#blvnreview

[suzuran777]

Review: Ooe -Zenpen- (Adelta)

The first part of Adelta's new BL visual novel "Ooe" was finally released on the 25th last month! The second part is scheduled to be released in winter, but the first part was already so good I highly recommend playing it. I’ve been waiting for this game for a long time and also wrote some general information/theories about the game on this blog some years ago, as well as a review of the trial version. I won't mention any big plot-related spoilers, so if you’re waiting for an English version or are just curious what the game is about, you can still check it out!

Synopsis 30th year of the Showa era (1955), our protagonist Oosaki works for a small detective agency and one day receives a strange request from a client. He's asked to attend a memorial service on behalf of his client, which will be held on the remote island of Ooejima. During his stay on the island, a series of strange events happen, and the ship that was supposed to pick them up never arrives. The organizer who invited them is not there, and shortly afterwards they also lose all contact with the outside world. Stranded on this ominous island, ten people unravel the mystery of their shared pasts and the death of the actress An Ooe.

This version of the game focuses on three different routes, Ariake, Shimbashi and Aomi. Similar to previous Adelta games, you play all of the routes in a pre-decided route order, and with each route you finish, a new choice will show up allowing you to proceed to the next route. As I mentioned in one of my previous blog posts, each character was assigned one earthly desire/mental factor that kind of describes the character, so I will also include this again below. Now I've played the game I know that these factors are definitely not their only personality trait, but some parts of it definitely show up in the story eventually.

Ariake -  Disregard (Anapatrapya 無愧): A mortician who likes helping out those in need. After injuring his dominant hand, he has been receiving a lot of help from others. He's immediately very fond of Oosaki and wants to follow him everywhere. His mental factor pretty much indicates that he doesn't consider his own actions 'bad'.

Shimbashi -  Stinginess (Mātsarya 慳): A screenwriter who speakes in a rather strange way, combining overly-polite speach and insults. When he first meets Oosaki, he doesn't seem to trust him at all and doesn't want to tell him anything. His mental factor refers to him only wanting to satisfy his own desires, and doesn't intend to share anything with others.

Aomi -  Envy (Īrṣyā 嫉): A quiet music teacher who doesn’t talk a lot, and when he does speak, it’s limited to short sentences only. He doesn't like small talk and sometimes when Oosaki asks him something Aomi simply ignores him. His mental factor doesn't need much explanation, but even though it's envy I must say that he's not the overly-jealous type (?). It kind of refers to something more specific in his route which I can't really mention without spoiling.

I don't think you really need a guide for this game as it's pretty obvious when new choices unlock, just start a new game after finishing the first route and you'll see! Ariake does have an alternative ending scene, so during your second playthrough don’t immediately pick the choice that leads to Shimbashi’s route, and return to Ariake’s route one more time. Afterwards you can proceed as usual. Sometimes a few choices pop up, but selecting the wrong choice has no consequences and you’ll just be re-directed to the choice menu. The wind chime sound effect indicates which one is the correct choice, but I kind of enjoyed seeing everyone’s nervous reactions while falsely accusing them of something, so I recommend that too since there really are no consequences. By the way, important items are easy to notice because of their red color, like the record in the record player you can see below. Same goes for any text written in red, it might become relevant later (maybe even in part 2).

Introduction to the story Oosaki lives in a boarding house in Suga, a short walk from Hiratsuka station near Kamakura. His boss Shinkiba, who runs the detective agency, informs him about a request he received from a client. The client, a man who calls himself Shizuma Daiba, asks Oosaki to attend the memorial service of actress An Ooe on his behalf. According to Daiba, it was his father who received the invitation, however he fell ill shortly afterwards. Oosaki assumes that the person who invited him is a relative of the actress. Even though Oosaki never met her, he remembers reading news about her death. which shocked him because she was quite young and died by setting herself on fire. Even though it's a rather strange request and Shinkiba warns Oosaki, he still decides to travel to Ooejima. The island belongs to the Izu Island group and is located near Hachijojima. Originally, it was used as a military base during the Second World War, however after this it became uninhabited. Even though he has never been there, Oosaki knows about the island because his grandma who raised him was originally from this island, and he always felt like he'd travel to the island some day.

On his way to the island, he meets one of the other main characters in this game, Ariake, who’s also travelling to Ooejima for the memorial service. He’s surprised to find out Ariake’s grandmother is also from the island. After arriving at the Mikazuki inn, he receives a warm welcome from a trembling man with a knife (??), who later introduces himself as Funeno. He also meets Shimbashi who's staying at the same inn. The other characters are all staying at a different inn, but Oosaki meets them pretty soon too (Takeshiba, Shijoumae, Hinode, Aomi and Shiodome). The final character, Toyosu, appears a bit later and mentions he's in charge of the memorial service because the individual who invited them all (who nobody seems to know) couldn't come after all, which leaves everyone confused.

Since this is mentioned in the promotional material and also happens in the trial version, I think it's not really a spoiler to mention that Funeno is the first character who gets killed shortly after this. They decide to perform a ritual to put his spirit to rest, which involves burning a straw figure, though when they finally burn it they discover someone swapped the straw figure with Funeno's body and they end up burning his body instead... Afterwards, Shiodome reveals that they didn't just receive invitation letters, but they also got a letter describing the crimes one of the other attendees committed. They were all swapped, so everyone has a letter that belongs to someone else and knows about their crimes. The orders is as follows: Funeno > Daiba > ??? > Shimbashi > Takeshiba > Aomi > Toyosu > Hinode > Shijoumae > Ariake > Shiodome > Funeno. I guess now we know why Funeno acted so nervous around Oosaki, as he introduced himself as ''Daiba'' and Funeno got Daiba's letter...

Oosaki didn't receive any of these letters from Daiba though, so after they all return the letters to each other, Shimbashi is the only one who doesn't get his own letter, and let's just say he's not too happy about that. This also means that characters who had each other's letters know about their crimes, which is why some of them seem to be rather uncomfortable around each other. Most of the routes branch off a little bit after the scene where the trial version ends, and then the real murder mystery story starts in which they try to figure out who killed Funeno. Someone also destroyed the phone, so now there's no way to contact anyone anymore. At this point Oosaki's of course also suspicious of his client Daiba, because it's clear he was hiding something from him and sent Oosaki to the island without telling him important information.

Personal thoughts Since it’s a murder mystery game you never know which characters to trust, and because characters do die and will be absent throughout the entire route, it was a really suspenseful experience. I was interested in the story from start to finish, which is why I finished it so fast... I can't explain the feeling of dread every time one of the characters announced that something bad had happened, and you're wondering how bad it could really be. Even though the game doesn't show any super gory CGs (the most they'll show is blood), the descriptions are very detailed, so I think even without that it's easy to understand what happened to them. I also liked how the characters who die and survive are different depending on which route you play, so the game really stays interesting in all three routes.

Even though we know a second part of the game is coming, part 1 doesn't feel incomplete at all and the routes work very well on their own! So if you can read Japanese or want to use translation tools, I highly recommend playing this. It took me over 30 hours to finish the game, including the common route which is about 5 hours long, but I do play pretty fast and am already replaying some scenes, so it might be even longer. Also according to a message that came with the game, part 2's data will be free for everyone who buys part 1, so you don't need to buy them separately. I do want the physical version of the game, but I don't mind spending a bit more because the game's only 4400 yen (unlike most VNs which are about 8000-9000 yen).

