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On 15.9.2016 at 5:52 AM, akaritan said:

E17 is overrated as a whole, as the first four routes are pretty tedious, but the true route did some really clever stuff. Also, the can scene is probably my favorite in the first four routes and if it had done a better job capitalizing on the tense situation and the feeling that something's wrong, the VN would have been that much better... it's a real shame. But +1 for having a pretty unusual opinion. :illya: I feel like the vast majority of what I hear is praise. E17 isn't a 10/10 VN, it's a 4/10 at its worst and a 10/10 at its best, so it's more of a mixed bag, if anything.

 

On a side note, does anyone who's read it know if Root Double fixes these problems, or makes them worse? It looks pretty engaging, but I'm not sure about slogging through twice as much bland text as ever 17 had (which was already too much).

Admittedly, it's been years since I read Ever17, but I don't remember it having all that much in common with Root Double. Whereas E17's main focus arguably lies in screwing with your mind through really elaborate plot twists, RD starts off as a mystery thriller in Root A, but then prioritizes characterization and world-building above all else during the rest of the story. There are still some occasional twists and Root B has plenty of slice-of-life, but they're not really the focus and don't feel very E17-esque in their approach. So IMO, how much you like E17 doesn't really affect how likely you are to enjoy RD.

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To response Vorathiel there, maybe grade was not so important in regard of enjoyment of the VN. Therefore, the best approach would be don't expect too much from VNDB score and just play it to find out about paticular VN by yourself. Keep in mind that was just my opinion.

Oh, by the way I'd recently finished Sakurako route. As for commentary here, the first half of her route was full of lovely situation between Shou and Sakurako (Or in Japanese term full of icha icha and rabu rabu), while the second half was had life and death drama in regard of Sakurako as sick girl. The route was end on bittersweet tone, but at least it had some conclusion unlike Mayuri's one. I think that's all I could comment for the route, and maybe I'll made the thread to tell my Flyable Heart playthrough. For next playthrough, I'll play Amane one.

PS - Regarding the seiyuu, Sakurako seiyuu was Toono Sayogi who had quite a number of role in eroge, translated or not. Her role was Kitamikado Ritsuko from Princess Evangile, Naitou Maia from Hapymaher, Yukimura Anzu from Da Capo 2, and a girl from Hoshimemo. Oh, she also voiced Katsura Kotonoha from School Days.

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Kanon. Obviously, my hype died down. I'm after 3 routes (Makoto, Natsumi and Shiori) and... kinda meh.
What I love about Kanon is how it's making me feeling guilty if I ignore one girl, in pursue of panties of other. I know whole Makoto story and seeing her in other routes kinda breaks my heart a little.
Otherwise - boring. Makoto route was the best of those 3, was not a simple 'getting together + drama' story, like other two. Maybe because of writter. Makoto one was written by Maeda himself, Natsum iand Shiori were amde by 'this other Key guy', who was working with Maeda on Moon., One and Kanon and then disappeared. 

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Been reading through Flowers, and am really enjoying it. Laid back atmosphere, very relaxing.

Something I found funny, though not directly game related. I really enjoy the soundtrack, so I hopped over on Amazon JP to see about ordering it. They have all of the available soundtracks (Printemps, Ete, Automne) available directly through Amazon. 2 of them are available for International Shipping. Unfortunately, Printemps is the odd one out. Funny thing, you can order the game for International Shipping... but not the soundtrack. :(

Edit: I emailed them about this last night, and the response I received was basically, "I see that this item is unavailable for International Shipping, but will pass it along to the proper department to investigate.". Checked again this morning, and BAM!, it's suddenly available for International Shipping. So very ordered!!

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So I've finally completed G-senjou no Maou at long last. Now, this VN isn't technically that long compared to the likes of Grisaia no Kajitsu, but for some reason, it felt like it's a longer reading experience than Grisaia, probably because Grisaia was more engaging with its jokes and banter for me, making me forget about time itself as it slips by. Due to this reason, I realized just how long it has been since I last completed a lengthy VN. The last lengthy VN I completed was Grisaia, and that was about 1-2 years ago, so there is a sense of fulfillment from this completion. I still have Umineko Chiru (just about to start chapter 6) and euphoria (finished two routes, including Nemu's first route) to go, so I'm probably not gonna complete another VN for a while.

Now, about G-senjou... Since it's one of those 'highly acclaimed' VNs which many people wowed over the epilogue, talking about how amazing it was, it begs the question whenever I finish reading one of these, "Just how perfect was it? Were there any flaws that prevent me from giving it a full 10/10?" It's an inevitable conclusion I would always come to, and I hate to be that one guy who always has to nitpick something everybody else loves, but here it is: I don't think G-senjou is a masterpiece, period.

I feel that it's definitely one of the most well-written VNs of all time (or at least, of the handful of VNs I've read), and if adapted into an anime, it might be able to compete against the likes of Fate/Zero and similar series. Its characters can be realistic, its drama fairly relatable, and it isn't exactly like your typical story of a hero defeating the evil demon, treading towards more interesting and unpredictable territories. That being said... (here comes the 'but')...

