Loli-Clephas recently emerged from Clephas' mouth, beginning a reign of terror in which billions have already perished, their blood staining her massive metal teeth, their flesh sliding down her throat. As the universe trembles at the unleashing of this, the most beautiful and terrible of all the monsters ever conceived in the depths of the Abyss, Clephas himself is busy playing VNs for his VN of the Month blog, having allowed his female self free reign to indulge her hungers for the first time in several billion years.
Unfortunately for the otakus of the world, because the true Clephas wasn't paying attention, Loli-Clephas began her invasion of the 2D realm, devouring all of the heroines that the true Clephas hadn't claimed as his own, leaving a barren wasteland of VNs, role-playing games, and strategy-rpgs void of heroines, only white spaces and a few drops of animated blood left behind.
Even now, Akibahara's denizens weep with despair, as their favorite heroines have vanished from their precious goods, the heads of their figures bitten off, their dakimakuras pure white, and their mousepads now flat and solid black.
While Clephas has become aware of the situation, the power of 2D has tilted toward his loli-self, and the upcoming battle looks fit to erase this universe entirely from existence. The true Clephas rises from the depths of his eroge-hazed fog, his eyes blazing with an infinite hunger and love to match that of his counterpart, and the fabric of reality begins to resonate with the power of the two great monsters.
Which of the endless devourers shall dominate the Infinite Stomach?!
Naoko is the protagonist's adopted big sister. She has an extremely straightforward personality, and she tends to spoil the protagonist rotten while thinking she's doing the reverse.
Unfortunately, her path, like Kirsti's, is lacking in the kind of ending drama that tended to characterize Minato's two big hits. I don't know whether they did it deliberately or not, but the path left me feeling unsatisfied, despite the fact that the VN as a whole is at least moderately amusing.
Harem
The harem path is basically this side-route where the protagonist doesn't choose Naoko or Kirsti and ends up in H-situations with about half the cast of females. There is no real content to it, except for somewhat forced situations that end up in the protagonist having sex with one or another of the girls. To be honest, after playing this, I almost thought the VN as a whole was a nukige.
A few words before I dig into the common route. Minato-soft is known primarily for its comedy/drama large-scale charages, Majikoi and Tsujidou-san. These two are characterized by a unique style of characterization that goes more for comic relief than is standard with most VN-makers, as well as a tendency toward over-powered heroines who can take on the world by themselves (all three main heroines of Tsujidou, Momoka in Majikoi, and Kirsti in this one). This one is no exception, so those who played Majikoi will probably be unsurprised by the 'feel' of the character and character interactions.
Common Route
On the other hand, unlike other Minato-soft VNs, this one's common route takes up over half of the game as a whole (close to to two-thirds). With another company this would probably not be so much of a downer, but considering the degree to which Minato-soft wrote each main heroine route on a medium to large scale in each of its previous works, this was more than a little disappointing. The common route is fairly long (think about 1.2 times as long as the average moege/charage common route) and is mostly made up of familiar Minatosoft-style fights, slice-of-life, etc. However, despite the fact that the bulk of the game is in the common route, it doesn't feel like there is all that much substance to it, sadly.
Kirsti
I'll be blunt. Kirsti herself is basically a Finnish Momoka with the best elements of Tsujidou and Rena grafted on (in other words, she has Momoka's type of power, with the other two's leadership capabilities). So, don't be surprised if she feels familiar after only a few scenes, because you aren't imagining it. Sadly, her route is... bland. Once actually on her path, I finished it in around an hour and a half... and there was none of the really cool drama I'm accustomed to seeing from main heroines in Minato Soft's games. They are either setting this game up for another huge fandisc or they departed from the best part of their formula, for whatever reason.
For Next time
Look forward to Naoko's and the Harem route next time.
First, for those of you who are fans of the Steampunk Liar-soft games, this isn't one of them. Rather, it is based on an alternative version of the 1920's where curses, magic, and monsters exist and the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 never happened. Japan has come away from its first major military contacts with the outside world as the victor over Russia, which is making its bloody transition from Empire to communist state.
Garan, one of the two protagonists, is a tengu... as arrogant as tengu are by legend ('to become a tengu' is a byword for someone whose ego has gotten way out of hand, incidentally). He is arrogant, dismissive of mortal concerns, and naturally believes himself to be the ultimate creature in existence on the face of the Earth. In opposition, Kitora is a gentle girl who works selling meat-waste that is used as cat food door-to-door. Kitora is... a bit of an airhead who is very slow to anger and whose anger doesn't last long. Through a set of somewhat absurd events, she ends up as Garan's slave, which would have been a lot more hilarious if Garan wasn't quite so serious about it.
