What are you playing?

[Rain Spectre]

So, as a general statement, I'm reading Muv Luv Alternative, Dies Irae, The House in Fata Morgana, Grisaia, Kara no Shojo and Swan Song. Yes, I'm reading six different works. 

[Funyarinpa]

3 hours ago, Rain Spectre said:

Oh boy, Sora's route...a warning, it is easily the worst part of the game. 

First of all how dare u

Second of all

How fucking dare u

Sora is literally the best thing about ever17

[LemiusK]

Well, just finished Sora's Good End. Hm... remember when I said I doubt that I would change my tone after I finish her route? Well... I was wrong. Tee hee.  Not wrong to a large extent, since I still prefer Tsugumi over Sora (both as a character and as a route), but still. Playing her ending, I've come to remembered all the adorable moments she had

Spoiler

trying to act human in accordance with Takeshi's "lessons." It was cute. Her "out of character" moment that made Coco cry was especially hilarious. So yeah, her not being human was hardly a problem. In fact, the Pygmalion parallel was... hm, quite tearjerking. It was a little too sappy and sentimental, since Takeshi basically just killed himself for the sake of an A.I., but still, I could appreciate the sentiment. That moment when the Ever17 theme played at the end, when Takeshi started talking about Pygmalion... yeah, quite heartbreaking.

Now I'll address some of the points @Rain Spectre made:

6 hours ago, Rain Spectre said:

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About half of it was just wholesale ripped from Tsugumi's with only minor differences,

 

Disagreed to a certain extent. If I had started with Sora's route first, I would have felt almost the same about Tsugumi. That said, there's a reason why I said "to a certain extent"...

6 hours ago, Rain Spectre said:

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the majority of what is different is a toothless romance the felt like it went nowhere and it brought up a number of fascinating ideas regarding AI and the Pygmalion Effect and did nothing with them. The route reeked of being a last-minute addition, having no contributions to the narrative besides the explanation of how Sora survived LeMu collapsing,

 

This. Yeah, it's pretty sloppy writing, very "last minute"-ish. Tsugumi's route has closure; Sora's doesn't, and was very tacked on.

Spoiler

I liked the Pygmalion aspect, but like Rain Spectre said, they didn't do much with it. 

Had they expanded her ending (which I assume the XBox version DID... ALL THE MORE REASON IT NEEDS TO BE TRANSLATED/PORTED), I would have put her End above Tsugumi's easily, in spite of how sappy it is (or rather, because of it). However...

6 hours ago, Rain Spectre said:

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and could've been cut from the game without hindering anything.

 

This point, I disagreed with. There are many VNs where some of the routes contribute NOTHING to the "True Route," and some of those "meaningless routes" end up being my favorites over the True Route. While Sora's route isn't good because of all the problems I mentioned, I wouldn't say I want it to be cut because 1) she's quite a decent character, 2) the route itself is quite tearjerking, 3) the themes and philosophies fit the overall theme of Ever17, so her route doesn't feel out of place. To say a side-plot should be cut because it contributes nothing to the main is... well, simplifying things a little bit. It's not math or a strategy game; you don't cut content because it contributes nothing. It's a story. You only cut it if it's a bad side-plot with no redeeming value. I would say Sora's route would have contributed to the theme of Ever17 had it not been for the unpolished ending.

But yeah, I've come to like Sora more as a result of her ending, so it's not all bad. Looking back at all the times I've read about Ever17, I could understand why people called her route the worst route (infodump, infodump, infodump), but I don't think "worst" in this case necessarily equates to "terrible." More like "flawed," "potential squandered."

Anyway... now that that's done, time to move on to my waifu, YOU! I. AM. YOU! 

[Rain Spectre]

The thing I find weird is that You and Sara's routes are quite different with their own revelations and story trajectories. I can only assume Sora's route exists solely to give some symmetry to Takeshi's side in terms of route structure.  

