#it’s a voice acted visual novel so it’s super easy to get into! the routes r pretty short too (about an hour each) but there’s a lot of em.

[fishyartist]

Combined Hyperfixations as per usual

#danny phantom #valerie gray #dp fanart #slay the princess #my art #fan art #most of my followers are dp fans so I’m pitching slay the princess to you #hey if u like horror comedy google ‘’slay the princess’ rn ok? enjoy ^u^ #it’s a voice acted visual novel so it’s super easy to get into! the routes r pretty short too (about an hour each) but there’s a lot of em. #the choices r also super robust+impactful. the art is these gorgeous traditional pencil drawings. #dp tumblrinas who like good character writing cosmic horror gore and death will love this trust me #and if u like slay the princess. Danny phantoms an ok cartoon that drives people insane w it’s potential and Implications #understand the content of the show itself? it has good parts #it’s also a butch Hartman cartoon so. you know :/

[three--rings]

Hey, so many of my very favorite video games are super on sale right now on Steam, so please allow me to speak at you for a moment.

The sale is a Spike Chunsoft sale, so it includes series like Danganronpa and Stein’s Gate and others. 

But SPECIFICALLY I adore the games of Kotaro Uchikoshi, the Zero Escape series and the AI:The Somnian Files series. 

The Zero Escape games are some of my ALL TIME very favorite video games.  You can get all the games in the series for $25 right now, 75% off. 

Uchikoshi’s games are typically part visual novel, part puzzles, though later games are fully voiced visual novels.  (Actually I 100% forget the steam version of 999 is highly voiced now too...because it wasn’t voiced AT ALL when I played it the first...IDK 4 times.)

Uchikoshi does amazing things with narrative and tells stories that only work in the video game format.  The stories are entirely WILD and often veer from ridiculous to character moments that make you sob. 

The games definitely have horror/violent elements, so some content warning apply.  Like they are NOT playing around and WILL hurt you, but god is it worth it.  The games take a LOT of time to play, and they all have multiple endings/routes with one of them being the “real” or “goal” ending.  But again, WORTH it. 

I have bought MULTIPLE entire game systems to play these games, and the fact you can just BUY them so cheap now is kinda wild to me.  (Also hey, you aren’t going to deal with the game-breaking bug on the 2nd Zero Escape game on the 3DS where I lost 60 hours of progress.)

So yeah, take this as a kick in the butt, if this is at all your kind of thing.

I just finished the first AI game and am buying the second in this game, but I really enjoyed the first. 

(I also love Danganronpa and if you like one series you WILL enjoy the other.  It’s a similar level of Messed Up and Also Deep.)

The sale is going on through the 19th. 

ETA: I wrote this at 6AM so pardon me, but I forgot the series were labeled weird on Steam.  The Nonary Games is a collection of the first two Zero Escape Games.  So one purchase ($12 right now????!!!!!) and you get two full games with each something like 100 hours in it.  (999 depends a lot on decisions how long it takes.  ZE2 is super long to complete.)

The first Zero Escape game, 999: 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors is a mystery set on a sinking replica (?) of the Titanic, in which a cast of 9 people have to find their way through the ship to the last door to escape before it sinks.  But that’s only the surface level of what’s actually going on...

The second ZE game is Virtue’s Last Reward, a direct sequel to the first, but that’s not immediately obvious.  It’s a little more sci-fi, a little more out there, with more twisty paths and wild surprises.  But in some ways the quintessential Zero Escape (though NOTHING will beat 999 in my mind).  These two are included in the one Nonary Games package.

Zero Time Dilemma is the completion(?) of the trilogy which we thought for years we wouldn’t get and then we did.  Opinions are mixed on this one, and it dials up the horror and violence and Saw-esque aspects a lot, but it’s extremely memorable and unique.  Utterly terrified me the first time I played it BTW (but like I have anxiety and don’t do horror games.)

AI: The Somnian Files is an unrelated series from the same writer/director.  A sci-fi police detective mystery, in which a police detective who can use secret tech to experience people’s dreams tries to solve a serial killer case.   Very weird, very wild, but honestly even more impressive on a second play/watch because the writing is super clever.  Great voice acting and character work.  Very silly (easy) action sequences.  There’s also a direct sequel that just released in June.

Pretty much all of them have trigger warnings for dark content, death, suicide, sexism, child abuse...but USUALLY stuff is handled well for anime-genre media, with the exception of some anime-typical sexism.

#video games #zero escape #ai the somnium files #spike chunsoft

[linderbeegames]

Lake of Voices

[ID: A drawing of a woman with brown skin in armor floating upside down in a black abyss with soft light rays coming from the top. She has a blank expression. The words overlaid say, "LAKE OF VOICES"]

Basics

Visual Novel about trying to get to the other side of a monster-infected lake.

Free to play!

A true monster horror story that focuses on the relationships of the people involved (non-romantic)

God it’s really cool how it affects things subtly like if you bond with a character, then later on Kikka (the main character) will automatically include them in something, but if you don’t bond with them, you get to choose if you include them or not

The story is enthralling and it's just very fun to play

[ID: Art of a blonde man wearing armor and holding a lantern has his eyes closed in thought in front of a foggy textbox that says, "The lake - Sinnlos. Most try their best to avoid it all their lives. The hundreds who die attempting to cross its unearthly black water, dragged to death by the creatures lurking within, aren't secret" Behind them is a foggy, blue forest, centered on one huge tree.]

Chillness (4/5)

a few timed moments, but I never struggled to click one in time

People are going to die -- they just are. But it’s a visual novel so it’s easy to fix this or play all the routes pretty quickly because it's not a super long game

It doesn't punish you for not talking exclusively to one character

[ID: Art of a bonde man in armor with a sheathed sword holding a lantern stands in front of foggy, blue docks. Foggy-styled textboxes are in front of him, displaying 3 choices to pick. They are as follows: "You're quite informed, Margret." "I'm sure you are forgiven, Bemelle." Say nothing.]

Queerness (4/5)

Everyone only ever uses He or She pronouns

You can get especially close to various people but they never take it explicitly romantic even at the end which is nice, even though I wanted to marry Bellame

[ID: Art of a blonde man wearing armor and holding a lantern looks at you with a soft smile in front of a foggy textbox that displays that Bemelle says, "And I believe you." He stands in front of foggy, blue docks.]

Beauty (5/5)

beautiful art: both character and background. Often I would stop and just look at all the details in a drawing

the writing is gripping and makes your heart beat out of its chest

actually really wonderful voice acting -- all characters are voiced -- the narrations are not.

[ID: Art of a brown-skinned woman in armor that looks to the side with a determined expression as golden light peeks up from the bottom of the frame. A golden light outlines her silhouette and reflects off her eyes.]

#lake of voices #visual novel #horror #accidentally only showed Bellame even though there’s other characters oops #I just love him okay

[zerochanges]

2020 Favorite Video Games

I don’t know if I am an outlier or if this is the same for everyone else but I really did not play a lot of games this year. 2020 was a very harsh year for all of us, especially for me for some personal reasons. So to get to the chase, I am just gonna say it left me not doing much in what little free time I did have, and I didn’t play much either. Usually I try to keep my lists for ‘favorite of the year’ to only titles released that year but since I played so little this year, screw it. I am gonna include any game I played this year regardless of release date.

Collection of SaGa

By far a flawed rerelease. It’s bare bones: there are no advance features you would usually expect out of these kinds of emulated rereleases like save states, fast forward, or rewind, and there was no real effort made to touch up almost 30 year old localizations that had to meet Nintendo of America’s then harsh standards. This really is just 3 roms slapped into a nice looking interface with an option to increase the game speed (which by the way you better use, the characters walk very slow in these old games). 

I am bit harsh here, but only because I thought the Romancing SaGa remasters and the upcoming SaGa Frontier remaster all looked like they got a great budget and a lot of love while this is just another Collection of Mana situation (moreso specifically talking about Seiken Densetsu 1/Final Fantasy Adventure/Adventures of Mana part of that collection). I would have loved to see Square Enix do a bit more for these older games. Or at least include the remakes. Seiken Densetsu 1 had two great remakes, both unused in Collection of Mana, and all three of these original SaGa titles have remakes that have never seen the light of day outside of Japan. How great would it have been to get the Wonderswan remake of SaGa 1, as well as the Nintendo DS remakes of Saga 2 and SaGa 3? 

But my gripes aside, these games are still fun as they ever were. Replaying SaGa 1 specifically during the holiday season really helped calm me down and made me feel at ease. It’s easy to forget but even in their Gameboy roots there are a lot of funky and weird experimental choices being made in these games. They aren’t your run-of-the-mil dragon quest (or considering the gameboy, maybe pokemon would be more apt) clones. 

Raging Loop

Perhaps my favorite game of the year, Raging Loop is one of the best visual novels I have ever played hands down. The level of creativity and splitting story paths that went into it is simply mind blowing. The basic premise is both a wonderful throwback to the old days of Chunsoft sound novels while still modern and somewhat reminiscent of both Higurashi and Danganronpa. Essentially you play as Haruaki, a poor slub that got lost in the mountains with no clue where to go until you stumble upon an old rural village with a strange history and even stranger superstitions. Before you know it there has been a murder and the Feast is now afoot.

