Community The Visual Novel Council | All Choices Lead To Here

Cacher

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They haven't talked about Occultic;Nine (with additional content) for ages. Maybe they have trouble developing it.

 

skLaFarebear

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Exzyleph

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MangaGamer has announced a few titles (links below are NSFW):
Announcement video with Bamboo here.


RIP my hopes that one of those secret projects would be KnS3 :negative-blob:
Wanting Wings looks cute at least, though it's not going to be a high priority read for me.
And they still have one yet-to-be revealed secret project ..

Also, Rance 01 + 02 is out, in case anyone missed it.
 

Cacher

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For those people who are getting Rance, be aware that R02 was released earlier than R01 in Japan, so 01 actually looks nicer than 02.

I played and cleared 01 but not 02. It's alright. Has some fun moments but not too memorable. I would recommend following a guide as many scenes are missable.

Edit: Oh, last but not least, ending is very satisfying. Easily the highest point of the game.
 
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ZKenir

Setting the Seas Ablaze
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MangaGamer has announced a few titles (links below are NSFW):
Announcement video with Bamboo here.


RIP my hopes that one of those secret projects would be KnS3 :negative-blob:
Wanting Wings looks cute at least, though it's not going to be a high priority read for me.
And they still have one yet-to-be revealed secret project ..

Also, Rance 01 + 02 is out, in case anyone missed it.
yoiu forgot the most important part

 

skLaFarebear

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For those people who are getting Rance, be aware that R02 was released earlier than R01 in Japan, so 01 actually looks nicer than 02.

I played and cleared 01 but not 02. It's alright. Has some fun moments but not too memorable. I would recommend following a guide as many scenes are missable.

Edit: Oh, last but not least, ending is very satisfying. Easily the highest point of the game.
That's actually interesting hearing 02 came out before the 01 remake, though 02 does come with the vanilla version as well as the Kai version which includes script changes to match the modern lore as well as gameplay changes. I've heard much better things about 02 Kai compared to 02, but I'm not sure which one you played.

Either way, I've been interested in the franchise for a while now and it seems like a decent place + time to start, though I know we have quite a few unlocalized titles that are still probably years away, especially 03 and X
 

Cacher

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That's actually interesting hearing 02 came out before the 01 remake, though 02 does come with the vanilla version as well as the Kai version which includes script changes to match the modern lore as well as gameplay changes. I've heard much better things about 02 Kai compared to 02, but I'm not sure which one you played.

Either way, I've been interested in the franchise for a while now and it seems like a decent place + time to start, though I know we have quite a few unlocalized titles that are still probably years away, especially 03 and X
Oh, I haven't played 02. Just watched gameplay footage of it. The first release of 02 was included in the Alice 2010 pack (released in 2009) while 01 is a standalone release in 2013. I do heard 03 is the real deal according to someone from another forum. Vastly improved gameplay based on 01, voice-acting (a first in the series) and meaty content. Hopefully they will continue remaking Rance 4 in near future.

Yeah, I would say it is a good time to start. Just be ready to play as a manchild lol. Series fans say Rance changed a lot in later entries, but in 01, he is an asshole throughout. 🤣
 

Exzyleph

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The book-club won't be until December, but if anyone is interested in reading Ranging Loop with me, then it is currently 35% off on Steam. However, there's also a decent chance that it'll also be discounted during the late November autumn sale (Nov 25th to Dec 1st).


In other news, Nekonyan posted another status update on twitter:
  • Aokana Extra 1: 100% Translated, 100% Edited, 100% QA (Nov 6th release)
  • Riddle Joker: 100% Translated, 100% Edited, 80% QA (Dec 18th release)
  • Kinkoi: Golden Loveriche: 100% Translated, 75% Editing, Engine port to Unity in progress
  • Clover Days: 100% Translated, 40% Edited, Engine porting started
  • Secret Project #1: 62% Translated, 25% Edited
  • Melty Moment: 50% Translated
Secret Project #1 seems like it might be an Asa Project title, since they keep posting Sankaku Ren'ai CGFs along with its updates.
 

skLaFarebear

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Oh, I haven't played 02. Just watched gameplay footage of it. The first release of 02 was included in the Alice 2010 pack (released in 2009) while 01 is a standalone release in 2013. I do heard 03 is the real deal according to someone from another forum. Vastly improved gameplay based on 01, voice-acting (a first in the series) and meaty content. Hopefully they will continue remaking Rance 4 in near future.

