Visual Novel Cafe

[kzel]

Spoiler: Yosuga no Sora common route/Nao spoiler?

Nao, wasn't she the childhood friend that "comforted" the protagonist in the past when he was sad, using very questionable means, all of it being witnessed by Sora, creating an ocean of drama in its wake? I'm not sure about that...

If I do replay it'll probably be the route I skipped to get to Sora (and the route I planned to do starting the game before changing my mind, Sora was just too cute to wait!). It was whoever's character is voiced by Toono Soyogi, the maid I think?

Everyone likes to hate on Hanidebi but I didn't find it that awful, although arguably I only played the route that is the commonly thought as most bearable and in which the protagonist is the more proactive (blue haired girl?).

I agree about the nice uncle/father figure in Toshinosa, it's just the transition from those feelings to romantic ones that felt unnatural.

---

D.C.4 ～ダ・カーポ4～ (Hiyori) : pretty much was I expected, that is a tease of "more than friends, not yet lovers" that lasted pretty much the whole route, until the last few minutes during which are dumped all the plot points, explanations and confessions, and then credits! There's also some kind of love triangle at the beginning which is not my favorite theme, but it's light enough. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the interaction between the two along the way as there was less distracting elements than in Shiina's route, but it still left me unsatisfyed, it feels like the game ended just when it was getting to the good part. Four more to go until the true route...

 

[V1zi3r]

Yes Nao is the one from the flashback of the MC, to me she's the best compared to the rest; a nee-san figure, glasses beauty :D and the one with the biggest rack (supposedly or is it the Akira foster parent?), anyway there's also the fandisk Haruka no Sora if you want some short sequel for Sora or extra heroine (the class rep and the store owner, Akira's foster parent).

I concur on Hanidebi, that blue-haired short one was probably the most bearable of them all (there's also the blonde one who were once close to the MC but then just dissappear and then get all close when re-united even though she supposedly treat him like he's dead for all those years so I hate her)

As for Toshinosa I kinda agree that the transition might've been a tad bit fast but hey, it's better like that than to just skip some years for convinience right?

 

[V1zi3r]

Another recommendations on various visual novel I've played:

1. 新妻LOVELY×CATION (☆☆☆☆☆) : The first Cation series (and also hibiki works game) I played and (for me) the best of all the series. Bored of all the teens seishun romance and want a more adult taste of romance? follow the MC (25 yrs old?) ,a regular office worker, as he led his daily activity and interacts with 3 candidates (a motherly figure kindergarden teacher, a calm yamatonadeshiko high-school yutosei, and a cheeky cafe worker that aspire to be a patisserie) for the love of his life in a romantic, light and warm adult romance story without all the fuss of 働くオトナの恋愛事情 (seriously?! you'd have me killed?! Again on the sequel?!) The art are beautiful and the H scene is really good for a vanilla. there's also various append and a drama CD for those who wants more fun. also, remember that Yuki is best girl! Japanese difficulty level (1-5) : 3

2. 千恋＊万花 (☆☆☆☆☆) : The first Yuzusoft game i played and the best one for me. lured by the inaka settings and the cute girls, i find the art and music to be astoundingly beautiful. The MC went to help a relative in a small village deep in the outskirt where he then became the chosen one after he snapped what was supposed to be a un-pullable sacred katana from a rock (kinda like king arthur's thing) and have to fight what best be described as dark spirits (or youkai). 6 cute heroines (I finished 2) each with their own worries and problem with a nice romantic development and a good H scene. Japanese difficulty level (1-5) : 2

3. アオイトリ (☆☆☆☆) : again, the first purple soft game I played and still the best one for me, Aoitori revolved on the MC, a high-school priest who (As always with purple soft game)have supernatural power in which he can absorb negative feelings like sadness and agony and pain and turn it into happiness and pleasure just by touching. After meeting with a cute vampire and getting a phone call from the demon world, the MC find out that he's actually somekind of a demon messiah that have the ability to change the world at will and will soon awaken, destroying mankind. The story takes place at a yukikuni setting and while there's high-school vibe on it it's not really that apparent as there's bigger things to focus on. The character and H art is good though the background quality for me is so-so as they often use 3d image. The BGM are ok but the various musics (especially the opening) are amazing as always (I also liked the op of アマツツミ). Japanese difficulty level (1-5) : 2

4. アマツツミ (☆☆☆☆) : I in general hate things like mind-control, hypnosis, and the like mostly because there's no effort being put in it, a deus ex thing or a magic lamp that bend the story to your convenience so when i find out that the MC have such power, I was like: ok, be ready to bail this just as soon as he use it to fuck some one but to my amazement there's more to it than meets the eye. the MC came from a really remote village isolated from modern civillization where the inhabitants are the descended of gods that can manipulate others by words or in japan something called kotodama? The MC wants to see the world also pushed by a mysterious voice in his head that periodically appear and told him to go. eventually he sets out and after walking through the forest and mountain passed out before conveniently being stepped on, oops sorry... helped by a kind soul who then take him to her house where he then stayed and became family and then proceeds to enjoy his high-school life. The art and the H is good and the plot is unique as you finished the heroines troubles before you pick their route so the romance is more focused. Overall, this game turns out to be a good game just like Aoitori and for you who like supernatural stuff i'd recommend you try. Japanese difficulty level (1-5) : 2

5. ずっとすきしてたくさんすきして (☆☆☆☆) : I like onomatope before they got merged with raspberry and make bitchy games (I like onomatope*raspberry too though). This game is a pure high-school romance with cute 5 heroines in a plot as sweet as sugar land. no conflict, no save the world shit or solving the girls personal problem and stuff just slow, steady cute romance development though not a harem which is unique in its own as onomatope likes harem genre. the art is cute but not exactly amazing and the H is good for a vanilla, the opening song is super cute and the plot is quite well-developed so for those who'd like a light cute romance thing this i'd recommend this one. Japanese difficulty level (1-5) : 1

 

[Animaksiat]

4. 竜騎士Bloody†Saga (☆☆☆☆) : Dragon Knights, you're probably thinking of girls in skimpy armor being in a mixed gender knight order riding dragons when you hear the title right? well you're not wrong, not except in one thing... they're not riding dragons, they're trying to kill one. The main character Roy (which for some reason is fully voiced and sounds like the voice actor comes straight out of a high budget anime) is a travelling herbalist planning to go to a mountain to search for herbs when he saw a smoke coming from a distant town. he then proceeds to enter the town to help where he met the 4 heroines of this game. The story have a serious and dark vibe in it and while there's gore in it, its rather light compared to today's standard. The romance is harem style without single heroine option but each of the 4 heroines character is very different and have very nice interactions with the MC and each other. The story itself is so-so, not bad, not amazing with a rather fast-tune development at the end. The art is well-drawn and the BGM is amazing to hear. In overall I very enjoyed this game and would recommend it to those who like medieval settings and harem romance with a charming adult MC. Japanese difficulty level (1-5) : 3

not really a good story if you play the prequel. and the genre changed too much from a guro short story game into a harem game.

 

[V1zi3r]

not really a good story if you play the prequel. and the genre changed too much from a guro short story game into a harem game.

are you talking about 略奪者の淫宴? I when I heard the rumor that bloody has a prequel I was quite excited (perhaps my special affection towards bloody saga came from the fact that it was one of the very first visual novel i've played, therefore my standard hasn't been refined yet) but even in getchu site 略奪者の淫宴 isn't listed as connected with bloody saga (even though the MC have the same name looked very alike). From what I've heard (from a rant from a guy in getchu 略奪者の淫宴 review) people probably didn't like how the story turned from a gang-bang rape dark setting into a kinda cute romantic fantasy story (if you consider bloody saga a sequel) in that regard it would probably make sense if people thought it was off if they already played it. like i said bloody saga story isn't exactly fantastic but i liked the story, voicing, heroines, h development in it and perhaps in the future i'll check 略奪者の淫宴 and see what's its all about (though i'm not really a fan of dark things like gangbang, torture, or rape)

 

[Animaksiat]

Getchu or in this case, Akabei 3 wont mention that 'ryakudatsusha no utage' is the prequel... knowing that the game sales is really not popular, not to mention the scenario nor illustrator is different guy. but anyone who play both the game would easily know that the game is connected. not just because the MC has a same name. but also his skills, power and past.

as for my fave game.... i would like recommend 月は東に日は西に～Operation Sanctuary～ and 処女はお姉さまに恋してる 1 and 2, for happy stories.

ugh.... ppl would easily guess my age with this

 

[V1zi3r]

Getchu or in this case, Akabei 3 wont mention that 'ryakudatsusha no utage' is the prequel... knowing that the game sales is really not popular, not to mention the scenario nor illustrator is different guy. but anyone who play both the game would easily know that the game is connected. not just because the MC has a same name. but also his skills, power and past.

as for my fave game.... i would like recommend 月は東に日は西に～Operation Sanctuary～ and 処女はお姉さまに恋してる 1 and 2, for happy stories.

ugh.... ppl would easily guess my age with this

Umm... Judging from your recommendation you're certainly a senpai at this. I don't know about 月は東に日は西に～Operation Sanctuary (2003 kinda too old for me) but I've played 処女はお姉さまに恋してる 3つのきら星 which is kinda ok for me so maybe i'll try 処女はお姉さまに恋してる later (though for crossdress series i'd prefer ensemble ones)

 

[pingtoryan]

処女はお姉さまに恋してる 1 and 2, for happy stories.

