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To be clear about this: Piracy is not an advantage or great in any way. And I can see the thought process of "well great, 200.000 people just STOLE our product". I get it, it sucks. However, you can't make the mistake of seeing these, lets say, 200.000 downloads as "lost sales". Because they are not lost sales. They aren't lost because nothing was ever sold. They are nothing. If you sold, lets say 500.000 copies of your product and 200.000 also pirated your shit, getting rid of piracy would still mean you only sold 500.000. The only way to actually turn the pirate numbers into customer numbers, is to make pirating more of a hassle than purchasing. And no, that is not accomplished by 23,7 different accounts and 4 spy programs connected to the software, like game developers seem to think. Put it on steam for 10, 20, what have you, bucks. Slap a discount on during release week. Don't break their balls, tickle them. (which also why the "make VNs more expensive" idea is up there with the dumbest plans I've ever read).

The Growlanser series is one of those weird, hardly known jrpg series that died out after the ps2 era (mostly because its gameplay was too traditional, but also because the transition to 2.5D sprites failed so miserably in V and VI, along with the derivative, predictable story). However, before its death, it produced four first-class games, three of them linked in a single chronology. IV, also known as Wayfarer of Time, is the exception in the series as a whole, being the only entirely standalone game. Growlanser IV's Western release was on the PSP (also playable on the Vita and PSTV) with a modified main route and an 'evil' route that you could access on NG+. The first four Growlanser games can be said to be very attractive to those who like player agency. This is because, depending on how you fight, how you play, and what conversation choices you make (three of the four protagonists are silent ones whose) you could not only alter your own perceptions of the main character, but you could also alter the ending and even the game flow as a whole dramatically. Growlanser IV isn't an exception to this, but in a way it is easier. One reason is that you aren't required to get the highest rating on all story missions to get access to the 'true' ending. Rather, it uses a 'fate alteration' system which allows you to take on sidequests, take various actions in combat, and make choices in conversations that alter how the game ends, who lives, and who dies. The 'Modified Route', which is pretty much the 'good' route, pretty much requires you to alter every possible character's fate in order to create the result of ten major characters still being alive past the turning point of the story and the end. With some of these characters, it is as simple as saving them in a certain story battle, with others it requires making the right choices in conversations with them in order to change how they act, thus preventing their deaths. In this way, I came out of Growlanser IV feeling that, for the first time in a long time, that player agency actually mattered. Hell, I never thought scolding a girl about throwing things then showing her kindness would give me an opportunity to save her soul later. The main story itself is heavy on war politics, much like all the other games in the series. In this case, it is a war story spread across about four years (my estimate) that ends up involving the whole of the known world. The protagonist, raised in a mercenary outfit, ends up getting involved with saving the world and the nations in it... but you rarely see him being treated like a 'chosen one' outside of a few of his own companions. Rather, most reactions are based in that person's standpoint and affiliation, which made both the enemies and allies feel real to me in a way few jrpgs ever manage. This game manages to avoid the traditional pitfalls of the average jrpg. What do I mean? I mean that tendency toward hot-blooded idealism and dew-eyed innocence about human nature that ruin 90% of JRPGs storywise. I mean, a king isn't interested in saving the world... he is interested in enriching his country. Good people in the wrong position will do bad things, and bad people who can benefit from it will do good things. The characters feel like people, and I don't feel like I'm talking to carbon copies of characters from a thousand other jrpgs like I do with most mainline jrpgs. The battle system in this game is a combination of turn-based and real-time strategy. Generally speaking, you start out at a certain point of the map, and your characters move in real time when you aren't making choices about their next action. It is possible to alter their course, and you can block enemies' routes with your warriors' bodies. Knacks (non-magic activation skills) can be used to strike hard, slow enemies' turns,or slow their chanting of magic. Magic takes a while to chant, but in exchange you can take normal actions immediately afterward, and spells can be canceled at any time just by pressing the triangle button and going to the character in question. Perhaps the game's biggest overt weak point gameplay-wise is the way you learn skills (passives), Knacks (instant-use attack/support/debuff/buffs), and magic. They are learned by attaching spellstones to the characters' ring weapons (three to a weapon, with the level of the stone you can attach limited by the ring's slots) and killing enemies in battle. The reason why this is a problem is simple... only the character who deals the fatal blow to an enemy gains ability points for their... abilities. A warrior who can take out five enemies at once with the use of the circle strike knack is going to find it easier to learn abilities than a mage or archer that can only strike one enemy at a time (synchronize spells later on to cast area spells utilizing multiple characters... but it still can't beat the quickness of AOE knacks). The greatest help to the player is the fact that you can buff before going into battle using spells, thus eliminating the need to tie up magic users in buffing for the first part of a battle. Considering that most story battles have time limits, this is an issue. This game rewards clever use of the systems like the arena and buff spells and will seriously sodomize you if you go through the game without thinking or preparing. Overall, Growlanser IV was the series' peak, and it saddens me greatly that the series was killed in the PS2 era. This game is about sixty hours long for the first playthrough (successive playthroughs are easier), and it is one of the better rpg stories I've ever played, being somewhat reminiscent of Suikoden, which is funny, considering they rose to cult popularity around the same time.