Generally speaking, this VN resembles a cross between an occult intrigue story and a blown-out-of-proportion chuuni plot (though Garan's personality makes it difficult for him to fit in as a chuunige protag). Anyone who watched the 1980's and 1990's animes, such as Tokyo Megalopolis, based in the same era will recognize a lot of the basic themes... and they might possibly find themselves laughing at the way the game deliberately lampoons a lot of the tropes of said anime.
Like most Liar-soft games made since the beginning of the Steam-punk series' reign of fame, this VN mixes deadly serious plot twists with frequent absurdity and overblown narrative tongue-twisters. As such, the narrative is something of an acquired taste. To be honest, I had an immense desire to hit something after a lot of the scenes in the game, and I frequently found myself disliking Garan, despite the fact that his personality traits would normally have made him an attractive character to me.
Despite all that, for Liar-soft fans, this is pure VN-crack. What it lacks in some areas it makes up for in others, and the fact that is based in pre-WWII Japan makes it all the more fascinating as a window into the culture of that time (albeit one mixed with supernatural oddities like tengu, oni, and onmyouji). For most readers, the downside of the VN will probably be the protagonists, an unusual occurence - to say the least - in a VN with definite chuunige leanings. It goes without saying, of course, that this VN is higher on the reading-difficulty scale than most other VNs, and I wouldn't recommend this as something to take on on a whim.
For those with an aversion to that kind of thing, there is rape in this VN, and it is mostly told from the woman's point of view (in fact, all the h-scenes are from the woman's point of view). This is just a mild warning.
I've said about as much as I can say without spoiling the VN... so have fun.
For those who are interested: The results of the poll are in, and the first VN for March's releases will be the new Minato-soft game.
Since I'm playing Teito Hiten for VN of the Year 2014 right now, I decided to let the fans of my VN of the Month thread decide which VN I'll play first from March. These are the three I considered. One is from Saga Planets, another from Rosebleu, and the last is from Minato Soft. Since these three are companies I actually pay attention to, these were my first choices to play, from March's releases. Whichever has the most votes by the time I get done with Teito Hiten wins and will be played/reviewed first.
After careful - extremely careful - consideration, I have chosen Nanairo Reincarnation as VN of the Year 2014. The runners-up were Semiramis no Tenbin and Bradyon Veda.
2014's top ten, based on quality with a 70% emphasis on story elements, a fifteen percent emphasis on sound, and a fifteen percent emphasis on visuals.
1. Nanairo Reincarnation
2. Bradyon Veda
3. Hoshi Ori Yume Mirai (yes, I didn't list this one as a runner-up, because I was physically incapable of doing so)
4. Semiramis no Tenbin
5. Hikoukigumo no Mukougawa
6. Satsukoi
7. Houkago no Futekikakusha
8. Hello, Lady
9. Kami no Ue no Mahoutsukai
10. AstralAir no Shiroki Towa
Story element evaluations were split fifty-fifty between intellectual and emotional impact. Ideally, any given story should touch upon the intellect and the emotions, leaving an 'imprint' behind.
I've been playing this one off and on since it came out, but I went ahead and finished it today.
To be honest, this game's difficulty level is about three levels higher than either of the previous ones, whereas the actual gameplay isn't improved all that much from the second one. The addition of a town-building element just made the game tedious, rather than adding anything to it.
Story wise... a good beginning, some good moments in the center, and a last part that falls flat on its face. The final antagonist is too flat, and the last boss battle is fairly anticlimactic. I'll be blunt and say that the second game did a better job in terms of story. I honestly can't give this game a good rating.
This is the second part of my marathon of the Bunny Black series. In this one, it is some years after the events of the first game, and the protagonist and friends find themselves at war with a faction of angels...
Now I'm going to be straight here... the game system is a lot less refined than the one in the first game, at least in terms of the battles. There is far too much guesswork involved, and as a result, you can find yourself in severe trouble at times, even if you came prepared. This is probably the reason why a lot of fans of the first game were disappointed with this one. For dungeon-crawler games, the first one was a decent meal with dessert and this one is like breakfast at a truck stop diner. I also found it far more annoying this time that monsters start at level 1 when you hire them, since it is actually much, much slower to level in this one.
Story-wise... it is actually several levels above the first one, if you ignore how abrupt the events during the last third of the story are. In particular, the protagonist's feelings toward his daughter and many, many lovers are described in detail (though Darcs is, in the end, Darcs). Again, like the first game, this is basically a one-path story with a lot of side-events. Do expect a ridiculous amount of H-scenes, though.
Visually, this game is much, much improved over the first game, in every aspect. If I have one area in which I can unreservedly say they did better than the first game, it is this one.
Bunny Black is a VN and dungeon crawler by SofthouseChara, a company known for complex and well-designed game systems based in fantasy worlds.
