What are you playing?

[Seraphim]

1 hour ago, adamstan said:

actually it isn't, it's CERO D = +17

Good thing they covered the boobs, or else those innocent 17-year-olds might get traumatized!

[adamstan]

I wouldn't be surprised, if they just went lazy route, and reused some CGs from 2013 IMHHW release. (and that release was aimed at +12 (CERO B) rating, so that would explain it a bit - for example "all-ages" version of Aokana has "C" (+15) rating, and its bath CG is much bolder)

Edited October 17, 2019 by adamstan

[Jun Inoue]

Finally have some time on my hands again, and felt like looking for smth to read. Currently debating between Aokana -Four Rhythms Across the Blue- and Nanairo Reincarnation, seeing that I can support both legally on Steam.

[Seraphim]

49 minutes ago, adamstan said:

I wouldn't be surprised, if they just went lazy route, and reused some CGs from 2013 IMHHW release.

Yeah, it's definitely not out of the picture.
When you said "bath scene", were you referring to the one with Kotori, Ageha and Amane or the one with Aoi and Kotori? Here's a CG from the latter one (from the original IMHHW, that is):

Spoiler

The towel eventually slides down as Aoi starts to grope her, but they might have reused the CGs where she's covered up.

[adamstan]

1 hour ago, Seraphim88 said:

When you said "bath scene", were you referring to the one with Kotori, Ageha and Amane

Yes, I'm still at common route, I haven't reached that later scene with Aoi x Kotori yet.

1 hour ago, Jun Inoue said:

Finally have some time on my hands again, and felt like looking for smth to read. Currently debating between Aokana -Four Rhythms Across the Blue- and Nanairo Reincarnation, seeing that I can support both legally on Steam.

I can wholeheartedly recommend Aokana. Cannot say much about Nanairo Reincarnation, since character design put me off.

Edited October 17, 2019 by adamstan

[Jun Inoue]

1 hour ago, adamstan said:

I can wholeheartedly recommend Aokana. Cannot say much about Nanairo Reincarnation, since character design put me off.

Really? Must admit that it was actually the design of both works that initially caught my attention, as I find their styles really pretty. They also seem fairly different games, so I might even play both "at the same time".

Seeing how you appear to have played Aokana, however, I wanted to ask: to what kind of story does it shift towards? Of its main tags, the only relevant seems to be "pure love story", which doesn't really tell me whether it's more dramatic or comedic/light-hearted.

[Seraphim]

28 minutes ago, Jun Inoue said:

what kind of story does it shift towards? Of its main tags, the only relevant seems to be "pure love story", which doesn't really tell me whether it's more dramatic or comedic/light-hearted.

It's mostly light-hearted. There is some drama, but it's basically just a matter of momentary setbacks rather than anything really serious.
You should keep in mind that Aokana has a heavy focus on FC, the sport they're practicing, and it might make or break the experience for you depending on how enjoyable you find that part of the game. I actually didn't care much about FC, so I was a bit disappointed with the overall experience since it felt like FC overshadowed the romance quite heavily.

[Jun Inoue]

19 minutes ago, Seraphim88 said:

It's mostly light-hearted. There is some drama, but it's basically just a matter of momentary setbacks rather than anything really serious.
You should keep in mind that Aokana has a heavy focus on FC, the sport they're practicing, and it might make or break the experience for you depending on how enjoyable you find that part of the game. I actually didn't care much about FC, so I was a bit disappointed with the overall experience since it felt like FC overshadowed the romance quite heavily.

Hmmm, I see. I did read that the story focused quite heavily on the sport itself, but didn't know it was the point it might overshadow the romantic side itself. I've always been a fan of sports anime, so there's that, but I have no idea how well that might translate into a VN.

I'd prefer to play it for a while and then decide, but I believe there's no demo on Steam.

[Seraphim]

Just now, Jun Inoue said:

but didn't know it was the point it might overshadow the romantic side itself.

Well, to each his own. I just know that I'd have liked more scenes centered around the romance part of the game, but if you enjoy sports anime, I'd say there's a good chance you'd enjoy this as well. As for me, I'm not that into sports in the first place, so that might be part of the reason why FC felt kinda so-so for me.

