Crazyboy 12 Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 I finished Sharin no Kuni for a second times. I really like that VN although i think all route ending were lackluster. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rahrah 32 Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 (edited) Finished Eden* last night. It was legit. A lot of what killer said earlier is very valid, the game can be relatively slow at points and besides a select few scenes, its a rather uneventful game. Unfortunately a lot of the "emotional" scenes didn't hit me as I had hoped they would, but as soon as the credits started to roll it finally hit me for some reason. It was like damn. Most of the characters were great, Erika especially. I wish there were more scenes with her, everything she says is a joy. I didn't think Lavie was as bad as killer had suggested. I mean, her character wasn't great or anything but she had some intense scenes that I quite liked. Shion is one kawaii little girl too. I tried to play through one h-scene in the memories thing to see what it was like, and I dunno if they're all like that, but they seemed to go for humor in them. I stopped about halfway through the scene because I found myself not really giving a crap, but most of it was funny. Lavie pulling out like 10 knives out of her underwear lol I gave it a 7.6/10. I would have liked it to be slightly more eventful, but at the same time I understand that's not the point of this game. Instead the game builds up a wonderful atmosphere with its beautiful art and music and lets you just kind of experience it all. I dunno, you'd understand if you played it. In a way it reminds me of Haibane Renmei, at least the atmosphere surrounding the game. Good game though and the ending was perfect. Edited February 12, 2015 by rahrah Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Chocolatemilkgod 16 Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 Finished Yu-No... that was a ride! First of all, let me just preface this by saying this walkthrough was the thing that kept my sanity intact. I respect people who enjoy these adventure games and are good at them... but I am not one of those people. Barring the sometimes arcane and cryptic gameplay (that's thankfully greatly lessened by that guide), the game was very good. It managed to convey a lot of things: emotional scenes, mystery, action... so I applaud it for that. Also, the music is GREAT (eg ), in a really cool retro style. I particularly liked the fact each of the girls had their own music that perfectly encapsulated their character: upbeat and fun, silly and quirky, mysterious and aloof, etc, and there's at least 60 or 70 tracks in the game (I think it's actually a lot more than this, but I didn't count). Also when the gameplay isn't annoying, it can be really fun once you get used to it, and the way the game map diverges and branches is interesting; forcing the player to use the jewel save system is also somewhat unique. I also might want to mention that the UI and graphics are dated, but I didn't find it that big of a deal. As for the story itself, they did a cracking job of presenting different aspects of the world and setting in each route. I think the largest dividing factor was the true route, since I'd imagine it's a bit like marmite in that either you'll like it or hate it. I... liked it, actually. A lot. Bar one scene* and a few silly bits here and there, I thought it was a fascinating otherworldly experience**. [spoiler=Don't read if you haven't finished the game]*THAT scene. You know, the one where he sleeps with... well... yu no. That's one way to make me feel incredibly uncomfortable, pervert the father-daughter relationship and throw the true route's character development of Takuya out the window. **You see what I did there? As for bits I didn't like... well, first there were some of the characters. Some of them felt interesting and had a sense of 'realness' to them, but others didn't quite get that far. There was also some video game logic with some of the story elements, plus the main story-line sometimes felt like it was being over explained. My biggest gripe (as oft is) is the over sexualisation of everything and the kitchen sink. It's funny on occasion, and we know Takuya is an irredeemable pervert, but can we have SOME serious parts without having to throw tits and ass around all the time*? And the H scenes often felt like they were thrown in to tick a box as per usual... although, surprisingly, there were a couple that felt more realistic in their placement (most weren't, but still). [spoiler=Don't read if you haven't finished the game]*Like when Mitsuki kicks the bucket, you have to see her bra, or when there's a confrontation that involves a woman, you have to see up her skirt. I mean, come on. I like this stuff as much as the next guy, but during my story-heavy scenes, looking at her knickers takes me out of the game. So, in summary, Yu-No is a really fun, if complicated, mystery Adventure game-meets-VN with an interesting, if at times unbelievable, sci-fi story. If you can get over some of the older graphics, and the fact Takuya basically tries to screw anything that moves, then you'll probably enjoy the game a lot. The true route is extremely divisive in terms of enjoyability, but odds are you'll find some aspects to like even if you're not the biggest fan. Yu-no ranks fairly highly on my list of VNs, and it definitely makes you feel like you're part of a grand adventure. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rahrah 32 Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 Finished G-Senjou and have mixed feelings about the game Most of the heroine side routes were rather shitty. The whole Maou doesn't exist anymore in their routes and the overly cheesy endings (esp in Bakii's) was pretty lame. They did offer more insight on the character though, which was nice. It offered more insight on Kyousuke's condition as well. Maou being MC's brother was rather predictable as soon as they mentioned he existed in Chapter 3, so it wasn't a twist or surprise. In the beginning, like chapter 1, I thought it was MC but as the game progressed it was clear that'd be way too obvious of a solution for him to really be Maou. As soon as they mentioned he had a brother, it became clear that he was Maou. Also thought Maou was a bit too overpowered. Basically predicting every single thing that Haru and the gang would come up with. I thought him escaping at the end of chapter 5 after the whole bus incident was especially ridiculous. When that epilogue started, it was like srsly. With all that said, the game was very interesting nonetheless. The game had an amazing OST filled with generally good characters (Shiratori 7.7/10 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
skelebunny 10 Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 I finished Nekopara vol. 1... It was great, it's a cute, short VN to play if you want to lighten your mood. I got the Steam version with no adult content, I didn't really want to fuck the cats.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Uzuki Sepia 10 Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 (edited) Eden Cheesy, uninspired, boring and whatnot but with good backgrounds and Tenmon, who even alone could make trash* look good. The man who wrote this knows better than that, ef proves it. *note that I'm not really talking about Eden when I say trash Edited February 16, 2015 by Uzuki Sepia Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Pj900 10 Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Just finished reading Fate/Stay Night I don’t know why it took me so long to read this one. It definitely was one of my favorite VN even though it was a struggle to finish Heaven's Feel. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
switch 13 Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 (edited) i went on a full tour in the rance universe.... i am now afflicted with rance-syndrome.......playing for a week without leaving my man-fort. so my thesis will be written by my personal buttler , mr pickles.... i like rance 2 more than others, cuz nostalgia.....new ppl shud only play a rance game IF they can afford to say goodbye to a few weeks of social life Edited February 17, 2015 by switch Quote Link to post Share on other sites
desi 53 Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 (edited) Very short review of Umineko 5-8 [spoiler=Umineko episode8] The truth.. wasn't worth anything at all. The point of the future isn't to learn what happened in the past. What really matters.. is that I can live and prosper in the truth that is now. If I truly live and prosper, that is the truth. Back when I only ever tried to see the truth of the past, I was nothing more than a ghost trapped in that past. Since that time, I haven't lived a single day. This is... what the real truth is... - Ange One of my favorite books in high school that we were assigned to read was And Then There Were None. This work is referenced throughout Umineko and clearly was one of the inspirations of Ryukishi in developing this long and detailed VN. I had the great pleasure of reading Umineko Chiru 5-8 that I started approximately a month ago. It's been a damn long journey, but it was worth it in the end. I started Umineko 1-4 back in December 2013 and took a long break after finishing that. Had I done things differently, I wouldn't have slacked starting 5-8. In the end though, I finished the journey that was provided by Ryukishi. This is going to be weird because i'm going to be mentioning the soundtrack first. That's right.. most people might mention the soundtrack near the end, but the soundtrack is so damn good that I couldn't resist. It's probably the best soundtrack overall from a medium that I have ever heard, and I've heard of some pretty damn good stuff. Lots of great music in a lot of epic scenes. http://i.imgur.com/pWmgy.gif There truly is no way to properly summarize Umineko as a whole. Most VN's/movies/books you can have a cliffnotes version and you can figure out most of the plot that way, but I would say Umineko is very different in this regard. It's very complex and after finishing episode 8, i'm still letting everything soaking in. Every type of genre imaginable is in this VN.. action, adventure, comedy, drama, romance, [spoiler=Umineko 5-8] incest,, horror.. it's a good blend of multiple genres that manifests itself into a really great experience. The VN (1-8) is simply more than a murder mystery. It's a deep journey into love, sorrow, and many other elements that make up this 150hour? read. Umitweak is a must (voice + art) and adds a lot to the VN. Art is more of a preference, but i'm not sure who would skip the voice acting in this VN. This is the type of VN where you might even need some help to form some theories.. it's not one where you're likely going to find out the answer to everything yourself. This isn't a third-rate mystery, but something a lot more complex.. and that's perfectly fine. The author intended for it to be this way and that's really a huge part of the experience. [spoiler=Umineko 