Pallas_Raven

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here. Small But Mighty When it comes to additional styles of gameplay within visual novels, they do not need to be as grand or demanding as a JRPG or SRPG component and the smallest of gameplay cycles can have a far greater effect in the right situation. Enter the Mini-Game, short and simple mechanical simulants that aim to prove value in being concise. Including these lends a form of texture to events and character actions without committing to a more extensive gameplay suite which might impact the player’s direct engagement with the narrative. The manifestations of the mini-game come in several forms from entirely distinct side activities to representing conflict in a more directly to creating empathy with the characters. Each one offers a distinct set of challenges for a visual novel to overcome in order to justify their inclusion without harming pacing or immersion since by their nature mini-games are very abstract. Let’s engage in bite sized gameplay and dive into what mini-games can offer. Detached Side Activities By far the most common way of including mini-games in a visual novel is to make them detached side activities. This means they are either exist in a separate space to the narrative, often only accessible through the extras menu, or they are within the main game as entirely optional events. Those which exist separately tend to be used by fandisc style games where the content is likely already a buffet of often detached narratives designed to offer the player small dishes of excitement. Mini-games seamlessly slot into this colourful collection since they provide the same bite sized experiences the game is based around, but in a slightly different form in order to keep up the sense of novelty fandiscs rely upon to differentiate themselves from the original title. Take for example Fate Hollow Ataraxia and its Illya Castle mini-game. This side content is sectioned from the main narrative as is much of the unlockable elements and it contains a distinctive and humourous small story about the servants fighting against Illya. Its light tone is in line with the rest of the optional elements and acts as a suitable reward for engagement as well as embodying the celebration of Fate Stay Night’s success. As for the visual novels which contain mini-games as optional content within their main narratives, these lean on their mini-games as a type of pacing mechanism in order to prevent the player from getting bored or rushing through the story too quickly, but in a way that does not take away the player’s agency. This means that a player who does not like the mini-game in question can simply skip over it without it negatively impacting their experience while still allowing for those who do resonate with it to control their playtime in the mini-game. Perhaps the developer who is in love with this type of mini-game the most is Key with Little Busters and Summer Pockets being excellent embodiments of this core design idea. These have a baseball and table tennis mini-game respectively and share the common element of being completely skippable, but still in-depth enough to hold the attention of the player in a way that ties into the narrative space. Each time the mini-game is played these visual novels can provide a release from the drama and a means of player enforced sidetracking to give a needed sense of freedom. Metaphor For Conflict Another common reason to include mini-games is to use them as a stand in for internal or external strife. Sometimes a visual novel might want a specific moment or repeated action to stick out in the player’s mind and it does not want to entirely rely on its native narrative presentation so it instead opts for a mini-game that acts as layer of metaphor on top. These are often abstractions of the activity being engaged in and represents the mental space of the characters occupy. Making these events stand out also gives the player an insight into how the characters perceive the world which better allows the player to fill their shoes and feel for their journey. In a broader context it reinforces the tone of the game by presenting it in a more kinetic fashion than might otherwise be expected from the medium and lending a texture to the title it would otherwise lack. In The Character’s Shoes There are visual novels where detached and abstract mini-games would ruin their grounded and intimate nature. For this situation the mini-game can take on a more direct approach by systematising basic or mundane actions to give the characters a sense of physically believability. This can be anything from flicking switches to putting a key into a lock, things we do everyday and do not think about. What this does is create a tactile link between the characters on screen and our own lives in order to play off this bridge so a player might be able to empathise with them through their shared reality. It is easy to underestimate just how much these little touches do to liven up the game in the moment and provide breathing room even if it is in a much smaller way to the other types of mini-games. The DS era of visual novels is where this type of mini-game really came into its own due to the console’s touchscreen allowing for more kinetic interactions with the game. To see this in action we can look to Last Window: The Secret of Cape West which often asks the player to engage in everyday or basic activity mini-games in order to process. These are cleverly used to put the player into the grounded shoes of our investigator protagonist through mixing in simple detective work among these everyday actions to create an understanding of the skills that they are utilising. The title also knows that overusing these small moments can lead to a reduction in their effectiveness and so tends to use them in short burst where they would have the most impact. Beyond the ability of these mini-games to create a link between player and game is the way in which they slot nicely alongside other gameplay styles. VA-11 HALL-A is a good showcase of this quality since its main bartending loop is accompanied by a few of these grounded mini-games such a cracking some beers with the boss. Having these simple diversions has the effect of permeating the character downtime with a sense of gameplay continuity while not demanding the player learn another set of complex systems. Conclusion No part of a visual novel is without value and mini-games show us just how powerful that sentiment can be when used to support greater tonal and thematic elements. Through being detached from the central game they can offer a useful and player enforced pacing mechanism or provide a novelty in order to keep the player engaged. When merged into the central narrative they allow for the expression of conflict in a more direct but still abstract manner to help the player feel what is going on in a kinetic way. They also give the player a way of experiencing the more banal aspects of the character’s lives and building a connection to them through how this echoes their own day to day activities. Of all the styles of secondary gameplay within visual novels, the mini-game is perhaps the least invasive and easiest to implement to great effectiveness and it is definitely worth considering when developing your own titles.

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here. Breaking Through The Firmament When looking up at the stars how can one not be filled with a sense of wonder? Since humans first stood upright we have told stories about what lies in the expanse above our heads. In the past this would have been the realm of gods and mythical creatures, but, now that people can reach it, the tales have shifted into the subject of today’s article, space sci-fi. These are narratives focus around futuristic societies with technology beyond are own who are capable of travelling easily from their planet to the void beyond. This can be anywhere from a more ground depiction of having these people only able to travel into orbit around their own planet to full blown faster than light travel across the galaxy. For visual novels this is not a particularly popular setting compared to the likes of the present day or high fantasy, but what there is has a unique flare to it that no other medium is quite capable of capturing. It is in visual novel’s tendency towards intimacy and introspection that we can find what makes these space sci-fi games such powerful experiences. Let’s count down to lift off and see how visual novels have adapted this imaginative space. Just Above Our Heads Choosing to embrace space sci-fi within a setting relatively technologically similar to our own, but just slightly further along provides some unique opportunities to engage with our present while still holding onto the captivating allure of the far future. By having a grounding in concepts familiar to the player, there is less of a need to constantly explain ideas than there would be in a setting in the more distant future and it can avoid a lot of bloat often caused through exposition. On top of this it can rely on our empathy for the known to build a connection between player and characters or strengthen the identity of the game and this is especially true if the story spends some of its time planetside surrounded by icons and imagery close to the present day. Visual novel’s intimacy also allows this familiarity to extend to the cultural conventions inherent in our present world and use this to compare and contrast with the forms of space travel avavilable for narrative purposes. Where No Man Has Gone Before If the game is already set in space, it might as well go the whole way and be set in a far future with faster than light spaceship and other advanced technology. This is the attitude many developers take and has resulted in this being the most common type of space sci-fi. There are many good reasons for choosing this approach, chief among them is how to fulfils the exploration and discovery fantasy born out of the space race by presenting the player with mysterious and wondrous new worlds. What a player uncovers does not need to be exclusively exotic planets for there can be strange cultures or just humans who are both friends and foes. The beauty of the unknown is that anything is possible and it also creates much needed tension within the narrative. Placed alongside a compelling cast of humans and the not so human and the result is often a roller-coaster ride as the characters and the player both come to terms with the emotions and trials this journey to the stars brings. Even the large amount of exposition this type of space sci-fi often bring is wielded as another avenue to explore and slowly come to understand what makes this universe tick. For example take ALPHA-NIGHTHAWK which is a visual novel that fully takes advantage of out the concepts in space sci-fi to crank things up to the absurd. Here the player will find strange spaceships, flashy mecha and people with animal ears or full animal bodies. These choices lead to a world of surprises to keep the player entertained and it gives the game that sense of stepping into the unknown. In the Sunrider games we can see a more standard use of space sci-fi in the form of the starship captain fantasy. Rather than a simply being wondrous, space for Sunrider is a land of adventure where the brave step forward to prove themselves. Hence why these game focus around fighting and exploring the ruins of a once powerful ancient civilisation. This allows the games to leverage the space sci-fi tendency towards grand universe spanning concepts in a more human form as a lot of the mysteries involve the various people within the setting. Explore Ourselves In Spaces Unknown No matter the nature of space sci-fi visual novels, the spirit of exploring something unknown is always present within their narratives. This extends beyond the obvious exploration of the strange endless void of space and into ideas that examine the inner thoughts and motivations of its characters. In a place as alien as space what does it mean to be human? Its isolated nature allows visual novels to do what they do best and emphasise the connections between people on an intimate level by using it to create an intensity to the emotions of its cast as they struggle through the their problems without external help. There is an interesting design space opened by this interaction in the form of taking a society or ideal and pushing it to its extreme to examine what makes it tick as well as its flaws. Hate Plus shows us what focusing in on this idea can achieve as we get to see the fall of a vibrate culture in its isolated colony craft. There is no escape for the characters and they are confronted with the reality of what is happening which is made all the more personal to the player through how it effects Mute, their AI companion. Despite being only a series of text logs, its familiar ideas can be cleanly examined due to the distance provided by the space sci-fi setting since it can provide a contained area which is not a direct reflection of our own world in order to keep as much player bias out of the consideration as possible. Conclusion Beyond our blue sky is an endless black void perfect for all kinds of imaginative stories and visual novels know just how to take advantage of this space. It can deal with relatively low sci-fi settings where technology is only slightly better than our own in order to explore relevant issues in the modern world or to build an immediate connection to a place the player is familiar with. The opposite extreme of a high sci-fi setting and its almost fantastical spaceships provides a sense of wonder and exploration both of the universe but also the characters themselves. What visual novels bring to space sci-fi is their unique intimacy and capability to deal with complicated issues in a human manner without losing the distance from the real world provided by the genre. The resulting balance is an engaging take on one of the most imaginative spaces available for video games and it still has room to grow while delivering new masterful titles.

