), so there's a nagging lack of closure. Reflecting the overall feel of Cross Days, many of the endings are "bad ends" for Yuuki and Roka.

The game is hard to evaluate. Despite all the problems, Cross Days captivated me for several days straight. I literally did nothing in my free time except play this game. Roka makes a great main heroine, and her jealousy is positively adorable. Her push-pull relationship with Yuuki is a highlight of the game. I was disappointed however that there was no opportunity to pair up Yuuki with Kotonoha. The setting has incredible detail that emerges when you explore all the different routes, conveying the sense of a truly living world. You end up missing much of the backstory if you only play through to one or two endings. The animation is engaging, with visual cues used to convey information layered on top of the dialogue. There isn't much fluff dialogue that serves no purpose in the story.

Cross Days is a rare interactive movie VN with a highly dynamic scenario that evolves based on your choices. If that's your cup of tea, there's hardly any alternatives to the School Days series. If you liked School Days, you should give Cross Days a try--but realize that the experience is different. Cross Days was clearly intended to be experienced after School Days, so don't make this your first sampling of the series. If you didn't like School Days, you probably won't like Cross Days, as it sports one of the weakest protagonists I've come across in a VN, and makes Makoto look like Rance by comparison.

Score: 7/10 (including -1 penalty for crashes and freezes)
Recommended for fans of series who have already played School Days and Shiny Days and are hungering for more.

I played this title in Japanese. If you're interested in seeing Cross Days in English, support JAST USA's English releases of School Days HQ and Shiny Days and let JAST know you're interested in Cross Days on their new official forums.

Ok, this is the first part of my words on Evenicle, which will be the last VN I play from April's releases. I am only playing this one because it was specifically requested by several people, and to be honest, I wasn't really looking forward to it. I am not a fan of the Rance series or Alice Soft in general, because their VNs' plots just aren't that interesting, generally. The ratio of goofy to serious is generally too slanted in the goofy direction, so I tend to get bored about halfway through. Not to mention that most of their games' actual plots are so awfully written that they might as well not exist at all.

That said, as a game - so far - Evenicle is actually fairly enjoyable, for what it is. Asta, the protagonist, is - like almost all Alice Soft protagonists - a harem-maker and a sex-fiend, but fortunately, he isn't a Rance-type, which was a relief for me - since I loathe Rance. Story-wise... the setting is interesting and what is going on in general has possibilities, but I hate that they use so much obvious foreshadowing... especially in the naming of certain areas (El Quixote, lol).

I'm at the end of Chapter 3, and one thing I'm finding is that the actual difficulty level of everyday battles is just a bit too uneven. There are way too many points where the difficulty spikes low or high, where it doesn't really make sense for it to do so... and that's just regular fights. Boss fights tend to be anticlimactic, with the exception of one fight at the end of Chapter 2 - so far.

The way you gain skills is a bit irritating as well. It seems like you randomly get skills for the various characters at the end of battles - regardless of levels - and out of chests, of all things. I've never been fond of games that add useless or annoying gimmicks onto what is - in the end - a regular jrpg-style game outside of story segments. However, I more or less expected this kind of thing, because Alice Soft is almost as bad as Idea Factory about the gimmicks issue...

Well, that's it for now, look forward to my final review after I've completed the game.

Makoto Itou is often vilified as the worst VN protagonist ever. These people clearly haven't played Cross Days.

VNDB
Getchu

Cross Days is a retelling of the events of School Days from the perspective of Yuuki Ashikaga, a boy in the same year as Makoto Itou, the protagonist of School Days. Yuuki is childhood friends with Hikari Kuroda and a member of the library club, and his older sister Chie belongs to the basketball club. Good-natured but indecisive, he often puts the needs of others before his own because he can't muster the courage to say "no". His sister introduces him to Roka Kitsuregawa, whom he quickly develops a crush on. Roka likes him too but misunderstands his relationship with Hikari. Roka tells Yuuki she's going out with Makoto to make Yuuki jealous. Kotonoha, who frequents the library, tells Yuuki she's Makoto's girlfriend, yet Makoto's classmates say he's going out with Sekai. Swept up in romantic intrigue, Yuuki has to figure out how to convince Roka that he's serious about her while getting her to give up on Makoto.

Much of the plot of Cross Days revolves around romantic misunderstandings, often reinforced and propagated by gossip. Yuuki and Roka are the main couple, while Makoto and Kotonoha are the secondary couple. The way these relationships play out forms the crux of the plot. The story begins with Makoto in a relationship with Sekai, following the route in School Days where Makoto pairs up with Sekai almost from the start. Sekai herself is a minor character.

Unlike School Days's Makoto, the plot of Cross Days doesn't revolve around the protagonist Yuuki, and this is a core weakness. Yuuki is very much swept up in the events occurring around him, and he is unable to directly solve the problems he's confronted with. Instead, his influence is indirect--he influences other actors who have the power to change events, such as Makoto. Cross Days is as much about the various characters surrounding Yuuki as it is about Yuuki himself, and as a result the experience ends up feeling rather fragmented. Much of the game is spent viewing events from an "outside" perspective other than Yuuki's, really reinforcing the feeling that this isn't Yuuki's story. As a player, I felt alienated by the arbitrary perspective shifts that often had no direct relation to the events surrounding Yuuki.

This leads to one of the game's main issues: the hopelessly convoluted scenario. The triggers for the various branches in the game's plot are cryptic and difficult to comprehend even in retrospect, much less when you're encountering them for the first time. As a player, you end up feeling very much like Yuuki--lost and fumbling about at random as situations spin out of control in often ludicrous fashion. This is in contrast to School Days, where there was usually a clear connection between Makoto's choices and downstream consequences. The choices in this game left me befuddled, and I ended up using a walkthrough after wandering aimlessly through the scenario a few times and haphazardly hitting the major routes. In some cases, the flow diagram in-game isn't even accurate (i.e., flowing one-way from left to right)--instead you can end up on a route that retraces to an earlier branch point. The scenario was patched to fix some of the divergence issues, but this actually makes the problem even worse because it breaks the earlier fan-made guides. I was unable to get most of the endings in the boys' love route because I couldn't figure out the proper sequence of choices even after trying several different guides.

The game has many of the same problems as School Days. It crashes/hangs frequently, especially if you scene skip in a scene with a choice. The problem is more acute in Cross Days because there's no "skip to the next choice" feature as there was in School Days HQ. Like School Days, the scenario consists of many puzzle pieces intended to fit together in many different configurations--but not all the configurations tell a cohesive story. Certain paths detour around scenes that are necessary for explaining/instigating downstream events.

Cross Days features a total of 22 endings (8 are in the BL route, which I haven't fully explored). The endings I saw were all distinct. There's some distinct routes that diverge midway, such as the ones focusing on BL and Ai Yamagata. The actual divergence has nothing to do with these themes however. Sadly many of the endings have no epilogue (especially the ones ending in H-scenes), so there's a nagging lack of closure. Reflecting the overall feel of Cross Days, many of the endings are "bad ends" for Yuuki and Roka.

The game is hard to evaluate. Despite all the problems, Cross Days captivated me for several days straight. I literally did nothing in my free time except play this game. Roka makes a great main heroine, and her jealousy is positively adorable. Her push-pull relationship with Yuuki is a highlight of the game. I was disappointed however that there was no opportunity to pair up Yuuki with Kotonoha. The setting has incredible detail that emerges when you explore all the different routes, conveying the sense of a truly living world. You end up missing much of the backstory if you only play through to one or two endings. The animation is engaging, with visual cues used to convey information layered on top of the dialogue. There isn't much fluff dialogue that serves no purpose in the story.

Cross Days is a rare interactive movie VN with a highly dynamic scenario that evolves based on your choices. If that's your cup of tea, there's hardly any alternatives to the School Days series. If you liked School Days, you should give Cross Days a try--but realize that the experience is different. Cross Days was clearly intended to be experienced after School Days, so don't make this your first sampling of the series. If you didn't like School Days, you probably won't like Cross Days, as it sports one of the weakest protagonists I've come across in a VN, and makes Makoto look like Rance by comparison.

