Review: Utatemeguri

Waking up his Osananajimi, going to school and getting lectured by his diligent Kouhai, watching his close friends have a battle that rivals the intensity of Phoenix Wright’s courtrooms over their lunch is all part of Hidaka Satsuki lives his normal and peaceful life with no complaints. One day, the mysterious transfer student, Rebecca, who just transferred only recently called Renka, Satsuki’s osananajimi, to the rooftop and said “How much longer are you going to pretend to be human, monster.” In the midst of all confusion, a bullet shot broke the silence, and the rooftop painted with red. No! What has happened, why did Rebecca shoot Renka? The plot thickens as night falls upon Yoiha Gakuen…

~Taken from VNDB

Plot 5/10: I'll be perfectly honest and say this is a case of a story that had enormous potential, but was ruined at least in part by haste on the part of the writers. This game, while it has a truly fascinating setting going for it, with some truly interesting heroines, is paced far too fast for a story-focused visual novel with such a complex background. To be blunt, you aren't given enough time to get to love the characters. While it is possible to become fond of the characters - with effort - the fact that you have to make the effort says it all. I will say that the overreaching story is compelling, if rather common in world literature (it's basically another star-crossed lovers story with two extra paths tacked on in a half-assed attempt to help you get to know the other major characters better). One thing I can't bring myself to like is the protagonist, who breaks the boundaries of foolhardiness to become an outright moron at times. This being despite the fact that he is apparently a very cool-headed person... While this is necessary to progress the story, the frequency with which it occurs is painful to experience. While I hear a lot of praise for this game from various corners, I can't really recommend this game for its story.

Visuals 8/10: Hrm... what can I say? The character drawings are well done, in the same style as Killer Queen. I'll say that I didn't really like the 'effects' cgs, where swords are slashing and blood is splashing... They tended to lack impact. The CGs for the characters during battle though, are another thing entirely, having enough impact for the game to regain some points from some of the less stellar parts.

Sound 7/10: I'll come out and say that the voice actors in this story are excellent and well-fitted for their roles... and they count for most of the points I give to sound, with the rest coming from their usage of the bgms - which were somewhat generic, but not awful. What took off points though, was the sound effects. To be blunt... outside of the blood splatter sounds, the sound effects were less than memorable, except maybe as a poor example of what to do to give sound effects impact. Whether it is Shii's kicks or the sounds of blades impacting with blades... I sometimes had to ask myself 'did something just happen?' even though I'd read the text saying what had happened and saw the character models or cgs.

Overall 6/10: To be honest, I was really disappointed in this game... With the visuals being the high point and most of the rest a mixed bag at best and a disappointment at worst, I felt a little betrayed by those who'd recommended this game to me. In particular, the pacing of the plot stands out as the biggest disappointment for me, and for a game where the plot should have been the biggest selling point, that sort of makes certain I wouldn't have a good opinion of this. I honestly feel that I can't recommend this to anyone, unless you absolutely have to have a 'gakuen battle' type of eroge to play.

Review: Toppara - Zashiki-warashi no hanashi

Toppara is about a guy who lost his parents and his family fortune after his house's zashiki-warashi (who was also his childhood friend) left. Because of this, he has become embittered and generally pessimistic about life, blaming both youkai and humans in general for his troubles. One day, he wakes up to find a beautiful youkai woman standing over him, a kage-onna, ending his solitude and forcing him to reawaken from his sleep.


Plot 7/10: The various paths of this VN, each centering around any one of the eight heroines (seven of which are non-human, for you youkai fetishists out there) are not terribly complex or surprising. However, this is one of those cases where the game doesn't really need to be surprising to entertain. How the protagonist awakens from his self-pitying trance in each path is the main theme, with the heroines providing the means either through him helping solve their problems or through them doing their best to help him. By the time you get to the true path, Midori's path, you won't be surprised at all by what happens, but that doesn't really seem to matter... this is the kind of eroge where you just sit back and relax, enjoying the ride. I particularly enjoyed Touko's (Tamamo no Mae) path, for the interesting insight into the way religion was used as a political tool in the Meiji era, in addition to Touko being an excellent heroine. The endings for each path tended to be a mixed bag, most of them being short and lacking in detail, but overall this sort of hazy way of ending things, as generic as it is, doesn't get in the way of enjoying the game itself.

Visuals 7/10: Definitely not the best game I've ever played when it comes to visuals, with the CG's tending to be lacking in detail on a closer look. However, the character models for the rest of the game were done well-enough that I felt no strong reason to complain. To be honest, I wish they'd put some more effort and detail into the major scenes (though the scenes toward the end of Mikage's path are excellent, in contrast to the ones on some of the other paths).