Grisaia no Meikyuu Finished Sachi's route, and damn, her route has got Amane's route beaten. So much content is packed into it, you'd think it's a main route, not to mention the tension and suspense that the other routes lacked. Didn't expect that antagonist to be a real threat, even though the Chekhov's Gun was pretty obvious from the start. Still, having completed Sachi's After Story only makes me feel even more bummed out about Michiru's AS. Compared to the three other AS I've played so far, Michiru's AS just has the least amount of story and character development. This is like Fate/Stay Night all over again, where my favorite heroine (Saber) has the weakest route of them all. Sigh. The only saving grace Michiru's AS has going for it is that unique Ending Theme, but that doesn't amount to much when the route itself isn't any thing special. Every other heroine so far aside from Michiru has some of significant character development or change to status quo, while Michiru's route was kinda casual and stagnant. But I digress. Anyway, I could easily see Sachi's After Story making it into an anime adaptation, which is a shame that it didn't. That "conflict" that appeared in her route could have made for some decent drama. But it's probably best that it wasn't adapted, considering what a mediocre job they did with Kajitsu. Ever17 Finished Tsugumi's so-called "Good End," which obviously feels more like a "Fake End." I have now remembered more of her past and backstory, which does make me warm up to her a lot more, but I'm still a little conflicted over how I feel about her for now. Next up is Sora's Good End, which I have very little expectations towards. lol Not to be harsh towards Sora, but I'm just not interested in her type of "Elegant Ojousama" woman. Her character archetype is one of my least favorite among anime archetypes. Doesn't really help that But again, I might change my tone after finishing her Good End, but we'll see. I did feel a bit bad about her during On a sidenote, I'm kinda annoyed that the XBox version of the game wasn't translated or ported. It looks a lot more fun with its additional content, not to mention its far more energetic OP theme that I really liked. Shame there's no patch to add that OP theme to the PC version of the game. I really don't like the PC version of the OP. I might also play the other entries of the Infinity series in the future, but it seems that Remember11 wasn't finished or something, that one of the routes that explained the mystery wasn't completed, so I don't know how I feel about that. Oh well. Shame that 12Riven doesn't look like it's going to be translated any time soon.

