What are you playing?

[Inorin]

Finally started on Majikoi, and boy am I impressed with the star studded cast. The game apparently has seiyuus who voiced characters for Root Double, Grisaia, Fate and Muv Luv, and looks rather light-hearted (though it probably has some serious moments in the individual character routes), so I'm really looking forward to finishing this (will probably take quite a long time though).

Edited August 5, 2018 by wei123

[cro-mag]

59 minutes ago, wei123 said:

@cro-mag How did Root Double remind you of Muv Luv Alternative? I've always felt Ever17 and 999 vibes from it, with a touch of R11 here and there, but I don't find it really similar to MLA.

I mentioned it in my so-called review a bit. It's not about story and characters, it's just about total explanation of everything that happens and about all phenomena happening with physical, scientific and psychological points of view, with every little detail. I just remember how i was impressed when in Muv-Luv we

Spoiler

naturally listened to the lectures, which dragged for several minutes, explaining who is BETA, about weapons we have about them, how these weapons work, about costumes, out tactics etc, etc.

Maybe it's a common thing for many VNs, but i still like how this creates so detailed world you can believe in.

 

1 hour ago, wei123 said:

Finally started on Majikoi, and boy am I impressed with the star studded cast. The game apparently has seiyuus who voiced characters for Fate and Muv Luv, and looks rather light-hearted (though it probably has some serious moments in the individual character routes), so I'm really looking forward to finishing this (will probably take quite a long time though).

Have fun, really! Imo it's one of the best entertaining VNs ever.

Spoiler

Miyako approves!

 

[ChaosRaven]

So, I've finished Sekien no Inganock now. It was an overall nice read, though not without flaws.

The setting is rather unique for VN standards, since it doesn't play in a happy and shiny world, but in a cursed city called Sekien instead. After a dreadful event called the 'Revival', the city turned into a place of doom and suffering, where the sun never shines due to a never ending fog covering the whole city, and its inhabitants full of sick and mutated beings. It's pretty much a cyber punk setting with a hefty dose of Lovecraftian horror thrown into it.

Here the protagonist is a resident doctor called Gii in the lower districts with some magical powers that allow him to heal even magical sicknesses that cause horrible mutations. He also has some kind of shadow, a strong and most of the time invisible force behind him, that allows him to fight some of the more nasty inhabitants of the city. Those not so nice inhabitants are a bunch of super monsters that can be considered for all intents and purposes as Lovecraftian Old Ones that feed upon the city's denizens. So even if they are called a bit different here, you can expect to meet the likes of Ithaqua or Shub Niggurath.

So in that hellish place, Gii saves the small girl Keea and cares for her from that moment on, together with his girlfriend Atty - the not so cute cat girl. The relationship between those three is very well written and certainly one of the highlights of the VN. Opposed to the never ending loli trend, Gii and Keea share a rather pure father-daughter relationship. Right from the start, it's more or less clear that Ati is his flame, even if they appear to the outside more as close friends and comrades, that stick stick together and help out each other.

Gii itself is certainly one of the most likable protagonists I've seen so far. Mature and intelligent with strong ideals and a caring personality. Keea is adorable and written like a normal child would be and not like a lusty loli nympho in the making like in some other VN's. And Ati is probably the counter-example of a cute cat girl. Her cat features were caused by horrible mutations, and her body has the power of a dangerous feline predator - she's a real killer. Those three main characters were very well written.

Story-wise the VN had a few more flaws and I think it shows a bit that this was one of Sakurai's earlier works. While the word building and the gloomy atmosphere is very well done, the episodes itself turn into a simple 'monster of the week' pattern very soon. And Ati frequently vanishes for entire chapters instead of involving her more into the story events, which reduces her more into a well written side character instead of a main character. And while Keea itself is a good character, as a simple child she couldn't contribute to the events all that much. The ending also came a bit sudden with little to no closure, as if the writer was in a hurry to finish the story.

The audio part was good for the most part, even if the number of music tracks could have been higher. Some of them got a bit stale and overused after a while. The voice acting was stellar however, especially the ones of Gii and Ati. VN's rarely have good male voice acting, but here they were amongst the best.

Art-wise however, the VN really showed its age. While the protagonist Gii itself was rather well drawn, many other characters had over-simplistic character designs, frequently not even colorized. And some event CG's looked more like abstract art, even though in some cases it emphasized the alien look of the creatures. Though the background CG's were better for the most part. But overall, from the Liar-Soft VN's I've read so far, this had certainly the weakest art.

I had the mini games deactivated, so I can't comment about that.

