Immediate thoughts: This game is amazing. My expectations were already high from chatting about the game with people involved with the localization and playing the demo, and I was still blown away with the level of quality in the writing and presentation. The amount of content is staggering for a yuri title solely focused on relationships, I was expecting a game around 12-15 hours in length and got a 25-30 hour game instead. I see people on Steam complaining about the 30 dollar price tag, but IMO 30 dollars is cheap for a game of this length and quality. I'd have gladly paid 40-50 dollars. Unless SubaHibi comes out this year I can't see any fresh visual novels on the horizon that have a chance at topping Kindred Spirits in 2016.
The game is practically its own fandisc with the extra scenes and I'm still thirsting for more. Hopefully when Mangagamer releases their inevitable physical release version of this game (I can't see this not being popular enough to justify it) they'll be able to include the four drama CDs as bonuses, or find some other way to sell them.
I haven't played that many VNs, but of the ones I have, this was probably the most consistently enjoyable throughout. It didn't have any hugely dramatic or mind-melting moments like some of the others, but from start to finish it was an immensely endearing, well-written, fluffy yuri experience.
- The Planner system was inspired. One of my gripes with VNs is having to replay chunks of the storyline / manage save files when unlocking routes etc, so to have everything set out so simply was a real blessing. It also allowed the side scenes to jump around chronologically without becoming confusing, not least because you could always grasp the characters' mindsets by referring to the surrounding dates/events.
- The postgame content was greatly impressive, both in terms of its quality and quantity. I really enjoyed seeing the 'behind the scenes' interactions between characters who had barely conversed in the main story, and the illumination of certain points that weren't fully addressed elsewhere (e.g.
Ano's behaviour
) was also welcome. Overall I'd say I clocked around 25 hours before reaching the 100% clear screen.
- H scenes are usually my least favourite aspect of VNs, but I thought Kindred Spirits' were about as well-handled as I can imagine them being. Not because yuri, but primarily because they did an exceptional job of conveying the blend of nervous inexperience, clumsiness, passion and tenderness that was common to virtually all the pairings. On a loosely related note, despite some occasional technical flaws the art was utterly charming and perfectly suited for the game.
- If I had to complain about something, the limited voice acting was a slight let-down, and some font variation (at least between the character names and spoken text) wouldn't have gone amiss. I think I spotted 2-3 typos throughout the entire game, which is pretty good going.
- Couple ranking:
Lead > dead > radio > track > rock > saint > teach
Jesus, lol. I was coming into the thread to read about the game. Wasn't expecting to almost be crying at the comments already. Yeah, not sure if this is something I'll check out, but I too am glad it exists.
I just finished reading all of the bonus scenes in this game (and there was a lot more of it than I was expecting). The character work in it is really good. I was worried that it'd spread itself a bit thin with so many couples, but it mostly managed to avoid this. And the extra scenes post-ending helped really flesh things out by showing characters interact that they hadn't put together on screen much. It does suffer from the same thing a lot of yuri stories do where it doesn't take place in the real world, but one in which no men exist and (almost) every woman is a lesbian. The game throws a few nods at addressing real world concerns with sexual identity, but never really does much with it. But the quality of the characterizations make it work, I'd definitely recommend the game.
This is a really solid VN. I've only played a couple of hours, but it's got good pacing. Characters, music and dialogue are solid, and it's just really relaxing to play.
As my quote says in the OP, Kindred Spirits is great. Best VN of the year so far, one of the best romance focused VNs in English and certainly the best yuri VN in English.
Mangagamer and some related staff on the game have hinted that there's plans on releasing related content for this game in the future. Hopefully this means we'll be able to see official translations for the manga or some of the drama CDs.
Mangagamer and some related staff on the game have hinted that there's plans on releasing related content for this game in the future. Hopefully this means we'll be able to see official translations for the manga or some of the drama CDs.
Would love for the recently released Drama CD featuring the Kyusei Radio trio to find a way over here, though I imagine the audience for such a thing might not be too high in the west. They were my favorite of the groups.
Really need to pick this game up. The demo was great, I just need to wait until I have the cash, since Muv-Luv went and took all my game money for the month and then some.
Found the artist's pixiv, there's some Kindred Spirits stuff on the 1st + top of 2nd page.
Also the Liarsoft official website did a series of 4 character polls around the time that the (Japanese) game first came out. Each of the winners got a wallpaper with new art:
Can someone with a finished game please do me a huge favor?
Absolutely loving the game so far but my game has crashed and lost two months of progress. Twice. I can't do the text skipping through 60+ things again.
Can someone zip and upload the YuriSave file in their game's save folder? I would greatly appreciate it. A PM would work as well.
