Clephas VN of the Year, 2013

[Clephas]

Though this year did have a few kamige ('kami' being god and 'ge' being 'game'), including Hapymaher, Komorebi no Nostalgica, and Natsu no Owari no Nirvana, I carefully considered over the past few weeks, as I finished the last of December's interesting releases, which I would pick.  I also briefly considered Madou Koukaku as a candidate, but concluded that it did not match any of the other three in story quality, though it has excellent gameplay.  That all three candidates came out in the first quarter of the year might say something terrible about the VN industry in general, but the fact is that most years, we are lucky to get just one or two games worthy of entering into the annals of legend (otherwise known as my favorites list, lol).  Having three worthy of consideration, all coming out around the same time, is not a negative thing. 

 

Komorebi no Nostalgica, which I introduced to several people who were interested in science fiction but wanted something that more seriously approaches the concept of an AI, in a number of ways, is an excellent game overall, with a truly great cast of characters.  This game had few noticeable flaws, and I'm still engaged with the characters emotionally, even nine months later.  As such, there was never any doubt it would be a candidate.

 

Hapymaher is the new game that made me cry the most this year.  That might seem like a dubious recommendation, coming from me, but it is rare for me to actually break down and cry just in the course of a game, rather than only at the climax.  I cried through about one third of this game, and it easily has the best soundtrack I've seen in a non-Propeller game in three years.  More importantly, it uses all those soundtracks effectively to enhance its somewhat whacked-out story and makes it feel alive using the old-fashioned methodology that used to make jrpg stories so beloved.  The story itself is fairly weird, something of a mindfuck for people not used to this kind of thing.  However, this doesn't detract in any way from the reader's enjoyment.  If the game has a flaw, it is that some people won't be able to bring themselves to like the protag and others will find the Alice in Wonderland themes (there is definite influence) irritating.  I didn't, despite hating that book, but I know some people can't even stand references to it.

 

Natsu no Owari no Nirvana was one of two great utsuge produced this year.  It has a somewhat odd story, where the protagonist (the son of Enma, the Japanese-Buddhist Judge of the Dead) has to cleanse and judge the souls of three sinners.  The story overall is fairly sad, and the true ending will have even the most stoic feeling at least a little down.  This is contrasted with the protagonist's rather hilarious antics (he is something of a layabout) and the goddess Kannon's rather... interesting treatment of him. 

 

 

In the end, however, it came down to the first two, Komorebi and Hapymaher.  Nirvana sometimes hits too light a note for an utsuge, and while it is an immensely enjoyable VN, both Hapymaher and Komorebi are on a different level entirely.  At that point, I had a choice between a game that had made me think, as well as laugh and cry (Komorebi), and a game that had engaged my emotions on a number of levels (Hapymaher), leaving me to make a rather hard choice.  It could have gone either way.  I'd decided on one or the other a half dozen times in the last two weeks, and I almost posted the result for that momentary decision any number of times.

 

However, in the end, I decided that Hapymaher was the only possible choice.  It is a game that meets the highest standards on every level, but more than anything else, its music takes it to levels Komorebi couldn't achieve with the story and characters alone.  So, officially, Clephas' VN of the Year for 2013 is Hapymaher, by Purple Software.

[Tay]

Congratulations to Purple Software!

 

Thank you for so many great reviews last year, Clephas!  As always, this was a pleasure to read.  Your reviews are one of the things that continue to motivate me to learn Japanese.

 

One day the kamige will be mine!

[Aggressor]

Since I really liked Komorebi too, I'll have to read Hapymaher soon. Still have my doubts about it being that good, but if you say so

[Clephas]

A lot of its impact comes from the music... and again, I'm aware that the Alice in Wonderland influences, as well as the protagonist, might be something of a downer for some people.  The protag isn't a hetare, but he isn't exactly clear-headed.   He ALWAYS has lucid dreams, and as a result he is incapable of having a good night's sleep.  The reasons behind that heavily influence the story and his personality, and some people might find him whiny anyway, for reasons related to that.  The game's story revolves heavily around dreams and their relation to reality, and there are a lot of points in the game where you have no idea if what the characters are experiencing is real, a dream, or something in between.  Like I said, what tipped this game into the slot of VN of the year was the music and music direction, which was sublime.  Good music direction is almost unheard of in the video game industry these days, so games with good music direction always stand out.