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Clephas' random VN thread


Clephas

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I played Balder Bullet today, it's not as good as the PS2 version. The console version has a lot more voiced lines, and i think all the voices are rerecorded. The visuals overall look better and the text is much easier to read (though still a little hard but not as annoyingly so as in the pc version.) Still it's probably worth a try (the ps2 version at least.)

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Just finished Skydive2... 

 

Basically, the two games are one game split into two parts, with Rain, Chinatsu, and Nanoha on the first, and Aki, Makoto, and Sora (true end) on the second.  If anything, the quality in the last three routes shoots up, if only because a lot of the info that went untouched in the first three routes gets shoved into your face during the next three routes, including certain events common to all the paths.  Believe me, there are parts of the game that are difficult to impossible to figure out if you haven't at least played through Makoto's path, and Sora's path goes on a completely different vector from the other paths. 

 

One thing that was a bit... hard about 2 was the last boss of Sora's route.  To be blunt, even on very easy, he feels like a very hard boss.  He can instant-kill you, puts out fake bodies, and is very difficult to damage in the first place. 

 

By the end of the story, I had a huge attachment to all the characters, even some of the antagonists and villains (though the true antagonist just pissed me off).  I will say that a lot of the events are pretty close to the standard for an anime war story, in general (with allowances made for the setting).  However, that doesn't detract significantly from the actual quality of the writing and story.

 

My final verdict?  Definitely worth playing, for the reasons stated in my previous post, as well as the ones stated here.  I will say that the battles in Sora's route get really, really tedious toward the end (there are just so MANY of them, plus the last boss is a pain in the ass).  For that reason, while the story itself was great, it felt a bit too broken up by the constant fighting. 

 

And yes, the story really does need to be viewed in the natural order (Rain>Nanoha>Chinatsu>Aki>Makoto>Sora) or it makes a hell of a lot less sense.  Sora's ending, in particular, relies on you having played through all the other routes.  There is supposedly a battle skip function, but I never did figure out where it was, lol.

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Damn you're so fast. Happy to hear it was good.

 

I played some of Balder Bullet on the ps2. In terms of presentation it's better than than the pc version due to it being fully voiced. On the other hand the text is very blurry and too hard to read. Sometimes it is hard to recognize what kanji you're looking at and even harder to read the furigana that appears sometimes. It looks bad even on a big screen. They knew the problem is severe and included an option to select two filters but none of them help, so don't bother playing this you will just strain your eyes.

 

Thankfully they fixed this problem in Baldr Force Exe where they added the ability to zoom into the screen, so it's easier to read the text (but still bothersome since when you zoom you can't see the whole text box and have to shift from one side to the other all the time.)

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Just finished Skydive2... 

 

Basically, the two games are one game split into two parts, with Rain, Chinatsu, and Nanoha on the first, and Aki, Makoto, and Sora (true end) on the second.  If anything, the quality in the last three routes shoots up, if only because a lot of the info that went untouched in the first three routes gets shoved into your face during the next three routes, including certain events common to all the paths.  Believe me, there are parts of the game that are difficult to impossible to figure out if you haven't at least played through Makoto's path, and Sora's path goes on a completely different vector from the other paths. 

 

One thing that was a bit... hard about 2 was the last boss of Sora's route.  To be blunt, even on very easy, he feels like a very hard boss.  He can instant-kill you, puts out fake bodies, and is very difficult to damage in the first place. 

 

By the end of the story, I had a huge attachment to all the characters, even some of the antagonists and villains (though the true antagonist just pissed me off).  I will say that a lot of the events are pretty close to the standard for an anime war story, in general (with allowances made for the setting).  However, that doesn't detract significantly from the actual quality of the writing and story.

 

My final verdict?  Definitely worth playing, for the reasons stated in my previous post, as well as the ones stated here.  I will say that the battles in Sora's route get really, really tedious toward the end (there are just so MANY of them, plus the last boss is a pain in the ass).  For that reason, while the story itself was great, it felt a bit too broken up by the constant fighting. 

 

And yes, the story really does need to be viewed in the natural order (Rain>Nanoha>Chinatsu>Aki>Makoto>Sora) or it makes a hell of a lot less sense.  Sora's ending, in particular, relies on you having played through all the other routes.  There is supposedly a battle skip function, but I never did figure out where it was, lol.

