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About this blog

This is a blog primarily focusing on but not limited to VNs.  It is primarily designed to express my opinion on otaku media (jrpgs, anime, manga, LNs, VNs, etc), individual VNs, and otaku community issues.   Most of the posts are related to my VN of the Month and Random VN columns, originally started in threads in the forums. 

As of March of 2017, I'm also looking for people to help with VN of the Month.

Entries in this blog

Games in General: Why I hate Trophies

Yes, I hate trophies, achievements, or whatever you choose to call them. Why? At least part of it is because I was a gamer back in the NES era, and I liked that sense of private accomplishment it gave me for beating a game on my own. Another reason is simply because I hate the way achievements and the like break immersion, particularly in rpgs and games with a good story. I can say this outright... I almost never finish games where I can't disable trophies. I'm not interested in showing off
Clephas

Clephas

5

Loli-Clephas strikes again!

Loli-Clephas recently emerged from Clephas' mouth, beginning a reign of terror in which billions have already perished, their blood staining her massive metal teeth, their flesh sliding down her throat. As the universe trembles at the unleashing of this, the most beautiful and terrible of all the monsters ever conceived in the depths of the Abyss, Clephas himself is busy playing VNs for his VN of the Month blog, having allowed his female self free reign to indulge her hungers for the first time
Clephas

Clephas

5

Sanoba Witch Part 4: Shiiba Tsumugi

Shiiba Tsumugi Tsumugi is both a transfer student and the game's reverse trap. That said, she has a definite fondness for cute things, and the way she dresses is a special circumstance, so don't go in thinking she is a boyish heroine. She's actually quite the reverse. Her path is probably the most focused on the protagonist so far, with an even stronger focus on a certain aspect of the setting that is vital to all the paths. Since I'm avoiding spoilers here, I won't spell it out, especiall
Clephas

Clephas

0

Random VN: Otome ga Tsumugu Koi no Canvas

Otome ga Tsumugu Koi no Canvas is the rarest of the rare... a charage that is also a kamige.  In fact, I've only encountered three charage that I consider to be kamige out of the hundreds I've played.  How did that happen?  Well, a large part of it is the writer.  For all that his first VN was a half-nukige with an absurd setting, his style is poetic, his settings deep, and his timing and pacing of events perfect.  Another part of it is the structure.  This VN has a very, very short common
Clephas

Clephas

6

Tokyo Babel

Tokyo Babel is scheduled to be released pretty soon, so I decided to replay it.  As Propeller is one of my favorite companies and Tokyo Babel has a more or less permanent place in my top fifty (when the number of VNs you've played passes five hundred, fifty is a good place to be, lol), so this doesn't bother me.  Tokyo Babel is one of the few purely all-ages titles from Japan on the PC, and it is a chuunige of rare quality that was obviously written with one of a dozen or so pairs of eyes on Mas
Clephas

Clephas

6

Monobeno Happy End part 1: Sumi

First, I should state that Monobeno is an unapologetic lolige. The extent the writers went to to make this game a lolige (even in Alice's path) is so ridiculous I had to sigh in exasperation. Sadly, it also has one of the best plots and some of the best characters you can see in a VN. Like this company's previous VN, Gothderi, dismissing it because it is a lolige is a huge mistake. I played the original version of Monobeno, where all the endings were extremely bittersweet and vague, and
Clephas

Clephas

2

Ryuukishi Bloody†Saga

Ryuukishi is the sequel to Ryakudatsusha no In'en, which was released last month... or rather, Ryakudatsusha is a prelude/prequel to this game.  However, the fundamental nature of the game has changed greatly.  For one thing, this VN lacks the constant rape and mutilation scenes that were so a part of Ryakudatsusha... ... well not entirely.  There is only one rape scene, and there are a few guro scenes.  However, those scenes are not nearly as dominant as the ones in Ryakudatsusha.  For tho
Clephas

Clephas

6

Ren'ai x Royale

This is the latest game by ASa Project, a company that rose up during the Golden Age of VNs, making a name for themselves as solid comedy charage makers.  To this day, their style hasn't changed significantly, but in some ways that gives them an advantage over modern charage, which tend to be less comedy-focused (actually, most newer charage makers don't seem to know how to make the readers laugh anymore).   This game is focused on the harem of a young man named Hirotaka.  The situation is,
Clephas

