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Clephas' VN of the month


Clephas

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And October's winner is... Walkure Romanze More&More (http://vndb.org/v10983).  Normally I wouldn't choose a fandisc as game of the month, but the original game was a decent seishun drama and charage with an interesting setting that made a good case for loving each of its heroines.  In addition, this game followed in its footsteps quite well by giving three new unique routes that maintained the quality of the original (in addition to two of the heroines being ones everybody wanted in the first one, lol) while not trying to copy the original's paths.  For this, I felt confident that I was right to view this game as a game in and of itself, capable of standing on its own within limits. 

 

For those who want to ask about Cocoro@Function, I decided not to choose it for a very simple reason... they shafted two of the heroines with non-paths that turn them into sub-heroines put there only for loli h-scenes.  It hit one of my major pet peeves (if you aren't going to have a main heroine whose route beats all the others in quality, then all the heroine routes should contain roughly the same amount of content and depth of story).  However, if you stick to the other three routes, you do get a decent quality charage with nice - if not great - individual heroine routes. 

 

For those interested in Usotsuki Ouji to Nayameru Himesama, check my comments thread on vndb.  Standard Whirlpool fare does not equal worthy of game of the month, in my mind.

 

For those who were interested in Chiisana Kanojo... think your typical shallow moege that is almost a nukige and you will have a picture of what it was like. 

 

The Monobeno fandisc is your standard fandisc, unlike the Walkure Romanze one, and, as such, it wasn't a serious candidate.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Game of the month candidates for the November releases:

 

http://vndb.org/v12487 (as this is chuuni, I'll be playing this first)

http://vndb.org/v12795 (this will be the second one I play, because I liked the original)

http://vndb.org/v12856 (Ensemble's games tend to vary greatly in quality, so I'm sort of wary of this one)

http://vndb.org/v12981 (chuable's last game was awful, so I don't have much in the way of hopes for this one)

http://vndb.org/v12982 (Alcot Honeycomb, and thus worth playing.  I've yet to encounter a game by this company that didn't provide at least a decent level of entertainment)

http://vndb.org/v12985 (debut title, might be a nukige, taking a chance on it anyway)

http://vndb.org/v12988 (nekoneko soft and thus a chancy proposition... but I'll try it anyway)

http://vndb.org/v12992 (low priority, since the parent company only makes nukige... but I heard this was intended to be a moege, so I'll try it and give my honest opinion, lol)

http://vndb.org/v13260 (seems like your classic love-comedy, nothing to get excited about)

http://vndb.org/r29096 (remake of a classic, so worth taking a look at)

http://vndb.org/v9913 (previous games by this company sucked, but I'm giving it a chance)

 

Edit: tbh, I'll probably only play the top three, the Alcot game, and the Kazoku Keikaku remake right away and wait for the others.  I can only take so many moege in a single month, lol. 

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Game of the month candidates for the November releases:

 

http://vndb.org/v12487 (as this is chuuni, I'll be playing this first)

http://vndb.org/v12795 (this will be the second one I play, because I liked the original)

http://vndb.org/v12856 (Ensemble's games tend to vary greatly in quality, so I'm sort of wary of this one)

http://vndb.org/v12981 (chuable's last game was awful, so I don't have much in the way of hopes for this one)

http://vndb.org/v12982 (Alcot Honeycomb, and thus worth playing.  I've yet to encounter a game by this company that didn't provide at least a decent level of entertainment)

http://vndb.org/v12985 (debut title, might be a nukige, taking a chance on it anyway)

http://vndb.org/v12988 (nekoneko soft and thus a chancy proposition... but I'll try it anyway)

http://vndb.org/v12992 (low priority, since the parent company only makes nukige... but I heard this was intended to be a moege, so I'll try it and give my honest opinion, lol)

http://vndb.org/v13260 (seems like your classic love-comedy, nothing to get excited about)

http://vndb.org/r29096 (remake of a classic, so worth taking a look at)

http://vndb.org/v9913 (previous games by this company sucked, but I'm giving it a chance)

 

Edit: tbh, I'll probably only play the top three, the Alcot game, and the Kazoku Keikaku remake right away and wait for the others.  I can only take so many moege in a single month, lol. 

 

I'd love to here your comments after you play them Clephy! Tell me which one you think I'll like again like always lol

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Looks like Aka to Kyuuketsuki will be the first one I play.  My purchased version won't arrive until the twelfth of December, but my download is going to end sometime tonight.  If yall want, I'll go ahead and write comments here about each game as I finish them, rather than writing a general report in a post after I've completed the last of my schedule.

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If yall want, I'll go ahead and write comments here about each game as I finish them, rather than writing a general report in a post after I've completed the last of my schedule.

 

That would be great! How long does it usually take you to finish a medium-length game?

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Looks like Aka to Kyuuketsuki will be the first one I play.  My purchased version won't arrive until the twelfth of December, but my download is going to end sometime tonight.  If yall want, I'll go ahead and write comments here about each game as I finish them, rather than writing a general report in a post after I've completed the last of my schedule.

