Corona Blossom: To Back or Not to Back

[kyrt]

I know we already have a Corona Blossom thread of sorts but I wanted to make it more specifically on the campaign itself. Discuss what's right and wrong with it and ultimately whether or not people plan to back. So I'll ask the question (before I scare people away with the length of this thread) What are your thoughts on the Corona Blossom Indiegogo Campaign. 

You know I'm surprised at the low amount of backers but when it comes to flexible funding I really shouldn't be. I really dislike kickstarter and indiegogo and not really knowing the translation quality of Frontwing's in house team makes this initially questionable. It does not help that we know nothing of the length...for all we know we could be paying money for an extremely short vn less than an hour or two. I think lack of information is probably the biggest reason why this campaign is not doing all that well.

Let's take a look at their actual indiegogo campaign https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/corona-blossom-a-visual-novel-by-frontwing/x/12572100#/

First thing to note is that all versions of the game will contain both English and Japanese text, with Japanese voices. This is an unexpected surprise and allows for people to choose how to read it. For those of us that know how to read Japanese we might actually prefer to read it that way instead of trudging through potentially cringe-inducing poor english dialogue. Then again nothing currently hints at that. Honestly I'd mark this as a point in favor of the game. 

Second thing to note is that the All-Ages version of Corona Blossom Vol.1 is scheduled to hit Steam July 29th for a mere $10 dollars. There are a number of things to take away from this sentence alone. 

The scheduled release date for both english and japanese version of the game is July 29th which likely means the translation is either going to be really quick or they are close to finishing it already. I can't help but think that Frontwing is simply using Indiegogo as a pre-order system. Admittedly this can save them money as well as they only need to create enough physical editions and extras for the amount of backers they receive. 

One area of potential caution is the fact that this is vol.1 usually this means that the story will not be fully resolved by the end of the game and that we are just getting a volume 1. The worry here is that the game is going to be really short similar to Nekopara which admittedly does have its fanbase like even the sakura titles . It means they can sell pieces of the game for cheaper. How many volumes will there be? If the game sells poorly will we even see any future sequels. How much is the game really worth? These are questions that the 'vol.1' makes people think about and is something to keep in mind when determining to back or not. edit: seems to hint that there will eventually be 3 volumes if it ends up succeeding. 

All-Ages version seems to imply there will also be an 18+ version and yes indeed a little further down they make mention of the fact that "ecchi fans, fear not - an 18+ patch, removing censorship and adding adult scenes, will be available at launch for an extra $10 (prices may be subject to change). It is likely the censorship being removed is not the actual mosaics and this is simply poor wording. They likely mean that any added censorship from the all-ages version will be removed and the adult scenes will be added in. Do not be expecting it to be free of mosaics. The patch is also 10 dollars which likely means the game's probably worth about 20 dollars to begin with. Not a huge visual novel but not a 2 hour one. We can probably expect something around 10-20 hours or maybe a bit more. The fact it will have adult scenes does make it likely it will have a story as this does not seem to be 'sex-romp'. If you scroll down a little bit more we get another big piece of information.

"The Physical copy version of the game includes 18+ content by default, and is currently stated for release in August at a price point of ¥2000 in DVD-ROM format. This will be sold at select stores in Japan, and for anyone outside of Japan, the physical copy is available as a reward on Indiegogo".

It seems that people who enjoy physical editions of visual novels their only chance to pick the game up is via Indiegogo (or buy from Japan). It does confirm the 18+ content is included on the physical copy of the game so that's also a plus. People who buy the physical version get a copy of the digital with the 18+ patch included. No hassle to install the patch on a disc version and potentially no wait to play once it releases on steam. The 18+ patch itself seems like it will appear by end of August if the perk date expectations are to be believed. What we are not told about however is whether or not the game will have DRM. This is something that I believe needs to be addressed before the end of the campaign.

Honestly I'm hopeful for the translation. The website for corona blossom is actually decent as far as the english goes while the story description is a bit awkward the character descriptions are written well enough. We've yet to see Frontwing translate in-house so we can't say for sure the translation is going to be good but neither can we say it is going to be bad.