My personal favorite character is Shimbashi because of his cat-like characteristics and short temper, I guess he's a bit of a tsundere now I think about it, but I also really like the abnormal way he speaks... he's super polite and extremely rude at the same time and I am curious how this would get translated in the English version. My second favorite is probably Ariake, and because he was the first route I expected his route to be good too, since it's the first experience anyone will have with this game after all. The final route is Aomi, who I was pretty neutral about when they showed him in the promotional material, but I really liked him... I should really not underestimate any character in this game because they will prove me wrong, and so far I really like everyone. I suddenly remember when the game was announced they said all the characters are ''straight'' lol, but as expected, so far it just means they haven't been together with another man before. They do not seem to care about Oosaki's gender at all and don't make it a big deal (I also like how there's multiple lines in this game acknowledging other gender identities btw... it's mentioned out of nowhere but I love to see it). If you didn't know btw, the protag of this game is a top, all of the previous Adelta game protagonists were bottoms.

I've always liked the Adelta game artstyle and character designs, but somehow the art in this game looks even better. Every CG in Ooe just looks so beautiful and I can't stop opening the CG gallery to look at it over and over again. As for the eye color... I also have my theories because in previous games this was an important plot element, and even by just looking at the promotional material, it's clear that those with ties to Ooejima are the only characters who have red eyes, so maybe that will be mentioned in the next part? Also every character has their own ending song, similar to what they did with Uuultra C. The game actually has no opening song/movie, but they might be saving that for part 2. The ending songs are so good though at this point I will not even complain.

The references to existing literature in this game are also comparible to the older Adelta titles, for example the caves on the island kind of remind me of the novel "Kotou no Oni" and the game sometimes references Agatha Christie’s "And Then There Were None" too, with Oosaki even owning a copy of the book, and eventually comparing the people on the island to characters in the book. As I mentioned in my first blog post about this game, some of the characters' first names also reference other novel characters. For example, Shiodome’s name is Michio, which is also an important character in "Kotou no Oni", Daiba’s name is Shizuma, which seems to be referencing a character in "Inugami-ke no Ichizoku" or "The Inugami Family" (this applies to the names of his brother and father too), and Funeno’s first name is Kureichirou, which is the name of one of the main characters in "Dogra Magra". In part 1, we learn the first names of a couple of other characters too for the first time, and I do have some theories what these could be referencing, especially Takeshiba's... I also want to know more about Shiodome because I mean, from the beginning it's clear the way he behaves isn't exactly what one would consider "normal", so I wonder how he would interact with Oosaki... Cool-B did preview one of his 18+ scenes and I have many questions. Then of course there's Daiba... he's so suspicious and the promotional material keeps referring to him as a ''side character'' even though he was literally on the cover of Cool-B magazine combined with Oosaki and Ariake, so I have my doubts about that.

Honestly there's so many things I could write about but at this point I might be theorizing too much and not actually reviewing the game, but I really don't want to spoil, so I think that's it for now! Part 2 is scheduled to be released in winter, though I'm not sure if that means December, January or later. You can buy part 1 here though! Please support them. It was mentioned that they are planning to release an English and Chinese version, though any information about that will have to wait until the release of part 2. When part 2 is released I'll write a review about that too!

[suzuran777]

Review: Ooe trial version (Adelta)

A few days ago Adelta released the long-awaited trial version of their new game Ooe, so I really wanted to write a (short) review about it! The full game was originally scheduled to be released this summer, but it looks like we will have to be patient for a bit longer as the new release date will be somewhere in fall later this year. I have been following updates about this game for about three years now, so I don’t mind waiting a little longer! You can read a bit more information about the plot and the characters in one of my earlier blog posts here. To summarize, the game takes place in the 30th year of Showa (1955) and focuses on protagonist Oosaki, a detective who travels to the remote island of Ooejima after receiving a request from a client to visit the island and attend a ceremony on his behalf.

The trial version covers the first part of the game, up until the first “incident”. Oosaki doesn't really have any friends or family, and lives in a boarding house in Suga, a short walk from Hiratsuka station near Kamakura. His boss Shinkiba, who runs the detective agency, informs him about a request he received from a client. The client, a man who calls himself Shizuma Daiba, asks Oosaki to attend the memorial service of actress Ooe An on his behalf. Originally, it was Daiba’s father who received the invitation, however he fell ill shortly afterwards. At first Daiba wanted to go in his place, but his father warned him to send someone else instead. Oosaki assumes that the person who invited everyone to the island is a relative of the actress, who passed away three years ago. Even though Oosaki never met her, he remembers reading news about her death.

After a few more meetings, Oosaki makes preparations to travel to Ooejima. The island belongs to the Izu Island group and is located near Hachijojima. Originally, it was used as a military base during the Second World War, however after this it became uninhabited. Even though he has never been there, Oosaki knows about the island because his grandma who raised him was originally from this island. He always felt like he had to visit the island someday, as if it was calling for him. On his way to the island he meets Ariake, who’s also travelling to Ooejima for the memorial service. He's surprised to find out Ariake’s grandmother is also from the island, and similar to Oosaki, it’s his first time actually going there too.

After arriving, they head to the Mikazuki inn, where they meet a trembling man trying to defend himself with a knife, who later introduces himself as Funeno. He also meets Shimbashi, a writer who uses overly polite speech who’s staying at the same inn. The next day, he meets the other group of people who are staying at a different inn (Takeshiba, Shijoumae, Hinode, Aomi and Shiodome). When the ceremony is about to start, they realize that the person who invited them to the island isn’t there. A monk called Toyosu was sent on their behalf. After the ceremony they have dinner together, but when Funeno is asked to join them, he seems to be expriencing some kind of flashback, and starts shouting at them. Embarrassed by his own reaction, he immediately leaves the room.

Shortly afterwards Shimbashi, who always skips his meals, walks in and asks why Oosaki and Ariake are trying to prank him by playing creepy music at the inn. Confused, they follow him. Soon enough they find a record player in a small hidden room near the stairs. At first they think Funeno did this, but then they find his dead body in Oosaki’s room. They meet up with the others and Shijoumae suspects it was a suicide because sleeping pills were found near his body, but Oosaki isn’t convinced. Aomi points out that the telephone has also been destroyed with an axe. Shiodome insists that they at least finish the ritual for Ooe An, which requires burning a straw figure to send off the spirit of the deceased. Even though nobody really feels like doing this anymore after Funeno’s death, they try to collect the materials required.

While the others make their preparations, Oosaki thinks about who the culprit could be. He suspects Shimbashi, Toyosu, Shiodome and Ariake, as they came with him to Mikazuki inn. As they finish the ritual by burning the straw figure, they realize that someone swapped it with Funeno’s body. Afterwards, Shiodome reveals that all this time he actually had Funeno’s invitation letter. One thing Oosaki didn’t know is that all the letters were swapped, and that the invitation letters also included a list of crimes the other person had committed. In Funeno’s case, he killed his younger sister. They decide to return each other’s letters, however because Oosaki doesn’t have one, nobody seems to have Shimbashi's letter. Shiodome tries changing the topic, but Oosaki is determined to find out who killed Funeno, and that’s when the trial version ends.

Thoughts & Impressions After waiting for this game for a long time I was so happy to finally see all the characters interact with each other! The trial version was pretty long too, it took me over 6 hours to finish and I think I read pretty fast, so it might be even longer. I have so many theories about what could possibly happen next but it’s hard to put it all into words! The music, art and story are all amazing so far. It's interesting to see how some of the characters already know each other too, although most of them only met at Ooe An's funeral years ago.

One thing I was thinking about is that Funeno was extremely nervous whenever he was talking to Oosaki (who introduced himself as Daiba) and also knew that they had each other’s invitations, so I think he got the invitation of Daiba’s father. Oosaki mentions he never saw any invitation, so I think it was never shown to him, probably on purpose... I am curious about Ooe An too, the game mentions that she committed suicide by burning herself. However, when Oosaki asks Shimbashi what kind of person she was, he doesn’t really answer and laughs when Oosaki assumes she was an innocent girl. Takeshiba mentions that some theorize that she never actually died, but Shijoumae (a surgeon) and Ariake (who works at a funeral home) both saw her body, so they find that hard to believe.

