What are you playing?

[Deep Blue]

@sub-zer0 read it too so we can ask him too  

[CeruleanGamer]

Wish there was High School of the Dead visual novel. But this thing will never ever be finished before our lifespans because we are getting like 1 chapter every 2 years or something...  Even the hentai doujin version of it "Kiss of the Dead" is moving a lot faster than the whole manga itself. 

Edited December 1, 2015 by CeruleanGamer

[Decay]

Started Euphoria.

Hidden Content

 

That opening scene with the class rep is probably the most extreme scene in the entire VN, actually. Purely because of the narration. They go all out trying to psyche out the players right at the start.

[Deep Blue]

Started Euphoria.

Hidden Content

 

That opening scene with the class rep is probably the most extreme scene in the entire VN, actually. Purely because of the narration. They go all out trying to psyche out the players right at the start.

I'm not sure about that

When they put Rinne inside the wall that was pretty fucked up, specially the second time they show her there.

[Dergonu]

Wish there was High School of the Dead visual novel. But this thing will never ever be finished before our lifespans because we are getting like 1 chapter every 2 years or something...  Even the hentai doujin version of it "Kiss of the Dead" is moving a lot faster than the whole manga itself. 

yeah to be honest it would be better if they just announced it as cancelled... nothing worse than never knowing when the next chapter is coming. Also, tbh the ending to the last issue wasnt half bad. If they just call it quits I wouldnt mind. Also feel like the last issues of sekirei is in the same boat, though pretty sure the RAWs for those are out at least.

[Deep Blue]

still playing sumire from time to time, you can even re-play old nekoneko games inside the novel xD that's amazing

[Vokoca]

yeah... wish someone would pick this up to translate. It is the only decent zombie apocalypse VN out there (couldnt find any reviews or info on other ones) and it would definitely cater to a growing niche of zombie apocalypse lovers out there (like myself). I wouldnt be surprised if it becomes a hit in the Western market since zombies are kinda the in-thing nowadays.

Never read it but the art in this one is super legit at least. https://vndb.org/v16802

All SeaCoxx (hosted on the amazing website spermation.net) does is take a winner of a user-written adult story contest at Nocturne Novel and slaps some budget on it to make it into a VN. Nice art or not, you're still just reading an user-submitted adult short story - adult being the key word here. You're basically reading fanfiction level fap material, and honestly you're probably much better off just grabbing a regular nukige.

[Eclipsed]

Cool, IPB4 saves your post so you can come back to it the next day

~~
Woot woot, I managed to get at least one person to start reading Cartagra with all my spamming

The best moment I had come across so far just happened with Rin on the third day.  Seeing Kazune speechless and her face slowly change was incredible.  I kind of really enjoyed how they force you to manually progress through those expressions, it's kind of like the main character was watching something in slow motion.  A really great use of mechanics of the medium.

Lol yeah.. that scene was priceless huh 

Meh, fk it. I don't even know how to create nested spoilers anymore. 

 