Score: 7/10 (including -1 penalty for crashes and freezes)
Recommended for fans of series who have already played School Days and Shiny Days and are hungering for more.

I played this title in Japanese. If you're interested in seeing Cross Days in English, support JAST USA's English releases of School Days HQ and Shiny Days and let JAST know you're interested in Cross Days on their new official forums.

Makoto Itou is often vilified as the worst VN protagonist ever. These people clearly haven't played Cross Days.

VNDB
Getchu

Cross Days is a retelling of the events of School Days from the perspective of Yuuki Ashikaga, a boy in the same year as Makoto Itou, the protagonist of School Days. Yuuki is childhood friends with Hikari Kuroda and a member of the library club, and his older sister Chie belongs to the basketball club. Good-natured but indecisive, he often puts the needs of others before his own because he can't muster the courage to say "no". His sister introduces him to Roka Kitsuregawa, whom he quickly develops a crush on. Roka likes him too but misunderstands his relationship with Hikari. Roka tells Yuuki she's going out with Makoto to make Yuuki jealous. Kotonoha, who frequents the library, tells Yuuki she's Makoto's girlfriend, yet Makoto's classmates say he's going out with Sekai. Swept up in romantic intrigue, Yuuki has to figure out how to convince Roka that he's serious about her while getting her to give up on Makoto.

Much of the plot of Cross Days revolves around romantic misunderstandings, often reinforced and propagated by gossip. Yuuki and Roka are the main couple, while Makoto and Kotonoha are the secondary couple. The way these relationships play out forms the crux of the plot. The story begins with Makoto in a relationship with Sekai, following the route in School Days where Makoto pairs up with Sekai almost from the start. Sekai herself is a minor character.

Unlike School Days's Makoto, the plot of Cross Days doesn't revolve around the protagonist Yuuki, and this is a core weakness. Yuuki is very much swept up in the events occurring around him, and he is unable to directly solve the problems he's confronted with. Instead, his influence is indirect--he influences other actors who have the power to change events, such as Makoto. Cross Days is as much about the various characters surrounding Yuuki as it is about Yuuki himself, and as a result the experience ends up feeling rather fragmented. Much of the game is spent viewing events from an "outside" perspective other than Yuuki's, really reinforcing the feeling that this isn't Yuuki's story. As a player, I felt alienated by the arbitrary perspective shifts that often had no direct relation to the events surrounding Yuuki.

This leads to one of the game's main issues: the hopelessly convoluted scenario. The triggers for the various branches in the game's plot are cryptic and difficult to comprehend even in retrospect, much less when you're encountering them for the first time. As a player, you end up feeling very much like Yuuki--lost and fumbling about at random as situations spin out of control in often ludicrous fashion. This is in contrast to School Days, where there was usually a clear connection between Makoto's choices and downstream consequences. The choices in this game left me befuddled, and I ended up using a walkthrough after wandering aimlessly through the scenario a few times and haphazardly hitting the major routes. In some cases, the flow diagram in-game isn't even accurate (i.e., flowing one-way from left to right)--instead you can end up on a route that retraces to an earlier branch point. The scenario was patched to fix some of the divergence issues, but this actually makes the problem even worse because it breaks the earlier fan-made guides. I was unable to get most of the endings in the boys' love route because I couldn't figure out the proper sequence of choices even after trying several different guides.

The game has many of the same problems as School Days. It crashes/hangs frequently, especially if you scene skip in a scene with a choice. The problem is more acute in Cross Days because there's no "skip to the next choice" feature as there was in School Days HQ. Like School Days, the scenario consists of many puzzle pieces intended to fit together in many different configurations--but not all the configurations tell a cohesive story. Certain paths detour around scenes that are necessary for explaining/instigating downstream events.

Cross Days features a total of 22 endings (8 are in the BL route, which I haven't fully explored). The endings I saw were all distinct. There's some distinct routes that diverge midway, such as the ones focusing on BL and Ai Yamagata. The actual divergence has nothing to do with these themes however. Sadly many of the endings have no epilogue (especially the ones ending in H-scenes), so there's a nagging lack of closure. Reflecting the overall feel of Cross Days, many of the endings are "bad ends" for Yuuki and Roka.

The game is hard to evaluate. Despite all the problems, Cross Days captivated me for several days straight. I literally did nothing in my free time except play this game. Roka makes a great main heroine, and her jealousy is positively adorable. Her push-pull relationship with Yuuki is a highlight of the game. I was disappointed however that there was no opportunity to pair up Yuuki with Kotonoha. The setting has incredible detail that emerges when you explore all the different routes, conveying the sense of a truly living world. You end up missing much of the backstory if you only play through to one or two endings. The animation is engaging, with visual cues used to convey information layered on top of the dialogue. There isn't much fluff dialogue that serves no purpose in the story.

Cross Days is a rare interactive movie VN with a highly dynamic scenario that evolves based on your choices. If that's your cup of tea, there's hardly any alternatives to the School Days series. If you liked School Days, you should give Cross Days a try--but realize that the experience is different. Cross Days was clearly intended to be experienced after School Days, so don't make this your first sampling of the series. If you didn't like School Days, you probably won't like Cross Days, as it sports one of the weakest protagonists I've come across in a VN, and makes Makoto look like Rance by comparison.

Score: 7/10 (including -1 penalty for crashes and freezes)
Recommended for fans of series who have already played School Days and Shiny Days and are hungering for more.

I played this title in Japanese. If you're interested in seeing Cross Days in English, support JAST USA's English releases of School Days HQ and Shiny Days and let JAST know you're interested in Cross Days on their new official forums.

Personal blog (Sanahtlig's Corner)
VNDB profile
Fuwazette articles
LewdGamer articles
I've been into VNs since around 2002, and active in the community since about 2004. I go by various pseudonyms including sanahtlig, Dark_Shiki, and magusgs. Boards I actively follow include Mangagamer, JAST, Fuwanovel, and VNDB. I was also formerly active at NIS America. I've been actively following VN localization for over 10 years, so I've become familiar with business aspects of the market that often elude other fans.
Over the years I gradually became interested in playing games outside the walled garden of English releases. I enrolled in a year of Japanese courses in 2005 and casually studied the language. I used text hookers to machine translate Japanese VNs, especially RPGs and other gameplay-centric titles. In the past few years I've gradually shifted to using dictionary lookup more often as my knowledge of the language improves and machine translation becomes less attractive as a crutch. Today I remain reliant on text hooking, and I use machine translation as a grammar reference (or when I'm feeling particularly lazy), but my Japanese is good enough that I can often understand written dialogue unaided. With all the tools at my disposal, I'm fairly confident my overall comprehension approaches native level for the games I typically play, even if my reading speed is a bit slower and I don't necessarily understand every word or every phrase.
 
I play VNs voraciously, though I go through spells where I play 30+ hrs a week, and other times where I'll go months without playing any. These days I mostly play Japanese-language VNs, though I try to sprinkle English VNs in (with auto-mode enabled) to give my hands a rest from scrolling over unfamiliar Japanese phrases and repetitive clicking. I keep my VNDB profile mostly up to date. My focus is eroge with gameplay; I consider myself nearly an expert on this genre and I've played games from most of the major developers. I play eroge almost exclusively because, well, I like my animu ero, even if it's just a scene or two tacked on at the end. I usually shy away from nukige, which tend to bore me, but I play a few. To this day I've completely spurned original English VNs for several reasons: the low production values / severe lack of professional quality releases, lack of Japanese voice acting, lack of ero, and a general disdain for Western cultural and artistic values which often creep in (especially into the ero, if any). I might be persuaded to try one eventually if some or all of those concerns are addressed.
 
I like to argue and debate, and my forum post history is filled with posts on all sorts of topics including the VN industry, VN piracy, censorship, legal issues and obscenity, and much more. I also post on Fuwanovel's Fuwazette as well as my own personal blog. My tone is often callous but I typically attempt to argue concepts and ideas, not people. My view is that ideas exist to be challenged, and unchallenged ideas lead to complacence and zombie-think: simply echoing what others tell you. Wherever I see complete acceptance of an idea, I see a viewpoint not being considered. True objectivity means openness to new ideas, an ability to see controversies from multiple perspectives and understand how different premises and viewpoints can lead to different conclusions. I pursue truth, and where truth is elusive I seek to approach it through the sum of all valid viewpoints. Even viewpoints that don't hold up to scrutiny often provide a valid insight into the minds of men.
I write fiction occasionally. My current project is Memory's Wounds.
I am sanahtlig, and this is my story.

This is a response to a comment from Tay (which I suspect has ulterior motives).
 
Eroge, as told through the visual novel medium, fill a void in my life. I'm well past college age, yet I've never touched a girl romantically, much less kissed or dated. You might say I'm starved for romance, yet I have little interest in dating. I could go into detail, but I'm not that interested in discussing my personal life publicly or privately. I'm going through changes in my life that might very well change my outlook, but this is how I've lived my adult life until now.
 
Suffice to say, I find anime-style heroines attractive, and I crave sexual and romantic fulfillment. Nukige don't typically do it for me because I want to be emotionally moved. I need drama. I need context. I need to immerse myself in a fictional world. Non-ero VNs don't do it for me because they lack sexual content, which is a large part of the draw for me, even if it's a small part of the overall package. Before I was into eroge I was into RPGs, fantasy novels, and anime, so story-driven eroge were a natural evolution of my interests.
 
I suspect this isn't the response Tay was looking for. "Join Fuwanovel and enjoy sexual fulfillment!" doesn't make a great tagline, after all. It might also invite unwanted attention from authorities.
 
I'm interested in the eroge industry (eroge account for ~90% of PC VNs originating in Japan), especially the English side, because it's such a fascinating niche. The market dynamics are completely unique. The stigma of porn hamstrings the market, preventing exposure through traditional channels. Cheap low-budget games often turn the most volume and yield the most profit: mediocrity reigns supreme. Most Japanese eroge publishers simply refuse to deal with English licensors, for a variety of business and cultural reasons. The fanbase is small but extremely vocal; it's possible to keep up with all major developments and voices in the community simply by following a few forums. Despite the tiny size of the English market, piracy is rampant and has threatened to completely annihilate the industry at several points. For every eroge customer there's probably 9 "fans" who've never bought an eroge, or who buy only when they can't get what they want for free. The market is so exquisitely fucked up that watching it inspires the sort of morbid fascination of observing a train wreck in progress. And then there's all the *unique* personalities that such a niche invariably draws.
 
Shameless plug: Those interested in seeing the world through my eyes might want to give my novella in progress Memory's Wounds a try.

(An old parody I wrote in 2013, I'm reposting here for general amusement. See the original forum thread for initial reactions.)
 
Announcer:
It’s a beautiful day for baseball today in Eroge Stadium. I’m your host Sanahtlig here to provide commentary for Visual Novel Translation TV. Today the Localizers play against the Fan Translators in a special Western League All-Star game. This should be an interesting matchup. On the Localizers team we have representatives from Mangagamer including the rising star Kouryuu, as well as veterans from JAST USA including the well known Peter Payne. The Fan Translators are a truly diverse bunch of big names playing together for the first time ever. We have Ixrec from Amaterasu, Moogy from TLWiki, Haeleth, and Aaeru from Fuwanovel. It’ll be interesting to see how they interact as a team.
 
The Localizers are up to bat first. But there seems to be a delay. The first batter from Mangagamer appears to have brought a large stick instead of a bat! He seems to be arguing with the umpire. Let’s listen in.
Umpire: You can’t just waltz in here with a stick for a bat. Go borrow a real bat from one of the JAST players!
Mangagamer player: ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US!
Umpire: WTF?
 
Announcer:
The Mangagamer player just took off and started running the bases before the game even started! What is he doing??? We’ll be back after a word from our sponsors.
 
[Commercial]
VNDB, a compendium of visual novel knowledge, by you, for you: an oasis where you can request visual novel recommendations, speak freely, and engage in enlightened discussions. Please click our affiliates so we don't go broke!
 
5 min later
 
Announcer:
We’re back, and this time Peter Payne is up to bat with 1 out and 1 expelled player. Here’s the pitch and—it’s a hit! Wait, what is he doing? He’s just standing there! Let’s zoom in for a closer look.
On close examination, Peter is actually shuffling towards 1st base so slow it’s barely perceptible from a distance. He makes it a few feet before being tagged out by the catcher.
That’s two outs folks. Up to bat next is Kouryuu, Mangagamer’s newest darling. Here’s the pitch and—it’s a line drive. This—
At that moment the microphone fades out. The game ensues soundless until a member from Mangagamer finally strikes out, ending the round.
We’re back at Eroge Stadium. We apologize for the technical difficulties. A member from Mangagamer barged in and carried off the microphone, claiming we didn’t have rights to broadcast audio during their lineup. We’re assured now that the problem has been cleared up.
 
The Localizers are taking to the field. Wait, what is this? Mangagamer’s players have taken to the field without clothes! This isn’t baseball, this is pornography! Outrageous! JAST’s entire bench has rushed onto the field to subdue them. They appear to be re-clothing the Mangagamer players—is that 2 bras I see??? We’ll be back after a commercial break.
 
[Commercial]
Mangagamer staff A: Somebody set us up the bomb!
Mangagamer staff B: What you say?!
*Screen flash and booming sound*
Pictured is a box set of 3 games, priced at $150. A tag in the corner of the screen reads “no voice”.
Narrator: Shin Koihime Musou! Otanoshimini!
 
5 min later
 
Announcer:
We’re back and the game looks ready to resume. First up to bat is Haeleth, the oldest member on the team and a true league veteran. He seems to be getting some boos from the audience…hmm? Haeleth just threw down his bat and walked out of the stadium! Amazing! Looks like the Fan Translators are down one member!
Next up to bat is Moogy. Moogy is known for his often uncomplimentary remarks for his fellow players. Moogy steps up to bat and—he seems to be shouting something at the Fan Translator dug out. He’s throwing down his bat and…he just walked out into the field? He seems to have joined the Localizers! What an unexpected development!
Next up is Ixrec. This guy is a monster folks; he has the highest RBI in the entire league. Here’s the pitch, and—it’s a hard hit to right field! Peter Payne scrambles for the ball…what is he doing? Is he riding a wheelchair in the grass? Why is he in a wheelchair?! Ixrec scores! And he’s running around the bases again! Look at him go! One of the umpires from the Japanese league, Age, has grabbed Ixrec and is trying to stop him! Oh my, Ixrec just kicked Age in the balls and is running the bases again! Unbelievable! We’ll be back after a commercial break.
 
[Commercial]
JAST USA is proud to announce the best hentai dating sim ever, Lightning Warrior Raidy 3! Play the role of a cute swordswoman as she fights creepy tentacle monsters and devilish vixens with her new lesbian fusion powers! Coming to a store near you in 2018!
 
10 min later
 
Announcer:
We’re back. Age has left the game, and I doubt we’ll see him back for another Western League game in the near future. We have a Fan Translator on 1st base from a single up the middle.
Next up is Aaeru. A relative newcomer, Aaeru doesn’t seem to be getting along too well with her fellow Fan Translators. But in this game it’s results that count, which I’m sure Aaeru will show us today.
Here comes the pitch…it’s a fast line drive to left field! That’s a base hit! Wait! Aaeru appears to making a beeline for 3rd base! What is she doing?! She’s stopped on 3rd base and doesn’t seem to be budging. It appears that she’s decided to run the bases in reverse order! What are the umpires doing?! The other Fan Translators are snickering, but no one seems to be stopping her. That leaves a player each on 2nd and 3rd base.
Next up to bat is…Moogy? Did he switch sides again?! It’s probably best not to think too hard about this. Here’s the pitch—and it’s a pop up to right field! Peter goes for the ball—and his wheelchair tips over! The Fan Translators are running the bases and—Aaeru just collided with her fellow Fan Translator! Who would've seen that coming?! She’s getting up, and--
 
Mangagamer 3rd baseman: ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US!
 
