What are you playing?

[Dreamysyu]

On 1/8/2018 at 6:13 PM, AaronIsCrunchy said:

Just been reading Doki Doki Literature Club

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...and I probably won't finish it, at least not until the winter passes. I didn't go in completely blind - I heard it had a reputation of sorts and I couldn't resist - but I got to the 'second menu' and decided that was probably it for me. Gonna put some heavy spoilers in below.

  Reveal hidden contents

Sayori's death was pretty heavy. I anticipated it, so it wasn't like 'oh my god she actually did it, the total madman', but the music change, the glitching, and importantly the unflinching way that it made you look at her was really kinda affecting - much more than I thought it would be. I didn't sleep all that well last night.

With that in mind, I still want to finish it... sort of. I understand how much work has gone into the second part and some of the ideas, 'Easter eggs' and whatnot sound like they make for fascinating game mechanics - the file rearranging for example sounds amazing in the most terrifying way. And, because I read ahead for this sort of thing, I'm impressed with the degree of foreshadowing that went into part one. But I'm definitely gonna say, the themes explored are absolutely not for this time of year, at least not for me.

Natsuki needs a hug so fucking badly.

 

 

 

Spoiler

Well, I feel your pain. I also had to put down the game for some time after reaching Sayori's death. Makes you realize that the content warning isn't there for nothing. After I reached this part, I seriously started to wonder if my own mental health is as good as I though it to be. Because some of her reasoning felt kind of familiar, I guess.

At the same time, I was slightly disappointed with the part of the game that came after that, but it looks that it's just me.

 

[DharmaFreedom]

Just completed Rakuen, will probably read the after story tomorrow. I really loved the story [all three Vns]. I liked how it developed, how the characters learned and grew and how they struggled and overcame their walls, smashing threw and finding peace with who they were.

The 'way of life' philosophies were beautiful, they were so relatable. The music was fantastic, the cgs were utilised so well, the voice actors gave their characters so much life. I think the writer/s? did such a good job with framing just how important and crucial Asako was to his growth, i really loved their connection. Also loved the sisterhood of the Mihama ladies, that special roles they all played that made their group perfect. Julia's pretty badass too, she had the thankless job of picking of the pieces of "situations" and working through them alone [basically].  There's a lot more i liked about the characters and the VN as a whole, 2 sleepy to write more about it right now .

This was my 40th VN! Yay  .

[Turnip Sensei]

SeaBed is a curious VN. One of my favorite VNs in 2016 and reading it again in English was every bit as wonderful as when I first read it.

SeaBed very unique in a way that doesn't stand out. You could describe it as a psychological mystery, which isn't wrong, but is quite far from what the story sets out to do. Even calling it a Yuri-game feels bit wrong since that makes it seem like the main characters being two women in love is something special, when it just completely normal.

That's what SeaBed is mostly, mundane. It's people living their lives. Reminiscing past vacations, trips around the world, and all the silly stuff they did when they were younger. Dealing with their problems. Feeling sad for the things they've lost and things they can't remember. And continuing to living their lives.
SeaBed is also written in a way that emphasises this. The style is actually really unique, but it's very easy to overlook since everything feels so mundane. The narration is very passive, distant, emotionless. Most everything is described in the same matter of fact manner that lacks the normal emotional elements we usually expect from narration. The characters don't judge what's happening, normal and unnatural, reality and dreams are all taken in as they are. To me reading Seabed felt like reading my old travel diaries. The events and cursory thoughts are there, but the emotions are lacking. Our feelings feel so obvious at the moment that the thought of writing them down doesn't even cross our minds. Yet reading this diary afterwards, and I'm left wondering how I really felt back then. 