Happy? It's not all happy if you ask me, but I can second the whole trilogy. Also, the PSP version of the second title is totally worth it.

...and the insert songs are god-tier (what a pity for the third one to have such a great song only to be used just TWO times).

 

[Animaksiat]

Happy? It's not all happy if you ask me, but I can second the whole trilogy. Also, the PSP version of the second title is totally worth it.

played the PSP only for Hatsune's route. and for me, all the endings are happy. if anything not happy, well... it's a drama, of course some sad events are in play. for those who're looking only for amaama situations or Love-comedy, then the games are not fit at all.
what i regret is 'Ayayang' still insert paranormal factors in her stories.

 

[pingtoryan]

played the PSP only for Hatsune's route. and for me, all the endings are happy. if anything not happy, well... it's a drama, of course some sad events are in play. for those who're looking only for amaama situations or Love-comedy, then the games are not fit at all.
what i regret is 'Ayayang' still insert paranormal factors in her stories.

Pretty heavy stuff and only gets heavier, true, and truer still that it's happy endings.

Although I don't mind the paranormal...in fact, that aspect house the thing that hits me the hardest for the first game.

 

[Animaksiat]

so far... ending that hits me hard still 穢翼のユースティア.
it's ending is really depressing and tear jerking

 

[pingtoryan]

It hits hard enough even that it has effect when you barely understand Japanese...the overarch makes me not want to go back to it anymore though.

 

[Animaksiat]

second to it, was 天使のいない12月. none of the route has a happy ending, all of them are barely called normal ending.

another recommend from me would be 木漏れ日の並木道 if looking for mature people romances. it tell stories about a guy who lost his very beloved wife, and live with his 3yo daughter trying to find a new happiness.

 

[Kri]

Oh if we are talking about our favorite games, I'll definitely have to put 戦国†恋姫 on the line. It may be not the best game from an objective point, but as a someone who has playing visual novels for at least 10-15 years I really dont think I'll ever see another game which will be loved as much as sengoku from me. It just literally hits my every favorite points, its like the writers wrote it just for me. I swore that I'll buy at least 5 copies of it if it ever gets a fandisc or remake but at this point I really doubt it.

 

[kzel]

We doing favorites and recommendations, eh? I'll add my own then, starting with the single one game I have ever replayed more than 3 times : フレラバ ～Friend to Lover～. I don't usually replay game, let alone keep them, and this game is one of the rare few exceptions. It's SMEE's school love-comedy formulae at its very best, something they haven't quite been able to reproduce even with their later attempts. The one VN that made the biggest impact on me is probably 君と彼女と彼女の恋。, lots of things to think about especially as a visual novel/eroge afficionado (don't read too much about it if you haven't played it and just go experience it). As for drama, I enjoyed Angel Beats! from key a whole lot, it's just a damn shame that we'll probably never see the promised sequels see the light of day.

Other than that, almost done with D.C4. Too much magic for my tastes but I'll see the end of it, probably.

 

[Animaksiat]

Oh if we are talking about our favorite games, I'll definitely have to put 戦国†恋姫 on the line. It may be not the best game from an objective point, but as a someone who has playing visual novels for at least 10-15 years I really dont think I'll ever see another game which will be loved as much as sengoku from me. It just literally hits my every favorite points, its like the writers wrote it just for me. I swore that I'll buy at least 5 copies of it if it ever gets a fandisc or remake but at this point I really doubt it.

depends on the genre... not many would enjoy harem or love-come anymore, i mean every single month those genre titles are comes out. along with moe-characters.
as for 戦国†恋姫 the game is good, but sadly it has too many plot-hole and story is lack of consistence element. i mean, they were actually strugle at first againts Onis. Even lost Mori Yoshinari (Touko) during the Siege of Kanegasaki. yet after they teamed up with Nagao Kagetora (Miku), their power is just beyond understanding. Ashikaga Yoshiteru (Kazuha) could easily obliterate thousands of Oni with her power.

looking at the genres these days. i don't really enjoy these days VN anymore and i also played eroge for at least 20 years by now. back then i usually bought 3-5 games per month, but now... i barely buy one. instead of jumping on gun. i tested it first (either download the game or play the demo). and this is actually helped me saving a lot of money. especially on DEEP ONE's case. i really almost pre-ordered them, because the summary and the character design really piqued my interest.

