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meimae · 3 years

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18/9/21

Finished my first 乙女ゲーム, 剣が君! I don’t really know why I waited this long before I dove into this genre of visual novels - it just makes sense for me to read something that targets a female audience. Too soon to say, but this genre really is battling for a spot next to my 少女漫画 loving heart.

This VN is definitely an excellent entry to the genre. I love this game. This is right up there with Island for me. The moment this got included in the voting list for TheMoeWay’s visual novel of the month, I was so invested in it by just reading the blurb and seeing a few screenshots. Never mind the fact that I generally enjoy historical fiction in media - I believe its called 時代劇 in Japanese - so I often actively look for and watch period dramas and read books with historical settings. This was perfectly up my alley because of that, and I really loved that aspect of the game more than anything else.

And my goodness, the CGs in this are top of the line indeed. Do you know how hard it was to narrow down to just a couple CGs for every character in this game for this post? Definitely had to be a little creative in my formatting! All the imagery in this game was so beautiful, the character sprites very detailed and so full of life and individuality, including the female protagonist. This is also the first VN I’ve played that allowed me to name the MC - a chance to self-insert in an otoge no less? Heck yes, sign me up!

This also comes with a built-in dictionary which was so helpful for understanding a lot of the 江戸時代 references - nothing that Yomichan and some good monolingual dictionaries can’t cover, but it was very useful nonetheless.

Every end in this game (four for each character, from worse to best end, aptly labelled as 荒魂-奇魂-和魂-幸魂) varies significantly from each other so it makes it worth the time it takes to read each one. Obviously, not all ends were fantastic, and there were some disappointments, and possibly some loopholes, but they were results that still made sense for the characters to do, which made most if not all routes well rounded. Honestly, this makes ranking the characters (which I will do in the spoiler section) so difficult because I like most if not all ends in this game.

The only thing I will complain about is the skip functions. The common route was incredibly long if you play for 100% completion, and I just wish that the text changed colors at least to indicate what you have read. The skip does stop on new lines which was good, but I made the mistake of using the scene skip to the next choice, which was admittedly my fault, but because I hadn’t saved I had to do all the skipping again. Other than that, this game is golden.

Verdict: 9/10 will absolutely read again, preferably when I'm less of a Yomichan cope reader. ( ´∀｀) I also am eyeing the fandisk, because apparently there’s tons of new content and more CGs, maybe as a Christmas/birthday present.

STATS

Time spent reading per route: Majority of the common route: 15.51 hours; 黒羽: 9.88 hours; 縁: 10.31 hours; 螢: 10.06 hours; 左京: 9.3 hours; 鈴懸: 9.79; 九十九丸: 8.62 hours; and ご褒美 (貸本屋): 1.45 hours.

If it weren’t already so blatantly obvious how much I enjoyed reading this, I hit a few Japanese reading milestones for this game, the first one being that I managed to read 100,000 characters twice during the 18 day period I was reading. If you weren’t aware, that’s about a single volume of a light novel’s worth of reading. I also managed to read for 7.8 hours during that same session which is a first for me. Usually I give up after 2 or 3 hours of intensive reading, but I literally had to pull myself away from this one, which meant that I also read above 35,000 characters everyday (except on day 18, because the 貸本屋 part of the ご褒美 section wasn’t that too long of a read) which was my daily goal. It was also my first time reading at 16,440 characters/hour at one point, finally trumping my slightly suspicious reading speed for Island’s end game. This also meant that I’ve managed to achieve an average speed of 14,016 characters/hour for a game that’s close to or above a million characters long. In total, I read for 74.92 hours, 12.93 hours less than Island.

I’m absolutely bubbling with excitement for the prospect of finding more VNs such as this and beating whatever I achieved here once again. A tall order, maybe, but this is what makes immersion learning so worth it for me. Just reading and listening to the stuff that I like and learning not only the language, but also culture, and history, and so many other things in the process.

Please, if you haven’t read this VN but would like to, skip everything below and read it first. It’s worth experiencing for yourself.

Spoiler CGS and discussion about every route including brief thoughts on all 24 ends

I followed the recommended order from this guide, even though you can choose whoever's story you'd like to start with. However, I will be talking about the characters from the least liked to the most liked so this whole part doubles as a tier list.

COMMON ROUTE

The common route was pretty long as I mentioned, but the story in it especially during the first run through was pretty interesting, the 偽の花嫁行列, basically a secret ploy to transport one of the 天下五剣 (swords that are able to seal 妖怪) to 駿府, the journey filled with encounters with 妖怪 and 山賊, in which the bloody sprites of the six guys looked so cool in. It also introduces the lore and power of the マレビト, and the attempts of 朝倉宣正 and his cronies to use this power to resurrect someone of importance to the 将軍 using one of the five legendary swords (the same one that was transported to 駿府) held by one of the 一番刀 (鼓法眼) and a virgin (七重) as a sacrifice to make the ritual work. Not gonna lie, it got a little boring seeing it again and again in the common route, but it always changed a little in every end, so it retained my interest in it.

Other than that, a lot of the journey was horse troubles, probably a standard for anything remotely princess-y themed, which was almost funny to see in a Japanese context. So used to reading about the same runaway horse troubles in Western books and media.

The flowers that suddenly appear when you make a character specific choice suprised me. Never played with anything that had a mechanic like that. Makes choosing the correct route without a guide way easier to notice. It was an oddly specific otoge choice I believe, flower graphics. I wonder how dudes would react if it was the same for eroges or something.

As for the game in general after the common route, I love that everybody still keeps appearing in other routes, and that the game does not pretend that they do not exist anymore simply because you chose a different person. It definitely adds to the depth of each character, and the world really feels full and alive. It also allows the game to hint once again at the potential to read the other routes in game in case you forgot what they were like. The side characters were very much involved in advancing the plot, even characters who I thought were only there as sidekicks had many opportunities to get involved one way or the other.

香夜, the Protagonist

Okay, so I changed her name, even though it was pretty, because self-insert time! My two braincells' pathetic attempt for a 漢字 self-insert name was 命 (めい). Just liked that it meant both life and destiny in definition, and it seemed fitting for what is essentially a dating sim.

Honestly didn't think the name mattered until I realized just how many times they were using the word 命 (いのち), and it became a slight in context guessing game. The name also mattered a lot in one of the routes which I will talk about later.

As for the character itself, the majority of her personality ends up being the damsel in distress type, to my slight disappointment. I was hoping for more 薙刀 action, which she does do in tiny bursts, but there was so little of it, it was almost as if it's there as a prop. The title screen for naming her has her sprite holding it, I feel like I got baited. Very much expectation vs reality, but I guess being an awesome weapon wielder was not exactly the point or goal for her character, especially in the 江戸時代, where women though not subservient to men and were able to participate in jobs and other activities outside the household, still held some clear gender roles and expectations. Also, her role in the 偽の花嫁行列 limits her ability to use her weapon, which a few characters remind her of, but I still would have liked it if she utilized it more than it just being there to make for interesting CGs. It does add a little depth to her family background, and her desire to keep her mother’s memory alive, but it mostly stays at that.

縁

My least favorite route simply because I felt that his character developed way too late in the game. I kept thinking if I had a language learning brainfart, and missed any hints of him wanting to settle simply, but his constant state of drunken stupor and nonstop 軟派 in literally every scene and route he appears in, really did overshadow whatever other personality he had in him.

He essentially wanted nothing to do with being the heir to the next 将軍, even his ownership of one of the 天下五剣 was acquired in farce swordfights, so the power of the sword does not respond to him. He is also extremely clumsy with his swordfighting - which only amplified my doubt in his capability to even handle one of the heavenly swords - and so he ends up getting hurt a lot.

Can't blame him much for hating his life; no matter how comfortable it was, a lot of it was built upon lies and deceit, so he tries to cope with the responsibility that comes with it by drinking and messing around with girls - MC included. Still, he walks around as a spy for the 幕府 looking for the runaway child, missing sword, and 朝倉's crew using his drunken persona as cover - gotta do his job at the end of the day.

Didn't think MC was impressed with him either, as she had to guide and reprimand his every decision like a child right until 柳生三厳 bared the truth of his background. Was that enough of a turning point for romance to bloom? The truth coming out from somebody else's mouth (yes, I know he was injured at the time) doesn't really sound appealling to me.

荒

His encounter with マレビト ended up looking cool because MC helped him out in harnessing the power of his sword (神降ろし) to seal the gate. MC shows her prowess with the 薙刀 a bit which I still wish we got a common route CG of at least. Anyway, he ends up dying doing his job which I guess makes him kind of a hero. Not the worst way to die.

