Visual Novel Cafe

[MENTION=21095]pingtoryan[/MENTION]; Oh, you rip the cgs yourself? *salutes*

And as I said I would, my 'little' opinions on various companies will be as follows. With all due respects, I still strongly and deeply respect all eroge companies regardless. Its because of them that the industry is still ongoing and providing me some many *** materials monthly.

1. August - From someone whom has never (and probably would never ever) play their games, all I can say their fanbase is seriously one of the most solid ones I seen. While pekkankou's art and character design still looking like exact carbon copies of all August's previous games, their story telling and plot probably stands out more. You can never deny the japanese boards when it comes to their games, whenever I saw it back then, it was always overcrowded with opinions and the counts of views have always been a class above other titles in the same month. Why I would never know since I probably wont play their games at all for life. Sorry.

2. HOOKSOFT - Ahh, your regular providers of the standard moe games with beautifully done character designs, background and music. Typical. Yet it sells! Why? I really dont know. While such games have already been the norm and bore of me already, I would assume it has too for general audience playing in JP. I still cant fathom the sales and ratings of Strawberry Nauts back then when I felt it was slightly above average at most. Lest, I would probably never understand how people can continually pick up such standard eroge fares to play. Yes, designs done Matsushita Makako sensei sells better generally as proven by Priminstar and Nauts, I still foresee long days ahead and more 'hype' whenever they announce a new game.

3. Ricotta - My dear Ricotta. How fond memories of my first ever eroge and the delicious and delicious art work of Komori Kei sensei. Did I mention delicious? Back when I first started, I felt the system and graphics were above notch for new timers like me. I love the company I really do. But as [MENTION=7737]Animaksiat[/MENTION]; pointed, I cant imagine a Ricotta if one day Komori sensei decides to walk away. I mean, his art and character designs along with backgrounds define Ricotta works. Sure they do hire splendid scenario writers (I believe) for their mere 3 titles, Komori sensei's influence has been ever present since day 1. While I strongly appreciate them cashing in with the anime last year and the fandisk for 3 other characters, I would have loved to see announcements for new titles too. Since 2008 was Princess Lover? 3 titles in 6 years aint any good feat by any means to me, I am pretty sure there's enough people out there who would just cash in on a regular basis of a new title per year. I can only hope. :D

4. MOONSTONE - Solid systems, beautiful art by Yamakaze sensei, pleasant voice actress and characters. Formula for success? Not quite I guess. Despite the major hypes and excitement for MOONSTONE whenever there is an announcement, I really never seen any major improvements in sales. WHY is it so, I cant answer at all. I mean, yes, its the normal eroge setting with rabu-come fare and sorts, its absolutely gorgeous in fact for Evangile the last time I remembered, but why doesnt it sell? Given a choice between them or HOOK, I would probably pick MOONSTONE. Despite 'solid' fan support, MOONSTONE games have never shone in sales, but I still hope everything goes good for them.

5. Atelier Kaguya - My favorite company back then, how much since have you guys fell from grace. Back in the days I believed everyone's firm #1 choice for nukiges was with AK. I do strongly feel fans gather for Choco Chip and M&M's awesome art and character designs. Yes, AK's eros are out of the world hot, their games could never balance the plot and ero, not that I really care because there are still gems in the story and games released by them. When choco chip left, it was only down to M&M to carry the team. When the group exodus left to set up Astronauts, including M&M, I still hoped deep down they would pull through. Yes, they did with budget nukige titles, which I am grateful for to see still lying around. While choco chip back at helm, I hope things take a better turn.

Still reserving lots of comments for other companies like SAGAPLANETS, Yuzu, Eushully, Navel, minato-soft and many others more. I still have not played any titles from some companies, which I strongly believe I would never in near future or my life. Though, just a nuetral standpoint again if I get the chance to express my opinions again.

I still love the industry and companies/makers dearly. It is still my earnest and most sincere hopes that the industry will still continue to sustain beyond and after.
 
I'm one of those folks who can keep chucking the 'typical' stuff in...the ones that Hooksoft seems to specialize in. But alas, people got different ways to enjoy different stuffs so I'll just leave it at that.

...and on a totally irrelevant note, Nauts and PriministAr got the same entity working on BGM...and they loop, without the need of control on the engine's end or awkward head-loop cut.
 
[MENTION=21095]pingtoryan[/MENTION]; like I said, I dont mind or disapprove of people who still chuck the normal fares, I mean, thats pretty much 85% of the community and buyers who actually spend the money in japan to purchase actual copies. Its perfectly understandable. Different tastes for different games or genres applies in a similar fashion too.

More personal opinions :

1. Yuzusoft - Still one of my favorite companies till date, predominantly because of kobuichi sensei's art and solid stories and characters in the games. I love the way they advertise their games too, yuzu's games are almost practically everywhere in sight online and on-site in Akiha. At the very least, they do release games on a regular yearly basis, each time with a different theme but similar approaches to the style and story telling. Their games are still a must-play for me ever since Noble Works since I didnt play Tenshin Ranma (I will try and play, but I've been telling myself that for close to 4 years already =.=). With kuboichi sensei still the strong pillar of support, yuzusoft will continue to blossom in my books. Solid sales and popularity will push for more.