The less said about Raging Loop the better, although I do want to say a lot about it one day if I ever can write a proper review of it. This is a gripping game that will take hold of you once you get into it though and never let go. I actually 100%-ed this and I very rarely do that. I got every ending, every bonus hidden ending, played the entire game twice to hear all the hidden details it purposely hides on your first play through, played all the bonus epilogue chapters, unlocked all the hidden voice actor interviews, collected all the art work, etc, etc. I was just obsessed with this game, it’s that damn good! And the main character is maybe the best troll in all of video games, god bless Haruaki. 

Root Double

From Takumi Nakazawa, long time contributor to Kotaro Uchikoshi’s work comes a game any fan of Zero Escape or Uchikoshi in general will probably enjoy. Root Double, like its name suggests is a visual novel with two different routes, hence Root Double. The first route stars Watase Kasasagi, the leader of an elite rescue team in the midst of their greatest crisis yet that could lead to nuclear devastation as they try to evacuate a nuclear research facility that has gone awry. 

The other route stars Natsuhiko Tenkawa, an everyday high schooler whose peaceful life is thrown into turmoil when he stumbles upon a terrorist plot to destroy the nuclear facility in the city and his attempts to stop them. Together the two separate plots weave into one and creates a really crazy ride. Part Chernobyl, part science fiction, any fan of the genre will easily enjoy it. And hey it’s kind of relevant to include on this list too since it just got a Switch port this year (I played it on steam though).  

Snack World

I was shocked upon starting Snack World as it is instantly incredibly charming, witty, and downright hilarious at times yet I heard almost zero people talk about it. EVER. This game is Dragon Quest levels of quirky though, and the localization is incredible. The game has such an oddball sense of humor that works really well with its presentation right down to the anime opening video that sings about the most bizarre things. Instead of the usual pump up song about the cool adventure ahead we get stuff like wanting to go out to a restaurant and eat pork chops. 

The self aware/fourth wall breaking humor is just enough to be really funny, but doesn't overstay its welcome and always makes it work right in the context of the dialogue. And finally, just everything; with the menus, the name of side quests and missions, and the character dialogue -- are all just so witty and full of quirky humor. This is one hell of a charming and funny game and addictive to boot.

Trials of Mana

Trials of Mana has gone from one of those legendary unlocalized games, to one of the first major breakthroughs in fan translation, to finally getting an official English release complete with a fully 3D remake. In a lot of ways from a western perspective this game has had an incredible journey. As for this remake itself, I really found myself having tons of fun with it. I loved the graphics, and the voice acting while a bit on the cheaper side almost kind of adds to the charm since both the graphics and acting really give it an old PS2 vibe. I know that is probably just more me being weird but yeah, I had to say it. 

I really hope Square Enix sticks to this style of remake more often, instead of just doing Final Fantasy VII Remakes that break the bank and involve extensive tweaking to both plot and game play. I’ll take smaller budget projects that play more like the original game any day personally. I wouldn’t mind if they also deliver a brand new Mana game all together in this engine either. 

Utawarerumono Trilogy

This year saw the release of the first entry in the series, Utawarerumono: Prelude to the Fallen--and thus finally after three years since the sequels Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception and Utawarerumono: Mask of Truth came out in 2017 the trilogy is now complete in English. I ended up binging through Prelude to the Fallen very fast shortly after it came out and immediately jumped on to the sequels. Perhaps the best part of 2020 was that I finally played all three of these fantastic games, and did so back-to-back-to-back. Playing the first Utawarerumono was an experience I will never forget, it was like visiting old friends again that I haven’t seen in ages, by and large thanks to the fact that I saw the anime adaption of the game when I was much younger, nearly a decade ago. Back then I would have never of dreamed that I would get to play the actual game and get the real experience. 

And it only got better from here, as all three games are such wonderful experiences from start to finish. The stories are all so deep, and by the time you get to the third entry, Mask of Truth, it’s crazy to see how they all connected over so many years and weaved together into a plot much bigger than they ever were. What carries it beyond all that though has to be the fun and addicting strategy role playing game aspect, which while a bit on the easy side, is still so much fun and helps make the game feel better paced since you get to play the conquests your characters go on and not just read about all the battles they fight. Beyond that the games are packed full of awesome characters, and I know I’ll never forget the amazing leads in all of them. Hakuowlo, Haku, and Oshtor will all go down as some of the greats to me. 

Ys: Memories of Celceta

Ys: Memories of Celceta is a full 3D remake of Ys IV, a rather infamous game in Falcom’s Ys series. Not to get bogged down too much into the history of Falcom but by this point they were facing a lot of hardship and had to outsource this entry to other developers, and thus passed it on to two particular developers they had a business relationship with, creating two unique versions of Ys IV. Tonkin House who had worked on Super Famicom port of Ys III with Falcom ended up creating their own YS IV entry, Mask of the Sun for the very same system, where Hudson soft who had produced the much beloved Ys Books I & II remakes for the Turbografix (PC Engine) CD add-on created their own Ys IV entry Dawn of Ys for that console. Both games followed guidelines and ideas outlined from Falcom themselves but both radically diverged from each other and turned into completely different games. 

Falcom finally putting an end to this debate on which version of Ys IV you should play have gone and created their own definitive Ys IV in 2012 for the Playstation Vita. I played the 2020 remastered version of this remake on my PS4. I even bought this on the Vita when it first came out but I am horrible and only horde games, never play them. So it was a lot of fun to finally play this. 

Memories of Celceta is probably one of the best starting points for anyone looking to get into Ys, especially if you only want to stay with the 3D titles as out of all the 3D entries this explains the most about the world and series protagonist Adol Christian. Beyond that it’s just another fantastic entry in a wonderful series that has a few good twists hidden behind it, especially for long time fans of the series. 

Random Video Game Console Stuff

Xbox Has Blue Dragon: I actually got an Xbox One this year for free from my brother. Because of that I started to play Blue Dragon again and there’s a lot I would love to say about this game. I don’t know if I am fully committed to replaying it all the way through however but I find myself putting in a couple hours every few days and enjoying myself again. Does anyone else remember Blue Dragon? I feel like it really missed its audience and had it come out nowadays and probably for the Switch it would have really resonated with the Dragon Quest fandom a lot more instead of being thrown out to die on Xbox and constantly compared to Final Fantasy VII and the like which it had nothing at all similar with. 

The Turbografx 16 Mini: This was probably one of the best mini consoles that have come out and I feel like thanks to the whole 2020 pandemic thing it was largely forgotten about. That’s a shame, it has a wonderful variety of great games, especially if you count the Japanese ones (god I wish I could play the Japanese version of Snatcher included), and a wonderful interface with fantastic music. One of these days I would really like to be able to play around with the console more seriously than I have already. 

Fire Emblem Shadow Dragon Never Existed: So Nintendo localized the first ever Fire Emblem game on Nintendo Switch which is awesome to see them touching Famicom games again--I haven’t seen Nintendo of America rerelease old Famicom titles since Mysterious Murasame Castle on the 3DS, but their trailer hilariously made it seem like this is the first time ever they released Fire Emblem when in fact they had already localized the remake Shadow Dragon on the Nintendo DS nearly 10 or 11 years ago. I and many other fans I talked to all found this really hilarious, probably solely because of how much they kept repeating the fact that this is the first time you will ever be able to experience Marth’s story.

All that aside though I have to say the collector edition for this newly localized Famicom game is probably the most gorgeous retro reproduction I have seen in a long time, and I really spent many many hours just staring at the all clear glass mock cartridge. I have found myself really obsessing over retro reproductions during 2020, and obtained quite a few this year. I really hope this trend continues to go on in 2021 as recreating classic console packaging and cartridges is a lot of fun. 

#video games #collection of saga final fantasy legend #SaGa #SaGa I #SaGa II #SaGa III #Raging Loop #Root Double #Snack World #Trials of Mana #Seiken Densetsu 3 #Utawarerumono #Ys #Ys IV #ys memories of celceta

[tiny-space-robot]

Okay so Fire Emblem anon here!! Here's a Kinda Super Long Bc I Got Carried Away description of a few Fire Emblem games, plus some characters that seem like they hit tropes you like!

The good news is that there's not a super huge overarching timeline, there's several smaller timelines that are seperate from one another except for the crossover games. I'm gonna go with describing the newer ones that you're most likely to be able to get your hands on and play; a lot of people complain that they lean into some anime-tropey stuff and are too easy, but tbh, that's a perk just as often as it isn't. Basically, it's Game of Thrones, but rated T and with more cute girls and old men who are friendly instead of creepy.

Tbh, it's a turn-based strategy game with visual novel elements for characterization, if strategy games aren't your thing and you're just interested in the characters, watching the support conversations on Youtube might be more your thing. All the characterization, none of the resetting the same goshdang level thirty times. Anyways, description of the games in passing, including a brief description of the plot concept, pros and cons, trigger warnings, and some characters you might be interested in if you're just looking up characters.

