VN Reading Club - May 2015 (Coμ -Kuroi Ryuu to Yasashii Oukoku-)

[Fred the Barber]

Started reading Heroine 3's route:

 

I totally lost it when she said, "Google it." I am actually still laughing while I write this.

[Kurokusari]

Started reading Heroine 3's route:

 

I totally lost it when she said, "Google it." I am actually still laughing while I write this.

Yeah I was surprised for the to actually explicitly use 'Google'. It's just because they usually change it to something else. I think they used 'Michaelsoft' instead of 'Microsoft' somewhere in Akihito's PC there.

[Kurisu-Chan]

Yeah I was surprised for the to actually explicitly use 'Google'. It's just because they usually change it to something else. I think they used 'Michaelsoft' instead of 'Microsoft' somewhere in Akihito's PC there.

it may have not been wrote like that in Japanese. 

[TehRealOne]

Started reading Heroine 3's route:

 

I totally lost it when she said, "Google it." I am actually still laughing while I write this.

Yeah I was surprised for the to actually explicitly use 'Google'. It's just because they usually change it to something else. I think they used 'Michaelsoft' instead of 'Microsoft' somewhere in Akihito's PC there.

I wasn't sure if they were actually going to do Mayuki's route(a loli route) but I'm so glad they did. Turned out to be my favorite route, Mayuki's lies and behavior is just too hilarious.

[Kosakyun]

Remember Kagaome had this conversation with Girl A which turned out to be a version of herself or something. So I guess the best response is that it was in her mind.

 

Saying that it was in her mind is true, yes, but I thought it was in that 'space' that the Thing provides the connectors with. I remember Girl A mentioning something like that. Since Sting was the very center of the network of connectors in Takakura City, Kagome was bound to each one of the connectors by that very same network. Since she was the very core of the network, I was thinking that she had been able to manifest herself in that 'space' due to having her avatar stampede, which essentially ruins the connector's mind. If I'm not mistaken, the 'soul' of the connectors seem to drift toward that very 'space' after their mind has been shattered or after they had died. Don't those souls provide Sting's action points, since they're very well connected to Sting's network? I'm not sure anymore. Anyway, since she was the core, I thought she could sever those connections herself by killing them once again. Those are my thoughts on the matter. It couldn't have possibly been in her mind only, since it had direct effects on the action points that Sting had in the very same moment. So she must have severed the connections from her own network.

 

Also, I enjoyed Mayuki's route immensely. Mayuki's too good.

[Kurokusari]

Saying that it was in her mind is true, yes, but I thought it was in that 'space' that the Thing provides the connectors with. I remember Girl A mentioning something like that. Since Sting was the very center of the network of connectors in Takakura City, Kagome was bound to each one of the connectors by that very same network. Since she was the very core of the network, I was thinking that she had been able to manifest herself in that 'space' due to having her avatar stampede, which essentially ruins the connector's mind. If I'm not mistaken, the 'soul' of the connectors seem to drift toward that very 'space' after their mind has been shattered or after they had died. Don't those souls provide Sting's action points, since they're very well connected to Sting's network? I'm not sure anymore. Anyway, since she was the core, I thought she could sever those connections herself by killing them once again. Those are my thoughts on the matter. It couldn't have possibly been in her mind only, since it had direct effects on the action points that Sting had in the very same moment. So she must have severed the connections from her own network.

 

Also, I enjoyed Mayuki's route immensely. Mayuki's too good.

Now I'm not sure of anything anymore. I guess they suddenly turned to info dump at this point of the game. I can reread this to understand it a bit again but I don't have the will to do that. 

 

Someone end this mystery. 

[TehRealOne]

Now I'm not sure of anything anymore. I guess they suddenly turned to info dump at this point of the game. I can reread this to understand it a bit again but I don't have the will to do that. 

 

Someone end this mystery. 

Thats the problem when you introduce fantasy elements to a story, you'll never find out how everything works. 

Atm im going with Kosaki's explanation as the best. 

Which TL : DR: People's souls go to a place when avatar dies, Kagaome is the centre of the system hence she can somehow maintain consciousness after she stampedes and her soul goes to the place. 

[Kosakyun]

Which TL : DR: People's souls go to a place when avatar dies, Kagaome is the centre of the system hence she can somehow maintain consciousness after she stampedes and her soul goes to the place. 

