d2b VS Deardrops -Cross the Future-

[Stormwolf]

For those who've finished this vn, is it important to finish kirakira for it? I'm almost done with Deardrops, but i cannot get into the concept of kirakira. Can't say i enjoy the thought about reading about some crossdresser, and the art is also kind of a turnoff. I guess it depends on how big a role and how much the crossdressing part is throughout the vn. If you're constantly crossdressing or if the vn tries to trick you into thinking you're a girl for 20+ hours then i won't even bother. I've had deardrops ending spoiled, so i guess it's no wonder that i want to jump into the fandisc. Shitty ending is indeed shitty.

Edited October 12, 2015 by Stormwolf

[TexasDice]

Cross the future is Kira☆Kira's urgently needed ending, so reading it is essential.

 

You wouldn't like Kira☆Kira and I don't want to read your rambling about it later, so please grab something else.

[Stormwolf]

I'll admit to being hasty in my judgements and also rambling a bit, but you can honestly be a bit nicer about complaining about it. Anyway, you mentioned that it's kirakiras urgently needed ending, does it do justice to deardrops as well? Pointless to read it if it's mostly about the vn of the two i chose not to read.

Edited October 12, 2015 by Stormwolf

[TexasDice]

The fandisc continues the Riho ending in Deardrops, but it doesn't really change a whole lot about anything. Riho's route and the fandisc both end in a similar "open" way. And I don't mean the bad kind of open ending, as in "Huh? What does that mean? What's gonna happen?", more the kind of open that leaves you with this "Whatever happens, I'm sure they'll be doing great."-feeling of closure. Deardrops never had any lose ends and never needed to tie them up, contrarily to Kira☆Kira. The reason for this is the difference in materials.

Deardrops is a story about music with characters in it. The band experience is the main point of VN and the characters are here to move it into the goal. Granted, most characters like Shouichi, Eiji or even Kanade have very deep personal stories; But at the core, they all relate to music. 

The reverse is true for the other game. Kira☆Kira is a story(or, more accurately, stories) about characters, which also has music in it. The band thing is "just" here to make these characters move along the script. Kira☆Kira could've been a VN about soccer, astronomy, cooking or even giving stray dogs weird haircuts; It's just framework to hang these characters and the drama onto. 

 

So that was more text than I originally planned. Is there enough Deardrops content? Yes, but in a light way: You get music, jokes and the band atmosphere, but there isn't any progress, because as I mentioned before: Deardrops didn't have any lose ends after Riho's route, only a bountiful future.

The Kira☆Kira part is what makes this fandisc so important to me and others: It gave Kira☆Kira a conclusion. The true route of the original visual novel ended unsatisfyingly open and didn't clarify the relations between the main girl and the protagonist, which the fandisc solved.

I'd like to say, that the main motivation behind this fandisc was to provide fanservice, but even though we got a song in the end and there was aplenty of fun, I feel like Overdrive made it mainly to fix Kira☆Kira's ending. The absence of any sexual content is another indicator to that as well.

 

Conclusion: I would never recommend d2b VS Deardrops -Cross the Future- to someone who hasn't read Kira☆Kira, but I do wholeheartedly recommend it to someone who's read both visual novels and liked both.

[Stormwolf]

 

 

Thanks for the explanations. I was concerned about the departure of Shouichi at the end of Deardrops, and i was hoping he came back in the fandisc and continued with the band and stuck with Riho, but i guess that's not what happens at the end? If not, that's kind of depressing, especially if he left for Germany again after the fandisc. I do know he comes back, after 3 years if i'm not mistaken. I see not merit in cheering on Shouichi in Germany when the vast majority of the VN is about his love for the band and Riho. Always disliked when endings are about departure and living separately.

Edited October 12, 2015 by Stormwolf

[TexasDice]

Deardrops ended on a happy note though. (could you please edit some of your post into spoilers? Just in case someone who hasn't read DD hits up the thread) 

It was pretty apparent, that Shouchi will one day return and they'll all continue to make music together. So yes, you do feel sad as the reader about the fact that he will be away for three years, but it's an anticipating sadness, because you know it's not over forever.

 

Do you want me to spoil the ending of the fandisc?

Shouchi comes back to japan, moves back into the live house and managed to land Deardrops a gig on Kirari's big stage. Because of said concert, the fandisk ends with Deardrops getting two offers to play concerts in europe, each for more than 100.000 people and they decide to make a europe tour.

 

[Stormwolf]

Crap, did not think about spoilers. My fault. Anyway, thanks for the explanation. I guess it's a more or less good ending for the fandisc. I guess i'll just finish Deardrops and stop there since i won't read Kirakira, so i don't mind spoilers for the fandisc.

 

Do the fandisc evade the topic of relationships or do they build more on it and still have a relationship at the end? And when you say Deardrops got a 2 gigs and a European tour, this includes Shouici in the party as well right?

Edited October 12, 2015 by Stormwolf

[TexasDice]

Yes, all relationships remain intact.

[storyteller]

 

He makes it pretty clear he's only leaving so that he can better himself for when he comes back to Deardrops.

As for the cross-dressing thing, which I don't believe Texas actually addressed, Shikanosuke will cross-dress quite often during the common route, but it really hardly matters.

Edited October 13, 2015 by storyteller

[Stormwolf]

Thanks. I think i'll just try out kirakira if the crossdressing really doesn't matter that much. Just have to get through the common route and true route so, since other routes more often than not bring nothing  substantial to the story overall.

[storyteller]

*you have to complete all non-true routes to unlock the true route.

I actually liked Chie route, for what it's worth.

[Stormwolf]

Ohh it's that kind of vn. I actually prefer enforced playing order, but i guess in this case it might be a bad thing  but we'll see. I might find that i actually like it.

[Stormwolf]

 

Decided to try Kirakira and holy shit it's awesome. I love it. Made by the same company as Deardrops, and it makes me wonder where it all went wrong for Deardrops. Deardrops is pretty lackluster in most areas in comparison. Well, apart from characters. But it's still way too early to judge Kirakira's characters. Kirakira has a much more livelier style, and at least this far we have music that fits each scenario whereas Deardrops went with normal background music apart from a select few scenes. Anyways, glad i chose to start reading this one! pretty hilarious when they started becoming punk rockers!

 

Well, the bad thing that i guess many will agree on is the text covering the entire screen instead of a normal box at the bottom. Shame they went with that style, also the darkened background that comes with it. Well, i guess i've somewhat gotten used too it. It's my first vn with this style all the way through.

 

Want to have this one as unspoiled as possible. but i heard curtain call got a pretty chilled reception. Without spoiling anything in particluar, what's the reason? and would it be bad to start d2b vs deardrops without first reading curtain call?

Edited October 13, 2015 by Stormwolf

[TexasDice]

Curtain Call has a different main cast and the new characters are all boring, dislikable or both. Especially Curtain Call's protagonist, because he's a giant moron. That guy is basically an Edelweiss character, that's how stupid he is. 

I didn't finish curtain call and I wouldn't advise anyone to do so either.

[Stormwolf]

Yuuuuuii.. Yeah, he didn't exactly appear to be the brightest when he appeared in Deardrops.

[Stormwolf]

Just finished D2b vs Deardrops

It was a nice conclusion i guess. Kira and Shikanosuke had a happy ending i guess, although i cannot understand why they want to marry and live seperately most of the time, but they had good chemistry throughout the vn. Riho and Shouchi on the other hand have a worthless excuse of a relationship. There was barely anything romantic between them, there was the one time in the buss near the start and it was of course interrupted, and never really touched upon again. She had more interractions with Shikanosuke, so if i didn't already know that there wouldn't be any cheating, i would feel pretty uncomfortable. Shouchi said he loved her again, but she reacted pretty badly and once she said something it was "us" as in the band and nothing about him after his re-confession, and nothing in her thoughts (she was the protagonist during the scene) hinted at any romantic feelings either. We only got that from her somewhat submissive reactions after Shouchi said something, but that was it. In the end i guess Overdrive meant for them to be a couple, but honestly, they only felt like really, really good friends. Pretty disappointingly handled after the great ending Kira and Shikanosuke had.

Edited October 17, 2015 by Stormwolf