In comparison to the Ourai no Gahkthun I've just recently read, I consider Gahkthun clearly the better VN since it was overall more refined. The art was better, with more engaging battles and effects, a lot more CG's, and the episodes were more focused on the characters of the opposing Governing Council and not just random encounters with some beasts. I also prefer the not-so-grim-and-gloomy setting of Gahkthun, though that's more of a personal bias. The only point I think Sekien has a bit of an edge over Gahkthun would be the character relationships. The emotional connection between Gee, Kia and Ati felt a bit more convincing than the one between Neon and Tesla.

Overall rating: 6.5/10 (I would have given a 7, but I subtract half a grade due to the outdated art)

Edited August 5, 2018 by ChaosRaven

[Corrupted]

On 8/3/2018 at 3:09 AM, adamstan said:

I'm on the fence regarding the Hoshimemo.

On one hand - it has rather good score on VNDB, with 8s prevailing. OTOH there are some really critical reviews on Fuwa and elsewhere, and in addition to this, fan-TL is allegedly awful, and official release, while somewhat better, is broken (with some untranslated lines). Or did Sekai finally fix it perhaps?

Should I add it to my backlog, or don't bother?

 

I just finished it (and am riding on the high) and came back here to tell you it was fucking awesome (nothing below should be spoilers, just saying "it has this and this type of thing and they are good" but if you're super crazy sensitive to spoilers maybe skip it). The 3-5 untranslated lines didn't impair the story. The amount of garbled lines was actually very low, and I can't for sure even remember any. My opinion is only worth so much having only read like 15 VNs (you can see the list by clicking my VNDB link of course).

In my personal enjoyment ranking, I would say it's under Very Long stuff like Little Busters, CLANNAD, MLA, but way above most of the Long or Medium category that I've played. (Going by VNDB's definitions)

Despite being smaller scope than those big games, it actually had significant worldbuilding and mystery to it. It had the kind of multi-generational plot that I enjoy a lot, a story like The Watchmen is probably a good example of what I mean. I couldn't guess any of the plot twists, which reminds me of Key games. The boobs aren't ridiculously large; in fact there's a wonderful selection of small boobs. The loli characters are actually interesting, not ridiculous horndogs. 

The two things that stood out the most: The world building where I had to actively piece together the puzzles of how things work and what happened historically, and the imouto route which was simply fantastic. I had zero interest in "imoutos", but after this game I think I'll be specifically looking for more like it. 

What I didn't like, and this is actually a spoiler:
 

Spoiler

Was how pushy/rapey the character was with Aoi and Yume. 

 

[adamstan]

Yesterday (or rather today around 2AM) I finished AIR

Wow, that was a ride...

First is "Dream" arc - something like "School" in Clannad. I played in the order suggested by @Flutterz's walkthrough - Misuzu, Kano and then Minagi. There are some other walkthroughs that suggest reversed order (meaning leaving Misuzu for the last playthrough). Actually both approaches make sense. Since Kano's and Minagi's stories can be considered side-stories, and Misuzu is main character, playing her route last makes sense story-wise. OTOH, reading it first gives game a structure somewhat similar to LittleBusters

Spoiler

with Misuzu's Dream route playing role smilar to "Rin 1" route from LB

While Misuzu is main character of whole VN, and I love her, the best route of Dream arc is Minagi's. Minagi is lovely, first impression somewhat similar to Kotomi from Clannad. Michiru was annoying at first, but as I got deeper into the story, I grew fond of her as well. And the ending of this route hits hard with feels...

Spoiler

Parting with Michiru on the roof... oh my... Or a little earlier, when Yukito carries her on his back as they go for a walk...

This route also has interesting quirk, because

Spoiler

H-scene belongs to the bad/normal end.

Kano's route is significantly weaker, but still enjoyable, and she was very likeable character for me as well.

Misuzu is great, but her route serves mostly as introduction for later arcs.

After completing three heroine's routes, there's "Summer" arc. It has no choices, and gives backstory for "Girl in the sky" and her connection to Yukito. It was good, packed both with comedy and feels. Also, it features another VA I really like (first being Aya Hisakawa as Haruko) - Kikuko Inoue as Uraha.

Then comes "AIR" arc - something like "Refrain" or "After Story". Main heroines of this part are Misuzu and Haruko. It was great, but it hits right into the feels many times, as its very bittersweet. At the end, I cried my eyes out

Spoiler

when Misuzu died in Haruko's arms

There are some glimpses of hope

Spoiler

Kanna's curse has finally been broken, so while Misuzu still had to die (it was foreshadowed in Summer - Winged One's soul is too much to bear for human body, so all Kanna's incarnation will die early), at least her final moments were happy. And Haruko's character development is great.

but overally, from 4 KEY VNs I read (Kanon, AIR, Clannad and LB!) this is definitely the saddest one, without clear happy ending provided by KeyMagic^TM (like Clannad After Story's final run or LB's "it's not enough!").