 

I was more or less thinking that she wasn't conscious. Rather, her very being has manifested in the 'utopia' that the Thing made for the connectors. I was thinking that it was the same for Hisoka, though she didn't have any way of severing connections of souls from her avatar to reduce action points since she wasn't the core. She didn't have direct access to the 'souls' bound to her avatar, since they're connected to Sting, rather than Nomad. 

 

Now I'm trying to think about the people that Kagome saw in that 'utopia'. She killed every one of them. There wasn't anything stated that Babylon's action points decreased, so she probably didn't encounter any soul of a connector whose avatar wasn't killed by Sting. Basically, she could only see connectors that she killed. If that's so, then how does this 'utopia' work for every connector? How did Hisoka act on her own in that 'utopia'? Did the connectors battle Kagome because she had an intention to kill them once again?

 

I'm betting on the fact that Kagome was the core of the system, so she could potentially rule over the 'utopia' created by the network linked to her. That could be seen by the venues recreated in that 'utopia'. It was based on her mind. Basically, she could recreate the 'utopia' according to her mind. Or based on certain triggers in her mind. Her 'utopia' was the classroom, probably because it was the venue she had fond memories of. The venue where she had fun. And when she went into battle against the other connectors, ground zero was the venue because it was the place that reminded her of the war and battles she fought five years ago. It's the strongest memory related to fighting connectors. Since she could recreate the place according to her mind, the action points probably decreased since by killing these connectors in the 'utopia', she severed their connections to Sting's network in that utopia, which also relieves the burden of these connections on her mind. That's how she recovered from the stampede. The elimination of these souls could be compared to erasing files in the computer, since you effectively removed them from the 'utopia' that was being maintained by the Omnipotent.

 

I can't explain properly. Probably because it's 1 AM.

[Jakez123]

I just finished this Visual Novel. Well, quite a lot to say I guess.

 

My favourite Character definitely has to be Gasai, I like characters like him. Especially when they are honourable 

Eg, In Benio's Route, despite Akihito and Benio having a discussion mid-fight, Gasai didn't kill them off.

 

Needless to say 

I was devastated when he died, he was always a man with a plan, always one step ahead, yet he got taken out like it was nothing. I wanted him to pop back up halfway down the track to help the Main characters, I mean, he did say "I will repay you", then he just dies after that. I'm also annoyed that Akihito touched Yuriko. I like shows/Visual Novels where the MC isn't the only character who gets a female companion, I always believed that Yuriko & Gasai should have stayed together, but he gets killed and Yuriko is having sex with Akihito 4 hours later.

 

I liked Kagome's route, although 

This whole "Kagome survives" thing, was annoying. I always believed there was no "Plot armour" per say (Even though it's lampshaded a few times by Mayuki). The whole "feel" of the Novel is that "The world is harsh", "There are no miracles" & "Life is easily taken". Shown by the deaths of people like Gasai, Iroha, David. Yet no one in Akihito's Comyu does die, despite the overwhelming odds against them. Furthermore they also saved Kagome, "No one ever recovers from Stampeding, you know this best yourself Kagome" Fast forward 10 minutes and she recovers from it. I think it would have been best if Kagome died in the end, it would have really fitted well with the story "Miracles don't happen".

 

Either way, I enjoyed the Visual Novel, I still preferred titles such as G-senjou no Maou or Ever17.

[Nimbus]

I just finished this Visual Novel. Well, quite a lot to say I guess.

 

My favourite Character definitely has to be Gasai, I like characters like him. Especially when they are honourable 

Eg, In Benio's Route, despite Akihito and Benio having a discussion mid-fight, Gasai didn't kill them off.

 

Needless to say 

I was devastated when he died, he was always a man with a plan, always one step ahead, yet he got taken out like it was nothing. I wanted him to pop back up halfway down the track to help the Main characters, I mean, he did say "I will repay you", then he just dies after that. I'm also annoyed that Akihito touched Yuriko. I like shows/Visual Novels where the MC isn't the only character who gets a female companion, I always believed that Yuriko & Gasai should have stayed together, but he gets killed and Yuriko is having sex with Akihito 4 hours later.

 

I liked Kagome's route, although 

This whole "Kagome survives" thing, was annoying. I always believed there was no "Plot armour" per say (Even though it's lampshaded a few times by Mayuki). The whole "feel" of the Novel is that "The world is harsh", "There are no miracles" & "Life is easily taken". Shown by the deaths of people like Gasai, Iroha, David. Yet no one in Akihito's Comyu does die, despite the overwhelming odds against them. Furthermore they also saved Kagome, "No one ever recovers from Stampeding, you know this best yourself Kagome" Fast forward 10 minutes and she recovers from it. I think it would have been best if Kagome died in the end, it would have really fitted well with the story "Miracles don't happen".

