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...