What are you playing?

[Mr Poltroon]

29 minutes ago, Eclipsed said:

Spoiler

Oh btw, false advertising. Girl can only take so much touching punishment before the screen gets very red and she kicks the bucket and you get a gameover:

 

Which, of course, you tested.

[littleshogun]

Currently trying Amayui here, and overall even though the gameplay is the same as Kamidori there's some difference.

[Larxe1]

Reading Rupekari https://vndb.org/v29383

At first, I barely played this game like only an hour a day as it wasn't gripping enough and I was also busy playing other games but now that I played it a lot longer, this game grips you a lot. Its my first time playing an Uguisu Kagura and i was wondering when will the Utsu part in the Utsuge may come and it came it was extremely, extremely good., I'm still not finished but I think I'm nearing the true end. This is not a story about the MC but about all the characters as flashbacks will be heavily used in a theatre format. I can't really formulate my thoughts well enough yet since the feeling is very fresh but it definitely deserves the score it has on VNDB

Update: While the formatting for the routes makes sense, it does kinda cheapen the experience for me. Technically the routes are bad ends except for one heroine, her route is basically part of the common route and it makes sense when it happens. I really didn't have any motivation to go through some other routes because well, they are like bad ends, every ending is depressing and the choice you have to make to get into those routes are essentially choices that makes you lie to yourself rather than face the truth, which is the recurring theme for the game. It was hard for me to do one of the girls routes even if I really did like her because, the choice you have to make to enter her route is for me really cruel. I guess I'll play through it once I reach the true end

Edited April 18, 2021 by Larxe1

[fuyopon]

[Musicus!]

This week I'm playing Musicus! I think I only played one vn focused on music so far, so I'm really looking forward to it! 

First impressions

Positive

• The writing flows so well! I don't know if it's because I've been reading "meh" VNs or what, but I could read this for hours and not feel tired.
• The music AND THE SONGS, holy moly. I love the BGM, it fits so much and I was expecting actual songs, but I wasn't expecting to love them this much! I guess I'll be searching for them later on... 
• The characters: so far they are pretty darn interesting and captivating! Eveyone has their own flavor and I'm especially intrigued by Hanai.
• The VA wasn't bad, so I guess that counts as a positive. I wish more VNs had voices for the protagonists tho... sigh, but I guess I understand the reason as for why they don't.

Negative

• The art is 50/50. I like some aspects of it, like the background art and the art for the protagonist and some girls, but most of them just look kinda derpy, especially those eyes lol

Act 1 (before Ozaki's route)

Oh boy... this vn is something special already. I love the flow, the characters, the writing, the songs, the philosophy aspects, everything! The art has grown on me, I admit. It made me smile, bang my head, cry my eyes out... It was the whole package.

Spoiler

At first, I didn't like Hanai-san; the same goes for his sister, Mika. They both grew on me in their own ways, but Hanai-san was the one who grabbed my heart and destroyed it. His voice was totally amazing but his view on music was something else. I feel like I should disagree with him, but I like to think that what he says is also true. Everything we hear may be a trick, but it's real for us, and personally, that's what matters. I'll gladly be fooled if that means I'll have music in my life. After his death... oh gods, I felt so empty for a whole hour. I wasn't expecting that at all, but I guess you never do, huh. That scene of them playing at their funeral had me in tears, ugh.  

After that, it was tough for me (as it was for Kei, I imagine) to return to that school life period. I was feeling just like Kei, and for a narrative to make me feel that I think it's an amazing thing. After that and his time with Pteranodon, he meets his father and has that whole talk. I don't have some big opinions on that, but I think having a degree is important if you either need it for your job or if you just need it to work in general, as it often happens where I live, sadly. I kinda had this existential crisis last year, before dropping out of uni because of stress and anxiety, but I do love my time there and even tho the week I took to make that decision was hell, I'm glad I took that time to think about what means to live my life: I want my life to be meaningful. That doesn't mean being a doctor or having a lot of money imo; for me, it means going to the countryside, where my mental health can improve, and dedicate my life to work on the land with my grandparents, in a little village. That's just my example, but I think everyone should do a little check-up to see where they are in life and what they really want to do if they have that privilege. Just like Kei's father said, we're all a result of our genes and environment - I'm not denying that. I do agree we can choose our own life, as long as it's within our grasp and limits. This just means we should lower our expectations and try to humble ourselves, I think. Anyway, I stopped in that part where they are discussing Pteranodon breaking up and I'm glad I'm reading this vn, I really am!