Yeah, I would say it is a good time to start. Just be ready to play as a manchild lol. Series fans say Rance changed a lot in later entries, but in 01, he is an asshole throughout. 🤣
Oh trust me i know

I've seen the OVA.
 
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ZKenir

Setting the Seas Ablaze
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regarding R;N E so far the various use of the apps to collect geotags and reply on this game version of twitter feel like a useless chore, it's almost like they wanted to put a system like the phone in S;G or the delusion triggers in C;C but decided to make it the most annoying possible.
The worst part is that the geotags don't appear unless you zoom in, overall it feels really distracting, if I wanted to move around and zoom into random shit I'd be playing a FPS with a sniper rifle and with mouse support.
 

Exzyleph

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The sequel to Fallstreak has gotten a store page and a release date (Nov. 20th):



For anyone not aware of it, Fallstreak was a free VN that released in 2018. I was very pleasantly surprised when I read Fallstreak, and have been looking forward to Requiem since, though I will warn that Fallstreak does get rather disturbing at times:

 

Exzyleph

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And that's not the only thing that is releasing on the 20th:


Episodes 1 and 2 were a lot of fun, so I've been looking forward to this episode.
 

Exzyleph

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Majikoi finally got a rough release date (Winter 2020) and a Steam store page:

JAST first put this up for pre-order a little over a year ago, but ran into a number of unexpected hurdles after the announcement.

There are also still copies of the limited collectors edition available, for anyone who cares about collectibles: NSFW
 
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skLaFarebear

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Apparently a fair amount of the voices are being cut out, most likely due to licensing reasons as Majikoi has a very large and very expensive list of actors as far as I'm aware. I'm sure there will eventually be a fan patch for the official version that restores all the voice acting soon enough.

Can't believe we got an official Majikoi release date before the U.S found out who their next president was.
 

Exzyleph

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Apparently a fair amount of the voices are being cut out, most likely due to licensing reasons as Majikoi has a very large and very expensive list of actors as far as I'm aware. I'm sure there will eventually be a fan patch for the official version that restores all the voice acting soon enough.

Can't believe we got an official Majikoi release date before the U.S found out who their next president was.
The TL;DR is that only the main characters, the "Kazama Family", are voiced.

According to a staffer on their discord, the licensing costs would straight up bankrupt JAST if they were to try to license all the voice acting. It's unfortunate that we can't have it all, but it is also perfectly understandable that JAST chose to release the game like this and I'm looking forward to the release.

Though my plans to catch up on my backlog during November/December are in shambles at this point: Not only will we be getting Aokana EXTRA 1, Riddle Joker, Majikoi, Jiangshi x Daoshi ep. 3, and Fallstreak: Requiem for my Homeland, but Sekai Project also intends to release 9 -nine- episode 4 before the end of the year, and there's a chance that MUSICUS! will also be released this year :sweaty-blob:
 
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skLaFarebear

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The TL;DR is that only the main characters, the "Kazama Family", are voiced.

According to a staffer on their discord, the licensing costs would straight up bankrupt JAST if they were to try to license all the voice acting. It's unfortunate that we can't have it all, but it is also perfectly understandable that JAST chose to release the game like this and I'm looking forward to the release.

Though my plans to catch up on my backlog during November/December are in shambles at this point: Not only will we be getting Aokana EXTRA 1, Riddle Joker, Majikoi, Jiangshi x Daoshi ep. 3, and Fallstreak: Requiem for my Homeland, but Sekai Project also intends to release 9 -nine- episode 4 before the end of the year, and there's a chance that MUSICUS! will also be released this year :sweaty-blob:
Oh I 100% don't blame them for it. Ideally Minato Soft would have had the foresight to negotiate the contracts with all the different seiyuus for a worldwide release, but the VN is over a decade old and I'm sure at the time the thought didn't even cross their mind. Either way I'm very much looking forward to buying it day one (and sitting on it as I wait for the fan patch to restore the rest of the voices). At the very least, hopefully the TL itself will be better than the fan-TL after waiting all this time for it.
 