This is a condensed version of the full review which can be found on my Main Blog Here. Genre – Sci-fi, Thriller, Action Play Time – 30 hours Developer – Mages VNDB Steam A Future That Could Not Be Saved Struggling long and hard against fate only to find out you are the person who killed the one you love is enough to break a man and break Okabe Rintarou it did. Now he drifts through life in a world he knows is doomed to a hellish end. However, fate is not done with Okabe as the ghost of the Kurisu has found him in the form of an AI named Amadeus. Such is the set up for the game which aims to be a strange mix of sequel and bridging story that is torn between the tale it wants to tell and the legacy of the original Steins Gate. Taking the loosely defined dystopian future Amane Suzuha comes from and making it the focus, gives 0 a more direct thriller feel when compared to the original and it plays into a simpler sense of drama and tension. Put this alongside a colourful new cast and improved visuals and the result must live up to the original, right? Unfortunately, as we will soon discuss the reality is far more mixed with the game struggling to even handle its own new ideas and characters properly. Let’s fight against the conspiracy and find out what Steins Gate 0 has to offer. The Worst Timeline – Narrative and Themes Steins Gate was a fairly complete experience with a closed ending that left no room for a direct sequel, try as the anime movie might to change that truth. So 0’s developers had to find another angle of approach in order to create a game which would not feel unnecessary in the face of the original. What they decided upon was an exploration of the poorly defined dystopian future present in the last part of the original through the experiences of Suzuha. In many ways this was a stroke of brilliance since it creates a sense of suspense in the player from the knowledge they have about how doomed this timeline really is for the characters. On top of this it allows the narrative to be far more explicit than the original when it comes to its thriller nature. A world spiralling towards its damnation has far less a need for subtly and its villains can act more openly when they feel assured of their victory. This provides a clear contrast to the original’s much more subdued thriller elements where the threat was implied and rarely shown in order to keep the mystery thick. By abandoning this 0 can engage directly with its subject matter and present a fast paced story with less of the downtime of the original while still being able to leverage the existing ideas and themes as a source of nostalgia or subversion. The overall result is not quite as strong as Steins Gate, but 0 could never have just copied it and despite this change the game still holds its own in some elements when compared to that first title. Okabe is at the heart of 0 in a far greater way than the original game and 0 shows an interest in picking apart exactly what makes him who he is and why people follow him. To do this the game strips everything from him and pushes him to breaking point. It takes the person he loves away from him and makes him responsible for her death in order to wipe away his delusion of being in control. The resulting shell of a man becomes the game’s focal point and it presents him with a series of trials which bring up the pain he is attempting to run away from. Kurisu haunts him in the form of Amadeus and then later Kagari who force him to examine what he believes in. We are treated to front row seats of this internal and external drama while events spiral towards their inevitable destination with no regards to Okabe’s feelings. Doing this gives the game a sense of purpose and points out to the player why the empathised with Okabe in Steins Gate and makes them further invested in seeing his new journey to its conclusion. It is surprising just how much more Okabe has to his own character development even after being in his head for the entire of the original game and this is a testament to how well thought through he is in both titles. In the end, despite its best efforts, 0 can never escape the shadow cast by Steins Gate. Throughout the entire game one question hangs over it, why does this title exist? The part of the original game it chooses to expand upon its not all that important in the grand scheme of the narrative and only has a few scenes focused around it. As such 0 had to work hard to convince the audience that if offered something necessary to Steins Gate. The game does a good job of setting itself apart for that first tile through its more overt themes and tone, but this is not the same as a providing the itself with greater meaning. This becomes even more of an issue when it introduces new characters and world elements not mentioned before and it makes no sense for them to have not been mentioned in the original game such as that fact Kurisu was working on AI or that she had a rival/friend named Maho. Together they contribute to a sense of lacking direction where 0 meanders between aspects it thinks were cool about Steins Gate without any real sense of what most of it is meant to mean. Conspirators, AI And Old Friends – Characters 0 inherits a majority of its core cast members from the original Steins Gate and they remain some of the strongest characters around. The strengths of having Okabe as the protagonist and the way the game focuses around examining his personality and motivations still shine brightly, but this passion for the original cast extends to every last returning member. Each is given something to do and some way to grow over the course of the game. Suzuha has to deal with Okabe’s unwillingness to cooperate and the sudden appearance of her future mother, Mayuri has to deal with Okabe’s current mind set as well as her own future adopted child and Itaru has to somehow court his future wife or else Suzuha will never be born. As you can imagine this mixing pot of motivations and directions leads to the game’s fun moments as well as its most emotional ones. There is a real sense that the developers love and care deeply about Steins Gate and wanted to do it justice through these recurring characters. While Okabe outshines all the rest, the overall picture painted by this cast is still a colourful and lively one that is by far the most entertaining element of 0. Striking Visions Of Catastrophe- Visual, Audio and Technical From an audio and visual perspective 0 is a noticeable step up in terms of quality. Gone are many of the stiffer character portraits for the original and these have been replaced by higher quality and seasonally appropriate designs. Each one still embodies the core identity of the character at a glance while giving them a look which makes it clear that things have changed for them in the time between the original and 0. The CGs and backgrounds have been given a similar face lift and the improvements strike you immediately as you start the game and continue to impress throughout the entire duration. They lean into the more overt thriller elements of the narrative and deliver visions of a doomed world perfectly matching the tone of the narrative. Just like the original the new soundtrack captures this sense of the magical qualities of time travel and technology alongside an undertone of danger. However, 0 adds a twist by inject a good sense of dread into the music leading to some distinctive tracks completely its own. On the technical front 0 is a bit disappointing due its lack of technical improvements over Steins Gate which leaves it feeling trapped in the past. Unlike the original there is no need for 0 to obscure the nature of the game’s structure since everything is more overt and yet there is still no built-in flowchart. This feature would have gone a long way in alleviating potential confusion about where the player stands within the overall game and where they might want to explore next. While its absence is not enough to ruin the title, it is confusing that such an obvious inclusion was overlooked in a series priding itself on time travel. This lack of technical additions extends to most of the other systems which are mostly the same as the original Steins Gate that was released six years prior. A lack of polish in these areas does bring down the overall package and make for navigation filled with unnecessary road blocks. Conclusion Being a pseudo sequel to one of the most highly regarded visual novels around is not an easy task and you can regularly feel 0 struggle with its legacy. Despite these troubles, 0 has enough of its own identity to stand apart with a more overt focus on the thriller elements of the narrative and a strong understanding of what made the original cast so endearing. However, it stumbles when it comes to many of its own additions such as characters who lack purpose within the narrative as well as failing to properly account for why these aspects were not mentioned in the original game. Standing on its own 0 is an impressive experience that leans well into its strengths and it is only when the inevitable comparisons to Steins Gate pop up that it falls somewhat flat. Verdict – A fabulous thriller which uses the less explored elements of Steins Gate to achieve an experience distinct from the original. However, it can never escape the shadow of that original nor does it seem to know what to do with many of its new ideas and cast members. Pros + The more direct thriller elements make for a more immediately engaging experience for the player. + Okabe is put through through a series of trails that perfectly showcase the kind of person he is and why he makes for such an interesting protagonist. + The returning cast are still fun to interact with and steal the show. + There has been a clear upgrade to the visual presentation and the new soundtrack captures the same quality. Cons - Being in the shadow of the original game restricts what this game can do and you can regularly feel it rubbing up against those limits. - The new cast members are a mixed bag with some of them feeling like filler or plot contrivances and others being so obviously evil that it makes you wonder why the heroes fall for their lies. - Not having a flowchart is a missed opportunity to avoid player confusion and adds to sense of the stagnant technical state of the game.

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here. A Relationship With Many Sides When it comes to relationships most forms of media present monogamous pairings as the normal and rarely explore beyond this line of thinking and when they do the presentation of the opposite extreme is generally negative. Enter the visual novel, here is a space where polyamorous relationships are given an equal examination to their more traditional peers through these games' endings. While they by no means form the majority of romantic interactions in the medium, they do exist in significantly higher numbers than elsewhere and each is presented with the sincerity it deserves. When it comes to how polyamory manifests in narratives there are two groups, those involving exactly three participants and those numbering greater than that baseline. These have differing means by which they come about as well as how they end up defining the people they connect which gives each a unique flavour for the player. Despite the nuance on offer from these endings there are various problems with perception due to people’s ingrained ideas of the value of monogamy and the way more erotic titles also make use of this type of ending for a different effect. Let’s expand our romantic horizons and see how visual novels use polyamorous endings. Three Is The Magic Number When presenting a non-monogamous relationship to the player it is hard to get them to understand it the further away it is from the two person system they are familiar with and as such adding only one additional participant is the most common polyamorous grouping. One of the major advantages of this trio over a greater number is it can be neatly divided into three pairings and play off the established idea of a love triangle as a form of common ground with the player. Like the sides of a triangle a relationship formed of three people has three lines of emotion which the player has to understand, one from each person to the other two. By having neat and easy to follow lines the player can keep track of how the relationships of each part of the trio inform the eventual collective romantic ending. Another trick often employed is to have only two of the three characters on screen at the same time in an imitation of the standard monogamous interaction and only having all three express their feeling together when the game heads towards its ending. This means the player is never overwhelmed by possible clashing or overlapping love from those in this relationship and it helps them understand the factors leading towards their eventual union, only to reveal it a dramatic fashion for the most impact when the time is right. Why Stop At Three? Once the number of people in a polyamorous relationship exceeds three it tends to spike by quite a bit, jumping up to anywhere from five to seven. This spike is due to the benefits of the triangle’s simple relationship dynamics being lost so it becomes more important to commit to the characters individual paths towards the polyamorous ending rather than asking the player to keep track of each possible bond in the romantic lattice. Showing the micro level of each character’s bonds has a similar effect to the focus on a single relationship used by trios by bringing these intricate feeling down to an easy to understand level which can be subtly built up into a larger picture. This foundation is then added to as the game piles on the other participants in the polyamorous relationship and little by little a complete picture of formed as it reaches its climax and reveal with the narrative’s ending. Giving the player the space to breath and get to know each character helps form a detailed idea of what would lead a person to this type of bond while asking the player to consider what that tell them about the nature of relationships in a broader sense. Lamunation! provides a good showcase of how to present a larger number of people in a polyamorous ending. To start with it divides its core game into routes following sets of heroines as they deal with their own issues and lets the player see the close feelings they already have with the rest of the core cast. These segregated routes spend a fair amount of time showing how the characters bounce off each other to make the later shift into all of them being intimate appear organic. These are things like Lamune’s inability to say no to the other girls or the Prateado twins tendency to share everything between each other and they provide the reasons and motives for the eventual polyamorous ending once all other routes have been completed. Nekopara follows a similar approach except rather than routes it splits its catgirls into pairs and gives them individual episodes to shine in. By doing this the episodes can rely on the previously mentioned relatable power of trios to show the dynamics forming around them and bringing in past trios to slowly build up the whole picture of this relationship before organically letting it happen. Problems With Perception And Lust It might be obvious at this point that there is an important drawback to the inclusion of a polyamorous ending and this manifests through their negative connection with lust and the dominance of monogamy. In many ways visual novels do not help themselves when it comes the connection to lust since there are a number of games using polyamorous endings which utilise it as a form of erotic fantasy rather than treating as a potential and interesting manifestation of human relationships. These tend to be titles like Imouto Paradise or Funbag Fantasy which have no interest in being taken seriously on any level and exist purely for eroticism with little concern about how they are perceived beyond their target audience. There is nothing wrong with this per se and the continued popularity of this type of fantasy does show there are many people who willing to accept a simple representation of these ideas. However, it does effect how those from outside the medium see polyamory within visual novels and there is a definite tendency by these people to present games including this type of relationship as horny and of a lesser narrative quality regardless of what the truth actually is for each one. Beyond this issue there is a fear by developers that treating a polyamorous bond with complete seriousness might alienate their predominately monogamous audience, hence why all the titles mentioned in this article present it through some lens of comedy. Treating it as a partial joke allows them to deflect the idea that they are supporting a non-standard relationship and make it more palatable for potential players. Overall these problems do muddy the water when it comes to discussing polyamorous endings and are worth always keeping in mind when you encounter one. Conclusion Addressing polyamory is a delicate balancing act that few are willing to tackle so its presence within visual novels as endings is an interesting convention. While the reality is a mixed bag between sympathetic and emotional presentations and simple titillation, making for a muddied overall coverage of the idea, there are nevertheless more meaningful narratives about it than in most other mediums. If there are three people in the relationship, the visual novel can focus in on each pairing within that trio to make the sides of a triangle and allow for an easy and nuanced understanding on the part of the player. Beyond that number and the title has to fixate on the characters individually in order to give them the time they need to present their growth towards the polyamorous ending. Everything comes together at those endings and leaves the player to consider the value of what they just witnessed. This type of relationship and ending is not suited for most visual novels due to the amount of narrative and emotional set up it requires to be effective, but it is still worth considering if the pieces fall into places for this kind of bond between your characters as you plan your visual novel.