P.S.: Guess who's addicted to Gura Gura now 

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

Next week I'll be talking about Ozaki's route! 

[Seraphim]

1 hour ago, Fujoneko said:

P.S.: Guess who's addicted to Gura Gura now

Honestly, I think this is the first song in Japanese that I've genuinely liked to the point where I could see myself listening to it outside of the game.

In case anyone wants to know what it sounds like, here it is:
 

 

Edited April 18, 2021 by Seraphim

[Stormwolf]

Japanese music is usually at least two times as good when it features male singers. 

[Larxe1]

Finished Meikei no Lupercalia/Rupekari. It is a 9.5/10 and I rarely give that score. Even if I haven't read a lot of novels this year, this will be definitely on one of the top ten of what I read this year. It's that good.

If you're looking for a focus on acting, something like act-age, it's not that. Their acting skills aren't the focus. The focus is on the theatre of the characters shroud their lives in. The lies they envelop themselves in just to live. How far should you go for theatre, how far did theatre ruin their lives. How deep the characters themselves shroud themselves in their own lives. This isn't a down to earth experience, expect something like Clannad where there is some sort of KEY magic going on.

First, I'll discuss the more negative parts that I didn't like, and it's not that many.

First, the art itself. While the character designs were fine, their poses are simply strange. The proportions feel off and for such a high quality story, such flaws become more and more apparent. While I'm not an expert in art and honestly, I really don't give much care for it, but it is much more noticeable in such a quality story. Some CG's were absolutely beautiful though and I saved it on my pc as it was just that good.

The beginning is kind of weak. When they do plays, the voice-acting and atmosphere carries the scene through a whole new level but the SoL parts in the beginning were kind of standard fare. I was kinda sick of SoL at that time, so I barely played Rupekari like I only played an hour every day or whenever I remember. However, when they reach the point in which they start readying for theatre, it gets a lot better trust me.

The flashbacks are a double-edged sword, It is also a positive for me in characterization, but sometimes it throws off the pacing of what's going on. And sometimes it can get a bit dreary reading too many flashbacks.

Also, for an MC with that much of a personal history and since this is about theatre, it would have been better if he was voiced but its probably budget constraints or something and I understand that.

That's it for the negative parts for me.

Now for the positive parts.

The music, they didn't have a lot of pieces to play like there were only 26 BGMs in total, but they actually used them quite well, and I never felt much need for more BGMs, what they had been perfect, and it always fit the scenes. I'm not an expert in music too, and I can't delve too much into it, but I know a well-executed sound design when I hear one.

The story and the characters. I'll be discussing them both together as the story and the characters and intertwined. This is a story driven by its characters, not the other way around. All the characters are extensively developed. A certain scene will end up with you hating a certain character, but the more you get to know him through his interactions with others and his flashbacks, his personality, his motivations, all are warped, but you can still see where he is coming from. He is just a human, and I didn't expect the guy I hated at first to be one of the characters to make me cry at the end of his character arc. Moments like that are many in this novel, everyone is flawed just like real humans are. Those flaws will irritate you to no end. They will make mistakes but in the end, you will understand them. They have their virtues, all of them are trying to get want in their own way. However, their virtues don't cancel out their flaws, but that's just being human. All the characters are written well and by the end, you'll be loving them all. 

The flashbacks form something like a third of the story and that's a lot but all of them contribute to the story and make you get to know all the characters. All the characters have their purpose in the story, and getting to know them immerses you more and more in the theatres they play, and their character arc becomes more and more tragic and beautiful. Every side character had their own life, their own mistakes, their regrets, their dreams. 

All of them dream to stand in the theatre, however life is not that pretty, and it reflects well on the writing. Theatre isn't some all-encompassing good thing, it destroyed some actors themselves, the sacrifices they make that chip at their soul, the ugliness of reality is in full display, however whenever they perform on the theatre, you find yourself enchanted. Maybe all those sacrifices were worth it in the end for this piece of art, and the characters themselves often ask those questions to. 