 

~~~
Making steady progress in KnS2. I'm on Fifth Terrace, date 1/3, not much to say except that I'm really enjoying the story & characters so far.

As much as I dreaded that 5 hour prologue, it did ultimately serve its purpose of setting up these characters quite nicely and it was fun to be able to recognize who was who and see how they've changed.

The mystery is also much more mysterious this time around, and I appreciate the connection(?)s to the prior events of Cartagra involving the Senri and the Shigusa name.
Detective sessions up to this point however, have been lacking; most of the information was handed to you by the narrative and the third person storytelling, but I'm sure when the moment of truth comes I'll be scratching my head like a dumby-dumb 'cuz right now I simply have no idea who the perp(s) is/are.

Speaking of third person narrative, at first I didn't like it because I felt a bit more detached from the story (especially in the beginning) since I wasn't looking through the eyes of Reiji 90% of the time anymore like I was in KnS, but it really opened up the story to be more dynamic. You get to see much more in-depth of what other characters are up to and their feelings (I particularly enjoyed getting to see Yukari x Kohane x Yukiko develop their friendship) now rather than being limited to one person's viewpoint and the sporadic 3rd person glimpses you got in the first game. Though, next time for KnS3, pls allow me to still look up the Notebook even when Reiji's not in control :3

Character banter has improved dramatically. Maybe I'm just super bias by now, but I frequently had a huge ass grin on my face towards things like Reiji getting creeped out by the creepy-crawly noises in Yukari's closet, Sato's gift of choice for Reiji towards Kyoko being the heart handkerchief, the return of the takoyaki man, Shugo's over-the-top enthusiasm for his new daughter, Toji's staying true to her badassery and keeping Reiji in check upon revealing Shin's new novel to him only to seconds later ask if he brought back some Echizen miso from his trip, hell even Masaki ending up sleeping on Michiru's shoulder because he didn't want to move and wake her up >.>

...Ah, so the person on the cover art of KnS2 is

Yukiko, not Touko?

Calling it now, they're long lost sisters, and their father is Rokushiki who had an incestuous relationship with Misa <-joking, but srsly, this game really likes the incest (Shugo x sisters, Chizuki x Fumiya, even Karen x Ayato, though Karen at least doesn't seem to fully swing that way. yet.)

Btw Yukiko needs to smile more. Touko was really attractive with those eyes whenever she smiled. But Yukiko's always frowning. Rawr.

I'm guessing(hoping) KnS2 has a two part story just like KnS, and after the Hinna-sama Curse case we'll get to deal with Yukiko. I really really hope so, because I'm very, very, very, very, VERY curious as to her circumstances and who the hell she really is

Btw, RIP Yuka. She was cute.

Guriko too. She was Princess Evangile's Ayaka's VA. but that's pretty irrelevant huh 

Nao-chan's the most suspicious mother effer ever, especially since he was MIA up until now, but idk. It's simply not as obvious to me as Kusaka & Shin were in the first game. Or maybe it is. We'll see  but for now I'm leaning towards him being the attractive distractor. A very great one at that.

[the_dive]

So I finished Koichoco and my final takeaway is what a weird fucking school. Individual routes weren't anything I haven't seen before besides maybe Michiru's. It was a pretty good read. Also, 

 

Did the writers have to drop an unskippable Chisato breakdown every route? It was a little annoying.

Edited December 2, 2015 by the_dive

[Decay]

Cool, IPB4 saves your post so you can come back to it the next day

~~
Woot woot, I managed to get at least one person to start reading Cartagra with all my spamming

The best moment I had come across so far just happened with Rin on the third day.  Seeing Kazune speechless and her face slowly change was incredible.  I kind of really enjoyed how they force you to manually progress through those expressions, it's kind of like the main character was watching something in slow motion.  A really great use of mechanics of the medium.

Lol yeah.. that scene was priceless huh 

Hidden Content

 

~~~
Making steady progress in KnS2. I'm on Fifth Terrace, date 1/3, not much to say except that I'm really enjoying the story & characters so far.

As much as I dreaded that 5 hour prologue, it did ultimately serve its purpose of setting up these characters quite nicely and it was fun to be able to recognize who was who and see how they've changed.

The mystery is also much more mysterious this time around, and I appreciate the connection(?)s to the prior events of Cartagra involving the Senri and the Shigusa name.
Detective sessions up to this point however, have been lacking; most of the information was handed to you by the narrative and the third person storytelling, but I'm sure when the moment of truth comes I'll be scratching my head like a dumby-dumb 'cuz right now I simply have no idea who the perp(s) is/are.

Speaking of third person narrative, at first I didn't like it because I felt a bit more detached from the story (especially in the beginning) since I wasn't looking through the eyes of Reiji 90% of the time anymore like I was in KnS, but it really opened up the story to be more dynamic. You get to see much more in-depth of what other characters are up to and their feelings (I particularly enjoyed getting to see Yukari x Kohane x Yukiko develop their friendship) now rather than being limited to one person's viewpoint and the sporadic 3rd person glimpses you got in the first game. Though, next time for KnS3, pls allow me to still look up the Notebook even when Reiji's not in control :3

Character banter has improved dramatically. Maybe I'm just super bias by now, but I frequently had a huge ass grin on my face towards things like Reiji getting creeped out by the creepy-crawly noises in Yukari's closet, Sato's gift of choice for Reiji towards Kyoko being the heart handkerchief, the return of the takoyaki man, Shugo's over-the-top enthusiasm for his new daughter, Toji's staying true to her badassery and keeping Reiji in check upon revealing Shin's new novel to him only to seconds later ask if he brought back some Echizen miso from his trip, hell even Masaki ending up sleeping on Michiru's shoulder because he didn't want to move and wake her up >.>

...Ah, so the person on the cover art of KnS2 is

Hidden Content

KnS2 is far less interactive than KnS1. There are barely any deduction moments at all. It's a little disappointing, but it seems that IG just mainly wanted to focus on telling a good mystery story instead of making a half-assed mystery adventure game. That's also why the map selection choices don't really matter. And I don't think the game allows you to leave investigation screens without important pieces of evidence. Still, as you said, I believe it to be a far better mystery story than the first KnS game. KnS1 felt more like a thriller where you were desperately chasing down a murderer, playing a game of cat and mouse. KnS2 is a genuine mystery.

