adamstan

Man... I've been away from this thread for so long...
Little update: I finally bought a Steam Deck! I was torn between that or the Switch, but I own all my games on my Steam account haha
I'm almost finished with Steins;Gate , but I'm waaay too lazy to write on each route asjhbdaswvd
Let's just say Suzuha's ending was the one I found the most interesting.
I finished Mayuri's ending today and next week I will read Kurisu's route. Phew! Finally one "classic" scratched from the big list!
I'm not forcing myself to read it, and I'm really enjoying it!

I've been playing Dies irae which I wanted to finish during this month, but some parts honestly give me a splitting headache to read so I've also started White Album 2 in the meantime to clear my head a bit. Not really fond of the fact that the text isn't completely enclosed though. Plus the full blown conversations going on in the background are kinda distracting. 
 

Just want to get two VN's off my list I didn't like too much and therefore dropped.

The first is Kin'iro Loveriche - a story about a boy accidentally ending up in a noble private academy for rich kids. Felt a bit like a poor man's Yuzusoft VN. Not the worst thing to be compared with, but the VN has a few peculiarities which I found rather off-putting. First, the protagonist is lazy, dumb and perverse, which made the whole heroine cast fawning over him rather unbelievable. Carrying tons of porn magazines around, drawing nude girls in lessons instead of studying and 'enlighten' his comrades about new fetishes on a daily base like a pimp. And not to mention the running gag going on about his countless hardcore sex fetishes - you get the picture!
That said, I wouldn't go so far to say that he's a bad guy, and his interactions with Ria in particular were almost mature and well above the rest. Unfortunately, besides Ria the rest of the cast was pretty generic. I played Elle's route, which was trash, with no chemistry whatsoever between the two and little to no plot. I also tried Sylvia's route, but almost died of boredom and Sylvia's absolutely bland personality didn't help either. And I found Reina's 'I'm more lude than you' attitude pretty annoying, so I just skipped it. Maybe Ria's would have been better, but it just wasn't worth having to go through all the other routes, just to 'maybe' get a decent route. Besides Ria, I had an odd liking for Akane, but she didn't seem ready for a relationship yet and especially not with the protagonist.
Though to be fair, it's not the worst moege you can play and I've certainly played worse. However, this VN had a strong 'lude & cute' vibe going on, which I simply found unfitting and tasteless. Just not my cup of tea.
Heroine ranking: Ria > Akane > Don't care
Overall rating 5/10

I also played Amatsutsumi, but didn't like it. First, from the three Purplesoft VN's I've played so far, this was certainly the most boring one by far, with absolutely nothing happening whatsover. But well, a VN can still get decent without much plot if it offers at least good romance. However, the protagonist was apparently taken straight out of a nukige. Pretty much a walking boner who barely thinks about anything else than sex and seems to think that the world is his personal brothel. He therefore bangs all the heroines already in the common route - who needs a romance anyway? Ironically, the VN would have been way better if it would have been at least honest enough to fully commit to a nukige. Instead it tried an inbetween ride with the most misplaced and unfitting H-scenes you can imagine. Kinda "Oh I'm so down and depressed - let's f*ck?!" cringe.
I also found the character designs - with the exception of Mana maybe - rather bland in comparison to previous works, with HapyMaher in particular standing out with an incredible audio-visual design. Though, to be fair, the visual effects of many backgrounds (usually involving water) in this VN are off the charts.
While all PurpleSoft VN's I have read so far had their issues, they at least got the basics of romance right. This VN fails even at that. So yeah, if that's the future of PurpleSoft VN's, it'll be a future without me.
Heroine ranking: Don't care
Overall rating: 3/10 (I added one bonus point for the visual effects)

Servers was down for awhile. some things happend. but solved for now 🙂

If we're at it, I strongly recommend Amber Quartz (it was made by NekoNeko Soft's offspring - Cotton Soft).

Just finished White ~Setsunasa no Kakera~ recently.
 
This was NekoNeko Soft's debut game and, although I did enjoy it overall, most of the routes were definitely a bit underwhelming/unpolished. The biggest problem being that the actual routes are way too short (and some of the characters get introduced pretty late in the common route)
That being said, it was a pretty solid effort considering it was their first original/commercial game + 2 of the routes (Hadzuki and Chinami) were actually REALLY good imo.
It's very clear the developers were inspired by early Key games (or rather early games by the Key staff, since One was published by Tactics game), particularly One ~Kagayaku Kisetsu he~ and, although not all routes accomplish this, White is clearly meant to be a Nakige in that vein. 
(+ there's some pretty clear One references sprinkled throughout)

"And, that scene where the [main character] just disappears while blind senpai is holding ice cream"
Anyways, some brief thoughts on each route.
Izumi
Mikana
Madoka
Hadzuki
Chinami
The other "fun" thing about this game was getting it to work right. Installing it and getting it to run + using DXWnd's Winmm.dll to play the music without the disc wasn't a big deal but... for whatever reason it loading the character sprites REALLY slow, so there was like a 3 second delay every time an expression changed.
Did a little research and found out this was a common issue with older nScripter games that use CD-DA audio, so I ended up grabbing a newer version of the nscr.exe and learned how to manually modify/create a new Dat file to go with it so... now I know how to do that if I ever play another nScripter game that uses CD-DA audio.
But anyways yeah, good game overall. I'm looking to play more of NekoNeko Soft's library (and by extension Team Nana's games) eventually. Already bought their second title GinIro, which is apparently a pretty legendary Utsuge, so I'll probably get to that some time this year.

It's been so long since I've updated this thread LOL
I don't remember where I've left off, but this last month I've played Project: Eden's Garden, Lewd Idol Project Vol. 1, LIP! Lewd Idol Project Vol. 1 - Hot Springs and Beach Episodes, LIP! Lewd Idol Project Vol. 2, and finally, Mikoto Nikki!
All of these got reviews for Fuwa - you can check them out here! Well, one of them will release today and the other is still getting edited lel
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Ok, current reads!
I'm currently reading Steins;Gate and will probably finish it around the beginning of April I'm reading it for the VN reading club I host!
Other than that, I'm also going to re-read Mix Ore as part of my "Covering CHARON" series! I started with Mikoto Nikki and that is already done, so next on the list is Mix Ore

Finally just 100% completed Snow Portable!
Just gotta say, overall, I really really liked it. it really blew away my expectations.
So, the first thing to address are the Key comparisons. Yes, it absolutely does HEAVILY borrow from Kanon and Air. It uses at least a few Kanon characters tropes (Euuu + Anman instead of Uguu + taiyaki) and straight up rips off Air's overall game structure - that being said, I think it actually handles that formula/structure a lot better than Air does.
I think some arguments can be made about whether or not Air's main route is better when analyzed on its own, BUT Air as a whole is undeniably kind of lopsided.  It's 1 big route, with 2 minor routes that might as well not be there (Minagi route is actually amazing though, but I digress). Snow does a lot of what Air does ie:
, but unlike Air the other routes in SNOW actually contribute to the overall narrative. (Also I could actually understand what was all going on in Snow, unlike Air lol).
 
Anyways, brief/disjointed thoughts on individual routes:
Sumino
Legend
Asahi
Shigure
Ouka
Meiko
 Nazo no Shouojo
So to come back to this question:
I'm gonna say yes, I really enjoyed the Nazo no Shoujo route.
I'm probably gonna want to replay the game on PS2 someday to get the full voice experience for the rest of the game but... I do think this bonus route makes double-dipping worth it.

Yesterday I finished Tsui no Stella (it took me 19 hours)
I don't think I could add much to @Nemesis's review, but I mostly agree with it
I loved it. It was great story about being (or becoming) human and relationships.
Also, as one of the reviewers already pointed out, フィリア's name could be transliterated in two ways - and both are meaningful. One is the "canon" Philia - because that's the greek word for "love" Jude named her after. But it could be also romanized as Filia, which is latin word for "daughter". Nice little touch.
I've read only two Tanaka Romeo's works so far (YMK and Kazoku Keikaku - and both only in English) - but his style is visible in this VN. At the same time, he fit pretty well into the KEY formula Indeed this story was an emotional ride, with many teary moments.
8.5/10, definitely recommend I see KEY plans to release official translation this year - I hope it goes smoothly, so more people could enjoy this great story. Since the setting is pretty universal (not explicitly Japanese) - there shouldn't be too many things prone to getting lost in translation.

That's my impression with a lot of japanese pop music I'm not opposed to generic music, as long as it's nice
As for my listening - recently I'm mostly listening to either Seiko Matsuda's or Akina Nakamori's 80s hits compilations
Good to see you back online

Still listening to obscure Japanese R&B, including this girls: Furui Riho. Her songs are a tiny bit generic, but in a pleasant way and damn if she's not a talented one + a natural born performer.
 
 
 

So, I was dead for like a month and a half, but The Magical Revolution brought me back to life. I was waiting so long for a yuri show that would be genuinely fun and to the point, and holy crap, Anis really does not beat around the bush, she goes straight for the goal. I really hope for like two seasons of this and the romance blooming properly, it will be my dream anime at that point.
Also, what a weird, isekai-filled season. Not sure how much of it I'll end up watching, instead of catching up on my backlog for example, but I'll definitely stick with Reborn to Master the Blade, seems like a really fun, lighthearted show that will benefit a lot from the adaptation into anime.
And then, despite the meh CGI, I was quite impressed with the first two episodes of Nier: Automata. I feel like the authors are fully aware that they won't be able to fully present the complexities of the original, so they focus on showing its emotional impact and tone. The episode two in particular wasn't afraid to give a lot of time to a semi-random side story about the machines, from what I heard taken from some spin-off media and not the game itself, but which was extremely artistic and wonderfully established the moral complexities and cruel nature of the setting. Not sure how easily someone completely unfamiliar with the original would follow (I didn't play it, but I read a lot about its story), but it seems like something even random viewers should appreciate for the creativity and vibes.

Nice, let me know your thoughts when you finish it.

No prob!
Can't personally answer if the new route is worth or not as I haven't read it yet but having browsed at least a couple of reviews that mentions it, the consensus on it seems to be kind of mixed (noticed at least a few people mentioning it being somewhat redundant).
Also worth mentioning that you unfortunately can't just jump in and play it by itself as unlocking it does require beating a minimum of 4 other routes so... if you do decide to start with PS2 and then switch to the PSP version with the intention of just playing that route, you'll be stuck either re-reading or sitting there holding the R button to for a while to skip the pre-requisite routes and unlock it (though I suppose just tracking down and using a 100% save would be an option as well).
Either way, I'll try to make a follow-up post with my thoughts about everything once I eventually finish the game.

Thanks for this post I also have Snow in my backlog, and I plan to go with one of the console versions as well. It's a pity that PSP port is such a technical mess - I might try PS2 one instead in that case. And then perhaps switch over to PSP just for that one bonus route. The question is - is that new route worth it? It differs from game to game. For example, all-ages exclusive Mikoto's route from Tenshin Ranman was easily the best route in the whole game for me ❤️ , while on the other hand additional route in And really soured the experience for me, especially since it was unlocked last 😕

None of them because what you do is MTL

Currently making my way through Snow Portable (the PSP port of Snow)

Before saying anything about the game itself, I've gotta complaint about the issues with this particular port.
It's my own fault for not properly researching this ahead of time but... I kind of wish I had just gone with the PS2 version instead as the PSP version is really kind of a mess.
This version is only partially voiced (DC and PS2 both were full voice) due to what later turned out to be some misguided assumptions about how much they could fit on the UMD + load time concerns. Prototypes PSP port of Kanon apparently had the same issue but somehow all the PSP ports they did after that were magically full voice.... Save labels are bare-bones (they only list the in-game date and nothing else)  No proper backlog (you have to manually cycle back one textbox at a time) And worst of all, the skip feature can't distinguish between read and unread text. Not the first time I've had to play a game like this (the PSX version of ONE Kagayaku Kisetstu he was like that too) but.... it makes going through all the routes a huge pain. The trade off though is this is (presently) the only all-ages version of Snow with the Nazo no Shoujo route so... I guess I would have had to play this version in the long-run anyways if I wanted to play every route.
These annoyance aside, I just finished my first route (Sumino's) and am enjoying the game overall. It definitely has elements that are very derivative of both Kanon and Air (The very inconclusive ending to Sumino's route, and the fact that you unlock something called the "Legend" route right after feels very Air-esque), so I can see where a lot of people consider it a rip-off, but so far I think it still manages to differentiate itself enough.
Either way I'm apparently only 22% through the CGs (may not be the best metric for progress but... it's something) so... still got a lot more game left before I can pass any real judgement.

Finally going through White Album 2, because y'know, tis the season and all. I pretty much knew I would like it since I had seen the anime adaptation many years ago and thought it was a standout in the genre thanks to its refreshingly flawed and realistic feeling characters. And yeah, I'm loving it so far. Almost done with Introductory Chapter, and I'm ready for the wild ride I'm sure closing chapter is going to be.

Felt in the mood to read some trapped VNs, idk why 🤷‍♂️ happy holidays 🎅🎄

Killer Queen - it's a 2006 isolated trapped / killing game ruleset type story. Being 2006 it's one of the earlier attempts at such a genre, and boy does it really show. I totally didn't care for the characters, and the shit that happens was very yawn inducing, nothing special and just drags. Doesn't help that the protagonist is a total pacifist, geebus writers that ain't gonna work in this type of narrative rofl 5/10. There was a remake in 2008 with a bit more moeified artwork and a more fleshed out story (~2-3x the length of the original) but not translated.
 
The Sekimeiya: Spun Glass - Ok so, you want some trapped mystery sci-fi and you've already read all the Root Doubles and Ever17s and Zero Escapes, look no further. This VNs got 8 characters trapped in a gemstone exhibit museum called Ashiya Tower centered around the mysterious gemstone- the Sekimeiya itself- and they'll be in for a world of mindscrews- including you.

The blue haired gal above is Shiroya. Best girl of course.
Sekimeiya's made by amateur group Trinitite (their Twitter page says "Three people working to create plot-focused visual novels") so it unfortunately means that there's only like 10 CGs in a 25-35hr reading experience, and no voice acting, but other than that this VN is pretty well made.
The writing is... very dense, to put it lightly. This is a VN where you can and will easily lose track of wtf is going on simply due to its sci fi mystery nature and so by the end of it when it is truth seeking infodumping time and the VN starts recapping everything and asking you to fill in the blanks it can be very  but everything IS technically answered and/or can be deduced. The protagonist himself Atsuki can get very longwinded when something mindscrewy happens and it can be tiresome to listen to his self theory-crafting (which he will do ALOT):

5 minutes later something happens, and then you'll get another wall of text like this, no joke.

There is a built in chapter/scene summary where you can input your own notes, an ingame map of the building, and a backlog where you can literally Cntrl-F to search through the text to help you keep track of things, but I just powered through this VN and took the twists and turns as they came without stressing too much being on top of things. You should pretty much be able to theorize the bigger stuff going on, and it's just the little nuances where you'll just have to take the L because yeah like I'm gonna remember what X person did Y time ago after A person did this B time ago etc etc.
You only get access to the absolute disgusting mess of a flowchart when you finish the game and I guess want to spend additional time bridging the gaps of whatever you might've missed:
 
~~
8/10 Here's my end results lol. They had the gall to have an entire stats thing of what % questions readers got right and whatnot. Pretty interesting stuff though.

I got 41/94 (43%), putting me right in the middle of the pack of ~63% of players getting 30-49% of the ?'s right. Top 5% of readers who got 70%+ ?'s right: I call BS LOL they must've used a walkthrough or something!!

For a moment I thought - "How could I forget about that great protag?", but then I remembered, that I read 9-nine in 2021
Damn, makes me hesitant to play WA2
Perhaps it's time for me to read it? It's sitting on the shelf and on the backlog, and I'm currently "free" VN-wise

Well, the VN itself is great, but it hits hard and most of the bad stuff happening is because of Haruki's inability to commit to one girl for most of the VN. He seems a lot more human than your average VN protagonist, which is probably the main reason why his actions throughout the story made me start to dislike him so much. Makoto from School Days is, as I've already mentioned, a whole lot worse, but he's such un unbearable bastard all the time that you can't even take him seriously.
 
It had been sitting in my backlog for ages by the time I finally got started on it. I knew it was supposed to be good, but I was under the impression that this was just comedy/romance through and through, so it kinda hit me out of left field when I realized there's actually some drama and serious topics here as well.
It turned out to be one of my best reads of the year, so I highly recommend you give it a go!

I haven't played many VNs this year but probably my fav MC is Tyler from Loopers. Energetic and never give up vibes from start to end which is cool for me.
 
Just saw adamstan's post, we are in the same page XD

I don't think I can decide on one, but the top 3 for this year are probably Kakei Kyoutarou from Daitoshokan no Hitsujikai, Niimi Kakeru from 9-nine, or Narita Shinri from Hello Lady (whenever he's not sexually harrassing people out of nowhere).

Might as well list the worst protagonist while I'm at it, and there's no competition whatsoever there. It's Kitahara Haruki from White Album 2. I think the only VN protagonist I dislike more is Itou Makoto from School Days, but he's in a league of his own and I haven't read that VN in years now so it doesn't qualify here.

I've read only 9 VNs in 2022, and there weren't many outstanding protagonists in them If I had to choose, then perhaps it would be Tyler from LOOPERS.

Finished Hello Lady and started Tsui no Sora Remake.

ハロー・レディ！
Saku route - The main mysteries are finally answered. But the answers are a trainwreck. The story is lacking a core, like the author is not sure what he wants to tell.
There's some Gundam, Doraemon, Index, and Oreimo reference added in too.
Overall, it's a fun game. But rather lacking in the story and writing.

終ノ空 remake
Chapter 1: Yukito Minakami - We get introduced to our protagonist, Minakami Yukito, and his childhood friend Wakatsuki Kotomi. There are a lot of recurring characters like a teacher that looks good for a bike model, Otonashi Ayana, Takashima Zakuro etc.
When they get to school, they hear rumours of
. Then, we get Yukito reading Kant's Critique of Pure Reason before he gets interrupted by Otonashi-san quoting Tractacus' last line "Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent." This is pretty much Scaji giving his own lecture on philosophy and criticizing Kant for talking metaphysical nonsense.
This entire work is pretty much a lecture from Scaji-sensei. After that, he introduced a bunch of Nietzsche concepts, although he doesn't quote directly. People can't be satisfied with a boring, peaceful life when they have no goal. They need stimulation even if it leads to fear and anxiety. Mamiya's famous speech is slightly different from Subahibi in that it's filled with Nietzsche concepts about how social orders are lies filled to control us like livestock compared to speech about the concept of death in Subahibi. How the concept of good and evil were created to create social caste so that people can feel superior to others by being "good." Morals are decided by the concept of self-interest, but we like to pretend that they are some universal truth that we discovered.
Yukito wonders about the meaninglessness of life. Death comes to all equally, so what meaning is there in living when we are all fated to die? There are people who accept their fate and live quietly until they die, but there are also others who struggle against their fate and try to find meaning in their life. To do that, they have to break out of the norms of society. Then, he argues that just being alive is a blessing by itself even if we are cursed to die.
Chapter 2: Kotomi Wakatsuki - Nothing new here except we get to see things from a different perspective.
Chapter 3: Zakuro Takashima -
This work just reminded me of how much of a genius Scaji is.