So far I think my favorite character is Ariake because he's very cute (some of the other characters also agree lol), but honestly everyone seemed interesting. I wonder if Hinode will ever talk because his voice actor is still hidden. I'm also interested in Daiba and why him and Oosaki look identical, they do both have family members from Ooejima, so could they actually be related? In a lot of the promotional material Daiba was introduced as a side character, however it looks like the game does have an additional route (the website says 9 routes + α) so maybe we will get a Daiba route too. For now I will try to be patient until the full game's released in fall!

[suzuran777]

Revisiting Gakuen Handsome: Backstory + short review

I think every BL fan has seen something related to Gakuen Handsome at some point in their lives, it's a parody BL visual novel with quite the legacy. It was originally released in 2010 by Team YokkyuFuman and it also got its own OVA and anime adaptation in 2015 & 2016. The protagonist, who is an unnamed seventeen year old boy, moves back to the city after a seven year absence. He enrolls into Baramon High School, a prestigious all-boys school which takes pride in being the best of its prefecture. From now on, his life will be changed forever...

First of all, the developer team's backstory is probably one of the most unique ones. In 2008, eight film students from the Tohoku University of Art and Design formed Team YokkyuFuman (チーム欲求腐満). Their blog mentions that a year later, they attempted to submit the Gakuen Handsome opening movie to the 9th edition of the Niconico Film Festival (their submission was completely ignored). After that, the opening movie was uploaded on NicoNico Douga, where it was quite well received. The description of the video mentions “to be released in 20009”, as they originally probably had no intention to create a full game.

After it became a hot topic on NicoNico Douga, the team decided to continue production, and in 2010 they released the game "Gakuen Handsome". Their university even gave them permission to organize an official exhibition: Gakuen Handsome Matsuri (or just Gakuen Handsome Festival). Visitors could watch the opening movie, learn more about the characters and take pictures together with the life-sized cardboard cutouts. The exhibition also featured rare merch: A drama CD which would be released in "20009" and canned bread.

This exhibition was apparently not only held once, but many times according to their blog. The game was finally released in 2010 and many fans were happy to finally play it, supporting the team that created it. Togo Mito, who many of you know as the creator of (in)famous BL game Hadaka Shitsuji, also collaborated with them. These are some pictures I found on Togo Mito's old blog, Mizoguchi and Juro drawn by Togo Mito and the Hadaka Shitsuji cast drawn by Team YokkyuFuman.

Even after graduation, it seems like they would occasionally invite some of Gakuen Handsome's creators. In 2014, the university tweeted that they would not be able to host the exhibition that year due to renovations, but visitors could take pictures with the cardboard cutouts. There's also an interview from 2016 on the university's website, in which they talk about how things have been after graduation! I absolutely love how the university supported all of this.

Now about the game itself... Where to even start? You'll have to trust me, but the game is actually good. Many parody games can be quite a hit or miss, but this visual novel is something I still catch myself laughing at years later. The inconsistent art, pointy chins and strange jokes really create an experience unlike anything else. I don't think any commercial company would be able to create something like this, even if they tried. One detail that the anime adaptation doesn't really show is that many different artists worked on this, whose styles widely vary from each other, making absolutely no attempt to create one consistent artstyle. Most characters have at least 2 ~ 3 sprites that often look completely different from each other. For example, sometimes Saionji sensei looks like a clean-shaven teenager/young adult, but in the CGs he suddenly turn into an older looking man with a stubble.

Yes he's talking about eating paint in the screenshot above, why not. Anyway... the voice acting in this game is something else I wanted to talk about, because it adds so much to the game. Of course it's not professional, but I think that's what makes it amazing. You can sometimes hear the voice actors trying really hard not to laugh, and they will occasionally completely mess up their lines. Of course all of those lines are kept in the game and they didn't re-record them. I also loved it when they started swearing in English for seemingly no reason. Also, instead of just avoiding the name of the protagonist (who you can give any name you want) they pronounce it... by improvision. Just imagine how one would try to pronounce a "adfgdf" keysmash and you'll get an idea what it sounds like.

There are 6 characters in this game who you can romance. The protagonist's childhood friend Takuya, who is a bit obsessed with the protein bar Calorie Mate (which is censored in the new version of the game, so you just hear a BLEEP sound), outlaw teacher Saionji, school principal Juro who basically only functions as a save point, student council president Kagami, chuunibyou transfer student Shiga, and last but not least, the captain of the soccer team Mitsurugi, who also murders people with his chin sometimes. The protagonist's sister also has a (non-romantic) ending, which you need to play in order to unlock the extra scenario (which... is a ridiculous murder mystery story for some reason). I also could not find the guide I used a long time ago, so I just looked at some videos on NicoNico to see what others were doing and that worked pretty well...!

My favorite scene is probably still that one scene in Mitsurugi's route, in which he stabs people with his chin. It's also one of the scenes that gets referenced the most in fanart. The context makes it even more ridiculous, Mitsurugi gets really upset that some people like the chunky variant of red bean paste (tsubuan) and decides they should die. After stabbing his teammate and multiple other people he runs outside. The protagonist however, isn't safe either and also gets accused of being a "tsubuan supporter". If you survive though, you get a chance to marry Mitsurugi!

Honestly one of the reasons I wanted to write about this game is because many people only know the OVA and/or anime, but the game is so funny I think everyone should play it if they're interested. I also think the team behind it has such a funny backstory and I love seeing how supportive their university is. Right now the team is still active on their Twitter account and they sometimes create new content. Last year they released Gakuen Handsome Fighters, a short fighting game featuring the Gakuen Handsome characters.

If you are interested in purchasing it, I recommend getting the "Special" edition which can be purchased on DLsite! I couldn't find a working download link anymore of the older version, but I think the creators deserve the support, so I don't regret buying it (it was about 15 USD). It includes the original game and 5 shorter stories which were originally released as smartphone apps. While I think the original game is still the best one, it's fun to explore some of the extra scenarios as well. One of the shorter games takes place in an alternative universe in which the boys live in the Heian period, and for some reason some of the sprites are animated... yeah.

[suzuran777]

BLVN review: Paradise (PIL/SLASH)

Paradise is an 18+ BL visual novel developed by PIL/SLASH, who some might recognize for previous titles such as Shingakkou -noli me tangere-. The scenario writer is Kyuuyouzawa Lychee, who has previously worked on CAGE OPEN and CAGE CLOSE. The Japanese version of Paradise was originally released in 2017, but this month it's also getting an English release by JAST BLUE, which you can pre-order here! As usual the review will be mostly spoiler-free so I definitely recommend to buy the game yourself too!

Story Protagonist Azuma works at a local convenience store and his life is anything but eventful. He barely earns enough to pay his bills and also has no real ambitions. To his surprise, he suddenly receives a lottery ticket and wins a 6-day trip to Togajima Island. Hoping he would meet some cute girls during his trip, he's disappointed to find out the only other participants are also men. Soon Azuma realizes that this was not the luxurious trip he was hoping for...

Main characters

Azuma The protagonist of the game. His life is rather tedious and he doesn't really have any ambitions or dreams for the future, so he works at a convenience store and earns just enough money to survive. Voiced by Irakusa Netoru who's known for voicing Seiji in Room No.9 and of course Eiden in NU: carnival.

Mitsugi Architectural designer. Although he looks like the lone wolf type, he's a person with a lot of common sense. Despite that though, he gets angry surprisingly fast. Voiced by Ichijou Hikaru.

Matsuda Salesman. A responsible person who's good at taking care of others. If there's conflict, he takes a step back to analyze the situation and to choose the most logical solution. Looks older than he really is (he's 27). Voiced by Tetrapot Noboru.

Takara University student. He's very friendly and innocent looking. He's often teased by those around him because of his exaggerated reactions. Voiced by Yumachi Kakeru.

Hongo Tour guide. He's soft spoken and tries his best to be polite to everyone. Has a strong sense of responsibility. Voiced by Shinomori Hibiki.

