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Dergonu

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  1. Dergonu
    So before I start, I don´t really know if this can go up on fuwa review or not so ... I´m just posting it here in the same format.  If anyone know if it can be moved over there then that would be cool. Anyways, on to the review:
     
    Opening statement:
    Yosuga no Sora is one of those games that a lot of people might judge before actually giving it a go, due to its nature. Maybe you heard rumors, read a negative review or an angry comment about it. Either way, there is a lot of negativity surrounding the game, and I hope that by making this review, some of that will go away. 
    Yosuga no Sora review
    By Dergonu 
     
    Yosuga no Sora is a slice of life romance visual novel by Sphere. It tells the story of the two twins, Sora and Haruka who just lost their parents in a car accident. In order to leave behind their painful memories, they seek a new beginning in their old childhood town, all the way out in the country. Upon arriving in town they are reunited with old friends and make new ones. The story starts of fairly simple as a slice of life romance comedy, but slowly evolves into more of a dramatic love story touching on some controversial topics like incest.
    Similar to a lot of popular VNs, it is in a school setting with romance and comedy as essential components, though its unique aspects does make it quite enjoyable despite this.  

    My initial reaction when starting the game was that the music, backgrounds and the art itself is all pretty good. The music slides nicely into the background and doesn't feel disruptive or too repetitive. It´s nothing phenomenal, but it is by no means bad. The art is nice, especially considering that the VN isn't exactly new. One thing that annoyed me was the text box. Often the text will be too long and it will force you to scroll down, making it hard to read, especially in auto mode. This is of course not a big problem, and its primarily only a problem for the English parts, not the un-translated parts of the game. Still, it's a small annoyance. Other than that, the menu and the interface is ok, but does feel a little jumbled at times. The English titles on the menu is essentially unreadable and so you have to either read the katakana/ kanji or get used to where the different options are. 

    The game consists of 5 heroine routes, but one is on a different level from the other 4; that being Sora's route.
    This is where I feel the novel loses a little potential. The story is clearly supposed to primarily be about Sora and Haruka, and this reflects clearly even in the routes where Sora isn't the main heroine. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that the other characters don't deserve a route. All five of the characters have their merits, and all five routes are fairly enjoyable, but I feel that the difference in quality is quite noticeable between Sora's route and the other 4. Another thing that disappointed me was the way choices was handled in the novel. You get 5 choices during the story, and basically, the only thing they do is let you choose what route to go into. Meaning, choices have absolutely NO effect on story, CG, endings etc. Like I mentioned, this novel does touch on some controversial topics, and is quite dramatic at times, which to me says that it would be logical with choices for the player to make during the story that impacts the ending, but instead all you get is one story and one ending for each route.    
     
    That being said, the characters is a big plus for me. They are colorful, diverse and work very well together as a group. The most fun part of the common route and for lots of the slice of life parts of the character routes is definitely "double Akira" and their shenanigans. All the characters do get some screen time even outside their own route, though for the supportive characters like Yahiro and Kozue (the class president), you get a lot less character development. Yahiro only really has a purpose in Motoka's route, (which is untranslated) and class rep really only exists to bring some drama in primarily Sora's route. But overall, the characters is a big plus for this novel.
    The five characters that gets a route is:
    Sora, Harukas twin. Will mention more about her a little later, but she is a fairly standard tsundere character with a powerful emotional connection to her brother. (Translated.) 
    Kazuha, Harukas classmate. She is an oujosama, being the daugther of the most influential and powerful man in the little town. She is strict and a little uptight, but she is really cute and a very likeable character overall. (Translated.) 
    Akira, another one of Harukas classmates. She is the oposite of Kazuha in that she is laid back, highly energic and doesn't care too much about rules and such. She is easily influenced by Ryouhei, or "ryou-nii" as she calls him, and the two form the infamous pair of troublemakers, "double Akira." (NOT fully translated.) 
    Motoka, Kazuha's maid. "The older woman route". She is a really funny character. Actually quite clumsy and impatient, she is the last person you'd think of as a maid for a rich family. The two sides of her personality makes her really interesting and funny. Sadly her route, which is the best outside of Sora´s in my opinion, is untranslated and so you´ll have to pull out some text hookers etc to read it. Parts of it is translated, but this only accounts for about 40% of the route. (NOT fully translated.) 
    Nao, the "onee-san", Haruka's upperclassman. Haruka has known her since childhood, as they were neighbors when Sora and Haruka spent time in the town in the past. Their past is slightly complicated, though they quickly hit it off again when Haruka returns to the town. She is a character you either find really annoying or one you end up really liking. Sadly, for me, it was the first one. (NOT fully translated.) 

    Back to the story. Like I mentioned earlier, the story is about Haruka and Sora settling into a new town after their parents passed away. Now, Sora is very shy and not very sociable. The main reason for this is that she spent a very large amount of time as a child in a hospital due to her weak immune system. Because of this, it became Haruka's job to take care for and look after Sora. As the story progresses, we learn more about the pair and grow more attached to them. At times we will see certain scenes from Sora's point of view, and I for one grew very attached to Sora fairly quickly. She is a pretty standard "tsundere" character, but as we see things from her point of view now and then, you see both sides of her simultaneously and this makes for a little bit of a different experience from normal, bland tsunderes. The story maintains a pretty laid back air to it for a while before entering the more dramatic parts. This is the case for all routes, though the extent of which the drama takes control of the story will wary. In Soras, route the drama primarily consists of the two dealing with conflicting emotions, that being the romantic love for each other that they both try to hide and understand, and their love for each other as siblings. Here again the novel kind of lacks a kick in the other routes. In my opinion, Kazuha and Akira's routes doesn't really achieve much in the form of story. They dig out some fairly plain story about Kazuha's parents and the link between them and Akira, but it didn't really move me at all, and it was resolved in what felt like an anticlimactic and boring manner. That being said, their routes are still enjoyable. I very much enjoyed the interactions between Haruka and Kazuha especially, as they are very different people and make for a really adorable couple. Also, the H-Scenes in the novel work well in strengthening the relationship between the characters, and for once offers a non virgin main character in a slice of life romance VN, which is a plus in my book, as they become a little different from the majority of scenes in similar novels.   

    Overall, the VN does a good job in providing the reader with some form of entertainment throughout the entire story. At no points did I feel like I was being bored by the story, though I was rather impartial towards some of the things that happened in some routes that wasn't Sora's. The comedy is enjoyable and the romance aspects are really well done. In conclusion, Yosuga no Sora is a slice of life romance with some unique aspects that become either a hit or a miss. The game offers some drama at later stages of the routes, and even if it doesn't make you feel too much, the nice and cute romance and comedy will at least keep you reading till the end. Sora's and Motoka's routes are the most memorable for me. If you are looking for something deep and heavy, this is not the VN for you. That being said, if you want a romance VN unlike all the others in its genre, this one will definitely offer some unique parts that you won't find everywhere else. Despite some flaws I think this is definitely worth a read, especially for Sora's route.
    One final note for western readers, I´ve mentioned it above already but only about 80% of the game is translated, so for some parts of the routes that isnt: Common, Kazuha or Sora,(meaning Motoka, Akira and Nao,) you will need a translation program to read.
     
     
    + Nice, colorful and diverse characters that works well both as a group and individually
    + The music, art, CG as well as H-Scenes are all well done and work well together
    + The slice of life, comedy/romance aspect are very well executed 
     
    - Many of the routes in the VN, despite being enjoyable, aren't very memorable and the endings feel rushed
    - The lack of choices to impact the ending makes for a less impactful experience
    - The dramatic, later parts of most routes is poor compared to Sora's route, lowering the overall quality of the VN
     
    Overall I give Yosuga no Sora a 7/10 rating.
  2. Dergonu
    Beat Valkyrie Ixseal Review
    Choukou Shinki Ixseal, (Beat Valkyrie Ixseal), is the newest game in AliceSoft's "Beat" series. (Same universe as Beat Blades Haruka and Beat Angel Escalayer.)
    Though, while the game is set in the same universe as the other two games, it can be played without having played either of its predecessors. (The only connection to previous games is a few small references, that are not important to the story at all. In fact, I'd recommend playing this game first if you plan on playing a game in the series. I will explain why later in the review.)
    Similar to its predecessors, Ixseal is a gameplay/ VN hybrid, where you advance through a number of stages, defeating monsters along the way until you reach the area boss. Upon defeating the boss, the story progresses, and you move onto a new area. In between gameplay aspects, you see normal VN styled scenes, which makes up the bulk of the game. The game is voiced throughout all the story segments, as well as the H-scenes. The only portions of the game that are not voiced are "filler" scenes, that appear between gameplay segments, outside of the main story. These are normally only added for comic relief, and are not actually important at all, so the lack of voice acting in these scenes means quite little.

    The story
    In Ixseal you play as Oudou Tsuguhiko, a perverted man who swears he is the true "demon king," the most powerful evil being in the world. His dream is to make all female students in the world wear bloomers as their official uniform, through the use of his demonic powers. His best friend, Kirika, always brushes Tsuguhiko's talk about demons and such aside as jokes, but it turns out that he is actually telling the truth.
    With the help of his servant demon Bezel, Tsuguhiko's true power as the demon king is awakened by a dark ritual, and the power of the seven deadly sins, (the source of the demon king's power,) pours into him. The ritual is interrupted shortly after, however, as an angel with the name Xillia shows up, with the intention of killing the newborn demon king.
    Bezel and Tsuguhiko escapes, but things only go downhill from there for Tsuguhiko. He is betrayed by Bezel, who steals six of the seven deadly sins from his body, and uses them to awaken six powerful demons, leaving Tsuguhiko with nothing but the power of lust in his body. Bezel tries to take Tsuguhiko's life, but fails because of the angel, who finally catches up to them, driving Bezel away. Sadly, Tsuguhiko's friend Kirika is killed in the struggle.
    Kirika is revived by Xillia, but this takes up nearly all her power, leaving her defenseless against the demons summoned by Bezel. But, through the power of lust, which still resides within Tsuguhiko, he powers up Xillia with demonic energy, and she changes forms from an angel, into the ideal warrior in Tsuguhiko's mind— a valkyrie.

    With the power of lust, the demon king powers up Xillia through sex, and with the combination of her own power and demonic energy, she grows stronger, ready to take on Bezel's army.
    Bezel, along with six of the seven deadly sins, (in the form of powerful demons,) plan on absorbing energy from all humans, so that they can take over the world. The demons create a barrier over earth, stopping other angels from coming down from heaven to help, leaving Xillia alone.
    Now it's up to Xillia and Tsuguhiko to stop the demons' onslaught before it's too late.

    While the gameplay part of Ixseal might make it sound silly, (have sex with the heroines to make them stronger, by injecting them with your demonic energy) the story is miles better in Ixseal compared to Haruka. I'm not sure I'd call this game a nukige, actually, as the story does truly work by itself, not relying on the abundance of H at all. (Unlike Haruka, where the H content is the most appealing factor by far.) The characters are well designed and interesting, and the story is good. Lastly, the protagonist is very well done as well. He is actually powerful; he is the demon king, after all. The story is about taking back the deadly sins stolen by Bezel, powering up Tsuguhiko with each boss defeated. While he does not do the fighting himself, he does not feel like a pointless plot device. You actually feel like you are the demon king, trying to reclaim your powers, and not a can of gasoline that exists only to power up the heroines. (Like in Beat Blades Haruka.)
    Sadly, Ixseal wastes a lot of its potential by sticking to the same formula that Haruka did.
    Instead of making it possible for the player to choose how to guide the protagonist from the start, (choosing to be good or evil,) the game has it set in stone that Tsuguhiko is a good guy at heart, and he acts like the biggest vanilla-pleb in history towards his comrades, despite the fact that he is the demon king, and his objective is ultimately to reclaim his powers. Not exactly what you'd expect from the demon king.
    The story is good, but it would have been even better if there was more choices in terms of how the protagonist acts, in my opinion. The more you learn about the origin of his powers, and the history of the demons, the more you feel like making choices to impact his decisions, but you are left following the linear story until the branching point that only appears towards the end of the story.
    Another issue I found with the structure of the game is that it is very similar to Haruka at its core. While the story is different, and the characters' motivations etc also differ from that of Haruka's, it still shares enough similarities that the story can become predictable if you have played Haruka. Because of this, I would personally recommend reading Ixseal first, if you have not yet read Haruka, as the plot twists will be more surprising. And, seeing as the story is without a doubt better in Ixseal, this way you will get more enjoyment out of the game, compared to if you read Haruka first. That being said, the game is still good, and some predictability won't ruin that.

    The gameplay:
    Similar to Beat Blades Haruka, the gameplay comes in two stages. The first stage is all about buffing your heroines by sleeping with them, raising their stats in the process. Then, you advance through an area, defeating monsters, collecting power-ups, and fighting bosses.
    Each time you lose against an area boss, you see a rape scene with that boss, (with a maximum of two scenes per boss,) and the heroine's "lust" meter is filled up with one stage. (If the lust meter gets maxed out, you will get a bad ending.) These scenes can be disabled in the menu, if you do not like to see scenes of that nature. Seeing as what types of H you make your heroines do during the first phase of gameplay is up to you, you can freely choose to be evil and only see dark H, or be nice and only see vanilla. (Or do a mix of both!)


    You also have two other meters to keep an eye on. The love meter, and the demon energy meter. (Actually has a different name, but this sounds cooler!) While this might sound complicated, it is actually very simple. The love meter is raised by doing things like going on dates with the heroines, while the demon energy meter is raised by doing evil things to the heroines.
    Depending on the stats you are left with towards the end, you can choose an ending with your favored heroine.
    Just like Haruka, the boss fights can prove difficult if you do not boost the stats of the heroines properly, so do be careful there. Overall though, the difficulty has been decreased quite a lot. While I found myself failing quite a few times during my first playthrough of Haruka, I did not get a game over screen once during my first playthrough of Ixseal.

    H-scene and ending variety
    Beat Blades Haruka is known for being filled with all sorts of H-scenes, ranging from normal vanilla, to hardcore rape, beastiality and more. Ixseal also has a varied roster of H-scenes, though not as many as Haruka. (I believe Ixseal has a bit over 100, while Haruka had over 150.) But, seeing as Ixseal is more story driven than Haruka was, they might have opted for more focus on the story instead of adding extra H-scenes. But, while the game has less H-scenes, the quality has not dropped. Even the vanilla scenes are quite good, (I phrase it this way, as I did not exactly play the game for the vanilla personally.) The voice work in this game is amazing, which adds a lot to the H-scenes. There is a large variety of different H in Ixseal as well, with most scenes being very hot. So, while this might not be as nukige-ish as Haruka, it sure does have its fair share of good H, too.
    Now, the endings. I had high hopes for the Ixseal endings, especially the bad ends. The Haruka bad endings were very good, though way too short. Seeing as we are literally the demon king himself in this game, I was hoping that the bad endings would be longer, and even better than Haruka's.
    The game has six primary endings, one bad and one good for each heroine, a harem end, and a "normal" ending. You can also get other types of bad ends through the game, but these six are the main heroine endings. (For comparison, Haruka had three endings per heroine, a good, a bad and a brutal end.)
    In Ixseal, they did indeed make slightly longer endings, though they still felt too short to me. The bad ends did somewhat live up to my expectations. I don't want to get into details to avoid spoilers, but they felt satisfying to a certain extent. (To me at least, as I want dark bad ends.) And dark they were. Kirika's ending was something out of an utsuge, and Xillia's bad end was definitely a cool way to tie the "evil" side of the protagonist into the main story. That being said, they were still too short, which in turn still made me feel a bit disappointed. With how long the game is, and how much build up there is to the climax of the story, I would have wanted endings at least twice as long as the current ones, perhaps even longer.
    Still, they were pretty good, all things considered. As for the good endings, they too were well done, and even though I did not have any plans on caring much about the vanilla side of the game, I do have to admit, I felt some feels towards the end of the good routes. Sadly, these too were a bit too short as well.
    If they do make another game in the series, I hope that they finally make the endings a bit longer for that one.

    Music, art, the heroines and more.
    Like I mentioned above, the voice acting in the game is stellar. It had to be hard delivering some of the messed up lines in this game with a straight face, lol. The six demons representing the deadly sins were all handled well, and all come off as creepy and "demonic" in their own ways. I especially took a liking to Pride and Wrath, as the two really fit perfectly for the roles they are meant to fill. The VAs do a great job of bringing the "essence" of their sin into their character in their voiced lines.
    The heroines were... good and bad. While Kirika had lots of unique aspects that made her fun and different from her "counterpart" in Beat Blades Haruka, Narika, Xillia was way too similar to Haruka in my opinion. The two are basically the same, boring character, just in different settings. That being said, Xillia has a very good backstory, which makes up for some of her blandness.
    Overall, I wanted the heroines to be more unique compared to the heroines in Haruka, and found myself a bit irritated at the similarities at times. Nevertheless, the story for each heroine was done well, so it was not a complete bust. Also, Kirika's ass is just amazing. (/ω\)
    As far as the art goes, it's just great. The resolution was stepped up to HD, (Haruka's resolution was 800x600, which was a disappointment in my eyes.) The art is consistent and well drawn, and some of the CGs are truly badass. Like I mentioned before, the character designs were great, so I have no complaints about the art at all, tbh.
    I'm not really a music guy, so I can't give a detailed review of the music, so I'll just say this: I liked it a lot. There are over 30 music tracks in the game, all well fit for the scenes in which they are used. I especially liked the opening. Definitely a game I'd consider buying the OST for.
    Conclusion:
    Ixseal is much better than Haruka in my book. Pretty much everything I felt was lacking in Haruka was improved in Ixseal, (although it did not quite win me over when it came to the game's endings.) The story, characters, art, music and gameplay have all been improved, making a great overall experience.
    I rated the game an 8.4, which would have been even higher had the endings been longer, and more thought out. Still, this is a very solid game for both vanilla fans, and people like me, who likes games with darker H.
    If you're a fan of demons, angels and such, you'll definitely like this game. I am personally a sucker for anything that involves the seven deadly sins, so I was hooked from the start.
  3. Dergonu
    Like I said in my previous blog post, I have been wanting to keep my blog more active for a while, and this time I'll be talking about yatagarasu's yurige, Seisai no Resonance.
    Before we get into it, I have to admit, I skipped a few routes in this one in order to get the true ending. (Nagi's true end.) It's not that the other girls in the game are bad, but more that Nagi was such an interesting character, her normal ending was not enough to satisfy me, so I HAD to skip to the true ending. (For a very annoying reason, you HAVE to complete at least another route, (possibly all of them?) after Nagi's before you can get Nagi's true ending, as Nagi's true end serves as the whole game's true route.) I ended up grabbing a 100% save file, so I could jump into her true route. Because of that, this post will primarily be talking about the common route, Nagi's route and the true ending.
     
    To quickly sum up the setting and start of the story. Kanae, our main character, travels to Otofuse Island to look for her mother, who vanished seven years ago. Otofuse is a small island closed off from the main land, where a strange ritual takes place every year. The reason for this ritual is, long ago, a big fireball fell down on the island, and a pair of shrine maidens were the ones who calmed down and sealed away the flames. Ever since that that, a yearly ritual is held, where two shrine maidens are picked to preform a similar sealing ritual like back then. The shrine maidens on the island now wield strange "gems" that grants them special powers. (More on this later.)
    Kanae takes a ferry to the island, but before she reaches Otofuse, a strange girl from a "shady" organization running the island, the shourai-kai, attacks her and she falls into the sea. Washed up ashore, Kanae is rescued by the beautiful and mysterious Mirai, who tells Kanae she has to become a shrine maiden in order to see her mother again. After a bit of a struggle, Kanae enrolls at Sakihana all-girls school, and aims to become a shrine maiden in order to see her mother.
     
    Gameplay
    This game has a rather interesting battle system, which is used for boss battles, training matches and so on in the game. (So, often when Kanae gets in a fight, you end up battling.) I personally found the gameplay very fun, but totally out of place. Because of how rarely you actually end up fighting, and how little the result of the battle matters, it almost just served as an obstacle between the story segments, which I did not enjoy. Like I said at first, the gameplay itself was actually pretty fun and well made, but it just... felt totally uncesessary. (At the end, I honestly just found myself annoyed at the fact that these battles were interrupting the story.)
    The combat is quite similar to fighting games like the Naruto PS3 games etc. You can move in a 360 angle, use different powers to fight your opponent, drain your "spirit(?)" as you preform special attacks and so on.
    Overall, although the gameplay started off as fun and was well made, I really didn't feel like it had a place in the game at all.

    Story
    As Kanae tries to become a powerful shrine maiden, so that she can be selected for the yearly ritual and see her mother, you learn more and more about what is actually going on in Otofuse.
    Why is the shourai-kai trying to kill Kanae? Why must Kanae become a shrine maiden in order to see her mother, and what happened to her mother seven years ago? What are the strange beings living in the forest outside the school grounds?
    I found the story very good, which was really cool for a yuri title, which often focuses primarily on the romance, not the story segments.
    Towards the end, I was glued to the screen, wondering what would happen next, and the way the game was paced was quite nice in my opinion. Some people have complained about the writing of the story, but I found it absolutely fine. It was entertaining from start to finish. Now, moving on from the common route, I will only be able to talk about the Nagi route and the true ending, but honestly, you should play this game just for that. (Short version, it was great.)
     
    Nagi and Kanae

    This is without a doubt one of my favorite yuri romances, ever. Kanae is goofy and funny, sociable and a little bit overly friendly with most people she meets. Nagi on the other hand, is a retracted, cold and cunning girl. (She is very intelligent when it comes to most things, but she isn't very good at social situations, unlike Kanae, and she is a bit of a tsundere under her closed off shell. Strange, but great mix.) At first, she uses Kanae for her own benefit, which is searching for an answer to a question she has had for a while. (Basically, what is actually going on? Nagi doesn't believe that the ritual and the shourai-kai is what it seems to be, and wants to dig deeper in order to find the truth.) Kanae wants to find her mother, and the two start working together. From there on out, one of the greatest yuri romances I have read unfolds. (And plot too, but pffft, who cares about that. )
    The two of them are literal opposites, Kanae with her warmth and her flames, and Nagi with her cold attitude and her ice. (Going back to the powers I mentioned earlier, the true image of their soul is reflected in the shrine maiden's powers, which is summoned from a special stone they all have. (Kanae recieved hers as a gift from her mother years ago.)
    So, for the closed off Nagi, we have ice.

    And for the warm and loving Kanae, it's fire.

     
    As Kanae learns more about Nagi, she decides that she wants to be the one to "melt Nagi's ice," which is honestly one of my favorite quotes ever, and the two of them just fit so perfectly together in the game, as they are literal opposites. The pacing in Nagi's route is absolutely perfect, and the romance is slowly but surely introduced, so not rushed at all. There is also a fairly small amount of H-scenes, 2 for Nagi if I remember correctly, both of which happen at just the right time, which made the relationship between the two seem all the more real to me. (It's not like Koiken Otome, where you are showered in H-scenes fairly early on.)
    The fact that Nagi is the true heroine in the game is so, so right. She is a really great character, and her paired up with Kanae makes for a fantastic couple. One thing that did dissapoint me a little with the game was Nagi's normal ending, which in all honesty, is a "bad" ending, not a "normal"/"good" one. (It's very bittersweet.) The fact that you HAVE to play through the rest in order to unlock the true ending makes the time between the real Nagi ending and the "bad" one too great, and if you are going to play the game, I honestly recommend getting a 100% save file, so you can do the true ending in all it's glory right after Nagi's normal end.
     
    The rest of the cast and a conclusion
    The rest of the cast in Seisai no Resonance is great, with a few rather standard template characters like Yuu and Mako, but even they are quite interesting, and although I didn't play their routes, I very much enjoyed what I saw of them in the common route and Nagi's route+ the true end. My favorite character besides Nagi and Kanae has to be Yayako, Nagi's only friend before Kanae. She is such a hilarious character, and I will definitely be playing her route at some point. (And yes, that is a cat on her head.)

     
    Overall, Seisai no Resonance is a really great yurige with an interesting plot, well written romance and an interesting cast. The gameplay, although well made, serves more as a distraction from the story, and could in all honesty have been removed. But, despite that, I really enjoyed the game, and would strongly recommend it to all yuri fans.
    (The game's opening, for those interested)
  4. Dergonu
    Beat Blades Haruka review,
    By Dergonu, Fuwanovel
     
    Beat Blades Haruka is a gameplay oriented nukige released by Alice Soft, which was recently translated and licensed by Mangagamer. The game offers 150 H-scenes, ranging from normal vanilla scenes to darker things like rape and beastiality. The game's appeal is clearly rooted in it's H-content, but does that mean that's everything the game has to offer?
     