[LemiusK]

1 hour ago, Rain Spectre said:

The thing I find weird is that You and Sara's routes are quite different with their own revelations and story trajectories. I can only assume Sora's route exists solely to give some symmetry to Takeshi's side in terms of route structure.  

Yeah, I could see that. In that sense, Sora's route does feel like the only route that reveals little to no important information, and therefore, in a sense, you're correct in saying it "contributes nothing." But again, that doesn't take away from my enjoyment of her route.

Actually, now that I think about it, Tsugumi's route bummed me out too, in that certain information about her wasn't revealed either, especially 

Spoiler

why she came to Lemu in the first place, and whether if she knows what's going on with the "infinite loop" thing going on in the story. Compare this to You and Sara's routes, where almost every information about them was revealed, especially the important part of why they came to Lemu. That vague sense of not knowing Tsugumi's purpose here in Lemu is the reason why I'm still conflicted about her, not fully satisfied by her ending. I would have thought she would have a larger role to play due to her seemingly knowing so much about Lemu and the company, but I ended up being disappointed at just how little Tsugumi's route revealed about the main story. So in that sense, it's not just Sora; both of them revealed little of importance. Quite fitting that their Bad End was shared as one.

I mean, sure, I could make a guess about why she came here due to the hints dropped throughout her route, but I feel like I shouldn't have to, since it's the end of her route. I have some hint as to why she's here though (probably has to do with her virus and the pharmaceutical company).

By the way, on an unrelated note, I've learned an important piece of information from Professor Dave in Grisaia no Meikyuu - that you can press F12 to minimize the game in case someone walks in on you playing an h-scene. Thanks, Professor Dave! 

Edit:

>Starts Yumiko's route
>First thing I see is 

Spoiler

her licking Yuuji's chin-chin in a bunny-suit saying "Pyon!"

>Reaction: EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. 
>In deadpan Tomokazu Sugita voice: "Ah, my apologies. Looks like I walked into Professor Dave's station by mistake. GOOD DAY. GOODBYE."

Yeah. This gonna be "good."[/sarcasm]

Edited November 22, 2018 by LemiusK

[adamstan]

I finished Sanoba Witch yesterday.

It showed me again, that first impressions can be misleading. The beginning of common route felt kind of bland to me, so I was a little disappointed, especially reading this after Yoake, where I got emotionally attached to the characters and atmosphere right from the beginning.

OTOH - it kind of relates to the story

Spoiler

as the protagonist initially is emotionally dead and avoiding any deeper relationship

so maybe it was intentional?

Whatever's the case, I'm glad I didn't drop it, as the character routes are where it starts to shine. As for common - I loved comedic bits, the scene at conveyor-sushi shop was hilarious

My reading order was Tsumugi -> Meguru -> Touko -> Wakana -> Nene, and after all I think it is the best when it comes to discovering different parts of main magical theme. (well, Wakana's route can be moved freely, as it unlocks after completing one route, and is kind-of side route, but a very good one).

So, like I sadi, I started with Tsumugi's route. It's the shortest one from the main routes, and serves as good introduction.

Spoiler

with Tsumugi also being a witch, like Nene

The ending felt rushed, or rather, very action-packed, there were lots of things happening over short time, but all in all it was good.
This route had many sweet moments:

Spoiler

The very beginning, when Shuuji "votes" for Tsumugi in costume contest after Halloween party. Then, the scene where she comforts him by hugging his head to her chest and patting him. If I'm not mistaken, Meguru had similar scene in her route, but I won't complain as for some weird reason I LOVE this kind of scenes. And the date at the amusement park - cuteness overload Or when she hughs teddy bear while sleeping...

Good route, and the best thing is that remaining ones are even better, so it is good to start with

Next was Meguru. It had different mood and theme, but is connected with Tsumugi

Spoiler

as it also features Akagi, who happens to also be alp of Meguru's missing friend, Chii-chan. That arc had some really emotional scenes, with Meguru finally knowing that her friend didn't abandon her, and overcoming her fear of relationships.

