| Vote ▴▾ | Labels ▴▾ | Title ▴▾ | Added ▴▾ | Start date ▴▾ | Finish date ▴▾ |
| 6.5 | Finished | AIRIt cannot accurately be explained in the english language the true torture that is the 2 sideroutes in this game. Painful, boring sludge that can't even be read ironically for any enjoyment at all. This game displays everything good yet everything silly about Maeda, truthfully. Random red herrings and setting details that never get explained, a 'sad' part of the game that extends forever. But it's hard to argue about Maeda's magic. He has a way of being genuine and emotional when the time calls for it, and AIRs emotional climax is no different. Better, even, as Maeda avoided a very common pitfall with his later games. Summer is a neat little short story, too! It's not what I'd call a 'good' game, but after reading it, it's pretty obvious why Maeda reached the heights he did. | 2017-03-19 | | |
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| 8.2 | Finished | Aiyoku no EustiaSolid well done fantasy. This was my first serious eroge after studying Japanese! Has a special place with me because of that, admittedly. Has a few hiccups along the first three chapters, but gets it together by Chapter 4 and continues being great for the ending. Had its disc broken one time by a speed-reading assassin, but alas, it cannot be helped. And of course, have to mention the incredible BG art. Recommended for anyone with taste and isn’t an assassin IRL. | 2013-10-20 | | |
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| 6.5 | Finished | Akatsuki no Goei<aldarionar> i was playing tsukis route and suddenly end credits rolled <aldarionar> is there a fix patch or something | 2014-11-24 | | |
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| 6.8 | Finished | Akatsuki no Goei ~Principal-tachi no Kyuujitsu~The fan-disc! Quite a deal better than the original game, honestly. Tsuki’s AF really improves Tsuki’s original route and gives it an actual conclusion, and Kyouka’s route is shockingly good, with only a kind-of stupid ending! The rest of the AF’s (minus Moe, she sucks) besides that are all pretty good too, with Tae’s and uh, THAT ending being a personal favorite. The best thing is Kaito’s backstory, though. Almost too over the top and hardcore to be taken seriously, but it’s brutality is… pretty impressive, and how well it explains Kaitos character in its entirety is actually a good touch. Good job Kinugasa. | 2015-03-22 | | |
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| 7.8 | Finished | Akeiro KaikitanAkeiro trades off Nanairo and Kotoris wonderful pressence and route in exchange for a more balanced and fulfilling plotline. Larger and more ambitious overall, featuring a plot that has much more going on than you'd think at first glance for being so small in scale. It struggles in some areas though. One route feels like it doesn't need to be there, the routes feel like they go on a bit too long when the climax has already happened, some nitpicks. Nothing quite as potent as Kotoris route from Nanairo but a much more balanced and engaging experience from top to bottom. | 2019-12-05 | | |
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| 5 | Finished | A ProfileI still laugh to this day when I remember “WHY YES, I AM INDEED A WOMAN.” More akin to Sharin than G-Senjou, but without the quotable aspect of the former, and without the intrigue of the latter, so all were left with is terribly insipid drama. Mostly unremarkable except for a few high points, and not all the character interactions are bad, at least. | 2013-05-16 | | |
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| 8.8 | Finished | ATRI -My Dear Moments-God, I love the last act of this game. An honest, by the books boy meets girl love story at the end of the day, and that will make it or break it for some people. But there's a lot of great themes explored in the setting and with the titular main character. Konno's ability to calmly express drama without being overbearing about it truly shines through, and his talent for great side characters and other perspectives is also well used. His most ambitious work setting wise, but probably his most fulfilling. | 2020-06-11 | | |
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| 8.2 | Finished | BALDR SKY Dive1 "Lost Memory"Read: Baldr Sky Dive2, except with an added: What the FUCK, Chinatsu? | 2013-11-17 | | |
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| 9.5 | Finished | BALDR SKY Dive2 "RECORDARE"Maybe the best videogame ever made, and I really mean that. Hiei understands the art of the ‘story’ on a level few others can match, knowing when to speed up and slow down pacing and how to craft a plot that comes together so seamlessly you will barely even notice just how complex it’s gotten. Top that off with a vibrant and sympathetic protag in Kou and you have something magical. The gameplay is also incredibly rewarding and satisfying to play, and you’ll probably be hoping that fights come more frequently as the game goes on. Also an unfortunate victim of Kastel and Newbie puns. May god rest its soul. | 2013-11-26 | | |
