Zalor Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 So I recently was on YouTube looking at some old videos of old visual novels (specifically ONE~ To the Radiant Season). On the recommended videos section a video titled SNOW ~ PLUS EDITION ~ OP grabbed my attention. After watching the video, I desperately started hunting down a torrent for this obscure old game. The opening looks good, and VNDB gives it a decent score. A well written Nakige and a snow setting, what more could I want!? It will be like Kanon all over again, but different! (Maybe this will be the first untranslated VN I tackle?) In anycase, I was wondering if anyone else ever gets really excited when digging through old forgotten stuff? Have you found any hidden gems? What have your experiences been? (It doesn't necessarily have to be a VN, but it should be otaku sub-culture related). For those curious by the way, here is the video I was talking about: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7msJHl0DDI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deep Blue Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 That is one of the vn i want to play, I've read in wikipedia a time ago (I can't remember now) that it was really good and it was one of the best vns of 2004-5, sadly my japanese is still really bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zakamutt Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 I stumbled upon this for no real reason. No idea if it's any good, and the ADV gameplay stuff would probably be annoying, but the -GD- doesn't seem to hate it so... https://vndb.org/v151 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zalor Posted January 21, 2015 Author Share Posted January 21, 2015 I stumbled upon this for no real reason. No idea if it's any good, and the ADV gameplay stuff would probably be annoying, but the -GD- doesn't seem to hate it so... https://vndb.org/v151 That looks so 90's, I love that art style. Although I'm personally not that big on Sci-Fi, it's a great find! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deep Blue Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 I forgot because i started rambling about snow I saw this vn the other day, it looks really cool https://vndb.org/v1305 I might give it a try Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinovaA Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Hmmmm... I'd have to say I got some of this "reverse-hype" when I first started getting into VNs and heard about Kana -Imouto-. Certainly not a "hidden" gem, but a gem nonetheless. I got really hyped for going through it even though I was so bogged down with stuff at the time. So the hype just kinda built up. Other than that.. I guess I got it when first started getting into Fire Emblem and read stuff about the older installments. Got really hyped for those too, but again, was really bogged down at the time so the hype built up therefor quite some time too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoom909 Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Yeah, Snow isn't really obscure, it never got animated but it was a big-name visual novel at the time. Here are some Snow goods you could've bought if only you'd known about it, sorry ;-) But I agree it's nice not to ignore the old VN's (ahem, Lamune) I still need to read Snow and a bunch of older VN's from the classic era Too bad most of my time is taken up with work and anime-watching Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zalor Posted January 21, 2015 Author Share Posted January 21, 2015 I forgot because i started rambling about snow I saw this vn the other day, it looks really cool https://vndb.org/v1305 I might give it a try I was rambling about Snow as well. Holy crap though, a Sega CD VN, that definitely qualifies as obscure. The fact that it was translated into English shocks me even more though. Hmmmm... I'd have to say I got some of this "reverse-hype" when I first started getting into VNs and heard about Kana -Imouto-. Certainly not a "hidden" gem, but a gem nonetheless. I got really hyped for going through it even though I was so bogged down with stuff at the time. So the hype just kinda built up. Other than that.. I guess I got it when first started getting into Fire Emblem and read stuff about the older installments. Got really hyped for those too, but again, was really bogged down at the time so the hype built up therefor quite some time too. I still need to read Kana. While not obscure, it's definitely a classic. Also about older Fire Emblem games, I highly recommend Fire Emblem 4. Fire emblem 4 is where my avatar is from Yeah, Snow isn't really obscure, it never got animated but it was a big-name visual novel at the time. Here are some Snow goods you could've bought if only you'd known about it, sorry ;-) But I agree it's nice not to ignore the old VN's (ahem, Lamune) I still need to read Snow and a bunch of older VN's from the classic era Too bad most of my time is taken up with work and anime-watching I assumed that since it didn't receive an anime adaptation or a fan translation that is was under-appreciated. Looks like I was wrong. You're tantalizing me so much~ Edit: Looked up Lamune. Wow, I just realized that you're translating that VN. I should really pay closer attention to news about VN fan translations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monmon Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Old vn??? Hm..... Yu-no will always be my fav old vn. I`m so hype when i`m readin that, even though its old and the graphic is old but the writing is pretty supreme. And i cant wait for the remake...i just hope they wont change the story os so whatever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clephas Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Yeah, I do get excited. Fortunately, I downloaded a lot of those really obscure games years ago, so I don't have to go hunting them now, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinovaA Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 I still need to read Kana. While not obscure, it's definitely a classic. Also about older Fire Emblem games, I highly recommend Fire Emblem 4. Fire emblem 4 is where my avatar is from Fire Emblem 4 is actually one of my favorites. That one along with Thracia 776 make up my two favorites for sure. Your avatar is the wielder of Mystletainn if I do recall correctly (his name escapes me at the moment). Also, Kana is definitely a good classical nakige to read at some point. Definitely one of my favorites as of now as well. ^^ Zalor 