Sound 6/10: Most of the soundtrack for the game was pleasant, if generic. If I have a complaint it is the tendency of the game to misuse those at times, especially the few tension-causing bgms. Sadly, this is not a great example of using what they have well...

Overall 6.5/10: My overall is mostly drawn from a technical outlook, rather than how much I enjoyed it in this case. If I went from my personal enjoyment meter, it would probably be a good 8/10. However, this game's appeal is rather narrow, focused on your slice-of-life fans and youkai fetishists, and maybe drawing in some borderline nakige lovers. Personally, I think this is a solid choice for a light VN to play if you run out of things to try, but I wouldn't choose it over say... Clannad. This game is a good example of the generic slice-of-life eroge out there, being a little better than the average, but I don't think it will make it to the top of very many lists.

Review: Evolimit

Shiranui Yoshikazu and Ichijou Shizuku wake up after a hundred years in cold sleep to find the world they left behind changed beyond all recognition by the twin factors of the genocidal robots known as the Barbaroi and the mysterious stones known as 'patch' that grant humans superpowers that allow them to survive in the violent place Mars became in the wake of the loss of technological culture.

Upon awakening, their memories of their life before going into cold sleep have for the most part returned, but upon being told that their expedition, the first colonization and development effort to Mars, was wiped out, they realize that their memories are as of yet incomplete. They then begin to search for clues as to just what happened to the rest of the colonization team known as the 'Calamity Monkeys'.


Plot 9/10: Considering the other review I read on this game, I was at first worried that this would turn out to be a 'miss', but I soon came to realize that it was nothing of the sort. This eroge is unbelievably funny, with the protagonist's antics making up much of the story's amusement value, and the addition of the various other characters simply enhancing his spectacularly comical actions. At the same time, when the story gets down to the drama, its very powerful, so much so that I spent much of the game either laughing until my throat began to hurt or crying so hard my nose completely stopped up. The game's true antagonist has a lot of impact, if only because he is so coldly sane, despite the insanity of his actions. The lesser antagonists are strong as well, their individual personalities well-defined, despite the fact that they are really little more than pawns. The action scenes, while not as detailed as Ayakashibito's (also by Propeller), are nonetheless more than well done enough to be worth reading.

Visuals 8/10: The character design in this game differs a bit from the norm in eroges, but that actually makes it easier to enjoy it, as you get deeper into the story, that very difference, subtle as it was, making it easier to distinguish them from the characters of other such eroges. The CGs are both plentiful and fun to look at, with a rather large number of comical chibi CG's aiding the game in one of its three primary goals, which seem to consist of making you love the characters, love the story, and laugh until you feel like your head is going to split open.

Sound 9/10: The music in this game doesn't fall into the trap of reusing slightly rearranged generic tracks from a dozen other eroges, and most of the tracks are very well-chosen, enhancing the drama and the comedy appropriately, thus making the overall experience more powerful. In particular, this game does tragic songs very well... In addition, the character voices - especially the protagonist's - are very well-suited to the characters, seeming tailor-made for their personalities.

Overall 9/10: In my current mood, I was likely to give this game a ten out of ten, but I felt that I should be honest and say that the game isn't perfect, by any means. However, despite its small imperfections, the game is definitely one of the best eroge I've ever played, even taking the euphoria from having just finished out of the equation. If you want an eroge that will fill your existence with tears and laughter (mostly laughter) then this is a good choice... better yet, its not so dark that fluffy fans will hate it, and it isn't so light that fans of story-focused eroges will dislike it. It walks the tightrope of light and dark extremely well, and thus its appeal is something I can recommend to just about everyone.

Review: Kurenai no Tsuki

Kouya, a rookie detective, is walking deep inside the forest. It was two weeks ago. A hand of unidentified creature washed up on the shore of a river. Hard and thick skin. Bristle like an animal. Thick fingers and sharp nails. It was not a human's hand. Also, there was a jewel ring on the ring finger. This mysterious story was featured in a magazine and caught people's attention. Days later, the police found that it was a woman's hand, who had been missing for a month. She went missing when she played golf with her friends nearby. The police confirmed she was attacked by a stray dog, but couldn't explain why the hand looked so differently. They tried to close the case, but her husband wasn't convinced. He didn't want to believe his wife was a monster. He decided to ask a detective to investigate the case. That's why Kouya is now roaming around deep inside the forest. It is getting dark, but he doesn't know where he is now. Just when he feels dizzy, he hears someone's voice. Is that auditory hallucination? He hears a girl's voice this time. "I've been saved!" But he accidentally falls down a waterfall.... When he regains his consciousness, he finds himself lying in the bed. He looks around and finds three girls. "Are you alright?" "Well, did you save me?" "Yes, I and my older sister carried you all the way here." Their mother says to him, "I'm relieved to see you getting well. But you must marry either of my sisters, Sunao or Hiori." He doesn't know what she means.... A mysterious hand bitten off by someone. A small village deep inside the forest. Marriage to a miko. Kouya's fate is led to unexpected direction after he meets two girls....

