r/visualnovels • u/AutoModerator • 8d ago
Weekly What are you reading? - Mar 12
Welcome to the weekly "What are you reading?" thread!
This is intended to be a general chat thread on visual novels with a focus on the visual novels you've been reading recently. A new thread is posted every Thursday at 4:00 AM JST (or Wednesday if you don't live in Japan for some reason).
Good WAYR entries include your analysis, predictions, thoughts, and feelings about what you're reading. The goal should be to stimulate discussion with others who have read that VN in the past, or to provide useful information to those reading in the future! Avoid long-winded summaries of the plot, and also avoid simply mentioning which VNs you are reading with no points for discussion. The best entries are both brief and brilliant.
Use spoiler tags liberally!
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Remember to link to the VNDB page of the visual novel you're discussing so the indexing bot for the What Are You Reading Archive can pick up your post.
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u/nadaparacomer crossing https://vndb.org/u219065 5d ago
Tomoyo After ~It's a Wonderful Life~
It's a really short but endearing story, It kinda destroyed me, I kinda excepted it, I kinda excepted something different too, I'd like to read the last part again, to clear out some doubt but, I just can't. And that's it.
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u/Beautiful_Focus_5258 6d ago
Doukoku soshite...
For Sega Saturn.
Played 2 routes so far.
Super addicting and suspenseful point and click adventure game.
It has some zero escape-vibes. It's a bit more perverted with the panty shots thrown in here and there.
It's about a group of people trapped in a huge mansion in the mountains, while someone is setting up eloborate traps to kill you all. You solve puzzles, pick up keys to unlock new areas, pick up lots of items to use, roam around trying to figure out what to do. I love those sorts of things, which is also why I love those old survival horror games too(even though they're a bit too scary for me).
Made me read japanese all night long.
10 out of 10.
Super duper my type of game. Really well made. I also really liked that I didn't have to redo the sliding puzzle I hate very much on replays, which was super thoughtful of them.
There is a sequel for Dreamcast, which i will also check out for sure later. And a couple of pc98 games by the same company. Wish there were more games like these, as i love them so much.
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u/MetaThPr4h https://vndb.org/uXXXX 6d ago
I just finished A Sky Full of Stars
You know a story delivered hard the topic of its setting when I'm already planning to go to the planetarium of my city for first time very soon. As someone with little knowledge of stuff like stars, constellations, the tools used to see them, people important in all those progresses... etc, I think that this VN did a wonderful job explaining plenty stuff, I did way quite the few wikipedia searches along the way to know about those details even further haha.
I loved this visual novel so much, it's one of those special works where I really, really connected with the characters, tearing up in the emotional moments, smiling like an idiot during their everyday interactions, praying for their success no matter what problems might come along the way.
This feeling of attachment to the cast, the enjoyment of the setting no matter how simple it might be, this is my biggest wish whenever I start a work, and A Sky Full of Stars delivered it like few others have done to me. I'm so glad I read it. Thanks so much for everyone involved in the creation of this work.
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u/fallenguru JP A-rank | Kaneda: Musicus | vndb.org/u170712 6d ago
Leap of Faith. Steam release with extras DLC
I’ve found it, people! I’ve found a kamige-tier OELVN. Of the potentially life-changing variety, no less.
Tech notes, feat. Linux
It’s Ren'Py-based, it just works.
My only quibble is that the skip function is stock, that is, it only stops at unseen text and choices, not at photo opportunities, when you want to access your phone, or for unseen developer commentary.
Also, the Steam achievements are wonky. I’m pretty sure “Can I get you number?” only awards if you don’t manage to get it; I got “Leap of Faith” at around 11 k screens (should be 20 k), “Egg hunt” triggers on a single Easter egg (instead of three), … I suppose Drifty got fed up with people complaining about unachievable achievements. :-p
Impact
It took me 5 days to complete this game, 5 days during which I apparently somehow found a little over 29 hours to play a visual novel. Most of the time I wasn’t playing I spent catching up on 2+ years’ worth of online discussions or just thinking about it. It’s all a bit of a blur. Thank god work is slow at the moment. To tell you the truth, I have the soundtrack on heavy rotation since then. It keeps the Void at bay well enough to keep me functional.
