What is an ojousama-ge? It is fairly simple... it is a VN where multiple heroines (sometimes all or most of them) are young women from wealthy families. I love these VNs... but it isn't so much because I like ojousama heroines (though there is that, since I love people with warped personalities). Rather, it is because some of the best charage, nakige, and non-action story-focused VNs I've played are ojousama-ge.
Examples
Otome ga Boku ni Koishiteiru 2
Haruka ni Aogi, Uruwashi no
Akatsuki no Goei (the first one only, since 3 varies its heroine types a lot more)
Noble Works
Otome ga Tsumugu, Koi no Canvas (and the FD)
Ojousama wa Gokigen Naname
Now we come to why these VNs tend to be more likely to be good... and the answer is relatively simple. To be blunt, settings where multiple ojousama heroines are possible tend to be a bit more detached from everyday life than the average VN setting, thus giving the writer more flexibility to form the plot of the various routes and overall VN. Another aspect is that people with money tend to be the target of all sorts of problems, from simple marriage issues to kidnappings and assassinations. As such, it is very easy to create an exciting story that feels relatively realistic in such a setting.
It is pretty easy to see from this why I generally get excited about ojousama-ge, now isn't it?
Mmm... having finished the final path, my conclusion is pretty clear... This is a game that had a lot of potential that was primarily screwed up by how poorly executed certain game mechanics were and the way they did the two protagonists. In my previous posts, I already went over my feelings on the two initial paths and their protagonists, so I'll leave that where it is and move on to the third path. The third path - the true path - basically shifts gears completely, drastically altering the series of events immediately after Kai and Shizuma clash mech to mech for the first time. This is partially because of certain revelations that occur immediately before, and things progress rapidly to a revelation of the people hidden backstage... and the traditional 'lets go kill the bastards who have been manipulating us!' last ride down the mouth of hell. To be honest, after the mess they made of the other two paths, it was really hard to get up any enthusiasm whatsoever. Kai's path felt staid and forced, whereas Shizuma's path was... unusual but horribly painful to play through, primarily because of Shizuma himself. Shizuma actually becoming a human being is probably the best thing about the third path. He drops the paranoia and most of the angst, and he actually become something approaching psychologically stable. If he'd managed to drop into that mode in his own path at some point, I probably would have been more forgiving, lol. Other than that... Kai never does really grow that much. He remains a two-dimensional prop with a fondness for airheads (all three of the heroines are airheads or exceedingly naive in some way). He spouts formulaic phrase after formulaic phrase, right through to the conclusion. It doesn't help that the manipulators behind the scenes are also less than inspiring, once the initial emotional release is achieved. My final conclusion on the series canon issue is that one or the other is canonical but they can't coexist with the inconsistencies obviously present. Chronologically, Kenseiki would have had to have happened after Yumina but before Corona. Unfortunately, certain events in Corona make that impossible, so I had to just give up, in the end, on figuring out whether Eternal intended any of the series to have a true chronological consistency. Also, the difficulty spike near the end of the game is a bit ridiculous, though I was still able to get through it by picking off enemies at the edges until I'd isolated the more annoying ones... that and strategically making certain my people with support skill-blocking skills were available to all the other characters at all times to deal with the really nasty support skills the bosses tended to have. This is also true of Corona, in a way... There is a huge difficulty spike near the end of that one that makes it virtually impossible to achieve victory without abusing the protagonist/redhead/Corona combo to blast away the bosses' barriers. My final conclusion about the game as a whole? It would have been much, much better if they had made it consistent with the series' other games and had fixed the leveling so that all the characters would level together (I loathe the grinding that is inevitably required in srpgs where you have lots of characters who level individually). I also think it would have been better if they had really, truly made using Stigma and Alpharia a 'good thing', as they are both as weak as kittens, except for their support skills... and as mechs combined with their respective protagonists, they actually make Shizuma and Kai a little weaker, in some ways. The sword-people proved useful throughout the game, though the fact that some of the best party-attack skills are on them, so having them constantly equipped frequently felt wasteful. Story-wise... Kai's path was tolerable, Shizuma's path was painful, and the third path was good... but that just means they made the first three fourths of the game into a slogfest, which is a huge downer. Giving the sub-heroines their own unique paths was a good choice, as it gave them a chance to be distinct from one another. Unfortunately, the fact that the third path makes it all irrelevant kind of kills the fun, doesn't it?
First, I should say that, despite Gamespot's glowing review of this game, I can honestly say that this game's story sucks. This is fairly typical of Bethesda, as the main stories of all their games have sucked. Frequently a side-quest chain will be the best part of the game's 'story'. For instance, the political issues in Skyrim were way more interesting than all that Dragonborn BS, and they never did manage to make the main story of Morrowind seem compelling. Fallout 4 suffers from the usual pitfalls of Bethesda using its own internal team to write the story, and I honestly thought that they completely wasted the settlements. That said, there are some high points in the game, so far... Codsworth is probably one of the most amusing companions they've ever produced, and Dogmeat actually feels like a companion rather than a hindrance in this one. The most jumbled and difficult to use mechanic of the game (and seemingly the most pointless) is the settlements. What do you basically do? You build buildings, fill them with beds, plant enough food and water to provide for the random settlers attracted by a radio beacon, set up a few shops and some auto-turrets for defenses... and basically they do nothing for you, if you don't bother setting up shops (the shops can be useful, obviously). Theoretically, setting up artillery in your settlements can give you an advantage, but I honestly don't think it is worth it. The only reason I bother is to have places to drop my junk after looting various buildings. Power armor in this game is a vehicle... and that has its downsides and upsides, as it is very much like being in a walking tank in terms of unstoppability... and it gobbles fusion cores. Fusion cores are a relatively rare find amongst (rarer than any non-unique item except the power armor itself) the items in this game, though you can buy at least one from every merchant in the game (including the ones you set up yourself)... at a cost of around five hundred caps, which is an impossible amount early on. That said, because you can purchase them in potentially unlimited amounts, power armor has more utility than you'd guess from the concept. I do suggest you keep a solid stock of cores on you and remove any cores from power armor you get out of (so someone else can't steal it). When it comes to dealing with armies of super mutants and other massive horrors, power armor can be a nice powerful crutch, lol. Enemies in this game work a lot better than they did in Fallout 3. Why do I say this? Because ghouls act a lot like fast-running, brain-eating superzombies (they can come crawling out of the weirdest places) and super mutants are even more insane than they were in the other games. Flying insects, moles, and dogs are all more dangerous/scary than they were n Fallout 3 or NV, and Deathclaws are even scarier. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for humans... raiders are weak, there is no really interesting human faction out there (the Minutemen being a bunch of idiots carrying around slow-firing lasers), and there is no even relatively interesting antagonist available. I mean, the entire thing takes me back to the bad Bond movies from the seventies... in a bad way. The idea behind the Institute is way too super-villainy for me. All in all, while the gameplay itself is fun, some parts, such as the settlement functions and inventory management, are clunky, and I honestly have to wonder if they really were trying to tell a story in this game at all...
Playing: Koisuru Kimochi no Kasanekata by Ensemble. This VN is by the same company that did Otome ga Tsumugu Koi no Canvas (kamige) and Ojousama ha Gokigen Naname. The company specializes in ojousama-ge (games with mostly wealthy heroines) and generally the protagonists in their VNs are either wealthy themselves or have some special talent that makes it logical for them to be around the wealthy. There last few games have been mediocre, unfortunately... Golden Marriage wasn't bad per se... but it wasn't great either. Koi no Aria was pretty bad, sadly. I honestly hadn't expected their quality to fall to such a degree so suddenly after the way Gokigen Naname got my hopes up by going at things from an entirely different direction from their earlier games. Planning to play: Hatsuru Koto Mirai Yori (the one I'm most interested in this month) Kodomo no Asobi (Lump of Sugar's latest game... to be honest, considering how horrible their last few games have been, I don't have my hopes up for this one) Naderebo (maybe, if I have time... new companies have begun to make me nervous after how many times I got burned this year) Yome Sagashi ga Hakadorisugite Yabai (Honestly, no real hopes for this... Hulotte is a pretty meh studio) Koko kara Natsu no Innocence (yay, Oppai Company, otherwise known as Clochette, has made a new game! lol Still, this company does make games with good characters and story... they just have really pervy h-scenes and busty heroines) Magical Dears (standard Navel... meaning it will probably be a fantasy charage of moderate quality that gets hyped ridiculously regardless of quality)
First, I should explain why I felt a need to make a title like that... though it is really quite simple. Out of Lump of Sugar's last five VNs, three were complete kusoge. Only one of them was something worth remembering (Sekai to Sekai no Mannaka de) and the others were just downright rotten, due to their use of really stupid gimmicky progression systems (flowcharts with tons of scene-locks and going back and forth, Magical Charming's half-assed 'gameplay' etc etc) that ruined the games even apart from the actual quality of the stories and characters... which was generally pretty poor. This VN, however, brings back at least some of the magic of what made me like Lump of Sugar in the first place... 'soft' moe fantasy that has enough emotional depth to make me actually care about the moe-moe characters. While it isn't a nakige like Mannaka was (it is a light fantasy romance in the style that was popular back around 2005-2009), it is nonetheless a good read... for people who actually like this type of game. The fact that this is what I hoped for out of this company enhanced my enjoyment somewhat, but the general concept - which was weird enough to capture my interest - is what kept me reading... and the fact that the girls hit good moe points without being tedious about it (repetitiveness, endless dating, etc.). The fact that the events in this VN are presented in such a way as to make you actually care about the struggles of the characters that I would normally call trivial is one of the signs of a really good VN design, and I only rarely wanted to hurry things along (to be honest, Sera's route was kind of frustrating at times due to her... inability to deal with her own emotions, though it wasn't nearly as bad as some of the moege I've played in the past). So far, I've played the common route and Sera's route... and unfortunately, my plans require me to move on to Hatsuru (mostly because my back injury leaves me in a state where I don't have the presence of mind to do a lot of work through the pain meds) before I find out whether I have to have surgery, lol. If nothing else, I'll have something to look forward to when I've returned back to a level of health where a painkiller haze isn't interfering with my concentration. Sera's route... to be honest, it is hard to know how different it will be from the others, but is basic theme is personal growth and moving on with life. The ending's epilogue is pretty nice... especially since it is based at least several years after the end of the main story of her path. As I said above, there are some irritating aspects about the formative stages of their relationship, primarily driven by Sera's inability to handle her own emotions, but in the end, it isn't that bad. Edit: Oh, and if you are wondering why I don't give an outline of the basic plot/beginning of the story... its because this is one of those VNs that is way too easily spoiled by any summary at all. I'll be straight-up about this... if you decide to play this game, the vndb summary isn't going to be a problem (it is badly translated and doesn't give you any real info), but you should probably avoid checking out the information on purchase sites like Getchu, as they are pretty spoiler-heavy and this is a VN that is a better experience without the spoilers. It is weird enough that it is just more fun to sit back and read it as is, without a lot of pre-knowledge.