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Awakening: for the 3DS. Follows Robin, an amnesiac mage, after they're found in a field by a band of knights called the Shepherds. Involves the undead, a twink in a mask, timey-wimey shenangians, and the usual cast of oddballs you'd expect from a Fire Emblem game.

Pros of Awakening: customizable player character, intro of Casual mode (turns off permadeath) and the Pair Up system, which lets you put characters together for shipping reasons strategy and stat boosts. Also doubles as a shipping simulator, since you can pair off characters and meet their later in the game due to said timey-wimey shenangians.

Cons of Awakening: there are some....very concerning combos of names/skin tones/plot relevance for certain characters, so go in with a warning about implicit racism. Also if you like strategy games, this game is relatively easy to break and make "too easy," but tbh that's what Lunatic Mode (the Ultra Unfair Hard Mode) is for.

Trigger warnings across the main plot: underhanded politics, attempted assassinations, martyrdom, an optional character is implied to stalk Robin but idk how to tag that, identity crises, conflicts within a family, character who isn't you looks like you, backstory child abuse, an optional character is a bad portrayal of DID if you squint?

*line break for legibility*

Fates: is actually a group name for two games set in the same universe, and a DLC bonus story: Birthright, Conquest, and Revelations. All for the 3DS. All three games star Corrin, a pacifist raised in seclusion in the kingdom of Nohr. Each game reflects a different path Corrin can take in navigating the war between the nations of Nohr and Hoshido: Birthright has them stand with Hoshido, Conquest with Nohr, and Revelations has them strike out (nearly) alone. Each path has a completely different storyline, cast of characters, and difficulty curve.

Pros of Fates: honestly, the characters here cater the most to the avid pro-shipper and multi-shipper. I just love this cast. Both Nohr and Hoshido have four members of the royal family you can play and get to know, each of those royal family members has two retainers who are various levels of dedicated and/or unhinged, and the cast just widens and widens. Also a character customization and shipping simulator point for the same reasons Awakening gets it. Also, canon fujoshi rights (there's a character with a skill called Daydream, which boosts her stats when two male characters are paired up near her. one of us, one of us). Also the first game with canon queer characters: both Rhajat and Niles are bi.

Cons of Fates: unfortunately, the writing is kinda rushed or badly translated in some places. Also *shakes IntSys* my lore! Give me more lore! Also, iirc, you could get both physical games in a bundle for a discount when they came out, but not anymore, so it's sorta like Pokemon with version exclusives. Which is less fun, since you can't directly trade characters. Also the fandom for this game is RIFE with discourse, which is kinda sad bc I just wanna talk my ships with ppl sjxhdjdn

Trigger warnings for Fates: child abuse might as well be Nohr's middle name, in-universe racism (since Hoshido is p obviously Japan-inspired, and a lot of Nohrians are rancid to Hoshidans), kidnapping, on-screen murder, lots of fighting your loved ones (on both main routes, you gotta fight the playable characters from the other side AAA), su-c-de, death of sibling(s) in certain routes, demonic-like possession, there's like six characters people can read as bad mental illness rep, Niles especially is discourse bait for being a kinky (yes that's canon) bi man of color but also he's awesome so die mad antis

*break for space*

Shadows of Valentia: for the 3DS. A remake of Gaiden, the second game in the series. Follows Alm, a farm boy from a small village in Zofia, and Celica, his childhood best friend. Zofia and the nation to its north, Rigel, are two nations ruled by the dragon gods Mila and Duma, respectively. Normally, they're in equilibrium, but Rigel is invading and Mila is missing, prompting Alm and Celica to independently investigate the problem.

Pros of SoV: the most like the old-school Fire Emblem games, but it also has the permadeath-off mode. also the first to be fully voice acted! The art style is gorgeous, and the plot was polished up from the old game--two characters names Berkut and Rinea were added, and they are PEAK OTP the diskhorse can die mad. Also the cast is pretty fun all around, from buddy squad and the older brother/dad figure they adopted along the way to "hello this is my gang of childhood friends, we're gonna kill a god" Also introduces Mila's Turnwheel, which lets you rewind your moves if you realize you goofed big time and screwed yourself over.

Cons of SoV: has the most references to other games, but you won't, like, be lost if you don't get them. You just might have a few interludes of "who tf is Camus/the White Wing Brigade/etc" but it's easy enough to look up on the wiki. Also tbh, the plot kinda drags in the middle, there's some filler battles to try and make it feel more realistic and it feels...weird. Also no custom character, you are Alm and Celica and you will Like It.

Trigger warnings for SoV: you know that thing where a girl character gets killed off for a guy character to angst over? the game starts with a fakeout version of that. also a character slowly goes mad over the course of the plot (but it's really well done imo?), there's some self-sacrifice stuff in there, classism is a major theme, possession/selling your soul™, there's a couple of levels where you're exploring tombs/prisons, I'm sure there's something else but I'm forgetting right now

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Three Houses: on the Switch. The newest game in the series, and the most polished imo? Stars Byleth, a wandering mercenary turned teacher at the Officer's Academy. The Academy, housed in Garreg Mach Monastery, teaches youths from across the land of Fodlan how to be warriors, commanders, and knights. Students are sorted into three houses based on their country of origin: the Black Eagles are from ghe Adrestian Empire, led by the heiress-apparent Edelgard; the Blue Lions are from the kingdom of Faerghus, led by prince Dimitri; and the Golden Deer are from the Leicester Alliance, led by Claude, grandson of the Duke. You choose one of these houses to lead, and then everything quickly goes sour.

Pros of Three Houses: It's such a rich experience! The music is incredible, there's so much lore, and you can wander around the Monastery and hang out with the students to your heart's content. Also, it's four storylines for the price of one, even if they're all relatively similar in the first half. It does a pretty solid job of weaving together its themes into a satisfying narrative that will make you consider everyone involved. Also we got our first bi main lord (Edelgard) and non-white main lord (Claude is mixed race) in one fell swoop! Also, given the setting, it's teacher/student ship heaven.

Cons of Three Houses: just gonna come right out and say it: one of the villainous factions in the game is pretty substantially tied up with some anti-semitic tropes. There's no way to ignore it, it's just bleh, and I'm not gonna send anyone in without that warning. Also, though there's some characters you can persuade to switch sides, or spare, there's no route where there's a happy ending for everyone. Also there are so many people who are fake deep about the themes of the game, so be ready for the worst takes imaginable about your faves. also super trigger heavy, see below.

Trigger warnings: MANY. Garreg Mach and the Church of Seiros are very reminiscent of catholic religious stuff, for anyone with religion triggers, blood in cutscenes, death of a parent, death of a sibling (different characters), major gaslighting vibes in some places, lots of people going unhinged, some white savior™ vibes in places, body horror, creepy ass weaponry, backstory genoc-de (mostly not related to the anti-semitism), blood magic (definitely related to the anti-semitism), in general it goes to a lot more effort than the other games to make you think about what's Actually going on, even if it doesn't always work.

*break for legibility*

As for characters you'd like, if you just want to look some characters up, my recommendations based on what I understand about you include:

Awakening: Libra fits 'gnc man of the cloth' so well it's actually a conversation in game: "so what's a woman of the cloth doing here?" "...man, sir, man of the cloth." And Then He Never Gets Misgendered Again. Also Nowi's supports sometimes feel like a jab at antis-- she's a manakete, a person who can transform into a dragon. Manaketes also grow really slowly, as in "middle aged looking manaketes are like 1000 years old," so she's got major baby face and copes with being mistaken for a teenager by making jokes. Also Gregor, who she first appears with, is pretty fun--older mercenary with a thick accent who is like 80% here for a good time. Also Walhart, who's a villain but got some content added as DLC.

Fates: any interactions between Corrin, Leo, and/or Camilla are probably right up your alley--Camilla is obsessively protective over her siblings in a way that's Very Definitely Platonic™, and Leo also canonically has a crush on her in something that was cut in the English release. Also Gunther--once upon a time he was your classic knight in shining armor, now he's semi-retired, Corrin's personal guard, and covered in scars (and his voice is gorgeous too)

Echoes: my biased answer is to listen to every single line Ian Sinclair read for Berkut because he absolutely did NOT have to go that hard. My actual answer is to point you in the direction of the pegasus sisters Catria, Palla and Est, or maybe the older gentleman who's the head of the Priory, I forgot his name oops abbdbd. Also Clive is a devoted husband to one Mathilda, who looks just like an older version of his sister Clair 🤔

Three Houses: knowing you, you'd adore Hanneman--an older professor who's extremely passionate about his work, to the point where he tends to forget personal space and such. Also Seteth, like I mentioned before (join me in simping for him and his gorgeous pecs) and like, honestly, I know ppl make jokes about Alois but he's rlly good. Soft, awkward but he doesn't care, dad jokes everywhere. And also Mercedes, both because she's the biggest sweetheart imaginable and everyone should love her, but also bc she is just walking potential for the kinds of stuff you post on this blog. On one hand, she's the oldest student at the Academy and attached at the hip to one of the youngest, Annette (tho people act like they have a way bigger age gap then they actually do) and on the other hand, she has a long-lost half brother she can encounter (who I will not name for HUGE HUGE spoilers reasons) who she spends the rest of her life with in one of her endings. Heck, he has three possible endings total! Total!

