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Visual Novel Community Thread: No Auto Read Required
- Thread starter Vylash
- Start date
I'm so glad I don't have to experience that in this timeline.
picked up fata morgana where i left it...2 years ago i think. let's see if i can finish it this time
So I guess no one else got Hashihime, uh? It's been a week since I finished it, I suppose I'll write something.
I have... mixed feelings about it. The first route of the game is wonderful, it's so good that it can easily stand on its own as story, it goes in silly places at times, but it really manages to tell an incredibly powerful (love) story, it was something that I could easily have recommended to anyone and not just people into BL. I said was because I can't do it anymore.
Hi! Finally, another person who has played this VN who didn't review it on steam. I have complicated feelings since technically I'm on the 1st route but I read the summary of the entire VN.
Tamamori just... becomes a terrible person and that partially ruined the VN since I liked him up to a certain point. The last 2 routes are just a total trainwreck and I'm still not sure if I want to read the first 2 routes based on what looks like a decent VN intro.
Also, none of the steam reviews mentioned any of the problems like really? Just positive reviews? Anyone?
I did like most of the art and atmosphere I guess. Probably never going to trust Steam VN reviews again.
Yeah, I don't know what's going on with Steam reviews, pretty much everyone I talked was shocked and not exactly pleased with that "twist".
However apparently... the ending, or rather the whole last route was also not really well received in Japan. The author put out a Q&A on her site which reveals the whole thing is meant to be a... what if, alternative timeline, which has nothing to do with the main story (You are not even playing as the same main character, technically)
Mind you, none of this is clear from the game. The last route is still garbage, but at least everyone can pretty much ignore it, it's just your usual shitty sub-route there because the game is an eroge and the protagonist has to bang all the characters.
Which it's a shame because the game largely managed to avoid this kind of thing . The main route is really good, the novel is 30 hours long and the main route is like 20-23 hours long. It gives you 90% of the story, the story can stand on its on and even the (single) eroge part is done rather well, which surprised me. I just wish they hadn't dropped the ball with the routes past the second one (Kawase's route is an excellent what if, it's just that the story is written for Minakami as the main love interest.).
So is it worth continuing/reading? I would say yes, as long you accept 1) The game gives you the main/true route first (the last route is not the true route despite what the game suggests) 2) After you are done with the main route, the quality of the game decreases with its reading order.
It's pretty much the best english BL VN out of there and the main route can easily stand on its own for its themes and story. The game's story is not sold as a love story/romance, but I disagree, it's an excellent mystery with a fantastic love story that manages to avoid all the usual bad tropes associated with the genre, it's a shame many won't give it chance because "lol BL".
I just wish I didn't get the bad reminder it was a Japanese eroge after I was done with the second route, though I guess given how short the other routes are (Or rather the last route is), it manages to be less fucked up/stupid than a lot of stuff discussed here lul (Including some SFW stuff, I guess). It's basically a fantastic VN with a excellent main/true route with a couple of terriblebad routes attached to it. The novel structure doesn't make the story justice but the content is there.
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Which high-profile localized VN are on Vita and not Switch? This PSN sale has Steins;gate, the muv-luv games and Root Letter, I know I won't want to play the Elite version of SG, but I'm not sure how good turned the updated Root Letter for Switch.
The true suffering of like a niche BL within a niche genre...
Anyways, so far I've been convinced to read at least up to Kawase's route since I like his VA but yeah I kept thinking that this would be a fine general mystery/horror VN w/o the R18 parts. I mean I like the professor's character but I'm like I can't skip routes and that's a shame. Slightly conflicted since I read that it's one person who did all the work and I'm like do I support this or not?
TBH I'm struggling a bit to recc'd a good BL other than like 2 routes out of DMMD and Lamento. I spoke to a friend and we were resigned to how limited BL games are in reality even in Japan.
-Fata Morgana (not on EU psn)
-Utawarerumono
-Chaos;Child
Root Double and Code: Realize have been announced on Switch and the Grisaia trilogy has a retail version in Japan with English text.
These are the ones I can think of.
