Decline Visual Novel Recomendation Thread

[Haba]

There is a thread for this:
http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?threads/visual-novel-recomendation-thread.77473/

Anyway, Grisaia on Steam is censored, I'd probably play the adult version (free fan translation can be found on the interwebs). Adult version has sex in it, obviously, but the all ages version also removes one key element of one of the stories in the game.

Obviously Grisaia on steam has no virus in it, that's just a false positive.

 

[Gedeone]

It had some clever moments but overall kinda meh.

It seems i forgot to warn the codex about it...

You are way too kind. To be blunt, its shit, period. No need to elaborate.

I wonder why we always get shitty VNs even when there is not too much moe. Lemnisca could have picked up smthing else.

Oh well, Rance will save the day once again. Soon.

 

[ElderGnome]

There is a thread for this:
http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?threads/visual-novel-recomendation-thread.77473/

Anyway, Grisaia on Steam is censored, I'd probably play the adult version (free fan translation can be found on the interwebs). Adult version has sex in it, obviously, but the all ages version also removes one key element of one of the stories in the game.

Obviously Grisaia on steam has no virus in it, that's just a false positive.

Always interesting to me what Steam censors and what it doesn't. I figured on the false positive as I read a few reports of other people on the web finding the same or similar trojan in their copy of Grisaia.

Thanks for the link.

 

[Haba]

Steam version is missing the sex scenes, which isn't much of an issue ('cept for one character really), but it also is missing a part of the

Spoiler

cannibalism

, which radically changes the tone of the said route.

 

[Lucky]

Ya'll suck at consumer advice! Bought those Umineko games anyway, then got the translation and played it for a bit. Music seems good so far, but all these scenes are very long-winded. Hopefully the whole game isn't like that. It's also really weird to see blondes and redheads in a Japanese family, especially when the parents aren't blonds or redheads and with no foreigners among them (unless that's the twist?).
Also, calling it now but Kyrie is Battler's real mother. It would be awkward to pull-off, but it seems too obvious to not be true.

 

[Gedeone]

Music seems good so far, but all these scenes are very long-winded. Hopefully the whole game isn't like that.

Hope is a wonderful thing. Yes, the OST is good. As for the rest...
Umineko is a good VN until the end of ep 2. After that, well, there is no real mystery anymore, its like a (silly) mind game. Also, too many frills and witches.
As for Battora and his redhead, it could be a plot twist or just the usual colorful VN cast. I quitted after ep 4-5 and it was a long time ago so i cant be sure.

 

[Mr. Pink]

I don't feel like there's anything wrong with umineko ep 1-4, but then r07 went kind of crazy after his friend died and turned 5-8 into something bizzare and confusing.

I think 2-3 are the strongest in the series though.

 

[Lucky]

Finished EP1 and playing EP2. Decent so far, which is better than my initial impression led me to believe. The introduction of witches is weird, but I 'm digging it so far. Especially since Beatrice has such a wonderful troll-face. In fact, the sprites might be simple, but some of the faces show some great emotion, so I'm liking them much more than the more standardised looks present in most games. Scenes are still long-winded, but I'm interested enough in where the mystery is going. Some great songs, too. The music that played when they found the first bodies made that scene way more powerful than it would have been without it. That was probably the strongest scene so far.
I'm worried though that the riddle is going to mean that lost in translation word-dickery will be important and the red truth is giving off the same vibe. Plus, the mystery reeks of people not checking properly who died, in order for it to make sense.


Other thoughts:

Kanon is gay for Battler. He's also the killer, or at least helped the killer in some way.
Kanon and Shannon occasionally switch places, somehow.
Kinzo is obviously dead.
Kyrie is definitely Battler's mother. She's not aware of this (somehow?).
Maria's friend Beatrice is one of the servants.
Everyone but Battler is way more of a scumbag than he believes them to be (I'm onto you, George).
Beatrice doesn't exist. Kind of. The way the epilogue and EP2 suggest that metaphysics work makes it both. Even if she sort of exists, the mystery should be solvable as a human crime. I'm not interested in solving it though, as I'm smelling this ending in bullshit. Still enjoyable enough.

Hope is a wonderful thing. Yes, the OST is good. As for the rest...
Umineko is a good VN until the end of ep 2. After that, well, there is no real mystery anymore, its like a (silly) mind game. Also, too many frills and witches.
As for Battora and his redhead, it could be a plot twist or just the usual colorful VN cast. I quitted after ep 4-5 and it was a long time ago so i cant be sure.