I’m going to be frank with you about this VN. Maggot Baits is in no way, shape, or form a story with good guys. Everyone in this VN is a monster or scum. This VN has way too much guro, even for a VN focused on the grotesque, and it is actually made worse by the high-quality writing, lol. That said… story-wise, if you skip through 90% of the H-scenes, this VN is actually pretty good. Unfortunately, if you don’t skip those h-scenes, it is very hard not to see this as one big snuff-film turned VN. Horror… it is that. It is definitely horror. Unfortunately, it is pretty obvious that the writers were just being self-indulgent with the sheer number of such h-scenes (was it really necessary to have multiple mind-break scenes for every single Witch introduced, even the ones who weren’t really significant to the main story?) The writing in this VN, ironically, is first-class. The problem is, there is so much torture – sexual and otherwise – that it was pretty hard to maintain my interest through large parts of the early VN, where they kept digressing to look at h-scenes of witches that the protagonist never encounters. To be blunt, this is a failure of scenario design, despite the VN as a whole being very well-written. Visually… the VN is about as high-quality as it gets. Unfortunately, that high-quality just means that those with weak stomachs will spend a lot of time vomiting. The audio in this VN (I’m ignoring the voices, since way too many of them are h-related) is fairly high-quality, with a focus on death metal tunes and dark techno. What’s most ironic about this VN is Ending 2, which is the closest thing you can get to a ‘good’ ending. Ending 1 isn’t a bad ending… but it is very much an Akiha from Tsukihime-style ‘normal’ ending. Well, in the sense that there really isn’t any sweetness and a lot of loss. There is a bad ending early on, but it is more like an ‘oops, you screwed up, time to die’ ending, and it feels kind of tacked on, considering you can only access Ending 2 after completing 1. On the bright side, Ending 2 is actually pretty touching, leaving a definite impression and a sense of salvation Ending 1 didn't have. The protagonist... think of someone who has gone completely over the edge due to his desire for revenge and reduced himself to being a killing machine, willing to use anyone and anything for the sake of his goals, and you will have a decent picture of the guy. In Ending 2, he shows off a softer side, but throughout the path leading to Ending 1, he is a cold-blooded bastard. Overall… what can I say about this VN? It is a party for those who like extreme guro, but for anyone else, this is going to be a high-stress VN that they probably won’t even get halfway through before dropping. This VN is tailor-made for a niche within a niche in the VN community that generally doesn’t see much high-quality work (that isn’t a remake of old stuff) anymore. That said, it didn’t appeal to me, except once I basically excised the h-scenes and thought about it that way. This VN is a major failure though, from a scenario design perspective, simply because too much effort was put into inserting extra gratuitous sexual violence scenes that just made the entire thing seem monotonous after a while.
OK, I started playing Gears of Dragoon 2 about four days ago (I've only managed twenty hours so far, due to work), and I have a few comments on the game.
For better or worse, Gears of Dragoon 2 Reimei no Fragments is a dungeon crawler/rpg/VN hybrid, and like most VNs of this type, it is pretty big. To be blunt, in 20 hours, I've only managed to get to level 24 and get halfway through Chapter 2. Considering that with the same amount of time I was already halfway through (or farther) with each of the Venus Blood games, that means that I have long way to go. As such, I'm excluding this and Sengo Muramasa from VN of the Month for January. I'm not really seeing anything glorious enough to surpass the experience of Tokyo Necro, anyway.
The battle system is a pretty straightforward turn-based one, though it has a limited-size skill palette that makes the game a bit inflexible at times as I've gained access to more skills. The leveling system is an experience-based one where you gain levels by defeating enemies, then use skill points to increase skill levels or progress farther on the skill tree. The game experience is added to somewhat by the presence of a guild-leveling system (where you get guild points for finishing missions, then use them to increase the levels of the four guilds - (Warrior - which affects the item shop-, Thief - Which effects item drops and dungeon mapping -, Priest - which effects damage and healing, as well as drops for certain types of items - , and Mage - which effects drops for certain items, etc), making the game more convenient. I started out focused on the Warrior Guild, but the Thief Guild is a lot more utilitarian... if the Thief Guild's level is one above the current chapter, every dungeon in that chapter will come pre-mapped, thus making planning a lot easier.
Story-wise... it looks like it could be interesting, but the ratio of dungeon to story is a bit too lopsided toward the dungeon, thus making it hard to connect with the characters and story overall. This is a problem some of the Venus Blood games also had, but I honestly think this is a bit worse. The protagonist stumbles a bit too often for his apparent confidence, and the main heroine is once again a ditz (why is it that rpg/dungeon crawler heroines almost always are?). To be honest, I do wish we could customize how the characters level up their stats, as some of the characters have really, really half-assed statistics despite their roles, whereas others have ones lopsided toward roles other than theirs. I think this is mostly a matter of poor design, so I honestly can't be really complimentary about the game so far.
Now, for the reason why I'm going ahead and announcing VN of the Month early... to be blunt, Fire Emblem Fates is coming out, and I'm probably not going to touch a VN for a week at least after it does, meaning until February's VNs release. Also, except for this one and Sengo Muramasa, there really isn't anything left to play that is interesting.
VN of the Month January 2016
January was a month of extremes... I played two kusoge, one kamige, and one high-quality one. Obviously, there is no other candidate for the VN of the Month except Tokyo Necro, but it should be mentioned that Hataraku Otona no Renai Jijou would have had VN of the Month potential in many another month. It isn't a kamige, but it was solid enough to remain in memory. While having to plow through two kusoge was painful, the other two were worth it.
First, I should mention that this is a true sequel to the original Shugo no Tate and that it is based three years after the events at St Terejia Academy. The protagonist, Kisaragi Shuuji (who didn't get together with any of the girls from the original) is stuck in the job of the cross-dressing bodyguard, and he agrees to carry out this one last mission in exchange for the right to stop cross-dressing (lol).
I'm going to say right off the bat that Nozomi is the true/central heroine of this VN. Only in her path are all the aspects of the story fully revealed, and so I advise reading her path last. There are five heroines in this VN... Nozomi (a shy girl who tries not to stand out), Riri (a cross-dressing girl who is immensely popular with the student body), Mana (an air-headed ojousama), Mai (a poison-tongued maid), and Sonya (a Russian transfer student). Like the original, there are a lot of darker aspects hidden under the elegant surface of the school, and those who prefer to avoid serious drama should probably also avoid playing this. Similarly, there are some battle scenes - generally well-described - where the protagonist makes out pretty well.
Shuuji, the protagonist, is an experienced bodyguard and agent, and his combat skills show that. Unfortunately for him, his cross-dressing skills are even greater (lol). I should say that the protagonist is a lot more central to the plot than is customary in most of today's VNs (in other words, he isn't overwhelmed by the impact of the heroines), and the original in this duology was my first experience with the trap protagonist.
Overall, this game is pretty much what you would expect from a game in the same series as the original Shugo no Tate. There is a decent balance between action, drama, romance and slice-of-life without going overwhelmingly in any of the four directions, save at key points. The endings are generally satisfying enough, though people who have played the better AXL games will definitely recognize their style. The original was a kamige, and this was a fun one to play... but it pretty much requires you to have played the original to get the full effect, so it isn't a VN of the Month candidate.
Edit: I should note that some of the heroines have seriously dark pasts, and two of them are about as twisted up inside as the secret heroine from the original. However, like most heroines with twisted pasts, they tend to have some of the best deredere attitudes once they fall in love with the protag.
Before anyone asks, no I'm not translating this VN as a whole. For one thing, it is long and I'm lazy. For another, it actually has a small chance of coming over here, so I'm not going to do something that will spoil the whole game for them (I want this officially localized). This is a fully narrated version (narrated by the poster of the video) of the first few scenes of Hapymaher, which was my VN of the Year 2013. This VN has ridiculously good music... and a frequently heartbreaking story.
2:38-14:42 The youtube guy voices the narration and the protagonist, in a way that is pretty good... and this is a translation.
There is no need for you to do anything. Just leave everything to me.
Also, when it comes to your 'true desires', they are something you just think you understand.