     
    In Beat Blades Haruka you play as Ikusabe Takamaru, a boy who desperately wants a girlfriend. His friend, Narika, keeps getting in the way of his possible romances, something that irritates him quite a bit. But soon, his fairly normal life of being rejected by women and half-assing himself through school quickly comes to a halt when the beautiful ninja Haruka, who has traveled to our time from the past, suddenly appears in Takamaru's life.
    Chasing the evil Noroi who has lept through time with his follwers in order to turn the world into chaos, Haruka and her fellow Cresent moon members turn to Takamaru for help. It turns out, Takamaru is a descendant of the Dragonian, meaning he has the power to transfer strength to the blades of the crescent moon. (The blades being female ninjas.) This power, SP, is transfered from the Dragonian to the blades by ... Having sex.
    Takamaru's mission is to use the blades at his disposal to fight the four Tetra Sealers, Noroi's most powerful subordinates, take down the towers which connect to Noroi's realm, and to stop him once and for all.
    During the game, the player gets a whole lot of choices that will allow them to take full control of their destiny. Will you be the good guy, fighting to stop Noroi? Or will you give in to your dark desires, using the blades as tools for your own pleasure and gain?
    Offering a large variety of different endings, Beat Blades Haruka is a very unique gameplay nukige that allows its player to choose a lot more than just a singular ending, but they have the ability to impact the very way the entire game is played.
     

    The gameplay:
    During the story, a big part of your time will be spent preparing your heroines for battle. During the gameplay parts of the VN, you will be matched up against an enemy. You can spend SP, (sex power), that you accumulate through dragon syngery, (sex), to unleash powerful attacks against your opponent, and you train your heroines stats through either dragon synergy, training, castle raids or defeating enemies. The lower your stats are compared to your opponent, the harder it is to win. The stats highlited in blue, like the defense in this picture, means the stat is underleveled compared to your opponent, and the chances of winning are smaller. By losing a fight against a male Kainin, one of Noroi's lieutenants, the heroine will be raped and an option to skip the following rape H-scene will appear. (Unless you disable that feature in the option menu.)
    The gameplay is entertaining, though it is a little difficult at first. Getting used to what all the different stats does is a little bit hard and overwhelming, and the stats are also a little poorly balanced. For instance, by stacking a large amount of reflex, you will be able to sweep through the game, as your character will essentially never miss, and she will also dodge a lot of the opponent's attacks. But if it's the other way around, and your reflex stat is low but your other stats are high, you still wont do much damage, as most of your attacks will be dodged. Basically, there is too much focus on reflex, something that makes combat a little bit imbalanced at certain points in the game. Your opponents gets really strong in the late game, meaning their reflex stats are high, and so if you didn't train your heroine correctly, a bad end is waiting for you. (If you are defeated by a sealer, you get a bad end and a game over.)
    Still, these flaws aside, the gameplay is enjoyable. It's fun training up your heroine, either choosing to clear out the streets to protect the people like the good guy, or simply being an asshole and having your heroine raped over and over. (This increases her stats a great deal, however it gives you + brutality, and if the heroine is raped too much, it can lead to a brutal bad ending.) The variety offered to you makes playing the game a second, third or fourth time fun.
     

    The phase system, Libido and your dice
    While we are still on the gameplay part of the VN, there is a few things to note. The game itself is split into four parts, 3 phases and then actual story. The 3 phases are morning, afternoon and night phase. Between these phases the game's story progresses, and you see normal VN style dialogue as well as choices that you can use to impact the story, as well as your heroine's stats.
    During the morning and afternoon phase, you either train up your heroine by having sex, raise your libido or rest, in order to get more dice recovered. The night phase is spent actually fighting your opponents, and going on castle raids.
    (What exactly are these dice and how do they work?)
    The dice system in Beat Blades Haruka is what let's you make your "moves" in the phases. You get X amount of dice each day, based of your dice recovery. You can have a maximum of 8 dice at a time. The dice can be a number between 1 and 6, and the dice itself is used to "pay for" actions. As an example, if you want to sleep with haruka to increase some of her stats and her SP, you have to "pay" some dice. The lower levels of dragon synergy are cheaper, but give less stats, the higher levels are more expensive but give you more stats. The system is very forgiving. If you roll a 7 on something that needs 8 to complete, 7 will be subtracted from the action, so that in the next phase, it will only cost 1 dice. The dice itself is based off RNG, though do note that it is essentially impossible to soft reset for. Still, with the way the system is made, soft reseting for dice is not even needed, so there is nothing to worry about there. If you do it right, completing the game in the 99 days given to you is a walk in the park.
    Lastly, libido is a strange stat. It is what makes your dice recovery higher. Every 10 points of libido, your dice recovery goes up by 1. What does this mean? It means that after the night phase, you will get back X dice. So if you have a dice recovery of 5, the next day following a night phase, you are given 5 dice. Raising your libido is simple, and is done by either having sex with a female Kainin, choosing an option at a choice screen with (libido) next to it, or just clicking "raise libido".
     

    The game's value beyond H-content?
    We have already talked about the gameplay side of the game. It's entertaining, though very repetative and it's also focused strongly around H-scenes. (In order to prepare your heroine for a battle you have to have sex, and if you lose a battle, you get into a rape scene. H is a big part of this nukige, obviously.)
    But what about the story itself? Music, art, characters and such. What is the value of the game outside just the H-scenes?
     
    The character designs and art in the game is overall very nice. A lot of work seems to have been put into each character's design, though the personalities of the the main characters are fairly bland and simple. Most work seems to have been put into the kainins and tetra sealers. They are all very badass, pretty, hot, what have you. Each one of them has many small details that stand out, and are just overall very well made. The main characters are by no means poorly designed, but in comparison they do fall a little short.
    The art itself is very nice, with animated cut-scenes, well drawn backgrounds and detailed character sprites.
    The music in the VN is pretty good, offering a variety of tracks for different situations that fits well with the atmosphere of the scene.
     
    The story itself is what it is. The game does take itself seriously; it's not like it just jokes around and put all focus on H. The story is decent. There is moments where it will take you by suprise, certain moments that are more emotional than others, though the actual story is fairly short. The main focus of the dialogue aspects of the game lies in the different scenes you can get with the heroines and side characters by making choices. If you focus on one girl a lot, increasing her love hearts in the game, you will go on dates with her and get close with her. If you are an asshole and just have your blades raped and defeated, you will get unique scenes that deal with this.
    The actual main story that remains the same through all playthroughs is therefore minimal, as the game wants to keep the focus on your choices as the player. This is both a flaw and a strength in the VN. It's a flaw because it means that ultimately, the story itself is slightly underwhelming and short, but it's also a strength because it does mean the player feel like he or she is more in control of the outcome.
     
    All in all Beat Blades Haruka is a solid VN, offering unique and entertaining gameplay, a big variety of choices that lets the player impact the game's ending, though it does lack some impact in its delivery of the story.
     
    + Entertaining gameplay
    + Good art, music and character designs
    + A huge variety of choices that let's the player choose how the game is played
     
    - Slightly underwhelming main story
    - The main characters are a little bland and some more time should have been put into them
    - The stat system is a little imbalanced
  5. Dergonu
    Hello hello! I have spent the whole day no lifing this game and now its time to make a review of it!  
     
    Introduction:
    Just like the last game, Nekopara vol. 2 is a rather short kinetic novel, (about 4-5 hours, depending on your reading pace. Maybe a little longer if you listen to all the dialogue.) It has very nice art, animated sprites, animated H-Scenes and ... nekos!
    Starting off after the ending in vol.1, all the catgirls in the Minaduki-family are now working at La Soleil. So far the MC, Kashou, has conquered two of the six. How long before the rest of them fall for his incredible ... Baking ... Skills?
     

     
    The story?
     
    So I went ahead and added a question mark there. Don't take this the wrong way; I am not saying the game is bad and that its completely devoid of a story, but let's face it, this game is primarily about looking at the pretty nekos naked.
    Its very strongly built on the slice of life type element, literally just showing the life of everyone at La Soleil as they do their best to keep the now very popular bakery running. It's pretty much a moege / nukige, depending a little on how you want to look at it. (I guess if you play the all ages version, its just a pure moege .. )
     
    In Vol.2 the two catgirls Azuki and Coconut are our new heroines (two of my favorites, so that made me go hell yes!)
    The story starts with Coconut being extremely clumsy like always, and therefore she ends up very dejected. All the other nekos have a job they can pull off well in the bakery, but all Coconut can do is lift heavy stuff. She breaks mugs, gets in the way and just generally doesn't do much productive work.
    Azuki on the other hand has taken the role of the leader among the nekos, and with her being the oldest of the lot, it was a rather natural role for her to fill. Coconut and Azuki constantly get in fights, something that makes the relationship between the two kind of strained.
    Eventually Coconut wants to get some special training from Kashou, so that she can do better at work and finally have her onee-chan compliment her.
    Meanwhile, Chocola and Vanilla has to go take another test in order to keep their bells. The bell test was something they both struggled with originally, especially Chocola, so it's something that could end badly. Will they manage to keep their bells, or will they be forced to go through the process to get them back all over again?
     
    The story basically continues in this pattern from here, though if I say any more, I'd basically spoil the little story the game has. Therefore, let's leave it there.
    All in all, for me the story was quite enjoyable. It's extremly light hearted, and I knew that as I started playing it, obviously. It has a few moments that is kind of touching, and others that are really funny.
    Really though, it's nekopara; its short, you wont get an incredible amount of story, but you sure as hell will be entertained by the little that is there. (Unless you don't like nekos, but if thats the case, you are a sad human being )
     
    What about Chocola and Vanilla?
     
    When I started playing, this was a question that was in the back of my mind. Will the new heroines simply replace the old ones? Well the answer is, no!
    Of course the new nekos have a bigger role in the story overall, but both Chocola and Vanilla are still present more than enough. (They are in fact, in every single H-Scene. )
    On the note of Vanilla and Chocola, their part in the story with the bells is rather small, but they are present during most of the story scenes featuring Azuki and Coconut as well, but more as background characters.

     
     
    Another thing I was wondering was; are they going to make any improvements to the game at all? I didn't really have anything specific in mind, but the main concern I had was: is this literally just going to be a copy paste of the first game, but with new heroines?
    Luckily, it wasn't. I mean, of course we are in the same setting so there is re-used backgrounds, the music is somewhat the same and the art itself hasn't been changed significantly. It's not like they have made any big changes that we can see, but just in a general sense, the game itself isn't the same as the first one.
    First of all, the new heroines both have different and unique personalities that makes the little story aroud them interesting, and it also spices up the H-Scenes so they don't feel like they are just re-used with new characters.
    Also, the story starts of like the polar oposite of the first game, with Vanilla and Chocola already being involved with the MC. We see a little part of their daily life, and how the other nekos are around them when they "get funky". (And example being Coconut walking in on Chocola and Kashou when they are making out.)
    So although the feel of the game is similar, its not a lazy copy paste kind of game. I was a little dissapointed to find out that no new elements, such as possible choices or a new fun function like when the petting menu was introdouced. These are fun little things that would make the game even more entertaining.
    An amusing thing that happened during the story was when the two remaining nekos went ahead and kind of broke the fourth wall, saying "if this pattern continues, will it be our turn next?"

     
    Conclusion:
     
    Nekopara vol. 2 is rather short and you shouldn't go into it expecting a very deep story. It's very light and full of moe. Luckily the game itself isnt a copy paste from the first game, though I wish some new elements were introdouced. Hopefully the possible next game will have something new in it, like a small choice or something else that spices the game up even more.
    In order to avoid a bunch of people getting weirded out by a subjective rating, I'm going to say this: If you liked the first game, you are definitely going to love the second one! If you didn't really care for the first one, then this might not be your thing. Of course, if you have a thing for Heterochromia heroines, then the game might be worth it just as a nukige. Coconut sure does look ... S-Smart Yes, lets go with that.
     
    I rate nekopara vol. 2 neko/10 What, were you expecting a serious number? Well, too bad. I loved it though. I need more. Please make vol.3. Now. Ok?
    Good.
    Thats it for today, thanks for reading. Now go play this thing!
  6. Dergonu
    This is going to be a guide on how to buy digital VNs legally on Gyutto, using Tsui Yuri ~ as an example.
     
    This can indeed be done from a foreign IP adress, so no proxy is needed. That being said, the entire website is in Japanese, so here is a guide with pictures and steps, walking you through it. (NOTE! You must be 18+ in order to make purchases here, obviously.)
     
     
    NOTE: NSFW PICTURES ON THE SITE!
    Link to the Tsui Yuri ~ purchase page
     
     
     
    Go ahead and add the game to your cart, like this:
     
     
    Now go ahead and click LOG IN AS GUEST. For those of you who cannot read moon runes, click the box with the big red circle. Note, should they ever change the layout of their site, just find the big box with these moon runes and click it. (NOTE AGAIN! Slightly NSFW content in one part of the picture.) Yes, I will be saying NOTE a lot in this guide. Deal with it  
     
     
    Now select credit card and continue. (Yes foreign credit cards works.)
    Now just hit confirm and move over to the purchase page. (Just ... just follow the big red circles.)
    And here we are at the big screen of death. Actually, what goes where is uber simple to understand, but if all you see is gibberish, don't worry. Here is the list of what goes where. (Once again, should they ever change the layout of their site, remember which one of these corresponds with what information, and fill it out.)
     
     
     
    List of the required info in order:
     
    credit card number
     
    expire date
     
    security code
     
    Full name
     
    Email adress. (THIS MUST BE YOUR REAL EMAIL! IT IS IMPORTANT!)
     
    Confirm your email adress (AGAIN, THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT.)
     
     
     
    Now click the button on the bottom with red under it and continue.
     
     
     
    Now it takes you to a screen saying an email has been sent, and it lists your order number etc. (You will see your email on the page, and if you managed to put in your real email, you did good. If not... Then just ... ugh..)
     
     
     
     
    You will now have gotten an email with the download link and a unique password. THE PASSWORD IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT! WIHTOUT IT, YOU CANNOT ACTIVATE YOUR GAME!
     
    In the email there is a URL called "guest login." Click the link, and then move down and find your game. Hit download.
     
    NOTE!
     
    Seeing as you are a guest, you have 1 week to download your game. The game files themselves are movable obviously, so once you have them, you can put them on an external hardrive, but the download link will disappear after 1 week.
     
    The password you got in your email WILL WORK EVEN AFTER 1 WEEK. It will be the password you use to activate the game. (EVERY COMPUTER MUST ACTIVATE THE GAME 1 TIME BEFORE USE.) So write this password down or save the email containing it.
     
    If we look here, we can see that the text in the circle says the game download is expired, where as the one on the top, tsui yuri, is downloadable. Click the big download button of your new game.
     
     
     
    Now, extract the game files with WinRaR or whatever.
    ( Copy your password to the clipboard or remember it. )
     
    And here we are! You have your game downloaded, and only one step remains! Putting in your password and Email once. The first time you open the program, it should look like this: (Note that the .exe file will be called something different for each game, obviously.)
     
     
    And now fill in the information. (THE TOP FIELD IS FOR YOUR EMAIL, THE BOTTOM FIELD IS FOR THE UNIQUE PASSWORD.)
     
     
    If you did everything correctly, you will now have your game working and ready. The next time you open it up, you will not need a password to access it. (Every new IP adress will though. So, if you move the files to your work computer or whatever, you will need to activate it again using the password.)
  7. Dergonu
    Hey, it has been a while since I wrote a blog entry. I did make one not too long ago, when the Maggot Baits TL got announced, but thanks to the forum rollback, that got purged. (Thanks a lot Nosebleed. Yeah, we know it was you!!!)
    Anyways, in this blog entry I'll be talking about the guro game that got released by Bug System about 3 weeks ago, Shi ni Iku Kimi, Yakata ni Mebuku Zouo. I picked this up after @Kawasumi told me about it and asked if I wanted to read it with him, (thanks for that by the way, love you <3), and I was completely hooked after just a few minutes in the game. Now, I know guro isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I just really wanted to write something about this game, so here we are.
    The game has a very simple but effective plot and story, though it was a lot longer then I was expecting. (The 2-10 hour marking on VNDB is right on the edge; the game is a hell of a lot closer to 10 than 2. Depending on your reading speed, it could definitely feel like a medium game.)
    At first glance, I thought this was a mere guro nukige, but that was not the case at all.
    A few small details before we start: The game is NOT translated, at least not at the moment. The difficulty of the game is honestly not very high. I'd say beginners can give this a go without running into many issues. You'll find some words you aren't familiar with unless you read a lot of guro, but it's not very hard to understand it if you use a text hooker and parser. Honestly, if you really want to try out the game, you might actually be fine with a machine translation. Test it out and see for yourself. Main point is, the game isn't very difficult to read.
     
    Let's get into the story:
    It happened without any warning.

    In a world that was peaceful, superior beings suddenly appeared.
    They one-sidedly massacred humans, and the world was swallowed by a whirlpool of chaos.

    While our heroine Mia was shopping with her family, she also fell victim.
    With her father, mother, and older sister dead, she desperately tried to escape, but before she could a different superior man appeared before her.
    Falling into desperation and prepared to die, Mia took up a knife and stabbed the man.

    The next second, she lost consciousness.
    Not knowing what had happened to her, she felt a great pain on her stomach.

    "You hurt my body, now I can't allow you to die easily. Your sin... deserves ten thousand deaths..."
     
    Pulled from the VNDB description. Basically, Mia stabs a "superior-man" (that is literally what they are called in the game,) and he swears she will die ten thousand times as punishment for her grave sin.
    Some more information on these "superior beings", they look like humans, but are seemingly immortal, can use magic, feed on humans and the lot of them are just a gang of messed up bastards.
    Mia wakes up in a mansion, and soon finds out that this mansion has been taken over by the superior-man she stabbed. He explains the "rules of the mansion" to her in a completely calm and collected tone of voice. (Then crushes her arm to bits after the explenation. What a nice guy!)
    To sum it up, Mia can do whatever she wants inside the mansion and no one will try to stop her, (she can even try to escape if she wants, but it will be futile, as a barrier has been put up around the house, and the only way to turn off the barrier is to kill the man.) Mia's room is "magic", and it will heal any injury, no matter how serious it is. Basically, even if Mia is dead, as long as a part of her corpse is brought up into her room, it will heal over time and bring her back. The reason this room exists is simple: the man will do horrible things to Mia whenever he feels like it, torturing and killing her, and the only way to stop the loop of her being murdered then resurrected is to kill the man with her own hands. Now the game begins; Mia has to look for a way to kill the Superior-Man in order to stop the loop. Also, one small detail that is important to add in is that whenever Mia dies, her memories get all messed up. (The ressurection magic isn't perfect.) This means that you as a reader will be confused as hell a LOT of the game, because you see things from Mia's point of view, and many times she will wake up having forgotten lots of things while the game kept on going, which means you won't get what the fuck is going on at first. (This is a good thing though, as the confusion adds to the suspense in the game when Mia walks around trying to figure out what is going on and how she can save herself and the others trapped in the mansion. Of course, all the confusion is cleared up in the end, so if you stick with it, you'll get all the answers you want.) Sadly, it did also make the game repeat itself a lot, which wasn't a deal-breaker, but it did get a bit boring after a while. "Mia wakes up, wonders where she is, puts on clothes, walks out into the hallway, goes down to the dining hall." Rinse and repeat.
     
    The art, music, CGs and backgrounds used in the game are all freaking stellar. It's very high quality stuff. The music is great, and adds to the feeling you have of being trapped in a mansion with a psycopath walking around. It's such a simple horror setup, but it's pulled off so well in the game. The art is quite hilarious actually, because it has a strong moe feel to it. (But, this game is not a moege, obviously )
    Here is a CG from the game, so you can see the amazing moe art in all its glory:

    And to get a taste of the dark elements, and the great music in the game, here is the game's opening. (The censored youtube version.)
     
    Anyways, like I mentioned in passing earlier, there will be other people in the mansion as well. These people are humans the Superior-Man caprutres for food, and some of them he chooses to use for toys, kind of like Mia. During the game, you get several choices that will let you choose Mia's and the other girls' fate in the mansion. Make a wrong turn, and ... well, you'll figure that out on your own if you choose to play the game
    Some of the other characters will try to help Mia plot out a plan to kill the Superior-Man, and you will be able to decide how you proceed with the plan and so on. Some of the choices will "reward" you with unique CGs and scenes that you cannot get otherwise, making for some decent replay value. The game also has a large amount of endings, (I believe it has around 7 or 8,) so you can keep getting different outcomes depending on your choices.
     
    All in all, the game is freaking awesome for those who likes dark horror games. Of course, the game focuses heavily on H-content, and several of the scenes contain some fairly "spicy" fetishes, so it's not a game everyone will enjoy, but like I said before, this is not a pure nukige. There is a clear story and the game has a purpose. Everything that happens in the game adds to the story in some way, and as you continue to progress through it, you'll be dying to figure out what happens next.
     
    That's about it, (this might have turned out a bit messy, sorry for that. Just really wanted to write something about this game real quick.) I'll be trying to get out more blog posts in the future, as I have been way too inactive with my blog after I finished The Last GM Standing.
    Anyways, thanks for reading! Go play the game!
  8. Dergonu
    Some people on this forum already know me as a pretty big Cyclet fanboy. They make some pretty good dark games, which is right up my alley. Tokage no Shippo Kiri is by far my favorite Cyclet game to date, and in this blog entry I'll be talking a bit about why.
    I found out about this through some people on Discord, and after looking through some CGs from the game, I was rather confused when I was told this is a pure love story. That made very little sense to me, which just sparked my interest even more. After having read the game, I have to say I agree; this is definitely primarily a love story, though a rather tragic one at that. I will be mainly talking about the first few hours of the game in this blog post, then reflect on why I like the game and what it does right, so it's pretty much spoiler free. What you see here is just the introduction to the story that you see after a little bit of reading, so the major plot twists and such is not spoiled here, should you ever feel like reading the game.
     
    The title of the game plays a very central role in the story, and it does so almost immediately. Tokage no Shippo Kiri = (rough TL) Cutting the lizard's tail.
    The main character, Shuu, is an honor student. Among the smartest people in school, and certainly among the most diligent, Shuu seems like a rather normal guy who wouldn't hurt a fly. He doesn't come in late, he does all his homework and places among the top students on tests. However, this story is meant to show you that although people might seem totally normal on the outside, they could be just a single step from breaking on the inside.
    As Shuu ends up being late one day, he starts running to school in order to make it in time. On his way though, he ends up stepping on something. Upon looking down, he spots a lizard with its tail ripped off. However, the lizard doesn't cower in pain, scream or anything that a human would in a situation where their limbs are ripped off them. Instead, it completely calmly runs away, fleeing from danger, completely unfazed by the fact that a portion of its body is missing. As he sees this, Shuu breaks. Something inside him is stirred, and he wonders, "is it possible for humans to regenerate their limbs like a lizard?" Suddenly, very interested in how exactly lizards can do this, he starts researching anatomy, biology and such extensively. Every single day he goes to the library to read up on immortality, regeneration of limbs, and anything he can come across slightly related to learn how it works. Shuu concludes that the only way to figure this out though, is through practical experiments. Now, at this point this probably sounds like it will turn into a guro fest, but it's not quite how things goes. This is like I said before, primarily a love story, (although the game has a decent amount of guro, it's not quite the same as other guro games in that regard). Anyways, enter Kanau.
    Kanau is a girl who is totally in love with Shuu. She is so madly in love with him, it's a bit confusing really, as she hasn't actually talked much with him before at all. At first, you don't really get any explanation for this. She just loves him, and wants to be with him. She eventually approaches Shuu, and he politely agrees to letting her help him with his research. The two start reading books together in the library, although Kanau of course has no idea what kind of research this really is. Two other students eventually joins in on this as well, and the four of them come to library every day to research. Each one of them have their own motive for doing this, and the way the story keeps their reasoning hidden until the later segments is very well executed, even for the main character Shuu.
    Leaving the other two on the side, let's talk about Kanau and Shuu's romance. (The other two have rather minimal roles in the main route, but bigger parts in their own routes that are connected to the main route later on.) Shuu and Kanau start to get along well, and soon enough they both develop romantic feelings for one another. (Well, Kanau already had these, like I mentioned, but it becomes mutual at least.)
    The thing is though, as the reader you really don't know whether Shuu's feelings are genuine, or if he is just using Kanau for his potential experiments. As I was reading the game I was at the edge of my seat the entire time. Exactly what is it that Shuu wants, what is fueling him, and what is going to happen next? And likewise, Kanau's motives were totally mysterious to me as well. Sure, she loves him, but why? To be frank, you really don't get what is going on for a long time. Though, all of the answers will come in due time.
    Shuu talks Kanau into helping him with an experiment, though she is not the test subject; he wants to test this on himself. Shuu wants to know, "can humans grow back their limbs? Just how far can the human body be pushed when it comes to healing itself?"
    And so, he decides to have Kanau cut off his finger, and then observes the result. (Don't worry, not a bloody CG. I won't link any of those ) 
    Needless to say, Kanau is not a big fan of this idea, but due to her extreme attatchement to Shuu, there is no way she is saying no. Big parts of the game is told from Kanau's point of view, and deals with her conflicted emotions. She hates the idea of Shuu being in pain, but hates the idea of Shuu rejecting her because she won't help him with his research even more.
     