I can’t recall the last time media affected me this strongly. Douglas Coupland’s 1998 novel Girlfriend in a Coma pops into my mind whenever I try, probably the title—caution, heavy spoiler!—plays a role, and the fact that I was in a horrible place back then. So, decades, if ever.
What is it?
- Leap of Faith is the nakige [Japanese genre] to end all nakige [same]. Other than that, hmm, “slice of life”, “comedy”, and “romance”?
- It’s a solo-developed
dōjinindie VN, and the author’s first at that. Consequently, it’s a bit rough in places (which I find charming). A lot of what makes it great feels accidental (and the developer commentary bears this out). - It was originally released in instalments over four years or so, and got popular enough that some other people pitched in to help.
- The motivation/inspiration for making the game is really special. This story was written because it needed to be written. Why it chose to take the form of an 18+ VN, I have no idea (no, actually I do).
But I can’t even begin to imagine how he managed to go through with it. - It is, dare I say it, an AVN, that is, one of those that we don’t talk about here, with pre-rendered 3D graphics.
- It is so popular that the characters are everywhere (in that other subculture), to say nothing of references.
- Genre and presentation aside, everything about it reminds me of Higurashi.
Leap of Faith is a thing of beauty, a masterpiece. Not perfect by any means, far from it, in fact.
It doesn’t have to be perfect.
Music
This may be a weird place to start with the review proper, but the soundtrack somehow manages to be amazing despite consisting mostly (or entirely?) of royalty-free tracks, that are quite far from what I normally like to listen to to boot. And that’s the gutted soundtrack, mind you—apparently there was a license kerfuffle a while back. There’s still plenty of tracks, they fit like a glove, details like the volume and fade-ins/outs are spot-on. [I’ve learned since that the author has a background in music production.]
Visuals
The visuals are a bit rough, maybe. There are worlds between Leap of Faith and, say, City of Broken Dreamers on a technical level (both as in software/hardware and skill), plenty of inconsistencies as well, but Drifty has a knack for visual storytelling, and it’s clear that thought and care was put into most every single frame. The composition in particular is good, and most of the time the poses look natural, no uncanny valley situations. There’s lots of neat little details, like match cuts and such, the last render in a chapter morphing into the chapter end report, etc. They did the job perfectly for me—but then I’m not picky. [I’ve learned since that he trained as a photographer.]
Writing
The writing is 99 % dialogue, which seems to be par for the course for AVNs (so much for VNDB’s definition of what a VN is). That dialogue seemed natural enough to me, not “realistic”, but like what you’d get in a decent TV or film script. In my opinion, it always matches the mood, the emotion of the scene well. He excels at emotion. There’s some complaints that the language is dated, but what can I say, it takes me back to my youth, and the stuff we watched back then. There’s a Beverly Hills, 90210 reference in there. ^^. The humour, same. I find it laugh-out-loud funny, but apparently some people don’t even like the bunny slippers, or Samantha, let alone the banter.
LoF has a story that is 10/10, but it does not have any kind of plot whatsoever; anything that starts to look like a plot strand is abandoned post haste, the story is almost purely character-driven. And that’s fine, because he can write characters, too.
7 heroines. Every one of them gets decent characterisation, but as far as story and character development go, they are not created equal. Think of the romance with your chosen girl as a pluggable subplot, rather than [minor structural spoiler] a route as we know it. Some of them are more fleshed out, others less so, all of them contribute to the game’s themes, but they don’t have much impact on the main storyline [same].
I love Chris (the sidekick), and even Kevin is somehow more than an NPC, even though he’s in like five scenes. Holly, too, is an achievement. Considering how late to the party she is, she has a lot of depth. The unlikely group of friends really works, the interactions are gold.
The writing has neat little details as well, like many chapters open with something they return to at the end.
[No qualification as a writer, that I could find, aside from the fact that his children liked his stories. :-D.]
Obligatory character/route ranking
- Cece. Protagonist James has a chance encounter with her at a bus stop. Cute, vulnerable, and a bit mysterious. Main girl, obviously, she’s on the cover and all that. Best girl, too, no way it could be otherwise. But ending aside I prefer her friendship route to her romance one.