5-8 favorites major spoilers] Favorite character: Beatrice. It took me a while to piece together the Shannon/Kanon/Beatrice "theory" but I think I ended up figuring out most of it after the end of episode 6. Obviously episode 7 goes into the backstory a lot more and things become more clear. She ended up becoming one of my favorite characters overall... the VA is outstanding and the character is just great. I ended up liking her a lot in episode 3, but Chiru is definitely where she transcended into the favorites spot. Favorite scenes: Magic ending scene was great and very emotional. Battler's soul going into the golden land where he is reunited with everyone.. definitely an emotional experience. Also, "There are 17 people." ending in episode 6 was great. Favorite song: Discolor. I'll have to visit the soundtrack again and see which other ones were my favorites, but Discolor was soooo good. The ZTS songs (thanks battler) are great as well. Can't really pick a favorite there, they are all excellent. I know there were criticisms of some people regarding episode 8 and how it doesn't "answer" anything, but that wasn't the point at all. It's to wrap up Ange's plot and really the overreaching plot of 1-8. Ange needed to move on. What if Kyrie was like what was presented in ep7 tea party? It doesn't matter, you will be consumed by it (Trick ending).. it's time to move on, which is the huge point presented in episode 8 All in all, Umineko was a great experience. I would personally give it a 9.5/10 but that might go higher, not sure yet.. still letting everything soak in. It's probably my third favorite after MLA and Ever17 right now. Must read. Edited February 17, 2015 by desi Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kolo 10 Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Just finished Grisaia no Kajitsu today: rather funny but at times boring and annoying VN (especially Amane's diary sequences, almost gave up during that). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Uzuki Sepia 10 Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 Last time I forgot to drop a comment about Romanesque, I'll do that now It was slightly different from what I expected but nonetheless it was a cute one. Ooyari managed to stand out even more than usual imo, I ended up rating the artwork a full 10/10. I feel like Quartett! charades at times was able to reach slightly higher peaks but this one has so many styles mixed in and all are so beautiful that in the end it probably edges over a little, and the backgrounds were awesome to say the least, they managed to drive my attention away from the characters amazing me each time a new one showed up. They are the very best I got to see in this medium up to now. This game also features a good OST, more than proper. The game itself is actually pretty short, I think I got to reach all the endings reading about 15 hours worth of text, might have been more but not by much, planning about how to go about them efficently probably took me more than reading half of them all. All in all it was a fantasy themed comedy/sol, with short stories for each heroine that were a bit longer for Kaya and Aria. It's a game that really doesen't ask for anything other than being cute and gets the job done, as it is something that gets to make the player smile here and there. I appreciated the approach, because it's actually really hard to make something genuinely funny and is still something really personal, but felt that Romanesque wasn't so "mild" as to be boring, though it wouldn't surprise me to hear about people that might have gotten a bit bored with it along the way. The only little letdown was that most epilogues were too short, but I didn't particularly care for most of the stories anyway. Won't even count the fact that Domino was a pretty presenceless mc (I prefer that to reading wot about what's going on inside the head of the usual moron) and overall I enjoyed the cast, Aria probably a bit more of the others. The minigame grew a bit monotonous but as I often say I'm really easy to please when it comes to gameplay, I still had fun for most of the game. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lucifer193 12 Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 (edited) Done w/ Rose Guns Days Season 2. Can't completely hate to a single character in this series... Even the villains. (Looking at you, Alfred...) It's a trait that I noticed about in every Ryukishi's works... Edited March 3, 2015 by lucifer193 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
OneManArmy 82 Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 All in all, Umineko was a great experience. I would personally give it a 9.5/10 but that might go higher, not sure yet.. still letting everything soak in. It's probably my third favorite after MLA and Ever17 right now. Must read. Ah shit. So you did finish Umineko before me after all. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
