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Shuffle! Sequel announced


Dergonu

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Wow, 15 years after the release of the original. I wonder if it's as well-remembered in Japan as it is in the Western fandom? I always thought that it got famous here, at least partially, thanks to being one of the first "proper" eroge to get an official English release and its VNDB score is pretty poor for this kind of VN.

Edited by Plk_Lesiak
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11 minutes ago, Plk_Lesiak said:

Wow, 15 years after the release of the original. I wonder if it's as well-remembered in Japan as it is in the Western fandom? I always thought that it got famous here, at least partially, thanks to being one of the first "proper" eroge to get an official English release and its VNDB score is pretty poor for this kind of VN.

It's a pretty well known game in Japan. There's a reason why Navel has been milking the series with fandisks and expanded versions for so long. (Heck, their most recent game, Spiral! Is also set in the same universe.) Sure took them long enough to make the actual sequel, though.

As for the votes from western fans goes, there's been many different releases of Shuffle in the west, none of them all that great, with the most recent one being both censored, and having a poor translation. The first MG release also had a rather shoddy translation, and their fixed version is no longer on sale, due to license issues. Not to mention, the west hasn't been able to play the "full" version of shuffle, "Essense+", which is by far the best way to experience the game, with tons of added routes and content, as well as an expanded scenario for the core game.

12 minutes ago, Nandemonai said:

Didn't the original writer die?

Yes, he passed away in 2016. He is credited on the sequel's website as the series' "creator". It's possible he had some notes or something that the current writers can go off, who knows. But, the writing team will be different, ofc.

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5 minutes ago, Dergonu said:

It's a pretty well known game in Japan. There's a reason why Navel has been milking the series with fandisks and expanded versions for so long. (Heck, their most recent game, Spiral! Is also set in the same universe.) Sure took them long enough to make the actual sequel, though.

As for the votes from western fans goes, there's been many different releases of Shuffle in the west, none of them all that great, with the most recent one being both censored, and having a poor translation. The first MG release also had a rather shoddy translation, and their fixed version is no longer on sale, due to license issues. Not to mention, the west hasn't been able to play the "full" version of shuffle, "Essense+", which is by far the best way to experience the game, with tons of added routes and content, as well as an expanded scenario for the core game.

Yes, he passed away in 2016. He is credited on the sequel's website as the series' "creator". It's possible he had some notes or something that the current writers can go off, who knows. But, the writing team will be different, ofc.

He created the setting from scratch and is generally seen as defining the style of the early harem charage genre.  His influence can be seen anywhere where you see a kind and proactive protagonist surrounded by a bevy of bishoujos who have a good (or at least, well-explained) reason for falling in love with the protagonist. 

Honestly, Spiral was something of a disappointment to me... it failed to accomplish anything and the heroines were all human, which was weird, since what is the point of a multi-racial setting if you don't have a good mix? 

tbh, whether the game is something to look forward to or not will depend on the choice of writer.  If it is the same writer as Spiral (the DC III pathetic third-rate moege writer Takeuchi) then I won't want anything to do with it, as he managed to completely fail to give life to the setting, while having plenty of opportunity and elements of the setting to do so.   The Shuffle FD's and expansions were generally decent, but part of that is because Agobarrier was there to consult with on how to fit the new stories into the existing setting.  Now that he's gone, I honestly can't bring myself to be optimistic after Navel's abominable choice of staff for Spiral.

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1 hour ago, Clephas said:

He created the setting from scratch and is generally seen as defining the style of the early harem charage genre.  His influence can be seen anywhere where you see a kind and proactive protagonist surrounded by a bevy of bishoujos who have a good (or at least, well-explained) reason for falling in love with the protagonist. 

Honestly, Spiral was something of a disappointment to me... it failed to accomplish anything and the heroines were all human, which was weird, since what is the point of a multi-racial setting if you don't have a good mix? 

tbh, whether the game is something to look forward to or not will depend on the choice of writer.  If it is the same writer as Spiral (the DC III pathetic third-rate moege writer Takeuchi) then I won't want anything to do with it, as he managed to completely fail to give life to the setting, while having plenty of opportunity and elements of the setting to do so.   The Shuffle FD's and expansions were generally decent, but part of that is because Agobarrier was there to consult with on how to fit the new stories into the existing setting.  Now that he's gone, I honestly can't bring myself to be optimistic after Navel's abominable choice of staff for Spiral.