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| 6.8 | Finished | Boku wa Tenshi Janai yoA very short story about a guy trying to find salvation amongst the various girls he meets, latching onto any and all of them to try and find meaning in his life. The text kind of feels like a script, with a lot of details left unsaid for the player to interpret themselves. Gets shockingly brutal, with almost no real happy ends in sight. I wasn’t a big fan of the family politics plot that started emerging in the later parts of the game, felt really unnecessary, and one path in particular feels more like a chore to get through than it should because of it, but most of it is pretty memorable, for better or worse. I can still remember Yurina’s second end long after finishing the game. | 2015-07-29 | | |
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| 6.2 | Finished | Bradyon VedaIt’s amazing to see a game collapse so hard after such a promising start. The game isn’t exactly mind blowing at the start, but at the very least there’s a pretty clear story, goal and atmosphere going on, even with some kind of clumsy text. And then one chapter in the beginning is REALLY good, when it introduces the whole cast. Things look great, until the games fucking brains fall out of its ears and it caves into a blackhole under its own insanity. It just adds more and more silly shit with less and less answers to any of them, with an ending that pretty much tied up… nothing. And yes, I am bitter that Viva didn’t get a route, sue me. Also, Fuck Hayate and Moogy for rusing me into reading this. | 2014-02-01 | | |
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| 1 | - | Canvas 2 ~Akaneiro no Palette~ | 2013-05-16 | | |
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| 9.2 | Finished | CHAOS;CHILDRating is assuming you did the smart thing and skipped the non nono/true routes. A tight, character-study thriller game. A bit of a weird combination, but the results speak for themselves. A game that really, REALLY gets you invested in every aspect of it. From its plot full of moving parts and plotpoints, to Takurus plight and struggles, backed by matsuokas fantastic performance as him. It's a long one, and some of the cast... aren't exactly winners (looking at you hana) but the any bad can only be considered nitpicking. But maybe the true standout of Chaos;Child is the wonderous character work. You'll feel sympathy for characters you never thought you'd be able to. Despite its suspense thriller roots, it's a heartbreaker of a game. May leave you with a terminal case of... The Feels. The translation kinda sucks though. | 2018-11-20 | | |
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| 5 | Finished | CHAOS;HEADIf only they would concentrate on the things the game is actually good at, like the paranoia atmosphere and the feeling of claustrophobia at the beginning, instead of… y’know, what is essentially Bankai’s. And my god, the pacing. How much of the middle of this game even matters at all? How much could you take out and basically nothing would change? I think the game gets a bit too much flak at times, but I can’t say I’m eager to defend it. Was neat when I was an EOP, I guess. | 2013-01-07 | | |
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| 6.2 | Finished | CLANNADY’know, somewhere in Maeda’s mind, I’m pretty sure there’s a sincere creator. Someone who is genuine enough and cares a lot about what he’s working on, y’know? I think even if I read parts of After Story now, I’d probably still like some of it. But alas, it doesn’t change just how much bloat you have to go through to get there. The sheer volume of terrible routes that you have to read in order to find anything worthwhile makes it impossible to recommend, and it’s all so you can partake in Clannads version of mystical hand waving. But who cares? Da Feelz, Lads. | 2013-01-15 | | |
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| 8.2 | Finished | Coμ - Kuroi Ryuu to Yasashii Oukoku -A game about morality and finding meaning in your life in a world ambivalent to you. Unfortunately, only 2 routes of the game are particularly good, Benio’s (the start) and Kagome’s (the end) and all the others are either pointless breather/joke routes (Mayuki/Ayaya) or a super rushed disaster (Hiyoka). Not to mention it has a rather polarizing protagonist who desperately needed to be voiced. But it’s arguably the most quotable of all the Hino games, and is written by Hino and I’m gay, so here it is. | 2014-08-19 | | |
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| 8.8 | Finished | CROSS†CHANNELA game that’s open for tons of interpretations and theories, but at its core it is a game about the human relationship and communication, mixed with satire and commentary about the definition of a human within the context of society. A celebration of life and all its imperfections, and matched only by Asairo in how emotionally potent it is by the end. A shame nobody translated it, huh? It seems all anyone wants to do is write size equivalent fanfiction. | 2013-05-27 | | |
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| 7.5 | Finished | Daitoshokan no HitsujikaiExtremely deceiving. Daitoshokan might look like a typical moege/charage or whatever, and at its core that is definitely what it is, but don’t be fooled. The immensely fun and enjoyable atmosphere that captures the ‘club of friends’ feeling so well brings the game up beyond the typical gakuen game. The conversations feel very smooth aswell. Basically like a much more toned down, moege version of Oretsuba, I guess? The game’s a bit long and obviously not every route is a winner (Kana and Kodachi’s routes being favorites of mine), but definitely one of the best of its kind you can find. | 2014-05-11 | | |
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| 6.8 | Finished | Dangan Ronpa Kibou no Gakuen to Zetsubou no KoukouseiA probably too off-kilter thriller that manages to stay mostly entertaining through-out its entire ride. Some of the mysteries are better than other one for sure, and the protag only really shows personality during trials. One of the more better popcorn experiences I've played, though. Probably not for everyone, since the atmosphere and the characters are all quite... weird, but definitely worth a try. If you do like it though, theres an AMAZING gift waiting for you in the sequel. | 2013-07-31 | | |
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| 5 | Finished | D.C. ~Da Capo~d i e n e m u d i e | 2012-12-23 | | |
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| 6.2 | Finished | D.C. II ~Da Capo II~Oh god, Da Capo 2. Well, it’s much better than the first game and as far as generic moege go it’s not… obnoxiously bad? But it has some of the most unsatisfying endings to routes you can ever imagine, Yume’s being especially bad. And sadly, since they never really finished Sakura’s story from the first game or this game, I fear that its doomed me to play D.C.3 one day just for closure. It is what it is. Not horrifically bad but not terribly memorable either, unless you play it very early. | 2012-12-23 | | |
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| 5 | Finished | DEARDROPSSome neat songs, but boy the games routes are a snooze. The protags backstory are actually kind of cool but the TWIST with it is extremely dumb and kinda ruins it. Honestly nothing even happens in any of the routes, there's not alot of meaningful drama or character interactions. The game just kinda fizzles immediately. | 2012-12-23 | | |
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| 5 | Finished | Dengeki StrykerStill one of the most hilariously dark and brutal plot twists I think I’ve seen. The more I thought about it the more fucked up it was. Mostly just an attempt at a western superhero show, relatively harmless except for just how lacking it was in meaningful content. It sort of felt like they chopped off half the game at times. I never played Cho Dengeki, though, and that release added 3 whole routes, so that might have improved it. I don’t know if I care enough to go back and check, though. | 2012-12-23 | | |
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| 8.8 | Finished | Dies irae ~Acta est Fabula~Nietzschian philosophy merging with the story of Goethe Faust and a celebration/mocking of everything chuu2 with the best voice acting you will ever see emerges Dies Irae, a game about the limits of man and all it can’t do, and all the moment’s we achieve despite that. It's an impossible to describe all the reasons why Dies is good, but you can chalk it up to the gloriously grandiose text and extremely memorable and charismatic characters most of all. Even if one isn't that into chuu2, I think there's something in Dies for everyone, whether thats in the crazy fights or the subtext. Or the hot dudes. | 2014-07-04 | | |
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| 3 | Finished | Doki Doki Literature Club!I was expecting memes and I really just got half-baked disappointment. A game that just mostly comes off as insincere and non commital to what its doing. Someone described it as 'Katawa Totono' and that's pretty apt, but somehow the disabilities/mental issues presented in this game are only shown for about 5 minutes before the game falls onto its own head. Entertaining if you haven't seen this kind of genre swap alot, but not worth it otherwise. | 2017-10-26 | | |
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| 7.8 | Finished | Dra†KoiMy favorite short story eroge. Will probably make you feel like you were just tossed into a tornado by the end. Contains a very cute dragon and the best mom character ever, with a… very interesting vocal soundtrack, let’s say. Only a few hours long so there’s literally no excuse, so go read it right now, what the hell are you even doing? | 2013-04-22 | | |
