Visual Novels

[Fcret]

I find it disheartening how many VNs apparently have interesting settings, plots, etc. ... and are eroge. It means you cannot experience the VN without being exposed to whatever sex fetish the author likes, and you cannot really recommend the game to anyone (or even admit to playing it), either.

One of the best aspects of VNs is that they're innately an anti-normie genre. If the smattering of sex scenes keep the normoids out, then it's well worth it.

I do get not liking the porn and some of the insane shit in older games can be wild. I have to be in a very specific mood to sit down with eroge. But it's also what keeps the tourists from descending on this genre and ruining it like they've ruined every other niche nerd media thing.

Not really much I can add to actually address your concerns. There are a lot more all-ages VNs these days (and even all-ages remastermakes of a lot of classics) because the dream of every Japanese dev from 1983 until like 2020 was to get a console release and that means no sex.

 

[When will it begin?]

I like the VNs that have some gameplay in them. I really like Yurukill with its bullet hell segment. I also really enjoyed Buried Stars do you all know of games like that one.

I didn't realize Buried Stars was yaoi until the end

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

Finished Swan Song, another frequent recommended VN. The plot is about a town in the middle of nowhere stuck with an apocalyptic earthquake and getting cutoff from the outside world (assuming that outside world still exists). A small group of people join together to try to survive the calamity.

As you can expect from how much it is recommended, it's very good. It strikes a good balance of drama and levity and has a strong theme about the nature of humans and groups. The characters we follow through the game change in believable ways. I think the least interesting character is the main character which comes off as very bland and is very detached from what is going on around him. A surprisingly good character is an autistic woman that is part of the group, who isn't the cliche Hollywood autist, but is full retard (though she is still looking way too good, though it is never stated if she was born this way or did it happen from some accident or sickness).

Another interesting thing about the game is how the game has two endings, but the "normal" one is very well made and brings the conclusions of the game's themes, while the "good" one seems to be thrown together so to have a less bittersweet conclusion. I wish the game had more bad endings or alternate scenarios.

Danganronpa V3

I think why V3 does its meta well (at least in my opinion) is that, unlike something like Yiik, it is the third installment in the series, so players who stuck around can be argued to like things like the executions and inserting Junko as the real mastermind. Kinda like having a meta commentary in Saw that anyone watching part 3 probably likes the gore. This makes the final fuck you land well, and them nuking the franchise so no more sequels is a much more interesting ending than whatever samey conclusion they can do for the sixth time by now. It helps that the games always broke the fourth wall anyways.

There was a detective game that was in the spirit of Danganronpa by the same artist and company, but it was pretty mediocre.

 

[Poop A Loop]

Finally decided to play Fate/Stay Night and just finished the Fate Route. So good. I remember reading an LP of it on the lparchive a long while ago so if I'm remembering things correctly I already know who Archer is and I remember some stuff about the Heaven's Feel route, but regardless the journey so far has been great.

I totally understand why people get all excited about the collab with Honkai Star Rail now because now I'm jones'ing to pull Saber and Archer...

 

[Thiletonomics]

I think why V3 does its meta well (at least in my opinion) is that, unlike something like Yiik, it is the third installment in the series, so players who stuck around can be argued to like things like the executions and inserting Junko as the real mastermind. Kinda like having a meta commentary in Saw that anyone watching part 3 probably likes the gore. This makes the final fuck you land well, and them nuking the franchise so no more sequels is a much more interesting ending than whatever samey conclusion they can do for the sixth time by now. It helps that the games always broke the fourth wall anyways.

There was a detective game that was in the spirit of Danganronpa by the same artist and company, but it was pretty mediocre.

Has there been any other media (and not just video games) that did the similar full meta and breaking the 4th wall ending to intentionally destroy the franchise's reputation and kill it off for good? There have been numerous bad endings and adaptations to media that destroyed their reputation, i.e. Mass Effect 3, Attack on Titan, and Chainsaw Man, but those didn't go the meta and breaking the 4th wall route to do so.

 

[Billy the Adult]

I think why V3 does its meta well (at least in my opinion) is that, unlike something like Yiik, it is the third installment in the series, so players who stuck around can be argued to like things like the executions and inserting Junko as the real mastermind. Kinda like having a meta commentary in Saw that anyone watching part 3 probably likes the gore. This makes the final fuck you land well, and them nuking the franchise so no more sequels is a much more interesting ending than whatever samey conclusion they can do for the sixth time by now. It helps that the games always broke the fourth wall anyways.

There was a detective game that was in the spirit of Danganronpa by the same artist and company, but it was pretty mediocre.

I'll be honest, assuming its all Kazutaka Kodaka, it seems like a weird decision. I can get Rain Code was probably in the works to see if something similar could work. But ending Danganronpa on a "Fuck you," only to proceed to make Hundred Line that shares a lot of similarities (at least face value) seems like spiting the audience and then trying to appeal to that same audience. Though if there is a fanbase that deserves that, it would probably be the Danganronpa fanbase.

Has there been any other media (and not just video games) that did the similar full meta and breaking the 4th wall ending to intentionally destroy the franchise's reputation and kill it off for good? There have been numerous bad endings and adaptations to media that destroyed their reputation, i.e. Mass Effect 3, Attack on Titan, and Chainsaw Man, but those didn't go the meta and breaking the 4th wall route to do so.

Maybe the latest Matrix movie? I dunno if it counts, but I'm pretty sure Deponia Doomsday was made just to shut down anyone who made headcanons or didn't like the ending to the trilogy.

