What are you playing?

[VirginSmasher]

I just finished Cartagra because I was stupid and played Kara No Shoujo 1 and 2 first. It was pretty good, not as good as KnS 1 or 2, but still a good mystery. Kazuna did get kinda annoying in the beginning, but she did get better as the story went on. I'd give it an 8 out of 10.

[FruitsPunchSamurai]

7 hours ago, Vorathiel said:

Which endings did you get last?

Spoiler

The one in Hokari's route where you get trained and become a doggy LOL. 

Decided to scratch Kikokugai for now and start on Fate / Hollow Ataraxia instead. Dunno why, but it happened 

[onorub]

A little under halfway into chapter 3 of Umineko, and i'd like to know how close this theory is:

Spoiler

The culprit is irrelevant, and the only way for Beatrice to lose the game is for the four Ushiromiya sibilings to locate Beatrice via the epitaph riddle and to treat her like a sister rather than a witch, so that "if Beatrice is a lost Ushiromiya sibiling, she's not the witch of the forest". As soon as that realization reaches Maria, she'll stop believing in witches, killing Beatrice's influence and defeating her for good, since a witch can't exist if nobody believes her.

 

[Eclipsed]

Y'know, I thought I was gonna go into a VN drought, but something just popped up in my mind.

(no Zeno, srry, it's not Fate/Stay      )

Ever17
e: Also picking up a side of Neko Para Vol.2

[Decay]

8 hours ago, onorub said:

A little under halfway into chapter 3 of Umineko, and i'd like to know how close this theory is:

  Reveal hidden contents

The culprit is irrelevant, and the only way for Beatrice to lose the game is for the four Ushiromiya sibilings to locate Beatrice via the epitaph riddle and to treat her like a sister rather than a witch, so that "if Beatrice is a lost Ushiromiya sibiling, she's not the witch of the forest". As soon as that realization reaches Maria, she'll stop believing in witches, killing Beatrice's influence and defeating her for good, since a witch can't exist if nobody believes her.

 

Way off in some aspects, reasonably close in others. 

[Deep Blue]

played my first otome today lol 19°c it was ok...a bit weird having guys and not girls trying to hit on me xD some routes were better than others but overall it was good, probably the last otome I'll play, the art was great. It's a free doujin so anyone can try it easily 

[Decay]

Speaking of Umineko... @Deep Blue, how far have you gotten?

[Deep Blue]

 

16 minutes ago, Decay said:

Speaking of Umineko... @Deep Blue, how far have you gotten?

mmm I think I'm at the end of chapter 2 more or less(hard to say but for the hours I've spent and what's going on I'm sure I'm almost at the end) but since I started exams for school (next week I have the last one) I stalled it until then, I'm playing short novels right now because when I read umineko it just consumes all my free time like crazy.(I should be studying bankruptcy law and commercial papers right now  )

Spoiler

I can honestly say that I love beatrice, can't say much more than that right now since this novel seems to be one of those that if you don't play it till the very end then you cant have an accurate opinion of it or even the characters themselves but even saying that.. beatrice is awesome no matter what. 

 

[Scorp]

I am trying to start playing Umineko from https://umineko-project.org/ (that's basically all you could wish from MG remake and more, and for free) but something always get in my way...

That said, now trying to finish my first Sakurai VN, oddly enough I started with Valusia. All I can say is that I am not a fan of such writing (probably because it requires very experienced translator to shine?). So if concentrate on thing I can judge - plot is very boring so far (i am in chapter 10 of 12), characters... There is lot of them, but I can think only of a boy and a girl as real ones, all others are just plot devices. And I cannot say that I see lot of development or action or something interesting. Only good things is art, but also not for everyone.

So far 6 from 10, will see if last chapter would change that... Lot of people praise Sakurai, so maybe I do not get something...

[Decay]

30 minutes ago, Scorp said:

I am trying to start playing Umineko from https://umineko-project.org/ (that's basically all you could wish from MG remake and more, and for free) but something always get in my way...