Misfortune, happiness, difficulties, weeping, pain, pleasure, and fun… I will provide them all.
I know for certain what to do to make it so, after all.
But even so, you will still force yourself to go on.
You like to give up as well, don’t you?
That’s why I’ll capture you.
You like that as well, don’t you?
You always need to be looked after, after all.
That place was an extravagant room.
In the center was a wide, heavily-built table.
Upon the table, a pot with steam wafting from it and colorful candies and treats were lined up.
The fluffy couch and the handwoven rug upon the floor were all intended for the guests that came here.
Here, the preparations for a tea party are always complete.
That room, which seemed like it had lept out of a dream or a story, looked like a bad joke to me.
That was because of the coloring… black, white, red, purple, pink, blue… all the colors I could see were vivid ones. It was as if the room were decorated like a butterfly.
Though it was a room that seemed as if it was from an aristocrat’s mansion, the color made it seem as if it had tossed aside all forms of dignity.
It wasn’t just the inside of the room that was strange.
Outside the window, vegetation grew so thickly that it was if it were a botanical garden.
The only light was the flickering light of the stars and the moon. However, even that was blocked by the thick growth of the forest.
Thin trees, thick trees, flowers blooming despite the fact that it was night, and the overgrowth of grass, vines, and leaves.
The excess of plant growth around the room seemed to indicate that no human hand had intervened there in centuries.
However, the room itself was new, in all ways.
That strange place was filled with the silence of the forest and the presence of living things.
Suddenly, a single shadow appeared in the room.
Roses, which were not amongst the flowers blooming outside, began to bloom as if in order to conceal the shadow.
The white roses, which seemed to grow in fast forward, began to give off the sweet smell of burning honey as they bloomed, as if someone had set fire to them.
The roses spread slowly like spilled water, giving off the scents of tea, honey, sweets, and the deep forest.
And then the shadow took on the form of a young girl and stood there as if she had been there from the beginning.
The girl who stood amongst the white roses laughed quietly.
“Since I’ve been called, I must treat you to my hospitality.”
With a mien of mixed enjoyment and sorrow she whispered.
Opening
Second Scene
And so, I dream once again today.
When I came to, I was lying in the forest at night.
“Why am I dreaming this dream again…?”
There is no point in complaining. I rise and begin to walk through the forest in my dreams. I walk, I walk.
In that deep forest, the light of the stars and moon filtered through the trees is all the ilumination.
Even though the forest holds the sense of no presence other than “ours”, even though it is perfectly silent…
Even so, I can’t seem to believe there is no one else there.
A beast, a bird, a person, or perhaps even something like a ghost.
I’m not sure, but I sought to leave that forest, holding her hand amidst the intense sensation that something is there.
I almost trip over thick roots and stumble over buried stones.
Even so, I continue to walk holding the hand of the silent presence following me.
I know that this is a dream.
In the end, a dream is a dream.
I know. This is the past.
Even if this actually occurred in the past, what I am seeing is merely a dream.
So, what I am seeing here is utterly meaningless.
This is a dream.
I know that better than anyone. I know!
However, even so. No matter how well I know it is meaningless, I can’t bring myself to let go of this hand I'm holding.
“It will be all right ______. Let’s return home.”
There is no answer, nor is there a sense of a nod.
However, I don’t release that hand.
I know what will happen after this. It is a dream I’ve seen countless times.
I can leave this forest. It is a dark forest where I can’t figure out where I am, but I can return.
However…
“Ah… will we be able to go home?”
The direction of the light changes changes.
The forest goes from deep forest of the inside to the shallow forest of that which is close to the outside.
The trees are thin, the young ones begin to stand out, and the light filtering through the trees increases.
“We will return for sure this time… together this time for sure…!”
My legs shiver from walking through the forest, and I’m not sure my voice is coming out.
Even so, the sensation of the hand gripping mine was there.
-I know what happens after this.
---Please stop.
I can also here my own voice screaming those words.
However, I also think ‘this time for sure’.
.It’s just a dream! Why give up if it is only a dream?! Even if it is just in a dream…!
We walk, step by step, toward the outside.
If we get through this forest, we can return home.
The light from the outside gets stronger. The area becomes brighter.
And when I exited the forest…
… the hand I was supposed to be holding was no longer there.
“Why?! Why…?!”
I knew it. I knew it would be this way.
Only I can leave the forest.
We will never be able to return together.
“Why...?!”
You gave up didn’t you? You know, don’t you?
I should already know… know that only I returned.
It took me a long time to understand and I caused a lot of trouble in the process, but shouldn’t I have figured this out by now?
“That’s… even so…!”
And… Even if you returned together in the dream --- it isn’t like she’ll come back, will she?
After all, this is just a dream.
It changes nothing. It is just self-satisfaction. Even if I know it is a dream, it can’t have any effect on reality.
I'm going to be blunt... for some reason, the 'Otome' series of trap-protagonist ojousama-ge by Ensemble seems to be incapable of fulfilling the promise of Otome ga Tsumugu Koi no Canvas in any of its follow-up games. Koi no Canvas was, for better or worse, one of the single best charage I've ever played, with strong characterizations for all of the characters (including the protagonist) full voices for all characters (later Otome series games all had voiced protagonists, though), and superlative individual paths with an actual story tailor-made to match both the protagonist and the individual heroines.
Unfortunately, none of the Otome series games since has gotten anywhere close to doing what Koi no Canvas managed, and this one isn't an exception. I will say that it starts out really well... the protagonist is fully-voiced and capable in his own field (in this case cooking), and his actions throughout the VN show him to be competent... but the romantic portions, the characterization of the heroines, and the actual development of the heroine paths are all... second-rate. The few good points in this VN stand out so well precisely because the rest is so poorly-done.
As an example, the humor is actually pretty good, and the protagonist's reactions to most situations are either funny or ones that leave you with a positive impression of him.
Unfortunately, there are certain aspects that absolutely drive me insane reading this VN. The heroine routes are truncated and devoid of drama (seriously, you can't have ojousama-ge without a controlling parent or a character with major personal issues, but none of that really exists here). The romance is sudden and makes little sense. Worse, it is pretty much impossible to develop an emotional connection even to the protagonist, because every time it seems like they might sadden you with his past (he is an orphan, for instance), they deliberately cut it short or interject the protagonist's general lack of care for the issue in question.
After Koi no Canvas, this series has continually sabotaged itself with this kind of BS, and I'm actually crying right now at the sheer wasted potential of the characters in this story. It is obvious the writer wanted to do more, as well... because there are a lot of signs throughout the heroine routes of cut scenes or abrupt story movements that seem awkward/amateurish. Considering the experience of this team, even aside from this series, it seems a bit ridiculous that they would have tripped so many landmines in a single game (I mean, one of the writers worked on Sakura, Sakimashita... and that game is very, very good), and I honestly think that if Will wants to stop hemorrhaging cash, it needs to stop breaking up its best teams (the Evolimit team) or letting total incompetents get involved with story and characterization (referring to the Imouto Paradise writer who was also involved with this and the other Otome series games after Koi no Canvas).
This is an utsuge. For those who don't already know what an utsuge is, it is a VN where the main endings are 'bad' endings. Generally speaking, the intention with an utsuge is to give the reader catharsis through a sense of despair or sorrow. Unlike in a nakige, where the sorrow or despair is temporary and everything ends with what amounts to a 'happily ever after', an utsuge's endings tend to be ones where everyone dies, despair goes on unending, or some other kind of bitter aspect. While most of an utsuge's endings will be 'bad' or 'sad', even with an utsuge, there is generally one or two endings that are merely bittersweet or almost good, though.
A 'soft' utsuge is one like Konakana or Eden, where the primary emotion is sorrow and the sense of loss is relatively mild. In a VN like this, the sense of 'bitterness' is a lot lower than in a 'hard' utsuge.
A 'hard' utsuge is defined more than anything by 'despair' and the emotions that come from it. The crushing of hope, the end of dreams, and the inevitability of a heavy reality are all popular themes in VNs of this type. Swan Song is probably the most obvious translated one of this type. Houkago no Futekikakusha falls into this type.
I'm going to be blunt... even with this being my second playthrough, I've been crying all the way through my first path. This VN is an unrelenting well of sorrow, despair, love, caring, and loss. For every positive moment, the inevitable ending lurks in the background or hangs over the head like the Sword of Damocles. Salvation comes for some at the cost of heart-rending despair for others, and love is no barrier to the despair that infects the VN as a whole. To put it bluntly, the protagonist and his friends, classmates, and teacher are all lost beyond hope from the beginning. This isn't a VN where hope is anything more than a blade gouging at the hearts of those involved, and those who don't benefit from this level of catharsis should keep away from this VN. The narrative presentation in this VN is of the highest quality when it comes to describing the characters' emotions and unique perspectives, and the writer seems to take a certain pleasure in creating a situation that gouges the heart of the reader, using those perspectives masterfully.
Now, to address the biggest complaint people inevitably have about this VN... the setting in this VN is horrible. I don't mean the characters' immediate surroundings, but rather just why the characters had to end up like they do in the VN is never made very clear. Part of this is because the characters who might otherwise reveal the source of the conflict in the story simply aren't present, acting through pawns rather than in person. Another part is that I think that while this writer is excellent at emotional writing and skilled at manipulating the reader's emotions, s/he honestly has no idea of how to create a coherent setting. It is a mark of the VN's impact that I never really felt like seriously complaining about it... but it does make it stop short of kamige level. It is also the primary reason people use to bash it (when they really just want to lash out at someone for what happens to the characters in the VN, lol).
