What are you playing?

[Ranzo]

Finished playing Campus Notes and...

I enjoyed it! Very much so!

It was a solid Visual Novel it wasn't the best I have ever played but it is definitely worth checking out. The heroines were so unique and interesting I loved all of their interactions. I didn't even mind that much when Kaen kept referring to herself in the third person (I usually really really hate that) The dialogue is really well written and I laughed quite a bit at many of the lines.

There were only two real problems that I had with it.

1. There are all these cameo characters from different vns that 4th cluster made. That would be cool if I knew or cared about these characters but since these games aren't translated I did not. It kind of took me out of the story a bit when out of the blue completely rando characters show up say a couple of lines and totally disappear.

2. There just isn't enough cg. I don't really know quite why maybe it was a budget thing but there is only 8 different cgs in the entire visual novel. The main girls only get 2 apiece. That was a real shame because there are many moments in this VN that ought to have a cg dedicated to it but they're not there.

Still for a pretty short visual novel I really enjoyed my time with it.

Edited December 26, 2017 by Ranzo

[akaritan]

4 hours ago, Thyndd said:

I'm giving Doki doki literature club a try. Literally everyone is or has played it, so I kinda felt dragged into it. Let's see if it's any good.

good luck

[Thyndd]

29 minutes ago, akaritan said:

good luck

Damn, should I be afraid?  

For now all I can tell, being like 2 hours into it, is that I really enjoy the poems. I think it's a great innovative resource to get to know the characters in depth, and I really revel in figuring out the meaning or at least trying to work out an interpretation. 

I must say that I'm going into it completely blind. The only thing I'm aware of is that it's supposed to be pretty messed up, and that at some point shit hits the fan. Before starting to read I thought it might be something like Higurashi, that started out looking cute and fluffy, but then it progressively builds up into a more sinister and dark atmosphere, until indeed shit gets real, but for the time being the only sinister tone I could grasp is built in the poems. Some of them definitely have a weird shade, and some even creep me out.

Well, we'll see~

[akaritan]

55 minutes ago, Thyndd said:

Damn, should I be afraid?  

For now all I can tell, being like 2 hours into it, is that I really enjoy the poems. I think it's a great innovative resource to get to know the characters in depth, and I really revel in figuring out the meaning or at least trying to work out an interpretation. 

I must say that I'm going into it completely blind. The only thing I'm aware of is that it's supposed to be pretty messed up, and that at some point shit hits the fan. Before starting to read I thought it might be something like Higurashi, that started out looking cute and fluffy, but then it progressively builds up into a more sinister and dark atmosphere, until indeed shit gets real, but for the time being the only sinister tone I could grasp is built in the poems. Some of them definitely have a weird shade, and some even creep me out.

Well, we'll see~

As much as I dislike DDLC, the poem mechanic was very nice and I haven't seen anything else like it in a VN. Best girl?

[Thyndd]

3 hours ago, akaritan said:

Best girl?

As for now, probably Sayori. I feel like there's more to her than meets the eye. Monika is also really interesting, and her poems hit me pretty hard.

EDIT: Oh, ok...

fourth wall huh? Hilarious 

Edited December 27, 2017 by Thyndd

[akaritan]

Given that there was a steam sale going, I had ten dollars in my wallet, and I'm on break, I decided to buy and read some cheap OELVNs that I've been interested in a while. The games in question were Aviary Attorney, and Sweetest Monster. Now, in retrospect, I should have played Aviary Attorney second, because I certainly could use a pick-me-up after Sweetest Monster, ahaha.

Aviary was like Phoenix Wright, except with birds and more puns (if you can even believe it). While I like Ace Attorney more, Aviary certainly stands on its own merits. The production is relatively good, and there's nothing quite like it in VNs. The 19th century France setting was a relatively unusual one, and it was really refreshing. The characters are likable, and while they aren't complex, they did everything they needed to in a game like this. The gameplay was similar to Phoenix Wright, but there were a few differences. Most notably, you can fail entirely to collect all of the evidence beforehand, thus screwing yourself over before the trial even begins.

Spoiler

In the first chapter, the defendant having been the murderer the whole time was also really surprising. It personally hit me way harder than anything in a game about bird lawyers has any right to.

Aviary Attorney is a great way to spend an afternoon, especially for it's current ~$3.70 price.

