What are you playing?

[Larxe1]

https://vndb.org/v29402#main

Reading Glass Hime to Kagami no Juusha. My playthroughs of VN's are usually ruined by reading bad reviews. I read VN's with the inherent bias that it might be bad due to reviews and well in some cases I enjoyed it a lot more than what the reviewers seemed to suggest. So I went in totally blind and just looked for a random VN from Giga that was recently released and like had only 10 votes on vndb. Unexpectedly, I really liked it. I'm only a few hours in and usually I could tell if it is some cliched crap that is done bad but this VN had everything I could ask for from a random charage VN. It had all of the VA's I loved, mostly Tsukino Kiiro. She's a god at her calm and soothing voice. While the setting seemed average, it is done well and thats enough for me I'm not expecting something like White Album. 

.

[Stormwolf]

Well that cover looks like everything else. I'd not give it a second glance if i had no prior knowledge.

Im reading muv-luv extra and i really enjoy it. I love that it isnt taking itself very seriously and is just about good humor and fun. A bit in the vein of majikoi. Humour in newer stories got nothing on this. My one complain would be character art. Most are fine but some are... just plain weird looking.

[Larxe1]

 

On 2/11/2021 at 7:55 PM, Larxe1 said:

https://vndb.org/v29402#main

Reading Glass Hime to Kagami no Juusha. My playthroughs of VN's are usually ruined by reading bad reviews. I read VN's with the inherent bias that it might be bad due to reviews and well in some cases I enjoyed it a lot more than what the reviewers seemed to suggest. So I went in totally blind and just looked for a random VN from Giga that was recently released and like had only 10 votes on vndb. Unexpectedly, I really liked it. I'm only a few hours in and usually I could tell if it is some cliched crap that is done bad but this VN had everything I could ask for from a random charage VN. It had all of the VA's I loved, mostly Tsukino Kiiro. She's a god at her calm and soothing voice. While the setting seemed average, it is done well and thats enough for me I'm not expecting something like White Album. 

.

When I like something and I'm bored, I read really fast and in long bursts so I usually finish medium length games in a few days and by finish I mean certain routes only. I only tried the route of Orihime, and I didn't even expect to like her. My mind was set on Bernadette, the obvious main girl and in which the common route spends a lot of time on her own monologues. I seriously really liked her personality, although the way she were set-up with the MC is a trope I really don't like which is the "I met this hot girl one time when I was a child and I played with her and I promised *insert a promise that makes the girl blush and will never forget*" It feels really cheap for me as seriously ONE OF THE BEST PARTS OF THE VN FOR ME IS WHEN THE HEROINE AND THE MC FALL IN LOVE WITH EACH OTHER and if it is predetermined at the start without the reader it feels rather cheap and forced, which is sad as I really liked Bernadette's character which is the strong and capable heroine being cool in the outside but inside and personally is extremely cute, gap moe is real. 

Since the VNDB doesn't have a synopsis, I'll provide one. MC is in one of those families that has lineages that exist to serve the royalty in which they are the butlers, maids, etc. He meets this blond royalty girl who is crying, and he plays with her a short while and the girl's bodyguards take the MC away thinking he was a bad person or some shit, and while being taken away he promises to be by her side and if you read VN's a lot, its pretty easy to know where this is going. Seriously, why the fuck you keep a life-changing promise to a girl you met for only a while lol, is it because she's hot?  Yes I really don't like this kind of settings but that aside the VN is actually a pretty good read considering I read a lot of charages and I drop them like flies. 

I'll discuss the good things about it that I seriously want to see a lot in VN's. This is very big for me and which is having a good side male character, one that actually the writer respects and doesn't make a constant joke of. Instead of having a best friend character that is a total bro, the VN has you have a male friend that takes on a mentor role to the MC and its a good variation on the trope as he is actually capable and isn't a total musclehead as his looks seem to imply, although he does muscle his way a lot. 