On another note - Meguru in her lazy-clothes and glasses - OMG, so sweet and so hot at the same time!
And it was absolutely hilarious when she got flustered in the club room and unintentionally leaked some details about their sexual life Somehow like Nene ends up saying many embarassing things

Cuddling-in-bed CG near the end was very sweet.

Very good route.

And then came Touko, and upped the ante even higher. Her route was great, and provided another bit of main story

Spoiler

as Touko was former alp of Shuuji's mother, who later became human.

There were many sweet moments in this route, and the drama got me as well

Spoiler

Scenes with Shuuji nursing comatose Touko were really heartrending. And then there was epic reunion, when he managed to break into her dream and smash the glass that separated them...
It was then followed with some really funny scenes, when Touko, who fully regained her emotions started to get crazily embarassed for some things they did earlier

So, to conclude, this route was a bit of nakige, but I loved it.

Wakana's route is on the shorter side, but it was very nice romance route, with many sweet and funny moments. Nice breather before final.

Nene, main heroine and true route. It was hard to imagine, but it was even stronger than earlier routes. Many funny moments in the beginning, and many feels later, especially in the second part.
Almost anything would be a spoiler, but all in all it was epic.

In every route there were also some really nice thoughts about the nature of relationships, and quite helpful advices (coming either from Shuuji's dad or in conversations while OC is helping students with their love problems). They were pretty obvious things, like how communication is the key, or that you have to constantly maintain your relationship - but it was nice thing to see.

Art and music was pretty good. Also, I absolutely loved all SD/chibi scenes - they were cute and hilarious, often with small animations thrown in.

I played without H patch, and I think it was perfect this way. Even without H-scenes, it is by no means "all ages" release, as all other ecchi stuff is left intact. Also, while the scenes aren't shown, in all routes except Tsumugi characters often speak about what they just did, sometimes with a great detail And those kissing scenes were pretty hot and erotic if you ask me. So for me it was very good solution - it isn't bad to leave some bits to imagination

Translation is good, but I encountered numerous typos - not of the misspelling kind, but rather missing or misplaced words.

To conclude - it started low, but ended on a very high level. Very nice charage - 8/10

 

Edited November 22, 2018 by adamstan

[LemiusK]

Mhm, mhm, You's Good End feels the most

Spoiler

"normal" and "typical," which suits me just fine. Very sweet and romantic ending. Reminds me a lot of '90s Asian drama, many of which would end on an incredibly sappy note. There's even a sunset and everything as Kid kisses You...

I like that the epilogue cleverly hides away some of the plot details in vagueness since I haven't unlocked Coco's route yet. Now that I think about it, that would also explain why both Tsugumi and Sora's routes feel "uncomplete," because I haven't reached their combined epilogue yet. Not sure why it's combined though, because honestly, I would rather see an epilogue dedicated to each of them separately. You's epilogue, for example, wraps things up so nicely with her character arc. It feels like it has a lot of closure for her character, so I hope Tsugumi and Sora's epilogue being combined won't affect either of their routes not ending effectively.

Anyway, these readings of Good Ends feel kinda short because I kinda just skipped texts I've already read. lol So each Good End only takes me about an hour or two to reach. It won't be long before I hit Coco's route. Kinda anticlimactic, when I made such a big deal about how lengthy this VN is in the past.

Next up is Sara's Good End. 

Spoiler

Brother and sister finally reunited!

 

Edited November 22, 2018 by LemiusK

[LemiusK]

Currently still playing Yumiko's route, but, it got me thinking about one of my favorite Yumiko moments back in Grisaia no Kajitsu, and it wasn't even in her own route. I'm sure most of you already know what I'm referring to. Yes, it's that scene in Michiru's route that conveys just how deeply Yumiko cares about her friends, Michiru included. 

Spoiler

AKA The funeral scene. Had to look up the scene on YouTube because I've long uninstalled Kajitsu, but man, I teared up again. I remember that I couldn't hold back my tears the first time I saw it too, but I had thought I could handle it this time...  The way she screamed Michiru's name, saying "Nothing's alright anymore." I kinda knew she was suppressing her emotions, but to see Yumiko break down like that, I couldn't help but break down as well. The girl that fought with Michiru countless times was the one freaking out the most over her death. Damn...