 

[V1zi3r]

depends on the genre... not many would enjoy harem or love-come anymore, i mean every single month those genre titles are comes out. along with moe-characters.
as for 戦国†恋姫 the game is good, but sadly it has too many plot-hole and story is lack of consistence element. i mean, they were actually strugle at first againts Onis. Even lost Mori Yoshinari (Touko) during the Siege of Kanegasaki. yet after they teamed up with Nagao Kagetora (Miku), their power is just beyond understanding. Ashikaga Yoshiteru (Kazuha) could easily obliterate thousands of Oni with her power.

looking at the genres these days. i don't really enjoy these days VN anymore and i also played eroge for at least 20 years by now. back then i usually bought 3-5 games per month, but now... i barely buy one. instead of jumping on gun. i tested it first (either download the game or play the demo). and this is actually helped me saving a lot of money. especially on DEEP ONE's case. i really almost pre-ordered them, because the summary and the character design really piqued my interest.

20 years!? You're definitely a veteran at this. tell me, how does the visual novel (eroge / nukige) progresses from back then to now (art wise, story wise, etc.) I heard that the 2000s were the golden age for visual novels but for me modern art are superior compared to the old ones and most old visual novel have somewhat too unique story. also on DEEP ONE, how much would you rate it? is it really bad? what would you compared it with?

 

[Animaksiat]

20 years!? You're definitely a veteran at this. tell me, how does the visual novel (eroge / nukige) progresses from back then to now (art wise, story wise, etc.) I heard that the 2000s were the golden age for visual novels but for me modern art are superior compared to the old ones and most old visual novel have somewhat too unique story. also on DEEP ONE, how much would you rate it? is it really bad? what would you compared it with?

if you talk about golden age of visual novel... then it's probably after Fate Stay/Night. after that title, the number of visual novel that released every month increased. as for Eroge... yes their golden age are from 1998-2005. i differ them because i categorized Visual Novel as a game that only has lots of conversation and story with a few choice option for route (literally just click the left button mouse or simply push ctrl to skip). and Eroge is something you have to strive to get the H-scene and has many game over.

as for DEEP ONE i think i scored it in Page 372. you can check them.

 

[V1zi3r]

if you talk about golden age of visual novel... then it's probably after Fate Stay/Night. after that title, the number of visual novel that released every month increased. as for Eroge... yes their golden age are from 1998-2005. i differ them because i categorized Visual Novel as a game that only has lots of conversation and story with a few choice option for route (literally just click the left button mouse or simply push ctrl to skip). and Eroge is something you have to strive to get the H-scene and has many game over.

as for DEEP ONE i think i scored it in Page 372. you can check them.

that's interesting thanks. don't know all the hype about the fate series though, probably it passed my generation. for me visual novel is the genre (click to progress story) and eroge is visual novel with ero scene (could be anything) and nukige is an eroge that focus on ero.
also it's too bad about deep one i mean the art it good, the women looks good, and the size (10gb) would've guarantee a long story but from what you said it isn't so good and the fact that they only give 2 h scene each heroine isn't exactly a good indicator for one expecting romance or ero development i guess.

 

[Animaksiat]

that's interesting. didn't know all the vibe about the fate series though, probably it passed my generation. for me visual novel is the genre (click to progress story) and eroge is visual novel with ero scene (could be anything) and nukige is an eroge that focus on ero.
also it's too bad about deep one i mean the art it good, the women looks good, and the size (10gb) would've guarantee a long story but from what you said it isn't so good.

in those days, Fate is barely called as series. since it only has 1 game not after a few years later. but the effect was huge. many game developers gradually changing their direction to VNs type. leaving just a few choices for ending routes. even action adventures type of game like RPG starting to lose ground since the feels of adventuring can be achieved just by reading texts.

before these, even though exist VNs... but they still contain many choices. and have a lot of bad ending or game over. some of it are simulation type...like those in pia carrot series. as for simulation games, i never encountered another dating simulation eroge better than 'True Love' i wish there were people like me. who would strive hours and hours just to get 1 scene for fap materials back then.