I'm planning on finishing the ride, so you'll soon get to hear whether getting off was the right idea. I can't say that I'm thrilled yet at the prospect of mind games, though.

I don't feel like there's anything wrong with umineko ep 1-4, but then r07 went kind of crazy after his friend died and turned 5-8 into something bizzare and confusing.

I think 2-3 are the strongest in the series though.

Good crazy or bad crazy?

 

[leino]

Kinzo crazy, maybe? In my opinion Umineko became even better as it went on. The meta-verse goes out of control in a very brilliant, pop and kyuuto way, and although the mystery element somewhat recedes to the background, I thought the later episodes flowed logically from the premise.

Still, I don't want say too much about it; just finish the thing without seeing too many opinions, and see what you make of it. I think it's possible to hate the later episodes, but also to really love them.

Regarding the art style, it really has a charm and expressiveness of its own, and the photograph backgrounds give a feeling of a (kind of) magical realism lost in the better-drawn PS3 graphics, which you can now also use.

 

[Mr. Pink]

Kinzo crazy, maybe? In my opinion Umineko became even better as it went on. The meta-verse goes out of control in a very brilliant, pop and kyuuto way, and although the mystery element somewhat recedes to the background, I thought the later episodes flowed logically from the premise.

Still, I don't want say too much about it; just finish the thing without seeing too many opinions, and see what you make of it. I think it's possible to hate the later episodes, but also to really love them.

Regarding the art style, it really has a charm and expressiveness of its own, and the photograph backgrounds give a feeling of a (kind of) magical realism lost in the better-drawn PS3 graphics, which you can now also use.

r07's hamhanded art is terrific in umineko. I don't like the PS3 sprites because it makes everyone look pretty when they really aren't. George is supposed to be a fat fuck and Kinzo and Beato aren't crazy enough.

 

[Lucky]

Played episode 2, 3 and 4. Episode 2 was probably the best, having the tightest focus of them and with Beatrice being at her most threatening. George, Jessica, Shannon and Kanon are super dull while also getting a lot of focus (cementing in my mind that Kanon is the killer), but everything else is still interesting enough. It’s weird though how mildly Battler starts to behave towards Beatrice throughout the episodes, especially after she has repeatedly and gruesomely killed him in agonising ways and keeps showing how his family gets murdered. I like him, but he seems to have the memory of a goldfish.

How they discussed the riddle in episode 3 confirmed for me though that this is going to be word-bullshit of the most annoying sort, which I expect to also apply to the actual mystery and how it relates to all those different truth colours. I’ve got zero interest in trying to unravel the author’s gotchas, so now I’m just along for the ride. It’s funny how the narrative seems to be trying to chastise me for this, but I’m not going to invest time in solving a riddle when the author seems liable to spring a “and it as a dream all along” twist.

The stake sisters and bunnies being dressed like strippers also looks weird. I have trouble imagining this game starting out as porn, considering the art, but those sprites certainly give off that impression.
On a side note, lots of child abuse so far. Having Rosa repeatedly beating the shit out of Maria like that, plus the emotional abuse, is pretty fucked up. Further cements the fact that everyone but Battler is most likely an asshole.

The most interesting thing so far though is the statement in ep 4 that Battler somehow inadvertently caused all of this to happen. It doesn’t match anything we’ve seen so far, yet the red truth thing suggests that it’s true. I’m hoping that they make it work, because that could be a cool twist if done properly.

 

[Rpgsaurus Rex]

Done with Kasumi's route in DI, and all I can say without too many spoilers is



This was a decent read but not outstanding in any way until about halfway into the last chapter. Let's just say, I sobbed like a wounded walrus shed a manly tear.

 

[Martius]

http://gematsu.com/2015/07/zero-escape-volume-3-announced-ps-vita-3ds
Sequel to Virtue Last Reward just was announced. Its supposed to be released summer next year on 3ds and vita.

 

[rrc2soft]

Finished Umineko episode 1 and my main concern is that this is one long VN and the pacing is very uneven.

It is really uneven, but the good parts are godly, and the OST is golden. BTW, For those who are playing Umineko, once you finish all the episodes (the question arcs 1-4 and the answer arcs 5-8), I highly suggest you to read the manga of episode 8 (the last episode) in bato.to. The last episode of the VN is rushed as fuck and a total mess, but the manga is insanely good, plus explains EVERY SINGLE MISTERY.

http://gematsu.com/2015/07/zero-escape-volume-3-announced-ps-vita-3ds
Sequel to Virtue Last Reward just was announced. Its supposed to be released summer next year on 3ds and vita.

