What are you playing?

[snowbell55]

On 12/10/2018 at 12:53 PM, adamstan said:

Yesterday I finished rereading Princess Evangile (+ after stories from FD), to check all-ages version.

It was almost as much fun as it was the first time, almost year ago - it felt a little like returning to visit good old friends

TL;DR version:
   - best girl: Ritsuko
   - best route: Ayaka
   - best epilogue: Chiho (in FD)

Wait - seriously? Wow LOL. I literally just started rereading Princess Evangile yesterday after a year and have been looking forward to doing so for the whole year, and I'm also planning on reading W Happiness after, though I'm taking a bit of a convoluted order so I can close off the reading with Rise's route (common route -> WH in reverse order, ie Marika first then the other "new" heroines then the original heroines -> Rise route from the original -> Rise's WH route) . Birds of a feather . That's a good way of putting it though - returning to visit good old friends. I'm finding everything I really liked about it is immediately visible and even though I know what to expect now it's still really comforting and relaxing to read. Thanks for the comparison though - I've been wondering what the differences are between the versions. Seriously though - I need to be careful with reading your posts in this thread because I keep winding up learning about and wanting to read a bunch of VNs hahaha.  

In other news I've been reading Wagamama High Spec which I've also been really looking forward to reading, and honestly I'm really liking it though I'm sad to be getting near the end (partway through the Ashe route). It's met my expectations in some ways, but failed them in others, but I still think it's been a worthwhile read and one I'll look back on fondly. I'd expected the music, art, and general UI of the VN to be high points, and they have been (the "chaos song" for the VN is hilarious with all the whistles and drums and it fits really well). I've also liked the characters and routes, though I do feel like some of the routes are weaker than the others. Kaoruko's route would be the biggest example here, but it wasn't a bad route IMO. I was also very pleasantly surprised with the Mihiro route and would like to read a similar route in another VN - she really came into her own in the route and I liked how things were handled. The biggest disappointments I've had are two things - there aren't so many CGs (both SD and normal) which is a shame considering how good they are when they do show up. The other thing is that the buildup from feelings -> confession -> romance can come across as really quick and (to me at least) underdeveloped. I was surprised to see this as the VN nails most other things well, but it isn't a dealbreaker - just... Well, surprising. Overall I'd say 7.5 or 8 out of 10, but we'll see what happens with the Ashe route. I'll silently hope that we get the fandisc eventually (please??!?!) because it'd be great to see some of the characters (Karen especially) get routes and I would like to see what kind of hijinks the original heroines could drag Kouki into in their after routes. 

I've been pretty busy IRL though, and I really think that reading it has helped to showcase something I really like about VNs: the relaxing and calming nature of some of them. Being able to fire up WagaHai and read for an hour or so before bed and/or after work to wind down has been really helpful and given me something to look forward to each day, which is something I very much appreciate. Princess Evangile is already doing the same in my reread and I have full confidence that W Happiness will be no different. I do want to get back to some of the more serious, "edge-of-your-seat" VNs but for now the current ones are right up my alley.

[Inorin]

At Chapter 9  and I now have a strong conviction that the culprit is actually someone else

Spoiler

It's most probably Serika.  I was always a bit suspicious as to why she didn't have her own route when I was viewing this walkthrough, but didn't think much of it cos Senri seemed more suspicious at the start. Whelp I guess it's a bit too late now

 

Edited December 15, 2018 by wei123

[Dergonu]

10 hours ago, Larxe1 said:

Cried for the first time in a while. In chapter 2, Chusingura. Not finished yet but the emotional impact is definitely stronger.

  Reveal hidden contents

Going back to the past where your love doesn't even know you well or even has a chance to love you back. It's sad but Suguha, accepted it and moved on. Failing to kill Kira and save his comrades, and having history the same as ever except now he isn't treated like one of their comrades is even sadder. I felt pity for Suguha and one of the rare protagonists I actually treated like a character in a VN and not just a blank slate or an average person to be a stand-in for wish fulfillment. However one of the breaking moments for me was Koheita's death. She was just a fun character whos happy but has a bleak environment. I've always stronglly felt for such characters. Her understandable betrayal and the things she does to have Suguha's forgiveness was heartbreaking. Breaking in the Mansion alone and seeing kira's vassals have red eyes gave me dread. Juxtaposing that scene with Yasube and Suguha's apex of happiness was harsh and finally hearing Koheita's voice crying and bloody broke me. She was too young and was forced by her circumstances. 