[Chronopolis]

Playing Utawaremono.

Leaf has a thing with likeable (ie. undoubtedly good and pure) heriones. Yuzuha is my favourite.
I like the tile-based cutscenes. The graphics fit well and they easily become an extension of the story.
The plot is kinda new to me. It's like they took elements of a grand hero-rising war story, but cut away most of the character and setting detail. The result is a face-paced, albeit sparse, storyline. I hope the plot or character develops more in the future...I was intrigued near the start by the kenomimi villagers, but now it just feels like its in full tactics rpg conquest mode. The strategy part of the game is not bad. I just hate how you automatically lose if the MC dies, it's like a game of keeping the enemy away from him and your healer.
Are there equipable items in the PC version? I hear them mentioned in the PS2 version.

Edit: played a bit more, got a welcome slice of life and now things have gotten a bunch more interesting. This is fun!

Edited December 2, 2015 by Chronopolis

[WaywardHunter]

I just finished the Fate route in Fate/Stay Night and moving on to Unlimited Blade Works.I'm planning on getting the good ending and then getting the true ending, which is the opposite of what I normally do. The ending for the Fate route made me sad but it felt like a realistic ending for the story arc. I also just started Katawa Shoujo which I'm enjoying so far. Any suggestions about which route to play first? Also am I going to cry?

[Fred the Barber]

I just finished the Fate route in Fate/Stay Night and moving on to Unlimited Blade Works.I'm planning on getting the good ending and then getting the true ending, which is the opposite of what I normally do. The ending for the Fate route made me sad but it felt like a realistic ending for the story arc. I also just started Katawa Shoujo which I'm enjoying so far. Any suggestions about which route to play first? Also am I going to cry?

The alternate endings in Fate/Stay Night are pretty weak, in my opinion (the "good" ending in UBW and the "normal" ending [I think it was called?] in Heavens Feel). They didn't really seem to add anything new, and they frequently took away something important from the expected ending for those routes. UBW's True Ending is my favorite route in F/SNbut frankly all three routes are excellent - it's not for nothing that the game is so highly-rated.

For Katawa Shoujo, while it is considered a crying game, I don't recall actually crying while playing it myself (even though, for example, Little Busters! frequently reduced me to a sobbing mess). It's a fine VN, but doesn't seem to do as much for me as it does for most people. My only suggestions for KS are:

- use a guide while playing it (I hit the early bad ending something like 3 times before I gave up and started using the guide)

- make sure to see the bad endings as well as the good endings; they're generally a little more emotional, IMO

[Hijiri]

Reading euphoria. Already finished 2 routes, Rika and Natsuki's. Natsuki's is my favorite thus far, partially because it's a bit more tame than what I've seen thus far (Although her final scene made me feel terrible) and she's just damn likeable.

I also have a weakness for older women so there's that too.

[bogdankl]

am i the only one who felt that Komomo's route in Hoshizora no Memoria was... weak?

I don't know what it was about it but I didn't click with me which is quite astonishing for me, one of the most enjoyable parts of a vn is discovering things, that's why I don't read the description of a vn on vndb before playing it and only pick them up by art style. Komomo's route had a lot of twists and turns and reveals but for some reason it just didn't move me. Maybe it was because of the translation which i found to be quite heavier to read and understand than others, and found some grammatical errors in there. Don't get me wrong I am thankful to the translators and they are certainly people much more amazing than me but I don't think that is reason not to point out some things. Or maybe I have become somewhat desensitized to certain things or just wasn't in the right state of heart to read a vn. I find it particularly troubling because I loved Lucia's route in rewrite and this is a somewhat similar experience to that and I just didn't feel for Komomo or Kosame. Or maybe I am expecting too much out of this vn, It's a good vn don't get me wrong but it not "make your balls explode" good

[Narcosis]

am i the only one who felt that Komomo's route in Hoshizora no Memoria was... weak?

No

As much as Hoshimemo became a running fad on Fuwa and characters have been subsequently used as mascots, the vn itself is both ridiculously overhyped and overrated; it extends so far, people are unable to see how flawed it is, not to mention all the incitors around (hello Steve o/), who profoundly believe it's the best game ever created

If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend this non-biased review, written by Ren.

[Jun Inoue]

I have to read and finish so many VNs...

[Narcosis]

Speaking of mmorpgs, anyone hyped about Black Desert Online? I'm planning to pre-order it in a couple of days and two beta testing sessions are coming soon. Daum actually opened betatesting to everyone and you can apply here, even if you haven't pre-ordered the game.

I'm glad they actually fixed all the previous issues known from the first korean cbt's and didn't remove any of the planned content. This game is on a good road to become a major sandbox hit.