~Summary taken from VNDB



Plot 8/10: This is the first mystery VN other than G-senjou no Maou (though, G-senjou no Maou isn't much of a mystery) that I've played since I began my eroge rampage six months ago, and it was an excellent choice overall, in my opinion. The protagonist in this story is a rare type, the kind of guy who is usually level-headed and thoughtful. As such, being behind his eyes was quite enjoyable, as he searches for clues to the mystery of the small village into which he stumbled. The heroines are all good, and for the most part I can't find a reason to complain... except that the epilogues for each arc are quite short... This is also one of the few games with a harem ending that is not in any way a nukige, which was interesting in and of itself. While this isn't really a comedy, it does have enough light moments to keep you from falling into gloom during the somewhat grim investigations. Because of this, I can definitely say that this VN's pacing is good, if not the best I've ever encountered.

Visuals 8/10: The CG's in this eroge really are beautiful... in particular, Sunao's CG's during the rituals are compelling, and the character models are attractive enough that the game is worth playing just to look at them. This game's atmosphere is as much dependent on its visual aspect as the plot.

Sound 7/10: Hrm... the music in this game is good but not particularly memorable. As generic as it gets, really. That isn't really a flaw though, since they use what they have correctly, which is the point of having music in games in the first place. The voice-acting is fairly good, and there were only a few times when a character's voice grated on me or felt like it didn't fit what was being said (maybe two or three times in the entire vn).

Overall 8/10: This is definitely a good mystery eroge, though from my brief attempt to conquer some more serious members of the genre, I know it is less in-depth than some. I can definitely recommend this to people who are into this type of eroge, and at the same time I can recommend it to those who are interested in the genre but don't want to go for heavy ones like Innocent Gray's games. At the same time, this is the first eroge I've played with a harem ending that actually has some meaning to it, which startled me a little bit. As such, simply for novelty's sake it is worth taking a look at.

Sacred†Vampire Review

Kiryuu Kazuma is a vampire. As a child he was filled with hatred and contempt for all the humans of the world and sucked their blood with joy. However, one day, he encountered a girl whose song quieted his hatred and swept away his lust for blood. While he lost contact with her after the church in which she sang burned down, he encounters her once again, as they end up in the same class at the high school he attends.


Plot 5/10: To be blunt, the plot of this VN is not paced very well. The story occasionally pretends to have deep insights but is so straightforward that a five year old could figure it out in advance. In addition, the protagonist is a self-hating vampire who constantly dwells over how he doesn't deserve to be loved, making things more than a little irritating. The strongest redeeming factors in this are his elder sister/heroine Kiri's hilarious lifestyle habits and the hilarious exchanges between him and his friends. However, in the end that is only enough to make it an average eroge at best.

Visuals 7/10: While the game is visually pretty, it is no more so than any number of other eroge I've played over the past few years. If I had to put up a good point it would be the backgrounds and cgs - which have a decent impact, for all that I've seen better.

Sound 6/10: Generally speaking, the soundtrack is fairly standard as eroges go, with the bgms for the most part sounding like they were recycled out of the giant eroge music-basket in the sky. The voices, however, are for the most part very well-done, with Seira's being the only one that is a bit annoying at times.

Overall 6/10: Unfortunately, this eroge turned out to be something of a 'miss', but then, I played it on impulse, so I guess that's no surprise. The only people I can recommend this to really are the vampire-obsessed, and I think even they would probably be disappointed.

fortissimo／／Akkord：Bsusvier delaying review

Having finished Fortissimo, I would normally be reviewing it now. Unfortunately, it looks like the game wasn't even complete when they released it!!! I guess I'll have to wait until the patch comes out in February.

Review: Lovekami

In the future of a slightly different Japan, the gods (kami) come down from the heavens to live once again amongst the people. However, the gods lack the basic common sense for living in the human world, so Amaterasu proclaims that they should be educated so that they can live alongside humankind. As a result, Souta's school becomes the trial case for the new program, and his school life takes a rather hilarious turn.


Plot 8/10: Really, I'm giving this score mostly because of Tsukuyomi's path and the sheer hilarity of this VN. As a break from my usual dark choices, this eroge was perfect. It's story is light and for the most part cheerful, without turning into a sex-romp like most games geared toward the 'megami-fetish' crowd seem to end up being. It's references to Shinto are fairly accurate, and for those who are interested, it explains some of the oddities that are hard to figure out using wikipedia and whatever random books on the religion end up in your local public library. The heroines and other characters have lively personalities that interact very well with each other, and the individual heroines' stories are interesting in and of themselves, even though there is definitely a level of absurdity to things overall. The protagonist is a hot-headed, dense type, though oddly it doesn't come across as painfully as most such protagonists tend to do. He's definitely an idiot, but he's also an idiot you'll end up liking despite yourself.