Clephas

0

Sanoba Witch Part 3: Togakushi Touko

Togakushi Touko Touko is the 'oneesan-senpai' of the group. She takes pleasure in teasing others, making jokes, and generally maintaining a light atmosphere. Her path is perhaps the least straightforward so far... mostly because the issues are a bit less than predictable if you aren't used to seeing potential difficulties based upon minimal setting cues. I will say that I did like her as a heroine... but I didn't like her as much as Meguru or Nene. The simple reason for this is that her pr
Clephas

Clephas

0

Karenai Sekai to Owaru Hana and VN of the Month Announcement

... I'm going to be blunt about this... I can't  believe this was written by the same guy who wrote Nekopara, Sakura Bitmap, and Strawberry Nauts.  This VN has an overwhelming degree of impact compared to his other works, to the point where I'm even willing to consider it a kamige.  Music, music-usage, story, presentation, art, and art usage are all at their highest levels, combining to create a nakige whose impact is far out of proportion to its length (which is only about seven hours, for me).
Clephas

Clephas

5

How Adorable Heroines are now just Generic

How many of you started reading VNs, manga, or watching anime solely because the girls were so adorable?  I wasn't one of those (I began with Record of Lodoss War, lol), but Ai Yori Aoshi and Love Hina introduced me to the concept of the 'moe-heroine'.  Whether it was their way of speaking, their looks, or their attitude, moe heroines became an integral part of the otaku experience at some point (well, the male-oriented one anyway), and I actually don't have any problems with that.  I have lots
Clephas

Clephas

23

Something to keep in mind: Why my perspective is different than yours

One thing I've noticed over the last seven years is that people frequently have subtly different opinions than I do, and I get asked frequently how I can play so many moege/charage despite the fact that it isn't my preferred genre.  The answer is relatively simple... I read about 20 times faster than most of the rest of you - with the exception of a few bibliophiles.  What is a true chore, taking up tens of hours for you, might very well only be a short eight to ten hours for me.  Reading t
Clephas

Clephas

9

Baldr Bringer (dropped)

Understand, I loved the Baldr series, before Heart... even Heart still retained a lot of what was great about the series, though it placed too much emphasis on the less interesting elements.  The Baldr series is literally Giga's only good IP, and as such, it is the only reason I even bother with this company. Unfortunately, it looks like Giga has set out to destroy its costly but greatest IP, ending it on a sour note. Baldr Bringer, from what I have played of it, has very little story
Clephas

Clephas

4

Tamayura Mirai

Tamayura Mirai is the latest game by Azurite, the company behind Shinsou Noise and Akumade Kore wa.  Unlike the previous two, it is not a guro mystery.  Instead, it is a fantasy with an extremely similar setting to Monobeno (which had a great setting, even if the lolicon elements were outright disgusting).  It also shares a writer (Touta) with such excellent games as Kin'iro Loveriche, Floral Flowlove, Gin'iro Haruka, and Ojousama wa Gokigen Naname.   Before I go any further, I want to spea
Clephas

Clephas

0

Random VN: Boku ga Tenshi ni Natta Wake

This is perhaps one of the few games from my first five years playing untranslated VNs that isn't a chuunige that I remembered vividly.  I decided to pick this up again because I wanted some good catharsis, and I was tired of waiting for Mangagamer to get off their butts and actually release this.  Boku ga Tenshi ni Natta wake is what is called a 'soft utsuge', in the sense that there are no good endings but it focuses more on the bittersweet sorrow rather than the absolute despair of a 'ha
Clephas

Clephas

0

Otome ga Irodoru Koi no Essence

I'm going to be blunt... for some reason, the 'Otome' series of trap-protagonist ojousama-ge by Ensemble seems to be incapable of fulfilling the promise of Otome ga Tsumugu Koi no Canvas in any of its follow-up games.  Koi no Canvas was, for better or worse, one of the single best charage I've ever played, with strong characterizations for all of the characters (including the protagonist) full voices for all characters (later Otome series games all had voiced protagonists, though), and superlati
Clephas