Second, it's actually having a world that moves on its own, rather than having the MC be the kickstarter of literally all events. For example, On the Orihime route, while Orihime was the focus, all events were not centered around her, a non-spoilery event that happened is the revelation that two friends of the MC became real good friends enough to reveal their secrets to one another without the MC, so it implies that they actually do something and have a life without the MC and I actually like that instead of having the MC having to do everything. Also, the presence of smart characters particularly, Orihime and Ella which is the sister of Bernadette, have you guessing what their motives are every time, but particularly its usually Ella you have to be wary around as she is pulling the string out of everything. She pretty much used the MC cleverly for her own gains and that's a plus, too bad she is a side character, she deserved a route. I guess smart characters and intrigue is a staple to this kind of setting which is an academy centered around nobles but it's not given much focus but when it's talked about it's a topic treated with respect. 

Third, I would normally give this a 8 but Orihime's route elevates it for me since I actually liked this kind of romantic development. Orihime is an ojou-san character that is a game otaku with a group of friends that attend to her and they all do it willingly since she has some good charisma. She talks rather in a archaic japanese which unnecessarily made the reading difficulty harder for me but she speaks in a normal way with other classmates. Orihime only had a low level of attraction towards the MC and the MC too likewise. They just tried each other out by hanging out and dating and that feels rather real to me instead of confessing and reaching max 100% love but rather a slow gradual attraction that explodes to real love. Orihime's conflict at the start pissed me off which is the point of it since it points out her immaturity. In the date, she has her circle of loyal otaku gamer friends/servants to act out a hostage situation and to see if the MC will save her first instead of the other hostages, and it pissed the MC off. It actually made sense from Orihime's perspective as while she may be incredibly smart, she is immature and treats everything as a game and has never had anyone really angry at her before so the MC got pissed at bam, Orihime tries to change and its the explosion that started off their love. 

And thats why I gave it an 8.5, other VN's should really just execute their tropes better.

Also I checked the writer out and its insane for me he also wrote Doshikuro which is like long ass vn dedicated to long hair fetishes and parallel worlds . Didn't expect to write something long but its more of a rant on the things I like to see in VN's rather than the VN itself lol

 

[belleadel]

I didn't quite "play" them but I did a lot of research on Aeon Dream Studios games for a video I made -- AKA Mystic Destinies (Serendipity of Aeons/Echoes, pretty well-known fantasy otome games) and To The Edge of the Sky (was originally a BTS fan game until they got a cease and desist). 

You have to admit...even with the ridiculousness that is that company (don't even get me started) their games were/are pretty dang good. It's a shame lol

[adamstan]

Yesterday I finished first route in Himawari no Kyoukai to Nagai Natsuyasumi -extra vacation-. It was Daiya's route. While it's rather tropey ojou-sama story, I enjoyed it very much - it executed its tropes well enough . Daiya herself is cute , and actually the whole cast - including Yousuke, the protagonist - is very likeable. I had no problems to connect with them right from the start. If this route is indeed - like the rumors say - the weakest one, then I think I'm in for a treat and perhaps I've found another charage gem? I'm really liking the overall atmosphere of this VN. It's similar feeling to my other most-liked charages like Konosora, Princess Evangile and some others - it's just nice to be there and spend time with characters

On 2/13/2021 at 1:46 PM, Larxe1 said:

having a good side male character, one that actually the writer respects and doesn't make a constant joke of. Instead of having a best friend character that is a total bro, the VN has you have a male friend that takes on a mentor role to the MC and its a good variation on the trope as he is actually capable and isn't a total musclehead as his looks seem to imply, although he does muscle his way a lot. 

Mentor-like male side characters? Funny coincidence - I think that Father Arakawa from Himanatsu also fits the bill. Well, he's more like.. um... father figure for protagonist At first encounter he seems a bit silly with his crazy strength and devotion to martial arts (although you can also sense kind of friendship between him and Yousuke right from the start), but he offers good advice and support here and there, and it's obvious that he really cares about Yousuke and his group. Yousuke also mentions that he learned a lot from him.

