[Visual Novels] Chaos;Head, Anonymous;Code, and Steins;Gate Re;boot (yay)

cj iwakura

The Tea Party is usually the witch toying with the survivors. ??? is just within the witch's realm.

vagrant_winds

You know... Snuggles mentioned BlazBlue but Melty Blood hasn't been mentioned. It's literally a Visual Novel slash Fighting Game made in joint by Type-Moon and French Bread and in the Tsukihime side of the Natsuverse.

Stragint

cj iwakura wrote: »

The Tea Party is usually the witch toying with the survivors. ??? is just within the witch's realm.

I definitely liked the witch's realm part more than the tea party. It was more interesting since it was something different.

Professor Snugglesworth

vagrant_winds wrote: »

You know... Snuggles mentioned BlazBlue but Melty Blood hasn't been mentioned. It's literally a Visual Novel slash Fighting Game made in joint by Type-Moon and French Bread and in the Tsukihime side of the Natsuverse.

Haven't played it, nor Tsukihime. I really want to check out the latter as a follow-up to F/SN, but I'm holding out for the remake. Yeah, I know it's going to be a wait.

I hear the manga adaption is really good, while Fate's is....pretty bad.

Anyway, it's the 1st of October.

It's time....

I wasn't prepared for Silent Hill-style noises.

Edit: Seriously, after all the mental preparations I built myself up for, I wasn't prepared to be affected by the very first scene in this story.

Leave it to Urobuchi to give his characters a "fate worse than death" scenario. Only he would be capable of coming up with a "medical condition" like the one plaguing the main character. Pretty sure if it were me I'd rather be dead.

Or, he could just wear a blindfold. Unless his neural condition also affects his sense of taste and hearing (judging by the muffled voices, the latter is a high possibility)

cj iwakura

You're a braver man than I for taking on Saya no Uta. Godspeed. I don't have the stomach for it.

Professor Snugglesworth

Indeed. I'm calling you all out to man up as well.

For reference, here are the first ten minutes, which should give you an indication of what you would be in for.

Not Safe For...Sanity

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDHJ05TbDxU&hd=1

I just got to the part where

Fuminori and Saya share a tasty piece of fruit together.

Ah, Urobuchi....

That aside, I feel it's the psychological bits of horror that will unnerve me far more than the straight-up gore moments. Though based on what I've read, I'm nowhere near far enough to make that call.

Professor Snugglesworth

(shiver) I reached a point where I had to stop: the mindfuck levels in my head were reaching critical, and it started thundering furiously outside my room. If that's not a clear sign to take a break, I don't know what is.

So far, I haven't witnessed any straight-up gory imagery; a lot of the situations that seemed prime for nightmarish splatter have happened off-screen or by narration. The game does have a "fade guro imagery" option, so it's probably coming.

The psychological horror, however, is in full effect, and I imagine will linger far longer than the inevitable gross-out sequences. This is unmistakably Urobuchi's work, twisting once-innocent characters into depraved husks that are incapable of functioning alongside normal civilization. The narration uses the phrase "fate worse than death", and does so with a not-too-subtle hint of satisfaction. There's a clear message here about "beauty is in the eye of the beholder", though it's also taken to a primal, wholly malicious degree.

Also, I'm pretty sure by the time this is over, I will be turned off by sex. Forever.

For reference, the scene I am up to involves

Saya deciding to spice things up with some role play.

Professor Snugglesworth

I wanted to avoid bumping this thread a third time, but it was worth it to announce that Corpse Party: Book of Shadows is heading to North America! For Reals!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcAvYNUtF-M&feature=player_embedded&hd=1

I'm bummed they couldn't make it for October, but whatever man! This is awesome!

I also found an appropriate venue to discuss Saya no Uta, which I'll link to once it goes up.

SightTDW

I hear Corpse Party should be going on sale for $10 starting tomorrow as well. I'm definitely picking it up.

Professor Snugglesworth

Yep, $10 for two weeks.

If you haven't checked it out yet and you own a PSP or Vita, you've got no excuse now. It really is one of the best horror games released in the last few years.

I just wish we had a clearer time frame for the sequel then "Winter". That could mean anywhere from November to January.

shoeboxjeddy

Yeah, I actually held off on buying Corpse Party to receive it as a gift instead. Good timing, I guess ha ha. It was also nice to hear that the sequel is also a PSP game, instead of a Vita game as I (and IGN) had assumed. That means I can play it and not just be wistful like with Virtue's Last Reward...

vagrant_winds

Book of Shadows localized? Fuuuuuuuuuck Yeeeees.
XSeed, have I ever mentioned enough that you guys are my favorite localizing game company ever?