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

I'll be honest, assuming its all Kazutaka Kodaka, it seems like a weird decision. I can get Rain Code was probably in the works to see if something similar could work. But ending Danganronpa on a "Fuck you," only to proceed to make Hundred Line that shares a lot of similarities (at least face value) seems like spiting the audience and then trying to appeal to that same audience. Though if there is a fanbase that deserves that, it would probably be the Danganronpa fanbase.

Rain Code and Hundred Line don't have the Death Game trash that Danganronpa had, they are more in line with standard mystery horror that is a legitimate genre and its fans wouldn't have cared for V3 ending.

Has there been any other media (and not just video games) that did the similar full meta and breaking the 4th wall ending to intentionally destroy the franchise's reputation and kill it off for good? There have been numerous bad endings and adaptations to media that destroyed their reputation, i.e. Mass Effect 3, Attack on Titan, and Chainsaw Man, but those didn't go the meta and breaking the 4th wall route to do so.

The most I can think about is Metal Gear Solid 2. Tvtropes has "Torch the Franchise and Run" page with some examples, but those don't go meta.

 

[Poop A Loop]

Following up on my FSN playthrough - I've finished the Unlimited Blade Works endings. Still really good but I feel like parts of the writing just kinda devolve into nonsense towards the end of UBW.

I have no goddamn idea what was being said with the "Answer" vignette after the epilogue of UBW's true ending. I think I understand when it took place and that it was from Archer's POV but it was such a word salad that you could have attributed the writing to Kamala Harris. I also think I know what it was portraying, but the writing was so obtuse that I didn't get the point of it being at the end instead of being inserted into the part where Shirou defeats Archer.

Shirou's justification for being able to beat Gilgamesh was also just a step too arbitrary for me to reconcile.

Whatever, still miles better than the disgusting agitprop faggotry that is modern western RPG writing like Dragon Age and Baldur's Gate 3.

UBW also helps you warm up to Rin as a person rather than as a side character, but Saber is still best girl.

Now on to Heaven's Feel! I distinctly remember some of the more weird parts of that route from reading it on the LP Archive a decade ago but that's about all I remember so this'll be interesting.

 

[Plastic Paddy]

I don't know fucking where to post this due to the dubious nature of it, but I finished Monochrome Mobius 2/ Utawarerumono 4 the other day. Honestly it was pretty good and it was nice to see the Yamato cast again. Oshtor, Munechika and Mikazuchi are all such good characters, so more screentime of them was enjoyable. I just wish we had more of Raiko because he is an absolute show stealer whenever he was shown.

Spoiler: The most obvious thing

I was laughing at how in your face Aquaplus was about Mayacowl just being Dii, like if you get Shuuichi Ikeda back again you know exactly who he is going to be.

I do think a lot of the cast returns are just cameos/ fanservice. It cemented that Haku is one of if not the best VN protagonist. Shunya grew on me a lot, and every time they played a song from the original trilogy it hit me like a ton of bricks. I can't believe one of my favorite series is over. There's a little message from Kentaro Tone after you beat the game and he says he wants Fujikei to play this game. It really goes to show there's a lot of love put in this game.

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

Now on to Heaven's Feel! I distinctly remember some of the more weird parts of that route from reading it on the LP Archive a decade ago but that's about all I remember so this'll be interesting.

HF has a ton of cool edgy shit, and in some ways is the anti UBW path. The main issue is that Sakura is objectively the worst heroine in the entire franchise. Like legitimately most players would rather go for Medusa.

I don't know fucking where to post this due to the dubious nature of it, but I finished Monochrome Mobius 2/ Utawarerumono 4 the other day. Honestly it was pretty good and it was nice to see the Yamato cast again. Oshtor, Munechika and Mikazuchi are all such good characters, so more screentime of them was enjoyable. I just wish we had more of Raiko because he is an absolute show stealer whenever he was shown.

Spoiler: The most obvious thing

I was laughing at how in your face Aquaplus was about Mayacowl just being Dii, like if you get Shuuichi Ikeda back again you know exactly who he is going to be.

I do think a lot of the cast returns are just cameos/ fanservice. It cemented that Haku is one of if not the best VN protagonist. Shunya grew on me a lot, and every time they played a song from the original trilogy it hit me like a ton of bricks. I can't believe one of my favorite series is over. There's a little message from Kentaro Tone after you beat the game and he says he wants Fujikei to play this game. It really goes to show there's a lot of love put in this game.

Yeah I also finished it two weeks ago. It's sad for the franchise to be over, but they did close all loose ends in a great way. Hope maybe one day we'll have a game in the same setting in a far future.

The game itself was great, only real issue is Shunya becoming a love interest, which doesn't work due to her not really having much chemistry (and the family relations), and some parts of the ending felt like an asspull.

The graphics were iffy and it's funny they basically sunk their entire budget into a single fight scene.

 

[Greedy Fly]

Been slowly chipping away at Hundred Line. I got endings 2 (Reset Route), then 1 (LDA 2nd Scenario) then 71 & 72 (Slasher Route) which were all pretty kino, but now I seem to be on a comedic route (I chose fish) and I can see why some people have a completely different reaction to this game. I can't imagine how I'd feel if I had landed on a route like this on my first playthrough. It's fun but compared to the other routes I've seen, the story is stretched thin to try to fill 100 days and the balance between fights/exploration/LN segments doesn't feel right.

I know Kodaka's always been kind of batshit but he really let himself off the leash for this game, both in making something this ambitious and the writing on individual routes.