Announcer:
The Mangagamer 3rd baseman just clubbed her over the head with 3rd base! Ouch! Moogy runs up to her and…he’s kicking her while she’s down! I don’t know who’s the greater bastard: Aaeru, the Mangagamer 3rd baseman, or Moogy! Ixrec runs out of the dugout—he’s running the bases again! Someone catch him! What the hell??? The Mangagamer players are stripping again! Peter is still crawling out in right field towards the ball! This is utter chaos folks! It’s a wacky free-for-all today in Eroge Stadium. I’ve never seen such incredible dysfunction in all my days as an Eroge Stadium broadcaster. Will Moogy stop kicking Aaeru? Will Mangagamer stop turning this into a live porn event? Will Ixrec leave any points for anyone else? Will Peter ever get the damn ball? Stay tuned to Visual Novel Translation TV!
 
In the meantime, let's get some comments from the stadium audience.

First, I should say that the last part of this game was actually worthy of Eushully in terms of dramatic flair. For those who probably think I was bashing this game out of hand, let me also say that there were lots of hints of what is best about Eushully. There are great characters/companions, some truly excellent character interactions, and even a few really stand-out scenes scattered throughout the first three fourths of the game... but the problem is that they are spaced out with a ridiculous amount of map-grinding for very small gain and a definite feeling that you are screwed by hitting maps too early (since you want to grab as many companions as you can before you hit the extra/optional ones, in most cases).

I can't help but praise the way they do their best to immerse you in the previously only hinted at animalistic demi-human races and hints of their culture, and there are also plenty of references to the ongoing themes of this particular world (such as the unending conflict between the Living Gods of Light and Darkness and the results of it amongst the mortals and not-so-mortal denizens of the world). At the same time, there is so much more that could have been done with this. Rather than wasting all those maps as story-free, they should have made an effort to add side-events specifically for those maps, filling in the gaps of why we should care about this region and what happens to it, rather than assuming that we do. This speaks to a laziness that is characteristic of many of their games outside the main IM series, in that they have a tendency to only really go into depth in games like Zero, Genrin, and Verita. I absolutely loathe place-holders for when a company just wants to milk the setting rather than really going through the effort to birth a new saga in the same world. The sheer lack of ambition that is represented by this game is a bit ridiculous, considering the amount of development cash that had to have gone into that battle system. Another three months with this, adding in more story events and expanding the cultural and religious elements, would have gone a long way to making this game feel like a worthy companion to the IM series.

Needless to say, I found this game to be a disappointment, especially considering this was put out in place of the IM2 remake I was hoping for this year. So much wasted potential in a single game... it reminds me of what I felt about Kamidori after playing Zero.

I probably won't go through a second playthrough of this anytime soon. That is primarily because of overplay-related exhaustion, though there is also a definite feeling that I'd be wasting my time if I bothered to continue, at this point.

Ok, for those who read my first post on this game, you probably have a good picture of how I see the gameplay in this game. There are hints of really excellent possibilities in the actual battle system... if you can ignore the fact that you have to equip skills (as medals) - even the personal ones - and the fact that many of the characters you get access too later are at one of two extremes... either way too weak or way too strong for the time in which you get them. As an example, the angel is way too strong when you get her, and Tsumugi is really weak when you get her... it generally goes that way throughout the entire game, as you get various characters. Making it worse is the fact that all the advantages of the game system go to the characters you got earliest, meaning that evolving your party past a core of characters you got relatively early on is fairly difficult... Another issue is that the orbs you get as you go along are way too slanted in how they appear (each map completion gets you a certain orb or two), and this means that characters whose own ability grids are slanted in a different direction - mages in particular - are pretty much screwed as far as growth goes. A final issue with the battle system is actual skill use... all magic skills have to be activated without movement and archer attacks are the same. Of course, considering the way some of the environments are put together, the ability to use high level magic or archery after moving would be a bit of overkill, but for large time-limited maps, this pretty much eliminates the usefulness of mages and archers entirely. This unbalance is a huge problem in making mages useful at all...

As for the story... it takes a really, really long time to get going, you have to choose one of two heroines relatively early on (neither of which is all that attractive, in comparison to some of the non-human girls)... but things do start to pick up a bit about the seventh and eighth chapters. Unfortunately, considering that means there was nothing but hints of what might happen and repetitive fights with predictable 'oh Eld is such a mysteriously great guy despite being weak' events. To be honest, that gets old really quickly...

Edit: Understand, I'm not hating this game. However, considering how good they did on the side-events (many are amusing, some are exciting), you would think they would have done a better job with the main story so far... There just isn't that much impact to it, and the atmosphere just isn't one conducive to emotional involvement as well as intellectual, which is a big downer with a high fantasy setting.

Ok, first I should say that this is based in the Ikusa Megami (Battle Goddess) series world. I haven't checked to see what time period it is in, but judging by the statements so far, I'd guess it was after the events in Madou Koukaku but before the second half of Verita.

That said, this is based in the most fleshed-out fantasy world in all of VNs, so there is plenty of lore to draw on and add to, and Eushully is definitely milking the setting's popularity for all it is worth.

Unfortunately, the gameplay aspect is a bit disappointing.

First, there is no way to get stronger except during initial completions of a mission/map. You basically get orbs from killing certain enemies and the initial finishing of a map for each character that you can plug into their individual grids to increase their stats and - when you complete a bingo-like line of five - their levels. Equipment comes in the form of medals that have skills, stat-boosts, and other effects that can make the game easier... but because each level counts for an equipment point and some medals can take up to six points to equip, you are very, very limited in what you can equip, especially at first. Worse, when new characters come in, their grids are completely blank and they have no - and I mean none - orbs to plug in. This makes them fairly weak compared to your first four or five party members, whom you get fairly early, at least so far.

To be blunt, because there is no way to grind for anything, there is no point in fighting battles multiple times once you've completed all the hidden map objectives (which grant you medals as a reward.

As for the story... so far - in the third chapter - it is waaaaay too vague. There is a bit too much focus on character interaction and not enough on serious story progression, considering how little of interest there is to the actual gameplay.

Why am I bashing this? Because I know some idiot is going to come out raving about how wonderful the game is, even if it isn't... and flaws should be pointed out mercilessly.

There are some positive points... the protagonist is generally likeable, and there are a lot of characters with backstory that would be interesting to explore... if you weren't so limited in what events you could see, lol.

The hexagon-shaped srpg battle system suffers from being designed to be playable with a touch screen - I know you smartphone lovers might think this is a good idea, but it is far better to have a solid keyboard and mouse gameplay than have half-assed, crappy touchscreen-capable gameplay. I am going to finish this game, but I'm already feeling like I want to drop it, despite that determination... Every once in a while, Eushully puts out a stinker, and this might very well be it.

Edit: While things have begun to pick up a bit in this chapter, one of the problems is that the enemies and allies are a bit too comical, so it is hard to take things seriously. Of course, I'm sure some terrifying boss-characters will pop-up later, but so far most of the enemy characters have been either Disgaea-style 'Mid-Boss' types (overconfident but trip themselves up regularly) or small-fry bad guys (the gigantic half-breed orc).

The following list only contains threads made from April 18 to April 25, any older thread will be placed under the "Updated" banner if new relevant content is added to it



If you don't know how the list works, please check the project
thread.