奇

Much of the same (荒) but he loses his memory instead including his drunken persona and womanizing ways. Isn't it kind of sad that his whole personality revolved at just alcohol and women? He just seemed like an even emptier shell of a person without it - his personality base wasn't anything at all, so he just seemed completely lost just as he started, maybe more.

和

Lady killer can't take no for an answer hunts MC down all the way into the farmlands because he can't cope with the rejection and the pressure of the way of the sword.

He latches on to 螢 and starts helping around as a patrol which he says he liked to do. Still a bit of a leech. Boring end.

幸

Again much of the same (和), but he properly threw everything he had - power, position, and money - for the simple life of a farmer. He genuinely feels interested and happier because of it, so that's good for him. Honestly, they should've made him interact more with 鈴懸, so they could have been plant buddies, and it could have added a different and better build up to him becoming a farmer.

鈴懸

I actually liked this route, feels bad man that it has to sit at 5th, because every other route appealed to me more, if only because of his age and really childlike curiousity with everything. I really thought of him more of like a friend or little brother for MC, so you better believe the kind of whiplash I got when they're suddenly confessing their undying love for each other. Yup, kinda forgot I was reading a otoge/dating sim, whoops.

If I had to describe this entire route, it's warm, mostly because of how the CGs are presented. It's such a lovely take on 妖怪, how not all of them are bad and evil beings, and it reminds me very much of 夏目友人帳, which is one of my favorite male protagonist shows for a 少女アニメ/漫画.

They present him a lot as a diplomatic and kindhearted doctor, but he does not back down from a fight if he needs to which makes perfect sense since he's been fated to wield one of the 天下五剣, the same one that got transported to 駿府, something that I was not expecting. He's just an all around nice guy, who would pick talking over problems more than stabbing at them, but I guess the heavens pick (semi-)decent people to hold that kind of power.

荒

He essentially just wins at life: he wins the tournament, one of the coveted 天下五剣, and a position in government, because he's both an excellent doctor and swordsman, all in exchange for less time with MC, but man, at least he's alive. Good for him, but it honestly made me super salty over the death of a different character which I will get to later.

奇

He dies protecting a doggo 妖怪, like seriously, how is this one the unconventional end? His actions felt both like a brave and stupid thing to do, but also very much in character. Can't be mad at character deaths that make sense.

和

I loved the idea of the 木霊 only talking to you if you're pure of heart - something both the MC and 鈴懸 acquire and reacquire respectively. This also opened a pretty interesting dynamic with 薬師院神威, a government employed apprentice doctor, who only wants to be recognized by his 師匠. Too bad though, the old guy has the hots for 鈴懸 lmao. They end up bringing the kid to youkai land which was really kind.

幸

Again, the only good people/妖怪 that actually cared about the kid being mixed in such a mess, probably because 鈴懸 got left behind as a kid as well and can relate to the struggle. It might not have been this route in particular, but I really started to despise 鼓法眼 after a while since he either kept abandoning the kid in such awful situations or was willing to sacrifice the kid's life instead of 七重. Anyway, nice turn of events where they ended up living their peaceful lives in youkai land with the kiddie. I'm sorry I can't remember Chorizo's name in kanji for shit. Choushichirou.

螢

Not gonna lie, usually don't like tsundere types, but it made sense after it was revealed that he was an 鬼. It caught me off guard and made me much more interested in his story, because I was rather detached with his personality otherwise. Tragic childhood memory of his village being raided by humans and his family getting killed is standard fuel to get him to try and get back the right of his people to wear swords again to defend themselves.

He had a nice personality contrast - always angry to the point of violence, but he also just wants to use his prowess with swords to defend others, so he ends up with one of the sweetest ends in game. It honestly made me smile many times.

荒

He wins the tournament, but gets stabbed and dies afterwards. I thought this was one of the saddest ends in game, because all goes well at first and then it suddenly turns very sour right at the end. Terrible things happen when you take detours apparently.

奇

This was weird, but it was so nice seeing the gang back together to set up an instant marriage ending for the two who kept going around in circles.

和

The introduction of a fianceé by his grandpa felt rushed and was also resolved very quickly. It's basically just there to ruin his chances of winning the tournament, which gets puts aside to prioritize his elopement with MC.

幸

Dad highly opposes the relationship between MC and 螢, because of his background. Fair enough and makes sense until I realized he doesn't comment much about the stuff that goes down in 左京's route. Dad has double standards. Still, the whole sequence of him being challenged to pick a thousand flowers, all the way to the scene of them getting married in 鬼 land made for a satisfying buildup to best end.

黒羽実彰

This was the first route I played in game, and it was my favorite right until I started the next two routes in this list. This was also my first 100k read ever - I couldn't stop myself from reading most of it in one go especially because it flowed directly after the common route. Any time he's in a swordfight, and goes either 「甘い」or 「遅い」 - chef's kiss.

I generally find the discussion of religion in reads fascinating, especially when it discusses a faith that compose only a tiny percentage of the population. Seeing 黒羽 take time for himself to practice the teachings of his faith, while also hiding the fact from everybody else, because he was going to be ostracized and persecuted for it, made me very interested in him. That and the fact that he's a master swordsman trying to run away from the way of the sword, but can't because he carries not just one of the 天下五剣, but a sword possessed by a playful 妖怪, ハバキ憑き, no less.

A secret Christian in the 江戸時代, with a dark murderous past, wielding a sword both possessed by a spirit and one capable of sealing them. It's so good! Really enjoyed how the dynamic of all of those things worked together to form this highly religious, gentle, and mature character.

荒

お松's revenge, since 黒羽 accidentally killed her sister, made for another layer of my interest in this character. He ends up continuing his life as a samurai, but now to protect MC and everybody around her, as atonement for his sins - again a very religious way of doing things. It's a perfectly bittersweet end, that I don't really have any complaints about.

奇

Again, reading straight from my first play through of the common route right to this epic ending just made me love this game from the get go. This is also the end that made me rather salty about 鈴懸 living a rather good life in 荒, when three time tournament winner and master swordsman 実彰 gets sucked into the void never to be seen again instead. How? Make it make sense! It was a fantastic first ending to play through though, I just can't get over the fact that 鈴懸 somehow beats 実彰's swordsmanship and apparently his ability to wield the one of the 天下五剣, too. Noooooo! ٩(๑`^´๑)۶

和

When he suggested that MC stay over at his house for the night...to avoid the 妖怪 of course. (〃ω〃) What a spicy thing to suggest, coming from a devout Christian.

He puts aside his sword and settles down with MC and helps out at the 茶屋. This also still makes sense, but it was so disappointing to see him throw away all his potential for the simple life. He's just a master at handling knives at the chef's station now. This feels more unconventional if anything.

幸

お松's forces him to confess that he wants to live his life with MC and not only accept death as atonement for his sins. He then whisks away MC and marries her eventually to avoid the 幕府. He also leaves his sword with the church, with the promise to only take it again in a dire situation. After 7 hours of reading, my heart was so full, and that's all you need to know.

鷺原左京

Oh boy. I felt the need to atone for my sins like 実彰 after reading this one and liking all the insane stuff that went down. Once again, this game just blew my expectations out of the water. To be honest, he felt really feminine - the true pretty boy among pretty boys - and I thought that this was was going to be the standard revenge plot, made exciting because he doesn't hold back at all, but the 剣 ends in this were crazy good!

He's also the character where I thought MC's dad was the most oblivious of. There literally was a guy in his daughter's room for more than a week, and he barely even noticed, or was just letting things slide. He also is more unaware that compared to 螢, 左京 is generally more violent, and have a deep-seated hatred that have led to evil tendencies. He's possibly just blinded by how everyone introduced him as MC's 恩人 - essentially a good human being in any doting parents' eyes.

We also see all the gentle sides of him while he was recovering at MCs room. The transition from really kind teacher to uncontrollable murderer due to wielding the cursed sword, 村正, was so thrilling to read. Bloody sprites with crazy eyes, yes! It reminds me of Grog from Critical Role (popular D&D streams, if you aren't familiar) when the cursed sword he possessed was also convincing him to kill and how difficult the rolls were to beat that urge down, so I knew just how deep of a crazy circumstance 左京 had fallen into.

荒

He stabs MC to death and panics after realizing what he has done, and decides that the only way to stop was to kill himself and take the sword down with him. They both end up in the underworld, only to discover that 左京's crimes were too much so they still can't be together, so logically MC just dives into the pits of hell with him. Girl...you're insane.

It was awesome though, because it was the first route I've read that went beyond death, and actually showed what goes down in the afterlife. It was the most twisted end in the game, hands down.

奇

Just as crazy as the last, but 左京 doesn't pull MC to hell with him and she survives. She instead proceeds to go on a 墓参り for every victim that fell under 左京's sword. Not really the strangest thing to do, since technically 実彰's whole reasoning in joining the 花嫁行列 was the same - to pilgrimage to the gravesite of お松's sister. It's the kind and right thing to do if anything.

