ChaosRaven

Visual Novel Monthly Recap for September 2021 News is out. Some big surprises including a non-Nekonyan SMEE release, the resurrection of a well-loved company, and several fantranslation projects.
 

Today I finished 9 -Nine-
Haruka's route (Ep.3) was sweet, one of the better executed romance parts in this VN. Also, in this episode the plot thickens, and we finally meet the actual villains. Overally great episode, and I gave it 8.5 score - but it was totally overshadowed by the grand final that the Episode 4 is.
That was truly an epic ride. In this part we also finally get closer to Noa and see her sweeter and cuter parts, as well as the hardships she faces. I got really attached to her, and the bad ending hit me right in the gut. Actually, my experience of this part was similar to Clannad -
 
Of course it made the final showdown leading to the true ending even more intense and satisfying. Cute romance, epic fight, great character development, emotional rollercoaster - that's definitely a 9
New Episode is just extended epilogue, that ties some loose ends and gives epilogue for each heroine. Very nice, I especially liked Haruka's part.
All in all it was definitely one of the better VNs that I played. While there were stronger and weaker parts, as a whole it did very well, and so for me Nine is 9
And I really saw some parallells with Amber Quartz - school SoL mixed with fantasy fight, superpowers, and character routes forming together the full story.
Main difference was that Nine didn't have childhood friends, troubled memories, and Air-like medieval history episode
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I played Complete Edition, which is Japanese All-ages version.
Perhaps almost everybody will go for H-version anyway, but it's worth noting, that Steam/Sekai Project's all-ages versions seem to be more censored compared to the Complete Edition. First two episodes seem to be almost the same, but there are some major differences in Haruka's route. I'll list what I spotted below under spoiler tags:
Episode 3 (Haruka's route) So that means 2 CGs, one scene and one sprite version missing.
Episode 4 (Noa's route) Also, Complete Edition adds Sprite Viewer feature in the gallery menu, that Sekai/Denpasoft versions don't have.
********************************************************************
Now I think I'll take a short break, and then perhaps I'll try DameKoi (PSP version)

I just finished first episode of 9 -Nine-.
I found it really engaging and enjoyable. If that was indeed the weakest part, then I see that I'm in for a treat And while some people say that Miyako makes for a rather bland heroine, I found her absoutely cute, and could definitely fall in love with her . Besides, the confession scene was amazing - very awkward and at the same time feeling very natural. I'd probably act very similar in such situation The way how the relationship between siblings Kakeru and Sora is portrayed was also brilliant - I loved their constant banter.
Another nice thing was acknowledging of the other "branches" directly in the story, making routes and different endings part of the setting.
I'm playing All-ages Japanese release, so cannot say much about H-stuff, but as for this episode I don't think anything was lacking, and I don't feel like this would be better as an eroge Kissing scene did very good job to convey the intimacy.
And I dread at the mere thought of H-scenes between Kakeru and Sora in the next episode  - that's one of the reasons I chose All-ages version
There were some points that could see some improvement, but overally it was very good start. So it's 7.5 for the first episode, and I'm looking forward to the rest