desi 53 Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 So the remake patch recently came out for Kikokugai - The Cyber Slayer and I just finished it. Plot is basically the main protag is hellbent on revenge for the brutal death of his sister. Lots of cyberpunk-like themes with martial arts involved. I haven't played the original, but it seems like the remake adds a whole lot to improve the experience... voices, improved art, and overall just improved production.. a scene or two left me in awe because of how well done some of the scenes were. I'm honestly surprised that it's only 15+, there are some very graphic images and scenes, just covered up. I compared the CGs with the original and I honestly don't think it's worth playing the original when the remake adds so much more and only just covers up clothing and a few details. The music is good and definitely fits the theme of the VN. The combat is not overly long and dragged out. One entire combat scene in particular [spoiler=Cyber Slayer minor spoiler] the Ng scene is what I was referring to when I mentioned that was in awe. It was a good combination of production and combat that made it a really good scene to read. [spoiler=Major spoilers for the VN] Man, once you find out the true character of Ruili, you kind of wonder if that was actually a truly happy ending or not. She was sort of twisted and psychotic, and for most of the VN we are made to believe that she was a goody two shoes damsel in distress type of character. I think some people might not have liked this part or change, but hey, it's a dark VN after all. I will give it a 8.4/10, definitely worth a read if you're in the mood for a VN with a dark atmosphere that isn't too long. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pramit 22 Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 i finished neko para. I was determined to give it 10/10 after the first 5 minutes, but its a bit stale in terms of story and dialogues. The catgirls are perfect though. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Whitetragedy 23 Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 Reminds me that I still need to finish Romanesque... if I can remember the order of the routes again... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Krypt Angel 10 Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Back again after another crash...well crash isn't really the right word. Basically my HDD decided it wanted to play the role of the tragic heroine who falls into a coma has a miraculous temporary recovery only to slip away again forever. I was playing Ikinari Anata ni Koishiteiru and was about 95% through the last route when the read/write heads on the drive finally seized up completely I did back up my save data but since I was basically done at that point I doubt I'll bother redownloading it just to finish out the sister route it wasn't too bad tho. I just finished Comyu - Kuroi Ryuu to Yasashii Oukoku this morning. It was pretty good tho every time Babylon got summoned I would hear "I summon RED EYES BLACK DRAGON!!!" in a bad brooklyn accent in my head lol and don't even get me started on the Tolkien references.... It did amaze me how much booty Akihito got thrown at him without even trying tho. Well Haru is a slut so that one didn't surprise me (hell if you turn off the H-scenes that woman would almost no screen time lol) but getting a piece of Rondo and especially Yoroku were a surprise. Speaking of Rondo.... Given the fact that Iroha went homicidal after they got their asses kicked one wonders how she might have reacted when she learned that her beloved Rondo not only gave her viginity to Akihito but they apparently went for several rounds afterwards to boot. The Mayuki and Kagome routes were my favorite ones I'm not a lolicon (ok well maybe a little :-X) the whole otaku sub culture backdrop of Mayuki's route just resonated with my inner otaku hehe. Kagome's route was good because it answered all the nagging question about the plot plus she spends the entire game being a bitch it was nice seeing her a little vulnerable Next on the agenda is F/HA and Maji-koi prolly Maji-koi first since I kinda wanna go for something a bit more upbeat. Speaking of Fate in general I see there's another Shirou hatefest going on which is funny cuz I swear when I stopped in here a couple months just out of curiosity you all were talking about the same thing lol Quote Link to post Share on other sites
desi 53 Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 Finished Cartagra. Well worth a read, especially for people that enjoy murder mysteries. Set in Tokyo several decades ago, the protag is hired to find the twin sister of the main heroine that accompanies him throughout the story. As this is happening, there are several (brutal) murders going on. Good art (especially in murder scenes) and character design, good atmosphere, some good music but not too much variety.. overall pretty good production. Since the protag pretty much lives in a brothel, there are some... h-scenes. Though it totally makes sense in the context given, there really weren't too many h-scenes were you're facepalming wondering why they would be fucking at that moment but some of them can get a little annoying. Thankfully they aren't too long in length. The VN has a strong true route. Pacing got a little wonky later on for me, but the true route itself is really good. The protag (Shugo) is fairly bland and nothing to write home about, but has some nice moments scattered throughout the story. If you haven't read Kara no Shoujo, I'd probably play Cartagra first just because it takes place before it and apparently some characters appear again as side characters and whatnot and that might tip off on some things. Haven't read Kara no Shoujo yet, but I definitely plan to in the future. ~8/10 for me. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