Basically I brought the games up bc I'm used to being on the side of the fandom where everyone shoos anything uncomfortable under the rug, but there's so much material here that's being wasted I SWEAR

If you have any other questions I can send another anon? Your call! Thanks for hearing me out I love ur blog :3

OKAY!!! sorry for answering so late, but this ask was pretty much a BOOK (not that I´m complaining though! thank you so much! ;;u;;)

and from what I read here, I THINK if I´m going off on my first fire emblem adventure, I´ll try and pick up three houses if I get the chance! I have read your trigger warnings (thank you so much! ;u;) and I think I can take it! >:3

again though, I am really, really not a fan of anime and the anime artstyle in general (blergh! XP) so I´m not sure how I´ll cope with that in particular, but then again, an artstyle does not make a game! u3u

AND HANNEMAN SOUNDS LIKE A WINNER TO ME!! I looked him up and OOOF!!! he may not have NEARLY as many wrinkles as I´d like him to have, but the facial hair is definitely a step in the right direction! ;3c

NOW YOU GOT ME INTERESTED!! 

LETS GO!!!!!!!!!!!!! (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻

[satoshi-mochida]

Indie games publisher Ratalaika Games has announced a lineup of indie visual novels it will port to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Switch in 2020 (plus two for PS Vita).

The lineup includes Angels with Scaly Wings from Radical Phi, A Summer with the Shiba Inu from Quill Studios, Blind Men from Man-Eater Games, Jisei: The First Case HD from Sake Visual, Long Live the Queen from Hanako Games, Syrup and the Ultimate Sweet from Nomnomnami, and Tales of Aravorn: Seasons of the Wolf from Winter Wolves.

In a press release, Ratalaika Games CEO Adrian Vega said, “Many great visual novels come out of the indie scene that console players may not have experienced yet, we hope to bridge that gap by providing a wide range of titles! This is only just the beginning of our visual novel offerings over the next several months, so please stay tuned to our new visual novel centric Twitter handle @RatalaikaGameVN!”

Here is an overview of each game, via Ratalaika Games:

Angels with Scaly Wings

https://youtu.be/EbHd452xv5Q

Specifications

Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch

Developer: Radical Phi

Release Date: 2020

Official Website: Here

About

After the discovery of a mysterious portal, you are selected as one of the few humans to travel to the world of dragons. While you serve as an ambassador, you learn more about this strangely familiar place, and discover that your human colleague knows more than he’s letting on…

It will be up to you and the friends you make to uncover the conspiracy that threatens the newly discovered world—and in the process, you may even find love.

Make deep choices that influence the game world permanently! Experience 13 unique endings with character specific routes!

Key Features

Epic storyline.

Make deep, impactful choices.

13 different endings.

Explore a town full of secrets.

A Summer with the Shiba Inu

https://youtu.be/ccRolJeAj-Y

Specifications

Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch

Developer: Quill Studios

Release Date: 2020

Official Website: Here

About

When Syd the Shiba Inu returns to Shiba Island after a ten-year absence, she sets off a chain of events that overturns the lives of all the dogs she had left behind. She gets back in touch with her old friend, Max, and along the way meets a mysterious Labrador retriever named Quei-Li. (What’s a Lab doing on the Island, anyway?) They are her only remaining allies as she tries to survive the past that made her leave the Island in the first place.

Your choices matter—there are multiple drastic ways to change the fate of Shiba Island, with 10+ variants depending on how you treat the dogs you meet along the way.

Can you survive long enough to reach your coronation?

Key Features

Three main endings for Syd, with 10-plus endings for other dogs depending on your actions!.

Visual novel with story word count of approximately 70,000.

Random facts about dogs in menus.

Dedicated Dog bark button in preference menu.

Blind Men

https://youtu.be/RRHCjakC2K4

Specifications

Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PS Vita

Developer: Man-Eater Games

Release Date: April 2020

Official Website: Here

About

As the nephew of a retired super villain, there’s nothing Keegan wants more than to become one himself—and what better way than to join the League of Evil? All he needs to do is commit a crime to complete his application.

Unfortunately, Keegan soon finds himself in more trouble than he could have ever imagined when his plans are interrupted by a couple of spies from opposing agencies.

Pick choices that drastically change the story. Will Keegan’s plans be thwarted or allow him to be successful?

Key Features

Two romanceable characters.

Multiple different endings depending on your choices.

Keep the game as a cliche-filled parody, or turn it into a straight spy adventure.

12 different endings.

New German localization and partial voice acting.

Jisei: The First Case HD

https://youtu.be/2ZLYhk6INT8

Specifications

Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch

Developer: Sake Visual

Release Date: 2020

Official Website: Here

About

A teenager with no name and no home wanders from one city to the next, burdened by the weight of his extraordinary ability. When he is accused of murdering a woman he’s never met, he sets out to prove his innocence and find the true killer. The investigation quickly takes a turn for the complicated when a strange voice appears in his head, warning him to watch his step.

Search for clues, interrogate witnesses, and find a murderer. Even with your extra abilities, it will still take solid facts and logic to prove your innocence!

Enjoy this cult classic indie mystery visual novel with HD art, backgrounds, and assets!

Key Features

Brand new HD artwork.

Professional voice acting.

Explore the crime scenes to collect evidence.

Interrogate witnesses to find the real culprit.

Long Live the Queen

https://youtu.be/buflnQQ6tWA

Specifications

Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch

Developer: Hanako Games

Release Date: 2020

Official Website: Here

About

Being a princess is not an easy job. Being a Queen is even harder. Especially when you’re only fourteen years old, and the reason you’ve inherited the throne is that your royal mother has just met an untimely end.

Now power is up for grabs. You may be the official heir, but much of the country’s nobility would love to steal the throne for themselves. Aggressive neighbors will take advantage of any weakness to enlarge their borders at your expense. And that’s not even mentioning the magical dangers which are lying in wait…

Can you survive long enough to reach your coronation?

Key Features

Deceptively adorable graphics hide a deadly interior. Collect all the ways to die!

Every decision unlocks further consequences down the line, allowing you to shape the future of your character and her country with the skills you choose to pursue.

Uncover secret plots, outwit invasions, unlock mystical powers, dodge assassins, and get your enemies before they get you.

Syrup and the Ultimate Sweet

https://youtu.be/UtTXlDVo-n4

Specifications

Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PS Vita

Developer: Nomnomnami

Release Date: March 4, 2020

Official Website: Here

About

In a magical town there lives a candy alchemist, Syrup, who one day discovers a candy golem in her basement. Where did she come from? Who could’ve made her? Go find out!

Featuring a memorable cast of colorful characters and 10 unique endings. Your choices affect the story! Will Syrup achieve her dream of making the Ultimate Sweet, or will she meet a much more tragic fate…?

Key Features

Adorable hand-drawn art style with a story that will make you laugh and cry.

A variety of cute, heartwarming characters to befriend.

10 different endings to collect.

In-game gallery loaded with concept art and extras.

Tales of Aravorn: Seasons of the Wolf

https://youtu.be/e42xwltCL8U

Specifications

Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch

Developer: Winter Wolves

Release Date: 2020

Official Website: Here

About

Tales of Aravorn: Seasons of The Wolf is an RPG set in a fantasy world, you’ll play as Shea or Althea, twins from the far-away village Ninim. In just the course of one year, you will experience many storylines and side quests; situations and events where your own choices influence the game.

The twins’ tale starts when one of the siblings finds a young wolf and decides to take it with them. Thus, begins the long journey which will take the siblings on a long journey!

The game features nine different classes, each with its own set of skills. Experience unique romances available for all tastes, both straight and homosexual!

Key Features

Play as either Shea or Althea.

Four different romance options to choose from.

Eight unique party members each one with different skills.

Advanced isometric tile set maps for a bigger world to explore.

#Long Live the Queen #Summer with Shiba Inu #Jisei: The First Case #Ratalaika Games #Tales of Avaron #visual novel #Angels with Scaly Wings #Blind Men #Syrup and the Ultimate Sweet #Gematsu #The only one I recognize is 'Long Live the Queen'. I've heard it's good.

[bearpillowmonster]

Steins;Gate Anime Review

I like a few time travel anime, my favorites would have to be Erased and Orange. This is neither of those. I can respect that because we don't see how the Delorean works other than using garbage, plutonium and a flux capacitor; We don't see a logical explanation in Erased or in Orange either, but it's fine for those respective stories because you basically just have to say "Time travel exists" and everybody will understand what you're talking about. I'm not big into the more science related stuff, where they get nitty gritty about the actual creation of the time machine but this does it in an entertaining yet smart way, making the time machine is not the point of the anime. A regular description of this anime wasn't enough to get me into it so let me rephrase it to peak your interest. They put bananas in a microwave and it turns to green slime. If that doesn't peak your interest then you could also say that it's an immersive anime that focuses on character development and uses time travel to do it, there, does that sound better?

