MayoeruHitori

Ugh, I really should have noted that. I was excited about Niijima's role in Sakutoki when I heard it announced, but I haven't consciously thought about it in weeks or months. If you care, Sca-ji also tweeted to confirm that he does plan to release Sakutoki in 2017, just a few hours before I posted this. I was too busy to read his tweets then because I wanted to finish up this post... And yeah, the dearth of top-tier VNs in 2017 inevitably is connected to the surfeit in 2018. Everything is about timing. That doesn't mean I'll stop blaming 2017. *slaps 2017 with prejudice* 2017 was also shitty because it was the year of the rooster, and it's hard to make roosters moe. Thanks, Friendly Commenter! At the moment, I have no such plans...

2018, A Year of Possibility in Visual Novels [source] ~ Leaving Behind the Old Year ~ Let's face it. 2017 was not an impressive year for Japanese visual novels. Sure, the OELVN scene had a breakout hit in the form of Doki Doki Literature Club. Sure, the VN localization industry amazed everyone with prominent official releases of super-popular titles like Muv-Luv Alternative, Little Busters, and the never-before-translated Subarashiki Hibi, Dies irae, and Chaos;Child, to name a few. But the heart of the visual novel industry remains in Japan. And this year has been fairly mediocre for it. I mean, if you take a look at the numbers on Erogamescape (also known as EGS, it's Japan's equivalent of VNDB), you'll find that Hikari no Umi no Apeiria [vndb], and Nora to Oujo to Noraneko Heart 2 [vndb] were the only VNs with a median around the mid-80's or higher and more than a hundred votes [EGS source data]. For reference, 2016 had 6 titles at that level: Island, Chaos;Child, Akeiro Kaikitan, Utawarerumono 3, Tokyo Necro, and Baldr Heart. Of course, that data point doesn't tell the full story. EGS is geared toward eroge players; in terms of pure adventure games (also known as ADV, the common way Japanese players refer to visual novels) New Danganronpa V3 [vndb] was very well-received. (V3 is also the only 2017 VN among VNDB's top 100.) The very recently released Kiniro Loveriche's [vndb] reception has been extremely positive, and though it hasn't had time to accumulate votes yet, I'm optimistic it will stand toe-to-toe with the likes of Apeiria. It's not like there aren't an assortment of noteworthy VNs that merely fall short of the top tier statistically, such as Ouka Sabaki [vndb] and ChronoBox [vndb]. Fans of particular studios like SMEE [vndb], Purple software [vndb], and Moonstone [vndb] were also able to get their fix this year. The VN industry is far from dead; if anything, it's evolving to fill various niches. But that's a whole other topic. The bottom line is I'm ready to move on from 2017. And once you see what's in store for us in 2018, I'm sure you will be, too. ~ Ringing in the New Year, Along with Potential Kamige ~ Every year has promising titles. Unfortunately, they often don't live up to their promise. Still, some titles are so promising--the studios behind them so reputable, the staff working on them so consistent, so little room for error--that it's hard not to get excited. There are, in my opinion, 5 such confirmed titles for 2018. ~ Summer Pockets (Key) - June 29, Delay Likely ~ Let's start with this one, because it's the one I'm personally most hyped for. To state the obvious, Summer Pocket is a major ADV from Key. No matter who the staff behind it is, you'd be foolish to underestimate it. Key's complete major titles are Kanon, Air, Clannad, Little Busters, and Rewrite. (I skipped Angel Beats because it's not complete.) Every one of these VNs is resoundingly famous. But let's pretend we don't know that Key, with its reputation for ambitious works that are patiently crafted rather than quickly pumped out, is behind Summer Pockets. Instead, let's take a look at the staff. The heart of Summer Pockets is Niijima Yuu. He's the mastermind behind Hatsuyuki Sakura, a massive hit from 2012. His prose is hilarious, fresh, and really endears you to the characters. With his tendency toward fanservice and lewd humor, and the way it's always hard to discern the supernatural from the metaphorical in his narratives, he has a lot in common with Maeda Jun. ...Hopefully you already knew this because you've read Hatsusaku. Nobody should miss out on that one, whether they're a romance fan, an action fan, a mystery fan, or a FEELS fan. Anyway, the problem with Niijima Yuu is that he can't be allowed too much creative control. If he is, you end up with the likes of his later works Majo Koi Nikki and Koi x Shin Ai Kanojo, where he made creative decisions that alienated many players. When he was with Saga Planets, they reined him in well. When he was with Amuse Craft, they obviously didn't. But he announced a period of self-reflection in response to Koikake's criticisms. And he adopted a very humble attitude in the first Summer Pockets interview from back in December 2016. Furthermore, Key is a company incredibly concerned about its brand identity, and on top of that, Summer Pocket is constrained by Maeda's outline. So I'm confident that Niijima's strengths will truly shine through, like they haven't since Hatsusaku. And my optimism has been boosted further by all the Summer Pockets info released this past week. Not only are the character designs and backgrounds beautiful, but the excerpts of scenes with each heroine are charming and demonstrate that yes, this is Niijima at his finest. On a final note, it's very possible that Summer Pockets will be delayed--hopefully not past 2018--because Niijima's recent tweet indicated that he's not at all confident he'll be done with the scenario in time for a June 29 release. ~ Kimi to Mezameru Ikutsuka no Houhou (Navel) - April 27 ~ I won't say a lot about this one. I'm not a Navel expert; I've watched the Shuffle anime, and read Oretsuba and Tsuriotsu, but