Yeah.

I'm trying to stay optimistic, though. Hopefully since this is a direct sequel, we'll see some more love for the original style that the first game had, and less of what they did to Spiral!

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That's very interesting! In contrast to this SPIRAL! thing they released some time ago, this actually 'looks' like Shuffle. Those are clearly Sia and Nerine on the cover page. I guess it certainly helps that the original artists are actually drawing the VN this time and aren't just 'assisting with school uniform design' and leaving the character designs to a loli artist from Da Capo. <_<

Maybe... there is even a chance for my favorite character Ai (my avatar) from the Nerine fan disc to be included. :wub:

The list of writers actually looks pretty impressive. They have Ou Jackson and Higashinosuke on board, the main writers of Oretachi and Tsuriotsu which are Navel's most highly regarded works. I hope they'll keep the the two Da Capo writers from messing things up.

2 hours ago, Plk_Lesiak said:

I always thought that it got famous here, at least partially, thanks to being one of the first "proper" eroge to get an official English release and its VNDB score is pretty poor for this kind of VN.

That was certainly one of the main reasons it got popular both in Japan and in the west. It's rating isn't high, but there aren't that many VN's with more than 3000 votes on VNDB. Popularity isn't just about a high rating but also about the vote count. Shuffle's main strength was arguably its simplicity, so it's not surprising that the rating isn't high. It's the same with Nekopara - huge popularity and high vote count, but the rating is below 7.

I also appreciate that Shuffle was a somewhat fast-paced moege - in the worst case it at least didn't overstay its welcome. Many moeges nowadays are real slice of life monsters with huge amounts of filler text that unfortunately have the tendency to bore me to death. :amane:

Though Shuffle did have an interesting setting, so I think there's also more potential in it than just a simple moege if they want to.

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1 hour ago, ChaosRaven said:

I also appreciate that Shuffle was a somewhat fast-paced moege - in the worst case it at least didn't overstay its welcome. Many moeges nowadays are real slice of life monsters with huge amounts of filler text that unfortunately have the tendency to bore me to death. :amane:

What I remember about Shuffle is that it was scene-based--it jumps straight to the notable moments, much like an anime.  This is likely one of the reasons it is popular in the West.  Many games try to fill out each day from the protagonist's perspective, from when he gets up to when he goes to bed.  It's very difficult to tell a compelling narrative like this unless your protagonist or setting are extremely unique and you can make each moment meaningful and fascinating.  Most attempts fail.

Edited by sanahtlig
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31 minutes ago, sanahtlig said:

What I remember about Shuffle is that it was scene-based--it jumps straight to the notable moments, much like an anime.  This is likely one of the reasons it is popular in the West.  Many games try to fill out each day from the protagonist's perspective, from when he gets up to when he goes to bed.  It's very difficult to tell a compelling narrative like this unless your protagonist or setting are extremely unique and you can make each moment meaningful and fascinating.  Most attempts fail.

Correct. Shuffle was memorable in that it kept jumping to whenever something happened. Though I like both approaches, I appreciate this one all the more because it is not the most common.

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3 hours ago, sanahtlig said:

What I remember about Shuffle is that it was scene-based--it jumps straight to the notable moments, much like an anime.  This is likely one of the reasons it is popular in the West.  Many games try to fill out each day from the protagonist's perspective, from when he gets up to when he goes to bed.  It's very difficult to tell a compelling narrative like this unless your protagonist or setting are extremely unique and you can make each moment meaningful and fascinating.  Most attempts fail.

正直この『これは洋民の好みではない』っていう筋になんかムカつく。売上を見れば、その中にあの「ペーシングが悪い」の方が売る。国にとって好みが違うところもあるが、これは重点し過ぎられていると思う。

To be honest, I do not agree with the reasoning that people in the west don't like "slow paced" games. If you look at sales numbers, these "slow paced" games sell better. To be honest, I think the whole idea that the west and Japan have different tastes is overemphasized. Sure, there's probably a small difference, but it's not that big.