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ZKenir

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Yeah i'm sure there'll be a patch unofficial or "official" for that, just be fast to dl it, Baldr Sky "unofficial" patch got nuked out existence because people are assholes and I expect the same to happen
 

Exzyleph

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Aokana EXTRA 1 is out with a 10% launch discount. In addition, there's a bundle with a 15% total discount if you already own Aokana, and bundle with a 19% total discount if you are a crazy person like me and own every Nekonyan title to date:

 

skLaFarebear

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It's time for sweetness overload. I will add this to my Steam Library while I wait very impatiently for my fav Misaki

Yeah i'm sure there'll be a patch unofficial or "official" for that, just be fast to dl it, Baldr Sky "unofficial" patch got nuked out existence because people are assholes and I expect the same to happen
Yeah, at least with this patch it's not hard to find with a quick Google TL. Hopefully the "unofficial" patch for Majikoi won't take too long cuz I wanna bump this up my play order now that we actually have a release date for it so soon.
 

Cacher

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Had a serious turn-based RPG itch to scratch in the last couple of days so I start playing Yumina the Ethereal (localization available, btw) today. It takes courage to start this game as it is a long RPG with a true ending only available after clearing the game for at least three times with all difficulty settings. I have played it long time ago (maybe 6-7 years ago?) but the save died with my old computer, so I have never completed any route. Now, after five hours and chapter 1 down, the cast of characters and the combat mechanics are still as good as I remember. Yumina has to be one of the goofiest and the best heroines from a VN. Her dynamics with the main character, Ayumu, always crack me up.

Now, moving on to chapter two. Dungeons should be available soon and I remember that they are pretty tedious to play even with the ctrl button. My old computer certainly didn't help either (lag a lot). But I still look forward to playing more. I am going after the Graduation route (end of arc 1) to get all the available skills for Ayumu first before moving on to the three main routes.

Took a few screenshots as well.

 
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ZKenir

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I remember reading good stuff about Yumina, but I never got around to play it, I own it on JAST though so one day...

R;N finally clicked though, as a side effect I'm kinda in the mood to play mecha games, so after I'm done with this and DaSH I'll probably just into a mecha game lol
 

Cacher

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I remember reading good stuff about Yumina, but I never got around to play it, I own it on JAST though so one day...
Yeah, it is fun. The length on VNDB is misleading, btw. It is totally a 50+hour game. Probably double (or triple) the time if you take it seriously and want to complete everything.
 

skLaFarebear

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I remember reading good stuff about Yumina, but I never got around to play it, I own it on JAST though so one day...

R;N finally clicked though, as a side effect I'm kinda in the mood to play mecha games, so after I'm done with this and DaSH I'll probably just into a mecha game lol

As the Baldr Sky official shill, I can promise you this recommendation is 100% unbiased.

Hopefully it goes on sale during the Fall Steam sale
 
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sanhora

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As the Baldr Sky official shill, I can promise you this recommendation is 100% unbiased.

Hopefully it goes on sale during the Fall Steam sale
The depth of the combo system and how good it feels to nail a long ass combo completely blew me away. I probably spent dozens of hours just fucking around in the training room trying to come up with different combos because it was so much fun. I'm not even lying when I say the gameplay is good enough to stand up to even the best Platinum or Capcom games. On top of that there's a cool 100+ hour cyberpunk story clearly inspired by stuff like Neuromancer. Even the pacing isn't too bad for such a ridiculously long story (although fuck the reminiscence part.)

It's a small miracle the game was localized at all after all these years but it's going to be forever held back by its age and low resolution. I can only hope positive word of mouth eventually leads to more sales and more of the series getting localized.
 

Cacher

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Yay, entered the dungeon in Yumina and the performance is great. I am putting my 1080 Ti to work! 🤣

Speaking of Baldr Sky, a new title from Team Baldrhead is coming out next month. Gives out heavy Knight's & Magic vibe. Gameplay trailer:
 

skLaFarebear

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Yay, entered the dungeon in Yumina and the performance is great. I am putting my 1080 Ti to work! 🤣

Speaking of Baldr Sky, a new title from Team Baldrhead is coming out next month. Gives out heavy Knight's & Magic vibe. Gameplay trailer:
I was not expecting this game to be another mecha action game/RPG on the first reveal of a fantasy setting but I am here for it anyway.

It's a shame we will never ever get this game.
 

Cacher

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I was not expecting this game to be another mecha action game/RPG on the first reveal of a fantasy setting but I am here for it anyway.

It's a shame we will never ever get this game.
Same, I thought it was going to be a standard isekai/fantasy game. Happy to find out that it is an action title.

Regarding localization, well, you never know! I heard sekai games is losing money for releasing Baldr Sky, but they sell two games with the price of a single title. The translation cost of this title should not be as costly and they should have less difficulty to break even. If it is not picked up by any publisher, hopefully a fan translation will be done.:cat-heart-blob: