Visual Novel Cafe

[V1zi3r]

Here it is, if you want? https://drive.google.com/file/d/10So6oOpvpF_h75aEQZBPOM4CwYLdEoy4/view

Guys, you didn't know that Azarashi makes Amakano 2? No, it's not "Second Season", it's exactly Amakano 2. Well, just see that tweet.

havent played it but thank anyway. also do you have [140425][HOOKSOFT] MeltyMoment -メルティモーメント- オリジナルサウンドトラック?

 

[kzel]

Guys, you didn't know that Azarashi makes Amakano 2? No, it's not "Second Season", it's exactly Amakano 2. Well, just see that tweet.

I didn't know that, thanks for the info! I'll wait for more info to get my hopes up (especially scenario writer & artist).

Though... these surely can't be the heroines? Please not another Ruika/Bethly types.

I'm pretty sure the girl on the right is adult Koharu from Amakano+. It would also fit with Akino Hana since she's her CV. I'm not sure who the girl on the left is, Kazane did voice Mizuki from Amakano but she looks nothing like her, I haven't played her route in Amakano+ but just the eyes colors don't match. Maybe Veshurik who listened to the show can tell us more?

EDIT: Listened to the youtube a bit, it's Koharu's daughter Hiyori...?

 

[amaimono]

i've been wanting to play that long ago especially since i liked the anime (im into inaka setting) but i have this problem: my laptop screen is 16:9 1366x768p but the game max size is like 1280x720p which in normal game when you put it into fullscreen it can just put the display at center while the rest is black box right? but when i install it for some reason it cant do a full screen and the display is fixed on the left size with my background still displayed and i cant fix that

Did you try Alt + Enter? If it doesn't work, try DirectX Windower. Unfortunately I don't have Hoshikaka anymore so I can't test it.

Listened to the youtube a bit, it's Koharu's daughter Hiyori...?

Can you give the Youtube link?

On second thought, the record of the show should still be available on Niconico, right?

Never mind, found it. Didn't think that they actually hold the show on Youtube.
==============================================
They actually wrote down the background story and the characters on the same page: http://azarashi-soft.nexton-net.jp/topic/radio/

So it looks like Koharu's & Ruika's children are among the heroines.

 

[kzel]

Never mind, found it. Didn't think that they actually hold the show on Youtube.
==============================================
They actually wrote down the background story and the characters and in the same page: http://azarashi-soft.nexton-net.jp/topic/radio/

It is quite unusual to have radio shows on Youtube and not Onsen or Niconico. Niconico in particular is annoying since you generally can't watch past broadcasts unless you reserved it before it aired, or pay to get premium membership.

I listened to episode 3 and 4 of the Azarashi Radio but unfortunately didn't really catch any info about upcoming Azarashi projects. There's a corner that reveals tidbits of trivia about the current Azarashi games, but apart from that nothing of too much interest.

 

[amaimono]

I misunderstood. They're actually the characters on the radio. Shouldn't it be crazy expensive to hire these top VAs to host the whole show?

 

[kzel]

To be even more precise, they're the characters of a mini drama that the CVs act out in the second half of the radio program. The rest of the time they address themselves simply by their usual aliases (Kazane & Akino Hana). I don't know how much it cost to hire them both for the full 12x1hour shows programmed, but while I agree both of them are excellent voice actresses (Akino Hana being one of my favorite), they're not really the most popular in terms of appearances in games lately, much to my chagrin.

 

[amaimono]

Natsuno Koori for me. The next generation of seiyuu seem to be dominating the market now.

And yeah, I don't learn anything of value from the latest episode except that Azarashi will be releasing something which title isn't in katakana, which means it's not Amakano. Oh, hang on, that was a joke. So, I don't learn anything in the end.

 

[Veshurik]

You thought Giga's Kiss series finally ended?
You was wrong.
http://products.web-giga.com/aikiss/

 

[kzel]

Looks like a very generic story from what the intro says so far: cook protagonist comes home after being away for years, meets childhood friends, starts school and meets new girls. I guess there's the art theme but then again it's nothing new.