Visual 8/10: Hrm... what can I say about this? The appearance of this game overall is fairly good, with the chibis and chibi-cgs being outright hilarious just to look at. In addition, the other CG's, while not the best I've ever seen (considering the VNs I've seen in the past, that isn't an insult at all) are also good looking and definitely grab your attention.

Sound 7/10: In terms of voices, this VN did a very good of fitting VA's to characters, each one seeming to fit into their individual personality and body type quite well. In terms of soundtrack, the funny and cheerful tracks that make up the majority of what's in this game are good but sound exactly like you would expect to hear in any given light and cheerful eroge. The few serious soundtracks were once again somewhat generic but well suited to the scenes they were fitted to.

Overall 7.5/10: Overall, for those looking for a light game to play that isn't a sex-romp, and for those who have a thing for Shinto, foxgirls, and the like, this is a good choice. I can't recommend it to people looking for a serious or tragic experience, because this really isn't that type of game. At the same time, there are no real fight scenes and most of the game is seemingly constructed to make the player laugh until his ribs crack open. From that perspective, I could have probably given this a better score, but I'm reluctant to give that high a score to a game that isn't technically one of the best games I've ever played.


Note: Yeah, I figured I would go ahead and review this, even though I don't normally review the light eroge I play. I originally just wanted to play this to wash the rather nasty taste of Kourin no Machi (no fault of Akabeesoft there, I was just not in the mood for being depressed) out of my mouth, but this game turned out to be enough of a winner that I went ahead and played all four paths.

Review: Boku ga Sadame Kimi ni wa Tsubasa wo

In Boku ga Sadame Kimi ni wa Tsubasa wo, the struggle for power is split between two groups, fighting over holy relics that hold incredible technological knowledge. One is the Church, who says that the holy relics are a power beyond human abilities to handle and the other is RDA, a corporation that seeks holy relics for the sake of using the technology for the sake of the world.

Touya, the protagonist, is the son of a samurai family whose father died serving RDA's cause, and he too joins RDA in order to both avenge his father's death at the hands of the Church and succeed his father in RDA's holy relic recovery team.

Story 6.5/10- The first eroge to be produced by Akatsuki Works, it is easily the weakest I've played so far, story-wise. While the action scenes are up to Akatsuki works usual standards, in exchange the action-packed story moves so fast you don't really have a chance to get attached to the characters and the end comes before you have a chance to gain an emotional attachment to the outcome. To make things worse, a similar fight happens at the end of each arc against the same guy - though the people who oppose and ally with you depend on the heroine you pursued. On the plus side, for people who like dark VNs, the Church's blind belief in a predetermined future and RDA's hidden face are both creepy enough to give any sane person goosebumps, and that gives the story another facet that - while not really pursued to its full potential - is nonetheless compelling in its resemblance to existing and past organizations in our own world.

Visuals 8/10- Overall the CG's and backgrounds are well done, even though the contrast between the details of the characters' clothing and their somewhat less well-defined facial features are sometimes a bit of a put-off. Still, the style itself is visually pleasing for someone like me who is a bit tired of the over-smooth styles used by most eroge.

Sound 7.5/10- While the soundtrack is pretty good, with the action scenes having fitting music in particular, the sound effects are surprisingly weak, which made me deduct points, naturally.

Overall 7/10- Overall, this is a decent action VN with a number of near-fatal flaws to its pacing and visual style that can likely be attributed to this being Akatsuki Works first project. However, even so I still found it enjoyable enough once I stopped comparing it to the giants like Devils Devel Concept that came after it.

Review: Abyss- Homicide Club

'Sasayama Akira was born into a family of assassins and trained as a child to become one of them. However, due to psychological issues, his father decided to send Akira to a relative's house, to live a normal life.

Several years later, Akira gets asked by the student council president to investigate a rumor of a group called Abyss, a shadowy group of students responsible for abducting and killing students in a grotesque game.'