I could've seen this as super serious and dark and complicated and that kept me from starting it all this time but I was wrong, this is a build-up anime. It has a really nice balance of where to be humorous and where to be serious. It starts out kind of aspiring but then works its way up and weaves itself in, making it all the more creepier during those parts, I was very much on the edge of my seat during some of the reveals. It's a smart anime but it doesn't make you feel lost or anything more like "Why didn't I think of that? It was right in front of me." it's funny because the time travel is easy to digest yet the actual story is complex. It's original, something I haven't seen in either a story or time travel as of yet. Now let me break it down. Our main is an average conspirator named Kyouma who thinks he's smarter than everyone else and challenges them. He's a scientist and calls himself an "evil genius" but ends up being more like an Invader Zim character. I could see where this is based from a visual novel, taking the time to focus on individual characters is almost like how that specific romantic route would go in a dating sim, surprisingly they make it flow well enough to not make it seem separate or chopped up, it seems like a natural progression of story and while you could argue that some of the women fall all over Kyouma, it actually makes him a bit of a better character, almost like he was meant to be annoying before and after you see everything, you start to feel bad for him and see his growth as well as almost wishing you had those little annoying moments back.

It seems to get better and better as it goes on but episode 7 threw it in for me at the very end of the episode because of how Kyoma is "the chosen one", it's absurd that first off, the weakest character of this anime is so powerful and second off, that there even is a 'chosen one' in the first place, it's an overused cliche. Then it really goes off the deep end with the next episode trying to change a boy to a girl? I'm not a conspiracy theorist and certainly not one as crazy as Kyouma but I've always found different dimensions and stuff of the sort, interesting, making this anime scratch that itch. I like an that anime sets its rules then follows them, that's probably the best thing about this being more science related. I don't quite get how the phone thing works but that's alright, I expect that kind of glossing. Kurisu is the red haired girl, she's pretty much a tsundere even though she proclaims that she's not. I thought maybe the color in the animation looked washed out from the promos but watching it, it seems fine, I feel like part of it was to get Kurisu's hair to stick out more but also to follow the visual novel style.

She's not the best girl though...Suzuha is! She is easily my favorite because it seems like every character has their own secrets (except maybe Kyouma because he can't keep his mouth shut) but hers is the most interesting throughout, not to mention her charismatic personality "Wassup!" then skidding around on her bike and being quick to make sure everything's alright. (You see why later in the anime but even without it she's cool) Mayuri is a childish girl, probably my favorite design wise but every time we see her she goes "Do-Do-Do" as if it's the Victory Fanfare from Final Fantasy, it gets kind of annoying. It's weird though, she talks that way to most of her friends but she seems different towards the end of her arc, like the tone of her voice, her choice of words, everything seems...better than before. It's true that each character gets better as it goes on but she just seems like she's putting on an act for most of it yet it's not outright said or made a part of the plot.

So what's a con of this anime? It fits in with both character and story, yet I wouldn't call it a con but more of a system of engagement. It drags you apart just to build you up again for very joyful moments to go back to very sad ones, it's quite a mix, in fact I might even consider them equally balanced, it's a heart-wrenching anime but by the end it becomes apparent that it's not building you up just to break you down again, it makes you question what matters at times. It's just showing you the struggle and that struggle is one I might have to recover from because of its immersion. I felt attached and like I couldn't turn back but I feel like it was intended. I could see American movies taking inspiration from it like Edge of Tomorrow (This is so much better though) and I could also see Brad Bird watching this when he made Tomorrowland because of the pins and Nixie tube clock idea.

I might give Steins;Gate 0 a try as well as the movie, not because I didn't like the ending, I loved the ending, but just to see more Steins;Gate. This is a 9 out of 10, you can see the amount of detail they put into the story, I now understand what the hype is about. It has no business being as good as it is, yet it is.

#steins;gate #gate #steins #anime #review

[benichi]

Money Jar and Illusion of Choice

aka Story Jar by NTT Solmare and Love Choice by Otome Romance (former Voltage Inc.) Since I haven’t been around much the last few weeks and because I got an ask about it I decided to look at these new ways to “enjoy” Otome games. I already vented about Money-... I mean Love Jar yesterday, and while Voltage isn’t quite as hardcode (yet) it still should be talked about.

I’ll start with Masquerade Kiss, Otome Romance (former Voltage Inc.)’s new game which introduces Love Choice as a way to read Main Stories. Apparently the only way for future releases. Though it doesn’t matter much where I start since both of these new “systems” have a lot in common. This is how the Love 365 app greets you currently.

FOR FREE OMG. However as you know nothing in life is free, if you look closely you’ll see “Use hearts to read without wait times ♪”. So literally in the same breath they tell you that this new system is shit. We’ll take a more in-depth look at those wait times later because they play a big role for this entire new system, including the situation in Story Jar. To put the second part into words that aren’t sugar coated “Use money to deepen your affection! If you want to see CG’s and get a satisfactory ending you had better open that wallet of yours cause those are behind a paywall♪“. Otome Romance (former Voltage Inc.) is trying to be charming about this but the bottom line is: without money you get the short end of the stick. Which isn’t all bad or uncommon. They are a company so obviously they have to make money. But they’ve come up with quite a cunning way to do just that.

CELEBRATION! NOW OR NEVER! READ THE WHOLE STORY WITHOUT WAITING!!! WHAT A NEW AND REVOLUTIONARY CONCEPT?! HAS THIS EVER HAPPENED BEFORE? Yes. That’s the old system we’ve had until now. Where you pay 4€ once and own the entire thing to read at your own pace and revisit as often as you’d like. I honestly couldn’t help but scoff when this screen showed up as I was playing. 

Which brought me to my first question. Why don’t they simply let us consumers choose between buying the entire thing and this “f2p” version? It’s the same simple answer for all questions related to this topic:  💰 💰 💰

The elaborate explanation is that obviously no one would touch this “f2p” version unless they’re forced to. As stated above stories used to be 4€. However Love Choice is much more expensive.

This part made me especially sick. They know exactly that for a lot of us Otoge is something we use to treat ourselves. These sugar coated words “special” “exciting outcomes” “spicy ending” aim exactly for that. You’re already here, surely you don’t want to miss this super special spicy scintillating sexy breathtaking ending.

However that’s not even the worst part yet. One choice costs 5 hearts which is not too bad right? Too good to be true almost, which is exactly what’s happening here. As you progress the amount of hearts needed steadily increases. The biggest amount one choice costs is 26 hearts.

That singular choice plus CG costs almost as much as an entire route with all CG’s etc. used to cost (400 Coins).

Granted as you can see above you “only” need 12 points to get the super special spicy scintillating sexy breathtaking ending. Which means you don’t always have to select the ~special choice~. However the amount of points you get per special choice is different each time (ranging from 1pt to 3pts), there’s no other way to earn them. So unless you use a Walkthrough you’re grasping at straws. Like here, you’ll get a CG sure but only 1pt. In theory a choice with 3pts is more lucrative but who knows when one of those might show up.

Ultimately guessing whether the money you’ve invested so far will be enough to get you that desired ending might be more thrilling than Eisuke 2.0 trying to shove his tongue into your mouth.

Let’s get back to our numbers though. In order to get all the CG’s + that super special ending you’ll need at least 85 hearts. Which basically translates to 900 Coins.

11€. Only possible if you play it smart by using a Walkthrough, which means someone else took the plunge and paid the whooping 22€ instead. Because that’s what you’ll have to pay if you go for every single special choice. Granted you don’t have to spend the entire 2000 Coins, there are 300 left over because Otome Romance (former Voltage Inc.) simply never offers the exact amount of 1700 Coins you’d need. But what do these leftover 300 coins even do for you? Nothing much anymore as we’ve seen.

Plus there’s the wait times we haven’t experienced yet. I mean how much does it cost if I don’t want to wait for 5 hours? Will those “leftover” 300 coins even cover that? A part of me honestly doesn’t even want to know.

Moving on to the illusion of having a choice. As stated above the only way to raise points is by using money. Only these paid choices change the Love Meter. Every other ~choice~ might as well not be there because it doesn’t make a difference. Let’s look at this one scene in particular. For context my dude Kazuomi Shido wants to get rid of a woman because she “knows too much”.

As stated before you could skip this special choice and still get that ~Super Happy Ending~. I mean ppffft what’s she to me amirite? Random Woman Nr.1 is definitely not worth my 50 coins.

But how is this enjoyable? How am I supposed to be pleased knowing that the only way to get a different ending is paying up. That my choices don’t matter except for the ones where I make it rain money for Otome Romance (former Voltage Inc.). They might as well just remove the “choices” and sell the entire story for 11€ or 22€ if they’re feeling bold. 

But again, if the amount you spend was displayed in such a blunt way no one would ever go near these stories. I mean just look at Wand of Fortune (Story Jar). A single route consists of 27 Chapters (the 1st one being free). One Chapter costs 20 diamonds. So to read everything you’ll need 520 diamonds, which translates to 44€. How is this real life? Who thought this was a good idea?