I'm looking forward to the remaining routes . (And it also looks like I should expect some mood shift, since apparently the route I've just read is an odd one )

I also, as usual, did quick comparison with adult version for this route. I didn't like neither h-scenes placement nor HCGs themselves I'm sticking with PS3 version, especially since it offers additional route for Tsukiko. Console version has +17 rating. It removes sex scenes, leaving just kissing scenes. But it doesn't shy away completely from the sexual themes - for example, during some makeout/kissing scenes protagonist mentions something like "let's stop for now, or I won't be able to control myself", and during bath scene Daiya notices his boner after she washed his back. The difference is that they get embarassed and just enter the bath instead of proceeding to fuck And well - they also spend the night together in protagonist's bed, so there's some food for imagination  I liked it better that way, and I think that it fts the particular setting of this VN more.

Edited February 15, 2021 by adamstan

[fuyopon]

[Majikoi]

I forgot to update y'all on Moro's route! 

Fortunately, I still remember everything~

Spoiler

This route was fine! Of course it wasn't as developed as the heroine's, but the struggles Moro goes through hit close to home. I never worked in any game but those confidence and self-worth issues... BOY, do I know them. Maybe that's why I liked this route so much. Right now, I do have my close friends who help me see I'm also worth of happiness and that they like me for who I am, but I did understand where Moro was coming from. The only thing that felt a bit meh was the rushed resolution: he just accepted it and got better way too quickly. Then again, this is a sub route and is (sadly) not as developed as the main ones.

And now, time for Gakuto's! 

[Stormwolf]

Muv Luv Alternative

Spoiler

 

It's been a bit of a mixed experience so far. I'm at the rebellion part of Alternative, but atm i must say i enjoyed Unlimited more. I dunno why. Takeru was in this unfamiliar place with these people he knew and had to work his was up. It was very enjoyable to see familiar struggles in a military setting. I can relate. Alternative is decently written with a few minor holes. Like how he didn't retain his age after going back in time but retained his muscles........... That one was pretty stupid i think. Now In Alternative Takeru started very strong, but.... It feels he's being slowly reduced to a plot device. He rarely has anything worthwhile to say and when he does say something it doesn't amount to much. Mostly he rambles about humanity needing to stick together regardless whats being discussed......  Wasn't this half the point? That with his prior experience in Ultimate he'll now be a few steps above and being able to make changes? This focus just vanished and it felt like we were back to the Unlimited dynamic again where Takeru just follows the girls whims or witnesses things without really having anything worthwhile to say or do. This is a mistake. If Takeru's supposed to be a leader then he needs to be both impressive, having a flexible mind and have the girls (subordinates) respect. Outside the good old VN dynamics of forced plotlove etc he doesn't really seem respected nor very mentally flexible at this point in time.  He is strong and capable though. Also change those god damned suits for the girls already. Rest of the female cast have painted breastplates, why would our cast have everything on full display? Absolute idiocy. Yes, this part right there is something i pretty much hate about Unlimited and Alternative. Less serious reason: my girls are not fap material for the guys on the base. More serious reason: It's unrealistic and makes such a serious and epic story that much more hard to take seriously. Think about when the girls argued seriously with their tits on display... Yeah....

As far as i can tell, this is a different Takeru than you played in Extra. It's the same of course, but more a copy. Self explanatory i think since there can be multiple Takeru's in the same place. Why? Well, it seems like the Extra world moves ahead at a normal pace without player Takeru in it.. Meaning? It has another Takeru in it.  Now i'm probably just in the beginning still in Alternative, but that's just an early impression. Things might change later on! But as of now regardless of what happens in Ultimate you can probably treat Extra endings as canon endings also. Now i might have to swallow these words later

I do expect this to change though, but i did hope Alternative kept the pace up a bit better than this after all the hype.

This probably looks like i dislike it, but far from it. It's highly enjoyable.  But like all things in life, it's easier to discuss or put words on negatives than positives as positives are taken for granted and forgotten unless it's extraordinarily good, but negatives tend to linger and grate.