    After this, things keep escalating and the characters are forced to face their own mortality, quite literally. The truth is that no matter how you try to spin it, human beings are very fragile creatures, both mentally and physically, and you can't defy the laws of nature. This is the main point the game tries to get across, at least that's how it seemed to me. Shuu and Kanau's romantic story is a rather messy one, and this game really brings out loads of different emotions in the reader. I think a big misconception with dark themed stories is that they must always go a bit over the top, so that we can separate them from reality. However, Tokage no Shippo Kiri doesn't do that at all. It's as realistic as you can get with a story like this, and that makes the impact it has on the reader even stronger. 
    The game is very psychologically straining, as you are put into the shoes of these characters in rather gruesome situations. I felt like certain choices in the game were very hard to make, as I was honestly afraid of the result they would lead to. So far, this is the only guro game that has made me feel a connection to the characters in that way. I mean, most of the time, story and writing pulls you in, but the surreal and rather "silly" settings if you will, completely separates you from seeing the story as being anything close to reality. (Like Maggot Baits and Nikuniku. Both games are fantastic, but you don't feel like what you are reading is reality, which makes it easier to stomach the dark and gruesome situations.)
    Of course, it's not like Tokage no Shippo Kiri makes you think it's based on a true story or anything, and 1 route in specific is rather... dumb to be completely honest. It feels like that route was just put there to please guro fans, and it serves little importance to the plot, but still retains some value so that you can't quite skip it either. That was honestly one of the reasons why this game didn't get a higher rating from me. Without that route, I'd be more inclined to go closer to the 10/10 than my current 8.4 rating of it. I like guro in nukige settings too, but I don't like having it crammed into a game that quite honestly felt like a very serious story. The guro in the other 2 routes is used in a way that makes sense to the plot, because of the mentality of the characters and such. Although the same point can be made for the route in question, I think it was purposely just stuffed in there to make the game appeal more to the guro crowd to draw them in. I won't mention which route this is, and I'll let you find that on your own if you are going to read the game.
    This does bring me to the second part of the game I did not like too much, and that was the sheer amount of H-scenes. I never thought I'd be saying that about a game like this, but it's true. The game does put some H-scenes in situations where they honestly don't really need to be. Sometimes the scenes make perfect sense, as many situations in the game stirs up a mix of different emotions in the characters and that makes the scenes feel fitting. But at other times, they just really don't need to be there at all. This game isn't a full on nukige, though it's quite similar in certain traits, and Cyclet might have been trying to flip it a bit more in that direction than I want to admit. Still, the game's story is very good, and the amount of H-scenes hardly changes that fact.
     
    A few last words about the game. It's told in three routes, though Kanau's route is the true one, and the other two take place assuming you have already read Kanau's route, (so if you are going to read this, read Kanau's route first.) All three of them tie into each other, and only by reading all three will you truly understand everything. If you only read one, you will be lacking key information to piece the entire puzzle together. There is one route which has less of a purpose than the other two, like I said, but you should still read all three if you want all the answers to the questions that might be swirling around in your head when you read this.
    Tokage no Shippo Kiri is a very good psychological game, about a romance between people on the verge of breaking, and them facing the harsh truth of their own mortality. It's definitely not a game everyone will enjoy, but for the people who like darker games with a more bitter taste to them, this is a very good choice. If you can't stomach gore and such, it's not really advised to touch this game.
  9. Dergonu
    Before I begin, I just wanted to say that I've gotten some feedback lately that my "reviews" have been fairly ... Laid back and not too serious. This is completely true, and I've written this with that feedback in mind. This is a much more objective, serious review of a game that I've wanted to review for a while. Hope you enjoy reading it, and please keep giving me feedback that can help me improve, I do appriciate it.
     
    Shuffle! Review,
    By Dergonu, fuwanovel
     
    Shuffle is a romance / fantasy visual novel originally released by Navel in 2003/2004. The game was later licensed and translated by Mangagamer, along with its two sequels Tick! Tack! and Really? Really! (You can buy the games here: (nsfw content on the game's page.)
    In the game you play as Tsuchimi Rin, a fairly normal high school student. When Rin was younger he met two beautiful young girls by chance, and spent the day playing with them. It turns out though, that these fate encounters would later change Rin's life forever.

    Shuffle offers 5 romantic routes as well as a common route, the story featuring elements of romance, drama, fantasy and comedy. (Note that a newer version of the game called Essence+ offers a whole roster of new characters and heroine routes not found in the original release, but this version is un-translated, and is not the version covered in this review.)
    The main story takes place in a fantasy universe where two portals have opened in the human world. These portals connects our world to the world of the Gods and the Devils. Contrary to popular belief, Devils and Gods are not omnipotent almighty beings which hate one another, but instead they are fairly similar to us, and the two races live alongside each other in peace. The Devils and Gods do have magical powers, and certain features does make them look slightly different, the primary attribute being their long ears. In the game, we follow Tsuchimi Rin in his everyday life. It has been 10 years since the portals opened, and Gods, Devils and humans live alongside each other peacefully.
     
    The overall look of the game is very nice for such an old novel. The art is pretty to look at, with nice sprites and colorful, well drawn backgrounds.  The menu is detailed and easy to navigate, offering a great variety of settings to improve your experience. There is a date display in game, and choices will affect which heroine's route you enter. The choices are very plain and easy to understand, often literally containing the name of the characters to make it easy to choose the heroine route. In addition, the game has no bad endings, so playing it blindly with no walkthrough is risk free.
    Once you enter a heroine route, a sprite of the heroine will be displayed during scene changes, so you know when you have entered a route. All these things taken into consideration, Shuffle is a very laid back and casual visual novel experience, but that in itself isn't necessarily a bad thing.

     
    The music in shuffle goes hand in hand with the other elements we have discussed so far. It's very light and very simple. Each one of the normal tracks played throughout the primary part of the common route and the start of the heroine routes are simple, light and cute. They offer simple instrumental music with slight variation that glide smoothly into the background.
    The tracks unlocked later on during the final dramatic parts of the routes, feel like they are on a different level from the earlier ones. They do a better job of making the player feel engaged in the game, as they feature more detailed instrumental music which fits the setting very well.
    The music tracks in the game are all enjoyable of course, and fit nicely with the feel of the game, but if more effort was put into making all the tracks like the last few ones, then it would allow for even greater immersion in the game, something that could possibly make the game better than it already is.  
    Still, every track is very comfortable to listen to and none of them are disruptive in any way.
     

     
    Among the five heroine's routes, each story offers a fairly similar structure. It starts of very light, introducing one small piece of information casually that will later turn into a dramatic twist to the route. This small catalyst is easy enough to spot early on, and figuring out vaguely what is going to happen is fairly easy. That being said, the game still does a decent job at hiding exactly what it is that is going on. The primary part of the heroine's route will be about Rin and the girl falling in love, and developing their relationship. The game offers 2 H-Scenes for each character, with CG variations based off your choice in the route, and an epilogue which takes place after the events of the main route. As the story progresses, the catalyst which was introduced earlier will start to become more present in the story, and a big climax towards the end filled with drama will occur. This can remind you of a normal nakige build up, but the last dramatic part is so short and gets overpowered by the lightheartedness of the previous part of the game so strongly, that it can't be called a nakige at all.   
     

     
    The game re-uses a fair share of the same situations and conversations during the early part of the heroine routes. These only have certain new lines of dialogue, making the scene itself the same. This comes off as lazy, and gets old after the second route. At the very least, short new events should have occurred during these parts to make these scenes slightly more entertaining. This is luckily only the case for the beginning of the route, and the later parts are all completely unique to each heroine.
    Sia's route is supposed to have two variations, but similar to the previous problem mentioned above, they simply re-use the scenes with tiny changes in the dialogue. The final experience is the same, and so it feels almost pointless to have these two variants, as they simply don't do anything majorly different from one another. It is not a good / bad end type of deal, but instead two sides of the same ending, with all the scenes identical, except for certain variations in dialogue and the character's behavior. This is a little bit of a shame, as Sia's route is very good. Had the two sides of the route been pulled off in a better way, this route would have been even better.
     

    Primula, Asa and Sia's routes are the only ones that has "believable drama".  The other two routes doesn't make you feel like what is happening is really a big deal at all. It is trivial drama that doesn't have any real impact compared to what happens in the routes mentioned above. This is not to say that the routes are bad because of this, but it does make the game feel a little inconsistent, as if the two routes which feel less impactful are played after the other three, then you won't really be that pleased with the end result. Actually, one of these routes has to be played before Primula's route is unlocked, so only one of the routes actually have that problem.
    The endings in the routes also feel a little bit rushed. Once the drama is introduced, the player has almost no time to let it sink in and feel the effects of it, before it is resolved. This makes the novel lose some potential, as it doesn't feel like there is any "risk" to it at all. It's almost as if the game is saying that something bad could happen, but then it instantly corrects itself, saying don't worry, we wouldn't actually do this!
    Still, with those factors in mind, the story in the game is still enjoyable. The actual core of the heroine routes does a good job of making the player care for the heroine and about what happens to her, and seeing as the game instantaneously lets you know that it is a very laid back, plain and casual experience, the slightly rushed endings and not overly dramatic parts are to be expected.  
     

     
    To sum up, Shuffle! is a very light and simple, yet effective visual novel. It does a good job of making the player care for its characters, as long as the player is willing to accept the game's light hearted and simple atmosphere.
    The music and art in the game is well made, especially the art and backgrounds. Considering the age of the game, it is in fact quite pleasantly surprising to see such nice artwork in the game. The music could have had even more effort put into it though, as there is a clear difference in quality between a few of the tracks.
    The routes are a little inconsistent, and offer parts which are essentially just copy pasted with slightly altered dialogue. This alongside the predictability of certain events, the game loses a bit of its potential.
     
    + Nice art, music and well made menu makes for an enjoyable experience.
    + The story is enjoyable overall, and does a good job of making the reader care for the heroines
     
    - The drama in the later parts of the game ends far too fast, and are essentially pointless
    - The game loses potential with the lack of variation in its re-used scenes, especially in Sia's route
     
    Rating: These things taken into account, shuffle! gets a 7.8/10 rating
     
     
  10. Dergonu
    Hey everyone! So it's time for another review, this time of a yuri title that I just finished last night, Kimihane Kanojo to kanojo no koi suru Ikkagetsu. I got recommended this a little while back and decided to read it because I thought it was just a short yuri nukige. But boy was I wrong ...
     
    The story:
    The story is quite lighthearted and simple, three girls who think they saw an angel when they were younger live together in a dorm. These three girs get along very well and the story is just their daily lives unfolding before our eyes. Or, rather, it is actually being seen by someone else. The story is told in a third person narrative, being looked at by a mystery person. The third person narrative is quite interesting; its something I haven't seen much off in VNs, and it made for a fun experience, reading an untranslated novel in the third person.
    It's a novel strongly built on the slice of life element. The story is split into 4 chapters, with 4 routes, each route has its own unique twist on the four chapters, with new CG, dialouge and events.
    The routes are each coupling, Rin x Hina, Hina x Fumi, Fumi x Rin, and finally a secret route unlocked after the completion of the previous three.
    Each scene during the game tends to be quite specific and short, but in return there are many of them. So let's say they are sitting in the living room having dinner, there is a short sequence where they do that, then it suddenly switches to a different scene, let's say, they are now at school. This is actually a very comfortable way to read an untranslated novel for me, as its very easy to get the context of the conversation. Also, story wise, there is a reason for this specific short scene duration, and it is revealed during the last, hidden route.
    There is an enforced playing order, where a new route is unlocked after the current one is finished. Also, there are NO choices in the game. You get some unique dialouge choices in the form of these screens:
    However these have no effect on the routes and the story at all, and they are simply small unique scenarios.
    All in all, the story is very light and cute, the language in the novel is simple, but it still keeps you entertained the entire time. Similar to Sono Hanabira, it focuses strongly on it's character interatcion.
     
    The characters:
    The story offers very few characters, only four of which has a sprite. These four characters are the ones who make up the bulk of the game's story.
    These characters are:
     
    Hina:

    Hina is kind of the little sister in the group. She is super adorable; a small girl with a loud voice. (She tends to yell a lot.) She does a lot of stuff that just makes you go, "aww", but unlike Fumi, she is quite ... Noisy. She isn't a fragile and gentle little girl, but rather a loud and energic one.
    She spends a lot of her time yelling at Rin, and this makes her appear more like an older sister, despite her role in the little "family" being the little sister/daughter.
     
    Rin:

    Rin is my favorite character of the three. She is a slob, managing to put her glasses in the fridge like 8 times during the story. She sleeps in all the time and is always yelled at by the little energy bomb that is Hina. Basically everything Rin does will make you laugh. She is less innocent and more direct and frank, making her do hilarious stuff like roleplay sexual scenarios with Fumi's stuffed animals, get in bed with Fumi telling Hina to look away as "mama and papa" are going to be doing grown up stuff. She will make you laugh a lot, and thats what I loved about her.
    Of course, just like the other two she has sides of her which aren't so clear, that you learn more about during the routes.
     
    Fumi:

    Fumi is the mother among the three. She is very polite and formal, always takes care of the housework and steps in as a peacekeeper whenever the two others start quarreling. She is gentle and adorable, but just like Rin, she has different sides to her which are discovered during the routes.
     
    Lastly, Sachiko:

    Umm.. She is the ... Middle aged dorm manager who keeps on touching the girls... She also tries to pay them to be painted nude. ..  uhh.. Someone call the police..?
     

     
    General impressions and thoughts:
    Like I said in the introduction, Kimihane looked like your average yuri nukige to me, but wow was I wrong. It is by no means a nukige; I'd probably call it a moege, (as there are only 2 H-scenes per route and quite a lot of cute and adorable, lighthearted dialouge and scenes dominate the game.)
    The art in the game is really nice, with several CG variants for each scene and well done character details and sprites. This also makes the H-Scenes quite enjoyable, though like I said, the H-scenes were actually not what made me stick around for this one.
    Each character has a lot of developement throughout the story, and each route brings out a new side of them that we haven't seen before. This makes each route feel unique and very enjoyable. The humor in the game is quite entertaining, and the romance is well done, though its a little bit simple and moe like. Don't expect extremely prfound and deep relationships.
    Even though the story is so simple and light though, it doesn't make you feel bored or tired of what is going on. The characters keep the romantic routes interesting, but what really blew my mind was the hidden route. Once I played it, I just went... "Ohhhhh!" It did such a good job of suprising me and I think it will suprise you as well. I never saw that coming.
     
    Anyways, since the game is fairly short there isn't too much else to be said. Honestly, my conclusion is this: PLAY IT! It's short, its really cute and light but at the same time it has its moments where the story really takes you by suprise. The characters are wonderfull and entertaining and the art is really nice.
     
    I personally rated this a 9/10 on my VNDB, but keep in mind; I am yuri freak.
    I think a more objective rating would be something like a 7.5.  But this is definitely not something you should play just because it has yuri. It's quite the good little novel, and it left me seriously pleasantly suprised.
     
    That's it for today folks, thanks for reading!
  11. Dergonu
    I finished this game the other day, and decided to write up a short blog post on it.
    Ryuukishi Bloody † Saga is the "sequel" to Akabei Soft3's Ryakudatsusha no Inen, (though the only relevant connection is the main character, and it pretty much works as a standalone game tbh.) The game completely breaks away from the dark nukige-like feel the first game had, and shifts the genre completely into something rather light hearted. (Though it has some rather gore filled fight scenes here and there.) The art even changes completely, making it feel like a totally different game.
    I made a post about the prequel a bit back, and the things I felt that game did wrong was handled very well in the sequel, making it blow my expectations away. For those interested in this game who don't like overly dark themed stories and therefore want to stay clear of the prequel, you should be fine playing the sequel only as long as you read a general summary of the first game. (There is a couple of smaller refrences to the first game in the sequel, though nothing major.)
    For those interested, I wrote up a summary of the first game here. It doesn't cover absolutely everything, but it gives you the info you need to read the second game.
    Bloody Saga starts off with Roy walking through the forest without a care in the world, headed for a city called Veludylun. However, on his way there he notices dark smoke rising from within the city walls, and he is stopped by a group of knights protecting the entrance. The city is in a state of emergency, as a massive dragon is attacking. This is apperantly not the first time this has happened, and as mortal weapons cannot harm the dragon because of its tough scales, the best the knights within the city can do is distract the dragon long enough until it leaves.

    Seeing the people of the city in dire need of help, Roy volunteers to help out with taking care of the wounded, as well as rebuilding the parts of the city destroyed by the ruthless dragon's attack. Keeping his dark past locked away deep within his mind, Roy starts a new life in Veludylun. He befriends four female knights, (who were originally selected by the king as "guards" to keep an eye on the outsider,) and together with them he spends his days helping out rebuild the city, uncertain when the dragon will attack next. 

    The story of the game is nice, although it takes a bit of time for it to pick up. The slice of life moments are more than welcome though, as they don't feel boring at all. (At least not to me.) The heroines are great, and Roy is a fantastic main character. The villains are also well made, and the fight scenes are for sure one of the best aspects of the game.
    I haven't read too many serious harem stories so I don't have many games to compare it to, but this one pulls it off very well. All the heroines gets enough screen time, they all have their own reasons for liking the MC and the harem doesn't feel forced. (My only complaint is the high amount of H-scenes... they really didn't need that many. 2-3 for each heroine would be fine, but instead there is like, 6 per heroine which is just a bit too much.)
     
    Bloody Saga is an entertaining fantasy VN with good writing, epic action scenes and a decent amount of slice of life moments with the heroines. There is a good amount of focus on the romance between the MC and the knights, but enough weight is still put on the core story so that it doesn't become your standard charage love story. The setting and time period in which the story takes place is also a nice break from your standard VNs, and the voiced protagonist + the stunning art just makes the experience more enjoyable. Although the game has its darker moments, they fit into the story very well, and aren't sexualized pointlessly like in the first game. Overall this VN is a very enjoyable read, and I strongly recommend checking it out.
  12. Dergonu
    Shirogane no Soleil -Successor of Wyrd- <<Unmei no Keishousha>>
    ( "The soliel of silvery-white" - Successor of Wyrd << The Fated successor >> )
     
    This is the first game in Skyfish's epic norse mythology series. I had never even heard of this game before Clephas made a blog post about it a little earlier this year, and that might be the case for many. Having finally played the game myself, I have to ask... how is this possible? Why is such a great game not more well known? This VN truly deserves more exposure than it currently has.
    Introduction:
    Shirogane starts off with our main character, Ryuuhei, and his sister Tamako on their way to a set of ancient ruins in Iceland. Ryuuhei is not an archaeologist like his sister, but was dragged along by her on the pretense of being her "bodyguard." Ironically, that is exactly what he ends up being. Ryuuhei's group gets pulled into an encounter with a strange creature called "Berserk", a monster made up by the broken soul of an ancient warrior, which fell in battle ages ago. Powerless against this incredibly dangerous foe, Ryuuhei prays for help, asking for power-- the power to protect the people he loves. His call is answered by a slumbering Valkyrie, Sol, who makes a contract with Ryuuhei. She will fight for him, in exhange for his life force. Every time she uses her powers, she drains some of Ryuuhei's life force out of his body, shortening his life. They fight off the Berserk together, but this is merely the beginning of their tale. This seemingly random encounter might not have been as random as they thought. One might even call it... fate.

    Story
    The story in Shirogane is fantastic. It's told in two parts, "Valkyrie in love", and "Successor of Wyrd." Some of the story takes place in the present, while certain other parts takes place in the past. Shirogane contains tons of refrences to norse mythology, though the descriptions of characters and events from norse mythology in the VN are not necessarily identical to the "real thing". Therefore, while familiarity with norse mythology helps with appreciating certain aspects of the game's story, it is not at all needed. What matters in terms of refrences are all explained well enough in game, and seeing as they usually put a unique spin on things, it is not at all needed to know everything there is to know about norse mythology before reading this. (That being said, knowing some of the general concepts about who is who, and what is what will certainly make it an even more enjoyable read.)

     
    Although Shirogane is a very serious story, with tragic themes riddled all over it, just like normal stories from norse mythology, the game contains a good number of humoristic slice of life moments as well. That being said, all of these moments fits very well into the flow of the story. We are seeing things from Ryuuhei's point of view, as he deals with the fact that his own life span is constantly being drained because of his contract with his Valkyrie. As a result, you feel a little more attatched to these everyday moments, since they are seen through the eyes of someone who only has so much time left to enjoy them. In addition, the comedy is pure gold most of the time. The slice of life moments very rarely feels out of place, and never gets in the way of the story. The humor in the game had me literally laughing out loud so many times, I lost count.

    Characters:
    One of the biggest strengths of this game is without a doubt the characters. Each character feels unique and is well fleshed out. They all add something to the story in their own ways, and it's hard not to grow attatched to them, be it heroes, anti-heroes or straight up villains at times. The interactions between the characters truly pulls out all sorts of emotions from the reader, making the story feel like one hell of a roller coaster ride. (In a good way. Prepare your tickets to the feel train, folks.) While the "good guys" are all very well done, my favorite characters were honestly the villains / anti-heroes that are introduced throughout the game.
    On top of making fantastic "villains", the "duos" in the game are brilliant. Essentially every single character is paired up with another in some way, and they all complement each other greatly. These "duos" were without a doubt one of the best parts about the game in my opinion. Be it heartbreaking moments or hilarious ones; nearly all the most impactful moments in the story stems from one of these duos' interactions.


    Art, Music and Writing:
    As shown in the screenshots above, the art is nicely detailed. Considering this game was released in 2007, the art is very impressive. The amount of special effects, cut-scenes and CGs is no joke either. Sadly, things aren't as good in the music department. The music is by no means bad, but it does feel a little bland at times. Certain tracks do work very well with the tone of the story, and are straight up beautiful to listen to, but others feel repetitive and aren't that impactful. So, my complaint with the music would be the inconsistent quality of the tracks. That being said, this is hardly a big issue, as the writing, art and story makes slightly repetitive music matter very little in the end.
    Overall, I have very few complaints about this game. It was a fantastic read from beginning to end, and I strongly recommend reading it. I don't use the term kamige a lot, but this definitely qualifies in my personal opinion.
    You can buy all the Soleil games on DMM. (NSFW LINK!!!)
  13. Dergonu
    Chapter 2: Death In The City
     