Shimada Freelance photographer who joined the tour to take photos. Always carries his camera with him to take pictures whenever he feels like it. Voiced by Kishiri Tooru.

General info This game has three main routes (Mitsugi, Matsuda and Takara) but Hongo and Shimada do have their own endings as well and appear quite often in every route. There are also four other characters on the island (Kido, Uchimura and two unnamed guys). I actually wasn't sure if there was a recommended route order for this game, but I'd personally recommend Mitsugi > Matsuda > Takara. Though you can start with Matsuda's route too I don't think it affects the story much. I used a guide to get all the endings which you can find here, but you can also enable "easy mode" in the game which kind of guides you to the route you want to play. Usually, the bad ends were pretty easy to get too.

Just like some of PIL/SLASH's other games, this game does have horror themes and some of the CGs are a bit graphic, so be aware of that! If you're familiar with their other games I think you'll be fine, but I figured I'd give some kind of warning.

Let's start with a short summary of the common route! Azuma's dreams of travelling to a luxurious resort are already crushed when he's about to board the ship and realizes the island is uninhabited. Furthermore, he also learns that they will be staying in wooden cabins and have to cook their own food. Nevertheless, he tries to make the best out of the situation and actually ends up enjoying the first day together with his new friends. This positive mood doesn't last long however, as the ship that was supposed to deliver them fresh food every day stops showing up. Not only that, but they also lose communication with the outside world, as Hongo, who's the tour guide, is not able to contact anyone on the mainland.

At first the group tries to stay calm, hopeful that help might arrive soon. Aware that food shortages will be one of the first problems they will run into, they split up into different groups to look for ways to find food on the island. This proves to be quite difficult, as Matsuda comments that the currents around the island are unusual and the fish don't seem to be biting. The others don't have much luck either, as there aren't many edible plants or mushrooms on the island.

While exploring the island, they discover an abandoned village which most likely been abandoned since the Meiji period. Weirdly enough it doesn't seem like the former inhabitants took their belongings with them, almost as if they had to suddenly leave in a hurry. Another strange thing the group notices is that the storehouse has a jail cell in the basement, as if people had been imprisoned there in the past. Mitsugi mentions that this is not unusual for houses that were built during this time period, but it does make you wonder why people would need this on an island, and Azuma thinks the same.

Moving on to each route, I played Mitsugi's route first because I liked his character design. He's an architectural designer who came to the island for some work-related reasons, and at first he has no interest in talking to Azuma. This pisses Azuma off so he immediately tries to start a fight with Mitsugi. This kind of continues for at least a few days, but it was really funny to see their interactions. I was curious to see how their relationship would develop in this route. I think his route is a good one to start with because it doesn't really explain the full story about what's going on in the island, but I think it gives the player some interesting hints about what might happen in the other routes. I also recommend playing the bad ends, as you can also get Hongou's ending in Mitsugi's route.

The next route I played was Matsuda, who works as an salesman/office worker and traveled to the island for a well-deserved vacation. I wasn't sure what to think of him at first because he just seemed like a nice guy who liked fishing, so some parts of his route surprised me a little...! You can also get Shimada's ending in this route.

After finishing the first two routes, I played Takara's route. He's a student who similar to Azuma, also won the ticket for this trip. I think this route is locked (?) and for the right reasons because if you play it first it will spoil the entire game. In this route you finally learn more about the island. I can't really say more because it would spoil the ending, but definitely play the game until the very end so you can find out yourself!

Final impressions First of all, one thing I really liked is how the game really has no boring moments. I think my favorite character is still Mitsugi, but Azuma is such a funny protagonist and I always think it's fun how PIL/SLASH combines elements like horror and humor. I think I said something similar when I reviewed Dystopia no Ou, but these games always have such fun characters. I also liked the illustrations drawn by Kotomi Youji, the CGs are really nice and detailed.

Now I wouldn't say it's the most serious game ever, but honestly I think it doesn't need to be. This is one of these games in which I enjoyed the interactions between the characters the most. If you're a fan of BL games with dark themes I think it's definitely worth it to give this one a try! As usual, PIL/SLASH made sure to add some pretty dark and disturbing bad ends to this game, so I definitely recommend playing those too if you're into that. The dark themes are however also present in the routes that lead to the good endings, so if you're not comfortable with noncon scenes for example, this game might not be for you.

I played the trial version of the Japanese version years ago, but I had a good time playing the game in English this time and finishing all of the endings. Other than some minor typos and the game showing me hints when I wasn't using easy mode (I'm not sure if this also happens in the Japanese version) the English version was enjoyable to play. The game is also only 20 USD which is quite a good deal, since the Japanese versions tend to be more expensive.

Lastly, if you're looking for more content after finishing the game, Paradise actually also has two sequels, -MUSUBI- which is basically a fandisc that continues the story, and -KIWAME-, which is more of a re-telling of the first game's story. Apparently Takara's brother shows up in these games as a new character. Right now they are only available in Japanese though, so be aware of that!

[suzuran777]

Review + Guide: Friendly lab - unlock(); (Tennenouji)

I was going to wait for the English translation of the PC version, but got a bit impatient and decided to play the Japanese version instead...! So here's my spoiler-free review in which I explain the gameplay mechanics and what the game's about. I also wrote a guide, as the Japanese one I found was a bit confusing sometimes.

In this game, you play the role of a researcher who's conducting a gentle experiment on two test subjects. The goal of the experiment is to measure what kind of impact the interference of the researcher has on the test subjects. The experiment must however be conducted safely, without harming the test subjects. A small locked room, two test subjects who suffer from memory loss. It's your goal to present a variety of items to them and to observe their reaction.

If you're here for the guide I recommend scrolling down a little bit! I'll start with a short summary of what the game is about and how to play it. This game was originally released as a mobile game in 2022 and I played a little bit of it, but I didn't reach any endings, so this was my first time completing the game. The gameplay of both versions is almost identical, but this time there are no in-game purchases and ads, which is nice! As the game's description mentions, you have to conduct experiments on the test subjects, Nishi and Higashi, and observe how they react to them. Both of them don't remember how they got there and also don't remember much of their past lives, so it's up to you to slowly make them remember. This game is unvoiced and there's also no background music, so it immediately makes the player feel a bit uneasy. The only sound you hear is the sound of the clock ticking.

Gameplay and story As the researcher, you can use 10 different sub-menus to interact with Nishi and Higashi: Voyeurism (1), Meal (2), Special Item (3), Accident (4), Entertainment (5), a safe which becomes the Cultivation Room later (6), Question cards (7), Paper and Pen (8), Bathing (9) and Sleep (10). At first the game does seem a bit confusing because you have to figure out which items trigger a reaction and it's a bit slow at first, but I did have fun slowly learning more about the characters! The goal is to gather as many keywords as possible, but you only have a limited numbers of actions each day, so use them wisely. For those reading this after the English version is released, I hope my translations aren't too different, but I think it should still be understandable!

Both characters have completely different personalities. They don't remember their real names so they use the Japanese words for East and West (Nishi and Higashi). Nishi knows a lot about many topics, such as plants, medicine, animals and likes sharing fun facts about items shown to him. Higashi on the other hand, seems to be struggling with a lot of things, slowly remembering his dark past when certain items are presented to him. Throughout the story, Nishi helps him to slowly regain memories of his past, which sometimes get rather dark.

Almost the entire plot of the game takes place in a single room, so the characters and their stories are the most important part of this game. Through their interactions, you slowly learn what happened to them, allowing you to theorize how they could have possibly ended up in a situation like this. Because of this, the gameplay sometimes feels a bit slow, but I recommend taking your time so you can slowly learn more about the characters. The game auto-saves the current experiment so you can close the game whenever you want. It takes a while to replay the game a few times too to unlock every ending, but I had a lot of fun testing each option to see what would happen next. The only downside is that you can't really save, so if the experiment fails it's over and you have to restart.

