I did nab Steins;Gate the other day, and so far it's got my full attention. It's also mostly controller friendly, though I wish you could disable the phone popping up every time you move the mouse to the right.
Also, AutoHideMouseCursor is a handy program that does as advertised. That along with Xpadder makes playing VNs on your TV a breeze (and S;G being widescreen makes it double handy).
Edit: Looks like I got another one to add to the list:
I was somewhat excited by the premise as it sounded like the two principal characters were both female (a lady knight on the run from the enemy while protecting her princess/childhood friend? shit yeah I am all over that), but the last image makes it look like a male protagonist is involved too.
It's a small issue I'm having with VNs, even if romance isn't the focus of the story. The concept of always playing a male lead in first person while surrounded by female characters (each with their own quirky traits in addition to being incredibly attractive) gives off a harem vibe that VNs are typically criticized for.
Steins;Gate so far kind of falls into this trap, even if there have been no romantic implications between the main guy and the female characters (minus some "perv" banter between him and Kurisu). Still, the notion that all these ladies flock to him for one reason or another is probably fulfilling a certain kind of fetish, so I wouldn't mind a divergence from this cliche.
I worry a CP movie will fall into the same problem as the OVA: showing far too much of the ghosts and gore, thereby ruining the scare factor. The reason the original game is so spooky is that you rarely see the horrific sequences, instead using sound and descriptions to get your imagination working.
Plus it's going to be a bit hard picturing live versions of the cast, considering Yuka's implausible age and Naomi's enormous rack.
Corpse Party PC version coming to Steam this year. An XSEED marketer laid out the differences between the PC and PSP versions.
Also, to answer the questions I've been seeing about Corpse Party: Although it is more or less the same game as the PSP version, there's enough different here that I think fans of the PSP game would really enjoy checking it out.
Some of the actual dialogue is slightly different (really random lines, too, where the Japanese was changed really subtly -- and yes, all of these subtle changes were painstakingly reflected in the English, too!), there are scenes peppered throughout that weren't present in the PSP version (particularly in chapter 5, where they added a rather shocking scene that pretty much comes out of nowhere), quite a few different endings from what you guys are used to... and most notably, the "Tooth" chapter from Corpse Party: Book of Shadows is now present, retold in the style of the original Corpse Party. Like, with you actually walking around the school, new puzzles exclusive to that chapter, new dialogue, etc. It's pretty rockin'!
There are also some musical changes -- chapter 5 has a few tracks exclusive to the PC version that blow their PSP equivalents out of the water. And probably the biggest difference is the voice-acting, since every single voice is completely different. And surprisingly, being a cast of mostly indie voice-actors, they're overall REALLY good, with a few topping the PSP versions (IMHO) and a few really surprising changes (Kizami's indie PC voice is SO DIFFERENT from his PSP voice, and yet somehow just as good -- just, in a completely different direction!).
It's actually been really cool to see just how different it is, and I can totally see a debate sparking up once the PC version is released as to which is the more definitive Corpse Party experience.
-Tom
Pretty weird that it's going to have different VAs, but I'm also rather excited about the new/alternative material. A definite double-dip for me.
Me too! I played the PC-98 (remade) version, which is the first version of CParty, so I'm curious to see what the OTHER PC version is like (which is closer to the psp version.) So yeah, this should be fun .
Oh, and for the curious, you can get the PC-98 (translated) version over here http://www.memoriesoffear.com/games_corpsepartypc98/ . It's legit freeware! It's quite different from the psp version, mostly because of the less characters and shorter length. Still pretty nifty though. (Also of note is that Yuka is also a lot less annoying in the PC-98. Probably due to the less screentime and the author not fully embracing his urination fetish yet.)
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cj iwakuraThe Rhythm RegentBears The Name FreedomRegistered Userregular
Seems interesting. I hope it's a precursor to Dead Patient.
Speaking of which, the Corpse Party OVAs went south real quick.
Changing things from the original source material is fine if implemented well, but in this case it was just a pretense to show the most disgusting stuff imaginable. Also, much of the gore was just plain comical, like something out of Dead Alive.
Completely missed the point of the original games, which were far creepier by not showing you every nasty moment.
I have not played the PC-98 version but damn if that version doesn't have some crunchy beats. I really liked the soundtrack of the PSP version so it's kind of interesting to go back to the PC-98 soundtrack, which almost feels like a demade soundtrack, in a good way.
3DS: 2466-2307-8384 PSN: bssteph Steam:bsstephanTwitch:bsstephan Tabletop:13th Age (mm-mmm), D&D 4e Occasional words about games:my site
Corpse Party Blood Drive opening is out. It's.... pretty dull. In my opinion. But I also don't really care for songs that are this slow, so millage may vary.
Slightly NSFW thumbnail (beacause Corpse Party makers wants to make SURE you realise one the new character has boobs.)
Hmmmmmm. Yeeeeeaaaah. good point. Okay! It is spoilered!
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cj iwakuraThe Rhythm RegentBears The Name FreedomRegistered Userregular
And yet I have no idea what the game's even about from that trailer. It looks more like Sachiko's Hysterical Birthday than a sequel to Book of Shadows.
I dunno, I'm more interested in Brandish than Corpse Party PC, but some of that is because Corpse Party is great on a handheld and something about sitting down at my desk to look at my monitor removes 100% of the horror for me. There's too much crap and distractions, two monitors, the lights from outside, blah blah blah at my desk. Maybe I'll check it out eventually just for the bonus Tooth and whatnot stuff, but otherwise, gimme dem handhelds.
3DS: 2466-2307-8384 PSN: bssteph Steam:bsstephanTwitch:bsstephan Tabletop:13th Age (mm-mmm), D&D 4e Occasional words about games:my site
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cj iwakuraThe Rhythm RegentBears The Name FreedomRegistered Userregular
edited June 2014
I'm not sure which I'm more interested in, BD or Dead Patient, but I think the latter looks much scarier. The HH story feels more like fan service material than horror.
And yet I have no idea what the game's even about from that trailer.
It's not a trailer, it's the opening movie, same random scenes and credits as you get in the other games.
Also I think you are all getting your hopes way up if you think its localization is "imminent".
In addition to me not liking the song, there are other reasons I'm not filled with hope for the new CParty. The fan-servicey promo art and screenshots, the fact that Ayumi is the main character after her INCREDIBLE stupidity in that last chapter of Book of Shadows. the fact that the story of BD seems to be picking up with Ayumi not learning her lesson. The slew of new female characters to... one male.
I mean, I WANT my expectations to be wrong. I really do. But I've seen way too many properties I like go down this pandering route in the past*, so... yeah, that's why I can't help but be pessimistic. But again, I really, REALLY do hope I'm wrong.
*Examples off the top of my head- Umineko the second half, Higurashi Kira, 3rd season of Hell Girl.
I'm not sure which I'm more interested in, BD or Dead Patient, but I think the latter looks much scarier. The HH story feels more like fan service material than horror.
Dead Patient/Blood Drive spoilers kinda sorta. I mean, definitely spoilers, but more for Blood Drive? Although it talks about events in Dead Patient? idk, don't read if you don't want any sort of spoiler.
Dead Patient definitely seems more interesting at the moment, but I have to admit to being interested in seeing what makes Ayumi go nearly completely catatonic, like she is in Dead Patient.
I barely started this one, but am putting it off in favor of Steins;Gate (got one of the endings the other day and don't plan to stop until I unlock them all).
I'm also waiting for the Steam release of Higurashi, as reportedly the translation will be touched up (even the touched up patch is still rather spotty). Still no idea when that one's coming, though.
I almost got Science Girls in a recent indie bundle, but I didn't feel like spending a dollar for a game I wouldn't have even started up. Again, Steins;Gate is filling up my VN slot nicely.
Also, this scene here (out of context, but still be advised):
was the biggest gut-punch I've felt since Madoka's 6th episode.
What's special about this one? Well you know how Katawa Shoujo focuses on the main protagonist and the girls overcoming physical disabilities and the trauma associated with them? This series is set up exactly the same with one difference: it focuses on psychological trauma and mental illness instead. The situations are all all far more serious and severe than anything Katawa Shoujo had to offer. Severe abandonment issues, autism, nymphomania, post traumatic stress disorder, and more all show up in the game as serious plot devices shown respect and all the characters are highly memorable.
It also has perhaps the best Male MC lead in the history of dating sims. Not only does the guy have a military history and thinks and translates everything in his head to military terms, but he's also snarky as hell and has great random musings. And the novel itself is witty, snarky, and always making the reader laugh while using that humor to bring light to serious issues of healing.
It's seriously one of my favorite Visual Novels. I'll be happy to buy the official English release. I just hope the official release can hold a candle to how damn good the fan translation is.
Edit: Though apparently they're only bringing over the censored all-ages version.
Atlus is official localizing Tears to Tiara II for PC, with NISA handling the European distribution/publishing and Atlus themselves handling the American distribution/publishing.
The game's a hybrid Visual Novel x Strategy RPG with a heavy plot focus. There also shouldn't be any censoring here either, as the game's only been released on PS3 and unlike the first game, never had any full on adult content. And Atlus is localizing it, not NISA who has a censorship hard-on.
I'd like to personally thank Jast USA, MangaGamer, Aksys, and XSeed for proving there's a sizable and profitable market for Story Focused, non-Nukige, Visual Novels in the west.
I would also like to thank Aksys speceficially for bringing Otome games to the west and proving there's also a female market for these Visual Novels.
We keep getting more Visual Novels lately, and that makes me happy.
Posts
CP1 spoilers, probably.
Haven't even played half of these.
I did nab Steins;Gate the other day, and so far it's got my full attention. It's also mostly controller friendly, though I wish you could disable the phone popping up every time you move the mouse to the right.
Also, AutoHideMouseCursor is a handy program that does as advertised. That along with Xpadder makes playing VNs on your TV a breeze (and S;G being widescreen makes it double handy).
Edit: Looks like I got another one to add to the list:
Blog||Tumblr|Steam|Twitter|FFXIV|Twitch|YouTube|Podcast|PSN|XBL|DarkZero
I was somewhat excited by the premise as it sounded like the two principal characters were both female (a lady knight on the run from the enemy while protecting her princess/childhood friend? shit yeah I am all over that), but the last image makes it look like a male protagonist is involved too.
It's a small issue I'm having with VNs, even if romance isn't the focus of the story. The concept of always playing a male lead in first person while surrounded by female characters (each with their own quirky traits in addition to being incredibly attractive) gives off a harem vibe that VNs are typically criticized for.
Steins;Gate so far kind of falls into this trap, even if there have been no romantic implications between the main guy and the female characters (minus some "perv" banter between him and Kurisu). Still, the notion that all these ladies flock to him for one reason or another is probably fulfilling a certain kind of fetish, so I wouldn't mind a divergence from this cliche.
Blog||Tumblr|Steam|Twitter|FFXIV|Twitch|YouTube|Podcast|PSN|XBL|DarkZero
Steins;Gate avoids the trope very well, as I hope you'll see.
Also, there's a Corpse Party film in the works:
I can only imagine the horror involved.
http://www.siliconera.com/2014/05/13/visual-novel-fault-milestone-one-translated-western-release/
I worry a CP movie will fall into the same problem as the OVA: showing far too much of the ghosts and gore, thereby ruining the scare factor. The reason the original game is so spooky is that you rarely see the horrific sequences, instead using sound and descriptions to get your imagination working.
Plus it's going to be a bit hard picturing live versions of the cast, considering Yuka's implausible age and Naomi's enormous rack.
Blog||Tumblr|Steam|Twitter|FFXIV|Twitch|YouTube|Podcast|PSN|XBL|DarkZero
Pretty weird that it's going to have different VAs, but I'm also rather excited about the new/alternative material. A definite double-dip for me.
Blog||Tumblr|Steam|Twitter|FFXIV|Twitch|YouTube|Podcast|PSN|XBL|DarkZero
Oh, and for the curious, you can get the PC-98 (translated) version over here http://www.memoriesoffear.com/games_corpsepartypc98/ . It's legit freeware! It's quite different from the psp version, mostly because of the less characters and shorter length. Still pretty nifty though. (Also of note is that Yuka is also a lot less annoying in the PC-98. Probably due to the less screentime and the author not fully embracing his urination fetish yet.)
Changing things from the original source material is fine if implemented well, but in this case it was just a pretense to show the most disgusting stuff imaginable. Also, much of the gore was just plain comical, like something out of Dead Alive.
Completely missed the point of the original games, which were far creepier by not showing you every nasty moment.
Blog||Tumblr|Steam|Twitter|FFXIV|Twitch|YouTube|Podcast|PSN|XBL|DarkZero
I heard the ending is even darker.
Tabletop:13th Age (mm-mmm), D&D 4e
Occasional words about games: my site
Slightly NSFW thumbnail (beacause Corpse Party makers wants to make SURE you realise one the new character has boobs.)
At this point, my expectations for this game are actually pretty low anyways, so...
Blog||Tumblr|Steam|Twitter|FFXIV|Twitch|YouTube|Podcast|PSN|XBL|DarkZero
It's not a trailer, it's the opening movie, same random scenes and credits as you get in the other games.
Also I think you are all getting your hopes way up if you think its localization is "imminent".
Tabletop:13th Age (mm-mmm), D&D 4e
Occasional words about games: my site
Can't hurt to positive thinking.
