adamstan

I want to read Amatsutsumi, but in Japanese all-ages edition, so it seems that my only choice is PSV version.
If Sekai's edition was bilingual, I'd probably get it from GOG.
(Some of the sexual tags seen on vndb are quite a turn-off for me, so hentai version is out of the question - especially when that's coupled with "Long Sexual Scenes" tag )

Yesterday I finished Loopers. 
What can I say - it's pretty typical KEY story in a short format, with all pros and cons that come with it.
I loved it - but I'm easily moved, and I like KEY formula, so the fact that this VN adheres to it didn't bother me at all I think the fairy tale prologue sets the mood perfectly, and it tells what this story actually is, allowing to adjust expectations.

Because I have to admit, seeing the premise and R07 as main writer, it's easy to expect more, and then get disappointed - which can be seen in some reviews.
I think it's a similar case like with ATRI and PARQUET - the setting isn't the main point, it's just a stage to tell a story. And while surely R07 added his own flavor to it, especially in the early chapters, this is still unmistakably KEY story. Needless to say, it fulfilled its "nakige" mission, making my eyes teary many times.
I think the closest to this from the "big" KEY VNs would be Little Busters - there are some clearly visible parallels. But at the same time it isn't just "LB! abridged"
I think this was first VN I read that in addition to voiced MC featured third person narration. That was nice, made it more "novel-like" I guess
Art is nice, music and voices too, although the voices have too much of dynamic range - some shouted lines are waaaay to loud.
To sum it up - YMMV, but for me it was 8/10.
If you're not tired of the KEY formula yet, want another dose, but don't have time for behemots such as Clannad or Summer Pockets - go for it

There's English translation available in Switch version, and unofficial patch that ports this translation to the PC version. There's also multi-language Steam version in the works, but no release date yet
I played Japanese PC version, so I cannot say much about TL quality. Reportedly there are some errors, but it's not bad.

Recently I downloaded update for the Vita3k (PSV emulator), and was pleasantly surprised at the progress it made - many VNs that I wanted to try out but weren't working are now completely playable.
Therefore I think that for my next VN I might go with either Hoshi Ori Yume Mirai or Hatsuyuki Sakura.
Sadly, AstralAir no Shiroki Towa boots up, but then freezes on the title screen, so that one has to wait
Or perhaps the time has come to tackle the White Album 2?
Too many options and too big of a backlog!

Yeah, but that point would be moot, or even void, because things like 3D OELVNS clearly have audience Although I guess the person making such argument probably wouldn't acknowledge their existence, or do not consider them "true" VNs

Perhaps it was available on vnds in the past? I'm not sure if vndb still shows vnds ports.
Air was actually the first vn with h-scenes that I played. It was definitely a very weird experience. Especially with how out of place most of them were.
Ps. Also, I remember reading somewhere that originally Air was supposed to be an all-ages vn, and the h-scenes were added at the very last moment.

H-scenes in KEY games are so bad and out of place that they just ruin the experience. It's no wonder that KEY removed them even for subsequent PC releases (Memorial/Perfect Editions etc). But what can I know - to each their own porn I guess, even if it's the shittiest kind of porn squeezed into an otherwise great story in a desperate attempt to boost sales
 

I strongly disagree with this.

^"If you're not tired of the KEY formula yet, want another dose, but don't have time for behemots such as Clannad or Summer Pockets - go for it"

Sold. I already have Loopers on my Switch but haven't gotten around to it; but I'll definitely move it up on my to-do-list 😛 

~~
AI: Nirvana Initiative was good. If you liked the general reading experience from The Somnium Files you should be able to enjoy this as well.
The Somniums can be solved more logically this time around instead of having to trial and error yolo choosing random actions and hoping for the best so that's a plus.
The dual-protagonist system is... unfortunate; splitting screentime between Mizuki and Ryuki definitely imo weakens the both of them than if the VN focused on just one of them. Ryuki was aight, but ngl would've totally preferred Mizuki to be the sole protagonist cuz bias
The big twist... was a whole bunch of "...that's it?", especially with how it'll literally, and I mean quite literally, be told to you upfront in plain English handholding spoonfed style after a certain part in the story. It's VERY underwhelming.