    Members in this chapter:
    “Tch. Where did that little worm go?”
    VirginSmasher came to a halt as he scanned the area. The blazing sun made the asphalt below his feet feel like liquid magma, and the light from the sun reflected in the countless windows around him, making it even harder to spot his target. VirginSmasher had been one of the Fuwanovel members picked for the second week of the death game, and he had already been caught in a fight with another user. But, after a few minutes of battle, his opponent had fled, and VirginSmasher lost sight of him.
    “I was this close, too…”
    Kicking the ground in frustration, VirginSmasher made the asphalt below his feet explode into a million pieces, sending rubble and dust flying around the area. His powers were quite simple. His strength and agility had been increased tenfold, essentially making him a human wrecking ball. Problem was, the person he had been chasing had some kind of teleportation ability, making it impossible for VirginSmasher to land a hit.
    “Ugh… What’s with this arena though?”
    VirginSmasher looked up at the sky. He was standing in the centre of a massive city, in the middle of summer. It had to be at least thirty degrees in the sun, so all the moving around made him feel like he was melting.
    “Last week they got a nice and cool forest, yet we’re stuck in this hellhole. What a jok— Huh?!”
    Sensing something approaching from above, VirginSmasher sidestepped and turned to face whatever it was. Two arrows graced his throat, and slammed into the ground behind him, producing two large holes in the concrete.
    A thin trail of blood ran down VirginSmasher’s neck. Had he moved just a fraction of a second later, he’d be dead.
    “Heh. Looks like I got some new pray.”
    VirginSmasher said with a smile, as he looked up at his new opponent.
    “...”
    Sitting on the top of a nearby telephone pole was Alden_0023, pointing a strung bow at VirginSmasher. Alden wore a grey cloak, with a quiver on his back and a range of different throwing knives stuck to his belt.
    “I won’t miss a second time.”
    Alden stated in an indifferent tone, and before VirginSmasher could even move an inch, Alden sent another arrow towards his target. The arrow soared through the air with incredible velocity. VirginSmasher barely managed to react in time, slamming the arrow out of the air with his palm. The arrowtip dug into his hand, ripping through the flesh like it was butter.
    “Hmph!”
    Not bothered by the pain one bit, VirginSmasher slammed his right hand into the ground, and a large crack in the concrete moved towards the telephone pole, which started to collapse moments later.
    Alden leapt in the air, and after a graceful backlip, he reached for another two arrows, and fired them both at his target, before landing on another telephone pole about ten meters away from the previous one.
    This time VirginSmasher managed to dodge the arrows completely, and jumped towards his opponent. It was an impossible leap for a normal human. The ground below his foot cracked, and VirginSmasher’s body shot forward. In the air, he thrust his healthy hand towards Alden’s chest, then, before hitting his opponent, he twisted his arm sideways and opened his palm, producing a shockwave which pushed Alden off the telephone pole.
    “Kuh…”
    Alden groaned in pain, but still managed to fire another arrow at VirginSmasher before he landed on the ground. While the arrow did not hit VirginSmasher, it distracted him for long enough to keep him off Alden’s tail for another second.
    That second was all Alden needed. With incredible speed, he sprinted towards a nearby building, and jumped up on the wall. As if his feet were layered with glue, Alden ran straight up the wall, firing several arrows at VirginSmasher in the process.
    “Tch, the hell is with this guy?!”
    Dodging the arrows by a hair's breadth every time, VirginSmasher danced around on the ground below as the barrage of arrows rained down from above.
    “Guess I’m switching to long range attacks as well. Hmph!”
    Grabbing a nearby piece of rubble, VirginSmasher threw it up at Alden as hard as he could. The concrete block split up into several smaller pieces as it moved towards its target, smashing into the building with a loud bang. Broken glass and rubble fell towards the street below, as a large chunk of the building was torn apart from the impact.
    “Did I get him?”
    VirginSmasher squinted, trying to find Alden in the middle of the chaos. He soon spotted the shadow of a person rushing out from the rubble, and right after, several small objects flew towards him at great speeds.
    “Tch, more arrows?!”
    VirginSmasher prepared for another volley of arrows, but what was thrown at him was in fact just some rubble from the building.
    “Shit!”
    Realizing the attack was just a distraction, VirginSmasher spun around.
    “Got you.”
    Alden released the bowstring, and sent an arrow flying towards VirginSmasher’s exposed back. Although he did notice Alden’s trick in time for him to turn around, he did not manage to dodge the arrow, which dug into VirginSmasher’s chest.
    “Guaah!”
    VirginSmasher reached for the arrow, and snapped it in half. Then, he grabbed the arrowhead which was sticking out of his back, and ripped the arrow out of his torso.
    Meanwhile, Alden landed on the ground about twenty meters away. Although his physical abilities were heightened, he had still fallen about ten meters, so he needed a second to collect himself after the landing.
    “You little bastard!”
    VirginSmasher rushed towards Alden, filled with rage. The pain from the wound in his chest only fueled his anger. Putting all of his remaining strength into one last attack, VirginSmasher charged his enemy.
    “You don’t… give up, do you?”
    Scrambling to his feet, Alden reached for another arrow. While he had not been injured from the fall, it had knocked the air out of him, making it difficult for him to avoid VirginSmasher’s sudden charge.
    “Haah!”
    VirginSmasher lunged at Alden with everything he had. Alden barely managed to throw himself to the side, dropping his bow in the process. VirginSmasher’s hand collided with the wooden bow, smashing it into a million pieces.
    “Heh, what are you going to do now?”
    VirginSmasher spat out, as he watched the pieces of Alden’s weapon fall to the ground before him.
    “This.”
    A sharp pain spread through VirginSmasher’s body, as Alden seemingly threw something in his direction.
    “Huh…?”
    Looking down at his own body, he saw three throwing knives buried into his chest.
    “Well, fuck…”
    The world around VirginSmasher grew cloudy, but he did not collapse right away.
    “I’ll at least… take you with me…”
    Raising his trembling arm into the air, VirginSmasher tried to charge at Alden one last time, but before he could move, another set of throwing knives dug into his torso.
    “...”
    As the life left VirginSmasher’s body, he managed to flip off Alden before his dead body collided with the ground below.
    Meanwhile, on the top of the tallest building in the city:
    Two figures stood face to face on the roof of a skyscraper, located in the centre of town. They were too high up to see or hear the commotion happening below.
    “Heh, so you finally caught up to me, huh? I was hoping I could avoid fighting...”
    Mr Poltroon paused and eyed his opponent, adjusting one of his white gloves.
    “I’d especially like to avoid fighting you of all people.”
    With a wry smile, Mr Poltroon took a step back, moving towards the ledge of the skyscraper.
    “... Sorry.”
    Snapping his fingers, Kaguya created a force field around the roof, trapping the two of them inside.
    “*Sigh*... That’s what I thought. Well, I guess only one of us gets out of this thing.”
    Mr Poltroon tilted his head to the side, and smiled wryly once again.
    “I don’t suppose I could talk you out of this?”
    Kaguya didn’t respond, and instead brought his hands together. His entire figure was drowned in a bright white light, and the outline of a moon appeared above his head.
    "<蓬莱の薬>"
    <Hourai elixir>
    A small flask appeared in Kaguya’s hands, and he quickly brought it to his mouth, emptying the bottle in a second.
    Hourai elixir, also known as the elixir of life. Those who drinks from it are, in short, immortal for a set period of time. Even if Poltroon destroyed Kaguya’s body while he was under the effect of the potion, he would just regenerate. In other words, Poltroon had to stall until the potion wore off if he wanted to win.
    Summoning his trusty cane into his hands, Poltroon struck a cool pose and prepared for battle.
    “I suppose it would be rude to attack first, so I’ll wait for you, kind sir.”
    “You’re fighting with that?”
    Kaguya looked at Poltroon’s cane.
    “What, is it not to your liking? I find it quite dashing, personally.”
    Kaguya shook his head, and jumped towards Poltroon, and unleashed a flurry of punches at an impossible speed. Poltroon blocked each punch with the back of his cane, deflecting the attacks with ease.
    “Not bad. I expected nothing less from one of my underlings.”
    A smile spread across Kaguya’s face. It would not be such a short battle after all.
    Kaguya attacked again, but this time he conjured two blades of pure moonlight in his hands, slashing at Poltroon’s body.
    Still, Poltroon deflected the attacks with his cane. The blades did not leave a single scratch in the wood. Needless to say, it was no ordinary stick. With each attack Poltroon stopped, Kaguya unleashed another.
    Realizing he would eventually get hit if he didn’t do something, Poltroon leapt backwards, distancing himself from Kaguya. As Kaguya was about to give chase, Poltroon thrust the tip of his cane into the ground, creating four large circles before him.
    Kaguya was not sure what they were, but did not really care, because of his immortality. Even if it did end up hurting him, he’d just heal right back anyways. Ignoring the suspicious circles, Kaguya rushed towards Poltroon.
    The moment Kaguya’s foot grazed one of the circles, a powerful force puashed Kaguya’s body to the ground, pinning him down.
    A gravity trap.
    “Kuh… You think this will hold me?”
    Kaguya’s body started shaking, as he used everything he had to force himself onto his feet. With sluggish movements, he moved off the circle, and was released from the magic infused in the trap.
    “Guess it won’t be that simple.”
    Poltroon raised his cane, and prepared for another one of Kaguya’s onslaughts.
    The two moderators were caught in an intense fight for over twenty minutes. Kaguya was on the offensive the entire time, while Poltroon deflected most of the attacks coming his way. He did get a few hits in himself, too. But, each attack that hit Kaguya was useless as long as the elixir was in effect. The roof they were standing on had been all but destroyed, and the barrier kaguya had raised was long gone.
    “Haah, haah, haah…”
    “Haah… Haah…”
    The two were catching their breath, taking a short break from the intense fight.
    “It doesn’t look like I’ll be able to finish you like this.”
    Kaguya raised his arm above his head, and the sky above grew cloudy. Thick clouds moved in front of the sun, leaving the city covered in darkness.
    “I have to praise you for pushing me this far. But, this is where it ends.”
    “<満月>”
    <Full Moon>
    Kaguya started hovering above the ground, and slowly floated up into the sky. Above him, the clouds began to disperse, but the sun was nowhere in sight. In its place was the moon, dyed in an ominous shade of red.
    Large spheres of moon energy formed around Kaguya’s body, and with a snap of his fingers, Kaguya sent the spheres raining down onto Poltroon.
    “Hmph!”
    Poltroon knocked the first two out of the air, sending them crashing into the adjacent buildings. But, he could not stop them all. Eventually, one of the spheres hit Poltroon’s body, knocking him through the roof, hurling him down into the floor below.
    “Ouch…”
    Lifting his body up from the rubble, Poltroon tried to come up with a plan. If he didn’t do something, Kaguya would turn him into dust within a few minutes.
    Poltroon made his way towards a nearby window, where he had a clear view of Kaguya, who was sending more spheres into the building. Explosions erupted all around Poltroon. It was only a matter of time before one of them hit him. Looking up at Kaguya, then down towards the street below, Poltroon made up his mind. He had no choice but to flee.
    “Well, here goes nothing.”
    Poltroon brushed some rubble off his shoulder, then jumped forward, crashing through the window before him. Tumbling towards the asphalt below, Poltroon knocked down another sphere, which Kaguya shot after him.
    “Running, are we?”
    Kaguya gave chase, flying after Poltroon, sending several spheres towards him. Poltroon kept knocking them out of the air, as he approached the ground below.
    “I won’t let you get away.”
    Kaguya kept on firing sphere after sphere towards Poltroon. Meanwhile, the street below was growing closer and closer.
    The situation was dire. Even if Poltroon slowed his fall and landed safely, he would simply not be able to run away from Kaguya.
    In a desperate attempt to slow him down, Poltroon conjured several magic circles along the wall of the skyscraper beside them. Kaguya saw Poltroon’s trick coming, and easily avoided the traps by simply stopping his fall before he reached them, hovering about thirty meters above the ground.
    But what Kaguya did not expect was that the spheres he fired towards Poltroon were also affected by the traps. They were pulled in by the magical circle, and large explosions erupted all over the bottom part of the building, making the already damaged skyscraper collapse completely.
    Hundreds of tons of rubble, steel and glass tumbled towards the two moderators.
    Poltroon, who had somehow managed to brace his fall with a spell, just barely managed to move away from the rubble before it crashed into the ground. But, since Kaguya was thirty meters above, he did not have as much time, and the rubble pulled him down with it, pinning him below the massive pile of debris.
    Kaguya's immortality potion was still in effect, but even someone as strong as him would not be able to lift the hundreds of tons that rested on top of his body. Once the elixir’s effect ran out, he would be crushed to death by the rubble.
    “... Phew.”
    Mr Poltroon let out a sigh, and started to walk along the street, his entire body aching from the exhausting battle. As Kaguya’s power began to vanish, the clouds he had conjured dispersed completely, and the sun once again began to shine down on the city.
     
    A few minutes later, across town:
    Weiterfechten was walking through a back alley, lifting up his top hat as he wiped som sweat from his brow with the cuff of his victorian tuxedo. His attire did not exactly help against the scorching heat.
    He had seen a battle unfold a few blocks away some minutes ago, and chose to get away from them as quickly as he could, not wanting to be caught in the crossfire. While a battle between two members could mean a possible easy kill for him if he snuck up on them, it was apparent from a mile away that the two fighting were not normal members. Weiterfechten had fled as soon as the giant balls of energy began raining from the sky.
    “Hm?”
    Noticing something stir in the darkness a few meters in front of him, Weiterfechten came to a stop, and reached for his fencing sword, which was resting in a hilt over his left hip.
    “Who’s there?”
    A small girl walked out from the shadows of the dark alley, gazing at Weiterfechten with an emotionless expression.
    Had he not watched last week’s game, Weiterfechten might have thought of the little girl as a defenseless bystander. But, he knew better. He had seen the little girl stab her “ally” in the back in cold blood, laughing.
    “Funny I should run into you here, little girl. The person you killed last week happened to be a good friend of mine. I shall take this opportunity to avenge him.”
    Kiriririri opened her small hand, and a beautiful sword with a silver blade and a golden hilt appeared out of thin air.
    She then brought the blade behind her head, and took a swing at Weiterfechten, who quickly drew his own sword and blocked the attack. Despite being a little girl, she was strong. The impact of her attack made Weiterfechten take a step back, and a dull pain ran down his arm. She was no ordinary girl, that much was obvious.
    “初ノ型〈紫電〉”
    <First strike: Purple Lightning>
    Kiriririri whispered and closed her eyes. Then, her blade glowed in a purple light, and she cut at the place Weiterfechten had been standing.
    Being a skilled fencer, Weiterfechten jumped out of the way on instinct, which was smart of him, as a deep cut ran through the ground where he had been standing just moments before. The light that erupted from the girl’s sword looked like lava melting its way through steel, as steam rose from the cut in the ground.
    While the girl seemed to lack technical skills with her sword, she made up for it in brute strength.
    If Weiterfechten was going to win, he had to wait for the right opportunity, preferably right after the girl used one of her attacks.
    Testing her out a bit, Weiterfechten thrust his blade at the girl. Like he thought, she moved awkwardly, and barely managed to deflect his attack. But, as he tried to move in for another thrust, the girl’s blade began to glow once again, and she unleashed another purple ray of light from her sword. The light grazed Weiterfechten’s jacket, setting it on fire. He ripped off the jacket in a fluster, and threw it onto the ground.
    “Careful with that thing. You’ll poke someone’s eye out.”
    Weiterfechten pointed at Kiriririri’s sword.
    “You know, I really liked that jacket. Now I’m even more angrier.”
    Weiterfechten sent several precise attacks Kiriririri’s way, trying to prevent her from unleashing more of her pesky attacks. He focused on stabbing at her right side, forcing her to keep her dominant arm back, which in turn, meant she couldn’t raise her sword.
    “二ノ型〈流星〉”
    <Second strike - Meteor>
    Pushed back by Weiterfechten’s onslaught, Kiriririri whispered the name of a different attack. Thinking he’d be fine as long as she couldn’t use her sword, Weiterfechten kept pushing forward. Then…
    “Whoa!”
    Barely managing to notice before it was to late, Weiterfechten jumped awkwardly to the side, as a purple circle started forming around his legs. Right as he jumped out of the circle, a rock dyed in the same color as the circle crashed into the ground, digging about a meter into the dirt before it came to a stop. Thick smoke rose from the small crater, making Weiterfechten cover his mouth with his arm.
    “What the hell… Hm?”
    Looking at the girl again, Weiterfechten noticed that she was breathing heavier than before. While that could just have been because she was dodging his attacks, another idea popped into his mind. Could it be that the special attacks she was using tired her out? If that was the case, all he had to do was keep avoiding her strikes, and he should be able to land a killing blow.
    “Phew… Hmph!”
    After catching calming his own breathing, Weiterfechten stepped forward, once again resuming his attacks. Kiriririri did not even try to deflect his attacks with her sword, and dodged them the best she could instead. Although her movements were awkward, they were really fast, so landing a hit became quite challenging, even for someone as skilled as Weiterfechten. Her small build made the task even harder, as his target was much smaller than he was used to.
    Kiriririri suddenly took a step back, and her blade began to glow again.
    “Here it comes.”
    Weiterfechten thought to himself, and prepared for another one of Kiriririri’s attacks.
    Kiriririri brought her blade above her head, and sent the biggest ray of light yet flying towards Weiterfechten. It moved faster than the previous attacks, too, making it even harder to dodge. Moving out of its way by a hair’s breadth, Weiterfechten felt the heat of the purple light searing his skin as it rushed past him.
    “Guh…”
    Staggering for a second due to the incredible heat, Weiterfechten took a moment to regain his balance, then moved in for a counterattack while Kiriririri herself was recovering from the powerful attack.
    “Hmph!”
    Weiterfechten thrust his fencing sword towards the little girl’s chest. The blade moved towards Kiriririri at high speed, and for the first time in the entire fight, Kiriririri’s expression was filled with emotion, as her eyes shot open in fear.
    The sudden resistance of human flesh made Weiterfechten’s arm come to a halt.
    But, he had not hit the target he expected. Kiriririri had moved her left arm in front of the blade in the last second, and the tip of Weiterfechten’s sword had been stopped a few inches from Kiriririri’s body. Fresh blood ran down her arm, and her expression twisted in pain. Nevertheless, she raised her right arm high above her head, gripping the hilt of her sword firmly.
    終ノ型〈天絶閃衝(ラスト・ パフェ)〉
    <Final strike - The last Parfait >
    After she stated the attack’s ludicrous name, her blade lit up in a brilliant purple light, and Kiriririri cut at Weiterfechten’s body.
    Weiterfechten jumped back, letting go of his own sword, to at least avoid the attack, but it was no use. The glowing blade grew longer, like it was chasing him, and even though he jumped a good meter and a half back, the blade reached his body with ease, carving into his flesh, making fresh blood sprout from his chest.
    “Graaagh!”
    Letting out a primal scream, Weiterfechten collapsed.
    "Hehe."
    Kiriririri looked down at Weiterfechten's corpse, and chuckled.
     
     
    Wildcards This Week?
    Yes (A user has recieved a second life. Read details about wildcards here.)
     
    Dead This Week:
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    Hope you enjoyed! See you again next week! (Let me know if you find any issues/ inconsistencies!)
  14. Dergonu
    So, the past week I have been reading ChuSinGura 46+1, and surprised myself by blowing through 仮名手本忠臣蔵編 (basically, chapter 1,) in under a week. Between the length of the game, as well as the difficult samurai speech patterns and complicated edo-period political schemes, it certainly is the most challenging VN I have read in Japanese as of yet. Anywanys, as the game is so bloody long, and the chapters can somewhat be considered self contained, I just wanted to write something about my impressions and thoughts of chapter 1.
     
    It has been a long time since I was this into the VN I'm reading, be it translated or not translated. I think the last time was when I read Nurse Love Addiction when that came out, as the mystery element in that game really took me by surprise, and I read it all in a couple of days. That's months ago though, so finally finding a game again which really just hooked me from the beginning, and kept me hyped all the way to the end was a great feeling. ChuSinGura's combination of silly humor and dead serious plot was a breath of fresh air. It goes to show that a game doesn't have to take itself too seriously to be really good. It honestly felt very similar to Majikoi on that front. (Also, the colored text, the character movement during combat scenes and what not. The game is quite honestly very similar in style to Majikoi.)
     
    So, the first thing I have to say about this game is that it is just stunning. The art is really pretty, the specific colored text for each character gives them all a unique feel, and the sprites having sooo many different poses and expressions really makes their personalites feel so much more real and alive.
    (They even literally have specific sprites just to hold food and drinks they are eating/ drinking in that scene... such details in the sprites alone isn't that common in most VNs I have read, at least.)
    The large amount of not just CGs, but event backgrounds took me by surprise as well. Many times I was certain I was looking at a CG, only to find out it was a specific background made for that scene.
    Honestly, the story was just fantastic. Some people might argue that the silly and goofy jokes and what not ruins the seriousness of it, but I strongly disagree. Sure, the game has a lot of not-so serious moments, but they do not at all remove any of the emotions behind the actual story. I'll admit, I did cry several times through this story, and probably will in the following chapters, too.
    (A few CGs and scenes I loved. Spoilers inside the spoiler tags, duh. Mainly just CGs, but a bit of my opinions about what happened and what not inside.)
     
    Another thing I absolutely loved about this game is the antagonists. Well, not the actual morons plotting the evil plan behind the scenes, but the antagonists who the samurai actually fight... Specifically, Shimizu Ichigaku, who has to be one of the most badass characters I have seen, ever. (I'm also really looking forward to seeing Yamayoshi Shinpachirou in the game, as she uses a nodachi, and that is basically my favorite type of weapon, ever.)
    Anyways, now, for some badass stuff from Shimizu Ichigaku: (Once again, some spoilers in the spoiler tags:)
    Finally, I have to say, Suguha is a great main character. He is definitely one of my favorite protagonists in any VN. Although he is powerful, he isn't the super stronk dude who just wrecks everything in his path, like some protagonists are. He is very devoted to his master, but still has a certain amount of doubt and fear, especially surrounding his own life, and won't hesitate to speak up if he feels something needs to be said. It really comes off clearly that, despite him being put into this surreal setting of the 47 ronin avenging their lord, he isn't truly a warrior from that time period. He isn't fearless and he is definitely flawed. But his sense of justice and devotion to his master is still very admirable. He is also really funny, and the mix of a modern guy from the 21st century in the Edo-period really makes the whole game so much more funny. Overall I just loved his character.
    On that note, the romance between him and Kuranosuke was really great. I thought the romance was going to be a bit pushed to the side in this game, but it was handled perfectly.
    I could write about this chapter alone for hours and hours, but I'll probably come back and write more about the game once I finish the rest of the chapters, so I'll leave it here for now.
    This has quite honestly already jumped up to the spot of one of my favorite VNs of all time. If the next chapters are as good as the first one, this might just take the #1 spot for me tbh.
    Anyways, that's it for now. Time to get back to reading!
  15. Dergonu
    I have been wanting to write something about this VN since the second I finished it, but never actually got aroud to it. Now with the TL announced, I figured I might as well write something. Might be a good thing to note that I absolutely adore this game, and it is probably my favorite VN of all time, so I'm a bit biased, just saying.
     
    So, first, an introduction. Kimi e okuru, sora no hana is a nakige made by Cabbit. The game is about ghosts, people who can see them, and their attempt at a life together in a special school that trains its students to handle their powers. The main character, Shuuya, has been able to see ghosts since he was a child, and he has always wondered why. When the mysterious ghost Matsuri approaches him with the offer of a school that can teach him about his powers, he just couldn't say no. As he gets to the school he meets many others with similar powers, and they all seem equally eager to learn what their powers are. But, there is a slight twist. People with these powers are not the only students in the academy. About a third of the student body is also made up by ghosts. Now, this is a big deal, because, well, they are ghosts. Dead people with psychic abilities isn't exactly your ideal classmate. Naturally this causes some disturbance in the classes, but the presence of the ghosts is an absolute condition for the school to operate, and everyone has to handle it if they are going to attend the academy. (Even the headmaster is a ghost, and boy is she an... interesting woman, lol.)

    The game is a nakige like I said, but it also has some other elements as well. The entire game isn't constantly story driven, and so people who hate "generic school settings" might be slightly annoyed at certain points in the game, even though these "plotless" moments aren't a dominating factor. Because of the way the game is structured, even normal days at school might suddenly turn into something dramatic, because of the relationship between the humans and the ghosts, as well as the ever present danger of a ghost going berserk. Still, there is definitely a decent amount of slice of life moments in this game, though I found them very enjoyable because of the rather unique take on the setting. Despite the fact that we have a "generic school setting", half of the students in the class being ghosts makes for a different experience. First of, it opens up for new types of humor, (people can't see ghosts, so if you walk alone with one, people think you are jut talking to yourself, for instane,) more drama (there is a lot of tension between everyone because of the ghosts), not to mention that the romance itself in this VN is very unique, as the ghosts can't actually touch anything solid. (I mean, they are ghosts.) So this opens up for a very fresh and interesting take on these overused elements. In addition, the game itself is 10-30 hours long, and with 5 heroine routes with at least 2 endings each as well as a common route, this means the routes aren't too long, so the "boring slice of life" moments in between the story is rather minimal in comparison to other, longer games. Still, despite all of that, you will have to suck it up and get through some slice of life if you want to play this game.
    The game has 3 human heroines and 2 ghost heroines, as well as a few other short, special routes that you can unlock upon completing certain endings. The human routes are more similar to what you usually find in general nakige/ charage, and An's route is probably a bit more similar to a moege route at times, but all three human routes still use the ghosts as a part of their main story. The ghost routes, however, are very different from the standard stuff, and on top of that, the two ghost routes are very different from each other, making them both feel quite unique. Also, I have to point out that Matsuri is the "main heroine" in this game, and so she has 3 endings instead of the standard 2, and is a lot more in focus during the common route. Some people might not like "main heroines". I personally really liked Matsuri, but personally would have liked a bit more focus on some of the other routes, like Sekka's and Hinagiku's. Still, Matsuri is a really great heroine.
     
    When I first played the game, I started with the Sekka route, and it just blew my mind. Mainly because Sekka was a character I honestly had no real expectation of at all. She just looked like a normal, cute and shy character who had nothing else to her. But once her route started, I couldn't stop reading.

    Each ghost has a reason for... well, being dead. Something ended up killing them at some point in their life, though what this is varies. (duh.) In Sekka's case, whatever it was caused her to become extremely shy around other people, and she is so insecure she can barely even speak to others. She spends most of her time on the roof of the school, staring into the sky.
    Shuuya is the only person in the school who actually ended up approaching her despite of her insecurity. He kept talking to her, which made Sekka open up a lot more, but at the same time, this created more insecurity. It's hard for Sekka to understand normal, human relationships, and she doesn't really get what friendship means in general. On top of that, a ghost's mental condition is directly linked to how well they can control their powers, which means Sekka is already in a bit of a shaky spot as it is. This route's entire structure was very unique and interesting.
    Sekka's route is probably one of the most dramatic, and in my opinion it's one of the best, though it is a bit on the shorter side, sadly. Reading both her endings in succession is strongly recommended, and starting with the bad ending is the most ideal for sure. The reason for this is that the structure of her route is a bit different from what you tend to see in most games, with the order of how things happen turned a little on its head. In addition, Sekka's bad ending is longer than her true ending, and it also contains important information that will make the true ending even more impactful.
     
    The difference between the human and the ghost heroines in the game might look slightly strange to some people. Why use both? Why not just one? On one side, you have nakige elements and drama, and on the other side you have standard charage material? Why?
    Well, this game does a very good job of keeping the two connected. It's not two completely alien entities that exist totally independent of one another. For exmaple, An's route is the cutest and most slice of life driven route in the game, but even this route deals heavily with Shuuya's powers and his attendance at the school, as well as his past and the origin of his powers.
    ...
    ... But really though, most people should just want to play An's route because of how freaking adorable she is. I mean... come on.

    Anyways, moving on. The other two human heroines, Kana and Hinagiku have more dramatic routes compared to An, but they are still quite different from the ghost routes. I found Hinagiku's route the most entertaining of the three, mainly because of her character. (Like, because she was a very interesting heroine, not just because she is so pretty! Well, she is incredibly pretty though. I mean... look.)

    (The art really is nice in this game.)
     
