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Sweet Fuse: At Your Side |OT| Keiji Inafune wants to help you get laid

pariah164

Member
You can replay chapters from the diary, and specifically set people's affection points when you do, to see how the scene changes.
Ahhh, I get it. But 9 times out of ten, I only have affection for one character.

I don't know how to Otome game, I guess. Thanks for the insight.
 

moozoom

Member
You can replay chapters from the diary, and specifically set people's affection points when you do, to see how the scene changes.

Cool feature ! Glad you don't have to replay the entire game an infinite number of times to experiment with the subtle changes.

Gonna play a little before going to bed...

[ Btw your avatar is super cute.]
 

Necrovex

Member
Going to pick this up once I finish Xillia and I have my fill of Miku. Last VN I played was Steins;Gate, and that was a marvelous experience.
 

enigmatic_alex44

Whenever a game uses "middleware," I expect mediocrity. Just see how poor TLOU looks.
has anyone in Canada been able to get their preorder for this yet? EBGames has no sign of this game :(
 
Just started playing this (Shirabe is my guy) and I was amused by the line calling Keiji Inafune "a game creator known throughout the universe". Not losing any time getting into that self-aggrandizement, I see.

Also not losing any time getting into typos - "I figured they must been the park's managers."
 

Cheska

Member
Boy oh boy am I glad I listened to you guys. What a complete contrast to what I'm used to and what a pleasure it's all been so far. This game looks stunning on my Vita, and reminds me so much of the 999/VLR setting. I mean, obviously without the intricate puzzles, but mood and scenarios seems pretty similar. LOVE IT!

Also that Kumiko Suekane art. WOW. So refreshing to see :)

Still running through my first path, but the music has been excellent and the story definitely has me interested.

More importantly though. thank you Saki for not being a dimwit.
 

pariah164

Member
Boy oh boy am I glad I listened to you guys. What a complete contrast to what I'm used to and what a pleasure it's all been so far. This game looks stunning on my Vita, and reminds me so much of the 999/VLR setting. I mean, obviously without the intricate puzzles, but mood and scenarios seems pretty similar. LOVE IT!

Also that Kumiko Suekane art. WOW. So refreshing to see :)

Still running through my first path, but the music has been excellent and the story definitely has me interested.

More importantly though. thank you Saki for not being a dimwit.
You're welcome. Enjoy wooing ALL the men.

And yeah, Saki is a breath of fresh air compared to some other Otome heroines.
 
Boy oh boy am I glad I listened to you guys. What a complete contrast to what I'm used to and what a pleasure it's all been so far. This game looks stunning on my Vita, and reminds me so much of the 999/VLR setting. I mean, obviously without the intricate puzzles, but mood and scenarios seems pretty similar. LOVE IT!

Also that Kumiko Suekane art. WOW. So refreshing to see :)

Still running through my first path, but the music has been excellent and the story definitely has me interested.

More importantly though. thank you Saki for not being a dimwit.
Yay! :D

Really, this game is like the anti-otome otome game. It's so different from the usual presentation and vibe of the genre, I feel like it was tailor made with a western audience in mind. I really urge anyone who may of felt let down by other games of this kind, to consider giving this a shot, I truly think this game has very wide appeal if people are open to it.
 

godspoken

Member
How did you get the bad end? I am having massive issues with this Diary feature for some reason.
Maybe it wasn't the "bad end" exactly, technically the "Normal Ending" movie played at the end, but then again, there's no room for a bad ending movie. It was definitely different from what I got the first time. But anyway, all I did was go to Stage 7 of Shirabe route and set his affection to 0, and when I did that,
instead of confronting Hogstein, he collapses and ultimately abandons you and Mai
.
 

pariah164

Member
Maybe it wasn't the "bad end" exactly, technically the "Normal Ending" movie played at the end, but then again, there's no room for a bad ending movie. It was definitely different from what I got the first time. But anyway, all I did was go to Stage 7 of Shirabe route and set his affection to 0, and when I did that,
instead of confronting Hogstein, he collapses and ultimately abandons you and Mai
.
Thank you.

And that's not depressing at all. :T
 

Kagari

Crystal Bearer
Got what I presume is the good Shidou ending. I'm curious to see if some of the unanswered stuff shows up in other routes now.
 

Cheska

Member
Mitarashi, stop calling me a kid!


There's quite a bit of humor in this game, I've already chuckled more times than I can count haha.
 

apricot

Member
That's the only one I've seen so far. The script has been pretty stellar IMO.

Oh yeah, Aksys (and Ben!! I know you're reading this!) always do a great job. As an editor myself, I can only imagine the feeling when something ships with even the slightest error, though. Infuriating!
 