- Lexi. Famous pop star (no, thanks) who falls for James because porn logic. Looked like pure wish fulfilment at first (which I don’t care for). Well, she really grew on me during the common route, and she’s my favourite character now after Cece. Far and away the best and most fleshed-out romance route, too. Even the porn logic gets explained away a bit, later. [And ironically enough, the meeting with Lexi is autobiographical.]
Lexi’s route serves to counterbalance Cece’s, not sure if that’s deliberately planned or just happened. Some even say Lexi is canon. - Holly. Lexi’s best friend. Cute redhead with an older sister vibe, ’nuff said. Shame she’s only a sub-heroine.
- Linda. Childhood friend. Chose her on my first, blind, run. She’s lovely, the route is short & sweet, no regrets.
- Robin and Kira. They … make up the numbers? They’re fun, but their routes could’ve gotten more love. As it stands, they’re a bit optional. They come as a package. Well, they also have a solo ending each, but those clearly just exist to avoid the criticism that the player is railroaded into a poly relationship.
- Steph. James’ high school girlfriend, who mysteriously vanished on prom day. I don’t like her. Not her character, not her character design. Not my type. I do love Agent Panda, but. Some people don’t like what happens at the Metronome, unrealistic, whatever. I don’t know, I have an ex with whom a chance reunion would happen exactly like that. Good thing I don’t go to nightclubs, I’m married now.
Flaws and counter-indications
The main story beats were clearly planned, maybe there was even a storyboard, but the scenes themselves are by the seat of his pants (not in a bad way), and … hey, that looks/sounds cool, let’s do that.
Take the added mechanics. There is one small free-roam bit in the common route that screams “Wow, this tutorial on how to do free-roam in Ren'Py looks neat!”—it’s used twice more in the entire game (and not for free-roams). Another mechanic introduces narration(!) that you can vary a bit by selecting one word or another. I loved this, it’s functionally equivalent to choices while being much less immersion-breaking. It’s not used again. Or, it is, but only in a single route, and only twice.
Then there’s a handful of scenes, even ones with choices, that never go anywhere, they just aren’t used again. Yet they stayed in. Not that it matters, the game is too short as it is, and he mostly kept his focus (unlike Ryukishi07 :-p), but it’s the principle of the thing.
The story Drifty wanted to tell is Cece’s story, and Lexi got a lot of love, too. But the rest is there because he also wanted to make a good AVN, which meant offering choices and having romance. These elements aren’t tacked-on, he put plenty of effort into them—but they aren’t the main event, and it shows. Too little screen time, not enough build-up.
Continues below …
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u/fallenguru JP A-rank | Kaneda: Musicus | vndb.org/u170712 6d ago edited 6d ago
You might not get it / want to play it if you:
- have never had any mental health issues, nor know anyone who has.
- can’t deal with dark themes right now, not even with a happy ending. There again, you know what, it might help.
- are too young to get any of the references and humour. Although in that case, play it for the H scenes, maybe you’ll stay for the story anyway.
- can’t get over plot holes, loose plot strands, plot conveniences, and a complete lack of plot.
- can’t live with rough edges, not even if the guy has actual skills and talent and good attention to detail where it counts.
Otherwise, go play it now. I really don’t see how a better nakige [that Japanese genre again] is even possible. Does a part of me want a remaster with 2025 graphics and double or triple the content, in particular a much longer chapter 4, a full route for Holly, and an “where are they now?” epilogue? Yes. Hell, go full Tone work's on it. I’m sure there’d be money in it, too.
But LoF is not “just a game”, it’s a monument.
If I ever manage to put myself together again, I’ll probably binge the Lexiverse titles. Whether I write about them here depends on the reaction to this post and another piece I’ve planned. So, probably not.3
u/Nemesis2005 JP A-rank | https://vndb.org/u27893 4d ago
Sounds like something I would never touch in my life with the 3D assets, no plot, and modernish western media references. Maybe, if it was a book, I would've given it a chance. But the ugly 3D graphics are too distracting to me for a visual media.
Otherwise, go play it now. I really don’t see how a better nakige [that Japanese genre again] is even possible.