和

He recovers his original family sword and unlocks...special firefly powers? The whole gang is here again in an epic fight scene with bonus height difference screens. lmao

He goes back and to rebuild his clan with MC as his wife. This was honestly really cute, and a good recall to the original 花嫁行列, only it's not fake this time. I wish we got either another full cast CG or a bridal image even though in the CG that we did get he just looks like a bride anyway.

幸

He stays with MC and plans to build a school for children. Very nice to see the human side of him come through again after the whole revenge plot insanity. Pretty boy deserves some peace and happiness, too. (´∀｀✿)

九十九丸

My two braincells insisted on reading his name as 99○, but thank goodness I got used to reading his name properly before his route started, because I would have been so annoyed at myself for memeing through literally the best route in game, once again reading 100k of in 6+ hours. I'm geniunely so glad I followed a guide, because I would have picked his route if not first or next to 黒羽.

It's either I'm blind or can't pick up hints, but once again, his route blew all my expectations out of the water. I literally was able to observe most if not all his quirks, and yet, I still wasn't able to perceive what he really was. He's cheerful, clumsy, and goofy at times, but still shrouded in mystery. He's pale and cold to the touch with a stomach of iron, it smells like incense whenever he's around (he literally lights some for MC in the common route! Gigantic hint.), he has a black pet messenger bird, and that he was fascinated with competing at the tournament to bring back the victory of to his hometown along with a scroll or something for his master. The 妖怪 also run away from him for no apparent reason. They even ask him about the scar on his chest in the 温泉, and that he has a perpetually bandaged arm, and yet I took all of this information at face value, thinking that he just is one of the types to like to proudly wear his battle scars. Not gonna lie, it was probably a good thing, because I would have anticipated it and could have enjoyed it less.

Before reading his route, I was already thinking how useless the マレビト was as the main enemy in the game, because he gets sealed away again and again in every end, making MC's whole dream sequence feel really shallow. Evil thoughts as they are, I wanted to see the town actually burn to the ground, and for the 妖怪 to properly wreck havoc, and it wasn't happening. Granted, it still didn't happen, but the way it worked out made up for it.

Anyway, he ends up competing in the tournament, only to suddenly harness the power of the マレビト whenever he's about to lose.

Turns out that this entire time, the attempts at the resurrection ritual that I've been skipping repeatedly when possible, has been done before to the 15 year old body of 九十九丸 and that the マレビト has been essentially absorbing his lifeforce for the past five years. His dad sacrificed himself to the マレビト to bring his son back, but because it was a forbidden ritual, nobody wants anything to do with either of them.

Poor zombie 九十九丸, his arm already in decay, has been eating so much because he desperately wants to grow up more, and yet he can't because he's technically dead, and a part of his being was stolen away.

You can imagine how floored I was when everything clicked into place in my brain.

He's also the character that asks for permission to name his sword after the MC, which means my self-insert name, 命, gets a really poetic meaning because it's literally life and death. Things work out.

荒

He was essentially told to control the マレビト by bathing in the moonlight. He was also given a vial of healing water to be used for when he is gravely injured. MC then uses said water to revive him and bring him back from the endless battle with the 妖怪 in the afterlife. He then goes into pilgrimage to the gateways to rid himself of the マレビト, and so he leaves and continues sending letters to MC through ハヤト.

Pretty dramatic, but not the worse end by any means. He could have been permanently dead, and the マレビト could have just taken over, wrecking havoc like I once wanted to. Talk about a proper game over screen.

奇

He buys into the マレビト's logic and proceeds to go into pilgrimage to properly harness it's power instead of trying to suppress it.

It's super messed up and creepy, because the power he's about to harness is evil at its core, and for him to use it to what end? It's another rampage waiting to happen.

和

They journey back to his village to learn about the truth, only to discover that he could properly lose his life in the process, and he does because he gives up after his master gets engulfed and MC almost did, too.

MC becomes a shell of her old self without 九十九丸, and eventually finds herself back at the meadow where the マレビト I tricks her into coming with him.

The part where he says 「常世へようこそ」 in the creepy マレビト voice, is literally my favorite lines in the entire game. It's so creepy! It also means MC was a 馬鹿 and we lost 九十九丸 for nothing.

幸

The most epic battle scene in the game where 九十九丸 battles his マレビト self. We also get to see MC fight with the 薙刀 for literally two seconds before she stops because it hurts both versions. Girl keeps making me hope for more.

Somehow マレビト just ends up giving 九十九丸 his life back. Probably rolled a D20 charisma check to convice him. Absolute troll D&D logic kind of ending. The writers just needed to write an actual good end at this point so they just wrapped it up with a bow, and pretended that we won't notice that it barely makes sense. Everyone goes back home and is happy, and we get 20 year old, hot version 九十九丸. The end.

Writing it now makes it so underwhelming in hindsight, but who cares, it's over and it was still a pretty epic turn of events overall.

ご褒美 (貸本屋)

We also get some bonus stories where the guys switch clothes in their dreams while they were lodging together in the common route. Slightly funny, almost BL fantasy, that made me realize how much slower I read in 縦書き. Time to read more books or a least try reorienting the texthooker page.

-☆-

This was me struggling to write all my thoughts for like half a day. Why do I feel like it's physically impossible for me to write a half decent and short review, geez. Don't know what to do with my life now until I find something decent to read again (maybe, Eustia?).

Anyway, thanks for reading and updates in the future as always. ʕ•̀ω•́ʔ✧

#language learning #japanese language #language acquisition #study blog #langblr #studyblr #language immersion #japanese #japanese langblr #日本語 #ken ga kimi #剣が君 #otome game #japanese studyblr #visual novel #visual novels #vn review

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toxicsquad · 4 years

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For the International Videogame Day we wanted to make a special entry dedicated to our favorite games and those that have shaped us the most. So, exceptionally, next Monday's #tumblronday will be today, Saturday.

Our background artist (@meygi) is a huge Pokémon fan. Although Pokémon Crystal stands out above all, due to its system and complexity, in addition to being "the first Pokémon game that let us be a girl" and the stories behind the Bloody Roar. She is also a huge fan of the Sims. It's where she started getting into forums and interacting with other players. Like many other teens, it was the first step in entering online communities and meeting people from different places, including the rest of the development group. Although that was almost more than ten years ago ...

In general, the entire development group is very fond of The Sims 2 and spent many hours on downloads, mods and online communities and still to this day we enjoy new generations of The Sims. We also share a lot of love for the Pokémon franchise and Wakfu. A turn-based tactical MMORPG, which gave us hours of fun inside and outside of it, with countless OCs and great stories that never saw the light...

But apart from this, Sam (@huffie_puff), highlights a couple of games… Our Sprite and CG artist has always had a great interest in animals and games that include interacting with natural environments. "I am reliving moments from Zoo Tycoon, because I recently bought a game that works the same but in a more modern way, Planet Zoo."

The pleasant environments, the aesthetics and the characters have always been one of the reasons that has brought us closer to video games. In this sense, our translator (@randomillicia) fondly remembers Guybrush Threepwood from Monkey Island and Rayman's incredible aesthetic. Although probably the franchise in which she has put the most hours is the mythical SuperMario. "I also have the COD: Black Ops 2 and several of the LEGO games in my heart."

Perhaps the one with the most extensive library is our scriptwriter. "It's no mystery that I'm a Bioware fangirl." For our writer (@TeresaArroyo), Dragon Age and Mass Effect marked a before and after in her way of understanding video games. A fan of Xbox, PC and now, also of the Switch… She finds interesting all the games that give her a great variety of decisions and an interesting story. Although she also enjoys competitive and online games like Hearthstone. "I gave it a try with Harry Potter for PS1, but I don't think I rediscovered video games until I was a certain age with Alice Madness."

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🚧🚧🚧🚧🚧🚧🚧🚧🚧🚧🚧🚧🚧🚧🚧🚧

Por el día del videojuego queríamos hacer una entrada especial dedicada a nuestros juegos favoritos y los que más nos han marcado. Así que, de forma excepcional, el #tumblronday del próximo lunes pasa a hoy sábado.

Nuestra artista de fondos (@meygi) es una gran fan de Pokémon. Aunque destaca sobre todo el Pokémon Cristal, por sistema y complejidad, además de ser “el primer Pokémon que dejaba ser una chica” y las historias detrás de los Bloody Roar. También es una gran fan de los Sims. Es dónde comenzó a meterse en foros y a interactuar con otros jugadores. Al igual que muchos otros adolescentes, fue el primer paso para entrar en comunidades en línea y conocer a personas de diferentes partes, incluídas al resto del grupo de desarrollo. Aunque de eso hace ya casi más de diez años…

En general, todo el grupo de desarrollo tiene mucho cariño a los sims 2 y dedicó muchas horas a las descargas, los mods y las comunidades en línea y aún a día de hoy disfrutamos de las nuevas generaciones de los Sims. También compartimos mucho amor por la franquicia de Pokémon y a Wakfu. Un MMORPG táctico por turnos, que nos dio horas de diversión interna y también, fuera de ella, con infinidad de OCs e historias geniales que jamás vieron la luz...