Sigh. My night is ruined by the waterworks. Sour mood now.

I think it's a lot worse that there's no BGM during that particular scene, or rather, the scene was a lot more painful to watch.  It's like being forced to watch a cute animal die, but you're given no catharsis in the form of some contrived melancholic music. Just... silence and grim reality.

Anyway, it's a good reminder why her route was my favorite route of all back in Kajitsu. It still is now, even if her AS in Meikyuu disappointed me. The heavy theme dealt with in her route wasn't particularly uncommon among VNs, but it's nonetheless relevant. And Yuuji's explanation of 

Spoiler

the consequences of suicide

felt so realistic and grounded. Sure, he's a rather pompous hypocrite throughout most of Michiru's route, but his words rung true, and he did a good job showing how terrible the consequences would be.

Anyway, guess that's why I have a soft spot for Yumiko. Her AS so far is kinda boring, which is a shame, so I hope it will pick up later.

Sigh. My mood really took a turn for the worse now that I remember that scene.

Spoiler

I know that things turned out alright in the end, but it doesn't change the fact that it's a horribly, horribly tragic scene.

In hindsight, I'm kinda glad that the anime didn't adapt that scene (IIRC). Not sure if I could handle it watching it in animated form. Then again, it's such a great scene that I also hate that it didn't adapt it... Wasted opportunity.

Edited November 22, 2018 by LemiusK

[adamstan]

I'm starting YMK. Wish me luck

[Thyndd]

Just now, adamstan said:

I'm starting YMK. Wish me luck

Best wishes. I seem to recall your being a bit on the h-scene haters side, so you'll have to put up with that. YMK has A LOT of H. 

[adamstan]

1 hour ago, Thyndd said:

a bit on the h-scene haters side

Nah, it's not that strong. There are instances when I genuinely like them, and some others where I think the work would be better without them. But I explained myself already in some other thread I know about a lot of H in YMK - probably it will be too much for my taste, but whatever. I was more scared about general heavy mood of this VN, H isn't that much of a problem - after all, in worst case if I don't like H-scene I can skip through it

First impressions - unusual art style. The backgrounds look a little like painted with watercolors.

Edited November 22, 2018 by adamstan

[LemiusK]

Read somewhere in the forum (in this thread, I think) that someone's reading six VNs at the same time. Figured I might as well try it myself too, since I need more VNs to increase the variety of reading material.

Added three more VNs to my collections: Aoishiro, Swan Song, and Root Double. Funny thing about the first two is that, I used to read them a long, long time ago, back when I first started knowing what a visual novel is, but I promptly dropped them after a few hours because I was still an ignorant spoiled brat, not used to reading VNs yet. 

But yeah, nice to revisit those two again. Swan Song had a nice intense atmosphere that I remember, while Aoishiro has that mysterious fantasy vibe. Looking forward to those.

Root Double will be my first time reading. Recommended by someone in my "428" thread.

Edited November 22, 2018 by LemiusK

[adamstan]

4 minutes ago, LemiusK said:

Root Double will be my first time reading.

I bought it today as it was on pretty big sale on Steam (-65%). But it'll have to wait for its turn

[Dreamysyu]

21 minutes ago, LemiusK said:

Aoishiro, Swan Song, and Root Double

I wanted to play these three for years now, but somehow I never got to them.

[Inorin]

4 hours ago, LemiusK said:

Root Double will be my first time reading. Recommended by someone in my "428" thread.