[adamstan]

I'm not into sports at all, yet I enjoyed FC part of Aokana. The battles matches scenes were written in quite engaging way. I agree that a bit more of a build-up for romance would have been nice, but still it was very enjoyable experience.

Edited October 17, 2019 by adamstan

[Ruberick]

Hey, can you answer me something real quick? Is this "Flying Circus" a team sport or a solo sport? Haven't seen any specifics.

I didn't like most team sports anime like Tsubasa, Eyeshied 21, Kurokos Basketball, etc. while I really liked solo sports like Hikaru no Go, Chihayafuru or Hajime no Ippo. Guess it helps for me if all that mushy "Now we all have to work together" "It's a team effort" stuff is off the table...

This might actually make or break this VN for me.

[Seraphim]

It's solo. They always go 1 vs 1. (They each have an assistant that tells them stuff from down on the ground, though.)

Edited October 17, 2019 by Seraphim88

[Jun Inoue]

1 hour ago, adamstan said:

I'm not into sports at all, yet I enjoyed FC part of Aokana. The battles matches scenes were written in quite engaging way. I agree that a bit more of a build-up for romance would have been nice, but still it was very enjoyable experience.

Do you really not find her cute!?
https://i.gyazo.com/f7bda17d10b6a27a908dda4b4a4c8125.jpg

I followed up on my initial plan and got both games, so I guess I'll be playing each for a while.

[Ruberick]

Thanks, guess I'll give it a shot then.

 

While I'm allready in this thread might as well mention a few things to my recently played VNs, mostly ones that date back a bit, but that's just me catching up on my backlog.

 

Shining Song Starnova was much better than expected. Played the other love in space games, which were kinda hit and miss for me. Shining Song Starnova mixes up tropes well enough to get a more unique experience that was overall very enjoyable. 8/10

Hatsukoi 1/1 was great at its best and frustrating at its worst depending on the route. 6/10

Spoiler

Really liked Kyou, she had problems that weren't too far removed to be relatable. Yukino was the worst, artificial problems that even made her look manipulative, completely unenjoyable for me. The others were middle of the road with good and bad moments. The protagonist is extra boring in this one.

Sabbat of the witch was more of a negative experience for me. 4/10

Spoiler

The relationships seemed a bit superficial, most of the games focus went towards Nene, who wasn't that great, IMO. Her story doesn't make much sense from a logical perspective, concerning the time travel and it's not even completely resolved. The second part of her story arrives at a satisfying conclusion, but only at the cost of making her unlikeable (selfish) to begin with.

The conditions that are placed on the witches are just too random, either making for cheap laughs or for cheap resolutions.

Touko and Kariya were the most satisfying ones here, still nothing special though.

Oniikiss was a guilty pleasure, I enjoyed it for what it's worth. Lighthearted, stupid, exactly what one needs sometimes, if it's in your strike zone. 8/10

 

Started reading Hoshizora no Memoria and Chrono Clock now. First impressions good on both. Especially Chrono Clock looks georgeous and the protagonist seems more interesting than most. (Or the setting makes him more interesting)

[adamstan]

32 minutes ago, Jun Inoue said:

Do you really not find her cute!?
https://i.gyazo.com/f7bda17d10b6a27a908dda4b4a4c8125.jpg

Almost, but something is off with her face. Uncanny. When I browsed through screenshots gallery on vndb, all those characters looked somewhat scary to me. Something about face proportions and expressions doesn't feel right. Guess this art style just doesn't work for me.

[Seraphim]

I'm fine with the design, but I think they look a bit too glossy, like they're coated in a layer of oil or something.

[Jun Inoue]

God dammit. I was checking some stuff on Nanairo and read something I definitely shouldn't have. Ooooh well, onwards with courage, I guess.

[Saosin]

Finished Vel route for Love Esquaire. The journey was great, and that romance was charming me with that cute little red-head brawler. I liked that dating sim a lot for the comedy value... I think you can't go wrong with it. Even though I had to replay the whole thing since one choice screwed me up and left me in Friendzone. It is really not a lot of change between endings sadly. Hentais were added only just to say it may be patched for +18 but that's it. Maybe I will do a third playthrough.