The Wolfman

Wicked.

I hope they dub it this time. I mean I won't hold it against them or anything, but VA doesn't do a damn thing for me if I can't understand the language.

Stragint

How many Corpse Party games are there?

Professor Snugglesworth

The Wolfman wrote: »

Wicked.

I hope they dub it this time. I mean I won't hold it against them or anything, but VA doesn't do a damn thing for me if I can't understand the language.

I normally prefer dubs, but...no chance in hell.

Take it as a stereotype if you want, but nobody knows how to shriek in terror like Japanese VAs.

Need I mention Morishige?

"UWAAAAAA, UWAAAAAAAAAAA, MAYU! MAYUUUUUUUUUU!!!! UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!" (crash)

I get chills just typing it.

cj iwakura

I can't fricking believe it. I never thought it would happen.

YES!

Stragint wrote: »

How many Corpse Party games are there?

Three as of now, the next one is called Corpse Party 2. The current three are all part of the Heavenly Host Saga. (The third is kind of a joke game, I don't think anyone expects that to be localized.)

Professor Snugglesworth

cj iwakura wrote: »

I can't fricking believe it. I never thought it would happen.

YES!

Stragint wrote: »

How many Corpse Party games are there?

Three as of now, the next one is called Corpse Party 2. The current three are all part of the Heavenly Host Saga. (The third is kind of a joke game, I don't think anyone expects that to be localized.)

It would make a nice bonus to include with Corpse Party 2.

Doesn't sound like it would take much effort to localize or anything.

I need a fucking date for BoS. Please be late November.

cj iwakura

Professor Snugglesworth wrote: »

cj iwakura wrote: »

I can't fricking believe it. I never thought it would happen.

YES!

Stragint wrote: »

How many Corpse Party games are there?

Three as of now, the next one is called Corpse Party 2. The current three are all part of the Heavenly Host Saga. (The third is kind of a joke game, I don't think anyone expects that to be localized.)

It would make a nice bonus to include with Corpse Party 2.

Doesn't sound like it would take much effort to localize or anything.

I need a fucking date for BoS. Please be late November.

If you're feeling adventurous, there's a demo of Sachiko's Hysteric Birthday on the J-PSN, I already tried it.

I honestly think it's setting up for a huge nightmare drop. It kind of felt like the comedy stuff was a big trap.

Stragint

Is there any word of pre order type stuff or am I just gonna have to pick it up off the PSN?

shoeboxjeddy

Stragint wrote: »

Is there any word of pre order type stuff or am I just gonna have to pick it up off the PSN?

PSN for sure. Other than Gamestop, most retail locations sell PSP games in a "licensed and what we didn't get rid of already" sort of way.

Stragint

Well I can dig that since PSN doesn't charge taxes but I do also like cool pre order stuff. Oh well

Professor Snugglesworth

Stragint wrote: »

Well I can dig that since PSN doesn't charge taxes but I do also like cool pre order stuff. Oh well

They could make like Steam and add digital bonuses for pre-orders.

Making the little comedy game an exclusive for digital pre-orders would benefit them, I'm certain.

Stragint

I would definitely be down for that. I'm just glad I'll be able to play the game.

Stragint

So the only release date they have for Book of Shadows is some time in winter?

Professor Snugglesworth

Yes, winter. Not sure what that usually translates to for XSeed, but I'm hoping it's before 2013.

I mentioned before that I found an appropriate venue for Saya no Uta. That will likely be ready by Monday, so I'll link it here when it does.

I will say this though: of each of the Urobuchi works I've witnessed, I've come to notice a certain pattern he takes. Basically, of the cast of characters featured in each story, there always seems to be one that he likes to single out...one that he likes to point at and say:

"You. Yes, You....You will be the one."

"The one" being the character that he wants to devote all of his "attention" toward, much like the way a dog gives it full attention to ripping the shit out of its newest chew toy for hours on end.

Nine times out of ten they are female characters. His latest series, Psycho-Pass, already has people waving their death flags over the main protagonist, who happens to be A) a woman, cute, and C) full of ideals.

In all fairness, I don't think he could ever top Saya No Uta's "one" character.

To put it in perspective, there is a character who is instantly killed and has her organs refrigerated for future consumption.

She was the lucky one. The person afterward....not so much.

Most certainly the most disturbing moment in that VN, and that's really saying something.

And yes, I did indeed get some freaky, incomprehensible nightmares from the week I played this thing. In all fairness, I knew what I was getting into.