I'm completely used to Key's art style, so no complaints here, and backgrounds are actually really good. Music was good too.

I tried both English patches (WinterConfetti's and GaoGao's), and finally switched to the former (with All-Ages addon from Takafumi). Both have their share of problems, but they aren't game breaking, so just pick your poison

Great emotional ride, and it's for me right up there with Clannad and LB. 9/10

[Flutterz]

15 hours ago, adamstan said:

I played in the order suggested by @Flutterz's walkthrough - Misuzu, Kano and then Minagi.

15 hours ago, adamstan said:

from 4 KEY VNs I read (Kanon, AIR, Clannad and LB!) this is definitely the saddest one, without clear happy ending provided by KeyMagic^TM (like Clannad After Story's final run or LB's "it's not enough!").

Now it's time for you to either move forward in time and read Planetarian (this one is really short and good) and Rewrite, or if you're really ballsy, move backward in time and read One 

[adamstan]

I already have "One", so probably I'll go with it. As for Rewrite - I'll wait for official localization, that apparently is in work.

[adamstan]

Well, since it is really short, I just read Planetarian

You were right @Flutterz, it is good. But so sad again, even more so than AIR ending... It reminded me of Ame's ending from Dal Segno. Both of these robot/AI heroines became almost human by the end of the story. And the track "Perfectly Human" that played during final scenes was so haunting... It was somewhat similar to the song that played during Dream World sequences in Clannad.

The protagonist had some nice character development.

BTW - it seems that the planetarium in Miagete (and especially its projector) was inspired by this story.

To sum it up - great story, packed with feels, definitely recommended - 8.5/10

Edited August 9, 2018 by adamstan

[t-elos]

Just finished Flowers ete today, not sure what to play next yet.

[BookwormOtaku]

Been playing some of Trample on Schatten! and I can say it's been entertaining so far, especially the over the top action and dialogue. Also been playing Kamidori and currently at chapter 2 where I've met the foxes and the angel who I now dub FemZamasu

[Plk_Lesiak]

I've finished reading SoulSet today (another Polish VN, yay!) and I have to say that while I don't have much experience with multi-route mystery, this was definitely among the best ones I've seen in EVN form, definitely on par with Everlasting Summer. The cast is really quite unique and interesting, including the first cross-dressing character I genuinely liked (I mean, he somehow combines a really foul attitude with being absurdly cute - and well, the game provided two, in a way even three "real" yuri routes so I had few resons to complain). The devs also did a cool thing with the romance options, that is even though you need to finish all routes to get to the true ending and every character is romanceable, you can freely choose between romantic and friendship scenarios in all of them. This way, it can be played as a "yuri" or an "otome" - whatever pleases you personally. I only skipped one romance though, as the character is question (Apris) was terribly dull.

The mystery itself was... Contrived, to the point I wasn't sure about a few details even at the very end, but it was generally quite satisfying. I like how the game uses "clues", with you keep between playthroughs, to make all paths meaningful and encourage you to go through all the endings, including bad ones. I'm not sure if I would enjoy it without the guide though, there's a lot of choices and ways to screw up in most routes and exploring them blindly mustr take tons of time (obviously, people that don't have to hurry through gamers like I do might have a lot of fun with that). Generally, a very positive experience, and even decently produced (a bit of disconnect between the sprotes and CG artwork was pretty much my onlyu complaint) - highly recommended.

Edited August 12, 2018 by Plk_Lesiak

[kyrt]

4/7 routes through Shining Song Starnova...I hate idols but the vn is growing one me. Have currently read the Julie, Nemu Nemu, Natsuki, and Mika routes...Just started the Mariya route and then I have Aki and Sasami route left. I've been told that these last three are the best in the game with the Sasami route (only unlocked by reading through the other 6) is the best in the game. I'm in it for the long haul so we'll see if that actually is true. Just don't expect great art work if anyone reads it...the h-scenes in particular have been pretty bad.

I am also still playing Evenicle and I'm still reading some Fureraba but I'll probably finish shining song starnova before I continue either of those. 

[r0xm2n]

..... I'm suffering from visual novel withdrawal symptoms.

.... and reading through "alternative" media (what most people would consider conspiracy theories) ........ isn't helping

I may or may not have learned too much about the world

 

Oh well, I'll have a brand new 27inch monitor (with lightning fast 144Hz refresh times) to play VN's on soon.

[Kei kun]

im on HapyMaher and Evenicle  .

[Templarseeker]

Hmm... I stopped playing Pretty Soldier Wars A.D 2048 miday... It was fun playing it at first but become somehow frustrating as the game went on... Putting it on hiatus for now until I'm in the mood to play it again...

Started playing Flowers Printemps and enjoying every moment of it! 

[cro-mag]

On 8/8/2018 at 6:27 AM, adamstan said:

 

but overally, from 4 KEY VNs I read (Kanon, AIR, Clannad and LB!) this is definitely the saddest one, without clear happy ending provided by KeyMagic^TM (like Clannad After Story's final run or LB's "it's not enough!").

Man, kinda sad that ending is, ehm... sad. I like happy endings. Will keep that in mind when i finally decide to start reading it. Key created wonderful stories, but their conclusion is always kinda depressing. Same with their other creation - anime "Angel Beats!" That ending was really touching. One of the best shows i've ever seen and one of the best girl.

Anyway, as for my VN on the line - started "Cou- Kuroi Ryuu To Yasashii Oukoku", but so far have read only a small amount. Decided to catch up with some LNs first.

[HataVNI]

I was reading Newton and the Apple Tree for the longest time. Now Hanachirasu, Utawarerumono, Chaos;Child and Nekopara Extra (which I am TLing to german)
For japanese novels: Just finished Minikui Mojika no Ko a few days ago, then Erewhon, Tyr is telling me to read Natsu no Kusari so I will do that and probably Trample on Schatten for Review reasons.

[littleshogun]

7 minutes ago, EroHataVNI said:

Tyr is telling me to read Natsu no Kusari so I will do that and probably Trample on Schatten for Review reasons.

By Tyr, did you mean Tyrosyn here? Just curious and want some confirmation here, so sorry for asking here.

[HataVNI]

50 minutes ago, littleshogun said:

By Tyr, did you mean Tyrosyn here? Just curious and want some confirmation here, so sorry for asking here.

Yeah. We are both admins of visual-novel.info

 

[Larxe1]

Playing Gin'iro Haruka atm.

The game's production values are really good and appealing characters. But seriously this is one hell of a timesink. From past toneworks games reviews, apparently this is the norm. I thought I already sunk a lot of time in the game then the opening song greets me and the clicking new game from the menu shows that I JUST HAVE FINISHED THE PROLOGUE.  Equally like Bethly and Yuzuki, the foreign cute girl and the strong willed amaenbou are types I like. As a result, I finished both the prologue of Yuzuki and Bethly and also equally confused which route I am to finish. As of now, I save and load between the two routes, and now my mood decides which girl gets a happy ending and never achieves happiness with the MC that they were made for. I really really want to commit to one route because I feel like that would be the most optimal one. Just waiting for that one character moment that would make me want to commit to one route

[Salurian]

Currently playing through some of last month's Japanese releases, currently on Koi wa Sotto Saku Hana no you ni , which has been one of the better Ensemble games thus far. Just finished Shin Koihime † Musou - Kakumei ~Son Go no Ketsumyaku~ which was quite good - Go was always my favorite faction in that series, so it was nice to get a full game focusing on them.

[adamstan]

I just started One - we'll see how it turns out.

[BlackCatPrincess]

2 hours ago, adamstan said:

I just started One - we'll see how it turns out.

Thank you guys for bringing up that obscured Key novel I somehow didn’t know about. Being a huge fan of whatever Key made it made me happy to know there is one more for me to read. I am in the middle of Kannon ( finished Nayuki Shioro and Makoto routes). I must admit that I really like the artwork there. It is unique and brings instant nostalgia that goes so well with the story.

[adamstan]

55 minutes ago, BlackCatPrincess said:

I must admit that I really like the artwork there. It is unique and brings instant nostalgia that goes so well with the story.

"One" doesn't look as good as Kanon, but I think I'll enjoy it nevertheless. Art style is similar, but it uses different engine, so for example, sprites don't have any smoothing on them, so the edges are quite pixellated. Also, backgrounds are of poorer quality. Actually, with Kanon they made significant visual progress.

One's visuals look like something transitional between old pixel-art and modern style.

Edited August 20, 2018 by adamstan

[BlackCatPrincess]

45 minutes ago, adamstan said:

"One" doesn't look as good as Kanon, but I think I'll enjoy it nevertheless. Art style is similar, but it uses different engine, so for example, sprites don't have any smoothing on them, so the edges are quite pixellated. Also, backgrounds are of poorer quality. Actually, with Kanon they made significant visual progress.

Yeah that’s even better . Pixelated sprites from past millennia is what I want. IMO the older Key novel is the better it is. I am a connoisseur of them old novels. Those are so different from all the recent stuff. So exotic and uncommon, true gems. I have the impression that old Key novels were crafted while novels like Grisaia ( which I am also currently playing and enjoy, I am at the end of Makina route, some of her lines are pure gold BTW) were manufactured. It might sound crazy but to me Clannad has a soul, and while some scenes are a bit whacky, there is this felling that the whole story might happen IRL, which is amazing, because it might happen to me also. I mean, when I think about my life, it would make a decent VN. ;p