The gameplay though and the girl events... damn they kept me glued into my chair. Sort of review below.

https://steamcommunity.com/id/SaoTheDreamer/recommended/849740/

Edited October 18, 2019 by Saosin

[Jun Inoue]

Man, I ended up ploughing straight through Nanairo Reincarnation due to it being the shorter game (to Aokana), and now am emotionally devastated. Wasn't sure how much of a nakige it would be, but boy does it hit hard towards the end... ended up doing all the routes since they are basically the same with slight differences, too.

Now I'm gonna start Aokana... but I think I'll also look up recommendations for something light-hearted on the funnier side, too, to compensate for my poor hurt kokoro.

[adamstan]

17 minutes ago, Jun Inoue said:

but I think I'll also look up recommendations for something light-hearted on the funnier side, too, to compensate for my poor hurt kokoro.

Aokana is pretty lighthearted, so you should be fine for a start

[Seraphim]

29 minutes ago, Jun Inoue said:

Man, I ended up ploughing straight through Nanairo Reincarnation due to it being the shorter game (to Aokana), and now am emotionally devastated. Wasn't sure how much of a nakige it would be, but boy does it hit hard towards the end...

Ooooh, I was under the impression it's a comedy nukige and was going to pass on it either entirely or at least for the moment, but now I'm actually interested (like the masochist I apparently am)! I might give it a go when I'm done with Yukizakura!

[Jun Inoue]

Just now, Seraphim88 said:

Ooooh, I was under the impression it's a comedy nukige and was going to pass on it either entirely or at least for the moment, but now I'm actually interested (like the masochist I apparently am)! I might give it a go when I'm done with Yukizakura!

It employs a very classic nakige structure. The first part is comedic and light-hearted. Then there's romance, the tragic climax and a bittersweet ending. It surprised me too, because the thing about the demons made me thing it would be a simple story peppered with h-scenes everywhere, contrasting oddly with its nakige tag, but it most definitely isn't so. It's fairly short (even if you do more than one route, which isn't all that necessary), so do tell me if you play it!

20 minutes ago, adamstan said:

Aokana is pretty lighthearted, so you should be fine for a start

Fair enough. I'll start it either way, as I had originally planned, be it comedic enough or not

Otherwise I might just play it and rewatch some comedy anime or smth haha.

[Seraphim]

Done with Yukizakura now! While it wasn't quite on par with the other D.O. works I've read (Kana Imouto, Crescendo and Kazoku Keikaku), it was definitely a worthwhile experience.

The only thing I was kinda disappointed by was Misato's route, despite her being one of the characters I liked the most overall.

Spoiler

The whole "illlicit relationship" drama had already been done in Saki's route, and it even unfolded more or less the same way (they start dating, get too comfortable around each other in school, get found out by the vice principal on the school roof and are then forced apart). The ending didn't make much sense either. Misato is forced to transfer to another school because of her and Yuuji's relationship, he transfers to her new school as a student, kisses her right in the middle of the class and then everything is apparently just fine and dandy, although they basically find themselves in an identical situation to the one that forced them apart before.

 

[Stormwolf]

13 hours ago, Seraphim88 said:

Done with Yukizakura now! While it wasn't quite on par with the other D.O. works I've read (Kana Imouto, Crescendo and Kazoku Keikaku), it was definitely a worthwhile experience.

The only thing I was kinda disappointed by was Misato's route, despite her being one of the characters I liked the most overall.

  Hide contents

The whole "illlicit relationship" drama had already been done in Saki's route, and it even unfolded more or less the same way (they start dating, get too comfortable around each other in school, get found out by the vice principal on the school roof and are then forced apart). The ending didn't make much sense either. Misato is forced to transfer to another school because of her and Yuuji's relationship, he transfers to her new school as a student, kisses her right in the middle of the class and then everything is apparently just fine and dandy, although they basically find themselves in an identical situation to the one that forced them apart before.

 

Im gonna assume no one knows they're siblings in the new school.

[ArgentstR]

59 minutes ago, Stormwolf said:

Im gonna assume no one knows they're siblings in the new school.

Misato's the teacher.