    I could rant on for hours and hours about the game, but I think I got the most important stuff out of the way. This is a very solid VN, with great characters, an interesting plot and some seriously tear-jerking moments. If you like nakige, you'll like this one.
    For the people who can't read Japanese, you should definitely keep your eye on the TL project. (You can show them some love by joining their discord, checking out their website or even offering to help out with the project. All the info you need, as well as the links to their website and discord etc, is here on this link.)
    That's about it, hopefully my bias didn't rub off too strongly in the post. (But hey, even if it did, it's my blog so who cares )
  16. Dergonu
    Aojiru verse introduction #2: In'Youchuu
    In the last post I listed the current games in the Aojiru verse, (I'm probably the only person on earth calling it this, but it must become a thing!), and I introduced the game that started it all; Hanamaru! Today I will dig deeper into what exactly you should expect from Aojiru games, and introduce In'Youchuu, the most iconic Aojiru-game to date.

    Introduction:
    Let us begin with a general introduction to Aojiru's games. These games are all fairly dark, both in general writing and story, as well as the H content. That being said there is also usually a decent amount of sol moments in each game, with a proper good ending that can be reached by avoiding a minefield of bad endings scattered throughout the games. For games like In'Youchuu with several sequels, this good ending will be the default canon that will continue to the next installment. Exceptions of this rule would be the standalone horror games, such as Fuka no Jugoku, which is a story of pure madness, with no real "good" outcome. There is just very little room for sol content in a game like that. But, the majority of Aojiru's games will feature at least some of it.
    What's interesting about Aojiru games is that the sol moments are actually very enjoyable, and it really feels like they belong, despite of the dark themes these games have. They really nailed it with having just the right amount of "feelgood" content before shit goes bad, so you have time to get to know the characters before shit hits the fan. You get invested in both the story and the characters. Well I do, anyways. I never get tired of seeing Yamato and Mikoto, two characters from In'Youchuu, shouting insults at each other like an old married couple. The games also have some pretty adorable chibi art:

    Many might brand the Aojiru games as mere nukige with no substance or plot, but this is inaccurate. Sure, the games have a lot of H-content and I can see a case being made for them being branded as nukige. But, they are absolutely not mindless nukige without any story. In fact, I find most of the stories told in Aojiru games legitimately interesting, and get very invested in the worlds and the characters introduced in them. Of course, I have to admit I am a fan of the dark H content that there is an abundance of in these games, but I also love the stories, and think games where the two elements can be combined are very cool. If you think the same, these are basically made for you.
    In'Youchuu

    Normally Aojiru games will feature some kind of supernatural entity, such as Nightmare from In'Youchuu-we will talk more about him in a second-or Kudan from Kowaku no Toki. (That dude scared the shit out of me when I first played Kowaku.) These two are very different beings, but both get classified as some kind of "youma", which is a monster born from negative emotions. Some are mindless creatures driven by primal urges, while others are incredibly intelligent beings with god-like powers.
    In In'youchuu we follow a group of monster hunters-The Monster Subjugation Division: The Black Cats- who can use different kinds of spiritual and magical powers to destroy these creatures. (Let's make it simple and call them "The Black Cats.")
    The four members of The Black Cats are Yamato, our protagonist, a half-demon who mainly relies on brute force when fighting. He's a big pervert, and is definitely not the brains of the operation. Then there is Mikoto, the oldest of the Shiratori twins, Mikoto and Takeru Shiratori. She might be the "oldest" of the two, but she is also the most immature of the girls. She always gets in arguments with Yamato, and gets scolded by her little sister, Takeru, for not thinking before she acts on a frequent basis. She hates doing paperwork and will do anything to get out of it. While she is not as well-versed in magic as her sister, she wields a powerful weapon, The Spirit Blade Raikou, and likes to fight in close combat like Yamato. Takeru, the youngest twin, is a cool and collected fighter who always analyzes the situation before charging in, unlike the other two. If not for her, Yamato and Mikoto would surely have gotten themselves killed already. Finally there is Yoru, the leader of the Black Cats and the reason for the group's name. He is a nekotama, a cat spirit. I said Yamato is not the brains of the operation due to his pervertendess and well, Yoru is... the same. He might be the leader, but Takeru is the one making the calls when it counts. Meanwhile, Yoru is off doing... this. (Told you there was some goofy content in these games )

    From left to right we have Yoru, Mikoto and Takeru

    And here is Yamato
    In'Youchuu starts off with Takeru being sent to a school up in the mountains where there have been reports of monsters popping up at night. However, she never reports back to The Black Cats, and goes silent. Concerned about what could have happened, Yoru sends Mikoto and Yamato to the school to investigate Takeru's disappearance, and the nightmare begins.
    Yamato and Mikoto start investigating the school, though find no signs of Takeru on the first night. She simply seems to have vanished. Meanwhile, there are clear signs of monsters hiding somewhere in the school, and the duo heads there at night when monsters are most active. At this point, you are given choices rather frequently, usually with each fight. One wrong choice and you will be sent off to a bad ending, where horrible things will usually happen to the characters. Trying to avoid these bad endings is in my opinion part of the excitment in playing these games. Make a wrong turn and you get "punished", as the characters fails, (though you could see this as a reward depending on how you look at it,) and if you make the right choice the story continues. Though, this does of course not mean you are guaranteed to be victorious. There are times where things just goes south, which is to be expected in games these dark.

    A standard group of youma that you will encounter a lot. These are the mindless sort, that feeds off human organs and are driven solely by primal urges: hunger and the need to breed.
    At the school we are introduced to some familiar faces, like Momono Momo and Sumire from Hanamaru! And also get introduced to a new face, Sui, a childhood friend of Yamato who gets pulled into the chaos that is unfolding at the shcool.
    Eventually you start to figure out what is going on, and meet the first big bad of the Aojiru games: Nightmare. He is a humanoid youma with horse features, that feasts on the wombs of women and aims to create an army of monsters by making the women he eat into breeding machines. Needless to say, he is not a nice guy. Some of the bad endings with this guy... phew. Erhem, anyways.
    In'Youchuu offers some pretty cool fight scenes, with everything from chuuni chants to epic battle CGs. Of course, I don't want to hype this part of the games up too much. Like, you shouldn't go into these games expecting Dies Irae level fight scenes. But, they are definitely enjoyable, and there is often at least one big climax at the end with some pretty cool stuff. There's tons of fight scenes, but the one big one towards the end often uses a lot more budget in the CG department, heh.

    Nightmare. He looks both hilarious and terrifying if you ask me, heh.

    Yamato in his transformed state, during a battle. Being a half-demon, he is capable of transforming himself into a demon for a short time, though it takes a huge toll on his mind and body.

    Yoru, after going into combat mode. Yes, he is a badass.
    I obviously have not linked too many NSFW images in this blog post. There is a lot of that in In'Youchuu, naturally. A lot. But, you can find them yourselves, I'm sure. What I wanted to do with this post was introduce more of the serious side of In'Youchuu, and in turn, Aojiru games as a whole. These games aren't just tentacle nukige with some dark scenes. Sure, there's lots of that, but there's much more to them. There's actual stories here, with well developed worlds and characters. I fell in love with these games because of the mix of seriousness and dark H. I am also just a huge fan of Aojiru's art in general.
    I really hope an Aojiru game gets picked up for localization one day. Heck, maybe I'll be able to translate one myself down the line. That would be pretty exciting.
     
    Anyways, if you do speak Japanese, I recommend giving one of these games a try. Who knows, maybe you'll enjoy the ride more than you expected. A lot of people see "nukige" and brush the games off as bad right off the bat, which is why I'm not overly fond of that branding. Yes, with the amount of H in these, it probably does fit to call them nukige, but there's also so much more to them.
    That is it for my post on In'Youchuu 1. Next blog post will either be about the sequel, Shoku, or Kowaku no Toki, one of my favorites. I still haven't decided which one to go with yet. Either way, see you again then.
  17. Dergonu
    The last GM standing Q&A:
     
    Link to the thread:

    Would you rather read the chapters in a PDF document? Click here!
     
    Chapter 1:
     
    Chapter 2:
     
    Chapter 3: (Word count, 4439)
     
    The last GM standing chapter 3:
     
    On the third day of battle, the sun was blazing hot.  The dark clouds that had been hovering over the battlefield for two days straight were nowhere to be seen. The base of team Nosbeleed, which was turned into a charred wasteland after the previous day's battle, was abandoned. The battle had been pushed further and further away from the forest and open plains, and a group of warriors found themselves in a harsh desert, being tormented by heat under the scorching sun.
     
    ...
     
    Trying to get away from their pursuers, Kiriririri and Nebjula from team Nosebleed were running through the desert at full speed. Because of the protective shield granted to them by their commander, the heat didn't mean too much, but fatigue was taking its toll on their bodies. They had been running for hours already, and it was only a matter of time now; their tail would soon catch up to them, and they would have to fight. And sure enough, after a few more minutes, the outline of a person could be seen appearing in front of them. Coming to a complete stop, the two team Nosebleed warriors prepared for battle. Their pursuers soon came to a halt as well, their weapons shining brightly in the sun.
     
    "Ohh, I see our prey has stopped running. What's the matter, tired?" Pouting her lips whilst making an intimidating face, the woman in the group presented her weapon in a taunting manner; a sickle. The curved blade of the weapon was forged in a deep black metal. The tip of the sickle was jagged, with several small razor sharp edges that were there in order to inflict as much damage as possible. It allowed the weapon to function as a stabbing tool as well as a cutting blade. The woman was wearing the green garb standard for Down's army. Interestingly enough though, behind her, two more warriors were approaching, but they were clad in the red armor of Kaguya's army. To her left was another one of her teammates. Had Kaguya's soldiers been sent after Down's soldiers?.. There was also one more person who had appeared in front of Kiri and Nebjula, another one of Kaguya's men. In order to cover both their sides, Nebjula and Kiriririri stood back to back, weapons at a ready. The situation was quite chaotic, and the only way to identify who was who, was by the color of their armor.
     
    The female soldier from team Down took a step forward and smiled at Kiriririri.
     
    "So, which one of you will be my playmate? Oh, wait! I haven't introduced myself yet, how rude." Taking a step back again and bowing gracefully, the woman's hair swayed in the harsh wind. She was paying no mind to the two enemies who had appeared behind her.  
     
    "My name is Kawasumi. It's a pleasure to meet you gentlemen. Now, I'll start by cutting up you!" Just as she finished her sentence, Kawasumi charged forward, her sickle heading for Kiriririri's neck. Kiri quickly parried the attack by charging his fist with energy and striking at the approaching weapon. The sound of his fist colliding with the steel was deafening, but neither party cared. They launched attack after attack at each other, completely ignoring their surroundings. Kawasumi laughed joyfully during the fight, seemingly having a fun time. Kiri was focused, not saying a word.
     
    Nebjula, who was standing behind Kiri as Kawasumi attacked, quickly got his weapons ready and struck at the opponent in front of him. Zebhra from team Kaguya who was holding a sword, blocked the first mace hit, and jumped to the side to retaliate. The thin blade moved quickly, and Nebjula barely managed to stop it with his maces. Unleashing a flurry of attacks at Nebjula, Zebhra moved forward, not giving Nebjula a chance to strike back. At the same time, one of the men in the back came forward, joining the fight. The desert was soon turned into a big mess of a battle; green, pink and red clashing in an epic fight.
     
    A shadow quickly moved towards Kiririri, and he only managed to dodge it by a hair. Looking to his left, Kiriririri spotted a man in red armor with his hand extended towards him. A big red magic circle was floating in front of his hand, and the shadow that had attacked him appeared to have been made by it. Beside him was a another one of Kaguya's soldiers, standing with his arms crossed. Was he not going to attack?
     
    "Hahaha, this is magnificent!" Shouting in a wild voice, Kawasumi rapidly struck at Kiri with her sickle, each blow being blocked by Kiri's fists. Then several knives made out of shadow quickly flew towards him again, sent out by the magician standing in the back.
     
    He was able to hit them in mid air, stopping them from doing any damage, whilst still fending off Kawasumi's sickle.
     
    "You really are good. I'll make sure I kill you slowly as a reward." A wicked smile spread across her lips, and she took a few steps backwards, distancing herself from her foe. Then she readied her sickle again and leapt forward.
     
    Meanwhile, Nebjula was busy fighting off an onslaught of magical attacks as well as a flurry of sword cuts. The attackers from Kaguya's army who had appeared behind him both seemed to use magic. The shadow user who was fighting Kiri and Kawasumi was Jade, and the one attacking Nebjula was Nimbus. One of the oncoming lightning bolts got past Nebjula's guard and struck his chest. It was blocked by his barrier, but it had been worn down by running in the blazing sun for hours, and it still hurt quite a bit.
     
    "Damnit..." He needed a way to get some distance from the sword-wielding Zebhra in order to attack Nimbus who was attacking with lightning magic. This was easier said than done though ...
     
    "Wohoooo! YEAH!" Suddenly, a surreal voice came from behind, and a man wearing a green garb ran past Nebjula at a crazy speed and rushed through the oncoming magic attacks. He brushed them off like they were nothing and quickly reached the two long range attackers. In his hand was a cleaver, stained with dried blood. It was the man who had been standing next to Kawasumi earlier.
     
    "Nohman has arrived!" Loudly declaring his name, he swung his weapon violently at the two, making them scatter. Still fending off Zebhra's sword, Nebjula tried to get a closer look at the battle between Kawasumi and Kiriririri.
     
    Kiriririri was still fighting off the relentless attacks with ease. Kawasumi's sickle moved through the air so fast, it was hard for Nebjula to follow it, but Kiri was still able to parry and retaliate using his fists. Now that Jade's magic had been interrupted, it was easier for Kiri to move around freely.
     
    "Take this, and this and this and this and this!!!" Striking at the barrier protecting Nimbus, Nohman brutally attacked it again and again. His battle style was vicious and reckless, but it was quite effective. In seconds, Nimbus' barrier shattered, and he had no way to stop the cleaver. Just as Nohman lifted his weapon in order to finish off his victim, Jade fired several knives made of shadow at him. Quickly turning around and hitting every single one of them out of the air, Nohman shook his head.
     
    "Two against one... Hm. Well, whatever. This will be fun." Smiling from ear to ear, Nohman advanced on Jade this time. Jumping slightly in order to avoid the lightning bolt coming from behind, he turned his body mid air and struck upwards, hitting Jade's right arm. A barrier blocked the hit, but he still did some damage. As he landed, Nohman spun around swiftly and launched at Jade again. But this time, the lightning bolts were moving a little too fast, and two of them pierced Nohman's chest, sending waves of pain through his body. Nohman lost his balance and tumbled to the ground. Still, he wasn't done yet. Violently striking at the foot in front of him, Nohman's cleaver made a deep cut in Nimbus' foot.
     
    "GHAAAA!" A loud scream was heard throughout the blazing hot desert.
     
    "Damn you!" Shouting at the fallen attacker, Jade fired several knives at his exposed back. But, before they hit, something hard hit him in the side. Missing his target ever so slightly because of the sudden attack, Jade stumbled backwards and slowly got back on his feet. Nebjula was standing in front of him, clutching his two maces.
     
    ...
     
    Team Nosebleed, Kiriririri vs Team Kaguya Zebhra and team Down Kawasumi
     
    Suddenly feeling oncoming danger from behind him, Kiri turned his body sideways in an awkward manner. Then, a sword struck in the place he had just been. The sickle that Kawasumi was swinging around like a lunatic also swept right past him, missing his arm by mere inches. Kicking the ground behind him hard, Kiri leapt forward and hit Zebhra in the chest. He attempted to block the sudden attack with his sword, but Kiri's fist was faster. Lifting his right arm slightly, Kiri then caught the sickle quickly advancing towards him in his palm, strengthening his skin with energy in order for it not to cut him. He then kicked at Kawasumi's legs, making her fall over. Kiri was currently fighting two enemies, one from team Down and one from team Kaguya. Nebjula had gotten wounded in the fight against Zebhra, and Kiri had taken over for him. Instead, Nebjula had moved over to the fight where Nohman was on the verge of being killed by the two magicians from Kaguya's team. He would be of more use there. He had sustained a deep cut over his back, making sudden movements really difficult. But in a close combat situation versus magicians that liked long range battles, he would hopefully be fine. It seemed impossible for him to retreat in the chaotic situation, and so he had instead moved over to a different battle. It was becoming difficult for everyone to determine friend from foe, and a wild free for all like battle was underway.
     
    Zebhra and Kawasumi were both standing again, and charged at Kiri; it seemed they had decided, he was the biggest threat. Nimbly dodging the oncoming blades, Kiri turned his body around and preformed a roundhouse kick that struck Zebhra in the chin, bringing him to the ground. He didn't have time to let his guard down though, with two attackers being present, and paid the price for it. Lightly jumping up into the air, he brought his hardened fist down towards Zebhra's head, but before it hit, Kawasumi moved in. Her sickle cut through Kiri's barrier and left him with a small wound on his left side.
     
    Stepping on Zebhra wo was still on the ground, Kawasumi moved in closer.
     
    Zebhra angrily made it back to his feet and approached as well, but he still did not attack Kawasumi. He was dead set on taking out Kiri.
     
    In order to win Kiri had to act fast. Seeing as the two weren't actually teammates, their attacks weren't very well synchronized, and they would still be wary of each other. He had to use this to his advantage. The two of them raised their weapons and approached Kiri.
     
    "... Now!" Moving forward and grabbing both weapons in mid air, Kiri used the rest of his strength to protect his palms from the sharp blades. He then moved forward, advancing past the two attackers, turned around and brought his fist forward with all his might. It struck Zebhra in the neck, and an ominous snap sound followed. Zebhra fell to the ground, his head dangling about without the proper support from his broken spine.
     
    "Haha, look at it wobble!!!" Laughing sadistically whilst looking at the spectacle, Kawasumi yanked her blade out of Kiri's hand and cut at his chest. No longer able to summon any strength, Kiri had no way to defend himself. The blade cut through his chest, destroying his lungs. Kawasumi pushed him to the ground and got on top of his bleeding chest, bringing her face close to Kiri's.
     
    "Sleep well sweetheart." Placing the tip of her blade on Kiri's temple, she slowly put pressure on it. The jagged spike started making its way through the skin and after a few seconds of intense pain, Kiri closed his eyes for good.
     
    Team Kaguya, Zebhra- DEAD END
     
    Team Nosebleed, Kiriririri (REAL) - DEAD END
     
    Team Kaguya Nimbus and Jade, vs Team Down Nohman and Team Nosebleed's Nebjula
     
    "Whooohooooooo!" Swinging his cleaver at Nimbus like a madman, Nohman charged forward. Nimbus was having trouble moving because of his wounded foot, but managed to dodge the attacks. Nohman had sustained quite a lot of damage previously as well, and so he wasn't moving as fast anymore. Still, he didn't seem to care one bit.
     
    "I'm going to cut your throat open and watch the blood soil the sand!" Nohman shouted as he switched between deflecting magic and striking at Nimbus. Meanwhile, the wounded Nebjula was fighting Jade, who had sustained a broken arm from Nebjula's earlier attack. Finally, Kawasumi was busy cutting Kiri's corpse open, not caring about the fight going on behind her. Her green armor was stained completely with fresh blood.
     
    Jade was using his magic to both deflect attacks and retaliate, making his energy drain at a rapid pace. Lucky for him, Nebjula's back had sustained a serious wound, and he was moving rather sluggishly.
     
    I'll have to finish this in a few attacks, or I'm going to run out of energy. Jade thought to himself.
     
    Sending two large spikes of shadow towards Nebjula, Jade took advantage of the time Nebjula needed to dodge, and started chanting in order to strengthen his next, final attack.
     
    "Make those who oppose your ways,
     
    wither before your gaze...
     
    Eyes of evil, hands of darkness, gazing, clawing...
     
    Continuing his chant, Jade brought his hand together and aimed them at Nebjula, who was running towards Jade with his maces raised. A magic circle appeared between the two and black light particles started forming around Jade's hands.
     
    "Turn their bones to dust and their heart to sand,
     
    become their nightmare,
     
    ...the bane of man."
     
     As he finished chanting, a wave of darkness washed over the place where he stood, and the ground beneath Nebjula's feet split open. A large hand made of pure darkness gripped his entire body tightly, and held him in place. The pain of having pressure put on his open wound rendered him defenseless, and there was nothing he could do against the overpowering magic.
     
    Several red eyes appeared from the darkness below, probably belonging to whatever creature had seized Nebjula. Slowly squeezing the life out of its prey, the hand gripped Nebjula tighter, and the sound of bones breaking made a chill go down Jade's spine. It didn't take long for the monstrous hand to crush every bone in Nebjula's body. After releasing the magic, Jade collapsed on the spot, having used up way too much energy. As his consciousness faded, he caught a glimpse of the fight still taking place some distance away, between Nohman and Nimbus. Both parties were still standing. As for Nebjula, the remnants of his body was brought back into the shadows by the devilish hand, and he was never to be seen again...
     
    Team Nosebleed, Nebjula- (CLONE) DEAD END
     
     
     
    "Die, you glorified light bulb!" Shouting at Nimbus, Nohman chopped vigorously at his target with decreasing accuracy. The two gaping holes in his chest had started to really slow down his movements, but in return, Nimbus had also received a long cut to his left arm, leaving him with only one functional arm and leg. No longer capable of moving much, he had resorted to using his energy for making his own shields as well as attacking his opponent with electricity.  Each time Nohman struck Nimbus' shield, Nimbus felt that the strength in each blow was decreasing. He only had to hold out longer than his opponent. Probably realizing his dire state, Nohman gritted his teeth.
     
    "You little ... If I am going down here, I'll make damn sure you die as well." Suddenly throwing his cleaver onto the ground, Nohman reached inside his garb and brought out a small dagger.
     
     What could he accomplish with that? Nimbus wondered.
     
    Getting ready for a possible surprise attack, he strengthened his shield. Then, Nohman did something quite surprising. Turning the dagger around, he thrust it into his own chest. Then, he uttered a small chant in a weak voice:
     
    "I will be, the one who makes...
     
    a world of pain, where no one wakes...
     
    Once they hear, the voice of death,
     
    the two will draw, their final breath..."
     
     
    When Nimbus realized what Nohman was doing, it was already too late. Nohman's skin started glowing, and soon it started breaking apart. A green light shone through the cracks, and after a few seconds the battlefield was enveloped in a massive explosion.
     
    It was a spell that, in return for giving up one's own life, granted massive amounts of energy for a final attack. Such an attack was designed for one simple purpose: to take out whoever else it can in the process losing your own life.
     
    A massive crater was the only thing that remained of Nohman, but...
     
    "Tch, what a pain." Holding his passed out teammate under his arm, Nimbus looked at the crater. He had moved quickly, snatched the unconscious body of Jade, then he had escaped before the explosion went off. It was an act impossible for most people, but Nimbus had used a last resort given to him by Kaguya himself; a way to stop time for a couple of seconds. Once used, he was no longer capable of repeating it. It was a gift granted to Nimbus because he excelled at magic, and so he was the one best suited for using it. And it had ended up saving the lives of himself and his teammate, Jade. The violent explosion that Nohman had set off would destroy anything in its path.
     
    "Did that crazy bitch make it out alive?" Looking down at the crater from afar one last time, Nimbus started making his way back to Kaguya's base.
     
    Team down, Nohman- DEAD END
     
    Team Down, Kawasumi- ???
     
    _________________________________________________________________
     
    Walking along the outskirts of the desert, Mitchhamilton and Satsuki were looking for their teammates, Kiriririri and Nebjula when they saw a massive explosion. A figure clad in pure red was making its way out of the chaos, and was headed in their direction. Mitch reacted quickly, recognizing the figure as someone from Kaguya's army. He grasped his spear and hurled it at the rapidly approaching target. The person, who Mitch had first mistaken for a team Kaguya member, was actually wearing Down's garbs, but they were completely stained in wet blood. The woman managed to nimbly avoid the spear, and kept running. Following her general's example, Satsuki moved towards the enemy.
     
    "Tch, can't a lady get a second of peace around here?" The team Down member was a woman, completely covered in blood from top to toe. Whatever had happened could have been linked to her own teammates, and so Satsuki wanted to interrogate the woman. But, in order to do that, she first had to defeat her. Preparing for combat, Satsuki drew both her twin axes from behind her back. The axes were small and compact, like hatchets used for chopping down trees, but they were solid steel and sharp as could be.
     
    "Little lady, I am in a hurry, so please move."
     
    Not listening to the woman, Satsuki charged just as her general Mitch was making his way over to join the fight. Satsuki jumped up in the air and swung her hatchet down towards the woman's head, but instead of hitting her flesh, a powerful force threw Satsuki back. Mitch, who had arrived at the scene as well, was also blown back by a sudden invisible force.
     
    "Kawasumi, go back to base. I'll handle these two."
     
    Satsuki could hear the voice of a man through the ringing in her ears. Lifting her chin up, she spotted the retreating figure of the woman. It seemed someone from her team had shown up in order to help bring their wounded back to base.
     
    "Tch. Mitch, what do we do? Do we chase her?" Turning to her general for advice, a sudden shiver went down Satsuki's spine.
     