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here. The Brilliant Days Of Youth? Of all the genres that dominate the visual novel space there are none which can compete with the behemoth of school slice of life. Beyond the many games utilising it as their core narrative element, many others use it as a secondary pillar to ground their more fantastical or emotional genres and give them an easily recognisable touch point with the player. Its presence is so prominent that many not familiar with the medium still associate it with this idea of high school aged protagonists leading their daily lives. There is as much diversity as there is repetition in such an expansive genre to the point it can be both a blessing and curse to be associated with it. Let’s go back to school and uncover the enduring popularity and pitfalls of this defining genre. Transient Freedom And Possibilities In the Japanese visual novel space the period of life spent in school, in particular high school, holds an idealised quality as a time where the possibilities of life are open to you and you are afforded a freedom absent to an adult. Here can be found the brilliant emotions of youth for all to see with things said in fits of love or hate that would be unthinkable in later life, but in this moment they are looked upon as part of growing up. Alongside this is the sense of the realities of the world not having set in and these teenagers dreaming of future possibilities and experiencing an intense love for another person. Obviously none of this truly reflects the messy truth of hormone driven minds or the chaotic and unpleasant mess school life can be for many people. However, it does not have to since as the memories of that time fade we filter out the painful things we want to forget and remember the good times we did have along the way. The idealised vision of those times taps into this reductionist view of school we form in our heads and uses it as common grounding element visual novels can rely on to serve as a foundation of their stories. Sabbat of the Witch plays this idealisation fairly straight and focuses in on clubs, school events and other activities outside of lessons. When the lessons and studying inherent to this genre do come up, they are treated as a comfortable mundanity and a desirable place to return to after the characters have overcome their trials. In many ways school slice of life is treated as something with a calming and healing property for both the characters and the player and as a daily life to aspire towards. On the flip side to this relatively grounded presentation of school is Majikoi which makes school take the form of a place characterised by over the top fights, social hierarchies and larger than life characters. Here school is often interrupted by whatever absurd event the game feels like presenting to the player or when the status quo needs to be shaken up. However, under the surface of the sheer insanity that Majikoi cooks up is much the same foundational ideas of school slice of life. It is presented as the baseline normality for a reason and represents the desirable peace the character can always fall back on filled with their friends and a place where they can be themselves. What links these two games is that their vision of school slice of life is not a reflection of the real and messy place school is in practice, but instead a faded remembrance of a time long passed and they hope the audience feels the same. Flexibility And Inbuilt Drama One of main reasons visual novel developers choose to embrace the school slice of life genre is the way it can accommodate any story they wish to tell while bringing some easy to access drama of its own. This is a genre which does not demand to be the centre of attention and can comfortably assume a supportive role to a main genre in a smooth process without any tonal clashing. What allows this joining to be possible is generally neutral nature of its primary element, school. Love it or hate it, there is no denying the presence of school in the lives of most people and we consider it normal in the same way as getting a job or having a family, parts of our lives which is barely worth batting an eye at. The school slice of life genre takes these inbuilt preconceptions and uses them to merge into the background and remain unquestioned. Of course, when needed it can introduce its own sources of conflict to compliment the main narrative. These include everything from the heightened emotions of the teenage cast to the school administration acting against the actions of the characters. None of these are strong enough to overshadow a more compelling narrative core, but do wonders at filling downtime with something interesting. Overuse And The Plague Of Apathy When discussing the school slice of life genre it is hard to avoid the elephant in the room, its presence in the vast majority of visual novel releases. It has reached the point that having some element of the genre has almost become an expectation and people are surprised when a game does not follow this convention. This has caused a plague of apathy and awkward acceptance among existing players who are not madly in love with this prolific genre. Perhaps more importantly, it makes it difficult to convince a new player to give visual novels a try as they will see it through the preconception that all the medium boils down to is a collection of stories about shouting teenagers and their boring school life. This is a barrier which can be broken down by showing them the many titles and developers who reach beyond the standard trappings of school slice of life with more adult characters such as in Making*Lovers and it focus on older heroines or Steins:Gate’s all consuming tension. However, it does not look like this trend for the overuse of the school slice of genre is going anywhere anytime soon. The romance genre in particular seems set on adhering to having this as a subgenre in order to provide their players with a comfortable and familiar experience that can reliably sell new games. It is rare for a developer to venture outside of this realm and even when they do it is rarely for more than one game. The noticeable exception to comes in the form of otome which has a good mix of other secondary genres, such a the police thriller aspects of Collar X Malice, but still contains a fair number of school slice of life centric narratives. Overall, it would be nice to see a willingness to expand beyond this limiting sphere of storytelling devices. With all that said there is nothing wrong with this genre as is demonstrated by its continued popularity among players. Conclusion School never ends in the world of visual novels as the school slice of life genre continues to dominate and compliment other genres. It invokes a sense of transient reminiscence of a time when we had more freedom and where the world was a beautiful web of possibilities in order to resonate with the player. The way school slice of life can merge into the background of other genres is a testament to its relatively neural nature while still being able to offer some conflicts of its own to supplement the main narrative. However, the overuse genre has created a general plague of apathy towards games using it and makes it difficult to overcome the preconceptions new players have regarding visual novels being all the same. The strength and popularity of the genre is clear to see with every new release that uses it, but it can be a doubled edged sword for the medium as a whole and limits the stories it can tell.

This is a condensed version of the full review which can be found on my Main Blog Here. Genre – School Life, Comedy, Romance Play Time – 10-15 per game Developer – Minato Soft VNDB When Only Characters Remain Once a game series has given all the stories it can, what remains to be extracted from it? Perhaps you expand the world by adding a new setting or maybe you introduce an exciting new threat. The answer the Majikoi A games have settled on is to fixate on what the previous titles did best, its larger than life characters. As such each game in the A series is an anthology of after stories and stand alone routes which cover the remaining cast members who had not been given one beforehand. There is no common route or joining material between these sections and it relies wholly on the quality of each element to overcome its lack of cohesion. Despite all the effort that has clearly gone into these games, the question must be asked, is this addition to the series really necessary or is this just the case of a developer trying to wring all the money it can out of its audience? This is a question Majikoi A struggles with across it entire duration and presents to us the value and damage such a continuation can bring. Let’s find some warrior women and discover the answer. Untold Possibilities – Narrative and Themes Unlike the previous games the A series is not interested in having any grand overarching narrative and instead bet on its characters being enough to keep the player invested. This is not to say that there are no narrative threads at all, but instead they are smaller and of a self-contained nature. These sections are a strange mix of stagnation and mixing up the formula in exiting ways seemingly at random. Each of the A games is a mixture of after stories and new routes for cast members who had previously been secondary characters. This provides a good spread of new and established relationships and showcases the different stages of the romantic relationships for the cast in a less direct way due to the almost laissez-faire manner they are dealt with by the game’s segregated structure. Of course having such a loose connective tissue is also a massive drawback since there is no driving force to keep the player going beyond whatever route they choose first and should they be disappointed with that route then the game has no way to keep the player from putting it down. The after stories sit in a strange place in this equation as they are the part of the game the player is most likely to engage with due to their focus on established characters the player already has an investment in and they draw the player away from the new routes. However, this is also the second round of after stories since Majikoi S also had a fair few and you can feel the fatigue in the writing at times where the developers try to not repeat themselves and give each character the send off their deserve. On the flip-side we have the new routes that sit in an odd position since they start mid narrative with no lead up due to the lack of a common route. There is a sense of being suddenly thrown in the deep end which persists for a few scenes as the game scrambles to make it clear what happened before the start of the route. As this occurs for every route it becomes this constant feature and distracts from what are some of the best routes that Majkoi has ever produced. Shining Gems And Questionable Choices – Characters Of the character who get the spotlight, the most memorable and those with the strongest routes are the bushido plan clones, Benkei, Seiso and Yoshitsune. Their potency stems from the fact that of the remaining cast without routes, they are the ones with the best established personal flaws necessary to provide room for growth. Benkei brings elements of Yamato’s personality to the forefront that are otherwise unexplored, Seiso makes full use of her duel nature for all kinds of high jinks and Yoshitsune offers some of the most impactful choices of the A games. They were held back in Majikoi S due to their importance to the central plot, but with that now used up they are free to be their own people and showcase what made them interesting in the first place. It also helps that they are given some of the more diverse narrative beats and structures to complement their respective character arcs as well as the secrets and weaknesses they are hiding. Here in their routes is Majikoi A’s main justification for its existence and why it had to be a series of separate routes as they are stories that need to take place before the finale of Majikoi S where the big reveals about them happen so the rest of the cast is in the dark about them and there can be natural interactions between the two groups. Their nature demands knowledge of the conclusion and being set before it means that they could never escape the fate of being segregated from everything else, so having them with a selection of other self-contained routes was a smart choice to hide this fact and ensure a smooth engagement with the player. It is once we reach the characters who have been given after stories the sense of déjà vu begins to take over and Majikoi has to try its hardest to keep the audience’s attention. This is an inevitable part of those characters as they have already had their arc concluded in previous games leaving little to be explored. As such they retread a lot of ground that has already been presented to the player and focus on the solidification of the romantic relationship into a more concrete form than it was left on. The choices of characters to have after stories does remedy this issue to an extent as they are some of the more distinctive members of the original cast. Seeing Monshiro grow into her new found place with Yamato is easily the most heart warming thing in these games while Tsubame and Margit bringing a much need dose of banter to match up to Yamato. They offer a good spread of personalities and they are spaced out in way where they compliment and contrast with the new routes they are placed alongside to add much need flavour and variety. 2009 Never Ended – Visual, Audio and Technical Majikoi has always had an easily recognisable visual and auditory identity that anyone who has even heard of these games can recognise at a glance. The A games are no exception to this and embraces the player in the same lively atmosphere they have come to expect. Each portrait imbues their respective character with personality that pushes itself into the player’s face and demands to be noticed as they dance around the screen. What new CGs are provided to these games share this same sense of life and over the top energy that helped make the series so popular in the first place. Even the music and sound effects share this powerful forward momentum and injects the player with a sound scape befitting of a series that so often leans into the absurd as part of its comedy lifeblood. Combined these elements have always defined the Majikoi experience and any game in the series would feel lacking without them. Unfortunately a lot of what makes Majikoi A pop out is reused content from the previous games repackaged to serve a continuous identity carried over from those titles. Recycling these elements is by no means a bad thing especially given how strong they are and how much they form what the player expects of these games. It helps save money on these smaller scale entries and allows for them to be produced in a more reasonable time frame and tell stories they would not otherwise be able to. However, the issue with Majikoi A doing this is the fact that its predecessor Majikoi S already heavily relied on reusing assets from the first game making the A games the second time the player has been presented with a lack of innovation in this aspect. This sense of stagnation extends into all the technical aspects of these games as they use an almost unchanged version of systems of the original game. The original Majikoi was released in 2009 and the last A title, A-5, was released in 2016 meaning the series remained technologically stagnant for seven years and you can really feel this as you play through the games. Aspect Ratio is still 4:3 and is naturally set to 800x600 with any attempt to increase it resulting in blurry graphics due to the art being created with that smaller screen size in mind and the disorganised and sprawling menus and UI create an experience that wastes the player’s time. Back in 2009 this was understandable given the state of other the visual novels at the time, but is was certainly far behind the times by 2016. Conclusion Majikoi A is more Majikoi. While this statement might seem obvious it holds a lot of hidden meaning linked to both brilliance and stagnation. These games offer some of the best character writing in the series, bringing to life this colourful world, and at the same time they make questionable choices in what characters they thinks are worthy of attention. The mixture of after stories and new routes has similar ups and downs with the game at once repeating what has come before and creating exciting twists on their narrative formula. It also maintains the visual and auditory identity of the previous games by reusing most of the assets with a sprinkling of its own leading to sense of being stuck in the past. A is very much a game for fans but it is also an intriguing example of the drawbacks and opportunities of continuing a series after it has lived its natural course. Verdict - This is more of what made Majikoi so beloved with its excellent characters and engaging drama, but like anything old it often feels like its repeating itself and stuck in the past. Pros + Route structure has a good amount of variation to it and regularly throws surprises at you. + The Bushido Plan clones and the after story characters maintain the strong standard of Majikoi’s character routes. + Majikoi’s distinctive visual and musical personality is adhered to and the new additions merge well into this lively style. Cons - It is very much more of the same and does little to change in order to bring in new players. - Some choices about who is give a route are questionable and give the feeling of scrapping the bottom of the barrel. - There is no attempt to improve the graphics and resolution issues present since the first game which was released in 2009.