2. SAGAPLANETS - Storyboard wise, they are the most deceiving on surface and in my opinion, one of the; if not the; best stories and story-tellers in the business. I do not want to compare to other companies or other excellent titles or kamiges, but what I went through while playing Hatsu-Saku was more than some roller coaster of emotional ride. Hontani Kanae sensei's art continue to make me droll buckets whenever I see designs, her pretty art and many different illustrations for the girls are what people dig for, but the stories of the games cant be denied. Dont know about their latest game because I didnt play, judging by sales and comments, I guess it wasnt as well received compared to the masterpiece in Hatsu-Saku I guess. However I doubt its any hiccup that they cant handle.

Hmmm, kinda tired to list out more... Anyone have any companies in particular just name them for discussion then! :)
 
Hm, everytime I look here in this thread there are around 5-10 new pages (or so) to read ... and yeah, I never really know what the latest topic is :D

Anyway, I started Majikoi A-3 yesterday ... really looking forward to Stacy's route ... she is so cute, haha :D
 
It's good that there's something going on...because this plane had been too quaint for a while.

...I found what the 'MeltyMoment' in omake do (after spamming F1 throughout the entire arc), now to keep going with Sakura Bitmap...

P.S. I stopped with Yuzu after some complications (namely, from Dracu-riot), and I find Sagaplanet's games' story (well, since HatsuSaku, which mean both of them) a bit too heavy for my liking (I played their latest game and I had never felt so worn out afterwards, but the story is nothing to be scoff at. I CTRL'd HatsuSaku in the past, even with that I don't think I can handle it for long).
 
Ho~ I'm actually playing Tenshin Ranman right now. Before this, I've also played Amairo and Dracu-Riot. So far, I could say Dracu-Riot to be the most fun out of the three. Amairo second for having really nice visual quality (and because of Kiritani Hana...LOL).

Anyway, I was checking Tenshin Ranman in vndb and saw an unfamiliar face in the poster there (the one with the purple hair in the back). Is it someone from another version of the game?

As for Saga Planets, I've only played HatsuSaku->Kisaragi->Karumaruka. Their BGMs always make me sleepy so it takes me a lot of effort to continue reading for long periods of time, especially Kisaragi. I actually dropped it once for that reason. But, yes, the art is just lovely. HatsuSaku was also quite fulfilling for me, while the other two were nothing much IMHO.
 
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[MENTION=83906]lilygel[/MENTION]; the other version of tenshin ranma you saw is the PSP port of the game. Such ports usually contain slightly more content at the cost of removing the h-scenes to make it all ages.
Hatsu-Saku is my favorite sagaplanets title.
[MENTION=7737]Animaksiat[/MENTION]; been busy? Havent heard from you in awhile, I thought you might at least reply this thread over the weekends haha.
 
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[MENTION=77]Terumi[/MENTION] sorry... i was out to ukraine last week due to my work. just returned today! anything changes around here?
 
[MENTION=7737]Animaksiat[/MENTION]; Nothing I guess. Just some ramblings from me with regards to some companies and the general market as a whole. Wanted to hear more comments and opinions though.
 
Let's see if there's any good news on me birthday today...

Any topics today?
 
[MENTION=77]Terumi[/MENTION] you're birdday ing? congratulations teruteru, may god gives you his blessing and a happy long live :happybday:

i guess you're be our topic for today
 
Let's see if there's any good news on me birthday today...

Any topics today?

That so? Happy Birthday then.

So I got O-Tonari Koi-Sensou - I may be diving in the sea of commands, but at least EVCGs ain't jumbled up so that's some work saved...and I have my sick dog that just went under the knife to worry about.
 
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Yup, turned 22 already.

Suddenly it pains that i aint 18 no more. T__T

I see getchu hasnt had any significant updates.... I have held back on my downloads long enough, maybe its about time for bulk dl.
 
Moved a couple games to my external HDD and deleted them off local HDD...games that stores save in their own folders works great. Can't move Yumekoi to external until that elusive last set of extra is available for download, though.

BTW, the biggest, most shocking announcement on Getchu is Artificial Academy 2 (which came one day before the official page)...after enduring Illusion's griefing for so long, the time had finally came...
 
Moved a couple games to my external HDD and deleted them off local HDD...games that stores save in their own folders works great. Can't move Yumekoi to external until that elusive last set of extra is available for download, though.

BTW, the biggest, most shocking announcement on Getchu is Artificial Academy 2 (which came one day before the official page)...after enduring Illusion's griefing for so long, the time had finally came...

Yea i made a topic in the eroge corner about the game even tho not mutch has yet released so far but thats to be expected.
 
Yup, turned 22 already.