 

[kzel]

depends on the genre... not many would enjoy harem or love-come anymore, i mean every single month those genre titles are comes out. along with moe-characters.

Hmm I don't know about that, best sellers like Yuzusoft are usually love-comedy/moege, and despite playing VNs for years I still enjoy this genre. Not harem though.

before these, even though exist VNs... but they still contain many choices. and have a lot of bad ending or game over. some of it are simulation type...like those in pia carrot series. as for simulation games, i never encountered another dating simulation eroge better than 'True Love' i wish there were people like me. who would strive hours and hours just to get 1 scene for fap materials back then.

Simulation games are pretty much dead. Even the last remnants of the genre in the xCation series got simplified to an extreme over the games and still all I could read about it was "pain in the ass" "antiquated", "boring", "work-like", etc... even though you can just play on easy and mostly skip this part. I remember putting in the hours to unlock some ecchi scenes in the earlier games, but in this day and age of near instant walkthrough, people just don't want to put in the effort, and to be honest, I'm not sure I would as well. I can't even remember a single simulation game coming out in the last year.

 

[Animaksiat]

Hmm I don't know about that, best sellers like Yuzusoft are usually love-comedy/moege, and despite playing VNs for years I still enjoy this genre. Not harem though.


Simulation games are pretty much dead. Even the last remnants of the genre in the xCation series got simplified to an extreme over the games and still all I could read about it was "pain in the ass" "antiquated", "boring", "work-like", etc... even though you can just play on easy and mostly skip this part. I remember putting in the hours to unlock some ecchi scenes in the earlier games, but in this day and age of near instant walkthrough, people just don't want to put in the effort, and to be honest, I'm not sure I would as well. I can't even remember a single simulation game coming out in the last year.

Yuzusoft still selling because of Kobuichi, im pretty sure they will fall apart if Kobuichi decided to partway with the company.

aside from peoples that often post in this corner... many people play those genre just for the moe-chara fap materials, as proof 90% of them always asked for savedata in the day the game was release.

at the very least, only 2 developer still makes simulations games... though not every year.
one is Eushully, and the other is Alicesoft.

 

[kzel]

aside from peoples that often post in this corner... many people play those genre just for the moe-chara fap materials, as proof 90% of them always asked for savedata in the day the game was release.

I don't know, the PSV/PS4 port of popular moege isn't that rare of an occurrence (at least I see them when I boot up the JP PS Store but maybe I'm being targeted?), and that means no fapping material at all, contrary to the Steam version than can be patched. There must still be a public for those. I mean if all you want is the porn might as well watch some hentai OVA or something, no?

at the very least, only 2 developer still makes simulations games... though not every year.
one is Eushully, and the other is Alicesoft.

Eushully does't really make dating simulation though, they're tactics/crafting games at heart and the ecchi scenes just come naturally as one progresses through those gameplay elements, they're not really something you need to strive for.
As for Alicesoft, most of their simulation games are filled with NTR content so... not for me.

 

[V1zi3r]

in those days, Fate is barely called as series. since it only has 1 game not after a few years later. but the effect was huge. many game developers gradually changing their direction to VNs type. leaving just a few choices for ending routes. even action adventures type of game like RPG starting to lose ground since the feels of adventuring can be achieved just by reading texts.

before these, even though exist VNs... but they still contain many choices. and have a lot of bad ending or game over. some of it are simulation type...like those in pia carrot series. as for simulation games, i never encountered another dating simulation eroge better than 'True Love' i wish there were people like me. who would strive hours and hours just to get 1 scene for fap materials back then.

I'm with kzel on this one. simulation games (for me) is just too bothersome like the early cation series (haven't played it though but i heard that the very first one doesn't even gives you hints for what unlocks what)

 

[V1zi3r]

Yuzusoft still selling because of Kobuichi, im pretty sure they will fall apart if Kobuichi decided to partway with the company.

aside from peoples that often post in this corner... many people play those genre just for the moe-chara fap materials, as proof 90% of them always asked for savedata in the day the game was release.

at the very least, only 2 developer still makes simulations games... though not every year.
one is Eushully, and the other is Alicesoft.

Its quite amazing how such a big name company relies on only 1 artist nonetheless i due agree that his art are very good (moe!)
I liked Eushully, the world that they build feels so out of this world, not just another randam fantasy but a world that's really detailed and comprehensive in its depiction, it really feels alive. as for alicesoft on the other hand while i due agree that the rance series are quite good i never really liked alicesoft as compared with Eushully their world are a jokey mess