8/10. I gave the first game 8.5/10. The first game just keeps you hooked with the always-a-step-behind murder mystery. Second game tries to be grand with the whole Nirvana Initiative plotline and falls flat

~~
Currently reading the most randomest thing ever, Making*Lovers. If you're ever in the mood for a legit dating sim where the narrative is all about a modern day no-relationship-experience whatsoever young adult male protagonist meeting a likewise no-relationship-experience whatsoever heroine by some contrived circumstantial chance, they awkwardly hit it off, but slowly and surely fall in love as they get to know each other and involve in each others' lives, this thing will be quite a treat. No overarching plot or common routes here, the entire focus of this VN will be on the protag and the heroine of your choice's fated encounter and blossoming romance.

If you don't got a thing for the sassy just-an-acquaintance from the good ol' college days, ya oughta rethink your life decisions:


 

Yesterday I finished Loopers. 
What can I say - it's pretty typical KEY story in a short format, with all pros and cons that come with it.
I loved it - but I'm easily moved, and I like KEY formula, so the fact that this VN adheres to it didn't bother me at all I think the fairy tale prologue sets the mood perfectly, and it tells what this story actually is, allowing to adjust expectations.

Because I have to admit, seeing the premise and R07 as main writer, it's easy to expect more, and then get disappointed - which can be seen in some reviews.
I think it's a similar case like with ATRI and PARQUET - the setting isn't the main point, it's just a stage to tell a story. And while surely R07 added his own flavor to it, especially in the early chapters, this is still unmistakably KEY story. Needless to say, it fulfilled its "nakige" mission, making my eyes teary many times.
I think the closest to this from the "big" KEY VNs would be Little Busters - there are some clearly visible parallels. But at the same time it isn't just "LB! abridged"
I think this was first VN I read that in addition to voiced MC featured third person narration. That was nice, made it more "novel-like" I guess
Art is nice, music and voices too, although the voices have too much of dynamic range - some shouted lines are waaaay to loud.
To sum it up - YMMV, but for me it was 8/10.
If you're not tired of the KEY formula yet, want another dose, but don't have time for behemots such as Clannad or Summer Pockets - go for it

There's English translation available in Switch version, and unofficial patch that ports this translation to the PC version. There's also multi-language Steam version in the works, but no release date yet
I played Japanese PC version, so I cannot say much about TL quality. Reportedly there are some errors, but it's not bad.

Yesterday I finished Loopers. 
What can I say - it's pretty typical KEY story in a short format, with all pros and cons that come with it.
I loved it - but I'm easily moved, and I like KEY formula, so the fact that this VN adheres to it didn't bother me at all I think the fairy tale prologue sets the mood perfectly, and it tells what this story actually is, allowing to adjust expectations.

Because I have to admit, seeing the premise and R07 as main writer, it's easy to expect more, and then get disappointed - which can be seen in some reviews.
I think it's a similar case like with ATRI and PARQUET - the setting isn't the main point, it's just a stage to tell a story. And while surely R07 added his own flavor to it, especially in the early chapters, this is still unmistakably KEY story. Needless to say, it fulfilled its "nakige" mission, making my eyes teary many times.
I think the closest to this from the "big" KEY VNs would be Little Busters - there are some clearly visible parallels. But at the same time it isn't just "LB! abridged"
I think this was first VN I read that in addition to voiced MC featured third person narration. That was nice, made it more "novel-like" I guess
Art is nice, music and voices too, although the voices have too much of dynamic range - some shouted lines are waaaay to loud.
To sum it up - YMMV, but for me it was 8/10.
If you're not tired of the KEY formula yet, want another dose, but don't have time for behemots such as Clannad or Summer Pockets - go for it

There's English translation available in Switch version, and unofficial patch that ports this translation to the PC version. There's also multi-language Steam version in the works, but no release date yet
I played Japanese PC version, so I cannot say much about TL quality. Reportedly there are some errors, but it's not bad.

Yesterday I finished Loopers. 
What can I say - it's pretty typical KEY story in a short format, with all pros and cons that come with it.
I loved it - but I'm easily moved, and I like KEY formula, so the fact that this VN adheres to it didn't bother me at all I think the fairy tale prologue sets the mood perfectly, and it tells what this story actually is, allowing to adjust expectations.

Because I have to admit, seeing the premise and R07 as main writer, it's easy to expect more, and then get disappointed - which can be seen in some reviews.
I think it's a similar case like with ATRI and PARQUET - the setting isn't the main point, it's just a stage to tell a story. And while surely R07 added his own flavor to it, especially in the early chapters, this is still unmistakably KEY story. Needless to say, it fulfilled its "nakige" mission, making my eyes teary many times.
I think the closest to this from the "big" KEY VNs would be Little Busters - there are some clearly visible parallels. But at the same time it isn't just "LB! abridged"
I think this was first VN I read that in addition to voiced MC featured third person narration. That was nice, made it more "novel-like" I guess
Art is nice, music and voices too, although the voices have too much of dynamic range - some shouted lines are waaaay to loud.
To sum it up - YMMV, but for me it was 8/10.
If you're not tired of the KEY formula yet, want another dose, but don't have time for behemots such as Clannad or Summer Pockets - go for it

There's English translation available in Switch version, and unofficial patch that ports this translation to the PC version. There's also multi-language Steam version in the works, but no release date yet
I played Japanese PC version, so I cannot say much about TL quality. Reportedly there are some errors, but it's not bad.

Yesterday I finished Loopers. 
What can I say - it's pretty typical KEY story in a short format, with all pros and cons that come with it.
I loved it - but I'm easily moved, and I like KEY formula, so the fact that this VN adheres to it didn't bother me at all I think the fairy tale prologue sets the mood perfectly, and it tells what this story actually is, allowing to adjust expectations.

Because I have to admit, seeing the premise and R07 as main writer, it's easy to expect more, and then get disappointed - which can be seen in some reviews.
I think it's a similar case like with ATRI and PARQUET - the setting isn't the main point, it's just a stage to tell a story. And while surely R07 added his own flavor to it, especially in the early chapters, this is still unmistakably KEY story. Needless to say, it fulfilled its "nakige" mission, making my eyes teary many times.
I think the closest to this from the "big" KEY VNs would be Little Busters - there are some clearly visible parallels. But at the same time it isn't just "LB! abridged"
I think this was first VN I read that in addition to voiced MC featured third person narration. That was nice, made it more "novel-like" I guess
Art is nice, music and voices too, although the voices have too much of dynamic range - some shouted lines are waaaay to loud.
To sum it up - YMMV, but for me it was 8/10.
If you're not tired of the KEY formula yet, want another dose, but don't have time for behemots such as Clannad or Summer Pockets - go for it

There's English translation available in Switch version, and unofficial patch that ports this translation to the PC version. There's also multi-language Steam version in the works, but no release date yet
I played Japanese PC version, so I cannot say much about TL quality. Reportedly there are some errors, but it's not bad.

Oh, well, I personally like all kinds of artstyles, although if you'd ask me for my favourites, they'd likely turn out to not be non-anime, but more stylized/unconventional spins on anime art... Like Steins;Gate for example. The point being, I'm a weeb, I like anime-style things and most people that will ever look at a visual novel for more than 5 seconds are either like me or Japanese.
From their very beginnings, Japanese VNs had a pretty strong connections to anime and they are made primarily for Japanese readers, who seem to be pretty conservative with their tastes. Non-JP VNs are made primarily for weebs, often very explicitly copying Japanese media to appeal to Western otaku. While writing about VNs I always advocated for non-JP devs to avoid being copycats, but mostly in the sense of creating their own narratives and experimenting with style. I don't think rejecting anime art is needed that much, the thing you should probably try to avoid is being generic and uninspired, which a lot of VNs (from all sources) are. Plus VNs, no matter who makes them, are currently offering very thin profit margins, sadly making anything more than mild experimentation quite a big risk. You can make a non-anime one, but unless you absolutely nail the presentation, it might very easily appeal to no one – the weebs or JP otakus won't like the departure from what they usually enjoy and the broader audience still won't find your "waifu power point presentation" interesting enough to check out. Thus, I don't think VNs can really free themselves from anime art, or have much reason to do so. They won't get meainstream any time soon, considering they didn't already and the younger generations generally have the attention spans of gerbils.

I think this is from a Western tour of some sorts? It seems like Yagami is one of those rare Japanese musicians that worked with Western producers and toured outside of Japan early on... And maybe I'm off, but it's hard for me to see a reason anyone would televise this, it's probably some kind of VHS or Laserdisc rip? It just circulates without context on YouTube. 

Somewhere in April I started Akane Iro ni Somaru Saka, but just after the prologue I got distracted/interrupted by moving to a new flat, and haven't been able to resume it yet.
 
Meanwhile, the "Loopers Book Club" formed on wanikani forums, so I jumped on and started reading Loopers today. I just completed the prologue, and so far I'm liking what I'm seeing
 
I'm playing JP version from DLSite, but there's bi-lingual Switch version released, and Steam port in works, so it's possible to play this VN in English too.
 

Looks like Junko Yagami is one hell of a live performer. :3

For the first time, I tried DeepL.

English not being my mother language, I first tried it with English-mother language (based on alphabet) : it was astonishing. I can't say it was perfect, but honestly I was impressed.

I then decided to try it with Japanese (one chapter of a LN to be precise) : and again, I was impressed. The result was far lower in quality than my first attempt, but nonetheless, it was probably the best MTL I've ever seen. Also, note that the chapter I used had only a few dialogues, maybe it would have been a different result with a VN having a lot of them.

Oh, well, but everything I just said is quite well known I guess... then why do I post this ?

It's simple : I just wanted to warn the people that use DeepL, be it for VN or anything else. There's a deep flaw going with it : it is too good in a certain sense.

Too good ? WTH ? Well, DeepL seems to be able to give sense to a sentence most of the time. Yeah, give sense even if the translation fails (partially or completely), and you the reader might not notice because the sentence might even make some sense in the context, just that it has not the sense it is supposed to. While the Google Translation lot would most likely just send you an unintelligible text that would at least warn you of the failure.

I'm not sure there's a workaround, but I guess one should try, if possible, to use at least two engines in parallel and hoping to get the better of them.
Note : my level at reading Japanese is quite high when we are speaking of reading VN/LN/Mangas etc. I'm positive I encounter very few passages I'm not correctly understanding and, when this happens, I generally know enough to get that I missed something, allowing me to do a bit of research if I feel like it. I'm not sure how I would fare with true literature for example (a lot less good I presume, but I guess it would depend of the writing). Also, when possible I'm still using a text hooker to help me seek out the few kanjis or words I might not know or remember.

Here's a hot take
How the hell did Subahibi get an overwhelming majority 9+/10 ratings (avg 8.68) on VNDB?
Yeah, sure, innocent lighthearted SoL beginnings turned GOTCHA! pyschological multiple viewpoints wtfmux that rabbit?! delusional EnDSkY savior bonanza
But nothing that made me feel like goddamn, this is a 10/10 masterpiece!@#. 
I gave it a 7/Good. Gets too rapey at times. And Takuji can go suck it.

~~
I feel bad for people who followed 9-Nine since its first episode released in 2017 and had to wait until 2020+ to get the final episode. Idk how episodic releases fare against just making one complete VN, but whatever floats your boat. I got the luxury of finding out about this VN in 2022, so huzzah me, can just marathon the whole thing!
9 9 was fun. It's another modern day high school setting with a dash of the supernatural/superpowers. Good balance of highschool SoL Romance and Supernatural Overarching Plot Build Up to keep things interesting, with 4 Episodes to keep ya busy and add to the superpower lore(each Episode is dedicated to one of the 4 heroines, yee Enforced Route Playthroughs). The payoff when you finally get to Episode 4 is similar to, if not only a fraction of, the payoff you'd get from making the trek from Muv Luv to Muv Luv Alternate. Things can get pretty high stakes and epic, just don't uh, overload. Heh.

7/10 Ep 1-2,
8/10 Ep 3,
9/10 Ep 4.
~~ 
I was gonna do a misc. thoughts for both Subahibi and 9-Nine, but uhhh I kinda got too lazy, srrz. And I kinda just wanna start reading:
 

Call me a hipster, but I'm often quite amazed with how good indie JP music can be, up to most obscure artists... At least when it goes to electronic pop, they seem to be in a league of their own. ^^

Snow's translator here. No, really.

The VN's very reminiscent of Kanon, and I would say the story is better. The individual routes are more interconnected too. For an old nakige, it's a good read so long as you're okay with SoL.
And I recommend waiting 2 weeks from now before playing it so I can finish my own readthrough/check. There's still typos and stuff that need fixing. We'll update the patch files afterwards.

Our project head kind of rushed the release.

It seems to be nakige, and I love those, so I'm looking forward to play it - actually it has been sitting on my wishlist for some time already. But I'm probably going to read PSP or PS2 version
I saw some people complaining that it's a Kanon rip-off, but I don't care

Two days ago I finished Aonatsu Line
It's very nice "coming of age" story, with great friendship vibe between characters. I especially loved common route for that. All characters are present and important in every route, which is another big plus.
Yui's and Kotone's routes are "feel-good" routes, featuring some sweet romance, and light drama. One could say, that's "moege standard", but it was executed very well - at least it worked for me, giving me wonderful warm, fuzzy feeling Kind of side-routes, but very nice.
Miki's route is more serious and longer, her being the main heroine. Apart from (obviously) romance between Tatsumi and Miki, it's also focused on the relationship between Tatsumi, Miki and Chihiro. And that leads to the next highlight of this VN - very good MC's male friend character. Chihiro is actually pretty serious and important character, not another Sunohara-wannabe comic relief.
Now for the (minor) downsides. This VN lacks after-route epilogues. While no deal-breaker, I always kind of wait for them...
Completing all three routes unlocks short bonus story after credits, and while walkthroughs sometimes call it "True End" it isn't one - it's actually "bonus prologue", showing four short scenes from the first day of school from the POV of four main characters - Yui, Kotone, Chihiro and Miki. Nice little touch, but I'd prefer full-fledged epilogues still...
Another thing I missed are sprites for side characters. There are only four sprites in the whole game - three heroines and Chihiro. Thankfuly all "NPCs" are voiced, but I'd like to see them as well.
And that's it - it took me 36 hours to read this in Japanese (without text hooking, because it didn't work on emulated version), so it isn't long VN.
To sum up - nice atmosphere, cute heroines, great friendship vibe, and some minor drawbacks - that makes it 8/10 for me   I guess that my initial impression of this having similar atmosphere to Konosora was because of the "coming of age story" + "friendship" combination.
I hope that one day Alka translations team manages to overcome technical issues and translate this nice VN, so more people can enjoy it. I actually think it deserves official release - maybe NekoNyan could pick it up?

Two days ago I finished Aonatsu Line
It's very nice "coming of age" story, with great friendship vibe between characters. I especially loved common route for that. All characters are present and important in every route, which is another big plus.
Yui's and Kotone's routes are "feel-good" routes, featuring some sweet romance, and light drama. One could say, that's "moege standard", but it was executed very well - at least it worked for me, giving me wonderful warm, fuzzy feeling Kind of side-routes, but very nice.
Miki's route is more serious and longer, her being the main heroine. Apart from (obviously) romance between Tatsumi and Miki, it's also focused on the relationship between Tatsumi, Miki and Chihiro. And that leads to the next highlight of this VN - very good MC's male friend character. Chihiro is actually pretty serious and important character, not another Sunohara-wannabe comic relief.
Now for the (minor) downsides. This VN lacks after-route epilogues. While no deal-breaker, I always kind of wait for them...
Completing all three routes unlocks short bonus story after credits, and while walkthroughs sometimes call it "True End" it isn't one - it's actually "bonus prologue", showing four short scenes from the first day of school from the POV of four main characters - Yui, Kotone, Chihiro and Miki. Nice little touch, but I'd prefer full-fledged epilogues still...
Another thing I missed are sprites for side characters. There are only four sprites in the whole game - three heroines and Chihiro. Thankfuly all "NPCs" are voiced, but I'd like to see them as well.
And that's it - it took me 36 hours to read this in Japanese (without text hooking, because it didn't work on emulated version), so it isn't long VN.
To sum up - nice atmosphere, cute heroines, great friendship vibe, and some minor drawbacks - that makes it 8/10 for me   I guess that my initial impression of this having similar atmosphere to Konosora was because of the "coming of age story" + "friendship" combination.
I hope that one day Alka translations team manages to overcome technical issues and translate this nice VN, so more people can enjoy it. I actually think it deserves official release - maybe NekoNyan could pick it up?

I agree, the merging of dating sims with adventure games was an interesting development that was central in creating VNs. If you go back to the Sound Novel era with stuff like Kamaitachi no Yoru, it's not immediately obvious that the two genres (sound novels and dating sims) would work so well together. But because of that hybrid, VNs went in the direction where choices effect the direction the narrative goes, choose your adventure book style. Currently I'm playing some retro point and click games, and its interesting how open to exploration they are, but the structure of the story is more linear as you pointed out. 

Yes, that's right. Starting in '90s, adventure games started to have more and more developed stories, and puzzles ceased to be the main point
 
I think one of the reasons for going different ways might be influence of dating sims - which also gave birth to the concept of "routes". Western adventure games just kind of evolved on their own, and stayed linear most of the time, while VNs started as a hybrid between adventure and a dating sim.