Edited by Dergonu
Translation no jutsu
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What are the odds they do a digital release of Essence+ to hype of the sequel?

 

I remember Shuffle! was one of my first 5 anime. It introduced me to just about every trope in the book. Winning the heart of a future love interest in a one-off encounter as kids. Yandere. Harems in general (I remember being amazed at this “love pentagon” lol). Childhood friend love interest. Colliding with a girl  in the hallway and ending up in a compromising situation.   Beach episodes. It’s all there really.

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2 hours ago, tahu157 said:

What are the odds they do a digital release of Essence+ to hype of the sequel?

Very low.  Because of a 'management change', Navel quit working with MangaGamer and Shuffle / Soul Link were discontinued.  (If you want Tick Tack / Really Really, I would pick them up, by the way - eventually those contracts will come up for renewal and they probably won't get renewed).

In other words, the people at Navel who supported working with MangaGamer left, and were replaced by new folks who weren't interested.  He said 'let's go to Steam with the PS2 version' and it did have some new routes, but it wasn't Essence.

There could've been another management change.  The ones that came in a few years ago could say 'well that didn't work' and try again.  But probably they'll just ignore the western market.

Edited by Nandemonai
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11 minutes ago, Nandemonai said:

Very low.  Because of a 'management change', Navel quit working with MangaGamer and Shuffle / Soul Link were discontinued.  (If you want Tick Tack / Really Really, I would pick them up, by the way - eventually those contracts will come up for renewal and they probably won't get renewed).

In other words, the people at Navel who supported working with MangaGamer left, and were replaced by new folks who weren't interested.  He said 'let's go to Steam with the PS2 version' and it did have some new routes, but it wasn't Essence.

There could've been another management change.  The ones that came in a few years ago could say 'well that didn't work' and try again.  But probably they'll just ignore the western market.

I think he meant a digital version in general, not a translated one. Essence+ only exists in physical versions.

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9 hours ago, Clephas said:

tbh, whether the game is something to look forward to or not will depend on the choice of writer.  If it is the same writer as Spiral (the DC III pathetic third-rate moege writer Takeuchi) then I won't want anything to do with it, as he managed to completely fail to give life to the setting, while having plenty of opportunity and elements of the setting to do so.   The Shuffle FD's and expansions were generally decent, but part of that is because Agobarrier was there to consult with on how to fit the new stories into the existing setting.  Now that he's gone, I honestly can't bring myself to be optimistic after Navel's abominable choice of staff for Spiral.

Well, ANN's coverage here seems to say some of the writers have returned: https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2019-05-01/navel-makes-shuffle-episode-2-game/.146302

| Baria Ago is credited again with the original series draft, and Kōta Takeuchi, Jackson Oh (original Shuffle!), Higashinosuke, and Fumihiko Kuwabara are writing the scripts.

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30 minutes ago, Nandemonai said:

Very low.  Because of a 'management change', Navel quit working with MangaGamer and Shuffle / Soul Link were discontinued.  (If you want Tick Tack / Really Really, I would pick them up, by the way - eventually those contracts will come up for renewal and they probably won't get renewed).

In other words, the people at Navel who supported working with MangaGamer left, and were replaced by new folks who weren't interested.  He said 'let's go to Steam with the PS2 version' and it did have some new routes, but it wasn't Essence.

There could've been another management change.  The ones that came in a few years ago could say 'well that didn't work' and try again.  But probably they'll just ignore the western market.

 

17 minutes ago, Dergonu said:

I think he meant a digital version in general, not a translated one. Essence+ only exists in physical versions.

Yeah, I meant in general. I've pretty much banned myself from reading translations at this point. Still can't figure out why all the Shuffle! sequels have DL editions but the original and Essence+ are stuck on discs. Did some manufacturing company buy exclusive distribution rights in the early days or something?

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On 5/1/2019 at 1:14 AM, Clephas said:

DC III

There is absolutely nothing wrong with Da Capo III, it is a very well written sequel, the anime adaptation isn't that good, too much focus on fanservice (close up shots of the girls chest and lower half) and the common route.

IMHO Da Capo III is the best out of the 3 visual novels.

Edited by Shaun
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