Can someone with a finished game please do me a huge favor?
Absolutely loving the game so far but my game has crashed and lost two months of progress. Twice. I can't do the text skipping through 60+ things again.
Can someone zip and upload the YuriSave file in their game's save folder? I would greatly appreciate it. A PM would work as well.
Can someone with a finished game please do me a huge favor?
Absolutely loving the game so far but my game has crashed and lost two months of progress. Twice. I can't do the text skipping through 60+ things again.
Can someone zip and upload the YuriSave file in their game's save folder? I would greatly appreciate it. A PM would work as well.
MangaGamer will be localizing the Drama CDs, starting with Volume 1 next month!
I'm actually really excited about this. Was kinda hoping the manga and 4 doujins would make it over too, but I'll take whatever extras I can get~
EDIT: More info from Mangagamer's blog:
Secondly, we’re proud to announce our expansion of the Kindred Spirits franchise, and our very first release of a new product–drama CDs! We’re excited to be breaking new ground with this first foray into the sale of localized drama CDs for fans to enjoy. It is our hope that the success of this endeavor will help pave the way for future drama CD releases as well.
Each of the four drama CDs tell sequels to the stories of each of the couples in the original games. The first follows Ano, as Yuna, Hina, and Nena pretend to be her girlfriends in order to throw off some stalkers. In the second, Youka and Kiri realize they’re repeating the same dates with their partner, so they both agree to have the other plan their next date. The third showcases Miki, Maki, Matsuri, and Miyu as they all share a vacation to the beach. Then, in the final drama CD, the broadcasting club hosts a radio show during a sale at the local shopping district.
All four drama CDs will be sold both on Steam and MangaGamer as subtitled videos for $9.99 each. The first Kindred Spirits drama CD will be available this April, and we hope to release the successive drama CDs roughly one month following the previous volume’s release. We will also be carrying limited copies of the original Japanese drama CDs at future conventions throughout this year for those who would like to own the originals in pure audio format.
Just started the game and finished the Saint couple (I think). Pretty fun and enjoyable so far, though I'm more glad that the senpai-kouhai archetype is being done early, as it's one of the most boring and my least favorite tropes there. Looking forward to the more interesting couples.
I kinda regret not taking my time getting to start playing it though. Would have liked to have AHB curse me~
Just started the game and finished the Saint couple (I think). Pretty fun and enjoyable so far, though I'm more glad that the senpai-kouhai archetype is being done early, as it's one of the most boring and my least favorite tropes there. Looking forward to the more interesting couples.
I kinda regret not taking my time getting to start playing it though. Would have liked to have AHB curse me~
The game's really good, but i'm glad I'm taking my time because some of those scenes go on for a looooooooong time. I'm kind of disappointed where the story is headed regarding Yuna's
Kinda wish there was an option to change the font's color, as white on mostly bright backgrounds gets tiring after a while.
The music isn't bad, if oddly rockin', but rather repetitive.
(Then again I got spoiled by Umineko's incredible soundtrack, and now can't help but compare every VN to it.)
Kinda wish there was an option to change the font's color, as white on mostly bright backgrounds gets tiring after a while.
The music isn't bad, if oddly rockin', but rather repetitive.
(Then again I got spoiled by Umineko's incredible soundtrack, and now can't help but compare every VN to it.)
The slider on the right hand side of the text box is used to adjust the opacity of the box, so you can find your own balance for readability and artwork.
The slider on the right hand side of the text box is used to adjust the opacity of the box, so you can find your own balance for readability and artwork.
Nena isn't the type of character I'd usually warm to, but she got promoted to favourite status after that rooftop scene. And then stayed there for the rest of the game.
December. A new season and Anos attracting attention once again. Shes politely turned down those who have come to her directly with confessions of love, but some continue to watch her from afar, almost to the point of being stalkers.
Yuna and Nena are helping her out, but its starting to wear on Ano having her fans follow her all the way home.
Steam release will only consist of the subtitled drama video, while the Mangagamer version will come with the original audio tracks, extra voice clips, wallpapers, and a 'Hanging Hina' image. Kinda disappointed the Steam release only comes with the video, since I have some spare Steam Wallet cash I planned to burn this on, but I can't blame Mangagamer for giving incentive to buy directly from them.
In celebration, I've compiled a bundle of avatars I cleaned up and cropped from copies of the 'official' Recipe doujins I purchased, which you can grab here! I tried to get an even spread for the girls, but some had way more panels to work with than others. There's even a little sneak peek at the other 3 members of Strange Magnet~
I must say, despite finding the soundtrack pretty dull overall, I really like the songs A A Ai! and A New Day. They were both used perfectly, and the latter even had me a bit emotional following the game's end.