That's the only one I've seen so far. The script has been pretty stellar IMO.

I've seen a couple others, no misspellings but rather incorrect forms of words, wrong tenses or wrong singular/plural choice. It's not a big deal though and on the whole the translation is quite good, with a fair amount of character.

I've been surprised at how fast-paced Sweet Fuse is, certainly as compared to most VNs I've played. It's gotten down to brass tacks and so far hasn't relied on the padding and repetition that many VNs suffer from. Good stuff.
 

pariah164

Member
So, thanks to the skip read text feature, I'm down to romancing Towa. Then it's back to the diary to replay my favorite Break Time scenes~.

Favorite guy is still Ayumu.
He had the best kiss with Saki.
 

unsmashable

Neo Member
Really enjoying this so far (stage 3). More visual novels, please!
The localization has that delicious flair that made VLR and 999 so special.

I've been attempting going for the escort-guy, as he seemed to have the best personality of the bunch. Gamer-nerd will be next I think.

Not feeling the police guy (
sexist white knight *ugh*
), or journalist guy (stage 3 spoiler:
who apparently has a kid?!? *bail out*
)
Just goes to show that picking dudes solely based on the look of the character design can backfire.
But at least you can yell at them, and they actually like it.

Does anything remotely interesting ever happen with the crystal ball guy? He seems insufferably dull so far :/
And does anyone know if there are there any other endings to go for than good/bad endings for each character?
 

pariah164

Member
Does anything remotely interesting ever happen with the crystal ball guy? He seems insufferably dull so far :/
And does anyone know if there are there any other endings to go for than good/bad endings for each character?
Kimimaro Urabe's story gets interesting after stage 3, if you stick to his route. There is also a spoiler-filled route you can only access after your first playthrough.

Question for you:
What's wrong with him having a kid? Ayumu is in his 30s, and is the oldest of the group, so it's not that strange. Plus, Mai is adorable.
 

Sera O

Banned
Not feeling the police guy (
sexist white knight *ugh*
), or journalist guy (stage 3 spoiler:
who apparently has a kid?!? *bail out*
)
Just goes to show that picking dudes solely based on the look of the character design can backfire.
But at least you can yell at them, and they actually like it.

Yeah that was my reaction too. Based on design I thought I'd go with one of those, but that same stuff you mentioned turned that around fast. I really like how the main character can actually yell at the guys when they are ticking her off.

Overall this is way better than I anticipated - really enjoyable. It really doesn't have a lot of the lame-factor that I often associate with otome games - spineless main character, guys with slightly different hairdos that act in ways that are just not appealing to human beings, creepers who are not supposed to seem creepy, etc. It's entertaining, the presentation is good, and it borrows suspense cues from Zero Escape and comic cues from Ace Attorney in a way that gives the game its own feel.

I mean, that gamer guy's nervous character portrait is so hideous/hilarious. It always makes me think of in AA when the witness is cornered. I crack up when I see it.
 

Tizoc

Member
For an Otome game, it has some fantastic music.
Slowly progressing through it due to PS3 backlog but I try to put in as much time as possible.
 

unsmashable

Neo Member
Kimimaro Urabe's story gets interesting after stage 3, if you stick to his route. There is also a spoiler-filled route you can only access after your first playthrough.

Question for you:
What's wrong with him having a kid? Ayumu is in his 30s, and is the oldest of the group, so it's not that strange. Plus, Mai is adorable.

Yeah, can see how that would be the case now (with Urabe, I mean). Literally 5 minutes later. whops.

Obviously don't REALLY think there is anything wrong with having kids. :p
And Mai is indeed super-adorable.
My issue is mostly due to the age difference making it kinda icky. I guess some people like to have kids pretty young, but seems like a bit more baggage than I can imagine your average 17/18 year old dealing with all that well. If Saki wasn't still in high school, I wouldn't have much of an issue with it.
He also seems like a pretty awful parent (the yelling and the "almost" physical abuse). That specific scene just left a bad taste in my mouth. I get the feeling Mai might be better off living with her grand-parents, but, hey, maybe he pulls himself together.
 

pariah164

Member
Yeah, can see how that would be the case now (with Urabe, I mean). Literally 5 minutes later. whops.

