adamstan

I just spotted kind of easter egg in Princess Evangile - I noticed it only now, when playing Japanese version. There are two places - in English version it's "Papattore Moon Rock" restaurant and "Tsukiishi Shrine". In Japanese "Moon Rock" part of restaurant name is 月の石 (Tsuki no Ishi) while "Tsukiishi" is of course just 月石 - and both could also be translated as... yes, you guessed it - Moonstone

@0xDC00 I have one feature request (or perhaps a bugfix?) for ExecutionWatch script. It's related to the problem I encoutered when playing Princess Evangile. This game uses UTF16 encoding with 0000 word used as terminator. And here's the problem - it seems that when searching for that pattern, it stops when it finds two consecutive 00 bytes regardless of their position, which leads to the situation from picture below: Since this game has also latin letters and various formatting codes incorporated into the script, it is possible to encounter characters with codes that start or end with 00. And sometimes it leads to the premature clipping of the text, like in this example - there was 3E00 004E sequence - and those two middle bytes got misinterpreted as terminator pattern. I think the solution would be to modify the script so it would consider specified encoding and pattern length when looking for the terminator. So in this example, since it's utf16 and 2-bytes long terminator pattern, I think it should always read the data as 16bit words, not as a series of single bytes. That way we should be able to avoid this problem. (BTW If I'm not mistaken, 004E code is 一 character, since I got the same problem with the word 一名, which is also always preceded by formatting code or special character ending in 00.)

Since the aforementone loosening I have no problems accesing the forum on android.

VNDB lists unofficial translations as well - if there's even a slight hint of a translation in the works, you can bet that somebody will add it to vndb. What I meant is that it's very unlikely that any translation - official or unofficial - would not get noticed by vndb.

Nah, if there was anything more I'm pretty sure it would be indexed on vndb rather quickly.

Another bunch of console editions of VNs. In this batch, there are: Damekoi (PSP) Princess Evangile (PSP) StarTRain (PS2) Akaneiro ni somaru saka (PS2) Also, a little before that I got PS3 Limited Edition of '&' - Sora no Mukou de Sakimasu you ni -, with drama CD and some mysterious trinket included in the box:

I think Rea and Yui. Rikako had perhaps the best and most fleshed-out route, but I think my best girl after all was cute tsundere Rea So perhaps it would be something like Rea=Yui>Rikako=Ema>Asuka>Kasuri. I'm not sure where to position Mizuna and Mio - I liked their routes, but they were kind of different thing. And besides, they are absent from the edition you're reading, right? So, to sum it up - my favorite heroine was Rea, and my favorite ending was Rikako's true end.

It seems that we have similar impressions about heroines. And yeah - if the route gets unexpectedly short it means you triggered normal ending I don't know how it is for remake, but in original version, on the final map movement screen (on Christmas Eve) it indicated wheter you're entering "normal" or "true" route. In case of Rea's and Yui's routes, the difference between those two is one choice - to trigger true route for both heroines you have to choose Yui on 11/23. Here's the walkthrough Yeah, one of the better tsunderes I saw . And I had similar thoughts about Yui - she somehow tugged at my heartstrings. I found her personality cute, and her singing awesome As for Asuka's and Kasuri - their routes felt a bit flat to me, but maybe h-scenes in the remake version you're reading will make them better for you I feel like those two routes are seriously underdeveloped. Ema's and Rikako's routes are great, and perhaps it's Rikako's route having the most of the drama. Anyway I'd recommend reading her route last (I'm not entirely sure, but it seems that it might even be somehow locked until you complete Ema's route and Rikako's normal end) Yeah, that's the only element I wish they got rid of BTW, YMMV, but I found Mio's and Mizuna's routes from all-ages version to be very good despite having different writer. Also, I really dislike remake's changed character art style - I feel like the sprites lost all individuality and expression - in remake they can be differentiated only by hairstyle Also, one of the reasons I preferred all-ages version over the +18 one is that I'm not too fond of the "sex right after confession" trope. It feels off to me. Besides, replacement content in "Standard Editions" is quite good.

Guess finally I have to read Bokuten Meanwhile, I'm currently doing my third playthrough of Princess Evangile - this time it's PSP version (Japanese all-ages). Even though it's the third time, I'm still enjoying it very much. It's definitely my "Comfort VN"

I think I remember reading somewhere about translator saying that for third game (and I think for the second one too) he found all-ages versions to be superior and recommended them over +18 ones.

It's translation of console version and apparently it contains some rewrites.

Sadly I have no idea. I also have Grisaia on Steam, but it sits in my backlog for two years already, and I keep postponing it

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

Sometimes I'm lured in by random images on VNDB front page. When image catches my attention, I then check out the VN page. If I find something interesting in the summary or in the tags, then sometimes I decide to give it a go In this case, I liked the setting and the mention of "buried memories" - it's a trope I'm pretty fond of. Sadly, this VN utterly failed to deliver what it promised If not by images, then some of those obscure titles turned out when I did some searching by tags. Or they share some staff with other titles that I enjoyed. But it's all pretty random. Sometimes I stumble upon a hidden gem - or at least the title that I personally enjoy, even if it's unpopular, like Konneko or Amber Quartz, but then sometimes there's just disappointment.

I just finished Hachigatsu no Nostalgia ~the summer with you~ What a letdown and wasted potential... I took me 10 hours to complete four routes in Japanese (!) - it was unexpectedly short. The events feel quite disjointed and romance unconvincing. That's because the writing is so sparse that it feels like reading an abridged version or a summary For each character there's bunch of semi-random SoL events, one short H-scene and brief epilogue. I think it doesn't even reach the "charage level", since the characters are way, how to say it, undercharacterized? It's simple, short, old-school "bishoujo game". Nanao's and Eri's routes feel like typical "summer eroge adventure" Natsuki's route promised more, with flashbacks and childhood promises - but it failed to deliver, because it feels like 90% of text has been cut out, and we're left with some random scraps. Chitose's route seems to make the most sense, and I think the writer has given her route a bit more attention - it felt a bit less unconvincing than the other three Besides, she's pretty hot The engine is very crude, not having even a skip mode (!). All in all - it's no surprise that this VN is so obscure - it certainly deserves it Not great, not terrible, but still a letdown - 6/10

It's worth noting, that in case of TH2 console version is the original one, while the PC version with added H-scenes arrived later.

Talk about coincidences, and deep roots of some tropes... After finishing Parfait, I just started playing ancient and obscure charage from 2000 (or 2003 for voiced edition) called Hachigatsu no Nostalgia ~the summer with you~ - since it's August right now In Parfait one of the heroines was Ema - blue haired sister-in-law, currently widow. Imagine my surprise when I started playing Hachigatsu no Nostalgia and met Chitose - blue haired sister-in-law, currently widow

For now it seems to be ok - forum loads instantly both on PC and phone. Thanks

I just finished Parfait ~Chocolat Second Brew~ Standard Edition It was very good charage, with nicely written characters and their interactions - as expected from Maruto I started with Yui's route - and it was very good. Yui is absolutely adorable lump of love, and perhaps the moest of them all . Also, her being a musician additionally tugged at my heartstrings. Strongly intertwined with Yui's route is Rea Rea is lovely classic tsundere - and I'd dare to say one of the better ones. Her banter with Hitoshi, the way she tries to hide her feelings, the way she blushes, her deredere side... Ahhh... I'm in love . Those two girls are actually game's "cover girls", and I can totally understand why. Next I've read two more standalone routes - Asuka's and Kasuri's. Those two routes, while not bad, felt a little flat - something was missing. Asuka is actually the only high-school student in the whole VN, and Hitoshi is her tutor. Their relationship was nice, but, idk, somehow the route felt a bit like a side one. As for Kasuri - I felt like there was lots of wasted comedy or drama potential - considering that in the prologue we meet her scary overprotective father, and then escape together in the middle of the night. Yet the man never reappears again. I guess that perhaps those two routes were relying mostly on h-scenes to make an impression? And of course that would get significtantly weakened in all-ages edition that I've read Next pair was Ema and Rikako - they also share large part of common route, and the beginning of the two's respective true routes - here we face the only choice in the whole game other than map movement in common route. Let's start with Ema Her relationship with Hitoshi is quite complicated - she was his childhood friend (and perhaps the first love), then she became his stepsister, and then sister-in-law by marrying Hitoshi's (now deceased) older brother. Good route, with the two trying to untangle that mess and sort out their feelings. And then Rikako's epic route She's obviously designed as a main heroine - her route being perhaps the longest in the base game, and with three endings. When first entering Rikako's true route, we meet a bad end somewhere in the middle. It was really heartwrenching, but understandable, considering the mess their relatonship was, and their personalities. To unlock good end, you have to complete all previous routes (Yui, Rea, Asuka, Kasuri and Ema). Then there's Rikako's "normal" route, which is kind of glimpse, or preview, of good ending. And finally, after entering her true route again, it picks from the moment a little before bad end, and goes from there on quite an journey - to finally arrive at the sweet and heartwarming ending. The there were two additional routes exclusive to all ages version. First was Mizuna She's the waitress at Curio, and Rea's best friend. It was interesting route about insecurities, and how they can harm the relationship. And then there was Mio At first glance, quite tomboyish coffee vendor and genius barista. But there's much more to her. Her route was almost as epic as Rikako's, and outside of her route, she was quite good side character. As mentioned before, I've read all-ages version. It has been rewritten in a very natural way. Some of the sex stuff has been replaced with kissing, and the stories were also extended significantly - there were some very good scenes that were not present in +18 version. Also, I was very surprised to discover that Mio and Mizuna were totally new characters (and not just side characters getting routes). They got integrated into the common route so seamlessly, that I thought they were always there. Their routes were also on par with the rest quality-wise despite having different writer. When reading all-ages versions sometimes I think "Hmm, that's nice and all, but perhaps a bit of H stuff wouldn't hurt". It happened with that VN too. But then I checked out +18 version and was like "NOPE! Not that way!" . It was way too porny, and some scenes were inserted pretty randomly. So, for this game, all-ages version FTW. So, to sum this up - very good charage, with amusing character interactions, nice art, voices and music. Out of 8 routes, there were only two a bit weaker ones. All in all - 8/10, great stuff.

Hi, Recently I have a lots of trouble when trying to open the forums. On my laptop PC I have to reload/refresh page multiple times until it loads the forum, while on my phone it stays on the "just wait a moment" Cloudflare screen forever - it just keeps reloading that page on and on.

Oh, that's interesting. I own PS3 edition, if the stories are indeed different, it might be worth giving it a go - especially since I wasn't too fond of H-scenes in PC version.

Yes, you're right here. I just wanted to point out, that I often saw people saying that Miazora was properly rewritten while Konosora was just cut-off, while in fact both games were rewritten in very similar way - but localized version of Konosora might feel badly cut because of bad translation. Initially I also thought that that's how it was - until I read Cruise Sign in Japanese and discovered that the content is exactly the same as in all-ages In My Heart Had Wings. And since I already own Umikana, Anofure, and Cruise Sign, I'd really like if Pulltop would release games from this pack separately, so I could buy just all-ages Miazora edition, since I don't need another copy of other games, and the whole pack is rather expensive.

Yes, it was Chrono Clock - it had separate unlockable after-stories dedicated just for h-scenes. There were no sex scenes in main story at all. Yeah, and that's exactly what bothers me - it often clashes with the mood of the story and becomes out of character because of this "porn logic".

TBH, rewrites for both all-ages versions of Konosora and Miazora are quite decent. If it wasn't for IMHHW's bad translation quality, I think there wouldn't be as much an outrage (and incorrect rumors) about it. But no, contrary to popular belief, they didn't just cut out the sex scenes in either game. BTW, I wonder if Anofure will get translated. I read it in Japanese and loved it, but I'm not sure if Umikana Steam sales were good enough to translate the sequel

I will check those out when I get back home