The Staff:

Producer

Ryuichiro Yamakawa (frontwing's producer) 

Character Design/Art

nanaca mai (she is also doing the art for Purino Party coming out soon)

Super-Deformed Character Art

nanaca mai (did some Pure Girl and Grisaia art)

Story

Yuhi Nanao (did the story or a scenario for a number of games that can be seen here

Art Director

Yuji Kaneko (don't know much beyond does backgrounds for trigger)

Mechanical Design

Hiroyuki Taiga (done a number of mech designs in numerous anime)

Opening Theme

"Happy! Corona Blossom" by Haruko Momoi

Ending Theme

"Be Myself" by Ayumi.(Astilbe×arendsii)

BGM Production

Fuminori Matsumoto

Let's look at the pricing and perk tiers:

Spoiler

 

 

$7

 

USD

Basic

 

Receive a Steam key for the digital copy of the game! ゲームのダウンロード(Steamキー)

5 claimed

ESTIMATED AUGUST 2016

$15

 

USD

Standard

 

$7 Perk＋Receive a code to download the 18+ patch. 7＄の特典＋18禁パッチ

47 claimed

ESTIMATED AUGUST 2016

$25

 

USD

Previous Perk＋Digital OST

 

$15 Perk + Get the official soundtrack in digital format. 15＄の特典＋オリジナルサウンドトラック（デジタル）

13 claimed

ESTIMATED AUGUST 2016

$40

 

USD

 

+ Shipping

Previous Perk＋Game Set

 

$25 Perk + Receive a physical copy of the game (Windows) in a plastic game case. 25$ の特典＋ゲームパッケージ（トールケース）

9 claimed

Ships Worldwide

ESTIMATED OCTOBER 2016

$50

 

USD

 

+ Shipping

Game Set＋Shikishi

 

$40 Perk + Receive a black and white printed shikishi (Indiegogo and JP Shop exclusive). 40＄の特典＋複製色紙（ショップ特典）

1 claimed

Ships Worldwide

ESTIMATED OCTOBER 2016

$60

 

USD

 

+ Shipping

Artbook＋Game Set

 

$40 Perk + Receive an artbook and your name will be listed in the credits! 40＄の特典＋原画集（ショップ特典）＋ED名前掲載

12 claimed

Ships Worldwide

ESTIMATED OCTOBER 2016

$80

 

USD

 

+ Shipping

Tapestry A＋Game Set

 

$40 Perk + Receive a B2-sized tapestry A (50cmx70.7cm) to display on your wall and your name will be listed in the credits! 40＄の特典＋タペストリーAタイプ（ショップ特典）＋ED名前掲載

0 claimed

Ships Worldwide

ESTIMATED OCTOBER 2016

$80

 

USD

 

+ Shipping

Tapestry B＋Game Set

 

$40 Perk + Receive a B2-sized tapestry B (50cm x 70.7cm) to display on your wall and your name will be listed in the credits! 40＄の特典＋タペストリーB ＋ED名前掲載

0 claimed

Ships Worldwide

ESTIMATED OCTOBER 2016

$140

 

USD

 

+ Shipping

Happi!Corona Blossom

 

$40 Perk + Receive a traditional happi coat and your name will be listed in the credits! 40＄特典＋法被（Reward Only）＋ED名前掲載

1 claimed

Ships Worldwide

ESTIMATED OCTOBER 2016

$140

 

USD

 

+ Shipping

Hooded Sweatshirt＋Game Set

 

$40 Perk + Receive a Hoodie (Single-color print. Different sizes available.) and your name will be listed in the credits! 40＄の特典＋コロブロパーカー（Reward Only）＋ED名前掲載

0 claimed

Ships Worldwide

ESTIMATED OCTOBER 2016

$150

 

USD

 

+ Shipping

Standard Collector's Edition

 

$40 Perk + Receive a black and white printed shikishi (Indiegogo and JP Shop exclusive), an artbook, both B2-sized tapestries A and B (50cm x 70.7cm) to display on your wall! and your name will be listed in the credits! 40＄特典＋複製色紙＋原画集＋タペストリーA&B＋ED名前掲載

5 claimed

Ships Worldwide

ESTIMATED OCTOBER 2016

$240

 

USD

 

+ Shipping

3D Boob Mouse Pad＋Game Set

 

$40 Perk + Receive a giant 3D mouse pad (380mm x 450mm/2kg) and your name will be listed in the credits! 40＄特典＋等身大おっぱいマウスパッド（Reward Only）＋ED名前掲載