Clephas

4

Clephas' basic advice to untranslated beginners

Since I get asked questions constantly on this subject, I'll go ahead and list a few pieces of advice I felt apply to most beginners.   1) Use translation aggregator and a text hooker, even if you feel like you should be getting out your kanji dictionary, out of a sense of self-reliance. I'll be blunt, it is hard to enjoy something if you have to refer to a kanji dictionary for every other non-particle word. I am sometimes stunned at people bragging about spending 100 hours on an 8 hour moege
Clephas

Clephas

4

11gatsu no Arcadia Part 5: True Ending and final comments

Yeah, I know, this picture is actually nothing like the protagonist, lol. True Ending Ok, first this game stops well short of being a kamige, so don't expect me to give hands-down praise of it... but I will say this is the first VN I've played that uses the G-Senjou story structure and doesn't short the heroine routes. I can say that conclusively, having finished all the paths. Those who have encountered my virulent hatred of Aiyoku no Eustia will probably be surprised to hear this
Clephas

Clephas

4

Tenkiame

Shiro Kon Most of you already know that one of my fetishes is mimikko... and kitsune in particular. So, it shouldn't surprise anyone to hear that I liked this VN. That said, this VN is so straightforward (in a 'in a straight line' sense) that you probably shouldn't expect anything in the way of twists. The two heroines are Shiro and Kon (see the pics above). Shiro is the little sister, a white-haired loli-kitsune who is totally innocent and carefree. She is straightforward both a
Clephas

Clephas

2

Baldr Heart

Now, for those who are wondering, the reason I chose to play Baldr Heart first is fairly simple... it is the VN most anticipated this month, at least by the people I talk to.   Baldr Heart is the fourth game (if you count the Skydive and Zero games as a single game each) in the 'primary series' started with Baldr Force.  This series follows the evolving interrelations between humans, the net, extreme VR, and AIs, storywise.  The gameplay in all the games is a relatively fast-paced battle mech ac
Clephas

Clephas

5

Clephas Top 50 VNs

For the last two years or so, I've gotten repeated requests to unequivocally name my top VNs made up until the present, ignoring objectivity, my vndb votes, etc.  I've more or less just ignored most of those requests, because it is a pain in the ass to name a 'favorite' VN in the first place.  I've made lists of VNs I loved from various genres, and I've also made lists of VNs for a specific purpose.  However, I've avoided making a list like this one up until now, mostly because my 'favorites' sw
Clephas

Clephas

0

Secret Agent Kishi Gakuen no Shinobi naru Mono

This game, is to some extent, a redemption of my hopes for Ensemble.  I say this from the beginning because I will inevitably be critical in a familiar way about some parts.  However, this game was far closer to Ensemble at its best than we've seen in the last six years. The story is set in an academic city in a school that has a weird setup where individuals who want to get involved with student government join the Knighthood, with Chevaliers and apprentices serving in roles from librarian
Clephas

Clephas

1

DS Dal Segno

This is a VN by Circus, the company that makes the Da Capo series, which I'm sure most of our resident moe-addicts are familiar with.  It is also based in the same universe (well, I'm pretty sure it is, since a Professor Amakase made an AI with emotions who likes bananas and who is the true heroine of this VN, lol).  To put it straight to you... this is a very old style of VN.  It is a lot closer to the old Da Capo games and Key's early VNs than it is to anything else made in modern times. 
Clephas

Clephas

5

Random VNs: Thoughts on Houkago no Futekikakusha

This is an utsuge.  For those who don't already know what an utsuge is, it is a VN where the main endings are 'bad' endings.  Generally speaking, the intention with an utsuge is to give the reader catharsis through a sense of despair or sorrow.  Unlike in a nakige, where the sorrow or despair is temporary and everything ends with what amounts to a 'happily ever after', an utsuge's endings tend to be ones where everyone dies, despair goes on unending, or some other kind of bitter aspect.  While m
Clephas

Clephas

4

Haruru Minamo ni

I first encountered Clochette with Suzunone Seven, a game recommended to me by a friend who lives in Japan.  Suzunone Seven is one of the more memorable charage I've played, both for the depth of its story and the depth of its setting and characters.  Now, Clochette is frequently jokingly referred to as 'oppai central' or 'The Oppai Corporation'... or any number of other similar names, with good reason.  Their style has it so that all the heroines are either close to flat or... the opposite.  It
Clephas

Clephas

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