What are you playing?

[Eclipsed]

Alright friends I'm sorry, I couldn't get into Ao Kana, I know, I know, blasphemy, it's one of the more favored high school slice of lifes out there, but I'm just waaay passed my SoL honey moon phase lol. Absolutely loved the artwork, and coupled with the flying thematics/settings I just know it would've been one of my tops alongside all the others I've red in the past.

I can probably get back into it some other time, but after going through MuvLuv / Al Somnium Files / Chaos;Child / Utawarerumono this year I'm still hungry for some more plot heavy shenanigans rather than mindless eye candy moe droolzie fests.

That being said, I did get another VN for my Switch in addition to Ao Kana:

YU-NO.

Now I didn't really read the synopsis for it, so when I was slogging through the prologue for a good 2-3 hours I was like uh oh, but then BAM it's a VN that involves timetravel/multiuniverse YEEE thank the VN gods!

~~

You are protagonist (first) Takuya Arima (last), an "acts obnoxious and perverted" high school boy who is kind of in a slump and slacking with his life and studies after his father, a fairly renowned researcher/historian, goes missing for a month and is eventually presumed dead. Takuya now lives with just his stepmother Ayumi, a very gentle and caring woman who's only about 10 years older than Takuya. Cuz she was a student of Takuya's dad and they fell in love. Whew. 

Takuya is an obnoxious loudmouth, and 50% of his dialogue with any female character is plagued with early 2000s perverted protagonist humor; hopefully he'll grow out of it in some semblance of character development come later. He even pervs out on his stepmother Ayumi at times lol, but at least he's mindful about that:

Yo dw Takuya, I won't judge, you're only looking because I'm making you, because I'm the one who wants to stare 

Yada yada yada, Takuya eventually gets a package delivered to him. The sender? His father! And inside is the deus ex machina of deus ex machinas, your very own time machine device! Now YU-NO came out in 1996, so it's the OG time travel/multiverse VN and I'm going to just enjoy it for what it is instead of trying to compare it with Steins;gate / Zero Escape and whatnot.

So far I dig the concept, you know how VNs have flow charts and save points? These are seamlessly implemented as a natural feature of Takuya's time travel device so he can set a jewel (checkpoint) and jump between them at will, though he only has a limited amounted of jewels (checkpoints) to place. Basically you using this limited saving or loading feature is him using his time machine device, pretty meta for a VN made in 1996.

The only drawback so far is that it doesn't seem like Takuya himself is aware of any jumps you're doing early on in the story, though I'm assuming come late game it'll probably be heavily integrated with the plot.

 

The VN narratively plays like a point and click adventure, where you are given breaks in between dialogue to move to your next destination or examine your surroundings. Pretty neat feature, though I've already developed the habit of holding skip and clicking everything in the map and then glancing through backlogs, because there is a LOT of fluff / boring descriptions:

Yuck, too much stuff to examine. Doesn't help that you can literally leave the room and come right back and then all the things you just greyed out (indicating that it was read content) will be white again (unread content).

 

~~

Naturally I'm playing the remastered Nintendo Switch version of YU-NO. It comes with remastered tracks (though you can change the BGM to the OG 8-bit sounding ones at any time, always nice to have that feature) and modern moe graphics, which I always love so that's a plus. I saw some comments about diehard purist fans going 'Ohh the old artstyle was better, the new one is lifeless'/ Well i say y'all needa get your eyes checked and get with the times, I bet there are even OLDER purists who would think black and white pixelated pre-1970s artstyle trumps the old 2000s janky artstyle lol.

 

Yes, I had Takuya stare at her butt. For the longest time ever. Sue me

~~
Pretty interested to see what kind of story this VN will do

[adamstan]

I still prefer older art style for YU-NO. Maybe my perception would change after actually playing new version, but that's not happening until it gets some massive discount during one of Steam sales At full price it's prohibitively expensive for me. 

Also, I loved original voices, but I guess to have them in the remake would be a hell of licensing nightmare, so I understand that. As for the art - it doesn't even have to be pixellated 16 color original one, I'm fine with redoing it for hi-res etc, but it's just that some of the new character designs themselves are IMO worse - especially Mio, but also Ayumi and Mitsuki - their new designs have kind of dumbed-down look. If they'd redraw it using original designs it would have been perfect for me I think.