Bunny Black is one of their earlier games, and it is a lot more focused on the actual gameplay than the story. However, the gameplay is actually quite well-designed, with the ability to purchase monsters to serve as the other members of your party, the ability to choose how you will advance Darcs (the protagonist), and a mission system reminiscent of many other games of the type, where you go to the bar/item shop and take on missions to advance yourself in rank, explore the dungeons, and obtain items and money. To be honest, this game requires a ton of grinding for the early part of the game, both to obtain the rank necessary to use more powerful monsters and the levels necessary to survive battles. However, once you reach around level 35-40, and have a solid party, you can enter the dungeon known as the 'Gate to the Demon World', a dungeon that has rest spots and high-experience enemies to allow you to power level your party to whatever level you want them to be. At that point, it is possible to get up to level 70 in a matter of about four to six hours, if you hunt efficiently (if you were smart enough to get the skill that increases gained experience). That will let you complete the game, with ease.
A more problematic aspect is the story... what there is of it. To be blunt, this game's 'story' is almost all about the gameplay and the ridiculous number of H-scenes (about 70% of them about raping adventurers and other female enemies) included. The funny thing is that the supposed primary heroine, the Maou, is the flattest character in the game, up until the end. Sad... that they didn't manage to inject the same level of storytelling quality seen in Ouzoku.
A few pieces of advice: This is not a game to be taken on lightly... be prepared to die a lot at first, as you get used to the gameplay. Also, this game consumes an immense amount of time, (fifty-five hours total for me) meaning you probably will not be able to finish it with even reasonable quickness. There are very few decent healer monsters, so you'll probably end up having to use Darcs that way, by accessing the healing skills (he can use them all, if you use his skill points that way). Moreover, since he is the most over-powered ally in the game, you'll probably end up using him as a frontline fighter as well (he absorbs damage way too well). I'd suggest you get the first level of the treasure-box opening skill and the identification skills, as not having these will be a huge drain on your funds otherwise. My final party formation had four sorcerer monsters, two long-range monsters, and two frontline heavy-hitters... Most of your party for most of the game is going to be made up of sorcerers or front-liners, because of the number of early enemies you'll barely be able to damage with regular attacks. Sadly, if you try to go the other way, you'll probably never get anywhere.
I keep getting questions like, 'Who are you?' and 'Why should I listen to you at all about VNs?'... not to mention questions that are a bit more personal. So, I thought I'd answer those questions I'm willing to answer (feel free to ask more in the comments, and I'll answer those that I can in a second post).
Full Handle Name: Clephas Aurenius
Handle Origin: A unique character I made up for a fictional fantasy universe some ten years ago. I've been using it as my sole handle for eight years now.
Age: 33
Country and State of origin: Texas in the United States
Hobbies: Gaming, VNs, reading (fiction and non-fiction), otakuism, mini-reviewing untranslated VNs, anthropology, linguistics, brewing rum and root beer, cooking, and attempting to define VN terms that are actually a lot more vague than I try to present them for the sake of convenience *smiles slyly*
Profession: ghost writer (don't ask me about this, look it up)
Dream: To build an underground house in a seismically inactive (inasmuch as that is possible) area and retire. Take a six-month trip to Japan and tour the hot springs, shrines, and temples.
Likes: Efficient and/or cunning work. People with a non-harmful sense of humor. Pragmatism. Chuuni-fiction, fantasy, science fiction. Good stories.
Dislikes: Wasting time (from my perspective). Being mentally inactive (this is actually painful for me). Foods with jalapeno or parsley in it. Sloppy work done when a more efficient method obviously exists. Political corruption (outside of reasonable limits).
Personality: I have a rather massive temper, that I manage to restrict through breathing exercises and violent video games. I value thinking as something that is both necessary and enjoyable. I am excessively introspective, to the degree of actively mocking myself and being self-derisive when I think I might have been in the wrong on some level. I am a natural troll who reformed himself as best as possible. I tend to think that everything is funny on some level, even my own stupidity and outright disaster. I am a recovering megalomaniac.
My role-play: The 'forums' Clephas is actually quite different from the original Clephas, in that he is a lot more comical and exaggerated. He is the megalomaniacal and overwhelmingly arrogant side of my personality, deliberately exaggerated to the very limits, to the point where it is actually funny. He is something of an insane deity who devours universes and envelops them in his infinite stomachs, using avatars to interact with those inside. He honestly thinks eating people (both whole and chewed) is an expression of love. He also does various seemingly (and most probably) meaningless things solely for the sake of his own amusement.
