Community The Visual Novel Council | All Choices Lead To Here

Kvik

Crossbell City Councillor
Dec 6, 2018
4,311
10,708
113
Downunder.
bsky.app
Somehow I already own most of Sol Press' titles on Steam. Only My Fair Princess left.

If Sol Press somehow managed to sell off their licences, hopefully it won't be Shiravune which gets it, since I'm not so keen on the whole Johren and DRM thing.
 

Exzyleph

Dark Eroge Lord
Oct 9, 2018
878
1,313
93
Somehow I already own most of Sol Press' titles on Steam. Only My Fair Princess left.

If Sol Press somehow managed to sell off their licences, hopefully it won't be Shiravune which gets it, since I'm not so keen on the whole Johren and DRM thing.
That's also the only one of their Steam releases that I haven't gotten around to buying. I even own DareSora.
The art-style of MFP just isn't very appealing to me in between the Grisaia look-a-likes and how inbred a bunch of other characters look, and the premise doesn't make up for it.

Shiravune would be fine if the games all got a Steam release (or at least if the ones I care about did :grinning-face:), as the quality of their releases is generally quite high. As for Johren there's now a way to buy games from them using Paypal now, albeit indrectly, so you don't have to deal with Johren's idiosyncratic payment processing, but the DRM is still a deal breaker for me.
 
  • Comfy
Reactions: Kvik

ExistentialThought

Coffee Lover ♥☕
Feb 29, 2020
1,646
5,037
113
Has anyone tried out this VN? It looks interesting, but there does not seem to be too many impressions.
___

My Switch copy of SeaBed finally shipped. I ordered it March 2020 and it has finally shipped haha.
___
Sol Press really needed to look into Chinese translations to help sales and expend their audience. The titles they localized have not been too interesting to my preferences, I have only picked up Sakura Sakura and Under One Wing, but have not played through either.
 

Exzyleph

Dark Eroge Lord
Oct 9, 2018
878
1,313
93
Interesting post about how people read VNs from the devs of The Sekimeiya:


Incidentially, The Sekimeiya is probably worth keeping an eye on if you enjoy mystery VNs, being one of the highest rated EVNs on VNDB at this point.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ExistentialThought

Li Kao

It’s a strange world. Let’s keep it that way.
Jan 28, 2019
7,872
15,903
113
Interesting post about how people read VNs from the devs of The Sekimeiya:


Incidentially, The Sekimeiya is probably worth keeping an eye on if you enjoy mystery VNs, being one of the highest rated EVNs on VNDB at this point.
What shocked me the most at first glance is that some people play VN in a windows. I mean, it’s not incredible per se but I have always been the opposite. The feeling of having a game in a windows which is itself in the windows that is my monitor is whyohwhy.
So if you do this, can you tell me what’s the point ? I can imagine several, like keeping with the game res or easy multitasking, but curious.
 

Knurek

OG old coot
Oct 16, 2018
2,526
6,244
113
What shocked me the most at first glance is that some people play VN in a windows. I mean, it’s not incredible per se but I have always been the opposite. The feeling of having a game in a windows which is itself in the windows that is my monitor is whyohwhy.
So if you do this, can you tell me what’s the point ? I can imagine several, like keeping with the game res or easy multitasking, but curious.
I play them in a window, because I stream them to my tablet (and having them in fullscreen results in some cutoff image).
 
  • Like
Reactions: Li Kao

Kvik

Crossbell City Councillor
Dec 6, 2018
4,311
10,708
113
Downunder.
bsky.app
So if you do this, can you tell me what’s the point ?
Technically with older VNs I always use windowed mode and then use Lossless Scaling to make it fullscreen. Although, on a 1440p screen, I will still get letterboxes due to their native width which is almost always less than 720.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Li Kao

tetel

MetaMember
Jan 7, 2020
340
1,017
93
By the way, not really a VN news but UMINEKO MUSIC IN ARCAEA (each song is 1$ or your local equivalent):
(Well, just discovered that there's a rhythm games thread here but oh well)
 

AHA-Lambda

MetaMember
Oct 9, 2018
2,844
7,350
113
Ok maybe I'm being thick but it sounds like we're not getting an English release of Tsukihime Remake? Because... reasons?
 

Knurek

OG old coot
Oct 16, 2018
2,526
6,244
113
like I say I think i'm being thick, so we are getting an english translation but not on Steam?
It's more likely that the asteroid that wiped out dinosaurs spontaneously recombines, teleports and crashes into Earth again, killing every single living being than Tsukihime getting an offcial English release.
 
Last edited:
  • Sad
Reactions: AHA-Lambda

GhostTrick

Banned
Oct 20, 2018
94
216
33
like I say I think i'm being thick, so we are getting an english translation but not on Steam?