Edit:
The Protagonist
Tokiwa Itsuka is pretty much your normal, overly kind-hearted harem-building protagonist at heart... but the situation he is in has made him into something very different. He is broken down, shattered by his taking on of the heaviest role in the characters' collective fate, and he is unable to give up, as doing so would doom all the others to a fate far worse than death. He is their one, sad, brittle hope and the only reason they haven't all succumbed to despair. About 60% of the VN is told from his perspective, relatively frequently switching perspectives with various other characters, including the heroines. For him, the very kindness and capacity for love that is default equipment for an eroge protagonist is a blade gouging at his heart, leaving him hopeless and helpless before the grinding gears of fate.
Shiori
One of the the heroines and the class's teacher. As the only adult in the group, she bears the heaviest burden, after the protagonist. She is the kind of 'young teacher' who tends to become an 'extra' heroine in various older VNs. She is gentle and kind, as well as being something of a dojikko. She is easily influenced by movies, and this generally leads her to impulse-buy expensive things like cars and cameras (her family is apparently rich, lol). During the story, her primary role is as the 'mother' archetype, giving love freely and without reserve to her students in general, and Itsuka in particular.
Suenaga Haruka
The only one of the heroines in the VN that isn't a direct victim of the fate that is swallowing them. She transfers into the class at the beginning of the story and watches over the events that occur with a kindness and compassion that makes her the equal of any of the other heroines. In many ways, she is the representative of hope in the VN as a whole, though her actual role with the characters tends to differ.
Asagao
The tomboyish, older of Itsuka's twin-sister osananajimis. She is also one of the heroines. When she isn't down in the dumps due to what is going on, she is bright and active, but she is fundamentally more fragile and sensitive than her younger sister Yuugao, not to mention a bit on the dim side. She, along with Yuugao, are representatives of the precious 'daily life' the protagonist lost forever before the story began.
Kanade
The class president, a friend to most in the class, and the last remaining heroine. She tends to be kind to everyone and is something of an optimist, though the fate they are enduring makes it harder for her to be so. She learned the piano from Yuugao. Despite the stark knowledge of what is coming in the near future, she has a deep well of strength that allows her to continue on, unifying the class where it would have otherwise long-since broken apart.
Yuugao
Asagao's elegant, quiet younger sister. The story starts being told from her perspective. Her deep love and compassion are impressed upon you almost from the beginning, and her comments on the characters in the class are your first impressions on them all. She is actually much stronger mentally and emotionally than Asagao, but people tend to underestimate her based on her manner and appearance. She loves everyone in the class, and it is through her that the bonds between the members are most obviously seen. Without her perspective, the emotional bond I felt toward the characters would have been much weaker.
Kousuke and Rika
A couple born within the class after things fell apart. Kousuke was once a delinquent, but through the efforts of Itsuka and friends before the disaster, he was settling down. He is devoted to his friends and deeply in love with Rika, despite lingering feelings for Shiori. Rika is a 'normal girl' who fell in love with Kousuke despite his rough past and got up the courage to confess despite the inevitable end that awaited them. Their bond is a bright point for a class that tends to be more than a bit gloomy.
Anna
A high-strung former member of a music club, she is one of those most obviously effected by the knowledge of their fate. She and Ryou are the characters who have the most difficulty adjusting to the facsimile of 'daily life' while the axe of fate hangs above their necks. At heart, she is a weak and vulnerable young woman, but she covers it up with her somewhat harsh manner.
Ryou
A quiet young man who nonetheless feels a strong bond with his few friends. Like Anna, he is a bit high-strung and has a lot of difficulty adjusting. To him, the wait for his inevitable fate is an unendurable terror, and he isn't able to relax enough to really take the feelings of the others around him into account. However, his introverted personality tends to make him less... caustic than Anna.
Jun
The former ace of the soccer team and Itsuka's best friend. He used to play soccer with Itsuka, with Itsuka as the team captain. He cares deeply about his friend, and he is hurt deeply by how helpless he is to do anything for him. He has many friends but Itsuka is his best one. He is in love with Yuka, but due to the situation he has been unable to bring himself to confess.
Yuka
She has been friends with Itsuka since middle school and at one time was on the verge of falling in love with him, but Itsuka's closeness with the twins made her back off. Now, she is close with Jun, though they are not yet lovers. She is a bright and easygoing girl who is very good at hiding her emotions regarding the fate they are all living with.
First, let me say this outright... I have absolutely no problem whatsoever with the romanticization of war in fiction. I love bloody epic war stories even more than I love sushi and ice cream. However, one thing I've noticed as I've read various historical fiction and fantasy is that the bloodier and more horrid a war is, the more it gets romanticized.
Western Examples
The Hundred Years War- The Hundred Years War is perhaps the most obvious example of a war being romanticized in the Christian West. Joan of Arc, the Black Prince... and dozens of other villains and heroes who have made their way from history into fiction and legend from that era. However, the introduction of massive mercenary armies of this era scarred the continent for centuries to come, and millions died during this era from the war and diseases that spread as a result of the war. It was also a period of the rise of French and English nationalism and the creation of professional standing armies, both of which are mixed blessings at best.
The Revolutionary War (US)- Now, I'm American... so naturally I instinctively take pride in our nation's war for independence... but as an amateur student of history, I am quite well-aware that the Revolutionary War was not a clear-cut conflict of freedom-seekers versus monarchists. To be honest, just reading the original, pre-US constitution tells me everything I need to know about the motivations behind the delegates at the convention. The self-interest, prejudice, and greed inscribed between the lines is fairly disgusting, considering the bluster that ended up in the papers at the time.
The Trojan War- This is a genocidal war that started because a married princess took a liking to a foreign prince, had sex with him, then ran away with him. An entire civilization vanished because of this... a fact that I find unbelievably disgusting, looking at it from an objective point of view.
World War II- I'm frequently fascinated by the degree to which this era is romanticized, despite the fact that there are still living witnesses to it. It is the deadliest war in recorded history, but memories of the reality are already fading in some parts of the world less than a hundred years later.
Eastern Examples
The Fall of the Han and the Three Kingdoms Era- This era is frequently portrayed as an era of military and civic heroes that eventually led to the rise of a great dynasty... but it was also a period that killed countless millions from famine, bandit raids, military plundering, and battles as massive as any seen in WWII. In the last census taken before the fall of the Later Han Dynasty, there were over fifty-six million citizens of the empire... and in the first census after the rise of the Jin Dynasty, there were only slightly more than sixteen million. This is perhaps the most romanticized conflict in history, and yet it is also the second-deadliest recorded war in human history as well (WWII being the deadliest).
The Sengoku Jidai- I've mentioned that this period of civil war in Japan is highly romanticized over there... and that is actually an understatement, when it comes down to it. It was a period where power and influence were in a constant state of flux, with the Ashikaga Shogunate proven incompetent to rule and various warlords seeking to carve out their own pieces of the pie both for Clan and individual gain. However, very few of the 'heroes' of the age are seen as 'evil'. Nobunaga, while he was a social progressive, was also known for his ruthlessness and cruelty, as well as disregard for traditions and religion. Tokugawa, while he was a repressive social conservative, was also a builder of cities and a brilliant administrator. Hideyoshi, while he was a brutal conqueror, was also an example of a man clawing his way up from the cesspool to the heavens. Similar contradictions defined most of the great warlords of the era, with the Imagawa being both military expansionists and great cultural patrons, and the Hojo being great architects and engineers as well as highly ambitious nepotists. This is an era that has so many highly colorful characters whose actions were recorded in detail that it couldn't help but be romanticized... but the reality of it was that it was an era of starvation, desperate poverty, and immense uncertainty.
The Bakumatsu/Meiji Restoration- I don't think I need to go into the degree to which this era romanticized the samurai culture and fed Japanese nationalism, because its result was Japan's policies leading up to and during WWII. This was essentially a large and brutal civil war between two factions (further split into many smaller factions) within Japan that disagreed violently over how to deal with foreign influence in the face of Ming China's rape-by-colonization on the mainland. Assassinations, political terrorism, and brutal oppression defined this period. In the end, what you got was a country who presented a strong face to the world but was still unable to come to terms with what it wanted to do at home.
As a conclusion
Human beings have a fascination with war that leads to its romanticization, and I honestly am no exception to that rule. I enjoy war period historical fiction immensely, and I have absolutely no objection to fantastical speculation on the capabilities and personality of individuals living in those eras. However, the immense cost - both economic and human - of war is almost always forgotten afterwards... and I intensely dislike it when someone chooses to forget just what those costs are. Fiction is harmless, but ignoring the lessons of history isn't.
Those who talk to me regularly or pay attention to my lists will notice that one of the VNs that comes up fairly often is Draculius.
This is a VN that has had a surprising amount of influence on modern VNs... or rather, the Western VN world. Oddly enough, that influence is mostly indirect rather than direct (it isn't translated, so the VN's direct influence is rather limited).
The most obvious point is Grisaia... to be straight about it, it had the same writer as the Grisaia series, a fact that made me nod in recognition when I discovered it. Replaying Draculius, the points of connection are blatantly obvious... such as the fact that Misao's basic character is obviously the prototype for Makina or that Rian's characterization was the prototype for Michiru (though honestly, she is better than Michiru, lol). Zeno is Sachi's prototype (think if you added insane protectiveness and a tendency toward violence to Sachi and removed the good girl obsession). Last of all, Rika is Yumiko (except that the dependence comes out faster and Rika is a lot less weak-willed under the surface). It looks like Belche got split into multiple characters, probably because her role and characterization was so complex that building on her as is just wasn't possible (Amane, JB, and Chizuru).