What Fuwanovel means to me: In a lot of ways, Fuwanovel is my last community. I've just seen too many otaku communities collapse under their own weight to willingly involve myself with several at once, anymore. In many ways, I joined Fuwa solely because I thought it would be fun to argue with Aaeru (and it was immensely fun). I respected her for the strength of her beliefs, even if I disagreed with her on a number of points (pragmatists rarely agree fully with any idealist). Fuwa now is the community I've come to love, with the people I've come to love (Marie, Tay, solidbatman, Nayleen, fun2novel, Flutterz, Zakamutt, Mephisto, etc. etc), and so I'm more or less in it for the long haul. I chose this community because it was a lot easier to talk about VNs here than in the more Jaded tlwiki-related communites.
What are VNs to me: I like VNs, both as an enjoyable storytelling medium and as one with an immense potential for growth (if someone can just kick the industry out of its nukige/moege and cookie-cutter chuunige rut). They are emotional and intellectual rides (better on the emotions in most cases), that frequently have an impact far out of proportion with their actual quality.
My VN Experience: Tsukihime was my first VN... and it stunned me when I first played it back in 2007. I immediately devoured every single translated VN, in a marathon that lasted about two months... then dove into my first untranslated - Jingai Makyou - on 9/14/2008. As I'd been fansubbing for over a year by then, I'd thought I had a full grasp on Japanese as a language... but it was a rather rude kick in the butt. Translation Aggregator with Jparser presented me with a challenge that allowed me to get around the lack of kanji knowledge on my part... in exchange for mastering how Japanese syllables were put together in reverse (normally a skill learned through kanji, rather than learning it first, then learning kanji).
A few last comments: No, I do not have and will never have a Facebook or Twitter account. If you really want to chat with me live, pm me and ask me to get on IRC (rizon). Do not ask me to help translate more than one scene of a moege, as doing more than that (even for a friend) would make me want to scream. I do not have a lot of free time, other than that which I use to play VNs, so no I don't go to otaku conventions. I can cook a traditional Japanese breakfast... but sadly, the only parts I really like are the natto, the miso soup, and the pickled vegetables (cooked fish that tastes like cooked fish makes me feel sick). I have a fourteen-year-old calico cat, whom I adore and who tolerates me as a favor to me as her devoted slave.
After playing this route, I am severely tempted to immediately abuse my authority as the master of this blog and just name Silverio Vendetta VN of the Month for February. However, that really would be an abuse, so meh.
Vendetta's route... let's just say it blows you away. The battles, the twists, and the overall awesomeness that accompany them are almost equivalent to that of Marie's or Rea's route in Dies Irae in impact. The way that so much of the cast evolves during the course of this particular path - Zephyr in particular - is just... superb.
In terms of narrative quality, this by far blows away the other two routes, which is no surprise, considering that Vendetta was marked as the true heroine from the beginning. As a heroine, she frequently comes across as being contrary or paradoxical in nature, but at heart, she is anything but. When it comes to Zephyr, she is love incarnate... though it is sometimes tough love (frequently).
...Zephyr really shows off his anti-hero nature in this route, especially at the end. He has a level of humanity a simple hero cannot match, and for all his flaws, he really is an awesome protagonist. Like most of Light's chuunige works, if you hear the description of the plot, you might think it was trite... but if you experience it, you feel nothing of the sort, lol.
Overall
Overall, I do think this game is one of the better VNs produced by Light since Dies Irae... in some ways much better than Senshinkan, which was last year's big hit. A lot of this is because the writers went out of their way to create an incredibly deep setting, with a unique culture, physics, and political dynamic.
There is definitely a sense of 'a science-fantasy Germany, fifteen hundred years in the future' to the setting, with Hitler replaced by a moral purist military ruler and war hero.
In terms of the battles, they managed to bring back the best of Dies Irae's battle narration style while escaping some of its flaws. It felt like they'd refined the style without falling into the trap of being unbalanced the way Zero Infinity did.
In terms of characters, they managed to create a much larger and more varied cast than is their wont, though they - as always - made a lot of oddball people (and not in a funny manner, for the most part).
The game's weakness and strength is in the difference in focus and detail between the routes. Because of the way the story is constructed, the Milly>Chitose>Vendetta play order is the only one you can take if you want to feel satisfied with all the routes. As a result, if you did play it in this order, it feels like the VN gets better with each route... but if you were to play it out of order, you'd probably get a bit frustrated, to say the least.
Chitose is a nearly pure-blooded descendant of the people of Japan, a nation that has come to be worshiped as a god by many, because of the way its technology altered the face of the world and civilization. Her sub-family of the Amatsu, the Oboro, were the ones who were obsessed with justice and noblesse oblige, which shows really obviously in her daily actions and reactiions.
My first conclusion upon finishing her path was 'I am so glad I did Milly first'. Why? Simple. Chitose's path is a lot more obviously action-packed, with more terrible battles and insane twists and turns. It reveals the core elements that Milly's didn't touch upon, which makes me wonder why they didn't just go ahead and lock in a Milly>Chitose>Vendetta progression.