OneManArmy 82 Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 Glad you liked the game and if you want to read KnS then be sure to use a walktrough. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Krypt Angel 10 Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 Finished F/HA and If My Heart Had Wings (restored version). Hollow Atraxia was OK I suppose but couldn't help but feel kind of let down given that the original left such a deep impression on me but if nothing else it was worth playing for the Eclipse H-scene getting tag teamed by Sakura and my beloved Rider lol. IMHHW was very good Particularly the Kotori route. It struck a deep chord in me because I had back surgery when I was 12 that left me bed ridden so long that my legs atrophied and was wheel chair bound for almost a year and even if the circumstance were different I could relate to having to totally adjust to a new way of living along with the pity of people around me. I at least handled it better than she did tho but that's cuz my rents weren't the over bearing worry warts that hers were lol. I can't speak for how much the restoration did to fix what I hear was a horrid translation job but for the most part it wasn't any worse than some of the older Mangagamer releases I played when I first got into the hobby the only times it was evident that they had done any doctoring is when near the end of the Kotori route every one makes a huge deal that Aoi and Kotori stopped using honorifics even tho the sctipt never had any in it to begin with between them lol. If I had to point out any really glaring screw up it would be when the cast was discussing fears that Tobioka would wreck the glider and they suddenly started to referring to him as a female and even that made me laugh my ass off more than anything when I noticed it lol. I'm still working Maji koi I've completed all the main heroine routes but I still need to complete the other sub heroines and the male kazama family member stuff to unlock the "true route". I also just downloaded Chaos Head and plan to play that soon I'd been wanting to do it for quite a while just never got around to it but I also just recently watched the anime adaption of it so it rekindled my interest. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Uzuki Sepia 10 Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 ^ Getting the 5 main endings is enough to play Agave, there's no need to play the sub-routes to unlock it. About that, I'm done with the 5 girls too and was surprised by Wanko's route, I liked it. I'm reading the sub-routes first to keep stuff like Momoyo vs Shakadou for last. I'm pissed off for Kuki Ageha though... why does this thing have a sequel and 354 FD and not a route for her? Isn't her HAHAHA! good enough? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Krypt Angel 10 Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 ^ Getting the 5 main endings is enough to play Agave, there's no need to play the sub-routes to unlock it. About that, I'm done with the 5 girls too and was surprised by Wanko's route, I liked it. I'm reading the sub-routes first to keep stuff like Momoyo vs Shakadou for last. I'm pissed off for Kuki Ageha though... why does this thing have a sequel and 354 FD and not a route for her? Isn't her HAHAHA! good enough? Yea I knew they were supposed to be enough to unlock it my mistake was trying to access it from an existing save at the first character choice at 5/07 loading a earlier save and auto skipped to the same point and the tree appeared I'll prolly still hold off starting it till I finish off the sub heroines before tackle it tho. I was also surprised by how much I enjoyed Wanko's route showing her all matured on tv in her ending was nice. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Aynil 12 Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 Just finished bunny black, reminded me of Yumina the Ethereal because of the dungeons. Game was fun for the most part, but sometimes it got really boring because it took forever for the story to progress, and you're just stuck doing dungeons. The gameplay has alot of rng, and apparently you only get like 3 h-scenes for doing NG+ (not counting the ones you missed), so not alot of motivation to finish the game again or try the other difficulties. I liked the characters, soundtrack overall was nice, and the story was ok I guess. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jaeger 11 Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 Just finished bunny black, reminded me of Yumina the Ethereal because of the dungeons. Game was fun for the most part, but sometimes it got really boring because it took forever for the story to progress, and you're just stuck doing dungeons. The gameplay has alot of rng, and apparently you only get like 3 h-scenes for doing NG+ (not counting the ones you missed), so not alot of motivation to finish the game again or try the other difficulties. I liked the characters, soundtrack overall was nice, and the story was ok I guess. Indeed. Bunny Black has a lot of problems with story progression (Not that I really came for that). And the 3 h-scenes thing is a little demotivating, although it had it's moments from time to time. Pretty decent I think. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Some guy 16 Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 Indeed. Bunny Black has a lot of problems with story progression (Not that I really came for that). And the 3 h-scenes thing is a little demotivating, although it had it's moments from time to time. Pretty decent I think. I should really move onto that one now that I'm done Princess Evangile. Is it a self-enclosed story? Or will I be screwed over with a cliffhanger ending? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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