Sleepless Nights

Little Busters!

2010-06-05T11:56:00.000-07:00

Title - Little Busters!
Author - Key
Style - Multi-path Visual Novel (interactive)
Rating - All-Ages
Trial - Yes
Engine - RealLive (requires JP environment)
Price - 8800 yen (before tax)
Website - Official Website
Get - Himeya Shop, J-List

Note: This game is only in Japanese. This review is based off my readings of it in Japanese while learning Japanese. I have no connection to any translation effort, nor am I skilled enough to attempt one.

Its been a long time since I started Little Busters, I remember receiving the box, starting it up and realizing I needed to get the script out of that little text window and into something a bit more dictionary friendly. A bit of hacking (by other people) and a lot of command line typing (by me) later and I had a folder of text files I could put in a HTML wrapper and use rikaichan to read. That was three years ago. Not wanting to fall behind on other (English) titles I read Little Busters off and on completing a route every once in a while. It would have been easy to give up and say "I've gotten the endings for my favorite girls, I'm done with this" but I heard good things about some unlockable path and I kept pushing. It was worth it.

For summary and character information please see this post on Wakeless Days.

Graphics - Key's art is always a love it or hate it topic, I obviously do like it. Tachi-e character portraits had a lot of variation and detail for emotions, lighting, and posture. Even the protagonist, Riki, had quite a wide variety even though they weren't used except in the rare perspective shift. The retro-sprites for the batting game are quite adorable. Background were carefully crafted and built up the story successfully. Event CGs were lush and well framed but were not exclusively focused on showing off the girls but rather on pushing the story forward. That being said, the CG distribution is a bit uneven. Some scenes were crying for event CGs and just didn't get them while, other scenes could have probably done fine without (not that I mind those). 9.5/10

Music/SFX - The music is fantastic. I use some BGM clips for ringtones and have the CD set on order. There are over forty tracks, including multiple ending vocal songs. Music is of course used to set the mood of the scene but each heroine has her own theme as well. The only track I disliked was Nishizono's theme as it seemed a bit too somber, but that's a minor quibble. The range on the BGM is quite impressive from tracks that are barely music to vocal insert songs and transitions aren't too heavy. I don't know if there is such a thing as a perfect soundtrack but I have yet to see better. 10/10

Voice Acting - The characters that were voiced were portrayed deftly and even though there was some role doubling each character was clearly distinguishable and cast well. However, not all characters were voiced. Key is small but certainly one of the top in its field, one would think they could hire (or double up on roles) to voice a few lines here and there for side characters. Voicing is expensive but since this was a sure-fire hit they ought to have spent the money (but as a sure-fire hit, they felt no need to bother?). That being said, in minigames and scenes with perspective shifts the protagonist was voiced. This was a nice touch, and helps us get a feel for Riki as his character development does impact the story. 9/10

Story - The story can be evaluated in three parts: the trunk/common route, the individual routes, and the Rin/Refrain routes. The trunk is enjoyable enough, lots of humorous scenes and side plots are peppered thoughout as well as minigames. A lot of effort went into writing this section and it shows. The (non-Rin) character routes are some times a bit messy but engaging. The weakest, Kudo's route, was a bit of a trainwreck but certainly not boring.

While these two aspects of the game (the only aspects promised by the box) together make a quite acceptable galge, it is the third part that pushes the boundaries. After clearing the individual routes Rin's character route can be played. After clearing this rather unusual story, a new option is added to the title menu: Refrain. At this point, LB sheds its galge skin and Key tells the story they meant to and with near-flawless execution. This is the strongest part of the game and more than makes up for any flaws in the earlier sections. 9.5/10

System/Extras - Little Busters! uses Visual Arts RealLive engine and runs only on Windows 2000 or newer. Unfortunately it seems to use some sort of DRM that requires the disc to start the game, this is extremely annoying (my only system complaint). Otherwise the game has all the standard features, wrapped in an extra shiny GUI. There are also various minigames (see screenshots above), which I enjoyed greatly but can be disabled if one wishes (they do not affect the plot significantly). In terms of extras there are the standard music and CG modes. 4/5

Overall - Little Busters! is not perfect, especially in the earlier parts. If you just want a dating game there are better choices. However if you let your self become immersed and clear all the normal routes, the world will reveal its secrets. As odd as it sounds, the strongest feeling I have towards LB is that of gratitude. I am grateful to Key for letting me read this story, letting me know these characters. It is a rare work that brings this feeling out of me and I hope you over look its flaws and enjoy it.

Score - 42/45 - 93% - Exceptional

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Note - Ecstasy
There is also an 18+ version of Little Busters! titled: Little Busters! Ecstasy. Besides the obvious addition of erotic content (warning: Key is not known for their ero-writing). This version has 3 new routes (for two side characters and one entirely new character) as well as some script revisions (possibly a new ending for Kudo). I am playing through LBEX now but haven't played any of the new routes yet (instead I am enjoying rereading the original parts). As I said above, the refrain is the strongest part of the game (and surely the same in both parts) so owners of the original surely aren't going to miss too much.

Impressions of Fate/Stay Night

2010-02-13T00:11:00.000-08:00

I am the bone of my review
2D are their bodies and moe is my blood
I have clicked over a thousand choice menus
Unknown to sleep
Nor known to wake
Have withstood carpal tunnel to read many H scenes.
yet those hands will never know a true end

So as I pray
Unlimited Review Works

This will be unsurprising to anyone who recognized what the sentences above are based off but I am not going to add to the pile of comprehensive Fate/Stay Night reviews since they all say about the same thing:

You should play this game now.

Seriously, its fantastic. The game may have its flaws but it paints three distinct and well woven tales of excellent fantasy. To be honest, I am not a fantasy nerd, I prefer soft sci-fi or realistic fiction but F/SN is an example of excellent fantasy writing. To be fair it is set in modern Japan but the story is entirely focused on swords and sorcery.

F/SN also takes advantage of the visual novel format by offering three stories that build on each other. Fate (Saber's route) is a simpler story that introduces you to the Holy Grail War's mechanics. Unlimited Blade Works (Rin) is more complicated and reveals much about characters that I can't put here. Lastly, Heaven's Feel (Sakura) is a complex drama thriller. Beside Ever17, I can't think of another title that demanded to be played all routes in full.

As you can probably tell I can't speak rationally about this title. I love it to pieces. Its the only game I've been playing >_<. If you are going to pick it up do get the PS2 disc to patch in the voices. Yes it adds some cost but the voices are worth it.

I'm also going to attach a list of patches I have applied as the final content is much expanded from what comes on the disc:

English text patch (fairly self explanatory)
Voice Patch (Requires PS2 disc; is part of English patch installer)
Decensor Patch (removes mosaic on H-scenes)
Realta Nua content patch (adds PS2 content, there is talk of integrating this in the EN installer as well)

Explicit Instruction [Digital Manga]

2009-11-04T11:47:00.000-08:00

Title - Explicit Instruction
Author - Kuroi Games
Style - Enhanced Digital Comic (Manga+)
Rating - Not for sale to minors, 18+
Trial - Yes
Engine - Ren'Py
Price - 2.99$
Website - Offical Website
Get - Kuroi (Download) (Can be ordered on a CD if desired)

Explicit Instruction is hard to rate because it basically makes a genre of its own. Digital comic distribution is something many have tried; from Tokyopop's attempts to pull anime fans in with music and limited animation to simple e-books packaged as iPod apps or released on the Kindle (but with no color). Kuroi is the first I've seen that sells a standalone computer application (made from the well supported multi-system Ren'Py engine) This is likely the best way to go for small press adult material which cannot make it into stores or the more famous digital distribution channels.

Enough on the format, as for the work itself, it's a spinoff of Explicit Proposal, Kuroi's debut work. I reviewed Explicit Proposal here . Like its predecessor, EI is a short sex-focused story.

Graphics - For better or for worse, the art is absolutely put-on-a-coffee-mug adorable (This does NOT mean they look lolicon!). The disadvantage of this style is that it is a bit awkward for some of the more explicit pages. I highly recommend the trial version to anyone considering purchase. While only the first few pages are colored (following the traditions of manga) the color work is well done with pastels and same detail and style carries over in to grey work. The line work needs a bit of polishing for consistency and smoothness but I have no particular complaints. Background art is smooth and matches well (I didn't notice it was a different artist until viewing the credits.) 8/10

Sound/Voice - Since this is a manga, and therefore fairly short, music plays a much lesser role than in a game. (and no role in page mode). Voice is the primary auditory component of EI, every line is voiced, and the recording quality is good. The voice actors are convincing and quickly set the tone both our characters. Music is standard Creative Commons fare, certainly appropriate and well written but has that vague feeling you probably heard is somewhere else. Page sound effects are a nice touch in page mode. 7/10

Story - While not completely implausible to reader's not familiar with Explicit Proposal, EI is a direct spin-off and references the preceding title. While EP was not "serious" in premise, the characters acted in a serious manner. EI is much more humorous. Mika's absolute adoration of Rei is charming and Rei's willingness to exploit it gets us straight into the action. Mika seems to go along with this all surprisingly easily. Much like the original this is the sort of title I would pick up when stressed or pissed because it is pure entertainment for entertainment's purpose. No moral queries or long monologues to click though in hopes of getting a panty shot some time next week; EI is like candy corn: not illustrious but cheap, tasty and bite-sized. 8/10

System/Extras - If Explicit Proposal was a manga book, Explicit Instruction is a doujinshi/fan comic with the added benefit of sound. The length (20 pages) and price are the same as comic book singles. There are two mode of play, Frame Mode which uses panel by panel zoom and pans and Page Mode which lets the user scroll around each page freely. Sadly one cannot zoom in and out of page mode. Oddly, (since English reads left to right) the pages were made in a right to left orientation. This seems to be a common quirk among OEL manga artists (and preferred by some readers) so I won't debate the merits here. This only becomes a usability issue in page mode because buttons are orientated so one clicks on the right button to advance to the next page (which in a book would be to the left hand side). Luckily a flipped option was added to Page Mode though it would be ideal to have the buttons move as necessary between the two modes. Cute menus with lots of extra art but no standalone extras. 4/5

Overall - The price point makes this a worthwhile purchase for anyone who enjoyed Explicit Proposal but I highly recommend playing that work first. If you were interested in EP but turned off by the art style give EI a try. A low-risk price for an experimental format, there isn't much to lose.

Score - 27/35 - 77% - Average

I altered review format to put less emphasis on sound (therefore more on story/visual) since this is marketed to the manga crowd.

Thanks to Kuroi Games for providing a review copy!

