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Hey Fuwanovel forums! I was active on here years ago, and am back now after getting back into eroge after the release of Subahibi. [deleted]

After ten years playing VNs, you would think I would have completely lost faith in them by now, especially considering just how many I've played (744 not counting most of the nukige, replays and incomplete/dropped ones). Most VNs that aren't nukige are SOL-fests that exist solely to promote nostalgic fantasies about life in high school and getting into bishoujos' pants... not that that is an entirely horrible goal, but it isn't something I want to see five hundred times over. The romance is usually puerile and has no relation to reality, the characters have all their hard edges filed away by the needs of the archetype, and drama is used solely to add 'spice' (like one sprinkle of pumpkin spice, not cracked red pepper) to an otherwise endlessly sweet and bland recipe. So how is it that someone who has experienced that much essentially boring and pointless repetition of the same scenarios able to continue to enjoy VNs, even if he can't stand meaningless SOL anymore? At one time, it was a sense of duty, a belief that I was doing the community good by digging gems out of the piles of crap that are the SOL genre. I also had a sense of pride that I made an effort of objectivity that I have literally seen no one else attempt. I played games no one else bothered with because they didn't have the time or patience, and I did it because I thought someone looking at the games would want to know what they were getting into. I paid a price in a growing sense of bitterness, of boredom, and of a sense that I was forgetting the reason why I began to read fiction in the first place. I paid a price in people continually being trolls and trying to draw me into fights over my opinions on these games. I had people start reddits and send me pms being sympathetic about the very conversations they'd started (yes that happens). I also had people who respected what I was doing, and I knew there were people in the community who benefited from the fact that I was doing it. I watched VNs I had pushed get localizations and fantls (usually to my surprise), and I saw others that I had labeled as mediocre get hyped to a ridiculous degree. I tried to get other people to help with what I was doing, only to find that, without a reading speed similar to mine, it was too much of a burden on their lives and ate up the time to read the VNs they wanted to read. The bad generally outweighed the good immensely while I was doing VN of the Month, and even after, I found that the after-effects of my years of playing games I wasn't interested in personally had left me with scars I was unable to feel while my sense of duty was keeping me going. However, I can say that I still haven't given up on VNs. Why? The reason is ridiculously simple and at the same time profound (at least to me). I love the medium. For someone who likes an experience that combines the reading, visual input, and music without the need for a lot of input from the one experiencing it, VNs provide a unique storytelling experience. Books are great for the imagination and can send our souls exploring across landscapes that exist only in our own minds, but VNs provide a more filled-out framework for those who don't necessarily have the imagination to fill in all the gaps on their own, without rotting the imagination to the degree manga and anime do. I've been able to get people who had trouble reading books into VNs, then led them straight back to books and opened the world of imagination to them. I've seen people who had begun to feel the otaku community offered nothing more to them come alive again after playing a chuunige or a charage. I've picked up a random moe-looking VN and found a deep and compelling story that remains within me dozens of times. In the end, it is moments, experiences like that that keep me coming back, believing in the possibilities of VNs even now. It is the desire to find more such experiences that keeps me looking at new releases each month, and it is the belief that those experiences will never entirely vanish that keeps me from condemning the industry as a whole for the way it sabotages itself at times.

For me, Sakura no Kisetsu is a classic. However, it's a bit unapproachable now, with old engine and awkward adventure-gameplay system - which is much more annoying than, say, YU-NO. As I wrote recently in recommendations thread: Well, sometimes I do things on a whim, and shortly after writing the above, I decided to give it a try Actually it's quite fun for now - writing things in Ren'py is almost like directing your own puppet-show . The goal is to rewrite Sakura no Kisetsu into standard VN structure with branching choices system - getting rid of the "look/think/talk with everything to trigger next scene" system. I do this by arranging texts from various "think" "look" and "talk" sections into the order that gives the best flow (and inserting small connecting bits in between where absolutely neccessary). I also plan to re-edit it or partially retranslate the lines that annoy me too much As I see, Brazilian Portugese translation uses similar approach, but they used assets (graphics and music) from the remake, which I'm not too fond of - they are very blurry, while the pixels from dithering are still very visible, so it's like the worst of both worlds . I'm working with assets from PC98 and DOS versions. I also plan to have switchable soundtrack, with all three versions available: PC98 - original FM soundtrack, GS - PC98 MIDI music replayed with SoundCanvas soundfont and AdLib - PC DOS version FM soundtrack. While browsing graphic files extracted from both versions I was surprised. I expected Japanese PC98 version to have mosaics (and if such were the case, planned to have mosaics on/off switch in the options), however, the version that is floating around the net is uncensored. Probably somebody hacked files with HCGs from English PC version into it? Graphics and scripts formats are identical between two versions, only music files are different because of different sound hardware. I looked at files more closely and yes, it seems that some CG files were replaced - while all graphic files from PC98 have 1996-04 dates, HCGs have 1999-10. For now I have ported first two scenes - talk with parents in Shuuji's home and first meeting with Reiko on the way to school - complete with music and sprites with facial animations, just like in the original Some preliminary screenshots coming in ~12 hours. Of course for now it is all pretty basic - just full-screen background and standard ren'py textbox. I'm still not sure whether to go with that approach, or try something more like in the original, with borders etc, and the actual scenes taking just small portion of the screen? Also, I'm still not sure how much smoothing (if any) should I use while converting backgrounds and sprites. But we can discuss that when there are screenshots. *I'm not sure in which subforum should I place it. It's clearly not "Original Visual Novel", it's also not exactly "Translation Project" (although probably some translating will be involved). Well, I hope our mods will help me by moving it into most suited section.