    "LOOK OUT!" She shouted and jumped forward, grabbing a hold of Mitch. Barely managing to push him to the ground in time, several kunai knives flew past their heads and hit the ground behind them. Right after, an approaching enemy in a green garb rushed forward with a katana. Clutching her axes, Satsuki stood up and blocked the blade, staring straight into the face of Down's general, Tiagofvarela. Mitch quickly got to his feet and struck at Tiago's body with his spear. Sidestepping in order to avoid the attack, Tiago let go of his katana for a second, then snatched it out of the air before it hit the ground. Striking at Satsuki with great force, he swung his katana up in an arc. The blade made a whistling sound as it cut through the air, and the impact from the blow made Satsuki's arms burn. She managed to block it, but this was an enemy she was not capable of fighting on her own; that much was obvious. Luckily, it was two against one. The two started attacking Tiago in rapid succession. Every time one attacked, the other one would strike from a different direction, making it hard to block the oncoming attacks. Also, Mitch's spear made for a great medium ranged weapon, where as Satsuki was striking from close range, making the attacks even harder to predict. As a spear thrust was blocked, two chops from Satsuki's axes followed. Still, Tiago spun around swiftly, his katana moving so fast, it was like it became one with the air itself. The sound of steel clashing with steel and the constant footsteps of the three was all that one could hear. Tiago ducked in order to avoid the approaching axes, and used his katana to knock the spear thrust out of the way, then he launched his body forward. Pointing his katana at Mitch's chest, he took advantage of Mitch's poor close combat compatibility and the katana dug into Mitchhamilton's shoulder as Mitch did his best to steer the blade from his heart.
     
    "GRAAHH!" Mitch screamed as he clutched his bleeding shoulder, and Satsuki quickly ran up to him to check on his condition. Tiago followed up with another attack, this time a diagonal cut, but Satsuki's axe parried the strike. She tried retaliating, but Tiago was able to keep her at a distance. Without the aid from Mitch's spear keeping him at bay, getting close to Tiago was a challenge for Satsuki. Every time she tried advancing, he would swing his katana quickly towards her body, forcing her to retreat or dodge.
     
    "Time to end this." Tiago suddenly sped up his movements, stepping forward and clutched his katana with both hands. He then preformed another cut from above, but with much more force than before. The heavy attack made Satsuki's hands falter, and the sharp edge of the katana cut a deep gash in Satsuki's face, slicing all the way from her left eye down to her cheekbone.
     
    "Satsuki!!!" Panicking, Mitch charged back into the fight, wielding his spear with only one hand.
     
    "RAAAAAAARGH!" He Thrust at Tiago with all his might in the hope of pushing him back, but instead Tiago moved his body to the left, avoiding the spear, and stabbed at Mitch with his katana. Mitch, who was approaching at a great speed, was incapable of stopping and was impaled on the blade. Tiago started turning the katana around inside of Mitch's chest, making large amounts of blood spill out from his mouth and from the open wound.
     
    "D-DAMNIT! DIE!" Charging towards Tiago whilst clutching her wounded eye, Satsuki tried to hit Tiago with her hatchet, but it was a futile effort. Tiago grabbed her arm mid air, not even needing a weapon to stop the attack, and snatched her axe out of her hand. He then used her own weapon to cut open her throat. Mitch, who still wasn't dead, tried to summon some strength to use magic, but before he could do anything, Tiago pulled his katana out of Mitch's chest and spun around. The blade flew through the air and connected with Mitch's neck, separating his head from his shoulders...
     
    Team Nosebleed, Satsuki (CLONE) and Mitchhamilton (REAL) DEAD END
     
    ...
     
    Satsuki had slowly bled out on the ground, and Mitch could not be brought back because he already lost a life the previous day. Nosebleed was looking at the figures of his four fallen soldiers. Nebjula and Satsuki had been clones, but it was still a tough loss. Kiriririri and Mitchhamilton had been two of his best fighters, and both were gone for good. Clutching his fists tightly, Nosebleed looked up at the sky; starting right at the shimmering sun.
     
    The figure of a reaper holding a scythe was barely visible on the horizon. It was watching him from the distance, it's yellow eyes glowed faintly. It was the same creature that had stopped him previously when he fought with Down. He had noticed it then, this ... thing, used to be 12Kami, the member who disappeared on the first day of battle. For what purpose was he created? For what reason was here there, watching Nosebleed's every move?
     
    Turning his back to the reaper, Nosebleed brought the corpses of his comrades back to his new base, preparing himself and his soldiers for the next day of battle. The coming days would be even harsher and more grueling than ever before, that he could tell...
     
    _________________________________________________________________
     
    Deaths this week:
     
     
     
    Team Nosebleed: Nebjula, (CLONE), Satsuki, (CLONE), Mitchhamilton (REAL), Kiriririri (REAL).
     
     
     
    Team Down: Nohman
     
     
     
    Team Kaguya: Zebhra
     
    _________________________________________________________________
     
     
     
    ___________________________________________________________________________
    List of currently remaining members!!
     
     
     
    #Team Nosebleed: Members, Satsuki (-1 life), Valmore , Deep Blue (-1 life) , Nebjula (-1life)  , kingdomcome
     
    #Team Down: Members, Tiagofvarela (- 1 life) , Babiker , Maxel , Fred the Barber , Totodile , FinalChaos , Kawasumi , Flutterz , Turnip Sensei 
     
    #Team Kaguya: Members, Dergonu , Nimbus, Gijimu, Greenshadow622 (- 1 life) , Eclipsed, Duyy , Jade
     
    ___________________________________________________________________________
     
    TO BE CONTINUED!
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
  18. Dergonu
    Time for another blog entry, and today I'll be talking about the dungeon crawler, Ikazuchi no Senshi Raidy. This is the first installment in ZyX's dungeon crawler series featuring Raidy, a very popular game series.
    For those of you who aren't familiar with dungen crawler games, they are gameplay like titles featuring a dungeon that you as the player need to navigate through. Depending on the game, there might be random enemy encounters, bosses as you climb floors, secret passages, traps, loot and more. The actual gameplay is most of the time simply using the direction buttons to move your character forwards, sideways and backwards as you progress through the dungeon, as well as mouse clicks to fight possible bosses and enemies you encounter. In Raidy 1, you play as "the lightning warrior" Raidy, who heads into a tower controlled by a demon in order to save the nearby village from his evil. The tower has several floors, every one of which contains a mini boss, and your job is to move through each floor, kill the boss and climb to the next floor until you reach the demon himself, so that you can kill him and put a stop to his plans.
    As you move through the dungeons, you will encounter random enemies, who will increase in strength for every floor. These random encounters award EXP, which will be cruicial for for your survival in the dungeon. (This game is seriously challenging, and if you are even just a tiny bit underleveled, you WILL die, which will result in a game over. Therefore, you often have to spend quite a bit of time on each floor after defeating the boss, just grinding a few levels so that you won't die instantly on the next floor. A bit more on the difficulty later on.)
    The game actually came out in 1994, though the current version available on JAST's homepage has updated craphics compared to the original release. The current art is actually very pretty, which was a big plus for me as I played it, since I was expecting something much, much worse.
     
    A random encounter in the dungeon

    That being said, the audio in the game is quite bad. The quality isn't top notch, but the worst part is the absolutely cringe voice acting by Raidy... It's actually quite comical. She is extremely emotionless when she speaks, even in crazy situations, (like her being raped by a crazy werewolf... yes, this happens, lol.) I don't know for sure, but it seems to me like the voice acting is the original from the 1994 release, as that would explain the rather lacking quality compared to the new art. Still, this is just a tiny little detail, and it didn't bother me much at all.
     
    Like I mentioned before, your goal is to defeat all the floor bosses in order to climb up to the top of the tower and kill the demon, but this is not a simple feat. Each floor introduces new traps and labyrinths which are seriously difficult to figure out without a guide. I personally played the whole game without a guide, something that took a long time considering the actual length of the game. I spent a long time grinding for exp, walking in circles through the mazes and getting stuck at certain traps, (like the freaking evil 180 turn pad, which turns your character 180 degrees without you noticing, making you walk in circles forever unless you figure out the trap, or turn around by chance.) Traps can feature many different things, like chests rigged with poison gas, invisible walls, turn pads and so on.
    As you advance through the dungeon, you will be completely blind, and you have to memorize where you came from until you manage to find the floor map, which usually lies hidden quite far into the dungeon. The map will let you see an overview of the current floor, and it's a huuuuge help when navigating, though finding the damn things can be a pain. You do have a compass, which is very helpful, as you can use it to somewhat get a grasp on where you are at all times.
     

    You will eventually discover certain rooms and points of interest, wchich will give you screens like these. You will have to click each option several times in order for figure out all the information you need, (so if you are talking to a prisoner in a jail cell, you might need to select one option up to 5-6 times in order to get the correct info out of them.) This is very important to remember, because every mini boss will be invincible until you have learned their weakness. This means, if you rush into the boss room, you have absolutely no chance of winning, and you will get a bad end, and a bad end rape scene. (If you want to 100% the game, you do have to get these, so saving before entering the boss room, just to unlock the scene is recommended, so you don't have to go back to get these again later on.) Also, on that note, there is 1 secret ending in this game, which you can only get if you 1) collect all the information on a boss, save, then try to fight them but lose, get the rape scene and then reload the save, then defeat them. (An instant defeat becuase you didn't know their weakness won't count.) I'm mentioning this because actually going through the whole game again just to do this will take hours, and it's quite a grind just for 1 new scene, just keep that in mind if you plan on playing this game. - Get info, save, fight and lose, then win, repeat for every boss.
    Now that we mentioned that, it's important to point out, rape is a core part of this game. (The mini bosses are capturing villagers and rape them, when you lose to a boss you get a rape scene, and when you defeat a boss you... rape them... yup...) So yeah, do not expect any vanilla H in this game, because you won't find any of it. Oh, and... 95% of the game is yuri. (Yay!)
     
    Earlier I talked a bit about the difficulty in this game. Traps, mazes, strong bosses and all that makes for a really crazy combo. Honestly, the difficulty in this game might be a bit too high for certain people. I personally love a challenge like this, and had a blast playing through the game, trying to figure out how to beat the next floor, and the 2-10 hour game felt like a much longer one, because of the amount of time I spent in game. The thing is, the actual scenes and VN elements are rather short, and you will be spending most of your time in the gameplay, defeating enemies and searching for loot and clues. Therefore, it is important that you find these elements in the game entertaining, or else this will be a real chore to get through.
    The combat system in the game is very simple. You can preform a normal attack, block, flee or cast a magic attack which consumes your mana. Your normal attacks deal less damage than the magical attacks, but are more consistent. Both you and your enemies can land critical hits, which will do loads more damage than normal, so it's important to keep your health up with healing potions.
    The block feature is mainly there so that you can lose on purpose if you want, (all you do in that situation is walk into a boss room, spam the block button until you die, so that you don't risk killing the boss.) The magical attack does more damage the more mana you have, and becomes rather unreliable as fights drags on, but can be cruicial when it comes to weakening bosses, as the first 2-3 hits can be quite strong. One thing I have to mention here is... save... A LOT! Save all the time. If you die to a boss, it's game over, and you have to start all over, or from a save point. If you forgot to save and went on playing for a while, getting back that progress can take ages, and it can really make you ragequit.
     

     
    I think that about covers everything that needs to be said about Raidy 1. It's a very enjoyable game, especially considering it's age and limited length. The art is really pretty, the gameplay is fun and challenging and the characters are all pretty cool, (though again, Raidy's voice actress is literal cringe.) You can buy the game and 2 of the sequels over at JAST, (here.)
  19. Dergonu
    So I know @Deep Blue made one of these a little while ago, but I really wanted to get one out myself as well. (I am also including pictures. You are too lazy man!  ) Now that the game is released, I feel it really deserves some coverage! 
    (Note that I read the beta version, and so some improvements will have been made to the final release. Also, I wrote this review in a littel bit of a subjective style, really because I want to get through my personal feelings that I experienced when I read the VN. It might make the review seem slightly biased, but I hope this doesn´t make the review seem less serious. I played the game with a completely objective state of mind, and this is just my honest opinion of the game. Anyways, on to the review:) 
     
     
    One thousand lies is a 5-10 hour OELVN made by Keinart Lobre, (@Keinart.) The VN is about a group of friends goofing around as they get closer to graduating from high-school, though there is a lot more to the novel than what initially meets the eye. 
    (Note, the novel has both a Spanish and English version. I read and proofread the English version.) 
     
    In One Thousand Lies we meet Ciaràn Endyein, a slightly delinquent-like teenager who, along with his best friend Ausse Ealdwine, pull of silly yet harmless shenanigans that always end up getting them in trouble. The two are also accompanied by the pretty and intelligent Ziva Shani, who constantly try to psychoanalyze Endyein. 
     
    At the beggining of the story, Endyein recieves a strange, mysterious email, telling him to go to a certain place without any more detailed instructions. The sender appears to have stolen a package Endyein was waiting for, so confused and angry, he decides to do what the email says. (With some persuasion from his friends.) This sends him down a fairly heavy psychological, yet heartwarming and slice of life-like journey. 
     
    Story and writing
    The story in the game starts of really light and funny. It´s a slice of life story that has refreshing and entertaining humor; it doesn´t use overused clichès that you have seen 100 times before. As you get further into the story, you will start to notice that not everything is exactly how it seems. It´s hard to talk about this without spoiling the entire story, so we are going to keep it short. The story is well written, has pretty good pacing and does a good job of hiding the real kicker until the very end. 
    The writing in the novel is, like I´ve already mentioned, really good. It is every editor´s dream, going through a novel that has essentially no mistakes, and that doesn´t repeat itself over and over, but instead offers new, refreshing words and phrases for each sentence. The language was almost a little bit too complex at times, as I felt it was unnecessary to use such big words for a normal, every-day setting. Still, the novel does use a lot of psychology terms and the likes, so it´s not like a complex language is a bad thing for it. 
    There isn´t much else to say about the story, as the novel is quite short, and giving any more information could possibly spoil it. All in all, story and writing is very well done, and deserves a good 9/10 rating. 
     

     
    Characters and art
    The characters in the novel are all diverse and interesting in their own way. You have Ausse, the slightly dumb but lovable rich kid who might or might not be the MC´s friend because of his financial situation. 
    Ziva, the beautiful and determined female friend who constantly gets on the MC´s nerves when she tries to diagnose him with different psychological disorders.
    Claire, the cute and shy girl who only opens up when in the presence of Endyein. 
    Luce, the playful and energic joker who always has a funny remark that will put the MC in his place. 
    And finally Diniz The Sloth. (I think that title should be sufficent in describing him.) 
     
    Each character has nice and well drawn sprites with several facial expressions that feels natural. 
    The CG in the game is very pretty, though certain facial features gets a little less "natural" in the CGs compared to the character sprites, especially Luce´s. Regardless of this though, the CG is very nice and well made. 
    The backgrounds are kind of like a painted sketch, which is a unique but interesting style that I personally found quite enjoyable. 
     
    The only complaint I would have about the characters is that Diniz seems to have very little screen time compared to the others, and therefore he has little time to become a part of the main cast. 
    Characters, 9/10, 
    Art 7.5/10
     
    Music and atmosphere
    The music in the novel is pretty good overall and seeing as the game is not voiced, this is a good thing. There are several comfortable soundtracks that helps bring out the emotion reflected in the scene, especially during the more enigmatic and mysterious situations the novel has to offer. 
    The music did not take me by storm, but it still did its job very well in filling the "silence" when playing the unvoiced game. 
    Not much more to say about it. Music gets a 6.5/10 score from me. 
    The atmosphere in the game is quite hard to put into words. During the reading experience, it is obvious that there is something there that is more than just a few teenagers messing around. There is some kind of heavy undertone in the writing that clearly tries to tell you something more, but its written in such a way that what exactly that is, doesnt become apperant until the very end. I think that the way this was done is really quite impressive. Each character has a part to him or her that helps hint to this, and each scene does put out tiny clues, though in the end, figuring out what the cause of such an atmosphere is before the credits roll is not easy. 
    This part of the game gets a clear 10/10 rating from me. It was quite the ride. 
     
    Conclusion:
    In conclusion, OTL is an entertaining and innovative OELVN that doesnt try to do all those things we have already seen in Japanese VNs, but instead it uses original humor, exceptional writing and an interesting and thrilling psychological aspect to make the entire reading experience a blast. 
    I had no idea what I was getting into when I started reading this, and simply voulenteered to proofread / test the game because of Deep Blue´s interest in it. Needless to say, I was not dissapointed. 
    Final rating: 9/10. 
    Here is a link to the thread for the game here on Fuwanovel:

     
  20. Dergonu
    The last GM standing Q&A:
     
    Link to the thread:

    Would you rather read the chapters in a PDF document? Click here!
     
    Chapter 1:
     
    Chapter 2:
     
    Chapter 3: (Word count, 4439)
     
     
    The Last GM Standing Chapter 4 (Word count, 3984)
     
    The fires of hell
     
     
     
    The air was scorching hot, making breathing in itself a task. Large amounts of pitch black smoke rose from the inextinguishable fires that raged throughout the battlefield. The ground was stained in fresh blood, and the corpses of several brave warriors were spread around in the burning hot sand.
     
    ......
     
    Eclipsed was making his way towards the sound of a woman screaming. Just seconds ago he had been searching for his wounded comrades when he could hear the sound of blades clashing and people shouting. Then, a terrible scream resounded throughout the desert, followed by silence. And there, standing over the corpses of two figures dressed in Nosebleed's robes, stood a member from Team Down. The man was holding a blood stained katana. His green garb was also showered in fresh blood. The dead man at his feet was headless, and the woman lying a few feet away was submerged in a great pool of blood.
     
    The man turned his head towards Eclipsed and stared right at him.
     
    "Tch..." Eclipsed clicked his tongue over being discovered. It had been such a great opportunity to perform a surprise attack. But it did not matter. Eclipsed did not waver and kept on approaching his enemy, Tiagofvarela. Seeing as the man was a general, he was not an easy opponent. Eclipsed had to attack with all his strength in order to win. He had to use... That.
     
    "O keeper of flame, creator of light,
     
    thou who maintains life itself,
     
    lend me the power to set ablaze a thousand enemies,
     
    bestow upon me the strength of thee,
     
    O keeper of flame, creator of light."
     
    Coming to a sudden stop mere meters away from his target, Eclipsed chanted such words of power and brought his hands together, as if praying. Upon hearing his opponent chanting, Tiago launched an attack, but Eclipsed's body was enveloped in a vortex of fire just as the blade was about to connect. The katana bounced of the flames as if they were solid, and a deep red flame started burning though the metal. The tip of the blade started melting quickly upon being scorched by the immense heat.
     
    "W-What the ... You little..." Expressing his irritation and surprise at the sudden turn of events, Tiago took a step back and picked up the spear of the fallen Mitchhamilton. The weapon was stained in wet blood, but otherwise in good condition.
     
    A few seconds later, the vortex of flame subsided. In the spot where Eclipsed was standing, a massive sword had appeared out of nowhere. The blade was completely orange, glittering like the coal at the bottom of a fire. The blade was more than two meters long, and looked almost impossible to handle. The hilt was formed like a claw of some monstrous creature, and the entire weapon was shining so brightly it almost hurt Tiago's eyes just looking at it. It was a scary sight indeed. Fighting against such a weapon on his own would be reckless. Eclipsed raised the massive greatsword over his head and brought his arms down. The simple motion created a giant wave of flame that washed over a big area in front of him. Tiago swiftly sidestepped, but a part of his leg was caught in the scorching heat. The energy still left in his barrier withered and faltered, leaving his leg badly burnt.  
     
    "Kuuh..." Wielding another person's weapon and facing off against an immensely powerful flame incarnation, Tiago was truly in a tough spot. There was no choice. He had to call for help. Bringing his hands to the warm sand below, he quickly drew two symbols with the tips of his fingers. Because the weapon Eclipsed was wielding required such an immense amount of power, he was not able to attack again right away, and Tiago was able to finish creating the two summoning circles. After uttering a few words in order to activate the spell, the two circles erupted into pure light and tore a hole in the earth itself. Tiago's intent was to summon three of his warriors to the battlefield, but right as he started calling for them, Eclipsed was ready to attack once more. Failing to keep his concentration as another wave of flame approached him, the summoning spell went out of control and pulled several unwanted people into the battle...
     
    ...
     
    "Ahh, what the hell just happened? I was just about to kill some idiot from Nosebleed's army... Ohhh, wait a minute. Looks like I still get that chance after all."
     
    Gijimu, Team Kaguya.
     
    "... Hey, Tiago, are you the one who called us here?.. And here I was thinking I'd get a day off from this fighting..."
     
    Turnip Sensei, Team Down.
     
    "Hmm... Well, I have nothing better to do. Might as well join the party."
     
     Valmore, Team Nosebleed.
     
     
     
    Because of the chaotic summoning spell, several people from different teams were pulled into the fight.
     
    Looking at the spectacle in front of him with a carefree expression, Valmore lifted up his pickaxe and faced towards the closest enemy. Valmore's weapon of choice was rather peculiar; a miner's pickaxe with two spikes at each end instead of one.
     
    "Well then, time to crack some skulls open." Performing a big swing with his pickaxe, Valmore smashed the weapon into the ground where Turnip Sensei from Team Down had just been standing. Barely avoiding the strike, Turnip Sensei retaliated with a hard punch. The attack didn't reach Valmore, so he did not even bother dodging it. But as Turnip Sensei's fist stopped, a powerful shockwave connected with Valmore and threw his body several meters back. The punch had been mixed with magic, and had created a really strong shockwave.
     
    "Huh. Now that's a cool trick." Suddenly hearing a voice coming from right behind him, Turnip Sensei brought back his elbows with great force, trying to hit the person who spoke. But both blows hit nothing but air.
     
    "Hah. Can't hit me with something so simple I'm afraid." The figure of a person dressed in red appeared before him. It was Gijimu from Team Kaguya. He held no weapons, just like Turnip Sensei, and was standing ready in a battle stance. His left arm was held in front of his body in a guarding position, and his right arm as resting right next to his waist, ready to strike at his opponents.  
     
    "Now you've done it!!!" Valmore had gotten back on his feet and was once again rushing towards Turnip Sensei.
     
    "A free for all huh? This should be fun." As Gijimu commented on the situation, Valmore reached their location. With violent movements, he attacked both Gijimu and Turnip Sensei. The pickaxe moved swiftly through the air, and was actually a little hard to dodge for Turnip Sensei. Gijimu on the other hand, nimbly jumped away from the weapon and brought his fist into Valmore's side. The punch bounced off Valmore's barrier, but cracks started forming in the pink shield, indicating that it was running out of energy. It looked like Gijimu was skilled in hand to hand combat. Valmore was trained in fighting with a weapon and lastly Turnip Sensei used magic in the form of shockwaves. A rather obscure mix.
     
    The three clashed once again, and the ground shook as several battles unfolded at the same time in the blazing hot desert.
     
    ...
     
    Kingdomcome Team Nosebleed vs Flutterz Team Down vs Duyy Team Kaguya.
     
    Flutterz was running away from the relentless rain of crossbow bolts. His enemy was positioned nearly 50 meters away, and it was impossible to get close to him. Flutterz used a sword, and although he was fairly well versed in magic, it was difficult to find any openings to cast spells due to the constant onslaught of bolts. His opponent, Kingdomcome from Team Nosebleed, must have been using magic to operate the crossbow, as the bolts were fired nonstop with great accuracy. Also caught in the crossfire was Duyy from Team Kaguya. She was doing a good job of dodging the crossbow bolts, but she was also incapable of getting any closer to the attacker.
     
    "Come on .... Is there no way to get an opening?!" Cursing to himself, Flutterz knocked down two oncoming projectiles with his sword. The entire desert was enveloped in a blazing heat, created by both the hot sun and the gigantic sword of fire that Eclipsed from Team Kaguya was using. Eclipsed was quite a distance away, fighting a battle of his own, but the heat still reached all the way over to Flutterz.
     
    Suddenly, a loud rumbling made Flutterz' body jump in surprise. As he turned over to see what was happening, a massive wall of solid rock had erupted from the earth, and was blocking the path between himself and Kingdomcome. It seemed that the person who made the wall was none other than Duyy. How did she find the time to summon such a powerful protective spell with the relentless attacks constantly interrupting her? Well, no matter. This was his chance.
     
    Firmly grabbing his sword, Flutterz started rushing towards the massive rock wall. Kingdomcome had started moving as well, and leapt up in the air, running up the wall. He must have been using magic to make his feet stick to the surface.
     
    "Tch. At this rate, he'll get an even better sniping position." The wall was a good 20 meters tall, and if Kingdomcome got up there, he would have a perfect location to snipe everyone on the ground. Knowing he had to stop him, Flutterz finally had a few seconds to cast a spell.
     
    Stopping in his tracks, Flutterz closed his eyes and aimed his arms at the top of the rock wall, where Kingdomcome was headed. Gathering his energy and focusing it into his fingertips, he cast a quick but powerful spell.
     
    A big magic circle appeared before him, and hundreds of tiny pellets of pure energy were fired at Kingdomcome with immense speed and power. The perfectly circular pellets were shining brightly in a pink light. A massive cloud of smoke erupted from the stone wall as it broke apart from the attack. Large chunks of rock fell from the wall and crashed into the sand. Focusing on maintaining the spell, Flutterz did not move from his spot, shooting down any rubble that fell towards him with the energy pellets. The spell lasted for a good minute. As nearly nothing was left of the great rock wall, Flutterz let go of the spell, and the magic circle vanished. The feeling of a massive amount of energy leaving his body made Flutterz feel tired. Because of the smoke and rubble, it was impossible to see if Kingdomcome had survived the attack. Before Flutterz had time to scout the area though, Duyy suddenly jumped him. Throwing four great boulders from the rubble at Flutterz, she was trying to use the opportunity to take him out right after he cast a spell. Sneaky move.
     