I still recommend it though. If you want something geniuinely horrifying and unnerving, boy howdy you'll get it with this.

Stragint

Is Corpse Party 2: Dead Patient out in Japan?

shoeboxjeddy

Playing Corpse Party for the first time and... wow this is the least intuitive visual novel game I've ever played. I get bad endings, but shouldn't the ways to trigger them be somewhat obvious in the FIRST CHAPTER?! And no "fast scroll" button for the text? And what's the point of dialogue options if every one of them so far does the exact same thing...

I would say the plus side is the whole spooky, horrible side of the game, but I actually dunno if I can say that yet. All the bad ends in Chapter 1 are random and illogical. Like "okay, I guess they just kill you in whatever way the writers came up with at lunch break, not in any way that makes sense with the area and what I've seen so far." I'm sure more will be explained as I go, but should I really need to beat Chapter 3 or whatever to even slightly understand the easiest to get ending in Chapter 1? That seems like bad writing...

Finally, what was their budget on this, $12? Could you at least have a static image for the horrible death scene? Like for this one I've triggered like 12 times in Chapter 2

show a box or dirt or something. I get that it's Dark, but I'm not feeling the whole NO graphics thing. This is still a VIDEO game guys, write a book if you're not comfortable depicting events in a visual manner...

Professor Snugglesworth

Yeah, the Bad Ends are rather illogical and abrupt in Chapter 1, but if I recall they become far more obvious afterward. I believe you're past the worst of it, and Chapter 3 is where things swing fully into gear.

And if you're looking for more gruesome death scenes, hoo boy.....you'll hate yourself for asking.

shoeboxjeddy

Professor Snugglesworth wrote: »

Yeah, the Bad Ends are rather illogical and abrupt in Chapter 1, but if I recall they become far more obvious afterward. I believe you're past the worst of it, and Chapter 3 is where things swing fully into gear.

And if you're looking for more gruesome death scenes, hoo boy.....you'll hate yourself for asking.

I just meant (about a certain Bad End in chapter 2) the combination of "more easy to get than it is to progress the story" plus "nothing actually visually depicted" plus "long" plus "no explanation of how this is even possible or the mechanics of this" isn't scaring me so much as making me think about going back to Persona 3... It REALLY shouldn't be so hard to just get the story flowing. Maybe I can make a mistake here and there but "went to the obvious place and did the obvious thing" should not automatically be a bad end.

Like in Chapter 1

you're told that blue ghosts are friendly/neutral and that red ones are mean. Then in Chapter 2, a blue ghost BECOMES red for... some reason and fucks shit up. Okay fine. But then a trio of blue ghosts cause the bad end in Chapter 1 (that's easier to get than the correct ending...). And a red ghost just talks to you in Chapter 2 without doing anything bad. And a different blue one is there to cause another bad ending. Was that guy just a liar? Or did the writers not pay attention to what they were doing? And if we're supposed to guess that the fight caused Saeko's fate, how do you explain the bad end in Chapter 1? Did some ghost fuck her up and her buddy just assumed it was self-inflicted? Why was that effing stall "locked" in a stupid way (this I'm at least willing to wait and see as it seemed more deliberate than the other stupidness)?

Is this what VN's are normally like (about as user friendly as a typical adventure game) and the ones we've gotten in the US so far (999, Time Hollow, Phoenix Wright, etc) are the well done exceptions? I fully admit to sucking at stuff like Myst, but this has rarely made any sense for me so far. : (

cj iwakura

Keep in mind that, like most sequels, Book of Shadows improves on almost everything you're complaining about, so there's that.

shoeboxjeddy

With a spoiler free ending guide for moments when I'm stuck, it's been more bearable. Still, I didn't have to use an ending guide with 999 until I'd already beaten it three times, and I never needed a guide for anything else. What's the deal with Book of Shadows (if you can tell without spoilers for how #1 goes)? Different kids getting fucked over by closed spaces? The same kids (whoever lives through this...) getting fucked over AGAIN? Just curious.

cj iwakura

It's about the same cast trying to alter some of the events.

Professor Snugglesworth

I was commissioned to write a Halloween article for zConnect, where I recommend five horror-themed games players should check out this year.

I've included opinions for both Corpse Party and Saya no Uta, so I feel this article might prove interesting for some folks: http://zcint.co.uk/article/halloween-special-play-these-and-scare-yourself-silly

cj iwakura

Can't say I saw this coming.