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here. What Shall I Be Today There is a tendency in visual novels to have some degree of self insert aspect in their protagonists due to the prevalence and intensity of first person narratives. Some of them take this to its natural conclusion by giving the player a means of deciding parts of the character they are going to inhabit and these manifest as customisation options. They range from choosing the protagonist’s gender and pronoun to directly naming them to visual elements such as clothes. Each builds upon the foundational idea that the more control the player has over a character the more they will project onto them and empathise with their plight. While this might bring to mind images of dating sim style games, there are a great variety of visual novels which make use of this technique to achieve a similar but distinct effect, from subversion to secondary character reactions. How and when this customisation is presented also decides a lot about its perception and there are many ways to bring it into the game for differing effects. Let’s load up the character creator and find out how visual novels use it to charm the player. Naming Characters By far the most common form of player customisation is the ability to name the protagonist in some fashion. This could be anything from just their first name all the way up to naming everything about them including what nickname they are called. Regardless of the extent of the name customisation given, the effect is a sense of co-authorship with the game and room to self insert into the protagonist you have helped form. When you name something you impart a bit of yourself into it in the same way a parent does when naming their child and the bond formed is a surprisingly potent one. For visual novels, the developer and the player are the co-authors and parents of the protagonist that the player named and this joint venture places the player in a supportive role cheering on the character. This method is common in otome titles such as Collar X Malice where the developers have a set identity for the protagonist in mind but want the player to understand that without losing the link between player and character. In Collar X Malice’s case the player gets to give the protagonist a first name but the family name is set by the game as Hoshino and in doing so makes it clear to the player what type of control over the character they will have during the game. This manifests as the choices which decided the ultimate fate of the protagonist, but not what type of person they are nor how they react to the consequences of these choices. Providing distinct divides about what the player can expect allows for these games to avoid disappointing the player as well as giving them some agency to help engage them. Choosing Gender And Pronouns Standing equal to naming in terms of character customisation is the ability to choose gender and pronouns, but the effects these two have on the visual novel differ quite a lot. Creating a protagonist who can be any gender or use any pronoun the player desires would be an extremely difficult task for the narratively intense medium, so instead many developers who use this customisation element tend to have their protagonist be silent or say as little as possible. This way the player can fill in the gaps with the identity they have assigned to the character. However, another angle is to have the other characters acknowledge this choice by it bringing up in natural conversation and having it affect the characters' view of the protagonist. For a good example of this we should look to Analogue: A Hate Story which gives the player agency of the protagonist’s gender. This is particularly important given the emphasis on traditional Korea gender roles and so the manifestation of this viewpoint, Mute, treats the protagonist subtly differently depending on their gender. These changes are never heavy handed and generally exist as as slight alterations in her speech patterns or off hand comments that she thinks of as minor but reveal to the player a lot about her world view. Unlike with a name there is no need to constantly remind the player of their choice in a direct manner as in the real world the reactions of people to gender are far less pronounced to the point of only the slightest hints existing about how they see you. Visual Customisation The ability to customise the appearance of characters is most prevalent in hybrid visual novels that have an RPG or dating sim element as their companion. This choice of secondary genre stems from the role-playing aspect already having a presence there and allowing the player freedom when it comes to the visual identity of their characters. There is no stronger element of our appearance than the clothes we wear with their striking colours and as you can imagine this makes them the primary means of visual customisation. The player is often given them as unlockables that lets them treat the characters like they are dress up dolls to express what the player thinks these people should be or what best matches their personalities. Just as child get attached to their favourite toy or action figure, so too does the tool of visual customisation make the player invested in these characters. Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side makes use of visual customisation to help the player project onto the blank slate protagonist so they can feel as if they are romancing the heroes by proxy. Being able to pick out the outfit the protagonist will wear gives the player room to conceive of the character as a person they can relate to and who has similar tastes in both clothes and men. Even the slightest touch of empathy can do a lot to bridge the gap between the real and the fictional in a game so centred around it as its key selling point. Conclusion Giving the player control over the characters in any capacity can be a scary thing for a developer as the player could ruin their vision for the characters. However, the advantages of this choice for certain types of games far out way the risk of the player giving the protagonist a stupid name. Through naming a character the player can engage in a co-authorship of them or be able to completely sink into the role of the protagonist which allows the developer to set their expectations as well as create empathy. Should the game also use gender and pronouns as customisation options then the opportunity arises to have the other characters change their reactions based on the player’s choice to make them feel more involved in the narrative. If that is not enough then the developer can give up aspects of the character’s visual identity to provide a compelling source of player investment. Not all visual novels demand customisation and those with extremely defined characters will not want to give up any control of them, but the benefits are worth considering if you are creating a game with a malleable protagonist or cast.

This is a condensed version of the full review which can be found on my Main Blog Here. Genre – Urban Fantasy, Suspense, Horror, Action Play Time – 30 hours Developer – Type Moon VNDB Will It Disappear At Dawn? The remake of Tsukihime was once considered a dead project by the fanbase due to how long it took to show any results to the point of being a running joke. Even when it finally did produce something the resulting visual novel only covered the first half of the original with the second half coming later. This release was subtitled A Piece of Blue Glass Moon and is the subject this review. The game covers the Near Side routes, these being Arcueid and Ciel, which focus around the greater world of Tsukihime with its supernatural forces on full display. In the original this was arguably the weaker half of the game given its role to act as set up for the other routes and in particular how much Ciel’s route retreads a lot of Arcueid’s route. Through this remake Type Moon tried to address these shortcomings of the original 2000s title and create a definitive version of their first work with the bells and whistles provided by modern techniques and a vastly bigger budget. Was the wait worth it or does this vampiric tale burn in the light of day? Let’s skulk under moonlight and find out. Once Again Walking With Death – Narrative and Themes As a remake there are certain expectations the game inherits from the original when it comes to content, characters and overall theming. This is a strong and well defined legacy to inherit and there are times when you can feel the game struggle under its weight as it can occasionally give certain moments more emphasis then they deserve. However, overall the title is a broad success in terms of preserving and enhancing the elements which made the Near Side so distinctive, these being a commitment to psychological and vampiric horror, a leaning towards action and world building. For Arcueid’s route this hold especially true since the game copies much of that route verbatim with the only real alterations being made on the moment to moment interactions between characters, otherwise this revision is faithful to a fault. Beyond the adhering to the original there is an understanding of what the new technology can bring to older scene that enhances them in a such a way that you know the original would have done the same if it had the ability to do so. This includes the proper use of movement, lighting and camera angles to sell the emotion the text is trying to invoke in a subtle way so as not be as unnoticeable as it is powerful. The effect these enhancements have in making the remake seem more like you remember the original cannot be overstated and is one of the game’s strongest aspects for returning fans. On the opposite side we have the many changes the remake has made in order to rectify the flaws and limitations of the original work. These includes range from minor things like the reordering of events to make more sense and the expansion of certain character moments to increase their prominence to the wholesale rewriting of Ciel’s route. The original version of Ciel’s route suffered from borrowing too much from Arcueid’s route and a general sense that it had been rushed, so it was a perfect candidate for a reimagining to bring out the potential of Ciel’s character. However, rather than throwing out the entire original route, the broad strokes have been preserved and the new material fitted around them so as to maintain the identity of Ciel’s route and offer a little subversion for returning players. The new additions to the route revolve around exploring Ciel’s past in a more expansive way which was a previously lacking area. It does this through having more character’s related to the Church being present for Ciel and Shiki to interact with and by drawing more parallels between Shiki’s plight and the experiences that have shaped Ciel into the person she is today. These touches do wonders to improve upon Ciel’s characterisation and give the route a much needed identity distinct from Arcueid’s route. The revitalisation of Ciel’s route is by far the game’s greatest success and the main reason to play it if you have already played the original. Power level might seem like an odd thing to bring up as a criticism of a game which has always had its fair share of action, but it is in the inconsistency of that power level where the biggest issue with this remake lies. The problems manifest at two distinct points, fights related to the vampire Vlov and the final battle at the end of Ciel’s route. These conflicts are almost apocalyptic in scale and feel so detached from the rest of the game which deals in relatively down to earth and deadly threats. This is especially strange when considering our protagonist Shiki is presented as fragile and human outside of these battles but inside them he displays an ability to fight and survive damage he never uses outside of these moments. Vlov is the bigger offender since he is in the middle of the narrative meaning that the power level spikes when he appears and afterwards drops like a stone back down to its original levels. This causes a strong sense of whiplash and a feeling that Vlov does not belong with the rest of the game making it obvious he is a new addition. The final fight in Ciel’s route at least attempts to justify why the power level spikes, but its problem is the jump is just so ridiculously large with the strength of the characters involved moving from vaguely realistic to completely over the moon in a short space of time. It seems to be this way so as to have a big finale for the game since it now lacks the second half and must end on some kind of resolution to provide catharsis for the player. Since these two examples constitute a very small amount of the overall play time it would be misleading to say they ruined the game, but the poor way they were handled as part of the whole narrative does leave a sour taste in your mouth as it kicks you out from enjoying what are in isolation very impressive fights. However, they feel like the belong more in Fate Grand Order than they do in Tsukihime. Of Vampires And Mortals – Characters The majority of the remake’s cast is inherited from the original Tsukihime and they are as distinctive here as they have always been. Time has been kind to the main characters, they have remained relatively unmolested by imitators or an obsession with moe and feel as fresh as they did back when the original was released. Having a protagonist like Shiki at the helm helps a lot since his mixture of kindness, violent urges, supernatural powers and physical weakness makes for a soup from which a variety of character arcs are possible and provides things for the heroine’s to bounce off to create engaging dialogue. He is at once likeable and interestingly flawed which makes seeing events through his eyes an entertaining journey and his mortality adds stakes to every confrontation with the world of vampires. The two main heroine’s of the game, Arcueid and Ciel, strike the right balance between being proactive driving forces for the narrative and being vulnerable enough that it is believable for them to need Shiki both emotionally and as backup in battle. Beyond this the rest of the returning cast have mostly background roles in this game but even here they showcase a degree of complexity while hinting at what is yet to come. Together they are as memorable as always and the remake captures why they entranced so many people over the years. As for the new cast members introduced in the remake, those which are directly involved in the plot work to expand the horizons of the narrative and provide a more well rounded character experience. They are mostly related to the Church and thus shine in Ciel’s route, but make enough of an appearance in Arcueid’s route so as to not appear out of nowhere when it is their time on screen. Their existence is an effort to give Ciel and Shiki some characters to interact with who relate to the side of the world Ciel exists on which the original was sorely lacking. For example Noel acts as Ciel’s work partner and is a complete contrast to Ciel’s personality being a strange mix of cowardice and adult, almost predatory, charm. This makes her an excellent character for Shiki to interact with and receive information that Ciel would not be willing to give up and allow Shiki to express feeling through an outlet beyond the main heroines. All the Church related cast broadly act in a similar manner and allow for a richer understanding of the world, past and beliefs of Ciel that were not properly explored before. It is in the new content that they shine their brightest and showcase the wonders well constructed additions can do to breath life into existing stories. A Revitalised Full Moon – Visual, Audio and Technical Visuals and audio were never the strong points of the original Tsukihime so any improvement to them would make the remake stand out against it. However, rather than simply replacing the identity of the original’s visuals and audio, the remake takes them as a basis to improve upon and regularly invokes these elements of the original through subtle nods or complete recreations. Above all else it brings these aspects of Tsukihime in line with the standard of modern Type Moon and makes them more accessible to a modern audience. There is a surprising amount of movement on display as the characters display a dynamic suite of positions and expression for their portaits to sell everything from the power of a blow to their hidden feelings. This move towards the unifying of the game’s style with the rest of the developer’s catalogue does come with an occasional hiccup where certain characters can look very similar to character from other games they have developed. Arcueid and Shiki suffer from this when they drift into looking like Saber and Shiro respectively and this is very distracting when you are trying to be invested in these characters. On the musical front, the majority of the tracks are entirely new since the original only had a handful of songs, but some of that old catalogue is maintained here in the form of remixes and bringing in motifs from them. In combination they make for delightful soundtrack perfect from enrapturing both new and old fans. On a broader technical perspective, the remake makes use of a variety of presentation and accessibility elements to create an experience that is both tense and flows well. The choice of NVL as the game’s formatting style carries over from the original and is as good here at building atmosphere as it was before. There have been a few touches to make the potential walls of text more intelligible through having only the most recent line of text be bright and all the previous ones take on a darker hue to ensure clarity. In line with this move towards lucidity, a flowchart has been included in the game which allows for the player to see their progress, the consequences of their actions and jump to any unlocked scene at will. This lets the player navigate through the game without having to worry about constantly saving at every choice and wondering what action caused what outcome and, with the return of the helpful Teach Me Ciel Sensei, every effort has been made to ensure the player is never lost. Conclusion Tsukihime is certainly a game that needed a remake, but it is also a game with a lot of exceptions and baggage attached to it and for the most part the remake does a good job of capturing the essence of the sections it adapts. It is at once faithful to the original while taking on board new ideas to improve the weaker elements of the base game. In doing so it does run into some issues with how it handles the power level of the game which leads to a feeling of inconsistency at times. The old characters continue to be as charming as ever and the new additions who stand out here share a similar level of quality. There are some new characters that exist as set up for the next game and they feel really out of place here given they have no real role to play in the narrative. From a visual and audio stand point the game is a dramatic improvement over the original and breaths some much needed life into it. Modern conveniences have also been included in the remake with things like a flowchart making for a more streamlined and smooth experience. This is about as good a remake of Tsukihime as could be expected and with the second half coming at some point it will be interesting to see what the complete title will look like. Verdict – A gold standard for visual novel remakes which captures the essence of the original while not being afraid to improve upon its weaknesses, even if it does stumble under the weight of these changes. Pros - + Faithful to the narrative and themes of the original visual novel. + Adds additional content where needed to expand upon the weaker elements of the narrative, in particular with Ciel’s route. + The old cast is as memorable as ever and they are joined by a set of new characters who wonderfully fill holes present in the original game. + Having a modern coat of visual and audio paint does wonders for the effectiveness of the emotional beats. + Modern accessibility features such a flowchart allow for a smoother recovery from any potential bad endings. Cons - - The inconsistent power level of the battles can draw you out the experience and make it difficult to suspend your disbelief. - Not all of the new cast are utilised in this game and many of them exist as set up for the next title. - Having a modern Type Moon art style can sometimes lead to characters looking eerily similar to ones from their other games. - The new content can make the game feel bloated at times.