Now, do I even have to mention how much influence Grisaia has had on the Western community? I'd be preaching to the choir at this point, I think.
A less-obvious point is Kyuuketsuki no Libra or Libra of the Vampire Princess, which is getting a localization through a Kickstarter sometime this year. To someone who played and loved Draculius, the older VN's influence on Libra is extremely obvious... Iris, who serves as an antagonist in the VN, is to some degree based on Belche (right down to her attitude toward humans and tendency toward obsessive love hidden under a cold exterior). The actual situation is a dead copy (play on Belche's special power, for those who have read the VN, lol) in the sense that both Jun in Draculius and the protagonist of Libra are young men who are the children of born vampires who died, leaving the child's mother behind, who then died before the story began. There are a number of differences of course... and I won't spoil the VN by telling you where a lot of the deeper similarities are (though I will give you a hint... the truth about the vampire hunter organizations).
Other than Dies Irae, I honestly can't think of a VN that has had more impact on the community without actually being translated, and as I re-read this VN for the third time, I find more and more common points with the VNs that came later on, lol.
Before I go into this VN, I should probably bring up a few facts I’ve noticed about Yuzusoft VNs in general. First, while most Yuzusoft VNs have a central story that is vital to the heroine paths as well as the common route, the degree to which that central plot effects the heroine paths varies pretty wildly. In some cases – such as with Nicola in Dracu-riot – the effects of the main plot are almost nonexistent, and in others – such as Miu’s from the same VN – the effects are dramatic and integral to the progression of the heroine’s own story. Another aspect is consistency… or rather, the degree to which heroine paths are consistent with one another. Generally speaking, Yuzusoft games don’t strive for absolute consistency. One reason is because most charage writers (and Yuzusoft writers are mostly charage writers) are not nearly as good at managing the numerous ‘threads’ of their stories as a chuunige writer has to be. To be blunt, Yuzusoft games tend to eliminate the need for consistency as much as possible, limiting ‘contact points’ between the heroine routes wherever they can. Unfortunately, there are always minor details that slip through the net, so you can’t really expect perfect consistency in any charage.
Another aspect of Yuzusoft VNs is that they still utilize the concept of ‘heroine salvation’. The idea that a heroine needs to be ‘saved’ by the protagonist on some level used to be integral to virtually all VNs that tried to charge the emotions of the reader, but it fell out of use over time as the emphasis shifted from story to characterization in most cases. Yuzusoft is somewhat ‘old-fashioned’ this way, as they focus strongly both on the actual ‘stories’ of the heroine paths as well as the characterization aspects. As a result, for those of us who get emotionally invested in the characters, the inability to ‘save’ the heroines you didn’t choose is always a bit… troubling, lol.
I know that sounds weird coming from a self-proclaimed pragmatist like me, but that is one of the few areas in which VNs are still mostly games, rather than just reading material. The act of ‘choosing’ a heroine inevitably invests you just a little bit emotionally in the heroines, barring a kusoge experience, lol.
Yet another thing to keep in mind about Yuzusoft games is that the company, even after all these years, is still experimenting with the ratio of ichaicha (lovey-dovey flirtation in the girlfriend/boyfriend part, such as dating, visiting one another’s houses, h-scenes, etc) to the actual story and character development. Most of their games tend to have long (in terms of text) dating/lovey-dovey/sex periods, which can be unbelievably annoying in a VN with a good story, lol.
Last of all, Yuzusoft games tend to have longer heroine routes on average than most moe-VNs. I’d say by about one and a half to two times, depending on the other developer.
Now, having gotten that over with, enjoy my comments on this VN, as I plan to go into more detail than usual.
PS: I don’t intend to bother with the two sub-heroines, Ruka and Koharu.
Common Route
The beginning of the VN is somewhat fantastical, and with a little effort, they could have easily turned this into a light chuunige (I’m actually wondering why they didn’t, considering how suited many members of the cast are for that type of VN). One of the most fortunate aspects of this game is the fact that very little time is spent dwelling on school life… in fact, it is probably the least relevant portion of the game, outside of the character setting of ‘gakusei’. In my experience, the more reliant a VN is on school life for character development and story progression, the less likely it is to be interesting from beginning to end.
The basic story is that the protagonist, having drawn the sword from the stone (lol) by breaking it off at the hilt (viva, self-repairing holy weapons! Haha), ends up engaged to and living with the himemiko, one Tomotake Yoshino. He’s also together with a bodiless loli who presents herself as the guardian of the sword calling him her master, and a ninja who does all the cooking and cleaning around the shrine. Apparently, in order to cleanse the taint left by an ancient curse on Yoshino’s family and prevent disaster, he has to help them fight dog-monsters in the mountains around the town, so that their taint doesn’t build up enough to cause natural disasters and other tragedies. The common route is consumed by the quest to free the Tomotake bloodline from the ancient curse and the characters’ travails in the process.
For better or worse, the central story of the VN is nearly completely resolved in the common route, leaving the heroine routes for those heroines’ personal issues. This does mean that the tie-in to the central background story in the heroine routes is weaker than in some of Yuzusoft’s other games, such as Dracu-riot. However, the common route itself is actually one of the better ones I’ve seen from this company, and I enjoyed the process immensely. The downside is that the transition feels a bit awkward, sadly.
Murasame
Murasame is the overseer of the holy sword Murasamemaru, and Senren Banka’s resident loli. In a lot of ways, she embodies the archetype of the ‘outsider/exile from life as we know it’ heroine archetype that has popped up occasionally in VNs like this one. Favorite, in particular, is a company that loves this heroine archetype, utilizing it for the true heroine of every one of their games, and a disproportionate number of the heroines of this archetype are lolis (somewhere around two-thirds, starting with Ilyasviel from FSN). This is probably because a childlike heroine who suffers from that kind of isolation is more likely to strike at our hearts. She started out as a common village girl, and when a sacrifice was needed to become the guardian of the sword, she gave up her humanity to stay with the blade (this isn’t really a spoiler, since they tell you this early on and it is in the character profile, lol).
Murasame comes across as your typical ‘loli who hates being treated like a child’ most of the time, but her speech and manner in more serious scenes shows at least some of her experience… and her path rakes her over the hot coals of her own personal darkness and insecurity. Hers is a path that is all about salvation through love, and it is one that can’t help but resonate with romantics in general. I should know… I cried several times in the course of this path.
I honestly felt that this path represents Yuzusoft at its best, and for this path alone I would have been willing to play the game… and I’m not even a lolicon.
Mako
Mako… is the descendent of a ninja family that serves Yoshino’s family (Yoshino being the white-haired hime+miko heroine). While she is deadly serious about her duty to protect and serve Yoshino, her personality is generally friendly, cheerful, and easygoing. She is also more than a little… motherly in the sense that she loves to take care of people. This tends to express itself in the common route through her devotion to never letting Yoshino or her father do anything around the house outside of their duties as a priest and miko at a Shinto shrine (and Yoshino’s duties as the sole descendent of her mother’s family line).
To be honest, her path is significantly more boring than Murasame’s, in that her personal worries are ‘classic’ worries from the archetypical ‘raised to serve’ heroine who is suddenly free to do what she wants, along with the fantasy worries unique to her path. It is still a good path, even touching at times. However, since they fell back on what amounts to a ‘normal’ love story with a half-humorous twist, things were significantly less interesting from my point of view.
That isn’t to say that it doesn’t have its high points… but most of those are toward the end or involve the fantasy elements. I’m sure the people who adore the junai (pure romance) that is the staple of most VNs will lap it up like their favorite flavor of ice cream, but for someone like me who has been fed that stuff until he feels like a foie gras goose…
Yoshino
The structure of Yoshino’s path is something of an exception, looking at charage with a serious element in general. Most of the time, the serious element is focused at the end of the path, with the ichaicha part making up the early parts of the path, during and immediately after the formation of the relationship. In this case, the dramatic part happens immediately after the formation of the relationship… and the rest is essentially endless ichaicha and sex. The path has impact, but I honestly thought that the latter part of the path dragged on. However, the ending is pretty touching, and I was honestly happy for them afterwards.
Overall
Yes, I have no plans to play Rena’s path immediately. To be honest, just two paths in this game takes up ten hours, and with the common route, this game could easily hit thirty hours if I played all the paths… and I don’t have the energy for dealing with an airhead heroine right now.
Overall, this VN is one of the better Yuzusoft games I’ve played (considering that I’ve yet to encounter a Yuzusoft game that wasn’t at least worth consideration for a VN of the Month, this is a definite compliment). It definitely beats out Sanoba Witch, both in terms of raw quality overall and in terms of the design of the setting in particular. While the game itself doesn’t escape a lot of the clichés of the fantasy charage with story sub-genre, it carries them out well enough that I didn’t find that irritating. The biggest downside of the game is the downside to just about all of Yuzusoft’s games… the ichaicha is far too extended and there is usually a lot of runaround before they get to the point.
PS: By far, Murasame's path is the best... which probably means I should have played it last. For better or worse, after seeing Murasame's path, it felt like a betrayal not to choose her over the others, simply because of her situation, lol.
... something to look forward to. Amatsutsumi is nothing like what I thought it would be, in a good way (at least from my point of view). Purple Soft really has been going off in weird directions with their last three non-FD titles... Hapymaher was a kamige, Chrono Clock was good... this one could go either way, but the beginning is pretty fascinating (in the way watching a car crash is fascinating from the outside).
Now, Ruitomo is one of 'those legendary VNs', the first kamige written by the Akatsuki Works team. It is well-known and often discussed amongst vets of playing untranslated VNs, and you can see how this was the formative stage for a team that would go on to make numerous great games in the future, most of them chuunige.