HELL YEAH!!!!!!

 

[leino]

The last episode of the VN is rushed as fuck and a total mess, but the manga is insanely good, plus explains EVERY SINGLE MISTERY.

Even the lyrics of Happy Maria?!

Anyway, if you look at Umineko 'with love', then I think the little flaws don't really matter with regard to the meaning and charm at its core. Some stretches of it are long-winded, but also quite fun and touching if you are in the right mood and take them in the context of the entire story. Or if you want to be mean, it is the kind of story that, by its nature, manages to go untarnished by having a crazy borderline hack for a writer and ends up harnessing his strengths for something really touching and profound instead.

Many readers disliked the last episode, but with the mystery already resolved, I thought the finale concluded the greater, the thematic thread of the story beautifully.

(I'm not far into the manga, but to be honest, I feel like Ryukishi dropped the ball a little in declaring it the official truth of the story. The central mystery was resolved during the core arcs already, and things the visual novel left to mystery and imagination did not really need to be filled out. To have some details open to interpretation was quite in line with the theme of the story. But I guess that is a matter of taste; I happen to like loose ends and ambiguity. The manga adaptation really is lovely on its own.)

 

[leino]

Finally read Saya No Uta. I found it not as spooky and weird as I thought I had a right to expect, from the way some friends talked about it, but it was still a good Lovecraftian horror with lots of reipu erotic elements. There are two choices only, one thematic and quite interesting, the other kind of guesswork as to the consequences. Depending on the way one looks at the first one, it can be seen as very desolate or very beautiful; I think I was moved more by the love story than by the horror or the hentai. It is certainly worth the four hours or so that it takes to finish.

 

[Raghar]

http://gematsu.com/2015/06/degica-kickstarting-muv-luv-muv-luv-alternative-localization-this-summer

PTSD for a new generation

What's the point of making kickstarter for a VN that's translated on my HD?

 

[Red Eye]

http://gematsu.com/2015/06/degica-kickstarting-muv-luv-muv-luv-alternative-localization-this-summer

PTSD for a new generation

What's the point of making kickstarter for a VN that's translated on my HD?

Because sekai likes conning suckers out of their cash to rerelease the translation that you already have on your HD. But this time you can buy it.

It's all they actually do.

 

[TigerKnee]

The Kickstarter might actually provide additional out of game content like the artbooks translated with tons of lore and shit and that's about it for benefits. And it's still a huge maybe

 

[Raghar]

http://gematsu.com/2015/06/degica-kickstarting-muv-luv-muv-luv-alternative-localization-this-summer

PTSD for a new generation

What's the point of making kickstarter for a VN that's translated on my HD?

Because sekai likes conning suckers out of their cash to rerelease the translation that you already have on your HD. But this time you can buy it.

It's all they actually do.

I thought all who wanted to buy it did so in Japanese language, and happily applied free english patch... Rich are weird. Is it yet another Kickstarter scam?

 

[TigerKnee]

Won't be answering most questions because well it's been a long time.

- Hotspot finding is fine, but multiple clicks to progress really kills the pace. Even the worst point and click adventures from that era didn't pull this.

I thought this was the standard for Japanese adventure games. Snatcher and Policenauts, for example.

Spoiler

If Kanna is the daughter of Amanda sent back by Evil Ryuuzouji... isn't she also Takuya's daughter?

Yes.

Spoiler

What is up with the tree at the end? Is this a fuck-you from Kanno?

Spoiler

It's the tree of life or whatever. It's a biblical analogy, that's why Yu-No was created in a way that isn't approved of in today's society

 

[Malpercio]

Finished YU-NO. Thoughts:

YU-NO had a... decent first half, but the second half is really hot garbage. I knew the ran out of funds and they had to rush it, but I find most of the answers pretty lazy

Spoiler

Especially the reliance on "the other world", I don't mind these kind of expansions, but in YU-NO cases they almost seemed lazy as fuck

Also the fanservice in the second half was frantically disgusting.

 

[Raghar]

Currently reading Sharin no Kuni

so sick of somewhat interesting premises being wasted on high school bullshit

High school is sort of prison, so it's fitting the theme.

 

[Gerrard]

http://nichegamer.com/2015/09/yurit...its-to-arrive-on-steam-completely-uncensored/

 

[Red Eye]

http://nichegamer.com/2015/09/yurit...its-to-arrive-on-steam-completely-uncensored/

Look at the CGs

Some nipples and implied fingering.