adamstan

I think you might like Planetarian from KEY and PARQUET from Yuzusoft. They're both bittersweet tales set in the future, like ATRI (although Planetarian leans more towards sad side).

No, it's not The "censorship" was already done by Elf (original developer) for Windows version in 1999 - current version is just a remaster (and translation) of that version. The only "uncensored" version is 1992 one - available for PC98 and MS-DOS. (On the other hand, it seems that after all they indeed spend lots of rather pointless efforts to make yet another more censored "all-ages" version for Steam - honestly, being all-ages junkie that I am, I can't imagine the game with the premise like Doukyuusei working well as an all-ages title. It's one of those games that seem to be projected as an eroge right from the start. Same with, for example, True Love) But my interest for this game also dropped significantly - it seems that either version is too much dating sim and too little VN for my taste. Nevertheless, it seems that Steam version is quite gutted and can be used only as a base to apply adult patch

It's also worth noting, that all those alterations were made already in 1999 for the Windows remake, and current version is just remaster of that edition - it isn't something enforced by Steam

The project isn't dead (it just smells funny ) Today I pasted another few hundred japanese lines into Ren'py script, reaching 32% (or, near the end of 6th chapter). Also, for those interested, here's the comparison of various image versions, using the train station background as an example. 1. Original 16 color version - this will be the default mode: 2. "Enhanced" version from english-only "JAST Memorial edition" - it's just the original with some basic blur applied: 3. My "256 color version" - made with few layers of blurring and re-sharpening - this will be used as an alternative graphic mode in my version: After I finish pasting Japanese text into Ren'py, I will have to solve two coding/engine problems. First will be smooth switching of soundtrack versions - current implementation requires restarting the game, and when loading a save, the music version will change only at the new track. And the second thing - which will be easy, but time consuming - will be to code grahpic mode switching. After all that is done, the "only" remaining thing will be adding English translation.

Okay, so yesterday I finished StarTRain It wasn't without problems, but I enjoyed it. It's kind of mix between high-school rom-com and KEY's classics - I feel like it borrows some ideas from Kanon and Clannad. Main focus of this VN seems to be the true meaning of happiness - and, to extent, how relationships fit into that. At the beginning of the actual common route (after the prologue) Tsukasa is quite depressed after breaking up with Nami (I previously tagged it as a spoiler, but it's such a big part of the setting, that it's hard to talk about this VN without mentioning this). He's rather weak, and she was his whole world so now he feels like he lost the meaning of life. He also keeps wallowing in self-hatred. Depending on the choices, he can get closer to one of the three heroines, and there's also a "friendship" ending, which I wouldn't call bad - it's a bit like Crescendo's normal end. Kanade's route was perhaps the closest one to the typical romance VN. Tsundere childhood friend having a long-time crush on donkan protag-kun, and all problems that stem from this situation I liked this route even if it was full of cliches usually associated with tsunderes (and small tits ). Also, Kanade will get jealous in other routes, and then deny it in a classic tsundere way And I absolutely love two final CGs of this route: Asuka's route was the first one directly touching the topic of happiness. In the common route she said very important thing - "If you don't love yourself, you cannot become happy". And despite being very poor, living in a small rundown apartment only with her mother, she never gives up, always keeps smiling and encouraging others. Of course that's only the surface, and her route is focused on her family problems, especially her strained relationship with mother. I really liked it, and it's this route when I thought about Clannad, even though the setting is vastly different. Besides, Asuka is cute Yomogi's route was quite a surprising one. In the beginning, and on the surface, it looked like another cliched moege route. But soon quite creepy undertones appeared. Yomogi and Tsukasa were both in similar situation - dealing with past breakup. And so they decided to date to escape the loneliness. Not very healthy already, but Yomogi's situation was actually even heavier - After a few days and some events Tsukasa finds himself in Yomogi's room, and her in a rather miserable state, and he's faced with a choice - stay with her (forever...), or go home. (Or, in adult version - have sex with her or refuse and go home). The first choice leads to a bad end, and I think it was actually more pronounced in the all-ages version. It showed really unhealthy co-dependent relationship. When choosing to go away, some more drama ensues of course, but thanks to it the characters grow up a bit, and then finally they are able to meet together again, this time in a healthier way. Really nice route, providing some good observations and food for thought. Completing those three above routes unlocks another choice during the test of courage near the end of common route, and this is where we finally meet Nanami - who initially gets mistaken for a ghost and can proceed to the true route of the game. And this route was a hell of a ride. Nanami is a mysterious girl, who appeared at night at the school. She looks like a younger version of Nami (voice included), and she's great at playing flute. It turns out that she's on a trip (or a runaway ) and she's been sleeping there because she ran out of money. For a few nights Tsukasa goes to school and brings her some food, but then somebody notices suspicious activity at the school and so Nanami gets locked out from her temporary room, which makes her end up staying at Tsukasa's home - and that's where the fun begins. While Nanami looks like a spitting image of Nami, her personality is very different - she's very optimistic, and she finds joy in every little thing. Of course the two get closer and closer to each other, and suddenly Tsukasa noticed, that he's really happy when he's with Nanami. But sometimes she says some weird things - like that she used magic to get here, and, like in Cinderella's story, soon the magic will wear out... And that's where the story decides to hit us with a KEY punch. Another thing I'd like to praise is the Maiko and Hiroki duo. They're much more than a comic relief (although they're great at that) - they're Tsukasa's true friends, really caring for him, and helping in need - especially in true route. WHoah... this became a huuge wall of text... Time to sum it all up. I really enjoyed this VN, although the technical issues I mentioned in my initial post hampered that enjoyment a bit - the experience wasn't exactly smooth. Nevertheless true route was a great ride, and the standard routes also were decent. I also checked out PC adult version, and while I prefer the way the story was changed and extended for the console version, it also isn't bad. The only route that IMO suffers from the "eroge logic" (=="Each heroine needs a sex scene") is Nanami's route - it's the only one when it felt out of place. OTOH the big plus of PC version is resolution - 800x600 isn't much, but it looks much better than the 640x448 PS2 version. All in all - it was nice charage with a bit of a twist. 7.5/10 **************************************************************** Recently I got physical Switch versions of Daitoshokan no Hitsujikai and Aonatsu Line, and I think my next read will be one of those.