1 claimed

Ships Worldwide

ESTIMATED OCTOBER 2016

$550

 

USD

 

+ Shipping

Starstruck

 

All previous Perks and your name will be listed in the credits! 全特典＋ED名前掲載

1 claimed

Ships Worldwide

ESTIMATED OCTOBER 2016

 

 

 

 

 

You know these tiers are not bad...however not having anything above 550 for backing means some of those more rich-ish folks have nothing to overly back on. Which is not a bad thing as honestly these tiers are pretty decent (if you live in the U.S.) The only thing they need to do before the end of the campaign is to show off the goods.

For a mere 7 dollars you can get the game on steam for backing. That's good. It does however lead into the qualms about how long a game it might be but there is also the possibility that Frontwing is simply giving backers a really good deal as well. 

For 15 dollars you can get the game on steam and an 18+ patch. I imagine this is closer to the amount the actual game should cost. If they release the game on steam for 10 dollars it might actually pick up enough traction to convince people to buy it and then if they like it they can try picking up the patch for 10 additional dollars which people likely will do as people on steam are that type of crowd more often than not. For an extra 10 dollars you can get the digital soundtrack with. 25 dollars for the game and soundtrack is not bad at all.

For 40 dollars those of us that prefer physical copies can back and get a physical and digital copy of the game. All physical copies are 18+ so essentially this would give you an 18+ version and an all ages version plus a digital soundtrack. This is about the same that games tend to go for physical at a place like JAST (unless it's a big game) so this is yet again a very nice price. For an extra 10 dollars you can get a shikishi (likely the pre-order item in stores in Japan). For 60 dollars you get the 40 dollar perk plus an art book.

For 80 dollars you can get the 40 dollar perk plus either tapestry A or B (of which neither are currently shown which is likely why they have no backers). For 140 dollars you get the 40 perk tier plus a traditional happi coat or a one color hoodie (which is neat but like everything else really needs to have an image to see what people are getting) and get your name listed in the end credits. 

For 150 dollars you can get the standard collector's edition which is everything from the 40 perk tier plus a shikishi, an art book, name in credits and both tapestries.

For 240 dollars you get boobs. (you get a giant 3D Boob Mousepad and the 40 dollar tier).

For 550 you get everything in all the other tiers.

In all I actually think this indiegogo campaign is more of a way to check interest and allowing people to pre-order. There are a number of concerns about this potential release but there are a lot of positives about this particular campaign as well. It has a month to reach goal and is only at 30% the lack of any stretch goals make this all the more likely a means of pre-order. The flexible funding is a concern as they get the money whether they make goal or not but at the same time I'm pretty sure this will get released regardless of indiegogo. 

Would I back this? Originally I believed it was a bit too early to say. More information is needed regarding length and perks. For seven dollars (15 for adult) the price is actually quite good. Do you think Frontwing can do a good game and have a proper translation? Then I'd say yeah go ahead and try them out. I've backed a number of kickstarters and indiegogo's in the past to varying degrees of success and results. Frontwing has yet to release a game in-house and I personally have nothing to base their translations on outside of a bit of a questionable move with chirchiru idol. I'm willing to give them shot. If this ends poorly or the game isn't what it's advertised as then so be it. Decide for yourself if it's worth it and if it is feel free to back. 

Is there anything you believe Frontwing can do to make it more appealing to people? Why do you believe this isn't getting as much notice as other games...are people simply sick of indiegogo and kickstarter and has fatigue finally settled in? Discuss below. 

 

[XReaper]

gehhh so much text, so little time to answer.
just wanted to let you know that grisaias mini episode, which hit steam awhile ago, has also been translated by their in-house squad. havent read it myself, but apparently the quality was pretty okay-ish, if not good.

1)because the campaigns site looks like some plain, rotten dick.
2)few tweets aside there´s not much advertising corona blossom
3)no indication how the goodies/merch do look like
4)no real gameplay vid, showing some proof of their translation being good/satisfactionary
5)more special tiers incl. limited whatsoever
6)some better interacting with their potential backers
7)oh, did i mention the page looking plain as fuck?

anyway, since it´s going to feature e-mote & those chicks do actually look pretty cute, i cant say going at least for the digital 18+ version is a bad thing to do. i mean, even in case the story turns out meh it can be still used for a good fap, like you wont get some (new)high-profile nukige for 15bucks either, so ---

[sanahtlig]

I generally don't buy games that haven't been played and reviewed by others.   An unreleased game like this is almost guaranteed to receive a pass from me, regardless of how much I like the publisher.  The title would likely need a personalized hook or be from one of my favorite developers to even be considered by me.

