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Visual Novel Highlight : Sakura Wars

10 12 2012

Continuing my highlights is the ever long running series “Sakura Wars”. This series has been running strongly from 1996, followed by a large number of games, anime adaptations and even movies based on it. As a series, it still holds Concerts for it’s a fan and their main song “Geki! Teikoku Kagekidan” has been sung and remade in different versions along the years. So, prepare for a long series highlight, because it has 5 Main series from the franchise.

4983Sakura Wars was first released for the Sega Saturn in September 26, 1996. It was developed and owned by SEGA and licensed by Red Entertainment , it’s idea was created by Ouji Hiroi. Sakura Wars was  major hit for the Sega Saturn, this large popularity made it received a 4 episode OVA Sakura Taisen: Ouka Kenran, which is a basic retelling of the events from the game itself and in April 8, 2000 it receives and TV series adaptation. Being a major success it will then spawn 4 more direct sequels, this is not including game spin-offs. It also receives many ports including the Sega Dreamcast, Playstation 2, PSP and the PC.

The main theme that goes on in Sakura Wars is the most basic theme in any video game, a group of gifted people have to fight an evil organization that threatens to destroy the world. In this case, the group of gifted people are mostly females that have incredible psychic powers. Sakura Wars also uses “Steampunk” as its main world theme.

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Visual Novel Highlight: Galaxy Angel Eternal Lovers

3 12 2012

1090Galaxy Angel Eternal Lovers is the third and the last part in the series. Also developed by BROCCOLI was released in August 20, 2004. It was first released for the PC and then followed by a PlayStation 2 port in February 24, 2005. As the last part in the series, besides being a direct continuation of the previous title, Moonlit Lovers, the last part makes sure to give proper closure to each routes of the story.

In this part, the VN will really focus on the relationship of Takuto and  the members of the Galaxy Angel. The story itself was designed to be a test for each couple.

Story
The war with the Val-Fasq begins in earnest while a couple of refugees from the legendary EDEN (the place origin of both the White Moon and Black Moon) arrive to beg the Transbaal Empire (and the legendary hero Takuto Meyers) for help. Takuto and his Angel’s relationship is also put into serious jeopardy as his duties preparing for the war with the Val-Fasq keep them apart with increasing frequency. (Wikipedia)

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Visual Novel Highlight: Galaxy Angel Moonlit Lovers

1 12 2012

As promised, today I’m going talk about the direct sequel of the first Galaxy Angel game, which is Galaxy Angel Moonlit Lovers.

8186The 2nd game of the Galaxy Angel, Moonlit Lovers was also developed by BROCCOLI. It was release first for the PC in August 21, 2003. The game itself received a console port for the PS2 in February  26, 2004 and in this edition they’ve made Chitose also has her own story which she has not in the original PC game, but they’ve also released a patch for the PC. The game is still using the same gameplay and style as it’s predecessor, but the main difference with this sequel is the introduction of a new character, Karasuma Chitose the new and 6th member of the Galaxy Angel. You might remember her in the 4th Season of the anime series, as the sickly, vengeful and self-imagined ostracism of one of the members of the Twin Star Team. But she has a drastically different personality in the game, She’s a traditional, polite, and soft-spoken young woman. Chitose joined the military for two reasons; for her respect and admiration for both her father and the Galaxy Angel. Besides, the introduction of a new heroine they also introduced a new villain .

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Visual Novel Highlight : Galaxy Angel

30 11 2012

Yeah, Sorry that I haven’t posted anything lately, been experiencing some wacky mood swings and it affected most of my IRL stuff. Today I’m going to talk about one wholes series that for the ones who don’t know might shock them a bit due to the bizarrely different themes served by 2 different medias and it’s the Galaxy Angel Series.

1088Galaxy Angel, is the first game from it’s series. It was developed by BROCOLLI and was released first for the PC in August 23, 2002. The game itself is basically a Love Adventure combined  with a RTS Spaceship battle, where you can command all the “Emblem Frames” Piloted by the Angel Troupe. Later in April 17, 2003 it receives a PS2 port. It then ultimately received an anime adaptation in April 7, 2001, but wait the release year it’s contradicting itself? The truth is the development for the game got delayed and they first released the mange adaptation of the game in 2001, then they did a loose comedic adaptation for the anime. So, the game is the root for every adaptation known in the industry. In fact because the anime went first, and it was a popular hit, it then overshadows the game and the manga itself, in which resulted expected the game and the manga to be “the same” with the anime when they don’t realize that the anime was a spin-off adaptation.

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Visual Novel Highlight: Tokimeki Memorial 4

10 11 2012

Before I start talking about this VN, I just want to say that I never played the first 3 Tokimeki VNs. It’s because Those 3 existed way before my Otaku self was awakened and the fact that the first 3 of the series is hard to find other than searching the PSX roms. So, i’m just gonna talk about the 1st Tokimeki VN that I played.

