What are you playing?

[Funyarinpa]

Why the fuck is this not pinned already

---

Besides that, as my best friend started to follow the Steins; Gate Zero anime (after witnessing my utter destruction on voice chat when he made me watch the original), I'm now playing through Steins Gate 0.

On hold for tonight though, The House In Fata Morgana's fandisk releases in 5 hours and I'm gonna be all over that bitch

[+StrikeR+]

Well i finished the second part of the Minato Carnival FD, the part related to Anekouji Naoko to Gin'iro no Shinigami, the overall the Naoko+Kirsti route was awesome, plot, story and action was amazing and very engaging, the problem is that it left kind of opened ended/up in the air:

 

Spoiler

the relationship between Naoko, Kirsti and Shinkurou.

Here are some of the CG selections:

Spoiler

 

On the other hand Lorri's route (which to be honest is more of an harem route) wasn't heavy on the plot, action and story, but relationship wise it was conclusive enough, it was pretty damn hilarious though.

There was also an ending with the school president it was short, but hilarious, it really fitted her lol.

As for Onizuka i already covered it, her route was great but it felt like they stopped midway as far as their relationship and herself goes.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

I only got the last part of this fan disk left, "Carnival VS" which is a crossover scenario for Tsujidou-san and Anekouji, on one hand i'm really looking forward to it, on the other hand, with this my wonderful journey with Minato Carnival's works  ends here (The Tsujidou-san and Anekouji novels) which makes me really sad i've been immersing myself in this novels for weeks and i had SO MUCH FUN! I don't want it all to end  .

[Dreamysyu]

So, I finished Chuusotsu earlier today. And, basically, this VN actually turned out to be really good! I'll be honest, I wasn't really impressed when I started reading it. The comedic parts are pretty funny, but they seemed a bit too simplistic (and too Japanese, I guess), and due to that the more serious parts felt kind of out of place. But then, after more serious parts of the story started to kick in, it became apparent that this way of telling the story works quite well.

Actually, its simplicity imo is the main strength of this VN. It doesn't try to bombard you with difficult words and complex concepts. The dystopian world where it is set doesn't even seem futuristic, and it basically serves as a hyperbole to our own world where every person is expected to fit in and work as a part of a big mechanism. It tells a story of three girls who for different reasons didn't fit in. The messages it's trying to present are pretty simple, but in my case, while I can't say that I 100% agree with everything this VN is trying to convey, the themes it presents happened to connect pretty well to the problems some of my acquaintances had to face in the past (and also with my personal experience). With all the things said, I definitely recommend giving this VN a try.

As for the score, I'm giving it 8/10. I'd give it 9 if it was a finished story, but, apparently, this VN is only the first part of an episodic story, and a lot of plot threads are left hanging. Though I need to mention that it's still a complete story, and it does works on its own, even though it's quite apparent that there's still a lot more to the story than it was show thus far.

Also, wasn't Froit supposed to be Freud?

[r0xm2n]

I keep hearing lots of things about Chuusotsu. But I'm waiting for the sequel, so I can read both in short order.

[r0xm2n]

In all the visual novels I've read, I've seen precisely 3 art/music teachers......

Spoiler

...And two of them are revealed to be sociopath monsters! The other one was merely a jerk....

ef - the latter tale was already a rather heavy VN (about as heavy as Grisaia at it's worst). But that revelation was really dark....

Those who have read the VN probably know exactly what I'm referring to....

[Dreamysyu]

8 hours ago, r0xm2n said:

I keep hearing lots of things about Chuusotsu. But I'm waiting for the sequel, so I can read both in short order.

Are you waiting for this side-story, or for a proper sequel? Because, if the later, then it's probably going to take a while, because a) it's not even properly announced in Japan yet, from what I understand, so it looks like it's going to take a while before we can read it in English; b) the story structure clearly suggests that this is going to be a trilogy, with the focus on different main character in each game, so if you want to read the whole story at once, you'll have to wait for the third game. Like I said, this VN is still finished thematically and works quite well on its own, So, if you're interested in it, I recommend picking it up now. Other than that, buying it is the good way to show the developer that there are people interested in their product (and thus increasing the chance that the sequel is going to come out in the near future).

[Wraith17]

I am playing Fire emblem Awakening atm and for VN I just started with Tsujidou san no juna'i road.