Discussion
Funniest Out-of-Context VN Quotes (Link)
Ever finished a VN without stopping? (Link)
Worst routes you've ever read in a VN and why (Link)
VN epilogues/endings (Link)
What is a "good" H-scene. (Link)
Will you buy Shiny Days from Jast? (Link)
Katawa Shoujo gets a physical version in Japan (Link)
Portrait / Side sprites next to the textbox (Link)
The Artistic Value of the Visual Novel (Link)
Princess Evangile: A Case For Mateship (Link)


Other Discussion
The key to good writing is reading a lot (Link)
Thoughts on anime/manga that are used for LN promotion. (Link)
Steam starts selling paid mods (Link)


Feedback
Community Updates 4/25/15 (including new theme!) (Link)

​
Blog Post
Why I endorse JAST’s censorship of Shiny Days (Link)
Zalor - The Analyst (Link)

(An old parody I wrote in 2013, I'm reposting here for general amusement. See the original forum thread for initial reactions.)
 
Announcer:
It’s a beautiful day for baseball today in Eroge Stadium. I’m your host Sanahtlig here to provide commentary for Visual Novel Translation TV. Today the Localizers play against the Fan Translators in a special Western League All-Star game. This should be an interesting matchup. On the Localizers team we have representatives from Mangagamer including the rising star Kouryuu, as well as veterans from JAST USA including the well known Peter Payne. The Fan Translators are a truly diverse bunch of big names playing together for the first time ever. We have Ixrec from Amaterasu, Moogy from TLWiki, Haeleth, and Aaeru from Fuwanovel. It’ll be interesting to see how they interact as a team.
 
The Localizers are up to bat first. But there seems to be a delay. The first batter from Mangagamer appears to have brought a large stick instead of a bat! He seems to be arguing with the umpire. Let’s listen in.
Umpire: You can’t just waltz in here with a stick for a bat. Go borrow a real bat from one of the JAST players!
Mangagamer player: ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US!
Umpire: WTF?
 
Announcer:
The Mangagamer player just took off and started running the bases before the game even started! What is he doing??? We’ll be back after a word from our sponsors.
 
[Commercial]
VNDB, a compendium of visual novel knowledge, by you, for you: an oasis where you can request visual novel recommendations, speak freely, and engage in enlightened discussions. Please click our affiliates so we don't go broke!
 
5 min later
 
Announcer:
We’re back, and this time Peter Payne is up to bat with 1 out and 1 expelled player. Here’s the pitch and—it’s a hit! Wait, what is he doing? He’s just standing there! Let’s zoom in for a closer look.
On close examination, Peter is actually shuffling towards 1st base so slow it’s barely perceptible from a distance. He makes it a few feet before being tagged out by the catcher.
That’s two outs folks. Up to bat next is Kouryuu, Mangagamer’s newest darling. Here’s the pitch and—it’s a line drive. This—
At that moment the microphone fades out. The game ensues soundless until a member from Mangagamer finally strikes out, ending the round.
We’re back at Eroge Stadium. We apologize for the technical difficulties. A member from Mangagamer barged in and carried off the microphone, claiming we didn’t have rights to broadcast audio during their lineup. We’re assured now that the problem has been cleared up.
 
The Localizers are taking to the field. Wait, what is this? Mangagamer’s players have taken to the field without clothes! This isn’t baseball, this is pornography! Outrageous! JAST’s entire bench has rushed onto the field to subdue them. They appear to be re-clothing the Mangagamer players—is that 2 bras I see??? We’ll be back after a commercial break.
 
[Commercial]
Mangagamer staff A: Somebody set us up the bomb!
Mangagamer staff B: What you say?!
*Screen flash and booming sound*
Pictured is a box set of 3 games, priced at $150. A tag in the corner of the screen reads “no voice”.
Narrator: Shin Koihime Musou! Otanoshimini!
 
5 min later
 
Announcer:
We’re back and the game looks ready to resume. First up to bat is Haeleth, the oldest member on the team and a true league veteran. He seems to be getting some boos from the audience…hmm? Haeleth just threw down his bat and walked out of the stadium! Amazing! Looks like the Fan Translators are down one member!
Next up to bat is Moogy. Moogy is known for his often uncomplimentary remarks for his fellow players. Moogy steps up to bat and—he seems to be shouting something at the Fan Translator dug out. He’s throwing down his bat and…he just walked out into the field? He seems to have joined the Localizers! What an unexpected development!
Next up is Ixrec. This guy is a monster folks; he has the highest RBI in the entire league. Here’s the pitch, and—it’s a hard hit to right field! Peter Payne scrambles for the ball…what is he doing? Is he riding a wheelchair in the grass? Why is he in a wheelchair?! Ixrec scores! And he’s running around the bases again! Look at him go! One of the umpires from the Japanese league, Age, has grabbed Ixrec and is trying to stop him! Oh my, Ixrec just kicked Age in the balls and is running the bases again! Unbelievable! We’ll be back after a commercial break.
 
[Commercial]
JAST USA is proud to announce the best hentai dating sim ever, Lightning Warrior Raidy 3! Play the role of a cute swordswoman as she fights creepy tentacle monsters and devilish vixens with her new lesbian fusion powers! Coming to a store near you in 2018!
 
10 min later
 
Announcer:
We’re back. Age has left the game, and I doubt we’ll see him back for another Western League game in the near future. We have a Fan Translator on 1st base from a single up the middle.
Next up is Aaeru. A relative newcomer, Aaeru doesn’t seem to be getting along too well with her fellow Fan Translators. But in this game it’s results that count, which I’m sure Aaeru will show us today.
Here comes the pitch…it’s a fast line drive to left field! That’s a base hit! Wait! Aaeru appears to making a beeline for 3rd base! What is she doing?! She’s stopped on 3rd base and doesn’t seem to be budging. It appears that she’s decided to run the bases in reverse order! What are the umpires doing?! The other Fan Translators are snickering, but no one seems to be stopping her. That leaves a player each on 2nd and 3rd base.
Next up to bat is…Moogy? Did he switch sides again?! It’s probably best not to think too hard about this. Here’s the pitch—and it’s a pop up to right field! Peter goes for the ball—and his wheelchair tips over! The Fan Translators are running the bases and—Aaeru just collided with her fellow Fan Translator! Who would've seen that coming?! She’s getting up, and--
 
Mangagamer 3rd baseman: ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US!
 
Announcer:
The Mangagamer 3rd baseman just clubbed her over the head with 3rd base! Ouch! Moogy runs up to her and…he’s kicking her while she’s down! I don’t know who’s the greater bastard: Aaeru, the Mangagamer 3rd baseman, or Moogy! Ixrec runs out of the dugout—he’s running the bases again! Someone catch him! What the hell??? The Mangagamer players are stripping again! Peter is still crawling out in right field towards the ball! This is utter chaos folks! It’s a wacky free-for-all today in Eroge Stadium. I’ve never seen such incredible dysfunction in all my days as an Eroge Stadium broadcaster. Will Moogy stop kicking Aaeru? Will Mangagamer stop turning this into a live porn event? Will Ixrec leave any points for anyone else? Will Peter ever get the damn ball? Stay tuned to Visual Novel Translation TV!
 
In the meantime, let's get some comments from the stadium audience.

Personal blog (Sanahtlig's Corner)
VNDB profile
Fuwazette articles
LewdGamer articles
I've been into VNs since around 2002, and active in the community since about 2004. I go by various pseudonyms including sanahtlig, Dark_Shiki, and magusgs. Boards I actively follow include Mangagamer, JAST, Fuwanovel, and VNDB. I was also formerly active at NIS America. I've been actively following VN localization for over 10 years, so I've become familiar with business aspects of the market that often elude other fans.
Over the years I gradually became interested in playing games outside the walled garden of English releases. I enrolled in a year of Japanese courses in 2005 and casually studied the language. I used text hookers to machine translate Japanese VNs, especially RPGs and other gameplay-centric titles. In the past few years I've gradually shifted to using dictionary lookup more often as my knowledge of the language improves and machine translation becomes less attractive as a crutch. Today I remain reliant on text hooking, and I use machine translation as a grammar reference (or when I'm feeling particularly lazy), but my Japanese is good enough that I can often understand written dialogue unaided. With all the tools at my disposal, I'm fairly confident my overall comprehension approaches native level for the games I typically play, even if my reading speed is a bit slower and I don't necessarily understand every word or every phrase.
 