 

 

Spoiler

Oh man, Koheita's death ruined me... She was a character I found mildly annoying at first, but I started liking her after a while. Towards the end of ch2 I had taken quite a liking to her, and understood the moment she walked into Kira's residence what would happen...

I was weeping like a little girl when she dragged herself over to Suguha and collapsed in his arms. Man, chapter two did a number on me.

(Look forward to chapter 3, it also has some incredible moments. CSG is such an emotional rollercoaster.)

 

[Larxe1]

Finished chapter 2 in CSG. CSG Does not dissapoint

Spoiler

The last battle became a bit chuuni for me but the emotional impact remains the same. Having Suguha die in the arms of Yasube was really painful. Yasube > Kuranosuke for me. Also curious about who the hell is the one manipulating everything and trying to make Suguha suffer. Also seeing him tired in the end felt natural. He gave everything in the 2nd cycle and pretty much history just calibrated itself and all he got rewarded with was pure despair. Having to get separated from his loved ones 2 times probably desensitized him a bit.

 

22 minutes ago, Dergonu said:

  Hide contents

Oh man, Koheita's death ruined me... She was a character I found mildly annoying at first, but I started liking her after a while. Towards the end of ch2 I had taken quite a liking to her, and understood the moment she walked into Kira's residence what would happen...

I was weeping like a little girl when she dragged herself over to Suguha and collapsed in his arms. Man, chapter two did a number on me.

(Look forward to chapter 3, it also has some incredible moments. CSG is such an emotional rollercoaster.)

 

 

Spoiler

Yeah it was amazing how someone I found mildly annoying ended up making me cry a lot. She probably really felt like a real sister that you get annoyed with her but like her anyway and my reaction to her death was some kind of proof

 

[littleshogun]

Finished with Misaki's route, and therefore I'm finished with Hatsukoi Sankaime here. As for Misaki's route while I did find her situation at the beginning is quite questionable for some people, in the end I did manage to take a liking to her route. As for Misaki, she was supposed to be Taichi's first love that reject his confession before moving out, and thus indirectly motivated Taichi to enter Kirigamine and set the story in motion. While the story in Misaki's route didn't as dramatic as Himeka, I'm very content with her route because her route here is the one that sort of resolved the problem at the end of the common route in detail, namely the disappearence of Rin.

Like other VNs, in here we have three side characters. Those three were Togawa as best friend archetype, Fujisaki as odd girl archetype, and Senri as teacher archetype. Out of those three, Togawa was mostly just there being handsome and not involved too much with Taichi, Fujisaki's was sort of shoehorned into Misaki's route, and Senri here was have a lot of screen time in Himeka's route. So out of those three, it's pretty obvious that Senri here is the best side character because of her role in Himeka's route, and Togawa here is the worst one because his role was too miniscule other than provided a cafe to be the basecamp of the film club (I understand though that Windmill probably want to fill the slot for male best friend archetype, but I think it would be better if Windmill did add some info for Togawa like what's his hobby or his type of girl).

Other than side characters, I think I can say that Sui's route here is the shortest one mostly because there's no drama other than usual incest taboo thing that was resolved very easily off screen. Although I understand though that the reader might find Sui's route good if they like blood imouto character, and more importantly a breather if the reader did read Sui's route after Himeka's. There's also a bit of translation problem and typo there, although it didn't matter much though because I can still enjoy the overall VN just fine. So in the end what I can say is that if you're Indonesian or can read Japanese, then you can try Sankaime here. Too bad that Sankaime here is still not available in English, but hopefully it'll be available in the future so that more people can read this.

PS - As for Misaki's seiyuu, her name is Haruka Sora which as we know is the pseudonym for Eri Sendai. As for Sendai's role, some of them were Inaba Meguru from Sanoba Witch, Kouzuki Io from Dal Segno, Tomotake Yoshino from Senren Banka, Nijouin Hazuki from Riddle Joker, Otonashi Saku from Hello Lady, Suzuki Kana from Daitoshokan and Yukimura Suzuno from Witch Garden (Another Windmill VN). Also I like to note that Sendai here is also voiced Rin for the plot reason.

 

Namely that both of Misaki and Rin here is the same person, and thus share the same voice. Yes, the story here is that Taichi can met with Rin because he was rejected by Misaki, and in turn causing the film club to be bonded by Rin because of the encounter. So we can say that Misaki here is the main heroine, because her action did really set the story for Sankaime in question, either as a children or indirectly as the teenager. Also Misaki here is also think that Taichi would be better with Yurino, although I understand why though because Taichi kept telling Rin that he like Yurino. As for the reason of why child Misaki who was from seven years ago (Based on Himeka's route in which she's the victim of the airplane accident at seven years ago along with Misaki) managed to came to the present time, apparently the reason was because the soul didn't really bonded with time and thus can randomly appear either in the past or the future (I knew it's hard to believe). 