The epilogue itself felt just a little picturesque. I'm quite a cynic myself, and I don't believe any person on this planet can be perfect or a saint, even Mahatma Gandhi himself. I believe every man is flawed, and the way fiction likes to paint the hero as this self-sacrificing individual who saves the damsel in distress by giving up his own well-being, I just don't buy that. It's stupid, and I'd be incredibly turned off by that. It reminds me of a recent video made by the YouTube sensation, LeafyIsHere, where he mocks a Korean music video featuring KISS. The song was "Because I'm a Girl", and it features this guy who gave his own eyes to this girl he loves whom he indirectly blinded in an accident. Leafy's remarks were mostly satirical, claiming that if this is real life, he would never trade off his ability to see for a girl, and on some level, I agree with the sentiment.

Spoiler

That picturesque ending, where the guy still manages to get a happy ending even after landing in prison just didn't click with the rest of the realism in the story. I get that she's in love with him and all, and thus waited loyally for him to get out of prison even after all those years, but the way the epilogue just so neatly wraps it up with, "Oh, I've been waiting with my daughter this entire time without moving on with my own life at all" just came off as so cheesy compared to all the gritty twists in the rest of the story.

Now, here's a disclaimer, I've never fell in love before aside from silly crushes at school, so maybe love could indeed drive a person to do such stupid things in real life, I don't know. But from a realist's point of view, it's stupid, and rather unrelatable. "Very storybook-like" is a good description for the epilogue.

Speaking of the 'gritty twists' in the story, there's the other problem: too many f***ing twists.

A while back, there was a post criticizing Umineko for this problem, on how Umineko keeps on surprising the audience with, "But wait, there's more!" Well, there you have it, G-senjou suffers from the same problem. Just when you think an arc is over, the element of shock factor bounces the story back into unrealistic tension because of a Gary-Stu villain whose plan goes perfectly. Like, what is this guy, The Joker? Nobody's plan goes this perfectly, period.

Spoiler

The part where Kyouhei perfectly times the moment when Kyousuke would shoot him at the right exact moment when Haru was confronting him, I just lost it. The amount of precision required for such fine-timing, it's just physically improbable, highly improbable.

And another unrealistic moment was when Kyousuke saves Haru at the nick of time just as she was about to fall off - oh my god. I can't believe how many times this cliche has been used in stories, the accursed dues ex machina where the hero saves whomever just at the nick of time.

So yes, the story still suffers from deus ex machina and certain unrealistic moments that just boggle the mind, finished off with your sunset-sprinkled storybook ending. Like, there is literally a freaking sunset at the ending! What the actual f***.

But in all honesty, I don't hate the story, even if I might sound like it. I stand by what I said earlier when I said that this was one of the most well-written VNs I've read so far, but I feel that I just had to bring up the little peeves and gripes I have to be satisfied with myself.

Oh yes, something I forgot to mention - the other non-main heroines. They never did get a finality to their character arcs in the true end, which is kinda realistic and that's good, but it also makes it a bit lackluster in hindsight. I know I complained about the storybook ending of Haru, but I was kinda hoping for some closure if this is indeed the true end of the story, that's all.

In hindsight, I probably should've posted this to "Unpopular VN Opinions" instead. Oh well. *braces myself for the hate-camp*

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6 hours ago, Lucius said:

 

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That picturesque ending, where the guy still manages to get a happy ending even after landing in prison just didn't click with the rest of the realism in the story. I get that she's in love with him and all, and thus waited loyally for him to get out of prison even after all those years, but the way the epilogue just so neatly wraps it up with, "Oh, I've been waiting with my daughter this entire time without moving on with my own life at all" just came off as so cheesy compared to all the gritty twists in the rest of the story.

 

Japan is not a nice place for single mothers, she would have ended up as Rosa Ushiromiya

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5 minutes ago, WinterfuryZX said:
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Japan is not a nice place for single mothers, she would have ended up as Rosa Ushiromiya

 

I agree. She should have ended like that. It might create more mess for the story, making it hard to conclude, but it would be way better off an epilogue than what we got.

And after all,

Spoiler

her ending up batshit insane like Rosa would be more poignant anyway as to how the poison of vengeance continues to plague the lives of Usami and her family, continuing this cruel chain of punishment she must suffer through. It might not be a happy ending, but it would be more poetic for it, IMO.

 

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ef is reaaaaally atmospheric, I'm also taking JP classes atm so it's nice to listen to Hiro meeting and chatting it up with these grills on a snowy Christmas Eve along with the generous amount CGs

...But I'm not in the mood for nostalgic romance.