I play VNs voraciously, though I go through spells where I play 30+ hrs a week, and other times where I'll go months without playing any. These days I mostly play Japanese-language VNs, though I try to sprinkle English VNs in (with auto-mode enabled) to give my hands a rest from scrolling over unfamiliar Japanese phrases and repetitive clicking. I keep my VNDB profile mostly up to date. My focus is eroge with gameplay; I consider myself nearly an expert on this genre and I've played games from most of the major developers. I play eroge almost exclusively because, well, I like my animu ero, even if it's just a scene or two tacked on at the end. I usually shy away from nukige, which tend to bore me, but I play a few. To this day I've completely spurned original English VNs for several reasons: the low production values / severe lack of professional quality releases, lack of Japanese voice acting, lack of ero, and a general disdain for Western cultural and artistic values which often creep in (especially into the ero, if any). I might be persuaded to try one eventually if some or all of those concerns are addressed.
 
I like to argue and debate, and my forum post history is filled with posts on all sorts of topics including the VN industry, VN piracy, censorship, legal issues and obscenity, and much more. I also post on Fuwanovel's Fuwazette as well as my own personal blog. My tone is often callous but I typically attempt to argue concepts and ideas, not people. My view is that ideas exist to be challenged, and unchallenged ideas lead to complacence and zombie-think: simply echoing what others tell you. Wherever I see complete acceptance of an idea, I see a viewpoint not being considered. True objectivity means openness to new ideas, an ability to see controversies from multiple perspectives and understand how different premises and viewpoints can lead to different conclusions. I pursue truth, and where truth is elusive I seek to approach it through the sum of all valid viewpoints. Even viewpoints that don't hold up to scrutiny often provide a valid insight into the minds of men.
I write fiction occasionally. My current project is Memory's Wounds.
I am sanahtlig, and this is my story.

The picture is entirely unrelated to most of this post.

So, as many of you who play UnTl'd VNs may know, JParser is a lifesaver. It is both love and life, bae, and every other romantic term you can possibly apply to a normal human. In other words, for someone who is a JLP (Japanese Language Plebian), it is a god send. I've been using it up until now, which is about a month (I can't believe I've been reading AkaGoei for like a month..) and it has really been working for me.

But the other day... something happened. Something that changed everything for me

So I was talking to a certain SubaHibi fan the other day, and he informed me of a different way for me to understand moon runes. While my grasp of grammar has definitely improved, I still rely heavily on dictionaries to understand the other words, so I was all ears.

As he spoke the name... it was like heaven itself had opened up and rained down it's infinite glory of kamige on to me.
.... Rikaisama.

What is rikaisama? It is basically JParser, only it actually gets updated. That and it is used in your browser. Problem is rikaisama is only for an inferior internet browser Firefox.

Here is an image of what my setup looks like now:



Looks a lot cleaner in my opinion.
So let me break this down for you. Like JParser, mousing over words brings up defintions and different words for what it might possibly be. Making sure that ITH is set to automatically copy to clipboard, I have a site open that has a resizeable text box so I can paste what is on the sceen and check it out in my browser by mousing over stuff. Ironic that the page I am using is Translation Party, but it doesn't really matter what you use as long as there is a textbox. I am using Translation Party because a certain SubaHibi fan showed me to that site first.

There ARE alternatives to rikaisama, such rikaikun for Chrome.. but rikaisama is more customizable. So yeah, sure you will have to switch over to Firefox if you aren't already using it. Honestly the switch isn't so bad.

After all... Rikaisama has an optional name dictionary.. and if that isn't enough to convince you.. then I don't know what will.

All credit for this goes to a certain SubaHibi fan. Thanks for showing me this method, as it is definitely more convienent. Or at the very least... it makes my screen look nicer.


On an unrelated note, seems I haven't updated this in a little bit. I have been busy over the last few weeks, but I certainly have not forgotten about it (not that many people read this thing at all xD).
I finished Aya's route and am on Tsuki's now, but I am taking a break from AkaGoei in order to play some Totono, if you couldn't tell from the above picture. Totono is kind of like a break for me, as it is easier to read than AkaGoei in my opinion.

Anyway, thanks for stopping in guys. Hopefully I'll get something else up again soon.

I Did It






So anybody who interacts with me on a regular basis probably has heard me be really hyped about the fact that I have finished my first route. Another indicator of my happiness over this would be the fact that... you know:




So I am writing this up, because I want to mark this as a milestone in my learning process. While sure, it may not seem like a big deal... but for me it is pretty huge for me. For the longest time before I got the chance to start learning Japanese, I always saw it as an uncrackable code. Something I could never even hope to read. This was mostly due to the fact that the only other language I had ever learnt was French, which uses my native character set. Also, whenever my friends and I talked about languages, we had decided that the seemingly hardest languages to learn were Arabic, Chinese, and Japanese.

So there was this sort of barrier for me, that basically always told me that I would never be able to understand Japanese. I still have those barriers in place for Arabic and Chinese, although that is loosening as I learn kanji in the case of Chinese.

So needless to say. I am pretty happy right now.
After finishing Tae's route and wiping the tears away, I was filled with this strange sense of euphoria.
'Cause after like... 3 weeks of improvement.
I had finally done it.
I had cracked this so called uncrackable code. So to speak.

Sure I had to rely a lot on ITH and JParser, but you know what... I learnt quite a bit in this one route. My understanding of sentence structure, and the size of my Japanese lexicon have both improved significantly. And that was only over the course of one route! I still have four more to go in AkaGoei!

It was really hard at first. I could not wrap my head around what I was reading, and there were times in the beginning where I was just clicking to see if I could figure out the next line. I don't do that now, but that is how it was when I first opened up the VN.

The key to improving, when you want to be able to read VNs, is to just stop making excuses as to why you can't. Maybe I am still too much of a noob to be saying such things, but I really think that this is the case. I mean yes, if you haven't studied JP at all yet, you probably shouldn't jump in, but if you have been studying for a while and aren't sure if you are ready, stop thinking you aren't ready. I made excuses for half a year when my knowledge of grammar was sitting at an agreeable level for reading VNs that are not written by Masada~

Sure you will hit snags. You will find grammar you are unfamiliar with and lots of words and phrases that will make no sense when you translate them into English no matter what you do. That is all part of the learning process. I decided that my best bet was to take my failings in Japanese in stride and just charge straight in.

So yeah, finishing this route is a huge moment for me. The next one will be when I finish the entire VN. After that, we'll see.
I'll remember the date for sure: March 14th 2015




Thanks for listening to me ramble on this one guys. As I said, it isn't really THAT big of a deal... but it means a lot to me. So I needed to put my ramblings somewhere!~

Into the Fray!



First Foray into Untranslated VNs







Man does that title make this seem important. Hate to disappoint, but it is not important at all.

So recently I decided it would be a good idea to finally stop procrastinating on something I have been really meaning to do. I finally got off my butt and got my hands on Akatsuki no Goei and installed it on my computer. With my current Japanese level, I felt it would be a good one to try and work my way through. Not too difficult and not too easy.

I just felt like a moege wouldn't really help me as much as trying to struggle my way through something with a higher level of linguistic complexity. That kinda makes it seem like I am talking about the difference between a moege and things done by the developers Light, but believe me, I make no such mistakes. I am no pleb...

... I just really wanted to say the word pleb. Its like.. my favorite 'word' right now.


I have enjoyed it thus far, that is for sure. Kaito is a freaking AWESOME protagonist. I love him, in the manly not homosexual way.

I think I have spent a total of ten hours reading, but I would be really surprised if I made it even an hour in as far as 100% fluent in Japanese person is concerned. However, I have definitely felt my vocab improving, even if it has only been three days. I have picked up a few new words and phrases, which made me pretty happy.


Incoming Digression:






So yeah, its pretty good. Maybe I will do day by day entries about my experiences with it. You can see in post time how bad my Japanese failings are. We'll see how I feel after today's playthrough.