"No mosaic anywhere in sight" also meant that Sekai, instead of JAST, got Baldr Sky. I appreciate JAST's dedication to no mosaics policy, but sometimes, that leads to bad outcomes.

This thread just pop up out of nowhere in the home page of Fuwanovel. I thought it was recent until I discover the horror of accidentally reviving a dead thread ages ago (5 Years lol) when I finish commenting lol... My bad

Foreword: Won't lie, I only picked this game since the other notable titles of the month were gameplay-centered. But this one is a mystery story centered around time travel which makes it stand out among the rows of typical charage in October 2000. Title: Kaichuudokei Developer: Free's Date: 2000-10-13 VNDB link:https://vndb.org/v21778 Youtube walkthrough:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8GxGaUo6Yc Synopsis: Some girl appears before main character and gives him pocket watch. The next day she meets hero once again, but she had no recollection of the yesterday encounter. Strange events start to pile up turning into bizarre incidents that are able to claim one's life. Can he protect the girls? Structure: Game takes some 5 days, but we have to repeat only last 2-3 days usually through time travel Length: 3.5 hours for one route Game type: School crime mystery with time travel Difficulty: I'd say moderate. Composition is unusual, so it's possible to get lost without knowing how to proceed after bad ending Character Design rating: 6/10 Protagonist rating: 5/10 Story rating: 7/10 Game quality: 5/10 Overall rating: 6/10 Rating comments: 6 is the best score I can give to a non-masterpiece game. Game is about the mystery, so characters aren't much developed, same as protagonist. Game quality gets a dent for some poor CG, no voicing and constant crashes at win10 at sound effects play (win98-ME does not have crashes, but it's impossible to hook text there). Protagonist: Nothing much special. A normal high school student who got involved into a mysterious case. Characters: There are three heroines - Asuka, Haruka and Sakuya, but the main heroine with the most intriguing plot like is Asuka. Story: Main character receives pocket watch from a girl one day, but when the same girl moves to his class the next day, she has no recollection of giving the watch. There are several incidents targeting girl's life and of course death in the end which triggers time jump with the need to prevent death. There are four cycles of the same events, and each time we get to uncover new part of the mystery and observe different suspects. The ending was very unexpected for me. Great composition and story, actually. CG: Most are fine. Good thing that there are very few H events in the game, two per heroine or so. Sound: BGM turned out to be nice and inspirational, especially liked the danger motives. Thoughts: The motive of the game is that innocent looking persons are usually the most vile. And it was nice to see how that idea played out in each of girl routes. Overall comments: I liked the story here. It's complex enough and short enough to keep the thrill from beginning to the end, creating an overall positive impression.

Awesome timing, I just started reading Chaos;Child via patch about a week ago. If I'd known that they'd release it on Steam now, I'd have waited. Though, judging by the picture here in the Steam screenshots, they didn't translate the names of the talking character, which is a bit disappointing to be honest. Anyway, I'll still buy it. Regarding Chaos;Head, I'm fine that I didn't read it (or to be precise, I dropped it early because of whiny Takumi). The protag in Chaos;Child isn't supposed to know what was behind those murders - only that they happened. So the immersion is bigger because no info is spoiled and the revelations will probably also turn out more interesting that way.

If you plan on getting one of the Neptunia games start with Rebirth 1, also it can be smart to wait for a sale. There are often massive sales on them like 80% of.