It's also lack of dramatisation that makes SeaBed stand out. We don't consider our lives especially special, and don't make huge fuss of the events that may occur. Most of the time we only realise the change afterwards, if there were any in the first place. SeaBed also refuses to make a show out of anything. In SeaBed, an event or piece of information that could be framed as a huge plot-twist in any other VN is dealt with the same normalcy as everything. With the same "I see". 
This kind of "flatness" was very refreshing to me. By refusing the comply with the rules and structure we expect from drama, SeaBed weaves a very relatable, humane, and ultimately very touching story. Slice-of-Life is there to remind that there's joy to be found in mundane, that it too can be special. SeaBed goes step further and shows that mundane is just how thing are, and it's neither good or bad.

 

TLDR; SeaBed is pretty unique and really hard to explain.
And it's definitely not as boring as my ramblings might suggest. There's the mystery which is pretty intriguing and the characters are really good. That said I don't blame anyone for finding the unorthodox writing styling really boring and uninteresting, although I personally really like it. It has this dreamy, kind of hypnotic feeling to it. The non-linearity, slow pace, and the mundaneness of it can also be off-putting to some.

But for those looking for unique experiences, SeaBed can be something special.

And do try the demo. Seeing it for yourself will surely tell more than any of my attempt to express it.

Oh, I guess I should mention that the presentation is really good for doujin VN, and the soundtrack is great and very fitting.          

[r0xm2n]

Near ending part of Mei's route in Clannad, that was really, really heavy for me.

Spoiler

Bullying is something that hits close to home for me. And her utter refusal to stay down was something else.

 

[Plk_Lesiak]

I've finished playing Sakura Dungeon and I'm... Sad.

I mean, not because the game was that bad, exactly because it wasn't. The design on the RPG elements was very clean, it never felt overly grindy or boring. It had a great, relaxing soundtrack. The protagonist was really interesting - I mean, you really don't often see the story from the perspective of a centuries-old fox spirit, it wasn't an obvious choice and made the whole thing much more interesting than what we usually get in this kind of stories. The writing was rather bland and tropy, but it could've been much worse. The obnoxious, everpresent fanservice was obviously there, but I can accept it as a part of the formula, knowing that many people actually enjoy it.

My point is, it's clear to me that Winged Cloud can make decent games. They just don't give a shit, so they don't even try. And, obviously, their audience reinforces this by buying the most absurd crap (200k+ copies sold of Sakura Beach 2, WTF???) - why bother making one Dungeon and try selling it for 20$ when with the same budget you can produce 4-5 short, shitty VNs, sell them 10$ each and make more money...

Edited January 12, 2018 by Plk_Lesiak

[r0xm2n]

Started playing Dal Segno.

So far, we have a holographic AI girl, happiness numbers above everyone, a tsundere who wants to be an imuto, and a goth loli.

This is already the strangest visual novel I've read.....

[BookwormOtaku]

Finished Raziel's route in Tokyo Babel and overall I thought it was pretty good, not great but it had an okay conclusion. About my only moment of disappointment was

Spoiler

when they revealed what "God" looked like. With the way Sorami was describing it, I was expecting some Lovecraftian horror, but when it's revealed it just looks like your typical late game JRPG boss monster, and not really scary looking. If they'd shown us the Ouroborus form instead that would have matched the description  better (and yes, I'm aware why that was saved till later, but still...)

I will say the highlight was the cameo appearance of Mecha-King Ghidorah . Now on to Sorami's route

[ChaosRaven]

4 hours ago, BookwormOtaku said:

Finished Raziel's route in Tokyo Babel and overall I thought it was pretty good, not great but it had an okay conclusion. About my only moment of disappointment was

I know what you mean, but IMHO Ouroborus looks way more like your run of the mill JRPG boss monster than what was actually shown.

Spoiler

I mean 'god' was supposed to be an almighty being and not just a simple combat monster. Though I agree that it could have looked more 'alien' and less like my sound system at home. 

I still found the revelation one of the most epic moments in the VN - the creepy atmosphere was just great.

