We have the artist of Lucid9 on the forum here, Shoutouts to @Dizzyworld2!
4 Likes
I was actually planning on rereading Hoshizora no Memoria (Hoshimemo), but then Symphonic Rain went on sale and I really really wanted to play the music minigame again - which is even more fun to me than OSU.
Symphonic Rain is in my top 10 of favorite VNs. If anyone feels like talking about it, chat me up.
Back then, I’ve played the minigame on normal difficulty and mastered every melody except for Fal’s theme, “Rain Musique” (now translated as Musique of Rain). On this playthrough, I’ll start with Lise’s route and play it on hard mode. It’s kinda tricky with a QWERTZ keyboard 
A bit of a curious comparison, since their release dates are whole 14 years apart. I do plan on playing Dal segno eventually, but I’m not in a hurry to do so since I’ve been told it’s more generic and less focused on story than the Da Capo series.
Speaking of Da Capo, I would normally have recommended skipping D.C. and getting straight to D.C. II and D.C. III. I promise they’re way more engaging than the first part. Now that you’ve entered the universe, you just HAVE to play through those two, @machelmore. The opinions which one’s better, II or III are divided. I’m in the D.C. III camp, but to be fair, both have great moments that outshine the other. I bet we’re gonna have a lot to talk about.
1 Like
There’s a bit of a story behind that I suppose… I actually read Dal Segno first, and when I eventually read Da Capo, expecting a lot since I kept seeing people (not on Kaza, elsewhere) say that Dal Segno didn’t live up to Da Capo, I was sorely disappointed. I was almost a little indignant, it was hard for me to believe that anyone could put Da Capo over Dal Segno. Looking at what you and Takafumi have said, I realise that they might have been talking about Da Capo the series, not specifically the original game, but there’s no doubt in my mind Dal Segno was better than the original Da Capo, so that’s why I made that comparison.
I’m just about to finish Princess Evangile, and under the recommendation of you and Takafumi, I guess I’ll read Da Capo 2 next. I’m looking forward to it.
1 Like
I just finished Da Capo 2… what to say about it…
I think I’ll frame it in comparison with Dal Segno, as I did with the original, because it’s a good way for me to exemplify my points. This does contain spoilers, but they’re marked and it can be read without them.
Now then… this one is a much closer battle than the last one. Both are in a rare class of VN where I’ve been so engaged in them that I’ve been able to just sit down and read them all the way through without any extended breaks of weeks or months. But, to start from the conclusion… I’m gonna have to give it to Da Capo 2 over Dal Segno after all. In fact, I’d have to say that D.C.2 is the best non-Key, non-07th VN I’ve ever read. Previously, the number of fictional stories that have made me cry had been three: Rewrite, Clannad and Little Busters… but I have to raise that number by one.
But to compare individual aspects:
Soundtrack, I’m still gonna just barely give to D.S.
Art is even. I can’t decide.
D.S. kicks D.C.2’s ass in engine, though that can’t really be helped. It’s still annoying though.
And as for story…
D.C.2 has higher highs and lower lows than D.S. Overall, the story was considerably better, but D.C.2 also fucked up in some crucial ways that prevent it from being as good as it could have been. Koko’s entire existence for one. Her character design is cheap, boring and plain. And to be frank, she’s drawn terribly as well. She has no personality, and her route is pretty much just some high school drama shit with little to no substance. Anzu’s route was amazing all the way through right until the end where it just went problemsolvedtheend without any method to the madness, and it killed my engagement. I’m referring to the fact that just as Yoshiyuki is about to leave, he gives Anzu her present and she remembers him all of a sudden for absolutely no reason. Nothing about him giving her a present should have such an effect. That one was a big issue for me. The way Wataru behaves in Nanaka’s route kind of ruined his character a little for me. The way he acts in Koko’s route is understandable, but he’s just being an unreasonable asshole for quite a bit of Nanaka’s route. We don’t get any real explanation of why Yoshiyuki is able to stay around in every route other than Yume’s and Otome’s. That final scene at the end of Sakura’s route also got under my skin. As far as I can tell, it’s just there to confuse you so that you want to read D.C.3 to find out what the fuck is going on, and it prevents D.C.2 from standing on it’s own as a story, which it could have done spectacularly without this one scene. Oh, and the way it handles routes and branches can be really messy at times. Things like characters having to explain the same thing to each other upwards of three times because of it. It’s not like Dal Segno never fucks up in somewhat similar ways, but it’s never so drastic, and the parts where it does are fewer and further between.
Another problem. I’d have to disagree with your suggestion @Naoki_Saten of skipping the first one. Even though the original was mediocre at best, I really doubt that D.C.2 would have had as much of an impact on me if I hadn’t read the original. Especially considering that Sakura was pretty much the only character I liked from the original. The problem with this is, you actually have to sit through the entire original to get the best out of the second one, which kind of sucks.
Still, I’m just a negative nancy tsundere, so feel free to ignore my criticisms of D.C.2, and just take away that it’s still amazing. Despite what it does wrong, it just does so many things right that it more than compensates for whatever weaknesses it has tenfold. 9/10.
Oh, but saying that D.S. doesn’t live up to Da Capo still isn’t really fair either. Sure, it’s at least not as good as D.C.2, and I don’t know about D.C.3, but it’s still solid, especially considering how terrible the original was by comparison.
1 Like
This is how I describe it. There are some amazing moments and there are some terrible moments. Sometimes the slice of life stuff will be the most boring scene you’ve ever read, and sometimes it’ll be a lot of fun. I really like some of the characters, and I really hate some of the other characters. It’s such a sporadic VN.
I still have fond memories of the ski trip arc though, as well as some of the big route moments. It’s easy to forget the boring stuff.
Well, I’m the kinda guy who wants all the background info and details to make sure I enjoy every part of a story to the max. But when it comes to recommending stuff, I have to weigh that info against the risk of people dropping the series before getting to the good part. It’s tricky 
As I probably mentioned somewhere, part of what makes D.C. II so great to me is the fact that almost every route is great, even if its heroine isn’t. Koko is overall pretty boring, sooo~ they made the route not just about her, but the trials of friendship. Minatsu is one of the most annoying characters ever, but I would never have expected so much character development! The only route - and character - who did let me down was Otome. She didn’t do much beyond what was expected from her trope, and despite being the main heroine, thus sharing her route with the main story, well, I just didn’t feel it. The tools were there, but the execution just wasn’t on the same level as the other routes. I also agree on the account that Wataru’s shift from best buddy ever in Koko’s route to grand douchelord in Nanaka’s was very sudden and didn’t feel consistent.
About best girl Anzu, there’s a kind of a tricky part to the conclusion of her route. In a rare turn of events, the H-scene that happens after Anzu receives her birthday present actually carried a lot of significance to the story. When it started, the first thing I thought was “dammit, they ruined the mood with porn again”. But after getting through it, I had some lingering doubts. The scene did feel like it had a meaning. So I asked around and sure enough, good guy @Takafumi explained it: H-scenes in Visual Novels: Opinions and discussion . Basically, Anzu had received the last push she needed to remember the protag when their relationship became “complete”. It’s an interesting logic and I do think it was well-executed in this case. By the way, I went into the game fully expecting Nanaka to be my favorite heroine (She is a Shirakawa and all…) But Anzu’s personality, some of her scenes and especially the ski trip were sooooo sweet that I had to admit I was being too hasty.
Ohh, this is something I gotta ask not only @machelmore, but everyone who’s played D.C. II: What do you think about the saddest CG of the game, after standing Yume up at her birthday party? Just remembering it hits me like a truck
Yeah, I’m like that too. I at least was able to be pushed into reading D.C.2 after not liking the first one by you and Taka, though I can’t be sure that wasn’t because I already knew Circus could do good work, since I had already read Dal Segno. I can’t speak for whether I would’ve ever read D.C.2 if it hadn’t been for that, or the recommendations of you and Taka. It’s definitely tricky.
About Anzu’s route… From the moment the H-scene started I knew it would be relevant to getting her memories back, because I did remember their talk about the physical part of a relationship being important, but the scene where she actually does get her memories back is framed completely outside that of the H-scene. There was a bit of a time skip to show the two of them outside, and it was only as Yoshiyuki gave Anzu her present that her memories came back. The way it’s framed makes the two scenes seem like separate issues, and the timing is simply too convenient for my taste even if that is the entirety of the explanation.
In fact, simply by process of elimination, I’d have to give best route of the original four to Minatsu’s route. I thought Anzu’s was the best until, as I still maintain, they fucked up the ending. Nanaka’s ruined Wataru for me somewhat, who I really liked beforehand. Koko’s route I didn’t really like at all, mainly due to Koko herself. That just leaves Minatsu’s route, which, though it never reached the kind of peak Anzu’s route did, maintained a solid standard from beginning to end with a satisfying conclusion. And to be fair, I never particularly disliked Manatsu from the beginning or thought of her as annoying.
The ski trip in general was just unfair to Koko and Nanaka in how much better it was than the trial of courage.
They might have played her route a bit safe, sure, but it was solid all the way through with the best character theme (maybe behind Anzu’s), a bunch of good CGs, and without fucking up in any major way like they did in a number of the other routes.
It’s also cool to think about how the true route is framed as a retelling of Otome’s route, but if you just substitute a few minor scenes that have no impact on the greater narrative, it’s just as applicable to Yume’s route.
Overall Otome’s route might actually be my favourite barring the true route though. The
decision to kill the Everlasting Sakura Tree is such a harder thing to do than in Yume’s route, and it gets the original scene with Sakura and Yoshiyuki in the dream, which gave it a lot of points for me.
Speaking of Yume though, she might be my favourite heroine, and her route’s probably second only to Otome’s and the true route. She pulls of the light tsundere character almost perfectly, she actually manages to keep common sense in mind even when she gets emotional, and her character design might be my favourite too. She goes through some rough stuff and handles it so much better than Otome, I have to really give props to her character. If her route had the Sakura-Yoshiyuki scene/had been framed as the true route (and received the perks that go with it), it would undoubtedly be my favourite route behind Sakura’s version of the true route.
I wasn’t ready. I knew it would be bad, but wow that was more than I was expecting. Easily one of my favourite CGs in the game. When looked at out of context, it’s by far the most impactful CG in the game. Personally though, the CG that hit me hardest when you take context and meaning into account is the one of Sakura crying. I forgot to mention this in my original post, but the scene where I cried was in Sakura’s route’s retelling of the scene where she tanks Yoshiyuki for living with her. I thought it was so sad that she had to feel so grateful for such a mundane happiness. Why should she have to thank her own son just for living with her? When I thought about that, it really got to me. I really like it when VNs explore relationships other than just boyfriend-girlfriend, so the true route of D.C.2 really got to me. Getting back to the CG, I also think it really holds a candle to the Yume one in that it’s able to portray just as much emotion - and it’s also really impressive that they’re able to make it so obviously Sakura despite the fact that she’s missing her major defining features - her clothing, her hair tie, and most importantly by far, her long blonde hair. So yeah, I personally think that CG was the saddest, but both CGs are amazing in both emotional impact and artistic quality. Very impressive.
Maybe we should make a Da Capo series or Circus discussion topic… There’s already been quite a bit of conversation about it here recently, and I don’t think I’m even burned out of D.C.2 discussion, let alone D.C.3 which I just started.
Pretty much following the conversation Naoki and I had, this would be my recommendation:
If you’re the kind of person who can keep reading something bad and continue to move on to its sequel purely on the recommendation of others, then you should totally read all of D.C. 1 first. However, if you know you’re not that kind of person, then it’s probably worth bailing on D.C. 1 completely in order to ensure you do end up reading D.C. 2 at all, considering how good it is.
Edit: @KaiMiang, right, I should be more specific. Nemu and Kotori’s routes give good backstory for D.C. 2, so you should probably read them. Other than that, there’s a brief true route after finishing the original routes, and you should probably read that. It’s fine to just skip through Moe’s and Mako’s routes. After the true route, there’s a bonus route for Miharu that you should read, but the other bonus route isn’t important.
Also, I totally didn’t reply to you just so I could excuse making a post to share this top quality meme:
(Da Capo 3 spoilers)
I was just reading through Himeno’s route of Da Capo 3 when I noticed Sakura casually sum up the Da Capo series in one sentence:
2 Likes
Thank you very much!
There is almost nothing that would prevent me from reading D.C. 2 at this point. This said, there is the current feeling after finishing Sakura’s route that it’s probably not worth it to complete the game unless a route is truly helpful to understanding D.C. 2 or 3, I like the character, or I may really like the route (I have not really read any spoilers to this point). Thus, it may only be Kotori’s and Nemu’s route that get read at this point but it’s way too early to say.
Well it seems like I haven’t posted in awhile, and since It looks like we are still talking about circus games I’ll chime in again.
First off I have finished DCIII and have started DS (Io route done, started on Noeri) DS tbh feels like a big step backwards, I enjoyed Io’s route, but when I started doing Noeri, I feel like a lot of my motivation has gone away. I’ll finish it, but I’ve put it on the back burner for now.
DCIII I really liked overall. It was somewhat confusing or awkward at times, but I feel like I enjoyed it overall. The whole “reincarnation of each character” thing seemed kind of awkward. It felt a lot different from the other Da Capo in a good way. It was also just really long, I feel like DCII would of felt that way if I actually had the extended version. unfortunately DCII PC doesn’t have any TL. (This talks about the last side episode of DC III) It causes some awkwardness in the last side episode of DC III when they go back to DC II and some random girl shows up that you have no idea who she is acts like they are good buds.
Honestly when I first started reading the last side episode I was so happy they re-visited the DC II characters/timeline, it was this point I felt DC II had be crowned as my favorite. DC II was my favorite but I feel DC III was very close, Overall I enjoyed Da Capo as a whole quite a bit and will be keeping an eye on what circus makes. I would love it if Plus communication versions got translated, but honestly they probably won’t, it feels like it would be a bad marketing move. At least we got the best DC III. Oddly enough they did do some of the DC I fan discs so more da capo isn’t completely out of the question, just unlikely.
So, Dal Segno is 45% off on Steam which means… I’m installing it at this very moment.
I’ll be in touch, but do keep in mind that my progress will be… slow. @machelmore @KaiMiang
1 Like
Wow… less than a month ago, I never would have thought completing the Da Capo series would seem like a significant event to me. To be fair, I never thought it would be an event at all after reading the first one, because I had no intention of continuing. I feel the need to thank @Takafumi and @Naoki_Saten for convincing me to read the rest of the series despite the bad impression the original left on me. What a wild ride.
After reading through their main series’ games, I still have to give uncontested best to D.C.2. D.C.3 and D.S were both solid, but D.C.2 was just on another level. (And that’s enough about D.S from me - I’ve been overrating it too much.)
D.C.3, to me, suffered from several of the problems that made the original so bad (though again, that’s not to say D.C.3 is itself bad). The main issue: it just dragged on and on, despite not a whole lot happening in the end. At least, unlike the original, it managed to be entertaining when doing so, but it’s still a pretty big flaw to me.
It’s pretty weird that they were so daring in the concept for this one, but they played the actual heroine routes unbelievably safe. Despite them dragging on so much, nothing really happens and nothing is resolved in any of them. I realise that it’s an unfortunate side-effect of the overarching story, but it’s not unavoidable. Sara’s route - of the original four - managed to pull it off, and for that reason ended up being by far my favourite, even though I didn’t like Sara herself as much as Charles or Ricca.
The way the story was written was unbelievably messy… How it was fragmented during the prologue followed by a complete shift where everything introduced in the prologue becomes all but pointless fluff, and then they revisit the original setting for thirty seconds at the end… it was just too random to be cogent.
The amount of fan service or whatever the fuck you want to call it was unbelievable, especially near the beginning. I’m glad they toned it down, but for the love of god… And the main character’s incompetence and lack of self control didn’t help either.
As for the characters, Himeno pulled the same passive-aggressive bullshit act that Nemu from the original was all about, so there was never any chance of me liking her. Sara was pretty inconsistent, she got better at times, like in the mid-late parts of her route, but for a lot of the time she was just being a bitch for no reason. I liked Charles I suppose, but she kind of felt like a caricature rather than a real character. I feel like more could have been done with Ricca, but I can’t really complain about her, so she’d be my favourite of the heroines. Aoi was by far the most developed, but she didn’t really have much of a personality, so she doesn’t quite reach Ricca’s level despite that, for me. As far as characters go though, the best were the supporting cast. Mary, Ian, Mikoto, etc.
Aoi’s route and the following true route, while not anything special, were solid enough to carry the rest of the VN a bit. They still fail to really resolve/conclude a lot of stuff previously introduced, but it was still the best part of the main story.
The side episodes were pretty pointless, aside from the last one with the D.C.2 characters. In fact, I wish I hadn’t read the first one, because it just ruined my impressions of Sara and Himeno more, and didn’t do wonders for Kousuke either. I guess it built Ricca’s character a little though.
The last side episode was by far the most outstanding part of D.C.3. The welcoming party for Sakura turned into the perfect farewell party for the Da Capo series. Even after being left feeling a little disappointed after the other side episodes, I was at least able to send of the series with a smile after that.
Still, once all is said and done, it was fun, and a little different… Ultimately, I’d have to give it a pretty good score, even if it wasn’t on the level of D.C.2, that by no means makes it bad. Something like 8/10.
3 Likes
Glad you enjoyed it so much. Da Capo 2 is a real touchstone VN, and when I first played it, it felt like a defining moment. My entire love for VNs came from the mid-2000’s titles, where DC2 (along with Shuffle, Clannad, and To Heart 2) were the romance VNs. The formula was so appealing, I was less a VN fan and more a fan of (sometimes trashy) romance games.
It’s nice to hear that, even though so many VNs have taken the DC2 formula since then, it hasn’t suffered from the Seinfeld effect. I was worried with all the Dal Segno talk that DC2 wouldn’t hold up, or that it’d be outclassed. It’d be kinda sad if the game was dethroned in the kingdom it created.
Also I’m glad to see people still hate Nemu. The only time I liked seeing Nemu was in DCIF.
4 Likes
Yeah I have to admit it as well, the prologue was really weird. I was so set that the prologue was going to be a big tie in or something really important towards the end, however it felt so tacked on. I feel like that two sets of character are slightly different from each other, so it makes it even more awkward. It isn’t a surprise either because if you read DC 2 you know that Sakura ends up in London. It also confuses the shit out of me that their last names change and family is shuffled around. The prologue felt very different too, the level of fan service seemed very out of line compared to the rest of the game. It felt like some weird sub game Da Capo 2.9 or something.
Yeah I totally loved that last side episode too. It really felt like a good way to end it.
I am slowly reading DS. I am just a bit burned out on Circus/da capo like games for now, so I’ve been playing other things mainly.
I’ve been busy with VNs over the past month or so. Aside from Da Capo 2 and 3, I also finished Princess Evangile and W/Happiness, Eden of Grisaia, Corona Blossom and Shuffle. So, I’ll write a bit about each here.
Princess Evangile and W/Happiness
The art and soundtrack are both pretty good. Concept is pretty standard, which has its ups and downs, but basically means it’s relatively simple. Surprisingly, it actually knows what would be over the top with fan service, but there’s a different aspect to infuriate people instead. Namely, all the characters are fucking retarded. (<-Coming from Mr. No Definition of Intelligence himself.) But seriously, I just can’t quite figure out what’s going through their minds. I remember when I first finished the book Treasure Island, I summarised it as “How To Do Stupid Shit And Get Away With It”, and Evangile is pretty similar in a way. It goes for every character really, but the protag especially so. Evangile kind of gave me a new hatred for incompetent protagonists. I’m exaggerating a bit here, but that kind of thing really pisses me off. Still, I managed to finish the whole of both VNs despite that, so hopefully that says something.
Executive Summary: If, unlike me, you can put up with characters doing unbelievably stupid shit for no reason, then you’ll probably like it decently enough.
Eden ofGrisaia
Meh.
It concludes the story, and… that’s pretty much it. I’d already seen the anime, so maybe that has something to do with it, but it was underwhelming. The anime might’ve been better, to be frank. Grisaia was never anything special, but at least the first two games could be entertaining if you switched your brain off. Eden didn’t really even have that much.
Executive Summary: Easily the worst Grisaia game.
Corona Blossom
It’s shit.
Executive Summary: It’s shit.
Shuffle
Shuffle could’ve been something great. But I do respect the attempt. I see what they were going for, and I think they had a bunch of good ideas, but the execution was… “bad” or “poor” wouldn’t be right, because what was there was pretty good, but maybe “lazy” would suit it better. I’m still not quite happy with that, but it’s the best I can do. I don’t know what the steam version is like, but the version I got had stiff translation that ruined it a bit, but that’s not the VNs fault. The writing itself was pretty decent, and the climax scenes were actually written very well too, surprisingly, considering that tends to be the hardest part. But the overly casual storytelling of skipping days at a time and only showing the bare minimum was unpalatable.
It’s not quite up there with the greats, but I respect it.
Executive Summary: A for effort.
I don’t believe I’ve stated this on Kazamatsuri previously so I will do so now: Steins;Gate has been my favorite VN ever since I read it roughly a year ago. Despite this, I never had especially high expectations for its sequel, Steins;Gate 0. While I was nonetheless excited about there being a sequel to my favorite piece of fiction, I highly doubted that it would live up to its predecessor and I was of the firm mindset that it couldn’t possibly surpass Steins;Gate in any way shape or form.
However, upon reading the Steam release of Steins;Gate 0, I was positively surprised. From beginning to end, I enjoyed every single moment of Steins;Gate 0, naïvely wishing that it would never end. While it’s nowhere near flawless, I ended up enjoying it even more than the orginal Steins;Gate.
(Steins;Gate 0 spoilers) Initially, I was expecting Steins;Gate 0 to be structured similaly to its predecessor, so my mind was completely blown away when I discovered that on the contrary, the story branches off into two main paths. These two paths then branch off into three distinct endings each. Out of the six different endings, my favorite was without a doubt Promised Rinascimento. I could never imagined beforehand that a certain self-proclaimed mad scientist once again donning his white lab coat would be able to move me to tears.
I firmly believe that anyone who enjoyed the original Steins;Gate will most likely enjoy Steins;Gate 0 as well. While it’s in many ways different from its predecessor, it’s still essentially about prevailing after countless failed attempts. And whoever named this Steam emoticon evidently knows their stuff.
5 Likes
Just finished eden* after a leisurely 11 hours (not the plus+mosaic add-on). I’m still a bit averse to reading/playing VNs that are labelled as romantic but although this is a love story it’s not exactly a conventional one and also a tale of compassion and redemption and all done in a touching and beautiful way.
The first half of the story fills in the background to “the end of the world as we know it”, without which the second half would really be rather meaningless. The VA and art is top quality all accompanied by some lovely music too. There is no interactivity and no choices, which is fine to me. I’m very glad I chose to spend my money on it and would definitely recommend it, with a personal score of 8.5/10. I shall look out for Minori releases in the future
This is my favourite music track, the picture doesn’t spoil anything…
2 Likes
I was wishing ef would get an all ages version on Steam but what with the whole debacle of VNs on Steam nowadays, I guess that’s never gonna happen grumblegrumble
I’m not gonna spend a bunch of money getting ef on Mangagamer
I’m not gonna spend a bunch of money getting ef on Mangagamer
I’m not gonna spend a bunch of money getting ef on Mangagamer
HNNNNNNNNG—
2 Likes
I hear good things about ef, I see we have Supipara being released in 5 parts - maybe if we all buy that and it’s a success…
What with the long gaps between releases of Higurashi chapters, and a certain series of books started some 20 years ago overtaken by a TV series, I get a bit reluctant to buy works unless they are already finished completely.
At least I have Symphonic Rain and Subarashiki Hibi: Furenzoku Sonzai still to play in my library.
2 Likes