Obviously don't REALLY think there is anything wrong with having kids. :p
And Mai is indeed super-adorable.
My issue is mostly due to the age difference making it kinda icky. I guess some people like to have kids pretty young, but seems like a bit more baggage than I can imagine your average 17/18 year old dealing with all that well. If Saki wasn't still in high school, I wouldn't have much of an issue with it.
He also seems like a pretty awful parent (the yelling and the "almost" physical abuse). That specific scene just left a bad taste in my mouth. I get the feeling Mai might be better off living with her grand-parents, but, hey, maybe he pulls himself together.
He's just a bit shaky due to the fact he hasn't seen Mai in so long. If you stick to his route, he gets better. And the age difference between Saki and Ayumu is a bit icky, but at the same time, I don't really see the issue with it. I doubt they'd do anything until she graduated. And Saki seems mature for her age, so I don't think she'd have an issue with it. Just my two cents.
 
Just got past the first attraction.
Calling out Shidou for his comment
is the way to his heart?!
I'll probably choose to blow my lid every time. It's just too funny how everyone reacts.
Also, some of the soundtrack is rather blah but there are some definite hits in here. Love the song during the insight sequences, for example.
 

pariah164

Member
Just got past the first attraction.
Calling out Shidou for his comment
is the way to his heart?!
I'll probably choose to blow my lid every time. It's just too funny how everyone reacts.
Also, some of the soundtrack is rather blah but there are some definite hits in here. Love the song during the insight sequences, for example.
The insight music is one of my favorites. And yeah, I always go off when the option presents itself.
 

unsmashable

Neo Member
He's just a bit shaky due to the fact he hasn't seen Mai in so long. If you stick to his route, he gets better. And the age difference between Saki and Ayumu is a bit icky, but at the same time, I don't really see the issue with it. I doubt they'd do anything until she graduated. And Saki seems mature for her age, so I don't think she'd have an issue with it. Just my two cents.


To be fair, I'm not really basing this on the strongest of foundations, considering how little of his story I have seen anyway, so I don't have much of an issue conceding I am probably judging him a bit preemtively ;)
I think I'll do his route next instead, so I can stop talking out of my ass.
You said Ayumu was your favorite? Which routes have you done, if you don't mind me asking?

The initial reaction is more based on similar real-life situations I've come across, when "older men/women" with kids have gone for relationships with substantially younger partners. Even if they are mature for their age, they don't necessarily have the firmest grip on where their life is heading (which is absolutely fine). It just kind of makes it harder to provide the kind of stability that I would consider ideal for raising a child.
From what I have seen, it doesn't usually work out that well, and it makes me really sad when you see situations where a parents unstable romantic habits start to negatively affect their kids. :/

Obviously that probably doesn't come up in this game though; Saki is not really the average teen-age girl and I am assuming the romances end on a relatively happy note (the good endings at least) . My pesky cynisism is just preventing me from being that excited about his route. I don't doubt that it will be cute and heart-warming when I get around to it.
 

pariah164

Member
To be fair, I'm not really basing this on the strongest of foundations, considering how little of his story I have seen anyway, so I don't have much of an issue conceding I am probably judging him a bit preemtively ;)
I think I'll do his route next instead, so I can stop talking out of my ass.
You said Ayumu was your favorite? Which routes have you done, if you don't mind me asking?

ALL OF THEM. Seriously, I'm doing Towa's right now. Finished Ayumu, Kimimaro, Subaru, Ryusei, and Kouta. And so far, Ayumu's my favorite, with Subaru and Kouta tied for a close second. I have to redo Ryusei's since I'm missing a gallery picture for some reason.
 

unsmashable

Neo Member
ALL OF THEM. Seriously, I'm doing Towa's right now. Finished Ayumu, Kimimaro, Subaru, Ryusei, and Kouta. And so far, Ayumu's my favorite, with Subaru and Kouta tied for a close second. I have to redo Ryusei's since I'm missing a gallery picture for some reason.

Impressive. :D
I wish I had more free time to devote to gaming :/
 

Belisarius

Neo Member
ALL OF THEM. Seriously, I'm doing Towa's right now. Finished Ayumu, Kimimaro, Subaru, Ryusei, and Kouta. And so far, Ayumu's my favorite, with Subaru and Kouta tied for a close second. I have to redo Ryusei's since I'm missing a gallery picture for some reason.

No secret character yet? :3
 
Ryusei has definitely retaken first place in my heart. I love that he's exactly what he appears to be, except not at all. (If that makes any sense.)

The character interaction in this game is top notch. Not just between Saki and the guys, but between everyone. I actually don't hate any of the dudes, even the ones I expected not to much care for. (Towa & Meoshi. Though Towa can still definitely use a bit of bucking up.)

This game really is exceeding my expectations in almost every way. The characters, story, artwork, music all gel together very well. The game has an excellent vibe, something I think is very important in any game. If anyone is on the fence about otome games, or visual novels in general, this game is an excellent place to start. I truly hope it finds a solid audience in the US, it's too awesome not to.
 
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