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clephas Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 I still occasionally replay Chrono Trigger and Xenogears (two of my oldest favorites)... Reading old VNs can be painful in some cases, but the one I'm reading right now - Hello, World by Nitroplus - is pretty interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fun2novel Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 I got a bunch of these though no idea how good they are. I used to go scan through VNDB looking for these gems. They are pretty much impossible to find, unfortunately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyrillej1 Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 I've had the 'reverse-hype' many times before, but probably less now since I've hunted all the ones I've been interested in already. Mostly older Rpg games. When I ran out of things to play, I looked into older games I might have missed out on with good reviews. I still replay some old ones sometimes even now. One time, I looked through every possible RPG PS1 game and tried all the ones that seemed interesting to me. I played Suikoden 3 first, loved it.. and looked for the older games Suikoden 1&2, and side stories of Suikoden Gaiden, etc. I get excited when I play a recent game, search about it and find older games related to it. That's also what happened when I played Fire Emblem 4. I looked for older related releases to see if any of them were playable in english. I usually do that for every game I really enjoyed. I get hyped when I find an old game I hadn't played yet, but looks extremely good.. I look for it everywhere and try to get my hands on it if possible. I think I'm more into 'reverse-hype' for console gaming. I'm probably more automatically 'reverse-hype' for Pc VNs xD since I don't really pay attention to latest releases/news about them.. I just look through what seems interesting to read in the older/present ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clephas Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 One problem with 'retro-playing' VNs is that most of the art and music from the pre-2005 era is just lower quality than what you see today. It isn't as dramatic as say the difference between Genrin no Kishougun and Ikusa Megami Zero, but it is dramatic enough to be noticeable. I'm playing Hello, World right now, and in comparison to modern VNs, the art looks more 'mechanical', the tachie expressions and stances are exaggerated, and the colors are more extreme. The subtlety you see in today's VN art is almost non-existent prior to the 'golden age of VNs', which is probably one of the reasons we call it that. That said, the actual difference in quality between stuff made in say 2006 and 2014 is not that great. Yes, there are some companies that have changed radically in visual styles since then (mostly ones that were still using the 'exaggerated adult' style common to the pre-Tsukihime era), but most of the style which is common today was already present then, even if it was in 'undeveloped' form. Anyway, VN-readers are really intolerant of 'different' art-styles (such as Favorite's or Caramel Box's)... it baffles me sometimes how bigoted people can be about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zalor Posted January 22, 2015 Author Share Posted January 22, 2015 I think I'm more into 'reverse-hype' for console gaming. I'm probably more automatically 'reverse-hype' for Pc VNs xD since I don't really pay attention to latest releases/news about them.. I just look through what seems interesting to read in the older/present ones. Same. Although for me, its because I'm pretty cynical about contemporary stuff (contemporary literature, music, anime, VNs, ect). Also, in regard to VNs specifically, I can't read the new Japanese releases (not yet anyway). Also, I like older things because it reminds me of not-now. It's kind of weird, but thinking about the past (even if its as little as 5 years ago) feels nice because it allows me to intellectually escape the present. One problem with 'retro-playing' VNs is that most of the art and music from the pre-2005 era is just lower quality than what you see today. It isn't as dramatic as say the difference between Genrin no Kishougun and Ikusa Megami Zero, but it is dramatic enough to be noticeable. I'm playing Hello, World right now, and in comparison to modern VNs, the art looks more 'mechanical', the tachie expressions and stances are exaggerated, and the colors are more extreme. The subtlety you see in today's VN art is almost non-existent prior to the 'golden age of VNs', which is probably one of the reasons we call it that. That said, the actual difference in quality between stuff made in say 2006 and 2014 is not that great. Yes, there are some companies that have changed radically in visual styles since then (mostly ones that were still using the 'exaggerated adult' style common to the pre-Tsukihime era), but most of the style which is common today was already present then, even if it was in 'undeveloped' form. Anyway, VN-readers are really intolerant of 'different' art-styles (such as Favorite's or Caramel Box's)... it baffles me sometimes how bigoted people can be about it. Most VNs I've read were made before 2010, so I really can't judge. However, about your last point. One thing that admittedly disappoints me about the VN medium is how art styles are never very different from each other (this criticism applies to anime and manga as well). I certainly don't like unattractive art, but a bit more variety would be welcome by me. Each time period seems to have its own standard of beauty for 2d characters. If you take a bunch of VNs that were released in an approximate time period, and compare the characters, it would look like any of the companies could have made all the characters. I'm generalizing a bit, but not much I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoom909 Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I assumed that since it didn't receive an anime adaptation or a fan translation that is was under-appreciated. Looks like I was wrong. You're tantalizing me so much~ Edit: Looked up Lamune. Wow, I just realized that you're translating that VN. I should really pay closer attention to news about VN fan translations. Well, it's not like I have any of those goods either, I just happen to have a magazine that shows them :-) And TBH Lamune is in trouble, so that's why I haven't been saying much about it, but I should try to find someone else to translate it before any more time goes by Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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