Hey, folks! This episode we talked a bit about our journeys into reading visual novels in Japanese with a guest who is no stranger to the medium, /u/Cornetto_man. Reading in Japanese is a pretty daunting task when starting from square one, and there's a lot of information about getting started out there. So of course, we decided to put our own thoughts to words on it. It's definitely not for everyone, and can feel like an uphill battle at times, but for fans of the medium, it can be incredibly freeing to open up the entire history of the medium, and also be able to stand waiting for the newest releases without needing to wait for a localization company to pick it up and eventually release a translation. If you're on the fence about getting started, maybe listening to us chat about it can help you make up your mind! As always, feel free to comment on the cast below. There’s also a list of Japanese resources at the bottom of this post: http://thebroadcast.club/2018/11/19/episode-13-untranslated/ Here's the YouTube version of the ep: Make sure to follow us on Twitter! https://twitter.com/VNBroadcastClub ----------------------------- Discussion Topics Have you read VNs in Japanese or are you interested to start? Was there a big untranslated title that you started learning for, or would consider starting to learn the language to read? We have a short list of resources linked in our blogpost. Are there any others that you've found helpful that you'd like to make others aware of?

I get the feeling the Switch is going to have a lot of VNs coming to it in the near (and distant) future, but if you're already concerned about the supply running out then sticking to PC (where the supply is far bigger) or learning Japanese (which should have many more options available) would be advisable, and in the case of learning Japanese it'd mean that you don't have to wait for localizations of titles you're interested in to come along.

Was derping around the forum, somehow ended up on the staff list and noticed something... Being the only board mod with a Japanese title makes me look like such a weeb, lol (;´･ω･) Clearly my avatar is the best, though, fite me irl guys! (/ω＼)

Hello all, After many many years of rust, I've recently revived my Japanese studies and I'm looking to tutor/guide someone to help me refresh my basics. Reason being I'll be going to Japan for the first time next year. Specifically looking for someone ranging from fresh beginners (we're going to gloss over basic grammar mostly) or intermediate (going to go over jlpt N2 grammar patterns). I will try to teach these and in the process help me de-rust. As they say, teaching is the best way of learning. We can hold voice/text sessions on discord, where I'm most active. I am by no means a great educator but I can show you the steps of how I approached learning Japanese. This is going to be reading-focus, as my speaking skills are bad atm, so it's good if you eventually want to read a VN. PM me to exchange discord/contact infos and scheduling.

Still, even if it's generic, something like that does pique my interest, since it's not something more ordinary or far more generic like eating or something right out of the anime cliche textbook. Makes me wonder how Sara acquired that object. Seems like quite a significant plot-device.

The problem is that, from what I heard, the authors who did the rewrites aren't really that good, and some of the rewrites were pretty unnecessary. I didn't read that version since it's untranslated, but I've seen a certain really generic CG of that apparently appears in that version, and it makes me very suspicious whether this new content really adds anything of value. Oh, yeah, I kind of agree. I don't know, sometimes it feels that different writers didn't agree on how they wanted to develop Michiru, so in the end, though she is still my favorite character, I didn't feel like the way they handled her character was very satisfying. Well, let's hope that you'll like it more than me. And the Grand Route is actually pretty good, so look forward to that!

Don't worry, I just half-jokingly summoned here a person who has the opposite opinion. I personally kind of agree that it was weaker than the other routes and overall pretty unnecessary. From what I heard, the rewrote so much in that version that it pretty much became a new VN. It even has a separate page on VNDB, which says a lot since they usually don't add new pages even when the new version really needs one. These types of after stories typically don't have much character development since they are just there to artificially continue the story. I don't know, I liked Michiru's AS for what it is, but I agree that the after stories for Sachi, Amane and Makina are a lot more interesting. As for Yumiko... It was so boring that I almost skipped it.

Oh boy, Sora's route...a warning, it is easily the worst part of the game.

Personally, no. I find it a bit heavy (though I don't use tablets so much) and as far as controlling it, the right stick is (for me) in an comfortable position so it makes the area just before where the thumb connects to the palm cramp up after some time. Admittedly if you use auto read that's not as likely to be an issue. I find the Vita's smaller size and lighter weight to be more comfortable in general, though. And IMO yes it would be a worthwhile endeavor if you can. It's going to take you a while to do, obviously, and it can be pretty intimidating, but if you figure VNs are that important to you and you'd still be reading them in 5 years then it'd be a good idea. It'll also unlock the ability to consume other content like LNs and manga without waiting for translations. Chances are you're interested in at least some of those.