So I'm reading I/O. Don't ask how my whims end up the way they do :makina: 

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So I got the PSP version of Corpse Party in hopes of adding another game to my Vita library later on, Corpse Party: Blood Drive. The PSP Corpse Party isn't too bad so far - I just completed chapter 1 in a brief period of time (albeit using a walkthrough, heh heh). On the technical side of things, it's a bit annoying, as there's no auto-play function, so the voice-acting can come off as awkward when I don't know when to move forward with the dialogue. An auto-play function is quite a crucial element of VNs as it allows the voice-acting to play smoothly without awkward pauses in-between. I checked out the configuration settings, and I don't think there's an auto-advance function like Persona 4: Golden. Oh well. It's but a small gripe, though nonetheless annoying.

On the storytelling side... yeesh. They weren't kidding about how grim this story is. And we haven't even got to chapter 2 yet. Looks like it's going to be a massive slaughter. I feel sorry for the characters already, and I haven't even known them that well.

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2 hours ago, Eclipsed said:

So I'm reading I/O. Don't ask how my whims end up the way they do :makina: 

Good luck. ;)
 

11 hours ago, Lucius said:

[BIG POST ABOUT G-MAOU]

I agree. Although it was my first finished VN and I loved it. Probably way too much. But all those 'unrealistic' stuff was covered by great pacin, which was 'making' this VN for me. All the actions scenes were so fast I had no time to stop and think about their stupidity.
(Un)fortunatelly I lost that ability and I'm nitpicking every little thing in VN right now :P

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6 minutes ago, Vorathiel said:

I agree. Although it was my first finished VN and I loved it. Probably way too much. But all those 'unrealistic' stuff was covered by great pacin, which was 'making' this VN for me. All the actions scenes were so fast I had no time to stop and think about their stupidity.
(Un)fortunatelly I lost that ability and I'm nitpicking every little thing in VN right now :P

To be fair, I do agree about the pacing somewhat, particularly in regards to the pacing of the final chapter, or rather, the epilogue. It took me a long time to complete G-Senjou because I kept putting it on hold in between each chapter (it's a habit of mine to read several VNs at a time in between each route), but by the time the end-game rolled around, it kept me engaged quite effectively, and I pretty much just wanted to find out if there's some major epic twist awaiting me, what with all the things it had thrown at me so far.

And for what it's worth, I was honestly pleasantly surprised at that final twist at the end,

Spoiler

just when you thought Haru is going to receive a cliche VN happy ending with Valentine's chocolates and the like. When Maou showed up at her doorsteps, my eyes probably widened as much as Haru's did.

 

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19 hours ago, Lucius said:

So I got the PSP version of Corpse Party in hopes of adding another game to my Vita library later on, Corpse Party: Blood Drive.

Enjoy, I got my Vita specifically because i played Corpse Party and then wanted to go BloodDrive ^_^. The series isn't a masterpiece, but it still holds a special place in my heart since it helped me transition out of... moeges

 

~~

19 hours ago, Vorathiel said:

Good luck. ;)

Thanks

But wow, it's your friggen' 4th highest rated VN with a whopping 9.3, you, the guy who gave the (not-so-great) Ever17 a 6.2

I expect great things :sachi: 

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21 hours ago, Eclipsed said:

[I/O] But wow, it's your friggen' 4th highest rated VN with a whopping 9.3, you, the guy who gave the (not-so-great) Ever17 a 6.2

I expect great things :sachi: 

Prepare your brain to be melted. If not by the story itself, then by the structure of this VN.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Finished Kanon. Not a fan. I loved common route, loved humour... But when any route started, suddely humour was completly halted.
Also. Two routes were okayish, nothing ever happened in them, good or bad - Natsumi, Shiori.
One route was a heavyhitter and good- Makoto, but fact that she's a tsundere prevented me from liking this as much as I should. Shame.
One route was good, dark, moody and interesting - Mai, but ending was so ridiculous and undecipherable that lowered overall rating for this route.
And one, final/true route was annoying, stupid, terrible with horrible, annoying and stupid heroine, and with ending so undecipherable and ridiculous that preventeed me from liking this route at all. Ayu.

To simply say - I'm a sf kind of guy. I need my explanations to make sense and be logical in their own world. Steins;Gate was great in that, I/O very good, E17 not so much and 'KEY magic' is like opposition for that.

My fragmentary grades for everything:
 

Spoiler

gmxKZ0e.png

 

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6 minutes ago, WinterfuryZX said:

don't forget to read Confession manga after finishing ep viii.

Not sure I'd be able to remember that far down the line (since I'm still on ep vi, and might take a break before ep vii). But I'll try to keep in mind. :holo:

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6 hours ago, Vorathiel said:

Finished Kanon. Not a fan. I loved common route, loved humour... But when any route started, suddely humour was completly halted.

Well, it's a Key VN - everything is about feeeelings! ^_^

Their common route is always about comedy and then makes place for the drama in the individual routes. That's their typical formula. And the weakest heroine being the main heroine is also kind of tradition. :sleep:

Your heroine ratings are kind of comparable to mine since Mai and Nayuki were my favorites. You should give the Kanon anime a try if you haven't already, it's worth it.

Spoiler

 

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