However, if the rumors are true, and remake does away with constant pantyshot CGs in the most inappropriate mood ruining moments, then that's a big plus

Edited September 20, 2020 by adamstan

[sid.vnlr]

I am playing the Fruit of Grisaia. It is a very interesting read.

[Seraphim]

Okay, I'm done with episode 5 of Umineko. Things are starting to clear up somewhat and I've revised some theories as well as made up some new ones. I might just be pulling things out of my ass here, but that's part of the fun.
 

Spoiler

We learn of the fact that Natsuhi, who was unable to get pregnant, were handed a child by Kinzo, and that she then supposedly pushed that child and the servant holding it off a cliff, or at the very least let it happen. This seems to fit with some parts of my previous Battler theories, so I started thinking that might have been him, which he then confirmed himself towards the end of the episode. I obviously can't be entirely sure it's the truth, since both Higurashi and Umineko likes to play around with perspective and turn things on their head, so it might just as well just be something Battler proposed as a means to preserve the illusion of the witch and Beatrice's existence in the fight against the others. It seems plausible though, and it has made me question Battler's and Beatrice's relation to each other.
I think my previous theory about them "being in a relationship" still holds true, with the one big difference that, rather than lovers, I'm currently leaning more towards Beatrice being Battler's mother. Basically, my theory is that she might have been the servant girl who fell off the cliff along with him, and while he survived, she didn't.
(Sidenote: There's a flashback of Rosa as a child in episode 1 or 2, where Beatrice falls down a cliff and dies. We didn't know many details at the time, but it fits quite well together with this "servant falls off a cliff" story that we've learned of now.)
In the episode where we're told that Battler isn't Asumu's son, we learn that he's still a true descendant of Kinzo's. My guess is that Beatrice was a servant that Kinzo fell in love with and either had an affair with or maybe even forced himself upon. (going by the information provided so far, it seems like she was being held in Kuwadorian against her will) The outcome was still the same, namely that she got pregnant. Kinzo wanted that child as his successor, but since it was the result of an illicit relationship, he chose to claim that the child was a boy from the orphanage and put him in Natsuhi's care since she couldn't bear a child herself.
Kinzo never truly acknowledged Natsuhi as part of the family and even went as far as to not speak to or even look at her, and I imagine that might be caused by resentment after she failed to take care of the child (which, unbeknownst to others, was his own son) that was entrusted to her.

Battler being that child makes me wonder who Asumu's and Kyrie's sons are, though. To be honest, I don't remember if it's been proven beyond doubt that Asumu even had a child, or if "Battler=Asumu's son" was just some concept that was proposed to us.
In regards to Kyrie's supposedly dead son, I still have a hard time accepting that he's really dead, since it seems like that wouldn't have much impact on the story. (Then again, not everything must.)
I'm still pretty hung up on that white-haired dude employed by Ange in 1998, so maybe he's Kyrie's son? The hair color sure fits, as everyone in her family seems to have white hair. On the other hand, my theory of him maybe being Battler could also still hold true, since it's not exactly hard to dye your hair and whatnot. (Honestly, it would be kinda poetic if he is Battler, since that would mean that Ange's dear brother has been right beside her without her even realizing it.)
At the very least, that guy seems to fit age-wise, and his particular skills make it seem like carrying out murders on an isolated island wouldn't be all that difficult.
If nothing else, it seems very likely that he'll play a larger part in the story at some point, and it wouldn't exactly surprise me if Okonogi does as well, given his role in Higurashi.

