Yumina the Ethereal: The highest profile official H-RPG release ever

[Eurobeatz]

The game looks really good, I'll definitely consider buying it when it comes out.

[SlashZero]

The last time Peter Payne has posted using #Yumina is... 1.5 years ago.

[LordBlane]

I finished this game in japanese version 2 or 3 years ago. I can tell that the story is good at least for me and the characters are good too. The gameplay was fun. It's a 8/10 for me .

[Aggressor]

The only think I didn't like was first-person dungeon crawl which looked really poor. Everything else was fun, and Kirara was simply perfect. Still I liked their next game better, both story-wise and gameplay-wise.

[Darklord Rooke]

JAST has finally updated the website. It's very impressive.

http://www.jastusa.com/yumina/#

August 30th release. That's not so impressive.

EDIT: Playable demo is available!

[shcboomer]

Well at the least the full info is up. Guess I'll give the demo a shot.

[Crimrui]

It certainly looks interesting. Had this game on my mind for a while now and I'm thinking in getting it, sooner or later.

[sanahtlig]

I have to say I'm impressed: I honestly didn't expect them to release a demo in time to actually promote the game prior to release. If there's demand, I may play through the demo and write up a first impression. I could possibly even make a gameplay trailer.

Website updates include the demo, an image gallery, a prominently displayed official OP (sadly without subtitles), the PDF manual (which discusses the gameplay mechanics), and system requirements. The layout is also completely redesigned: visually it's very appealing. The system section is still in construction, but if they put the same level of effort into it my concerns should be addressed.

[Okami]

It does look interesting I will definitely read it sooner or later, As for baying it most probably not as my wallet is pretty thin so it would have to be masterpiece for me to consider buying it.

[Mephisto]

I just played the demo, and I have to say it was pretty damn good.

There also seems to be an option to skip H-scenes completely if you want(the protagonist gets to choose whether or not to you know... do it.)

The cast is a lot of fun, and the plot definitely has a lot of potential (Only the first chapter set up a lot of awesomeness for the future. Jeez, august 30 too far away).

[shcboomer]

I just played the demo, and I have to say it was pretty damn good.

There also seems to be an option to skip H-scenes completely if you want(the protagonist gets to choose whether or not to you know... do it.)

The cast is a lot of fun, and the plot definitely has a lot of potential (Only the first chapter set up a lot of awesomeness for the future. Jeez, august 30 too far away).

Hmm maybe I'll give it a go right after Grisaia. So much hype.

[LordBlane]

Mephisto => You can only skip the H scenes at the first part of the story after that you can't. ^^

[sanahtlig]

Aren't most of the H-scenes with sub-heroines optional?

[shcboomer]

Aren't most of the H-scenes with sub-heroines optional?

Aren't most H-scenes in RPGs optional anyways? Unless they are part of the story.

[sanahtlig]

Aren't most H-scenes in RPGs optional anyways? Unless they are part of the story.

Depends on the game. Sengoku Rance has plenty of unavoidable H-scenes. Kamidori Alchemy Meister has H-scenes with sub-heroines that you're required to see in order to progress into the various heroine routes (else you get the default route). In general, ero-heavy titles are likely to have mandatory H-scenes with non-heroine characters. Brave Soul is one of those few games that you can play to the end without seeing a single scene. I had a roommate that finished Brave Soul and didn't even realize the game HAD H-scenes.

[LordBlane]

In this one they are not part of the story, you can skip that if you want.

[Mephisto]

I could've sworn the chibi girl said having sex with the girl makes you stronger since it connects you to her mind which helps develop your own.

That lying skank. She was probably just horny and wanted to watch people having sex in a "dream"

[solidbatman]

I downloaded the demo to see what the fuss is about. Hopefully, I'll get around to playing it tomorrow. I like the art, and if it has solid game play, I'll more than likely pick this one up.

[LordBlane]

Answer to Mephisto =>

Hahaha, you theory is good but I can guarantee that this is more complex than that in the story. And what she's telling is true. I already finished the game ^^.

[molitar]

Keep in mind, the best H-RPG official English release to date is Brave Soul. You probably haven't even heard of it. But thanks for the review!

Also, I wrote the OP for a mainstream gaming audience. I'd rewrite it if I really really wanted to appeal to the VN crowd. But this isn't exactly the best *VN* ever.

I sure have.. Got the original translated DVD in my desk drawer with a few other games also :)/> Like Critical Pointe, Viper Paradice to name a few :)/>

Now Yumina demo was really fun but I hope they fixed a few of the minor bugs in the demo like I could not see the skill tree so I end up purchasing worthless skills as I did not have the per-requisite for it.

[Crimrui]

This one guy posted some comment on one of the sites. He tried the demo apparently and commented regarding the removal of anything Japanese related. Honorifics and stuff not present. Is that true? Can anyone confirm it? I'm kinda lazy to try out the demo so... :3

You talking about Brave Soul? Ah such good memories. It was an awesome game, lovely cast as well. ^^ For some reason the game had a lot of freezing on my end, or it would simply close. And I would venture in a dungeon pretty far...

[Darklord Rooke]

This one guy posted some comment on one of the sites. He tried the demo apparently and commented regarding the removal of anything Japanese related. Honorifics and stuff not present. Is that true? Can anyone confirm it? I'm kinda lazy to try out the demo so... :3

Haven't played the demo, but I haven't seen honorifics used in any screenshots of the game (just looked again.) Are honorifics really that big a deal, though?

I downloaded the demo to see what the fuss is about. Hopefully, I'll get around to playing it tomorrow. I like the art, and if it has solid game play, I'll more than likely pick this one up.

Impressions?

[sanahtlig]

Now Yumina demo was really fun but I hope they fixed a few of the minor bugs in the demo like I could not see the skill tree so I end up purchasing worthless skills as I did not have the per-requisite for it.

You learn skills from combat and events. It's not useful to train abilities you haven't learned the corresponding skill for yet. So no, that's not a bug.

I posted my initial impressions, based on the demo, here: http://forums.mangagamer.org/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=82&start=60#p4591

I just finished the trial (took me about 10hrs; I expect it'll take other players ~5hrs). Though I'm not a fan of comedy, to the game's credit it managed to win me over with the quality of the writing. I get the feeling that the trial does not capture the feel of the game as a whole. The dungeon system remains to be introduced, the gameplay to dialogue ratio is low despite my impression that this was a gameplay-heavy title, battles can stagnate due to lack of skill variety (enemy healers can force a prolonged battle), and there's a sense of mystery in the setting that's touched upon only lightly--implying the story will take a turn for the dramatic somewhere down the line. The demo is a nice teaser (a worthy weekend diversion), but it reminds me a bit of Star Ocean 3's hotel resort introduction: you get the feeling that the rest of the game is going to be completely different.

I'd intended to write a more in-depth preview and post it on Visual Novel Aer, except my posting access has been revoked (no I'm not bitter).

This one guy posted some comment on one of the sites. He tried the demo apparently and commented regarding the removal of anything Japanese related. Honorifics and stuff not present. Is that true? Can anyone confirm it? I'm kinda lazy to try out the demo so... :3

The translation is quite good. I didn't notice any Westernization (and I was listening to the Japanese voices to see if the translation matched; it did). I honestly don't recall whether the demo had honorifics.

Rillania from the Mangagamer forums also posted videos of the combat tutorial and first battle: http://forums.mangagamer.org/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=82&start=60#p4522

[Crimrui]

Haven't played the demo, but I haven't seen honorifics used in any screenshots of the game (just looked again.) Are honorifics really that big a deal, though?

I like when they are present, especially if the setting is in Japanese environment. Not a game breaker mind you, as long as the rest of the translation is as close as original.

The translation is quite good. I didn't notice any Westernization (and I was listening to the Japanese voices to see if the translation matched; it did). I honestly don't recall whether the demo had honorifics.

Yeah, I was wondering if it, you know, audio went two sentences long about one thing and you see translation about entirely different thing. Thanks for the info.

[Mephisto]

Realized I didn't comment on the translation..... I'd have to say the translation for a western audience is quite good and there are really no noticeable problems. There are a few differences compared to the japanese version, but nothing someone who doesn't know japanese would notice.

なにこれ、SF、中二病？If you know japanese, you would realize that this is actually a freaking hilarious joke since the ethereal system is essentially "chuunibyou" (Chuunibyou is middle school syndrome when kids kind of create their own reality for themselves.)

However it got translated as "What is this, Star Trek?" because there is no english equivalent to chuunibyou, so they replaced it with a well known science fiction show, which more or less keeps the meaning of "is this shit for real?"