You see, I've seen this before, but it only took me a few tries for the final boss. Were you using ranged attacks or something? They are heavily nerfed in Sky, and the last boss basically requires a full melee combo to juggle.

And yeah, I can kinda see the fighting in Sora's route wearing thin, but alot of the best moments in baldr take place during the fights. Especially in chapter 11 in Sora's route, with FATE BREAKER and Paradgim Shift playing, and Jihad, the latter being one of my favorite moments in video games overall. It really wouldn't be the same without it.

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It is true that some of the better dialog is during the fights... and yes, I was using primarily ranged attacks (bazooka>submachinegun>blue bomb>katana combo attack).  I agree ranged is pretty nerfed in this game, other than bazooka, which is actually OP for most of the game.  It took me five tries to kill the boss... and each time I got hit by the damned instant kill right before I was about to finish him. 

 

Edit:  Based on the info from the getchu page, I'm guessing Zero might actually be based before the events in Skydive (ie:  protag from skydive is still a merc and still chasing nanomachine info)

 

Edit2:  On the other hand, the social standing of 'seconds' (those who have the second-generation biochip in their brains) is apparently not as fragile as it was in Skydive, so it might be later... I wish they wouldn't go out of their way to make things confusing.

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It is true that some of the better dialog is during the fights... and yes, I was using primarily ranged attacks (bazooka>submachinegun>blue bomb>katana combo attack).  I agree ranged is pretty nerfed in this game, other than bazooka, which is actually OP for most of the game.  It took me five tries to kill the boss... and each time I got hit by the damned instant kill right before I was about to finish him. 

 

Edit:  Based on the info from the getchu page, I'm guessing Zero might actually be based before the events in Skydive (ie:  protag from skydive is still a merc and still chasing nanomachine info)

 

Edit2:  On the other hand, the social standing of 'seconds' (those who have the second-generation biochip in their brains) is apparently not as fragile as it was in Skydive, so it might be later... I wish they wouldn't go out of their way to make things confusing.

 
That's one thing I like in Dive 2 as it made me feel like I am really fighting a "true final boss" that is a serious threat, and the use of the songs + battles achieve exactly what Baldr is known to do : "Make you feel really hot-blooded". It pretty much puts your skills in melee and everything you mastered in both games to a final test. The final bosses on Zero 2 on the other hand is extremely anti-climax thanks to the revamped battle system and incredibly poor AI.
 
Not to spoil too much, Zero / Zero 2 is similar to Dive 1/2 in the sense it is 2 games in one. The story is a lot more complex (albeit can be very confusing in the first few routes) and the setting is much darker than in Dive 1/2, the society featured in Zero's setting is SO messed up (and bizarre) to the point it made the social standing and discrimination of "seconds" looks like child's play in comparison.
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I guessed it was... it took me around fifty-four hours to complete both Skydive games... I'm hoping these won't take as long, but with the game crash bug and having to use a new h-code every time I start it up...

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I just finished both Baldr Sky Zero games... total gameplay time ran up to 90 hours, fifty of those spent on 2... and thirty-five of those spent on Marell's path alone. 

 

Obviously, these games are looooong.  First, from a gameplay standpoint... to be honest, I preferred the old system, as it was  a bit more fast-paced from a subjective point of view.  From an objective point of view, the battles in these two VNs go by much faster than the ones in Skydive.  I only had two battles in both VNs combined go above three minutes in length, lol.  There are also much fewer of them. 

 

So what took so long?  The massive narrative.  Though there is a common route, and there are technically fewer chapters after the common route for each heroine... the actual length of those chapters surpasses that of the common route in all of them except Kei's.  In Marell's case, it almost matched the entire length of the first VN.  Shizelle's route, as well, is pretty long at fifteen hours, surpassing the longest route in the first VN (Fran's) by five hours in my experience.  This is one of the few gameplay-VNs where the gameplay isn't used as an excuse to reduce the narrative's length.