I haven't played any of the Kiss series since closing and deleting Haru Kiss after (partially) reading the horror that was the imouto route, any of them worth playing?

 

[Veshurik]

What the horror, by the way? No, I didn't play in any Kiss series also, but I heard it was very very boring.

And only plus in Ai Kiss that artist is from light novels, I wonder?

 

[Kri]

Looks like a very generic story from what the intro says so far: cook protagonist comes home after being away for years, meets childhood friends, starts school and meets new girls. I guess there's the art theme but then again it's nothing new.

I haven't played any of the Kiss series since closing and deleting Haru Kiss after (partially) reading the horror that was the imouto route, any of them worth playing?

キスアト is kinda good, other than that all of their kiss series are garbage. I'm literally trying all of them and drop it at the middle of the common route even though as a big moege player so I kinda have tolerence for bad games. Well they are not trying to make a good game anyway, Giga have the "quantity over quality" idea about their kiss series, in return they are expecting somewhat low income from them instead of a big title.

By the way Its not the same series but currently I'm reading Kimi no Hitomi ni Hit Me from Giga, and its pretty good to be honest, way better than those kiss series anyway. I just started hitomi's route and will write more detailed comment when I finish it, but so far I'm definitely enjoying it. Miko and hitomi duo are pure cuteness.

Well tomorrow we are getting the legendary koihime musou Shoku remake so I might have to switch it first though, gotta prioritise koihime waifus first.

Also we have Asaproject's, clochette's new games in this month as well but I suppose I'll deal with those two after I finish koihime and hitomi's at least two routes. Oh so many games so little time .-.

 

[kzel]

What the horror, by the way? No, I didn't play in any Kiss series also, but I heard it was very very boring.

And only plus in Ai Kiss that artist is from light novels, I wonder?

It's been years since I played it so my memory may be a little fuzzy, but here's how it goes. This game's protagonist's is a little particular, in that his hobby (?) is bodybuilding, even though for some reason he doesn't get buff (the usual "slim-macho" Japanese writers love so much). He is very muscular and has some past of violence in a previous dojo he ended up expelled from. The main heroine is trying to be a better swimmer and he helps her with that, and that's fine. But then comes in the little sister...

Spoiler: Haru Kiss sister route

His sister is a small, withdrawn and rather reserved character that doesn't really stand out. She crashes at the protagonist's place after going back from school and before going home until her parents get back from work. The protagonist's attitude towards her is rather uninterested, he doesn't really take care of her or anything, as he spends all his time in his room bodybuilding. One day, it's raining and the protagonist suddenly get worried about her since he hasn't heard from her, and storms out in the rain looking for her. As usual with Japanese rain, anybody it touches becomes instantly sick (even the super fit protagonist), and when he comes back home he finds out she was in her room all along (something he didn't check before leaving) and in his feverish state gets extremely angry and rapes her. Cue the usual load of rapist bullshit self-justification such as 'if she doesn't fight back, she must enjoy it!' or 'if she gets wet, she must want this', even though it's not like she COULD fight back even if she wanted to and was probably paralyzed with fear and incomprehension at this sudden bust of violence. But fine, he's feverish. Despite all that the little sister nurses him back to health, and the protagonist, feeling guilty, goes to her when he's feeling better to thanks her and apologize... but ends her raping her again. I uninstalled and deleted the game at that point, I'm sure there's loads of self justification but this was just too much and that game was forever branded as "that game with the little sister rapist" in my mind.

キスアト is kinda good, other than that all of their kiss series are garbage. I'm literally trying all of them and drop it at the middle of the common route even though as a big moege player so I kinda have tolerence for bad games. Well they are not trying to make a good game anyway, Giga have the "quantity over quality" idea about their kiss series, in return they are expecting somewhat low income from them instead of a big title.