And so we begin...really really late. Sorry bout that but RL got hectic for a few weeks. PS: I cut this blog post down from 3,000 words, to less than 1,500. You're welcome

Welcome to the start of my blog series. The way I’ll organise this critique is to go through different writing techniques first, and then showcase how they were badly used by Winged Cloud. Unfortunately due to very strict time-constraints I’ll have to split this first entry into 2 components, so in this blog post I’ll discuss the first writing technique, in the next blog post I’ll analyse how that technique was used in the game. Then in the blog post after I’ll introduce the next writing technique and so forth.

Eventually I may even get to story, character, and the purpose of scenes. Bear in mind the following are my thought processes about writing techniques, which I assembled myself.

A necessary Beginning

What is “good writing?” “Good writing” is the flimsy excuse people on the internet use to give their criticisms weight. If you don’t like a book because the book isn’t for you, then the reason you didn’t like the book would lie on your shoulders. That sounds an awful lot like being your fault. People never want things to be their fault, it’s right up there with taking responsibility for their actions. Ew, who wants to do that? But if you said you didn’t like it because it was badly written, well, then the fault is the book’s and not yours. This is a much better feeling to have.

But seriously, what is “good writing?” Well, "good writing" is what happens when you take on-board every piece of writing advice given to you over the years and produce a novel which is completely unsellable. That book could be said to have been written in a “good style.”

AHHH! WHAT IS “GOOD WRITING?!” Okay, okay, the concept is ludicrously straight forward. A story-teller has a story they wish to tell, and in a novel the writing is the method with which that story is conveyed to the reader. If the storyteller can convey vivid and engaging images of the scenes to the reader, then they have succeeded. If the images are not so well conveyed, they could still have succeeded. If the imagery and pacing have been completely screwed, then we can say the writing is not good. A writer’s goal will always be to maximise the impact of their writing so the image is conveyed in an impactful way. Language techniques will be the tools the writer will use, and this goal will consumer their lives.

In a visual novel the concept is much the same, but less involved. The writer must still convey the bit that are not shown by visuals and sound to the audience.

Simple, no? So now on to the first technique.

Technique #1 - Show vs Tell, and when to use each

Ugh, what a clichéd piece of advice to begin with. Well, there’s a very good reason I started here, and it involves a hat and some small pieces of paper. But let us delve into this "oft-dished-out" piece of advice.

Everybody always tells budding writers to “show” and don’t “tell,” but the truth is if writers always followed this advice their work would be bloated, it would be boring, and it would be so weighty that nobody would be able to lift the damn thing. A writer will “show” some bits, and they’ll “tell” some bits. What technique they use at each point is a decision only the writer themselves can answer (this is part of a writer’s “style.”)

So, what does it mean when a writer “tells” something. Well, what generally happens is the narrator observes the circumstances happening around them, but instead of funnelling these observations to the reader, the narrator funnels the conclusions they draw instead. These conclusions will tend to be short, categorical statements (like he was tall, or he was miffed) because that is what we humans tend to do, make a bunch of observations, condense these observations into a conclusion which fits nicely into a category, and file that information away. When this method is overused the problems it can cause are many - not enough information to produce a decent image (you’ve reduced the information so it fits into a bite-size statement,) each person categorises things differently (leading to incorrect images being formed,) and pacing issues (galore.)

For example, if a reader is told a man is angry, this not only limits information and leads to a less detailed image, but people associate "anger" with different behaviours depending on their own experience and the environment they grew up in. So where the character actually clenched their fists and glared, the reader could have imagined him dropping to his knees, repeatedly whacking himself on the head with a tea kettle, and screeching to the heavens. This affects character development.

But we humans tend to have very few stock images for each category, so what happens if more than one person in the story is “angry?” What happens if 4 people got “angry”? 6 people got “angry?” Then the reader will be imagining multiple people whacking themselves on the head with a tea kettle. And if everybody gets angry at once? Well, let's just hope there’s a hell of a lot of tea kettles.

But it doesn’t stop there, every “chair” would be the same, every “2 story brick house” would be the same, every “table”, every “hand”. All “approaching footsteps” would sound the same, even if one of the characters had a peg-leg, and another was a fat, slobby, 4-legged centaur who cried great, soppy tears whenever he had to climb a set of stairs.

And we’re still not done, because that’s not the only thing an overuse of “tell” does. An overuse of “tell” takes away the manipulation of pacing a writer wields at his disposal. By it’s very nature, the lack of description in “tell” automatically speeds up the pace of events, but during those periods where you want to denote a passing of time or during those periods where you want to slow down the story, more description is added to give the reader an actual and innate feeling that time has passed.

When a writer “tells” a reader that "half an hour has passed," it doesn’t give the reader a visceral sense that time has, actually, passed. However, wondering about the significance of a man’s hitched up trousers for 5 or 6 very long paragraphs will impart a VERY visceral sense of time passing to the reader.

So, does a writer need to "show" everything with their prose? No. Often you may not want much detail, sometimes you’ll want to speed up the pace of the scene. Maybe you want to employ default reader images somewhere in your story (here a writer can use “tell” to their considerable advantage.) Flip to any page of any published book and it will always contain a mixture of “show” and “tell.” What mixture you choose will depend on what style you want to employ. But the reason this piece of advice is so clichéd is because many people don’t put enough detail into their writing to impart a decent image to the reader.

How this applies to Visual Novels

Visual Novels are a different medium to novels, and with their inclusion of visuals and sound the prose doesn't need to be as dense. But unless the visuals and sounds paint a complete picture, like in The Walking Dead, some prose will still be necessary and standard writing techniques apply.

Next Post: How Sakura Spirit handled this technique
Next Next Post: Redundancy, bloat, and the value of precision.

Bunny Black is a VN and dungeon crawler by SofthouseChara, a company known for complex and well-designed game systems based in fantasy worlds.

Bunny Black is one of their earlier games, and it is a lot more focused on the actual gameplay than the story. However, the gameplay is actually quite well-designed, with the ability to purchase monsters to serve as the other members of your party, the ability to choose how you will advance Darcs (the protagonist), and a mission system reminiscent of many other games of the type, where you go to the bar/item shop and take on missions to advance yourself in rank, explore the dungeons, and obtain items and money. To be honest, this game requires a ton of grinding for the early part of the game, both to obtain the rank necessary to use more powerful monsters and the levels necessary to survive battles. However, once you reach around level 35-40, and have a solid party, you can enter the dungeon known as the 'Gate to the Demon World', a dungeon that has rest spots and high-experience enemies to allow you to power level your party to whatever level you want them to be. At that point, it is possible to get up to level 70 in a matter of about four to six hours, if you hunt efficiently (if you were smart enough to get the skill that increases gained experience). That will let you complete the game, with ease.

A more problematic aspect is the story... what there is of it. To be blunt, this game's 'story' is almost all about the gameplay and the ridiculous number of H-scenes (about 70% of them about raping adventurers and other female enemies) included. The funny thing is that the supposed primary heroine, the Maou, is the flattest character in the game, up until the end. Sad... that they didn't manage to inject the same level of storytelling quality seen in Ouzoku.

A few pieces of advice: This is not a game to be taken on lightly... be prepared to die a lot at first, as you get used to the gameplay. Also, this game consumes an immense amount of time, (fifty-five hours total for me) meaning you probably will not be able to finish it with even reasonable quickness. There are very few decent healer monsters, so you'll probably end up having to use Darcs that way, by accessing the healing skills (he can use them all, if you use his skill points that way). Moreover, since he is the most over-powered ally in the game, you'll probably end up using him as a frontline fighter as well (he absorbs damage way too well). I'd suggest you get the first level of the treasure-box opening skill and the identification skills, as not having these will be a huge drain on your funds otherwise. My final party formation had four sorcerer monsters, two long-range monsters, and two frontline heavy-hitters... Most of your party for most of the game is going to be made up of sorcerers or front-liners, because of the number of early enemies you'll barely be able to damage with regular attacks. Sadly, if you try to go the other way, you'll probably never get anywhere.