Edited January 13, 2018 by ChaosRaven

[Toranth]

21 hours ago, Plk_Lesiak said:

My point is, it's clear to me that Winged Cloud can make decent games. They just don't give a shit, so they don't even try. And, obviously, their audience reinforces this by buying the most absurd crap (200k+ copies sold of Sakura Beach 2, WTF???) - why bother making one Dungeon and try selling it for 20$ when with the same budget you can produce 4-5 short, shitty VNs, sell them 10$ each and make more money...

You just described Norn, Miel, Dieselmine, and a half-dozen other successful Japanese studios as well   It works for them, so I'm not surprised someone has taken the same trash-tier slot in the English market.

 

Oh, yeah, gotta stay on topic.  I just finished my first route in Daitoshokan, which I started when the game came out... in May 2013.  At this rate, I may finish the game in a mere 15 or 16 years.

[Ranzo]

So I got the normal ending of Swan Song and I have mixed feelings about it. On one hand I generally liked the story and how fucking bleak it could get I mean god damn. On the other hand it is way to heavy handed at times and has a lot of intolerably slow moments that sometimes drag the story down. I also was not a fan of the visual style of this vn I like sprites and it was weird not having them. One thing I really didn't like was all the times where a character would just regurgitate word vomit at you at random times. It was really annoying being assaulted by these massive walls of text, your character only egging them on for more and more.

I'll get the true ending tomorrow and then move back to NLA I still have glasses girl and teacher lady to get through.

[onorub]

Finished Kara no Shoujo 2. Great story and characters and i thought the true end wrapped things up nicely. My only complaints are that the culprit was a bit too easy to figure out and the Yukiko affection wall in the middle of the game was bullshit.

[littleshogun]

On 1/15/2018 at 1:56 PM, Ranzo said:

I'll get the true ending tomorrow and then move back to NLA I still have glasses girl and teacher lady to get through.

Hope you ready for the former's bad end then.

As for the title, I played Seabed and so far it's quite slowly going and I'm in Chapter 2 right now. Apparently in later chapters the story would be interesting, so I'll keep reading Seabed for now.

[ChaosRaven]

Finally finished Ourai no Gahkthun, and overall it was an enjoyable read, though not without flaws.

What makes this VN really stand out is its unique and mature Steampunk setting. A large academy on a small artificial island, located close to the coast of Marseille in an early 20th century France. Most  characters are already young adults instead of teenagers and the academy resembles more a university than a school. The VN also manages to create the right atmosphere for the right moment. Slice of life scenes have a classic soundtrack that perfectly captures the feeling of a Paris inspired, lifely city, while the darker scenes are backed by an eerie soundtrack. The battle scenes were also surprisingly well done, using animated effects and such, even if some end a bit sudden. They were also not too long which was a huge plus for me.

Although the VN is written from a third person point of view, it uses a rather interesting writing style to create a semi-protagonist feeling when needed. This is done through inner monologues of the characters where they share their feelings and thoughts with the reader, usually in a voiced manner. This is often done for female characters and for Neon in particular.

Story-wise there were lights and shadows. While Tesla was an overall interesting character with some supreme lightning powers, you don't really get to know a lot about him, even to the end. He just comes to the academy as a transfer student and rescues Neon from a near-slavery fate. Together they oppose the members of the student council who use some kind of demonic bell to gain special powers - also called arts in the VN. Most chapters then showcase a conflict with one of the members of the student council, though not all of them. And so you get to know that not all of the members are just bad guys and that there's more than meets the eye.

While the VN does a marvelous job in setting up a believable Steampunk world and creating the right atmosphere for it, its biggest flaw is certainly the story-flow and character development. To use a somewhat accurate comparison, I guess most people remember the infamous Windows progress bar and when it sometimes gets stuck at about ~X% for minutes, just to suddenly jump to the end in a second. And here it's pretty much the same. While in most chapters you get to know a certain side character better, this is usually not the case for Tesla or Neon and their relationship gets stuck very soon. The chapters are also very independent from each other, to a point that the order doesn't really matter. Usually chapters should build up on each other to create a homogenous story flow, but this isn't really the case here.