[adamstan]

Just finished another ancient VN localised by JAST - Heart de Roommate

The very beginning was painfully slow, and I thought that it will be 5-6/10 max, but then it took off, grew on me, and became rather enjoyable experience.

The "anime" format - complete with teasers, eyecatches, filler episodes , recap episodes etc etc - was actually fun idea, and well executed.

Three main heroines were all nice in their own way, and I found their routes good. Bad first impression quickly disappeared, and I started to like them. They start out as stereotypes, but then during the story they grow out of them. Again I cannot pick best girl, as each route had its charming point, however the main heroine of the game is clearly Asumi.

At the beginning, she's your anime tsundere, but as the story goes, we get to know her other sides, and some redeeming qualities I went with her route first and ended liking her very much.

Next was Tomoe alias MoeMoe :

Very shy at the beginning, but she grows to be stronger. And remains pretty sweet all the time. As for her ending

Spoiler

It took me by surprise - when they parted after graduation and as the time went by, their feelings faded out, I was like "WTF? That's it?". But then BAM! PlotTwist^TM Thanks to Asumi's video message they decide to try again. Whew...

Then - Marutan

Loli-looking, but doesn't behave like one Her route was interesting, and quite different from typical eroge story.

Spoiler

 

The way they slowly learned what it means to love, and Marutan trying to overcome her lack of emotions. I also really liked how they didn't rush for sex at once - while each girl has 3 H-scenes, Marutan and Yusuke go all the way just in the last one. All in all that route was quite heartwarming in its own strange way

 

The flags that Marumu often used while speaking, reminded me of the scoreboards waved by Miyako  from Majikoi

 

There are two short side-routes that are available from CG menu if you finish game without choosing any of the main girls. While I liked Namiki-oneesan as the character, her route was rather disappointing, and amounted to little more than a somewhat forced H-scene. Yoshiko-sensei story however was pretty decent.

Then, after completing all main and side routes, Asumi true end is unlocked in aforementioned gallery. And it hits pretty hard (not on Key nakige levels, but still caught me)

The art is great despite games age - it looks much better than Yukizakura I've read before, especially backgrounds. CGs are beautiful, and SD pictures are funny, and used well.

The music was very good too - I especially liked "love theme" ("ALL-DAYS/ALL-WAY") that plays in the main menu, and "sad theme" ("Falling stars"), that we first hear at the very beginning of the game.

After somewhat difficult start, this game really grew on me. 7.5/10

Continuing my exploration of ancient JAST titles, I think I'll go with Kazoku Keikaku (Family Project) next.

 

Edited June 6, 2018 by adamstan

[+StrikeR+]

Well i did it, i finished Minato Carnival FD:

 

 

 

Mainly also the last scenario/mode "Carnival VS" truly worth of its name, it had a festive feel all through, AND IT WAS GREAT! Its a short scenario, BUT SO MUCH FUN! various characters are shown that where published by Minato soft, but the focus is on the Majikoi, Tsujidou-san and Anekouji characters, it is very fun to see them interact with each other and its even more hilarious when characters sharing the same voice actor interact (like Margit and Ai, Maki and Momoyo, Tora and Jun etc). Despite how good it was i did kind of got teary eyed near the end knowing that for now this is the last title directly related to their series that i can play, the scenario is also a celebration of their being 5 years since the establishment of Minato Carnival.

 

Amazing fan disk with great content, some routes did fell like they where cut short/in the middle, but except for that all content was amazingly fun and nice!

[Trickay]

I've been quite busy lately with work but finally got round to finishing Amane's route in Grisaia... onto Yumiko's next I think.

Spoiler

I really enjoyed Amane's lord of the flies like backstrory!

 

[littleshogun]

3 minutes ago, Trickay said:

I've been quite busy lately with work but finally got round to finishing Amane's route in Grisaia... onto Yumiko's next I think.

  Reveal hidden contents

I really enjoyed Amane's lord of the flies like backstrory!

 

Have fun in regard of Yumiko's route later.

As for the sequels (Meikyuu and Rakuen), well I'd rather call those the fandiscs but it's not like it'll be wrong here if some people call those as sequels. Some of the problem from the sequels is in regard of the ending in which quite out of character to say it without spoiler. My argument in regard of Grisaia sequels is that Meikyuu should be enough if Frontwing just want to write that as sequel, just like Sharin FD and Akagoei.