 

Either way, I enjoyed the Visual Novel, I still preferred titles such as G-senjou no Maou or Ever17.

I found Gasai to be an incredibly underused character. I get that they wanted to make him somewhat mysterious and by having him appear infrequently his moments were all the more memorable but I still think he could've had a few more appearances. 

[TehRealOne]

I found Gasai to be an incredibly underused character. I get that they wanted to make him somewhat mysterious and by having him appear infrequently his moments were all the more memorable but I still think he could've had a few more appearances. 

Yeah, Gasai needs more love, a lot more.

 

Plus I also wanted a Gasai x Yoruko scene, I knew that Yoruko would get a h-scene due to her being a main character and the amount of missing spaces on the Replays page. 

But Yoruko and Ahkito is meh, still got a Yoruko h-scene so...

[Kurokusari]

Gasai needs a fandisc.

 

Yeah although there's the theme of the world has no mercy or is unforgiving but killing of few of the characters might be not the best choice considering that some of the readers might hate the game. You know how business works, no matter how good it is, if it's not well received, you're out. Also it could also go along the lines of 'persevering against the gentle kingdom and win'. But I do agree that having a more bittersweet ending would be nicer.

[TehRealOne]

Gasai needs a fandisc.

 

Yeah although there's the theme of the world has no mercy or is unforgiving but killing of few of the characters might be not the best choice considering that some of the readers might hate the game. You know how business works, no matter how good it is, if it's not well received, you're out. Also it could also go along the lines of 'persevering against the gentle kingdom and win'. But I do agree that having a more bittersweet ending would be nicer.

Thats why I kinda liked Hisoka's route and how Yoshimoro(W/e that girl who did drugs is called) dies and Rondo Rondo goes basically insane, Benio gets stabbed and nearly dies. 

[Kosakyun]

I liked Kagome's route, although 

This whole "Kagome survives" thing, was annoying. I always believed there was no "Plot armour" per say (Even though it's lampshaded a few times by Mayuki). The whole "feel" of the Novel is that "The world is harsh", "There are no miracles" & "Life is easily taken". Shown by the deaths of people like Gasai, Iroha, David. Yet no one in Akihito's Comyu does die, despite the overwhelming odds against them. Furthermore they also saved Kagome, "No one ever recovers from Stampeding, you know this best yourself Kagome" Fast forward 10 minutes and she recovers from it. I think it would have been best if Kagome died in the end, it would have really fitted well with the story "Miracles don't happen".

 

This is how I felt about it as well. Though you can always reason out that it was because Kagome's actually different from the other connectors in Takakura City. It's natural that there are inconsistencies in theories, which is why they are disproved in the first place. Kagome had just done that in her route. You could say that it's plot armor, but it's also evidence of the difference between the Second Carrier and the connectors that she had created. Also, Hisoka's another person who didn't die after her avatar stampeded. It's certainly possible. Although Akihito's comyu may be outrageously lucky. You just have to accept the protagonist's luck.

 

Also, I don't really want a Gasai fandisc.

I kinda like how everything ended for him. Not that it was good, but it certainly was great and in place.

[Jakez123]

 

 

Also, I don't really want a Gasai fandisc.

I kinda like how everything ended for him. Not that it was good, but it certainly was great and in place.

 

Haha, I'm not sure if you've played G-senjou no Maou, but

That scene where Gasai tells Yoriko to go, is essentially the exact same at the end of Haru's route in G-senjou. The only difference is that the CG is reversed (Eg, Gasai on the Right/Yoriko on the left compared to MC on the Left and Haru on the right in G-senjou).

I liked that scene though

 

But yea, I definitely have what you would call a "void", I definitely feels empty now that I've completed the game. Back when I first got Comyu, I started it up, saw the fighting and then turned it off, I disliked it. When I came back to it I started to warm up to it, and funnily enough, some of the best bits are the fighting scenes. Also the music is amazing, Visual Novels with great music are always amazing. 

 

Not sure if it's the right place to ask, but has anyone got some recommendations on what I should play next?

[kyrt]

 

Not sure if it's the right place to ask, but has anyone got some recommendations on what I should play next?

[Nerathim]

You might like Ayakashibito, since it's chuuni too you should try it. Sadly the music isn't as good and varied as Comyu's but it's very catchy imo.

