Evolutionary

Hey! I liked Bible Black. It wasn't the greatest VN, I'll admit, but it wasn't flat-out bad.

But didn't show it and it wasn't somethingt that felt was missing One of the good examples where it wasn't necessary to show it. An implied connection can be just as powerful, if not more so, than actually seeing the h-scene. Though sometimes that doesn't deliver, too. It depends on the VN itself and the build up.

It was either Fate/stay night or Shuffle!. I have a hard time remembering which one it was, since it's been so long. I've played some other games with visual-novel-like elements, but it's been a while for those, too. Do MUDs count? After a string of similar titles, I read Bible Black -- and then after that my tastes drastically changed from Shuffle! to ... well ... Bible Black-Like VN's.

In certain VN's, primarily those that already have good storytelling, I think the H-scenes are their own form of distinct characterization. Before everyone looks at me funny --- Everyone has different tastes when it comes to sex. Everyone puts a different emphasis on the various aspects of it, which is almost like a person's own signature. Is this person a passionate lover? Are they more of a giver than a taker? Are they rough? Do they like extended foreplay? Do they have habits ( like random bitting )? Realistically, people are complex and deep. A person who seems gentle on the outside could be an entirely different sort of beast once the clothes come off. VN's are similar, yet obviously not. We see the public( and sometimes private-but-not-sex-private )side of these character's traits -- their mannerisms, they hopes, dreams, their love(s) - and that's the 'normal scenes' for most VN's. Then we get ... a few ( sometimse a lot ) of panels of an h-scene. An h-scene, in GOOD VN's, is usually just the act of expanding upon that and showing another side to that character. Even the position can be demonstrative of a person's personality - even more so is how 'attentive' those characters are afterwords. We only get so long of reading an h-scene before it ends, so the different positions, different things said, different angles, are usually a way to convey that both didn't just...do their business and call it done ( although: I have seen a few VN's where that's all the h-scenes, early on, were. Quick, to the point, and very loveless. But they were meant to be. ) There was more INVOLVED there, one way or another. On the flip side to this, a few VN's tend to edge against that and have progression in their h-scene's. An early h-scene could just be...rough, flippant, distant. "Casual", if you will. But as the story progresses, the h-scene's become more involved, more loving, more tender ( or the opposite - start out loving and turn distant, but I have only seen that ONCE, and it was in an Otome ). As that character 'grows' and experiences things with their partner(s), the h-scene's themselves change. There's a few instances where I've seen this ( a VN with more than a few h-scene's -- at first I thought it was just going to be pure, all out h-scene after h-scene, but it actually had a good story, and each h-scene depicted some measure of 'trust' and 'growth' in the characters). The entire premise of the tsundere-archetype is built upon that same principle: a character who could initially start out cold or hostile, then warm up over time. And 'giving yourself' to someone else is one of the big acts of "trust" ( I say thise loosely because that definition changes based on each individual ) that generally comes with life, and would it really be the same if you're just TOLD how much this girl loves this guy -- rather than see it? If there wasn't ANY build up, if there was NO sexual tension, but these two characters 'loved' each other, would it "feel" right? Would it convey that same sense of emotion, trust, and connection? In some stories: it can. And does it well. But in many, it's the 'it finally happened' moment. Especially in stories that don't have an antagonist or challenge to overcome ( mostly romcom's -- which makes it hard for me to read them lately ). The opposite question also rings true. If these two characters constantly eyed each other, held hands, kissed, came -so- close to going the distance...but never did, would it feel REAL? If there was never that moment of, "THEY FINALLY GOT TOGETHER" after dating for two years -- would it cheapen the entire experience? Going through a 40 hour playthrough of a VN, watching these two characters almost lose each other over and over, struggle to be together, struggle just to survive, or struggle to remain faithful to each other, and finally get a moment to themselves -- wouldn't it be MORE strange that nothing happened between them? ( Note an exception: there are VN's where characters, male and female, do everything with a pulse -- which is, in and of itself, a statement of that character's personality. Maybe a traumatic past that they just want to 'block out'? Maybe they just enjoy it? Maybe the guy likes to 'conquer girls', which is yet another personality example? Or the opposite -- a woman who 'conquers men'. ) tl;dr: Sometimes it's easy to tell which h-scene's are just "in there" for the sake of being in there, and which are truly expanding on the characters stories. Sometimes it's not. Usually good VN's are backed with good h-scene's that have some deeper purpose than just being 'thrown in sex'.

I don't have a 3DS or a 2DS -- never had a need for them ( until recently ). I haven't played Muv Luv or Alternative yet -- they're on the list, but I'm dreading it a little. I don't really mind romcom's, but lately I've had a hard time finishing them when there isn't any kind of "rising action" -- like Shuffle!, for example. I used to LOVE it, but now I can't stand it. YU-NO...uh....I've tried. I can give it another shot, and we'll see how it goes. Also: I just found out that World End Economica 02 might not get an english release? Feel very bleh about that. I really, really like Spice and Wolf, but it demoralizes me to think I might have to wait so long for 02. I have Saya no Uta, but I haven't played that either, yet.

That's what people said about YU-NO, and I have a hard time even starting it! That being said, Ever17 looks amazing. I'm just indecisive. Don't suppose you have any other good recommendations?

It is absolutely -wonderful-. There's a few ... odd bits that don't translate the sense of urgency quite as well, but that's true for almost any/every language-to-language translation. Right now, I'm reading Hataraku Maou-sama!, which does have an anime adaption already ( The Devil is a Part-Timer! ).

Ah! Wonderful. Thanks a bunch for linking that to me. Really looking forward to it.

I didn't care for his narrative nearly as much as I did Tsukasa -- it was almost jarring, how different the two were. It's partly my fault, too, because I liked Tsukasa a LOT more as a character, so anytime Takuma's POV comes up, I just cringe.

Played Steins;gate and finished it -- not particularly challenging to get 100% in it, since it's very straight forward, but...somehow, I missed Mayuri's Ending. I went back with a walkthrough after trying 4-5 times to get it, and still didn't unlock it. Somehow I got Kurui's Ending and the True End before Mayuri's and ....yeah, I don't even know. Very, very good VN, though. Debating on what I should try now. Currently: Ever17 Grisaia no Kajitsu Sharin no Kuni, Himawari no Shoujo Tears to Tiara World End Economics ( Waiting for full translation, though. ) Are what I'm thinking about playing. I haven't finished Swan Songs yet, but I lost all drive to play it after a....certain event. I have a few RPG-VN's that I play casually on the side ( Kamidori Alchemy Meister, for example ) --- but my main interest are dark and/or well developed stories. I got bored of the whole...cutesy loli highschool VN's without any "drama" or "danger" or "suspense". Mature, I guess? I don't know. But that's currently what's up.

I want to try to side step the..."he-said-she-said" about both translations groups, so this is more centered towards the status of either translation. Basically, though, has anyone had any relatively recent news about either translation status? After checking both blogs [ Gao Gao and Sheeta ], both seem have to have gone for a while without any updates ( August and September, respectively ). Also, I saw on the comments section of Air that someone mentioned Gao Gao had removed all the h-scenes from the VN? I couldn't find anything related to that on Gao Gao's blog that actually confirmed that or not, only 'if it's too difficult'. Does anyone happen to know anything more in that regard?