Pero fuera aparte de esto, Sam (@huffie_puff), destaca un par de juegos… Nuestra artista de Sprites y CGs siempre ha tenido mucho interés por los animales y los juegos que incluyen interactuar con entornos naturales. “Yo estoy reviviendo momentos del Zoo Tycoon, porque me he comprado un juego hace poco que funciona igual pero en moderno, Planet Zoo”.

Los entornos agradables, las estéticas y los personajes siempre han sido uno de los motivos que nos ha acercado a los videojuegos. En este sentido, nuestra traductora (@randomillicia) recuerda con mucho cariño a Guybrush Threepwood del Monkey Island y la increíble estética de Rayman. Aunque probablemente, a la franquicia en la que más horas ha metido es al mítico SuperMario. “También tengo en mi kokoro el COD: Black Ops 2 y varios de los juegos de LEGO”.

Quizás la que tenga una biblioteca más extensa sea nuestra guionista. “No es ningún misterio que soy fangirl de Bioware”. Para nuestra escritora (@TeresaArroyo), Dragon Age y Mass Effect marcaron un antes y un después en la forma de entender los videojuegos. Fanática de Xbox, PC y ahora, también de la switch… Encuentra interesantes todos los juegos que le aportan una gran variedad de decisiones y una historia interesante. Aunque también disfruta de juegos competitivos y en línea como el Hearthstone. “Lo intenté con Harry Potter para la ps1, pero creo que no redescubrí los videojuegos hasta que tenía cierta edad con el Alice Madness”.

#Chronicles from 4012 #chr 4012 #tumblronday #indie dev

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hibiki-the-beast-archived · 5 years

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Questions to Hibiki from fans

Source (I used a translator and only arranged it a little so it makes more sense so it could be full of mistakes.)

- I'm going to ask you some really stupid questions. What would you like to look like if you were dressed as a woman? With what hairstyle What to wear Who do you want to show it to?

Sadako! [I can’t really understand the rest of the reply...xD]

- What do you think about wearing a dress? Can you wear a dress? Can you show it? I'm not sane? Wearing a dress? I think that it does not suit me even a little, so...

- What kind of girl does Hibiki like? I don't really like it... [I don't know what this is supposed to mean, if he doesn't like girls or if he just don't have a certain kind...I tend to say the latter. ;)] If anything, I tend to like people who appear more normal other than showy gals.

- Hibiki, which one are you, S or M? I don't know what to say, which one could it be? Maybe it's totally N! Neutral? It depends on the situation.

- Do you have any rules for living, Hibiki? My rule is...not to hurt people. This is a difficult game, so I don't know if I make it or not. Also, I think that I will not act like bending my core.

- How old are you? About 317 years old [Something with the name 'Saiba buru' is mentioned, but I don't know what it is...]

- Do you have any particular belongings? My favorite item is a ring that I got from my friend.

- Do you have a favorite movie? Favorite movies are Rockers, Rocky 1 & 2, Rambo 1, Prayer to the Dying, Young Gun 1 & 2, Clockwork Orange, Full Metal Jacket, Eraser Head, Elephant Man, Inland Empire, Skinny Man, Shining, Cujo, Pet Cemetery, It, Misery, Tommy Knockers, Carrie, Shawshank, Clash, Terminal, Poltergeist, Back to the Future, Goonies, Money Pit, Scanners, The Fly, Naked Lunch, Dead Spirit Harata 1 & 2, Darkman, Night of the Living Dead, Beetle Juice, Scissor Hands, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Big Fish, Charlie and Chocolate Factory, Sweeney Todd Devil Barber in Fleet Street Mad Max 1 & 2, Brain Dead, Satan's Sacrifice, Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, True Romance, Natural Bone Killers, Desperado, Sid & Nancy, Leon, Jailbreak King, We are not Angels, Taxi Regards Driver, Cape Fear, Untouchable, Good Fellows, Unforgiving, Perfect World, Gran Torino, Interview with Vampire, Seven, Joe Black, Fight Club, Snatch, Oceans 12, Elm Street Nightmare, Platoon, Die Hard, Six Sense, Sin City, Men's Aka ... !

- What is your favorite season? I like every season!

- Does Hibiki make up herself during the live performance? [The translation said 'herself'...well. xD] I make my own makeup.

- Will Hibiki give up if the opposite sex you love only sees you as a friend? I give up and I don't want to approach in particular (I think it depends on how much I like)

- What kind of personality do you often get along with? And what do you do if you fight? Do you often apologize from yourself? I will make friends with rock people and people who think of me properly. If it ’s a fight, if I ’m bad, I ’ll apologize right away and don’t pull it.

- Do you have any fetish? Mouth, hips and feet.

[By the way, it is nice how he ends the blog entry with 'A man who lives at night, Hibiki'. :D]

- What is Hibiki-san hiding in the fluffy hair!? Coin is hidden in my head, feel like a coin purse? [I don't really get what is this is supposed to mean, but the question was so cute. :D]

- Is Hibiki's day-to-day holiday sometimes returning to an ordinary man instead of rock and roll? Yes ... Actually, I'm always a normal single man.

- The hairstyle you want to do (or any color). The hairstyle I want to try is Mohawk! A beautiful mohawk like PUNK! ! ! But I know that my face doesn't look good ... what if I shave my eyebrows completely? ? ?

- What kind of hairstyle do you usually have at home? Is your hair tied? I want to know. I'm spending my life like a hippie in my house ...

- Where do you first look when you see a woman? First of all, the eyes.

- Please tell me your favorite artists! ★ Japanese music ★ thee michelle gun elephant KING BROTHERS BLANKEY JET CITY THE MODS ARB THE ROOSTERS TH eROCKERS The 50 revolutions eastern youth THE BLUE HEARTS maximum the Hormone SOB THE BACK HORN THE HIGH GRIP ← w --- And the sound source of hardcore illegal gatherings ---- participant LAUGHIN NOSE MOBS COBRA LIP CREAM G.I.S.M OUTO BAWS ZOUO BUCK-TICK Merry Go Round PIERROT ★ Western music ★ Arctic monkeys The vines Jet The Strokes The horrors The offspring The Smashing Pumpkins Nine Inch Nails Primus Red hot chili peppers KASABIAN The White Stripes Nirvana MUSE Radiohead System Of A Down Rage Against the Machine Limp Bizkit SlipKnoT Korn Linkin park Mudvayne Rob Zombie Soulfly Tool Pantera Megadeth RAMMSTEIN Bauhaus

- If you can bring only 3 CDs to an uninhabited island, what CD will you bring? I think I won't be able to listen to music on an uninhabited island ... Bring your guitar with you

- What is a girl's favorite gesture? A figure kicking a man's balls.

- Recommended diet method. Oil-free meal, exercise and calorie calculation? The quickest thing is to eat a meal that calculates the calorie intake, fasting for about 2 days, making the stomach smaller.

- What is the ideal way to spend a holiday Smoking cigarettes while looking at the seaside at seaside, smoking cigarettes to the feet ... I want to spend a good time instead of making a fuss.

- What kind of clothes do you usually wear? I don't know what suits me ... What kind of clothes will look good on me? ? Reverse question?

- What is your favorite and disliked food? Favorite food Ramen Salted mackerel Okonomiyaki Tan-SIO Tinjaolose Mabo tofu Spicy curry Natto tomato juice Beer ☆ dislike food Shiitake mushroom Vinegar Konjac Fukujinzuke Takuwan Sweet fried egg Teriyaki in general Grilled meat sauce sweet and sour pork Salad with fruits Dried grapes

- What is your favorite book? ? Favorite book ... I'm sorry ... Actually I don't read books I don't have much time and I'm afraid to make my eyes worse ...

- Hibiki uses perfume, right? I don't add perfume, but I'll add body mist! Victoria Secret This is an endless love guy from the Garden Collection. Perfume is not good because the smell is too tight.

- Do you like horror? Mr. Ramlin I like horror but there are a lot of hits! ! Especially for horror and action ... I thought horror was good Night of the Living Dead zombie Creep show Dead Spirits 1 and 2 (camera work and Bruce Campbell lovers w) Batarian (easy-to-understand development and class B atmosphere!) ring Magic sound Object X from planet Shining Satan's sacrifice Basket case Brain Dead I've seen a lot of other things ... a pattern full of CG that can wither ...