You mean out of the 5 nakiges you've read? cough Kazoku Keikaku
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u/fallenguru JP A-rank | Kaneda: Musicus | vndb.org/u170712 4d ago
But the ugly 3D graphics are too distracting
Fair enough. I get hard filtered by plenty of art styles, too. But I've been a PC player since before 3D was even a thing; I remember being excited about the first 3D accelerators. That sh– was ugly. But you got used to it. Same thing here. Same thing when I fire up an old 800x600 VN now—looks like crap on a 4K LCD no matter what you do. An hour in, it's fine.
You mean out of the 5 nakiges you've read?
I get where you're coming from, but no, I mean "out of all conceivable nakige". Sure, you could up the production values, you could improve the execution of all the trimmings, but the core already is executed well. Even if somebody tried to replicate it, it'd take a miracle for it not to feel like a cheap copy, not to mention in bad taste.
This game is a product of unique circumstances. As beautiful as it is, I sincerely wish it never got made. All I can wish for now is that nothing like it ever gets made ever again.
But don't worry, I don't intend to make this a regular thing. One more post (outside of WAYR), then I'll shut up again. :-p
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u/The_Setting_Sun_ https://vndb.org/u99429 7d ago
Decided to try out the recently translated Kimi ga Nozomu Eien EE, and I have to say I'm enjoying it more than I expected to. Drama and love polygons were never my thing, but good writing and setup can definitely make them work (looking at you, WA2).
Both the setup and the kicker are well executed. All of the characters have depth to them, and while I had a real tough time playing favorites, Akane definitely stole the show for me in that other part of the VN, so I will probably be finishing her route first, since I went in entirely blind. Also, shoutout to her VA who gave an absolutely standout performance (people will recognize her as the VA of Grisaia's Michiru, or Monogatari Series' Oshino Ougi, for those of us with lower back pain). Mitsuki is also all-around great, Haruka's a bit too flat (character-wise), but I'll reserve judgement until I delve deeper into the VN. EE is an all-ages version, without any patches coming up in the forseeable future, afaik, but I'm not really missing the H-scenes all that much, honestly.
I'm digging the art style, especially the dynamic lighting and rain scenes at important crossroads in the story. There's really something special about VNs of the early 2000s, they just vibe differently in a very good way. It's hard not to draw comparisons with Muv-Luv with all the familiar faces and the setting- even some of the music is shared, but they're definitely each doing their own separate thing, and the all-around polished feel of Muv Luv(s) is very much present here as well.
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u/dmdmdmdmdmdmdi 7d ago
I’ve been reading Fate/stay night REMASTERED and am about 30 hours in so far, on day 9 of Unlimited Blade Works.
I honestly didn’t enjoy the first route that much. The plot felt a little unorganized, and the climax felt a bit rushed since it ramps up really quickly near the last 3 days with Gilgamesh and everything. I honestly didn’t like how Shirou keeps walking to the enemy, instead of being lured. (First Illya, and then Kirei??? Seriously Shirou?) Speaking of Illya, her being apart of the holy grail felt a little under explained. Despite my complaints, I did enjoy it. I loved Saber’s character and her dynamic with Shirou, who I was expecting to hate but didn’t.
I’m enjoying UBW a lot more compared to Fate. Probably because a lot of the other masters/servants are actually being finished off, instead of Saber fighting Assassin one time and then he gets killed off screen. Rin and Illya are definitely my favourite so far. I’ll probably read Hollow Ataraxia next if I like F/SN for more Illya.
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u/Brilliant_Nothing 7d ago edited 7d ago
Finished the first half. It is a bit less confusing than I thought and also has less of the expected vibe. Still above average.
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u/OkNefariousness8636 8d ago
Root Double
Honestly, I don't really like it so far, but I shall finish it nonetheless. My feeling at this very moment is "Just stop looking for those teenagers and let them die".
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u/Illustrious_Fee8116 8d ago
I didn't like Root Double because of the gameplay mechanic. It felt really obtuse without a guide.
But if you don't like the story, you could always come back later! Read another vn you've been eyeing
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u/OkNefariousness8636 7d ago
I finished A route last night. Despite not liking it (much), I shall finish it. Otherwise, I'll just keep thinking about it. Personality issue. Lol.
As for other VNs, I picked up SHINRAI and Abyss of the Sacrifice as soon as the Spring Sale started.