Some things that confuse me:
1. I still don't know what to make of the fact that Battler and Ange have the same hair color. Maybe it doesn't have any deeper meaning at all, but it really seems to indicate that they're full siblings. However, that falls apart if Ange truly is Kyrie's daughter while Battler is Beatrice's son. Bah, I don't know what to think.
2. Likewise, I still have no clue as to what sin Battler is guilty of according to Beatrice, but I'll probably find out pretty soon even if I don't manage to deduce it on my own, since he claims to have figured everything out at the end of episode 5.
3. Beatrice's gold. If she truly was a servant, the only reason I could find for her having that much gold is if Kinzo in reality didn't get it from her, but rather gave her the entire fortune he made over the course of his long life.
4. The relation between Higurashi and Umineko. According to several different scenes, it seems like the world of Higurashi was a playground for Bernkastel and Lambdadelta, with Bernkastel controlling Rika and Lambdadelta controlling Takano, but there's also the fact that Lambdadelta both looks and laughs like Satoko. Maybe they had several game pieces each, I dunno.
On the other hand, there's another scene where they're explicitly talking about the game "Higurashi no Naku Koro ni" and Lambdadelta not knowing the ending of it, which doesn't make sense at all if she was actually playing one or more parts in it.

Oh well, time to move on to episode 6!

Edited September 20, 2020 by Seraphim

[Silvz]

1 hour ago, Seraphim said:

Okay, I'm done with episode 5 of Umineko. Things are starting to clear up somewhat and I've revised some theories as well as made up some new ones. I might just be pulling things out of my ass here, but that's part of the fun.
 

  Hide contents

We learn of the fact that Natsuhi, who was unable to get pregnant, were handed a child by Kinzo, and that she then supposedly pushed that child and the servant holding it off a cliff, or at the very least let it happen. This seems to fit with some parts of my previous Battler theories, so I started thinking that might have been him, which he then confirmed himself towards the end of the episode. I obviously can't be entirely sure it's the truth, since both Higurashi and Umineko likes to play around with perspective and turn things on their head, so it might just as well just be something Battler proposed as a means to preserve the illusion of the witch and Beatrice's existence in the fight against the others. It seems plausible though, and it has made me question Battler's and Beatrice's relation to each other.
I think my previous theory about them "being in a relationship" still holds true, with the one big difference that, rather than lovers, I'm currently leaning more towards Beatrice being Battler's mother. Basically, my theory is that she might have been the servant girl who fell off the cliff along with him, and while he survived, she didn't.
(Sidenote: There's a flashback of Rosa as a child in episode 1 or 2, where Beatrice falls down a cliff and dies. We didn't know many details at the time, but it fits quite well together with this "servant falls off a cliff" story that we've learned of now.)
In the episode where we're told that Battler isn't Asumu's son, we learn that he's still a true descendant of Kinzo's. My guess is that Beatrice was a servant that Kinzo fell in love with and either had an affair with or maybe even forced himself upon. (going by the information provided so far, it seems like she was being held in Kuwadorian against her will) The outcome was still the same, namely that she got pregnant. Kinzo wanted that child as his successor, but since it was the result of an illicit relationship, he chose to claim that the child was a boy from the orphanage and put him in Natsuhi's care since she couldn't bear a child herself.
Kinzo never truly acknowledged Natsuhi as part of the family and even went as far as to not speak to or even look at her, and I imagine that might be caused by resentment after she failed to take care of the child (which, unbeknownst to others, was his own son) that was entrusted to her.

Battler being that child makes me wonder who Asumu's and Kyrie's sons are, though. To be honest, I don't remember if it's been proven beyond doubt that Asumu even had a child, or if "Battler=Asumu's son" was just some concept that was proposed to us.
In regards to Kyrie's supposedly dead son, I still have a hard time accepting that he's really dead, since it seems like that wouldn't have much impact on the story. (Then again, not everything must.)
I'm still pretty hung up on that white-haired dude employed by Ange in 1998, so maybe he's Kyrie's son? The hair color sure fits, as everyone in her family seems to have white hair. On the other hand, my theory of him maybe being Battler could also still hold true, since it's not exactly hard to dye your hair and whatnot. (Honestly, it would be kinda poetic if he is Battler, since that would mean that Ange's dear brother has been right beside her without her even realizing it.)
At the very least, that guy seems to fit age-wise, and his particular skills make it seem like carrying out murders on an isolated island wouldn't be all that difficult.
If nothing else, it seems very likely that he'll play a larger part in the story at some point, and it wouldn't exactly surprise me if Okonogi does as well, given his role in Higurashi.