Sweetest Monster, on the other hand, was my first ebi-hime VN. And if this is a good indicator of her work's quality, then I need to pick up more. It follows a man who meets a catgirl in the midst of marital problems, to grossly oversimplify. Frankly, I shouldn't say much about the plot of a 2 hour game at all. The atmosphere was incredibly uncomfortable without coming off as too heavy, and as adorable as the catgirl Belle is, while reading this game you can't quite shake the feeling that something is off. There's a sort of creeping unease that develops as you slowly start to realize the implications of the game's events. But it's definitely a good experience and I have quite a bit to say about it, so I'm throwing that in the spoiler tag.

Spoiler

In the author's notes, ebi's description of her characterization work makes it clear that she was walking a very fine line between "human fuck-up", and "still a good person as a whole". I think it works quite well, and the characters can be hard to hate, as much as you want to- well, maybe barring Bell, who ultimately deals great harm to the family. The subversion of fanservice and sexuality to be something unpleasant in context is not something that's new, but this one is far more subtle about it than most VNs that pull that, which was a breath of fresh air. Instead of overly explicit h-scenes, the game is more concerned over character impact. And I always get a bit irritated over games with the "dating sims are bad because they take agency away from the heroine" message. They come off as moralizing and judgmental to me, but Sweetest Monster never seemed to be going for that. In the long run it was a sort of deconstruction of games like Nekopara (as ebi says in her notes), but instead of a hard critique of the genre, it felt like it was playing off its tropes for the sole purpose of affecting the viewer. The ending was unsettling to say the least, and while I had a hunch that something to that effect was going on, the foreshadowing was never overbearing, and just sort of understated. 

Thank you for making such a wonderful game, ebi-hime!

So in short, Aviary Attorney was good and fun and Sweetest Monster was fantastic, and they're both good choices, especially given their current price tag. And thanks to anyone who devoted their time to reading this ungodly text wall, ahaha. 

[Ranzo]

21 minutes ago, akaritan said:

Given that there was a steam sale going, I had ten dollars in my wallet, and I'm on break, I decided to buy and read some cheap OELVNs that I've been interested in a while. The games in question were Aviary Attorney, and Sweetest Monster. Now, in retrospect, I should have played Aviary Attorney second, because I certainly could use a pick-me-up after Sweetest Monster, ahaha.

Aviary was like Phoenix Wright, except with birds and more puns (if you can even believe it). While I like Ace Attorney more, Aviary certainly stands on its own merits. The production is relatively good, and there's nothing quite like it in VNs. The 19th century France setting was a relatively unusual one, and it was really refreshing. The characters are likable, and while they aren't complex, they did everything they needed to in a game like this. The gameplay was similar to Phoenix Wright, but there were a few differences. Most notably, you can fail entirely to collect all of the evidence beforehand, thus screwing yourself over before the trial even begins.

  Reveal hidden contents

In the first chapter, the defendant having been the murderer the whole time was also really surprising. It personally hit me way harder than anything in a game about bird lawyers has any right to.

Aviary Attorney is a great way to spend an afternoon, especially for it's current ~$3.70 price.

Sweetest Monster, on the other hand, was my first ebi-hime VN. And if this is a good indicator of her work's quality, then I need to pick up more. It follows a man who meets a catgirl in the midst of marital problems, to grossly oversimplify. Frankly, I shouldn't say much about the plot of a 2 hour game at all. The atmosphere was incredibly uncomfortable without coming off as too heavy, and as adorable as the catgirl Belle is, while reading this game you can't quite shake the feeling that something is off. There's a sort of creeping unease that develops as you slowly start to realize the implications of the game's events. But it's definitely a good experience and I have quite a bit to say about it, so I'm throwing that in the spoiler tag.

  Reveal hidden contents

In the author's notes, ebi's description of her characterization work makes it clear that she was walking a very fine line between "human fuck-up", and "still a good person as a whole". I think it works quite well, and the characters can be hard to hate, as much as you want to- well, maybe barring Bell, who ultimately deals great harm to the family. The subversion of fanservice and sexuality to be something unpleasant in context is not something that's new, but this one is far more subtle about it than most VNs that pull that, which was a breath of fresh air. Instead of overly explicit h-scenes, the game is more concerned over character impact. And I always get a bit irritated over games with the "dating sims are bad because they take agency away from the heroine" message. They come off as moralizing and judgmental to me, but Sweetest Monster never seemed to be going for that. In the long run it was a sort of deconstruction of games like Nekopara (as ebi says in her notes), but instead of a hard critique of the genre, it felt like it was playing off its tropes for the sole purpose of affecting the viewer. The ending was unsettling to say the least, and while I had a hunch that something to that effect was going on, the foreshadowing was never overbearing, and just sort of understated. 

Thank you for making such a wonderful game, ebi-hime!