Spoiler-free guide The first playthrough never gives you an ending so the choices don't matter, but I recommend using the cultivation room which unlocks within the first days. By presenting question cards to the characters, you will receive cultivation water which you can use in this special menu. Make sure to complete the experiment, as it carries over to your next playthrough. After the first round, start a new game and follow the "route 3 hint" card, it will show a little lamp symbol next to the options you should pick. You can skip experiments you've done before by double clicking it, it's faster than pressing the skip button. A few more tips to get the endings:

Don't use all your daily turns immediately, as some options only show up throughout the day and some are only available for a limited amount of time, so you might miss them.

Make sure to carefully look at the experiments in order to not miss any of the recommended choices, as some of these are also only available on certain days (you need to scroll down sometimes to see them). You can still get the endings if you miss some of them though, no need to restart if one or two of them expired.

The bathing scene choices usually don't matter, so just pick the character you want. You have to replay the game at least 10 times to get all the endings, so you'll have plenty of time to pick each option.

The choices which display this pink handshake symbol next to them increases the affinity between both characters, which is necessary to unlock some CGs.

Ending 3 and 2: Follow the "ending 3" hints. At the end of the game you're presented with a choice, pick the option to not tell the truth for ending 3. Afterwards start a new game, follow the "ending 3" hints again and pick the other option for ending 2. In my case the skip button somehow skipped the entire choice, so if you replay to get ending 2, be careful to not use this too much near the end of the final day. Ending 4: Automatically unlocks at the same time as ending 3 if you've completed the cultivation room in your first playthrough. Ending 1: Follow the "ending 3" hints but purposely avoid all the experiments that give you any clues on day 10. I just did all the recommended experiments on other days (except maybe 1 or 2 of them) and on the final day, I only used the voyeurism option and picked experiments the game didn't recommend (the ones without the lightbulb icon).

Ending 7: Follow the "ending 3" hints once more and give the characters the "happiness gas" item 8 times, with this item you unlock some of the 18+ content in the game. You can obtain this item by just showing the characters the question cards every day, they'll hint that they want to do something (eating, entertainment etc.) and one of the sub-menu buttons will light up, hinting that you should pick one of these options next. The buttons either turn green, yellow or red and shows a timer how much time you have left to select an option to obtain the item. On the right side of the screen you can see how many of the items you have (the gas mask and the cup of coffee icons).

After unlocking ending 3, you can also follow the "ending 5" hint card which you'll have to use for the next endings. Ending 5: Follow the "ending 5" hints (which unlocks after finishing ending 3) but avoid question cards as much as possible. Pick the experiment which looks something like this "■□■■" in the "Accident" menu every time (there's multiple parts and it seems to show up randomly throughout the day sometimes). I'm not sure how they will translate this, so below you can see what it looks like.

Ending 6: Exactly the same as the previous ending but this time, make sure to use all of your question cards every day, the game ends after playing the final "■□■■" event. Ending 8 and 9: Follow the "ending 5" hints again, but make sure to use happiness café au lait 8 times (you unlock this the same way as the happiness gas mentioned above). Also make sure to play the "lump of ???" event, which is an experiment that sometimes shows up in "Special items" during the first days. Avoid the final "■□■■" event because that might trigger ending 5 or 6 instead. You can't always use the café au lait immediately, but just check the special menu item every now and then to see if it's there. After using this item 8 times, you can choose to give it to Nishi (East) which unlocks ending 10, or Higashi (West) which unlocks ending 9.

Ending 10: Unlocks after you've cleared many experiments in the game marked with ★. I accidentally got this ending when I was aiming for another ending while following the "ending 3 card" hints, so if you don't want this end, it's better to ignore those options!

Final impressions The gameplay of this game is something totally different from what I'm used to, but I had fun! It takes a while to complete so I recommend just taking it slowly. The mobile version is a bit different and has a lot more options, offering an in-game shop and some kind of gacha system. I personally enjoyed the PC version more because even though it was sometimes funny to unlock different items for the characters, it was difficult to take the story seriously when they were wearing wigs and all kinds of funny outfits lol, though that is optional too. There's no background music or voices in this game, so I can't really comment on that, but I thought the art was really nice. It was a bit different than Yura's usual art, but I think it really suits the game's setting, kind of gloomy and dark.

I will not spoil the plot of the game but I think it was good! The game gives you all these little hints and slowly but surely, you learn their backstories and what happened to them to end up in such a place. It's called ''friendly'' lab and while the experiments themselves don't directly harm them, I will say that some of the endings are anything but "friendly". I did grow quite fond of the characters after interacting with them for so many days so after playing all the endings, I miss them already... I might go back to the mobile version after all because there's quite some things that aren't in the PC version, for example instead of the usual 11 days, this version has 20+ days now (the app still updates every now and then) and introduces new experiments, and at some point even a new research subject. The romance between Nishi and Higashi also seems to develop a bit more in this version, so I wonder if they'll release an updated version of the PC version at some point, or a second game? I am satisfied with the content of the PC version alone though!

Anyway, I recommend playing the game without reading spoilers, because the whole point of the game is that you're slowly learning more about these characters, and giving any kind of hint ruins the purpose of the game (though at some point you can also ask the characters if they know Giancarlo, a reference to Luckydog1... which was quite funny).

Here's a bonus screenshot of the app version of the game playing a Candy Crush ad, which made me laugh because it does not suit the atmosphere of the game at all, though you can get free points for the in-game gacha if you watch the ads.

[suzuran777]

Review: Shingakkou -Noli me tangere- (PIL/SLASH)

This is a game I've been wanting to replay for a long time! It has been 10 years, so I had a fun time revisiting it.

The story focuses on protagonist Michael, who's enrolled into a seminary. Excited to finally reunite with his family, Michael and his twin brother Gabby return home during their Christmas holiday, only to find out that someone has killed their parents and sister. To make things even more strange, they find a mysterious mark on the wall, written in their father's blood. Upon returning to the seminary, Michael discovers that this mark belongs to a secret society that exists in his very own school.

It turns out that this secret society is a group of devil worshippers called "Akahebi no Tsuichi" (soil of the red snake). After receiving some hints about how to join, Michael joins their group to find out the true identity of its members. During their first meeting, some of the voices sound familiar to characters you meet earlier in the game... I will try to avoid mentioning any big spoilers in this review because it's more fun to experience it yourself!

The first three routes follow a kind of similar story, you can choose between Leonid, Cecil or Neil. I personally think it doesn't really matter, so I started with Leonid's route. I ended up really liking him. At first he seems like a very serious character who has a lot of responsibilities, but later you learn he also has a different side. Michael often has to help him clean his room because Leonid has a habit of not organizing anything (to put it lightly...). When he does try to organize his belongings, Michael ends up finding shoelaces in tea cans and shirts stuffed in drawers... He's voiced by Midorikawa Hikaru who is in a lot of older BL games, so maybe I'm biased.

I guess it's important to mention that it definitely feels more like a horror game than a mystery game, so after playing the first route you kinda know what to expect from the next routes already, but it's still interesting to see how each character reacts to everything that happens in the game imo! I played Neil's route next, followed by Cecil's route. I thought Neil's personality was really fun, he teases Michael a lot but he also has a serious and caring side. I must admit that Cecil wasn't really my type, but he's Michael's closest friend and I'm sure there's many people out there who do enjoy childhood friend characters.

After playing the first three routes... it was time for August's route. And oh boy this is where things get a lot worse for Michael! I like how you can still choose who tops and bottoms by the way, which you can do for every character in this game. I remember I somehow didn't expect August of all characters to bottom LOL... I actually quite liked the ending because it's so different than the previous three routes. Some very cool symbolism at the end of his route too which is hard not to appreciate! August's route unlocks Gabby's route, which is the final route of the game.