 

 

Edited February 17, 2021 by Stormwolf

[Dreamysyu]

[fuyopon]

[Majikoi]

Aaaand I just finished Shouichi/Capt's route! 

Spoiler

 

Man, I really like his childish nature~ It's really refreshing to see a guy who isn't horny on main, ESPECIALLY in Majikoi lol

My sadistic side was expecting to see Capt more distraught by that conversation with Hideo but oh well! I really liked the ideia of drawing that panoramic map, it was lovely  It felt a little dragged at times but it wasn't a bad time.

 

So far, the one I enjoyed the most is Moro's (amongst the sub routes I've played so far - which are the bros') tho.

----------

Well, next ones are Chika, Mayo and Kojima-sensei!   LET'S GOOOOO--!

[Stormwolf]

Ok, i just read that infamous scene in Muv Luv Alternate.

Spoiler

 

And yeahhhh... That was Muv Luv NTR rape special. How do i know? well the vn doesn't seem to have anything vanilla and it totally wasn't needed. Like at all. Protecting Takerou and the fact that he was eaten by the beta and she reduced to a brain after mind probing and torture by being kept alive when her bodyparts were stripped away would have totally been sufficient for the drama of pushing him away to get him out of harms way in that current segment of the story. Not that they particularly needed any of this drama in the first place. Otherwise the fact that they put too much emphasis on fetishizing it. Like nipple insertion, tentacles, pee/poo draining(?) exhibition (well, she said she'd like it), thrusting her own hips, forgetting all about Takerou.. all these standard faire rape turned to pleasure things. Japanese people are truly fucked in the head, sorry to say. This stuff is all too common in japanese media.  But that's not all. All this was said in a way to make takerou (for the benefit of the reader) feel as terrible as possible by detailing everything to the smallest detail. What happens afterwards? Takerou is not even shocked, he just moves past it... See? they just wanted to insert such a scene for no good reason. NO CHANCE would Takerou not be shocked entirely speechless. he's not very emotionally stable yet in this story and was shown that of what he calls his second half. His love since he was a kid, but didn't really seem to care much. He'd be utterly speechless and conflicted and she'd likely have to leave due to his silence in shock until he could figure out how to deal with it and get past it over time before he could reearn her trust. But not if it's a scene put there simply for some other reason, because then he's suddenly the most robotic human ever. Yes, every single person on this planet would have been shocked into silence after seeing their loved one in such a situation. Unless they're a psycopath of course.

Beta doesn't see humans as lifeforms, yet instead of brutal murder by animalistic monsters they suddenly want to to figure out how to pleasure them. as best as they can.. Jesus christ And no, i'm fairly desensitized to NTR at this point so it doesn't matter much, but i call bullshit when i see it.

It is sad that they shat on the main heroine in such a serious and good visual novel though. I'm sure it was a major risk for them, so why not go a more...... What's to be expected type of scenario. And that is figuring out how the brain and nerveous system works quite obviously by probing their brains, not fucking them raw for however long xD

If i were a betting man this was a scene shoehorned into the VN pretty late in the development by some weird ass boss.

Oops. guess there was a normal h scene too. Was told there wasn't really. Pretty weird

 

 

Edited February 20, 2021 by Stormwolf

[Seraphim]

I've heard many people say that that particular scene is so traumatizing and horrible, but it honestly didn't have nearly that big an impact on me. Is it a lot worse in the 18+ version of the game? Back when I read the VN, the 18+ patch didn't exist yet (it wasn't released until almost a year after the game), so all I know is the censored version.
"That other scene" earlier in the VN affected me to a much greater degree, to the point where it actually triggered a panic attack. (I assume that's the kind of effect they were hoping for when they wrote it.) MLA is the only piece of media ever that has managed to do that to me.