Chitose's path does leave a few elements revealed in Milly's path untouched, but the sheer action-packed brutality and melodrama is on a different scale. The fact that the protagonist's psychology is far different by the end than it is in Milly's path is another interesting issue, for those who like to see characters grow during the course of a story.
Chitose herself adds to this, as she is the epitome of the 'fighting heroine', fighting in such an overwhelming fashion that sometimes you can't help but laugh in excitement. It is so nice to have a heroine who stands at the protagonist's side - and sometimes ahead of him - rather than being dependent on him.
For chuunige fans, this is definitely a kami-route. Look forward to Vendetta's route, next time.
This VN was made by the same team that did Zero Infinity and Electro Arms, and it shows (in some ways). They have definitely improved their character balance and the way they present them, as well as the overall storytelling. The common route is fairly long (think about ten hours for me, about the same amount of time it takes me to completely finish a small charage), and it covers a rather large amount of content (there is no wasted time in this game at all, and yet it still manages to be as long as any of the other VNs by this team).
For those who are unclear about the setting, it is based a thousand years after a disaster that ends our civilization, due to a huge breach in the dimensional walls that basically renders our most important technologies worthless, giving us the power of Astral instead.
First, the protagonist... Zephyr. He is the antithesis of a hero, to be blunt about it. His nature is very base (he isn't a rapist though), with a tendency to prefer self-protection above all other things... except when it comes to Milly, the adopted little sister who is the focus of his current existence. In battle, he tends to either be evading... or dismembering/decapitating his enemies, using insults, misdirection, and brutal tactics to take them down, without any trace of mercy whatsoever. To be blunt, in battle he is either running around or a cold-hearted killer, lol.
Second, the heroines... Milly, Chitose, and Vendetta. Milly is the protagonist's adopted little sister, with whom he escaped the massacre that killed her parents and over 73,000 others in a single night. She is kind-hearted, a skilled technician, and a natural sweetheart to everyone around her. She is literally incapable of hating anyone, as far as I can tell. Chitose is... Milly's opposite. She is aggressive, strong-willed, and utterly merciless with those she considers to be her enemies or those of the state. Vendetta... well, lets just say that Vendetta is a bit inscrutable, though she comes across as a nagging older sister most of the time.
Third, I think that whether you like this game is going to be primarily dependent on whether you can like the protagonist (if you are already able to read Light-style writing, that is, lol). For all that he is basically pond-scum (and quite well-aware of it), he grows on you once you get past it. The common route defies the usual classifications for the simple reason that Light action VNs tend to be a bit hectic, lol.
Milly
Milly, as described above, is the kind-hearted little sister. Her route is fairly heart-rending, if only because of the way things fall apart so fast, once they pass a certain point. Her route shows off a number of interesting characters, ranging from the hedonistic fist-fighter Asura to Milly's master as a technician, Jin.
As always, I'm avoiding spoilers, so it is hard to figure out what I can say... Milly's route definitely has impact. I cried numerous times along the way, and Milly does manage to escape being another Kasumi (reference to Dies Irae), in that she isn't hopelessly out of place in the story, despite being the only 'normal person' heroine.
It is a bit frustrating that none of the biggest mysteries get revealed, but the fights were brutal enough to satisfy my bloodlust, though they followed the usual pattern that Light prefers, of the protagonist almost always being at a horrible disadvantage.
The ending is quite satisfying, though bittersweet (you can't avoid lots of character deaths in Light VNs), and I honestly was happy with how it turned out for Milly and Zephyr, though I did think that falling short of actually finding out everything that was going on behind the scenes means you will probably have to play this one first to avoid feeling unsatisfied with it.
First, for those who haven't already read it, these are my thoughts on Minori: http://forums.fuwanovel.net/index.php?/blog/46/entry-341-clephass-rave-minori-vns-and-why-i-dislike-them/
Read that if you want to know where I'm coming from when I talk about Minori, because I don't like repeating myself, unless it is to brainwash people into playing Dies Irae.
Common Route
I'm going to come out and say this... this is a typical Minori common route. It feels like every other Minori game (other than Eden*) I've played, and I came away from it as pissed off and depressed as you might expect. Self-hating protagonists are all well and good, but self-hating protagonists who hate themselves and fail utterly to learn from their mistakes are irritating as hell.