YinYang! : X-Change Alternative

2009-10-18T13:20:00.000-07:00

Title - YinYang! : X-Change Alternative
Author - Crowd/Peach Princess
Style - Multi-path Visual Novel (interactive)
Rating - Not for sale to minors, 18+
Trial - No
Engine - Proprietary Engine by Crowd
Price - 30$
Website - Crowd Website (Japanese)
Get - J-List, Peach Princess, RightStuf

EDIT: Somehow I forgot to put a intro paragraph on this review, sorry folks. Here is goes:

X-Change is a quite popular and somewhat infamous series of eroge (emphasis on the erotic part). As one might suspect the name comes from the common feature that the main character changes into a female (XX chromosomes, hence the name). That means that delicious red headed girl is actually that (equally delicious) red-headed guy. Since YinYang is a fresh take on the X-Change series I decided to give it a shot.

Graphics - The art is bright and clean. In particular, the male characters which are usually neglected get distinct, eye-pleasing designs that could just as easily be in a otome title. Tachi-e (character art) are of the same quality as event CG. Lots of variations for emotion and dress (or lack of). Scene specific variations like male Kaoru in the female uniform are included so the tachi-e match with the story. The vast majority of Event CG are H. Anatomy looks a bit strange in some shots but certainly passable and consistent. Some event CG are reused but the staggering amount of CG makes up for this (128 with variations). CG reuse aside, the art is pleasant and varied. 9.5/10

Music/SFX - There is really not much to say here as the background music is pleasant but simply average. Its not bad by any means, its just forgettable. Luckily, there are 22 tracks so at least the reader doesn't get bored too often. Sound effects don't stand out very much either (but I generally consider that a good thing). The two vocal songs (opening and ending) are both very good. I highly recommend picking up the OP mp3 from Crowd's website, its such a fun, happy, song and fits the game very well. 8/10

Voice - While the voice acting is nothing ground breaking it is certainly a valuable part of the work. Unlike many works (especially in the realm of yaruge) the males are not only voiced but done with care. It has often annoyed me how eroge makers would not bother with voices for side characters or the entire male cast (the protagonist is a different debate). Even relatively high budget titles seem to have this problem. Refreshingly, YinYang shows great attention to the male voices as well as the female one's. 8.5/10

Story - I will note here I have not played the X-Change series that inspired YinYang (I likely won't as I hear it has a whinier protagonist). YinYang makes no pretenses, its goal is to have as many sex scenes in as possible while still keeping a comedic tone, all rolled around easy to follow plot. It does so well. There are 6 major characters with 1-3 endings each (12 total endings). Many routes are split by if Kaoru stays female or not but this is not the only factor. Though I've mentioned this above, since Kaoru lives with men, sleeps with men and fights with men it is nice to see them presented as individuals. Tohya's and Renji's routes are very different even though they both could have been played as "childhood friend" generics. I am slightly disappointed in the lack of Sengoku or doctor routes but the game has 12 endings already. You would be hard pressed to find a better yaruge in terms of story. 9.5/10

System/Extras - This game uses a proprietary engine for Windows (but works on WINE pretty well). Much of the most heavily used interface is integrated into the reading window such as save/load, skip, and, backlog controls (including voice replay). Options are also accessed this was and load in a separate standard window. The usual CG and Music modes are present, the music mode is particularly well structured and has information on when each song is used. As is common in more sex-focused games a "memory" mode is also included. This mode is especially nice as it has thumbnails, titles for each scene, and shows some dialog to make finding the desired event easier. 5/5

Select dual core systems may occasionally crash but this can be prevented by setting xca.exe to only use Core 0 in Task Manager (I only had to do this once). I'm not dinging the title for this as it was made before dual core processors were common.

Overall - Despite some flaws, Yin-Yang has earned it's self a spot as one of the top yaruge (sex-focused games) on the market.

Score - 40.5/45 - 90%- Exceptional

ONE : To the Shining Season

2009-05-11T18:35:00.000-07:00

Title - ONE ~Kagayaku Kisetsu e~
Author - Tactics/Nexton
Style - Multi-path Visual Novel (interactive)
Rating - Not for sale to minors, 18+
Trial - No
Engine - Proprietary Engine by Nexton (System localization required for installation)
Price - 7,140 yen
Website - http://akane.is.moelicious.be/ (English Version)
Get - Himeya's Erogeshop (18+)

ONE is notable in the visual novel community as one of the pioneers of naki-ge (crying games) and because it's staff went off to form a little studio called Key. Recently, a translation has become available in English for the full voice version.

Recent to when I started this review anyhow. This game isn't easy to score. One part of me says its a fabulous work while the other thinks its firmly "average". I've given up on this review so many times but here it goes.

Graphics - This game was released in 1998 and it shows. This personally does not bother me (I kinda like it) but the other effect of age is that the files simply are not of that high quality. Some of the art seems pixelated even in Windowed mode but the resolution (640x480) is fine considering its age (640x480 is unreasonable for modern games, Clannad!). Without regard to age, the overall feel is unpolished and it would be easy to mistake ONE as a doujin product. Itaru's style has always been very much a love or hate issue among fans and ONE shows why. Despite all this, the character designs are superb and the CG framing is solid. H-CG in particular are surprisingly tasteful. 8/10

Music/SFX - The music is one of the stronger points of ONE. Featuring Key's famed Shinji Orito, its no surprise the soundtrack for ONE is close to excellent. Over 20 pieces of music are used to great effect especially in dramatic scenes. SFX are well done but nothing more than standard stuff. 9/10

Voice - The first line still sticks in my mind "永遠はあるよ”. The voice acting reaches near perfection at some of the eternity scenes. The weakest part (as it almost always is) is the H-scenes. Everything else is well done and quite enjoyable but I didn't find my self stopping to listen to every line. As a side note, the voice acting is much newer than the game as it was recorded for the rerelease. 8/10

Story - The story is gripping. The characters are likable, Misaki-sempai deserves credit as one of the best bishoujo of all time. But why couldn't the writers change it up between routes more? The individual routes are sadly very similar, even the route of the "main" girl Nagamori. While this game did define the nagi-ge and certainly envoked tears, the plot follows one formula every time and slowly beats it to death. For maximum enjoyment play one route every month or so. 7/10 (Misaki route: 10/10!)

System/Extras - The system has all the standard features and fairly nice menus. CG mode is by character and a music mode is present. Also, this full voice version has brief interviews with each voice actress (even side characters without tachi-e) but these are in Japanese only of course. I would have liked to have an H-scene menu as is common nowadays. 4/5

Overall - This was a hard game to review. I really do love it much more than the score indicates but for the price the story really needed to be more diverse.

Score - 36/45 - 80% - Good
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Omake - This demo video was released to promote the game.

Note: While screen shots were taken on Mac OSX (out of laziness) the game freezes on WINE when the music changes. ONE is only confirmed to run under a true Windows environment at this time.

True Remembrance

2009-03-22T18:15:00.000-07:00

Title - True Remembrance
Author - Shiba Satomi
Style - Linear Visual Novel (non-interactive)
Engine - KrKr2/KAG3
Price - Free
Website - English Site
Get - Web Download -
http://trueremembrance.insani.org/get.html

Graphics - The background is the first thing you see, a beautiful background image. It looks like a photo. The other backgrounds used in this game are similar in style. They stay consistent through the story, and are not hard to look at. The backgrounds have a lot of subtle detail that fill the screen nicely. Following shortly is an event CG. These CGs are usually simpler, with simple details and defined figures. The CGs are appropriately colored, for example a bright CG for a happy event. The character tachi-e are for the most part consistent with the CG art, and each character has a nice variety of poses. The tachi-e are simple and seem to focus more on conveying emotion than looking pretty. There are also little particle effects (snow) that show up once in a while that add a little extra detail to the scene. 9/10

Music/SFX - The music is nicely varied. The menu theme is immediately catchy and memorable. The other songs as just as catchy, setting a good mood for the story. There were maybe four or five different tracks. Each song was simple and effective. They didn't distract from the game. Sound effects on the other hand were mediocre. The sounds were unrealistic and low quality. They were placed accordingly in the story and didn't disrupt too much. There weren't too many sound effects, but for the most part they didn't feel necessary. 7/10

Story - The story is long, intricate, and very immersive. Each story element is introduced slowly but clearly, making it easy to pick up on the subtle details. The main characters are developed very thoughtfully and thoroughly, making them quite realistic. There are also many minor characters, and while for the most part they were important to the plot, some only show up for a very short period and could have possibly been merged into one character with the same effect. 9/10

System/Extras - There is a CG gallery, the standard save/load functions, and the option to view the opening movie. The opening movie features a vocal song, which is unusual for a small production. Unfortunately, there is no option to listen to the songs. 4/5

Overall - The story was interesting and original. The art was effective and pretty in its own way. The music was nice and varied. Overall, this is a game I would definitely recommend.

Score - 29/35 - 83% - Good

Princess Waltz

2009-01-17T19:56:00.000-08:00

This review was produced for visual-novels.net and can be viewed here. A review copy was generously provided by Peach Princess.

Title - Princess Waltz
Author - PULLTOP
Style - Linear Visual Novel (interactive)
Trial - Japanese Only
Engine - Proprietary Engine (fully adapted for US environment)
Price - 39.95$ Boxed or Download
Website - English Site Japanese Site
Get - Store List Please note download edition is only available through Peach Princess/J-List.

To be honest, when I first heard of this title I paid little attention to it, most of the titles the Payne zaibatsu (J-List, G-Collections, Peach Princess, and Jast USA) produces fall into small inaccessible niches. While enjoyable, such games often provoke negative reactions from those unfamiliar with the genre and outside their target audience. Princess Waltz is not one of those niche titles.

Graphics - The visuals for Princess Waltz are stunning. Lines are crisp and colors are bright bringing a light-hearted tone to the game. Each character has numerous standing dolls (tachi-e) and full body variation convey emotion better than a slope of an eyebrow/twitch of a lip ever could. Most impressively is the large amount of animation/visual effects. It is very rare to click through a scene with out movement, be it a change in posture, zooming in or out of an image or even the quick movements of battle; the screen is always changing. These are not full motion animations, but simple tweens that add a great bit to the game. Unlike some games (from larger studios!), a large number of side characters have multiple sprites. This goes a great way to compensate for the static nature of visual novels and makes Princess Waltz an excellent game for newer players.