that's it. One reason I'm so optimistic about Kimimeza is rooted in the way Navel handles their creative works. A cynical way to look at it is that they squeeze all their works dry with at least one or two fandiscs, often way more than that. A better way to look at it is that they rarely put out a title that doesn't deserve fandiscs. Navel has finally moved on from Tsuriotsu, and I believe they haven't done so casually. The real question, to me, is how much of a creative role Jackson will play. A fair amount of what made Tsuriotsu so special to me came from Jackson (yes, I'm aware of what interviews and such say, and I believe it's deceptive). We know Jackson does miscellaneous work for Navel, but will he involve himself in this new VN? Or will Navel just let Kazuki Fumi do what he wants within a particular framework, and hope for a decent reception? Even if Kazumi Fumi doesn't receive any support from Jackson, Kimimeza could still wildly succeed. He's a talented writer who wrote Gun Knight Girl and Akeiro Kaikitan, among others, and the constraints of Navel's brand identity could help refine the finished product into one that's broadly appreciated. The premise of Kimimeza feels really interesting, not overly generic but not silly or half-assed either--it's the premise of Chobits where a guy finds an abandoned android, except the girl isn't an android, she's disguised as an android but actually a victim of human organ trafficking, plus there are apparently assassins. Although the story seems like it'll be exciting, the fact that there are only 3 main heroines makes me wonder if Kimimeza will be smaller-scale than Tsuriotsu. Still, there are plenty of reasons to pay attention. ~ Rance 10 (Alice Soft) - February 23 ~ Rance needs no introduction, and doesn't lack proponents. The Rance games are always above average in quality, and they always sell well. In case you hadn't heard about Rance 10 in particular, it will be the final one in the series. As the concluding chapter, the big question is whether fans will consider this a fitting end that wraps everything up the way they hope it will. My gut is telling me that it will be. What's also awesome about Rance 10 is that once it's out and the series is over, people like me who aren't into the series will no longer have to feel jealous that they can't join in on the hype. ~ Minikui Mojika no Ko (Nitroplus) - Summer ~ The literary core of the current Nitroplus, and the brain behind many ambitious and unique titles, Shimokura Vio, is making a new eroge. I haven't researched this much, and not a lot has been announced either (maybe more has been mentioned in interviews that I'm just not aware of). The tagline is "I (僕) know your ugliness (醜さ)" and the title is a play on "The Ugly Duckling". "Mojika" is probably a reference to 文字禍 (lit. "letter calamity"), Nakajima Atsushi's 1942 short story about a fatal curse upon an Assyrian king, which originated from a spirit (霊) of written language (文字). I'm not someone who reads classic Japanese literature, so I don't know more than that. In any case, my impression is that it will be another deconstructive work by Shimokura. ~ Sakura no Toki (Makura) - TBA ~ Is it stupid of me to assume that the sequel to Sakura no Uta, of all VNs, will actually come out within a mere year, rather than suffer delay after delay? Probably, but it's being steadily developed and Sca-ji initially aimed to release it in 2017, so the whole of 2018 should be enough time, unless... well, unless history repeats itself. Again, this will be the sequel to Sakura no Uta, the best VN in the last half a decade. And it'll be done by the same writer, and probably mostly the same audiovisual staff (too lazy to check). Although it's possible that it won't be as ambitious as Sakura no Uta, it will naturally feature Sca-ji's writing and have some excellent parts, and probably be rated highly too. I don't have much to say about Rance 10, Minikui Mojika no Ko, and Sakura no Toki, because their staff situations aren't as complicated as Summer Pockets and Kimimeza, as far as I can tell. ~ Other Notable Titles~ Many other VNs will be both announced and released in 2018, so this is far from a representative portion, but here a few other titles that caught my eye. Sorry if I missed your favorites, hypothetical reader. Kieta Sekai to Tsuki no Shoujo on January 26: A collaboration between La'cryma and Hiyoko Soft. I love Kamiya (writer of fortissimo), but although he's involved with the scenario, it doesn't seem like he's personally writing it. The developers announced they'd be deliberately concealing the staff who work on this. I'm also a little afraid it may repeat the mistakes of Lass with an overly dark scenario. But it's worth paying attention to. Butterfly Seeker on March 30: Another Silky's Plus VN, this one is from Unabara Nozomu, writer of Fairytale Requiem and Shinsou Noise. (The writer of Apeiria doesn't have any announced VNs in the works, if you were wondering.) Riddle Joker on March 30: The new Yuzusoft VN. Many moege fans swear by Yuzusoft, and although their VNs usually aren't rated very high, they sell very well. Toishi Hiroki (an apparently decent writer) will also be taking part in this one. ~ Other Predictions for 2018 ~ My wild prediction is that 2018 will be the year that people accept that the eroge industry won't be pumping out kamige like Fate/stay night or Muv-Luv Alternative reliably any more, and won't be standing at the cutting edge of moe again anytime soon, but still has unique worth as a medium and will continue to steadily produce awesome works that rival any popular anime or manga. The big investors and talented writers are mostly gone, but in exchange, studios are getting smarter and playing to the medium's strengths. Maybe we'll also see people categorize less in terms of eroge versus console ADV, and more in terms of (doujin) eroge versus commercial ADV.

