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Showing content with the highest reputation on 05/31/20 in all areas

  1. Finished Al Somnium Files Overall a pretty satisfactory murder mystery with plenty of pseudoscience thrown in to keep you from being able to *logically* deduce the truth behind the murders until they literally spit out the secret behind said pseudoscience at you some 80% of the way through the VN. It's definitely not like Danganronpa/Ace Attorney where you can figure out the culprit early on/throughout; you'll have to wait until nearly the end for this one to learn the truth. Still was very entertaining just going through the motions though. First off, I have this BGM playing on repeat as I type this. Glad Spike Chunsoft was able to come up with another catchy interrogation theme~ Let's get the introductions over with. In Al Somnium you play as (first name) Date Kaname, an amnesiac (go figure) police officer/detective/agent of Metropolitan Police Department's (MPD) secret elite Advanced Brain Investigation Squad (ABIS). The ABIS have access to a highly classified technology known as the PSYNC (PsychoSYNaptic Neurological Connection(?)) system, our main pseudoscience plot element machine that allows one individual designated as the PSYNCer to connect and neurologically dive into another individual's- the PSYNCee's-subconscious in order to find the secrets hidden within their "Somnia", or dream realm. So I thought this VN would have a pretty straightforward formula akin to, say, Danganronpa, which had a basic flow consisting of 1. Murder happens 2. Gather evidence 3. Solve the murder through class trials. Rinse repeat for 6 Chapters. Al Somnium would do the same: have a murder, gather evidence, then bust the perp through PSYNCs, rinse repeat right?! LOL NOPE!!! Instead what you basically get is a narrative where the once the first murder happens, you then go on a massive wild goose hunt chase only to always be a step behind and playing catch up wondering who the eff the killer is for nearly the entirety of the story. The further you go, the more bodies pile up, and instead of finding answers, you'll only pile on more and more questions. I'm making this sound like a bad thing, but I think it was actually pretty well done and effective at keeping you engaged purely on the WTF IS GOING ON, I NEED TO KNOW!@# aspect. Date is missing his left eye, which is instead replaced by an ABIS provided advanced artificial intelligence eye-ball dubbed Aiba (clever right?). Aiba serves as Date's main investigation partner/companion- she's the Navi or Midna to Link from the Zelda series. Really great partner character, I really love stories that are able to incorporate a partner for the main protagonist. Other characters include Mizuki (Date's tsundere 12yr old roomate living with him due to special circumstances); Iris Sagan (18yr old rising-in-fame net idol) and her mother Hitomi Sagan (raised Iris single); Ota (24yr old otaku/Iris fanboy), So (a shady gruff politician). A decent bunch. Minus So. Iris Sagan. Net idol. Best Girl fo' sho There is an accessible at all times Flowchart where you can return/jump to any point of the story at anytime. If you know Spike Chunsoft, you know the significance of these Flowcharts >.> Gameplay was satisfactory, although unfortunately was never able to achieve the same thrilling highs as Zero Escapes' escape rooms or Danganronpa's Class Trials imo. Throughout the entirety of the story you are given moments to cursor-point-and-click the backgrounds for extra scenic info/banter between characters. This ultimately degrades into a fluff/padding mechanic: you will never be able to miss key information that a certain Kara no Shoujo was infamous for (in that it locked you into a bad ending for missing something in one of the point and click investigation segments). So 80% of the time you will be clicking a chair in the background just to result in "this is a chair" description, but you'll find yourself checking everything anyway just so you can completionist grey out everything on the map and see all the character banters if any. Quite a chore. You can probably shorten your playthrough of this VN by half if you completely skip clicking everything. Interrogation scenes. They're honestly pretty barebones and lackluster interrogation scenes compared to the bombastic DR's Class Trials or Ace Attorney's back and forth Courtroom Trials since this VN doesn't revolve around this gameplay mechanic like those aforementioned do. They were fairly entertaining to playthrough though, mainly because of that catchy theme that plays during them (linked in the youtube vid above). But yeah I would've liked there to be more substance to them. PSYNC/ entering Somnia worlds: the flagship core gameplay mechanic of Al Somnium Files. This is the trumpcard method Date utilizes as an agent of ABIS to interrogate key persons of interest. By Psyncing with them and entering their subconscious (Psyncees are usually rendered unconscious/sedated beforehand), Date is able to visit their Somnia, an ethereal dream realm where the Psyncee is "the author, director, and actor of their play" (without any conscious control over it), and Date is the Psyncer "the audience witnessing this play". It's all very abstract- the VN shifts to a 3D free roam surreal environment where you can move around and perform tasks while in another person's mind with the goal of breaking through their Mental Locks to reveal their secrets buried deep within. Btw, did I mention that PSYNCs have a 360 sec (6min) time limit? Any further and the Psyncer risks having their mind/consciousness absorbed by the Psyncee completely. Walking around and performing Actions consumes Time, so Date is always racing against the clock. It's an artificial way to add difficulty to this gameplay, but you're never really punished too hard for failing since you can always reload and then skip to where you last left off. Unfortunately, even this flagship PSYNC mechanic left me feeling unsatisfied: while there are indeed some epic wow moments to be had, most of the time Somnia experiences are RNG/trial and error based; you cannot logically deduce what action would progress you deeper into someone's mind. What should I do with this fan? Blow on it? Kick it? Grab onto it? Whoops one choice was wrong. Whoops the second choice was wrong. Whoops the third choice is wrong. So the fan's not the answer, how about that random pot over there? Shit, out of time, gotta restart and try again. One of the lategame PSYNCs is ESPECIALLY guilty of this: After going through a fairly lengthy and confusing labyrinth to break through several Mental Locks and actually running fairly low on time by the end of it, the devs actually had the gall to slap you in the face and choose from (not really spoilers i guess?) To give credit where it's due though, here are some Somnia moments I enjoyed: (MASSIVE SPOILERS) Other random misc. comments/thoughts/moments: (ULTRAMASSIVE SPOILERS): Overall this VN is a solid 8/10. Engaging murder mystery plot that utilizes pseudoscience, fairly likeable characters, solid sound track, decent gameplay that has its moments. Didn't feel like ermergawd mindblown masterpiece, but was definitely a fun experience. Oppai-lady
    3 points
  2. Dreamysyu

