Decay Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 Read the review here. Don't play this game. solidbatman, Gibberish, sarayne and 6 others 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dergonu Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 1 minute ago, Decay said: Don't play this game. Nuff said Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solidbatman Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 Sounds like a case of trying to copy and paste the tropes of a JVN without adding substance or anything unique Omega_93 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nosebleed Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 tl;dr VNs weren't saved in the West this time Okarin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omega_93 Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 Having played "written in the sky" by the same people, I can't say I'm at all surprised at this. Not a dev I hold in high esteem, after putting myself through that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasDice Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 25 minutes ago, Decay said: Don't play this game. Well, there go my plans of shoving something long in front of Ayakashibito. I personally had my doubts ever since this title was stuck on MangaGamers "Coming Soon"-section for what, 6 months? That's an indicator for time pressure if I've ever seen one. Suzu Fanatic 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Decay Posted January 29, 2016 Author Share Posted January 29, 2016 4 minutes ago, Omega_93 said: Having played "written in the sky" by the same people, I can't say I'm at all surprised at this. Not a dev I hold in high esteem, after putting myself through that... And they released a third VN, Sickness, right around the same time as NOBY. I'm not going to go anywhere near that thing. I wish I could have put this screenshot into the review, in place of the tree one. But, you know, spoilers and all that. Spoiler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solidbatman Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 2 minutes ago, Decay said: And they released a third VN, Sickness, right around the same time as NOBY. I'm not going to go anywhere near that thing. I wish I could have put this screenshot into the review, in place of the tree one. But, you know, spoilers and all that. Reveal hidden contents Well we will have a review for that one soon enough (not from me though) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Makudomi Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 2 minutes ago, Omega_93 said: Having played "written in the sky" by the same people, I can't say I'm at all surprised at this. Not a dev I hold in high esteem, after putting myself through that... Isn't that the one you can hold "skip" for and beat with all achievements in like two minutes? Regarding NOBY, it's a shame; the art style is so pretty. I'm sorry to see this game being taken so poorly, although its reviews elsewhere seem to indicate it's not all bad. Though I must agree that the BGs do look a bit incomplete, now that I look at them... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eclipsed Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 " The sprite work and CGs are pretty alright, I guess. " Was exactly what I was thinking b4 I read the review Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XReaper Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 nice & honest review decay, much appreciated. though i´m almost reminded at a declaration from herr reichskulturminister regarding whats been called "entartete kunst" :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanbe Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 I am not suprised Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OriginalRen Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 I am glad my belief about this game being trash is justified. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Decay Posted January 30, 2016 Author Share Posted January 30, 2016 Unfortunately, I could not disclose many of NOBY's biggest faults due to them deeply involving story spoilers. I wanted everyone to read this review, so I needed to keep it spoiler-free. But on the forums there are spoiler tags! Now, you will no longer have to put blind faith into my words, but will be able to see for yourself just how bad this shit gets. Onto the insanity of the Megumi route we go! To be clear, these are very major spoilers. Spoiler I said how it opened in the review, with the school-bus "confession," right? It wasn't a true confession, they didn't express their undying love for one another, but that's how their romantic relationship started, on a school bus. Summer vacation immediately followed, and Megumi proceeds to utterly suffocate the protagonist with her presence, much to his dissatisfaction. Once school starts, things start to change. But first, keep in mind that the protagonist and Megumi are 1st years and the story started on May 1st. On May 2nd, the protagonist and Megumi met and she immediately embraced him and started being clingy and stalker-y from thereafter. Also the Japanese school year begins on April 1st, or thereabouts. This is important information. So there's a new homeroom teacher for their class. He's fairly young, attractive, and a ladies man who is always creepily flirting with the girls in class. As soon as Megumi meets him, she freezes. It seems like the two have a history, unknown to us. He starts picking on Megumi more and more, keeping her after class. The protagonist overhears one of his harassment sessions, and steps in to comfort her after he leaves. She flips