Thanks for the compliment Im not sure why Reddit has this representation has this automatic reputation of not being professional but generally smaller/specific communities generally have more mature fanbases But thankfully the two cohosts and I agreed we wanted a professional and organized VN podcast if we wanted to do one and dont regret starting one with them cuz theyre some of the coolest people from the reddit visualnovels community

Extract the script and print it...could even add some screenshots for imagery. I have read two VNs on my android tablet and I had issues flagging the True End for one of them, so I never got to finish it. Thus, I can't really recommend unofficial Ren'Py ports, if not for Kinetic Novels. I'd say that a tablet is quite handy though, especially for college and whatnot. The Switch is something I can recommend especially if you're into JRPGs, but I'd say that most VNs will remain Windows only. If you have a 3DS, how about playing the text heavier interactive games, such as the Ace Attorney series? I only wish that I could be playing AAI2 on my handheld instead of on an emulator, so I understand your wish for convenience and comfort. If you feel you are running out of titles to read in English, maybe it's time to consider learning Japanese?

Ditto on that, pretty handy website. Hope the creator can add some extra filters, a couple months ago I gave the suggestion to make it so we can filter by developer. Would be cool to have the same for specific staff members as it would save having to check each entry one by one.

Unprovable either way, but sounds like horseshit to me.

Hello, If you mean Utawarerumono 1 for PC then that version doesn't have voices normally. It only has voices if it is a pirated copy that has been patched to use PS2 voices so you might want to buy the game.

This site has a really nice list of all the upcoming releases each month, both for PC and consoles. I tend to use that, as well the social media accounts of my favorite companies.

This ost, "Coming Back Alive". Ah... the satisfaction that comes with it. Your hard work paid off, and you're there feeling that relief and bliss with the others, thinking, "This is a wonderful city indeed, filled with wonderful people." Honestly, 428 Shibuya Scramble really impressed me with its high production. Aside from its live action sequences, action-packed storylines, engaging gameplay, and tearjerking emotions, the music is really something else too. One of my favorite osts that's more on the sorrowful side is this, titled "Hope": This was played at the end of Osawa's route. I cried like a baby without shame. Osawa's wife seemed like your typical noisy and uptight housewife, but of course, like Kano (and pretty much 80% of the characters in this story), there's much more depth to her, and the ending to Osawa's route portrays this beautifully. You feel her pain, but you also feel Osawa's remorse over his life and the decisions he's made. The music really made the whole scene feel larger than life, like all the chess pieces are coming together in a grand finale. All the tears and emotions reach a grand crescendo as the story comes to an end. Ah... truly wonderful. Honorable mention to "Echo": The electric guitar riffing sounds really nice with that feel of melancholy, but it's a different kind of sorrow from your typical sad violin tune. Feels grittier, more grounded.

Search through Steam every few months, look around what people are playing on Discord if they've found anything that interests me, and follow @Plk_Lesiak's blog.

For me it was Grisaia no Meikyuu and Rakuen, since they didn't have translations at the time, and I absolutely loved Kajitsu. While it wasn't the reason I started learning in general, it certainly was a strong motivator. The Kono Oozora fandisk was as well, which was the first game I ever tried reading in Japanese. I was pretty terrible at the time, but the motivation it gave me certainly helped me improve a lot faster than I would have normally. I'd personally recommend the Genki books, tbh. We used them at our university, and Genki 1-2 gave us enough knowledge to get by when we studied abroad in Japan. Stuff like Tae Kim's guide is way too overwhelming for beginners in my opinion, and I don't think it should be used as a primary learning resource, but as a secondary source that you check for specific pieces of grammar instead. While it isn't a resource for learning per se, another thing I recommend is for people to start looking up definitions of Japanese words in Japanese dictionaries as soon as possible. (Like this site.) Sure, you might not understand the definitions fully early on, but there is definitely tons of benefits to looking up definitions in Japanese, as English translations won't always carry over the correct nuance of a word, and might even give you the wrong idea of what a word means altogether.