- In about 3 months, Halloween will be, do you have any costumes you want girls to wear? ? If there is a costume you want to wear, please tell me! Costumes that girls want to wear ... Leather face ... It ’s a joke. I want to do leather face ☆ After all a beautiful and erotic zombie style for girls! Or maybe the Adams family! !

- How does it look like in your room? It's a white wall, but I don't have any posters on it. There are a lot of watches that are only at school. The curtains are ivory and gentle colors! Others are single beds LCD TV (AQUOS / Kameyama brand w of the world) TV stand There is only a large dark brown table The kitchen has a refrigerator, an IH stove that I bought yesterday, and an abdominal muscle device. It is surprisingly simple.

- Favorite liquor: My favorite liquor is ... beer! ! There is nothing in particular Actually I don't drink anything other than beer I don't like alcohol Sweet sour liquor, shochu, sake, whiskey, vodka, brandy, etc.

- What is your favorite type of woman? There is no such type. By the way, there is not one female celebrity favorite since elementary school.

- Is there a cool position and design for women to put in a tattoo? Hibiki likes I think it ’s okay if it ’s right for the person ’s character, I think angels are cute! ! Like Natural Born Killers, the main character in the movie was carving next to the navel? ?

- Good evening, Hibiki-san, have you ever cried in public since you became an adult? Have you ever cried in front of a lover? Of course! ! People cry because they are serious Isn't the person who makes it stupid a person who doesn't know much about human pain? In my thoughts, is it embarrassing to cry when you want to cry?

- I like beer but how much can I drink? What happens if you get drunk? I don't think I lose my memory because I'm drunk ... As far as I can remember, I remember drinking about 5 cups of mugs at a tavern. After that, I'm drinking with a dull, so surely more ... If someone does not count it, it will remain a mystery!

#about

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pride-vns-blog · 6 years

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LGBTQ VN Week: Day Three! (6/20)

Welcome back for my third day of LGBTQ visual novel recommendations! Remember to check out my first post’s “One note before we get started” section to get a handle on what this recommendation list is, what it’s not, and why I made it, if you haven’t already!

The four visual novels I’ve got lined up to talk about today move beyond endlessly bleak apocalypses to focus instead on persistence and hopes for a brighter future — Spincut’s Who We Are Now, Sofdelux Studio’s Disaster Log C, and Worst Girls Games’ We Know The Devil, followed by a conversation with Jaime Scribbles Games about her upcoming As We Know It.

(Disclaimers: I’m somehow still into unique-looking apocalypse stories in the year 2018, so I backed both Who We Are Now and As We Know It on Kickstarter, and I also know the creators of Disaster Log C personally.)

Head on in for comic book supervillain jokes, super important teddy bears, one hell of a summer camp, and juggling your full-time job with the end of the world!

WHO WE ARE NOW (SPINCUT)

Itch.io Tagline: "A queer, post-apocalyptic visual novel about love at the end of the world.” Genre(s): Romance; slice of life; science fiction. Release Date: December 12th, 2017 (Xander’s Story); June 18th, 2018 (Jesse’s Story); TBA (Ray’s Story & Nathan’s Story). Content Warnings: Multiple explicit sex scenes; discussion of traumatic violence.

Who We Are Now, a visual novel following protagonist Wes as he offers comfort to the isolated fellow residents of a post-apocalyptic town named Home under the advice of town leader Mohra. The backdrop for Who We Are Now is distinctly science fiction, but the worldbuilding elements are interestingly vague enough that the characters only refer to the apocalypse more in terms of how it impacted their lives, rather than concrete details about exactly which places were destroyed on what dates and how. That’s personally something I prefer for character-focused pieces like this, and an interesting contrast to the hyper-detailed way AAA studios approach the apocalypse — it works in Who We Are Now, especially in the instances where the characters react differently to the circumstances of their situation or share different information, because it’s what they’ve retained.

Although Who We Are Now is short and largely still in “preorder”, according to its Itch.io page, both of the two relatively complete Stories — starring romanceable characters Xander and Jesse, respectively — offer distinct enough stories with memorable characters that I feel comfortable saying their two companion pending routes (Ray and Nathan) will all be well worth the price and the wait. Spincut’s script treats the two love interests’ struggles with society and their respective traumas carefully, never really offering an answer or a single moment that stood out to me as being a demand for them to just “get over it”. Both Jesse and Xander bristle, especially in the later half, and neither Xander’s struggle to control his mysterious electric powers nor Jesse’s slow progress fitting in as part of the society in Home go seamlessly. Even Wes’s personality feels realistically flawed; as a character who’s lived for years on his own, there’s moments in the script where his self-reliance and avoidance gets in the way of honest and open communication.

As a relationship-focused story with a heavy emphasis on character development, Who We Are Now’s writing delivers some solid growth and reasonable conflicts in a minimal amount of time, especially in Xander’s Story! Without going into too many spoilers, his convictions about the “bad guys” outside of the community of Home and his struggles with self-worth throughout the story build up to a believable, sympathetic end — his Story raises some interesting questions about violence in a post-apocalyptic world that, combined with how different it felt from Jesse’s perspective, made me all the more excited to see Ray and Nathan’s viewpoints on the apocalypse.

(Also, the sex scenes are 👌.)

The Xander’s Story and Jesse’s Story chapters of Who We Are Now are available now for a total price $15, a price that includes the eventual release of Ray’s Story and Nathan’s Story, both of which currently TBA. For more updates, you can follow developer Spincut on Itch.io or Twitter.

DISASTER LOG C (SOFDELUX STUDIO)

Itch.io Tagline: "It has been raining ceaselessly for 7 days...” Genre(s): Comedy; mild horror. Release Date: October 23rd, 2017. Content Warnings: See Itch.io page.

(This section contains mild, vague spoilers for Disaster Log C’s ending. It’s short and free, you might want to give it a try first!)

When it comes to the four apocalypse stories on this list, they’ve all got (thankfully) relatively different approaches to handling the end of the world, but Disaster Log C’s approach is one of the few visual novels that actually surprised me with its later swerve into a revelation I hadn’t totally expected. (I’m trying to be vague enough as possible, but I seriously didn’t see that plot point coming and can appreciate the worldbuilding that made it easy to accept as a “how did I miss that?” kind of fact once it’s revealed!) Protagonist Mell’s no-nonsense approach perfectly serves the story’s steady pace, punctuated by Mell’s own “Disaster Logs” of the ocean rising up to swallow the island she’s lived on her whole life, and that pace is fed into perfectly with the frantic nature of knife-wielding Issa’s demands about where to go, what to do, and how much alcohol she wants to drink.

There’s a goofiness to Disaster Log C that never undercuts the story’s more serious moments — Mell’s struggle with the end of the world she’s always known and Issa’s own relative detachment from that world as it exists are both given more than enough space in the text, and the story never holds their growth back for the sake of slapstick. But there’s plenty of slapstick and a lot of absolutely hilarious moments, served equally well by both script and story, that are well-placed enough that it becomes clearer and clearer in hindsight exactly when Mell and Issa became as close as they can be by the story’s end. Their dynamic is a delight and well worth reading for, whether it’s in the most serious of heart-to-hearts or a scene where they’re arguing with one another about how much food to eat.

But above all else, the thing that really sells me on Disaster Log C — and Sofdelux Studio’s previous dating sim, Mermaid Splash Passion Festival — is how sincere it is. It’s easy for apocalyptic fiction to be smug, or grim, or just plain dark, but Disaster Log C manages to capture the real grief inherent in its premise without ever plunging into hopelessness. The world Issa and Mell inhabit is a beautifully illustrated one filled with plenty of jokes and triumphant fishing CGs, but it’s also a cruel world, and it’s still very much the story of how everything Mell has ever known disappeared in the blink of an eye. That’s a delicate balance to walk, for sure, but it’s a balance Disaster Log C walks seamlessly enough that its wonderfully optimistic True Ending had me in tears.

Disaster Log C is available now for free, in both English and Korean. Both halves of Sofdelux Studio also have individual Itch.io pages (DCS’s here and Nami’s here), or you can follow their shared Itch.io for more Sofdelux Studio projects!

WE KNOW THE DEVIL (PILLOWFIGHT, WORST GIRLS GAMES)

Steam Tagline: "Follow meangirl Neptune, tomboy Jupiter, and shy shy Venus as they get to know each other--but one always gets left out.” Genre(s): Group relationship horror. Release Date: February 15th, 2016. Content Warnings: Religious abuse; blood; character death; implications of sexual harrassment/abuse.

(This section contains spoilers for the plot and endings of We Know The Devil. Sorry! Please play it!)