out on him for practically no reason and they temporarily separate. Another week or two passes and he eventually steps in to break up another harassment session. This time he recorded it and threatened the teacher with it. Megumi breaks down and tells the protagonist her entire life story, and how she and the teacher are related. So yada yada, she was in a happy family, her parents were the most doting parents in the world, she adored her big sister. Her sister was student council president, and as soon as Megumi made it to the same school as her (their current high school), she wanted to follow her onto the council. They were all happy, and then this creepy teacher stepped in. He started picking on Megumi's sister, and after a good length of time it developed to the point where there was a rape attempt. Megumi walked in on this attempt, and tried to intervene. What happens next? Megumi berates the teacher to the point where he becomes enraged and fucking kills her sister by smashing her head into a table. Horrified at what he had done, the teacher flees the scene while Megumi stands there stunned. The teacher was later caught and arrested, with very clear testimony from Megumi and blood on his clothes. Megumi and her family's lives were ruined. Her previously super-doting parents take a 180 degree turn and shun Megumi, basically renting an apartment for her so she can live on her own, away from them. She lost her sister and her parents. And now he's back! Teaching again, at the same school! How about that? After this huge bout of exposition, the protagonist and megumi make up and kiss, and the protagonist assumes that him walking in at that instance solves everything. Well lo-and-behold, the teacher attempts to kill Megumi at night, and she kills him instead. It's never really explained what went down, yet another major detail glossed over. She's tried for murder but is acquitted for self-defense reasons. The end. ------------------------------------------- Okay, so! Let's go over everything wrong with this. First things first, no it is never explained as to how the teacher is back.He not only avoided prison for his clear and obvious murder, he also got his old job back at the school. They let him teach again of their own will. There are so many absurd leaps of logic you have to make for this to happen that it just seems inconceivable that this is the story they wrote, but alas. He did make a statement about how he spent a lot of money to avoid punishment last time, but he's just a starting high school teacher, hardly a high-paying job. Where did he get this money from? But that's not the only other major problem. Remember how the story starts just one month after the start of the school year? When did this all happen? Let's go over the sequence of events that had to have happened in the span of that month: Megumi's sister gets voted in as student council president. Megumi joins her on the council. The new asshole teacher transfers in (they specifically said as much, he wasn't there from the start). Megumi's sister is harassed for an unspecified length of time but it was seemingly fairly lengthy. Asshole teacher attempts to rape and ends up killing the sister. Police and court procedures happen. Family drama starts at home, and Megumi is exiled. She is presumably emotionally devastated over everything that happened. And finally, when she meets the protagonist on May 2nd, she's recovered to the point where she's a normal, chipper girl. All in the span of a month. There are other weird inconsistencies as well. Why didn't Megumi know that the teacher avoided prison? She said that she gave an eyewitness testimony. She was involved in the court procedures. Nobody told her that her sister's murderer got off scot-free? There was also some weirdness regarding how the protagonist and Megumi made up. During the make-up scene Hideaki was going on and on about how he was actually kind of happy Megumi was being harassed and Megumi became distant, giving him some space, and how he was a piece of shit for it and regrets it. Except none of this was actually reflected in the story up to that point. In fact, Hideaki was largely very worried about Megumi and the teacher, and at multiple points he actually expressed a longing for the return of clingy Megumi. And now all of a sudden he's saying the opposite? The writers like to do this often, they drum up melodrama out of nowhere that have no basis in the story at all. This happens again in the Yui route in a big way. This doesn't do what drama is supposed to do, it instead just leaves the reader baffled. With all of the plot holes and story inconsistencies, you're too busy being confused to feel anything else. Wow, that became one hell of a wall of text. BTW, all of that happens in the span of about 60-90 minutes, because that's how long the routes are. Extremely rushed. Vorathiel, Suzu Fanatic, Makudomi and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nosebleed Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 I am sorry you had to lay your eyes upon this story, Decay. I wish you a speedy recovery from this tragedy and thank you for taking a bullet for all of us, you will not be forgotten. After reading this review it definitely feels like the writers did not plan ahead and rushed out a cliche story full of plot holes. RIP anyone who donated to their KS. XReaper 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasDice Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 Decay, are you really sure about that: Quote ... but know that there isn’t even entertainment value to be had in its awfulness. It fails not spectacularly, but frustratingly, in nearly every aspect of its being. ... I cannot recommend this one to anyone, no matter what your tastes or priorities may be. ? Because stuff like Quote ... when you realize that two characters are walking around a mall together on a date during summer vacation in their school uniforms. ... Sometimes they forget to change the date for the date display, sometimes they change it to two months in the past. Spoiler g And your abovely posted textwall indicate, that there is trainwreck value to be found. I'll ask directly: Decay, I am someone who loves to laugh at utter incompetence and watching people completely fail at what they tried to do makes me a little hard; Should I still not bother at all? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzu Fanatic Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 3 hours ago, TexasDice said: Well, there go my plans of shoving something long in front of Ayakashibito. I personally had my doubts ever since this title was stuck on MangaGamers "Coming Soon"-section for what, 6 months? That's an indicator for time pressure if I've ever seen one. *Exaggerated gasp* (re Ayakashibito) Shame about Noby, I wanted it to be something good - considering how hard it was being promoted. But, it sadly fits the norm of most Oelvns.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Sands Entertainment Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 jeez this is brutal. The steam reviews are not like this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarayne Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 8 minutes ago, Black Sands Entertainment said: jeez this is brutal. The steam reviews are not like this. That is because steam reviews wouldn't know a good Visual Novel if it slapped them in the face. Rose, solidbatman, Asonn and 3 others 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Decay Posted January 30, 2016 Author Share Posted January 30, 2016 35 minutes ago, Black Sands Entertainment said: jeez this is brutal. The steam reviews are not like this. I would not be surprised if this review ends up being the lowest-scoring one around. Yet, I was entirely honest and made no exaggerations on the work or on my feelings. Several of the points I brought up may have been subjective, but I think I pointed out enough solid objective shortcomings to substantiate my claims and back up my opinion. It's brutal, but I see no point in holding back if I truly dislike something. It would do a disservice to the readers who expect honesty from us. Suzu Fanatic 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valmore Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 5 hours ago, Decay said: Read the review here. Don't play this game. Please, please tell me you read my board blog about how bad Megumi's route was... Decay 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Decay Posted January 30, 2016 Author Share Posted January 30, 2016 I kept myself in a relative vacuum as I played the game, since I didn't want outside factors influencing me. I just read that blog post of yours and your thoughts on Megumi's route pretty much echo my own (see my spoiler post a few posts up). Valmore 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasDice Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 I'll interpret the disregard as a no. What about aspiring writers and critics? Would No One But You make for a great example reference of how not to write a VN? (Like how Uwe Boll's House of the Dead or Clayton Prince's Black Ninja are great ways of showing people how not to make a movie). 1 hour ago, Suzu Fanatic said: *Exaggerated gasp* (re Ayakashibito) Yeah, I'm finally doing it. Weekends are a little busy, so I'm starting monday the latest. Suzu Fanatic 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valmore Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 6 minutes ago, Decay said: I kept myself in a relative vacuum as I played the game, since I didn't want outside factors influencing me. I just read that blog post of yours and your thoughts on Megumi's route pretty much echo my own (see my spoiler post a few posts up). Yeah, you went into even more detail about the potential timeline, which never even struck me. Not to mention: Spoiler Wouldn't some of the other students recognize him? I mean, if Megumi was in school at the time of her sister's murdering at his hands, that means her classmates should have been in her school as well, as they're in the same grade. Unless by some miracle they're all transfers from the sticks of Hokkaido or something and all her original classmates transferred elsewhere as well. Yet no one else recognizes asshat teacher but Megumi? None of the other teachers? Principal? Janitor who had to clean up the murder scene? ANYONE? No, you're review is pretty spot-on. Though I was cool with Chinatsu's route for what it was. About the closest that VN ever got to having emotion that worked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Decay Posted January 30, 2016 Author Share Posted January 30, 2016 Yeah, I suppose Chinatsu's route had very few face-palmy moments. Ebi-hime wrote that route and she's alright. But I still disliked the overall amnesia story enough to dislike that route. 27 minutes ago, TexasDice said: I'll interpret the disregard as a no. Oh, sorry, I missed it. Multiple times. My bad! So, I guess I had some enjoyment in expressing how bad it was, but really, it's just a painful and tedious experience. I don't usually find much entertainment value in bad media anyways, though, so maybe I'm not the best equipped to make that kind of judgement call. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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