[I wrote most of this post last year but it quickly became extremely weird ramblings resulting from several stages of insane mental leaps so I never showed it to the public. I am lacking the juice to write a new post this year so I decided to publish this over a year later.]
9S is cute
D3 Publisher, a company whose recent track record in making games hasn’t been very good, decided to make a Danganronpa-inspired game about idols aiming for the top. The concept is very simple: each year, idols participate in the Dream of Dream (D.o.D.) event, where they compete in various idol activities and the winner gets to be the center of a big concert. It’s a huge event that has the entire country tuning in, and good performance in the show leads to an increase in fans. This year, the D.o.D takes place in a remote western-style mansion and welcomes seven participants. The master of ceremony is an obnoxious pink elephant mascot character, and the setting for this year’s D.o.D. is awfully lacking in glamour compared to previous years’ events. The event is held in six stages, each stage having a loser, and the one who survives all stages gets crowned as this year’s top idol. The loser of each stage has to participate in a consolation show that “may” offer them the “chance” for a comeback…
Mostly ADVs and Compile Heart RPGs.
Kuon no Kizuna
Fureraba
Amagami
Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters
Robin Lloyd
Hatoful Boyfriend
Reine des Fleurs
Kokuchou no Psychedelica
Complie Heart games
Not games
Being an interquel to Danganronpa 1 and 2, as well as an abrupt genre shift from an ADV to a third-person shooter, I was expecting not much more than a cheap cash-in. So when the game actually turned out good, not story-wise as an interquel, but also gameplay-wise as a survival horror shooter, I was incredibly glad that I paid those import $$$ for this.
Expect spoilers for DR1 and 2.
Writing 1000+ word posts for everything I played recently is too troublesome so here’s a collection of short impressions. There’s a bunch of stuff I played, but didn’t write a proper review for when I was still motivated. Basically scrap review bin for mostly VNs.
In the world of Senran Kagura, bigger is always better. That applies not only to breasts, but also food. In Japan, some restaurants allow you to super-size your meals, sometimes to massive amounts. Those supersized meals are called dekamori, and Dekamori Senran Kagura is all about huge plates of food…in addition to other huge things that the series is known for, of course.
Normally I’m all about the justice that is flat chests, but I’m willing to make an exception for Senran Kagura, the series that is all about shinobi students and their bouncing 爆乳 (that’s bigger than 巨乳, fyi).
My blog has no consistency control, which is why I end up writing about a children’s adventure game shortly after I gush about an ex-porn game chock full of elements appealing to those with eighth grade syndrome. Well, if you’d rather be a fourth grader than a teenager, then BokuNatsu might be worth checking out. It’s a leisurely game with no true goal and nice scenery.
Behind the horrendous system and 90’s art that take a while to get used to is an interesting mystery and fun characters. It almost feels like an Ace Attorney game with only the investigation parts, two protagonists, and more risque situations.
The story isn’t particularly deep, but the mystery kept me interested throughout. It has a little bit of various things: murder mystery, politics, romance, ecchi (no h-scenes in English release). Kojiroh is an entertaining protagonist, as well as Marina. I say it feels like Ace Attorney because there’s a lot of silly options and dialogue, a point & click-ish investigation gameplay, and a story that begins with a small case but ends on a big one. Most of the plot points didn’t surprise me (I would have been more surprised if I played this as one of my earliest mystery VNs, but its age certainly shows), except for the ending which felt too fast and requires a rather stretched suspension of disbelief because it threw in some sci-fi when the rest of the game had a decidedly normal “modern” 90’s setting. Nevertheless it was a fun experience with more 90’s style characters.
Switching between Kojiroh’s and Marina’s scenarios is key to the game, and provides a unique dual-protagonist experience. The protagonists are great, to the point that I’m considering digging into some of the sequels to see more of the character interactions. Marina is one cool gal, and not a female protagonist you’d see every day. I came for the mystery, stayed for the characters. Some of the dialogue had me really laughing, especially when Kojiroh was mocking Nikaido.
There aren’t really “heroines” since there are no routes, but Kojiroh does find himself surrounded by a bunch of beautiful women who have some kind of affection for him developed in several days. R-18 things happen, of course. The game seems to lean towards Yayoi for Kojiroh’s true love interest, although it doesn’t seem entirely sure whether it wants them back together or not. Meanwhile Marina is stuck in a romance that is the awkwardest kind of awkward.
Anyway, I’m now trying to find some of the sequels, like Eve The Fatal Attraction and Eve New Generation X. I don’t expect sequels to be as good as the original, but hopefully they’re at least a 6.5-7 if Burst error is 8+.
Shakadou, of Majikoi fame, finds himself wandering Shounan after leaving Kawakami. What heart-pounding events will occur to the suspicious-looking middle aged man?
カレーまみれ勇者の冒険 Curry Chronicles 