adamstan

Maybe I should have picked up JP version - then finishing a route would take me a week instead of a day However, it's too expensive (I managed to get Steam edition on some kind of sale with some nice discount) As for Kamome's route - I actually liked the "adventure + childhood memories" theme. Incidentally, previous two titles I've read (Amber Quartz and Tenohira o, Taiyou ni ) also featured some variations on it. I also have been spoiled a bit (shouldn't have visited that TVTropes page )

Whew... Thankfully, my feelings were quite opposite - for me it was pretty good route. Perhaps not as good as Ao's, but still.

Ack!, I'm just about to read it...

Ah, that's right, Ao's route is written by Kai. BTW, it might be some strange coincidence, but it's a third VN in a row I'm reading, that seems to be in one way or another influenced by AIR.

Okay, Ao's route done in one sitting While Shiroha's route had some pacing issues, this one was great - just classic KEY. Really, I think I don't have any major complaints. Ao is cute tsundere heroine, I really liked comedy in her route (it's kind of miracle all those lewd jokes got a pass on Steam ), and tear-jerking elements also did their job. So far I'm loving this game.

It was Sunday, so I've been just reading most of the time Now, because of work, I'll definitely slow down a bit According to Steam timer, it took me 9 hours to complete prologue + Shiroha's route.

I kind of agree. I just finished Shiroha's route as well (I played it as the first one). I enjoyed it, but it indeed felt a bit rushed, which lessened the impact. Actuallly, the most emotionally impactful moments for me were Also, I really liked comedic parts.

So, it's Summer Pockets time I just finished the prologue, and I'm liking it very much so far. Beautiful art and music, and it definitely has KEY mood Also, that table tennis minigame is strangely addictive. However, I'd love if it was possible to play it with keyboard (like, using separate keys for each "racket") - but I guess it'd be too easy then

So, I just finished Tenohira o, Tayou ni AB - fandisc for Tenohira o, Tayou ni. It's rather unusual for a fandisc, because it doesn't have almost any fanservice The "AFTER" part is a short epilogue for main story - a party happening few weeks after the ending of true route. It has six "routes" - for Towa, Minoru and Mika, and then also for some side characters. However it isn't focused on romance - instead it builds up on a "group of friends" theme from the main story. The "rotues" are just a bunch of different dialogues depending on choices. And there are no h-scenes in this part (not that I'm complaining ). It was short, and while still not entirely satisfying, quite funny. It was nice to see some conclusion, and spend a bit more time with the characters. The "BEFORE" part retells the legend of Satori from few hundred years ago that is mentioned in the main game. It was pretty decent nakige (and complete mood change compared with the aforementioned epilogue). After completing those two main parts, "EXTRA 1" and "EXTRA 2" sections get unlocked. They are just two very brief half-comedic scenes. First one is kind of alternate "what-if" ending for the true route, while second one is small extension for Rin's route. Overally, it was nice, if short, experience. I rate it the same as the main VN - 7.5/10 I think that, if nothing distracts me , the next VN to read will be Summer Pockets

Since I hate to leave things unfinished, for now finally I went with Tenotai fandisc, but I think I'll indeed read Summer Pockets afterwards. Is there any recommended route order or other such things?