Suddenly it pains that i aint 18 no more. T__T

I see getchu hasnt had any significant updates.... I have held back on my downloads long enough, maybe its about time for bulk dl.

dammit, be grateful!!! im passed 36 now :donefor:
 
By the way, what makes an FD an FD? I'm under the impression that it's different from sequels. Although, from my experience, they're basically sequels plus routes for characters that don't have routes "originally".
 
By the way, what makes an FD an FD? I'm under the impression that it's different from sequels. Although, from my experience, they're basically sequels plus routes for characters that don't have routes "originally".

a fandisc usually released after the game title is released (usually depends on the popularity of the game), they contains either another route for new heroine or sub-heroine, or merely an after story for each routable heroine. so basically what you're saying is not completely mistaken. though FD usually comes with a slightly higher price than the original ones (this because it often includes with bonuses).

not many company fond to make FD's, bigger company are very rare on releasing FD, because they have too many projects. take example of Alicesoft... as i can count they only release 2-4 FD ever.
besides, the idea of FD is merely to boost the marketing sales for the original games (this often happen to a newly founded company when their game got into top ten sales), targeting people who hasn't played it or to a fans who often collected more than one disc. this is why bigger company not really interest in releasing them, since their sales are stable.
 
a fandisc usually released after the game title is released (usually depends on the popularity of the game), they contains either another route for new heroine or sub-heroine, or merely an after story for each routable heroine. so basically what you're saying is not completely mistaken. though FD usually comes with a slightly higher price than the original ones (this because it often includes with bonuses).

not many company fond to make FD's, bigger company are very rare on releasing FD, because they have too many projects. take example of Alicesoft... as i can count they only release 2-4 FD ever.
besides, the idea of FD is merely to boost the marketing sales for the original games (this often happen to a newly founded company when their game got into top ten sales), targeting people who hasn't played it or to a fans who often collected more than one disc. this is why bigger company not really interest in releasing them, since their sales are stable.

I see. So I wasn't mistaken after all. But that makes me want to ask how FDs come out in the first place, since they ARE sequels. Why create the term "fan disc" when "sequel" could work just fine? I read the short wikipedia article about FD and it says something about them being not "true sequels" but that raises another question: What makes a sequel a "true sequel". This is almost endless. In the first place, a sequel, put simply, is a continuation. So as long as it is a continuation, it should be considered a true sequel.

On another note, I think people tend to create too much of a deal with the term "true." True love. True strength. True leader. Love is love. If the person thinks it's love, then it is. It's that person's emotions and I don't think anyone else should give a crap and lecture him what "true love" is. Strength is strength. Although a strength can also be a weakness. Abstract ideas, in the end, are abstract. It's all a matter of how you look at it/point of view. And here I am ranting pointlessly. Sorry for that. You guys don't have to answer my question. I think people simply complicate things unnecessarily.
 
I see. So I wasn't mistaken after all. But that makes me want to ask how FDs come out in the first place, since they ARE sequels. Why create the term "fan disc" when "sequel" could work just fine? I read the short wikipedia article about FD and it says something about them being not "true sequels" but that raises another question: What makes a sequel a "true sequel". This is almost endless. In the first place, a sequel, put simply, is a continuation. So as long as it is a continuation, it should be considered a true sequel.

non non... you missed the point... just because it's an after story, it doesnt mean it's a sequel... an after story contains a very short tales... i doubt you would even need an hour in order to complete them.
it's true that sometimes an FD comes out with a new route for a new heroine... but that's depend on the rating and character voting... besides, making a sequel isn't as easy as you imagine... need a very good imagination to make the story doesn't goes off the track. unlike fanfics out there...
 
I guess this is where we miss each other. From my point of view, as long as it continues a story, it is a sequel--whether it's short or not.

And if you consider "short" after stories to be NOT sequels (but they are FDs), then that would make the FD of Hapymaher a sequel, and not an FD, since I have already spent hours reading this and I think I'm only about a third of the game.
 
ToHeart 2--->Another Days - Can't really remember, but I wouldn't say it's a FD because it's basically a full-blown game for the second set of heroines.

Walroma---->Walmore - Wouldn't say it's a sequel - it starts with a portion of the original story and drifts somewhere else into totally new stories after a certain point, and the original story is not included save for after stories.

Otoboku---->Futari no Elder - Sequel, without doubt. It's sometimes after the first set of characters, and there's even some mention of them (even more if you manage to get your hands on Drama, which covers the event between the two games).

Keyorina--->Moonlight Cradle - Pretty obscure whether FD or sequel...that, or I wasn't paying attention. There are after stories, after stories for heroines in the 'clean' version, and an all new heroine...strange thing is, you got to go through all stories before the first story you see become unlocked.

Gift--->Nijiiro Stories - The game won't install because of 16bit installer (which is very strange for a 2006 game), some bonus content, and what seems to be after stories.

...and the thing that is "August Fan Disk"...it includes the first three August's games' encyclopedia, and a couple stories, even one crossover...in the size of a single disc IIRC.

Those came to my mind when talking about this...
 

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