Haruka
... now if you expected me to rave and hate about Haruka's route as much as I did in the previous post about Minori, you are in for a surprise. Haruka actually managed to grab and keep my interest, and the route is actually quite excellent. I still hated the protagonist for most of the route, but because I took a night to sleep on it, I was able to look at this route for itself, rather than for being connected to the common route. First, there are a lot of things that I didn't like about this route... but Haruka is probably one of the best heroines Minori has ever produced, so it is worth noting playing a protagonist who is falling in love with her almost made it worth forgiving them. The path itself is a somewhat twisted romance... but that is to be expected. To be blunt, this protagonist is incapable of having a normal romance without screwing it up (and he still screwed it up a few times this time, as well). Nonetheless, if there was ever a Minori heroine worth having to endure this protagonist's fumbling to fall in love with, it is this one. My fondness for psychologically screwed-up heroines came to the front in my attachment to this path, if you couldn't tell.
That's enough on Haruka, moving on to Mayura's route, then Touwa's (to be honest, I don't really care about either, since I'm wishing Haruka's was the true route now).
To be honest, my first thought after playing this game was: 'Yeah, this is a Looseboy game.' Needless to say, I don't always consider that a compliment. Looseboy has a tendency to prefer being opaque even where being opaque doesn't really serve all that well, as anyone who played Sharin no Kuni or G-senjou can tell you, if they can bring themselves to discard fanboyism.
Why do I say this? I say it because if I don't manage to get past that particular lump in the throat, I won't be able to properly comment on this VN.
First, this VN, like most Looseboy VNs, starts as a soft school story with a dark undertone that gradually overpowers the rest as the story goes on. This is his style, and anyone who played his previous games will be familiar with the pattern. I will say that this one does it moreso than any of his other VNS, as there is a lot of insanity going around... The mystery of the story is actually fairly hum-drum, though it is more occult-focused than any of his other stories.
Despite the vndb description, there is no battle royale aspect to the story. Rather, it is more intimately involved in the characters emotions, relationships, and conflicts. At the same time, the threat of the 'meeting' is always there in the background and is the source of the sense of lurking horror that infects the story as a whole.
In this VN, Looseboy drags you through the mud of the characters personal flaws and problems, and for those who don't like that type of thing, this is definitely not for you. On the other hand, if you like creepy atmospheres, despair, madness, and human drama, this is probably a good choice for you. It helps that the protagonist is likeable, most of the time, and it is actually understandable that girls would like him (an unusual occurrence in VNs, in general).
My final thoughts...? To be honest, while the last few chapters really did have a lot of impact, the buildup to the core story was a bit too drawn out and there was a bit too much focus on the personal drama, though that was understandable considering the nature of the occult threat. The ending... was ok, but I could have used a solid after-story rather than the five minute after-credit scene that basically says 'maybe we'll be all right'. Considering how much effort Looseboy went to make you care about Rumi and Renji, you'd think he would have had the forethought to give them a more detailed conclusion.
Edit: To clarify, the horror in this VN is mostly psychological, with only a very limited amount of bloodshed. Don't go in expecting guro, in other words.
First off, those who remember my comments on Natsuzora and 12gatsu will remember I mentioned hating Minori games, with the exception of Eden*. The fact is, that I still do hate them, I hate reviewing them, and I hate reading them.
The question is, why?
I keep asking myself this. Minori has really good visual quality, good writers, and decent characters (even if they basically reuse the exact same cast over and over with different appearances and background stories to suit a given VN).
The reason turned out to be very simple... Minori is very good at making the interesting seem mundane in a bad way. To be blunt, if there is one thing I hate, it is mud and blood romantic drama (ie, the Lifetime Movie Network turned VN). Except for with Eden*, where romance wasn't really the focus of the game (though it existed), all of Minori's VNs are basically this type of story with the addition of fantasy. I don't think I've ever come across a VN company that can so consistently make me hate its protagonists in such a personal and intimate manner as I've encountered with Minori.
I have absolutely loathed all of the protagonists, at least on some level (though I wasn't conscious of it until I really went back and thought about it later) of the Minori games I've played besides Eden* and Wind (which I can barely recall at all, lol). All of their protagonists should, logically, be interesting... but with the 'mud and blood romance' that characterizes their stories, they make those interesting aspects into a reason for contempt and mediocrity. Since I get behind a protagonist's eyes when I play, it is like being forced to hate myself, and self-hate isn't exactly a healthy emotion, even when it is vicarious.
What is worse is that all their works after ef have followed this exact basic pattern. I used to have a vague hope they might do something as interesting as Eden* again, but I've more or less been forced to forget that hope as I've slogged through VN after VN by this company. If there is a company that is antithetical to my tastes while achieving partial synchronicity with them, it is this one. I find myself feeling like a hypocrite for hating them, which makes the hate worse, ironically.
I can't even really enjoy the suffering of the characters like I would with an utsuge... because there is always at least one moment where the protagonist makes such a big ass of himself that I want to throw my laptop on the ground and stamp on it in every single one of these things. There is no catharsis for me these games... and the whole reason I go for VNs that stimulate the emotions is because that catharsis is one of the things I seek from VN stories.