Nasu's saying "If I release a PC(Steam) version, I'd want it to have multilanguage support".
Basically, how I read it: "Steam version is coming when (if ?) an international version happens".
If there's an english version, a Steam version is likely coming with it. The thing is, are we getting an english version ?
 

Kvik

Crossbell City Councillor
Dec 6, 2018
4,311
10,708
113
Downunder.
bsky.app
I've finished the Hero route of Muramasa.

I think this is one of the best routes in any VN I've ever had the pleasure of reading. The clashing of ideas between Ichijou's ideal of justice and Kageaki's true understanding of The Law of Balance is definitely a philosophical debate for the ages. Ginseigo played no small part in sparking the revelation in Kageaki's mind. What happened to Yusa Doshin's page and her family was also quite horrific, but also act as a catalyst to Ichijou's true understanding of her father's final lesson. It echoes a similar truth as The Law of Balance: it will destroy both evil and good. This theme is powerful, masterfully written and encourage the reader to question their own sense of justice.

The combat between Kageaki and Ginseigo was rather short compared to the others, though. Which kind of makes sense, since she's not the true final boss of this route. I feel like the most intense musha combat so far is Kageaki versus Sorimachi, followed by Kageaki versus Mizuhi. And speaking of intense: Masamune is insane lmao. Probably the only tsurugi in existence capable of mutilating his own pilot and transforming them into weapons.

The feel of the ending feels a lot like a true ending. It is not a "happy" one by any means, since Yamato is far from peaceful, and the supposed "hero" is merely a little else than a sellsword, but the message remains powerful as any other: the pursuit of true justice is eternal, and perhaps not even exist.





Looking forward to reading the next route tonight.
 
Last edited:
  • Comfy
Reactions: Cacher

Snakethesniper

Time Traveler
Jan 11, 2019
951
1,719
93
I've finished the Hero route of Muramasa.

I think this is one of the best routes in any VN I've ever had the pleasure of reading. The clashing of ideas between Ichijou's ideal of justice and Kageaki's true understanding of The Law of Balance is definitely a philosophical debate for the ages. Ginseigo played no small part in sparking the revelation in Kageaki's mind. What happened to Yusa Doshin's page and her family was also quite horrific, but also act as a catalyst to Ichijou's true understanding of her father's final lesson. It echoes a similar truth as The Law of Balance: it will destroy both evil and good. This theme is powerful, masterfully written and encourage the reader to question their own sense of justice.

The combat between Kageaki and Ginseigo was rather short compared to the others, though. Which kind of makes sense, since she's not the true final boss of this route. I feel like the most intense musha combat so far is Kageaki versus Sorimachi, followed by Kageaki versus Mizuhi. And speaking of intense: Masamune is insane lmao. Probably the only tsurugi in existence capable of mutilating his own pilot and transforming them into weapons.

The feel of the ending feels a lot like a true ending. It is not a "happy" one by any means, since Yamato is far from peaceful, and the supposed "hero" is merely a little else than a sellsword, but the message remains powerful as any other: the pursuit of true justice is eternal, and perhaps not even exist.





Looking forward to reading the next route tonight.
There's still no news about a steam release right? I might cave in and buy it from jast
 
  • Comfy
Reactions: Kvik

Cacher

MetaMember
Jun 3, 2020
4,738
14,185
113
Glad to hear that you love it! The ending is absolutely amazing.

I really love how Masamune would damage the user. Basically, if you need to fight with justice, you need to pay the price.

Also, fuck the monk
 

Kvik

Crossbell City Councillor
Dec 6, 2018
4,311
10,708
113
Downunder.
bsky.app
I might cave in and buy it from jast
I'll definitely buy it again on Steam if it ever gets published there.
Also, fuck the monk
It's quite unsettling because of the preceding heartwarming scene, but at the same time, I can't help shaking the feeling that something will be going down at any moment. And then it happened. :flare_sulk:
 
  • Sad
Reactions: Cacher

Li Kao

It’s a strange world. Let’s keep it that way.
Jan 28, 2019
7,872
15,903
113
Started Somnium Files ! Will it be the first VN I finish in years ? I could see that, it's supposedly not ungodly long, and while gameplay seems to be minimal, it's an ADV. And I'm beginning to think I need that little bit of interactivity to keep coming back to a VN. Which would not be a good news, but eh, we will see.

My first take on it is that (I'm super not original since its seems to be a common issue) I like the world and characters, the mystery is not uninteresting. Then you enter a dream and what is this, a hate crime ? Dream logic is not super interesting, and they plan to put a timer with a restart option if things go south ? Why yes, that's what I always NEVER wanted.
 