So, today I finished Tenohira o, Tayou ni. I liked it, but there were also some drawbacks. My main gripe is about route structure. But first, let's do small introduction. (I'll try to avoid any major spoilers, most of the things I write below are from the very beginning of common route). The game is divided into two parts. Main (first) part, called "Tenohira o", consists of three routes. The protagonist of this part, Akio, is living pretty dull and lonely life. He's initial state reminded me a bit about Kouhei from YMK. For some unknown reasons, he got completely estranged from his two childhood friends, Minoru and Mika. His memory is pretty hazy, like somebody painted it over with a gray paint. Also, he keeps seeing a strange dream about huge hibiscus tree on a nearby hill. Then, one day, on the way to school he meets strange girl. Towa, who turns out to be new transfer student in Akio's class, claims that she knows him from the past (as well as Minoru and Mika), and that she really missed them. However Akio, Minoru and Mika cannot remember her at all. To make matters worse, class ojousama, Hasumi, seems to hold some grudge against Akio, and keeps harrasing/bullying him and any one he's connected to - especially Towa. Really, there are moments when she's almost as bad as Antoinette. So, the first part is pretty good story about friendship. Thanks to Towa's influence, Akio, Minoru and Mika slowly regain their memories and their friendship. There's also town's legend of mind-reading entity called Satori looming in the background. And right there we have first problem with route structure. Towa is clearly main heroine, and whole story is centered around her. Also, on first playthrough we are locked onto her route, but only onto the "normal ending". Or rather, the story gets just abruptly cut. Then we have to complete Mika's and Minoru's routes. Both girls are cute, and it is nice to observe their relationship with Akio. Also, each route provides additional background bits for the main story. However, they clearly feel as side routes - they are just brief branches from main story, but ultimately lead to the same cliffhanger ending. After that, true route gets unlocked. But we have to replay Towa's route, which is exactly the same as during first playthrough, so it can be just skipped right to the end, and then the rest of the story unfolds. That true route was really great, and I loved it. There were twists, reveals, and lots of intense and emotional moments. But I still think the route system itself is pretty flawed. After completing Towa's true route, second part, called "Taiyou ni" gets unlocked. The protagonist of this part is Jun'ya, Akio's one year older childhood friend, who makes brief appearance in main story. His arc features two heroines, Sarasa and Rin. It provides different point of view and additional background for the main story. Jun'ya and Sarasa also keep seeing dreams about the tree on a hill, and Sarasa decides to investigate legends and traditions concerning it (and town's shrine) as their summer assignment. Jun'ya, their classmate Koujiro and Rin decide to join her. Their investigation also leads them towards the legend of Satori. Rin's route is rather brief, and I feel like it was there mostly to provide some background, but at the same time I think it relied too much on the assumed reader's knowledge of the main story - I felt like some jumps were too broad, and wished for more direct explanations. Still, it had very good parts. Sarasa's route can be considered "second side" of the true route, and it is good to play it as the final one. Now, onto the other aspects. I really liked the art - it has some very nice looking backgrounds (apart from two or three odd ones), and I loved character design. Music was also good. I played +18 version, and I actually liked h-scenes, especially in the Towa's route. There's only one scene per heroine. What I liked the most about the scenes (especially in the Akio's arc) was that they were brief and, how to say it, discreet, not too explicit. They were focused mostly on feelings, and spared most of the "mechanical" details Also, there were some pretty nice dialogues. However, scene in Mika's route had probably one of the worst introductions ever It felt rather disappointing, when compared with his attitude in other routes - I facepalmed pretty hard after seeing that line - but somehow they managed to save it, treating it half-way comedically Scenes in Jun'ya's arc were more "standard eroge" fare (probably due to different writer) but still not bad. Another complaint is the lack of the longer epilogues. But maybe they are in the fandisc - I have to check it out. It definitely has some after-stories, and prologue which retells the legend of Satori. So, to sum it up... The main story was great. Like with Amber Quartz, I expected "just" a charage with osananajimi heroines, but got good nakige about friendship instead, and loved it. For that alone I'd rate it at 8. However I have to detract some points for the flawed route structure. So the final score is 7.5/10. Now I'll either check out the fandisc, or try something translated for a breather. Summer Pockets maybe?

It feels weird to write third post in a row... well, whatever Today I got another JVN - this time it's PSP version of Sorairo I got interested in this title since I loved Amber Quartz, and Sorairo shares some staff with it (writers and artists).

Yeah, unlike some other charage, routes in Hatsukoi are pretty much stand-alone.

Actually it is in part - I am translating missing parts, and doing some retranslation as well ;-) Also, my project isn't a patch - it's kind of remake (and port to Renpy). It's definitely weird one - that's why I posted it in GD and not in FanTL section ;-)

Happy birthday, @ittaku! Ruu \(^-^)/

That's a pity - I always liked it when characters were important also outside their routes.

I bought it together with Planetarian, but somehow haven't got to reading it yet.

Wow, reading that about Harmonia makes me really sad. Guess I will pass on it then. For me the worst was probably Lamunation.

Ah, Planetarian... sometimes even thinking for a moment about poor little Yumemi still makes me a bit teary-eyed. For a few last days I'm getting unusually sleepy in the afternoons, so I definitely cannot read Japanese in that state - thus my reading has been stalled for a moment.

It indeed is But the video is really bizarre - as were many of 80's MVs actually

I also loved Toradora, so I'm very thankful for all those recomendations above I'd like to perhaps suggest Lovely★Complex. It isn't exactly the same, but, at least for me, it had some similar vibes.

Few days ago I started reading second arc of Tenohira o, Tayou ni. I find it a bit difficult to switch to another protagonist in this case. The only other VN with multiple protagonists I've played was Sakura Sakura, but there it was easier. In Sakura Sakura Naoki was one of the main characters in first arc, and his arc was a continuation, so the switch flowed smoothly, at least for me. In TenoTai it's different, since Jun'ya was just a side character in first arc. And in his arc we are seeing different side of the same story, so it's like starting from the beginning - and the start is pretty slow, especially after quite intense true route. Fortunately, it's starts gaining traction again, so I hope for the best

They say that there is - that despite not having Maeda's writing it's still "classic" KEY. I think I'm going to read it next, after I finish Tenohira o, Tayou ni - unless I get distracted by something else, that is

Yeah, that might be. Now that you say it, I guess that was my main problem with it - she sounded too American for my taste

Yeah, like this. 美少女ゲーム is an umbrella term for VNs and dating sims with male protagonist and female heroines.