I'm warming up to Frontwing and I'm willing to throw some occasional praise their way, but I'm extremely risk averse.

[BookwormOtaku]

Backed it. Looks interesting enough for me to do a little low stakes gambling on its release

[Deep Blue]

I love when they do this

"Meet Keiji Osaki: a young man who hates dealing with machines, despite being very skilled at working with them. That's just the kind of guy he is." 
this is them saying, well we are too fucking lazy to write a proper background for this character so just take it as it is and dont whine about it. To be fair (and i dont want to offend anyone with my comment and yes I do hate fantasy in general) the whole plot sounds like bs. 

[Chuee]

1 hour ago, Deep Blue said:

I love when they do this

"Meet Keiji Osaki: a young man who hates dealing with machines, despite being very skilled at working with them. That's just the kind of guy he is." 
this is them saying, well we are too fucking lazy to write a proper background for this character so just take it as it is and dont whine about it. To be fair (and i dont want to offend anyone with my comment and yes I do hate fantasy in general) the whole plot sounds like bs. 

Probably because there's a reason he hates them? Chances are it'll be brought up in the actual story so it makes sense that they're not going to just up and tell you everything about him from the get-go. 

[Deep Blue]

2 minutes ago, Chuee said:

Probably because there's a reason he hates them? Chances are it'll be brought up in the actual story so it makes sense that they're not going to just up and tell you everything about him from the get-go. 

I hope there is and that I'm wrong on this one, like in lucy for example. 

[Dergonu]

It looks nice, I'm backing it. 

[Clephas]

That is a fairly standard character bio for a charage protagonist...

[Narcosis]

9 hours ago, Chuee said:

Probably because there's a reason he hates them? Chances are it'll be brought up in the actual story so it makes sense that they're not going to just up and tell you everything about him from the get-go. 

That character bio alone is a perfect indicator, you shouldn't expect any reasons, nor logic behind it.

JUST BECAUSE™

[XReaper]

frontwing promised in making some visible changes to their campaigns site for the better, or so they said. took them quite some time though...

[Codesterz]

Can't say I'm looking forward to this one much. It looks like Frontwings version of Nekopara. It'll be a bunch of short VNs probably with no meaningful choices or individual character routes.

[finiteHP]

For me it's a "need more info", mostly what the translation will be like.  From my personal experience, the reason it isn't doing well is because I have only ever seen one VN succeed on IndieGoGo (Karakara) and I think even it had problems reaching its goal. Then again, I've given up trying to figure the majority of backers on crowdfunding.  Interesting looking VNs languish on Kickstarter while Dharker Studios' monthly (it just feels that way) drivel is funded in a few hours.

[Leaf]

I want to at least wait it out a bit. The story and art is interesting enough at least. I'd at least pledge enough for the 18+ release anyways.

[Fred the Barber]

The art is gorgeous, the story sounds like a prototypical moege, the English website is really quite nice, and I rather like what Frontwing is doing lately. Done.

[Kawasumi]

7 hours ago, Fred the Barber said:

The art is gorgeous, the story sounds like a prototypical moege, the English website is really quite nice, and I rather like what Frontwing is doing lately. Done.

yeah, at the start I didnt wanna back anything from frontwing, but they have actually listened to people both on this and the SnK kickstarter and they can even get the developers to agree with them, which companies like SP failed to do (I guess it really pays off being a native japanese company huh?)

[XReaper]

3 hours ago, Kawasumi said:

yeah, at the start I didnt wanna back anything from frontwing, but they have actually listened to people both on this and the SnK kickstarter and they can even get the developers to agree with them, which companies like SP failed to do (I guess it really pays off being a native japanese company huh?)

their ceo´s being best buddies been mentioned somewhere. dont underestimate the bro-code. dont.

edit: a common interest in milking seemingly moe-tardish gaijins to the (very)fullest aside.