It would be difficult — if not totally impossible — for me to talk about why I liked We Know The Devil or what it's doing in this group of visual novels without spoiling the ending in one way or another. (I don't think I could even refer to Venus, my hands-down favorite character, in a way that felt natural without dodging around her pronouns like a middle schooler playing volleyball.) For a while, I considered putting this in the creative design category and trying to avoid spoilers anyway! There’s been of fascinating pieces that I’ve loved reading about how We Know The Devil’s unique choice system operates; its “choose two characters out of three” model is smart, well-executed, and offers a lot of character development in both the duo you observe and the one you don’t in every playthrough.

But the piece of this story that I’ve always loved the most has been its ending and the way I feel that it functions as a work of apocalyptic fiction. While the other three entries on this list are all set either at the dawn of the apocalypse or well after the apocalypse has literally “dawned”, We Know The Devil’s apocalypse is more quasi-metaphorical and much more closely linked to its ending. If you read it 100% literally, the “three worst girls since Eve” ascend in all the ways they were never supposed to be and end the world; if you read it strictly metaphorically, they still become more removed from the all-encroaching, endlessly painful social standards that have been forced upon them. And in that case, it’s even more the “end of the world” for their family or the religious authority figures around them to see that self-satisfaction and acceptance instead of the quiet repression and shame, isn’t it?

I can’t deny that a lot of my fondness for this kind of reading is a deeply personal one, but I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing. (If anything, I think how many personal reactions there have been to We Know The Devil is a testament — ha! — to the nuanced writing and worldbuilding.) The legacy of religious abuse in the name of Christianity, specifically Irish Catholicism, is something that’s haunted my own family for generations. It’s dictated who got married and who couldn’t get divorced, it’s been the reason some of my friends were born and the reason some others died, and its impact is so irreversable that the guilt even gets passed down into generations that have barely attended a service. So for We Know The Devil’s true ending to take a lot of those religious hallmarks, that guilt from failing to live up to expectations, and then build up to a true ending where the rest of the world is damned for the way it treated Jupiter, Neptune, and Venus — without the true ending’s text ever condemning any of them for being teenagers who are willing to scorch the Earth, metaphorically or literally, and refuse to accept the pain they shouldn’t have to suffer? As a story about the end of three characters’ slice of the world, We Know The Devil one hell of an answer to the Christian idea of a Rapture, and one I prefer a thousand times over.

We Know The Devil is available now on sale for $1.99 (75% off), while you can try We Know The Demo for free on Itch.io; Worst Girls Games can be found on Twitter and Tumblr with more information about their upcoming project, Heaven Will Be Mine!

AS WE KNOW IT (JAIME SCRIBBLES GAMES)

Kickstarter Tagline: "A heavily branching visual novel, featuring love, friendship and life-sim elements in a future destroyed by the sun.” Genre(s): Romance; drama. Release Date: April 25th, 2018 (demo); TBA (final version). Content Warnings: Alcohol and drug use; violence; mature content.

As someone who really enjoyed Pinewood Island, Jaime Scribbles Games’ debut horror visual novel about college students trapped on an island with a murderer, I’ve been looking forward to As We Know It since I first saw initial character designs. The first demo definitely was what I’d been hoping it would be — although visually unfinished in places, given that the Kickstarter was largely to help fund purchase of its art assets like finished backgrounds and side character sprites — and the story about a post-apocalypse society that largely functioned but still ran into unexpected troubles instantly hooked me.

Interested in hearing a little more about protagonist Ashlynn’s dual focus on romance and maintaining a job, I reached out to Jaime with a couple questions to hear what she had to say about her upcoming visual nove.

First, congratulations on your Kickstarter reaching full funding and a bonus goal! I'm sure you've done a lot of this already during the funding period, but how would you pitch As We Know It to someone who'd never heard of it before?

A heavily branching visual novel with romance in a post-apocalyptic setting. Something along those lines.

Yeah, that sounds accurate to me! What's the experience in having run a successfully-funded Kickstarter for a visual novel been like? Are there any weird little details or things that you weren't expecting to have to deal with that have become surprisingly important?

Hm, I didn’t really know what to expect. I can’t say anything too unusual occurred.

Hey, no news is better than bad news, for sure!

Both As We Know It and Pinewood Island have had different mechanics alongside the romance -- in Pinewood Island's case, unpuzzling a brutal series of deaths, and in As We Know It's case, pursuing a career path in a crisis-stricken community -- that seem to be just as central to the storytelling, rather than a backdrop for romance. Can you talk a little bit about striking that balance?

It’s not easy! I have to make sure it makes sense for these characters to want to pursue romance despite whatever else is going on. That usually means making sure things don’t get too intense until more of a relationship is formed. Since romance is such a heavy aspect I hope people don’t question it too much lol

When you're designing characters' personalities or approving their visual depictions, what do you keep in mind? What do you think is the most important thing when it comes to building a lineup of characters to make them all feel distinct from one another?

I think of different personalities, different types of people I want to write, and then I try to make sure their looks are diverse and varied. As I write them their characteristics become more solid.

Were someone else to make a "dream visual novel" for you as a player, what do you think that visual novel would be like? In terms of genre, romance routes, etc?

Oh I’m not sure 🤔 probably a really good mash up of horror and romance with psychological elements and a mature story (no teenager plz) lol

😆 I'd definitely play that, too!

For my last question, what LGBTQ visual novels from other developers or creators are your personal recommendations?

Let’s see, Hustle Cat, Let's Meat Adam are my faves, but there are tons more out there!

Definitely! Thank you for the conversation, Jaime, I'm looking forward to seeing As We Know It's progress over the next couple months!

You can find more information about As We Know It on Kickstarter, try out the free demo on Itch.io and Steam, or keep up with progress on the game’s development blog!

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englishvisualnovels · 7 years

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Otakon 2017: MangaGamer Announces Room No. 9, A Kiss for the Petals: Maidens of Michael, and More

For this year’s conventions, MangaGamer made their last stop at Otakon where they announced an array of new titles!

English Visual Novels knows that we have many followers who are major fans of the BL and/or yuri genres. If you’re one of them, check out MangaGamer’s announcements because they include one BL title and four yuri titles that might be up your alley.

Note: Links in this post may contain content that is NSFW.

Localization Announcements

A Kiss for the Petals: Maidens of Michael (Yuri)

Developer: Yurin Yurin Release Date: TBA Platform: Windows, Mac, & Linux Age Rating: All-Ages & 18+

One of MangaGamer’s Otakon announcements is a treat for yuri fans. A Kiss for the Petals: Maidens of Michael will head west in the near future! This entry in the A Kiss for the Petals series reintroduces the five, original couples of the series and expands on their relationships.

A Kiss for the Petals: Maidens of Michael is 100% translated and 100% edited as of August 12th.

Relevant Link:

Official Site

Synopsis:

Today at Saint Michael Girls' School, the class representative for the first-year “Snow” Class, Azumi Risa, had once again been fighting with the class troublemaker, Ayase Miya. Risa, who is earnest and hard-nosed, and Miya, who hates to cooperate with others, couldn’t have been less right for each other, as they were always on the verge of tearing each other’s throats out.

At the time, the whole school was in a festive mood with Christmas just around the corner. As couples and spur-of-the-moment couples alike were flirtatiously carrying on, the whole school was abuzz with excitement over the “St. Michael’s Best Couple” poll being conducted by the student volunteers. Risa, who was single, figured it didn’t concern her…

So then how did she and Miya end up being chosen?!

Although Risa naturally denied that they shared that kind of relationship, the classmates who had selected them would just smile with the reasoning of tempered young ladies who had been raised in respectable families and say, “You always look like you’re having so much fun.” Resigning themselves, the two decided to go along with it, “Just for appearance’s sake,” and it seemed they would have to stick it out through the coming holidays of Christmas and Valentine’s Day along with four other couples as the committee members for various events.

And what’s more…

Those other four couples were practically the student council:

The president of the Campus Improvement Committee, Matsubara Yuuna, and her junior, Oda Nanami.

The renowned student model, Kitajima Sara, and her cousin, Kitajima Kaede.

The singing sensation of the culture festival, Kawamura Reo, and her girlfriend, Sawaguchi Mai.

And last, but not least, the girls of the Lily Platinum fan club, exchange student Shitogi Eris, and the school’s foremost scribe, the highly respected Kirishima Shizuku.

In other words, only the most preeminent couples on campus.

Will the big name couples be able to handle the events that follow? And will Risa be able to survive the lovers’ holidays of Christmas and Valentine’s with Miya?

Sengoku Rance (Bishoujo)

Developer: Alicesoft Release Date: TBA Platform: Windows Age Rating: 18+

Fans of the Rance series will be pleased to know that Sengoku Rance will receive a localization! This title is the seventh entry in the Rance series.