ExistentialThought

Coffee Lover ♥☕
Feb 29, 2020
1,646
5,037
113
I wish the other Memories Off games would release on Steam. Granted, they would probably never be officially translated, but it would be nice for preservation nevertheless. :confounded-face:

 
  • Sad
Reactions: Kvik and Cacher

skLaFarebear

MetaMember
Dec 4, 2019
653
1,230
93
Finished chapter 5 of Muramasa. I really have no other words to describe this VN other than incredible. Each chapter is more engrossing than the last and I can’t wait to see where it goes next.
 
  • Comfy
Reactions: Cacher and Kvik

Kvik

Crossbell City Councillor
Dec 6, 2018
4,311
10,708
113
Downunder.
bsky.app
Each chapter is more engrossing than the last and I can’t wait to see where it goes next.
I can tell you that it goes places. :flaregalaxycat:

Definitely a GOTY contender. Azure is still on the top of the list, but I'll be damned if something else can unseat Muramasa from its firm #2 spot.
 
  • Comfy
Reactions: Cacher

skLaFarebear

MetaMember
Dec 4, 2019
653
1,230
93
I can tell you that it goes places. :flaregalaxycat:

Definitely a GOTY contender. Azure is still on the top of the list, but I'll be damned if something else can unseat Muramasa from its firm #2 spot.
I've enjoyed some amazing VN content this year between Sengoku Rance, Rance Quest Magnum, Muv-Luv TDA and now Muramasa.

Very excited for my Steam Deck to come in late this year/next year so I can replay through the Uta trilogy and also read Muv-Luv Total Eclipse.
 
  • Comfy
Reactions: Cacher and Kvik

Li Kao

It’s a strange world. Let’s keep it that way.
Jan 28, 2019
7,872
15,903
113
AI The Somnium Files progressing nicely.

Annihilation route partly done (why yes, the fucking depressing as shit route was the first one I unlocked, I’m lucky like that * )
Mizuki route done.
Ota route done.

I like it a lot.


* same thing happened with 999 years ago (never finished it). I can’t fucking stand Yandere.
…so evidently it was my first ending :sweaty-blob:
 
Last edited:

Exzyleph

Dark Eroge Lord
Oct 9, 2018
878
1,313
93
Do these have Denuvo on Steam too? Exzyleph
I don't think so, but I don't think I've bought any Shiravune releases since they started using Denuvo on Johren.
The Johren releases use Denuvo for online key activation, but that's obviously not needed for SteamWorks enabled releases.
And the executables in Steam depots don't look super bloated either, so it doesn't seem like they use Denuvo for tamper proofing.
 
  • Comfy
Reactions: Kvik

Kvik

Crossbell City Councillor
Dec 6, 2018
4,311
10,708
113
Downunder.
bsky.app
Come to think of it, Shiravune has released one title per month on Steam since July. I reckon they're mostly short moege titles, but are the localisation actually decent? :flare_think:
 

Exzyleph

Dark Eroge Lord
Oct 9, 2018
878
1,313
93
Come to think of it, Shiravune has released one title per month on Steam since July. I reckon they're mostly short moege titles, but are the localisation actually decent? :flare_think:
I cannot comment on the actual accuracy, but the few VNs of theirs that I've read were either pleasant to read (Marco and MWA) or pretty stilted (Iwaihime).
They seem to rely on agencies to do most of the translations, so it's hard to make predictions about the quality, but I haven't seen much in terms of people complaining about the quality. The complaints are usually about Johren being a crappy store and about the fact that all their 18+ releases have mosaic censorship. One or their nukige's even god-rayed censored the (shota) protagonist in some CGs, which is kinda hilarious, but they eventually patched that AFAIK.
 
  • Comfy
Reactions: Kvik

ExistentialThought

Coffee Lover ♥☕
Feb 29, 2020
1,646
5,037
113
Marco ? And the galaxy dragon ? It looks fun, was this a 18+ title originally ? How is it ?
It is all ages and I highly recommend it! One of my favorite little VNs. Short, sweet, high production values, amazing music, and memorable. The story will not win any awards and reminds me of something else, but I still think it was good.

I need to pick up the soundtrack(s) one of these days still.
 

Li Kao

It’s a strange world. Let’s keep it that way.
Jan 28, 2019
7,872
15,903
113
It is all ages and I highly recommend it! One of my favorite little VNs. Short, sweet, high production values, amazing music, and memorable. The story will not win any awards and reminds me of something else, but I still think it was good.

I need to pick up the soundtrack(s) one of these days still.
Perfect, it was already on my watch list for the December Steam sale to play on the Deck.

Nearing the branching point between route, let’s say #3 and the Revelation ending in Somnium Files. I still have a little way to go between these two and the horribly depressing one but nearing the end.
And I have no idea where Uchikoshi is going with this ball.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Cacher