Then again, perhaps it's understandable if Frontwing want to deliver the sequels quickly to regain some money. For the trivia, Frontwing was broke back when they developed Kajitsu, so basically Kajitsu here is their last gamble back at 2011. But still I would like to think that they can make the ending better by made Yuuji able to choose the heroine that he did had the ending with, just like Galaxy Angel.

tldr - While Kajitsu here is quite good and complete, I'm more or less just think the sequels as the fan discs. Feel free though if you want to read the sequels/fan discs later.

[Dreamysyu]

The House in Fata Morgana fandisk, and it's absolutely amazing.

[r0xm2n]

5 hours ago, Trickay said:

I've been quite busy lately with work but finally got round to finishing Amane's route in Grisaia... onto Yumiko's next I think.

  Reveal hidden contents

I really enjoyed Amane's lord of the flies like backstrory!

 

Amane's flashback holds a special place in my heart, and it's been a year since I read it. It still somewhat haunts me...

[cro-mag]

On 5/19/2018 at 5:06 PM, Trickay said:

I've been quite busy lately with work but finally got round to finishing Amane's route in Grisaia... onto Yumiko's next I think.

  Reveal hidden contents

I really enjoyed Amane's lord of the flies like backstrory!

 

I still remember Amane's route very clearly despite reading it 4 years ago.

Spoiler

Great story with some horrific moments and a rather brutal ending. Surviving parts were very good. And dat final moments of escape! Plus this route has my favorite girl in Grisaia - Kazuki.

 

On 5/19/2018 at 5:19 PM, littleshogun said:

Have fun in regard of Yumiko's route later.

As for the sequels (Meikyuu and Rakuen), well I'd rather call those the fandiscs but it's not like it'll be wrong here if some people call those as sequels. Some of the problem from the sequels is in regard of the ending in which quite out of character to say it without spoiler. My argument in regard of Grisaia sequels is that Meikyuu should be enough if Frontwing just want to write that as sequel, just like Sharin FD and Akagoei.

Then again, perhaps it's understandable if Frontwing want to deliver the sequels quickly to regain some money. For the trivia, Frontwing was broke back when they developed Kajitsu, so basically Kajitsu here is their last gamble back at 2011. But still I would like to think that they can make the ending better by made Yuuji able to choose the heroine that he did had the ending with, just like Galaxy Angel.

tldr - While Kajitsu here is quite good and complete, I'm more or less just think the sequels as the fan discs. Feel free though if you want to read the sequels/fan discs later.

Personally, i wouldn't call them fan discs. To me they feel like true sequels. Dunno, at the end of 1st and 2nd VNs you can say that story is incomplete. There are unanswered questions and such. And regarding Rakuen ending:

Spoiler

I still didn't read the VN, but i read about ending intentionally. I didn't mind spoilers there. And i honestly don't quite sure how i feel about it. On the one hand - you don't have to choose anyone, so no regrets like "I'm with Amane, but unfortunatelly without Yumiko" or such. On the other hand... Dunno, that somehow doesn't feel right? Maybe i'd prefer they'd better made each girl's ending + the one we have here. Otherwise all of this is somehow doubtful...

 

[littleshogun]

@cro-mag If you think that, it's not wrong because VNDB listed both of Meikyuu and Rakuen as sequel. Then again, some of fandisc is also known to elaborate some missing plot point or in this case have some continuation from canon, so it's only fair that if I call those two as fandiscs. Moreso if we considering that between Kajitsu and Meikyuu there is zero continuity (Kajitsu is charage with endings for each girl, while Meikyuu canon didn't continue from available routes), in which the anime fixed that continuity problem (It's quite infamous though). As for Rakuen's ending, well Frontwing can just apply the route selection like Galaxy Angel, but then again maybe they kind of rush the release so they didn't have time to apply that. In the end, I leave it to each of their own.

For the title, right now I've been playing eden for a while and right now I'm near the end of that. I'll try to comment on eden later.

[Trickay]

Are Meikyuu and Rakuen what Fate Hollow Ataraxia is to FSN?

Just an awesome fan disc with some original content and side stories but no real continuation of the plot?

 

In other news I somehow ended up going down Michiru's route, which I personally feel should have ended when

Spoiler

She climbed out of the coffin. Not liking where this heart transplant plot is going.

 

I really enjoyed Eden littleshogun, though the drama is a little forced it was something I just couldn't put down.

Edited May 22, 2018 by Trickay
typo

[Mr Poltroon]

5 minutes ago, Trickay said:

Are Meikyuu and Rakuen what Fate Hollow Ataraxia is to FSN?

Just an awesome fan disc with some original content and side stories but no real continuation of the plot?

No. They are precisely the continuation of the plot. They have a bit more side-content, such as afterstories, but are otherwise a sort of 'true route' for Grisaia.

[r0xm2n]

Finally finished ef - the fairy tale of the two.

Interesting read ....... that managed to gut punch me in the feels harder then anything I've ever read. Emotionally, I was almost destroyed...

Spoiler

Yuuko's backstory will forever haunt me. That horrific panic attack speaks volumes...

At least the Shindou twins are my favorite twins. Both Kei and Chihiro were great.

 

I think I need a read that is a bit more light hearted for now

[Inorin]

8 hours ago, Trickay said:

Are Meikyuu and Rakuen what Fate Hollow Ataraxia is to FSN?

Just an awesome fan disc with some original content and side stories but no real continuation of the plot?

 

In other news I somehow ended up going down Michiru's route, which I personally feel should have ended when

  Reveal hidden contents

She climbed out of the coffin. Not liking where this heart transplant plot is going.

 

I really enjoyed Eden littleshogun, though the drama is a little forced it was something I just couldn't put down.

FHA is a combination of all 3 routes in FSN, but it felt a bit more like Carnival Phantasm for the most part, and thus more of a fan disc than an actual sequel. This is in contrast to Meikyuu and Rauken, since Meikyuu has short after-stories for each heroine and the "Grand route" (aka the true route), while Rauken continues where the Grand route in Meikyuu left off without any side-stories (though it does have a prologue and epilogue, but I digress).

Edited May 23, 2018 by wei123

[r0xm2n]

Started reading Fureraba ....... and what have I gotten myself into? I don't think I've laughed so much in the first hour of a VN before....

Spoiler

..... and good GRIEF did that cute looking pink twin tailed girl suddenly morph into the most verbally violent motormouth ever!

...... she might be best girl?

[Thyndd]

8 hours ago, r0xm2n said:

Finally finished ef - the fairy tale of the two.

Interesting read ....... that managed to gut punch me in the feels harder then anything I've ever read. Emotionally, I was almost destroyed...

  Hide contents

Yuuko's backstory will forever haunt me. That horrific panic attack speaks volumes...

At least the Shindou twins are my favorite twins. Both Kei and Chihiro were great.

Congrats on finishing ef. Take a *hug* 

Now you can go watch the anime if you feel like it. It's actually pretty good most of the times. Shaft gave it their own style and spice. They ruined the finale of Yuuko's tale though, so keep that in mind beforehand. 

[Thyndd]

Still reading F/SN Heaven's feel after taking a break for studying 

Spoiler

And Sakura mmm... I get Yandere vibes, and that's all I can say so far. She didn't have much protagonism for the time being. 

I KNEW THAT THE BITCH WAS A YANDERE, GODDAMIT. My instincts have never failed me.

 

Edited May 24, 2018 by Thyndd

[snowbell55]

46 minutes ago, Thyndd said:

Still reading F/SN Heaven's feel after taking a break for studying 

  Hide contents

I KNEW THAT THE BITCH WAS A YANDERE, GODDAMIT. My instincts have never failed me.

 

Spoiler

 

 

Edited May 24, 2018 by snowbell55

[ChaosRaven]

So, before following the recent Battle Royal trend and start playing... Fatal Twelve, I wanted to first clear up my backlog a bit. Therefore, since I kinda liked Gahkthun, I started playing Sekien no Inganock. And since I also got Himawari in a sale just like Stein's Gate, and the latter turned out to be pretty okay, I started that one reading too.