[kyrt]

So some things to additionally think about based on frontwing's latest email (I highly recommend an outcry against one of these things to try and get them to change it);

Reward Contents: The game offered is only for Corona Blossom Vol.1 which honestly was to be expected based on their description. The lack of vol. 2 and 3 being offered in the rewards could be considered a bit sketchy as they could just release the game for double the cost of vol.1 knowing the game has some fans already (hopefully they wouldn't although it could be warranted if vol.2 is double/triple the size of the first vol)

DRM: Digitial version is to be delivered through Steam only. The package version does have a form of DRM as it is sold in Japan. In my personal opinion DRM is a backing killer and I simply will refuse to back it based on this new information. They have time to remove this hopefully people lowering their pledges in mass in response to DRM will help them change their mind.

Shipping: Currently only EMS. This says a few things among them are that the games will be shipping from Japan and will be using Japanese shipping prices which is going to increase the amount by quite a lot. (Someone else who knows more about shipping calculated costs can explain if this actually is a significant number). EMS was chosen for them for tracking/insurance/speed...according to Frontwing. They have said they will look into SAL but I can't help but think they aren't going to try very hard. Admittedly this high shipping rate probably explains why the game itself is so cheap. Unfortunately this shipping rate will probably convince many backers to simply stick with the digital version.

Payment Options: No Paypal. Considering they are trying to sell an adult product this is to be expected.

Artbook: no digital option (which means increase to the shipping cost if you wanna get it).

18+ Patch: Primarily available through Frontwing's website...this likely means that as was to be expected it's not going to be uncensored mosaic wise but simply add the 18+ scenes from the Japanese 18+ version. So yeah poor wording on their part is more or less confirmed now. I could be wrong but I really doubt it considering they did not allow grisaia to be uncensored.

Digital Soundtrack: Strangely enough not being given as a part of steam but rather as a code from Frontwing's website.

Age: All of Corona Blossom's characters are 18 years of older...well why else are they 800 year old flat chested vampires and space aliens? I imagine this might concern some but honestly those of you who care likely have naught to worry about.

Note: They have received a number of questions they are not yet able to answer and may answer the question via a personal e-mail rather than on the page...what why? The whole point about the comments section is so that when you ask questions of the developers or whoever that they can respond to the question for everyone's benefit. I am confused at why they would even mention this as it shows us that they want to hide some things...admittedly they could have good reasons but at the same time speculation could possibly be a negative thing as now people will ask why do they want to do this to begin with?

Should you back this? Eh. Honestly as it is now I'd likely back digital only unless you are willing to pay ridiculous shipping fees for a DRM'd physical copy...of which they really need to tell people what they can expect as far as those rates go. This will be updated as more information is released. The more crap you get via the reward tier though the more expensive the shipping will be which means you will want to consider that before making a decision on backing anything...they have also not shown designs for any of the additional crap. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if they themselves would prefer more people to back the lower tiers. Anyway what are the new thoughts people have about this new information?

[Xavier12]

>>Indiegogo

No back.

 

What the fuck is wrong with everything being Indie nowadays.

(It's not homeschooling, it's indieschooling )

[Darklord Rooke]

12 minutes ago, Xavier12 said:

What the fuck is wrong with everything being Indie nowadays.

Don't understand what you're getting at here.

[Xavier12]

25 minutes ago, Rooke said:

Don't understand what you're getting at here.

I'm not backing things that aren't Indie on a site with Indie in it's name.

I am a man of principle.

[Decay]

So you'd back it if it didn't have indie in the name?

That's a rather pedantic principle.

[Erogamer]

"・Physical editions of Vol.2 and Vol.3：
Physical editions of Volume 2 and 3 will eventually be released! We apologize for the  misunderstanding. They aren't included in the perks of this campaign, but we'll make sure that  backers will be able to purchase physical editions of Vol.2 and 3 as add-on perks after the  campaign has ended. We'll also look into cheaper shipping options for these volumes."

[XReaper]

thought that was clear from the get-go, like 7-15$ for 3volumes doesnt sound that right, does it?

[Clephas]

I can't really bring myself to back it, based on what I've seen so far... Front Wing seriously hurt their branding with Island, in my eyes.  A few months ago, I probably would have backed it without a second thought, though.