Sounds good to me, gives us a better outlook of each title as you read them.

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Aka-san to Kyuuketsuki is not your standard moege VN.  However, this isn't because it is some grand saga that explores a unique concept or a work of ideological genius... it is because of the terrible pacing (really abrupt cut-offs into random-feeling h-scenes and everyday scenes, as well as a sudden plunge into seriousness toward the end), frequently weird kanji and word choices that make it difficult to read (using different kanji for common words, several characters who use a weird fusion of dead dialects, etc), and an utter failure to address any of the protag's personal issues until the very end (in fact, he never does develop a recognizable personality).  Individual heroine routes are weak and short, the endings almost seem redundant, and too much of the game's humor is reliant on the baby. 

 

In other words, this is a startlingly bad game from a good company... which leaves me feeling a little depressed, considering how much I was looking forward to it. 

 

Edit:  Next is HHG~  Megami no Shuuen.  I loved the original game, so I'm interested to see if the alternate version is any good.

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HHG- Megami no Shuuen is a

direct sequel to the original, based off of the true end, where Kyoushiro loses the ability to maintain his existence in his home world and is exiled to interdimensional space

.  There are two returning characters other than the protagonist, one of which is Mephisto, the other which is a character integral to the true end of the original and thus I won't name here. 

 

Similar to the previous game, it gives you the option of pursuing the main story or choosing an icharabu regular moege ending for each of the three main heroines and their sub-heroines.  If you played the original, you'll recall Kyoushiro as a rather capable protagonist, who nonetheless slips up in a big way on occasion.  He has a number of admirable qualities, not the least of which the fact that

he obtained on his own an ability that equals that of Geniuses without becoming one by training himself.

  This story has a different main antagonist, as well as a greatly different setting (though certain aspects, such as the presence of the Holy Maiden as the savior of the Geniuses, are the same). 

 

Overall, once I got past the somewhat annoying prologue, I found the game to be at around the same level of quality as its predecessor, though I found the main heroines somewhat less compelling.  The main story had enough depth to be interesting, and the moege stories maintained a similar level of quality (and short length) to those of the first game. 

 

If asked whether I would recommend it... I'd definitely recommend it to those who played the first game.  However, for those who haven't played it, I'd recommend staying away.  A great deal of Kyoushiro and his background are incomprehensible without having played the first game, and you probably won't develop the necessary attachments to him and Mephisto solely from this game.  To be blunt, Mephisto was such an excellent true heroine in the original game that the existence of their relationship was made even more poignant in the new one.  If you haven't played the first game, you'll miss out on a lot of nuances. 

 

Edit: Only for those who finish this game and miss certain important details:

The justification given for the 'peaceful' moege endings is that Kyushiro's intent and desire to 'destroy the world' is the factor that allows the goddess to reset everything.  If he gives up on destroying the existing world - in the form of prioritizing the heroine he chose over his ambition - the goddess loses her ability to influence that particular parallel version of the world, thus splitting it off from the repeating world. 

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Just finished Wagaya no Himegamisama... and the first thing I have to say is that the greatest parts of this game are the common route - which is fairly high quality - and Hime's route, which has a decent, if predictable (for a guy that has played every game with an immortal heroine he can get his hands on that isn't a nukige) story.  The only unfortunate part of the game is that the other heroine routes are entirely normal icharabu without any serious drama other than the usual everyday worries.  Because of this, it is rather blatantly obvious that the concept for Hime's route differs greatly from that of the rest of the heroines. 

 

Now, for my recommendation... tbh, this game doesn't do anything I haven't seen in other games, except the way they 'raise' Hime during the course of the game.   This is pretty much a straight moege, other than her path, with perhaps a bit more H than is normal in your standard moege. 

 

Edit: Forgot to add my common-route comments.  The common route is mildly funny without being hilarious (most of this humor caused by the two perverted friends and child-Hime's innocent questioning).  Child-Hime is adorable, in all the ways a small child in anime or VNs can be adorable, and if you like that kind of thing, you will get some pleasure out of that.

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Unless something better comes along (which I doubt) my personal game of the month is Electro Arms -Realize Digital Dimension-.  This game centers around Reiji, a delinquent with a cool head who is bored with life in general.  The game has three main heroines, and four sub-heroines.  The three main heroines have distinct paths, that are fairly long (though shorter than most chuuni genre paths) and get pretty exciting at the end.  The sub-heroines' paths are non-existent, basically just excuses to give h-scenes for female side-characters, so just think of them as extras.  The protagonist is the type of guy that takes pleasure in the trouble life throws his way... the more difficult the better.  For that reason, it is quite a lot of fun to get behind his eyes... not to mention that he is an all-around genius with pretty sharp instincts. 

 

Unlike most games by Light, this one is not centered around gore and violence, though there is some of that.  The main story is focused around the game (EA) itself, the players, and those who are interested in the tech behind it. 