Yeah, that translation certainly sounds better. It's worth pointing out that the JP (natsukashii natsu ga atta / atarashii natsu o shitta / kono shima de deatta) could be translated literally word-by-word to something like, "There was a nostalgic summer. [ I ] came to know a new summer. [ I ] met [?] on this island." But it flows much better in Japanese. So the Kazamatsuri TL is fairly accurate in a sense, just really stiff and literal. It's also possible to have a more middle-of-the-road TL that approximates the original style but flows fairly well like, "That summer was nostalgic. That summer was fresh. That summer, on that island, I had a fateful encounter." But my experience with most respected VN translators is that they'll prefer to restructure, like the one you talked to did, and they'd probably say that a so-called middle-of-the-road TL is still inexcusably awkward. Preferences are infinite, and it's also not as easy to TL non-literally with little context. But it's just a PV in the end; as you say, the translation of the VN itself is what matters most. We'll have to see what happens with that.

I won't be able to judge how important it is to read the uncensored version over the Steam one until I see how they handle Leyline 3, because that's when everything really comes together romantically. (I've always wondered how the Vita port handled this.) Unless you abhor sex scenes, I don't see any reason to not play it safe and read the r18 version. Creepy because ? I mean, I feel like this exact kind of plot device is extremely prolific, even among manga and anime that target young kids. I have difficulty fathoming why anyone would call it that.

At least they got the gist of it. I would personally only use the word translation in quotes to refer to a machine translation or an unapologetic bastardization. Speaking of Kazamatsuri, they also posted TLs of the heroine scene transcripts, along with the raws if anyone hasn't seen those yet and wants to see what the writing will be like. The protagonist Hairi feels to me like maybe a cross between Yuuichi from Kanon, and Nagisa from Natsuyume Nagisa. It makes sense to me that Niijima would end up there when trying to emulate Key's style. Rewrite's protagonist was a little too "Romeo" for me (which I love in a Romeo VN, but not a Key VN) and Angel Beats obviously is a completely different character dynamic, so I'm happy to see a return to a more classic Key where the protagonist is a bum wandering around a seasonal landscape having inexplicable conversations with oddball heroines. I also feel like Key has finally modernized itself. Maybe it's because they got rid of Itaru and recruited the naturally lewd Niijima? The art is sexy without feeling forced, and the heroines' character designs and personalities are interesting without feeling gimmicky. Tsumugi in particular strongly reminds me of Shirokuma, though I won't get my hopes up for Suzumiya Sui.

The first one (Borderline of Dusk) that just came out is enjoyable by itself, but it's short and light, especially if you don't waste time on the side routes. The second and third ones are much more enjoyable, emotionally gripping, and better rated. You should play it if you like the look of it and feel like doing so, because it's not like it's not a fairly complete and satisfying story by itself. But there's no rush to do so because the second and third one are on the way. As Narcosis said, it's also possible that they'll fix some parts of the script by then.

I'll just add, as someone who also read ChuSinGura in Japanese and loved it, that what I did was look at the Steam reviews and ask myself, "Of the people who read the localization, did they love it for the same reasons as people who played it in Japanese? Did they praise it just as much?" And the answer is... yes. ChuSinGura may have a problematic translation, but what matters to many people is whether it's readable without being significantly disconcerting, and whether it conveys the greatness of ChuSinGura. Bar machine translated crap or glitches that make a game unplayable, most translations accomplish this, and ChuSinGura was no exception. So the bottom line is that if you're not planning to learn Japanese anytime soon (which is definitely an option, because the difficulty of ChuSinGura is overrated, you'll get used to the antiquated inflections) and you want to play a truly epic, intellectual, hotblooded emotional rollercoaster of a VN, you should play ChuSinGura, because you will probably really enjoy it. ChuSinGura is basically Muv-Luv Alternative set in Edo Japan. It has a pseudo-non-virgin heroine (she has a daughter, yet the writer deliberately never mentioned the father so it's like he doesn't exist), was from a completely unknown brand, and is full of competent heroines who constantly show up or berate the protagonist, yet despite that it only barely didn't win 2ch's yearly best eroge poll for 2013 (it lost to Navel's fanbase) and has an extremely high rating on EGS, in the past 5 years it's second only to Sakura no Uta when you consider the combination of sample size and median. The only legitimate reasons to not try the localization are that you're extremely peculiar and cannot make yourself ignore the localization's problems, you already know or plan to learn Japanese, you're just getting into VNs and have yet to run out of better ones, or reading VNs is purely a social activity for you and you don't think your Fuwanovel friends will approve of you reading a censored localization--otherwise why the hell would anyone overlook this knowing how big a hit it is?

Correct.

This question doesn't make sense to me. How are you contrasting a game with romantic heroine routes and being forced to pick only one girl? The route structure is Don't read Chaos;Child if you want a stress-free romance. Read it if you liked Chaos;Head and want something similar.

As I played the first route of Dies, I noted down any lines that pissed me off. Here's the unedited list, which even includes stuff like translation choices ("Himuro") that I know the localization team will never actually fix to my liking, and also many lines that were just completely unnecessarily rewritten (like the very first one on the list). The lines with (Fine) next to them are the ones that kinda piss me off, but rationally speaking I know they're acceptable. By the way, toward the end of the route, I started trying to do my best to just ignore the text's problems, so that's why I didn't note as many lines there. P.S. It's not that I don't respect the work of the localization team. They obviously put a massive amount of effort into the various chants, historical and literary references, and other terms. They obviously care a lot about Dies.

Actually, that timeline does include Himegari AKA Princess Hunting Dungeon Meister. Take another look. Kami no Rhapsody takes places after Ikusa Megami 2 according to https://www8.atwiki.jp/battle_goddess/pages/95.html . Sankai Ou no Yubiwa is not listed there, either because no one has bothered to play it and put that info on the wiki or because it's difficult to infer. Amayui isn't out yet.