Summary borrowed from VNDB.com

Story 9/10: This is one of the better written VNs I've played, and it reminded me very strongly that Type-moon started out as a doujin eroge-maker as well. The writing and concept for the plot were truly excellent, the plot twists were well-designed, with tragedy and horror mixed in with bright moments that are often shattered in classic utsuge fashion. The humor is the story's only weak point, but that can't really be helped since the game's focus is on the serious part of the story. The characters in this story are compelling and the reason for the enforced playing order is evident from the start, as each playthrough adds more pieces of the puzzle, leading up to the final route which solves both the mysteries surrounding the protagonist and a good part of the ones surrounding the greater Abyss organization. There is enough brutality in this VN for the average blood-addicted fan, though probably not quite enough for those who revel in games like Gore Screaming Show. The protagonist is an interesting influence as well, with his actions being very characteristic of what you'd expect from his personal profile. Akira is not the strongest protagonist I've ever run into, but he definitely makes it onto my list of favorites. Overall, I felt myself to be satisfied with the last ending, which pretty much tied up all the loose ends from the other routes.

Visual 7/10: The style and level of the art is at about the same level as Tsukihime, very good for a doujin VN. I really fell in love with certain CG's, such as the one above. Other than that... the backgrounds were again similar to Tsukihime's (I almost thought that it was a tribute to the game) with faded out real-life scenes being the main.

Audio 9/10: Why am I giving this game such a high score in audio despite the somewhat low-budget music and the lack of voice actors? Perfect usage. The way they use the soundtrack in this eroge is truly magnificent, in a way that I haven't seen very often since the end of the psx era. Even though the soundtrack itself isn't always impressive, the way that it is used is a reminder of what is quickly becoming a lost art in the video game industry.

Overall 8/10: Overall, I can easily say that this game is one of the best eroge's I've played in a while and I'd recommend it to anyone who can stand the somewhat tragic tendencies of a horror-type utsuge.

Review: EXE

Synopsis: In a small city, a guy named Toya lives with his little sister Makina and his surrogate parent, Sayo, having lost his mother in a hospital fire ten years before. However, at night he passes a woman on the streets who looks exactly like his supposedly dead mother and follows her, joined by the transfer student, Yuu. When he catches up to her, she attacks and Yuu repels her with flames, only to be attacked herself by a girl with a katana.


Plot 6/10- To be perfectly honest, for a dark story-focused VN, this one lacks the depth that games like Devils Devel Concept and Dies Irae (or even Comyuu) possess, with the protagonist being your usual 'quiet, stupidly stubborn/naive, shounen' type. His personality, while rather straightforward, comes across as shallow in comparison to the depth of the protagonists from games like Dies Irae or even Draculius, where the protagonists' personality and drives were more clearly defined. However, the plot in general is interesting, with each arc having its own individual main antagonist (except the one 'peaceful' arc and the 'extra' arc with Sayo). The heroines are each distinctive personality-wise, with Kono Natsuki being by far the most memorable, both in appearance and personality in my opinion. If the story has a weakness, it is that it moves too fast and often lacks detail, skipping over parts where people die (though this is understandable, since Yuzusoft is normally a comedy VN maker). The real weakness, however, is in the lack of a real after-story for any of the arcs. Once the conflict of each individual arc is resolved, the rest takes little more than five minutes to read, leaving you still buzzing with the effects of the climax with no real tie-off to leave you satisfied.

Visual 8/10- Decent CG's, beautiful and unique characters, and some really good expressions (especially the psychopathic ones). Overall, it was one of the better looking VNs I've encountered.

Audio 7/10- The soundtrack isn't all that memorable, though the tracks are decent enough. If I had to point out a strength to the audio in this game, it would be the voices of Momiji and Kono. Momiji's sadistic personality hidden behind a flowery smile is well expressed in her speech patterns, making her one of the most memorable antagonists I've encountered in a while. Kono Natsuki's somewhat halting way of speaking does well in expressing her character's inexperience with human interaction.

Overall 6/10- It's sad when a story-focused VN's weakest point is the depth of its plot, but in this case it can't be helped. Despite that, this is a good choice to play if you like a supernatural/dark edge to your stories, but don't want to go too far in that direction/don't want to think too deeply. The character visuals and voices definitely pick up some of the slack from the story's flaws, but overall I can't give this one of my best ratings. I especially take off points for the individual endings, since none made an attempt at a serious after-story, even though they went out of their way to develop the heroines in their individual routes (to an extent that it made me seriously want to know what happened to them later).

Review: Hanachirasu

Note: I'm only doing a short review of this one, because frankly there isn't that much to talk about...


The story of Takeda Akane the crazed swordsman and Igarasu Yoshia the man who seeks vengeance upon him, it is based in an alternate Japan where the nuclear bomb was never dropped and Japan was never fully subjugated.

Story 5/10: To be honest, this game is the worst Nitro+ game I've ever had the misfortune to deal with. A story with a lot of potential is utterly ruined by loads of unnecessary information about sword techniques and other such information. While the story itself was actually pretty good, the amount of pointless text one has to wade through to reach the meat of the story is ridiculous, making it impossible to give this a high rating.