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| 7.5 | Finished | DUEL SAVIORA game with a second half as great as its first half is stupid. I hear about how a lot of people drop it at the beginning and it doesn’t surprise me. Taiga becoming the Red Apostle in the common route is the best thing that happens up until Nanashi’s route, where the game finally gets good. The first two routes before that and most of the common route are a trial in stupidity and boring crap, but if you can survive that, the plot in the second half of the game heats up REALLY fast and will make it all worth it. It’s definitely worth your time, in the end. Make sure you play destiny; The 18+ version makes the earlier parts even worse. | 2013-06-12 | | |
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| 1 | Finished | Edelweissi played this with the first MG translation feel bad for me | 2013-05-16 | | |
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| 5 | Finished | Edelweiss Eiden FantasiaStrangely, I think I might have this rated too low. Rins story is ungodly silly (penis spirit?) and the fact that it tries to get dramatic at times is dumb, but Sakura’s story is… kind of cool, thinking back on it. It’s like a highschool moege version of King Midas’s tale, which is pretty original, and Sakura herself is actually a delight and a pretty fun character. Strange, considering the terrible source material, but there’s actually something here. | 2013-10-07 | | |
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| 5 | Finished | ef - a fairy tale of the two.Similar in goals to Symphonic Rain, but more melodramatic, which makes it a worse symphonic rain. Not nearly as potent and a bit too showy for my taste, but if you play it early it’ll probably make you feel like shit, at least. | 2013-05-16 | | |
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| 3 | Finished | Eien no Aselia -The Spirit of Eternity Sword-how does anyone like this garbage | 2013-10-26 | | |
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| 7.5 | Finished | EvenicleMy first :real: step into Alice Soft territory. I spent the better part of two weeks playing this game, not only because the script is enormous but because of how immensely satisfying it is to explore the incredible world map. Very accessible with a pretty standard (intentionally so- meta stuff beware!) plot that’s executed pretty well, with pretty gratifying battle system that makes exploring the world even more engaging. It could probably stand to be a bit tougher on the player, though, as the last area is the only real challenge. But still, a fun voyage for all. | 2015-05-30 | | |
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| 5 | Finished | Ever17 -the out of infinity-I think most people go through the phase where they think Ever17 is the best thing ever, right? The twist at the end is pretty brickshit worthy and it tricks you into thinking all the boring crap you went through at first was worth it. And for some people it probably will be. I can’t hate Ever17 that much, but I will say that now adays I flinch whenever people mention kick the can. I’d be less bitter if people didn’t try to praise it as the greatest story ever told. | 2013-04-08 | | |
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| 5 | Finished | Fata Morgana no YakataMassive potential utterly squandered by boring writing is the short form of it. The game's characters, story itself, and atmosphere/art/music are all good to great. But the game is so predictable that it could be considered a hate crime against storytelling, combined with extremely mechanical storytelling and absolutely nothing to change the pace or betray expectations turn it into a slog by the 20000000th flashback. A golden achievment in watching pacing TANK during the end of a game. Putting it this high just because the fundamentals are strong. | 2016-05-27 | | |
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| 6.5 | Finished | Fate/stay nightMy god, Fate. Another game I used to be in love with. I still have a lot of respect for the work and its place in history, for sure, but the sheer over exposure of its material as exposed a lot of flaws in Old Nasu’s work, and it doesn’t help I’m just tired of seeing it by now. The best thing about the game is the thematic progression, how ‘hero’ goes from being praised, to criticized, to destroyed, over all three routes, but unfortunately to get that you have to play the original Fate route, which… leaves a lot to be desired, putting it gently. I still have fond memories of Heavens Feel, but I don’t know if I should replay it. Maybe it’s best to keep those memories just as they are. | 2012-11-06 | | |
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| 7.2 | Finished | Grisaia no Kajitsu -LE FRUIT DE LA GRISAIA-Great characters, good writing and some of the funniest stuff you can find. What could go wrong? Well, more than you’d expect. Sachi’s route has a very touching ending, but everything before that is just extremely slow, almost meandering build-up for it. Michiru’s route is absolute lunacy in a bad way. And Yumiko’s route is quite possibly the dumbest thing I’ve ever read, on par with Shizuru and Chihaya’s crap from Rewrite. It doesn’t help that Fujisaki essentially channels Kinugasa in Amane’s route, either. Still has some great pieces of writing, though, and the cast is very memorable. Everyone’s already read this already, though, so you probably know this. | 2013-08-06 | | |