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here. What Is In The Box? One of the latest and perhaps most contentious recent development in the sphere of visual novels is the rise of gatcha mechanics as one of the prominent elements in the design space. Leaning heavily into the mobile market, they involve spending currency for acquisition of a selection of random characters and items from a set pool with rarities attached to them. For such a seemingly simple mechanic it warps everything around it to help it function properly and this is doubly true for its inflence on visual novels since they both share a focus on characters. The gacha demand a continual stream of content and a story without an end with a desirable cast and it does not care about the form all of that takes so long as it feeds the player back towards the gatcha. This might sound like a wholly negative influence but it does allow for the flexibility and inventiveness of visual novels to come to the forefront. The success of gacha from a monetary perspective means it is likely here to stay and, while a discussion of the moral and financial impact is beyond the scope of this article, it is something you should hold at the back of your mind because as they say, money speaks. Let’s be mesmerised by the pretty lights and see what gacha brings to the table. The Never Ending Story In order to continue to keep player interested gacha mechanics must have a constant stream of new characters to tempt the player into trying to acquire them. As a character without some sort of complimentary narrative holds little appeal on anything other than an aesthetic level, the demand falls on the visual novel to provide stories for all these new characters. The result is a kind of never ending narrative constructed of smaller sections focused around the current gacha characters before they are put aside for the next batch. This is not to say that there is no overarching story or constant characters, in fact many such games rely on the intrigue of their plots and likeability of the central cast to keep players hooked from one section to another and not just drift away once they have the character they wanted. Instead there is a form of plot stretching that occurs where narrative elements are drawn out for as long as possible and this is often accompanied by the introduction to more villains after the previous lot have been defeated or moving on to a new land in pursuit of some related threat. These choices are a means of reducing the workload, which would be immense undertaking due to the constant need for new ideas, through the use of a manageable framework of concepts established early on and adhered to so there is a clear direction. From looking at Fate Grand Order we can see the method and implementation of these ideas. It broadly has two super-sections in the form of the original story arc and the Lost Belts which each follow their own overarching repeated plot structures and this enables new parts to be produced quickly. Variety is still present within their sub-sections as they are given licence to alter the formula to meet their needs, so they feel familiar but not to the point of openly breaking the believability of events. The problematic impacts of this repetition are easily visible in the original story arc where it is clear the developers had no idea how to properly work around the shortcomings of the gacha's demands and the result is each sub-section’s content being thinly spread out and an uneven character representation. With more experience this would be resolved by the time of the Lost Belts, but even there you can still sometimes feel the stretch this form of narrative design demands. While repeated structures are not unique to gacha style games, they do rely on it in a manner that few other mechanical elements demand. Desirability At The Cost Of Humanity For a player to want to acquire a character from the gacha mechanics they must find them desirable both in terms of aesthetics and, often more importantly, the likeability of their personality. This leads to a unique design problem for visual novels where any character who will be part of the gacha cannot have any of the more meaningful negative aspects of humanity, such as avarice or cowardice, and if they do it is a toned down version which is treated as little more than a cute trait. Couple these issues with the fact that villains can also be part of the gacha and there are few spaces where the other side of human nature can be explored. On the flip-side, having the heroes and villains closer leads to a more even feeling narrative with there being no simple ‘bad guy’ and instead just two sides who want what is best but have different ways to achieve this end. However, even can also be one note and since all these characters lean towards certain traits there is a monotony to their predictable actions and they lack any real sense that they are living people like the player. Flexibility Beyond The Original Scope The ever present demand for more visual novel content to support the gacha mechanics has the interesting side effect of allowing for a variety of tones and subject matters that would seem out of place in a normal visual novel. These generally takes the form of events or side chapters that have only a tangential relationship with the main narrative and include things such a seasonal episodes or stories focused around side characters and world building which would otherwise not be covered. They exist to fill the gaps in between the major content releases and their nature as extras changes the player’s expectations towards them and results in the players accepting them as they are rather than expecting them add to the greater whole. From this freedom is born a flexibility not present in non gacha games to the same extent or with the willingness to step outside the original scope of the game and push the overall narrative into new and exiting places. Perhaps the most interesting example of what can be achieved with this extra content is Arknights. It has the suite of seasonal events that have become standard in the gacha sphere with the usual parade of swimsuits when summer comes around and these basic type of events serve their purpose as pallet cleansers. However, what is more interesting is the way Arknights utilises its events to expand the boarders of its world as it brings in everything from lovecraftian ideas to 20th century space sci-fi elements in order to complement the strong core narrative. It is one of the games most willing to push the envelope on what kind of interesting genres it can bring into itself in order to further the world building and it has made it one its selling points. Without the space and freedom provided by the gacha mechanics' constant demands for content these elements would not have been possible since they rely on the nature of the game’s content delivery schedule to be accepted by players. Limitations Are Where Visual Novels Are Most At Home Many games that use gacha mechanics exist within the mobile phone space and their pairing with visual novels often comes down to a need to account for the lower power of many of these machines. Above all else visual novels are excellent at making a lot out of a little and creating a compelling story from what might seem on the surface seen like a limited tool set. They are also better suited to the pick up and play style of game that is expected in the mobile sphere due to their ability to quickly load, present their narrative and finish just as quickly while also allowing for a longer form where needed. The narrative of many games with gacha mechanics tends towards a node based structure with an equal mix of visual novel and gameplay and they are often disguised as points on a map or some other in universe concept. This presentation helps set up what the player should expect from the length of each section and gives the visual novel element a known limitation to work with to ensure it adheres to the required length. As phones become more powerful there will be a move away from using visual novels as the means to telling a story and onto more traditionally ‘cinematic’ or rpg styles of presentation. The first steps in this process can be seen in games like Genshin Impact which lean heavily into other game styles for their narrative, but even then there are trace elements of the influence of visual novels to be found in the way the hangout events are constructed. Then there is the matter of screen size and how a visual novel can be a clearer method of presentation, with its simpler shapes, lack of unnecessary movement and dialogue focus, than other styles which would lack clarity as they are compressed into a smaller space and are more indistinct as a result. Conclusion Gacha mechanics have had a fascinating influence on the uses and forms of the visual novel. Their demand for a never ending story to feed the new character treadmill causes a strange mixture of short term character focus and repetitive long term narratives that create and distinct contrast with one another. Alongside this is the need for all the gacha characters to be desirable and avoid the darker elements of humanity which has the effect of making the heroes and villains relatable, but also lacking in the flaws we all have, resulting in a somewhat tragic villain leaning method of storytelling. However, the flexibility offered through the demand for content not caring about the nature of this content allows for a wider field of narrative genres to be explored to enrich what is lost through the other limitations. The very choice to use visual novels at all with gacha mechanics is a result of hardware and screen size limitations that make it an excellent fit from the technology. While introducing a gacha into your own game might be too much of a herculean task for most developers, it is nonetheless interesting to see how adaptive and innovative visual novels can be when put under pressure.