First off, Ruitomo isn't a chuunige, at least in the classic sense. The protagonist is a trap who is bound by an inherited curse not to reveal his true gender, and the story begins with him encountering several others that also possess similar curses, as well as powers that he doesn't possess. Ruitomo is one of those games that doesn't easily fall into a genre or sub-genre, as it has elements of action, mystery, mindfuck, fantasy, and romance all wrapped into one big bundle. So, I just have to shrug and call it a 'story-focused VN', lol (as vague a term as moege or charage, haha).
One thing that you should know about all Hino Wataru-written Akatsuki Works VNs... in every one of them a version of Akaneko (the final heroine of this one) appears, with the same personality, similar habits, and the same voice actor (Akaneko, Eru from Hello, Lady, Yuki from Comyu). Similarly, there is always at least one 'straight-man' heroine who tends to prefer correctness over everything else (Iyo in Ruitomo, Saku in Hello, Lady, Benio in Comyu, etc)
I once read a crappy review that said this was a VN about friendship *spews laughter*. Sorry, but that was one reviewer who mistook one element of the story for the whole point of it. The real central theme of this VN is isolation, social ostracism, and moral relativity. Technically, all Akatsuki Works VNs indulge in moral relativity, so you can just ignore that one, since it is Hino Wataru's favorite dog to beat. The isolation and social ostracism elements are fairly obvious from the beginning. All the heroines and the protagonist are social outcasts by means of their curses. The protagonist is the most obvious example as it forces him to lie and distance others from himself, but others have their own issues. For instance, Rui's curse, the inability to make promises of any kind, is crippling in a modern world, where you have to be able to sign a contract just to find a place to live or 'promise' to be at work on time. To one extent or another, the others' curses hold them isolated and ostracized from society as well.
Tomo is driven by a strong desire to escape his curse, intensified as time goes on by his growing fondness for his fellow curse-bearers and the guilt for deceiving them. I honestly can't help but like Tomo... he is selfish enough to be human but selfless enough when it comes to his friends to give his all for them. A lot of people who hate Akihito from Comyu will probably find Tomo to be far more pleasant, as that other's less pleasant qualities are diluted and his more pleasant ones enhanced in Tomo. He lacks Akihito's female-directed philanthropic spirit, but he does have a strong generosity of spirit to him... without the somewhat indiscriminate sexual mores of Akihito.
One thing I think a lot of people who try to read this VN have trouble with, besides the somewhat complex turns of phrase that are endemic to all Hino Wataru works, is the way so much of the dialogue between the characters, even in the slice-of-life scenes, is... oblique, requiring reading between the lines to grasp the full content. A lot of this comes from the curses, both referencing them, avoiding referencing them, and avoiding activating them. However, at least some of it is simply an extension of how relatively easy with one another the group is in normal situations, despite their often conflicting personalities. These conversations are easier to follow if you get the characters' personalities and roles in the group, but if you have trouble with that kind of thing, you'll probably be left behind at times.
Ruitomo has a definite playing order, with you being forced to play Rui's path before reading Atori's, Koyori's, and Iyo's (preferably in that order, or at least with Iyo as the last of the second three) and completing those four opening up Akaneko's path (the true path). I'll be blunt when I say that grasping the whole of the story without reading the first four paths is virtually impossible, so 'cheaters' who use 100% save files to get the true end first will just be screwing themselves over, lol.
This VN's story starts out in the middle... one of Hino Wataru's questionable habits. For better or worse, he likes to thrust you into the middle of the prologue before dragging you back to the beginning of it, and Ruitomo is the VN that suffers the most for it, in my experience. To be blunt, it is really hard to figure out what is going on during the first scene, so about one-third of the people I've talked to that tried to read this VN dropped it or stalled within the first quarter of the prologue. However, as the VN goes on, its characters, their personalities, their troubles, and their experiences grow on you rapidly, until you can't help but be entranced.
One thing that I was seriously impressed about, coming back to play this through a second time, was the meticulous way Hino Wataru designed the common route and the paths... he made sure everything was perfectly consistent as a whole, even if it didn't seem like it at first, and every single scene had at least some meaning in the greater context of the game as a whole, even if it might have seemed irrelevant or secondary in the path in which it existed. This shows off the rather impressive capacity for 'management of the details' that a very few writers in the VN world manage to display. There is a good reason why creating a large-scale story-focused VN (whether chuunige or not) tends to be rare. Most writers simply can't manage to maintain the internal consistency that you see in a VN like this one.
Overall, I was actually more impressed this time around than I was the first time I played this. It is called a kamige for a reason... brilliance of design, emotional stimulation, intellectual stimulation, etc. The fact is that VNs on this level are exceedingly rare and always worth the price I pay to buy them.
PS: I'll play the fandisc soon, though I might or might not manage to replay it before I begin playing this month's releases.
If some of you failed to notice, I've been going back over my list of ancient favorites amongst the moege/charage/slice-of-life genres. Why am I doing this? I actually have some good reasons, other than whims.
First, I keep recommending these things to people, but when you start talking about a VN you last played five years ago, people tend to let it in one ear and out the other. I mean, my long-term memory for games and books is pretty good, but my brain is fairly compartmentalized, so I don't remember them actively unless I go through the effort to refresh that memory. Can I continue to say that I honestly recommend something without playing it in the recent enough past that I can compare it to other, more recent VN experiences, through more jaded eyes?
Second, I want to know just how much nostalgia is coloring my viewpoint. To be blunt, the longer you are away from your favorite games or VNs, the more the memory gets beautified by distance in time. When I recently did a speed replay of G-senjou, I reaffirmed why I disliked the story structure while at the same time realizing that I didn't always do it justice due to my biases (no, I didn't blog on it, but I was mostly doing it for my own edification, anyway).
Third, I like to think that I try to be as objective as possible, so I wanted to reexplore my VN roots when it came to my attitude toward charage/moege. One thing I've noticed as I replayed certain charage from the past is that the best of the older generation wasted the least time on 'everyday' slice-of-life, ironically. The gradual shift to put an excessive emphasis on the everyday life aspects of charage and moege is a relatively recent phenomenon, from what I've re-experienced. A part of this is that, as the audience in Japan has aged, so has their nostalgia for an 'ideal youth' become much stronger. The fact is, a lot of the 'devoted' moe-gamers in Japan aren't young people (at least not the ones who are also erogamers). They are older people who want to experience an idealized version of youth through a non-person protagonist's viewpoint. Ironically, this seems to be the reason why the market is shrinking, since younger generations don't find that kind of stuff as accessible as the older generation does, so you can tell to some extent what generation a company is appealing to by how weak the protagonist is and/or archetypical the characters are, lol.
Gleam Garden is a semi-chuuni VN by the makers of Lovesick Puppies, Cosmic Cute. While it isn't amongst the VNs I love the most, it was nonetheless a pleasant memory, so I chose to dig it out of the pile and play it again this week. Edit: I should mention that while this VN does have action scenes, a lot of the VN is about the changes in the characters, especially the heroines, as they learn to accept their sins, their past, and the restrictions placed on their future by their situation.
First, the setting... in the world this is based in, some time before the story begins (there are no specifics as to when precisely things started) people began awakening to abilities called 'Gleam'. These abilities ignore physical laws and common sense to manifest in response to the stress and pain of their hosts (think of Gleams as something like a parasite born of the human psyche). These abilities are immensely powerful and often deadly. Unfortunately, those who awake to these abilities are universally incapable of controlling them immediately, and as a result, they inevitably cause tragedies. As a result, the 'Witches', as they are called, are social pariahs that are legitimately imprisoned and legally persecuted in order to keep them from harming the rest of society.
To be specific, immediately after they awaken to their abilities, Witches are sent to facilities where they either learn to control their abilities before the hypnotic suggestions and drugs that keep their abilities from running wild stop having an effect... or are lobotomized and turned into research subjects. Even when they complete mastering their abilities, Witches live their lives under constant supervision (ranging from the equivalent of a probation officer to forced cohabitation with a non-Witch guardian). To be blunt, it sucks to be a Witch in this setting, and all of the heroines in this VN are Witches, the protagonist being a former Witch-hunter whose job is now to teach them to control their abilities.
I'm inordinately fond of this game's protagonist... if only because the world through his eyes is so cool. He is definitely the stoic type (ie. breaks his own fingers one by one and doesn't even change his expression) and capable of an amazing degree of ruthlessness when seeking a goal. It isn't that he is cold-blooded precisely... he is actually a very compassionate human being. However, his compassion doesn't impinge on his objectivity at all, as he is quite willing to be brutal with others if he thinks that is what is necessary to fulfill his duty. When he sees the best way to fulfill those duties, even if it is morally reprehensible or personally distasteful, he won't hesitate to take action.
He is also a pervert... in the classic sense. He loves nothing more than surfing ero-sites in his free time, and he doesn't have a drop of shame to his nature. That makes him rather funny.
The VN is split into a common route and five heroine routes. The first three routes available to you are Sakurako, Chitose, and Yuma. When you finish those routes, you can play Shirayuki's route, which reveals the background of not only her but one of the major antagonists of the story overall, then Luna's route, which reveals everything, including the issues with the protagonist's own past.
Sakurako is a martial artist from a long line of such people, and her ability allows her to manifest shadows, make them solid, and manipulate them at will (an obviously dangerous ability, lol). She is straightforward in personality, thinking in straight lines and more than a little narrow-visioned.
Chitose is... an odd contradiction. She is a sports-loving, cheerful girl... who is as lazy as hell when people let her be. However, she is also capable of an extreme degree of devotion to those she cares about, to the point of ignoring her own well-being in the process. Her Gleam is 'good luck', which it drains from other people to feed the luck of the user.
Yuma... is a kind-hearted otaku girl. She is inordinately fond of BL literature and is constantly indulging in erotic fantasies inside her head. However, she is also surprisingly unwilling to trust others, despite her seemingly kind and gentle nature. Her Gleam is a type of empathy combined with psychometric aspects.
Shirayuki is... inscrutable. It's hard to get a good grasp of her personality, outside of an obsessive love of cute things (fuwafuwa na mono, as she puts it). She tends to have even worse tunnel vision than Sakurako. Her Gleam allows her to make objects invisible.
Luna is... a spoiler, lol. Sorry, telling you anything about Luna whatsoever will spoil the game, so I'll leave her at that. I can't even tell you her Gleam without spoiling things.
This game's paths are all solid in their own way, but it should be noted that the first three paths tend to be 'normal' in the sense that once the heroines' major personal issues are resolved, they just get on with their lives with the protagonist. Shirayuki's and Luna's paths are... different, if only because they reveal a good deal of evil that lies behind the scenes in the other paths that is impossible to ignore and leaves nothing unchanged.
Overall, this is a good and solid VN, with a truly fascinating setting and set of characters.
Now, in the past I've often tried to clearly define my favorite VN genre, the chuunige. While there are many elements that go into making a chuunige, the primary requirements are conflict (violent or otherwise), philosophy (hedge philosophy usually), deliberately exaggerated character personalities and backgrounds, and extremely detailed settings.
Now, for reasons known only to me, I felt like talking about the chuunige protagonist. Understand, chuunige protagonists are inevitably... unique personalities (sometimes to the point of being unreal). One of the greatest ironies of the chuunige is that the genre's very nature makes it impossible for its protagonists to fall entirely within the narrow archetypes that come standard with most VNs (the kind-hearted but dense protagonist of love-comedy VNs, for instance).
However, they can be put into three more general archetypes based on aspects of their personalities and personal morality: the hero, the anti-hero, and the monster.
Heroes are very simple and straightforward. These individuals represent virtue in general or a single human virtue and overcome obstacles through that particular virtue (at least in part). A love of justice, a desire for love, a desire to save the people they care about or people in general, a desire for self-improvement, etc. Most protagonists of this type are inspiring as individuals when placed into situations of extreme stress and conflict. As a result, chuunige with this type of protagonist tend to be very inspiring in the end. Also almost universal to them is a deep (Greek drama style) flaw that might destroy them in the end or at least trip them up.
Examples of chuunige with this type of protagonist include: The Tiny Dungeon series, Evolimit, Bullet Butlers, Ayakashibito, FSN (in the Fate path), Sorcery Jokers (the younger protagonist), etc.
The anti-hero protagonist is a bit more complex. Individuals in this type of chuunige will generally obtain the same results... but they might do so through amoral or reprehensible methods. Anti-heroes tend to fall into two types... the type that will willingly abandon everything for the person they care about most without a second thought and the type that will mercilessly cut off the one for the sake of the many. This type often will have a moral compass that differs radically from the average human being.
Chuunige with this type of protagonist include: Vermilion, Dies Irae, Kajiri Kamui Kagura, Shinigami no Testament, Gensou no Idea (both), Sorcery Jokers (the older protagonist), Comyu, Jingai Makyou, Hello Lady, Zero Infinity, Electro Arms, Izuna Zanshinken etc.
The third and final protagonist type is the monster. This type is the rarest of the three... mostly because few Japanese writers have the courage to create a protagonist of this type in the first place. This type of protagonist has a tendency to be brutal, selfish, amoral, or outright villainous. These protagonists have a tendency to be immensely intelligent and/or capable... but that intelligence/capability is usually directed to a goal that is less than wholesome in most cases. Berserkers, killers, etc.
Chuunige with this type of protagonist: Devils Devel Concept, Silverio Vendetta, Muramasa, Yurikago yori Tenshi Made, Maggot Baits (yes it counts, though I hate to admit it) etc.
In almost every way it matters, chuunige are defined by their protagonists. Their perspectives are deliberately warped, corrupted, and/or out of sync with most human beings, and that is the primary reason I keep coming back to them, lol.
Edit: Note that most of the monster type protagonists come from chuunige-specialist companies that pretty much produce nothing but this type of VN, lol.
Edit2: A lot of the reason for the excessively exaggerated nature of character designs (both visual and written) in chuunige comes from a philosophy in the genre that is very similar to that seen on the stage when classic plays are acted out for a live audience. Making things over the top is seen as both a virtue and an absolute necessity for creating understanding in the watcher/reader in both cases.
For those who have no idea whatsoever what I am talking about, I'm referring to a type of heroine that tends to exist in a relatively high proportion with a strong central plot... the type of heroine that remains by the protagonist's side, usually no matter which heroine he chooses and is usually the true heroine. This heroine has a bond with the protagonist that surpasses that of a simple friendship or lover and can't really be cut without destroying them both. This heroine's existence is usually so vital to the protagonist that without her, he isn't entirely sane. Often, this will be the true heroine, though that isn't always the case. This type of heroine will not always be pleasant to be around... in fact, many of them are outright prickly or poisonous. However, the bond they have with the protagonist is sufficient to make parting nearly impossible, if not entirely unthinkable.
Examples of this heroine include:
Suzu from Ayakashibito
Kagome from Comyu
Shizuku from Evolimit
Selma from Bullet Butlers
Mana from Amatsutsumi
Belche from Draculius
Saki from Hapymaher
Nonosaki Akiho of Moshimo Ashita ga Harenaraba
Kamio Ami of Semiramis no Tenbin (in a weird way)
Chikae from Ore no Tsure wa Hito de nashi
Mitoko from Damekoi
Understand, I absolutely adore this type of heroine role... mostly because the intimacy (not always positive) makes for some really interesting and warped relationships. Also, the love when they do get together is... extreme, lol.
One thing I didn't notice until recently is that there is a severe lack of (non-nukige) sports VNs out there. The reason I didn't notice? It's fairly simple... I have no interest in conventional sports (martial arts-related sports being differentiated from 'normal' sports). There are protagonists and heroines who are athletic in many VNs, and there are a few combat-sport VNs (like Walkure Romanze and Aokana). However, all-in-all the lack of sports VNs is... amusing on the surface.
When you think about it, the reason is fairly simple. A lot of otakus and otaku writers just aren't sports-lovers or players. Most of the people wanting to use VNs to relive their youth aren't the type that played sports, so few VNs are sports-related as a result. It's a pretty simple explanation when you think about it, but it made me laugh when I figured it out.
Tsukikage no Simulacre is a mini-VN by Akatsuki Works' sibling brand, Applique, which specializes in solid story-focused VNs ranging from nakige like Toko o Tsumugu Yakusoku to hard sci-fi stories like Re:Birth Colony. Applique is also responsible for the creation of Tasogare no Sinsemilla, which is a classic VN that I still remember well to this day.
This VN, like Hinonai (reference the previous post), seems to have been created as a combination prelude/advertisement for a future, more extensive VN. In this case, it looks to be an occult horror/mystery. The fact that the mystery of what is going on is never revealed to the reader by the end of the VN only reinforces this idea.
However, if it is a mere prelude, it is an excellent one, since it definitely caught my interest. The focus of this VN is the mystery 'living doll' of the Kisaragi family, which is said to have been the creation and loyal companion of the family's founder until his death, when it ceased to move. At the beginning, the protagonist is called to the Kisaragi head family's home to participate in a ritual marriage to the living doll, a ritual that has been carried out countless times in the past, though its full meaning was lost long ago.
The protagonist himself is a member of an estranged cadet family of the Kisaragi, which has gone its own way over the years, while maintaining a frail connection to the rest, which run a corporate conglomerate specializing in mechanized technology of various types. He has a unique talent that lets him instantly be able to tell what is wrong with any mechanical device that he knows the makeup of at a touch, a talent that never sees use throughout the VN (further reinforcing my belief that this VN is going to see a sequel, at the very least).
The music in this game is... atmospheric. Seriously, the atmosphere in this VN is defined through most of its length by the BGM, setting the stage for events in the main path (there is a secondary 'nothing happened' ending, but it is fairly irrelevant). I was really impressed with what they did with it. The visuals are standard Applique, bringing back nostalgic memories of Sinsemilla and other games by this company.
Story-wise... it is incomplete. It is enjoyable, but the way it ends makes it obvious that the writer intends to put out future entries and maybe make it into a series or a full VN. It ends on a slightly less satisfying note than Hinonai, but then, the incident in the VN isn't resolved, so that is only natural.
This is a simple post putting forth my views on what the largest pitfalls are for a fantranslator, both in the immediate sense and the long-term.
Immediate
1. Making promises: Anyone who starts a translation is bound to do something stupid... such as setting a deadline or predicting how long it will take them to do something. Even experienced translation groups trip and fall into this particular trap. Nothing good comes of making promises, primarily because rl exists.
2. Agreeing to translate/edit/proofread something you aren't interested in: This links to motivation. To be blunt, no fantl will be able to finish work on a VN if they don't enjoy the original or at least prefer the genre it is in. Fantls are a labor of love not a workplace with a set salary and a boss telling you to get back to work or he'll dock your pay. Passion about the subject matter is necessary to get anywhere on a fantl project.
