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Visual Novels Community Thread | A Little Something for Everyone

rickyson1

Member
so i'm planning on playing all 3 Zero Escape games soon when the first two come out on steam

around how much of a total time commitment am I looking at for that?
 
so i'm planning on playing all 3 Zero Escape games soon when the first two come out on steam

around how much of a total time commitment am I looking at for that?

Maybe around 90 hours if you get all the endings. Or maybe a little less depending on if 999 goes faster in the new version.

Although really, don't play Zero Time Dilemma. For your own good.
 
so i'm planning on playing all 3 Zero Escape games soon when the first two come out on steam

around how much of a total time commitment am I looking at for that?

20 hours each for 999 and ZTD, 30-35 for VLR.

Optimally 50 total, if you act like ZTD does not exist (for your own sake).

BTW, MangaGamer released project updates on Twitter. Fata Morgana fandisk is at 44% TL now, and there's progress on their secret projects (one of them is 100% translated *and* edited, I hope it's Meakashi- I need my Higurashi fix). Maggot Baits at 13%, Princess Evangile fandisk at 70%, IIRC.
 
Some interesting tidbits from Kotaku's article on PQube
”So is the Vita dead? Not for us, not now – I'd say it's on the decline, but we still have Vita titles through the next year. Valkyrie Drive was our last Vita-only title, so you could only play that on Vita and that's done extremely well for us. Visual novel content has done well – Root Letter and the original Steins;Gate has done phenomenally well. The sales on Vita have vastly outstripped the sales on PS4 with something like Root Letter. Steins;Gate was pretty much all on Vita too, then a small amount on PS3."
Only the original Steins;Gate? I wonder how 0 did.

But Steins;Gate is quite interesting for us, because it got turned down by loads of different people. When we originally asked to do it, the developer was like ‘What? Really?' because so many people had just basically said no to it, and it was a title that I did kind of have to badger our overlords to release."
Everyone turned down the Steins;Gate console releases when the localization work was already done? Or did people just not want to work with 5pb?

BTW, MangaGamer released project updates on Twitter. Fata Morgana fandisk is at 44% TL now, and there's progress on their secret projects (one of them is 100% translated *and* edited, I hope it's Meakashi- I need my Higurashi fix). Maggot Baits at 13%, Princess Evangile fandisk at 70%, IIRC.

MangaGamer seems to still be deciding whether or not they will release the rest of Higurashi piecemeal or not.
 

rickyson1

Member
Maybe around 90 hours if you get all the endings. Or maybe a little less depending on if 999 goes faster in the new version.

Although really, don't play Zero Time Dilemma. For your own good.

20 hours each for 999 and ZTD, 30-35 for VLR.

Optimally 50 total, if you act like ZTD does not exist (for your own sake).


BTW, MangaGamer released project updates on Twitter. Fata Morgana fandisk is at 44% TL now, and there's progress on their secret projects (one of them is 100% translated *and* edited, I hope it's Meakashi- I need my Higurashi fix). Maggot Baits at 13%, Princess Evangile fandisk at 70%, IIRC.

is it really that bad?

and wouldn't it feel weird to stop playing a trilogy after two games?
 
MangaGamer seems to still be deciding whether or not the will release the rest of Higurashi piecemeal or not.

No word since August, for fuck's sake. Come the fuck on, MG.

is it really that bad?

and wouldn't it feel weird to stop playing a trilogy after two games?

It's like finding out your best friend from childhood first veered off towards fascist ideology and then ended up shot during a drug trade gone wrong.

Exaggerating, of course, but ZTD made Zero Escape go from my favorite story in any medium over which I obsessed for 3 of my formative teenage years to a series that I barely care about, be it characters or story. Maybe you won't feel so bad since you didn't clamor for ZTD to be made everyday for over 2 years (ZTD was put on hiatus at one point), but VLR's ending was the highest point of my whole gaming life and ZTD is nothing if not an insult to VLR in its entirety.