By the way Its not the same series but currently I'm reading Kimi no Hitomi ni Hit Me from Giga, and its pretty good to be honest, way better than those kiss series anyway. I just started hitomi's route and will write more detailed comment when I finish it, but so far I'm definitely enjoying it. Miko and hitomi duo are pure cuteness.

Funnily enough Giga games tend to hire not-so-terrible writers for their games, it just goes to show that unlike art you just can't trust scenario writers to deliver a constant line of quality. Their games do indeed often fall short of expectations with too basic plots and rushed relationships. Hitomi's a good counter-example, and so is the more recent Ao Natsu Line (in different genres), but generally speaking it's hard to shake the generic mass-produced feeling when playing these games. Which makes it even stranger when unusual stuff like what I wrote above happens.

 

[Veshurik]

his hobby (?) is bodybuilding, even though for some reason he doesn't get buff

Eeeh... Let's be honest: artists just don't have a skill to draw bodybuilder guys... Because they are only drawing girls and boobs.

 

[Ninomiya941]

It's kinda the reverse for me, the cuter the heroine and the more I fancy her approaches and the less I can stand the protagonist ignoring her in the sake of his own ego satisfaction.


"The friend" is an important position, or being in the middle of nothing but girls in high-school (however friendly they are) would be a nightmare of its own. I understand the desire to make them very awkward so they don't actually pose any threat or competition to the protagonist as far as romance is concerned, but that is often pushed a little too far with the creepy ero-masters and the various traps. I much prefer Hoshi Ori and Mashiro Iro style of friend, a guy that is actually already in a relationship, just don't show the girlfriend ever or some people WILL cry NTR (whether or not the heroine is romance-able...).


Well, アオナツライン kinda fits the bill on that story of yours, maybe not so much on the last part but it's close. I liked it.

Showing a friend's GF with a sprite art is called NTR ? Lol, I only consider something an NTR if the MC's love interest is stolen so the people calling such a thing like that an NTR is bs. Also, I can fap to any H-scene in an eroge well enough if it's good, even if the H-scene is the male friend character doing it with his lover LOL.

Also, it would be good if there's a Nukige where the main heroine loves both the MC and his best friend and they all get in a threesome or 3P. Other side heroines can appear too to shake up their relationship and add variety to the game.

 

[amaimono]

Showing a friend's GF with a sprite art is called NTR ? Lol, I only consider something an NTR if the MC's love interest is stolen so the people calling such a thing like that an NTR is bs. Also, I can fap to any H-scene in an eroge well enough if it's good, even if the H-scene is the male friend character doing it with his lover LOL.

I don't go so far as calling it an NTR, but it's always a shame whenever a female side character with a sprite and a good look doesn't get her own route.

Also, it would be good if there's a Nukige where the main heroine loves both the MC and his best friend and they all get in a threesome or 3P. Other side heroines can appear too to shake up their relationship and add variety to the game.

You just described Yuganda Ren'ai Moyou.

 

[kzel]

Eeeh... Let's be honest: artists just don't have a skill to draw bodybuilder guys... Because they are only drawing girls and boobs.

I don't think that was an art problem in that case. The protagonist has if I recall correctly a very pronounced inferiority complex and is trying to get bigger and stronger by any means, and it just doesn't work, feeding into his negativity loop. If anything I find males in VNs art to be generally too muscular, even bookworms who never exercised seriously in their lives have the stamina of a marathoner and perfectly chiseled 6 packs abs... Of course you'll also generally not find any slightly imperfect girl either, so eh. Generally you'll only find 'normal' body types in more infamous genres (NTR, rape, prostitution, etc...).

Showing a friend's GF with a sprite art is called NTR ? Lol, I only consider something an NTR if the MC's love interest is stolen so the people calling such a thing like that an NTR is bs. Also, I can fap to any H-scene in an eroge well enough if it's good, even if the H-scene is the male friend character doing it with his lover LOL.