Yes, that seems to be the reason Now that I think about it, I've read yet another shinigami VN - Shinigami no Kiss wa Wakare no Aji, it was nice, but the setting a bit different

It looks nice - I don't think I'll jump into it immediately, but I'll bookmark it on Steam When reading the summary for some reason I thought about Palette's SakuSaku and Chrono Clock.

Yes, I compared the all-ages versions. Of course after applying the +18 patch Sekai/Denpasoft edition is the same as Palette's adult version. Another difference is resolution - Palette's complete edition is 1080p. But that's also only for all-ages - they didn't make +18 complete edition at all. So all +18 editions and Steam all-ages edition are 720p only.

Not only that, there were also some scenes and graphics missing. Details below:

This. And I guess for Palette, they rather aimed for consoles than for Steam itself - they created all-ages complete edition, which they released for PC, while PS4 and Switch releases are scheduled for June. BTW Steam version of Nine (Ep. 1-4) is more censored than complete edition, and, as I mentioned in my review, while I really liked the complete edition, I think Steam version removes too much.

Which reminds me that perhaps one day I should check out the sequel

Yeah, you're right, I exaggerated a bit or my memory played a trick on me - we "only" had to break up with her, but yeah, it wasn't especially ugly - breakups happen sometimes. (I played it 4 years ago, so my memories got a bit hazy) But route structure in Lovers was truly awful - there in order to unlock side routes you really just had to completely ignore Rie so she would leave you. And those routes weren't even worth it

Well, the drama has already arrived, since I don't mind some drama if it's well done - let's see how they did it. And even though this game features hetare protagonist, he didn't annoy me too much so far (But then, it was only prologue) OTOH I dislike the setup when you have to be a dick towards your girlfriend to enter other routes (like it was with Lovers or Tsujidou-san no Jun'ai Road), so I'm glad that it doesn't seem to be the case here.

Yesterday I completed the prologue in StarTRain - reaching the opening movie. It has a bit unusual setting for a charage, because we start with a protagonist in a relationship. His girlfriend is two years older Nami, whom he met one summer night a few years ago while he was watching falling stars. So now there's second part of common route waiting for me. So far I met three (of four) heroines - tsundere childhood friend Kanade, shy but cute Asuka speaking with Kansai accent, and a bit mysterious Yomogi from parallell class. According to walkthroughs there's also fourth, unlockable heroine - Nanami, but she hasn't appeared yet. As for Sunohara (), this time it's not one person, but a couple - MC's friend Hiroki and his girlfriend Maiko. BTW, they get together during the first hour of the game So far I have two issues with this VN, but they're technical ones, and seem specific to the PS2 version I own. The music gets cut abruptly during scene transitions instead of fading out - it makes those transitions a bit jarring. It was the same in Konneko - perhaps it's an PS2 or emulator issue? The font used in this release is a bit hard to read due to low resolution, but somehow I managed to get used to it. But nevertheless I'm a bit puzzled why didn't they used something simpler. 640x448 isn't that small, and it should be possible to have more legible font. But they used bold and shadows, which make the fine lines in more complicated kanji just blend together. Form over function At the very beginning I also had to get used to different style, but over the course of the prologue I got hooked, and now I'm looking forward to the rest of the game.

Last Thursday I finished Chocolat ~Maid Cafe "Curio"~ (I played "Standard Edition" - all ages PC version) It was nice, but had its share of problems. I'd say that in some way it has that unpolished "early work" feel - something like what ONE is when compared to KANON. Heroines were all very nice, and, as usual, Maruto writes nice, engaging character interactions, but the quality of the routes is very uneven. In my previous post I complained a bit about Misato's route. On the contrary, Midori's route which I played next was great (it's also heavily connected to Kanako's story). Mako's and Suzu's routes were so-so, not great, not terrible. Then there was another very good one - Sayaka's. I really liked her as a character, and her route was very emotional. And then there's epic final - Kanako's route. It's much longer than other routes and features quite a backstory. The concept is a bit similar to Rikako's route from Parfait (or rather the other way around ) - Kanako and Daisuke have been together in the past, but then their relationship fell apart. And just like in Parfait, at first attempt we're locked onto bad ending. After that there's additional hidden route for Chiroru/Tirol (チロル) After this cute and funny interlude, Kanako's true end gets unlocked. And after completing her route - there's another epilogue accessible from the main menu. It also features some flashbacks about Kanako's and Midori's relationship. It was veeery satisfying, especially the final CG, where for the first time we see So if I had to rate route's quality, it would be Kanako > Sayaka = Midori > Suzu > Mako > Misato. Apart from uneven route's quality, the map movement system is a chore - it's very difficult to track down missing events, because there's no flowchart with timeline, like in later games (Parfait, Kono Aozora ni Yakusoku o), but just the list of events grouped by heroines. The descriptions of the (seen) events also aren't as good as in those later games. And this version (together with PS2 port) has already streamlined choice/map movement system. Adult and Dreamcast versions are even greater mess, since they extend the map movement system also far into routes themselves, which is nightmare. It's also worth noting that Standard Edition features much better music. I'm really surprised that this soundtrack hasn't made it to the 2021 remake - the remake features upscaled artwork and a bit streamlined system, but it uses the old soundtrack from 2003 version, which TBH sounds more like a poor General Midi soundtrack from the late '90s, and not in a good way It kind of clashes with nice graphics - perhaps it would be more fitting if the game was done in the PC98 pixel-art style So, summing it all up, this VN gets 7.5/10 from me. It has one great route, two very good ones, and three mediocre ones. (I count Chiroru's route as a part of Kanako's story). It was a bit rough around the edges, but all in all I enjoyed it - thankfully the true ending was satisfying Since I'm sucker for VNs with nostalgia and memories themes, I think my next read will be StarTRain (PS2 edition). It looks like it's the first VN written by Nanaumi Sou, who latter has written Sukimazakura to Uso no Machi (which also sits in my backlog ) and Kazato sisters' route in Konosora.

Yes. Essentially this isn't the "series" - it's single VN split into 4 (or actually 5) parts. Each of the four episodes contains single route. This is emphasised in the Complete Edition, where to unlock each route, you need to complete the previous one, and then after stories get unlocked after completing all four main episodes.

Recently Sekai Project announced that final episode of 9-nine will get released on Steam on 2022-03-18. The release will contain all three language versions (JP, CN, EN) https://store.steampowered.com/app/1890120/9nineNewEpisode/ This episode was all-ages right from the start, so there should be no need to worry about any censorship in this release.

@Fujoneko, thanks for another item added to backlog BTW - do you happen to know what's the difference between the regular "Root Letter" and "Root Letter: Last Answer" editions?

Yeah, I'm also sad to see the forum die - and turning it into nothing more than an annoucement board for YT vids seems to be just another nail in the coffin I agree with @Zalor, and I think I already wrote something similar under your other video topic, @NowItsAngeTime - I don't mind your videos, but I wish you'd care a bit more about forum - it's okay to post your video, but please also write proper post with a summary at least... I'd really hate to see this forum completely die, since it's the only vn community I'm comfortable to engage with - reddit's and especially discord's format is absolutely not for me - they're too fast-paced and chaotic. (I browse threads on r/visualnovels from time to time, but I feel too intimidated by it to even try to write anything there...)

Okay, sorry for posting two times in a row, but... I already finished both Misato's endings - "normal" and "true". And if it took me ~3 hours to read both of those in Japanese, then that means those "routes" were extremely short It didn't surprise me that "normal" ending was very short (under 1 hour), since it was the same in Parfait. Then I got to the unlocked Misato's true route - and it also went in a blink of an eye Sure, sometimes the routes get too long and dragged out, but this was another extreme - almost all "filler" has been cut out, and because of that the whole route feels rushed. Misato is cute, the few making out and/or date scenes are nice, but it's all too short! As if I was reading an abridged version. Let me give you a summary of the route: And from that point the route started flying at ridiculous speed... Credits. The end. It all happened over two or three scenes and around an hour of rather relaxed reading. If that's not short then I don't know what is...

Few days ago I started reading Chocolat ~Maid Cafe "Curio"~ (PC all ages version) Yesterday I reached the beginning of the first route - I'm starting with Misato's route. So far I'm liking this VN. As usual with Maruto's titles, the character interactions are well written and engaging. As for characters themselves, I have kind of deja-vu, or even the reverse one , since I started with the sequel ( Parfait), and some heroines seem to be based on the same tropes. Misato, whose route I'm on currently, looks like proto-Yui from Parfait - except that she's not a musician But considering how lovely cute ball of moe Yui was, I'm not complaining - another such heroine is warmly welcome Misato - Yui Another close match seems to be Kanako - she looks a bit like protoype for Rikako. But in that case is less about appearance and personality, and more about role and setting. Looks-wise she's closer to Ema. And, while we're at it, both games begin with almost the same shower CG - in Chocolat it's Kanako, while in Parfait it's Ema. Other heroines are also interesting - a bit rough childhood friend Midori, shy Sayaka, relaxed, motherly Mako and brand-new step imouto Suzu There seems to be one more heroine, but for now she remained hidden, so I cannot say anything about her. Map movement system in this game is very old-school, almost like in dating sims, but with the stats hidden. You have two map choices on almost every day, but not all are connected to the events - sometimes all you get is short generic SD slideshow, and supposedly it gives you relationship points. And after meeting certain conditions events are trigeered. This has been streamlined in subseqent GIGA's VNs (like the sequel Parfait or Kono Aozora ni Yakusoku o) - in those titles every map choice leads to an event. I'm looking forward to this VN - it seems promising After that I think it will finally be time for White Album 2 (although perhaps not directly after this). Chocolat is probably the final Maruto's "pre-White Album 2" title I plan to read. https://vndb.org/s216 I think I'm going to skip Mama Love. While it is sometimes described like a "reverse Damekoi" (young MC and older heroine), and I had it bookmarked, it seems too nukigey for my taste. V.G.Neo and DUEL SAVIOR don't interest me at all - first one is part of larger series that I have no interest in, and the second one seems to be some weird hybrid. That leaves only Chocolat's prequel - Ripple ~Blue Seal e Youkoso~. While it might be interesting as a first Maruto's VN, I'm not too inclined to read it. Also, none of the VNs mentioned in this paragraph has all-ages edition (besides hybrid Duel Savior), and I still haven't recovered from the final H-scene in Folklore Jam which really soured the experience for me (For White Album 2 I'm going to read PS3 version)

And so I did this, and thus yesterday I finished Tenshin Ranman Happy GO Lucky PC. First let's talk about two mini-routes. Mahiro's route was very nice - even if nothing groundbreaking, it had some twists and rather unusual start of the relationship. I enjoyed it very much. Yukari's route is nothing to write home about - it had its funny and touching moments, but as a whole felt rather... pointless and ungrounded? I guess this was the most "eroge'y" route out of all - feels mostly like a fanservice for players with teacher fetish Well, it also gave some background for the Yukari's character, so that's a plus. Ruri's route has quite different structure from the rest, and seems to be the actual true route (at least for the base game) - in this route we get to know more about Haruki's curse and Hime's and Ruri's past. It was really good. But, to my utmost surprise, actually the best route was Mikoto's route, which is exclusive for all-ages version Or perhaps I should call it Wakaba's route, since that's the name she uses through the 99% of the game. In the previous post I speculated that perhaps Mikoto/Wakaba is Hime's superior, but it turns out that I was wrong - she's just another goddess of the same level I was expecting pretty typical "console bonus route" - nice, but nonessential. Instead I got the best, most developed route of the whole game - it was easily level or two above all other routes, really. It even had the most CGs I liked almost everything about this route. First - Wakaba/Mikoto was really likeable character, and she managed to be both cute and hot at the same time Coodere, but with veeeery strong "dere" part, and ultra-masochistic closet pervert, which is mostly played for laughs, but works really well The relationship between her and Haruki kind of grows organically, and doesn't feel rushed or forced just by the route choice. It was really nice to observe those two gradually getting closer and closer to each other. The route also takes lots of hints from KEY's school of nakige. Of course, drama worked only because I already got attached to her - and it made the good ending all more satisfying. So basically, a surprise, but a welcome one So, time to sum it all up. The game looks really nice, as expected from Yuzusoft. This edition uses the latest version of Yuzusoft's UI, with flowchart and other conveniences, which is very nice. Voices were also very good. If all routes were as good as the last Mikoto's route, this would be easily 8.5. But while they weren't bad, they also weren't really standing out - AFAIK it was the first work based on what would later become "Yuzusoft formula". And so for what it was - a nice, if a little generic moege with one outstanding route - I feel 7.5/10 is right score. ************************************************************************ Now I think I'll take a few days break, and then I'm going to read another Maruto's work - this time it will be Chocolat ~Maid Cafe "Curio"~ which is prequel to Parfait. I bought Chocolat ~maid cafe "curio"~ Standard Edition - First Press Edition (PC all-ages release), and it should arrive in a few days

I personally didn't like sex scenes in 9-nine either - mainly because of the animation style, but also I thought that there were too many, had issues with their placement, and still found them too "porny" for my taste. So for this game I also preferred all-ages edition (the Palette's Complete Edition - not the Steam one). I think the last VNs where I enjoyed H-scenes, and found them relatively "wholesome" (with some exceptions) were Palette's Sakura Strasse and Yuzusoft's Natsuzora Kanata (and those games don't have all-ages versions anyway ) I also loved the way the relationship was depicted - sex included - in the short EVN called The Language of Love.

I haven't played Kinkoi yet, but since often H-scenes instead of being "characters making love to each other" turn into "characters performing the porn scene", I tend to avoid them and go for all-ages editions whenever available And with a few VNs that I played recently, even if when playing the all-ages version I thought "hmm... a little bit of sexy stuff wouldn't hurt", checking out the actual scenes from +18 version was a huge letdown more often than not.

Yesterday I finished another route in Tenshin Ranman - this time it was Aoi's route. It was good route - perhaps even better than Sana's. I have soft spot for childhood friends, but I think this wasn't 100% typical osananajimi route. I mean, Aoi wasn't the kind of childhood friend that would come everyday to wake him up, bring the homemade school lunch and confess her everlasting love Instead they had pretty nice friendly relationship, with healthy amount of banter. And so they struggled pretty hard to step-up to the lovers level. The thing mentioned in the spoiler above is the story gimmick that could be seen already in various charage titles, but nevertheless they handled it pretty well. Also, when they finally overcome the difficulties, the route has quite good dose of ichaicha - even in All-ages version. Or, dare I say, the making out in all-ages version of this route is even sweeter than the sex in the original version So, all in all, very nice moege route. Now I think I'll try the two mini side-routes for Mahiro and Yukari, and after that I'll tackle Ruri's route (which is recommended by various reviewers to be read last), and then finally Mikoto's route, which is exclusive to all-ages version. It seems that Mikoto is another goddess. Also, interesting fun fact - this game seems to be the first untranslated one to be reviewed on the Joyjason's blog, and there he said that he prefers all-ages version - even though he confused the platform it was released for back then (it should say PSP, not PS2) Judging by my experience with the game so far, I second this I also read Micchi's and Zen's review, and my feelings about routes seem to be exactly opposite. They thought that Aoi's route was the worst, while so far it seems to be my favorite one. Hime's route that I played first wasn't bad, and the "plot/action" part about preparations for school festival was nice, but the romance part felt somewhat lacking.