As for Fujisaki shoehorn matter, I believe that the staff may plan her as the heroine looking from the one sex scenes that she have at the after story. That said, her ability to see Rin was only revealed to the film club at the end where they already resolved Misaki and Rin is the same person conflict, so it's not that important to me seeing that we can exclude Fujisaki's in the ending and yet it's still came off as normal. While granted that Rin need to see someone that she didn't know before returned to Misaki's body at 7 years in the past, I think Senri can sort of fulfill that role seeing that she involved with Misaki's treatment in the past and more importantly taking care the patient that did have same body as Rin (Himeka). Besides, as the researcher of spirit bode I think she should be able to see Rin's body, and that she also happen to be film club advisor. In the end, I still did like Misaki's route moments though even with Windmill shoehorned Fukisaki there, especially when Misaki spend days with Taichi together before finally Misaki did confess that she was Rin to Taichi and the club member (I like that part, especially with Yurino hug Misaki and the latter is very embarrassed.

Edited December 16, 2018 by littleshogun

[r0xm2n]

Finished Princess Evangile.

Wonder what I'm going to read next.....

 

Just noticed Hapymaher is on discount on MangaGamer. It wasn't really on my radar ..... but it seems interesting....

[PiggiesGoMoo]

9 hours ago, r0xm2n said:

Finished Princess Evangile.

Wonder what I'm going to read next.....

 

Just noticed Hapymaher is on discount on MangaGamer. It wasn't really on my radar ..... but it seems interesting....

I'm back after a long VN Hiatus. Speaking of Hapymaher, I kinda blame that game for making me burned out by VNs for a while lol. It really felt like it took the worst of VNs and amplified it, just so many convoluted and unnecessary scenes in my opinion.  On the other hand, maybe I was due for a burnout, since I was reading only VNs for a good 3-4 months. 

I'm reading Sekien no Inganock now.  So far, it has reminded me why I like VNs as a format.  It really pulls you into the world just by the sound effects and visuals, while also making you use your imagination.  It has some nice exposition like a manga would, without cutting out details like an anime.  Yet it doesn't have the lack of immersion that a manga might have.  Best of both worlds, you could say.

Edited December 16, 2018 by PiggiesGoMoo

[r0xm2n]

Started reading ......... Little Busters!

Time to get punched in the feels another 40 times? This is a KEY VN afterall.....

 

Well so far, I like the slice of life elements between the group (it's also refreshing to have quite a few supporting male leads).

The Pokemon style "battles" between characters are amusing

[adamstan]

Good luck and have fun (and feels )

15 minutes ago, r0xm2n said:

The Pokemon style "battles" between characters are amusing

True And some of the titles they give each other afterwards are hilarious

[Stormwolf]

2 hours ago, r0xm2n said:

Started reading ......... Little Busters!

Time to get punched in the feels another 40 times? This is a KEY VN afterall.....

 

Well so far, I like the slice of life elements between the group (it's also refreshing to have quite a few supporting male leads).

The Pokemon style "battles" between characters are amusing

Enjoy it! Its a truly fantastic vn

[snowbell55]

18 hours ago, r0xm2n said:

Started reading ......... Little Busters!

Time to get punched in the feels another 40 times? This is a KEY VN afterall.....

 

Well so far, I like the slice of life elements between the group (it's also refreshing to have quite a few supporting male leads).

The Pokemon style "battles" between characters are amusing

You're in for a real treat - hope you enjoy it :D. Little Busters is a genuinely fantastic VN. 

What'd you think of Princess Evangile, btw?

Edited December 18, 2018 by snowbell55

[yelsha57]

19 hours ago, r0xm2n said:

Started reading ......... Little Busters!

Time to get punched in the feels another 40 times? This is a KEY VN afterall.....

 

Well so far, I like the slice of life elements between the group (it's also refreshing to have quite a few supporting male leads).

The Pokemon style "battles" between characters are amusing

I hope you enjoy it. I read like 72 hrs of it so far on Steam. I'm reading the EX routes. In addition to Little Busters I am finally reading Saku Saku: Love Blooms With the Cherry Blossoms right now, and I got 1 more route to complete in Himiwari The Sunflower. I love that one as well, but it's definitely sad. Anyway these are the 3 visual novels I'm reading atm. 