Which brought me to my next question: What’s up with this sudden increase we see for the amount of Chapters? Could we be... getting more for our money? Again, no. It’s still all about them getting more  💰 💰 💰

Because each Chapter is incredibly short. And while the Chapters in Masquerade Kiss at least make sense despite their shortness the same can’t even be said for Wand of Fortune.

I think this sudden rise serves a few different purposes. Obviously more Chapters means more money. In WoF you just straight up have to pay and in Love Choice it gives them the option to put in even more “””special choices”””. Plus when there’s no CELEBRATION NOW OR NEVER PLAY WITHOUT WAIT TIMES event that’s another point where you could possibly pay to progress more quickly. I mean 5 hours wait time means you’ll only get to play 4 Chapters per day. If that’s even an option for you. I certainly can’t whip out my phone at work to get raunchy with Eisuke 2.0 simply because 5 hours have passed. But that’s an entirely different matter.

But what else is happening here? Honestly these Chapter splits are nothing but sneaky practices to pick the money right out of our pockets. By splitting the costs into different Chapters people will be less aware of how much they’re actually paying. If they straight up tried to sell one story for 44€ or 22€ who in their right mind would buy that? Unless you sit down and do the math first you’ll just kind of pay slowly as you progress the story. Plus on Love Choice you don’t even necessarily have the option to figure out how much it’ll cost in the end unless you go through the thing for yourself once or find someone that wrote everything down. At this point we can’t even say if the requirements for Kazuomi’s route are the norm. Are 85 hearts always the minimum requirement? 169 the most? There’s no telling at this point.

What I do know at this point however is that these companies are taking advantage of us. It’s true, we are currently in a dire situation. Our niche market is slowly running cold with the Vita being officially dead and no announcements for the Switch overseas. Currently mobile games are the only thing that’s going strong in the Otome Market here. But this? This can’t be it!

I won’t pay for a game that’s so completely butchered from it’s original release that it's barely functional and makes no sense. With core mechanics and voice acting removed. I won’t pay to be stripped from the right to make my own choices in a visual novel and to be played like a fiddle with all these sugar coated words that hide shrewed tricks.

Only if you give him 13 hearts first though. I gotta admit the image of Kazuomi standing there with his palm stretched out like 

“I could stick my tongue into your mouth BUT that’ll be 2,29€ first. We don’t take checks, by the way” is a little funny but ultimately too expensive for my taste.

I honestly understand that these are not easy times to be a fan of Otome Games. However, if we let these companies play us like this then we’ve already lost. Why would Aksys or any other company bother translating major titles that take so much more effort to localize if mobile Otoge with considerably less work can be sold for almost the same amount? I mean if someone pays 44€ per route that’s 264 € for the entire “game”. You could probably buy half of the Vita games Aksys has released so far with that amount. Maybe all of them if you wait for sales, this is insanity.

And 22€ is in no way better either. Just think of all the things you can buy for that amount of money, I mean not even games. Plus Otome Romance (former Voltage Inc.) is becoming worse and worse as time goes on. I’ve defended them for a long time because in a way I’m grateful. I still remember when Pirates in Love was practically the only thing we had. But I’ve reached my limit. Love Choice is just as bad as Story Jar. 

This post has become long enough, but I’ll add this later or make a seperate post of how f2p can work. I don’t want to be misunderstood, I know some people prefer f2p instead of just buying the entire stories which is perfectly fine. But these two companies have missed the mark completely and we have to be vocal about it.

PS: If you want to experience good f2p games please check out Cybird games, they’re our only hope in these unholy times.

#story jar #love 365 #love choice #otome romance #ntt solmare #Masquerade Kiss #wand of fortune #voltage inc

[picapop]

I finished playing Hashihime of Old Book Town, the latest BL game released by MangaGamer and created by Adelta. It truly was a psychedelic mystery story with sci-fi fantasy themes.

The art was phenomenal in many ways. The cgs were both popping with colour and subdued based on the mood of the scene. I especially liked the cgs where reality itself was being defied, catering to both the candidness of the characters’ emotions and surrealty of their imaginations. A particular scene in Minakami’s route always gets to me because of that cg. There were also quite a few cgs for the more explicit scenes. (Also uncensored lol) it was impressive in its own right.

The music was lovely. The bgms fit the scenes well, and when it starts playing, you know what feelings to expect. Sometimes that rompy jazz bgm plays during a serious scene and then I wonder what on Earth Tamamori was going to do next. Lol. I also loved the opening and ending themes. I think the lyrics of the endings fit well with the route it played for. The voice acting for this was also great. Ugh. My favourite voice is definitely Kawase’s. There’s just something in that soft vibrato as he berates Tamamori that is particularly ear candy.

The characters were fascinating. They were very human. Tamamori as a protagonist was frustrating in a lot of ways but very relatable. It was easy to empathize with him as he learned new things and was crushed by that knowledge. He was also human garbage in a lot of ways too. I wanted to root for him and admonish him. But he was a fun mc. I never knew what to expect from him since he lacks common sense. Lol.

The routes. I think my feelings are “I want Minakami to live happily. I want to protect Kawase’s heart. I understand you but I also can’t forgive you, Hanazawa. Professor, please have more self-worth. ____, you’re a good boy; I’m sorry.” I think each route had such a big emphasis on loneliness. Tamamori’s desire for true friendship and not knowing how to achieve it and all of them feeling some kind of isolation even when they’re together. It’s so sad and frighteningly relatable.

As a story, it was thrilling, frightening, and suspenseful. I honestly exclaimed so many things while reading. Screaming every time somebody died. After so many deaths, you desperately want them to live. I enjoyed it but there were also a lot of things I definitely still have questions about. I still don’t know how the twist in the end came to be. What reason did they have to die back then like that? I’d have preferred it to have been an accident rather than an intended act. It just left a bad taste in my mouth. Everything else, I can accept. Oh wait, Hanazawa’s route left much to be desired and I am so on and off about Professor. One moment, he’s a sympathetic, sweet character and then other times he’s just a super awkward pervert. I couldn’t tell if I felt like he deserved the attitude people had towards him or not. Lol. Minakami and Kawase were my favourite suitors for their relationship with Tamamori.

It was a fun visual novel despite its open flaws and discrepancies. It baffled and confused me but I loved finding out more pieces to the story as things progressed while applying to knowledge from previous routes to what was happening. I was thinking about it daily as I wanted to finish playing as soon as possible. Sometimes at random I’d just be like “Minakamiiiii” in my heart. Lol I have a lot of feelings about him.

Tl;dr: Hashime of Old Book Town was worth the read. The story was flawed, like the characters, but you can’t help liking it. Definitely looking forward to more Adelta works.

[pacoslimee]

Paco Reviews a Visual Novel #2

Finished playing through one the other day. I feel like doing these reviews might end up being a thing now. Spoilers and the like under the cut.

Went out of town for a few days for family stuff. So spent my time playing through a random visual novel I came across. This time it is DS: Dal Segno.

Plot Summary: *Insert Protagman’s name here* is an orphan who’s been living with his aunt since his parents’ death. He’s been handling as best he can but it still eats at him from time to time. Until he hears of a technological island called Kazana, that has been designed so that it is Summer all year round. It carries the slogan “Where no one is ever unhappy”. He takes this to heart and decides to move there and enroll in school. Upon arrival he is greeted by an AI named Ame. While getting a tour she seemingly trips off the side of a cliff. Forgetting that she doesn’t have a physical body, Protagman jumps off after her. He awakens to find that he landed in the sea and was saved by another girl from the island. After this Protagman discovers that he now has the ability to see the “happiness levels” above people’s heads. It’ll go up when they are happy and drop when they aren’t. This makes it a little hard for him to focus in class, so Ame nominates him to be a producer for the christmas beauty pageant. He now needs to find a candidate for it.

Overall thoughts: Better than I had anticipated. The prologue is super convoluted and throws a million concepts at you at the same time. But once it gets rolling it’s fairly easy to get through. Characters are nice and varied, the writing is pretty good for a straight forward romance-comedy. Music is entirely unmemorable. And the art is fairly standard. The game shines in it’s use of misdirection. It starts each route by throwing a trope or cliche at you. Which resulted in me trying to predict where each route was going. I was 0 for 5. Each route had twists that blindsided me. Also I didn’t specify the protag’s name because this game let’s you choose it. Which is neat for a visual novel that is pretty much fully voiced. Individual Route Reviews:

Himari: The girl who saved Protagman from drowning. She is a free spirit who just does what she wants. She also has a friend in a talking hat she wears on her head. In this route, Protag chooses her for the pageant. She tentatively agrees. In the time they spend preparing she falls in love with protag. They then date until abruptly one day she breaks up with him. It turns out she too can see happiness levels. But also that she can control and manipulate them. Consciously and unconsciously. She believes she has been manipulating Protag’s emotions the entire time they’ve been together. And to an extent, she has. Throughout the route things have been oddly straight forward with little to no conflict. Long story short, Protag doesn’t care and works to eliminate her power and succeeds. And in doing so his feelings don’t change. He still cares for her just the same. This was the first route I played and the first time I saw firsthand the game’s use of twists. The twist here is perhaps a little too subtle. Most of the foreshadowing went completely over my head and I was caught off guard by the twist. It’s not as well done as the others but it is good. 7/10.