Hmm... I'm been watching some of Improvement Pill's Videos a while back and also read some of his book recommendations. That's where I first heard the Power of Habit Book although I still wasn't able to finish it at the moment. Yes his videos seems reasonable and believable, much more better than the infamous school of life videos. I also heard from somewhere that if life is getting harder, it means you're leveling up in the game of life or something along those lines. I've just read a couple of Personal Development/Self Help Books and this is what I get wow! Anyways It's not over yet for me and life's still expecting something out of me and intend on fighting until the end of my days... Thank you so much for the concern and support! Pretty much appreciate it!

Kono Aozora ni Yakusoku o. Finished Saeri's route and dropped Rinna's route. Rinna's route was funny and romantic and that's it. It's probably the best route if you like Rina and this kind of stories but I GET TIRED INCREDIBLY FAST OF THOSE KIND OF STORIES. I didn't feel like her character developed at all and most of her development comes from the common route. Saeri's route, on the other hand, was unexpectedly great. She was mostly in the background as some sort of comedic character but it's turned around in her route. She has to stand up for herself and steel herself if she wants to save everyone including her relationship with Wataru. She steeled herself and defended Wataru in an amazing way. She defended him smartly and loyally. The 12 Angry teacher's scene based from the 12 Angry men, I shit you not there was a scene like that and that title was put in the beginning like some sort of movie credits. It's the best scene in the whole VN and probably gonna be one of my unforgettable scenes. It was written well, the title was fitted incredibly well and also the names of the characters participating where changed into the 1st teacher, 2nd teacher and so on. What makes me think it's written well is that even if it is a scene that would change Wataru's life, the teachers are just human. Some just don't care or ignorant or treat it casually. The whole scene had me on the edge as it really felt like some kind of mini courtroom. Also yeah I really was looking forward to what the hell Naoko (The cunning and smart president) was planning and she did not disappoint. Seriously, play this game just for Saeri, she's unexpectedly quite cute in her route. Probably going to continue Umi's route. Played her for a while and stopped since while it was heavy it wasn't exactly quite gripping. And yes, it feels like a totally different visual novel and it's natural considering their past and Umi's character. So far Common 9/10 Rinna Dropped Saeri 9/10 Which reminds me I haven't shared my thoughts on the common route. The common route suffers from the game-y system it has. I prefer it when visual novels feel more like a novel than a game. Yes, I'm referring to the map selection that plagues some VN's even up today. It takes you out from the immersion. Aside from that the common route does not disappoint. It introduces the characters well and is funny. Also what I like about this game is that the characters feel like they have their own life. Some other visual novel heroines has their life centered around the protagonist (Well Umi's an exception and she has a reason for that)

No Nut November is bullshit, Destroy Dick December is the real shit

Wow, that's a big topic... There's many, although most of them are small and there are dozens of circles that pretty much came together for a single project and never produced a VN after that. Also, many OELVN labels are pretty much a single person, making their own VNs with help of commissioned artists, programmers etc (you'll find Hanako Games, Razzart or ebi-hime in this category, even though they have a major impact on the EVN scene). If you check out the list of Steam Homepages I've compiled lately and scan the EVN-related entries, you'll get a decent impression on what the EVN scene looks like. Watercress is not there, as they're actually not a commercial studio and don't publish on Steam, AFAIK. Most of the things I've labelled as "EVN development studios" are actually alive and working on new projects. If you want something more specific, I would most likely point to Love in Space (Sunrider and Shining Song Starnova people) and PixelFade (Ace Academy and Crystalline) as biggest and most active EVN studios. There are some notable aspiring teams, like yuri-focused Studio Elan, but they have to yet release a full game. You also have ecchi factories such as Dharker or Winged Cloud, although the latter really seems to be dying out. It's strange, as the Sakura series must've been super-successful commercially, but both their output and marketing are absolutely anemic nowadays.

Been a while since I posted anything from Pixiv. Here's an adorable Mashu art to make up for that. https://www.pixiv.net/member.php?id=83739

Life with a cute pet.

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?

Definitely prefer VNs on PCs. I've never really liked tablets, and feel that they're overpriced for what they offer. I will never buy one, but I'll use one if I have to, at least if they aren't iPads. I decided that the last Apple product I'm going to use will be my new iPod Touch, which was a gift. I don't like Apple's business practices, the quality of their products for the price, or the way the newer OSs are heading. [/rant] Anyway, I don't like letting people see what I'm doing on a computer, even if it's not embarrassing. I'm a rather private person, at least in real life with people I don't know. Getting a tablet would be weird for me.

I always preferred PC over consoles for many reasons, mostly because on a PC you can do much more than just play games and become consoles eventually get old and you need to buy new ones but PC stays forever (Or at least until nervgear comes out).

PC because everything is more flexible on a PC. Consoles, portables, and even phones... are less so.