 

What is the story like?  Well, in the first VN, it was a bit lighter, as you didn't touch heavily upon some of the more... disgusting aspects of the SAS's society, such as the 'human production' business (despite Kei's route's content).  In fact, except for the last half of Fran's route, the first VN felt lighter than Skydive, despite the setting being much more repugnant to traditional human values.  This is primarily because of the rather hilarious character dynamic in Squall, the sub-unit of Fenrir in which the protagonist finds himself enlisting.  The fact that not one of the heroines in the first VN would last a week in a traditional military without facing a court martial for insubordination, and that the most 'military' of the characters is a constant target for teasing and a pigeon for the unit's constant money betting should give you an idea of what its like.  I won't spoil Dmitri for you, because your first encounter with him should be devoid of spoilers, lol.  The more serious aspects of the story tend to be both intensely personal for the heroines and have dramatic effects on the world around them.  Each of the first four heroines shows you a different aspect of the SAS's situation and reveals more to you about the setting.  In Marell's path, you get all that information lumped together and combined with her unique situation, as well as certain truths about the protagonist's own missing past. 

 

Now for the protagonist... think 'a sentimental but pragmatic soldier'.  He's the type of soldier who can kill a thousand people and feel horrible about it later... and then do it again the next day without a hint of hesitation.  Is this a good thing?  He doesn't think so, but I'll leave questions of good and bad in this to others.  The fact that he is only willing to do this as part of work, to save his own life, or to save someone he cares about should tell you a great deal about him.  

 

There are two huge issues that I think might turn the stomachs of a lot of people... first, a good portion of the population is made up of indentured soldiers who are born in 'personnel production factories' and raised in pseudo-orphanages to be troops.  Second, human flesh is used as one of the sources for the protein in the nanomachine-based soylent green that makes up almost all of the food supplies there.  Not only that, but there is a rather lively and legal market in human body parts... and this has a rather huge impact on the story and the protagonist. 

 

If you are squeamish about that kind of thing, I'd suggest that you reconsider playing the VNs, despite their quality.  Shizelle's route, in particular, will probably turn the stomachs of the average VN players, as it hits on the worst aspects of the SAS in a very visceral manner.

 

Overall, these VNs are extremely high in quality, both in general writing, scenario design, and character dynamics.  I found myself satisfied with the endings (more or less) as well as with the content of the story.  People who like dark futuristic settings will absolutely eat this one up.  Those who preferred the atmosphere in Skydive might have trouble with this one, because the characters are far less serious in manner most of the time (outside of Rain and Kou from Skydive, who have a large role in many of the paths).  I definitely suggest you play Skydive first, despite this being based chronologically before the events in Skydive.  To be blunt, this game spoils too much of Skydive's secrets, despite it being an ' alternative timeline', to be playable sequentially before Skydive.  There were complaints from some quarters about a lack of CGs... but tbh, these two VNs didn't need a lot of CGs to tell the story. 

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Baldr Zero 2 alone took me over 3 weeks and you finished both in one week?! Guess you are in a totally different league.

 

Marelle's route is probably the longest route in a VN that I have ever played, they sure aren't holding back there.

 

The silly interactions of the characters in Squall (and later on, Kou) is what made the non-serious parts really interesting most of the time, and every character is really interesting in their own way, the protagonist himself included. One of the rare cases where the protagonist isn't disturbed nor seriously bothered by having amnesia and shrugs it off like nobody's business. The aspects of the SAS society is rather hard to endure but that's what dark futuristic settings are meant to be.

 

And for the CGs...if you include those mecha-CGs used in the story not included in the gallery, these 2 games will have the most CGs ever used in a VN.

 

The only thing I preffered Dive games over this is the battle system, I don't even feel like finishing the mission modes anymore.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Vermilion Bind of Blood Part 1:  Sherryl, Anne, and Nina

 

I decided to replay Vermilion to clean the bad taste out of my mouth (figuratively speaking) after the utter piece of crap I swallowed in the form of Sougeki no Jaeger (a good story-focused isn't enough to overcome the awful flavor of a true kusoge). 

 

Vermilion, to be blunt, is vampires at both their best and their worst.  There are no sparkly vampires or vampires who seriously try to avoid drinking blood at all.  There are no vampire protectors of humanity and the vampire hunters are pretty much screwed, because vampire bodies don't vanish, and it gets treated like a homicide case if the bodies are found.  Not to mention that immortality is a great lure for the wealthy and powerful, lol. 