"Why do I love theatre? Did I really love theatre? Am I happy now?" All the characters have their own answers, all of them pursue theatre for their own reasons, some of them are just there because that's what they thought that they were born to do.

As you get to know the characters, the more you will immerse yourself into the setting and get attached to the characters, and when despair hits them, you'll find yourself despairing as much as they do. The circumstances in which they are in are cruel. It isn't because of what they did or what they are, that's just how life is. This story is not pretty, and often you'll find yourself gripped by the despair of what's happening.

There are a lot of separate character arcs happening on screen, and they're brought to their conclusion in their own arcs. In each arc, you'll get to know the character themselves, what lie are they living in, what are they trying to get away from, and how will stand against the ugly truth. The routes themselves are in a way bad ends, and it is obvious why it is. They are bad ends with a story that will let you get to know the characters. The format is branching routes, and it's hard to do a route because the choices you need to do is sometimes morally disgusting. You know it is wrong, but you do it because it's a comfortable lie, but a life built by lies will collapse on its own, and you can never be truly happy. While I liked Meguri's character the most, the choice to go into her route is... Well, I can't stomach it since it feels so wrong. But you know destroying her world of lies will thrust her into the despair of reality, and they show her despair when you make that choice to destroy her lies.

Sewa Tamaki, the main character is as much as important as a character than everyone else. He is not the focus of the story, all of them are. While he maybe the main POV of the game, there will be a lot of moments where you play the VN as the POV of another character. I don't have much to say about him without being too spoiler-y.

Also, while this is a title that will make you cry, it is not an Utsuge as I have previously mentioned. While the despair and hopelessness will make you feel sad, the ending itself is a hopeful one and an earned happy ending. It's a fitting conclusion although while I may hate open-ended endings, this novel did it good and it made me feel satisfied as this is not a story about romance, but how all of the characters move on from the painful reality and face tomorrow head-on. 

I highly recommend people to try this. BTW MEGURI NO.1

I wrote this on the fly after reading the VN's while my thoughts are fresh but not that organized. I'll probably edit this to add more and construct my thoughts better.

 

 

Edited April 19, 2021 by Larxe1

[adamstan]

@Larxe1, you have wrong vndb link in your post - Rupekari is under v29383, not v16338 (16338 is Shirogane x Spirits).

[Larxe1]

20 minutes ago, adamstan said:

@Larxe1, you have wrong vndb link in your post - Rupekari is under v29383, not v16338 (16338 is Shirogane x Spirits).

Oof thanks for that, I was half-asleep

[Eclipsed]

Finished Livestream and Root Film

Livestream: was a decent horror experience. I was expecting a bit more SAW-esque horror scenarios for the heroines but outside of the first few flagship advertisement ones they got, it's been relatively tame. Kinda like Corpse Party. More focus on exploring the Hotel and gathering bits and pieces of information while avoiding the monster rather than back to back horror shenanigans.

There are several (4) bad endings that you have to get to make your way to the true ending, and they add a bit to the mystery/suspense while you try to figure out just wtf is going on with Hotel Izanami and what you should do differently to avoid the current bad end you got. Ultimately there's nothing too grand though. Pretty straightforward explanations and reasons at the end of the day. But will these heroines live to see that day?

 

~~
Root Film was a good mystery/suspense adventure. It's only shortcoming is, you spend 80% of the VN building up this overarching mystery revolving around a decade old cancelled film with a supposed cursed reputation and its relation to the protagonists while you're doing all of your episodic murder mysteries and then it just... kinda falls flat when you finally start getting into the thick of things.

The culprit confrontational scenes could've been done a bit better, it's probably the most simplistic/barebones out of the Ace Attorney/Danganronpa games. Basically a glorified multiple choice that you absolutely shouldn't fail if you paid the slightest bit of attention during your investigations.

Everything by the end of it is wrapped up with a neat little bow, all the motivations are explained yada yada yada but man i actually felt unsatisfied with the conclusion. Also Riho was criminally underused. You can't advertise having dual protagonists and then have Riho only take 28.5% screentime while Rintaro gets 72.5%. That's some Danganronpa V3 Ch1 shit right there. But yeah, good read, but overall would've liked more Riho. lel.