Root double is a bit like ever17 but with quite a number of bad ends (though significantly fewer than that of 428). Its bad end system is also a bit like 428, such that it will give you hints as to why you got that particular bad end. The true end isn't as grand as that of ever17 but it's still pretty decent overall so I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did 

[LemiusK]

Some of the more keen-eyed users might have noticed that I removed a VN from the "Plan to Read" section in my signature, but didn't move it to my "Reading" section. That's because when I tried to get it working yesterday, it ended up crashing because of a "EAcess Violation" error or something. Since my Windows 7 is riddled with bugs anyway, I had to reinstall my OS from scratch, because I couldn't fix the problem the VN was facing (you have to adjust the "Data Execution Prevention" settings, but mine was greyed out). All for one VN. Seems pretty drastic to do all that for just a single visual novel, right? (I had to move all my older files, including my currently reading VNs, to the new OS)

What VN it was that I had to trouble myself so much...?

Spoiler

Mhm, mhm. It feels like it's worth it in the end. It's been a long time. I've added this immediately to my collection a week ago ever since I learned that the voice patch has been added. I didn't play it back then when there was no voice, and I've left it in my wishlist under "High" priority ever since. It's good to see that lovely face again.

[Stormwolf]

Sakura sakura

Spoiler

 

And i honestly dont know what to make of it. It tries to be funny, but also what it tries to be funny about is actually pretty damn serious. Mc is also somewhat of a "badass?"  disguised as a typical protagonist 90% of the time and something better than regular 10% of the time. I dont dislike it, i just dont really know what to make of it yet.

And maan, i hope he hurls those bully girls in the art club out the window. Bullies should never falsely get credit or be allowed to keep bullying. The mc here is a total doormat. Quite patheic with such silly and utterly goofy bullies such as that.

Ohh and i love the ost so far! Kept that one melody on repeat for a while

 

 

[littleshogun]

Already entered Wakana's route in Sanoba, but I decided to change it into finishing Yurino's route back at Hatsukoi Sankaime and perhaps finishing the whole VN as well.

[LemiusK]

Just started Aoishiro but... two problems:

1. The interface, main menu, and the built-in encyclopedia aren't translated. Very annoying. Had to refer to a website that translated some of the terminology (like 20% of it, maybe less), but it spoiled an important story detail regarding Migi's identity.

2. So much Japanese folklore infodumping. I wouldn't mind this if the encyclopedia was translated. But as it is now, it's just tedious to read.

On the other hand, the graphics is pretty good, which isn't surprising for a game ported from PS2. The sprites move their mouth as they speak, just like Muv-Luv, but with a greater variety of movement. It's almost like full-fletched animation compared to Muv-Luv. Considering that both Muv-Luv and Alternative came way before this game though, it's not surprising the technology couldn't match up.

The gameplay design is also pretty swell, with a voice in the main menu addressing differently depending on the time of day you're playing (from what I could figure out through my limited knowledge of Japanese). The voice that sounds out whenever you're saving or loading, on the other hand, is more annoying, but bearable.

It's not often that non-nukige VNs have such a focus on its game design, so it's nice to see something like this.

Edited November 24, 2018 by LemiusK

[adamstan]

I finished YMK. Whoa, that was a ride.

But then, @Stormwolf was right

On 20.11.2018 at 8:19 PM, Stormwolf said:

It sounds worse than it is. You'll get in the mindset which makes it bearable. Its not a cute bubbly vn, yet its pretty damn awesome.

It was better than I expected, and didn't disturb me as much as I feared.

I started with Nekoko's route. In the beginning that route was like one big WTF - but that's understandable considering Nekoko's circumstances and her route's main theme. But the ending made up for it (not just epilogue, but generally last 3rd of this route). Also, the plot twist really surprised me

Spoiler

I really wouldn't connect that shy librarian girl with Nekoko (especially since at that point I hadn't read generic bad end that hints on it yet)

I also liked the 4th wall breaking - or VN's self-consciousness - in this route, with Nekoko giving "affection points" to Kouhei, and his frequent talks with Tsubaki about eroge - route systems, character's behaviour etc. (This comes up in other routes too, but in Nekoko's it was most pronounced).