Also, it would be good if there's a Nukige where the main heroine loves both the MC and his best friend and they all get in a threesome or 3P. Other side heroines can appear too to shake up their relationship and add variety to the game.

You would be surprised as to just what some dedicated fans will call NTR, look up the whole Koi x Shin Ai Kanojo outrage if you're interested and no, I don't consider it features NTR in any way, shape or form. Showing any female character with a sprite and not having her have eyes only for the protagonist (or worse, target someone else!) is certainly a bold move, it's no surprise it's very rare apart from very clearly labeled NTR games. Why do you think all the young teachers have to be single and so clearly interested in the protagonists? Moms are usually the only exception, and then again...

Reverse harem (one female-multiple males) is quite rare even in vanilla nukiges, let alone pure love stories. You'll find that in many if not all NTR (netorase type) games though, should be too hard to find. Some of the more perverty otome games may fit the bill too, but although most of them do start in a sort of harem way (mote-mote heroine pursued by many guys) they rarely end in harem, for what little I've played of the genre at least.

 

[Kri]

You would be surprised as to just what some dedicated fans will call NTR, look up the whole Koi x Shin Ai Kanojo outrage if you're interested and no, I don't consider it features NTR in any way, shape or form. Showing any female character with a sprite and not having her have eyes only for the protagonist (or worse, target someone else!) is certainly a bold move, it's no surprise it's very rare apart from very clearly labeled NTR games. Why do you think all the young teachers have to be single and so clearly interested in the protagonists? Moms are usually the only exception, and then again...

Reverse harem (one female-multiple males) is quite rare even in vanilla nukiges, let alone pure love stories. You'll find that in many if not all NTR (netorase type) games though, should be too hard to find. Some of the more perverty otome games may fit the bill too, but although most of them do start in a sort of harem way (mote-mote heroine pursued by many guys) they rarely end in harem, for what little I've played of the genre at least.

Koi x Shin Ai Kanojo - Music NTR was just a meme man, I dont think anyone takes it as a "NTR" seriously, but I definitely found it very annoying. Heroine choosing music over mc for 3 times wasn't a pleasant feeling for sure, at least for me.

 

[kzel]

Koi x Shin Ai Kanojo - Music NTR was just a meme man, I dont think anyone takes it as a "NTR" seriously, but I definitely found it very annoying. Heroine choosing music over mc for 3 times wasn't a pleasant feeling for sure, at least for me.

Maybe that's how it's seen now, but I remember when the game came out the outrage and flaming towards the author was pretty intense, definitely past a simple meme or a joke. I wrote about it already some (very long) time ago, but while the ending stings I think there were faults from both parts of the relationship (heroine not talking about her problems, but protagonist too afraid to ask and worsening the situation), and summing it up as 'music NTR' is a little simplistic.

 

[Veshurik]

I also don't know what happened with Koikake plot, but there was really some threatening and insults to Niijima Yuu, and Us:track reputation was ruined, they decided to disband that sub-brand, as I can see, and now staff working on other projects.

Also I remember Majo Koi Nikki (Qoobrand), and after release brand was also "closed", and Us:track was opened.

I really don't understand, doing 1-novel-brands is OK nowadays?

 

[Kri]

Maybe that's how it's seen now, but I remember when the game came out the outrage and flaming towards the author was pretty intense, definitely past a simple meme or a joke. I wrote about it already some (very long) time ago, but while the ending stings I think there were faults from both parts of the relationship (heroine not talking about her problems, but protagonist too afraid to ask and worsening the situation), and summing it up as 'music NTR' is a little simplistic.

While I definitely agree that there were some things that protag could do and make situation better, in the end it left a very bad taste in my mouth (specially at the last time where heroine leaves mc, 3rd time) and I cant say I enjoyed it very much. I agree with the "summing it up as 'music NTR' is a little simplistic" part tho, it wasnt that simple and one sided, but I always saw it as a nice joke to be honest.

I also don't know what happened with Koikake plot, but there was really some threatening and insults to Niijima Yuu, and Us:track reputation was ruined, they decided to disband that sub-brand, as I can see, and now staff working on other projects.

Also I remember Majo Koi Nikki (Qoobrand), and after release brand was also "closed", and Us:track was opened.

I really don't understand, doing 1-novel-brands is OK nowadays?

Well there are many companies which makes just one game and go, US: track got a very good income from Koi x Shinai kanojo (it sold pretty well as pre-order wise, people sold their copies to 300 - 500 yen after a couple days of release because of rage tho) so money definitely wasn't an issue, I suppose that they got scared for boycotts and decided to scatter into other companies with the money they gained without taking any risks. Its a pretty right and riskless decision imo.


Nijima Yuu is a pretty decent writer who has proved himself with Saga Planet trio (Hatsuyuki Sakura, Kisaragi Gold star and Natsuyume. His Majo Koi Nikki and Summer pockets are also pretty well recieved) so I dont think he is affected with Koi x Shinai kanojo rage, but gotta mention that he just likes to trigger (or lets say poke) his readers time to time.

 

[kzel]

I've played a bit of 恋愛、借りちゃいました, most of the common route I think, and all I have to say is : what the heck did Youka Nanoka do to ASa Project?! The game was a straight average up until about the middle part, trying to emulate previous games of the studio but with rather poor jokes (didn't laugh once), relatively unlikable characters (starting with a stingy, cold and extremely rude protagonist), and some overconvenient happenings that sometimes feel surreal. But when on top of that you add a freaking love triangle, heavy family drama, friendship drama, money-bought relationships, a mote-mote harem period where the heroines are coming over the protagonist left and right, and when the game essentially turns into "the heroines try to romance a clueless protagonist", I just don't know what to think anymore. This is ASa Project repeating the same mistake as in Suki to Sankaku Renai, but amplified! This is not what the brand is about, it's setting the very exact opposite mood they're known and appreciated for! Even though Youka Nanoka participated in Karigurashi that was excellent, I can't help but feel it was a mistake to let him write a whole game by himself. I'll be honest, I don't feel like choosing any of the two parts of the love triangle, and suggest anyone playing to fork at either the teacher or the twins branch and not go any further in the common route.

EDIT: Finished the twins route, about 2~3 hours. Story : 0, the money situation is never solved, relationship with other clients continues (?); Romance development : 0, heroines start at max affection without any protagonist action and he never fell in love; Ero : 0, scenes are far too short. Jokes are shimoneta only, follow the same patterns, and are generally not funny. It sucked. Worst Asa Project game I've ever played, I'll stop here before getting even more disappointed. I hope the studio manages to survive this fiasco and can get back to doing what they actually are good at.

Man, what is up with my favorite developers lately, first SMEE and now ASa project... Maybe I'm just an old man behind the times and need of the new generation of buyers. Still sad.

 

[Kri]

I've played a bit of 恋愛、借りちゃいました, most of the common route I think, and all I have to say is : what the heck did Youka Nanoka do to ASa Project?! The game was a straight average up until about the middle part, trying to emulate previous games of the studio but with rather poor jokes (didn't laugh once), relatively unlikable characters (starting with a stingy, cold and extremely rude protagonist), and some overconvenient happenings that sometimes feel surreal. But when on top of that you add a freaking love triangle, heavy family drama, friendship drama, money-bought relationships, a mote-mote harem period where the heroines are coming over the protagonist left and right, and when the game essentially turns into "the heroines try to romance a clueless protagonist", I just don't know what to think anymore. This is ASa Project repeating the same mistake as in Suki to Sankaku Renai, but amplified! This is not what the brand is about, it's setting the very exact opposite mood they're known and appreciated for! Even though Youka Nanoka participated in Karigurashi that was excellent, I can't help but feel it was a mistake to let him write a whole game by himself. I'll be honest, I don't feel like choosing any of the two parts of the love triangle, and suggest anyone playing to fork at either the teacher or the twins branch and not go any further in the common route.