[Stormwolf]

3 hours ago, Seraphim said:

I've heard many people say that that particular scene is so traumatizing and horrible, but it honestly didn't have nearly that big an impact on me. Is it a lot worse in the 18+ version of the game? Back when I read the VN, the 18+ patch didn't exist yet (it wasn't released until almost a year after the game), so all I know is the censored version.
"That other scene" earlier in the VN affected me to a much greater degree, to the point where it actually triggered a panic attack. (I assume that's the kind of effect they were hoping for when they wrote it.) MLA is the only piece of media ever that has managed to do that to me.

Spoiler

I bet you're talking about their teacher when her head is crushed. Hmm, i was shocked to be sure as it was a huge not so nice surprise... and had a long stare at it for a few mins to collect my thoughts. At the end i found it a bit of a forced shock factor. I was sad of course since i love that character, but her death felt a bit forced so the impact wasn't big. I still miss her

 

[Seraphim]

Yeah, that's the one.

Spoiler

She's one of my favorite characters, and that definitely served to increase the impact that scene had on me. As horrible as it was though, I actually feel like it added depth to the game in the way that it makes the player potentially suffer some PTSD symptoms themselves just as Takeru did. It somehow made it more realistic and relatable, despite all the ridiculous stuff going on in the story.

 

[BackMode]

9 hours ago, Seraphim said:

I've heard many people say that that particular scene is so traumatizing and horrible, but it honestly didn't have nearly that big an impact on me. Is it a lot worse in the 18+ version of the game? Back when I read the VN, the 18+ patch didn't exist yet (it wasn't released until almost a year after the game), so all I know is the censored version.
"That other scene" earlier in the VN affected me to a much greater degree, to the point where it actually triggered a panic attack. (I assume that's the kind of effect they were hoping for when they wrote it.) MLA is the only piece of media ever that has managed to do that to me.

The best way to know is by looking at the CG I guess

Spoiler

What did you see in the censored version? The scene was pretty harsh and brutal so I cannot imagine what they displayed instead

 

[Seraphim]

48 minutes ago, TheMode911 said:

 

  Hide contents

What did you see in the censored version? The scene was pretty harsh and brutal so I cannot imagine what they displayed instead

 

I honestly don't even remember any specific details. I guess that in itself is proof that it impacted me far less than that other scene, which I can clearly recall to this day despite the fact that this happened several years ago.
I've been intending to reread MLA at some point, and I'll make sure to use the 18+ patch this time around to see what it's like then.

Edited February 21, 2021 by Seraphim

[Stormwolf]

Spoiler

 

Poor Takerou. All this crap he's been trough and no one respects him one bit. This scene stuck out. Meya was pleading in her stoic way for the imperial robot she was gifted by her sister the shogun. Takerou tried speakig up to help her but Meya silenced him immediately. Right after Chizuru starts doing the same, but Meya let's her speak. Not to mention that he has a phoney rank which no one cares about (even disrespects him during combat) and no scene after he received it has given us the "he sure ranked up" feeling im sure many wished to see. If he never received the rank then no one would notice a difference. 

So come on Takerou, grow a spine. It's a downwards spiral once women starts disrespecting you

 

 

[Seraphim]

Finished World End Syndrome a few moments ago. I'm a big mystery fan, but I ruined the experience for myself here to some extent by unintentionally spoiling myself.
 

Spoiler

See, the thing is that I have this habit of, in games with nameless protagonists (such as Persona), look up if there's a canon name for him or her. As such, I googled "<game title> protagonist name" as I usually do and was immediately met by the name "Sora Otonashi". The game had a limit of 6 letters per name though, so I settled for "Sora Otona" instead.
Unfortunately, I soon realized, basically right at the start of the game, that this name was in fact a huge spoiler, as I was introduced to a certain "Yukino Otonashi". It didn't take a lot of brain power to deduce that this was most likely the supposedly dead sister of the protagonist. Suffice to say, this made the whole reveal at the end of the game quite anticlimactic.
Not only that, but the game apparently wasn't expecting anyone to name the protagonist "Sora" from the getgo, because there was a bunch of dialogue towards the end about how "Sora's" name was "Sora", not "Sora". This made it all seem more like some sort of comedy skit rather than the serious scene it was supposed to be, and the same goes for the grand reveal of Sora's name itself.