Backgrounds are clean and well drawn but nothing outstanding. Event CG however are well done. Many non-ero CG are included, especially for battles and dramatic moments. Another drawback from it's birth as a lower budget title is that detail is slightly higher on the event CG than on the sprites. This did not bother me as the change is more subtle than in other titles such as Ever 17; most importantly I would rather have some CG with extra detail than to have detail left out for consistency. HCG average at three per scene (with variations) with one scene per character (one exception). The angles aren't too ridiculous but the usual HCG oddities still apply, Arata turns invisible (except his dick) in some of the scenes. Fortunately or not, every issue I have noted is standard industry practice. Princess Waltz is truely a pleasure to look at. 10/10

Music/SFX - The music for Princess Waltz is pleasant and, possibly more importantly, quite fitting to each scene. Track length varies from under half a second to over four minutes and sound effects are when expected. Sounds are panned to create a richer effect, and some tracks are fantastic... 疾走無限 and 雨の旋律. Notice, these tracks are named in Japanese.... the included pre-tagged soundtrack has Japanese titles while the in game music mode has translations, this may be a bothersome for someone with no Japanese knowledge but retagging isn't too difficult as the order appears to be the same (tagging can be done with iTunes or any other music management software worth it's salt).

The sound effects are excellent and bring the battle sequences to life. Different attacks have different sounds and a SFX loop is used for metal on metal combat, a nice touch to keep the battles from becoming too calm between special moves. Luckily, no intrusive sound effects are used for adult scenes. 8.5/10

Voice Acting - Voice acting has no major flaws. Characters are consistent and every one except Arata is voiced. Princess Waltz actually would have benefited (more than the average game) from voicing Arata because he has a defined appearance and identity anyhow. One common complaint with the game is that the voice actors for characters with multiple identities make the relation too obvious. I however do not fault PULLTOP for this because they never seemed to care about hiding multiple identities: one look at the Graphic page will, for better or for worse, give away most or all (depending on how close you look) of the "secret identities" the princesses use. Voice acting for erotic scenes in particular is a notch above average because the lines and acting are toned down, providing a more realistic experience. 9/10

Story - The fact that the story is essentially linear (one endings with slight variations) will make this game lose many sales. This is really a shame because the story is quite good. The plotting and style is very similar to anime and would be an excellent introduction to the visual novel genre because of it. While the character development isn't lacking, certain heroines fall short during their individual chapters. Oddly, some of the side characters posses impressive depth and are quite entertaining. Like many visual novels the story starts in a school but that school scenes become fewer and fewer as the story progresses and refocuses on the fantasy plot. Quick twists and turns ensure constant entertainment.

The "choose-a-girl" style of the 2nd half is clearly the weakest point of the game. Despite that, it accomplishes two things: firstly it supplies the game with a diverse amount of erotic content and secondly it provides Arata a partner without completely supplanting the true heroine. Since the second partner is user-decided the game can unforgiving refocus on the main girl when it needs to. Unfortunately, in order to please fans, the ending is romantically ambiguous. While many bishoujo gamers feel the need to clear a game in a weekend, this game would be better enjoyed with time between the routes so one can better enjoy the individual merits of each girl than the pressure to skip through the same ending text again. Make no mistake, Princess Waltz aims to be a fantasy story not a dating-sim and it does an admirable job. 8.5/10

System/Gameplay (Battle) - The battle system is very accessible but not too simplistic. A slew of help files in battle mode explain as much of the system as you could want to know and an easy mode exists for those who just want to get on with the story. The graphics and sounds are in lines with the rest of the game. Many have complained that the AI is predictable but I found it comfortably challenging. 8/10

System/Extras - The system is very polished with the menus and text box themed to match the battle system, the text box frame also sports a quick access bar with all the major buttons. The biggest issue with the system is the courier font used for game text. It contrasts badly with the clean lines of the art and menus. After a couple chapters of the game it becomes unnoticeable but for the concerned the font can be changed by editing the Windows registry (see below). Extras include the usual Scene, CG, and Music modes (curiously one button in the music mode is untranslated but it's function is clear). As a bonus to the English edition (as if being half the price wasn't enough), Peach Princess included the aforementioned pre-tagged soundtrack in MP3 format with an average size of 3.4MB a song (bigger file size indicates higher quality). 4.5/5

Overall - This is a very difficult game to define, it has more akin to an fantasy anime than it does to the average visual novel. For the most part, the game is balances these two aspects well and is sure to please both new and seasoned visual novel fans. The linear nature will discourage many from trying Princess Waltz and that is a shame, they are missing out on one of the most enjoyable (if not deep) visual novels in English.

Score - 48.5/55 - 88% - Good

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How to Change the Font
In the Windows registry access HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Will\princesswaltz_us and just change the FontName Value to a font you prefer. Please remember that tweaking the registry can damage Windows, this particular tag is obviously for PW (not Windows itself) but don't change values you do not understand. I only have a theoretical knowledge of the almighty registry (have never needed to tweak it) and have not tried this myself.

Blogginess - Merry Christmas from Sleepless Nights!

2008-12-25T10:49:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from us both! (Drawing by Jon :3)

LEAVEs

2008-12-10T18:42:00.000-08:00

Like phoenix, the final review is here! al|together 2008 round 6/6!

Title - LEAVEs
Author - bekko.net
Style - Linear Visual Novel (non-interactive)
Rating - 18+
Engine - ONScripter
Price - Free
Get - Web Download - http://altogether.insani.org/2008/6.html

A piece similar in style to Yume Miru Kusuri (V-N.net review 1, 2) and certainly a shining star among free visual novels. Also notable as the first 18+ al|together release.

Graphics - The graphics are impressive for a free game. Quite a few event CGs are used, both H and not. The character art is consistent and detailed. The backgrounds hint at the games free status as they are stock photographs with a cutout-style filter. This filter works quite well with the drawn backgrounds used for event CG. Most of the CG are well framed, except the H-CG but I think that of most eroge (the exceedingly common "invisible manhood" comes in to play here). The creators commentary says this is the artists first visual novel and is a quite impressive first try. Another common complaint of mine is not showing the protagonists eyes, again here they are not shown (but are referenced). While I understand the idea that it is to help the reader fill his footsteps, in a case like this where the character is developed as an atypical persona a face would be beneficial. These are minor qualms found in most of the genre and should not prevent one from trying this game. 9/10

Music/SFX - The music may be stock (nothing inherently wrong with this) but it fits the game quite well. Sound effects are fine and used when needed but the volume control button doesn't seem to do anything for me (could be a simple error in the download/extraction). I wouldn't consider this very detrimental as I have not tried to press it except for the sake of this review; the initial levels are balanced so I have only needed to adjust system volume (the buttons on the task tray/keyboard). While everything is well chosen there is nothing outstanding about the music, but nothing out of place either. 8/10

Story - The story is not for everyone due to adult content of every sense. Drugs, sex, violence; this game has it all. However, this is no grand theft auto, nothing is glorified. LEAVEs is gritty and true to life. I said earlier this game is similar to YMK but that is not entirely fair. Being a linear piece, LEAVEs defies any expectations one may have of a "dating simulation" (as this genre is often called). This is a romantic story, but it is most certainly NOT a date-sim. The story is quick-paced with many twists along the way; most of them are turns for the worst. For those who prefer to control-skip through H-scenes, please don't: the sexual content is crucial to the story. My only complaints would be that some parts were a bit difficult to follow and that the style used for the epilogue was very awkward and I feel a different method of emphasis would work better. However I do not know what effect the translator was trying to recreate as I have not played the original; as such I am unsure which side is to fault. 9/10

System/Extras - The system is ONScripter, with the usual Windows and Mac builds. Using a pre-existing Linux build may be tricky because the secondary-click menu is customized, but source code is available under the GPL from the Insani page listed above. A multitude of options are included in the secondary-click menu, the interface is very polished. Extras include a CG mode and creator commentary hidden in that mode (CGs : (row, colum) 3,4 1,2 and 2,4) I have had a few non-crucial bugs with the system, the volume control panel will not load and I froze the entire game once (both of these only happened during reviewing not during game play.) No jukebox mode is included (possibily because of music licensing restrictions but this is completely my own conjecture). 4/5

Overall - This is an outstanding work despite minor flaws. If you have time to invest, LEAVEs won't dissapoint.

Score - 30/35 - 86% - Good

Thank you for following my AT2008 updates! I have a couple commercial games to review before Extended Phase so please check back often!

Blogginess - sorry this ones gonna be later than the rest

2008-12-03T22:26:00.000-08:00

LEAVEs review en short :" its coming later but I reccomend you just go play it"

Kay, since my schedule for AT games is "get it out before the next game comes out" I'm not late >:D Until extended phase but I'll have it before then.

But yeah my piracy project is morphing in ways I don't understand so I am dead tired of multimedia right now. Somehow my innocently lazy idea to use Leopard's text2speech system to voice narration became a full out musical with all our favorite OS X voices. I'll be sure to post it when I'm done in my other blog. Even though I don't have to record any real sound, making those stupid voices sing evenly is harder than one thinks.

But May Sky is done at least and will be up any moment now on V-N.net. Oh and I have to study for a huge test this weekend XP

May Sky

2008-12-02T13:13:00.000-08:00

Almost done! al|together 2008 round 5/6!

Title - May Sky
Author - Scrubbing
Style - Linear Visual Novel (interactive)
Engine - ONScripter
Price - Free
Get - Web Download - http://altogether.insani.org/2008/5.html

Originally released by chapter in Flash, this story is that of a young man and a teenage girl who, though not friends, develop trust in one another.

Graphics - The artwork is remarkably polished and lively. Many of the event CG are well framed and colored to the level of a professional work. The backgrounds are filtered photographs both stock and taken by the circle. For event CG the backgrounds are drawn but they stay consistent with the photographs. 9/10

Music/SFX - The music primarily piano and it is very pleasant. Since much of the story revolves around a piano player it is well fit and many tracks are used. Unfortunately neither it nor the sound effects match the text. We hear piano long before and long after the protagonist does. In the festival scene music is mentioned but we do not hear it at all. The sound effects are often short loops such as rain, the sounds of a festival, or a train but they are much to short and don't match the descriptions. One most noticeable part where the narrator states "I could hear nothing but the rain" we cannot even hear the rain... the loop was called to stop a couple lines before. These problems with loops and descriptions pull down the auditory aspect of the work 7/10

Story - The story is touching but it is exceedingly familiar. While May Sky has excellent characterization, the story is slow for the first several chapters. The side-story intermission was much more entertaining than the two chapters that came before it. Fortunately chapters 4 and 5 make up for the first two. Unfortunately the epilogue, chapter 6 is more repetitive than insightful. I suggest one plays this chapter by chapter over a long while rather than all at once because I quickly grew weary of their antics. 7/10

System - The system is the standard ONScripter with an adv style interface (see screen shots above). Their are no text speed adjustments sadly and the text was too slow for my liking. To compensate however Music and CG modes are included as well as an extra story. 5/5

Overall - A decent game but plagued by small discrepancies and slow pacing. Still, May Sky is a respectable work and a fun diversion.

Score - 28/35 - 80% - Good

Moonshine

2008-11-30T21:29:00.000-08:00

Let's keep chugging along! al|together 2008 round 4/6!

Title - Moonshine
Author - Sakura Mint
Style - Linear Visual Novel (non-interactive)
Engine - ONScripter
Price - Free
Get - Web Download - http://altogether.insani.org/2008/4.html

A touching bittersweet story of tolerance and the transience of even the most important parts of our lives.

Graphics - The character artwork is simply beautiful and the pale delicate colors match the heroine. The background are nothing exceptional but they are certainly not bad. Most fit perfectly in the work and the use of cherry blossoms to enforce the pieces themes is brilliant. Only Mai receives any character artwork as she is the main focus but I would have liked to have seen the protagonist's sister. 9/10

Music/SFX - The music is also exceptional. The authors produced a vocal song for this game and it is a beautiful piece. The rest of the music is from various sources and quite a few tracks are used : 17 in total. Six different groups have music featured in the piece including an artist I have mentioned on my non-review blog : SAM . The authors also assigned "image titles" to generically named tracks to shed light on how it was used. Sound effects fit in perfectly as well and a detailed volume pane is supplied to adjust the levels to one's individual liking. 10/10

Voice Acting - Yes, this free software is voiced! Certainly a welcome addition to any game the voice acting is well executed and has minimal recording issues. The actress was well chosen and seemed to have a true grasp on her part. The VA is partial however, as side characters and the protagonist are not voiced. The singing was also integrated into the voice acting and worked very well. 9/10

Story - The story for Moonshine is very typical and fairly predictable but in this case that is not a bad thing. Mai is immediately entrancing and I long to know more of her story but that is not the story the authors chose to tell and I do not fault that choice for the one they told is much more unique. Moonshine is a simple story but it will stay with you. As a warning (because I've been trained to do so*) this game does grapple with the idea of trans-sexuality. I applaud the author for this but I know it is not everyone's cup of tea. This is not your typical discrimination story though, it is about much more. 10/10

System/Extras - This game uses ONScripter, meaning it is available for both Windows and Mac with a high chance of working on Linux (if supplied with a binary). This is a specialized build and the effort shines. As previously mentioned, there is a volume pane for sound but two other option panes are available as well. All normal ONScripter features are in place but with a jazzed up GUI including a small menu at the bottom of the screen. The extras include the standard jukebox and CG viewing mode. I have not mentioned this in my other reviews but Insani also supplies a wealth of essays about the al|together 2008 projects and the writings for this project are particularly insightful. 5/5

Overall - A great peice that no doubt will offend some for some unfathomable reason. Then again, that is more reason to read it. I finished the piece in less than two hours and do not regret a second of it.

Score - 43/45 - 96% - Exceptional

*I mean no offense to anyone by this and I certainly could care less if someone was offended by this work. But some parents think anime rooms are babysitting services (until they walk in during FAKE) so I've been trained to warn for almost anything. Honestly, if transsexuals are distasteful to you that's more reason to read this.

The Letter

2008-11-29T22:22:00.000-08:00

We're halfway there! al|together 2008 round 3/6!

Title - The Letter
Author - P.o.l.c
Style - Linear Visual Novel (interactive)
Engine - ONScripter
Price - Free
Get - Web Download - http://altogether.insani.org/2008/3.html

Sometimes you stumble upon a game that from the start strives to be more than a diversion, a way to spend an evening. This is one of those titles. A story about family, memories and all that lies ahead.

Graphics - Nothing special here. The backgrounds are all stock photograhs with filters and there is no character art. The art for the extras screens (not the menu) is nice but that doesn't count for much. 7/10
Music/SFX - The music is stock but it was chosen well with one glaring exception. The song "Boss Battle 03" (as the name might suggest) is much to action themed to fit the story. The intent is there but its too much (that scene as a whole I felt was somewhat unnecessary). My first thought is "where did I hear this before?" I'm still not sure where, but some variant of the underlying beat was used in another game (possibly the Boss Battle 01 or 02 tracks?). This is one danger of stock music as this track is awkward at best and distracting at worst. The other songs fit very well, I particularly enjoyed "Wherever She Goes" and "My Dear" as they fit the introspective mood quite well. Transitions were sometimes abrupt though not unreasonably, and sound effects were properly implemented. The rain in particular stood out as there was both an outside and an inside version. 7.5/10

Story - The story develops slowly and the writing is almost poetic. While we are not given great amounts of background information, the interaction with Takahiro's family is easy to follow but not diluted. The writing is very delicate and authentic, I frequently found myself drawing connections to my own family life. My only significant complaint is the scene where "Boss Battle 03" plays, it felt unnecessary and over dramatic as the result of his "struggle" was likely already known to the reader. 9.5/10

System - This is an ONScripter release for Windows and Mac OS X. As usual no errors or problems; the author's note suggest that he chose this platform (Nscripter) due to complaints about the original release. The extras included are a jukebox mode and the aforementioned author's note. Obviously, a gallery is not needed as only backgrounds are used. 5/5

Overall - A touching story with a good score. Al|togther titles often show that games can be much more than fantastical diversions and this title is an excellent representive of the depth in storytelling that can be achieved.

Score - 29/35 - 83% - Good

Crimsoness

2008-11-28T20:58:00.001-08:00

Can't give up now! al|togther 2008 2/6~!

Title - Crimsoness
Author - Porn
Style - Multi-path Visual Novel (interactive)
Engine - Proprietary
Price - Free
Get - Web Download - http://altogether.insani.org/2008/2.html

OMGWTFOTL's angst-y sister... Prepare to genuflect!

Graphics - Monochrome MS Paint drawings. Yeeep, the art style is simplistic and focuses on red, the color of rage and a natural fit with the story. The scheme lends to a very raw, angry feel especially since the entire game features a jittery effect. I don't think any other style would have worked as well. The translation team also went to great lengths to make localized text and graphics fit in with the game. 10/10

Music/SFX - There are two tracks of music, the title track and the in game track. I really do like both, the dramatic in-game track and the somewhat wistful piano opener. Because of the TIMER in the corner of the game, I had not noticed the loop and had to replay the game just to check the track count. Maybe a track for the true end would have been nice. 8/10

Story - Maybe, OMGWTFOTL was too zany for you? But the luxurious pacing of school sims makes you cry? This game strikes a happy medium. Never a dull moment but there is (some) reason in the flow and the protagonist's actions.While the timer makes it tempting to speed through without reading... it is worth it. The writing is polished and makes you keep at those many, many, replays it will take to get to the end. Even Itoko's rambling monologue keeps its self fresh. 10/10

System/Extras - This game runs on Windows only, however this is justified by the intense level of specialization used in the system. From the rage bar to the jitters to the font color and style, the system is carefully molded to the style of the art and the story. No extras but the system doesn't lend it's self to such, no event CG to collect and the music is easy to reach to replay if you desire. 5/5

Overall - This is a great piece though it is very difficult to clear. (If you are truely stuck I can email you some pointers.) The amount of thought and effort in this seemingly short and simple piece is amazing.

Score - 33/35 - 94% - Exceptional

From the Bottom of the Heart

2008-11-27T21:13:00.000-08:00

The Sleepless Nights team is aiming for timely reviews of all al|together 2008 releases this year. Lets get this party started! This is round 1/6.

Title - From the Bottom of the Heart
Author - Persian Blue
Style - Linear Visual Novel (non-interactive)
Engine - ONScripter
Price - Free
Get - Web Download -
http://altogether.insani.org/2008/1.html

This is the first work of al|together 2008. A bit of an appetizer, short but sweet.
Graphics - This game is approximately five minutes long. There are two standing dolls in the work, both well detailed and polished. All of the backgrounds are grayscale stock images with one exception used for artistic effect. A CG for his flashback or a few more variations on the standing CG would be nice but ultimately are not needed. 8/10

Music/SFX - The music comprises of classical pieces mostly piano. No sound effects are present and none are needed. The loops were each very short but the transistions were well timed Unfortunately, the sound transitions were rather abrupt . 9/10

Story - The story is very original and well-written. It has that melancholy charm to it that is reminiscent of Makoto Shinkai (think Voices of a Distant Star and 5 centimeters per second). The prologue was nice and set the scene well, but the overall story was extremely short and could have used a better paced lead in to the main plot. Still a very sweet and short love story, well worth the 5 minutes. 9/10

System/Extras - This is an ONScripter release with offical builds for Windows and Mac OS X (I suspect there is no offical "Linux" build because of the varying nature of Linux). Both versions run quickly and cleanly. Since the game comprised of a few short music loops and no event CGs, no extras modes are supplied or really needed. 4/5

Overall - It's five minutes long, Vista can take that long to boot up. You probably spend twice that on YouTube every day; What do you have to lose?

Score - 30/35 - 86% -Good

Explicit Proposal (Updated Version)

2008-10-26T17:06:00.000-07:00

This review was produced for visual-novels.net and can be viewed here.Review copies of both editions were provided by Kuroi Games.

Title - Explicit Proposal
Author - Kuroi Games
Style - Linear Visual Novel (non-interactive)
Rating - Not for sale to minors, 18+
Trial - Yes
Engine - Ren'Py (DRM status uncertain)
Price - 10 USD (1995 yen for censored Windows version)
Website - http://kuroigames.com (18+)
Get - http://kuroi.jascii.org/EP/EPBuy.shtml (18+)

This is Kuroi Games first release, they are an independent American visual novel company. This is a sex-focused download-able visual novel.

Graphics - This game uses only 3D models. Every image is an event CG, though only sex scenes are animated. Not everyone will like this style as it tiptoes into the uncanny valley but I enjoyed it more than the typical 3D models I see. One advantage given by models is that characters stayed physically consistent between scenes. The addition of animation really sparked up the "important parts". 8/10

Music/SFX - Unlike the initial release, this re-release has a soundtrack. While it is nothing complex, it accurately reflects the mood of the scenes and is unobtrusive. Several pieces are used and I did not tire of any. There are still no sound effects (which is slightly awkward if you have been playing squishy Japanese games) but not too detrimental as the music fills the silence. 7/10

Voice Acting - The voices start in Japanese that is clearly that of a non-native speaker. Luckily, Rei leaves Japan quickly (the game takes place in Fiji) and the rest is in fluent English. The voice acting is fine but nothing amazing. The new soundtrack masks most recording deficiencies. 8/10

Story - This is a simple, standard porn story. While uncreative, that is not a bad thing. The reason these stories abound is because they are fun. I enjoyed reading about Rei's plans and didn't just forward to the sex scenes. EP has some witty dialogue and decent sex talk unlike certain yaoi games and writing quality is higher than what I've seen in professional games such as "Come See Me Tonight". The re-release is priced approximately the same as a book of manga and packs quite a bit of entertainment in to that price. 9/10

System/Extras - This game uses Ren'Py and is available for Windows and Macintosh. There are no extras but the game available both censored and not. . Since, the game is so short, a CG gallery would have been somewhat superfluous. 4/5

Overall - Explicit Proposal is a splurge game for when you want a short but decent sex fix without 50 choice menus between the girl and you. The price is very economical as it is about the price of a manga volume (or cheaper in some cases) and you receive much more content.

Score - 36/45 - 80% - Good

-------------------------------------

Note: This review has been updated to reflect a new version released by Kuroi and exclusively for purchase from their website. The version on DLsite is different.

I always giggle at the squishy sounds Japanese games use (If you squish scrambled eggs between your fingers while choking it will sound like a professional eroge) but maybe they add something? Post your comments here.

Blogginess - Anime Reviews

2008-09-21T20:44:00.000-07:00

I have decided to add bishojo game related anime reviews to this blog because of two reasons. 1) there are many bishojo games where the anime adaptation is the only form of media available in English and 2) its better to have more reviews than less ne?

Graphics and sound will be merged for anime reviews because they are much more connected than in visual novels where one can stop to listen to a song or look at a picture. Furthermore let me note I use nothing more than a laptop computer to watch most of my anime so if you want a super technical review, AnimeonDVD is there for you. The fact is most people's setups probably resemble mine.

SHUFFLE! (Anime Version)

2008-09-21T19:23:00.000-07:00

Title - SHUFFLE!
Original Story - Navel
Style - Harem Comedy/Drama
Length - 24 episodes; 600 minutes
R1 licensor - Funimation
Rating - TV-MA
Price - $30 per disc; $40 for volume 6 with ender box and panties

This title surprised me. I like harem comedies. I like naki-ge drama a lot more. Shuffle! has both.

Audio/Visual- The animation team transitioned Navel's excellent art to the TV very well. Character designs are lively and small details minded well. The animation is very smooth and background music is appropriate for every scene but not outstanding. The opening and ending songs are pleasant, I particularly liked the opening song, YOU. Japanese voice actors preformed quite well as to be expected from the experienced cast (Yuko Goto, Tomokazu Sugita, etc.). No complaints from the visual side but nothing amazing either. Alas, this is not the work of Miyazaki or even Shinkai, this is a harem show so it meets all expectations. The last episode seemed to shift style occasionally but it worked well and looked particularly polished. 9/10

Story - Shuffle! exceeded all expectations. Funimation's campaign of "Which girl would you choose?" may have been dumb but you do need to like harem moe stories to enjoy Shuffle! so it is a great fit. Shuffle! is not content to be just a comedy for 6 discs however, and around the midpoint the story takes a darker turn. No it is not realistic, but it is certainly the most entertaining anime I have watched in a long long time. Even when you believe it to be wrapping up, another twist will be thrown at you. Not completely randomly, the production team planned the series well, the twists will be unexpected but fit, explaining some odd comment or camera shot from earlier in the series. Unlike some adaptations of multi-path games Shuffle! does not feel formulaic going through the five girls stories, the pacing is better than any other game adaptation I have seen. 10/10

DVD - (This review refers to the Funimation region 1 NTSC DVDS; other regions discs will vary.) The DVDs are region 1 discs with 4 episodes per disc and run with out a glitch. Neither VHS nor Blu-ray editions are offered. The menu, disc, and box art is all from Navel and is superb. The menus are clean and work well on both set-top players and PC. Advertisements at the beginning of the disc can be skipped. Each disc is well packaged with art from the orginal game on the front, and a landscape layout on the back, incorporating the arrow motif from the logo. The keep cases are clear and a collage is printed on the back of the cover. Each disc comes with a poster. The ender box is especially well designed, the brightness seems adjusted slightly to give the box a very warm look that complements the spine art. I am fond of ender boxes much more than starter because they let you try the first disc out with out committing to a box. (ADVs vol.2 boxes are also excellent in this regard) Funimation out did themselves with the packaging and layout design. 5/5

Overall - Amazing show and considering the niche genre, the region 1 treatment could not be better. If you must, there will probably be a boxset eventually, but I recommend singles if you can still snag the ender box. Will not change your life, but does everything have to be serious?

Score - 24/25 - 96% - Exceptional

-------------------------
Ender Box Bonus : GOD Panties

For some odd reason, the ender box includes a pair of purple panties with the word GOD on them in gold (Sia wears these in disc five). A different bonus would have been preferable (though this beats a mini-pencil board... what do people do with those?) but the price is the same as the usual artbox price. Unlike the normal-looking pair on the box, these are low cut bikini-type (all but a thong) panties with a lace-like trim. Additionally they are a bit small, but if you can fit them (I am fairly petite) they are comfortable. The material chosen was 100% cotton. As a girl, I find this extra a lot more useful that a XL men's T-shirt (which seems to be a popular bundle in for anime) but since Shuffle! is aimed for guys I am a bit confused what they could do with these. Any sugesstions?

Pros - Fancier than any other panties I own, good material, cute.
Cons - Small, they look better on Sia ; what can guys do with these?

Blogginess : Two Requests

2008-09-14T15:34:00.000-07:00

If any of you use Blogger please follow me with the new feature :3

Secondly, Please post comments with the names of games you would like reviewed in the comments section of this post.

Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu. m(_)m

The So-So games sitting on my Hard Drive

2008-07-20T22:38:00.000-07:00

Okay, I have played a lot of doujin-soft games from al|together both years. Some were good. Some were really bad. And some just sit on my hard-drive forgotten and un-reviewed. Those games are these. These all have a niche fan-base I'm sure they just didn't stand out to me personally so I shall talk about them each here. All of these are rated : Average

I Too, Saw Dreams Through Air
Releasing a set of two short works is a novel idea (in more ways than one) but it has been done better. (The World to Reverse) The Caged Vagrant was the stronger of these two stories (despite having to go through the main menu much too much) but both had their boring parts despite having clearly noble goals in story telling. Plumerai took too long to build up to it's point as interesting as a point it tried to be.

Shooting Star Hill
Cute character based love story with a obvious twist but still very average art and story. Left a feeling of "So What?"

io [christmas eve]
Started strong and ended with a punch but the middle was almost painfully slow-paced. The art is really cute, however.

Sumer, Cicadas, and the Girl
First of all this is one of the better in this lot. It is good but... very short with out a feeling of satisfaction when you do get the location correct (this game has a word entry system). The "secret ending" is very cute also. If it had a bit more fleshing out I would rate this one "good" (We are looking at like a 78% here)

FLOOD OF TEARS
This game tried really hard to be a serious visual novel but... the long wind up and simplistic characters just didn't click for me and it seemed dissapointing.

Yeah, someone ought to give these games a proper review especially if they liked one of them. Then link it here :3 I won't review any of these games further but JonFawkes may so you might see theses titles again. Sorry this isn't a real review but I wanna uninstall these already XP True Remembrance will be reviewed soon I promise!

A Happy Valentine

2008-06-15T11:33:00.000-07:00

Title - A Happy Valentine
Author - ZigZag
Style - Linear Visual Novel (non-interactive)
Engine - ONScripter
Price - Free
Get - Web Download -
http://mangasos.com/dejavu/vn/projects-valentine.html

The side story taking place after "40 days and 40 nights of Rain" (review here). It's a special day, and Kyrie is trying to celebrate this special day for Yuu.

Graphics - All of the graphics from the last game (40 days and 40 nights of Rain) were reused for this game, with maybe one new picture. Like the last game, no sprites were used, but full setting images were used instead. In this game, only a few settings were used, mostly the bright ones to give the game a more warm atmosphere. Still full of detail and setting the mood effectively, the graphics are good, but, once again, everything was just recycled for this game. 7/10

Music/SFX - It sounds like the creators reused the music from the last game too. The music is gentle and calm, and doesn't take away from the warm feeling of the story. The music maintains a very gentle atmosphere throughout the game, and doesn't get boring. Sound effects this time, while very scarce and few, were appropriate to the story. The sound effects were placed well, and weren't distracting, while still adding to the feeling of being in the story. No disruptive sound effects this time around. 8/10

Story - The story is extremely short, but also extremely sweet. While it was a little simple and repetitive, it flowed well. The dialogue was a little confusing at points, since it wasn't easy to tell who was talking. The plot is sweet and simple, and the overall story has a solid beginning, middle, and end. Unlike the last game, maybe this story could have been a little longer, but it still satisfies. 9/10

System/Extras - Once again, a very generic game when it comes to the system and the extras. Standard load, save, and backlog that comes with any ONScripter. And, just like the last game, there are no extras to unlock. The art is the same as the last game, so you can find them on the site for the old game here. Not a lot more to talk about in this area. 2/5

Score - 26/35 - 74% - Average

Air Art Works : a brief review

2008-04-27T19:15:00.000-07:00

This is not my usual style of review so bear with me ne? ^^;

I went to the brand new San Diego branch of BookOff, a large chain (in Japan) of used book/CD/DVD/game stores. After leaving a large pile of very old manga with the store attendant (to trade in for cash) I was left to browse around until called. When looking through their shelves of "anime illustrations" I found this rather oddly sized artbook for 15 dollars. The slip case is dirty but the rest is quite fine:

As you can see from the reference stick of gum, the book is quite generously sized. Both the "poster" and slipcase are textured paper. The book (blue) has it's own dust jacket. My white slipcase is rather worn and dirty but that's the cost of buying used.

The layout of the book is equally generous, most CG's take a entire page with rough sketches and variants filling the adjacent page along with brief notes. In addition to the CG sections (2/3rds of the book) there are song lyrics and a "materials" section with backgrounds, tachi-e (paper doll) galleries and the promotional art (and rough sketches for all) as well as a walk through for the dream route. The entire book is full color on glossy paper.

Overall, if you like Key's art or Air you will not be disappointed with this book. An excellent buy if you can find it.

Blogginess - New Blog: Wakeless Days

2008-02-18T18:25:00.000-08:00

For all of you who just can't get enough of me, I have a new rants, thoughts and etc blog called Wakeless Days. Yes it will have visual novel related stuff. In fact there is a post about Nanatsuiro Drops DS up right now.

No, this won't slow my posting here at all :3 Unfortunately it won't speed it up either....

Tea Society of a Witch

2008-02-17T09:56:00.000-08:00

Title - Tea Society of a Witch (魔女のお茶会)
Author - FrontWing
Style - Multi-path Visual Novel (interactive)
Trial - No
Engine - Hirameki Anime-Play (DVD Player Game)
Price - $19.99
Website - http://hirameki-int.com/apdvd/products/teasociety/index.html
Get - Mutio's Store/Amazon (please buy from this as I believe V-N.net gets a cut from it)

Firstly I apologize greatly on how long it has taken me to get off my lazy butt and write this review. This is an all-ages DVD port of FrontWing's 魔女のお茶会 but without the extra character added to the Dreamcast version of the game or even the full original cast. Even so, its quite worth 20$ I think.

Graphics - Very stylized "chibi"-esque character designs for all the "adult" characters. I found the art slightly disturbing/jarring at first but quickly adapted to it. The colors are clean and lively so this depends greatly on personal taste. The backgrounds don't really stand out. Sometimes the game will have a small overlayed 3D scene appeared the resolution compare-able to a Game Boy Advance. Pleasantly, there are a lot of lovely CGs throughout the game not just all concentrated to the endgame. 9/10

Music/SFX - The music is decent but not memorable, same for the vocal songs. There is a vocal song for each ending. Plenty of appropriate sound effects. 8/10

Voice Acting - Everyone but the protagonist is voiced. The voices are appropriate to character but not splendid. 8/10

Story - This is basically a romantic comedy. There is no grand plot connecting all the routes. TSoaW has a very typical dating-sim flow : get to know girl, go on date with girl, fix the girl's problems, confess love to girl, and finally end up going steady with the girl. It's fun, its cute, you'll smile, but don't expect it to move your heart. Unfortunately, two of the endings from the PC version were cut out. 7/10

System/Extras - Works on my JVC DVD player, Windows Media Player VLC (however OP movie will not play)and, my favorite, WinDVD (unlike other Hirameki games). I have not tested it with other programs besides the above but this is by far the most compatible AnimePlay game I have. Most people hate this format. I don't mind it. The pace of the DVD is set for luxurious reading time which may be too slow for most people (myself included). The game is simple enough you can remember passwords in your head unlike Hourglass of Summer or Phantom of Inferno. The DVD comes with a grayscale artbooklet but thats it for extras, no music mode or CG mode. 3/5

Overall - As long as you know what you are buying you will enjoy this game. If you want a serious literary masterpiece you are in the wrong place but if you can put up with AnimePlay and just want a fun love story or three go buy it.

Score - 35/45 - 78% - average

Little Busters! : Impressions of Komari's Route

2007-12-06T18:17:00.000-08:00

First of all this is not a review. I have not finished Little Busters! yet so I am NOT reviewing the game anytime in the near future. I am simply posting my opinion on the first route I have completed.

Little Busters! Opening Movie

Info: Title: Little Busters Studio: Key Price: 8,800 yen (before tax) Website

Despite all the high expectations and "disappointments" and associated drama the community loves oh so much... I like this game and don't regret a cent of the over-inflated price I had to pay Himeya for it. This impressions post is based on Kamikita Komari's route.

First of all the art. The art is so varied and clean and simply adorably moe. There are a lot of CG's also varying from panty shots to simple events to emotional climaxes. The standing character CGs are also numerous and include some side and back views. The first press limited edition which I have, came with a nice book with a lot of the art inside it.

Secondly the music is also superb. The opening song is no Tori no Uta but its still good and the BGM is more enjoyable than some opening songs in other games. The first press limited edition which I have, came with a nice arranged album of some of the music.

Thirdly the minigames are fun but not crippling. You can turn them off if you wish but if you don't the results ultimately do not affect the outcome of the game (which is good because I can't hit a ball if my life depended on it) The sprites for the batting practice are very adorable also ;3

Lastly, the story. First let me say this. My "Japanese skills" are pitiful, pathetic, slow, unreliable, etc. So if I'm off on a point don't kill me. I used Rikai-chan to help read and its slowwww but educational XD. The trunk of the game is fun and enjoyable and all the characters are vibrant and have their chance to shine. The two subcharacters of the trunk, Futaki Kanata (I have only seen her in the trunk events of Kudo's route) and Sasasegawa Sasami and both well developed and well voiced.

This section will have minor spoilers for Komari's path so you have been warned.
Komari's path has no magic, no curses, reincarnations, coma projections, nothing of that sort. It is about facing the truth and accepting reality. It is about the harm of living in a dream. To me, these points were very powerful though the pacing was not the best it certainly was not bad by any means. The end also switched to Komari's POV which was awkward for me but not crippiling. I love her ending song also >.> End minor spoilers

So far, Little Busters! is better than Piece of Wonder by a great bit and from what I hear I am not even to the good part yet. If you can read Japanese I suggest you pick it up.

Piece of Wonder

2007-11-10T17:27:00.000-08:00

Title - Piece of Wonder
Author - Studio CrossFire
Style - Multi-path Visual Novel (interactive)
Trial - Yes (see note)
Engine - Proprietary Engine (fully adapted for US environment)
Price - 30$ CD-ROM 24.95$ download edition (see note)
Website - http://www.hirameki-int.com/appc/products/piece/index.html
Get - Package: RightStuf JBox Hirameki-Direct Download: cNet/Protexis

Piece of Wonder is Hirameki's newest bishoujo game and certainly a strong addition to their line up. This is a science-fiction as well as a romance story and has a tactics style battle system built in.

Graphics - The graphics for Piece of Wonder are fun and colorful but not overwhelming. The art is clean and their is a sufficent amount of sprites for each character. Backgrounds were appropriate but nothing memorable. There are 34 event CG (9-10 per girl and 5 miscellaneous), not a huge amount but a decent amount since the game isn't too long. What is missing in quantity is made up in quality as these event CG are quite detailed and beautiful. I believe this was a doujin soft (amateur work vs. professional studio; not a free one in this case) but the art is very clean and professional despite that. I had no complaints with the battle system's graphics except that the enemies were shown as shapes that looked to me like giant elemental slices of cheese. 8/10

Music/SFX - The music like the graphics has a sense of fun to most of it. There are 19 tracks (Only 18 named in music mode however) and there are some common patterns shared between some tracks each is distinct. I personally enjoyed the music enough to rip the tracks out. (I don't know what happened to that program since the Hirameki boards went down XP) Not the best music but certainly enjoyable and some tracks are quite good. Sound effects are fine as well. 8/10

Voice Acting - The voice acting is well cast, however only the three girls are voiced. The protagonist and other main characters are not. I can't recall any flaws in the voice acting however there is a rather irritating bug with some sound cards. (namely whatever is installed in my Presario 2104 notebook) See system section. 9/10

Story - Piece of Wonder revolves around you and your friends fight against creatures called evolutions. You get your power from the same source as evolutions but you can control it with special bracelets. Once you get on a girls route (I think only one choice makes a difference) you will become aware of some sort of super-evolution (depends on which path) and fight a boss to save the girl. While this is rather formulaic the paths do vary significantly and are all enjoyable. There is also a nice after story "true end" that is a nice change from the traditional formula. 9/10

System/Gameplay (Battle) -Since the battle system is mandatory (at least on first play through) I consider it important enough for its own full section. I however do not play many traditional games so this section shall be supplemented by my RPG-loving boyfriend's opinion (Mr. JonFawkes)
The battle system is hard to learn without reading the instruction manual, but once you get into it, it's fun and quite addictive. It's alot like Final Fantasy Tatics. Regrettably, the AI can get a bit predictable. Some of the battles are also quite hard which is somewhat unexpected considering the genre. 8/10

System/Extras (Novel) - The GUI is clean the extras are fine (music/gallery mode and shortcut to scene menus) but the system is simple just too buggy. The main menus don't work all the time (click to another window and back to fix) and the BGM cuts out in battle mode sometimes (rarely). Also, the infamous voice problem. The voices cut out mid-sentence on certain sound cards. I fixed this by running dxdaig (start->run-> dxdiag.exe) and changing the hardware acceleration to "basic" under the sound 1 tab. Since almost all other games use DirectX also I found myself adjusting it back to make other games run smoother and eventually just placed a shortcut on my desktop. The card I have is "Conexant AMC audio" which seems, after research, to be the same card Hirameki says is incompatible (C-Media AC '97 Audio Device). This problem is fixable so don't let it stop you from buying the game. Also in terms of extras there is no print manual with the game, just a PDF so you don't miss out on much with the download version. 2/5

Overall - A fun game. The price is right and its easy to find. Despite the flaws it is worth the money.

Score - 44/55 - 80% - good

-------------------------
Trial and Download Edition: What is it and should I get it?

Piece of Wonder does not have a trial version per se. What there is however is a download version that you can play for one time up to 45 minutes with out an activation code. This can be downloaded from cnet's download.com. You can purchase a serial code through Protexis if you and unlock the full game for 24.99$. Protexis seems to be a well established and dedicated digital content distribution company (Microsoft uses them) so it is extremely unlikely that the DRM system will collapse and render your software unusable (this has happened with other content providers). You can only install the download edition to a single computer with internet access. I have not used this particular system but it is likely that the system would need to connect the the internet briefly every time you run the game, which is no big deal if you have broadband access. You may be able to contact Protexis to deactivate the license on one machine and then allow you to reactivate it on another but again I have not tried this. The pros of this method are a lower price tag and instant gratification. If you download music from iTunes this isn't very different.

The CD-ROM edition has no DRM and can be installed to multiple computers if you so desire. You get a DVD style keepcase but no manual except the PDF. I suggest trying out the trial even if you do not want the DRM version it is uninstalled easily enough.

Blogginess - New Comrades

2007-11-03T16:51:00.000-07:00

I am happy to announce we have joined in a joint venture with Visual-Novels.net! Many of our reviews are already viewable on their site. =D You can message me on their forums under this same name (jyuichi) and reach JonFawkes the same way. So go check them out and don't be shy!

A Piece of Wonder review is also on its way :D

Ever 17 ~the out of infinity~

2007-10-07T11:05:00.000-07:00

Title - Ever17 ―the out of infinity―
Author - KID
Style - Multi-path Visual Novel (interactive)
Trial - Yes
Engine - Proprietary Engine by KID (fully adapted for US environment)
Price - 40$ can be found for under 20 easily
Website - http://www.hirameki-int.com/appc/products/e17/index.html
Get - RightStuf JBox Hirameki-Direct

Ever 17, my first exposure to visual novels and still one of the best. It took me a year to decide to try this title, but I don't suggest you wait that long. Completely localized by Hirameki's professional team, Ever 17 is a must have for every English speaking visual novel fan.

Graphics - The graphics are clean and lively. There are enough sprites to show all emotions, unlike in some other Hirameki games. The sprite and background art is strong but a bit plain while the event CGs are clearly of a higher caliber. The subtle difference in style between the two types is not detrimental. 9/10

Music/SFX - The music is solid , fun, and enjoyable but could use some instrumental variation. The opening and true ending themes are both excellent vocal songs. There is a insert vocal song as well. 9/10

Voice Acting - The voice acting is well done and every character is voiced, except the character you are playing at the given time (There are two protagonists and each has a voice when not selected). The emotions range from screaming to singing and I found no flaws in the casting. 10/10

Story - The story is where this work shines. It starts are a basic situation-dependent romance game, but as you get into each path you find each girl has a past tainted with sadness and mystery. Once you clear the first four good endings, three bad endings and three epilogues you can play the final route which connects all the stories in a stunning and mind-bending conclusion. My family got a Wii (by waiting outside the store for an hour) the day I was on the last part of this game and I didn't touch the Wii till I finished this. It's truly that addictive. 10/10

System/Extras - All the professional system amenities (skip mode, auto mode, etc) and more. A convenient quick-save/load and an auto-save/load complement a set of 65 save slots with changeable thumbnails. There is also a convenient shortcut mode to jump to a specific day in a specific route, which is very useful when searching for the last unmade choice in the entire 200+ hour game (another nice feature is that already selected choices are shown in blue so you can find new routes easily).The extras also abound as this is a translation of the premium edition. These include - screen-savers, system voices, character-categorized CG galleries, a promotional art gallery, and a jukebox mode. You basically get an full artbook and accessory pack with this game. 5/5

Overall - Excellent! Go buy now! You won't find a better deal in the English visual novel market. Despite some minor flaws, Ever17 shines brightly.

Score - 43/45 - 96% - exceptional

A Winter's Tale

2007-07-24T21:34:00.000-07:00

Title - A Winter's Tale
Author - Kenji Endou
Style - Multi-path Visual Novel (interactive)
Engine - ONScripter
Price - Free
Get - Web Download -
http://altogether.insani.org/2005/resources/index/phase02-wintertale.html
http://visualnews.net/doujin-downloads/#winter

A Winter's Tale. A childhood friendship blooms into romance in this leisurely paced visual novel about a boy and girl in the depths of winter.

Graphics - A mixed bag. The sprites are very nicely done. The clothing, expressions, and makeup change often and appropriately. The backgrounds, however, are varying. They are from the numerous free image collections available and range from nicely detailed illustrations to klutzy drawings to even photographs. Using stock backgrounds isn't uncommon but the mixed styles are irritating. 8/10

Music/SFX - The music is not outstanding but clean, varied, and appropriate to each scene and the piece as a whole. The ending theme is a fun vocal song that does not fit the piece in the slightest but was easily the best song in the game. The sound effects are the usual stock sounds and, as usual, are not adjusted for volume so they clash with the music a bit. 7/10

Story - Predictable to a fault and too long for such a piece. There is some drama but it is forced and has a predicable outcome. A Winter's Tale would be much more enjoyable if it had been condensed to only the main scenes. There is one choice but it only changes the ending conversation, not the result. 4.5/10

System/Extras - The system is a mixed bag. At first it appears to be a generic ONScripter release (bland menus) but the translators took some extra time to add in a footnote system for some of the Japanese terms and names used. The extras consist of a postscript which is mostly uninteresting. No cg mode (no CGs) and no music mode. 4/5

Score - 23.5/35 - 67% - mediocre

40 Days and 40 Nights of Rain

2007-07-24T14:08:00.000-07:00

Title - 40 Days and 40 Nights of Rain
Author - ZigZag
Style - Linear Visual Novel (non-interactive)
Engine - ONScripter
Price - Free
Get - Web Download -
http://dejavu.visualnews.net/projects-40days.html
http://visualnews.net/doujin-downloads/#40days

"For 40 days and 40 nights, the rain will fall." A war has left the world in ruins, and in that world, the "tin plate" soldier meets the girl with sky-blue eyes.

Graphics - The graphics were handled a bit differently for this game compared to most. Full CGs of the setting were the main visuals for the story, very high in detail and colored well. These were all quite dark and serene, setting quite the mood for the story. When the characters were shown they stood out, each character drawing was full of detail, and though not overwhelming, and very beautiful. Traditional sprites were not used and the characters were never seen in setting, but rather, on a plain white, which was quite bland and didn't seem to serve the story very well visually. 9/10

Music/SFX - All of the music sounded like they were all played on the same instrument (likely piano), but every song was varying and never boring. The music was soft and calm, fitting well with the dark atmosphere of the story. The music played softly in the background and wasn't distracting. Sound effects were very generic, as if they were from a free website. They did not fit very well with the game at all, being quite disruptive at times. 8/10

Story - The story was original, well written and well translated. They story kept consistent, maintaining the perfect mood throughout the entire story, not being over or under dramatic. The plot was well thought out, everything flowed well, even the surprises fit in without seeming like they were thrown in at last minute. However, the story was too drawn out, it could have easily ended at several points in the story. 8/10

System/Extras - This release has all the features expected from an Nscripter game, generic save/load, log mode and hide text, but nothing new or different. Disappointingly, there were no extras to unlock. Art from the game can be seen at the creator's site here. 2/5

Score - 27/35 - 77% - Average

Blogginess- New Reviewer!

2007-07-20T18:50:00.001-07:00

We have a new reviewer today! Jon Fawkes has offered/been forced to join the team here at Sleepless Nights. His first review has already been posted (A Midsummer's Resonance) so step up and tell him what you think. :D I've also posted a review of the game Planetarian today. As always the reviewer's name is listed at the bottom of the post.

7 days till Little Busters!

A Midsummer Day's Resonance

2007-07-20T17:38:00.000-07:00

Title - A Midsummer Day's Resonance
Author - Kagura Saitoh
Style - Linear Visual Novel (non-interactive)
Engine - ONScripter
Price - Free
Get - Web Download - http://altogether.insani.org/2005/resources/index/phase02-resonance.html http://visualnews.net/doujin-downloads/#midsum

A Midsummer Day's Resonance is a sweet story about a girl who falls in love. A (somewhat) science-fiction story filled with romance and surprise. I enjoyed it thoroughly, from beginning to end.

Graphics - The sprites were very cute and simple. The art for each chapter header was very nice as well. Backgrounds were also well done, high in detail, and helped a lot in conveying emotion. The only irritant was that the characters were consistently displayed in as a hologram which is consistent with the story, but somewhat awkward looking. 9/10

Music/SFX - The music was pleasant and subtle, so it didn't disrupt the game. There was a large variety of music, and it didn't feel overplayed. The sound effects however, were kind of disruptive, and could sometimes ruined the mood of the situation, like in a sad scene, where everything is silent and then you hear this loud *shiiiing*. 8/10

Story - The concept was original and the writing, even the science fiction bits, were easy to understand. The story was paced nicely and written well. There were some parts where improvements could be made in terms of conveying emotion. Some parts needed to be more sad, like the parts where the connection cuts out; while other parts needed to be more happy, like the parts where everyone was together. 8/10

System/Extras - This release has all the expected features of an ONScripter game but the "hide text" ("Clear" in the right-click menu) function doesn't work properly. The extras include a gallery mode for the chapter illustrations and a music mode. There is also an additional extras menu (rot13 for puzzle spoilers) juvpu jnf npprffrq ol tbvat gb gur tnyyrel naq ivrjvat gur PTf va gur beqre tvira ng gur raq bs gur tnzr. This menu had rough sketches, a character sprite gallery, and some additional humorous scenes. 4/5

Score - 29/35 - 83% - Good

Planetarian ~The Reverie of a Little Planet~ CD-ROM Edition

2007-07-20T16:00:00.000-07:00

Title - Planetarian ～ちいさなほしのゆめ～ (Planetarian ~The Reverie of a Little Planet~)
Author - KEY - Kinetic Novel
Engine - RealLive (does not require JP enviroment after patching)
Style - Linear Visual Novel (non-interactive)
Trial - Yes http://visualnews.net/demo-downloads/#planet
Website - http://key.visualarts.gr.jp/product/planetarian/ http://planetarian.insani.org/
Price - ¥1,395 download edition; ¥2,940 CD-ROM or PS2
Get - Editions and methods will be discussed below

Planetarian is the story of a dying world, a living robot and the man who interacts with both. While it is a short piece and a simple piece it is one of the best works in English today.

Graphics - The graphics are simply wonderful. The art is detailed and lively. Event CGs are interspersed through out the story and the sprites vary frequently. No skimping on backgrounds either. 10/10

Music/SFX - The music is very good, setting the mood quite well. I have found my self sitting and just listening to the jukebox mode over and over. 10/10

Voice Acting - This is the main difference between editions. The download editions have no voice acting (except the first line in the prologue ?), the CD-ROM edition has voice acting for Reverie (Yumemi) only and the PS2 has full voice acting. I am reviewing the CD edition. Reverie's voice was done excellently by Keiko Suzuki. I am looking forward to her performance in Little Busters! as well. The voice fit perfectly and added significantly to certain scenes in the story. Only downfall was the lack of voicing of other (albeit very minor) characters. Partial voicing tends to bug me (Except the protagonist. I don't like them voiced) but I understand it since these characters consisted of maybe 15 minutes of the entire work. 9/10

Story - The story is a bit slow to take off but pays off entirely. Reverie as (practically) the only other character is developed magnificently. This is a very character driven story. If you don't like such things make sure to try the trial before you decide to buy this or not. Insani's translation also is wonderfully done, with such details as adapting the characters name. (Something I don't normally agree with but the meaning of it is important to the story.) 10/10

System/Extras - All the normal features of a modern professional game engine (RealLive) including auto-mode, skip mode, log mode but also with a chapter list for loading and a beautiful GUI for the save/load menus. The extras are the usual Music and CG modes. 5/5

Overall - Wonderful game. Us English speakers should feel grateful that someone went through the effort to translate and release a patch to us no matter how difficult acquiring a copy can get.

Score - 44/45 - 98% - exceptional

-------------------------

How to get a copy of Planetarian

Insani's patch is designed for the original download version of Planetarian. However this version has been replaced by a new DRM system . The patch no longer works for the new system. Due to much piracy of the original version, Insani (understandably) refuses to release anymore commercial patches including ones for other versions of Planetarian and does not condone any other patches with their translation. However it is quite possible to patch the CD version and this is what I have done to play this story. There are instructions on how to do that here. The CD version is available from Himeya Shop here. If you can read Japanese you can purchase the new download edition here or the PS2 edition here.

Midsummer Haze - the long awaited review

2007-06-03T12:23:00.000-07:00

Title - Midsummer Haze
Author - Sakura Shima
Style - Short branching novel (interactive)
Engine - KiriKiri2 (requires Japanese Enviroment)
Price - Free
Get - Web Download - http://at2006.haeleth.net/game.php?id=13

Midsummer Haze.....I look forward to finally being able to delete this game after 3 long months. MH has a one choice with two options.....and four endings....yes four. To get the third ending you have to play one of the paths around 50 times and to get the fourth you have need to stall at the choice until it is triggered. Now this is very clever but the story isn't.