Sengoku Rance departs from the series’ traditional RPG gameplay style in favor of strategy battles with a greater focus on army battles, the conquest of territories, and management of the players’ forces.

MangaGamer will not base the localization on the fan translation. Instead, the localization for the official release will be done from scratch.

Relevant Links:

Official Site

Rance Series Official Site

Promotional Video

Synopsis:

In the far east nation of Nippon, a plethora of feudal lords are fighting for supremacy in the 4th Sengoku Era. After doing immeasurable damage on the Continent, the brute known as Rance traveled with his slave, Sill, to the island country.

For a hot spring vacation, you ask?

Wrong. While they'll go to some hot springs, Rance's goal is to bang all of Nippon's beautiful princesses, samurai, miko, ninjas, village girls, and more. In particular, he wants Kouhime of the prominent Oda Clan.

When Rance becomes the ruler of one of the feudal states, he charges head first toward uniting Nippon!

Rance Quest MAGNUM (Bishoujo)

Developer: Alicesoft Release Date: TBA Platform: Windows Age Rating: 18+

That’s not all! MangaGamer will also bring over Rance Quest MAGNUM in the near future. This is the eight entry in the Rance series and a sequel to Sengoku Rance.

Sengoku Rance and Rance Quest MAGNUM will be released separately.

Relevant Links:

Official Site

Rance Series Official Site

Promotional Video

Synopsis:

Returning from his grand adventure of unifying Nippon, Rance is back home and planning to take it easy for a while. Being Rance, though, he's barely into his vacation before he's getting into trouble and he's struck with a debilitating curse! Under the curse, Rance is unable to have sex with any woman under level 35, and if he goes without a woman for too long, he just might find himself turned off from them forever (if he can even hold out that long). Seems there's no time for a vacation after all! Rance sets off on another grand (though not always grave) adventure across the Continent: to find and fuck all the girls over level 35 he can get his hands on.

Chasing his (ig)noble goal, you will challenge hundreds of quests and recruit dozens of characters. There's a huge variety of adventures, dungeons, missions (both weighty and wacky), and sexy things all waiting for you! Meet new faces and return to old companions' beds while you do whatever and whoever it takes to break Rance's curse.

Room No. 9 (Boys’ Love)

Developer: parade Release Date: TBA Platform: Windows Age Rating: 18+

MangaGamer’s next announcement is a dark BL title: Room No. 9! This is the latest BL game from parade, the developers behind NO, THANK YOU!!!.

Room No. 9 contains options toggle on or off in-game visuals for body hair, glasses, guro, and scat.

Relevant Links:

Official Site

Synopsis:

Best friends Daichi and Seiji set out on an almost too-good-to-be-true summer vacation, but it quickly turns into a nightmare...

Instead of the island paradise they were expecting, they find themselves trapped in a strange room and forced to participate in an incomprehensible "experiment" demanding that they either harm Daichi physically or Seiji sexually. They'll have to play along to have any hope of escaping with their lives, but that means hurting each other and possibly destroying their friendship—and their minds—in the process.

While Daichi is quick to declare that he'd be just fine less one arm, and Seiji argues for the options that won't leave lasting physical scars, do they really understand the consequences? Can they survive the "experiment" and is survival alone enough?

The Spirit Master of Retarnia (Bishoujo)

Developer: Lunasoft Release Date: TBA Platform: Windows Age Rating: 18+

The last of MangaGamer’s localization announcements is The Spirit Master of Retarnia by Lunasoft, an indie developer.

Description:

Join the Spirit Master of Retarnia in saving the kingdom from the Demon World at the behest of your queen! Explore classic, 3D dungeons with a host of five heroines, each with their own special abilities! Power up with equipment uncovered in the dungeon, and customize your party’s skills as they level up to create the best builds for your style!

Original English Visual Novels

Dizzy Hearts (Yuri)

Developer: Lupiesoft Release Date: TBA Platform: Windows, Mac, & Linux Age Rating: All-Ages & 18+

MangaGamer will be partnering with Lupiesoft to help bring Dizzy Hearts through the MangaGamer store and Steam!

Dizzy Hearts was previously funded through Kickstarter.

Relevant Link:

Patreon Announcement

His Chuunibyou Can’t Be Cured! (Bishoujo)

Developer: Tamaya Kagiya Release Date: Fall 2017 Platform: Windows, Mac, & Linux Age Rating: All-Ages & 18+

MangaGamer will help bring over Tamaya Kagiya’s His Chuunibyou Can’t Be Cured!, a romantic comedy. The game was successfully funded on Kickstarter earlier this year.

His Chuunibyou Can’t Be Cured! will be available for sale on MangaGamer and Steam.

Relevant Links:

Official Site (Demo available)

Opening Video

Synopsis:

Play as Jun Mizushima, a gaming school student who suffers from "chuunibyou", or "eighth grade syndrome", a condition in which the afflicted genuinely believe that they posses superpowers. Aside from that, Jun is a charismatic young man, who is really determined to create a video game of his own. Join Jun and his eccentric, yet talented, group of friends to win the annual International Youth Game Development Competition!

The Stargazers: Remaster (Yuri)

Developer: Lupiesoft Release Date: TBA Platform: Windows, Mac, & Linux Age Rating: All-Ages & 18+

Lupiesoft will revamp their previously released The Stargazers with new chapters, new sprites, additional CGs, and the inclusion of voice acting!

Relevant Links:

Official Site

Synopsis:

What would it be like to explore deep space? To chart the unknown landscape of the outer rim, assessing new planets for their potential as colonies? What wonders and excitement might await?

Inspired by pulp sci-fi, The Stargazers follows Temperance as she joins the Shooting Star to explore and chart the galaxy with its crew. Join these girls as she discover new wonders of space, rescue lost ships, fight to survive against notorious villains, and more! Of course, sometimes the outer reaches of space might get lonely, but the girls have each other for that.

The Tower of Five Hearts (Yuri)

Developer: TsukiWare Release Date: Fall 2017 Platform: Windows, Mac, & Linux Age Rating: 18+

Next is TsukiWare’s second major title: The Tower of Five Hearts! This is a yuri tale featuring maids hoping to win the heart of their princess.

Tsukiware is an indie developer that previously produced Critical Hit.

Relevant Links:

Crowdfunding Campaign

Web Demo

Synopsis:

There are five continents of roughly-equal size; they’re side-by-side, and all of them meet to an approximate point in the middle. At this meeting of the borders, there is a tower.

The Tower of Five Hearts.

One Royal Family is in charge of upholding the peace for every continent, by marrying off their child to a prospective girl from one of the continents.

It’s more of a contest — five girls trying to be Maids, in the hope that their master (the Prince) will fall in love with them...

However this time, it’s a Princess.

Previously Announced Titles

Fashioning Little Miss Lonesome (Otome)

Developer: Kalmia8 Release Date: September 8, 2017 Platform: Windows Age Rating: All-Ages & 18+ Price: $24.95

In case you missed it, otome game Fashioning Little Miss Lonesome comes out this September 8th! This title will be coming to MangaGamer in its fully uncut adult version and an all-ages edition for Steam.

Pre-order from MangaGamer now and get the game for 20% off!

Relevant Links:

Where to Buy (Digital): MangaGamer (18+ ver.)

Official Site (Demo available)

Opening Video

Steam Page

Features, via MangaGamer:

Two eligible (?) bachelors to choose from (or choose both perhaps…?)

English text and menus (wow!)

Japanese voices (even Ema!)

You can rename the protagonist!

No mosaics! (…on the naughty bits in the adult version)

18+ content toggle (in the adult version)

Free 18+ content patch for Steam!

Achievements (Steam version only)

DRM free!

Synopsis:

Ema Tachibana is a tall, gloomy and unsociable girl with a bad case of resting bitch-face. With all that working against her, she’s never really had any friends. At school, everyone’s too scared to approach her.

But Ema herself is quite content with that state of affairs. In fact, she was all set to spend the rest of her time until graduation invisible as ever…

That is, until two men turned her life upside down!

“It’s you… I’ve finally found you! You are, without a doubt, MY MUSE!”

Miki Hiraizumi—recently returned to Japan from abroad, he’s loved making clothes ever since he was a little kid. He has a strong desire to help make charming, unusual women shine. (He’s also a bit of a masochist.)

“Listen up, twerp! You’re no good the way you are now. But even you have some potential to shine… I’ll just have to polish you up!”

And Saito Shinjou—he frequently finds himself bored because things have always come easy to him. He aspires to accomplish something so big, it’ll change the world. (He’s also a bit of a sadist.)

These two ambitious and attractive fellows decide to give Ema Tachibana a makeover!

But Ema has other ideas.

“Yeah, well… Who asked you?!”