Well, it's not "free" if you have to pay for two versions of the game.

[Ike]

3 hours ago, Eclipsed said:

Y'know, I thought I was gonna go into a VN drought, but something just popped up in my mind.

(no Zeno, srry, it's not Fate/Stay      )

Ever17
e: Also picking up a side of Neko Para Vol.2

Oh snap. I'm already looking forward to it.

Though the Zero Escape games are better, Ever17 was amazing. Just be aware that the beginning is pretty slow, but when you get to Tsugumi's route (which you should probably read last) and the true route, you'll see why this VN is extraordinary.

---

Meanwhile, slowly but surely, I'm advancing with Umineko. I expect to finish Chapter 6 by the beginning of march.

[Turnip Sensei]

1 hour ago, Scorp said:

That said, now trying to finish my first Sakurai VN, oddly enough I started with Valusia. All I can say is that I am not a fan of such writing (probably because it requires very experienced translator to shine?). So if concentrate on thing I can judge - plot is very boring so far (i am in chapter 10 of 12), characters... There is lot of them, but I can think only of a boy and a girl as real ones, all others are just plot devices. And I cannot say that I see lot of development or action or something interesting. Only good things is art, but also not for everyone.

So far 6 from 10, will see if last chapter would change that... Lot of people praise Sakurai, so maybe I do not get something...

Sakurai's Steampunk games are pretty divisive. You either like the unique charm and writing, or not, in most cases.

I personally find lot to love in these VNs. The settings are great, the characters are always really intriguing and in ways that don't really appear in VNs very often. And I really like the way Sakurai uses fantastic settings and events to convey really mundane things. The stories are more about simple things like importance of memories or foolishness of youth and so on, rather than about some great adventure or mystery. To some this might feel like misuse of the setting, but for me it's part of the charm.
And the writing too is strangely captivating. I don't know how to properly convey it, but the kind of poetic flow creates some pretty unique atmosphere and feeling. And at times it just simply sounds really cool and beautiful, especially in Japanese. 
 

I can't really comment on anything specific about Valusia since I just started it, but I've heard it's one of the weakest in the series and has some pacing issues. 

Still liking it though, although the first chapter is full of info-dumping about the setting, which is cool since the setting is amazing, but also kind of exhausting to read. And Sakurai's style doesn't really shine in these long and varied expositions, so I've been progressing pretty slowly.
But man the art is good, Valusia is definitely the most visually impressive of the Steampunk games. Especially the scenery shots are just amazing.     

[Scorp]

2 hours ago, Decay said:

Well, it's not "free" if you have to pay for two versions of the game.

I mean the interpreter for remake is free, not the game itself. So no need to wait for MG, when they will do their own remake, you can play it right now (of course if you have the retail games... or box at least).

[Mkilbride]

Nothing to play here, I've been looking around, but every god damned release has been delayed lately, be it Eein no Aselia 2 or Corpse party 2015 was a dead year for VN with no big releases.

[Kawasumi]

Just now, Mkilbride said:

Nothing to play here, I've been looking around, but every god damned release has been delayed lately, be it Eein no Aselia 2 or Corpse party 2015 was a dead year for VN with no big releases.

Time to learn japanese  

[Mkilbride]

Just now, Kawasumi said:

Time to learn japanese  

You scared me. I didn't know this website had pop up like IM's when quoted. Was reading a page and boom, I was like "WHAT IS THIS"

 

I've been thinking about re-reading Tsukihime lately.  I could never finish Majikoi, I tried, but after doing two routes, it just felt so...meh to me.  I don't want to play VN with 10 hour routes or simple stories. I need a sprawling, 40 hour story, with deep lore and interesting characters. Majikoi had good characters, but it lacked everything else.

 

I'm just completely sick of VN's taking place in a romcom setting. And I've already read most of the greats.

