Toranth

I'm close; for me, it isn't the worst VN, but Most Disappointing. August really dropped the ball with that one, screwing up on almost every take. At least they've (seemingly) learned from it? No, while I usually avoid the truly bad games, the worst one I can remember playing was probably Juukishi Cutie ☆ Bullet, a game so bad the company apologized for it. That one really suckered me. Even for the discounted price I paid it, I was horribly ripped off. God, even remembering it makes angry. Soooo pissed about that pile of shit.

I liked Amber Quartz, but while I felt it was pretty good, it didn't go that extra mile into "this is special" territory. That has been NekoNeko / Cotton Soft's problem. Giniro was amazing, probably the closest thing to a perfect game I'd ever played... but they just couldn't keep it up. Some good games that just don't hit top tier, mixed in with mediocre-to-bad games and floods of fandisks/mahjong releases. Amber Quartz, like Mizuiro or Reconquista, just didn't have enough to make it stand out. I would be nice if more people would recognize the quality hidden there, but the past 10 years have enough as good or better releases that it seems unlikely.

In the usual WTF-English of Eternal Sword series titles, the official English on the promotional materials is "The Spirit of Eternity Sword and the Promised Knights" - no "Nanato" in there at all. I'm not sure if it's going to hold up, but that's currently what they're using.

If I have the context correctly, he's saying that trying to get the crowdfunding for big-budget/niche projects like the Aselia remake or the Euphoria game is difficult, so they're starting with a low budget 3D dungeon crawler (夢幻のナナトと約束の騎士団 / The Spirit of Eternity Sword and the Promised Knights*). However, there are other tweets saying that all three projects are proceeding in parallel, so... I think they're just making Nanato as a way to get more trust (and funding), rather than diverting serious resources into it away from the main games.

... Well, it is quite obvious you can't do any translation. Also, that you don't understand the difference between localization and translation. And yet you feel qualified to tell an entire industry, with more than 100,000 full time professionals in the US alone, that what they do is wrong and you know better. Tell you what - You try that, while I'll stick with the people that have experience know what they are doing. We'll see how it works out.

Except that you said you specific words kept in place, rather than having the correct meaning presented. That's the opposite of an accurate translation. Whatever you think you understand about what a Japanese character is saying, you're almost certainly wrong... or you are fluent in Japanese and should read the VN in that language. Incidentally, there ARE speech styles in Japanese that match up to those used by 'rednecks and chavs'. Are you saying that you would consider it an inaccurate translation to use those styles in English?

Yes, damn those people who actually know what they are doing disagreeing with you! If you don't want an accurate translation, then why the hell should the "translators" not just rewrite the story to whatever they feel like? It's not like you can tell the difference, and as long as they cater to your hangups, you'll be happy.

Whoa! Thems fightin' words, there. The main story was mostly jokes and character cameos shoe-horned into a 'plot'. It's understandable that if you weren't a huge Tsukihime fan to begin with, the KT story wouldn't appeal. But not liking the side stories?! Of course, many of the side stories were parodies or homages to other Japanese works, but there were still a bunch of them that I thought were very good. Especially Daybreak, Tohno Family Con Game, and Yoimachi Kanwa (unless you were one of those weird people that didn't like Akiha). Did you not like any of them?

It's been a long time, but I don't think there are any routes where the MC stays with the girlfriend after he finds out about her cheating. I seem to remember some ends where he doesn't find out (yet), but I think every time he finds out they split. If you really care, try to check a detailed NTR review, as was recommended. I mostly remember that aside from the girlfriend's route itself, either character is terrible. He's a slut, she's a whore, and I didn't care about them by the end.

As an alternative: It's basically the same thing.

Bingo. It's amazing how many unlikeable characters this game has. I can recognize the quality of the VN, but I just don't like it.

Yes, Ouka! A wonderful game, sadly unappreciated despite... wait a minute. Saya? Who's Saya? Ouka, the remake of Shinkirou, is a surprisingly good game despite its heart as a charage. Sayuki is a great immortal heroine, and her ending actually does the concept some justice. The additional routes get into some light chuuni stuff, too, for those that want a break.

It's been a while, but if I remember correctly,

Nim?! You monster!

Dergonu pretty much covered it, but yes! Shinpachi's route in the ChuSinGura fandisk is awesome. It wouldn't have fit in the main game, but it deserved it in terms of quality and character. Best girl FTW. Personally, I like Shinoachi's fandisk route best, followed by Chapter 4 (second best girl). The main three girls all grow on you as their stories go on, but I don't think any of them can compare.

Slice of life is a term that refers to normal, 'realistic' every-day life. Nanairo Reincarnation is not that sort of game.

What. No. No, it is not a slice of life. Not even close. Where did you get that idea? It's a story-driven game. You're right about the H scenes, though.

The official Xuse homepage lists Takase Naofumi (高瀬 奈緒) as the scenario writer for both Aselia and Seinarukana, so that should be the official answer. I don't know why he isn't listed on VNDB; he should be. I can find nothing that gives credit to Zashiki Neko as a writer for the original Eien no Aselia. However: Zashiki Neko (座敷 猫) seems to have been the scenario writer for the Aselia expansion, which included the Kyouko and Tokimi routes. Then when those were folded into the main game along with the console content, he is listed as the scenario writer for the new material in the Special Edition. Also did the scenario writing for SpiTan. Again, he's not listed as a writer for the main Seinarukana game, but he's listed as working as a writer for the Special Edition.

Yay! Good choice. I think ChuSinGura is a great VN, and more people should read it (despite the lackluster translation). Chapters 1, 2, and 3 tell individual stories, focused on specific heroines. Chapter 4 is my favorite - it focuses on the 2nd best girl, but not as a heroine, really. It's mostly a lead in to Chapter 5, where everything from the previous 4 chapters is brought together in one climactic ending. Some people complain about chapter 4, because it is short and doesn't really have a heroine. Many complain about chapter 5 because it changes the tone from the rest of the games. Ignore those people. Unless you absolutely hate the series by the end of chapter 3, you should definitely continue on to 4 and 5. Even if you don't think they're as good as the rest, they're worth it.

You've got a lot of chuuni, and a lot of mysteries. No Key, no Leaf? AliceSoft has a bunch of good non-Rance stuff, but their good games mostly have gameplay or are more like nukige. Oh, hey, you included Island? Hello Lady instead of RuiTomo? Eh, basically, it looks like a list of your preferences - lots of focus on a few specific genres - rather than a broader list of good stuff giving a sampling of all VNs. I mean, it is your list, so there's nothing wrong with it reflecting your tastes... but in that case, you should call it "25 VNs I like".

Well, I don't think I agree with that list of ideas - with one exception. Let me show my own list: 1) Remake and localize Kansen 1 2) Take every other Kansen game and set it on fire. 3) Burn 4) Burn 5) Burn! Seriously. Kansen 1 was okay - it was interesting with the way the virus slowly degrading the victim's higher brain functions, leaving them increasingly at the whim of their baser instincts. But as the series went on, it just switched them to zombies that raped before eating. The series went downhill pretty fast, even though they got mechanically better.

The Tiny Dungeon series worked pretty well as an episodic series. On the other hand, it had two features going for it that most episodic games don't. First, each game also stood alone (for the most part). They had a complete storyline, and although focused on one character, there was still plenty of the other main characters. This also meant a significant amount of content. Second, each release was fast - just 6 months between them. So there was no need to wait long between episodes. Basically, if consumers feel the get their money's worth on each piece AND don't need to wait long, it works. If the pieces aren't worth it, or take too long...

Impressive, from a technical standpoint. Removing non-random and simple random mosaics has been possible for a while, but re-constructing blocked segments is impressive. Still, my first reaction at looking your samples pics could be summed up as: "Oh my God! I thought they were human!" Considering how little effort most artists put into the parts they know are going to be censored, I'm not sure 'decensoring' is an improvement.

Themes of infidelity? Granted, it's been a few years, but I don't remember Ponkotsu being anything but a fairly straightforward moe-nukige. No netoru or NTR. -- Checked VNDB: Ok, right, there was a side character with H-scene who was married.

Prose, overrated? It's only the main point, and almost all of the content - it rather hope it'd be important! Even ignoring the fact that "subtle details" are often fairly important (mysteries, anyone?), the straightforward text itself can save or ruin a story. To give an example, would you enjoy reading a VN full of this: That's the beginning of The Eye of Argon, one of the most legendary (-ily bad) books ever written. Here's a fisking of Chapter 1. Imagine reading a 60 hour VN of this. Prose - the quality of the writing - matters. A lot. I guarantee you I can take a scene from your favorite game and ruin it, while still translating it 100% accurately.