I just finished Muramasa, and, well, it was a worthwhile experience, but not much more than that. It's definitely on the good end of the spectrum; it simply fell short of my, admittedly high, expectations. To say it in clearer terms, I wouldn't place it among my top 10 VNs, as suggested on VNDb; maybe not even my top 30.
To name a few things I disliked about it:
- The protagonist. Yeah, he's pretty much the definition of an antihero and he's expected to grow on you over time, but I still think you'd need to be able to symphathize with him somewhat from the getgo to truly immerse yourself in the story. Sadly, that is something I was unable to do for a good part of the game. I realized there was probably some reason for his actions, but not knowing those, I could only judge him based on the information I had been fed. This made me not really care one way or another whether he lived or died, which made battles, among other things, lose a lot of impact. Speaking of...
- The fight scenes. They're probably my biggest issue with Muramasa, considering the fact that they make up such a large part of the game. Basically, I found them too long and over the top for my tastes. I could accept the premise of "Okay, foe, in order to beat you, I will unleash my ultimate attack, which cannot be avoided. <1 second later> Damn, he avoided it. Let's boost my power although I was already at the maximum and try again. Rinse and repeat." back in the days when I was watching Dragonball or Naruto, but I've kinda grown past that by now and don't find it nearly as entertaining or exciting as I used to. (This also happens to be one of the reasons I haven't read Dies Irae yet.)
- The rape scenes. I can't recall a single one that was actually relevant to story progression in the grand scheme of things, meaning they were all just there either for cheap shock value or to cater to the tastes of the people who actually enjoy that stuff.
- The info-dumping. I realize that many people might want to know every little detail about every little thing, but to me, it just felt tedious and bothersome. At one point, it caused me to literally start nodding off on the couch, so I ended up skipping past that part of the game just so I wouldn't get completely bored out of my mind. I think this is actually the first VN where I've skipped something that wasn't an h-scene, which should speak volumes about how disinterested I was.
- The true ending. This came so out of the blue, I had to take a moment just to realize what had happened. I was entirely convinced I was on one of the regular routes and would later end up on some true route revolving around
but then it just ended and all I was left with were a few missing CGs from earlier choices and the knowledge that all the stuff I thought were just a bunch of sidenotes in pursuit of something greater were actually what canonically happened in the story. It was a cocktail of confusion and unfulfillment.
To not end this post on a negative note, I'd like to mention that one thing that Muramsa deserves praise for is its translation. I remember seeing one person making a comment about this being the new golden standard for localizations, and while I can't attest to the accuracy compared to the Japanese original, which I haven't read, this is without a doubt one of the best VNs I've read in terms of prose.

I made a video how to buy Japanese Visual Novels for Fantranslation patches or reading in Japanese. It may be slightly difficult to do if you don't live in Japan, so hopefully this video helps.
Also this might be my favorite thumbnail I made to date.
 

Meanwhile, the 9 -Nine- Complete Edition has just arrived in glorious All-Ages 1080p HD

Let's see what all the hype is about

The Visual Novel Monthly Recap for August 2021 is out! Naturally, Muramasa is the absolute biggest announcement, it caused a temp JAST server overload. There were quite a handful of notable releases of a fantranslation and a notable remake of a classic.
 

So, the recent release of The Sekimeiya: Spun Glass went pretty unnoticed so far, but currently seems to get some attention thanks to a comment on VNDB. It actually has a rating above 8.5 with over 60 votes there, which is unusually high for an OELVN. There aren't even that many JVN's that high. It's a scifi mystery thriller that actually looks pretty professional. It uses NVL style, which I personally don't like that much, but if the story is good it might not matter that much.
So, for everyone who isn't already jumping on Muramasa and looking more for a SciFi mystery VN in the spirit of the infinity series titles like Ever 17, this might actually be worth a look.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1432500/The_Sekimeiya_Spun_Glass/?utm_source=vndb

Imho, H-scenes which are there for 'story reasons' are the worst. It essentially means their only purpose is for shock factor to illustrate brutal rape or abuse. Which in the end is just a bad excuse to appeal to fans of hardcore fetish sex. There are much better ways to convey love or drama than H-scenes, which makes them almost by definition optional and just for eye candy.

So, the recent release of The Sekimeiya: Spun Glass went pretty unnoticed so far, but currently seems to get some attention thanks to a comment on VNDB. It actually has a rating above 8.5 with over 60 votes there, which is unusually high for an OELVN. There aren't even that many JVN's that high. It's a scifi mystery thriller that actually looks pretty professional. It uses NVL style, which I personally don't like that much, but if the story is good it might not matter that much.
So, for everyone who isn't already jumping on Muramasa and looking more for a SciFi mystery VN in the spirit of the infinity series titles like Ever 17, this might actually be worth a look.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1432500/The_Sekimeiya_Spun_Glass/?utm_source=vndb