EDIT: Finished the twins route, about 2~3 hours. Story : 0, the money situation is never solved, relationship with other clients continues (?); Romance development : 0, heroines start at max affection without any protagonist action and he never fell in love; Ero : 0, scenes are far too short. Jokes are shimoneta only, follow the same patterns, and are generally not funny. It sucked. Worst Asa Project game I've ever played, I'll stop here before getting even more disappointed. I hope the studio manages to survive this fiasco and can get back to doing what they actually are good at.

Man, what is up with my favorite developers lately, first SMEE and now ASa project... Maybe I'm just an old man behind the times and need of the new generation of buyers. Still sad.

Here goes all my hype, lol. Well I didnt start it yet so cant say anything about it personally but so far I've read 5-6 different reviews / comments about it and it seems like a big hit or miss so far. Some people apparently really enjoyed the different humor style and saying how Tsubaki and Hasumi's routes were great unlike most of asaproject routes while some people are saying how humor didnt work at all and made it very boring. At least most of people agree with how love triangle didnt work at all.

Other than that for some reason everyone is swearing to saki character and saying how Twins route was worst because apparently its just sex sex sex without any romance or anything. Some people are even calling them bitch twins etc.

In the end I'll still give it a try, but I definitely dont have my hype about the game anymore.

 

[kzel]

I would need to replay Karigurashi Renai to be absolutely sure, but given I had the same reaction to Renai, Karichaimashita as to anything related to Ayaka in Karigurashi it wouldn't surprise me if the same writer is responsible for both. Depending on how much you liked Ayaka's route humor and developments, you may get an idea as to how you'll like this game too. In fact, didn't Ayaka's route also feature some kind of love triangle? This must be this guy's fetish or something, trying to stuff it everywhere he can, but here it's like the main deal of the game and it sucks.

Spoiler: Renai Karichaimashita love triangle light spoilers

It sucks because it's neither interesting or funny, as one side of the love triangle is far too heavy (borderline stalkerish yandere), one far too light (protagonist, doesn't really give a fuck about love and just wants money, in fact he even keeps his compensated-dating job even after getting in a real relationship, talk about a boss...), and one is just a pitiable victim of a protagonist dead set on sucking up all her money.

Saki and Momoko's routes are an insult to Kusuhara Yui's and Kitami Rikka's talent. Both are short and morally extremely dubious, better not play them at all to be honest. Toono Soyogi's character doesn't even get a route at all. The twins' route is all about sex. Tsubaki doesn't really work the moment the protagonist becomes her student, because she's risking her entire career on this guy (if word even got out she would be forever banned from teaching), and he just doesn't provide anything to her to compensate that. In fact, he sucks up her money too, so hey, good choice there.

 

[Veshurik]

Well they are not trying to make a good game anyway, Giga have the "quantity over quality" idea about their kiss series, in return they are expecting somewhat low income from them instead of a big title.

You mean, ton of CG, ton of art overall, but zero story?
Or what menns "low income instead of a big title"? All their Kiss games are full price games, and Giga love making collector's edition every time to milk money, haha. That time too, there are whole 3 variants of package now for "Ai Kiss"? And max value for 22000 yen, omg.

 

[Kri]

You mean, ton of CG, ton of art overall, but zero story?
Or what menns "low income instead of a big title"? All their Kiss games are full price games, and Giga love making collector's edition every time to milk money, haha. That time too, there are whole 3 variants of package now for "Ai Kiss"? And max value for 22000 yen, omg.

With "Low income" I meant as they are expecting low amount of sales, instead of going big and getting in 10 best sellers of the year or something. Like they know that they are not making good games, but they are not expecting 30.000 sales or anything, probably okay with way lower but instead they are releasing 2 titles per year at least.

For example Yuzusoft has made 2 games since 2016, but they are big titles with big incomes while giga made literally 11 GAMES, 12th is coming at two months later. But of course they are not expecting the same income as yuzusoft's titles, that was what I meant with low income.