October 30, 2012 – Aksys Games proudly announces that the men of the hit series Hakuoki are back and ready for some action! Hakuoki: Warriors of the Shinsengumi will be available for the PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system, offering fans cut-‘em-down action, yet staying true to its Hakuoki roots with a powerful story of adventure. Play as Saito, Hijikata or the four other main characters from the Hakuoki series in an alternate storyline and change the fate of the Shinsengumi, or relive the events of Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom, the hit 2012 visual novel! Unlock two characters for use in free play, and use special attacks and deadly strikes to plow through hordes of enemies in this action-packed follow-up to the 2012 hit! For more information, go to the official Hakuoki: Warriors of the Shinsengumi website now!


Hakuoki: Warriors of the Shinsengumi Key Features

Two Major Storylines – Play through events of Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom with each of the six playable characters, or change history in “Shinsengumi Chronicle”!

Shinsengumi Chronicle – Change history as any one of the six main characters in “Shinsengumi Chronicle” mode. Play in an alternate universe where you control the fate of the Shinsengumi!

Shinsengumi Memorial – Step into the shoes of your favorite samurai and play through battles from Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom. Join in on the action as you battle your way through Kyoto in “Shinsengumi Memorial” mode.

Fury Mode – When a character’s life is spent, he will enter Fury Mode, unleashing an inner ferocious killing machine, able to tear down anyone that gets in his way. However, becoming a Fury too many times can unlock a particularly bad ending.

Slash & Slaughter with Furious Attacks – Each character is equipped with several different attacks, allowing players to plow through numerous enemies at once. Keep tabs on how many foes you’ve taken down, pick up dropped items, and level up to achieve even greater strength.

Hakuoki: Warriors of the Shinsengumi has not been rated by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board. For more information, visit www.hakuoki.com.

shoeboxjeddy

So I'm on Chapter 3 of Corpse Party and I'm beginning to think these kids deserve to die. Because... why would you SPLIT UP to go the bathroom? Just... wtf. You've been EXPLICITLY told about

closed spaces and how your friends are in different ones and that means you might never see them again

and so you split up to make certain that can happen to you guys too? Hell, every group has split up for increasingly stupid reasons starting from Chapter 1.

Oh and also

glasses dude needs to stay way the fuck back.

B:L

shoeboxjeddy wrote: »

So I'm on Chapter 3 of Corpse Party and I'm beginning to think these kids deserve to die. Because... why would you SPLIT UP to go the bathroom? Just... wtf. You've been EXPLICITLY told about

closed spaces and how your friends are in different ones and that means you might never see them again

and so you split up to make certain that can happen to you guys too? Hell, every group has split up for increasingly stupid reasons starting from Chapter 1.

Oh and also

glasses dude needs to stay way the fuck back.

Kids tend to do stupid things.

Kids tend to do even stupider things in desperate situations while they're scared out of their wits.

I just chalk it up to horror cliches. Whenever someone says "Let's split up gang!", I know it can only end in tears.


Speaking of Corpse Party, I just finished watching an anime on Hulu called Another. It was pretty well done (except for the reveal at the end, IMO) and it certainly had a Corpse Party vibe and atmosphere going on, especially in the last few episodes. Check it out if you have a chance, makes you kinda want a Corpse Party anime.

Professor Snugglesworth

B:L wrote: »

Speaking of Corpse Party, I just finished watching an anime on Hulu called Another. It was pretty well done (except for the reveal at the end, IMO) and it certainly had a Corpse Party vibe and atmosphere going on, especially in the last few episodes. Check it out if you have a chance, makes you kinda want a Corpse Party anime.

Actually started watching that.

Or rather, I saw the first episode. I plan to commit to it, just have a couple of episodes of another series I want to finish first.

On that note, should I be checking the Steins Gate VN or the anime? Is the anime a good alternative to playing a 50+ hour VN?

I should be checking out Muv Luv as people constantly rave about it. Those character designs are really not encouraging, though....

cj iwakura

The VN is always the right choice. Steins; art is wildly different and unique in the PC version.

Saya No Uta for instance, could you imagine an anime of that being nearly as gripping?

Professor Snugglesworth

cj iwakura wrote: »

The VN is always the right choice. Steins; art is wildly different and unique in the PC version.

Saya No Uta for instance, could you imagine an anime of that being nearly as gripping?

It could work, sure. If they got Fate/Zero's director and animation studio to handle it, it would make a pretty spot-on adaption.

Or it could go the other way and just become another tentacle hentai.

On the subject, Corpse Party is getting another anime...something. Don't know what it is, other then it's from the same studio that did the 10 minute short.

Stragint

Anything new about Corpse Party: Book of Shadows and Corpse Party 2: Dead Patient?