So, the recent release of The Sekimeiya: Spun Glass went pretty unnoticed so far, but currently seems to get some attention thanks to a comment on VNDB. It actually has a rating above 8.5 with over 60 votes there, which is unusually high for an OELVN. There aren't even that many JVN's that high. It's a scifi mystery thriller that actually looks pretty professional. It uses NVL style, which I personally don't like that much, but if the story is good it might not matter that much.
So, for everyone who isn't already jumping on Muramasa and looking more for a SciFi mystery VN in the spirit of the infinity series titles like Ever 17, this might actually be worth a look.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1432500/The_Sekimeiya_Spun_Glass/?utm_source=vndb

So, the recent release of The Sekimeiya: Spun Glass went pretty unnoticed so far, but currently seems to get some attention thanks to a comment on VNDB. It actually has a rating above 8.5 with over 60 votes there, which is unusually high for an OELVN. There aren't even that many JVN's that high. It's a scifi mystery thriller that actually looks pretty professional. It uses NVL style, which I personally don't like that much, but if the story is good it might not matter that much.
So, for everyone who isn't already jumping on Muramasa and looking more for a SciFi mystery VN in the spirit of the infinity series titles like Ever 17, this might actually be worth a look.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1432500/The_Sekimeiya_Spun_Glass/?utm_source=vndb

So, the recent release of The Sekimeiya: Spun Glass went pretty unnoticed so far, but currently seems to get some attention thanks to a comment on VNDB. It actually has a rating above 8.5 with over 60 votes there, which is unusually high for an OELVN. There aren't even that many JVN's that high. It's a scifi mystery thriller that actually looks pretty professional. It uses NVL style, which I personally don't like that much, but if the story is good it might not matter that much.
So, for everyone who isn't already jumping on Muramasa and looking more for a SciFi mystery VN in the spirit of the infinity series titles like Ever 17, this might actually be worth a look.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1432500/The_Sekimeiya_Spun_Glass/?utm_source=vndb

So, the recent release of The Sekimeiya: Spun Glass went pretty unnoticed so far, but currently seems to get some attention thanks to a comment on VNDB. It actually has a rating above 8.5 with over 60 votes there, which is unusually high for an OELVN. There aren't even that many JVN's that high. It's a scifi mystery thriller that actually looks pretty professional. It uses NVL style, which I personally don't like that much, but if the story is good it might not matter that much.
So, for everyone who isn't already jumping on Muramasa and looking more for a SciFi mystery VN in the spirit of the infinity series titles like Ever 17, this might actually be worth a look.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1432500/The_Sekimeiya_Spun_Glass/?utm_source=vndb

I bought some adult editions of VNs from amazon.jp as well - no problem there. It's just that for some reasons they refuse to ship some products - but that applies both to all-ages and adult versions, and seems pretty random.
As for online shops and digital versions - I have bought them from DLSite and getchu, but had no luck with DMM.

I made a new video noting just about every place you can buy officially localized or English original visual novels.
I noted perks, quirks, and flaws of each store to be fair as well as notable releases.
FanTLs not included. That'll be another video.
 

I'm not sure if it's the same way in all three parts. I think it should work always in Ryuuki no Taimou which is the one I'm currently playing, but I'm not sure about Son Go no Ketsumyaku anymore and I haven't even played Souten no Haou yet.

I think the battles can be skipped if you don't want to play them. But they also shouldn't be too difficult - at least for the first half of each part. I also had the impression that the 'blue ball' formation (I think it enhances your special abilities) seemed pretty strong - at least in Ryuuki no Taimou.

Yeah, my backlog is quite big as well. However recently I tend to prioritize reading in Japanese - it got strangely addictive. And well, I keep adding VNs to the backlog, and the order/queue often gets shifted around - when something seems to grab my attention, I might read it immediately, regardless of backlog

My backlog of English VN's alone aready demands a high amount of discipline against random VN's. 
Not to mention that I'm still struggling to get my current Japanese VN Shin Koihime † Musou -Kakumei- Ryuuki no Taimou finished - it's just so ridiculous long. 

How do you decide, which of those old relics of VN development to play anyway?
It looks so incredible niche, that it's more something I'd expect to show up when clicking on "Random visual novel" in VNDB. 

You kind of list a lot of Nakige or dramatic VNs... Trying to relax, I think I would aim for something light and comedic? Like Fureraba, Wagamama High Spec, maybe a Yuzusoft game like Sanoba Witch?

The July 2021 Visual Novel Monthly Recap video is out. The biggest announcement is related to a certain popular Nitro + title. That said this was a pretty crazy stacked month with plenty of releases, announcements and even a few TL cancellations.
 

Fatal Twelve. It popped up randomly in the Switch store the other day, jeez y'all gotta market better!
 
Fatal Twelve is a, uh... battle of wits style battle royale death game? Except there's no hard violence- no epic Fate/Stay battles to the death. At the other end of the spectrum, there's no glorified verbal debates like Danganronpa's Class Trials. That's probably my biggest first impression disappointment going into this VN lol.
The basic premise is that 12 people died, and through an enigmatic process called Divine Selection they are put through a 12 week altered reality where none of them actually died. The goal? To eliminate all other participants via weekly Elections in the Court of Fate. Other than that they are relatively free to do as they please with their newfound time. In order to Elect someone, a participant must have their opponents' 1) Name 2) Cause of Death 3) Life Regret. An eliminated participant will have their death become reality once again, and any physical actions or influence they made between their original death and the current present is erased. The sole survivor of the Divine Selection gets the privilege to defy fate and live on while the rest perish as fate originally intended.
The whole process is supervised by none other than Parca, a snarky self proclaimed Goddess of Destiny.

Yo you're cute and all, but, I mean, wtf kind of name is Parca?
The 12 participants all have different backgrounds and circumstances ranging from mafioso, wealthy businessman, housewife, single old man, smuggler, rich indian prince, female child, and of course, our protagonist, your every day ordinary high school male high school female with a delinquent appearance: Rinka. She really is just a high school kid, as she mainly spends the first half of the Divine Selection just mulling about her school's upcoming culture festival and friendships, with her research into the other participants being limited to really amateur attempts such as trying to Google them on the internet. The adults do all of the heavy lifting, forming alliances and long con betrayals. 

Who looks more out of place here, the handsome Nigerian Prince or the delinquent schoolgirl lol.
The story plays episodic/weekly, with the first few weeks being easily forgetful since they were used to eliminate the fodder cast and establish the mechanics of the Divine Selection as well as give you a feel for how the other participants are going about their days. Might as well have called this VN Fatal Six, since that's when the remaining cast get to have some better interactions and scenarios with each other. As I said earlier, the weekly eliminations in the Court of Fate also leave much to be desired, as those segments really lack any climax feel. No oomph. One person just Elects someone, calls out their name, cause of death, and regret, and that's it. Moving onto the next week.

YO I FEEL SAD THAT THE DIVINE SELECTION ELECTION ELIMINATIONS BASICALLY BOIL DOWN TO LIST YOUR OPPONENT'S 1-2-3 LINERS AND NOT HOUR LONG DANGANRONPA CLASS TRIAL SEGMENTS
 
Pretty curious to see how this can end, like if there'll be any jaw dropping twists or if it'll just end straightforwardly.


~~
Another VN err otome that just came out today that I've been waiting for is Bustafellows. For some reason I thought this was made by the same devs IdeaFactory/Otomate who made the blockbusters Code;Realize and CollarXMalice, but apparently not. Still looks like it has the potential to be included in the list of high quality otome VNs that everyone who gets into otomes should read though.
You play as Teuta, a cheerful 21yo freelance journalist living in modern fictional U.S. New Sieg. Looking for her next scoop she happened upon one of the heroes, Limbo, a famous skilled arrogant lawyer on the side of justice. Hoping to catch an interview she calls out to him, but much to her shock he just collapses and dies, blood pouring out of his chest.
So what does she do?

She timeleaps one hour into the past into the body of another in order to warn Limbo about his impending doom.


...Oh yeah, this should be good.

Currently enjoying Kinkoi, but the following dialogue went completely over my head. Does anyone have any idea what it's a reference to?



In any case, it's one of the better VNs I've read lately, although there's a weird (and somewhat creepy) bug that causes face sprites to show up separated from the heads, but it doesn't happen too often. Here's an example:

(I might've added some additional text. *cough*)