So in short, Aviary Attorney was good and fun and Sweetest Monster was fantastic, and they're both good choices, especially given their current price tag. And thanks to anyone who devoted their time to reading this ungodly text wall, ahaha. 

Oh nice! Sweetest Monster had mine eye I'll have to make it the next VN I play

[akaritan]

18 minutes ago, Ranzo said:

Oh nice! Sweetest Monster had mine eye I'll have to make it the next VN I play

If you like horror VNs then it's a real treat for sure. And it's a really short read so even if you don't end up liking it, you don't waste very much time.

[Thyndd]

Welp... Doki doki finished. It was definitely fun, totally different from any VN I've played. I think you have to view it from the right angle in order to appreciate it, since it's a NOVEL whose focus is not the story nor the characters. It's actually so different that I don't think it'd be crazy to set it apart as something else, a whole different genre or type of fictional work. 

If it were longer it would've probably turned out tedious, but as it is, I consider it to be an experience worth playing.

Also, the memes, god they are good. Example: 

 

[r0xm2n]

The endings in CLANNAD hit like a truck. And some of it's music is amazing.

Just finished Kotomi's route. Just ..... wow...

[Ranzo]

3 minutes ago, r0xm2n said:

The endings in CLANNAD hit like a truck. And some of it's music is amazing.

Just finished Kotomi's route. Just ..... wow...

"Day before yesterday I saw a rabbit, and yesterday a deer, and today, you."

What endings have you gotten so far?

Started up Sweetest Monster and I am really impressed at the quality of writing so far it's not what I expected

[akaritan]

32 minutes ago, Ranzo said:

"Day before yesterday I saw a rabbit, and yesterday a deer, and today, you."

What endings have you gotten so far?

Started up Sweetest Monster and I am really impressed at the quality of writing so far it's not what I expected

Definitely tell me how it goes! Parts of it pack a real punch.

[r0xm2n]

2 hours ago, Ranzo said:

"Day before yesterday I saw a rabbit, and yesterday a deer, and today, you."

What endings have you gotten so far?

Ryou (the bad end, got it blindly), Kyou, Yukine, Fuko (one of my favorite characters), Misae, Kappei, and Kotomi. In that order.

[Zidan209]

2 hours ago, r0xm2n said:

Ryou (the bad end, got it blindly), Kyou, Yukine, Fuko (one of my favorite characters), Misae, Kappei, and Kotomi. In that order.

It's a better experience when going blind

[Not_At_All]

Finished the first chapter of Danganronpa 3 and I don't think I've ever felt so unsatisfied after a chapter in any of the previous games. A big part of it is unresponsive controls with keyboard and mouse (googling the issue yielded suggestions to try controller, but I don't have one. Maybe someone here had the same issues and managed to fix them?), but the story itself was full of holes. Maybe some of them will be filled later, but I wanted to talk about them now.

 

First of all why no one considered the fact that after the time expired they wouldn't be killed? Monokuma's purpose is obviously the killing game and if he killed them all, his plan would go to hell. Second, the way everyone cared for the murderer and one cared for the victim was kind of weird. The road to hell is paved with good intentions and all that. But the thing that bugged me most, was the murder itself. It all just went so conveniently - the music to cover the noise (wasn't planned), the ball going through the prepared route with no issues and the timing of the ball falling down at the exact time the victim was in the spot of murder. Of course, there are a ton of things that borders belief in Danganronpa, but it was probably the first time it bugged me so much. Maybe it was because I was blinded by love for the games when I was playing the first two games.

Edited December 29, 2017 by Not_At_All

[Mr Poltroon]

2 hours ago, Not_At_All said:

Finished the first chapter of Danganronpa 3 and I don't think I've ever felt so unsatisfied after a chapter in any of the previous games. A big part of it is unresponsive controls with keyboard and mouse (googling the issue yielded suggestions to try controller, but I don't have one. Maybe someone here had the same issues and managed to fix them?), but the story itself was full of holes. Maybe some of them will be filled later, but I wanted to talk about them now.

  Hide contents

First of all why no one considered the fact that after the time expired they wouldn't be killed? Monokuma's purpose is obviously the killing game and if he killed them all, his plan would go to hell. Second, the way everyone cared for the murderer and one cared for the victim was kind of weird. The road to hell is paved with good intentions and all that. But the thing that bugged me most, was the murder itself. It all just went so conveniently - the music to cover the noise (wasn't planned), the ball going through the prepared route with no issues and the timing of the ball falling down at the exact time the victim was in the spot of murder. Of course, there are a ton of things that borders belief in Danganronpa, but it was probably the first time it bugged me so much. Maybe it was because I was blinded by love for the games when I was playing the first two games.