Tokimeki Memorial 4, as its name implies is the 4th game of the famous dating sim series “Tokimeki Memorial. It’s developed by KONAMI and released exclusively for the PSP on December 9th, 2009. This game also celebrates the 15th Anniversary of the Tokimeki series. This is the the newest main Tokimeki series, after Konami has been focusing on the “Girl’s Side Tokimeki” for the Nintendo DS. Tokimeki Memorial 4 also goes back to the roots of it’s original, by returning back to the same school from the first series and the coming back of the Legendary Tree, which has been parodied in many animes and mangas. The Special 15th Anniversary limited package aslo comes with an OVA, which is more of an introductory episode that introduces all the main heroines of the game.

Story

The Main story (goal) of this VN is simple get one of the heroines to confess her love to you under the Legendary Tree, which has said that to bring eternal happiness to the couples. But before that you must try to get close to one of the heroines and get to know them better. The Tokimeki series has always been a pure dating simulation series, in this case there’s no “closed heroine routes” and you can approach any heroines in any way you like, but since it’s a pure dating sim, each girl has their own criteria and prerequisite before finally reaching your goal. In this game you also need to build your character status. These status will be those criteria that is needed to get the heroines to be interested in talking to you. After you get close to one heroine, she will start opening herself to you, and their main heroine story will start.

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Visual Novel Highlight: Double Cast

20 09 2012

Sorry that I haven’t posted in awhile, got a nasty fever going on, but it’s gone down for now. since I’m healthy enough to write, I’ll make up for the days of my absence. Today’s VN highlight will be Double Cast. But before that  apologize if this post is shorter than my other ones. It’s because it’s hard to find the release info about this.

Double Cast is the first title in the “Yarudora” series (short for Yaru Dorama, “do it yourself drama”). Double Cast is an interactive movie VN, developed by Sugar & Rockets and published by SCE Studios Japan, with animations by Production I.G. It was first released in 25 June, 1998 for the Playstation and then received a port to the PSP in 28 July 2005.

Double Cast has multiple endings and despite it’s first impressions and outward appearance of a love story, it’s also a genuine Psycho thriller story. There are actually 17 Bad Ends mostly involving the deaths of the main characters, combined with 6 Normal endings and 4 Good endings there are 27 endings in total. Double Cast mainly plays out like a normal VN, but with animated scenes and events, making it like watching an anime. Both Ports for Double Cast are rated 12+.

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Visual Novel Highlight: White Album 2

10 09 2012

As promised here’s the next VN highlight for today which is White Album 2. For this one it’s going to be a little different due to the fact that this is not a old VN but a brand new VN. Last time I spoke about the first one , so this is the sequel of White Album. For future highlights I’ll be back talking about older obscure VNs.

White Album 2 is a sequel to White Album, but despite being a sequel it almost has nothing to do with the characters from the first one. The development of this VN was a bit different from the common. The story is split into 2 parts, The Introductory Chapter and the Closing Chapter, this makes White Album 2 a duology VN. White Album is developed by the same company LEAF and was originally developed for the PC. The first part which was released on March 26, 2010 focuses on the introduction of the 3 main characters, while the second part that was released on December 22, 2011 focuses on the rest and closure of the story. The first part runs in a linear story line without any choices and interactions from the player in choosing the story, while for the second part while introducing new heroines it returns to the same theme as original White Story where it focuses more on the heavy romance drama. LEAF/AQUAPLUS just recently announced a new port for the PS3 that will be released in this 2012 Winter.

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Visual Novel Highlight: White Album

21 08 2012

I decided to do another VN from LEAF, this one is called White Album. White Album tells a  love drama story about one’s hardship to maintain his love while dealing with real life issues. White Album’s love theme is rather serious when compared to other love themed VNs due to the fact that the protagonist is already in a relationship with one of the heroines prior to the start of the story. Meaning that if players decide to pursue other heroines, they must make the hard choice of breaking up with her for the sake of the new found love.

White Album was released in May 1, 1998 developed for the PC. It then also received a manga adaptation, a recent anime adaptation by Studio Seven Arcs which aired in January 2009, spanning 2 seasons.  It was remade for the PS3 in June 24, 2010 which is called  White Album: Tsuzurareru Fuyu no Omoide with new illustrations, full voice acting and Motion Portrait. Due to popular demand, AQUAPLUS the all age brand under LEAF, decided to port it to the PC. It has also birthed a successful sequel, called White Album 2.

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Visual Novel Highlight: Comic Party

13 08 2012

The Next Visual Novel that I will highlight is honestly one of my favorite titles that I have played, and probably one the titles that influences me to play even more and adopt one of it’s character to be my internet persona. This visual Novel is called Comic Party.

Comic Party is a Visual Novel first released for the PC in 1999 by now famous VN company LEAF (Also called Aquaplus for their All Ages Category). Comic Party is one of the most well-known VN due to the fact that it was one of the first VNs to portray the real Otaku culture of Japan and the culture of Comic Market (Comiket) itself. Due to it’s popularity, this title has already received 2 Seasons worth of Anime, a manga adaptation, a Dreamcast port and later re-ported back to the PC with all the adult content removed, and finally a PSP port.