Feels weird to stop, probably, but it also likely feels worse to see that all of it didn't really amount to anything remotely interesting or good in the end (not a spoiler, I just mean that ZTD doesn't live up to the rest in any way). Best way to experience ZE now is probably taking 999 as fully canon, VLR as a what-if scenario, and ZTD as full proof as to why I recommend you take a game as well-written as VLR as a mere what-if scenario.
 
ZTD has a terrible last 3rd, but I think you should still see it. Stopping at VLR isn't satisfying either. If you're going that route you might as well only play 999.
 

upandaway

Member
I enjoyed my time with ZTD, especially the first half. There's one aspect I can think of that retroactively harmed 999 and VLR for me (
Junpei and Akane's characters
) but it's so far gone into fanfiction levels that it's easier to ignore, aside from that I'm happy with it and the whole trilogy. It was really short anyway.

I admit that I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much if I played it immediately after VLR. Forgetting almost everything made it a lot easier to forgive certain things.
 

KLoWn

Member
Is there any point in getting all endings/gallery images in Muv-Luv Extra/Unlimited? Like an extra scene or something?
 

jonjonaug

Member
Is there any point in getting all endings/gallery images in Muv-Luv Extra/Unlimited? Like an extra scene or something?

I don't believe there is.

I do remember when going through the original forever ago though that there is one single CG that's rather hard to get, if you want to go for 100% completion anyway. You need to start Unlimited with Ayamine's route being the last one you cleared in Extra and you'll get a bonus scene pretty early on that foreshadows some events in Alternative and gives you a CG you can't get otherwise.
 

Wichu

Member
I thought ZTD was good, despite falling off towards the end. Fun puzzles, some real tension and mystery, and the good ol' Zero Escape plot twists and
incomprehensible villain motivations
.

I actually prefer to consider Zero Escape as three separate games, rather than as a trilogy. The games aren't really about the characters or background lore, which are the only things linking them together - they're about the puzzles and crazy plot twists.

Clover in 999 is in my mind a distinct character from Clover in VLR, and the same for Akane/Junpei in 999/ZTD and Sigma/Phi in VLR/ZTD. VLR and ZTD feel like unconnected games that happen to use your knowledge of 999/VLR respectively as plot points, rather than feeling like true sequels, and I'm fine with that.
 

KLoWn

Member
I don't believe there is.

I do remember when going through the original forever ago though that there is one single CG that's rather hard to get, if you want to go for 100% completion anyway. You need to start Unlimited with Ayamine's route being the last one you cleared in Extra and you'll get a bonus scene pretty early on that foreshadows some events in Alternative and gives you a CG you can't get otherwise.
Hm ok. I might try and get that rare one.

Is there going to be any important information in the different routes, or can I just skip past all of it to get to the endings quicker?
 

jonjonaug

Member
Hm ok. I might try and get that rare one.

Is there going to be any important information in the different routes, or can I just skip past all of it to get to the endings quicker?

In Extra: Sumika's and Meiya's routes are essentially the same, you can even run into a situation where you can choose either of them at the end. Miki, Chizuru, and Ayamine all branch off into different things during and after the lacrosse arc. The Miki/Chizuru/Ayamine routes are all "side" routes that are much less important than the main route (Sumika/Meiya), although you do get some insight into the characters from those routes that can help you understand them better in Unlimited/Alternative. Ayamine's route has a character in it that doesn't show up in Unlimited but is in Alternative.

In Unlimited: There's essentially only a single route throughout the entire game, however there are minor differences depending on which heroines you've set certain flags with (who you've given the Game Guy to, for example), whether you've cleared a particular route or not in Extra, which route you've most recently cleared in Extra, and how you answer particular questions. All of that aside though Unlimited will always end with a list of heroines to choose from for the ending, which is determined by which of them have passed a point threshold. They also all pretty much play out the same way, outside of Yuuko's ending which ends the game a little bit early and drops a little bit of additional info on you.
 

KLoWn

Member
In Extra: Sumika's and Meiya's routes are essentially the same, you can even run into a situation where you can choose either of them at the end. Miki, Chizuru, and Ayamine all branch off into different things during and after the lacrosse arc. The Miki/Chizuru/Ayamine routes are all "side" routes that are much less important than the main route (Sumika/Meiya), although you do get some insight into the characters from those routes that can help you understand them better in Unlimited/Alternative. Ayamine's route has a character in it that doesn't show up in Unlimited but is in Alternative.

In Unlimited: There's essentially only a single route throughout the entire game, however there are minor differences depending on which heroines you've set certain flags with (who you've given the Game Guy to, for example), whether you've cleared a particular route or not in Extra, which route you've most recently cleared in Extra, and how you answer particular questions. All of that aside though Unlimited will always end with a list of heroines to choose from for the ending, which is determined by which of them have passed a point threshold. They also all pretty much play out the same way, outside of Yuuko's ending which ends the game a little bit early and drops a little bit of additional info on you.
This is great! Thanks for the info!
 

Knurek

Member
Mangagamer's silence on Higurashi Kai and Umineko Chiru is... rather disturbing.
I'm guessing we'll not see them on Steam soon :\
 

Tonton

Member
What VNs on Steam are worth it? I already got Fata Morgana, Danganronpa and Fault Milestone and got my eye on Steins;Gate, Higurashi and Umineko
 

Wichu

Member
What VNs on Steam are worth it? I already got Fata Morgana, Danganronpa and Fault Milestone and got my eye on Steins;Gate, Higurashi and Umineko

Steins;Gate is super worth it. The Steam releases of Higurashi and Umineko are currently incomplete - only the 'question arc' of each has been released; the 'answer arcs' will come at some point. They're good, but be aware that you'll have to wait a bit longer for the complete story.

Otherwise, I liked Root Double and Gahkthun of the Golden Lightning, though they're quite expensive so you might want to wait for a sale. There's a bunch of older stuff like CLANNAD, Devil on the G-String etc as well that I haven't delved into.
 

rickyson1

Member
Steins;Gate is super worth it. The Steam releases of Higurashi and Umineko are currently incomplete - only the 'question arc' of each has been released; the 'answer arcs' will come at some point. They're good, but be aware that you'll have to wait a bit longer for the complete story.

Otherwise, I liked Root Double and Gahkthun of the Golden Lightning, though they're quite expensive so you might want to wait for a sale. There's a bunch of older stuff like CLANNAD, Devil on the G-String etc as well that I haven't delved into.

some other noteworthy ones:

muv luv(soon,I wouldn't recommend playing it before the third one is out)
zero escape series(soon)
planetarian
 

Aaron D.

Member
header.jpg


So I noticed that VN dev/publisher VisualArts/Key is having a big Steam sale this week with most titles 50% or more off.

In the list is CLANNAD at -60% ($19.99 / reg. $49.99). Now that's a pretty sizable discount, esp. in a genre that doesn't seem to have many sales events.

So Clannad has been on my Wishlist, but here's the deal. Both House in Fata Morgana and Danganronpa 1 and 2 are higher on my Wishlist. See I'm a VN noob who's only played Steins; Gate (still working on it and LOVE the game).

But I hear all this stuff about Clannad being the big Granddaddy of VN's. The Led Zep IV of the genre if you will. Essential material.

So should I go for it? The price is really enticing. I likely won't be playing it right away, but man $20 sounds so much better than $50.

What do you guys think?

Also, as a side note, what's the deal with CLANNAD Side Stories. That's 60% off as well ($7.99).

Thanks for any guidance!
 

Shizuka

Member
header.jpg


So I noticed that VN dev/publisher VisualArts/Key is having a big Steam sale this week with most titles 50% or more off.

In the list is CLANNAD at -60% ($19.99 / reg. $49.99). Now that's a pretty sizable discount, esp. in a genre that doesn't seem to have many sales events.

So Clannad has been on my Wishlist, but here's the deal. Both House in Fata Morgana and Danganronpa 1 and 2 are higher on my Wishlist. See I'm a VN noob who's only played Steins; Gate (still working on it and LOVE the game).

But I hear all this stuff about Clannad being the big Granddaddy of VN's. The Led Zep IV of the genre if you will. Essential material.

So should I go for it? The price is really enticing. I likely won't be playing it right away, but man $20 sounds so much better than $50.

What do you guys think?

Also, as a side note, what's the deal with CLANNAD Side Stories. That's 60% off as well ($7.99).

Thanks for any guidance!

Why not? Go for it, life is short.
 
header.jpg


So I noticed that VN dev/publisher VisualArts/Key is having a big Steam sale this week with most titles 50% or more off.

In the list is CLANNAD at -60% ($19.99 / reg. $49.99). Now that's a pretty sizable discount, esp. in a genre that doesn't seem to have many sales events.

So Clannad has been on my Wishlist, but here's the deal. Both House in Fata Morgana and Danganronpa 1 and 2 are higher on my Wishlist. See I'm a VN noob who's only played Steins; Gate (still working on it and LOVE the game).

But I hear all this stuff about Clannad being the big Granddaddy of VN's. The Led Zep IV of the genre if you will. Essential material.

So should I go for it? The price is really enticing. I likely won't be playing it right away, but man $20 sounds so much better than $50.

What do you guys think?

Also, as a side note, what's the deal with CLANNAD Side Stories. That's 60% off as well ($7.99).

Thanks for any guidance!
Buy it. Clannad is fantastic even if it suffers from the whole "Seinfeld isn't funny" trope because it did so much so well and paved the way forward for a number of tearjerker romance VNs.
 

Marche90

Member

I was one of those who voted for *any* August title so it makes me happy to see one on the list. Shame Aokana is low on the list, but then again, I don't exactly remember where it was that I read it that supposedly Sprite isn't so hot on licensing their properties to the west.

Can't wait to see what we get this year.

Speaking of getting stuff, I finally reached the True Route of Da Capo III and my first impressions after reading it for a while are: "I want for at least a fandisc (With you, preferably) to make it to this side of the globe, damnit." I'm also getting the feeling that this is going to be one of those VNs where I get somewhat sad after finishing it. Since it was so long, I got attached to the characters, but especially and unsurprisingly, Sakura.
 
Has anyone in here heard of/played a game called “Island” (アイランド) by Frontwing/ Prototype?

The game was released on PC in 2016 and it’s coming to Vita in Japan in a couple of days.

I just found out about it and the trailers and website are giving me Never7 vibes, a game I really liked. Anyone know if Island is any good?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1J3XNXE7Zks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxGUHWcf5To
vndb

It was well received. It's from the same writer as Himawari.

Frontwing is planning to localize it too.
 

grim-tales

Member
999 - 9
VLR - 8.5
ZTD - 5

Worth seeing, just don't have super high expectations.

I'm enjoying some of ZTD so far (not finished it). The puzzles are really good, but
the fact the game seems to consist of "do puzzle/make choice/go back and do opposite of said choice" - well.. it removes all the tension and dread for me that 999 and even VLR had. There's no sense of urgency for me at the point I'm at (somewhere with Q/C team).
I think it says something I've been so "on and off" with it and just done some here and there, when I played 999 I couldn't stop once I started.
 
Ooh, is Frontwing publishing that by themselves? I know little about Frontwing's work so I guess I didn't realize. Whoops.

Yeah, Frontwing has gotten into the publishing business, even for 3rd party titles. Sekai Project is still handling the original three Grisaia games because they hold the rights though.
 

Buzzi

Member
Completed my (longer than planned) journey in R11.
The whole idea is amazing, one of the best I ever read.
The pacing is probably the best ever, although sometimes it could even be too fast, without a moment to stop and think, something really peculiar for this media.
On the other hand, I found myself not being attached to any of the pg and caring for their lives, the same happened in E17 until their endings, so I guess it's just that the narration doesn't give them much emotion.
The open ending (I read all TIPS and a lot of discussions on the internet btw)...is charming but sad, it feels like the Xenogears of VNs, its potential is not maximized.
The structure is fascinating but also too complex for a 100% run, full of gore bad ends which add nothing to the story itself; I already got the three main bad ends to understand some more of the story and I'll leave at that.

Overall it fell a bit shorter than my most loved VNs but way higher than my average VN so I'm fine. It also made me rethink to the ZE series and how even the amazing first duo logy feels shallower than the Infinity Series, relying a lot on specific twists but without the complex interconnections Naka+Uchi were able to reach in this project. Maybe I'll find more of this in Nakazawa's VNs? Root and I/O are probably not 2017 material for me but I'm looking forward to find out the other branch born from Infinity.
 
IIRC they said they were going to do crowdfunding to fund hard copies, maybe they could have a Vita stretch goal there.

Omg, you've gotten my hopes up now! I noticed Island a few days ago when it got reviewed by Famitsu and thought it looked pretty neat. Would definitely be down for Vita version!
 
Completed my (longer than planned) journey in R11.
The whole idea is amazing, one of the best I ever read.
The pacing is probably the best ever, although sometimes it could even be too fast, without a moment to stop and think, something really peculiar for this media.
On the other hand, I found myself not being attached to any of the pg and caring for their lives, the same happened in E17 until their endings, so I guess it's just that the narration doesn't give them much emotion.
The open ending (I read all TIPS and a lot of discussions on the internet btw)...is charming but sad, it feels like the Xenogears of VNs, its potential is not maximized.
The structure is fascinating but also too complex for a 100% run, full of gore bad ends which add nothing to the story itself; I already got the three main bad ends to understand some more of the story and I'll leave at that.

Overall it fell a bit shorter than my most loved VNs but way higher than my average VN so I'm fine. It also made me rethink to the ZE series and how even the amazing first duo logy feels shallower than the Infinity Series, relying a lot on specific twists but without the complex interconnections Naka+Uchi were able to reach in this project. Maybe I'll find more of this in Nakazawa's VNs? Root and I/O are probably not 2017 material for me but I'm looking forward to find out the other branch born from Infinity.

Remember11, were it correctly executed (especially
the ending not being cathartic at all (which is up for debate, being blueballed might be the entire point, see explainremember11.com) and more concretely the lack of meaningful bad endings (the sheer number of gory deaths is fine due to the dire circumstances of both settings)
) then it would've been 10/10. Alas, it's a 9.5/10.

I found that while R11 exceeded 999 and VLR (which I still hold in higher regard, due to how much I love ZE's twists) in exquisite detail, E17 didn't. Root Double feels like it tried to capture R11's complexity but ended up being more of a sci-fi drama (that I didn't connect with all that much), while for I/O let's just say that you won't need an English patch for it since you'd probably understand as much in Japanese as you understand in English after a point.
 

MrCinos

Member
Is there anything like Majikoi where male characters also get their route(s)? Even if it's small side routes.

I love casts with a good balance in numbers between male/female characters and where guys get some development and don't exist solely for comedy.
 
Is there anything like Majikoi where male characters also get their route(s)? Even if it's small side routes.

I love casts with a good balance in numbers between male/female characters and where guys get some development and don't exist solely for comedy.

Not that it has routes, but The House In Fata Morgana features (and immensely develops) a balanced and exquisite cast of characters. Non-romantic focus, though.
 
Is there anything like Majikoi where male characters also get their route(s)? Even if it's small side routes.

I love casts with a good balance in numbers between male/female characters and where guys get some development and don't exist solely for comedy.

Little Busters does something similar with male side routes, but I'm not sure I'd recommend the game.



And about Higurashi part 5.
 
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