OK so maybe what I meant is “Your description makes me really want to know what kinda of story could be so fucked up that you would describe it in such a way”, because now its kinda starting to creep me out
I have to ask, about how much time total did it take for you to finish the game? it’s been on my list for a while and I’ll probably read it next time I decide that I want to read something in English, but what you say about it makes me not so sure I would be willing to invest very much time into it, regardless of how good it gets toward the end.
[quote=“yerian98, post:183, topic:108, full:true”]
OK so maybe what I meant is “Your description makes me really want to know what kinda of story could be so fucked up that you would describe it in such a way”, because now its kinda starting to creep me out
[/quote]that’s more like it! haha.
the goal was originally to finish it last night, but I got distracted and ended up leaving almost a whole route for today. Good news is that it’s pretty short though and I’ll probably be able to finish it tonight. When that happens I could write a little bit about it (much like Kanon did right above you) if you’re interested.
5-6 hours perhaps.
That first half is noticeable really what I DON’T like in my VN’s, it should be noted.
oh. that’s not bad at all. I don’t have a huge deal sitting through an hour or two of bad content if the rest of it is pretty good. hell, that’s what most AAA games make us do nowadays anyways
The Grisaia fans will love it.
Bonus points, the protagonist is a super cool army vet who’s exceptionally skilled and edgy.
The Grisaia fans will be all over this shit.
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I was interested up until this point. I enjoy a dark story now and then, and would welcome something new, but… yeah. That’s just too much for me. Well, I still have yet to read MOON. so there’s always that.
I think Grisaia won the record for most time spent holding down the CTRL key when I read it.
I’m pretty sure I’ve already established this, but when I started reading visual novels, I had very little income. Even now, I probably make much less than any of the people here in this forum. So, most of the experiences I had with visual novels was anything I could legally download for free.
The first of these was called Brass Restoration. It’s about a boy with an ambition to become a percussionist, but a train accident severs his left(?) arm, robbing him of his future. The whole visual novel focuses on his coping with his lost arm, and finding a new purpose with the love of his life (which, of course, changes depending on your choices). The only thing I have against this doujin novel is that it has no sound test. The music is all piano and it’s not the best quality, but it is beautiful regardless. Each of the four (there’s a fifth one that’s lampshaded for not having a route) heroine’s routes offers something different and enjoyable, although they are not without their own problems.
The next one is Tsuki no Terasu, or Moonshine. I was disappointed at first because it was a kinetic novel, but I still appreciate the amount of work that went into the story and presentation (aside from the majority of the music, which is rather repetitive). The story is simple, one that warms your heart one moment and then breaks it the next. It’s about a guy who is forced to find a new job after losing his old one, so he finds work at a transvestite bar. He befriends one of the ‘girls’, named Mai, and the story is about the fun times and trials they experience. It’s not the greatest story ever, but it’s a good enough one to recommend. Did I mention there is both voice acting (for Mai, that is) and a vocal theme in this?
The most recent one (and the one before I started playing Kanon) is May Sky. Before I talk about the story, I want to point out that this kinetic novel has some of the best piano music I have ever heard. Again, not the best quality, but good lord, does it sound good. The novel is about a man who, fed up with his boredom during Golden Week, decides to take a walk outside. (Riveting, I know. XD) But along the way, he hears a piano in the distance. He comes across a shrine maiden named Minori Kamiake, whom he decides to visit frequently because he has nothing else better to do. The story is about their rocky relationship, and their eventual bond as they get to know each other. The story, again, isn’t the greatest thing ever, but that music…There’s even a sort of ‘after story’ segment after reading through the entire thing, which I like, because I just love these characters. I wish I could see more. :3
I appreciate doujin novels. They aren’t the best looking or the best sounding, but they have a lot of heart put into them. People think of them as mediocre, but I consider them works of art. They will always have a place in my heart, separate from the triple A titles that Key and all those other visual novel studios crank out.
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Every time someone asks for a short VN, or a free VN, or a quick read, I recommend that. It’s amazing. When I first read it I was like… 12 or 13, so I didn’t understand it until the end. Re-read it a few times since then because someone ported it to psp, and it’s a nice story to read while traveling.
Mai’s song is probably one of my favorite VN tracks ever. It’s in my head at least once a week, and it’s been an inspiration of a few tracks I’ve made.
I also recommend Tokoyo no Hoshizora/Red Shift when I recommend Moonshine. It’s also free, the story is a bit more cliche, but it’s still worth reading.
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Thanks for the recommendation. Is there any way I can get it without having to rely on a torrent client? I don’t like using torrents, and that seems to be the only way to obtain it right now. ><
I’ve gotten really into the KS VN’s that have been popping up from Sekai and elsewhere. Exogenesis being a big one. I found out about it through Operation Bluebird and as soon as I read “heavily influence by Phoenix Wright and Zero Escape” I was all in. I’ve been a PW fan since I picked up the first game by accident, and VLR is still my favority Vita game I own. So I’m really excited for it, I’ve held off playing the demo’s so far because I know I’ll be running my head into the wall when I hit the end of the demo and the full game isn’t out yet.
Fault Milestone One was the other one that I went in on really heavy on KS. Honestly the art style sold me on this one I saw the screen shots first read the synopsis later. What I wasn’t expecting was the music. I played through it (only about 4 hours long) and the music blew me away, especially the bar music it just felt so appropriate. I loved how most of the characters weren’t ever what you thought when you first saw them they all had another side. My only gripe is how short the first installment was and how they establish the main story and the rest of one is sort of a side story and then as soon as you get back to the main storyline the credits roll. Can’t wait for Fault Milestone Two as soon as it comes out everything else is getting put on hold.
A big reason why I like the kickstarter for the VN’s though is I am a collector fiend I love having my shiny bits. And Fault yielded pretty well.
Before I get into writing about Houkago no Futekikakusha, I’d like to say that I really like the direction this thread has been going in the past couple days, and I’m glad people finally started posting pictures more when they talk about a VN. it may not seem like it to some people, but I personally think the pictures color up the thread a lot more and make it more interesting to read. Just an opinion, but I hope we can keep the posting like this.
now, first things first, I need to point out a mistake of mine:
there are. technically. You have to get through a LOT of shit to get there, but the True Route is actually a happy end. I honestly didn’t expect that one given what I had heard and seen prior to actually reading the final route.
In case it wasn’t already apparent, this VN is an utsuge, meaning that its entire purpose is to make the reader depressed. With that in mind, I think it did a pretty good job. The majority of the prologue is told from Yuugao’s point of view(she’s the one playing piano in the picture I posted before). Really, it’s just a MASSIVE exposition dump disguised as her writing to her diary, but I can get over that since I honestly think that it was needed to achieve the impact they wanted. Something worthy of note here though is that she writes about the MC as if he was a good/kind person but once you actually meet the him he doesn’t appear that way. in fact, everyone in the prologue refers to him in a positive way, despite the fact that he’s basically characterized as an asshole. After a bit of daily life and the introduction of a transfer student, “something” happens, and the whole class starts to act weird. like really weird.
(I’m really trying to not spoil anything here, but props to you if you can see it without prior knowledge)
after a few interactions, it becomes pretty apparent what’s actually going on; but right when you’re about to resign it to fate, things get REALLY weird and suddenly MC shows that he has superpowers and can control gravity… Yuugao can apparently control magnetism too. Needless to say, I was pretty damn confused at this point.
After the battle finishes, there’s a short scene with an insert song, and then it cuts to the credits, signaling the end of the prologue.
For various reasons, that’s as far as I’m going to go with a direct description here, but if you’re pretty intuitive and look up the OP, you MIGHT be able to figure out what happens. (if you really want to know though, PM me and I can tell you)
The Characters weren’t my favorite characters ever (excluding Yuugao, who I absolutely loved) but they’re all very well developed characters. even the side characters get a pretty big amount of development, and the cast all bounces off each other to make a really solid group. Aside from a few things that cross over between a couple characters they were all pretty unique. Overall, I have absolutely no problems with the cast.
The Music was very fitting and well done. It really worked to bring out that extra emotion in the more impacting scenes. I do however have a complaint here, and its that every track can fit into one of 3 emotional categories: Daily Life, Sadness, and Battle Music. Even though the music was overall very great, there is one song: ラストダンスはわたしに ver.02, that I will not be forgetting any time soon.
The Art as you can probably tell is very good. Unfortunately, I started reading this right after reading AoKana, so the art really didn’t appeal that much to me.
The Story is really deep, just like you would normally expect in such a dark setting. Lots of huge moral questions here. Do you sacrifice the well being of the few in order to preserve the well being of the many? How far would you go for that? How much are you willing to give up for your dream? What are you willing to do to survive? At what point do you just quit and give up? WHEN DOES THE PAIN END??
There are a lot of questions like this that come up in the game, and if you want an answer you have to find it for yourself.
Some flaws here though are the fact that each heroine route plays out basically the same way(normal days->shit happens->more normal days->big shit happens->credits->small amount of plot towards the true route->main menu) so really only the first one had a big impact on me, and that was unfortunately what I considered to be the weakest of the routes.
Overall, I gave it a 9.2 on VNDB because it didn’t have any major flaws in my opinion BUT I still wouldn’t recommend most people to read it. It goes into a territory of darkness that I personally do not think should ever be told in first person, and it provided more than enough detail than was needed to make me cringe at every single nightmarish thing that was done. To put it in perspective, the only reason I read all the way to the end was because of a Dark Souls like mindset of “I will be able to finish other things that most people can’t.” Not to mention, I only know 2 people that I think would even be able to make it to the OP, and unfortunately 1 of them doesn’t read VNs and the other probably doesn’t have enough Japanese knowledge to read it yet.
Now that it’s over though, I feel like I need something to wash away the tears of sadness, and what better way to do that than with MORE TEARS! Tears of laughter that is, because I’m reading Hello Lady! with @Wicklebee next, and from the looks of it so far
it’s going to be hilarious.
Speaking of Hello Lady, enjoy best first choice:
For the inconvenienced people that don’t know what it means… It’s how to fondle the first heroine you meet’s breasts
Best protag or beast protag?
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Why do people speak so highly of G-Senjou no Maou’s true route? I liked it after the credits but before that I wasn’t particularly excited over it; I was constantly reminded of other stuff so it felt stale. The hype about it is probably also partially to blame, nothing ever lives up to the hype. Overall I liked Mizuha and Tsubaki more despite their routes having obvious problems.
- THE plot twist
- the backstory
- the love
- the character development
- the Maou
- the Gonzou
- the dynamic and suspense
- the scale and the stage of the (pre-credits) final conflict
I liked Mizuha as a character, but her route was utterly lame, except for Kyousuke’s dedication. Most of all, I disliked the fact that they made Mizuha into a copy of her sister.
I found Tsubaki to be a boring character, but her route got really good and emotional around the end. Kyousuke was REALLY ballsy to stand up to Gonzou like that.
But in the end, I found that the side routes didn’t stand out at all and they didn’t contribute much to the entirety of the VN, except for tactically valuable plot holes. They were mostly pretty straight-forward, too.
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Kyouhei I presume. I hated that. It felt like they only introduced it so Kyousuke and Haru could get together smoothly, putting the sex scene immediately after didn’t help. You being the bad guy was the biggest plus for me so I was really disappointed when they removed it.
Gonzou is awesome can’t argue against that. Most of the other points was where I was reminded of other stuff like Code Geass and such, so the only reason I couldn’t enjoy it was because I’d seen it before.
I liked all of the routes, but Haru’s was my favorite just for the after-credits. I liked the route for the same reason I liked the whole of the VN. There was lots going on, and lots of hype during the story. The characters were good, and there was mystery.
If you want a well-written story go read Sharin no Kuni. That was better written, but G-Senjou was a better VN.
Totally wasn’t a plot twist. Just bad writing.
I don’t watch over-hyped stuff, so I wouldn’t touch CG with a 10 ft pole. I loved Guilty Crown, but everyone I know who watched Code Geass hated it. I’m enjoying Aldnoah somewhat, but I’ve heard CG watchers bash it. CG is a ruiner of other stories.
What does that even mean? That GSnM utilized the medium better?
Well I was shown Geass by my brother and then found out about the love for it much later. I liked Guilty Crown too though it was a long time since I watched it. I guess it comes down to perspective of the viewer/reader because GSnM has ridiculous hype behind it but it said above you weren’t aware of that.
Have you been reading my mind again? Because this is pretty damn close to my opinion on the matter. Only difference being that I probably like Aldnoah a lot more that you do.
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