 

Kashima Toshirou, the protagonist of the story, is a former samurai and vampire who serves as a 'night police', whose job is primarily the execution of people who go against the rules of vampire society.   This guy is generally hated by those he oversees, as well as most of those he works for or with (with a few exceptions, primarily heroines).  He is overly serious, hidebound, has a spartan attitude toward people he has expectations for, and is as cold as ice when he feels the need. 

 

This VN, like all Light chuuni VNs, is LONG.  If you aren't used to reading Japanese on its own or in jparser, you'll probably spend fifty hours or more on this VN, easy (more likely much longer than that).  It generally takes me about twenty-four hours to finish all the paths.

 

What I'm covering in this little review are the Anne, Sherryl, and Nina paths (the three vampire heroines).  The next one will contain Ariya and the Grand Route. 

 

Anne Portman

 

To be blunt, this is Light's token 'normal girl' heroine.  She's your typical 'Victim A' and it shows both in her attitude, in the way she keeps tumbling into trouble, and how pathetically unrealistic she can be.  To be blunt, she serves a similar role to Kasumi in Dies Irae, providing a contrast for the other heroines in nature.  As such, every person who likes chuuni will absolutely hate her as a heroine, for feeling so out of place in such a bloody VN, and for being so obviously foolish and weak at times.

 

Sherryl McGregor

 

In contrast to Anne, Sherryl is generally the heroine almost everyone who plays this game likes the most (me being an exception, due to my inordinate fondness for heroines who like to try to kill the protagonist).  She's a hundred and fifty year old vampire girl who had her roots in nineteenth century London... to be honest, I can't reveal anymore without ruining her path for you, so I won't.  Let's just say that she is probably the most 'womanly woman' of the group, despite her sassy attitude and tendency toward lodging iron-edged stiletto heels in people's necks.  Her path is more about love than anything else, and the things people are willing to do for it (and how they can break as a result of it). 

 

Nina Warlock

 

She's the Princeps (I think that was originally what they were going for, but you know how awful Japanese are with English words) of the North American Diaspora (community of vampires).  She is the person Toshirou serves personally, young both as a person and a vampire.  Her path has a really thrilling set of ending scenes that always leave me feeling exhilarated.    Because she is a young leader in a society that values age and power... well, let's just say she doesn't have it easy.  To be blunt, it sucks to be her on any day of the week.  She is very proud, though she does have a soft side that rarely shows.  Her path's theme is pretty obvious, 'loyalty'.  I think that most people pity her at the first part of the story and end up adoring her at the end, after having experienced her growth.

 

 

Look forward to the second half of this review!!!

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Vermilion Bind of Blood Part 2: Ariya and Grand Route

 

Takajou Ariya

 

The Japanese-born vampire hunter known as 'White Pile' (or stake of white wood, if you want to be accurate).  She is the newest in a long lineage of such vampire hunters (though her predecessor is an ancient, scary German dude who would scare the living daylights out of a terrorist on sight).  Her path is perhaps the harshest on the characters of all the routes.  Quite frankly, there is a reason why a lot of people hate this route (opposite Anne's route, which is hated because no one really wants Victim A to have a route).  The fact that I adore this route says a lot about me... 他人の不幸は蜜の味.  Also, Ariya is the most screwed up of the four heroines... which is absolutely hilarious, since she is the only heroine that is human from beginning to end.  Yandere doesn't even begin to cover the way she acts toward the protagonist in her route, lol. 

 

The Grand Route

 

Obviously, this route is the flower with its roots in all of the other routes.  So, what is the level of quality?  Very high.  It isn't just Toshirou's fight... it's the events that occur all over the place as things head for a conclusion.  Klaus's final battle still makes me burst out in tears (and not just sad ones), simply because it shows him off from a new viewpoint, transforming him instantly into a far more round character.  I won't spoil it any further... but it is definitely something to look forward to.  The biggest complaint I hear from others is the outcome (though the ending isn't really the problem).  People are so greedy about wanting happy endings... lol

 

Overall

 

Honestly, if you don't get my thoughts on this VN by now, you probably didn't read anything but this section.  This is one of Light's better VNs, though it isn't quite as awesome as Dies Irae.  This is great for non-romantic vampire lovers, for lovers of blood and action, as well as people who are tired of teenaged protagonists fighting on angst, lol. 