DanielJp, I had the exact same problem as you and just confirmed the solution. It's necessary to download the TESTAMENT_UPDATE_101a patch at http://3rdeye.jp/support/support.html which Yuno-Gasai mentions in the first post of the thread. That's the official Windows 8 compatibility patch which also contains all the previous patch's fixes, and it even works for Windows 10 which I'm running. There's also an issue with the torrent on Nyaa. It has a built-in modified TESTAMENT.exe intended to avoid needing to have the disc in the drive or the disc image mounted (NoDVD). However, when you run the 101a patch to fix that bug you've encountered, it replaces that TESTAMENT.exe with one that no longer bypasses the need for the original disc/disc image, so it's pointless. Furthermore, you may have difficulty running the 101a patched TESTAMENT.exe with the Nyaa torrent's modified disc image mounted, if it's not recognized as the original disc. I personally chose to install the game from the original Shinigami no Testament disc image which was part of a girlcelly torrent on anime-sharing, and am playing it with that original disc image mounted (after applying the 101a patch, to be clear).

I haven't read the article yet, but even if it says, "The story is something Kai came up with when he was 12 years old, has always wanted to bring to life, and will have full creative control over, while Niijima is just someone we hired out of pity after Koikake, who will be responsible for correcting typos" I'd still respond to this news with "Hatsusaku obviously hit just the right note with people, and it will be up to Key to make sure that happens again here." I care a lot about Niijima Yuu. But yeah, judgments to the effect of "Niijima Yuu is the new face of Key" are a bit premature. Edit: I've just read the article, and don't see where it says Niijima isn't the lead writer. Kai said that he and Niijima are the people who came up with the structural details of the story, working from the broader setting and key points and conclusion of the story which Maeda proposed; Hasama isn't mentioned there. Kai and Niijima talk about Niijima's prose, and Kai compliments him. Niijima also spends time talking about balancing his individual style with Key's style. In contrast, Hasama just talks about how thrilled he is to be working at Key. Although Kai is the director, I think that's just a job he naturally takes as an experienced employee of Key, and it doesn't mean he is writing the important parts. And Niijima's name is the first one listed under scenario writers, which is a spot I have seen associated with the lead writer. I wouldn't be surprised if the true route and much of the common route were written by Niijima.

I'm a fan of Niijima Yuu but I know he's controversial, and I blame it on producers giving him too much creative control. Hatsusaku obviously hit just the right note with people, and it will be up to Key to make sure that happens again here.

Island seems to have also been one of the more notable titles this year, with more votes on ErogameScape than even Tokyo Necro (same median).

No, you're not chuunibyou... You're experiencing "resonance" and slowly awakening to the truth of the world. But the process is not irreversible unless you have encountered those who lurk in the shadows... So as long as you don't encounter them, you will be able to live your life suppressing these feelings and dismissing them as mere adolescent delusions. I pray that you will be able to find peace in place of those whose hands have already been stained with blood...

Baldr Sky has long deserved a console (non-adult) release in Japan, but hasn't gotten one. I suspect that either Giga doesn't need or care about more money, or for whatever reason decided it wasn't worthwhile to pursue the profits... Or maybe they felt the story shouldn't be censored. I do think that the English language VN fanbase overestimates how much Japanese devs care about censorship or artistic freedom. Not everyone is Akamatsu Ken. Some people don't even care about the ero from an artistic perspective. (Others do, as Clock-Up proves.) However, I think it's very possible that Giga does care about censorship, in the case of Baldr Sky. Sure, the focus of Baldr Sky is cyberpunk. But sex is more integrated with the plot than you'd expect. And sure, you can just censor the sex scenes themselves, even though some of the dialogue is key to character development, and you won't be in too bad shape. But that alone will definitely not be enough. Unless a Steam release of Baldr Sky flies completely under the radar, which isn't really possible, the character of Noi plus the presence of rape in the VN have a strong chance of resulting in massive controversy. Those are the two deal-breakers as far as SJWs are concerned, but just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to sexual plot devices in Baldr Sky. Baldr Sky is an amazing story and deserves to be played by all kinds of people. But a Steam version that does anything less than gut various parts of the story could definitely result in heavy condemnation from SJWs toward Sekai Project and Giga. In fact, even if they heavily censor the sexual elements of the plot in the Steam version, the SJWs might still go after Baldr Sky if an uncensored version is also released. All they need to do is follow the script of the TV Tropes controversy and post some screenshots from the uncensored version. Unless the people of Sekai Project can be characterized as fearless proponents of freedom of expression, I would actually assume they'll encourage Giga to not release an 18+ version, and to allow at least a couple parts of the plot to be cut. Meanwhile, even if Giga doesn't want to censor their product, they may defer to Sekai Project when it comes to knowing "what kind of content results in a RapeLay-level controversy". So this situation with Baldr Sky is actually a rare case where I think it was a smart idea to start a poll to show support for the 18+ version. The best case scenario, in my opinion, is an 18+ release and a Steam release that has several parts of the plot cut out; I can't see a Steam release that only cuts the porn being possible. There's always going to be a risk of controversy with a Baldr Sky localization because of SJWs with tunnel vision and the inevitable popularity of the game, but I think it would be a travesty to only release a version that's as censored as necessary to not cause a shitstorm on Steam.