But in the last chapter the VN suddenly turns up to light speed story development and literally every story and character development you can image is squished in there. It goes without saying that this didn't work out without some sacrifices in the form of abyssal size plot holes like...

Spoiler

Tesla apparently having killed Neons family without any info why, Neon forgiving him for that without any info why, everyone suddenly remembering that they were part of a big happy fucking family without any info why, everyone suddenly teaming up without any info why, etc.

So yeah, there were quite some questionmarks at the end. For that reason I find it difficult to really call this a story VN. I'd call it more a slice of life VN with a unique setting and actually entertaining slice of life since in every chapter there's new stuff happening with new CG's and sometimes even new characters. It was also somewhat interesting to see an unavoidable tentacle rape scene in a Steam VN. Granted, it was pretty tame, but WTF. 

So, since I overall still enjoyed the VN and liked most of the characters, I decided to call this a good slife of life VN instead of a bad story VN, so my final rating is 7.5/10. 

And yeah, I managed to finish a dreadful boring Mihiro route in Wagamama Highspec in about 3 months of time - I'm so proud of me. 

Still want to try Ashe's route, but I think I'll pass on the other ones.

Edited January 16, 2018 by ChaosRaven

[Turnip Sensei]

3 minutes ago, ChaosRaven said:

 

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Tesla apparently having killed Neons family without any info why, Neon forgiving him for that without any info why, everyone suddenly remembering that they were part of a big happy fucking family without any info why, everyone suddenly teaming up without any info why, etc.

 

Spoiler

It's not actually Tesla who Killed Neon's family, but the Society, because they wanted to get rid of Tesla by severing his final ties to the world. Tesla just feel responsible for all this because he failed to protect Neon's family, so in his own mind he "indirectly" killed them.
It's not very clearly pointed out and Tesla's personality being what it is, it comes out pretty ambiguously and is pretty easy to miss 

But glad you liked Gahkthun overall.

I like the series especially because of the character focus and more subtle character development. The inner dialog tell so much about the characters even without explicitly stating anything, but it's not for everyone. And this style is definitely not perfect and doesn't work with every character, but despite all the flaws Sakurai is still to writer that manages to consistently come up with utterly fascinating characters. 

[Fred the Barber]

On 1/16/2018 at 1:21 PM, ChaosRaven said:

 

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Tesla apparently having killed Neons family without any info why, Neon forgiving him for that without any info why, everyone suddenly remembering that they were part of a big happy fucking family without any info why, everyone suddenly teaming up without any info why, etc.

 

Spoiler

Either I'm confused here, or you are. More likely me, but I'll put this out there anyway.

As I recall it, Neon's family was hunted down because of their connection to Tesla (they supported him, which gives him power), and so he considered himself responsible for their deaths.

The rest of it was also related that, or at least so I thought. Everybody on the island was gathered there in the first place because of their connection to Tesla. It was all a grand plot to lure him in and kill him.

Or something? But it's been a while since I played it, so maybe I'm completely wrong on some/all of that. Or, alternatively, maybe I'm right about some/all of that and you understand it, but I'm not fully understanding the nature of what you're unhappy with?

FWIW, I agree a lot of the stuff you're talking about feels pretty fuzzy. I don't recall having any problems with the points you're raising, but I have unspeakably strong suspension of disbelief, so it's not uncommon for me to say "man, what a great story" about things where every other person on the planet would say "god, that whole ending was just a massive ass-pull", so I've learned not to take my being okay with a plot as a sign that it's actually okay. So, yeah, I'm definitely not trying to argue or anything, just trying to understand/clarify.