Some things that confuse me:
1. I still don't know what to make of the fact that Battler and Ange have the same hair color. Maybe it doesn't have any deeper meaning at all, but it really seems to indicate that they're full siblings. However, that falls apart if Ange truly is Kyrie's daughter while Battler is Beatrice's son. Bah, I don't know what to think.
2. Likewise, I still have no clue as to what sin Battler is guilty of according to Beatrice, but I'll probably find out pretty soon even if I don't manage to deduce it on my own, since he claims to have figured everything out at the end of episode 5.
3. Beatrice's gold. If she truly was a servant, the only reason I could find for her having that much gold is if Kinzo in reality didn't get it from her, but rather gave her the entire fortune he made over the course of his long life.
4. The relation between Higurashi and Umineko. According to several different scenes, it seems like the world of Higurashi was a playground for Bernkastel and Lambdadelta, with Bernkastel controlling Rika and Lambdadelta controlling Takano, but there's also the fact that Lambdadelta both looks and laughs like Satoko. Maybe they had several game pieces each, I dunno.
On the other hand, there's another scene where they're explicitly talking about the game "Higurashi no Naku Koro ni" and Lambdadelta not knowing the ending of it, which doesn't make sense at all if she was actually playing one or more parts in it.

Oh well, time to move on to episode 6!

Don't think too much about the last topic, as although they are related somehow, the how is meant to be foggy. There will be another character who will help you understanding the relation between the two stories, though.

About your theories, this time I will tag it. Not a spoiler, but a tip

 

I think you misinterpreted some things and took them as true

Edited September 20, 2020 by Silvz

[Seraphim]

I don't think I dare click on that spoiler box, since I really want to avoid anything that can either confirm or deny any of my theories ahead of time. I'm basically not looking for any sort of discussion at this point, but rather just jotting down thoughts as they come to me.
I've been jumping back and forth between a lot of different theories and have a hard time deciding exactly what to believe. Some stuff seem to hold up pretty well, but then something shows up contradicting it or leading me onto a different track every so often. It was the same with Higurashi, but Umineko's mystery feels even harder to get a grasp on.

[Guest]

Played Disco Elysium recently, does that count as a visual novel ?  The weird stats system works really well with the story telling, and although the story doesn't change much with your choices, maybe there's a glimpse of greatness in that game ? Thoughts ?

Edited September 21, 2020 by Guest

[Silvz]

3 hours ago, maefdomn said:

Played Disco Elysium recently, does that count as a visual novel ?  The weird stats system works really well with the story telling, and although the story doesn't change much with your choices, maybe there's a glimpse of greatness in that game ? Thoughts ?

no

[alpacaman]

As for a longer answer: No, I wouldn't call Disco Elysium visual novel, it's closer to older western RPGs like Planescape: Torment. It's really quite good, though I think it falls a tiny bit short of the hype surrounding it. My favourite part was when I stole amphetamines from a twelve year old boy. 

[Mr Poltroon]

I don't know that I would describe Disco Elysium as a Visual Novel, but simultaneously I somehow felt it had too much text even though I read Visual Novels that most definitely tend to offer more such fluff. Must be because in Elysium I always felt I was making no progress and/or that the text required too much thinking to parse/interact with.

What a scrub I am.

[adamstan]

After all, not every text-heavy game has to be Visual Novel. There were text-based adventures - which Visual Novels evolved from, so perhaps Disco Elysium could be called text-RPG?

[Fujoneko]

Alrighty! I've been away for a while but I'm back with a finished vn! This time, it was Room No. 9.

Was it sad? It was. Was it sexy?  Was I hoping for more? For sure!! :(
I thought we would have more freedom of choice and especially more gore... Well, overall, I wouldn't say it was a bad experience, not at all. I did like it a lot. This left me wanting more, I think I'm gonna read Euphoria or Maggot Baits very soon... 

Spoiler

I loved ending F (for friendship) as it was the happiest ending but boy oh boy, that ending A... the mind break sure was smexy~ 

------------

The next one I plan on finishing soon is Kara no Shoujo 2!