Man, normally I buy everything on Steam but I've been trying to branch out and it appears my Switch Lite purchase will pay off with my love of VNs. Might end up double dipping on a few I already own just to clear them from the backlog (Ai Somnium, Phoenix Wright, Steins;Gate Elite)
I'm Really interested in Root Letter as I've never even heard about it prior to this thread. I see the switch version has a Live Action mode, which I weirdly loved as an aesthetic in 428. Anyone have any experience with it? Is it cool?
Thanks!
I'm Really interested in Root Letter as I've never even heard about it prior to this thread. I see the switch version has a Live Action mode, which I weirdly loved as an aesthetic in 428. Anyone have any experience with it? Is it cool?
Thanks!
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I've said it enough times at this point that I'm afraid of annoying those who like it, but I really can't recommend Root Letter. It's very boring/bland and a pretty unsatisfying mystery as well. The new release does add some additional stuff that could potentially be good, but I don't think they fixed any of the parts I have problems with.
Also, my understanding is that the FMV is mostly just like... "we recreated the existing character art using actors"? Not anywhere near the level of aesthetics that 428 had. Though it's certainly an interesting idea still.
Also, my understanding is that the FMV is mostly just like... "we recreated the existing character art using actors"? Not anywhere near the level of aesthetics that 428 had. Though it's certainly an interesting idea still.
W/R/T live action, I'm okay with that. Despite liking VNs I'm not super into traditional "Anime" art and character design, and having the idiosyncratic live actors for some reason adds a lot of charm to me.
That being said, I doubt any VN can do it as well aesthetically as 428, which is just a slam dunk all around.
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Kawase's route is rather well done, I don't know how far you are into it so I won't spoil, but his character ended up surprising me in pleasant ways. Be sure to post your thoughts if you finish it.
I was shocked when the game had not one, but two transgender characters who were never made the butt of the joke but also treated with the utmost respect. Minakami himself wasn't "just another love interest", but the fact he was a gay man in 1922 Japan ended up being a pretty important facet of his character.
Then the romance never felt forced despite Tamamori being completely disinterred in romantic stuff for the the largest part of the novel, when the story drops that the only reason he was a writer in the first place was because of Minakami and he just couldn't just quit him because "Nothing made sense" after he died despite the fact he claimed anyone would have done everything really started to come together. Then the writer just kept going adding epic romantic tropes like time traveling romance and finished with reincarnation romance that you just want these boys to be happy and gay together. I'll go as far as saying that the erotic part ended up being one of the best sex scenes I've ever seen in the medium. I mean, it's clearly porn, but it 1) actually added to the characters 2) was not stereotypically written. If you skip it you lose a bunch of important character interactions and even the explanation for the ending!
Then the romance never felt forced despite Tamamori being completely disinterred in romantic stuff for the the largest part of the novel, when the story drops that the only reason he was a writer in the first place was because of Minakami and he just couldn't just quit him because "Nothing made sense" after he died despite the fact he claimed anyone would have done everything really started to come together. Then the writer just kept going adding epic romantic tropes like time traveling romance and finished with reincarnation romance that you just want these boys to be happy and gay together. I'll go as far as saying that the erotic part ended up being one of the best sex scenes I've ever seen in the medium. I mean, it's clearly porn, but it 1) actually added to the characters 2) was not stereotypically written. If you skip it you lose a bunch of important character interactions and even the explanation for the ending!
It's honestly one of the most pleasant depiction of gay romance I ever seen in a Japanese work and it really hit me how carefully it was portrayed. A shame the rest of the novel is dragged down by the usual eroge-tier stuff with and especially terrible last route, but oh well.
I get you. I'm pretty desensitized to some of the worst stuff in the medium after over 9999 VN, but I totally understand why it would be dealbreak for a lot of people. Every time I try to recommend this to people I feel dirty because of the stupid shit in the last route so I have to warn people the first route is meant to be the true route and the rest are sub-scenarios lol.
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Thanks. I knew about Fata Morgana but I was forgetting the Utawarerumono games.