I find it somewhat weird that CP is more popular than Brandish. Literally no one here seems to care about that.
Tabletop:13th Age (mm-mmm), D&D 4e
Occasional words about games: my site
In addition to me not liking the song, there are other reasons I'm not filled with hope for the new CParty. The fan-servicey promo art and screenshots, the fact that Ayumi is the main character after her INCREDIBLE stupidity in that last chapter of Book of Shadows. the fact that the story of BD seems to be picking up with Ayumi not learning her lesson. The slew of new female characters to... one male.
I mean, I WANT my expectations to be wrong. I really do. But I've seen way too many properties I like go down this pandering route in the past*, so... yeah, that's why I can't help but be pessimistic. But again, I really, REALLY do hope I'm wrong.
*Examples off the top of my head- Umineko the second half, Higurashi Kira, 3rd season of Hell Girl.
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2014/06/06/pigeon-dating-sim/
Dead Patient/Blood Drive spoilers kinda sorta. I mean, definitely spoilers, but more for Blood Drive? Although it talks about events in Dead Patient? idk, don't read if you don't want any sort of spoiler.
3DS: 1607-3034-6970
It's a clever parody of dating sims.
// Switch: SW-5306-0651-6424 //
I'm familiar with Hatoful Boyfriend. A remake, not so much.
What is the point of being alive if you don't at least try to do something remarkable? ~ Mario Novak
I never fear death or dyin', I only fear never trying.
I barely started this one, but am putting it off in favor of Steins;Gate (got one of the endings the other day and don't plan to stop until I unlock them all).
I'm also waiting for the Steam release of Higurashi, as reportedly the translation will be touched up (even the touched up patch is still rather spotty). Still no idea when that one's coming, though.
I almost got Science Girls in a recent indie bundle, but I didn't feel like spending a dollar for a game I wouldn't have even started up. Again, Steins;Gate is filling up my VN slot nicely.
Also, this scene here (out of context, but still be advised):
was the biggest gut-punch I've felt since Madoka's 6th episode.
Blog||Tumblr|Steam|Twitter|FFXIV|Twitch|YouTube|Podcast|PSN|XBL|DarkZero
Possible spoils
Blog||Tumblr|Steam|Twitter|FFXIV|Twitch|YouTube|Podcast|PSN|XBL|DarkZero
I'd prefer if these kinda images are kept in spoiler tags.
Grisaia no Kajitsu is being officially localized in English. Maybe if it sells well they'll release the fantastic sequels as well!
http://www.siliconera.com/2014/07/03/grisaia-kajitsu-published-english-sekai-project/
What's special about this one? Well you know how Katawa Shoujo focuses on the main protagonist and the girls overcoming physical disabilities and the trauma associated with them? This series is set up exactly the same with one difference: it focuses on psychological trauma and mental illness instead. The situations are all all far more serious and severe than anything Katawa Shoujo had to offer. Severe abandonment issues, autism, nymphomania, post traumatic stress disorder, and more all show up in the game as serious plot devices shown respect and all the characters are highly memorable.
It also has perhaps the best Male MC lead in the history of dating sims. Not only does the guy have a military history and thinks and translates everything in his head to military terms, but he's also snarky as hell and has great random musings. And the novel itself is witty, snarky, and always making the reader laugh while using that humor to bring light to serious issues of healing.
It's seriously one of my favorite Visual Novels. I'll be happy to buy the official English release. I just hope the official release can hold a candle to how damn good the fan translation is.
Edit: Though apparently they're only bringing over the censored all-ages version.
// Switch: SW-5306-0651-6424 //
Or, well, I'll just let this one speak for itself.
// Switch: SW-5306-0651-6424 //
What is the point of being alive if you don't at least try to do something remarkable? ~ Mario Novak
I never fear death or dyin', I only fear never trying.
Atlus is official localizing Tears to Tiara II for PC, with NISA handling the European distribution/publishing and Atlus themselves handling the American distribution/publishing.
Gameplay (Aren't the character models adorable?):
The game's a hybrid Visual Novel x Strategy RPG with a heavy plot focus. There also shouldn't be any censoring here either, as the game's only been released on PS3 and unlike the first game, never had any full on adult content. And Atlus is localizing it, not NISA who has a censorship hard-on.
// Switch: SW-5306-0651-6424 //
I would also like to thank Aksys speceficially for bringing Otome games to the west and proving there's also a female market for these Visual Novels.
We keep getting more Visual Novels lately, and that makes me happy.
// Switch: SW-5306-0651-6424 //