 

Also worth mentioning: the comicbook simplistic artstyle allowed them to litter this VN with CGs, there's probably an easy 75-100 CGs so presentation wise they did a stellar job. The world / Shimane Prefecture feels vibrant, colorful, and the characters are all quirky and distinct. It's something Root Letter kind of failed to do with its bland characters, empty world.

 

~~
Just did some Switch browsing.

Island came out on the 8th this month, I think i remember being slightly intrigued by it esp. by that one shrine maiden gal with the fuzzy hair when i read Grisaia no Kajitsu 50 years ago (btw still need to read Meikyuu and Rakuen or w.e for Grisaia...) but uhh yup Island it is

[Eclipsed]

Ok so, good first impressions on Island

You play as Setsuna, an above average decent looking 5.3 rating guy who wakes up amnesiac on an Island. That's as cliche as it gets huh.

Whew. Unfortunately, buddy, you ain't got nothing on Grisaia's Yuuji. 

Setsuna woke up feeling like he was in the middle of something important- a greater, save the world purpose perhaps- and there are immediate hints that this VN could be dealing with time travel and destiny and whatnot. 

Oo la la, didn't really expect that. Of course, this could all be a big ol' red herring and all the talks of future and time travel is simply a result of Setsuna's delusions. Cuz yeah the guy seems a bit out of it. But he is indeed fairly entertaining, Frontwing delivers with their male protags, as usual.

The poster heroine is Rinne. I think she'd look better without the hat, but whatever floats your boat. Setsuna immediately recognizes/knows her name upon "first" seeing her so maybe there really is some destiny shiz going on here. Rinne a rich gal, from one of the three elite families on the island (the other two heroines are naturally from the other two elite families). She hires Setsuna to be her servant.

TAKE OFF THE HAT LADY

There is a built in flowchart and in general Frontwings' software development team got so pro at coding that you can literally skip or rewind the VN in realtime and jump to any particular scene no problemo. I wonder if they'll narratively make this a plot feature like YUNO's save points

 

The BGMs are fantastic. I guess I have a thing for peaceful/tranquil/surreal/fantasy sounding types and Island would of course be stocked with plenty them. They really do enhance the reading experience indeed.

 

[adamstan]

Waitwaitwait... they named the guy SETSUNA??

It seems that male protagonist with female name (or a name that could be mistaken for female) is some kind of VNs running joke It's at least third or fourth such protag I noticed.

Edited April 24, 2021 by adamstan

[fuyopon]

[Musicus!]

Ozaki's Route

This was a tough one. A pal of mine warned me I should read this in one sitting since I might lose my motivation to get back on it after and I tried, but I ended up reading this in three (not full) days. It wasn't bad: their relationship was good and I really liked the parallels between Ozaki and Kei, but the middle (and most of the route) was really REALLY slow and dragged. 

Spoiler

 

It felt like ages until we actually had interesting things happening. I guess that's what happens when you want to transmit that they had to train a lot and then there was all that stuff happening with them ditching practice, but still... I was suffering. Also, fuck Kaneda. I don't care if that's just his character, he is insufferable and I can't stand him; at first, I thought "okay, he's just awkward" but him completely not caring about practice pissed me off. It's funny how often I feel like Kei. 

That scene in which Ozaki tells us her feelings was so wholesome and cute, I loved it. I also liked the whole communication and consent part of it, it's sadly uncommon to have that in a lot of VNs :(( Thank the Gods the h-scene only lasted 5 minutes, holy moly. I was ready to skip it, but it wasn't bad at all! It felt more like an intimate moment between them than fap material to the reader imo and that's why I liked it so much.

I'm a little sad he abandoned the guitar and followed that path, but it's interesting to see how different routes lead to different paths in life! I wonder if Ozaki would end up alone if he had followed his music career and toured a lot... Maybe it's for the better, although I know Ozaki would say she didn't mind that.

 

In the end, it was only a 6/10. If only they had shortened in the middle of the route, it would be enough for me to give it a 7/10.
I sure hope this is the weakest route 

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

Alright, next week I'll be reading the second act! 