Hazuki: The student council president and daughter of the school principal. She is very consumed in her work and reliable. Protagman chooses her for the pageant. In doing so he asks her out. She reluctantly accepts and suggest they do a trial run of dating. But at the start of christmas break she leaves town for business. She spends very little time with him at all until one night she sends a text to him at midnight asking to go out on a date. Her attitude is much more bubbly and fun. They spend the rest of break going on dates in the middle of the night. When school starts back up Protag meets with Hazuki in the student council office. She then tells him they need to prep for going out. This confuses Protagman as they’ve been seeing each other for most of break. Hazuki denies this, saying she had been going to sleep early every night. She writes this all off as dreams protagman was having. Protagman shows her the text logs and sends her into a panic. That night “Hazuki” asks Protagman out on a date again at midnight. He meets up and she acts like nothing happened. He asks who she really is and she pauses. She quietly says “Haruhi” and runs away. When he tells Hazuki this it only makes the situation worse. Haruhi was Hazuki’s twin sister who died in a car accident when they were children. Skipping ahead, Protagman learns that it was actually Hazuki that died and Haruhi is suffering from multiple personalities brought on by trauma. She is Hazuki 90% of the time. But being with Protag has brought forth Haruhi. She decides to continue living on using both personalities at the same time. This one was actually pretty darn good. Probably the most unpredictable route. But it did drag a bit in the middle. 9/10.

Io: A girl in Protagman’s class suffering from that one delusion thingy that apparently is common in anime. She calls herself the daughter of darkness and she believes herself to be a demon. Protagman is intrigued by her and asks her to be in the pageant. She constantly refers to it as a bid for power and a way to earn new slaves for her demon army. The pageant also leads to them dating (as is the pattern you may have noticed). Protagman comes to learn she is an author and all these delusions are more or less her stories. Slowly throughout the route she becomes more and more focused on the stories. Setting aside protagman at times. Until one day she flips out at him screaming that she needs to write and can’t stop writing. He leaves her alone for a few days only to realize that she had not left her room at all in that time and passed out from exhaustion. Leaving herself in a coma. Ame (the AI) tells him the truth. That her father had passed away, not only that be she also has a power like Protagman. She is able to enter the world of her writing in her sleep. She has written her father into that world and has decided to stay there. Hence the coma. Ame links their minds and Protagman enters the dream world. He finds her stuck in a mental ice prison. With an internal struggle playing out. Her true self is distraught and never wants to leave. Whereas her delusional demon self wants to wake up and actually see the real world. Protagman helps her come to terms with her father’s death and wakes her up. Was much more emotional than I was expecting from what I thought to be the comedy character. Only complaint is that there wasn’t nearly enough foreshadowing for me. The twist didn’t seem like it came about as naturally as the others. 7/10

Noeri: *sigh* Cousin of the protagonist. Come one Japan. Why you gotta be creepy. Anyway, her whole schtick is that she wants to be like a trope from anime she likes. The “little sister” love interest character. She introduces herself to people as his sister and he constantly corrects her. He is at such a loss for not finding a pageant contestant that he asks her. She immediately agrees. During the pageant she confesses to him in front of the audience and he accepts. He thinks back to her and her mother, his aunt. They took him and his actual sister in when their mother died and tried to treat them like family. But Protagman always kept his distance. So now that he is actively in a relationship with his cousin, she is overjoyed. But the “little sister” trope that she was pushing early on continues. To an extent where she begins relaying memories of their childhood together. But Protagman is concerned. She’s relaying not her own memories, but his actual sister’s. Eventually she doesn’t say that they are dating, but rather they are in fact related. Then she stops recognizing people at school. Her memories are actively being corrupted. She truly believes herself to be his sister. Protagman learns that his actions as a child may have resulted in Noeri believing that he wanted nothing to do with her and her mother. So she made a wish on the island that she could become his family. This wish was inadvertently granted by Ame. Corrupting Noeri’s memories. Protagman manages to get through to her and fixes the issue. Relative routes in VN’s give me the creeps. But that seems to have been the intention here. 5/10.

Ame: The island AI. Protagman can’t find anyone to do the pageant, so he asks Ame to do it since she put him into this mess. She agrees. Ame’s goal as an AI is to keep everyone on the island happy. She can also see happiness levels, but at least she has a reason. After the pageant she becomes concerned with what “true happiness” is. She asks around but doesn’t get the answers that she’d like. One student suggests it is love. Ame doesn’t fully understand love and asks Protagman. He gives her the textbook definition but that doesn’t help. Himari and Noeri suggest she go on dates to learn about it firsthand. They nominate Protagman, and he agrees despite not really wanting to help. He helps the AI learn about love firsthand. But she begins to short circuit and disappear whenever her emotions become too out of the norm. This happens frequently enough that Protagman talks to her creator. The creator tells Protag that the system wasn’t made for extreme shifts in emotion. That Ame had fallen for him despite being an AI. Ame and Protag confess to one another and everything seems to be fine. But the short circuiting continues. Until irreparable damage has been done. The creator tells Protag that she has 10 days to live. Before the system permanently shuts down. And unlike the other routes, this doesn’t have a truly happy ending. The Protagman doesn’t suddenly find a solution. He spends her last 10 days with her and she “dies”. Protagman comes to terms with the loss of a loved one yet again. The twist here was that there wasn’t a twist. They done got me good. 8/10.

How Avoidable Are H Scenes: There is a All-Ages steam version and an uncensored MangaGamer version.

Let’s Dub Potential?: Fairly Low. It was pretty good. But I don’t think it would cross over well to the LDP fan base.

Enjoyment Level: 7.5/10 It’s pretty darn fun. Got through with it in maybe 5 days. For a fairly straight-forward romance VN it was pretty enjoyable.

[burgermiester]

Fire Emblem Echoes: Another Hero King (Shadows of Valentia) Impressions

***No Story or Character Spoilers***

I dont speak or read a word of Japanese so I couldnt give my thoughts on the characters or story even if I wanted to.  In addition to missing out on the story and character development I also only scratched the surface of the skill(tech) system as well as the sidequest system.  All of that is enough to make me not want to call this a review; I need to play it in English and do the postgame content to have a complete opinion on the game, but as it stands I still have a lot of thoughts about the game after one complete playthrough. So...here are those thoughts:

Presentation:  I dont think I can praise the presentation highly enough.  Its always been the case with Fire Emblems on the same console that they look slightly better than the one before it, and thats no exception here.  The music, color palate, animations, menus, character and weapon designs are all among the best in the entire franchise.  Even though I couldnt understand the words, it was incredible to play a Fire Emblem game with full voice acting.  It really elevates the experience and I’m very pleased we have finally gotten to that point.  No idea if the localization will have good voice acting to make it work, but what we have heard so far has been great and generally speaking I think the 3DS games have done a good job in the area of localizations so I am not too concerned.  If I have one gripe about the presentation its in the fully animated CG cutscenes.  They still look very nice but the animation is a step down from what we saw in Awakening and Fates.

Gameplay other than combat: Fire Emblem Echoes, like Gaiden, is as different from any other Fire Emblem game as it could possibly be while still having that Fire Emblem feel.  There are a lot of things that work together to make the game feel so unique.  In addition to the world map that was in the original Gaiden and brought back in Sacred Stones and Awakening we also have towns and dungeons.  Now, towns and dungeons were a thing in Gaiden but they were the definition of minimal.  Towns consisted of one or two buildings where you talked to everyone and they either joined the party or warned you of a tough enemy coming up, and once in a while there was a chest as well.  Now towns are 4 or 5 screens with many more npcs to talk to and more items to find, as well as a blacksmith (who in Echoes is a cool buff lady instead of the normal gruff guy in most FE games!) in most of the towns.  It must be said that in the original game you could walk freely around the towns and now they are split up into screens and function more like a visual novel.  Some people are upset by this change, but I personally dont really care either way.  Being able to walk around would be slightly more immersive and the visual novel style is slightly more efficient and makes it easier to not miss any items, and I think both those things are valuable. 

Dungeons, on the other hand, are just a straight upgrade.  In Gaiden you walked down a hall and did a fight, sometimes thats repeated x2 or 3 times.  It got a little more complicated near the end in Celicas route and then again at the end of the game, but not much more complicated.  Now they are actually dungeons with secret passages and breakable objects and treasure and enemies that you can ambush or can ambush you.  All the dungeons have a really great atmosphere and feel unique from one another.  I admittedly dont play a lot of dungeon crawler type games, so I dont have a huge frame of reference here, but to me it felt like it was on the simpler side of dungeon crawlers, but not too simple that it wasnt enjoyable.  Aside from the lost woods which is a maze with a lot of signs that I couldnt read, I liked all of the dungeons in the game, and I expect that I wont have any problems with the lost woods once I can understand them better.  The fights themselves are simple and much easier than what you face in the main battles, so its overall just a fun atmospheric break from the main game where you win some easy fights, collect items, and maybe grab a promotion if anyone is ready. 