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here. I Laugh, You Laugh, We All Laugh Making people laugh is a particular talent and more than any other it is dramatically effected by the medium it is presented through. Stand up comedy and visual novel humour might share a similar desire to entertain but they could not be further apart in terms of how they reach that goal. The unique set of tools available to visual novels has led to a striking set of games which would not be possible in any other medium. This stems from several factors, from their relative length to the importance of thematic resonance to many visual novels, all working together to tickle the player’s funny bone. For this article the definition of a comedy visual novel will be narrowed down to games which rely on humour as a core pillar of their content and without it they would not be able to support themselves, such with Lamination. This excludes most slice of life visual novels that use humour regularly as a flavour rather than the main dish, but not those like Maji Koi where jokes are a strong enough part of their identity as to feel lacking in the absence of humour. Such an interesting spread should reveal much about the nature of the comedy visual novel, so let’s roll on the ground laughing and see what we can find. Subjectivity Of Humour Everyone has their own tastes and nowhere is this more obvious than with humour since what one person laughs at another might find boring. As such focusing your entire identity around humour runs the risk of alienating potential players when they bounce off your brand of jokes. Of course a developer could simply accept this eventuality and lean into the people it will attract by going all out to please them as Lamination does, but many other comedy visual novel instead opt to lean on other parts of visual novel design to spread their net as wide as possible. These often take the form of a secondary genre to act as a backdrop and spice the jokes up as they can rely on or subvert established ideas to create a variety to their humour without compromising its core brand. Sankaku Ren'ai: Love Triangle Trouble! and Rance represent the two extremes of this philosophy with the first leaning into school slice of life and the other high fantasy. However, despite their differing host genres these games both utilise them to smooth over possible flaws in their respective comedy. For Sankau Ren’ai this involves leaning into the romcom nature of slice of life and cracking it up to match its banter centric humour while also providing a through line of drama for every player to latch onto so they can push past jokes that do not land for them. Similarly, Rance takes its fantasy setting and uses it to give the events of the story meaningful weight even as the game often mocks the inherent absurdity of the genre’s tropes. Since both are done with an unwavering commitment they act as counter balances to allow for a well rounded experience to keep the player interested in the jokes. A strange offshoot of this problem of player retention is the spin-off comedy game which takes an established game series and inserts it into a silly setting. In doing this a developer can guarantee an audience from that previous title rather than risking an unknown new game as the host for their comedy visual novel. Having established interest is not the only benefit since these people will come into this game with a set of expectations meaning this type of visual novel often leans heavily into subvertion as a source of humour. This can be seen in games such as Corpse Party: Sweet Sachiko’s Hysteric Birthday Bash and Idol Magical Girl Chiru Chiru Michiru which take the identity of their IP and put an absurd spin on it to get the player laughing. Whether this be a magical girl version of a fan favourite character or a harmless birthday party in what was previously a death trap riddled school, there is a sense of being in on the joke held between developer and player in which both accept the non cannon nature of the work and agree to have a good time reminiscing about how far the series has come by showcasing its strong characters. The Thematic Resonance Of A Good Joke Laughter is a powerful means of getting a people to bond with characters and consider ideas in a new light. In the playful atmosphere we are taken in and lower our guard in the face of what seem to be harmless fun and it is in this state we become susceptible to engaging on a more instinctual level with what is presented to us. Just as the jester delivers news the king does not want to hear, so too do comedy visual novels utilise the same techniques to put the audience in a trance. Making jokes and laughing alongside our friends and family is a natural part of everyday human interactions and emulating this is what lends comedy much of its strength as a means of creating empathy. Two visual novels which have a large reliance on this aspect are Lamination and Marco & The Galaxy Dragon and these share the common trait of doing so through the absurdity of their events. Lamination takes a relatively grounded setting and has its character do things that seem insane but are delivered in a straight faced way by the cast, so it feels as if this is the most natural outcome in the world and in accepting their silly actions the game snares the player’s heart. The setting of Marco & The Galaxy Dragon is decidedly more overtly not related to our real world and rather than take the banal and ramping it up to insanity, it instead starts at that high point and keeps going up in ways the player is likely not expecting. Through a journey of hilarious surprises, it forges the bonds between the player and its characters and ideas since they are presented as an extension of the comedy. Of course you do not need to be out of the box in order to achieve the same resonance as Starry Flowers demonstrates with the intimate and cute humour that aims to warm your heart and through this make the joke carry emotional weight the game would otherwise lack. Comic Fatigue A joke can only remain funny for so long before it wears out its welcome and becomes tiresome and predictable. This is doubly true when a brand of humour is played out over a long time as there are a limited number of variations that can be formed to keep things fresh and stagnation often follows. Such is the fate every comedy visual novel is trying to avoid and broadly speaking there are two solutions found in these games, keep the length down to not run into this problem in the first place or rely on bringing in a narrative thread and attaching it to the established resonance between player and characters. In a concise structure the humour can focus on hitting as hard as possible at all the times since the player will have completed the game before they can become burned out on it. This is the most common approach to comedy visual novels and can be seen in titles like OshiRabu: Waifus Over Husbandos which embrace their short duration as part of their identity to create satisfying morsels to be enjoyed for their intense flavour then cast aside and forgotten. Having such a direct angle to their humour does intensify the issue of a player bouncing off the experience due to it not matching their tastes but the lower cost of production ensure this does not lose enough revenue to effect the end product. Conclusion When talking about comedy visual novels there is the temptation to dismiss them as simple in nature, just pushing out one joke after another with no sense of greater purpose, but as has been shown this is far from the reality. The risk brought about by the subjectivity of humour makes many such games adopt a secondary genre to act as background to prevent their jokes from becoming too one note. In doing this they can leverage their biggest strength in the form of a thematic resonance with the player through the cathartic and empathetic natures of comedy to sell the characters and ideas present throughout. They also have to consider their length since the longer a brand of humour goes on the more the player will suffer from comic fatigue. Some aim for a short and direct experience while others choose to lean on other narrative elements to prevent the player from losing interest. Overall the comedy visual novel is a strange beast which captures the strengths of the medium and introduces its own unique challenges to form a humorous journey that hits deeply and makes you smile.

This is a condensed version of the full review which can be found on my Main Blog Here. Genre - Horror, Yuri Play Time - 25 hours Developer - Success Steam VNDB Shaped By Inevitable Bonds Being bound by the red string of fate is a common trope in Japanese romance stories and at first glance you might assume that Akai Ito would follow these conventions given its emphasis on yuri. However, nothing could be further from the truth as the game takes this romantic convention and repurposes it to further a disempowerment horror story. Fate takes on a shade of grey with the feeling of love being tinged by the march of supernatural forces who care nothing for this newly formed bond. Akai Ito is very much a visual novel from a bygone era and this makes it a strange oddity in the modern day especially with how few games in the medium get HD remasters. Its strong core identity has only grown in potency as its peers have fallen into obscurity and a lack of the cliches of the current age makes for a novel experience. Even its strange collection of design choices are not enough to sour the overall package. With all that said how well does this mix of yuri and horror stand up against the more varied modern medium? Let’s follow the treads of fate and discover what this relic has to offer. Returning To A Forgotten Home – Narrative and Themes As a narrative core romance and horror make for odd bedfellows and it this exact dissonance Akai Ito uses to great effect. It utilises a supernatural mystery as the binding element between these two halves and puts each to good use as the source of the tense horror of being in the shoes of a weak protagonist and for rich variety of yuri relationships. Sometimes this is pushed too far and stretches the player’s patience with just how powerless the protagonist is even in situations where it does not make narrative sense. Returning to a family home you barely remember is a strange experience with memories slowly coming back as you explore the place where you once spent so much time. Such is the backbone of Akai Ito’s supernatural mystery, a forgotten past in a distant home which many people who would rather the protagonist, Kei, forget for good. No secret can remain hidden for long when curiosity guides the one it concerns and this acts as the diving force for both Kei and the player leading to a feeling of exploration and forward momentum. Each new discovery hints at the next and passes on the sense of intrigue in such a way that the player never feels too sure they know how this is going to end. There is a well divided structure to the distribution of key revelations between the routes so none of them horde all the good twists and they are provided to the heroine with which they have a connection, so they can be delivered believably. What this means in practice is utilising them as a source of conflict against and between Kei and the route heroine creating dynamic situations in which secrets flow out naturally. In doing it this way the supernatural mystery can sit next to the other narrative elements without overwhelming them with major plot points centred around it. Alongside the mystery sits the game’s emphasis on a tense disempowerment brand of horror. Kei is no superpowered fighter nor does she become so over the course of the story. Instead she is a fairly average human in terms of physical capabilities and this makes the threats against her life all the more palpable. The player instinctually know the consequences of any harm that comes her way since they too feel the fragility of human life with each attack being a possible broken limb at best or instant death at worse. Tapping into this primal fear of our own weak bodies and the spectre of death in every possible slip up is the game’s greatest achievement and it injects a visceral sense of tension into the supernatural threat facing Kei. It feels as if even the slightest nudge could cause this story to come to an abrupt and bloody end. The only issue with this approach is that Kei’s weakness can sometimes be pushed too far and she feels like a passenger in her own story with her love interests doing all the heavy lifting to the point of eclipsing the person who is meant to be the main character. While this never makes itself know enough to break the player’s suspense, it can still be distracting to see how little our main character does at times in their own story. Tied Together By Fate – Characters On one side of the character divide with have our protagonist Kei who as mentioned above is a deliberately underpowered character for the threats they are facing, but beyond that they are also immensely relatable. Their vulnerability makes the actions they take to face the threat against their life take on a greater weight and helps sell the human nature of their heroism. Kei is not someone who is helping out of the goodness of her heart and instead she acts to protect and support those she cares about, normally the route heroine. The childish and selfish streak in her does a good job of making feel like she is someone her age, on the cusp of maturity but still with a lot of the emotional baggage of a teenager. For a player point of view character, this mixture of strengths and weakness is perfect for keeping interest constant and having a relatable point of reference among all the supernatural forces since we have all been in that cusp of adulthood during our lives so we too know how confusing it can be. She also works well as a mirror for the heroines since she has the innocence that they do not and is able to see through the masks they wear and show them their true feeling even as they try to reject her. These bonds are reciprocal as Kei learns and matures in a way close to the route’s heroine by taking on a small amount of their traits so she can be more like them. Sitting opposite Kei is the rest of the cast, both heroines and antagonists, as they all share a similar clear focus to their aims even if Kei is not immediately aware of what they are or what they involve. These competing desires lead to them rubbing each other the wrong way and results in interesting, telling and varied interactions that do a lot to further the mysteries at the heart of the game. The conflicts are not limited to fighting against the antagonists and many stem from the heroines’ differing values as they struggle to contain their hostility or unease towards each other, all the while tiptoeing around Kei. Such a wide pool of character relationships helps support the game’s multiple route structure as it can put an emphasis on a certain set of struggles to make them the focus, keep them fresh and encourages a thorough dive into each route to gain a complete picture of these characters. The mystique surrounding the antagonists is maintained by never revealing enough through these interactions to give away what drives them or what they have planned, but still provide enough for the player to form their own theories. As a whole they are an astonishingly well thought through cast that fit their roles and the tone of the game well. Otherworldly Beauty – Visuals, Audio and Technical Presentation is one of the key elements used to sell this HD remaster and, while the original version never released in English, there has been a clear effort to make sure it lives up to these expectations. This new layer of polish breaths life into an early 2000’s title with crisp visuals and increased fidelity which helps enhance the game’s tone by giving it a grounded aesthetic. The charm of this older style of anime character and CG designs is not lost in the transfer into HD and now it stands out even more alongside a field of moe centric visual novels, making it a refreshing blast from the past. However, the visuals have not been stretched to fit into a widescreen resolution and instead light patterned sidebars have been added to fill out what would have been black bars around the image. These are relatively unobtrusive and to be expected since this is a remaster rather than a remake and they never intrude into the experience in the way simple black bars would have. On the audio front the sound effects and music maintain the excellent atmosphere of the original and they are clear to the listener with no distortions. Each track is used to great effect and they all lean into the mystery and romantic tones that define Akai Ito which leads to some impressively emotive moments. Despite the general high quality of Akai Ito, there is one area bringing down the whole experience and this is the uneven nature of the translation and its implementation. The overall quality of the translation is decent, but there are certain places were it stumbles and these happen often enough to be distracting. One of the most noticeable places to observe this is in the menus where some text is translated very literally to the point of requiring you to stop and think about what the button you are hovering over actually means. Within the game itself there will be moments where the phrasing of certain sentences will be unnatural or flow poorly and you’ll wonder if you misread it which brings you out of the events on screen. Then there are the issues with how text is implemented into the game, it is a regular feature for a single section of text to be broken into several textboxes with one ending suddenly and shifting directly into the next in a way that makes it clear that the original text occupied a single textbox. This can lead to the text lacking the impact it might have otherwise had if it was delivered as a single blow rather than being split up. All these points are disappointing given the otherwise high bar of the game’s quality and are worth keeping in mind when considering your purchase. Conclusion On the surface mixing yuri and horror might seem to be a recipe for disaster but Akai Ito showcases a strong case from how taking two disparate genre together can lead to exciting new games. Smoothly blending the suspense of its supernatural mystery with the horror of our own fragile mortal bodies and the enriching and varied nature of love is the main draw of this visual novel. Backing this up is a solid cast of multifaceted heroines and villains alongside a protagonist who displays a strong humanity in her actions. This strength continues in its visual and auditory presentation which has benefited highly from the HD treatment. The only places the game stumbles are in its uneven translation and frustrating lock system, but neither of these do enough to ruin an otherwise well put together title. Verdict – An outstanding disempowerment horror experience that utilises its yuri component with grace and which stands out despite its age and a few questionable design choices. Pros - + A good balance of supernatural mystery and tension keeps the narrative engaging. + The yuri relationships are presented believably and never overshadow the story’s direction. + Clear and crisp HD visuals that retain the charm of their originals. + Plays up the protagonist vulnerability just enough to enable the horror elements. Cons - - Translation can be a bit strange at times and there is a lack of polish when it comes to how it is integrated into the game. - The lock system creates unnecessary confusion and serves only to frustrate the player. - The protagonist can be a bit too passive in the events determining her very survival and often leaves things to her love interest rather than doing it herself.