Next was Mizuki. That route was pretty crazy too - when I think about it, Mizuki had something in common with Nekoko - she also tried doing various crazy things as an escape. Sometimes I almost couldn't catch up with her

Spoiler

Casino sequence made me really puzzled - just like Kouhei, for a long time I couldn't figure out if it was a dream or reality. Same with the footjob scene - I suppose that's because drug's effect, so Kouhei got holes in his memory, thus weird timeskips.

But Mizuki's ending was maybe the best in whole game.

Spoiler

In many eroge "pregnancy endings" are considered bad or joke endings. Yet here they both accept the child, and actually it was the reason Mizuki regained her will to live and finally could see the future spreading before her. The scenes with Kouhei speaking to his yet unborn child, birth, and then Mizuki sleeping peacefuly with their daughter were so heartwarming that they almost made my heart melt.

At last I read Aeka's route. It was definitely the heaviest of them all, but very good. It does really good job at making player want to protect Aeka, and then fall for her along with Kouhei. Don't know what to say, as almost anything will be spoiler for this route.

Spoiler

How the loneliness was slowly crushing and breaking Aeka... oh my... that hit really hard

Also, while maybe slightly exaggerated, the whole bullying theme and mechanisms of it were presented almost disturbingly realistically. Final sequence got me by surprise, it was very strong too. It was difficult to go for Nekoko's route first, as the game surely made me feel like trash for abandoning Aeka - to not get on her route you have to completely ignore her, and that's really painful. (on the second playthrough, when aiming for Mizuki, auto-skip eased that pain ). Also, antagonist in that route...

Spoiler

Antoinette, what a bitch, really. She was disgusting and disturbing - almost inhuman. I didn't feel sorry for her in the slightest during the final scene when Kouhei and Aeka almost killed her - and that disturbed me a bit as well, but shows how strong the writing was. It's a pity that her "boyfriend" got unpunished, but well, can't have it all...

Another strong point of the whole VN is Kouhei's family - that's right, here we have eroge protagonist living with full family (well, adoptive, but still) - now that's something you don't find often. And on top of that, they're great people, really caring for him.

Now about H-scenes - yes, there were a lot, but authors made the effort to justify them within a story. Well, in Nekoko's route they were a bit random to me - except the last one - but then again, everything she did was random, so it fits I guess. I think in that route the reality was bent the most to allow for h-scenes, but still, somehow it worked.

Spoiler

Also, neither loli catgirls nor anal are my thing, so it felt a bit meh - except final scene in library

In Mizuki's and especially in Aeka's route sex scenes fit well into the story.

Spoiler

Mizuki's frantical seeking of pleasure because of her inability to picture the future explains them enough. Aeka's crushing loneliness also makes it all understandable.

There were also some really important and moving dialogues during Aeka's scenes - I like that. So - except maybe a little for Nekoko's route - no complaints about h-content from me Well, maybe HCGs could use a bit more variation, because often they don't align with the text (like, characters being in completely different pose).

Translation is OK - there were some rough lines and typos, but it read well.

All in all - I'm glad that I gave it a chance and read it. 8/10

[Dreamysyu]

Got a bit bored with Dies Irae, so decided to stall it and to start something else. Ended up picking up this:

Spoiler

So, wait, it's an isekai from 2003 where the characters in the other world actually don't speak Japanese?

[Thyndd]

6 hours ago, Dreamysyu said:

So, wait, it's an isekai from 2003 where the characters in the other world actually don't speak Japanese?

Lol looks polynesian or something. 

How are they gonna solve the little inconvenience though? Probably some magic spell that allows the MC to understand the language, if it's that kind of new world. Let's say that most isekais just skip this step 

I'm still reading Umineko. I'm currently halfway through episode 6, my last report being when I finished episode 4. Ep 5 was a blast, but it did almost nothing for my theories, that's why I didn't bother to update  

Aside from that, I was watching a Muv-Luv (extra) let's play on youtube, and man oh man, the amount of references and foreshadowing for Alternative is absolutely insane. I find myself constantly laughing like a maniac. Goddamit.