    Birthday thread

    Happy birthday, @Plk_Lesiak! Huh, feels like you previous one was just recently.
    1 point
  3. littleshogun

    Birthday thread

    Happy 31st birthday to our mod @Plk_Lesiak, and I hope that you'll have a good birthday there.
    1 point
  4. As for Nalmar guide it's not possible to follow it step by step seeing that the event is randomized, although of course it's still useful to a degree in that you may need some help on some situation. Alicesoft's guide is pretty comprehensive, so I had nothing to add here. I never use cheat in any gameplay VN here, and yeah I already beat this once back when Mangagamer still not translate this (Duh). As for my tips, you should beat Ashikaga, Uesugi, Akashi, and Houjou in that order if you want some easier time. As to avoid Takeda beat Houjou and Uesugi (And therefore screwed the gourd order), declare war to both of them (Not Takeda obviously). Of course you shouldn't beat Houjou after Akashi fall, but instead I would say that you should beat Masamune after Akashi (Don't forget to recruit Kazemaru and clear his event). Note that by the time you finished Houjou, you should be ready for the war against the fiend. Lastly if you wonder on what bonus that you should take in character events, then you should take 'Level +2' bonus because level is REALLY matter for the final boss and that Alicesoft here didn't give level up each time after commander battle. At least they give us level each time you clear dungeon so exploit it as much as possible, and KEEP using level up item that you get each time you free five prisoners to Rance, and only Rance. PS - I don't know if some of those are still apply to Mangagamer version, but hopefully it still apply.
    1 point
  5. DDLC is good tbh but still its kinda rip off. On the other hand though Katawa Shoujo was filled with some cliche it was truly on OG story. DDLC has its fanbase but its nothing compared to Katawa Shoujo
    1 point
  6. As for my favourite routes and heroines - definitely Hanako and Lily. I also loved the atmosphere created by soundtrack.
    1 point
  7. Shinigami no Kiss wa Wakare no Aji Summary "Is there something you want to leave behind for your loved one?" A young boy and girl lived in a small seaside town. One day, the boy invited the girl to the sea to convey his feelings to her. However, she lost her life in an unforeseen accident. Months and years later, the boy continues to live in the place where his memories with her remain. He can't forget her, yet he must. Our protagonist, Amamiya Makoto, spends a peaceful everyday life with his younger sister, Shizuku. One day, he meets a mysterious girl, Kohaku, who has deep blue eyes and carries a giant scythe. "Can you see me?" she asks. None of the people around him notice her. "Oh. You'll die very soon, then." She is a shinigami. This is a relatively short VN with nakige elements and solid art. This is also the hardest walkthrough I will likely ever make. It'll all make sense when you read it. Ending Guideline / Suggested Route Order In order to get Kohaku's route, you must first get Shizuku and Honoka's routes. After completing those two routes, start a new game, and a new window will appear to allow you to choose which route you want to read. Route Guideline Shizuku Ending Honoka Ending Kohaku Ending Attribution This walkthrough was created while I was playing this game.
    1 point
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