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here. Shiny New Things Everyone likes to be rewarded for their effort and video games are happy to oblige with a variety of Extra Unlockable Content. These bonuses are often treated as a side show disconnected from the important main sections of the game and relegated to a sub menu where it has little impact on the greater structure. For visual novels this unlockable content has a much more profound effect them due to its more limited design space and options, leading to the choice to include these extras stand out. Both developers and players perceive the game differently depending on how this feature is handled and it achieves everything from holding player interest to encouraging an exploration of the narrative space. Not all the consequences are good and a poorly implemented extra can undermine key tonal and thematic elements. When talking about Unlockable Extra Content this article does not mean the unlockables common to most visual novels, such as a CG or music gallery, but instead to the bonuses that go above a beyond with side stories, concept art or even entire extra games. These stand out the most and draw the attention of the player because of the effort they showcase and as such they influence perception to a greater degree. With all that out of the way, let’s be filled with a sense of achievement and dive into the world of Unlockable Extra Content. Rewarding The Player’s Interest On its most basic level, Unlockable Extra Content provides a key means of rewarding the player in order to keep them invested in the game. Broadly speaking these rewards take two forms, those unlocked over the course of the game and those unlocked after the game’s completion. Incremental bonuses act as a bread crumble trail for the player and cue them into the fact that they are progressing in the right direction. Each individual reward does not even need to be the actual bonuses themselves, but instead the promise of a future unlockable as can be seen in Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. In this game the player is given a currency as they play and overcome certain challenges and this currency can be spent to unlock whatever they desire in the extras menu. Here the possibility of what the player could unlock if they continue playing is more powerful than the actual content and serves as an excellent motivation for casuals and completionists alike. Encouraging Exploration Of Narrative Space Incentives can be used in far more specific ways to steer player behaviour and for visual novels this involves getting them to explore the game’s narrative space. Many players will be tempted to stick to the most direct path through the game since they will be invested in the central narrative force and sideline the rest of the content. This is a major issue for visual novels with a more open narrative space or those who want to encourage certain slower pacing as it directs the player into a narrow and hard to control head space. What Unlockable Extra Content does is offer another avenue to try and correct the player impression of the game into the developer’s intended one. Both Fate Hollow Ataraxia and Psychedelica of the Ashen Hawk utilise bonus side stories to achieve this effect, but the implementation and exact results could not be more different. For Fate Hollow Ataraxia these side stories present the player with a direct incentive to explore beyond what is required to complete the game as they can only be unlocked through none mandatory content. This steers the player by giving them a concrete signal that what lies beyond the beaten path is intended as part of the core experience and rewards those who are curious about what it has to offer. In contrast Psychedelica of the Ashen Hawk uses its side stories as a means to expand the narrative space in a more direct fashion through the very stories themselves which act as a supplement to make the player give greater consideration of events. Their optional nature also means they are not invasive and instead provide a gentle nudge for the player to consider other sides to the story to improve their overall experience. Changing Pace And Context Sometimes we need a break from the core direction of a visual novel, because either it is too emotionally taxing or gives clear stopping points, and unlockable bonus content can be exactly what is needed to keep interest within the context of the game. These often break the tone of the main content completely and many even address the production of the game itself in order to provide as much distance as possible. By showing another angle on the game’s material the player’s interest can be brought back to the main sections once they have finished with the extra content, ensuring a cycle of highs and downtime as new bonuses are unlocked that helps balance out the overall length of the game. However, it can also backfire on the visual novel since if the extra content is too disconnected from the tone and substance of the main content then a player may feel completely brought out of the experience the game was trying to sell and lose any enthusiasm to continue. We can look to Corpse Party: Blood Drive for a template of this approach to bonus content. Its unlockable material runs the whole spectrum from collectable tags to short audio snippets from the voice actors and they work as contrasting points which build a small area separate from the intense horror of the main game. Being so focused around fear makes Blood Drive susceptible to burning people out since there is only so long a person can stand to be held in tension before they long for something else, as such have a side space to unwind does wonders for keeping this pressure from become overbearing. Gamification At The Cost Of Immersion Not all applications of Unlockable Extra Content are beneficial to visual novels and using it inappropriately can risk a damaging gamification of key narrative spaces. Bonuses are inherently external to the core direction of the game since they hang off the side as optional segments and so when they are highlighted they draw attention to work’s nature as a game. This is not an entirely bad feature with many of the above benefits relying on a mild use of this disconnect, but should a visual novel lean on it unnecessarily or in a way that contradicts the intended tone then the consequences can be quite dire. Take for example Fate Stay Night, its has a collection element to its bad endings and getting them all results in a special scene not available through other means. The desire to collect stands in firm opposition to the way the main game depicts the bad endings as undesirable since the outcomes are terrible for characters the player has come to care about. In this confused messaging the tension these endings are meant to provide is lost as the player is pulled in two directions and given how many of them there are it is an ever present reminder that this is a game leading to the possibility of player apathy. Conclusion Visual novels are a sum of their parts in a way other types of games do not have to deal with and this is exemplified by the influence Unlockable Extra Content can has on them. They provide strong incentives to explore the rich narrative space available for the player while rewarding the time the player commits to the game and offering a change of pace so they remain engaged. Of course it is by these same methods a visual novel might be ruined since there can be an unintended gamification of serious and emotional elements which leds to a regular undermining of its tone. However, as a tool for a developer, Unlockable Extra Content is a surprisingly precise instrument that gives them a subtle way to shift the player’s perceptions of the overall experience and as such should definitely be taken into consideration when you are making your own visual novel.

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here. Through The Lies And Deception Of all the genres Mystery is perhaps the one visual novels have the most tools of engage with. The levels of subtly and the precise execution needed to ensure a balance between the known and unknown so that the player is never lost is no easy task and demands a degree of control many games lack. At the same time they have to be able to spin other delicate plates such as character empathy and a natural feeling escalation to make sure none of these can come at the cost of the core mystery. The ability of visual novels to achieve these aims smoothly can be seen in the many types of mystery on offer from murder mystery to death games to supernatural happenings and with new ones popping up every day. So let’s puzzle our way through the villain's web and find out what mystery means for visual novels. Subtly, Setup and Solvable Mysteries The most important parts of any mystery are the clues provided to the player and the game’s ability to convey them. If they are too obvious then the player will figure out what is going on before the big reveal and too subtle then they may miss out on information leading to a feeling that the mystery makes no sense. Fortunately for visual novels, their natural narrative closeness to events opens a space into which clues and hints can be dropped without seeming out of place due to the way they are blended into the words and actions of the characters and world. Not only does this include what is said, but also the way something is framed as there is a lot of control over how something is presented to the player available to visual novels. This setup ultimately results in a more satisfying pay off when the player find out which of their deductions were correct while still being surprised at the twists offered. There are few visual novels with a more complicated central mystery than Virtue’s Last Reward yet it makes the most out of each element to keep the player informed even if they do not know it yet. Its clean integration of cleaver hints into exposition and narrative beats as well as the way it makes full use of its leanings into 3d space to convey the subtle intentions of its cast gives the game a sense effortless intrigue to its mysteries. Intimacy With The Detective A compelling and well structured mystery is nothing if the player does not care for the person investigating it. The detective comes in many forms from a professional to those who are forced into the role by circumstance. They are generally the focal point of all conflict in the narrative and by extension the mysteries. Visual novels tend towards an intimacy centring around characters and in particular the point of view character who in mysteries is often the detective or their assistant. This presence inside their mind and the way it allows us into their lives and struggles in an all consuming manner helps create a parallel between their personal victories and their solving of the mysteries the game’s story rotates around. Through these bonds visual novels can create a cohesive experience and avoid any potential issues were the mysteries seem detached from the detective’s own struggles or the detective being uninteresting and pushed into the background by the mysteries. Despite the fact that both Higurashi and Umineko switch between point of view characters, they know to make sure the player is engaged with the current detective through how much the characters has to lose if they fail and uses paranoia and misdirection to put you into their head space. These game series understand how to use the perspective provided by visual novels to shape a relationship between player and the detective’s plight which they milk for every drop it is worth. In a similar vein, Chaos Child uses the detective perspective to misdirect, narrows their perception of the world to down to a point and makes them clearly unreliable. Yet they are our only window into this mystery so we have hope to piece together the truth by closely examining their behaviour to get a sense of how they think. This subtly moves the player into the detective’s head space and results in a very similar connection and impact to both Higurashi and Umineko, showcasing how wide the means of applying this idea are for visual novels. Open Narrative Exploration From a higher level design perspective the structure of the narrative space offered by visual novels and the player’s means of exploring it contribute a lot to the medium’s compatibility with mystery stories. The routes and winding pathways visual novel are know for are the perfect home to hide mysteries within while still having an exceptional degree of control over when and what is shown. Moreover the way this open structure encourages the player to explore the space around the mystery for clues and move towards an understanding of both the mystery and the greater narrative they are passing through. In doing this visual novels can provide engagement with the player being allowed to proceed in an order decided by them and at the same time subtly controlling their perceptions through the previously mention methods. This leads to the mysteries permeating every level from meta to micro which makes the experience of playing a mystery focused visual novel an captivating affair. We can see this practice even as far back as YU-NO with its free-form common route and various heroine routes all feeding the player’s curiosity as to what is around the next metaphorical corner with the teasing of the possibilities of a different path. Emphasising this idea of structure as part of the mystery has almost become its own subgenre of visual novels which follow in the footsteps of games like YU-NO and maybe more influentially Ever 17 which has resulted in this design opportunity going relatively unexplored outside this niche. Conclusion Few genres require the level of technical and narrative polish to achieve their aims that the mystery genre demands from its developers. The delicate balance present in these games makes them a difficult proposition for many since a single split up with how you frame your clues can have the whole experience coming crashing down. However, it is precisely these restriction which allow visual novels to merge with the genre so well. This manifests in everything from its ability to give the stories a narrative closeness which offers both a chance to blend clues seamlessly into its scenes as well as create a bond with the detective to the more open structure exploration that gives a sense of investment and agency for the player to latch on to. In combination the result is a toolset that has produced some of the greatest mystery titles in any medium and still has space to grow as new avenues of structural expression are developed.