[Maxwell]

Just finished Steins;Gate, after that probably continue my journey on BSD2 lol

[adamstan]

I'm reading Sakura Strasse, but protagonist really annoys me. He definitely won't work as a self-insert character for me He's horrible tsundere, and on top of that keeps switching between two modes - rude and whiny bitch. And donkan to boot... Poor girls, falling in love with such fool... I wonder if they manage to change him into something decent

Edited September 26, 2020 by adamstan

[Silvz]

3 hours ago, adamstan said:

 He definitely won't work as a self-insert character for me

Do you always go for the self insertion aspect of VNs? I could never do that, I don't see myself as the protagonist, but as a reader of a novel.

[adamstan]

45 minutes ago, Silvz said:

Do you always go for the self insertion aspect of VNs?

Actually, no. (But it perhaps did happen with some of the moeges I played. Nevertheless I don't actively aim for that) Most of the times for me it's also just following the story - with various degrees of immersion. I just wanted to stress how much his attitude annoys me and makes me wanna smack him over the head (Well, Yuu-nee already does it, so maybe I don't need to )

Edited September 26, 2020 by adamstan

[Stormwolf]

4 hours ago, adamstan said:

I'm reading Sakura Strasse, but protagonist really annoys me. He definitely won't work as a self-insert character for me He's horrible tsundere, and on top of that keeps switching between two modes - rude and whiny bitch. And donkan to boot... Poor girls, falling in love with such fool... I wonder if they manage to change him into something decent

Sounds like real life tbh! The usual protagonist wouldn't wet many girls tbh

[Hitazo]

Might be a stretch to call it a VN but I've been playing 13 Sentinels and it's amazing. I suggest you try it out if you are a fan of sci-fi

[Fujoneko]

Alright, alright! I finally finished Ace Attorney: Miles Edgeworth Investigations and it was pretty good! I was a little lazy to finish it because the last case was a little frustrating but I really like Edgeworth haha now I miss Phoenix and Maya tho!!

[Fujoneko]

I finished Kara no Shoujo 2 and I loved it! I almost cried at the end too, but damn, that sure got me hyped for the third episode!  

---------

Next VN will be Saya no Uta 

[Stormwolf]

10 hours ago, Leonor said:

I finished Kara no Shoujo 2 and I loved it! I almost cried at the end too, but damn, that sure got me hyped for the third episode!  

---------

Next VN will be Saya no Uta 

Now you'll just have to be good with waiting forever!

And Saya no uta is a good choice.

Edited September 30, 2020 by Stormwolf

[Larxe1]

Starting to play Fate/Empire Dirt, saw it was recently released and damn for a fan game it has impressive production qualities and its even voiced. I love anything fate related so I jumped at the opportunity

[Eclipsed]

Alright I'm apparently 69% of the way done with 2017 YU-NO Switch ver. , so I'll do a midway thoughts review thing. I went Mitsuki -> Mio -> Ayumi -> currently gonna start Kanna's route

^----- 69%

 

It's been pretty fun so far. A bit "grindy" via the time travel/jewel save point mechanic because you'll have to frequently backtrack to recollect items that are needed to progress through whatever branch you are pursuing, because certain items are once-you-use-them-then-you-lose-them, even if you return to the past where you did not use that item yet, and so you have to return to the point where you actually got the item (did that make sense LOL) and then return to that branching point in order to see the other branch.

And then there's also the HUGE vulnerability where you forget to replace a save point (whenever you use a jewel it returns to your inventory AKA that checkpoint is removed from the map and you have to set the checkpoint again if you want to return to that point again but its soooo easy to forget when you're skip-grinding through the VN). AKA you set checkpoint A, load it, checkpoint A is now gone. If you continue the story without setting checkpoint A again, which is very easy to do, then you literally locked yourself out and if you want to go back to checkpoint A then you'll have to start the VN from the beginning and grind back to that point. Very annoying especially when you just want to see the other branch on a lategame decision.

One thing I like regarding the flow of the events though is how, uh, consistent? all the heroine routes are with each other. In other VNs with branching paths/multiple heroines it's very easy for the writers to just give whoever's not the main focus the vanish treatment, where in the back of your mind you're always wondering like, "Ok I'm currently flirting with girl A so they're obviously the focus, but I wonder how and what girls B/C/D/E are doing right now"...