[WinterfuryZX]

On ‎16‎/‎01‎/‎2018 at 10:21 PM, ChaosRaven said:

Tesla apparently having killed Neons family without any info why

I don't remember very well in detail but he was only an indirect cause of their Death, he wasn't the actual killer.

[ChaosRaven]

16 hours ago, Fred the Barber said:

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As I recall it, Neon's family was hunted down because of their connection to Tesla (they supported him, which gives him power), and so he considered himself responsible for their deaths.

The rest of it was also related that, or at least so I thought. Everybody on the island was gathered there in the first place because of their connection to Tesla. It was all a grand plot to lure him in and kill him.

 

Spoiler

I think Tesla wasn't just saying that Neon's family was killed because of him, he said he (himself) had killed them. While it was more or less clear at the end that the main villain was behind all that, I thought Tesla was manipulated to kill Neon's family and that's why he said it that way. I mean otherwise 'playing drama-queen' wouldn't even begin to describe Tesla's statements. Instead of just clarifying the situation, he just sent her straight into crisis and confusion and then went away - that was pretty much the most ruthless and ignorant thing he could do. And it's unclear what Neon exactly remembered about the events later on. I missed a clarifying conversation between Tesla and Neon about those things (and many others), but the only thing that came was she forgiving him and confessing her love. The rest was more or less open to interpretation.

It wasn't so clear to me that it was a grand plot to lure Tesla to the academy, but I guess considering the events that happened and all of the council members being involved with Neon and Tesla, it's what makes the most sense. But yeah, a few more clarifications wouldn't have hurt.

 

Edited January 18, 2018 by ChaosRaven

[kyrt]

I just began Sorcery Jokers...with my vn/game completion status these days I'll be lucky to actually complete it.

[Fred the Barber]

7 hours ago, ChaosRaven said:

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I think Tesla wasn't just saying that Neon's family was killed because of him, he said he (himself) had killed them. While it was more or less clear at the end that the main villain was behind all that, I thought Tesla was manipulated to kill Neon's family and that's why he said it that way. I mean otherwise 'playing drama-queen' wouldn't even begin to describe Tesla's statements. Instead of just clarifying the situation, he just sent her straight into crisis and confusion and then went away - that was pretty much the most ruthless and ignorant thing he could do. And it's unclear what Neon exactly remembered about the events later on. I missed a clarifying conversation between Tesla and Neon about those things (and many others), but the only thing that came was she forgiving him and confessing her love. The rest was more or less open to interpretation.

It wasn't so clear to me that it was a grand plot to lure Tesla to the academy, but I guess considering the events that happened and all of the council members being involved with Neon and Tesla, it's what makes the most sense. But yeah, a few more clarifications wouldn't have hurt.

 

Spoiler

He definitely said he killed them, but I'm rather certain that what actually happened is that the bad dude had Neon's family killed because of Tesla. Because Tesla's a special kind of idiot, he held himself directly responsible for their deaths, and thus, from his viewpoint, he might as well have killed them. Saying "I killed them" was, indeed, him being a ridiculous drama queen, but those two things (being ridiculously hard on himself, and being a little crazy in the way he talks to people) are just who he is, and, yeah, it led to the only part of the game I don't like, where people are confused and unhappy over a simple misunderstanding. Worst anime trope ever. But the rest of the game is great!

 

[littleshogun]

Still in Seabed, and after reading it through slice of life parts which boring for some people, it started to get interesting with Sachiko's new friend become very agressive. That said, I just go through 4 out of 12 chapters though - and at the beginning of Chapter 5, so it's still a long way to finished Seabed. Oh, and so far I'd have fun reading this.

[Ranzo]

So I managed to get the true end to Swan Song and it was a bit jarring how tonally different it was to the normal ending.
 

Spoiler

 

While the normal ending was super dark and bleak the true end was positive and slightly hopeful. The characters basically make all the right moves and manage to avoid a lot of the dumb decisions that they made in the normal route. It would have been nice if we had learned more about the extent of the earthquake damage and why there was no immediate response to the disaster. It gets sort of addressed but not in a way that really satisfied me.