So, one thing you immediately notice in the first routes is that not many people seem to talk to Gabby, he mostly chats with Michael. When him and Michael get too close to the lake, which is kind of a prohibited area to visit, only Michael gets scolded for being there. One of the only exceptions is when August talks to them, who mentions both of them. I promise everything does make sense eventually and I actually really liked Gabby's route and ending... It was also fun to learn more about the side characters!

I think it was interesting to see how the game handled topics like religion. I remember I wasn't sure if I would like a game with these kind of themes, but it was actually quite good. Even though the seminary has very strict rules, many of the students have different interpretations of what religion should mean to someone. In the end it turns out Leonid is not very religious at all and wants to create a world in which same-sex marriage is accepted, and even Neil, who's revealed to be a pastor in his own route, thinks it's fine that people sometimes question if God really exists. At the end of the game Michael also mentions that maybe the god they believe in isn't the one that is literally described in the bible, but that he still believes that there is something out there.

I thought the horror in this game was pretty well done too, not super scary but it never failed to surprise me. As the route progresses, Michael starts having more and more nightmares and hallucinations. Demons, bugs, ghosts etc. Some scenes have these "jumpscares" but I wouldn't say they're too bad. What caught me off guard is whenever the faces of the other characters became weirdly distorted, which was quite creepy.

I guess my only "complaint" would be that it's one of these games in which every route doesn't really have a completely different story, therefore it can get a bit tedious when you have to complete Leonid, Cecil and Neil's route before you can play August's route, which unlocks Gabby's route. I always try to play every route though, so for me it was no big problem.

I was actually surprised there's a completed Shingakkou manga which focuses on Neil's route! I think it has also been fan-translated, so if you do want to get a feeling what the game is like before playing it, it might be an option to read that instead. Shingakkou hasn't been translated into English, but it's very easy nowadays to download a tool like Textractor and to play it using machine translation. I definitely recommend checking it out yourself!

[suzuran777]

BLVN Review: Psychic Eclipse (C-Garden NEXT-B)

I finally decided to play this VN after seeing a lot of information about it in Cool-B magazine! It was released in 2021, by a BL visual novel company called C-Garden NEXT-B. It's their first visual novel, but the scenario writer and artist have both worked on some BLVN related projects in the past. I played the PC version, but it also has a Nintendo Switch port now.

The game takes place in the near future, in a world in which humans developed psychic abilities. It was believed that these new psychic abilities would lead humanity to a brighter future, however, one incident changed everything. "On that fateful day, the sky was stolen from us".

The protagonist of this story is Kei, a young man who lives together with his childhood friend Subaru. In this game, a person's psychic ability is ranked on a scale from 1 to 6, and Kei has a level 2 ability which is considered quite weak. His ability allows him to sometimes predict an event in the near future, but since he never knows if his visions will really come true, it sometimes causes more bad than good. After a certain incident, all humans started living in domes, controlled by an AI called Polaris. Six years ago, people suddenly started transforming into creatures called "eclipses", who are known for their aggressive nature. Once a person turns into an eclipse, it seems like they completely lose their humanity and it is unknown how the disease is transferred. Some theorize that it is contageous.

This game has three main routes and a fourth extra route, I recommend playing Subaru's route first because I think it doesn't go too deep into some of the plot elements yet. I played Licht's route first which kind of spoiled the other two routes, so I think it's better to pick Subaru or Sirius first. After playing all three of them, you unlock a fourth route, which focuses on some of the side characters (unfortunately no Mikage route but they pair him up with a side character who appears later).

Subaru is Kei's childhood friend, both of them lost their parents when they were younger and they currently live together because they don't really know anyone else. Subaru has this ability to control blue flames, though he rarely uses it because those living within the domes are told to not use their psychic abilities. He seems to know a lot about technology and Kei gets a bit suspicious why Subaru seems to be hiding certain things from him...

The second character who has his own route is Sirius, an AI who Subaru created. He has a cheerful personality, a male idol who enjoys singing. He talks to Kei through Kei's phone, but he often also shows up as a hologram. This made me wonder how the romance in Sirius's route would even develop since Kei can't touch him, but I kinda liked having a non-human love interest. I've played a lot of visual novels but the only AI/robot character I can remember right now is Clear (from DRAMAtical Murder), so I would love to see more of that.

Kei's first encounter with the other two characters, Licht and Mikage, happens one day after Kei finds a dead body of an eclipse at work. Licht immediately uses his psychic ability to stop him from moving (he's the only person alive who has a level psychic 6 ability, who can use psychokinesis) and later Mikage also threatens him, so Kei doesn't have the best first impression of these two. In his route, Licht actually turns out to be pretty nice, he just has no idea how to interact with people normally because he only talks to Mikage and his own father... One thing I should mention is that psychic abilities do come with certain side effects, they take a huge toll on the body of the user and if they use it too often, it can lead to permanent injury and eventually death, which is also a big theme in this route.

Each character has three kinds of endings: good, normal and dark. The normal ending is the one you'll most likely get first, though don't be fooled by the name because some dark stuff usually happens to the characters in these endings too...! The dark end is basically a mad end, but it's a bit more difficult to get. Luckily each route only has 3 different choices, so I figured it out with a bit of trial and error.

This game is technically "all-ages" but they do occasionally mention explicit topics and some...stuff happens during the human experiments, so I guess "all-ages" just means they won't show any explicit CGs. I think a 17/18+ rating would be better, as some of the endings also get really dark and some CGs can be a bit gorey (limb amputation, decapitation, etc.) I think it doesn't look too bad in this artstyle but it's probably good to be aware of it before playing!

This is the company's first game, so there's a couple of things that could be improved. For example, all side character models are silhouettes, which makes it hard getting attached to some of them, this includes the enemy robots/eclipses. The side characters & extra scenarios you unlock later also aren't voiced. I don't know if I misunderstood some of the endings, but I sometimes felt like all of the problems get solved a bit too easily and suddenly everyone's happy again (well except the characters who died...) but they might explain more of this in the fandisc, which they are currently working on. There's a lot of things about this game I did like though, the game was much darker than I expected and I really enjoyed seeing what would happen in the "normal" and dark endings. I also quite like the artstyle, and the game's OST is really good! Apparently the guy who composed the music used to work for Capcom and has created music for the Monster Hunter games in the past.

They recently tweeted that they would postpone the release date of the fandisc to 2024 because of the large number of scenarios they were adding to it. It seems like they're going to focus a bit more on two side characters I didn't mention before, who only appear in the final route: Licht's brother Kanade and Mikage's acquaintance Kousaka. I might check out the fandisc when they release it!

[suzuran777]

Cocoon (Adelta) Review + Guide

Recently I decided to re-play a visual novel I haven’t heard that many people talk about, Adelta’s first game, Cocoon! Adelta is pretty well-known these days for their other games, Koshotengai no Hashihime and Uuultra C, which were both released in English, but I don’t think many people have played Cocoon. I couldn't really find any English summaries or reviews, so I decided to write my own while I was re-playing the game. Cocoon was released in 2014 and there's actually two games, 'Cocoon' and 'Cocoon Black Noise', but I decided to include both of these in this review.

Synopsis Set in the second half of the 21st century in the Taitō Ward of Japan. In this world, talented indivuduals are embedded with a microchip called the ‘Sky Implant’ (SI). These implants decide what kind of special skill set these people receive. Our protagonist Sora, is a painter who lives in Asakusa. He has a form of synesthesia which makes him able to 'see' colors in human voices and environmental sounds. After graduating from a special training school, he moves to a SI-based mansion called 'Cocoon'. For those who live inside these mansions, work can be done remotely from home, daily necessaries are usually bought online and human contact is minimalized. One day while visiting a museum in Ueno, Sora meets a mysterious person with bright red eyes, setting off a chain of events.

Characters

Hajima Sora  SI Skill: Artist | Age: 20 | The main character of this game. He doesn’t go outside much and tries to express his view of the world through his oil paintings. In contrary to his serious appearance, he’s not very good at studying or getting work done.