[Kawasumi]

2 minutes ago, Mkilbride said:

You scared me. I didn't know this website had pop up like IM's when quoted. Was reading a page and boom, I was like "WHAT IS THIS"

 

I've been thinking about re-reading Tsukihime lately.  I could never finish Majikoi, I tried, but after doing two routes, it just felt so...meh to me.  I don't want to play VN with 10 hour routes or simple stories. I need a sprawling, 40 hour story, with deep lore and interesting characters. Majikoi had good characters, but it lacked everything else.

 

I'm just completely sick of VN's taking place in a romcom setting. And I've already read most of the greats.

 

7 minutes ago, Kawasumi said:

Time to learn japanese  

 

[Fred the Barber]

I've been reading Demonbane for the erotic anime book of the month club or whatever we're calling it.

Demonbane is often funny and charming. It makes great use of Lovecraft mythology and atmosphere. And it even has some cute girls. But somehow it still delivers an overall experience that I would charitably describe as "ok".

I've finished one route so far (Al's route, which had three separate endings: good, happy, and bad). This is the first time I've thoroughly enjoyed reading a bad ending in any VN (for the second half of it... not the first half... the first half was definitely not enjoyable), which is a point in the game's favor, and the good ending was also a pretty satisfying conclusion. Still, I'm already pretty certain that was going to be the best route and that it'll be all downhill from here, which I'm not exactly thrilled about, and like I said, so far the overall experience is hovering somewhere around "ok". But I shall persevere!

[DarkZedge]

Had to put everything else on hold because of Nekopara Vol.2  (I'm too much of a Neko lover no to do something like that) but now that i'm getting back to it.

I'm currently reading Gahktun and then i'll be doing Steins;Gate.....These two have been in my back log for a while now so i moved them up and prioritized them over some other stuff 

[pual]

Started reading something new again . Really like the world and some characters in Utawarerumono (Chikinaro best merchant). There are battles and they are fun at best, definitely more interesting than the ones in Koihime Musou. Also it's funny that animations run *very* fast during battles and setting affinity to single core doesn't slow it down.

[Decay]

Use Cheat Engine's Speed Hack feature to slow down Utawarerumono to a sane speed.

[Eclipsed]

K so I managed to boot up Ever 17. 

First Impressions:

Spoiler

Mmmm, made in 2002, this is literally the oldest VN I've played to date  

Also, 800x600, FUHHH

 
Then we move onto NekoParavol.2 first impressions:

Spoiler

Woot woot, 2016, 720p, life's gud.

What do you guys think I'll end up actually reading

[Dergonu]

Finished nekopara vol 2 yesterday, loved it. Coconut is love, coconut is life.

 

Played some more ikikoi and still don't hate it Just started Eika's route. But I'm fed up with SOL shit at the moment so I'm stalling it for a little and will be starting G-senjou no maou instead. After that I'll move over to Saya no uta I think. Will go into ikikoi again after those.

 

First impressions off G-Senjou, the characters seem cool. The girl who keeps on noting everything down in her diary reminds me of Akira from Yosuga no Sora.  

Haru is ... Strange. Strange and hot

[Zantax]

I have been reading Yappari Imouto ga Suki! for last couple of weeks (hour here, 30 minutes there...) skipping all ero scenes so I could proudly say 'here am I, reading nukiges for plot :p'... Unfortunately I failed - I simply gave up. It's so immensely boring and repetitive it's just ridiculous. At the beginning there were some humor scenes but now, third week in, it feels there are mostly two types of scenes - those which focus on sex, and those whish focus on talking about sex. It's a shame, because I really like that loud, moody tsundere that Rika is, but I really feel that I'm wasting time trying to finish this VN. So maybe eventually some plot is introduced and it becomes more of romance (rather just series of ero scenes), but I won't ever know. I'm not patient enough to find out...

[Kawasumi]

read nekopara anyway lol, the first part was a fucking forced drama cringefest lol, azuki is best snarky masochist though.

Now on to finish kindred spirits