Clephas

*summons a giant demon cat, who promptly eats the moe, giving itself heartburn* Welcome to Fuwa.

*welcomes the newcomer with a fountain of blood from the neck of a hobo and three dancing nekololi ninjas* Welcome to Fuwa.

Mapping: When you choose a route through an area, you can either go with the default by just clicking on the point you want to get to (and possibly running into an enemy you don't want to fight) or you can map your route point by point. The latter method is mostly useful in the parts of the game where you have to do something in a very short period of time. As an example, there is a part early in the game where you have to maneuver through an area to rescue civilians from monsters. If you fight a monster along the way, the other monsters will start moving and eat the civvies. So, in order to get the best quest reward, you have to map out a route that avoids all the enemies. You do this by highlighting each point along the route you want to go in order (if you miss one, it resets your efforts) until you come to the point you want to get to. This isn't covered by the tutorials and is only referred to obliquely in the Japanese walkthroughs, so I figured I'd put this down here. Edit: Here are a few early strategies that will help you for the late game. First: Replicate all the early cards at least twenty times. Most of them come in handy for alchemy later on, letting you create items that will be useful to you later. In addition, keep all the coins and other items that seem only good for selling. Just playing the game you'll have more than enough money to get what you want, as long as you aren't overly greedy. Many of those items get used in late-game or second-run alchemy for high-level special character and leader cards. Second: Build yourself a varied stock of cards of all types. The mid and late game arena has a lot of special conditions to some of its battles. Third: Protag's Finishing Art is only useful at first glance. Narumi's is far more useful when it comes to dealing with late-game enemies, so having her as your partner for boss battles is a life-saver. With her help, it is relatively easy to clear the bosses' most powerful allies. Fourth: Do NOT play the Demon route your first or second time. Get the other two routes out of your way first, so you can access the EX scenario as early as possible. That EX scenario is the only way you can get non-protag leader cards and the Control 2 protag card.

http://vndb.org/v13188 I'll be starting this as my first game for December, tomorrow after I'm done with my fourth playthrough of Soukoku no Arterial (just finished all three paths and all the extra content/bosses/goodies, want to get one more heroine ending)

Short common route, long individual routes, or no splits whatsoever with a single path (no crappy side-heroine paths like in G-senjou).

lol, I didn't mean it as an insult to moege. I use it as a derogatory term frequently, but in this case, I'm referring to it as a simple descriptor. There are lots of VN-lovers who like the gooey stuff, after all.

Some VNs do fine without them, some don't. Personally, I think that all characters should have voices, if they are going to have voices in the first place *is referring to the lack of protagonist voices in most VNs*.

My prejudice against English and for Japanese VA comes from having begun watching anime in the early nineties, when Japan already had a viable professional VA community and the US didn't. I saw so many terrible dubs over the years that I got to where I can't stand watching dubs for anything that has the original language. Also, I find Japanese to be a prettier and more interesting language to listen to, overall. lol

Moege are VNs that exist only to provide fanservice, archetypical heroines (like tsundere, Kud-style lolis, and osananajimi), and general cuteness/soft and gooey emotional drama (though not to the extent Key lays it on, usually).

*eats a hobo in celebration of the new arrival, smiling with the poor fellow's foot still sticking out of his mouth before biting it off at the ankle* Welcome to Fuwa.

*adds the loli to his army of loli warriors, devoted to the extermination of lolicons everywhere* Welcome to Fuwa.

Second Post: 2nd playthrough benefits: First, you get to keep everything that isn't a key item related to story progression, including your experience and party levels. The level cap is increased from 9 to Z (essentially level 35). In addition, you gain access to the cameo side-stories from the append discs, like obtaining the protagonists from Himegari and Kamidori, as well as Haishiera from the Ikusa Megami series (in Zero she is one of those cliched rpg bosses that you aren't supposed to beat, who treat you like a small child by letting you hit them a few times then wiping you out in a single hit). You can also activate 'clone mode', which lets you keep all your characters and their accompanying skills. For those wondering when the final skill for most characters is activated, most are activated at level A, in the second playthrough. All levels past 9 require the same amount of experience to raise, and since you should have Madoka's exp modifier on you from the beginning, regardless of what path you chose, it is fairly easy to level up steadily as you go. Suggestions: Play the human and angel paths first, as completing those gives you the items to synthesize a special item necessary for accessing Shuuya's final leader card, certain secret characters, as well as the other Append disc 3 benefits. A last few words: For those who can't read kanji on their own, use the agth code, even though regular conversation show up in ITH. The agth code also lets you access item, skill, and other info.

Yeah, that is why I generally suggest it. It is the best non-moege to start playing VNs in Japanese with. Relatively simple language for most of the game makes it an easy way to begin. Asking me for a tailored recommendation when you just want something easy will just have me suggest either this or a random moege. Edit: I might also suggest http://vndb.org/v100 if you wanted something softer (violence-wise). As non-Key nakige go, it is pretty good. The language is also relatively easy.

Don't worry, I despise the entire human race, and yet I still managed to make friends here. *juggles flaming scimitars and dances the welcome dance*

I probably should have said this before, but this is an excellent choice of games to translate. Though, I do think some things won't translate or will be difficult to translate. If I have a suggestion for yall, it would be to beef up on your art terms vocab, as well as figure out the painting names (the old paintings are mostly real ones, so it would be nice if you had it right). This game will present a unique challenge to translate, but then all VNs that aren't moege present their own challenges...lol

*unleashes a blast of evil power that pulverizes a thousand lolis into a crimson paste, then makes soup* Welcome to Fuwa.