I keep getting questions like, 'Who are you?' and 'Why should I listen to you at all about VNs?'... not to mention questions that are a bit more personal. So, I thought I'd answer those questions I'm willing to answer (feel free to ask more in the comments, and I'll answer those that I can in a second post).

Full Handle Name: Clephas Aurenius

Handle Origin: A unique character I made up for a fictional fantasy universe some ten years ago. I've been using it as my sole handle for eight years now.

Age: 33

Country and State of origin: Texas in the United States

Hobbies: Gaming, VNs, reading (fiction and non-fiction), otakuism, mini-reviewing untranslated VNs, anthropology, linguistics, brewing rum and root beer, cooking, and attempting to define VN terms that are actually a lot more vague than I try to present them for the sake of convenience *smiles slyly*

Profession: ghost writer (don't ask me about this, look it up)

Dream: To build an underground house in a seismically inactive (inasmuch as that is possible) area and retire. Take a six-month trip to Japan and tour the hot springs, shrines, and temples.

Likes: Efficient and/or cunning work. People with a non-harmful sense of humor. Pragmatism. Chuuni-fiction, fantasy, science fiction. Good stories.

Dislikes: Wasting time (from my perspective). Being mentally inactive (this is actually painful for me). Foods with jalapeno or parsley in it. Sloppy work done when a more efficient method obviously exists. Political corruption (outside of reasonable limits).

Personality: I have a rather massive temper, that I manage to restrict through breathing exercises and violent video games. I value thinking as something that is both necessary and enjoyable. I am excessively introspective, to the degree of actively mocking myself and being self-derisive when I think I might have been in the wrong on some level. I am a natural troll who reformed himself as best as possible. I tend to think that everything is funny on some level, even my own stupidity and outright disaster. I am a recovering megalomaniac.

My role-play: The 'forums' Clephas is actually quite different from the original Clephas, in that he is a lot more comical and exaggerated. He is the megalomaniacal and overwhelmingly arrogant side of my personality, deliberately exaggerated to the very limits, to the point where it is actually funny. He is something of an insane deity who devours universes and envelops them in his infinite stomachs, using avatars to interact with those inside. He honestly thinks eating people (both whole and chewed) is an expression of love. He also does various seemingly (and most probably) meaningless things solely for the sake of his own amusement.

What Fuwanovel means to me: In a lot of ways, Fuwanovel is my last community. I've just seen too many otaku communities collapse under their own weight to willingly involve myself with several at once, anymore. In many ways, I joined Fuwa solely because I thought it would be fun to argue with Aaeru (and it was immensely fun). I respected her for the strength of her beliefs, even if I disagreed with her on a number of points (pragmatists rarely agree fully with any idealist). Fuwa now is the community I've come to love, with the people I've come to love (Marie, Tay, solidbatman, Nayleen, fun2novel, Flutterz, Zakamutt, Mephisto, etc. etc), and so I'm more or less in it for the long haul. I chose this community because it was a lot easier to talk about VNs here than in the more Jaded tlwiki-related communites.

What are VNs to me: I like VNs, both as an enjoyable storytelling medium and as one with an immense potential for growth (if someone can just kick the industry out of its nukige/moege and cookie-cutter chuunige rut). They are emotional and intellectual rides (better on the emotions in most cases), that frequently have an impact far out of proportion with their actual quality.

My VN Experience: Tsukihime was my first VN... and it stunned me when I first played it back in 2007. I immediately devoured every single translated VN, in a marathon that lasted about two months... then dove into my first untranslated - Jingai Makyou - on 9/14/2008. As I'd been fansubbing for over a year by then, I'd thought I had a full grasp on Japanese as a language... but it was a rather rude kick in the butt. Translation Aggregator with Jparser presented me with a challenge that allowed me to get around the lack of kanji knowledge on my part... in exchange for mastering how Japanese syllables were put together in reverse (normally a skill learned through kanji, rather than learning it first, then learning kanji).

A few last comments: No, I do not have and will never have a Facebook or Twitter account. If you really want to chat with me live, pm me and ask me to get on IRC (rizon). Do not ask me to help translate more than one scene of a moege, as doing more than that (even for a friend) would make me want to scream. I do not have a lot of free time, other than that which I use to play VNs, so no I don't go to otaku conventions. I can cook a traditional Japanese breakfast... but sadly, the only parts I really like are the natto, the miso soup, and the pickled vegetables (cooked fish that tastes like cooked fish makes me feel sick). I have a fourteen-year-old calico cat, whom I adore and who tolerates me as a favor to me as her devoted slave.

I've been playing this one off and on since it came out, but I went ahead and finished it today.

To be honest, this game's difficulty level is about three levels higher than either of the previous ones, whereas the actual gameplay isn't improved all that much from the second one. The addition of a town-building element just made the game tedious, rather than adding anything to it.

Story wise... a good beginning, some good moments in the center, and a last part that falls flat on its face. The final antagonist is too flat, and the last boss battle is fairly anticlimactic. I'll be blunt and say that the second game did a better job in terms of story. I honestly can't give this game a good rating.

This is the second part of my marathon of the Bunny Black series. In this one, it is some years after the events of the first game, and the protagonist and friends find themselves at war with a faction of angels...

Now I'm going to be straight here... the game system is a lot less refined than the one in the first game, at least in terms of the battles. There is far too much guesswork involved, and as a result, you can find yourself in severe trouble at times, even if you came prepared. This is probably the reason why a lot of fans of the first game were disappointed with this one. For dungeon-crawler games, the first one was a decent meal with dessert and this one is like breakfast at a truck stop diner. I also found it far more annoying this time that monsters start at level 1 when you hire them, since it is actually much, much slower to level in this one.

Story-wise... it is actually several levels above the first one, if you ignore how abrupt the events during the last third of the story are. In particular, the protagonist's feelings toward his daughter and many, many lovers are described in detail (though Darcs is, in the end, Darcs). Again, like the first game, this is basically a one-path story with a lot of side-events. Do expect a ridiculous amount of H-scenes, though.

Visually, this game is much, much improved over the first game, in every aspect. If I have one area in which I can unreservedly say they did better than the first game, it is this one.

This VN, like most of Rosebleu's VNs, is a fantasy/comedy VN. In this case, it is based in another world, where the protagonist was summoned and helped defeat the Demon King with his ex-girlfriend the Hero Scyana, the perverted swordmaster Hairen, and the berserk cleric Fran.

The story actually begins after all these events have occurred and the protagonist has broken up with Scyana (for good reason), and he has started to attend an academy in the kingdom's capital city. As is to be expected with a Rosebleu game, the introduction of the character dynamics and the background story is both interesting and hilarious. Like most games by this company, they tend to rely on tried and true running jokes in human form that are introduced at the beginning of the story, such as the Dragon Race's reaction to Ururu in Tiny Dungeon.

The actual story is quite simple... not that the actual process isn't interesting and emotional. Quite the reverse, actually... the birth of the protagonist's friendship with Aika, for instance, is extremely emotional (both because of the background emotions and the actual emotions born from the event). Not only that, but since the protagonist is basically this over-powered super-mage, there are some really amusing points where someone attacks a friend and he snaps... pissing off someone who can level a mountain with a single spell isn't a good idea, lol.

The heroine routes aren't terribly long... but neither is the game as a whole. As proof, I finished it in a single day, despite having had to work about half of it (it took me about ten hours to finish the game). Nonetheless, what is there is actually quite excellent. The heroines' worries are very human and realistic (albeit twisted in weird ways in some cases) and thus it is easy to empathize with them. Because the pattern of the basic background story is one that is familiar to anyone who plays old-style jrpgs, it is actually quite easy to empathize and imagine it as it is described.

As a final note, if you want a more serious drama combined with the same kind of humor, the Tiny Dungeon series is a better choice. This VN is very focused on the romance and comedy, rather than the drama that was the focus of Rosebleu's flagship series. This VN is a very good example of that humor, and it is definitely a VN to keep in mind if you want something light and short that is also quite good.