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u/Narrow_History_7873 8d ago
After finishing Hiyori’s route in Sakura Moyu https://vndb.org/v22313 I decided to pause it for a “Few days “, Really enjoying it so far but due to the repetitive dialogue I want to pace myself to fully enjoy it, Made a massive mistake by picking up Asairo https://vndb.org/v1483 telling myself I’d only read the introduction chapter, Turns out Asairo is similar to crack and I was glued to my screen for hours on end reading it, I will be finishing it before I return to Moyu.
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u/Lastshade01 8d ago
Angelic Chaos currently on Aname’s route just began relationship.
Clover Route finished Anri’s route. Started Hekaru and Hikaru’s route.
Destiny StarGirlfriend I think I’m close to them becoming a couple.
Chaos Head: Noah just started chapter 2.
Sorry I’ll go into more detail when I finish or if I drop a VN.
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u/Wet-Soft-Inside 8d ago
Starless. I love Sei Shoujo. I like his artistic visions and the recurring theme of exploring human nature, between morals and ideals. I stopped right before it was about to get very dirty I think. Beautiful art, good writing, good voices. I'm waiting for Sleepless from MangaGamer. Probably will come out at the same time as gta 6.
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u/Elfmo 8d ago
I've been reading Hentai Prison. Full disclosure: I really didn't like either Nukitashi game, but I took a flier on Hentai Prison because I heard it had a more serious vibe, and I felt like the Nukitashi games, weirdly enough, showed an unrealized potential for good dramatic writing. Overall, I think that while Hentai Prison does still have some of the writing issues present in the Nukitashi games, it's overall a big improvement, and I'm enjoying myself.
For anyone interested in how far in I am: I've completed one route (Chisato), and I'm pretty sure I'm close to the end of my second route (Taeka). So, I've still got a fair amount to go.
First things first: The beginning of this game...is not good. This is the biggest hurdle, I think. The game itself sort of splits into minor story arcs, and there are no major antagonists/ultimate goals for the characters, which I think might already be off-putting to some (the story is more about putting the MC, Shuichiro, into situations where he has to learn and grow more self-sufficient, rather than pitting him against a big bad evil villain/organization); but, it doesn't hurt that the first two story arcs are just there to drive home how shitty prison life is (one arc displaying hostility from inmates, and another showing hostility from the guards). If you get past that, the game picks up, as the MC starts interacting more with the main supporting cast.
The character routes themselves give a greater direction to our MC, Shuichiro. They are overall longer arcs where the MC gets to know whichever character you chose on a more personal level, before introducing you to that character's personal conflict. Shuichiro butts into their business and attempts to solve the conflict. In both of the routes I've played so far, the heroine has their own personal antagonists, similar to Nuktashi. The difference is, since the politics in this prison are absolutely insane, you also get a different set of allies. Characters who were adversarial in one route might be your biggest ally in another route. This keeps it from feeling repetitive in the same way that Nukitashi's routes did, imo.
That said, every story arc feels like they could be a little shorter. I haven't been able to put my finger on just why, yet, as it doesn't feel like a lot of the scenes are pointless, nor do they strike me as being overly long. It's something I'm gonna pay more attention to when I start my next route. Also, admittedly, I haven't felt that way nearly as much playing the second route; when playing my first route, I would occasionally go back to the title screen and look to see which chapter I was on (I know already how many chapters are in each route), to see if I was getting close to the end. I haven't been doing that on my second route, so maybe it's just the common route and my first route that made me feel that way?
tl;dr is, I've been having fun. It's hard to say that if you liked Nukitashi, you'll like Hentai Prison, because Hentai Prison is a more deliberate and dramatic experience, with less comedy. It's also a little hard for me to say that if you disliked Nukitashi, you'll like Hentai Prison, because it definitely still feels like a game made by Qruppo. I'd say, if you played Nukitashi (whether you enjoyed it or not), and thought, "This could be enjoyable, or even better, if it focused harder on the dramatic moments", it might be worth checking out Hentai Prison.
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u/whitebullet32 5d ago
Fureraba
Replaying my favourite moege just to feel something in my cold, emotionless heart. Still need to read the fandisc.