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Konata yori Kanata Made

 

This is one of my permanent top ten.  This is the classic utsuge (non-denpa, non-violent for the most part) that defines the half of the genre sometimes considered to be the 'gentle utsuge'.  There is no rape, no murder, and very little action in this VN.  It is also fairly short, by modern standards.  However, the sheer intensity of this VN's emotional aspects and top-notch writing have made it one of the most memorable VNs of all time... so much so that it has been re-released six times. 

 

To be blunt, you will probably spend most of this VN crying, and the protagonist will be most of the reason for it.  He shows the type of strength that can only be born of the extremities of the human experience, while at the same time showing an extreme vulnerability that strikes the reader to the heart.  In fact, his humanity in the face of his own suffering is perhaps the most striking element of his character. 

 

That said... he really is a normal guy.   He's not especially intelligent or of inherently superior character... nor is he some kind of overpowered demigod.  He breaks down, he cries, he rages, and he bears his suffering with stoic dignity... showing all the faces of humanity in such a situation that it is possible to do. 

 

The heroines... all have their issues.  Chris, the vampire and main heroine, has perhaps the most overtly memorable story, though it competes with the more gentle stories of the other heroines for sheer impact.  I can't tell you the theme of the story without spoiling it, so I'll leave it to yall to play this.

 

This VN is meant for those who want catharsis.  You want to weep like a small child for the sake of another?  This is the VN for you.  The surprisingly gentle, soft nature of the story is at odds with the normally darker nature seen in other utsuge, so it is good for those who don't want to have to deal with the rape, NTR, and other issues that frequently plague the genre.    I recommend this to everyone in general, because it is a classic that has aged very well.  However, for people who have trouble with extreme emotions, it might be a bit too much at times.

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Otome ga Tsumugu, Koi no Canvas

 

First, understand that this is one of the few moege that I've gone back and played twice (now three times) simply because - yes - it really is that good.  Why?  Well there are a lot of reasons.  However, two major ones stand out... first, the protagonist is rather hilariously suited for his role as a loveable trap, and second, the writer had the good taste to make a common route that lasts all of an hour before splitting off into individual heroine routes. 

 

The latter issue allows the writer to lavish you with a story directed toward a single heroine almost from beginning to end, giving a degree of intense character development that even most charage never quite manage.  Better yet, you get five lovely heroines, each with a plot path that, while they still hit on some similar issues where it comes to the protagonist, vary wildly in the general trajectory. 

 

I'll say that, despite the fact that Rena and Shizuku were considered to be the main heroines, the other heroine paths were not in any way truncated, weakened, or otherwise rendered second-rate due to an over-focus on those two.  Better yet, there is literally a heroine for every taste, ranging from a kind-hearted but sometimes tsundere-ish Rena to the adorable but iron-willed Yuki. 

 

As such, I can say this is a VN that will appeal to anyone who has even a passing fondness for charage with intensive character development and heroine-focused story. 

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Lovesick Puppies Part 1: Common and Himesato Isami

 

First, this is one of those rare charage that I felt I could replay without feeling like I wanted to drill a hole in my skull to let out the boredom bugs.  I absolutely love the side-characters in this game, and it has one of the better common routes I've encountered in a non-action, non-sci-fi/fantasy vn.  This VN utilizes the visual engine from Yurikago yori Tenshi Made, which has eye blinks and a somewhat metallic/shiny look to the eyes that some people find creepy.  There is also a lot of variance in expression in comparison to the average VN, which is another attraction for those interested in visuals.

 

Common Route:  The common route of this game is pretty long, as are the heroine paths... as such, it might be a much for the people who want something short and easy.  The common route has all the ingredients of a good VN: good humor, good characters, and scenes that make you cry.   The fact that the protagonist is a bit of a busybody, always poking his  nose into other people's problems, will probably irritate some people... but it is his most obvious feature, so meh.