Edited November 25, 2018 by Thyndd

[LemiusK]

On 11/22/2018 at 6:51 AM, Dreamysyu said:

but I've seen a certain really generic CG of

  Reveal hidden contents

Sara pointing a gun towards Tsugumi

that apparently appears in that version, and it makes me very suspicious whether this new content really adds anything of value.

Just saw this "generic CG" while I was watching the XBox OP again. It is not generic at all!!! lol 

Spoiler

Sara looks totally pissed, but also looks like she's desperate to get something out of Tsugumi. Makes me even more suspicious that Tsugumi knows something about Lemu's "accident" after all!  Or maybe Tsugumi said something offensive about her brother, heh.  Wouldn't expect anything less from that edgy loner.

But yeah, it's not generic, and does serve to make me even more interested in that version. Sigh. Well, a boy could dream, can't he?

Edited November 25, 2018 by LemiusK

[alpacaman]

I completed two and a half routes of Symphonic Rain (Fal/Lise complete, made the choice for the Torta bad ending and now Chris has a visitor on Christmas). It's not great so far but I like it because it has a nice atmosphere and the writers use the term "Good End" very creatively *cough*.

Spoiler

I kind of respect the creators for doing everything to piss of readers who buy this expecting a harmless moege/nakige with a rythm game. It's just soo unnecessarily mean-spirited. I knew beforehand that there was supposed to be a twist but I expected something like themes of depression, considering the setting, not that every character either is a sociopath or has their life destroyed by one.

Going by the way the routes went so far my theory for the twist in Torta's route is that Arietta is actually dead, probably by Chris' fault or at least he left her to die or something like that. Chris is in denial though so Torta keeps sending him letters impersonating Arie and even dressing up as her on Christmas to keep up the illusion and keep him from going completely insane.

 

[Dreamysyu]

9 hours ago, Thyndd said:

How are they gonna solve the little inconvenience though? Probably some magic spell that allows the MC to understand the language, if it's that kind of new world. Let's say that most isekais just skip this step 

They did something like that, yeah. Well, it's a shame. I was hoping that they would actually show the MC would slowly learning the language and understanding more and more words and phrases, but that would be too much, I guess. On the other hand, the voice actors still speak in that language. Well, they still pronounce these words in a very Japanese way, but it definitely sounds like an actual language. I'd say, it's a very cool thing to do.

I have a soft spot for fantasy worlds with well developed culture and politics, and, the way it is going so far, it looks like this could easily become one of my top-5 favorite VNs.

9 hours ago, Thyndd said:

Lol looks polynesian or something. 

I feel like I recognize some Slavic or Turkic words from time to time. It could be just a coincidence, I guess, but I wouldn't be too surprised if the authors took the words and grammar of some real languages and combined them in some unique way.

9 hours ago, Thyndd said:

Aside from that, I was watching a Muv-Luv (extra) let's play on youtube, and man oh man, the amount of references and foreshadowing for Alternative is absolutely insane. I find myself constantly laughing like a maniac. Goddamit.

The one by Echo 6 probably? I also watched it some time ago and it actually almost made me change my opinion about Extra. It's true, the amount of foreshadowing is insane, but it's even more insane that all this foreshadowing is almost completely unnoticeable on your first walkthrough.

6 hours ago, LemiusK said:

Just saw this "generic CG" while I was watching the XBox OP again. It is not generic at all!!! lol 

  Reveal hidden contents

Sara looks totally pissed, but also looks like she's desperate to get something out of Tsugumi. Makes me even more suspicious that Tsugumi knows something about Lemu's "accident" after all!  Or maybe Tsugumi said something offensive about her brother, heh.  Wouldn't expect anything less from that edgy loner.

But yeah, it's not generic, and does serve to make me even more interested in that version. Sigh. Well, a boy could dream, can't he?

To be honest, the way it's drawn just looks very cliche to me. And, thinking through the original story, I honestly don't know what they would want to improve by including a scene like that. To me this feels just like a cheap way to keep the readers' attention. But to each their own, I guess.

On the other hand, I heard that the remake corrects a few plot holes the original had.