In the Japanese industry, I believe that a director is responsible for directly overseeing production of a VN, like a manager, making sure they do their jobs and it all fits together and the final product is up to standards. A lot like what Diamon said, although I think a director is not always involved in details of the script or music. A director generally has to answer to a producer, who indirectly oversees production in the course of handling the financial side of things, including handling new hires and making sure the director doesn't do something like put NTR in a moege and cause it to bomb. The planning phase is also important in VN development, as many of the basic decisions about the direction of a VN are often made in that phase by one or more people. Nakazawa is both the director and producer of Root Double, meaning he theoretically had absolute authority over the VN. That said, he didn't personally write the text (except maybe some small parts uncredited, I wouldn't be surprised). Instead, he relied on his scenario writers to do that. I think that if GundamAce were here, he'd recall some of those staff interviews he translated in which the Tsukishima brothers and Nakazawa talked about what roles they played, but I don't. However, I think the strength of Root Double's writers was in making the story work, not leaving any plot holes or inconsistently characterizing anyone or messing up their prose in any way whatsoever. They have a very deliberate style which perfectly suited the needs of a mind like Nakazawa's which comes up with such elaborate stories, but in my opinion someone like Uchikoshi would have to written more endearing (beyond simply likable) characters. In any case, even if Nakazawa is the director and has a clear vision for the VN, the actual writer/s may have a lot of influence in determining the details. By comparing to Zero Escape, it's clear Uchikoshi had a lot of influence in Ever17 and Remember11. Romeo's route in I/O also heavily focuses on his pet theme of alienation. Having read all 3 of the Secret Game VNs (KQ/SG/Rebellions), I don't know exactly how much influence Nakazawa had over Secret Game as director, but well, Secret Game is just an expanded version of Killer Queen. The setting wasn't drastically changed, and the depth still can't compare to the Infinity series. I think that Nakazawa probably had a negligible influence during the planning stage. However, for Rebellions, another VN that he both directed and produced, the game itself feels very cohesive and complete, just like Root Double did, and certain plot elements remind me of his work. Root Double's writers also worked on large parts of Rebellions, and it's easy to recognize their style.

Oh, I didn't notice that the person who I quoted was you, the reviewer. Since you've already finished the VN, let me just share with you my interpretation:

For the record, it's Alone Desire. Not even Shimizu Ai? To me though, even the simple fact that both male protagonists are 100% voiced is a huge plus in the voice department, compared to most VNs.

The in-development versions of the Oculus Rift have design flaws that can cause headaches ("simulator sickness"). But it seems like as long as you have certain features like head tracking with 6 degrees of freedom (your head matches the virtual world's head's movements perfectly), no artifical locomotion (standing still in real life means you stand still in the game), suffiently latency and frame rate, and no jarring errors, then there's no real simulator sickness. And the release versions of the Morpheus, Rift, and other headsets look like they mostly have those problems solved. But when a developer creates a simple tech demo like this one with tons of floating UI elements, I suspect it feels like a gimmick to most people who play it, and they can't really achieve a sense of "presence" or understand the appeal of bothering to put on a headset for it. This kind of specialized technology is what visual novels in VR will probably want to rely on: Still, it's nice that Spike Chunsoft is exploring these new technologies. Even if it's just a demo, it may blow some people's minds. And I think Danganronpa 2 would be well suited for VR. Those who've played it may agree with me. The fact that it offers more of a large and beautiful world to explore, compared to the first game, would be one reason.