    There was no way he had time to cast another spell, and so he had to use his sword to slice the stones in two. His blade was sharp and imbued with magic, so it was no trouble. Problem was, Duyy was only using the rocks as a distraction, and had been charging a new spell during the time Flutterz used to deflect the boulders. Duyy brought her hands together and chanted a spell, then smashed them both into the sand below. Because she was still quite some distance from Flutterz, he was incapable of hearing her chant and had no idea what kind of spell was coming. Right after, a great deal of big spikes made out of rock sprouted from the ground. The spikes started right in front of her and quickly moved towards Flutterz.  There was no way for him to avoid them on the ground. He had to grow wings and fly away to get away from them, something he obviously couldn't do.
     
    "... Crap."
     
    As the wave of rock spikes reached his feet, the sensation of his own bones being crushed to bits made him want to throw up. An unbearable pain welled up from his legs as the rock smashed through his knees.
     
    "GRUAAAAA!" Letting out a feral scream, Flutterz tried to move from the spot but was completely immobilized. The last thing he saw was a blue light; the flickering of a crossbow bolt moving towards his face from a distance.
     
    So he did surivive huh? ... With that thought, Flutterz' consciousness faded.
     
    ....
     
    Duyy was looking at the impaled body of Team Down's flutterz. Her surprise attack after Flutterz cast a spell had been successful, and he had been crushed to death by her spikes. Or so she thought.
     
    "Game over sweetheart." As a voice coming from behind made her spin around awkwardly, five crossbow bolts ripped through her barrier and pierced her chest.
     
    "Kuuh..." Warm blood was running down her body as her legs gave in under her.
     
    "Y-You... B-Bastard..." As she let out her final words through clenched teeth, she collapsed.
     
    After confirming that both targets were indeed dead, Kingdomcome sat down in the sand and started treating his wounds. A large amount of the energy pellets had hit his body earlier, and he had broken several ribs, as well as his left arm. He had barely been able to fire his crossbow after. Lucky for him, the two enemies had thought him dead, and he had gotten a chance to shoot them from a distance.
     
    "Guah... This hurts more than I thought it would ... Just going to take a quick rest." Talking to himself in a strained voice, Kingdomcome let his body fall backwards into the soft sand and took some time to collect his strength.
     
    Team Down, Flutterz- DEAD END.
     
    Team Kaguya, Duyy- DEAD END.
     
    _________________________________________________________________
     
    Dergonu and Eclipsed Team Kaguya, vs Totodile and Tiagofvarela Team Down.
     
     
     
    Totodile was standing next to Tiago, creating a shield to protect both himself and his general. Totodile was a great magic user, and had been summoned by Tiago in order to protect him against the scorching hellfire that Eclipsed was wielding. The power inside the blade Eclipsed had summoned went completely out of control, and Eclipsed was no longer capable of containing it, sending massive waves of fire in all directions. Dergonu, Eclipsed's teammate, was also having trouble staying away from the flames due to their chaotic nature.
     
    "Totodile, I'm going in for another attack, back me up."
     
    "Gotcha." Bringing his hands together and concentrating on his surroundings, Totodile made waves of water appear from magic circles positioned throughout the battlefield. The weapon Eclipsed was using was a truly powerful fire incarnation, meaning mere water wasn't able to extinguish it, but it could at the very least weaken it temporarily. Sending the water in a giant wave towards Eclipsed, Totodile focused his attacks on the massive blade. As the water collided with the flaming weapon, a deafening hissing sound followed by big puffs of smoke were produced. Tiago rushed towards his enemy, spear in hand. He got up close to Eclipsed and jabbed at his chest. The spear made contact with Eclipsed's skin and pierced it, leaving a small hole. Eclipsed jumped backwards just as the spear hit, and because of that he had avoided a lethal hit. Still, the wound was bleeding quite badly.
     
    Taking advantage of the opportunity, Totodile prepared another magical attack. He focused on the two nearest magic circles and created large arrows out of water. But ...
     
    "Raaaaaawr!" Suddenly, a shout coming from his left made him lose control of the magic. Then, a strong impact to his entire left side made his body scream in pain. His barrier was crushed and several bones were broken as Dergonu's massive mace hit him by surprise. Totodile was thrown backwards, but somehow managed to land on his feet.
     
    "Y-You ..." Pointing his still functional hand at Dergonu, Totodile started charging another magical attack. He knew there was no time for something too powerful. Firing a small blade made out of water at his opponent, he tried to push Dergonu back. Sadly, the giant mace knocked the magic out of the air fairly simply, and Dergonu rushed in for another attack. Totodile tried to jump to the side, but his left leg wouldn't budge. The giant mace collided with his head, and the world around him went pitch black...
     
    ....
     
    Tiago was doing his best keeping Eclipsed in check. The massive weapon of hellish fire was completely out of this world, and every attack sent massive waves of flames towards his body. He had been able to diminish its effect with Totodile's magic, but for some reason it had suddenly stopped. The situation did not look good... Tiago had managed to wound Eclipsed two times, cutting his right arm and his chest, but neither of the wounds were fatal. It was clear that Eclipsed was almost out of energy from using the weapon for so long, but Tiago couldn't let his guard down for a second. One single direct hit, and he would be turned into ashes right then and there.
     
    "Kuh..." Trying to fend off the immense heat, Tiago clenched his teeth and focused all his remaining strength on simply staying upright. Eclipsed was moving really slowly... All Tiago needed to do was land one more hit ... Just one ... More...
     
    "Damnit..." It was too late. Tiago's barrier had already been broken earlier in the fight, meaning he had essentially no protection against the heat without Totodile there to help. His body was completely burnt, and he was no longer capable of standing.
     
    "T-This is how it ends, huh?" Looking up at the sky, a bitter smile spread across Tiago's face.
     
    "I-I served you well, right Lord Down?.." As he asked that question, the giant flaming sword moved towards his defenseless body and a massive explosion of fire and smoke enveloped the area.
     
    ...
     
    Team Down, Tiagofvarela and Totodile- DEAD END
     
    ....
     
    "Good job Eclipsed. You outdid yourself." Looking up at the source of the sudden voice, Eclipsed slightly raised his head. His entire body was aching. He was unable to move much, and his eyesight was completely blurred. All he saw white haze.
     
    "K-Kaguya...Sama?..." Squeezing out those words, Eclipsed felt his consciousness slowly fade away.
     
    Kaguya caught Eclipsed as he lost consciousness.
     
    "You there, take him back to base." Speaking to Dergonu in an indifferent tone of voice, Kaguya handed Eclipsed's body over. Then, he turned around and gripped the giant greatsword lying a few feet away. Because the summoner had lost control over it, it would soon explode unless someone sent it back to hell form which it came. Gripping the hilt tightly, Kaguya closed his eyes and funneled some of his energy into the blade. The scorching flames meant nothing to him, and soon after, the blade vanished in thin air. Eclipsed had done something extremely reckless, summoning such a might weapon on his own. Even someone like Kaguya would struggle if he wielded it for too long.
     
    "Well then... Let's go take a nap." Not caring about the fights still going on around him, Kaguya created a portal in front of him and walked through it, appearing back into his base.
     
    _________________________________________________________________
     
    Valmore Team Nosebleed vs Turnip Sensei Team Down vs Gijimu Team Kaguya
     
    Turnip Sensei blocked an oncoming fist and retaliated with a shockwave. The magical attack was dodged by the swift melee fighter Gijimu, but the more sluggish Valmore was struck in the chest. With Valmore knocked to the ground for the time being, Gijimu and Turnip Sensei traded blows. Gijimu was much faster, but in return, his attacks did not contain as much strength as Turnip Sensei's. In addition, Turnip Sensei was a magic user, where as Gijimu used only physical attacks. Twisting his body in mid air, Gijimu brought his leg back and hit Turnip Sensei in the face. Gijimu followed up by performing a perfect backflip and landed calmly on his feet. Sadly for him, right after, a pickaxe dug into his foot.
     
    "Hahaha! Got you, you stupid ninja!" It seemed Valmore had pretended to be down in order to get a sneak attack in against the swift Gijimu. The pickaxe had gone through his barrier and dug a deep hole his foot. Gijimu said nothing, and simply kicked Valmore's head with his good leg.
     
    "OW! What the ... How the hell are you still standing you little..." Before Valmore could finish his sentence, a shockwave approached from the left. Since his leg was caught by the pickaxe, Gijimu was also unable to dodge it. The shockwave blew both Valmore and Gijimu over, making them collapse in the warm sand. Turnip Sensei sprinted towards Valmore and grabbed him by his collar, lifting him up in the air.
     
    "L-Let me go you big brute..."
     
    "Shut up!" Turnip Sensei shouted as he smashed his own forehead into Valmore's face. A loud crack could be heard, signaling that Valmore's nose broke.
     
    "OWW!" As Valmore screamed in pain, Turnip Sensei lifted him above his head and threw him away. Valmore, who was flying through the air, suddenly smiled. There was blood streaming down his face due to the broken nose, making his smile seem even more crazy. Turnip Sensei suddenly realized why he was smiling. As Valmore was tossed, he had brought his hand holding his pickaxe upwards. Because of the velocity of the throw, the arm had moved quickly, and the pickaxe dug into Turnip Sensei's throat. As Valmore flew away, the pickaxe ripped out a chunk of Turnip Sensei's trachea, making large amounts of blood spew out. Valmore hit the ground a few meters back, looking at his blood stained pickaxe.
     
    "Well, one down, one to g..." Before he could finish the sentence, a fist approached his face and hit him right in the nose.
     
    "AAAAHHH! FOR THE LOVE OF..." Holding his already broken nose, trying to stop the bleeding, Valmore shouted. Gijimu threw three more punches towards Valmore, who was unable to dodge. They hit him hard, and made his feet give in beneath him. But, because Gijimu had a big hole in his foot, he wasn't able to move too fast himself, and Valmore hit him hard in the side with his pickaxe, just as he fell. Blood shot out from the wound.
     
    "Nod tho tchough tnow arthe you?" Trying to speak with his beat up face, Valmore looked up at Gijimu. The pickaxe had made a deep wound in his chest, and Gijimu was covering it with his hands, trying to stop the bleeding. Preparing his pickaxe for a finishing blow, Valmore got ready to attack again. As he moved his arm in an arc approaching Gijimu, he felt a strong pain in his chest. As he looked down, he saw a hand covered in blood that had pierced through his rib cage, and was inside his chest. The pain was unbearable and he let out a pained scream. Gijimu pulled his hand out of Valmore's chest and staggered backwards.
     
    Unable to speak properly because the attack had destroyed parts of his lungs, Valmore thought to himself...
     
    "I'll be back you bastard... Just you wait..."
     
    With that, his heart stop beating and darkness enveloped his world.
     
    Team Nosebleed, Valmore (CLONE)-DEAD END
     
    Team Down, Turnip Sensei- DEAD END
     
    _________________________________________________________________
     
    Deaths this week:
     
     
     
    Team Nosebleed: Valmore (CLONE),
     
     Team Down: Tiagofvarela, Totodile, Flutterz, Turnip Sensei
     
    Team Kaguya: Duyy
     
    ________________________________________________________________
     
    List of currently remaining members!!
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    #Team Nosebleed: Members, Satsuki (-1 life), Valmore (-1 life) , Deep Blue (-1 life) , Nebjula (-1life)  , kingdomcome
     
     
     
    #Team Down: Members, Babiker , Maxel , Fred the Barber, FinalChaos , Kawasumi ,
     
     
     
    #Team Kaguya: Members, Dergonu , Nimbus, Gijimu, Greenshadow622 (- 1 life) , Eclipsed, Jade
     
     
     
    ___________________________________________________________________________
     
     
    TO BE CONTINUED!
     
     
  21. Dergonu
    The last GM standing Q&A:
     
    Link to the thread:

    Would you rather read the chapters in a PDF document? Click here!
     
    Chapter 1:
     
    Chapter 2:
     
    Chapter 3: (Word count, 4439)
     
     
    The Last GM Standing Chapter 4 (Word count, 3984)
    The Last GM Standing
    Chapter 5 (Word count, 4491)

    Eclipsed woke up, feeling a strong sense of weariness wash over him. It was dark and cold, making him long for a warm bed to rest in. But there was no such thing anywhere in sight. He was lying in a cave, completely alone. Outside he could faintly hear the sound of a fierce battle... What was going on? Forcing his body to stand up, he sluggishly moved towards the cave's exit, trying his best not to fall over from sheer exhaustion. His vision was slightly blurry and his hands were aching so badly, it made him want to scream at the top of his lungs. Of course, he did not have the strength for that. The spectacle that waited for him outside was so shocking, it made him completely forget about his own problems...

    ....

    Satsuki and three other members from Team Nosebleed were making their way towards Kaguya's temporary base. They had gotten word that Kaguya's forces had just returned from a battle from their comrade, Valmore. Valmore himself had lost his clone in the same battle, and was now using his real body to join into the ambush. Kaguya's forces were badly hurt in the battle, and since Valmore needed no time to heal because he had taken no damage to his real body, they were able to deploy the ambush nearly right away. It only took them a few hours to locate Kaguya's new base, and they were now really close.

    However, what greeted them once they arrived at the base's location, was not what they were expecting at all.

    ....

    Maxel saw the enemies approaching from a mile away using his improved magical vision. It looked like four members from Team Nosebleed were approaching. On top of that, a few members from team Kaguya were stationed outside the small cave; the location of their temporary base.

    "..." Maxel held up four fingers and pointed towards the horizon, then he held up three fingers and pointed towards the nearby cave.

    "You know, the way you never speak really freaks me out Maxel." Answering his mute teammate, Babiker from team Down raised his weapons and nodded.

    "Alright. You move in first, stay a little away from the cave. Start by attacking them with magic and I'll jump into the close combat battles once everyone has been thoroughly confused." A smile filled with bloodlust appeared on Babiker's face as he tightly gripped his two weapons. They were metal rings, about 40 cm in diameter forming a half circle, with a grip at the back. The sharp metal rings were formed into the shape of the sun and the moon. The moon one was shining in a faint blue light, and the sun in an orange glow.

    "Sound good?" Babiker asked as he looked over at Maxel again.

    "..."

    "I ... I don't know what I was expecting..." Shaking his head, he turned away from Maxel and faced towards the cave before them.

    As the two members from team Down charged towards Kaguya's base, another great battle was about to start.

    _________________________________________________________________

    Team Down, Maxel vs Deep Blue, Valmore, Satsuki and Kingdomcome, Team Nosebleed

    A blinding light shot down from the sky, striking the group of approaching team Nosebleed members. The light was so bright, all four instantly shut their eyes and came to a complete stop.

    "..." Moving his hands around, making different symbols in the air, Maxel quietly chanted a spell. The pillar of light had formed a large cylinder shape around the battlefield, and everyone trapped inside were completely blinded.

    Making several arrows out of pure light, Maxel lifted them above his head and sent them towards his targets.

    Suddenly sensing something approaching from the left, Deep Blue brought his hands up and made a shield of ice around himself and his teammates. He was unable to see, so he crafted the shield like an igloo, forming cover all around them. Just at that moment, something hit the shield hard, and Deep Blue felt his energy drain as the barrier fought back the attacks.

    "What the hell is going on?!" Someone shouted. It was a female voice, belonging to Satsuki.

    Knowing the situation was quite dire, Deep Blue quickly took the command in the battle. Because he was the only one in the group well versed in magic, he would be the only one who could sense oncoming magical attacks.

    "Kingdomcome, shoot as many bolts as you can in this direction, NOW!" Grabbing a hold of Kingdomcome's shoulders, Deep Blue turned him so that he faced towards the location of the mystery attacker.

    "Shoot, NOW!" Doing what he was told, Kingdomcome fired a great deal of bolts from his crossbow out into nothingness.

    "Satsuki, Valmore, run in opposite directions! Just... Satsuki, you move to your right and Valmore, you move your left."

    Doing as they were told, they started moving sideways in a clumsy fashion. Deep Blue was trying to make it as hard as possible for the attacker to both protect himself and attack them all at the same time.

    "HEY! I am seriously just going to keep running? Give me something to kill!!!"

    Ignoring the shouting Valmore, Deep Blue started preparing for a counterattack. Kingdomcome was firing completely blindly, so it would be fairly easy to avoid for the attacker. But, it should at least have distracted him a bit.

    "First we have to do something about this light... I should be able to stop the spell if I manage to wound the caster." Thinking to himself, Deep Blue started preparing a spell of his own.

    It would take a while to prepare it, and so during that that time, Kingdomcome would be a sitting duck. And, sure enough, just seconds later Deep Blue felt an oncoming attack moving towards Kingdomcome.

    A lance of light collided with his chest, painfully cracking through his barrier. The barrier absorbed enough of the blow to not make the wound fatal, but Kingdomcome was knocked to the ground, and was no longer capable of shooting at the attacker.

    "Just a few more seconds..."

    Another attack was just about to hit them when Deep Blue's spell was finally ready.

    "Everyone, GET DOWN!" As he shouted that, he launched the spell. A massive magic circle appeared before him and the air around them instantly fell below freezing. A ray of blue light was launched from the magic circle, and anything in its path was frozen instantly. As the spell reached the attacker, the light blinding them suddenly faded. Once again having regained his vision, Deep Blue quickly tried to get a grasp of what was going on. A large area in front of him had been completely encased in ice. A few meters to his left was Kingdomcome. He was still breathing and it looked like he was still capable of fighting, but he was clutching his left side, clearly in pain. Satsuki was nowhere to be seen, and Valmore was fighting someone from team Kaguya. It seemed the people from Kaguya's team had wasted no time as the light perished, and had attacked them.

    Question was, where had the one who made the light pillar gone?

    ....

    "..." Maxel hurled a spear of light at his opponent, giving away his hiding place in the process. The spear was blocked by a wall of ice, but he just followed up the attack with two more. His opponents were scattered, leaving only one target. No one would be able to protect themselves from the relentless attacks made by the most powerful magician on team Down for too long. The third spear made a massive crack in the wall of ice, and Maxel started running towards his target to finish him off. Forming an axe of light in his hand, he closed the distance in seconds, and struck at the wall of ice. It broke apart, making small shards of ice fly everywhere. Maxel charged at Deep Blue, striking at his chest. Deep Blue dodged and retaliated with a spike of ice aimed at Maxel's leg. It was obvious that Deep Blue was tired from blocking all the previous attacks, and so his own magic was slow and fairly weak. Maxel knocked the ice out of the air and swung his axe at Deep Blue once more. It collided with his left arm, which was cut clean off.

    "BLUE!" Valmore shouted and was running towards the battle, trying to make it in time. He had abandoned his battle with the team Kaguya member in order to come to his comrade's aid. But, it was too late. Maxel lifted his axe and struck at Deep Blue's head...

    Valmore ran as fast as he could, and used the momentum from his charge to strike at Maxel with all his might. The pickaxe Valmore wielded flew through the air and collided with a magic circle created by Maxel. The shield wavered, but didn't break. Blood from Deep Blue's head being cut off was everywhere, and Valmore screamed in anger.

    "You piece of ... Die!"

    "..." Maxel said nothing, but made a symbol with his hands. Shortly after, a small golden magic circle appeared in his hands, and a bolt of light shot out, hitting Valmore in the chest. It wasn't powerful enough to knock him to the ground, but it was enough to make him lose his balance. Maxel followed up with an axe swing. The weapon of pure light moved towards Valmore, who was defenseless because of the previous attack. His throat was wide open, and if the axe hit, he would be dead in seconds. But, right before the axe hit, a blue crossbow bolt collided with the weapon, making it shatter into pieces. Kingdomcome had made it back on his feet, and was aiming at Maxel.

    "..." As Maxel fired several bolts of light at Kingdomcome, Valmore had managed to get his footing again, and jumped up in the air. Maxel was distracted attacking Kingdomcome, and as Valmore swung his pickaxe downwards, it hit Maxel's head with a loud crack. Maxel suddenly stopped moving, as dark red streams of blood trickled down from the top of his head. His body twitched a few times, before it collapsed on the ground.

    The exhausted members from team Nosebleed took a few seconds to catch their breath as they surveyed the battlefield. They had finally taken out one of the attackers, but many still remained. Needless to say, their ambush had been an absolute failure...

    Team Nosebleed, Deep Blue (REAL)- DEAD END

    Team Down, Maxel-DEAD END

    _________________________________________________________________

    Nimbus and Dergonu, Team Kaguya vs Valmore and Kingdomcome, Team Nosebleed

    "Now Nimbus!" Shouting while he charged towards his enemies, Dergonu lifted his giant mace above his head.

    Chanting a few magic words, Nimbus held his hand out towards the mace, and a bolt of deep blue lightning shot forward, enveloping the weapon. The electricity started swirling around the top of the mace, making holding the weapon completely safe for Dergonu.

    "They are attacking again. Kingdomcome, cover me."

    Valmore ran to the left, away from Dergonu, as Kingdomcome started shooting crossbow bolts at his target. Dergonu used his mace to knock the oncoming bolts down before they hit. The mace left a crackling trail of blue lightning when it moved through the air. Dergonu quickly started chasing Valmore, but was interrupted by another wave of projectiles. Valmore made a big right turn and rushed towards Dergonu's back. As Kingdomcome was shooting at his front, it was impossible for Dergonu to block both the projectiles and the attacker from the back. Or so one might think.

    "Don't get cocky!" Shouting in an angered tone, Dergonu spun around quickly. The mace he was holding created a small circle of electricity, which started rotating quickly. Turning his head and looking behind him, Valmore noticed that Nimbus was muttering something to himself, most likely strengthening the power of the magic. The rotating circle of electricity knocked down any oncoming projectiles, and simply being near it made Valmore's skin itch. Dergonu suddenly came to a stop and with a big swing, he struck at Valmore. Valmore still hadn't taken much damage in the previous battle, and was able to dodge the massive mace with the skin of his teeth. Sadly, the magic that was protecting Dergonu still had not dissipated, and made a counterattack impossible.

    "Valmore, get back!" Hearing the voice of his comrade Kingdomcome, Valmore did as he asked and jumped away from Dergonu.

    "Scatter!"As Kingdomcome shouted that, the bolts fired from his crossbow suddenly started detonating mid air, firing smaller spikes all around them. The circle spinning around Dergonu was unable to stop all the small fragments, and several of them dug into his body, damaging his barrier. It didn't seem like the impact was very powerful, so the spikes didn't break his skin, but at the very least his barrier was damaged.

    "You little prick!" Shouting, Dergonu slammed his mace into the ground, and a great blue wave of lightning traced over the ground, moving towards Kingdomcome.

    "Like I'll let you do that!" Valmore, who had been standing a few meters away, jumped in between the attack and Kingdomcome. The electricity hit his body and it felt like his entire body got lit on fire. Fighting through the pain, Valmore shook his head and clenched his pickaxe hard in his right hand.

    "T-This is nothing you bastard..." Trying to shake of the damage done to him, Valmore took a unsteady step forward.

    "Tch." Clicking his tongue, Kingdomcome aimed his crossbow up in the air and fired several shots up into nothing. As the bolts had moved a decent way up into the sky, he snapped his fingers, and a loud explosion made Dergonu and Nimbus look up. From the sky, hundreds of smaller spikes were raining down towards the two. In return, the attack had drained nearly all the remaining strength in Kingdomcome's body. He wasn't very good with magic. The crossbow itself was the thing that let him fire so many bolts without loading in ammo. It was a weapon charged with Nosebleed's energy. But in order to use more flashy attacks, the user had to charge his or her own energy into the weapon, something that completely drained Kingdomcome. In his already wounded state, two such attacks was the limit.

    Meanwhile, the spikes were raining down over the two team Kaguya members. Nimbus managed to make a shield above himself before the spikes hit, but Dergonu was not as lucky. A chunk of the oncoming spikes dug into his skin, making his entire body scream in pain.

    "Guh ...." Letting out a pained sound through clenched teeth, Dergonu fell to his knees, using his mace to keep his body somewhat steady.

    "Raaawr!" Charging at Dergonu, Valmore lifted his Pickaxe up high. As Valmore attacked Dergonu with all his might, Dergonu had no choice but to use his arm as a guard against the attack. The twin-tipped pickaxe bore deep into his arm, and left two gaping holes in the flesh. Blood poured out from the open wound as Dergonu grasped it and screamed in pain. Sadly, after having taken a lot of damage from the attack he blocked for Kingdomcome, Valmore was not able to dodge the lightning bolt approaching from his side. Two thick lightning bolts hit his chest from the side and tore his torso open. He was lifted off the ground and his body split in two, each piece landing a few meters away.

    Kingdomcome, who had almost lost consciousness because of exhaustion, was lying still a little further away. Dergonu had gotten to his feet and moved over to the immobile foe. Lifting his mace awkwardly with one hand, he finished off the team Nosebleed member. After, he once again fell to his knees. Blood loss and pain was pushing him to the brink of losing consciousness.

    Team Nosebleed, Valmore (REAL) and Kingdomcome (CLONE)-DEAD END

    _________________________________________________________________


     
    "Looks like Maxel is out huh? Never thought they would actually manage to take down that mute bastard. Well, whatever. Time to make myself useful."

    Approaching the battlefield quickly, Babiker stealthily moved towards the centre of the action. His feet did not make a sound despite his swift pace, and he readied his weapons for battle. Coming to a stop next to a fallen team Kaguya member, he checked to see if he was dead. It seemed like he was still breathing.

    "Seems like you have had a bad day kid." As Dergonu heard the sudden voice, he instinctively reached for his mace.

    "Left hand - Moon, first strike!" As he shouted that, the blue blade wielded in his left hand shimmered, and he smashed his weapon down into the mace at an incredible speed. The mace was completely destroyed on impact.

    "Right hand - Sun, first strike!" This time attacking with his right hand, Babiker was about to finish of Dergonu, when a blue light coming from his side made him jump backwards. Something hit the ground where he had been standing, and exploded in a mass of blue sparks and black smoke.

    "Heh. Looks like he wasn't alone, huh? Name is Babiker. I'll be severing your spine today. Nice to meet'cha." As Babiker introduced himself, Nimbus fired another set of lightning bolts at his target.

    "Whoa! How rude!"

    "Insolent pest!" Speaking in an angry tone, Nimbus held out both his hands and created a big magic circle, sending several small rays of lightning towards his opponent.

    "Heh. Right hand - sun, fourth strike." The blade on his right hand glowed brightly, and Babiker simply mowed down all of the rays like they were nothing. He then casually cracked his neck and sighed.

    "You know, I've been waiting for my turn to fight for days now. But now that I am out here, I have to say ... This is kind of boring."

    "Well then, let me end your boredom quickly." Moving his hands around in the air in a skillful manner, Nimbus drew a sigil in the air in blue writing. The sigil started glowing, and soon after, a crack in the air itself appeared in its centre. Holding his hand up towards the sigil, Nimbus' hand was enveloped in blue lightning that oozed out from the cracks. After a few seconds, Nimbus pulled out a longsword made out of pure lightning from the air, and the sigil disappeared right after.

    "I'll use this to turn you into dust."

    "... You might not want to fight me in close combat buddy."

    Ignoring Babiker's taunting words, Nimbus charged, holding the sword out in front of him. The blade was light as air, and created out of pure energy, making it a very strong weapon. Nimbus struck at his opponent a few times to test out the weapon. It was so light, wielding it was almost a task in itself. But in return, attacking with extreme speed was a simple manner. Launching a flurry of attacks against Babiker, Nimbus advanced forward. The weapon made a crackling sound as it moved through the air. Each time he struck at Babiker, he moved a little faster as he got used to wielding the weapon. Babiker started parrying using only his left hand, but after a while, he started using both weapons to deflect the onslaught of sword strikes. The two clashed against each other for a good minute without either landing a decisive hit.

    "Eyyy, not bad! But still. You're kind of slow." Babiker avoided the oncoming strike by moving backwards, and then readied his left hand for a counterattack.

    "Left hand - moon, eighth strike!" As his left weapon glowed with incredible intensity, Babiker struck at Nimbus, the blade moving so fast, it was pretty much impossible to see it. Still, Nimbus just barely had time to react, and held up his own weapon to parry. But even though the attack seemingly came from the front, suddenly a strong impact to his side made Nimbus scream in pain. He walked back a few steps and looked at his opponent in surprise.

    "An afterimage. My attacks are ranked from one through ten. The one's above seven are usually so fast, most people can't see them. I have to give it to you though, you almost got it."

    Nimbus' side was throbbing, and warm blood was slowly oozing from a cut left from the attack.

    "Well then, let's see if you can get this one." Bringing his right hand forward and closing his eyes, Babiker prepared for another attack.

    "Like I'll let you do that!" Nimbus leapt forward and swung his sword at Babiker with all his might. Babiker simply moved to the side and retaliated.

    "Right hand - sun, ninth strike."

    An overwhelming force pushed Nimbus forward, as something heavy struck his back, despite the fact that Babiker was right in front of him just a second ago. His entire body was screaming in pain, and he was completely unable to do anything as he was thrown forward. The sound of bones cracking and his own screams were the only things he could hear. Nimbus never got up again...

    Meanwhile, Babiker was clutching his own chest, barely able to stand upright.

    "H-Heh... Guess I forgot to mention that my own body can barely handle more than one attack above eight..." As his knees gave in, he lost the strength in his body and hit the ground with a thump.

    Team Kaguya, Nimbus-DEAD END

    _________________________________________________________________

    Satsuki had gotten separated from her teammates after the pillar of light went out, and had ended up right outside the cave where Kaguya had set up a temporary base. The entire battlefield was consumed in chaos. Ice, lightning, screams and explosions. Satsuki simply sat in silence looking at the spectacle, uncertain of what she should do.

    "For starters, let's try to find Deep Blue and ..." Before she could finish the sentence, she sensed a presence behind her. Spinning around and facing its origin, she saw a male warrior from team Kaguya. He was using the wall of the cave for support, and looked quite weak.

    "Huh... Guess I'll deal with you first." Drawing one of her hatchets, she moved towards the opponent and tried to hit him with her axe. Surprisingly though, as the axe was about to hit, a thin layer of fire blocked it, and a sudden increase in heat made Satsuki take a quick step back. As she once again looked at her opponent, she noticed that his eyes were completely red; blazing, like a fire was lit in them.

    "Seems you won't go down that easy. Wait ... whoa..." As she glanced at his hands, she noticed that they were badly burnt. In fact, the entirety of his arms were completely charred... How had he been able to deflect her attack in such a condition?

    "Did you get lucky..?" Trying to attack him once more, the same thing repeated itself. She got close and was about to hit him, when a sudden increase in temperature made her jump backwards. It was as if he was literally on fire...

    "It... Burns..." He muttered, and lifted his hands before his own eyes.

    "The ... Contract... Is... Not... Over..." Suddenly, his upper body erupted in flames.

    "W-What the hell?!" Taking another step back, Satsuki looked at the scene in shock.

    ....

    Something was clawing at Eclipsed's sanity, forcing him to move against his will. His upper body was enveloped in flames, but for some reason, it didn't hurt. What was going on?..

    His right arm started moving even though he wasn't doing anything. A fireball flew towards Satsuki, and she was barely able deflect it with her axe. Two more followed, and she repeated her previous defense. Now, both of Eclipsed's hands were moving, and the fireballs were more frequent, sending four or five at a time. Satsuki was having trouble deflecting all the attacks, as they increased in numbers. Feeling his legs move, Eclipsed started approaching her and struck at her with his charred left arm. She sidestepped, and cut at his extended arm with a hatchet. Despite the fact that the weapon hit, he felt nothing. A small cut was made in his charred arm, but no blood came out.

    "Seems your barrier isn't working anymore." As Satsuki said that, she struck at Eclipsed several times. Some of the attacks hit his torso, some hit his arms, and some hit his shoulders. Still, the cuts did not draw blood.

    "Just ... Just die you monster!" As Satsuki took a big step forward, she used all her strength to strike at Eclipsed's neck. The hatchet approached with great speed, but before it hit, it caught fire and melted in her hand.

    "T-This is just insane..."

    "Must ... Honor... The ... Contract..." As Eclipsed said that, he took a step forward and wrapped his arms around Satsuki. As the scorching heat started burning her skin, she screamed at the top of her lungs. But, there was no escape from the death grip. Slowly but surely, her body caught fire, and she started losing consciousness.

    As they stood there, the flames flickering like a bonfire, Eclipsed opened his mouth and chanted:


    "Shimmer, spear of Helios!

    Flicker, and pierce all that stands before you,

    burn down all resistance and turn flesh to ashes!"


     
    As the chant was finished, the ground under his feet broke apart, and a spear of pure fire erupted from below. Enveloping both people in the blazing heat, the spear lasted for several seconds, and once it perished, nothing was but a pile of ashes.

    Team Nosebleed, Satsuki (REAL)-DEAD END

    Team Kaguya, Eclipsed-DEAD END

    ....

    "Seems the fire spirit truly did drive the kid mad, huh?" Kaguya muttered to himself as he gazed at the battlefield below. He was sitting on a throne in the air; the throne was simply floating there, not supported by anything.

    He had lost two of his warriors in the battle today, but was not able to do anything. If he attempted to approach the battle, a hooded creature with yellow eyes would stop him.

    "So the rules at the start were complete bullshit..? All that about letting us fight in any way we want..? Seems we are being saved for the big finale, huh?"

    As the sun set on the battle, and the moon peaked out, a cold breeze swept across the battlefield. Another day had passed. Many had already lost their lives, at the end was drawing near...


     

     
    ________________________________________________________________
     

    Deaths this week:

     

     

     

    Team Nosebleed: Valmore (REAL), Satsuki (REAL), Deep Blue (REAL), Kingdomcome (CLONE)

     

     Team Down:Maxel

     

    Team Kaguya: Nimbus, Eclipsed,
     
    ________________________________________________________________

     
    List of currently remaining members!!

     

     

    #Team Nosebleed: Members Nebjula (-1life)  , kingdomcome (-1 life)

     

    #Team Down: Members, Babiker, Fred the Barber, FinalChaos , Kawasumi ,

     

    #Team Kaguya: Members, Dergonu, Gijimu, Greenshadow622 (- 1 life) , Jade

     

     ___________________________________________________________________________

     
     
    TO BE CONTINUED!

     
  22. Dergonu
    We just hit 50% translation! Yaay!

    I just wrapped up the translation of Futaba's good ending last night, (fought through some H-scenes... ) And here we are!


     
    So with this, we are officially halfway there. It's a pretty good feeling. Although the actual line count hasn't changed that much since last week, just seeing the "50%" makes me feel awesome  


     
    I wanted to do something a bit special for the halfway mark, so I'm going to talk a bit about the game first, then I'll be answering some random questions some people might have/ just in general talk a bit about the project and how things are progressing on our end. Let's begin with some info about the game:


     
    Many people might not really know that much about this small, fairly new yurige by a fairly unknown company. In Tsui Yuri, you follow the twin sisters Futaba and Ichika, who get along very well. So well in fact, that their mother thinks it is a bit too much, and she asks them to spend some time apart. Seeing as they live in the same house, go to the same school and pretty much always do everything together, this is a bit hard, and their relationship is strained. The story is told from both girls' perspectives, and there is 2 routes, with 4 endings total.

    During the common route, you will make several choices that will impact the story and the girls' relationship. The "status" meter in game will show you how strongly each character cares for the other at any given time, and each choice will change this meter to a varying degree. One choice might bump Ichika's feelings a lot, where as some might make her care less and less for Futaba, and so on.


    Currently not translated, as the image editing is not done by me. It is in the works, but not done yet.


    What really interested me about this game was the choice and route system. There is no real set combination of choices that will lead to a route; you can freely play with the status meter, making different choices to see how it changes their feelings. To get a character's route, that character's feelings has to be stronger than the other one. (Meaning if Futaba has about 60% and Ichika has 40%, you enter Futaba's route.) But, if you manage to completely push it all the way to one side, (so now Ichika doesn't care about Futaba at all,) then you will get a bad ending. Meaning, which ending you get is decided by your choices in the common route, and not during the actual character route itself. This is really cool, because that means you actually get a "bad route" and not just a bad ending. (The line count in the bad routes are actually just a tiny bit shorter than the good ones. If you like bad endings with a bit of meat to them, these are actually pretty good. Also, yandere fans, look out.)

    In addition, some of the choices you make in the common route will give you different variations of each scene, some which includes unique CGs, so saving and testing out new stuff is actually pretty much required. (Though, seeing as the game is quite short, it's a neat feature, not something that makes you sigh because you have read something similar before.)

    Story wise, it is a very light game with no real "plot" other than two sisters growing more and more fond of each other. It deals with them moving from the line of "sisters" to "lovers" and things like that. It won't be everyone's cup of tea, but for yuri fans it's a really solid title. Also, like I mentioned, the bad endings are actually pretty dark, so for the twisted fellas out there, this one might be a bit interesting for you if you can stomach some adorableness first.  


     
    Let us take a quick look at the characters:

    Ichika



    Ichika is the smart, cool and collected sister. She speaks politely, has a very calm air to her, is a perfect honor student and is also the vice-president on the student council. She is a bit too soft on Futaba, always helping her out with anything Futaba needs. Although she is very smart, she isn't the brightest when it comes to relationships in general - she simply isn't that used to interacting with people.


     
    Futaba (God I love her pout.)



    Futaba is the energy bomb of the two. She loves Ichika more than anything in the world, and always follows her sister around. She is way too spoiled, and doesn't do much on her own; she wants her sister to help her out with it. She isn't the smartest kid around, but she is very good at sports, and is a member of the tennis club. She is also way too adorable.


     
    Yuri



    The sisters' childhood friend and Ichika's classmate. Yuri is a bit of a joker who tends to put ideas in the girls' heads. She speaks her mind, even if what she has to say isn't the most appropriate, which makes for some hilarious situations.

    But although she tends to joke around a lot, she has a bit of an adult-like feel to her and is a very mature person when she needs to be.


     
    Saki



    The sisters' second childhood friend and Futaba's classmate. She is a bit different from Yuri, and is a lot more polite and in many ways, similar to Ichika. Saki is a very gentle and sweet person, and wants to help the sisters out whenever they are feeling down. One big difference between Ichika and Saki is that Saki gets what people are thinking a lot easier, making her a bit less of an "airhead" when it comes to relationships and people's feelings.


     

     

     
    Moving over to some questions and answers.


     
    Question... (kind of): When I started the project, I felt that there was a few people who weren't quite sure whether or not I could do this. I think the quality of the final translation was their main concern. Basically, am I a complete scrub, or do I actually have some skills?  

    Answer: Well, a few things to keep in mind. 1, this game is very fluffy and very simple. It is also quite short. That does not mean it's something to underestimate of course, but I would never have started the project if I wasn't ready. There is a reason I aimed for a short, fluffy title without any intricate plot lines that would be hard to follow for a new translator.

    In addition, the second I felt a bit overwhelmed, I stopped the project for a bit, as I knew that wasn't the way things should be. I am completely comfortable with this project now, and although I know my translation will not be a top tier piece of work, I can assure you at the very least, it won't be wrong. Like, I won't translate peppers to peas. (Isn't that right Kriririri ) 

    Anyways, I know I am new to this, I know I will make some tiny mistakes here and there, I know the quality will be a bit lower than what some of the very skilled individuals out there manages, but overall I am happy with the way things are going. I'm learning a lot, I'm improving, and this is just the beginning of my translation career. (Even if that makes some people more angry than happy )


     
    Question: Will there be a prologue patch/ partial patch released?

    Answer: We still have a few issues with the engine, (which is stupid and retarded,) so a potential patch now would have a few annoying bugs and errors which would just be distracting. The scripts also aren't really polished quite yet, as it's only been me and an editor working on it as of right now so... I'm going to say, no. It just wouldn't be a pleasant read in its current state, and seeing as the game is so short, it's pretty much pointless either way.


     
    Question: Do you have an ETA for the patch?

    Answer: It's hard to say. I could give you a rough estimate, but I would rather not. The thing is, the amount of time I have to work on this is a bit limited. I absolutely love working on it, and I have a blast the entire time I do, (except for when the damn H-scenes suck the life out of me.)

    The thing is, this is my first translation. I have never translated anything before, and the work is very tasking. Sounds silly, I mean, all I do is look at something in Japanese, then write it in English, right? Well, there is a lot more to it, and honestly, it's very mentally draining. Even just a simple one hour session can leave me exhausted. Not because I get bored, but simply because I have to think a lot, and I'm not used to that. Wait...

    Because of the fairly limited amount of time I have each week, there is only so much I can get done on a weekly basis without overworking myself. This is a very new thing to me, and I want to make sure I move forward at a comfortable pace. Seeing as I have no deadline or anything, I can take it exactly at the pace I personally feel is right, even though that might be a bit frustrating to others.

    Basically, I can say that it will be released in 2016 for sure, but I can't say anything more specific than that.


     
    A bit of progress on how things are going on our end.

    The translation and editing is going fine, and is moving around the same speed. The reason the editing is lagging a tiny bit behind me right now, is because the translation I work on every week isn't made available on the GIT for the editor until I upload it on Thursday nights. That means he literally has to edit it all during that night to get it ready for the Friday update, which ... well, if he was doing that I'd be a bit worried.


     
    We have met a few problems in the game which the hacker has to take a look at. This is something I can't do anything about, as I barely know what a computer is, so without Porygon on this project, this whole thing would not have been possible. (Thank you so much.)


     
    Image editing will be done so that the entire menu and UI is in English. There is no ETA on this, and all I can say is that it will be done at some point. An individual approached me without me asking for their help, which made me extremely happy. As of right now, I don't know if they want to be mentioned or not, so I'll wait until I know that for sure before I talk about that any more. Point is, it will be done at some point.


     
    To finish up this post, I'll just put out there that we are working hard and that the patch will be finished. I know a decent amount of new teams tend to suddenly just die out and vanish. That will not be the case with this project. Like I said before, I'm having a blast translating this. Although it might not seem like I'm getting a lot done, it's simply because I'm making sure I don't rush through things. Also keep in mind that real life is a thing, and that sometimes it takes priority over the translation.

    Thanks for sticking with me and the team, and I hope you are looking forward to the patch.

    See you in next week's update.



  23. Dergonu
    This is a tale of chips, bugs and DEATH.
    Enjoy:
    Last week I had the joy of seeing a cockroach in my bathroom. My reaction was obviously to scream, shut the bathroom door and flee into my bedroom, where I remained for 30 minutes, stunned by fear. After playing with the idea of never ever setting foot in my bathroom again, I thought to myself: "No! I have to man up and fight this thing!" Grabbing a plastic bag, I rushed into the bathroom, ready to trap the fucker and throw him in the garbage. But... he was gone. Now, there is absolutely nowhere he could have gone. My bathtub is stuck to the floor, so there is no crack to hide under, and I looked all over the tiny, tiny bathroom and he wasn't hiding on the ceiling, or in some corner. He was legit gone. This of course made chills run through my body, as I thought I had found a cockroach with superpowers. Scared to death, I went back to cowering in fear for another good 10 minutes, before I decided to just stop thinking about the fucker. I started brushing my teeth, getting ready for bed.
    Then, as I spat into the sink, and the toothpaste ran down into the drain, I saw something rush past me. Turns out, the cockroach had fled into the pipes, then hooked onto the pipes and sat in there. (They can do this with their hind legs, apparently.)
    The fucker was back, and he was almost touching me. Screaming, I ran out of the bathroom and grabbed whatever I could find that could be used to trap the fucker with. And there was... an empty pringles tube.
    I ripped the lid of the thing and slammed it onto the cockroach, trapping him inside the tube. Luckily, the roach was just perfectly sized to fit within the dimensions of a pringles tube, so no part of him was sticking out. I had him completely trapped. Rushing back into the bedroom, I grabbed another plastic bag and some duct tape. I then tried to push the roach into the plastic bag, but he almost escaped as I tilted the tube, so I had to improvise. Pushing the plastic bag against the tube, I stopped the roachs' escape, and shoved him further into the pitch black abyss. Once the whole bag was inside the tube, I taped it shut with duct tape, and threw that into another plastic bag.
    After a short victory dance, I brought the bag containing the defeated roach outside, and threw it into the garbage.
    Derg 1 Roach 0
    - Fin -
  24. Dergonu
    Gonna go ahead and make this update here as well. When I have something more than just the weekly update to share about the project, I'll make a blog post about it on my own blog, (so I don't spam the dev feed.)
     
    Hello everyone! Today I have great news, and some kind of meh news. First the good news!
    Porygon has finalized the patch making tools, so we can now get all sorts of stuff worked out. (Previously we had issues with the text not displaying right, some symbols dissapearing etc. That's all gone now.)
     
    On the translation side of things, I had some days off this week and got some decent work done. The progress has moved quite a lot since the last update. (Progress update and more is below.)
    Now for some meh news. I have a really important exam in one week, (like, if I don't study like crazy, I am so failing it,) and so I am kind of studying myself to death here. Because of that, next week I wont have a lot of time to translate. I will still make updates like usual, but expect like, a miniscule amount of progress the next week or two, as I try my hardest not to fail and screw up my life
    Also, @Meat_Bun1 is back on the project as an editor, and he will be fixing all the silly mistakes left in by me.
     
     
    Anyways, progress time!
    Here is the progress, and also, for those interested, a few pictures of the translation in game. (Note that these pictures have completely un-edited lines, so ... You know, this is not the quality of the final translation.)
    Progress:
     
     
    Pictures:
     
     
  25. Dergonu
    Hello hello! It's time to do something a little different and so I thought I would make kind of a review / overview of the Strike Witches manga, specifically my favorite in the series: One winged witches.
     
    So One winged witches is just one of the several arcs which you can find in the strike witches manga, but what is so nice about the Strike Witches manga is that they don't rely heavily on each other, meaning you can read it in any order you want. (Though basic knowledge of the characters in the series will be fairly important.
     
    Introduction:
    What is Strike Witches?
    Strike witches is a fairly popular shoujo ai anime and manga that features many pretty young witches as they fight against the alien race "the neuroi". The series is set in an alternate timeline where world war II is not fought against ourselves, but against a common enemy; the aliens, neuroi that has invaded earth. It's actually quite interesting and I could go on about the hidden meanings behind many of the characters, events etc. and how they link to WW2 and human nature for days, but I'll skip that and save it for a different time. Today is all about One winged witches!
    If you have absolutely no knowledge about Strike Witches at all, this is pretty much spoiler free, but it might be a little bit hard to understand if you have not watched any of the anime / read any of the manga.
     
    The One winged witches!
    The one winged witches starts us off with the very well known, and yet nearly never used character, Wilma Bishop. Interesting trivia for those who didn't know, Wilma was actually the first witch ever drawn. She is the older sister of Lynette Bishop, one of the elites in the 501st joint fighter wing, the main cast of Strike Witches.

    The one winged witches are witches who doesn't have the same amazing abilities found in the main branches of the witch forces like the strike witches(501st), storm witches(31st), brave witches(502nd) etc. Some of them are wounded and cannot keep up with the elites, some are actually very skilled but are way to egotistic and cannot function in a big, joint fighting force and some are too old. (For those of you who don't know, when you reach a certain age in Strike Witches, your witch powers starts to dvindle and falter. This is different for most witches, but after the age of 20 it usually starts to set in.)
    Wilma has joined the silly little group for reasons currently unkown and she joins the completely un-organized witches in their fight against the neuroi.
    The One winged witches' job is very simple: They are located at a base fairly close to the 501st and so the one winged witches only have to deal with the stray neuroi that is not destroyed by the elites.
     
    The story
    After Wilma joins the group she is met with many different impressions. Some of the members hate her and some quickly take a liking to her. The story itself is very simple and slice of life like, even more so than previous Strike Witches titles. There is of course still a fair share of drama in between, in fights and among the members, but the general feel of the story is slice of life through and through.
    This is one of the Strike Witches arcs that honestly makes me cry every time. Now, I am a sissy; this is an established fact. Anyways, the story is quite simply Wilma trying to make the one winged witches come together and fight as a team. She is one of the most experienced witches and she is very charismatic and full of energy, which makes her a good peacekeeper in the group. (Taking over the role of the actual commanding officer in a way.)
     
    The characters:
    Amelie Planchard - A fairly timid witch who absolutely adores Perrine from the 501st joint fighter wing. Wilma wants to help her improve so that she can once again fly next to Perrine.
    Francie Gerard - A fairly shy witch. She doesn't believe in her own abilities, something that Wilma wants to do something about during the story. She is a big fan of Charlotte from the 501st, and because of this there is some rivarly between her and Amelie. (As in, my crush is better than yours!!!)
    Misa Kadomaru - She is the captain of the one winged witches. As you might have guessed by now, Wilma will try help her in making the members of the team collaborate and function better together.
    Laura Toth - An elite from the 501st join fighter wing, who was thrown out due to her inability to function well with others in a team. She is very confident in her own abilities, but Wilma wants to try to teach her the beauty of friendship and cooperation.
    Wilma Bishop - Basically the protagonist of the books. She is the new recruit but quickly becomes the most important member in the group.
     
    Conclusion: Simple but effective
    So this has been fairly short, but seeing as this series is simply 2 manga volumes its hard to go into very detailed information without spoiling literally everything about it.
    One winged witches is a beautiful story about the so called "detatchement group" coming together and going through a lot in order to strengthen their bonds and prove that even though they are considered "the broken witches" they still work just as hard as everyone else. The characters are all interesting and taking into consideration that its only 2 manga volumes, they have a lot of character developement and backstory which is interesting and touching. Each one of them has an idol they want to live up to and a dream they want to achieve. Wilma is by far my favorite character in the entire Strike Witches universe, and that was honestly brought on soley by this short little series.
    Overall one winged witches is a wonderful little story that will leave you craving for more, (and there is a lot more, with 2 anime seasons, 1 movie, another season coming soon and plenty of other works like more manga etc.) What makes this story so good is the interaction between the little group and the way you get to watch them grow together. The ending is satisfying and touching and ... And ... BEWBZ!!!
    Sorry. Had to throw that in there. The ecchi is indeed strong with this one at times. If you want panty shots and bare breasts when the occation calls for it then you have come to the right place.
     
    So that is it for now guys, thanks for reading!
     
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