Supipara - Alice the magical conductor. Chapter #02 (Bishoujo)

Developer: minori Release Date: TBA Platform: Windows Age Rating: All-Ages

The second chapter of Supipara - Alice the magical conductor. has been funded! According to MangaGamer, the translation is complete and will receive a release soon.

Fans can check the minori fundraising project page for more information on funding chapters 3 through 6 of Suipipara, which will be released English first.

Relevant Links:

Official Site

The minori Fundraising Project

Videos: Demo Movie 1, Demo Movie 2

Synopsis:

It's another round of Supipara, but something is different. Our story begins anew on Yukinari's first day in Kamakura... except that he magically has a new family member?! What other changes could this altered history bring about?

#room no 9 #sonohana #mangagamer #boys love #visual novel #bishoujo #yuri #otakon #event #rating: all ages #rating: 18 #indie

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moviemagistrate · 7 years

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“Wonder Woman” review

I’m sure I wasn’t alone in being not-particularly-excited for “Wonder Woman”, the latest entry in the DC Extended Universe; after all, I did see the other films in the DCEU. There was the two-and-a-half-hour long trailer “Man of Steel”, the ambitious but notably flawed “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”, and “Suicide Squad”, a film that if I were forced to choose between seeing again and taking my own life, I would spend far too long considering. With skepticism in hand, I saw “Wonder Woman”, and I cannot remember the last time I was so happy to be so wrong about a film. This isn’t to say that the movie doesn’t have its own fair share of flaws (it does), but in at least one significant area, which is to inspire hope for the DCEU, it works wonders.

After a brief framing-device setup, the movie tells the origin story of Diana, princess of an isolated island of muscular, Amazonian warrior-babes. In a slow-but-alright prologue, she grows from an eager young girl who is sheltered from combat by her Queen mother to a formidable fighter when suddenly, dashing American soldier Steve Trevor crash lands in their waters. From him, she discovers the ongoing conflict of World War I and sets out alongside him to Europe to help save humanity from what she believes to be the machinations of Ares, the wrathful god of war. Writing it now, this sounds like silly, comic book-y stuff (and it is), but it works within the context of the movie, and the plot isn’t really the reason the movie works as well as it does, anyway.

Let’s talk about Gal Gadot. I was among those who were skeptical when Zack Snyder first cast her as Wonder Woman in BvS, despite his usual excellent penchant for casting his films. A model with acting experience that mainly consisted of “Fast & Furious” movies (not exactly acting showcases) being put in the shoes of the most famous female hero in comic book history has a lot to live up to, and while her limited role in BvS was decent, it didn’t exactly set the world on fire. Such is not the case here in her solo film. Finally given a character with outward personality and depth, she is absolutely phenomenal in what is legitimately one of the best portrayals of a comic book character in any movie. Diana is an idealist, a good-hearted and eager young woman (despite being centuries-old) with no small amount of naiveté and innocence but also someone who is also fiercely strong-willed and independent, and Gadot nails every aspect of her character and every bit of her development throughout the course of the movie, as well as being surprisingly funny. Sure, you could argue that there are probably some actresses out there who could offer some better line-deliveries, but in terms of sheer charisma and how she carries herself and how she makes you believe that she is Wonder Woman, I’d say that Snyder’s mostly-superlative casting record continues. By the end of the film you’ll be convinced that Gal Gadot is a fucking megastar.

The main reason the movie works so well for me is Diana’s relationship with Trevor, played by Chris Pine. A likable, cynical rogue who isn’t too much of a stretch for Pine considering he plays Kirk similarly in the new “Star Trek” films, but a character who is still given enough dimension and gravitas to make him memorable, which the naturally charismatic Pine plays to a tee. Their lack of familiarity with each other’s worlds and their clashes in communication leads to some nice fish-out-of-water humor (see Trevor’s bemusement at the glowing water on the island or Diana’s reaction to her first ice cream), but it’s their chemistry that is the beating heart of this film. The characters’ opposing worldviews supplies the needed character drama, but also helps creates a bond that feels as natural and fresh as any pairing in recent history. Just try watching the boat scene about 30 minutes into the movie without smiling, laughing, or feeling the fireworks these two create. This leads to a bond atypical of most movies, where their deepening relationship is based not on superiority of one over the other, but one of equality and respect, where you actually feel these two grow both individually and together. I might be harping too much on this matter, but this is easily the best romance in any comic book movie (yes, even better than Cap and Bucky). Other film couples have chemistry; these two are cooking Heisenberg-quality meth together and making it look effortless.

The rest of the cast is solid, as well. Of note are Steve’s three buddies who tag along with him and Diana on their mission. They initially seem like the typical diverse comic-relief sidekicks, but are surprisingly well-written and are even given their own moments that flesh out and humanize them more than you’d expect in this kind of film (and I’m always happy to see Scotsman Ewen Bremner onscreen). Connie Nielsen and Robin Wright are alright as Diana’s Amazon queen mother and warrior aunt, but they’re only in the opening third of the movie and spend much of it speaking in stilted “Game of Thrones” dialogue. While the actors who play the villains are good, their actual characters are one of the film’s main weaknesses, somewhat lacking in terms of depth and being interesting. We never really understand why Doctor Poison stoops to creating her devastating weapons of war, and [SPOILERS] the “surprise” late-reveal of Ares can be seen coming a mile away. [END SPOILERS] It’s somewhat ballsy to take a historical figure such as German general Erich Ludendorff and make him the cackling bad guy in your movie (with some unusually accurate attention to detail like his view of war and his pagan Norse worship), and while entertaining, he too suffers from a lack of depth and motivation beyond conquering the world (which again should be noted, is not entirely historically inaccurate).

Patty Jenkins is the first time a woman has directed a major superhero film (not counting Lexi Alexander’s low-budgeted but face-explodingly awesome “Punisher: War Zone”), and she brings a uniquely feminine perspective to Diana’s story, from her upbringing in an all-female society to her learning of the frustrating world of mankind to her loving and compassionate nature. Jenkins has only directed one movie 14 years ago and has only done a handful of TV stuff since then, so her ground as an action director is understandably a bit shaky. The action itself is pretty good, but between the slight over-reliance on Snyder-esque slo-mo and over-editing, you can kind of tell this is Jenkins’ first time doing this sort of thing (not helped by some shockingly crappy CGI). However, she makes up for this by spacing out the action well over the course of the movie, and giving each fight weight, story meaning, and character development for Diana. Along with Rupert Gregson-Williams’ pounding soundtrack, this comes together best in an outstanding mid-movie charge across no man’s land to liberate a Belgian village.

Putting aside the action stuff, Jenkins’ strength lies in the character scenes. The boat scene and others like it feel so natural and well-done because Jenkins knows the importance of slowing a movie down to let us take in the characters and making us care for them. In these scenes, she shows moments of such humanity and personal growth that it really catches you off-guard how moving this film can be. Later in the film, there’s a scene where a character sacrifices themselves and the camera holds on their face for a while, and seeing this person come to terms with their death will both break your heart and take your breath away. Moments like this involve you in a story more than any giant CGI clusterfuck or ironic Marvelquip. Speaking of which, the film itself has a refreshingly good sense of humor, that in deference to modern superhero tradition never feels forced and feels like it’s coming naturally from the characters and their quirks instead of soulless hack writers making pop-culture references.

Despite all that the film does right, it’s not without its flaws. Along with the aforementioned dodgy special effects and the so-so villains, the film also tends to get bogged down in exposition. It has not only the early backstory narration (which at least has context since it’s a story being read to Diana by her mother) and the third-act “villain explains their motivations” monologue, but also fairly frequent occurrences of “newly-introduced character tells us who they are and what the situation is”. It’s still done relatively well, and I prefer it to a movie rushing through just to get to the next studio-mandated action beat, but they could have been more economic with these parts. Also, the third act is a bit of a letdown. Without spoiling much, it disappointingly becomes another huge CG-battle after the baddie monologue, the kind we’ve all seen dozens of times. Maybe some producer or studio exec is hoping that these types of climaxes will one day go full-circle and become exciting again. Finally, the very last shot of the movie is kind of silly; it has no real purpose and is only there because someone out there mistakenly thought it’d look cool.

Nevertheless, I’m writing this review a few days after seeing it, and I’m honestly still shocked at how much I was thrilled, entertained, and even moved by “Wonder Woman”. It’s just so rare for me to find a movie that actually clicks with me on an emotional level that I can easily recommend it despite its relatively-minor foibles. I’m not convinced the DCEU has its shit together as this film could just as likely be an anomaly, but “Wonder Woman” is miraculous solely by giving one the slightest bit of hope that “Justice League” will be good. As long as Gal Gadot and Patty Jenkins make another one of these, I might just become optimistic about this franchise. You go, girls.

#wonder woman #film #review

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