 

Isami:  Isami is your classic majime de amai heroine (meaning she is serious but a bit naive and easy to manipulate for the protag once they become lovers) who also happens to be a martial artist.  It is my habit, going into a given VN, to always hit the heroines that have combat capability first (I know, I'm weird), so of course, she was the one I chose.  Her path, once it gets past the ichaicha dating stage (which is pretty long) is focused on her relationship with her twin brother.  tbh, this is one aspect I think Cosmic Cute failed on, in that they went looking for a conflict to use for the end-path drama and ended up with something a little too obvious and bland.  On the bright side, the epilogue was perfectly to my taste... a 'future of the couple' ending that left me feeling 'yay, they turned out nicely'. 

 

Edit:

 

Sonya: Sonya is the token foreign-descended girl for this VN.  She is honest, kind-hearted, straightforward, and an artist to the core.  She is a voice-actor and an anime fan with an honest love for her work, and she has a tendency to express her affection in a very direct manner (usually through hugs).  Her route is fairly interesting, showing off some of the dark side of corporate celebrity while not going so deep as to make me sick to my stomach (I absolutely loathe excessively realistic entertainment industry-related drama).  Her ending is fairly satisfying, and the epilogue, though only set a year after the path's end, does show what she and Kotarou are doing with their lives after things settled down. 

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"It is my habit, going into a given VN, to always hit the heroines that have combat capability first". I always do the same thing too. So I guess you are not alone hahaha. I also love Heroines swords wielding (I'm always doing them first too =P). And I agree with you about Lovesick Puppies. It's really good. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Mecha-con

 

Mecha-con, the original VN in the series of harem VNs by Onomatope*, is quite obviously the prototype for this http://vndb.org/v14321 in the western sense of the word, rather than the Japanese Gundam sense of the word, lol.  It is a much simpler VN with a lot more choices but less developed story and no side-characters such as existed in the one I reviewed for the VN of the Month thread a few days ago.  That said, it is still a moege/nukige cross, and it has a good enough characters to escape being 'brainless'... barely.  Still, I can see why the concept has translated into two other well-received VNs using the same setting. 

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Ore to 5-nin no Yome-san ga Raburabu nano wa, Mirai kara Kita Aka-chan no Okage ni Chigainai!?

 

This is a lot closer to the third VN in the series, in the sense that both the characters and the story are more detailed as well as there being more focus on both than in the original.  There is more H than the third VN, but the VN as a whole is longer than both the first and third VN, so the balance is almost identical to that of the third. 

 

The five members of the harem are Akari (the deredere osananajimi/ojousama), Hinata (the otaku who runs a maid-cafe), Hotaru (the fortune-teller's daughter), Chiharu (the classic 'slovenly teacher'), and Yuzuki (the genius scientist who works for Akari's father).  They really do get together because of the protagonist's future daughter, just like it says in the summary on vndb... and it results in some really hilarious antics at the beginning that eventually lead to their mass-marriage, haha.  The fact that the protagonist is also likeable (rather than being just a highly-intelligent variant of the regular moege protag like in the first one) is also a huge benefit.  

 

Oh... and there is a ton of threesome H, lol.

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  • 2 weeks later...

On the request of several individuals, I replayed Sangoku Hime 3 (previously I had only done the Wu route) with Shu.  Previously, I gave this game a god-awful review... and with good reason.  The Sengoku Hime games are a bit of a slog through tedium as time goes on as well, but not quite to the degree of this game.  The big problem is that they basically tried to attach the Romance off the Three Kingdoms strategy series' worst aspects to a VN at the hip.  There are tons of castles to conquer (144), generals to recruit, and lots of disasters to enjoy as they ruin your day.  Bandits are by far the worst, as they can drain your money virtually to nothing on normal mode inside three turns if you aren't careful... and even if you are, since they randomly get past your 'peaceful' areas defenses every dozen turns or so.  For this reason, unless you love torturing yourself, ALWAYS play this game on easy, so you can have the nice beginning war-chest and can go through the game relatively quickly (relative being the key word, as you'll learn if you play this game). 

 

If you were to actually just skip all story aspects of the game, starting from Wu, Wei, or Shu... think 90 hours.  With plot, it goes to about 102 hours.  Normally, with a strategy game, this wouldn't be that offensive... but the fact that the prose in this game tends toward the dramatic and is actually rather interesting makes the utter slog they turned the main game into unforgivable.  The artwork (for males and clothing, anyway) is beautiful and detailed, the characters are interesting and likeable (as long as you aren't dealing with personal events, which Gesen sucks at for some reason), and the music is almost-godly. 