Visuals 7/10: Like all Nitro+ games, the visuals are well-done, if not as clean as some of the other games of theirs that I've played. However, the weakness is the backgrounds, which are horribly done in comparison with the characters, and at times make it difficult to get into what you are reading.

Sound 8/10: Sadly, the best aspect of the game is the music and the sound effects, with decent tracks and some lovely blood splatter and sword slash sound effects. Unfortunately, the sound isn't so good that I would consider it to be 'excellent', so I can't give it that good of a score.

Overall 6.5: Worst VN I've played since Princess Lover, with its only redeeming quality being the endings, which are actually fairly good, and the general violence of the game.

Akatsuki no Goei and FD Review

Synopsis: In a world where the gap between the rich and the poor in Japan has become so great that there is no hope whatsoever of filling in the gap, and persecution toward unregistered citizens has met its height, a young bodyguard cadet named Asagiri Kaito, who intended to quit the school where he was learning, saves a young woman from some kidnappers on accident, bringing about a truly odd turn of events...

Protagonist: I feel a need once again to stress that this is a protagonist that I very much like. He is a joker most of the time, messing with those around him and doing whatever he feels like at any given moment, not giving respect to anyone, whether they deserve it or not. He is seen as the class dropout, but in actuality he is stronger in terms of combat skill and physical strength than anyone else in his class. He has no hesitation whatsoever when acting for the sake of his own objectives and is for the most part level-headed under his trickster's mask.

Story 7/10: This VN is seriously funny... beyond funny. The character interactions and the frequent use of nori-tsukkomi, as well as Kaito's antics make for almost constant laughter. In opposition to that, when it is serious, this VN does it well, with the characters being nicely articulate (despite Kaito overusing slang and having a tendency to tease people, even in the most serious situations). Its greatest weaknesses, however, are how short it is and the lack of a real epilogue for the various stories. The fandisc makes up for this somewhat, especially in the cases of Tsuki, Tae, and Aya, as well as the new story with Anzu. However, the fact remains that this game was definitely made to have a sequel, rather than to be complete in and of itself, and thus I can't give it a score on the same level as the amount of fun I had with it.

Visuals 8/10: With nice character models with a wide breadth of expressions, as well as a style that is easy on the eyes, I found nothing to complain about with the visuals... As a guro fan, I'd have liked some of the action scenes to have accompanying CG's, and I would have liked to have seen more of Kaito when he's in a fighting mood, but those complaints aren't enough to cause any real problems.

Sound 8/10: The voices in this VN are very good, with each voice properly fitting the characters. Unfortunately, the music is unmemorable, though not badly done.

Overall 7.5/10: For various reasons, I would have liked to give this a higher score, but the little flaws added up, as well as the fact that they were obvious setting it up for the sequel from the very first. For fans of VNs with a high dose of comedy, some violence, and an occasion dose of human darkness, this is a decent VN to play...

Gore Screaming Show Review

Synopsis: Gore Screaming Show is a VN set in a small city where a guy named Jinno Kyouji has just returned after three years living elsewhere, to live with his cousin, Yamiko. Recently, there have been incidents involving people disappearing, and on his way to school, he encounters a beautiful girl who welcomes him back...

Plot 7/10: To be honest, the plot of this VN, save for Yuka's and Yamiko's paths, is somewhat lacking. It's not that its nonexistent, its just that in most of the paths, the characters are subjected to one-sided horror without any real explanation of what's going on, except that Yuka hates anyone who gets close to Kyouji other than her. The 'good' endings for each of the three main heroines are decent (with Aoi's being the best of the lot), but there is a definite feeling that the story often took second place to a desire to creep out the reader. The 'bad' endings are... full of gore and rape-scenes... for those who are seeking that kind of thing, they are ideal. However, because Yuka's and Yamiko's paths really are that good, I felt that the plot was worth a seven rating, despite the flaws of the other three heroines. If I had to put my finger on an aspect of the plot that stands out... its that it often reminded me of the cheesy horror movies made in the US in the eighties. Well, the plot was better than those things, but the way you never quite understood what Gore and Yuka were thinking (in the main paths) and their heavy use of illusions and their seeming immortality all reminded me of those movies, given a new spin.

Visuals 10/10: This area is one in which the game shines... the visuals in this game are superb - which makes some of the scenes even more guro than they would be otherwise - the characters are very prettily done, their expressions having a real impact on the reader. There are numerous CG's and the art style is very eerie and fitting for the nature of the plot.

Sound 9/10: Though the bgms tend to all be either sad, dark, or grim, they are all excellently done. This is one of the few VN OST's that will remain in my memory. The sound effects are... well, lets just say they are meant to get you thinking about what you are hearing... and it does. The guro scenes and the ero scenes both are very strongly driven by their sound effects and voices...