 

Because this game is chuuni and thus an acquired taste, I'll go ahead and name the runner-up for those of you who are interested (since I haven't played the Ensemble game yet, this game's position isn't absolute, though).  HHG- Megami no Shuuen made the biggest impression on me amongst the non-chuuni games above.  My thoughts about it are stated in a post above, and thus I don't feel a particular need to restate them here.  I will continue to post about games from this month as I finish them, but nothing really stands out amongst the others. 

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Electro Arms and not a word about boob size? Okay, then I'll say it: it's important to keep boob balance, like they did in Soranica Ele: there were 3 heroines with big tits and 3 with small tits. Just perfect! And what we have here? Three main heroines have bewbs from huge to large, with no one to compensate for this (sub-heroines are no-count). I'd prefer not having boobs all over my screen when I'm trying to get into a story. And one more problem - only a few traces of the distinctive Light graphic style. So I'm looking forward to their next game, and will just let this one be.

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For some reason, after Vermillion, that team has seemed obsessed with boobs.  Satsuki is normal, but Shinobu and Leona are....

 

...

 

...

 

...

 

Well, a bit big.  *understates the case* 

 

Personally, I stopped caring after a while.  I did wonder at first why they insisted on the boobs, though I would have been more annoyed if they had been lolis.

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  • 2 weeks later...

My thoughts after finishing Sengoku Koihime: As to be expected of a game that follows an identical track (without a battle system) to Koihime Musou, this game has excellent writing and a great set of characters.  tbh, the story is far more personal from beginning to end than Koihime Musou was (except for Cao Cao's path) in that it goes away from the historical path very early on.  The appearance of the man-eating 'oni', the conspiracy behind their rise, and the rise of the protagonist's harem give rise to a mix of hilarity and serious story that makes for some truly dramatic moments.  While this game requires you to suspend your sense of disbelief, much like with the other Koihime games, it also has many moments that grant you a fairly accurate glimpse into how people lived during the Sengoku Jidai.  That the protagonist isn't a total wimp or incapable (just less so in some ways than the over-powered heroines) also helps to make the story enjoyable.  Unsurprisingly, I can say outright that this game is a definite candidate for my game of the month for December, though I still have four more games from this month I plan to play before making the decision.

 

Edit: as a note, I meant Shin Koihime Musou, not the original.  Shin Koihime Musou has a significantly better story than the original game, as well as three distinct paths with endings and a process that vary wildly from beginning to end.

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Currently playing Sengoku Hime 5... a few pieces of advice.  Do NOT play any of the central Japan routes first.  They might start out easy, but one of the most basic necessities of maintaining stable progress is never biting off more than you can chew.  Shikoku might seem easy because of how nobody can attack you from outside the island at first, but its vulnerability from like six different directions makes it untenable once that 'beginning of the game' protection is gone.  Simply put, do the Date and Shimazu routes first.  Both have lots of powerful generals in the area to capture and recruit and have the advantage of allowing you to make a measured advance and expansion.  Once you've completed the game twice, you can bring in some generals from your other playthroughs using the points it gives you and challenge the central Japan routes.  Also, the game's difficulty is overall a bit higher than 4 and the menus are somewhat  more clunky.  Not to mention the impossibility of getting to certain 'bound to be defeated and killed' generals before that happens to them in most cases, lol.  On the bright side, the protagonist's presence and the overall story is more believable and less choppy for at least two of the routes (the Shikoku and Shimazu) and I enjoyed that aspect better than 4. 

 

As conquest games go, I'd say it is a mediocre game, but as ones made by the Japanese go, it is pretty high up there (Dragon Force being the highest and games like Sengoku Rance the worst). 

 

Update: Oda path is the best... 'if Oda doesn't get herself killed by Mitsuhide' path, though it differs in other ways as well.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I just tried to play Love Replica, a new moege that showed some promise by having a sci-fi setting and a protagonist who sounded like he might be capable... but after forging through a thousand lines of text, I had to give up.  First, the protag is so shallow, stupid, and donkan (without the cliche redeeming value of being kind/gentle), and it sort of felt like what would happen if a dumber Sunohara were to be made a protagonist without Tomoya to make him viable as a character.  Second, rather than getting into what seemed like an interesting setting (genetically-altered clones created for the purpose of providing healthy organs immune to a deadly disease), they instead had the protagonist gathering people for a band, with him only seeming to be more of an idiot with every word that came out of his mouth.  Even if the game picks up later, I don't think it is worth plowing through the mountain of junk lines that make up the beginning of the story. 

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http://vndb.org/v12609 Just bringing this to your attention. January release and thankfully not another generic moege. Might be worth a look just for that. If you ever decide to play it I'd be curious to hear what you thought of it.

 

Other one would be this http://vndb.org/v12455 But I'm sure you're already aware of it. February release though, so not relevant for this month yet.

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