I figured I'd put together a bit of info about the game in general and the battle system in particular for those interested in playing this game. The Game: This game is a VN with a card-style battle system. It is a fantasy VN with a fairly grim story and a pretty varied cast of characters. There are three possible paths to proceed through the game: the angel, demon, and human paths. Each of these paths splits off at the same point, and the basic story for each varies drastically, though certain common factors can be observed. For those who played Kamidori and Himegari, you'll notice a much higher quality of writing, as well as more interesting characters. For those who have played the Ikusa Megami series, you might find it a bit less satisfying (since those are Eushully's best games). The Battle System: Though most of the system shows up in ITH when you use the h-code, allowing you to actually read the tutorial, I'll summarize the battle system for those who have some trouble with it. First, the battles are set down on a grid with two rows and three columns. The leader card, which is also the card that needs to survive for you to win the battle, is placed on the field from the beginning of the battle. All cards possess four major parameters (I'll ignore special skills for the moment). These are HP (in yellow - or LP, in the case of the leader card), Attack Power (red-kougekiryoku), Control power (shihairyoku), and Cost. To put a card on the field, the spot you want to place it in has to have a Control power equivalent to or greater than its Cost. You can increase the Control power of a space by placing other cards (living being ones) in adjacent spaces. Since in the early game most cards only have a Control power of 1, that means the spaces adjacent to one such card will usually have only one Control power, allowing for the placing of a card with a Cost of 1 only. To increase it, you have to place other cards around that space, thus allowing you to place cards with a cost of 2 or three by surrounding that space from two or three sides. Later in the game, cards with a Control power of 2 appear, (most with a Cost of 3 have a Control Power of 2), allowing you to potentially put down cards with a Cost of 4 (the highest). Though it is a general rule that cards with high cost are more powerful than those below them, there are exceptions, and it is possible to make lower cost cards as powerful as them by equipping items on them. In battle, there are three stages to your turn. The first is card movement, where you can move a card one space in any direction that is unoccupied on your side (though the leader can move into an occupied space and send the card to the graveyard). The second is card placement, where you place cards from your hand onto your side of the field. The last is attack. In the attack phase, you can use the cards in your front row to attack any enemy card in a space in front of them or to either side (a card on the right side of the field can attack the enemy center or right, for instance). Battles are concluded by defeating the enemy leader card. Note on Replication: The protagonist's card gains the ability to replicate enemy cards early on in the game, by defeating them with his leader card. This is VERY useful, both for reinforcing your deck, for getting money (by selling them), and for gathering cards for fusion later on. Characters and levels: When characters gain levels, it fundamentally just gains you an extra of their first card and possibly a new skill or level of an existing skill. Also, some conversation events can only be accessed by characters reaching a certain level. Party Level: This is increased by fighting. Each battle nets you a certain number of points that goes to increase this. Increasing this lets you purchase more items, equipment, and even battle cards at the shops. I really suggest you get this to 5 or 6 in the prologue or first chapter, simply because you need certain special items only sold then to access certain conversation events. For those wondering which path they should take on their first playthrough, I'd advise you against taking the Demon path if you aren't ready for a darker story - and a darker protag. Edit: Here is a list of heroine endings you can get on each path. Angel: Mehiisha, Madoka, Mirai, Arisa, Shanel, Narumi, Akari Demon: Akari, Sayone Human: Narumi, Mirai, Arisa, Shanel, Akari Edit: Highest cost is actually 6, but considering the effort it takes to get a space ready for it, I can't see anyone bothering with them until your third playthrough, when you have the possibility (if you did the Angel and Human routes first) of obtaining the leader card with a control of 2. Edit2: Basic strategy for late-game bosses, in particular ones with regen ability. You should focus from the beginning on just getting rid of their servant cards, until they can't put anymore down, then shave the boss's hp with a three-point attack until he goes down. Since most late-game bosses have the greater part of their decks composed of cost 3 cards and have a control of 2, once you've disposed of enough of their allies, they won't be able to put down anymore of their cards, if they used up their 2 and 1 cards. Because of this, eliminating any cost 3 or 4 cards that start out on the field becomes a priority, as the presence of such cards allows the bosses to bring more such cards onto the field. Once you've gotten rid of these cards, I suggest retreating your protag to the back, if he has less than 60 LP left, and leaving it to your front line. Also, keep at least one control 2 card in the back to let you summon higher-level cards more easily, because otherwise you'll be slowed down significantly. Edit2 part 2: Incidentally, a lot of cards can level up, opening up higher hp, attack, and/or slots for item equipping. I seriously suggest you level up such cards, while getting the more basic cards that can't equip items out of your deck as early as possible. I'd suggest getting the cost 1 succubus card leveled up, as that will take the place of the mineral giant you can get early in the game once those cards are leveled. This will cover battles where using human cards isn't possible, such as in the arena. Really, I suggest you get at least one cost 1 card type from each race type fully leveled, to give you varied possibilities for arena battles and the like. Edit2 Part 3: Late in the game, it is quite possible to auto-battle most battles. As long as you aren't trying replicate a particular card, this is an ideal way of getting alchemy items, experience, jisseki (the points that up your party level) and the like. I seriously suggest that you get at least 20 of every card you can replicate if you have the time, as it will make things easier in later playthroughs or when you want to use alchemy to make items, equipment, or cards.

*eats a loli in greeting*

Welcome.

One thing I love about this kind of thread, it really shows the tastes of those who post in it. Obviously, I have a thing for fantasy-heavy plots, for instance...

http://vndb.org/v1552 This one is decent, is mostly everyday terms, and tends to range from a 4-5. Sorry to say, but VNs with great stories generally stick around 5-8.

There is no such thing... theoretically, if one were to make a VN for the sake of teaching small children their hiragana, you might make a level 1 VN... haha. You generally won't see any VN with a difficulty below 3... and as an example, look up the company name 'Norn', lol.

*uses foodbolg, his beloved enchanted stomach, thus allowing him to eat the moe before it can appear*

Welcome.