[Kosakyun]

 

Haha, I'm not sure if you've played G-senjou no Maou, but

That scene where Gasai tells Yoriko to go, is essentially the exact same at the end of Haru's route in G-senjou. The only difference is that the CG is reversed (Eg, Gasai on the Right/Yoriko on the left compared to MC on the Left and Haru on the right in G-senjou).

I liked that scene though

[Nosebleed]

Yeah i'm completely done with this VN, really don't feel the will to play it anymore, what a shame I was having so fun with it, but like with all VNs, I just lose all will before I even finish one route because a one day break is all it takes for me to completely lose interest for some reason.

 

I'll probably come back to it in like 10 years (as soon as I finish all the others in the same situation).

 

Benio was best grill though so that's nice, the VN was really good too for how much I managed to care for it, but in the end I just burned out, as usual.

 

Maybe next time if the VN is less than 30 hours long I'll give it a go, but right now this is just too long and I don't feel like investing my time in it, despite how good it is.

 

RIP in pepperoni Comyu (for now at least)

[TehRealOne]

Yeah i'm completely done with this VN, really don't feel the will to play it anymore, what a shame I was having so fun with it, but like with all VNs, I just lose all will before I even finish one route because a one day break is all it takes for me to completely lose interest for some reason.

 

I'll probably come back to it in like 10 years (as soon as I finish all the others in the same situation).

 

Benio was best grill though so that's nice, the VN was really good too for how much I managed to care for it, but in the end I just burned out, as usual.

 

Maybe next time if the VN is less than 30 hours long I'll give it a go, but right now this is just too long and I don't feel like investing my time in it, despite how good it is.

 

RIP in pepperoni Comyu (for now at least)

Everyone has their own circumstances, it's fine, as long as one day you come back to finish it.

[Fred the Barber]

Finished Heroine 3's route:

Very sweet, but I really wish it had no H-scenes. Also, the tie-in with K's comyu was super weak. I was expecting some surprise link like "Amakuni is actually K's connector!", which would've been nicely symmetrical with Herm and Mayuki, but no... they were just random weird dudes who had an explicable beef with Yuuna. I wouldn't exactly call it unrealized potential, so much as an artificial infusion of action into a story that probably would've been better without it.

 

Since I only said two words that were positive, and the rest negative, I should clarify that I really, really liked that route. It was easily the most fun route so far, and it had a more satisfying ending than Benio's route, almost on par with Hisoka's (did I get her name right?) neutral ending. I usually prefer the more emotionally "everyday" flavor of seriousness, like Mayuki had, rather than the epic dramatic seriousness of a route like Hisoka's or Benio's.

 

On to Heroine 4!... maybe. I only have ~1.5 days left to play before I'm out for a week, so maybe I should just put off starting with Heroine 4 until I get back.

[Lexyvil]

I really want to join this reading club but I already got two visual novels on hold/to finish first. ;~;.

Clannad and Swan Song.

[Zenophilious]

Are we still taking about first impressions? 

 

What'd everyone think of Kagome's route?  It was my favorite.  Kinda felt like the definitive route to me.

[Kosakyun]

On to Heroine 4!... maybe. I only have ~1.5 days left to play before I'm out for a week, so maybe I should just put off starting with Heroine 4 until I get back.

 

Don't stall it. Heroine 4's route is at most 4 hours long. It's incredibly short lol. You won't realize that it already ended. It felt like a fanservice route, imo.

 

What'd everyone think of Kagome's route?  It was my favorite.  Kinda felt like the definitive route to me.

 

I have the same opinion. It was easily the best out of the five. While I may have loved the flavor that Mayuki's route had, Kagome's route was just too good to not surpass Mayuki's. Everyday life was, of course, thrown away, but god I just can't explain it. Everything was awesome in Kagome's route. I just. People who've read the route will understand.

 

The end was also nice in that route. Though it's kinda sad that he wasn't able to preserve his normal, peaceful everyday life.

[Turnip Sensei]

Are we still taking about first impressions? 

 

What'd everyone think of Kagome's route?  It was my favorite.  Kinda felt like the definitive route to me.

In terms of quality and content, yes Kagome's route was the best. It was most extensive and showed light on the previous mysteries. Still the conclusion wasn't as specific as I would have wanted it to be.

 

But still, my personal favorite is Hisoka's route. It hit on the right spots for me. It was the darkest and the characters felt most alive in that one. You also might have heard my praises for the ending, but that ending was the best I've read in a while.