Start with the anime adaptation of the first game or wait for the first game's remake next year before starting Mask of Deception/Truth.
Idk MG's sales were that low and it's a shame how poorly TL are treated by VN devs. I admit I have to wonder how their other employees manage to survive compared to others.
Hello, new here. Haven't read a ton of VN's (think it's only Grisaia, Clannad, Little Busters, and Narcissu) but had a few building up in my backlog that I've decided to start tackling.
Been reading through Muv-Luv Extra the past few days and it's decent, but I am glad I went into it expecting it to not be so great. I liked the initial playthrough with Sumika's route. Wasn't special but it was fun enough. Miki's route was fun, too, and actually pretty funny. Chizuru's route was not as good and Kei's route was just bad. Kei's was dull enough that I started skipping entire conversations because I got the gist of the route days before it ended and it never really elevated that premise at any point during the route. That's on top of the creepy relationship. Also Kei's personality is fun as a supporting character but gets old pretty fast when she's Takeru's main conversation partner.
I'll read through Meiya's route next but I'm looking forward to starting Unlimited.
Been reading through Muv-Luv Extra the past few days and it's decent, but I am glad I went into it expecting it to not be so great. I liked the initial playthrough with Sumika's route. Wasn't special but it was fun enough. Miki's route was fun, too, and actually pretty funny. Chizuru's route was not as good and Kei's route was just bad. Kei's was dull enough that I started skipping entire conversations because I got the gist of the route days before it ended and it never really elevated that premise at any point during the route. That's on top of the creepy relationship. Also Kei's personality is fun as a supporting character but gets old pretty fast when she's Takeru's main conversation partner.
I'll read through Meiya's route next but I'm looking forward to starting Unlimited.
I wouldnt recommend Root Letter either - I own it on Steam but never really played it, I bought the Switch version (Last Answer) because the live action mode appealed to me (like you, I really enjoyed 428 and was looking for more of the same). Unfortunately, the live action mode is cheesy af and just doesnt work, and the dialogue + plot is dry and uninteresting. Shelved it indefinitely in favor of Yu-No and Raging Loop.
Yu-No, Steins Gate Elite, Our World is Ended, Ai The Somnium Files.
I've played Steins Gate on Vita, and was told Yu-No and our world is ended had some incredibly skeevy stuff in it that I would be better off avoiding.
That last one I haven't heard of though and it looks good thanks!
I can't really recommend Yu-No when there are much better titles available on the Switch.
Our World is Ended should never be recommended, that game is a piece of shit.
Steins;Gate Elite is okay, not the best version when there's the original one available everywhere else.
AI: The Somnium Files is the only one I'd recommend from that list.
Our World is Ended should never be recommended, that game is a piece of shit.
Steins;Gate Elite is okay, not the best version when there's the original one available everywhere else.
AI: The Somnium Files is the only one I'd recommend from that list.
It's the worst proofread game I've played in about 15 years. There's barely anything there game wise, the art isn't great, the story is shallow as hell.
Two reasons, the first one being more valid than the second.
First reason, I didn't notice that they wanted GOOD games as recommendations, I misread it and I thought they wanted to know what has come out at all.
Second reason, I got it on a lark needing something for a rainy day and was in a good mood when I played it and overlooked just how bad it was.
Hi everyone, first post in here. A quick question: what's the consensus on Danganronpa V3?
I recently played through both Danganronpa 1 and 2, which i loved, and watched Danganronpa 3, which i thought was kinda mediocre, and i think i'm ready to move on from the series...but then there's V3 and i don't really know what to expect from it. I know that V3 is supposed to be a fresh start or something like that, but after D3...middling quality i'm kinda wary about investing time in it -considering it's not that short of a game either- and i'm not sure the series has much to say anymore after D3 tied things up for better or worse.
I'm not completely soured on the series though so if the game is good i'm more than willing to give it a shot. So yeah, is it worth it?