*breaths heavily and sighs* Anyway, that is enough raving... understand, this is just an opinion. I really, really hate ef and all the Minori works that are based on the same model. Some are good, some really are awful, despite visual and audio quality, but I hate them all nonetheless. Hearing people praise Minori causes me emotional stress, hearing people say ef is good makes me want to scream, and having people pm to ask me what I think of Minori games other than Eden* makes me want to break something.
PS: Soreyori no Prologue is more of the same so far... protagonist has already made me hate him, and he has only gotten worse since the first turning point of the story.
Tsumugi is both a transfer student and the game's reverse trap. That said, she has a definite fondness for cute things, and the way she dresses is a special circumstance, so don't go in thinking she is a boyish heroine. She's actually quite the reverse.
Her path is probably the most focused on the protagonist so far, with an even stronger focus on a certain aspect of the setting that is vital to all the paths. Since I'm avoiding spoilers here, I won't spell it out, especially since it isn't stated in any of the summaries.
Tsumugi's path is well-written, with a surprising lack of excessive ichaicha, mostly because of the sheer difficulty of achieving an 'ichaicha-state' due to her personal problems. At the same time, the romance is surprisingly straightforward and 'normal', which means that you won't run into anything you wouldn't expect from two young people falling in love for the first time, when it comes to their reactions to the purely romantic aspects.
I really liked how they touched more strongly upon parts of the fantasy setting that weren't really explored in the other paths, and the ending is quite satisfying, though - like all the others - the epilogue is still only based a relatively short time after the actual crisis of the story.
By the time you hit this path, all the VN's secrets will be pretty much revealed, so this isn't a path about revealing secrets. It is simply the path that follows the character most central to the story as a whole. Sumire is the club president of the Lifestyle Club, a club devoted to finding reasons to live, joy in life, etc. She is also perhaps the person who enjoys life the most... and also the one who is the most desperate to do so. I won't spoil it for you, but even after having played the immensely long Tsubame path, this is a path that is worth reading, if only for the two extremely adorable reasons that pop up in the epilogue.
The omake serves to wrap up a lot of loose ends that were probably bothering you (I know they bothered me, since they weren't available when I first played this game), including but not limited to true endings for Miu's, Serika's, and Miyako's routes. You have to finish all the paths, including Sumire's, in order to be able to download the omake from the γγΎγ section in the extras menu. Of the ten scenarios, four serve as story wrap-ups (Serika's is my favorite, incidentally) and other serve as side-stories for particular characters such as Sakura, the teacher Hotori, or Tsubame's mother Suzume.
Given that this will be the last post on this VN, I feel I should say something about this VN and its endings. For those who want purely good endings, this VN might be hard on you at times. The endings, the paths, all of it is bittersweet. Sorrow, fear, and despair accompany joy, smiles, and love. This really isn't something to fear... but it is one of the reasons why I say this isn't a moege or a charage in the sense that I use the word. Immortality is portrayed primarily for its effects on the human spirit in this VN, and it is portrayed both as an obstacle to and a possibility for happiness, as well as for suffering and despair.
Touko is the 'oneesan-senpai' of the group. She takes pleasure in teasing others, making jokes, and generally maintaining a light atmosphere.
Her path is perhaps the least straightforward so far... mostly because the issues are a bit less than predictable if you aren't used to seeing potential difficulties based upon minimal setting cues. I will say that I did like her as a heroine... but I didn't like her as much as Meguru or Nene. The simple reason for this is that her presence in the common route is so faint, so you don't really get the attachment to her in advance that you get with Meguru or Nene. In fact, I'm fairly sure about seventy percent of the people who read this VN will say 'I liked her path, but I'm not sure if I really got attached to her.' This leads to a definite lack of emotional impact for the crises in the later part of the path, at least in my case.
Meguru is the 'lively and cheerful, puppy-like kouhai' of the story. She is also the most 'fashionable' of the heroines, and the one who is perhaps the most like a 'normal girl' as far as this type of VN goes. The fact that Yuzusoft managed to make her character work is a mark of how high quality their stories are.
I will say that the ichaicha in this one is a lot more tedious than it was in Nene's story, though. A lot of it is that both Meguru and Shuuji are really dense about their own feelings, and they are really slow to progress once they do get together.
The drama in this story is about evenly split between Shuuji's and Meguru's issues, with Meguru's main issue resolved fairly early in the path and the protagonists' issues resolved slowly over the course of the path as a whole. While this is generally nice and the ending is decent... the fact that so much of the story is endless ichaicha kind of made me fall asleep.
Nonetheless, I like Meguru, and her tachie is probably the most well-used besides Nene, who was the main heroine.
Look forward to Togakushi Touko in the next entry!
First of all, this is, like most Yuzusoft games, a high-quality charage, though a charage first and foremost. As such, there is definitely a lighter atmosphere than you'd expect, considering the protagonist's personal difficulties and those of the heroines. Problems are resolved quickly and with no real secondary disasters, and they are generally resolved to the satisfaction of the characters involved, if not in the most ideal of manners.
In other words, you won't be reading this VN for superlative story... but what is there is good nonetheless. The characters are interesting, the actual use of the tachie is as brilliant as always (Yuzusoft's tendency to choreograph rapid tachie expression and posture changes into each spoken line is alive and well here and used to extremely good effect), and the crises do have enough emotional impact for you to care to at least a reasonable degree.
Ayachi Nene
Nene's route is... really the main heroine route, to be honest. I was halfway aware of this, but the first meeting between her and the protagonist is so... rofl. I love heroines of her type in charages, so I honestly couldn't bring myself to play anyone else first.
Nene is your basic 'cool and kind-hearted beauty' who has a hidden 'dojikko' side that makes her absolutely adorable. The side-effect of her witch's abilities only makes this part of her personality come out more.
While I was able to easily predict the flow of events leading to the end of the first half of the route, I was nonetheless able to honestly enjoy them. This is rare, because usually charage routes that I can predict this easily don't tend to be able to keep my interest. It says a lot for the basic quality of the game that I could sit back and just enjoy the ride.
The big downside of this route (and probably all the others) is the sheer amount of ichaicha (that state where the heroine and the protagonist are all over each other). Yuzusoft loves their games to be full of this quality and this one is no exception... so for those who just want to pursue a story, this VN is probably not a good choice.
I'll be playing Sanoba Witch (https://vndb.org/v16044) first this month, and Boku no Hitori Sensou immediately after if Silverio Vendetta isn't available before that. So far, Sanoba Witch is Yuzusoft to the core... I'm curious to see where they'll go with this setting.
Serika's and Kaname's routes are two branch-off routes, Serika branching off from Miu's and Kaname branching off from Miyako's. Kaname's has a similar ending to Tsubame's, albeit without the massive infodump of backstory. Serika's is a lot more comical (pretty hilarious) and actually has a 3P H-scene with Miu and Serika (where Miu basically manipulated Serika into it, lol). Serika's definitely goes for comedy, mostly because Serika is a comedy-relief character, though she is the one being teased, whereas Miu is the one doing the teasing, lol. Kaname's route is more serious, a straight-up 'much younger kouhai in love with who she sees as a dashing and awesome senpai' route, combined with the same flow of basic world events that effected the other stories.
Those who played Miu's route will not find any huge surprises in Serika's route, and the same goes for Miyako and Kaname. As such, these are not routes for surprises... but Kaname's route is really about the feels, especially at the end.
Look forward to the final entry, for Tsumire's route.
Tsubame is the person who has perhaps the most 'normal' reaction to the central conflict of this VN, and for that reason I consider her to be the best representative of 'normal humanity' in this VN (though this VN deliberately doesn't show the stuff happening in the cities, referencing it only obliquely). Emotionally, she rises and falls with a predictability that is reassuring, in comparison to Miu (who is something of a nihilist) and Miyako (who has issues that distract her from what is going on). In this way, her route is something of a compass for those who are interested in what a best-case reaction would be for a regular human girl in this situation. While I don't normally like the genki-type osananajimi archetype, in this case it works.
This path has a ridiculous level of detail, primarily because Tsubame's path is the only one that completely resolves certain issues that you can't help but wonder about on the other paths. (I really hate leaving yall to hang on this, but one of my policies is 'no spoilers', and I can't explain this better without spoilers)
Seriously, bring out your handkerchiefs... because the latter half of this path hits really hard, especially when it comes to the theme of immortality. To be honest, I remembered this path more intensely by far than the other paths in this VN, primarily due to what happens in the second half.
Edit: I should say that Tsubame's path includes the Sakura path (the second half is the Sakura chapter/path, which goes into hers and Sumire's backstory as well as extending the Tsubame path greatly). The two Sakura Chapters make me cry like a small child...
Miu is one of my favorite types of characters... a character that has two sides to their personality that are so dramatically different that you'd almost think they had a major psychological disorder. Miu's path is focused on taking joy in life in the face of certain death (though it might not seem that way at first). To be blunt, Miu's dere is probably the most hilarious and adorable of all of them. When she goes all lovey-dovey, it is in a fashion that even puts other lolis to shame, even though she is fundamentally shameless (haha). This path is definitely better written than Miyako's, though that is probably because Miu's problems are mostly internalized.