Oh, I almost forgot, fatigue is a mechanic in dungeons.  But just barely.  At no point was fatigue ever more than the most extremely minor inconvenience.  I really cant understand why they put it in the game.  It usually only even sets in if you stick around in a dungeon longer than normal to grind, so I assume its meant to penalize grinding, but that doesnt make a ton of sense because 1) dungeons are there for you to grind and 2) its not even a big punishment because its so easy to get around via just leaving the dungeon or using one of the ample foodstuffs to cure it.  So basically, its a bad mechanic that was poorly thought out and executed, but it barely matters so its easy to ignore and forget about.

I dont know what it is about finding weapons in a dungeon or picking it up from a castle you gained access to after a hard battle on the map, but it really makes them feel incredibly precious to me.  That feeling is made even stronger by multiple design elements: first, like Gaiden and Fates before it, weapons are unbreakable, so you can keep using them as long as you want and get more attached. Second, as your characters use the weapons they unlock techniques that they can use if they have those weapons equipped.  Last, forging has been added to the game and it uses a tiered system where you keep upgrading until you reach max level and then can upgrade it to an even better weapon entirely, letting you stay with your weapons throughout the game.  And unlike Fates which added a bunch of drawbacks to the S rank weapons to offset their power and infinite durability, the legendary weapons in Echoes are just great. I think its an amazing system.  I didnt fully understand the rings or shields, though I did use them as well, I got more out of having weapons equipped in general, but rings all have big descriptions as to their effects so I will have more to say when the game releases in English. 

I also didnt get a ton out of the skill system.  Since most skills dont double, I dont think youll be using them much on your mercenaries, pegs, or fast cavaliers, meaning typically worse off units like knights and archers might benefit from it.  I mainly used two skills in my playthrough: A very strong double attack from Alm’s personal weapon and a super accurate attack with Atlas using an iron bow which in conjunction with his massive attack stat meant big chip damage.  Ill have more to say about this later, but I am tentatively pretty excited about this system.

Battles in Echoes: The actual combat in Echoes is significantly different than any other FE game.  Three major things really work together to make that true: Theres no Weapon Triangle, Growths are pretty low across the board, and when you promote you are brought up to the class baseline in stats.  These things in conjunction with each other make it so that classes have a far stronger identity than ever before.  Every class is well suited to fighting certain other classes, and you really dont want to send one of your units up against an enemy type that is good against them.  This means that juggernauting is mostly out of the game as you really need to fight with your whole army to be able to deal with all enemy types.  And thats right, I said the whole army.  There are no deployment limits other than in dungeon battles.  This is a pretty big deal and really makes the gameplay different than other Fire Emblems.  The only other main game with no deployment limits is Genealogy of the Holy War, however in that game I almost always found myself either not fielding a few of the units or fielding them and then they never made it to the fighting because of low movement.  In Echoes, I always wanted to use everyone and they almost all were useful in some small way.  This hugely changes the feel of the game for me.  I know a lot of people were concerned about there being no pair-up and how that would diminish the feeling of bonds between units, but this game gave me a stronger feeling of togetherness between my army than any other FE game prior has done and it wasnt even in a language I understood! It was just the game mechanics working to tell that story.  I always had to keep my army in a tight bunch, both to try and keep them all within their three tile support range and to be close by to attack the enemies who attacked their friends. It feels really great to fight with my whole team, even my armor knights, for the first time. 

Compared to Gaiden: I am already a big fan of Gaiden so inevitably I couldnt help but to compare it with the original while I played.  Some of these things might not even be noticeable for anyone who didnt play Gaiden but they mattered to me and I want to point them out in any case.  First the biggest thing to Gaiden fans: all the buffing and nerfing.  Generally, I didnt really notice a lot of the buffs.  Clair and Mae were both a lot better units than previously but otherwise I couldnt tell you off the top of my head who else was improved and how.  Nerfs were a lot more noticeable: Falcoknights and Dread Fighters, while still amazing, are much less impressive than they used to be.  I suppose it makes sense but I cant help but feel disappointed.  Gaiden/Echoes pushes rpg elements and is generally a game that seems to encourage grinding, letting the player have overpowered things at endgame seems like it compliments those design decisions.  Similarly, they nerfed mummies in a major way.  Before they appeared in big groups near the end of both routes for the player to easily grind up the entire party in a very short amount of time if they wanted to do so.  Now they appear randomly, run away from you, and when/if you do get to kill them they barely give any exp unless you are extremely underleveled.  Its a game where grinding could actually be fun but they dont include any way to level up past level 12 or so without it taking a miserably long time.  On the opposite end of things, I really approve of the nerf to warp.  Before you could warp any unit to anywhere on the map and it really lent itself to letting Alm’s half become an Alm solo.  With it now having a much shorter range, its more encouraging to use your entire army and not just Alm, and I think thats a good thing. 

My One Big Fear:  This goes hand in hand with my big complaint from last section, but I think this game might just have the scummiest dlc practice of any Nintendo game.  The original Gaiden gave players easy access to endgame grinding to level up all their units to max very quickly and easily if they so desired.  Echoes changed it so that those enemies now give an insignificant amount of exp and they are selling a new way to grind easily as DLC.  That really sucks.  Theres nothing else to say than cutting something out of a remake and selling it separately is a really really shitty thing to do.  I hope enough people become aware of what they did and protest.  DLC practices have gotten progressively worse since Awakening but this is the worst of the bunch, and I really hope this trend doesnt keep going into the Switch FE era.  I also am very worried about the money in this game.  I did not have nearly enough money to do all the forging that I wanted to do and I am aware that a gold farming dlc is planned.  This would be just as shitty of a practice as with exp if the money situation is as bad as it immediately seems because giving everyone forged weapons would make the game more fun, and that fun is blocked by a paywall.  That being said, I will give them the benefit of the doubt for now because I didnt do many sidequests, and its possible that theres a lot of money to be earned there or elsewhere and I didnt know it.  If in-game gold is actually as rare as it seems and buying a dlc to getit more easily is heavily encouraged then I will be very disappointed.

In conclusion: Theres some seriously troubling aspects of monetization that actually hamper enjoyment of the game, and fatigue and food seem to largely be a waste of time, but that aside Echoes is a fantastic game and a real treat to Gaiden fans and Fire Emblem fans and video game fans in general.  Its all around an enormously fun experience that I know will get even better once I get to play it in English. 

#fire emblem #echoes #fesov #another hero king #fire emblem gameplay spoilers

[geekysweetie]

Atlus Confirms that Catherine Full Body Remix for PS4 and Vita Is Getting an English Release

Atlus has confirmed that their cult classic and fan favorite, Catherine will get a new makeover in 2018 – along with an English release in North America and Europe. Catherine is a visual novel and puzzle game with gorgeous breath taking cel-shaded 3D artwork sprinkled in with some equally gorgeous 2D anime cutscenes.

I reviewed the original release of Catherine here. And as of this write up, the original Catherine is currently the highest rated game on my site. Catherine is not my favorite game of all time, but it does almost EVERY-thing right! It’s hard to find any flaws at all which makes it continuously at the top of my list for the Top 10 Best Games for Girls.

It has some of the best graphics and character designs I’ve ever seen, and that includes even standing up also against newer games that have been released on newer systems and with more technology prowess than the PS3 and Xbox 360.  I still rather play a game that looks like Catherine. Give me more games that look THIS GOOD. Please!!

But not only does it LOOK good, but there is heart and substance to it too! The story, the characters, there’s drama, mystery, suspense, love, romance, comedy. It has it all. The story revolves around Vincent, a young man who currently is in a relationship with a young woman named Katherine – with a K. Katherine is much more emotionally mature than Vincent. Although Vincent does love Katherine very much, her “put a ring on it” ultimatum scares him into the arms of another woman, Catherine – with a C. But Catherine with a C has her own secrets and own agenda as well. Because when it comes to love, nothing is ever that simple. To make matters worse, people have been dying in their sleep, but with looks of horror and terror on their faces, and no one knows why. How is Catherine connected to this, and how can Vincent escape a similar fate?

The gameplay is kinda like a combination of Qbert and Visual Novels where you choose responses to fork the story down different paths, seeing different parts of the story on each new play through, with multiple endings and tons of replay value.

The music score and voice acting were also fantastic.

Gameplay, Story, Characters, Artwork, Replay Value, Fun, what more do you need? – Catherine has it all. I’m so excited about the remake!

Not only is it a remake but it brings a ton of new additions to Catherine as well, including a completely new character with her own story route(s), and how her route(s) will also effect the story branches of the other 2 characters.

That’s not all though, there’s also new online battle modes, and new difficulty settings. — I totally cheated in the first game and played it on the super easy hidden mode – because I was playing it mostly for the story(s) — I wonder if that mode will also exist in the new Catherine as well.

Take a look at the English teaser website.

Atlus Confirms that Catherine Full Body Remix for PS4 and Vita Is Getting an English Release was originally published on GeekySweetie.com - Geeky & Kawaii Anime, Tech, Toys, & Game Reviews & News

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