I recently played through both Danganronpa 1 and 2, which i loved, and watched Danganronpa 3, which i thought was kinda mediocre, and i think i'm ready to move on from the series...but then there's V3 and i don't really know what to expect from it. I know that V3 is supposed to be a fresh start or something like that, but after D3...middling quality i'm kinda wary about investing time in it -considering it's not that short of a game either- and i'm not sure the series has much to say anymore after D3 tied things up for better or worse.
I'm not completely soured on the series though so if the game is good i'm more than willing to give it a shot. So yeah, is it worth it?
I enjoyed V3 and would not let the anime sour you on playing the game.
That's good to hear, thanks for the feedback.
And it's Kemco too, isn't it? That's what surprises me the most!
It was developed by Kemco. Dwango was involved with the console and PC ports. It was originally a mobile game, which is why the presentation is simple, the audio bitrate is low, and it has touch controls that were ported to the Switch version.
Oh damn, and here I was doubting Kemco was capable of developing a good game. Guess I was wrong.
I hated the game almost as much as DR3.
But I hated it for very different reasons than DR3, so your lack of enjoyment of that shouldn't affect your enjoy of this. DRV3 is a very divisive game, so all I can say is to play and see for yourself whether you like it or not.
I think V3 is largely enjoyable, and even at its worst moments it's certainly nowhere near as bad as 3 (or Ultra Despair Girls, for that matter). It is certainly divisive, and I think I'm still pretty mixed on how I feel about those bits, but it didn't ruin my opinion of it.
But I'm not sure if I would recommend it to you right now, is the thing. It's unfortunately not much of a "fresh start" when it comes to structure or mechanics, and does kinda retread some ground case-wise. So... if you've just played 1 and 2 recently, it may be worth waiting a while? Like it sounds like you're already worried about burning out on the series, so I think playing it safe and saving it for some other time may be best for you.
OP
OP
Almost through Requiem of Innocence, I think, just got to the point where
and I'm not really sure I understand the point of this exercise. Like, I get that it's adding depth to characters and story, but I can't help but feel that it's totally extraneous. I feel like the apparent need the makers felt to drill into everything and really over-explain everything actually makes the original game less effective. I thought it during the main game itself, and this drives it home even more. It's weird, because I still love the game, so many different parts of it, but there's a lot of clumsiness that could've been cleaned up to make it better.
everyone starts dying at the Harvest Festival
and I'm not really sure I understand the point of this exercise. Like, I get that it's adding depth to characters and story, but I can't help but feel that it's totally extraneous. I feel like the apparent need the makers felt to drill into everything and really over-explain everything actually makes the original game less effective. I thought it during the main game itself, and this drives it home even more. It's weird, because I still love the game, so many different parts of it, but there's a lot of clumsiness that could've been cleaned up to make it better.
I bought Maggot Baits and tried playing it but now I'm kinda regretting it. I knew it was harsh but I didn't realize just how much it'd bother me. The voice acting along with the macabre scenery makes me extremely uncomfortable. The sex scenes are also sooooo long I feel like they're getting in the way of the plot.
Its a shame cause I was genuinely interested in this since it seemed like a miracle the game came Westward unaltered, and it seems like its got a neat concept and the music is fantastic, but I just don't know if I can play this. I feel like I wasted $45.
I contacted Mangagamer and asked them if I could get a refund and they said I couldn't, but they could give me store credits for me to switch out the game with something else and I've been contemplating doing that.
Its a shame cause I was genuinely interested in this since it seemed like a miracle the game came Westward unaltered, and it seems like its got a neat concept and the music is fantastic, but I just don't know if I can play this. I feel like I wasted $45.
I contacted Mangagamer and asked them if I could get a refund and they said I couldn't, but they could give me store credits for me to switch out the game with something else and I've been contemplating doing that.
I didn't play enough to have anything to say about the other points, but I agree about this part. It's pretty unfortunate as well because I really liked Euphoria and that game had a really good balance between them and they weren't too long. I figured it would be the same in Maggot baits but I was wrong.
Thanks for answering everyone! Looks like V3 is divisive but there's still merit to play it, i'll check it out for sure to see what it's all about.
I'll make sure to report back when i eventually get to it.
I'll make sure to report back when i eventually get to it.