Kondo Yuki  SI Skill: Social worker | Age: 21 | Sora's childhood friend who cares a lot about him. After his parents died in a fire when he was young, he decided to become a firefighter. He cares a lot about others and will try to save anyone in danger.

Motogi Gin SI Skill: Engineer | Age: 26 | A music producer who likes sharing his creations with everyone online. He’s also a big fan of Sora. He has been trying to meet Sora for a while now after seeing one of his paintings. Incredibly easy-going and optimistic.

Shio (CO) SI Skill: None | Age: 20 | A foul-mouthed young man who often pushes himself to achieve his own goals. He is one of the people the Sky Implant was tested on many years ago, but escaped the facility together with an engineer. Multiple personalities reside inside his body. He returned to Tokyo to take his revenge on the company that created the Sky Implants (Mother). He has the ability to read people’s minds.

Kagami Motogikyō SI Skill: Engineer | Age: 27 | An employee of Mother, the company that created the Sky Implants. A very intelligent and serious man who is strict with himself and others. He’s Gin’s half-brother. A side character in the first game, but has his own route in Black Noise.

Yashiro SI Skill: None | Age: 20 | A tall, intimidating looking man. People around him often don't understand what he's thinking. Similar to Shio, he was part of Mother’s Sky Implant experiments, but he didn't develop multiple personalities. He’s a side character in the first game, but has his own route in Black Noise.

Tsukishiro Ayato SI Skill: None | Age 24 | A mysterious side character who Sora keeps running into. His hobbies include visiting art museums and watching Kabuki. Doesn’t have his own route but he does have some bad endings in both games.

Tsukishiro Yoshimasa SI Skill: None | Age: ??? | A mysterious young boy who looks like Ayato. Although he looks like a child, his way of speaking is similar to an adult. Also a side character.

Takamiya Kaname SI Skill: None | Age: 20 | A young photographer who’s originally from Hokkaido. He’s very soft-spoken and uses polite language when when he’s talking to children and animals. He is currently undergoing a rehabilitation project in Tokyo. He only appears in Black Noise and also has his own route. 

If you’re just here for the guide, scroll down to ‘’Recommended play order & Guide!’’. The summary includes some spoilers.

The story of Cocoon and Cocoon Black Noise is pretty much the same, but each game has different routes. Yuki, Gin and Shio only have routes in the first game, but Kagami’s and Yashiro's routes are only in Black Noise. The second game also adds a new character called Takamiya who also has his own route. I have to say that the quality of Black Noise is definitely better and it also has a lot of new scenes, but I also feel like it's better to play both games because they're short anyway. The only game I can kind of compare it to is CAGE, which is also split into two different versions (CAGE -OPEN- and CAGE-CLOSE-). 

By the way I’ll be calling CO ‘Shio’ in this review because that’s how they pronounce his name (and I don’t want to keep writing CO to be honest...)

Immediately after starting my first route (Yuki) it becomes clear that this futuristic society deals with a lot of problems. There’s a new kind of computer virus which has been infecting Sky Implants and violent arson attacks and bombings are becoming more frequent. Sora and Yuki witness this almost immediately after their trip to the museum. Normally the Sky Implants prevent people from committing any crimes or hurting themselves, so they suspect this series of strange events is caused by someone else’s actions. 

I recommend playing Yuki’s route first and Gin’s after that. After finishing both of these you unlock Shio’s route, which feels more like the ‘’true route’’. Shio's route reveals a lot more information about Mother and the individuals who work for this company. Yuki’s a bit of a possessive childhood friend character which I’m not always the biggest fan of, but his route wasn’t too bad, it just doesn’t really explain much. Gin is a funny character, I like how he basically lured Sora into his house by...pretending to be a girl online. However, I liked Shio’s route the most because it’s a lot longer than the others and we finally learn what is up with him and Yashiro. Some Shio route spoilers below!

It turns that that whatever has been ‘infecting’ people wasn’t a virus after all, but a person called ‘Shou’’. Shou was accidentally created by Mother (the company that created Sky Implants and the network) and has no physical form, so he can only posess others. He’s one of Shio’s other personalities, but Shio doesn’t always seem to agree with the damage Shou causes. 

Yoshimasa (the young boy who looks like Ayato) is actually the founder of Mother. He must be almost 90 years old but I think he has the ability to shift his consciousness to his family members or change his physical form? Though he also used a hologram in another scene. What surprised me the most is that Ayato (the guy with the long purple hair) is his son.

After finishing the main game I immediately played Black Noise and decided to play Takamiya’s route next because he doesn’t appear in the main game. Sora meets him during the park scene after they visit the museum, but he doesn’t like talking to him. His voice is ‘jet black’ and it makes Sora feel somewhat uneasy. They also added a new side character, a detective who’s investigating the recent incidents. Takamiya seems to have a difficult time understanding other people’s emotions and his bad endings are pretty brutal. He spent six years in a youth detention center because of his psychopathic tendencies. I did think he was an interesting character but oh man did I have trust issues every time he showed up.

After that I played Kagami’s route who appears a lot in the first game too. It was interesting to see everything from his perspective. In this route they chase Yuki, who has been posessed by ‘Shou’. I had no idea Kagami used to have a wife and children?? They all passed away in an accident, but the Sky Implant limits his emotions which is why he’s able to act pretty normal. Eventually he disables this and he starts showing strong emotions again. Kagami turns against Mother and in the good end he purchases a solar power business in Austria and they move far away from Mother’s network and influences. By the way, he looks good without the glasses too! A pretty solid route.

Yashiro’s route is the last one I played and it’s not the most ‘happy’ route. Sora follows him because he wants to meet Shio again, but nobody knows where he went. Shio’s... unfortunately killed by Yashiro later in this route because Yashiro still follows Mother’s orders, and Yuki has been permanently posessed by Shou, so Yashiro kills him too. Surprisingly he doesn’t betray Sora and decides to run away together with him. In this ending they move to Osaka, but Mother is rapidly expanding their network to new cities, so they probably have to move again in the near future. The ending is kind of bittersweet, but I’m honestly surprised he got a good ending at all after everything that happened in this route omg.

Recommended play order & Guide Cocoon Yuki good end: 拒絶できない > ありがとう > 自分を信じる Yuki bad end: 拒絶できない > ･･････ごめん > シオを信じる Ayato bad end: 拒絶できない > ･･････ごめん > もう少し時間がほしい

Gin good end: これ以上だませない >  ･･････ 頼る >  ･･････  Gin bad end: これ以上だませない > 信用できない Kagami bad end: これ以上だませない > ･･････頼る > いい加減にしろ

Shio good end: Select ‘CO’ in main menu > 自制だ > 取る Ayato bad end 2: Select ‘CO’ in main menu > 自制だ > ‘‘拒む’‘ Yashiro bad end: Select ‘CO’ in main menu > 怒りだ > ‘‘払う’‘

Black Noise Takamiya good end: 眠って忘れる > やり直さないか > 鴇色だ Takamiya bad end 1: 眠って忘れる > なかったことにできないか……？ Takamiya bad end 2: 眠って忘れる > やり直さないか >  漆黒だ 

Kagami good end : 気晴らしに外へ出る > 誰かに会いたい > 鏡を信じる  >ついていきます Yoshimasa bad end: 気晴らしに外へ出る > 誰かに会いたい > 鏡を信じる  >待ってます Ayato bad end 3: 気晴らしに外へ出る > 誰かに会いたい > 雪信じる

Yashiro good end: 気晴らしに外に出る > 頭を冷やしたい > 引き離す Yashiro bad end: 気晴らしに外に出る > 頭を冷やしたい  > 見守る > このままでいい Ayato bad end 4: 気晴らしに外に出る > 頭を冷やしたい > 引き離す > 目覚めて欲しい　

There aren’t that many choices so luckily it wasn’t that hard to figure out! Some of the bad endings have a CG and some don’t, also Ayato has so many bad endings... The ‘full completion’ CGs should also show up immediately after you play the final ending.