[Jun Inoue]

I have to read and finish so many VNs...

 

Playing Utawaremono.

Leaf has a thing with likeable (ie. undoubtedly good and pure) heriones. Yuzuha is my favourite.
I like the tile-based cutscenes. The graphics fit well and they easily become an extension of the story.
The plot is kinda new to me. It's like they took elements of a grand hero-rising war story, but cut away most of the character and setting detail. The result is a face-paced, albeit sparse, storyline. I hope the plot or character develops more in the future...I was intrigued near the start by the kenomimi villagers, but now it just feels like its in full tactics rpg conquest mode. The strategy part of the game is not bad. I just hate how you automatically lose if the MC dies, it's like a game of keeping the enemy away from him and your healer.
Are there equipable items in the PC version? I hear them mentioned in the PS2 version.

Edit: played a bit more, got a welcome slice of life and now things have gotten a bunch more interesting. This is fun!

Enjoying my recommendation, then?

Speaking of mmorpgs, anyone hyped about Black Desert Online? I'm planning to pre-order it in a couple of days and two beta testing sessions are coming soon. Daum actually opened betatesting to everyone and you can apply here, even if you haven't pre-ordered the game.

I'm glad they actually fixed all the previous issues known from the first korean cbt's and didn't remove any of the planned content. This game is on a good road to become a major sandbox hit.

I edited my comment since I realized this is in the VNs forum xD

I am hyped about it, though. First it looked awesome, then I heard reviewers are actually saying the game is super shallow and boring once you get past the incredible graphics and effects, yet now a good friend of mine is assuring me the game is epic. I'm hyped, but confused O

[Narcosis]

I edited my comment since I realized this is in the VNs forum xD

I am hyped about it, though. First it looked awesome, then I heard reviewers are actually saying the game is super shallow and boring once you get past the incredible graphics and effects, yet now a good friend of mine is assuring me the game is epic. I'm hyped, but confused O

The confusion propably comes from the times when western release was just a rumor; Black Pearl ran into a series of design issues during the testing phase and a lot of korean players complained about the way game plays and feels, which prompted them to re-adjust some of the core content and mechanics. This, in turn, did alienate a large part of the western fanbase, since the content that was mostly pointed out as bad by the koreans included a large part of the sandbox content.

I don't know myself how this ended, since I was one of the disappointed fans after BP's annoucement to remove and re-adjust the game's contents, but it seems in the end we're actually getting the original game after all. BP actually stated it was one of their core ideas to aim for an international release. Since then, they seem to be working close with the community to deliver the best possible experience for everyone.

Game itself is amazing, both in graphics, art and concepts. It's also supposedly runs really well even on dated hardware, considering the graphics it has.

Also, someone move this to the standard game section; we derped (Jun's fault, tho).

[Ariurotl]

Euphoria, mwahaha.

Current status: bummed out about the fact that apparently

Rinne's route doesn't have a conventionally "good" ending. D: Both endings were kinda unsatisfying (man, I'm not even sure which one is good better!), and she doesn't even get an epilogue? Come on! Even Natsuki got one, and she was obviously there to just make the numbers.

I'll reserve judgement until all mysteries are (hopefully) revealed, but for now I am a sad panda.

[Funyarinpa]

reading Euphoria myself. I only finished Rika's route, and started on Natsuki's route.

Rika is shit and Rika's route was shit. The water tank was pretty twisted, but I didn't dig the relationship between Rika and Keisuke, it feels bland as fuck. The last 20-30 minutes (the "final game" where you rescue people + the whole "aboveground" part) was the most interesting part. 

Natsuki's route is well... more of the same as early Rika route. Natsuki's second scene was the only scene that gave me a boner so far, and after that I stopped, because it didn't feel as bad as Rika's stuff. Inverse nipples really bother me e_e

Rika -> Water tank, then enema up the ass and forced to shit buckets

Natsuki -> Open mouth blowjob, then bondage + vibrator stimulation

The grills sure get equal treatment /s

[XReaper]

because time is my archnemesis and different shit keeps piling up...i somehow struggled through the ones i´ve been currently reading, tried reaching a point that feels more or less complete & from where on i´m able of continuing them someday later.
meanwhile there´s not much to do, but going for some of rasen kairou2´s bad endings by re-read mode for what it feels like a trillionth time already...

[Kanbe]

On to hatsumirai! Time to see what Grisaia developers have in store

[Hijiri]

reading Euphoria myself. I only finished Rika's route, and started on Natsuki's route.

Hidden Content

Don't worry, Natsuki gets her own stomach cleansing later on.