Graphics - Solid art, nothing special. Fairly colorful. The backgrounds are stock images. There are no event CGs I can remember. 8/10

Music/SFX - The music is good and appropriate to the scenes except the final ending song which is techno. Sound effects are appropriate. 8/10

Story - Story..... there was one....kinda. The idea was good but the implementation is boring at best and the plot twist invokes more of a "huh?" than the intended "oh" . The only part of it that I enjoyed was the third ending but it was rather incongruent to the story. 3/10

System/Extras - This is a KiriKiri game (Japanese environment required). The system is straight forward not a pretty GUI but it's simple and easy to use. The ending system is pure undiluted evil tho. As I mentioned before, you have to play the one path about 50 times to get the only ending worth anything in this game. Thankfully there is a fast-forward button. After you get this ending you unlock the extras which are a postscript, translator's note, and extra story which would be good except, at least in my case, you will hate the characters by that point. Then there's the fourth ending with the techno theme and you're done, no extras after that one. 2/5

Score - 21/35 - 60% mediocre

OMGWTFOTL

2007-05-25T17:56:00.000-07:00

Title - OMGWTFOTL
Author - HANPAMANIA-SOFT
Style - Short Nonsense Novel (interactive) 16+
Engine - ONScripter
Price - Free
Get - Web Download http://insani.org/omgwtfotl.html, http://at2006.haeleth.net/game.php?id=5

First of all.... this game will offend you. If it doesn't please go get help.

Secondly.....where to start....? This game is impossible to describe so my review format is out the window because it would be comparing apples to oranges. This is no Red Shift, but despite the lack of plot its not another VFTOS either. This game is hilarious in a way I can only describe as sophisticated delinquent. The music is good, the art is solid and can be cute or ugly but, my god, WHAT did they smoke while writing this....?

The plot was lost somewhere between the fights, the copulating bears, the U.S. Navy base, and the high-school love confession. It flows but its utter nonsense.

If you like South Park or Excel Saga this may very well be the game for you, I enjoyed it very much but it incited blood-lust in my classmates.

Overall rating - Good

GENUFLECT OR DIE!

Japanese Enviroment -Info-

2007-05-18T19:38:00.002-07:00

Okay okay, I've mentioned once or twice that you need a "Japanese enviroment" for many of these games, so what is that?

Well, first of all this only applies to users of Window$ 2000, XP, and Vista. Everyone else is out of luck.

I'm gonna start with the most convenient option first - AppLocale. AppLocale does what it sounds like it does.... localizes applications. AppLocale is for Windows XP and up and can be downloaded free here http://www.microsoft.com/globaldev/tools/apploc.mspx in exchange for you mortal soul (or rather... a windows validation). The problem with AppLocale is that it doesn't work on all games (Clannad for example) for this it is considered inferior to true Japanese non-unicode settings.

For instructions on how to install AppLocale, click here (they are specific to KNGE but work for any program).

Your other option is to change your non-unicode settings to Japanese, the problem with this is it changes some normal programs to Japanese as well such as - part of Microsoft Paint, Apple Software Updater, and the part of the installer for the Windows Validator plugin. Most of theses programs only change partially in to Japanese so they can be navigated fairly easily (all the menus in MS Paint stay in English). If you play a lot of Japanese games this may be the best choice for you.

For instructions visit http://www.microsoft.com/globaldev/handson/user/xpintlsupp.mspx will give you basic instructions; don't forget to install East Asian support files (you might need your Windows CD).

If something doesn't work try this - (I only have found one that needed this ever. An untranslated trial for a minor game.)

Open the [Regional and Language Options].
Click on the [Regional Options] tab.
Select [Japanese] from the pull-down menu at the [Standards and Formats] section.

Sore Ja Matta Ne

2007-04-03T12:10:00.000-07:00

Title - それじゃあ、またね。(Until We Meet Again)
Author - LUNA BLESS
Engine - Kirikiri 2 (requires Japanese environment)
Style - Linear Visual Novel (non-interactive)
Price - Free
Get - Web Download - http://insani.org/soremata.html

Sore Ja Matta Ne does not have the look or feel of a typical visual novel. It is a very short sweet story with supernatural elements. There are no voices or choices and the sounds are very sparse to match with the simple grayscale art.

Graphics - I like them but they are very simple. There are no sprites and backgrounds but rather every scene is a drawing with the characters making the story feel a lot like a movie. The some shots felt a bit plain tho and the CG train clashed with the character style slightly in some minor shots. 8/10

Music/SFX - There aren't many tracks or SFX but they are used well. Most often you hear the sound of the train running but the music that is used is very good. No voices. 10/10

Story - The story is creative and heartwarming. It flows well with out any inconsistencies I can remember. 10/10

System/Extras - This game is a KiriKiri release so you need a Japanese environment. (If you don't know what that is post a comment or click info in the sidebar as I hope to add a entry explaining it soon.) Sore Ja Matta Ne has no menu screen and no extras, it just throws you in to the game. The save/load functions and options menu are in the title bar and right clicking hides the text box. This game has auto and skip modes. 3/5

Overall - Play it for what it is, a good story.

Score - 31/35 - 88% - Good

At Summer's End

2007-03-31T21:32:00.000-07:00

Title - なつのおわりに (At Summer's End)
Author - （猫）milk cat
Style - Short Linear Novel (interactive)
Engine - ONScripter
Price - Free
Get - Web Download http://www.insani.org/atsummersend.html, http://at2006.haeleth.net/game.php?id=2

At Summer's End is the second doujin game I played, after Narcissu. It is a short sweet little (non-fantasy) story with a few choices that do not affect the plot. The plot revolves around a boy and a girl who are long time friends. This story won't change your life but is fun and short to play over a cup of tea.

Graphics - The backgrounds are very professional looking while the character style looks a bit amateur. This is easy to get used to and the art has a bit of whimsy charm to it. The colors are bright and colorful to match the light story. Each scene also has a sketched opening image with a title. 7/10

Music/SFX - The music is also mostly light and cheery but there is a very nice slower song as well. It is simple but very nicely matched to the story. The sound effects consist mostly of punching and crickets. There are no voices. The sound effect are not of high quality (and the crickets get annoying) but they are not bad either. 8/10

Story - Like all other aspects of this game, quite simple but solid. The plot is well built but predictable. A happy ending. 7/10

System/Extras - This is an ONScripter release. For all of you who can't figure out why I bother to say that it is because ONScripter games happily run on English OS's while most others require tweaking. They also tend to be multi-platform instead of Window$ only. The interface is much nicer than the average doujin game. It includes all the standard features of a visual novel and some of the features I've only seen in commercial games, such as Quicksave/load, thumbnails, and a detailed options menu. The extras were the standard CG mode and music mode (the tracks had names which was quite nice). 5/5

Overall - A nice, light, little game. Worth the time spent on it. Enjoy it for what it is.

Score - 27/35 - 77% - average

Red Shift

2007-03-17T12:38:00.000-07:00

Title - 常世の星空 (Red Shift)
Author - Team EXTRA
Style - Short Linear Novel (non-interactive)
Engine - ONScripter
Price - Free
Get - Web Download http://insani.org/redshift.html

I played through this novel in a few days, a scene or two a day. Each scene was 20-30 minutes long. I didn't know much about it before I downloaded it but that wasn't a problem. This was a very easy novel to get hooked on. This could be called a science-fiction/fantasy game but it is a very human story. You play as a high-school boy, Kouya, who meets a rude and unusual albino girl in the park and is forced to keep her company. I can't say anymore without spoiling the plot. ;)

Graphics - The graphics for this game are very nice. They are not as detailed as the ones in VFTOS but they are clean, expressive and well colored. The event graphics are relevant to the story and helped it along with out standing out too much from the regular CG. Each scene also had a sketched intro graphic which was quite nice. 10/10

Music/SFX - I enjoyed the music in this title very much. It worked very well to set the mood of each scene. It is all simple instrumental likely synthesized but the music is well chosen for the scenes and has enough variety you don't get sick of it by the end. The transitions were a bit abrupt but nothing unreasonable. The SFX were well integrated to the story and not over used. 9/10

Story - The story was deep but not overly-complicated. It starts very simple and builds up to an exciting climax. Even though it gets a bit technical at the end I never felt overwhelmed by the fantasy/SF concepts. The story is focused on character-interaction and the characters are all very well developed. The story is very easy to follow and has a satisfying conclusion. 10/10

System/Extras - This is an ONscripter release. It has all the typical functions of a visual novel. (save, load, log mode, hide text) It runs with out a glitch. The extra menu is a CG menu where you can choose an event graphic to view and cycle through its variations. There is no music/jukebox menu. 4/5

Overall - I definitely recommend this visual novel. It is one of the best I have played. Very entertaining, suspenseful and a bit humorous. ^^

Score - 33/35 - 94% - exceptional

Visions From the Other Side

2007-03-15T18:09:00.000-07:00

Title - 向日の夢 (Visions From the Other Side)
Author - Treasures
Style - Short Linear Novel (non-interactive)
Engine - ONScripter
Price - Free
Get - Web Download http://at2006.haeleth.net/game.php?id=3

I just finished this visual novel not 20 minutes ago. I downloaded it on a whim from al|together 2006. Since it is doujn software I didn't expect it to be long but didn't expect it to be this short either. It was enjoyable but there are better games out there.

Graphics - The reason I downloaded it in the first place was the graphics. They are very nice though sometimes a bit unrelated to the story. Some are a bit unpolished but very nice for doujin work. They are also stored in the program files as jpegs so you can copy and save them very easily. 9/10

Music - The music was enjoyable but a bit harsh sounding and much louder than my other games. The soundtrack is entirely MIDIs with WAV files for sound effects. While I have nothing against MIDIs these are nothing really notable. Again, the music is stored as normal files in the program files folder. 6/10

Story - This is where it dies....there is no coherent story. While there is simple flow, there is no plot and it feels like an omake chapter to something else. Luckily, it is very short. 2/10

System/Extras - VFTOS is an ONscripter release. I have not found a save function. The interface is not explained in the readme or anywhere else but being a VN you just click the mouse or hit enter to prompt text and you can press up-arrow to review old text. Once you finish the game, a CG slideshow (instead of an extra menu) is unlocked. 1/5

Overall - Don't bother with it unless you just are bored. No save function. It'll entertain you and the ending is kinda cute but overall it's not as good as most.

Score - 18/35 - 51% - mediocre