[Larxe1]

https://vndb.org/v29057 Waga Himegimi ni Eikan o

Been reading Wagahime. Minatosoft gave this one their all and is set up to be the next majikoi with its vast array of characters, great world building, and foreign continents to be explored.

Reading Wagahime feels kinda unique since the story doesn't feel like a VN but rather the start of your typical adventure manga/anime. I don't know how to explain it its just the vibe it gives.

I've only read the Empire's route which is Noa, it has an enforced order reading which is Empire > Republic/Federation > Tenmazoku or the demons. It is long well, compared to what I've been reading recently which is 10-30 hours length, and just the first route took me some time. I don't know what my exact playtime is since I always leave my PC on and I don't exactly close the games I'm playing so im at 60 hours and prob give or take 1/2 or 1/3 of that is my real playtime.

Its a lot of things, adventure, s lice of life??, action. It actually feels like an upgraded Majikoi for me since in Majikoi, martial arts take a lot of time in the game, and it requires a ton of suspension of disbelief to think that a bunch of highschoolers are walking bombs but in Wagahime its quite normal since it is a fantasy world, and the power levels are set up properly, no one is Momoyo level of op, there are op characters but they are not op in the sense that they have enemies of similar power level. The humor is funny if you're into the type of humor Majikoi had. The setting is actually well-developed, world building is given a lot of time, and that is not something I expected from this game. There is a sense of history in each faction (although I have only seen the Empire's side but based on the discussions I've read, the Federation and Demon route is even better). As the game is set in a warring world, there will be deaths for some side characters which kinda surprised me given that I really didn't think the writers would actually do that.

Characters are mostly likeable, although there are some questionable choices for side characters that don't really contribute humor-wise, they're just kinda irritating which is the two bullies in the class, although maybe they will be explored in future expansions. Routes for side-characters are... Don't expect much they're there for H reasons not for romance reasons. They're just there for a sneak peek and a quick h scene with that character. Its a shame though since a lot of the female side characters are really really good, Escudo is even no.1 in the official poll lol, its kinda obvious she will be given a route in the next expansion, she dominated the ranking a lot.

The pacing is good, it doesn't feel unnatural, beginning for the empire route is kinda slow though however it might be because its the first route and some exposition is needed, the usagi uzoku sensei companion you have is a walking exposition although admittedly the character is quite endearing.

I initially didn't like Noa, not that I hate her or anything but she is not the character type I usually like however the route gives a lot of time for her development to become a proper monarch and a loving partner and I really did like her character in the end.

Shaon the protagonist is... Bland. Compared to Yamato in Majikoi which had a lot of character and personality, Shaon is just kinda a self-insert. He's not exactly a good protag, but not bad either, he's just competent. Although his banter with Minjara, the god he contracted with is funny though. Shaon is not that smart compared to Yamato in Majikoi, but in turn, he is strong and one of the top fighters in the game.

Im gonna take a pause reading this since I spent a long time reading the Empire route that I need to take my immersion out first before reading the Federation.

[ChaosRaven]

1 hour ago, Larxe1 said:

Shaon the protagonist is... Bland. Compared to Yamato in Majikoi which had a lot of character and personality, Shaon is just kinda a self-insert. He's not exactly a good protag, but not bad either, he's just competent. Although his banter with Minjara, the god he contracted with is funny though. Shaon is not that smart compared to Yamato in Majikoi, but in turn, he is strong and one of the top fighters in the game.

Ironically, I think I'd like Shaon a lot more than Yamato who felt more sly than smart to me. And playing the big dominator in H-scenes to compensate that he's next to useless in combat didn't gain any sympathy points with me either. I would have vastly preferred Tadakatsu as protagonist in Majikoi. That said, I liked Yamato in Kazuko's route though. They somehow did fit together and she made him show mostly his good sides. Didn't like him much in the other routes though.

[Larxe1]

2 minutes ago, ChaosRaven said:

Ironically, I think I'd like Shaon a lot more than Yamato who felt more sly than smart to me. And playing the big dominator in H-scenes to compensate that he's next to useless in combat didn't gain any sympathy points with me either. I would have vastly preferred Tadakatsu as protagonist in Majikoi. That said, I liked Yamato in Kazuko's route though. They somehow did fit together and she made him show mostly his good sides. Didn't like him much in the other routes though.

