The visual novel thread

[aboumonkey]

I am sure you all buy them ,but seriously what do I need to play them ?(programs,english language patches ?)And most importantly where do I download this stuff.I 've been wanting to play them for ages.I have been trying to get clannad play for a week the past summer but in the end I didn't get to play it...

[Fireaxe]

Originally Posted by ingrey

I think I'm going to start reading/watching a lot of these, it's kind of nice to have pictures and sound with the Powerpoint-style text presentation. I feel like a kid at a toystore, so many more stories waiting to be read. The only difficulty being how long they take to READ, but that shouldn't be a problem in a few months when I get a better connection.

That's what you should have said, though it seems like you're a pretty fast reader. 2 hours only? O.o
Most VN can be downloaded pretty quickly. Tsukihime for example is merely 500 Mb, though it requires a good 40ish hours to read the whole thing. It's not exactly the kind of novel you can read through in one sitting, you'll want to gouge your eyes out for looking at your computer screen for so long.

[purplemo]

You know, as I slowly finish up Umineko, my belief that they will completely f*&k up the anime grows more and more given that Umineko, if done in order and without change, will be so different than the Higurashi anime that fans will kick and whine like they did when Il Teatrino came out. It's not like in Umineko the killer or the motive is a secret. Much of what would be a secret in Higurashi is known up front and much of the story of Umineko happens from a perspective of someone like Frederica in Higurashi. And we all know what happened to her in the planning of Higurashi . . .

Still overall I feel Umineko is better than Higurashi. I need to change that list to reflect Umineko's high jump up.

And it is so so much more gruesome. The most vicious killer in Higurashi (trying not to spoil) has nothing on Beatrice.

______________________________

Originally Posted by ingrey

I completed my first visual novel. Planetarium was good but pretty sad; I liked most of the prose and enjoyed the interactions between the robot girl and the protagonist. I only wish it had been a bit longer - it lasted about two hours.

I think I'm going to start reading/watching a lot of these, it's kind of nice to have pictures and sound with the Powerpoint-style text presentation. I feel like a kid at a toystore, so many more stories waiting to be read. The only difficulty being how long they take to download, but that shouldn't be a problem in a few months when I get a better connection.

Hehehe. Still waiting for one non-marmar person to complain Planetarian is bad. Starting out on one of the best can be a good or bad thing. Having a good first impression is good, but can also set up to disappoint for later when the others don't hold up . . .

[purplemo]

Finally caught all the way up with Umineko. Of all the witches so far to carry

Pretty big spoiler

the name Beatrice, I like Ange the best and Eva the least.

As I get further and further along though, I'm feeling the Umineko anime will either

1) Be even more of a hack job than Higurashi
or
2) It will cause the fans of that horrid Higurashi anime to shun it since the storytelling will be so different

I can't wait to see who they will get to play Eva, Ronove, and Ange too. Battler's got some Phoenix Wright blood in him too . . . or is it the other way around?

[ingrey]

Originally Posted by purplemo

Hehehe. Still waiting for one non-marmar person to complain Planetarian is bad. Starting out on one of the best can be a good or bad thing. Having a good first impression is good, but can also set up to disappoint for later when the others don't hold up . . .

I did enjoy it a lot. Since then I've read/played Ever 17 and True Remembrance. Ever 17 was pretty entertaining, but I didn't really like any of the characters, so it was merely a good way to pass the time. True Remembrance, on the other hand, was an amazing read. I wasn't expecting much since I downloaded it for free on what I think was the official site, but it was very emotionally affecting. Next up: ef - the first tale.

[purplemo]

I finished May Sky recently on a push from a friend. Probably best known (outside Japan) as one of the al|together 2008 releases, this is one of those short VNs where not much really happens. It's a little slice o'life budding relationship between two people. It's not in the realm of Planetarian's emotional punches or Umineko's . . . Umineko-ness, but it's a surprisingly nice read. I usually shun VNs like this, but the banter between the two leads (really the only two characters) is pretty fun. It helped that I had a friend where we acted pretty much the same way. The extra chapter does take a bit away from the ending but is overall a nice addition for those who are into romance. It also has an amazingly good soundtrack for something so short and lacking in a budget (unlike Planetarian) with some excellent piano pieces. I'd recommend for anyone who likes their anime romance and light character-centric comedy.

May Sky has somewhat changed my opinion on these ultra short doujin VNs. I'm not a big fan of these as they usually are so short and so lacking in everything like story and music that they are rather boring (granted May Sky just barely fits in the ultra short in my mind).

[Hyperbole1729]

Started Saya no Uta the other day.

Got a first ending by taking a non-gore choice on the first choice. So far it's not that disturbing, but I guess the real thing comes after making the gore choice...

[purplemo]

Originally Posted by Hyperbole1729

Started Saya no Uta the other day.

Got a first ending by taking a non-gore choice on the first choice. So far it's not that disturbing, but I guess the real thing comes after making the gore choice...

Well . . .

Saya's not so much gory as disturbing with the whole cannibalism and all the stuff that runs through one's mind while going through it . There aren't too many VNs that are an outright visual gorefest. If you want more disturbing (descriptions of) events, Umineko's Rosa is probably more your cup o' tea.

By the by, I updated the VN list in the sig. Not much has really changed. Just a bit of shuffling.

Probably gives a decent idea as to where my avi comes from too . . .

[Hyperbole1729]

I'll probably get on Umineko soon. Seeing how much you keep talking about it (and at which place it got switched to :P) makes me want to read it. I found translations up to chapter 3, should last a while depending on the length of each chapters...

I also got Otome Crisis a while ago. The fighting part is nice but it doesn't look like there's a translation yet so the story mode won't be for now (I tried to see if i could manage to understand with the voices but it seems like not)

[purplemo]

Otome Crisis might be on the visual novel list, but it isn't on there for any of the visual novel stuff (much like Melty Blood). Those two earned their spot for the "extra" part of the visual novel.

And back when I made the original list I didn't even get to the 2nd twilight in the Legend (which when looking back it might as well mean I've not read anything at all). Once I got into Umineko though it pushed itself quite a bit higher up the list. You'll like Rosa and Beatrice seeing what you were disappointed in with Saya.

I've been trying to get chii into Umineko and Touhou. After all, she's been using Suika and Lady Bern; you'd think she would read/play at least one thing those two are in . . .