Overall 8/10: If I were honest, I probably would give this a lower grade from my point of view since my first priority is always the plot, but the other aspects of the game are done so excellently that it really is worth giving it this rating. This VN is extremely gory, with an excess of h-scenes... to be honest, I think even most guro lovers might have trouble with this one. However, if you have a strong stomach and a fascination with horror, this VN is an excellent choice. Unfortunately, I can't recommend it except to those who have already been initiated thoroughly to the world of guro.

Dies Irae ~Act est Fabula~ review

Summary: Dies Irae is the story of Fujii Ren and the fight that erupts within the town he lives in. After encountering the guillotine that decapitated Robespierre during the French Revolution in a museum, he begins to see dreams about himself being decapitated at that same guillotine and a golden-haired girl who stands at a beach looking out over the water, singing a song of blood. Whenever he awakes from those dreams, he discovers that someone has been killed, decapitated by a mysterious serial killer. This is the opening act of the opera that is Dies Irae.

Review

Plot 10/10

To be honest, I have no choice but to be awed at the scale of this work. Even though I played it in Japanese, the skill with which the story is told is truly amazing. The brutality of the conflicts, the horrors that the protagonist experiences, and the tragedies that occur strike straight to the heart. Not only that, but the level of complexity in the relationships between characters and the odd way they managed to escape the archetypical roles that are so common in VNs that seem like they should end up as just another piece of 'shounen' crap. The protagonist is so utterly human, with a strong philosophy that nonetheless contradicts itself. The antagonists for all their sheer overpowering sense of evil, are nonetheless human in every way. Their desires, their madness... they all have real reasons that both make sense and can at times make you sympathize with even the most evil amongst them. I in particular liked Marie's route, because it felt like a 'true' end, though in a very real sense, the true end is Rea's route. Sakurai Kei's route is hilarious, but it also leaves you feeling like nothing was really accomplished. Overall, the story is incredibly dark and I can't recommend it for people who had trouble with the stuff that happened in FSN's Heaven's Feel route, because it is even darker at times.

Sound- 8/10

The soundtrack here is very strong, with a mix of organ, piano, classical music and even some death metal. The themes tend to be very powerful and they are quite well-matched to the scenes. The sound effects are decent as well, though not as good as the bgm, so I had to subtract points.

Visual- 9/10

About as good as you see in VNs. The characters are visually pleasing, the event CG's are plentiful, and the scenes are generally very well done. Because it is an action story as much as anything else, there are a lot of bloody scenes, but that is all to the good.

Overall 9/10

For a lot of reasons, I'd love to give this a 10/10, but that would be too impulsive. This game is excellent. The darkness of its story is truly pleasing for a fan of this kind of stuff like me, and it definitely creates its own unique story. While it is obvious that the people who wrote this VN were fans of FSN, they didn't in any way copy the story or even use the archetypes from it. This game stands quite well on its own as a plot worth going through over and over again, if you have the patience and ability to play a game in Japanese.


Ah, one thing about this, this is a dark fantasy, as genre goes. Seriously, I can't stress strongly enough that this game has enough emotional ups and downs to turn even the most devoted vn-lover to drink. Not only that, but this game is seriously long, even considering the time it takes to play a game in another language. It will eat up a ridiculous amount of your time.

Review: Devils Devel Concept

Since this is my first VN review on this blog, I thought I'd tell you my standards. I rate by Plot, Visuals, and Sound, with an overall rating at the end. I've never seen any point in rating ero-scenes, so I don't consider it a category. At times, when I think the protagonist is exceptionally interesting, I'll give an overview of his personality and quirks simply to help those who would play it after me have a better understanding of what they are getting into.






Synopsis: Sora, the protagonist is a Karyuudo (or Enjya), one of the many demon-hunters who exist in the world, using their unique abilities to exterminate demons. He possesses immense power, in excess of any other hunter, yet isn't a part of any of the organizations that rule the supernatural underworld. His motivation for doing so is his 'contract', rather than any other 'normal' motivation. Various girls come into his life, altering it greatly depending on which he chooses to form a 'contract' with.

Protagonist: There is a need to explore Sora independent of the story, for the sake of those who might have been tricked by this review: http://www.erogereview.com/2009/05/0...devel-concept/

Sora is a beast, a monster who lives on instinct for the most part, using tobacco and a pair of fake glasses as a sort of 'chain' on his real self (one that can be thrown aside at any time) so that he can live without destroying the people around him. He's not on any level what you would call a 'good' person from a moral point of view. However, he is definitely a fascinating individual, perhaps the most fascinating protagonist I've encountered yet in VN or anime. He is very straightforward in his way of speaking, saying outright that he is a 'broken' person, one who doesn't understand regular human emotions. I wouldn't go so far as to consider him a sociopath - because he is capable of being considerate (in a really weird way) - but because of his unique view on life, it is probably inevitable that he will come across as one to the average person who plays this game. I particularly enjoyed the many scenes where he outlines his philosophy and his view on various aspects of human nature and the world in general, because it is a unique one, devoid of any real moral context. One thing that the player should understand is that Sora's primary life motivation is the 'contracts' he makes. He often says 'humans can't live without a contract', and his concept of a contract is a central theme in the story. Because he doesn't really understand or possess most normal emotions, he makes 'contracts' with the girls, rather than entering into relationships with them in the traditional sense.

Plot 9/10: The plot in this game goes beyond dark, with all the girls very much what could be classified as 'yandere' on one level or another. However, the sheer complexity of it and the way the paths - done in order - give you the pieces of the puzzle make it worthy of comparison in terms of quality with FSN. While the game is heavy on sex compared to most plot-centric VNs, it oddly doesn't detract from the story... mostly because the scenes don't feel unnatural at all. If the story has a weakness, it is that the alternate endings for each girl are not as good as the main endings... except for Misora's second ending, which was better than the main one. Aono Mei's path, which is only unlocked with the completion of the other paths, is the 'true' path in a real sense, and it is also the darkest of the paths... so much so that it even surprised me.

Visual 7/10: The visuals in this game are fairly good, with the characters each possessing a good number of expressions and poses that express their emotions quite well. In addition, the CGs are pretty, even if not as stunning as a lot of other VNs. Initially the style of the game didn't appeal to me, but I liked it better as I went along. If I have a complaint it is that there are few major event CGs, in comparison with the length of the story... a pity considering how many gory scenes would have been included if they made ones for all the fights.

Sound 6/10: The soundtrack is decent, consisting mostly of heavy metal pieces and generic if not unpleasant pieces that tended to be heavy on the piano. Overall, there is a lack of variance though, that prevents me from giving it too much of a compliment. The sound effects were normal, with a lot of splatter sounds, which is unsurprising considering Sora's particular way of fighting.

Overall 8/10: I'd definitely recommend this game to dark VN-lovers, with the stipulation that they don't automatically desire the protagonist to be a good guy. If you seek the bright and fluffy you won't receive it from this game. Rather, lovers of happy endings and normal love will probably run away screaming from this game. You won't find any incidences of a normal relationship of any sort in this game, though it sometimes resembles such 'normal' relationships for a brief time. With all the girls being pretty much 'yandere' (with the possible exception of Misora), that's only to be expected. Also, there are no heroes in this game...everyone is basically a 'villain' on one level or another in this story, with Sora being a primary example. Don't expect people to be good, and you'll enjoy this. Put the characters on a pedestal and you'll be disappointed.

Rui wa Tomo wo Yobu Review

Synopsis: This is the story of Tomo, a guy that is forced by a curse he was born with to live as a woman. He plays the honor student at school and lives alone in an apartment at home, knowing that solitude is his only method of survival. However, upon encountering a girl with a curse and birthmark similar to his, he is forced to come out of his shell, as he finds others of his kind...

Plot: 7/10- The story in this VN is decent, if not the best I've ever encountered. The enforced playing order seems to have mostly been done in order to force you to play Rui's path, which is the second to least interesting of the paths, in my opinion... The characters and their interactions are hilarious, and I found myself laughing rather more often than I expected at their antics. If I have a complaint, it is that the story's pacing is often a bit erratic, with tragic moments not so much taking you by surprise as leaving you thinking that they were 'out of place'.

Visuals: 8/10- The character designs in the game were pretty, and I really enjoyed the interesting variation of expressions on the characters' faces. If I have a complaint it is that there were some critical scenes that really could have used a CG and didn't get one... However, the most important scenes did have proper CG's and they were quite pretty.

Sound: 8/10- The music in the game is well-done, and excellently matched to the mood of the scenes. I won't say it didn't get repetitious, but no more so than any of the other VNs I've played. It did its job of highlighting the emotions the scene was supposed to bring out in you, and that is an accomplishment in and of itself. The sound effects were decent, if no different from those I've heard in a dozen other VNs...

Overall: 7.5/10- While I give the story points for an excellent concept and hilarious character interactions, I had to detract points for the pacing. However, this VN would likely suit well those who want a bit of an edge to their VN without the excessive violence of Dies Irae or Devils Devel Concept. Overall, this is a decent VN that I can recommend honestly, even if it won't make it onto my list of personal favorites.

Hello World

Hrm... a blog... I don't usually do this sort of thing, but since one of my VN stories is almost done, I thought I'd go ahead and set it up. Welcome to Clephas' Stomach, in which all things in this universe and all others are contained, and a case of indigestion can mean the end of the universe as we know it.