Game is finally out on steam, mega hype!!! https://store.steampowered.com/app/946560/Dont_Forget_Our_Esports_Dream/https://store.steampowered.com/app/946560/Dont_Forget_Our_Esports_Dream/

Can we discuss it here, or is it just announcement? Anyway, I'll answer Wanting to read untranslated VNs was one of my reasons for starting learning Japanese. The two titles that were the source of that are Konosora (it was back when I didn't know if and when retranslation patch will be ready) and Mashiroiro Symphony. Now they are joined by many others (like Clover Day's for example, and bunch of '90s PC98 titles, like Love Escalator or Kakyuusei). As for the first question - I still don't have confidence to tackle those big ones, but recently I started with Hanahira to get my feet wet . It looks very approachable from the learner's point of view - the writing is very simple, and - since there is no narration - all lines are voiced, so it makes looking up unknown words easy even without hooking software. As for the resources I'm using for learning - I started with JFZ online course. I also use Tae Kim's book, and currently mainly I'm learning kanji with WaniKani (and I'm about halfway through, at lvl 30). I'm also thinking about joining some actual class/course next year, to have some speaking pratice and some more structured learning schedule. For now I feel pretty confident with basic grammar, but find my vocabulary and kanji knowledge considerably lacking, so reading bigger VNs would for now still mean looking up many words. But I hope, that maybe in a year or so I will be able to do it

Greetings, Kuriha. I bid you welcome to Fuwanovel. I would strongly encourage you to make a VNDb profile. It is very common practice among experienced visual novel readers to ask for each other's VNDb profiles, not unlike back in the high school days where you and your mate pull your shorts down in the locker room at the same time. Moege is as an excellent a genre as any other. One of my favourites is Koi x Shin Ai Kanojo. I would highly recommend you give it a read, especially if you aren't a fan of faceless protagonist moeges. No worries about your English mate, you're still more comprehensible than the fan translation of White Album 2.

Maji de Watashi ni Koishinasai Summary Kawakami City is famous for its strong dedication to its samurai ancestors. A strong fighting spirit is always valued and it's even an important factor in succeeding in school there. Yamato, a second year student from Kawakami Highchool is always with his close friends (4 boys and 3 girls). They have known each other since they were young and have done loads of things together. They have many other friends, but this seven people is a close-knit group, they even have a secret base where they meet... With the new semester, they welcome two girls into their group and shortly after things start to change... Ending Guideline / Suggested Route Order There are 5 main routes, 6 sub-routes and 1 hidden route, as well as a couple of other endings. Initially you'll be forced to choose one of the 5 main routes. As you finish them more and more sub-routes will open up, and after finishing all of the main routes the hidden route will be unlocked. You may play all of these in any order you wish. To get into a route, finish the prologue and you'll get into a choice screen. You get into a route by exhausting all red spheres with any given character. Each time you select a character she will lose a sphere. Walkthrough Choices crucial for certain CG's will be detailed below. Choices recommended will be written below, but only choices which will otherwise lead to a bad end will be in bold. Timed choices are included in the choice number. After Stories and Sub-Routes have no story relevant choices. Prologue Momoyo Route Chris Route Wanko Route Miyako Route Mayucchi Route Sub-Routes Hidden Routes Attribution This walkthrough is based on info attained here, all info tested by yours truly. Summary stolen from VNDB. Changelog: (23/08/18) - Fixed broken main image. - Fixed broken spoilers as a result of forum updates.

All that recent talk about YMK piqued my curiosity, and despite my fears I bought it today and added to my backlog Just like that old meme: