Sankaku Complex Forums » Games

21. 

    sifian
    

    Okay, I guess it's time to kick this off. My very first thought is that this a somewhat hard game to give criticism to because it's comparatively old (copyright 2003), so I don't know how many of its cliches seemed fresh and new at the time.

    Pros:
    *Excellent character design- overall very clean artwork.
    *Good Music. It seemed a little stock, but it served the purpose well enough.
    *Entertaining comedy
    *Sprite viewer. I like looking at sprites from time to time. Too bad there are no nude sprites in this game. I'm not sure why I like nude sprites so much, but I guess it's the excitement of combining the familiar with something new&sexy.
    *I like the concept of overlapping events post-path determination, such as the beach scene that happens on the same day every path, but varies who you play with.

    Cons:
    *Too freaking short. I would be raging hard if I were an japanese otaku who spent 10000yen on this. Playing through the first time is not too bad, with like 5 hours of gametime, then you play through again and find that each separate path has less than 2 hours of unique content
    *Too formulaic. While the ero scenes are of respectable writing and visual direction, every single girl has almost the exact same ero-scenes, a little more variety might have been nice.
    *No Mayumi path. I've got mixed feelings about this, as I do like a VN with well developed supporting characters, which Mayumi fits the bill well. On the other hand, she's my ideal archetype- the girl who acts like one of the guys but retains her femininity (this pretty much describes every girl I've slept with IRL). I'd be less bothered by a lack of path for her if the other girls had more content...
    *Primula's boobs. Seriously WTF. Why does she suddenly grow boobs during the ero scenes? If you've bothered to pay attention to overall opinions, you'd note that I'm by no means a DFC champion- however it seriously irks me that a character I've spent the last hour garnering affection for doesn't look like what I expect her to look like. If the artists didn't want to draw a totally DFC character in ero scenes, then she shouldn't have been DFC in the rest of the game. For most of the game, she does have some noticable breast tissue, but it's probably still less than a full A-cup... then in the ero scenes she jumps to what is probably either a large B or small C.

    Comparison shots:

    

    Attachments

    1. primulaboobs.jpg 5 years old
    2. primulasprite.jpg 5 years old
    3. primulaflatcg2.jpg 5 years old
    4. primulaflatcg.jpg 5 years old

    Posted 5 years ago #
22. 

    sifian
    

    Suggestions for Next Month:
    I think maybe we should go with something with more of an Action Adventure Storyline, and less of a Bishoujo emphasis. My personal vote is for Phantom of Inferno, as I really liked the anime, and it's a VN I haven't played yet.

    Other Suggestions (which I've played):
    Utawarerumono
    Say no Uta
    Kira*Kira (might sound a little funny, but if you think about it, it's really action adventure within a school life setting)

    As always, other suggestions are welcome and encouraged.

    Posted 5 years ago #
23. 

    loli in a box
    

    Yeah...what hell are they thinking sticking boobs on my lolis. D:
    In Really Really they make Primula older to bypass this contradiction.
    Moreover it simply doesn't fit her character. Silent moe loli + boobs just doesn't work out.

    

    Attachments

    1. RR_313.JPG 5 years old
    2. RR_295.JPG 5 years old
    3. RR_292.JPG 5 years old
    4. RR_283.JPG 5 years old

    Posted 5 years ago #
24. 

    SaruDa
    

    sifian said:
    Suggestions for Next Month:
    I think maybe we should go with something with more of an Action Adventure Storyline, and less of a Bishoujo emphasis. My personal vote is for Phantom of Inferno, as I really liked the anime, and it's a VN I haven't played yet.

    My 2 cents even though I probably am not taking part again ;_;

    Phantom of Inferno is only English in it's DVD version. It's hella hard to get to work. The best way I found was to install 2 different media players and do some fancy footwork(See my blog post):
    http://imaginedpoetry.blogspot.com/2009/12/running-phantom-of-inferno-in-mpc.html

    Posted 5 years ago #
25. 

    H-Ero
    

    This game was great (I really really hope that the rest of the games get translated). Shuffle was one of the first anime that I watched subbed and it felt great to be able to finally play the VN.

    What I liked:
    The characters - I absolutely loved the characters (I'll make a separate post to describe my opinion about each character).
    The art - The art is easily one of the best parts of the game, especially all the bright colors that they used.
    The music - The music was very enjoyable.
    The story - The characters had some pretty good stories though I probably would have enjoyed them more if I hadn't already watched the anime.
    The voice work - Easily one of my favorite things about this game. These seiyuu were excellent.
    CG ratio - This is something I wish more games would include.
    Expression viewer - Again, something that more games should have.
    Screen/text effects - I really liked the way these were used (things like the screen being pulled to the side when Rin's sleeve was being tugged or the text jumping around) and again, I wish that more VN's would do this.
    Being able to delete save files - This might just be something that I like because I don't like having too many save files.
    The world of the gods - I think that making the world of the gods a polygamous society was a great addition to the setting of the game. If it wasn't, then Sia and Nerine probably wouldn't have been so relaxed when Rin doesn't choose them and the girls probably would have treated each other more like competition than friends.

    What I didn't like:
    Spelling mistakes - This really got on my nerves. Way too many words were misspelt or left out.
    Text not matching speech - I'm far from fluent in Japanese but it was obvious that some parts of the text were different from what the characters were saying. It really made me wonder how accurate the non-spoken text was.
    Anatomy - While the art was great, there were still some bad anatomy designs. Nerine's neck looked unnaturally long in her sprite that had her turned to the side (though that might just be because of her posture). Mayumi's right hand seemed to be larger than her left in her sprites. Primula's breasts just couldn't stay the same size. Many of the characters' fingers were terrible drawn in some of the sprites and cg.
    Lack of voice playback - This really pissed me off. There were so many times when I wanted to rehear what a character said but couldn't (especially when they said something cute).
    No Mayumi or Kareha routes - I really liked these two so I was really disappointed that they didn't get their own routes (especially Mayumi).
    Not enough attention for Ama and Benibara - I'm not saying that these two deserve their own routes (though it would be nice if they got some h-cg) but they definitely deserved more attention. Plus I would have loved to see Ama in a swimsuit.
    No harem route - This game desperately needed a harem route IMO. I felt so bad that I had to choose only one girl at a time. Even thought Rin will probably end up with a harem when he gets older (after all, the world of the gods allows polygamy and I doubt any of the girls would ever give up on him) it still seemed wrong to exclude a harem route from the game.
    Fissure - I'm not sure how many times this word was used but it got on my nerves really fast. Was this a direct translation or was this just something that mangagamer threw in themselves?

    What I'm not sure if I liked or not:
    Lack of yandere Kaede - Since I watched the anime first, I expected to see Kaede snap at some point. I'm not sure how I feel now about the anime adding that part to her character.

    Posted 5 years ago #
26. 

    sifian
    

    H-Ero said:

    Screen/text effects - I really liked the way these were used (things like the screen being pulled to the side when Rin's sleeve was being tugged or the text jumping around) and again, I wish that more VN's would do this.

    No harem route - This game desperately needed a harem route IMO. I felt so bad that I had to choose only one girl at a time. Even thought Rin will probably end up with a harem when he gets older (after all, the world of the gods allows polygamy and I doubt any of the girls would ever give up on him) it still seemed wrong to exclude a harem route from the game.

    Lack of yandere Kaede - Since I watched the anime first, I expected to see Kaede snap at some point. I'm not sure how I feel now about the anime adding that part to her character.

    1) If you haven't, you should definitely check out Princess Waltz. It has by far the most detailed sprite animation of any VN I've played- it was one of the few games where I felt it was much better off in VN form than a comparable illustrated novel. It also fits the bill of "action adventure" that I was routing for for next month (not sure why it slipped my mind initially).

    2) Well, the game definitely fits the bill for a harem route. I'm not a big fan of harem routes in story-centric VN, but it would have been okay here. Too often in harem routes the girls totally break character and make me rage. I don't like seeing girls I actually like turned into frothing sluts.

    3) I was wondering about that actually. I haven't watched the anime, but based on comments in the previous thread, I couldn't see Kaede as a real Yandere- here she's the total reverse of yandere, she starts out psychotic then cools off. Obviously the anime would have had to take extreme liberties with the story, as the game doesn't have enough content to fill a 12episode series, much less a 24... did it by chance pull details from another game in the series?

    SaruDa said:

    Phantom of Inferno is only English in it's DVD version. It's hella hard to get to work. The best way I found was to install 2 different media players and do some fancy footwork(See my blog post):
    http://imaginedpoetry.blogspot.com/2009/12/running-phantom-of-inferno-in-mpc.html

    Hmm, just sounds like more effort than it's worth. Strike my suggestion then.

    Posted 5 years ago #
27. 

    H-Ero
    

    sifian said:
    1) If you haven't, you should definitely check out Princess Waltz. It has by far the most detailed sprite animation of any VN I've played- it was one of the few games where I felt it was much better off in VN form than a comparable illustrated novel. It also fits the bill of "action adventure" that I was routing for for next month (not sure why it slipped my mind initially).

    I haven't played Princess Waltz yet though I've been wanting to.

    sifian said:
    2) Well, the game definitely fits the bill for a harem route. I'm not a big fan of harem routes in story-centric VN, but it would have been okay here. Too often in harem routes the girls totally break character and make me rage. I don't like seeing girls I actually like turned into frothing sluts.

    As much as I love harems, I have to agree that having one wouldn't be good if it ended up making the characters act differently than they normally would (unless there's some decent character development that would make their change in personality believable). The girls in Shuffle! don't seem to mind the thought of Rin having a harem so a harem route would easily fit in.

    sifian said:
    3) I was wondering about that actually. I haven't watched the anime, but based on comments in the previous thread, I couldn't see Kaede as a real Yandere- here she's the total reverse of yandere, she starts out psychotic then cools off. Obviously the anime would have had to take extreme liberties with the story, as the game doesn't have enough content to fill a 12episode series, much less a 24... did it by chance pull details from another game in the series?

    The anime includes parts from all the routes (and some new content) which is why it was able to last as long as it did. The second season was all recap episodes except for the last episode which was original content. From what I've read after finishing the game, it doesn't sound like Kaede acts yandere in any of the other games and that was just something that was added to the anime.

    Now for my opinions on the characters.

    Rin: I don't have much to say about Rin. He was a good protagonist but he doesn't really stand out much from other harem leads.

    Kaede: While she's not a yandere like in the anime, she still has her own unique charm in the game. She's probably the one I pity the most and I feel terrible every time I have to turn her down. Even though she's not my favorite, I think she's the one that deserves Rin the most out of all the girls. While I loved her voice, I think her seiyuu had some trouble showing emotion. Her voice was just too soft in certain scenes (like when Kaede screams when she accidentally showed Rin her panties after she sewed Rin's shirt onto her skirt).

    Sia: One of my top three favorite characters and my first favorite from the anime (though Asa quickly caught up to her once she began getting more attention). I really loved her cheerful personality and how she seemed to want Rin to have a harem. I especially loved her seiyuu. I think she did a great job at expressing emotion, especially in Sia's crying scenes (it sounded like she was actually crying). I also like the way that she laughed when she was embarrassed.

    Nerine: While I didn't think much of her at first, her route definitely made me like her a lot more. It was very enjoyable to see and hear about her using her magic to attack people that would insult Rin. While I liked her seiyuu, I'm glad that they didn't make her seiyuu sing at all. Not that I think her seiyuu would have done bad, I just think that it wouldn't have been good enough to match Nerine's "Angel Bell" title.

    Asa: Another of my top three favorites. I really like girls like Asa (the types that are more like friends than lovers). It took me a while to get on her route (I had no idea that you were suppose to refuse to take in Primula). I thought it was funny how even though Asa seemed to be the toughest out of the girls, she seemed to be in the most pain from losing her virginity. I though her seiyuu did a very good job.

    Primula: Primula almost killed me, I'm not sure if my nutbladder could have taken much more of her moe. She was just too cute though the fact that they tried to make her an imouto character type kinda bothered me. Even though she's got a loli body, she's still just a year younger than Rin so it seemed awkward when she would call him Onii-chan. I think it would have been better if their was a bigger age difference between the two. Her seiyuu did a good job at switching from emotionless Primula to moe Primula.

    Mayumi: The last of my top three favorites. She was such a fun character and I was so disappointed at the lack of her route. I really like characters like her (girls that act like bros). I think her seiyuu also did a really good job at keeping up with Mayumi's playful and hyper personality.

    Kareha: I really liked Kareha and I really wish she would have gotten her own route. If not her own route, she should have at least gotten a threesome with Asa. I found her personality to be hilarious and her seiyuu was good (I couldn't get enough of her saying "Ma Ma Ma").

    Itsuki: I'm not much of a fan of the "best guy friend of the male harem lead" character types but Itsuki did have some enjoyable scenes.

    Eustoma & Forbesii: I though the kings were great characters and I wish that they had more scenes together. I really liked Forbesii's seiyuu and Eustoma's was good too.

    Benibara: Definitely didn't get enough attention. I would have loved a scene or two that involved one of her "dates".

    Ama: Really, really did not get enough attention. IIRC you only see her in Asa's route which I think is really unfair to her. I would have loved to see a scene where she meets Primula. I think it was a nice touch to have her seiyuu sing the OP and ED for the game.

    Kikyou: Kikyou was an interesting character. I would love to know how two babies can make a pact while still in the womb. I think it was great that you could get a sex scene with her. I'm not sure how I feel about Kikyou and Sia both being awake at the same at the end of Sia's route. While I liked both of them, I think it would be strange for the other characters to be talking to two people in the same body. I wonder if there would be a way to create an artificial body that Kikyou's soul could be transplanted into?

    Lycoris: Even though she was a really important character, I don't think she got enough attention. Most of what we find out about her comes from other characters. I think they should have included some more flashbacks of her.

    Posted 5 years ago #
28. 

    SaruDa
    

    SaruDa said:

    My 2 cents even though I probably am not taking part again ;_;

    Phantom of Inferno is only English in it's DVD version. It's hella hard to get to work. The best way I found was to install 2 different media players and do some fancy footwork(See my blog post):
    http://imaginedpoetry.blogspot.com/2009/12/running-phantom-of-inferno-in-mpc.html

    To be exact, it's hella easy to get running if you know how(my post). Your decision though, I enjoyed what I played of it.

    Posted 5 years ago #
29. 

    AskaOPK
    

    It has been some time since I played this game... but still, I'd like to just add a bit of information.

    -Kaede shows off (some of) her yandere side in the third game (Really? Really!).

    -You can choose Mayumi, Benibara, Kareha and her sister in Shuffle! Essence+. Also, you get H scenes with Mayumi in Really? Really!

    -As far as I know, Yuria (Ama's seiyuu) refused to take part in any H depiction of her character. This is a bit more evident in the third game, where you get a sex scene with Asa and Ama, and while Asa moans and whatnot, Ama stays silent during the whole scene.

    -Shuffle! kind of sets the scenario for the following two games. Tick! Tack! revolves mostly about Nerine/Lycoris (and, to some extent, Lisianthus and Kikyou). Really? Really! revolves around Kaede (and Rin's childhood), also introducing a new character. Shuffle! Essence+ is supposed to be a retelling of the first game, with bonus routes and scenes.

    ========================
    ========================

    Now, I'd like to add I love Asa, but Nerine comes in a second close. A somewhat distant third would be Primula.

    Posted 5 years ago #
30. 

    SaruDa
    

    AskaOPK said:

    -Kaede shows off (some of) her yandere side in the third game (Really? Really!).

    Ah thank you, I had heard that somewhere but couldn't remember which sequel it was.

    Posted 5 years ago #
31. 

    sifian
    

    H-Ero said:

    I haven't played Princess Waltz yet though I've been wanting to.

    The girls in Shuffle! don't seem to mind the thought of Rin having a harem so a harem route would easily fit in.

    Well, it'd work for me for PW to be next month's game. I'm currently busy with Tsukihime and Tears to Tiara, both of which are blacklisted from this, so I don't mind selecting a game I've played recently enough to not warrant replay.

    I can see the Shuffle girls be cool with an alternating harem (i.e. they all take turns)- but simultaneous sex (threesome+) seems a little out of the question, which is what harem routes tend to be about. I'd be facepalming really hard if shuffle had a "line of asses" scene.

    (note CFA was an example of a harem ending that did kinda piss me off, but it was minor since I didn't particularly like any of the girls.)

    

    Attachments

    1. Cosplay_Fetish_Academy_0164.jpg 5 years old

    Posted 5 years ago #
32. 

    loli in a box
    

    AskaOPK said:

    -As far as I know, Yuria (Ama's seiyuu) refused to take part in any H depiction of her character. This is a bit more evident in the third game, where you get a sex scene with Asa and Ama, and while Asa moans and whatnot, Ama stays silent during the whole scene.

    Ah, such a waste. Why voice an eroge if you can't do ero noises? :/
    She is the second hottest girl from the Shuffle cast, Primula being the first. After that comes Kareha-senpai and Mayumi.
    And also, the scence in question if someone cares:

    

    Attachments

    1. RR_259.JPG 5 years old
    2. RR_254.JPG 5 years old

    Posted 5 years ago #
33. 

    H-Ero
    

    AskaOPK said:

    -Kaede shows off (some of) her yandere side in the third game (Really? Really!).

    What does she do when she acts yandere in that game?

    sifian said:

    Well, it'd work for me for PW to be next month's game. I'm currently busy with Tsukihime and Tears to Tiara, both of which are blacklisted from this, so I don't mind selecting a game I've played recently enough to not warrant replay.

    Princess Waltz seems good from what I've seen of it, plus I love eroge that include battle systems (which is something I really wished F/SN would have included).

    sifian said:

    I can see the Shuffle girls be cool with an alternating harem (i.e. they all take turns)- but simultaneous sex (threesome+) seems a little out of the question, which is what harem routes tend to be about. I'd be facepalming really hard if shuffle had a "line of asses" scene.

    I hate those "line of asses" scenes (unless there's a guy for each girl). IMO if there's going to be a harem then the girls should be willing to have sex with each other and not just expect the guy to have sex with all of them. I think it's stupid in group sex scenes when the girls that aren't having sex with the guy are just sitting around waiting for their turns instead of pleasuring each other.

    loli in a box said:

    And also, the scence in question if someone cares:

    

    I thought that Ama was suppose to have long devil ears? I was looking at the cg sets for the other games earlier and that really confused me when I saw these ones.

    Posted 5 years ago #
34. 

    sifian
    

    H-Ero said:
    Princess Waltz seems good from what I've seen of it, plus I love eroge that include battle systems (which is something I really wished F/SN would have included).

    IMO if there's going to be a harem then the girls should be willing to have sex with each other and not just expect the guy to have sex with all of them.

    PW is kind of a mixed bag, honestly. I through the card combat system was a great substitute for fight scenes...
    

    Hey, there's a monster!
    >> Start Fight
    Yeah, we sure kicked its butt good.

    
    However, later on in the game in addition to a card battle there was 10-20min worth of shounen style dueling action- in text form. It wasn't terrible, but it was a little tedious.
    Still worth playing though, if for no reason other than to make you curse other games for not putting the same level of craftsmanship into non-cg scenes.

    H-Ero said:
    IMO if there's going to be a harem then the girls should be willing to have sex with each other and not just expect the guy to have sex with all of them.

    Still not really seeing that. The only girl in game I can see being gung-ho about yuri or bi- action is Mayumi...

    Posted 5 years ago #
35. 

    sifian
    

    I'll chime in with a few last thoughts, as I never really commented on the character routes themselves.

    Primula: Probably my favorite route- I'm a bit of a sucker for the imouto archetype. I also felt the bond with her was a little stronger, as all the interaction happened in real time, whereas the other girls relied heavily on flashbacks. I got real teary during the "I can't remember your name" scene, definitely one of the most memorable ero scenes I've ever seen.

    Asa: Wasn't too fond of her, but her path was one of the more interesting. I do like the friends turned lover archetype, but her character design didn't quite do it for me. I really liked the wrist slash scene, and actually chuckled a little when he's like "dammit, that was a dumb idea".

    Kaede: I thought she was the prettiest of the girls. She was probably the girl I felt sorriest for- it's hard when someone doesn't think she deserves to be loved, making it a particularly happy conclusion when she acknowledges the hero's forgiveness.

    Lisianthus: The story had a nice conclusion, but it was painfully obvious what needed to happen long before the hero got around to it.

    Nerine: The story felt a little mechanical to me. Been a couple weeks later and I barely remember what happened. Best part of her route is the extra time spent with her father, who is hilarious.

    Bad End... was there a bad end in this game? They're often really entertaining, but it seemed that any girl inconsistency defaulted you to Kaede's path. WTB more comedic bad ends like Edelweiss and Fate/Stay Night (rofl tiger dojo).

    ------

    So it's really time to choose a game for next month. I'll reiterate my suggestions with a little bit of synopsis.

    Utawarerumono: Hero wakes up with no memories, and finds he has a mysterious mask bound to his face. He is in a world filled with animal hybrid people and he goes about renovating society. It's got wartime expansion, and battles fought in tactical RPG style- however the game is 100% linear without any macromanagement. (i.e. you'll never need to go grind on random battles to buy new gear to handle the next fight)

    Say no Uta: Hero was brain damaged in an accident and as a consequence can only perceive the world as gore and monsters. He shortly meets a real monster whom he percieves as a beautiful girl who helps him maintain his sanity. This game is very short, and has only allows the player two choices in the entire game.

    Kira*Kira: School life story about founding a band and then going out and touring the country with said band. It's a really funny comedy with excellent music and a surprising amount of action. Extra plus for trap fans, as the protagonist ends up as the bass player of the "All girls" punk rock group.

    Princess Waltz: Story of a ritualistic tournament to determine the next ruler of the country. The hero finds himself teamed up with one of the Princesses within the competition until something goes wrong... Setting is kinda cliche, but it's entertaining enough, and as mentioned earlier, it features a card battle mini-game and superb craftsmanship with sprite interaction.
    
    Sharin no Kuni, Himawari no Shoujo: Sort of a modern day version of The Scarlet Letter. The protagonist is training to become a judicial executive in a fictitious country where criminals are branded with badges and tasked with obligations corresponding to their crimes. The hero must rehabilitate 3 girls to complete his training, and while doing so he discovers some of the seedy underbelly of the government.

    Posted 5 years ago #
36. 

    H-Ero
    

    I honestly can't decide which to pick.

    Utawarerumono: One of my favorite eroges. I could replay this game a half dozen times and not get tired of it (even without skipping the story). Even though I've played it several times already, I wouldn't mind playing it again. I've been wanting to try to beat it on hard mode and I still need to get that last Aruru cg.

    Saya no Uta: This game has been on my "To play" list for ages.

    Kira*Kira: I've been wanting to play this ever since I saw it's OP on youtube a while ago.

    Princess Waltz: All the ads I've seen for this game had really sparked my interest in it and it definitely seems like a fun game from what I've read about it.

    Sharin no Kuni, Himawari no Shoujo: I've never heard of this one but it sound interesting.

    For now my vote goes to which ever gets the most votes from other users (unless something decides to sway my decision before the voting ends).

    Posted 5 years ago #
37. 

    sifian
    

    Well, barring any complaints, I think I'll arbitrarily assign Princess Waltz as next month's VN.

    I'll give this 24hours for last min discussion, and then I'll make the April thread around this time tomorrow.

    Totally irrelevant to this next month, but I wanted to cross reference a comment from another eroge thread, as it piqued my interest and don't want to forget about it...

    motaku96 said:
    If yuri's your thing, then Sono Hanabira ni kuchizuke wo may just be what you need. The english patch just came out fairly recently. I would even recommend it for the VN book club. If you guys do it, I might join just for that month(if I weren't so busy).

    Posted 5 years ago #
38. 

    loli in a box
    

    If it's yuri, you could also play Aoishiro. It's a 15+ game, but it has a more elaborate story and pretty cute art, IMO.

    Posted 5 years ago #
39. 

    ゆっち
    

    loli in a box said:
    If it's yuri, you could also play Aoishiro. It's a 15+ game, but it has a more elaborate story and pretty cute art, IMO.

    It can be played on its own, but someone will have a better appreciation for the story if they finished Akai Ito first. There's a lot of connections between the two games.

    Posted 5 years ago #
40. 

    loli in a box
    

    But playing it will be a major pain in teh ass since you need to read the translation on you PC while playing the game on the PS2...
    You could always read it as a novel of some sorts though.

    Posted 5 years ago #

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