Yeah.

Anyway, despite this and the cliffhanger-ish ending, I found the VN quite enjoyable as a whole, and I'm looking forward to see what they do with the sequel.

Edited February 27, 2021 by Seraphim

[fuyopon]

[Majikoi]

Alright, next week is Agave time!  Anyways, this week I finished reading the female sub routes.

Chika (5/10)

I've never had a big opinion abt her; she always seemed a bit superficial and fakey for me. In some routes, she can be a handful, too...

Spoiler

Ok, this was pretty weak. Sure, it was kinda sweet (pun intended) and all, but it was very mid, compared to the others... Even Kojima's was better! I guess Chika is just so plain and superficial compared to the other heroines that it ends up being rather underwhelming. I thought the part in which she would tell him how to be and how to dress would create more drama but it seems it didn't, huh.

Mayo (5/10)

My feelings for her are the same ones I have for Chika: meh. She wasn't very interesting and her only feature was being a loli.

Spoiler

 

Oh, and she has a poor family. I don't really mind that, but they could have developed that a little more in her own route, ffs.

I feel like this was really not necessary. I know, I know: it was probably made to appeal to the lolicons buying this game, but seriously! They could have made a better job - but that would require a longer route.

 

Kojima-sensei (6/10)

I find her an interesting character, for sure. At first, I wasn't sure how she'd fit with Yamato, but her route was rather cute.

Spoiler

Other than that cute parts, this route was pretty meh. I found her moments with Yamato pretty adorable and I really liked that side of her but I HATED how Yamato just raped her and there were no consequences... but I guess that's just old eroge logic. No, what I rly disliked was how prematurely the route ended. I understand if you don't want to focus so much on her because she isn't that important, but then why make a route for her in the first place? Just to see an h-scene and a "happy ending"? 'K then. I noticed this was pretty much the problem with all these sub routes, girls or not. I guess that's why they are called sub routes in the first place...

I'm so excited to read Agave!! Everyone says it's the best part of the entire vn, so I hope it does live up to my expectations! 

[adamstan]

6 hours ago, Seraphim said:

Finished World End Syndrome a few moments ago. I'm a big mystery fan, but I ruined the experience for myself here to some extent by unintentionally spoiling myself.
 

  Reveal hidden contents

See, the thing is that I have this habit of, in games with nameless protagonists (such as Persona), look up if there's a canon name for him or her. As such, I googled "<game title> protagonist name" as I usually do and was immediately met by the name "Sora Otonashi". The game had a limit of 6 letters per name though, so I settled for "Sora Otona" instead.
Unfortunately, I soon realized, basically right at the start of the game, that this name was in fact a huge spoiler, as I was introduced to a certain "Yukino Otonashi". It didn't take a lot of brain power to deduce that this was most likely the supposedly dead sister of the protagonist. Suffice to say, this made the whole reveal at the end of the game quite anticlimactic.
Not only that, but the game apparently wasn't expecting anyone to name the protagonist "Sora" from the getgo, because there was a bunch of dialogue towards the end about how "Sora's" name was "Sora", not "Sora". This made it all seem more like some sort of comedy skit rather than the serious scene it was supposed to be, and the same goes for the grand reveal of Sora's name itself.







Yeah.

Anyway, despite this and the cliffhanger-ish ending, I found the VN quite enjoyable as a whole, and I'm looking forward to see what they do with the sequel.

Congratulations, you played yourself

But, jokes aside, I'm also looking forward to the sequel Luckily, for this VN I managed to go spoiler-free. BTW I think that weird character limit for protagonist's name is there because developers couldn't be bothered to properly adapt the system from the Japanese version for English release - in Japanese number of characters would be enough for almost any possible name, when writing in kanji.

BTW I have to ask - if I enjoyed this VN, would I be okay with Higurashi? (I'm almost 100% sure that Subahibi is a no-go for me, but Higurashi doesn't seem so fucked-up based on reviews)

 

  

4 hours ago, Fujoneko said:

Agave!! Everyone says it's the best part of the entire vn

Yes it is, no doubts about it

 

Edited February 28, 2021 by adamstan

[Seraphim]

6 hours ago, adamstan said:

BTW I think that weird character limit for protagonist's name is there because developers couldn't be bothered to properly adapt the system from the Japanese version for English release - in Japanese number of characters would be enough for almost any possible name, when writing in kanji.

Yeah, that's what I figured as well. It'd be pretty weird to implement such a limit otherwise, when most of the other characters have names that are longer than that.
 

6 hours ago, adamstan said:

if I enjoyed this VN, would I be okay with Higurashi?

Hard to say since I don't know quite how sensitive you are or what type of content affects you most. I found Higurashi a lot less disturbing than SubaHibi, but it's definitely a few shades darker and more impactful than World End Syndrome. In any case, I highly recommend you give it a try, because it's quite a ride if you're up for it! Just remember to grab the 07th-Mod.

[adamstan]

On 2/28/2021 at 8:33 AM, Seraphim said:

Hard to say since I don't know quite how sensitive you are or what type of content affects you most. I found Higurashi a lot less disturbing than SubaHibi, but it's definitely a few shades darker and more impactful than World End Syndrome.

Hmm... apart from fucked-up h-content, I guess I'm also not good with too depressing mindfuck stuff, like death games etc. (Those two combined rule out things like Euphoria ) To give an example - I know that it's rather mild (and I think a talked about it once here), but I got severely disturbed by watching "The Cube" in the highschool (I think I was 16 back then). Not because of the gory bits, but more because back then I found the overall message kind of depressing.

Mystery, violence etc are all fine, as long as it doesn't all spiral down into "All people are monsters, world is fucked-up beyond repair, no hope, no future, no love and it's best to die anyway" kind of stuff Basically - no hard utsuge please.

It's just that after reading WES and finding out that I enjoyed its mystery part, I kind of started to warm-up to the idea of tackling Higurashi one day

Edited March 1, 2021 by adamstan

[Seraphim]

I think you'd be fine with Higurashi then, so give it a whirl!

[adamstan]

2 minutes ago, Seraphim said:

I think you'd be fine with Higurashi then, so give it a whirl!

Great. I have considerable backlog, so I guess I'll wait for Steam summer sale, since the whole package comes out rather pricey at regular prices

[Seraphim]

Too bad you don't own a Switch, or you could've picked up that version for a measly ¥3960. It's, to my knowledge, the only release that includes the story in its (current) entirety ("all 19 console arcs, the drama cd arc, Hajisarashi-hen, plus the three Hou exclusive arcs", to quote VNDb). That's some serious bang for the buck.
(Dunno if you're at the point where you can read Japanese without a text hooker though, so maybe it wouldn't help you even if you had the console.)

EDIT: I just noticed that the Switch version was apparently later ported to PS4, so maybe that's an option for you.

Edited March 1, 2021 by Seraphim

[adamstan]

45 minutes ago, Seraphim said:

(Dunno if you're at the point where you can read Japanese without a text hooker though, so maybe it wouldn't help you even if you had the console.)

Sadly, most of console versions newer than PS3 are no good for me. I don't own any console (and I'm not ready to go without text hooking yet since I have to look up lot of words), so I have to rely on emulators. PS4 isn't emulated yet, so that version is out of question. As for Switch - there's an emu, and I managed to play World End Syndrome with it, but the performance was far from stellar, and I'm not sure how hook-friendly Switch emulation is

But then maybe I should try my luck with PS3 version? It looks like I could get it (used) from amazon for ¥4400 (incl. shipping). Just have to check if it's hookable beforehand, since some VN engines are weird, and don't have separate memory area for textbox contents. In those cases, or when the game uses non-standard text encoding, hooking is impossible.

Edited March 1, 2021 by adamstan