Well, technically, the vanish treatment still happens, but since all 4 of YU-NO's heroine routes take place over a very, very meager 3 DAYS the writers have the luxury of allowing the reader to keep tabs on what the other heroines are up to, even if you aren't on their particular route. And the vanish treatment is a bit justified because even If you're off flirting with the hot teacher Mitsuki trying to find out what's the deal with Ryuuzoji, you'll still get glimpses of tsundere classmate Mio doing her Triangle Mountain investigations, you'll still see gentle stepmother Ayumi getting shrekt HARD by her Geo Technics controversies, and more often then not you'll bump into enigmatic student transfer Kanna mysteriously appearing and disappearing during pivotal moments as if watching over Takuya.

That being said, even though it's just 4 heroines over 3 days you may fall victim to the Time Travelers' Omniscient Burden, where you're burdened with knowing things Takuya technically shouldn't know because his own memories are reset every time you start over, and you can become overwhelmed with keeping track of what's going on/has happened/will happen/only happens in another timeline yada yada yada if you're not taking notes on the side or something lol. 

The remastered soundtrack is 9/10, very good stuff, idk, most of the BGMs just clicked with me. Very catchy and memorable and I found myself playing them in my head more often than I did any other VN that I've read this year. The heroines all have distinguishing themes appropriately titled after their names. I can't even remember any heroine themes of any VNs I've read in the past... Ok wait I just thought of one. Rewrite's Kotori's piano flower theme. Ok YU-NO's heroine themes have nothing on that tbh lmao, but the main point is that they were distinct and memorable to me and would bring a smile to my face to see Ayumi or Mio pop up on the screen with their accompanying theme.

Dialogue/writing/translation feels subpar, it's still readable but there are times where my very limited Japanese familiarity can call out the translation freestyling. One example being Takuya audibly saying he knows a girl's "three sizes" and yet the dialogue instead said he knew her height. I'm like dafuq, is that a result of censorship??. Also sometimes he/she pronoun is mixed up, very confusing when it happens. H-scenes are reduced to Takuya and the heroine professing their love for each other, making out, and then blacking out to post-coitus-cuddle dialogue. I actually prefer it that way, I was never into H-scenes to begin with and would always skip through them.

 

~~
Ok I'll be honest, I ended up wanting to write this post because I just finished Ayumi's route. Mitsuki and Mio were aight, nothing too special to note. But Ayumi, man oh man Ayumi, there was just something about her that drew me in so I was heavily invested into her. Dare I say it was the whole pretty, gentle, caring stepmother and forbidden love concept LOL. Overall her route wasn't too special either, more infuriating if anything due to the worst scumbag of the earth ever that is Toyotomi, but that bad ending though!

Misc. Thoughts/Spoilers! (Ayumi route)

Spoiler

Can't have a misc. thoughts on Ayumi's route without playing her BGM mang!

Really liked Ayumi's theme. There's this joyful tranquility feel to it that really reflects how Takuya feels about her.

Okay. Ayumi. Takuya's stepmother/widow to his dad Koudai. It's only been a month since Koudai's presumed death but Ayumi's been putting on a brave face to be the support pillar for Takuya who's been slacking on his studies and having a one night stand with his teacher Mitsuki while on his downward spiral as a result of his standard rebellious-teenage-trying -to-cope phase.

Ayumi's work load at Geo-Technics however increased to the point of her working late nights and just leaving money on the table for Takuya to order takeout, so they miss out on a lot of bonding time together. It doesn't help that her work is also sparking some mad controversy with all the lightning strikes that are occurring supposedly because of the construction work Geo Technics is doing, and she has to face the brunt of the criticism aka getting egged by protesters and being harshly interviewed by journalists since she's the project lead while Takuya is mostly helpless to support her though tries to do what he can. The stepmother-stepson bond is established fairly decently when one day Ayumi comes home drunk and Takuya ends up cuddling with her to comfort her, with hints that their bond could be more than just familial love...