 

But, like I said... all that good stuff is ruined by the sheer length and monotony if conquering China castle by castle... not to mention building up the forces to make it possible.  The battle system would be good... if there were only fifty or so major strongholds to conquer... but after a while, it gets to be simple grunt work (attack during battle phase, strategically kill off the enemy to let you attack the castle walls, break the gates, take the castle). 

 

The prologue is just godly overall... the protagonist being an imitation Lu Bu... and the fact that the overall quality of the prose stays constant in the main story (like I said, the personal side-events tend to suck donkey shit) is a huge attraction.  Unfortunately, to get to that prose, you have to dig and dig and dig and *Clephas falls asleep in mid-keystroke*

 

Overall?  I still can't recommend this, even with the new content (which makes the process somewhat easier by letting you change general unit types).  The two new paths added on... one is even harder than Lu Bu's route (which is basically insanity mode even on easy) and the other is basically working with one of the most annoying of all the characters in the game constantly (at least Cao Cao and Sun Ce are generally awesome characters).  I do find it hilarious that in both Koihime and this game, they made Yuan Shao an unbelievably annoying ditz, lol. 

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  • 1 month later...

Youtou Jiken

 

I sped through this one in about eleven hours, mostly because it repeats almost all of its text, save for a few key points.  This is one of Liar-soft's earlier works, a horror VN based around a series of murders associated with a demonic sword and the visions it sends the protagonist of the victims.  To be honest, this VN demonstrates beyond all doubt why Liar Soft's early works are mostly forgotten.  It is frequently inconsistent, the reasons why certain events occur are unclear, and the characters are generally all-around unattractive as people.  There is also a lot of rape in this game, including of heroines, which was a huge turn-off, since one of the three heroines only has a bad ending (it is really bad), another one has a bad and a normal (I hesitate to call any of the endings in this VN good), and the last heroine is a practical non-entity except on her own path.  The motives of the final antagonist are never made fully clear, nor his connection to one of the heroines.  Overall, I couldn't give this one a good rating.

 

 

Sekai wo Sukuu Dake no Kantan na Oshigoto

 

The latest Rosebleu VN.  This VN, like most by this company, is more humorous than serious for much of the game, and it actively makes fun of traditional jrpg heroes and dark/demon kings in the prologue... (I won't spoil it for you, because it is more hilarious if you just read it) 

 

The actual story is medium-quality at best... but the character dynamic and general hilarity make up for this fact.  It isn't that the story is weak... precisely.  It is simply that the sheer impact of the characters personalities and interactions (mostly humorous) overwhelms the serious parts to a degree that makes it difficult to take those parts, well... 'seriously'.  lol

 

This is more a case of the balance tipping a bit too much to the humorous side, from the perfect tightrope the Tiny Dungeon series walked between its serious and hilarious parts.  For those who want laughs and like or don't mind what amounts to VN-sized spoof on the 'traditional' jrpg cliches... this is actually an excellent choice.  After Youtou, this served to cleanse my brain thoroughly of the filth I had to endure there.

 

****Huge spoiler for Youtou****

One of the heroines deliberately invites her own gang rape over and over so she'll remember why she wants to kill men... and the other is basically having sex with random guys to get over her own gang rape experience. This is in addition to the fact that the protagonist kills both of them (both in 'bad ending' paths).

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  • 1 month later...

Neko Masshigura

I was bored, so I yanked this out of my backlog.  This is basically a normal moege for mimikko fetishists like me.  Most of the girls are mimikko, and they are generally adorable.  There is nothing resembling a real story or drama in this VN, but it is reasonably enjoyable for someone who just wants a short trip into the world of cuteness.

 

Honoka is incredibly annoying, though.

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Neko Masshigura

I was bored, so I yanked this out of my backlog.  This is basically a normal moege for mimikko fetishists like me.  Most of the girls are mimikko, and they are generally adorable.  There is nothing resembling a real story or drama in this VN, but it is reasonably enjoyable for someone who just wants a short trip into the world of cuteness.

 

Honoka is incredibly annoying, though.

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