Edited December 18, 2018 by KanadeTachibana

[ciel_yuri]

19 hours ago, r0xm2n said:

Started reading ......... Little Busters!

Time to get punched in the feels another 40 times? This is a KEY VN afterall.....

 

Well so far, I like the slice of life elements between the group (it's also refreshing to have quite a few supporting male leads).

The Pokemon style "battles" between characters are amusing

I've been slowly going through it too. The battles and batting sections are pretty funny. I can never seem to hit the ball more than like 4 times. I wonder how long you can keep the combo going. Otherwise, I just end up hitting a cat and getting yelled at Some of the little touches in it are pretty great. It makes me smile a lot. Key VNs always have the best male characters too.

[adamstan]

1 hour ago, ciel_yuri said:

I wonder how long you can keep the combo going. Otherwise, I just end up hitting a cat and getting yelled at

I think I once or twice managed something around 8 or 9

[ciel_yuri]

Just now, adamstan said:

I think I once or twice managed something around 8 or 9

 

Does anything special happen? I was hoping I won't need to hit it 20 times in a row to get the true ending

[adamstan]

2 minutes ago, ciel_yuri said:

Does anything special happen?

No - but it feels very satisfying for some reason

2 minutes ago, ciel_yuri said:

I was hoping I won't need to hit it 20 times in a row to get the true ending

Rest assured - batting minigames have no impact on endings.

Edited December 18, 2018 by adamstan

[r0xm2n]

Those cats sure love jumping into my baseballs.....

In a battle, the MC challenged Kyousuke. He threw a Basketball at me ...... for 250 damage...... OUCH!

Also, Rin seems to get bullied a lot in these fights (she's like lost 9 of her last 10 fights, and she only won against the MC)......

[adamstan]

3 minutes ago, r0xm2n said:

Also, Rin seems to get bullied a lot in these fights (she's like lost 9 of her last 10 fights, and she only won against the MC)

I'd like to add one tip (I think it's in the walkthrough too) - when going for next route, always start from New Game, not from save. That way there are some differences in common route, and each time you start new game after completing a route, the characters level up (start with higher stats), which somewhat changes the battles and baseball.

Spoiler

Like - during first playthrough Rin is really weak, and loses most of the battles, while later she easily defeated Sasasasami and her minions

 

Edited December 18, 2018 by adamstan

[Stormwolf]

If you love me then say so. But i'll be honest, the game is a bit shit. Light spoilers:

You romance some cute girls with some weird quirks and go through a lenghty and cute route. BUT the game suddenly decides it wants to be dramatic the last hour or so and goes into dramatic overdrive. It turns the route or the heroine on their heads. Perhaps both. Well, this game didnt need the life changing drama it presents. It doesnt fit with the tone of the story. 

[adamstan]

13 minutes ago, Stormwolf said:

BUT the game suddenly decides it wants to be dramatic the last hour or so and goes into dramatic overdrive. It turns the route or the heroine on their heads. Perhaps both. Well, this game didnt need the life changing drama it presents. It doesnt fit with the tone of the story. 

I completed only Ayame's route so far, but my feelings are similar. That drama in the ending felt a bit forced. Also, the story as a whole doesn't flow smoothly - partially probably due to the choice system implemented. But even after entering the route, it felt like a collection of no-so-well-connected scenes, rather than coherent story.

[Mr Poltroon]

To throw in my two cents on the same game, this is one of the few games where I don't mind the disconnected scenes. Such scenes usually end up dampening my enthusiasm until I drop the game, but not here.

[adamstan]

I'm not dropping it, there are enjoyable things as well, but something feels off.

Edited December 18, 2018 by adamstan

[Stormwolf]

Well, i'm dropping it. No point reading fun routes only for it to be taken a giant dump on at the end, just cause we need to have forced drama. I dont know about the weird looking girl, but miharu is an actress, rinko is an idol. Yep, i'm sure it will have some "fun" drama too. Love or job confession im sure.

[PiggiesGoMoo]

Dropped Inganock, the story and theme is just not my thing.  I didn't realize the story would be so strongly steampunk.  Still, I have to give credit to the nice art style and atmosphere.

I started reading Swan Song instead for another post-apoc story, and I like it a lot. Lots of interesting inner monologues by characters. Tanomura is as manly and great as people describe lol.

Also some surprisingly funny dark humor (this is a drunken rant):

 

EDIT: Considering what happens later, I don't find that rant very funny anymore 

Edited December 20, 2018 by PiggiesGoMoo

[littleshogun]

Finished with Wakana's route from Sanoba, and will comment on that later.