3. Taking on a job you aren't qualified for: This mostly applies to beginner fantls... to be blunt, don't take on something you can't read easily. If you can't read and fully comprehend the text of the VN you've agreed to translate, don't even make the attempt.
4. Machine translations: Don't work.
5. Looking up your name/reputation/etc: Some people get addicted to looking for positive reactions to their work. Unfortunately, this also means that they stumble across the negative responses and can damage their confidence in ways that can destroy a project.
Long-term
1. The choice to announce a project or not: Many who translate VNs use community comments to help them build motivation. However, choosing to involve the community in your project is a two-sided sword... it cuts both ways. Negative comments, people asking you when it will come out, and complaints about the translation of any partial you put out can obliterate your motivation and cripple the project.
2. Internal group chemistry and mechanics: No matter how you look at it, the translator is the origin and star of any given project. Without the translator it goes nowhere... but translators can't be the ones going around motivating the group to keep working. It's inefficient and emotionally draining for the person in question, and it is the number one cause of project failure I've seen related to group chemistry, when the translator finally falls apart. An editor's role only seems minor to a translator. It is actually a job that can be equally frustrating to that of the raw translation, and a decent translator's secondary job often becomes tlcing and explaining his own work to the editor. Thus, my advice to any fantranslator is find an editor you can talk to and get along with, or you'll regret it later. My advice to editors is: Be patient. Many translators really don't like going back over their own work, so just keep an eye out for potential signs that they are at their limit.
3. Burn-out: This can potentially happen to any fantl position. It is also related to all the things above, since it is a state where all motivation is lost and the individual in question basically just drops out of the project. Apathy toward the project and ignoring group members are fairly common signs of this. Whether it is permanent or not depends on the individual, but it can take years to recover mentally and emotionally once you've reached this stage *speaking from personal experience*
I think we can all agree I've read a lot of VNs. *waits for audience laughter with a smile*
*looks sad when the audience laughter recording doesn't work*
Anyway, over the years I've encountered a lot of writers. Some were mediocre, others were decent, yet others were good... and some were just great.
I decided to list the writers I honestly think have a lot of talent and whose works are something we, as VN fans, should at least keep an eye on. Tier One presents writers who are 'masters of their craft', to the point where they can be put onto a pedestal with few qualms.
My list:
Hino Wataru- Hino Wataru is Akatsuki Works' primary writer. His bad habits include a tendency toward overuse of line repetition (like 'soredemo, to' in Comyu and 'norowareta sekai' in Ruitomo) and an absolute adoration for hedge philosophy themes in each VN he writes. However, if you can endure his quirks, his raw writing is actually really high quality, and he does have a serious talent for scenario construction. It's just too bad that you can tell how he favors his heroines based on their path length and closeness to the 'true' heroine.
Masada Takashi- Now, the first thing that comes to mind to any of us when we hear 'Masada' is the famous/infamous VN Dies Irae. For chuuni fans and fans of elaborate prose, Dies Irae is a drug more powerful than heroin. For people who want prose to be straightforward and easy to understand, it is pure poison. His adoration for the use of phrasing rarely utilized in modern prose, flowery descriptions, and poetic phrasing have also made him one of the most impossible writers to translate, though. His preference is for grandiose settings, 'archetypical characters escaping their archetypes', and over the top plot twists. He is surprisingly good at avoiding giving away future story developments to the reader, and his most brilliant characters are usually the antagonists of the story, rather than the protagonists or the heroines. He is also a first-class master of the art of presentation.
Kurashiki Tatsuya and Takahama Ryou- These guys are what I like to call the 'Masada Fanboys'. Their prose, their scenario and setting construction, and even the cadence of their poetry is all an imprint of Masada. For those unfamiliar with Light's works, Kurashiki Tatsuya was the scenario writer for Maggot Baits (which had unbelievably good prose outside of the torture/sex scenes) and Takahama Ryou was one of Izumo 4's writers. While their writing shows off a rather obvious obsession with Masada's works, that doesn't seem to keep them from writing enormously enjoyable stories and characters. The biggest difference between them and Masada is that they tend to place more of an emphasis on the protagonist and heroines than Masada does (as Masada is a master of the 'supreme antagonist' as is evidenced by Amakasu, Reinhardt, Mercurius, and Hajun). Evidence of this is Vermilion, Electro Arms, Zero Infinity, and Silverio Vendetta, all of which were VNs that were defined almost entirely by the protagonist and/or the heroines.
Kinugasa Shougo- The writer of Akatsuki no Goei (the series) and Reminiscence (the series), Kinugasa Shougo is perhaps best known for his character-based situational comedy, despite having a surprising flair for building a setting. He has an inordinate fondness for dystopian settings and characters who are either amoral or outright villainous. Kaito in Akatsuki no Goei is perhaps one of the most amoral protagonists I've ever come across, possessing a capacity for directed brutality that I've found nearly unmatched in VNs combined with an arrogance that causes endless hilarity throughout the VNs involving him. However, this writer does have one huge flaw... he loves leaving things unfinished and/or to your imagination. He never concludes his stories, and things almost never have a 'happily ever after' feeling to them after he gets done with them.
Takaya Aya- Perhaps one of the most versatile writers on this list, Takaya Aya is Caramel Box's primary writer, having been responsible for many first-class VNs, including Semiramis no Tenbin, Komorebi no Nostalgica, Shuumatsu Shoujo Gensou Alicematic, Otoboku 2, and Kikan Bakumatsu Ibun Last Cavalier. He is absolutely brilliant at creating empathetic characters and pulling the reader into their situations. He can do chuunige, slice-of-life comedy, nakige, and even a dark social commentary.
Higashide Yuuichirou- Like Masada, Higashide Yuuichirou is/was (he is retired) primarily a chuunige writer and was Propeller's main writer until 2011. Unlike Masada, he specializes in a more 'standard' version of the hero. His protagonists are designed to inspire, his writing is full of humor (both standard manzai and self-effacing), and he has a mastery of catharsis that Masada simply doesn't possess. To be honest, I've only come across a few writers that can balance so many elements in a single literary work without having it all fall apart, and his works don't lose their flavor after multiple playthroughs.
Takehaya- Takehaya is a master of catharsis, the creating of characters, settings, and scenarios that can draw out the emotions of the reader, forcing them into an emotional release despite themselves. All of his best works - from utsuge Konakana to the more recent Rakuen no Shugosha - rip into your heart and force you to make a place for the characters there. There are few writers out there that can do what he does, but I can't help but wish there were.
Morisaki Ryouto- Morisaki Ryouto is a challenger for Takaya Aya in terms of versatility, capable of writing nakige, charage, hard sci-fi, chuunige fantasy (Fate/Hollow Ataraxia) and even heavy eros. While he isn't as brilliant as Takaya as a writer, he does have a gift for adapting himself to the genre he is writing, and it is always worth it to at least try anything he writes, even if the genre itself turns out not to suit your tastes.
Shumon Yuu- Shumon Yuu is something of an enigma. He occasionally appears in the VN industry (every three years or so) and puts out a VN that is artistically brilliant (in the general sense) and possesses depths that are almost impossible to fully plumb in a single playthrough. Every VN he has put out since he hit his stride with Itsuka Todoku has been a kamige. He is also a light novel writer. He is brilliant at portraying both suffering and joy, drawing you into the setting and characters while presenting them in their best lights. If there is a writer in the VN industry I can say unequivocally is a genius, he is it.
ReCollect is the direct sequel to the original game, based on a 'normal' ending where certain major events in Aki's, Accela's, and Kizuna's paths never came to fruition. In fact, it is based off of a romance-less version of Aika's path, as the events in the last part of her path (before the romance/lovers thing) occur immediately before the story begins. So, if you've played Reminiscence but not ReCollect yet, it would be wise to use the update patch to activate Aika's path so you can get to know the events leading up to this game.
In this one, a new Geofront arcology called Yamato is discovered... and I literally can't say anything about the specifics without ruining it for new readers, so I'll leave it at the fact that Hidetaka does get involved with the diplomacy between them and that is the core of the story.
While Hidetaka is somewhat disappointing in the first part of the VN (as a result of his actions immediately previous, he's managed to serious piss off his boss), once things get moving with Yamato, he shows his true colors quickly, being an odd combination of a natural intriguer and a good person at heart (a rare combination to say the least).
In Kazuha's path (decendant of Tae from Akatsuki no Goei), things move quickly from the serious part to the somewhat goofy part and romance parts. As a route, it is about on par with Rin's or Nozomi's paths in the original, meaning it is short and leaves you feeling like things are unfinished. Kazuha herself is a misanthropic loli (misanthropic to the core, as opposed to heroines who fake it), so her attitude doesn't change all that much toward Hidetaka outside a few select moments. I laughed at her path, but if you asked me if it was on par with the better paths written out by this writer, I'd have to say no firmly.
Suzuka's path is significantly different. Suzuka is the Grand Marshal of Yamato, a young leader who has grown up with the responsibilities of old-style royalty to her people (and with a sense of responsibility to match them). Her path is about as long as Aki's or Kizuna's paths, perhaps longer. It is also as much about the internal politics of Yamato and its other important individuals as it is about her, so the actual romantic element feels slightly forced. This path also has some objectionable material for those who dislike stories with violence and suffering, so prepare yourself in advance if you want to read it.
Overall, despite the depth of Suzuka's path, I felt that this VN lacked a lot of the depth it could otherwise have had. What it needed was a full second chapter like the original gives if you didn't choose Rin or Nozomi, and Suzuka's path doesn't really compensate, since I still think Aki's path is more memorable in retrospect. For those who are wondering, very little to nothing seems to have been added onto the second game, unfortunately.