Synopsis

In early April, Kazuki Sendou who was a freshman in college was suddenly invited by his friend Taishi Kuhonbutsu to accompany him to Tokyo Big Sight. He was then surprised to see that there are many people waiting in lines to the an event he later founds out to be a “Comic Party”, a giant Doujinshi Convention. After reading and enjoying so many works by other unknown artists, Taishi then tries to convince Kazuki to start making Doujinshi since he already has the skills as a good artist, but Mizuki‘s who’s Kazuki’s childhood friend tries to stop him, because she thinks that otaku are smelly, dirty, and disgusting. Her reasoning doesn’t help because Kazuki already made up his mind and begins to draw his first dōjinshi. Together with Taishi who helps him logistically they’ve formed their own doujin circle called Brothers 2.

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Visual Novel Highlight: Tsuyokiss

11 08 2012

The Next VN that I want to shed some light is called Tsuyokiss.  Tsuyokiss (Strong Kiss) is a Slice of Life Comedy about the lives of a group of High school students and their comedic everyday events.  The Main protagonist of Tsuyokiss is a male student named  Leo Tsushima who’s secretly in love with the Student Council President, Erika Kiriya, who’s also the richest girl and eldest daughter of a big corporation.  Tsuyokiss was developed by Candysoft in 2005 and has already received an anime adaptation 2 sequels called Tsuyokiss Nigakki and Tsuyokiss Sangaki. The original Vn has also received  a PS2 port and a re-release  with the original character from the PS2 version ported into the new PC version.

Synopsis
The story starts when Leo and his group are running late to school, Kanisawa Kinu, the short-tempered girl, Date Subaru, the cool-headed childhood friend and Samesuga Shinichi, the pervert with glasses. When they barely reached the school gate , Kurogane Otome, from the disciplinary comittee, knocks down Leo’s group because they were late. It’s then revealed that Otome is Leo’s cousin that he haven’t seen for years.  After the events Otome decided to move in to the same house with Leo making his mediocre life more lively. On another day Leo is able to  join the student council  making him close to his secret love, Erika. In the student council he also meets with silent underclassmen Yashi Nagomi, who’ll always gets in an argument with Kinu. With the Re-release LEo also meets an old acquaintance from Junior Highschool, a stubborn girl who’s the leader of the Drama Club Sunao Konoe who hates the Student Council especially Erika, who she thinks is too self-righteous.

Why Do I like this Visual Novel?
Aside from the generic setting and themes, Tsuyokiss is not just another Love Comedy, it’s characters relationships and development has been highly praised. The comedy are always fresh and entertaining and the drama part of each character are also compelling. It’s one those stories that you need to read and experience it for yourself to enjoy it.

The Tough Girls of Tsuyokiss

Notes: The Original PC version is rated +18 for Adults, while the PS2 port is rated +15 with the adult content removed. This VN is still untranslated.


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Visual Novel Highlight: Sekai de Ichiban NG na Koi

9 08 2012

I feel that it’s time I put my real strength into TRT which is in Visual Novels. I’ve been playing VNs since Highschool, and I’ve already played 472 titles to this date. So, after getting that aside this new corner is for introducing notable VNs that I have played. Most of them will be only available in Japanese, but just remember the ones that you really like, who knows that someday they will be translated. So, without further a do I begin my first VN highlight.

The first VN that I want to shed light onto is Sekai de Ichiban NG (Dame) na Koi (The World’s Most Useless Love). NG Koi is a Slice of Life Drama about an unlucky man who kept getting many misfortunes ever since he got divorced with his wife. It uses “Love Triangle” themes and the good use of the term of “Being a Useless Man” which is different than your traditional and generic love driven stories. Released by Hermit in 2007 and already received a PSP port in 2011.

Synopsis

The Story starts a couple of years after the divorce. Yoshimura Osamu, a 29 year old man is now walking home after getting drunk. He recently lost his job due to corporate downsizing. He then meets a kind and attractive woman named Hinosaka Honoka, who tries to cheer him up and mentions that if he needs a place to stay, she can always come to her.
3 months after meeting with Honoka, He decides to take up on her offer. Arriving at her house which turns out to be a large boarding house, Honoka is nowhere to be found. Instead, he meets Honoka’s daughter Mitoko, who immediately slaps him thinking that he’s the man that took her mother away. After learning that Honoka ran off with a man, Osamu decides to stay and help Mitoko while she waits for her mother to return.
In his time staying in the boarding house, Osamu will meet with other women that are attracted to his “charms”. Amagi Kaya, his “My Own Pace” co-worker who he meets in his new work place, Sawashima Himeo, the rich and bourgeois girl who seems to be after the Land Rights for the boarding house and Kouno Asami, Mitoko’s homeroom teacher who is in fact also Osamu’s ex-wife.

Why do I like this Visual Novel?

Sekai de Ichiban NG na Koi is honestly more interesting and thought provoking than your regular love stories. The Love Triangle theme is not forced to a silly cat fight, Excellent character developments and emotional stories about fundamental values in your everyday life. NG Koi, is one of those VNs that I rarely press the “Skip” button just because almost every part is insteresting or funny. Ng Koi was also awarded with the Moe Game Award 2008 Purelove Champion.

Before the Divorce

Notes: The Original PC version is rated +18 for Adults, while the PSP port is rated +15 with the adult content removed.


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