Yeah, Yamato's domination in H-scenes were kinda iffy and sometimes he felt like a rapist which is off-putting, I forgot that side of him lol. 

I guess I just like sly characters in general though. Just kinda wished Shaon had more personality traits or something that made him stand out

[Seraphim]

On 4/24/2021 at 4:06 PM, Fujoneko said:

Spoiler

Also, fuck Kaneda. I don't care if that's just his character, he is insufferable and I can't stand him

 

Spoiler

Same here. He had a few decent moments here and there, but I mostly just found him annoying throughout the entire VN.

 

On 4/24/2021 at 4:06 PM, Fujoneko said:

Spoiler

I'm a little sad he abandoned the guitar and followed that path

 

Spoiler

For me, it's the other way around. I actually found it refreshing that he strayed from the beaten path that you know the rest of the VN is going to follow.
Usually, in this type of story, you know the protagonist is going to end up being pushed towards a certain goal in one way or another just because it's "something they should do", or "it's their destiny" or whatever. There aren't that many cases where they just decide to do something else entirely.

 

On 4/24/2021 at 4:06 PM, Fujoneko said:

Spoiler

I wonder if Ozaki would end up alone if he had followed his music career and toured a lot...

 

Spoiler

It can obviously vary from person to person, but I think it's safe to say she'd most likely be pretty lonely. It'd be like in KiraKira, where

Spoiler

Kirari goes off to tour the world while Shikanosuke stays back at home working a regular job, only meeting up once every 6 months or so. At the end of the day, I doubt he finds that very satisfactory from a romantic viewpoint.

 

(Wow, that's a lot of spoiler tags.)
 

On 4/24/2021 at 4:06 PM, Fujoneko said:

I sure hope this is the weakest route

It is. Or at the very least, it was for me.

Edited April 25, 2021 by Seraphim

[fuyopon]

49 minutes ago, Seraphim said:

Spoiler

For me, it's the other way around. I actually found it refreshing that he strayed from the beaten path that you know the rest of the VN is going to follow.
Usually, in this type of story, you know the protagonist is going to end up being pushed towards a certain goal in one way or another just because it's "something they should do", or "it's their destiny" or whatever. There aren't that many cases where they just decide to do something else entirely.

 

Spoiler

True, I agree (even though I said the opposite in my review). I guess part of my reaction was because just a few months ago I was having this debate with my life situation and part of me wanted him to choose his dreams, even if it was foolish or reckless haha

 

49 minutes ago, Seraphim said:

It is. Or at the very least, it was for me.

That's what I've heard too 

Edited April 25, 2021 by Fujoneko

[Finhir]

Just started playing My Girlfriend is the President. Welp bois, time to f*ck a spaceship!

[Larxe1]

Waga Himegimi ni Eikan o

Finished the 2nd route which is the Federal/Republic route, I'm not sure exactly what to translate it as but I think its better to call it the Federation or Erin Route. I will also be referring to their faction as the federation, so its easier to understand.

The obvious difference right at the start is there is a lot of mini-events and a longer journey in the Empire Route. Before you reach the capital where the story really begins, in Empire you go through a lot of detours to set up the characters and setting. The Federation Route skips all of that setting-up and exposition and you meet Erin and go straight away to the capital as the world is already set-up, and you will learn more and more about the Diverse cultures and states inside the Federation. What livened up the Empire Route is the vast array of charismatic side characters that are all interesting and fun to talk to, the culture is mostly the same in the Empire. All are humans with some sub traditions inside their own towns but usually they are the same. The Federation though, is different. The background of Federation is all the races inside it are all minorities and slaves who escaped from the Empire and formed their own nation based on the idea of equality and democracy of different races such as humans, elves, dwarves, Ururu(Dog-like people), Taiga, (Cat-like People), Mermaids, Lizards, Demons and some more. The empire route dealt with the complexities within the royal family and the military battles with the Tenmazoku(Demons), while it is obvious that the Federation Route will deal with a lot of politics as the main driving point of the route is the election battle between Erin and Ignacio,  pro-Empire and anti-Empire candidates respectively.  