This is a condensed version of the full review which can be found on my Main Blog Here. Genre – Supernatural, Action, Mystery Play Time – 9 hours per game Developer – Palette Steam VNDB No Power Without Consequence Everyone wants superpowers and think themselves far more capable of using them than the fictional heroes from comics or movies, but what they rarely consider is that for every hero there must be a monster and this monster will be destructive to their lives in ways they cannot begin to imagine. Such is the backbone of the threat which hang in air for 9 -nine-’s entire duration as while its protagonist Niimi Kakeru gains supernatural powers and loyal friends, he has to contend with an equally powerful murderer who has little interest in playing by the rules and a willingness to kill that continues to surprise Kakeru with each death. This urban fantasy visual novel chooses to present this suspense laden tale through a series of separately released episodes with each one covering a different heroine and forming a complete story. Rather than talking about them individually this review will cover the series in its totality and examine the broad strengths and weakness present in all the episodes while avoiding spoilers wherever possible. There is a fair amount to discuss as 9 -nine- showcases the episodic storytelling well and how a more plot orientated narrative is effected by this design choice. Let’s investigate some murders and find out if this plot hook can support an entire series. Cycles Of Fate – Narrative And Themes When constructing a narrative over the course of a series of episodes it can be difficult to maintain a coherent vision with each release being upwards of half a year apart from one another. This strain works in 9 -nine-’s favour as well as against it and the result is a series characterised by a continual identity painted in contradictory colours. Its compelling mysteries and excellent superpowered fights live alongside a constant tension between the romance and plot elements of each episode. In the first game’s opening hours two big mysteries take centre stage, the origin and nature of the powers the cast now find themselves with and the identity of the murderer who has been going around petrifying their victims. These provide a sense of threat to the character’s safety on an internal and external level making the early sections a series of tense encounters where everyone is potentially out to get the cast. Obviously this is not sustainable over the course of an entire series so the later games smartly shift onto other mysteries of a more immediate and plot centric nature to compliment the shift into open conflict with the antagonists. Moving through these differing styles of narrative gives a good sense of forward momentum to the series as a whole and keeps the threats faced by the cast feeling fresh. This is on top of how the stories distinct to each episode feed into these overarching mysteries in a well thought through manner leads to a positive feedback loop of connected events and character arc playing into one another to form a cohesive series. Despite the occasion hiccup between plots of individual episodes the space provided by the staggered releases has been put to good use to ensure the best possible narrative escalation and mysteries to keep the player guessing even to the end. By far the biggest black mark against the 9 -nine- series is the tension and unevenness existing between the romance and plot elements of each episode. This takes the form of the sudden and jarring shifting between the two parts, one moment you will be having a climatic plot revelation and the next the game will ‘remember’ it has a romance it needs to progress and switch over without any transition creating a sense of whiplash. The issue is mostly concentrated in the latter two episodes where the plot takes centre stage as the stakes are upped, but they still felt the need to include romances for the remaining heroines even when it does little for the narrative. Separately these elements are excellent in their quality, it is only when they rub up against one another that their issues emerge and it becomes clear there are problems with how the game handles them. What was once the palette cleanser now feels hollow and tone deaf to what is going on around the characters as their very lives are on the line. There is a time and a place for everything and this is something these episodes struggle with. Powers Maketh The Man – Characters Gaining supernatural abilities is no walk in the park and changes the person who now plays host to them. The characters reflect their powers often in surprising ways when their multilayered personalities rub against one another as they form a team to take down the killer. A colourful central cast is one of the most memorable elements of 9 -nine- and especially how well they interact with Kakeru in their own easy to identity manner. It is a shame that the villains by comparison are such a mixed bag with many of them being flat and having extremely weak motivations. Team dynamics are key to a visual novel as focused on a small cast as 9 -nine- is and the game’s characters are careful structured in order to take advantage of this expectation. We have the morally upstanding Kujou Miyako, the bantering little sister Niimi Sora, the shy and sweet senpai Kousaka Haruka and the chuunibyou leader of the group Yuuki Noa. Each one bring their own flare to the team to create a melting pot of beliefs and personalities that help to sell the current episode’s heroine as the remaining members support her growth and love. This cycling in and out of the spotlight for each team member gives a chance for them to shine and it means that even when they recede into the background their arcs are still reflected in the way they treat each other. There are also small shifts in the dynamic to fit the themes of individual episodes with each character assuming subtly different roles in a way that helps sell the ideas of the narrative without compromising the integrity of the characters. These smart uses of the main cast gives them a palpable life and provides a sense of belong to this group of misfits as they overcome the trials before them. It is a real shame that the villains the cast fight are such a mixed bag. Rather than matching the charisma and flare of the heroines, they are instead a collection of generically evil people with equally weak motivations. They do most of their actions because just because they are evil and cruel and for little other reason which makes them come across as flat. Early on this is not so much of an issue since the mystery of their identity and motives conceal them which makes them threatening, but in later episodes, when this is no longer the case, they can become quite boring and lack presence. Being generically evil can work if the characters play into in a convincing way and embrace the somewhat hammy nature of this archetype. However, 9 -nine-’s villains do not commit and instead feel undercooked and sloppy implemented. There is one exception to this and that is Ghost. She is the first villain to reveal herself and she commits to the idea of being evil in an almost gleeful way which helps her come across as both threatening and genuine in her actions. Her overall believability is also enhanced by the fact that she is not tied solely into the role of villain and as events swing things around she is adapted to fit them and this makes her a strangely endearing character who can proudly sit alongside the heroines for how good she is as a personality. Artefacts Of Astonishing Beauty – Visual, Audio And Technical From a technical standpoint the best way to describe 9 -nine- is solid but uninspired. Its visuals are what you would expect when you imagine a modern day title in this genre. Backgrounds and character portraits are clean and expressive while CGs come in fun normal and chibi varieties, but there is very little about them that gives them any sense of their own identity. Place them side by side with many other visual novels and you would struggle to tell them apart. In terms of features it has the suite that players have come to expect with quick save and load options as well as control over small elements like what animations play. This mediocrity never draw attention to itself and there are no parts of actively bad quality which allows them to sink from view and not obscure the strong narrative and character beats. The only exception to this is the outstanding soundtrack that is worth listening to even separately to the game. It is a mix of emotive mood music and distinctive battle and scene themes working to tie each story's beat to a tone in an impactful way. It easily stands head and shoulders above the quality of the rest of technical experience. In terms of choices and player agency there is some, but it just a choice about what order to experience the content or choices that exist for thematic or narrative purposes. 9 -nine- likes to express key plot elements through choices and has the player act out this part of the character’s actions to give them a little role playing immersion. The game does not try to hide what it is doing and it is clear very early on that all choices have no consequences so the player does not feel cheated later on. On the other side of this game’s choices are the ones where it opens the game up a little and gives several paths forwards which must all be complete but can be done in any order. These sections of freedom are a good change in pace and provide a direct sense that the narrative is progressing in a solid and comprehensible way. You should understand what to expect from the game and not come in with ideas about being able to decide anything meaningful. Verdict – The new standard for superpowered action episodic visual novels which combines excellent characters and mysteries with a proper sense of escalation. Even if it sometimes has trouble smoothly merging its elements together. Pros + Compelling series of superpowered mysteries that careful shift as the tone of the episodes changes. + Actions scenes blend character motivations with cool powers for a very satisfying experience. + The main team has some excellent group chemistry and their fun interactions are a joy to watch. + Solid presentation and technical polish supported by an excellent soundtrack. Cons - There is a tension between the romantic and plot elements of the narrative and the transition between the two is often not smooth. - The villains are mostly generically evil in presentation and come across as boring and predictable. - The presentation and technical elements do nothing special and you would struggle to tell them apart from any of their peers.

This is a condensed version of the full article which can be found on my Main Blog Here. Divergent Paths To The Future For the longest time when you wanted to know how to get to a specific route in a visual novel the only options open to you where trial and error or looking up a walkthrough. However, in more recent years there has been a trend to include built-in flowcharts that fill out as the player progresses through the game. These help the player understand the structure they are working within as well as the consequences of each choice. More importantly it opens up an interesting design space for visual novels to interact with and set up their narratives around to increase the player’s engagement and sell these games as a total experience. It is rare for a game to have such direct avenue to show its internal workings and this offers a unique opportunity to examine how a player reacts to having this knowledge. With all this said, the built-in flowchart’s biggest benefit is also its biggest weakness as all mystery about action and consequence is lost which is a killing blow for any visual novel focused around those things. There is definitely a fine line to be found here so let’s trace the paths of destiny and discover what this design element means for visual novels. The Utility Of The Flowchart By far the most common reason for the inclusion of a built-in flowchart is the developer’s desire to provide a tool of convenience that allows for an easy presentation of the visual novel’s structure. This feature allows the player access to information that would normal be hidden and removes the need to look for external sources of information to help complete the game. These flowcharts often include a function to select and jump to one of the displayed scenes which Yuzusoft games, such as Senren * Banka, have made a core part of their accessibility features. Despite how simple these games are structurally, the ability to jump where the player needs to go frees them from needing to sit through the same common route content that they have already played through, and instead get to the next route without unnecessary delays. For visual novels which aim to keep the player engaged through emotion rather than complicated plots, this removal of downtime is a great benefit as it ensures the player will not lose their bond with the characters that might occur while they skip through material. Standing on the opposite side are the plot heavy game who benefit from the flowchart in the clarity it brings to their intricate plots and the way it gives the player a set of guidelines to follow what is going on. Sorcery Jokers is a good example of how this is implemented as it has two protagonists who act separately from one another and they are often doing things at the same time as each other. It can be difficult to conceptualise how the two protagonists’ stories relate to one another with the constant jumping back and forth between them and this is where the flowchart comes in. Through showing the relationships between events in visual form the game brings an order to the plot which can be easily understood at a glance even as the big twists are revealed. Flowcharts As Narrative And Mechanical Tools While many visual novels simply use built-in flowcharts for utility purposes, their representation of the narrative’s structure offers an intriguing angle through which the player can be addressed and the very structure can be put to use to tell the story. The way that the flowchart often grows as the player explores the game space not only gives them a sense of forward momentum in sync with events and characters, but can also do the opposite and provide a sense of being trapped in a maze and constantly running into dead ends. For the sense of confinement that the flowchart contributes to, there can be no better example than the Zero Escape games. These visual novels all focus around characters being trapped in an unknown place and forced into a game for their lives. Everything in these titles rotates around feelings of isolation and loss of control, this includes the flowchart which invokes these emotions through showcasing the blocked and spider web like paths available while daring you to overcome them. On a similar level of narrative complexity we have 428: Shibuya Scramble, but rather than trying to sell an oppressive feeling the flowchart instead works to give the game a sense of constant progress. In combination with the switching between characters the flowchart facilitates, its stream of newly revealed scenes and how they relate to one another pushes the player forward on a tide of new information that stimulates them at every turn. These two contrasting uses of the narrative incorporation of the flowchart demonstrate the degree of flexibility it has as a means of targeting the player’s perception of events in a meta context. Incompatible With Immersion Despite the many opportunities and benefits that having a built-in flowchart provides the developer, it is not something all visual novels find desirable to include due to its effect on the player’s immersion in the narrative. Between the complicated web like narratives of games like the Zero Escape series and the simple structures of a Yuzusoft game are a set of visual novels focused around telling a story interested in emphasising their plots but only offer a limited axis for player choice. If these games where to include a flowchart they would lose any ability to derive tension from their choices as the player could easily see at a glance their extremely linear and simplistic nature. Since choices are one of the primary methods of engagement for visual novels, this makes the flowchart a poison for this subset of games and has led to their continual absence from many titles despite the increasing adoption in many others. Conclusion Presenting the game’s internal structures to the player has a surprisingly diverse effect on how they perceive it. The built-in flowchart provide a developer with not only a useful utility but also a strong meta narrative element to engage the player. It is a clear method of presenting information and ensures the player knows the actions and consequences available to them while also giving them a means to jump to a desired scene. Within a narrative context it offers a visual means of conveying an emotional tone without any need to specificly spell it out and instead have it seep into player’s mind on a subconscious level. Of course, as with all tools it is not a fit for every game and those which rely on mystery or the concealment of the action and consequence economy would be harmed if they where to include one since it undermines a key strength. So should you include a built-in flowchart in your visual novel? If your game is not aiming for a tone which would be damaged by its presence then it should be a definite consideration. The flowchart is a tool of convenience many players are coming to expect from their visual novels so they do not have to rely on external sources to complete your game.