Spoiler

You try not being afraid to die in a similar situation. If somebody with obvious control over your life says you'll die if you don't act, you have a certain leaning toward acting. If anything, the way Kaede's reassurances kept most everyone from acting is praiseworthy. Most, at that point, would give up their life before taking another.

The victim was shady as hell, and this killing was subconsciously deemed a 'necessity' for survival; furthermore, the main suspects were trusted individuals that had helped keep the group going up until then: Kaede and the detective.

 

[Plk_Lesiak]

As the conclusion of my Yuri Game Jam marathon I've just finished reading The Sad Story of Emmeline Burns and while I was probably in a vulnerable mood today, I still didn't expect it to hit me as hard as it did. A beautifully written little VN, with some horribly sad moments but hopeful and touching above anything else - exactly my kind of story. I didn't even mind it being as short as it was, it really used the time well and developed the characters just enough to make their stories impactful. Now I'm just not sure if I should cry some more or try to write something to channel all the feels. :')

Edited December 29, 2017 by Plk_Lesiak

[DharmaFreedom]

Finally , I just started grisaia no meikyuu...I' m so happy! been smiling to myself as i'm reading it.

Starting on makina's after story first, so much nostalgia seeing all these characters again along with the same designs, locations, music and va's. Kajitsu was the second VN I read, and i loved every bit of it. Its really good to be back again. YAY .

[kyrt]

I started Eiyuu Senki a while ago but got distracted by Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and haven't managed to get back to it or any other vn due to poor time management.

[r0xm2n]

Playing unrated version of Grisaia no Rakuen.......

Spoiler

The 2nd part of the 'Angelic Howl' episode is even more brutal then the first part in the original game. Apparently, medical horror is a major weakness of mine....

I can't even finish that scene tonight. I'm probably gonna have nightmares....

[Desert35]

Now that christmas is over I'm finally gonna read chaos;child since I have been waiting for this game for a long time since it came out on PS4!!! Can't wait to see what's going to happen this time in Shibuya!

[akaritan]

On 12/31/2017 at 6:30 AM, r0xm2n said:

Playing unrated version of Grisaia no Rakuen.......

  Reveal hidden contents

The 2nd part of the 'Angelic Howl' episode is even more brutal then the first part in the original game. Apparently, medical horror is a major weakness of mine....

I can't even finish that scene tonight. I'm probably gonna have nightmares....

Spoil me? I'm a little curious, but I don't really want to read more Grisaia.

[bogdankl]

so I  just finished refrain and... wow fucking wow that was one hell of a ride, I did not expect the story to go down like this in the slightest

Spoiler

I can't decide if the fact that no one diededed in the end makes the story better or worse, on one hand I'm glad but on the other it feels like it gives the story less bite like the writers were afraid to kill off characters, honestly I think kyouske should have died in the end saving everyone, even tho I really like him I think they could have given him a fitting badass death

here are a few plotpoints that I would like you guys to answer to me, these are things that I have yet to discover, keep in mind that I finished refrain but I did not do anything else so if the answer is later please don't tell me

Spoiler

1. What happend to rin in the past, it says something about men in suits holding her down but what's that all about

2. What happend to rickis parents, how did they die?

3. Why was kengo in the graveyard in Komaris route when he visited the grave of her brother, also who is Kojiro Kamikita

4. While I get how kurugayas route fits in I don't really see how kud and mio fit into this, I think it would have been somewhat awesome if kud was like haging by a chain in the valley and that would be like the twist but shes in a cave <not really a question more of an observation I guess>

5. Also didn't even meat saya yet so I guess I still have more reading to do

the translation was kind of... hard to follow at times but that may be just because english isn't my first, I didn't see any horrible translation errors but I had to go back at times and reread several lines to get what they were saying

Edited January 2, 2018 by bogdankl

[r0xm2n]

1 hour ago, akaritan said:

Spoil me? I'm a little curious, but I don't really want to read more Grisaia.

The scene in question pretty much counts as a horror scene.

Spoiler

Remember Amane's flashback in the original game? Angelic Howl? Rakuen has 'part 2' of that scene (events after Amane fled the place). It's about as pleasant as you'd expect. So much death, so much people going insane....

 

[Ranzo]

Finished Sweetest Monster and hoo hoo I was not expecting that. It caught me quite off guard.

Overall I liked it and I feel that it accomplished it's goal, which was to make me feel real uncomfortable.

 

Now to move on to something more cheery and play some Swan Song