Final thoughts Cocoon Black Noise was released some months after the first game and you can really see the improvement. I remember when I played Cocoon for the first time I wasn’t really sure what to think after playing Yuki’s and Gin’s routes, but the other routes do a much better job at explaining the plot. I really liked Shio’s and Kagami’s routes. Takamiya’s route was pretty interesting, but I kept fearing something horrible was going to happen, so I had some trust issues while playing through some of the wholesome scenes LOL. Yashiro’s route was...an experience, I do like the ending but it was pretty painful to see Shio die after he became one of my favorite characters.

It took me about 8 hours to finish the first game, Black Noise's length was similar, so if you want to play a short visual novel and see how Kurosawa Rinko's writing and art has changed throughout the years, I do recommend playing this one (just don’t expect anything as polished as Hashihime). It’s only available in Japanese you can just use Textractor to translate the dialogue, if you don’t mind machine translations. Both of these games have a lot of CGs and they look pretty good! The only thing that could be better is the music I guess? There’s not a lot of different tracks and the game is unvoiced, so I often muted the game while listening to different music.

I also appreciated to little extras they added, like the full character profiles which you can unlock after finishing each route. Also, if you go to the gallery and look at the CGs there’s some fun extra commentary (though it’s Black Noise exclusive unfortunately). Some of these are really funny, especially Ayato and Yoshimasa’s... Ayato behaves like a pervert but Yoshimasa truly sounds like an old man lol.

By the way the official website doesn't seem to work anymore? I tried using the wayback machine but none of the pictures on the site work anymore and I can't really access any of the pages. You can still buy both of the games on DLsite though. 

[suzuran777]

Review: Laughter Land (Langmaor)

After many people recommended this game to me, I finally played it! It’s a dark fantasy game published by Langmaor, directed by Yura, who is of course well-known for Luckydog 1. She was also the main artist of the three other Langmaor games (Enzai, Absolute Obedience and Teikoku Sensenki) though this time it seems like she took a break and Yuzuki Ichi was in charge of the art and character design. If you’re okay with games like Enzai, I think this one should be no problem to play, but of course avoid it if you’re not into that kind of stuff.

Synopsis This story focuses on protagonist Richard McBain (Dick), a young boy living in a small village, who grew bored of his everyday life. One day when he attends the local village fair, he meets a mysterious boy who seems to resemble a jester. He introduces himself as Guillered and talks about a different world called ‘Laughter Land’. In this world, every wish can be granted and children never grow up. Every day is fun and nobody has to work or go to school. Before he knows it, our protagonist finds himself in Laughter Land. Everything Guillered promised him is almost too good to be true...

The game’s story sometimes reminded me a little bit of Peter Pan, the children in this game can stay young forever and they don’t naturally age. Upon entering Laughter Land, Guillered implants a red gem into everyone’s bodies, which gives him the ability to make wishes. He however fails to explain that not everyone in this world stays young forever, the second they develop a more mature mindset their red gem turns into a blue gem and they’re not allowed to stay in Laughter Land anymore. Well... guess what, this also happens to Dick in the first route you play. Guards surround his house and he is forcefully taken to the ‘Forbidden Zone’, a place where people who possess blue gems live. These gems aren’t able to grant any wishes anymore and basically serve no purpose. 

The Forbidden Zone is not a place most people want to live, rampant with criminal organizations and drug problems. However not everyone who lives there is bad, there are many people who were unfortunate enough to be born there or who ‘matured’ after being brought to Laughter Land.

Characters

Richard McBain (Dick) Our protagonist. Everyone in the game calls him Dick (...yeah that's something I had to get used to lol). He's a curious young boy, but a bit sceptical to the rules of this new world he got transported to. Soon after his arrival he starts regretting his decisions of coming here.

Guillered The person who created Laughter Land and who is responsible for bringing all of the children there. He tells Dick that he just wants everyone in this world to be happy, but he seems to be hiding something. Throughout the story he often appears to give Dick advice.

Ioan A very intelligent boy who can often be found at the library. He is very shy and can often be found studying and reading. He can sometimes be a little bit clumsy which often results into him making mistakes.

Roddy An enthusiastic boy who highly values his friends, always willing to help others in need. He is always looking for someone to accompany him during his daily adventures. He loves flying in the sky and going to various places to play.

Cornel A boy who helps patrolling Laughter Land, always looking for ‘blues’ who aren't allowed to stay there. He likes being the center of attention and has a hard time admitting any of his mistakes. Can often be found together with his brother Oswald.

Sergi One of the people who live in the ‘Forbidden Zone’. He's very serious and calm. Likes bargaining with people. He seems to be looking for his family who also seem somewhere in Laughter Land.

Greg Also lives in the ‘Forbidden Zone’. He gambles a lot and immediately spends all of his money. He can sometimes be a little bit strange, but he’s very protective of his friends and often takes care of stray animals and injured children.

Dag Another resident of the 'Forbidden Zone. A watchmaker who also seems to be working on several other projects. However, his laid-back behavior and love for alcohol prevent him from completing any of these projects. He is a very friendly and caring person who takes care of his friends.

The game uses an interesting mechanic which allows the main character to travel back in time, so the whole first route is one long ‘common route’ which introduces the world and characters to you. After this I tried playing the routes of each character with a red gem first, because they’re the first ones you meet in the common route. I was also interested in learning why exactly these characters were able to stay ‘young’ forever, while others couldn’t. Many of them have been living there for years so their real ages remain unknown.

Even during these routes in which Dick’s gem doesn’t turn blue, not everything is as happy as Guillered claims. The second anyone is transported to Laughter Land they forget about people who they used to know in the real world. Furthermore, every time they make a wish, one person they know in the real world will forget about them. By doing so, children who travelled to this world have no reason to return to the real world anymore, as nobody will be waiting for them anymore at ‘home’. You can keep track of this in-game too which was quite interesting!

I played the game in the following order: Roddy > Ioan > Cornel > Sergi > Greg > Dag > Guillared > True route. However when I look back at it now it might be better to play Cornel's route a bit later because he returns in Guillered's route too. Sergi's story is also surprisingly relevant to the True route, so maybe that's also one better saved for last. I used half-a-net's guide for this one because the one posted on Aarinfantasy seemed to spoil some endings. Each route is not super long compared to most other visual novels, but I think it's just the right amount. Even though not every route has the most happy ending, the ‘true’ ending definitely makes up for that. 

By the way, I really like how the game’s user interface always displays the gem, so you can check if you’re aiming for the right route. When you make more ’mature’ decisions the red germs starts getting darker and eventually turns purple. If you keep making these decisions it will eventually turn blue. In Ioan’s route it’s mentioned that purple gems can still turn red again, but the second your gem has turned blue it’s too late and it won’t be able to turn red ever again. 

I think the only thing that didn't get explained much is whatever this side character called Zachariah’s purpose is. He is the leader of this kind of shady organization and the casino owner. I thought he was going to be the main villain but he wasn't really (?), but maybe he's just there to add some suspense to the blue gem routes. That's honestly the only thing I can think of that doesn't make much sense to me, but it’s probably also not that important. I think I do want to try getting a copy of the official setting book eventually, but because the game’s so old I’ll have to hunt down a second-hand copy.

I honestly had no idea this game even existed because Jast only localized Enzai and Absolute Obedience (Zettai Fukuyuu Meirei) a long time ago, which also means Laughter Land is only available in Japanese. It was released I'm 2006 but I still really liked the the art in this game, the CGs are really pretty and colorful. I also really liked the OST! 

I guess I will continue playing older BL visual novels because you never know when you’ll find something good nobody talks about. Definitely DM me if you have any more recommendations!