Then comes the most annoying disgusting scumbag of a villain that is Toyotomi, who white knights for Ayumi when he's really the one sabotaging her work and manipulating her status as a grieving widow, and- Ayumi, oh Ayumi why did the writers do this to you- Ayumi is oblivious to it all and will side with Toyotomi over Takuya all the way until the fucking bitter end. They also have the gall to have CGs where Toyotomi makes his move on Ayumi. Is this what NTR is? Cuckold? Ayumi is technically a widow, and there was no greater-than-familial -love established between Ayumi and Takuya at the point, so technically not really? But GODDAMN I felt Takuya's anger lol. Simply INFURIATING!!!

AYUMI STAHP PLS NO OH GAHD NO

 

CAN'T YOU SEE IT'S THAT FFFFFUCKER TOYOTOMI WHO'S BEEN SCREWING YOU OVER, BOTH LITERALLY AND FIGURATIVELY?? IT'S HIM, FKING BELIEVE ME AYUMI PLS

 

Then in the final showdown you are FORCED TO FAIL because you get the evidence against Toyotomi AFTER failing and getting the bad ending in which you can then time travel to before you failed and use said only-obtained-after-failing-item in order to finally secure the good end. But I'm jumping the gun. Ultimately in the first round of the final showdown without evidence to make Ayumi believe Toyotomi's transgressions Takuya just physically lashes out at Toyotomi and Ayumi slaps Takuya to stop him, effectively completing the "she sides with Toyotomi over Takuya to the bitter end tragedy":

I-....AYUMI ...WHY WON'T YOU BELIEVE ME.... IT'S TOYOTOMI... HE'S THE BAD GUY.... HE'S THE REASON ALL OF THIS WENT TO SHIT, WHY OUR TRUST... OUR FAMILY... IS BROKEN....IT WAS ALL HIM...I WAS DOING THIS ALL FOR YOU..........;-;

NGL, Ayumi's contrived ignorance was ALMOST enough to make me dislike her, but in the end I could appreciate that her route was able to invoke such immense feelings of helplessness on why she wouldn't believe Takuya and absolute anger on how oblivious she was to Toyotomi's false white knighting. It was some good emotions. 

Oh, and that bad ending. We need a proper BGM theme playing before I discuss it:

Spoiler

 

 

Welp, Ayumi sided with Toyotomi over Takuya and actually slapped the poor boy. Takuya then runs off, being the rebellious teenager that runs away from his problems that he is, and then runs into and bangs Kaori the journalist with hidden ambitions who thanks him for his good work with the 20th document and then gives him the photographic evidence he needed against Toyotomi's shady dealings for Ayumi to finally believe him. Great! All our problems will finally be solved! Let's go back home to Ayumi and settle everything once and for all!

...

...

 

...

 

 

HOLY SHIT NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What can I say...this one hit HARD. I haven't cried this hard on a heroine death in a long while. Again, don't know why I'm so fond of Ayumi. Like, even all of Mitsuki's deaths in this VN were whatevers for me.

But yeah, there was just something eerily beautiful about this ending, from the suspenseful build up as Takuya optimistically mutters in front of the bathroom door thinking he would be able to reconcile with Ayumi, to the slow realization that something is horribly, horribly wrong, and finally to the dreaded opening the door to confirm his worst fears. I even braced myself for the reveal but as soon as this CG popped up I just turned my head away and bawled LMAO

 

...

...

...

 

Luckily Takuya can time travel, THANK GOD for that, and so you jump back to before Ayumi slaps Takuya, show the damn evidence incriminating Toyotomi, and stepmom and stepson finally get to cross the boundaries of familial love and bang each other as romantic equals. Hot diggity. LOL

Yo dw Ayumi, Time Traveler's Omniscient Burden ain't got nothing on mah boi Takuya. Just gotta play the Song of Time like Link in Majora's Mask and we can fix all problems eventually after a bunch of trial and error and skipping text, np~

 

Oh, but Ayumi and Takuya getting together poses a whole 'nother issue if her husband/Takuya's dad Koudai ends up being alive, which the possibility is heavily hinted at. Errrrrr, awkward~~

 

 

 

[Ranzo]

So I'm playing Ginharu and I gotta wonder

How long does this middle school thing last for?

It seems to be taking its sweet time

[BackMode]

11 hours ago, Ranzo said:

So I'm playing Ginharu and I gotta wonder

How long does this middle school thing last for?

It seems to be taking its sweet time

It is even longer than the common route