Shaon will go around solving problems, going to each races' city, and slowly you will eventually get to know all the races' culture, cities, and inherent personality traits. I actually like this route quite better than the Empire as while both nations have almost the same landmass, the Federation feels a lot bigger due to how diverse the cultures are, each city is very different from one another and it really feels like a union of many races. It also has a lot more things going on due to how Erin and the cast will be travelling all over the Federation and the almost constant political battle of Erin and Ignacio. 

I read on a review that the ending feels quite unfinished, for spoiler-y reasons but it doesn't feel that much a lot, its not unfulfilling, you just kinda end up wishing that it should have been a bit longer to deal with the next foreshadowed crisis which was brushed over.

Erin is also a really good heroine, while not being a powerhouse like Noa and Krone, Erin is a political player and she does it well, and as I like political intrigue so I enjoyed her character.

Next up will be the Maou route, Krone's which a lot of people consider to be the true end as a lot of questions will be answered and I am excited to see why Krone was considered the 2nd favourite character by the poll, escudo is 1st of course.

[Stormwolf]

Started Sugar Style and it is quite nice. Heroines are likeable, the protagonist is entertaining and the music is well, passable. All in all good joyous fun. 

[TexasDice]

3 hours ago, Stormwolf said:

Started Sugar Style and it is quite nice. Heroines are likeable, the protagonist is entertaining and the music is well, passable. All in all good joyous fun. 

The game throws so much comedy at me, I can even finish laughing at the first joke before a second and a third get thrown at me.

 

I was briefly confused how after the Prologue, it suddenly said "Mao Route 01" on screen. In case anyone else is wondering; It's not a bug and you didn't accidentally click anything: After Mao 01 Route, you move on to Ichika Route 01 and I presume to another girl's 01 after that. It's not the real route yet.

[Stormwolf]

Only worry i have is if ut gives relationship building etc enough time. Seems that part is quite late

[Seraphim]

I was a bit confused by that as well, but since I hadn't made any choices yet, I figured it was just an introduction of sorts. In any case, the VN seems promising. I find the protagonist a bit annoying and immature at times, like when he said this to a waitress he just met, but at least he doesn't seem quite as hyper as the guy from Fureraba. I like all the heroines and the animated art is really nice, so I expect this will be a good read.

[Larxe1]

On 4/29/2021 at 9:37 PM, Larxe1 said:

Waga Himegimi ni Eikan o

Finished the 2nd route which is the Federal/Republic route, I'm not sure exactly what to translate it as but I think its better to call it the Federation or Erin Route. I will also be referring to their faction as the federation, so its easier to understand.

The obvious difference right at the start is there is a lot of mini-events and a longer journey in the Empire Route. Before you reach the capital where the story really begins, in Empire you go through a lot of detours to set up the characters and setting. The Federation Route skips all of that setting-up and exposition and you meet Erin and go straight away to the capital as the world is already set-up, and you will learn more and more about the Diverse cultures and states inside the Federation. What livened up the Empire Route is the vast array of charismatic side characters that are all interesting and fun to talk to, the culture is mostly the same in the Empire. All are humans with some sub traditions inside their own towns but usually they are the same. The Federation though, is different. The background of Federation is all the races inside it are all minorities and slaves who escaped from the Empire and formed their own nation based on the idea of equality and democracy of different races such as humans, elves, dwarves, Ururu(Dog-like people), Taiga, (Cat-like People), Mermaids, Lizards, Demons and some more. The empire route dealt with the complexities within the royal family and the military battles with the Tenmazoku(Demons), while it is obvious that the Federation Route will deal with a lot of politics as the main driving point of the route is the election battle between Erin and Ignacio,  pro-Empire and anti-Empire candidates respectively.  

Shaon will go around solving problems, going to each races' city, and slowly you will eventually get to know all the races' culture, cities, and inherent personality traits. I actually like this route quite better than the Empire as while both nations have almost the same landmass, the Federation feels a lot bigger due to how diverse the cultures are, each city is very different from one another and it really feels like a union of many races. It also has a lot more things going on due to how Erin and the cast will be travelling all over the Federation and the almost constant political battle of Erin and Ignacio. 

I read on a review that the ending feels quite unfinished, for spoiler-y reasons but it doesn't feel that much a lot, its not unfulfilling, you just kinda end up wishing that it should have been a bit longer to deal with the next foreshadowed crisis which was brushed over.

Erin is also a really good heroine, while not being a powerhouse like Noa and Krone, Erin is a political player and she does it well, and as I like political intrigue so I enjoyed her character.

Next up will be the Maou route, Krone's which a lot of people consider to be the true end as a lot of questions will be answered and I am excited to see why Krone was considered the 2nd favourite character by the poll, escudo is 1st of course.

Finally, finished the last and most likely, the true route of the game. This route makes use of all the experiences and knowledge you gained from the 1st and 2nd route, it uses some side-characters you know and love to travel to Rancage, the home of Tenmazoku. It's pretty intense and exciting all the way through. A lot of questions you may have had in 1st and 2nd route are answered in Krone's route. While Krone may not be my favorite heroine out of the main three (Noa, Erin and Krone), she was extremely endearing and was like a childish Momoyo from Majikoi but also more intense in everything.

The 1st and the 2nd routes were not exactly heroine-centric but rather focuses on the factions, the cultures, and the history themselves. It was a good balance between story, side-character scenes, and heroine-centric scenes. This is the same with the third route however, less focus is given on Rancage and the Tenmazoku themselves but now it tries to explain the history of their whole continent. 

I'm still surprised by how rich the world building is in this novel. They really set up this novel to be the next Majikoi given that there are foreign lands left to be unexplored. They are mostly mentioned and I'm expecting there would be further world exploration in the next game but Escudo and Last route pls. I'm pretty sure this novel has more potential than Majikoi given how rich this world is and the untapped potential it has in the future. While being a set-up for the future it is not that unsatisfying, given by the end you're given most of the answers you need to fully understand the general history of the continent the story takes place in. 

Also, one of my favorite relationships in the game were astounding. It was not the protag-heroine relationship but a friendship between Minjara and another person who I will not mention due to spoiler reasons but they had the most wholesome friendship and it had me tear up a bit. 

This game has action elements though and IMO they do it better than Majikoi, I find it hard to take the martial arts battle in Majikoi seriously as it was still a school life story, it was hard to imagine that those kids were on par with soldiers and many more, it required a  ton of suspension of disbelief to make sense but action here makes sense as magic is commonplace. Power levels are respected and easily understood here, and it makes sense within the world, so no suspension of disbelief is that needed.

The side characters were all amazing and the relevant interesting side characters are given flashbacks/backstories that make you like them and understand them even more. Although I kinda dislike how Shaon's master looked so generic like he was just a random NPC while having one of the most interesting backstories for me. Sensei, Damian, and Pigaro had the most interesting past given their connected history like they were companions in the past and the sense of history that gave was interesting.

Every heroine was good, I had a hard time deciding who I liked best 

Noa = Erin > Krone. I really like Noa's jealous scenes lol, I really like those kind of scenes and Noa really endeared me with what she went through for Shaon in the end. Erin was a unique heroine for me and she was the most adult out of all them, she is the prime minister (dairi). Erin was both the most mature and childish at the same time depending on the scene considering her happy-go-lucky but cunning personality. She was the most fun to listen to due to how bubbly she is which contrasted with how cunning and competent she was in politics. Krone was also excellent, I just like Noa and Erin better, I just kinda feel like you don't get to spend as much time with her as you spend with Noa and Erin, or is it just me? Krone's intensity in both love and battle was interesting to see.

Route-wise:

Tenmazoku (3rd) > Federation=Empire

Pretty much a reversal of my heroine opinions, Tenmazoku route which was obviously the best route given that everything builds up to that route. Its hard for me to talk about it without it being too spoiler-y. 

9/10. I've been on a streak now with excellent VN's, Meikei no Lupercarlia then Wagahime. I'm expecting Wagahime to be a big hit in JP and getchu polls in the future, although Rupekari is a bit iffy on mainstream popularity considering its nature. Probably gonna read something light like the new Yubisaki connection.