 

[bogdankl]

after months of reading I finally finished little busters <and no I don't have any intention of doing masatos route>

I gotta say this was one of the best visual novels I have ever read, very good mystery, interesting unusual story, great characters and to my surprise the additional routes were integrated in a really cleaver way into the overall story, really like sasegawas route and it threw a really good twist into a already established ideea, kana's route was amazing and the ending I taught was fantastic altho a bit confusing, at first I didn't really like sayas route but when I hit the replay section and the story started to unravel both saya and her route gained a lot of points in my eyes and I really started to like her <the ending sucked btw, I knew from the moment you find out sayas story at the middle of the route how this would end but the ending still sucked>

the only real route that I hate was kamikitas, it was more or less worthless and didn't add anything to the main story or any hints like the other routealso

It would have been nice to get an ending to kurugayas route that didn't suck, considering how much asspulling the writers did on some ocasions I'm kinda bummed out at how sad both of kurugayas endings were

Spoiler

I don't like the whole time machine twist in sayas route, If she would have died in the end that would have been a really depressing, sad and heartbreaking ending but at least It would have fit into the story, also why does she know riki? why is that just thrown there at the end? why is it that this was never mentioned before? it just feels like the end of this was pulled right out of the writers ass

 

also I don't get it after they return to the real world do they keep their memories<cuz it didn't feel like it at the end of refrain>? at the end of kana's route haruka clearly remembers but does kana too? kana shouldn't remember cuz she wasn't on of the creators of the world right? or is this the harem ending and riki gets to have 2 redheads cuz in that case im supper jelly

 

also probably a translation error when rin said she was held down by people when she was little, probably referring to the end of rin2, kyouskes sin I still don't know, I think he might have pushed rin to early to see the reality and that's why she broke but im pretty sure she broke down because of the end of rin2 but then kyouske didn't have anything to do with that it was just riki being a dumbass and aaaaaah this is giving me a headache

 

also confues as to why in kuds route she was refered to as a fake, I think she was used as fuel for this world but then why is kud the only one who's used as fuel? and why is riki trapped in the ether at the end of kurugayas route?

overall this is a must read in my opinion for anyone who is interested in visual novels

also im missing 7 achievements on steam and like 3 cgs but I just can't be bothered <pretty sure i get the cgs by doing idiot riki and sayas ecstasy mode>

now if you will excuse me I just discovered that there is a little busters wiki so ima gonna get me sum answers

Edited January 21, 2018 by bogdankl

[Stormwolf]

Started reading saya no uta. Holy shit how screwed up and exciting it is. 

[Ranzo]

Finished VA-11 HALL-A finally after having put it on the back burner for quite a while. Overall, I really loved it! I enjoyed the setting, characters, music etc.

My favorite song was Synthestitch I think I listened to that song the most.

The only quibble with the game I had was

Spoiler

I would have liked to have found out what happened to the bar. Did it get ultimately shut down or what? Also I kind of wish that Jill and Dana had gotten together.

 

[Stormwolf]

Just finished Saya no Uta. Extremely good vn which had me hooked from beginning to the end.

Spoiler

 

I would have liked for them to touch a bit more on what makes Fuminori see what he sees. I guess his hallucinations were of the macabre appearance of his parents during the accident, but it wasn't stated. 

The constant perspective change was a bit annoying but not too bad.

The fact that we never saw Saya's true form was a true disappointment though.

I would have loved less open endings. The true ending was way too open. Fulfilling his final wish makes it sound like she was going to die, but things doesn't seem right for that. Fuminari isn't distressed and the "last gift" thing may be simply because she doesn't need to fulfill anymore wishes due to her changing the world. Simply put, way too open for my tastes.

 

 

Next up is Hanachirasu

Edited January 23, 2018 by Stormwolf