 

When I started reading Inganock, I was honestly surprised how grim it was. I think the last VN I read that was that grim was probably Saya no Uta, although that was even more grim. While Gahkthun did showcase a prosperous and lively city centered on the high society and their dark secrets, Inganock is an almost desperate place. A city suffering from various super natural sicknesses, mutating, mutilating and killing vast amounts of people. The city is split into several levels, with the healthy and wealthy people at the top, and the sickly and poor deported to the lower slum levels. The whole theme reminds me a lot of Fallout and Shadowrun. It's a bit depressing, but the atmosphere still sucks you in.

The protagonist is a doctor who tries is best to heal the poor and help where he can. He's a really likable dude who's currently top candidate for my protagonist of the year. The writing is a bit more on the poetic side sometimes, but overall it's pretty good and has a very mature touch. Kia is an innocent child Gee rescued in the slums and also behaves like that. Atty is technically also a victim of a sickness, but she was lucky enough to just be turned into a cat girl and could be more or less considered Gee's girlfriend. The three stick together and pretty much build a family with some funny and touching interaction between them.

Art is a bit outdated though. Music is better even if some get a bit more repetitive after a while. If it comes to presentation, Gahkthun is certainly the better title. Can't judge the story yet though.

Himawari is almost the opposite like Inganock. You have your loli moe blob and the writing is a mixture of goofy comedy, lots of cutesy talk and rather dull slice of life. To be perfectly honest, it's absolutely dreadful. I knew that it was supposed to have a weak start, so I waited until the second chapter - and it got worse. Overall, there are massive problems in almost every area, beginning from the lackluster world building to the characters, the writing and the whole tone of the VN.

Warning: Rant incoming! 

Spoiler

Let's start with the characters. They are either goofballs (Ginga, Daigo), over-cutified moeballs (Aries, Aoi) or just bland (Youichi, Akira, Asuka). The only character that appeared to be a somewhat normal intelligent being was Souichirou, who's just a side character. Aqua seems to be a bit better at first, but overall she isn't much different and gets most her sympathy points by pity-mongering. But the worst of them all is probably Aries who's currently my top candidate for worst heroine of the year, even if Aoi is a strong contender.

Most of the problems are caused by the overall bad writing. Apparently this is supposed to be a story VN, but besides some short info-dumps from time to time, it's pretty much just cutesy talk, misplaced comedy and dreadful boring slice of life. And what makes it even worse are the endless 'sexual implications' everywhere. Aries tries to slime herself into Youichi's bed while he can hardyl keep his boner in check. Keeping things innocent isn't possible since you get a bad end if you refuse to sleep with Aries. And writing an emotional climax without any backstory to make the reader feel it is kinda pointless.

The second chapter is even worse with Daigo ending up all over Aqua spreading legs after almost every conversation. Very tasteful indeed, considering there's a good chance he's her father. And it goes on and on with Aries 'Wieners', Aqua's tampons, Aoi only having wet thoughts. There's pretty much no normal conversation going on. It's almost written like a nukige without H-scenes.

And then the world building, which also affects the characters a lot. Aries is supposed to be coding genius, but she erases her own program five times in a row because she's so 'clumsy'. I've no problem with a character being clumsy - but not in their area of expertise. I've seen quite a lot of well written genius girls in VN's (Haru in G-Senjou, Sion in Eden, etc.), but Aries is certainly the worst I've ever read. As a good coder she should at least be a good logical thinker, but she's almost represented like a brain-amputated chipmunk. And the same applies to Aoi. And then they use a short program for a silvester rocket from her for their space ship, since it's almost 'exactly the same'. And then we have a fascinating second chapter in space where the only indicator are the backgrounds. I guess writing something about the fascinating aspects of a life on a space ship would have been too much work.

I'm also not a big fan of multi-protag stories with heavy back blendings and enforced route order. And the super-cutsy art style and the somewhat plain voice acting didn't really help. At least judging by the old sprites, which were a bit less moe-heavy, it's possible that they even made things worse.

While it's possible that it gets a bit better later on (it can't really get worse anymore), the fact that I don't give the slightest damn about the whole cast anymore, makes it pointless for me to continue => Dropped.

Heroine rating: Don't care >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Aoi > Aries

Overall rating: 2 / 10

Edited May 24, 2018 by ChaosRaven

[Dreamysyu]

32 minutes ago, ChaosRaven said:

it can't really get worse anymore

It gets worse.