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| 6.8 | Finished | Grisaia no Meikyuu -LE LABYRINTHE DE LA GRISAIA-Grisaias cast returns. The rest of the heroines mostly take backseats to Yuujis backstory here, which is fine in theory, but Yuujis transformation into a low agency corpse after his backstory does a lot of damage his character. The after stories are a bit half-baked and weird but entertaining if you just want a bit more of the Kajitsu common route. Caprices writing itself is solid, and the atmosphere around it is pretty choking aswell. Worth continuing the series, at least, if you liked the first game | 2013-10-07 | | |
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| 7.5 | Finished | Grisaia no Rakuen -LE EDEN DE LA GRISAIA-The climax if the trilogy that... feels like we were hardly building. Rakuen manages to highlight the best part of the trilogy as a whole; A ton of spotlight and time given towards the main heroines, and Michiru and Yumiko especially get face lifts to become much better, defined characters after the atrocity they suffered through in their own routes. Yuuji never fully recovers from his backstory in Meikyuu, though, and his own climax and character arc feels like it takes place completely seperately from said heroines, with twists that seem like jokes at first. And at this point, I was honestly getting sick of Fujisakis neverending essays of everything military. I like the cast and the game alot more than the rating would have you believe, but theres no getting around the flaws here. I still love sachi though. | 2013-10-07 | | |
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| 6.8 | Finished | G-senjou no MaouAnother game from the dark lockers of my EOP days. It’s problems are pretty well documented, from its plot holes to it’s very nebulous side routes, but even now I still remember the exact moment where Close Your Eyes starts playing in the game. Haru is also the character I immediately think of when anyone mentions Kawashima. The OST isn’t very good mostly and sometimes the mystery explanations look like they’re attempting to do textual gymnastics, but the plot isn’t bad and I still quite like the ultimate ending to the story. I guess it’s just a game I have a lot of fond memories of. Maybe I should replay it. | 2013-05-24 | | |
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| 7.5 | Finished | HanachirasuNarahara has a bad habit of dumping setting info on you regardless of anything thats happening on screen, which is not always great. There are positives that emerge because of it, though; Hanachirasu’s setting is far more well developed than you’d ever expect of something with its length, and due to how much knowledge the reader has, the story can play on those expectations. But the actual cool parts of the plot, Akane and Yoshia’s story, really feels buried underneath all the detail at time, and the ending is… very predictable. Still a good short story. | 2015-04-22 | | |
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| 7.2 | Finished | Harumade, Kururu.Contains instructions on how to enter aキャッキャうふふワールド. Beyond that, has the most hilarious genre/tone shift you’ll find in probably anything. Takes awhile to get into it’s best stuff(the first two routes aren’t that great), but the payoff to it all is unreal. There’s a huge marathon of ero scenes at the beginning a lot of people seem to hate, but I found them to be hilarious. Basically comedy scenes with lots of lewdness. | 2015-01-17 | | |
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| 8.8 | Finished | Hello Lady!A game about finding the will and courage to defy a world that doesn’t care about your decisions and seeks to manipulate you for its own ends. A game that tied a knot around my rabid Hino fanboyism, truth be told. Unlike the other Hino games, it is very focused on dialogue instead of narration, which is an interesting change. Great choice in the end, because Charlie’s performance as Narita is excellent. Hino’s ability to marry plot and message is on full display again here, and it remains to be my favorite thing about him. He’s not afraid to use characters and even the plot itself as metaphors for what he’s trying to say. Would recommend after playing all the other games though, as this ‘completes’ his vision, in a way. | 2014-12-28 | | |
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| 1 | Finished | Higurashi no Naku Koro niSERIOUSLY WHY IS THIS POPULAR? | 2013-10-20 | | |
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| 9.2 | Finished | HimawariHimawari is a game that is not without a few problems. Slow paced, a bit clumsy in places, and one of the sidestories isn't very good. But the characters in this game are so flawed, so human and so well crafted that it feels so pointless to nitpick. Some great thematic work about growing up in a vast world, ones memories and identity and their role in oneself, but maybe most importantly is the message of you, broken and fucked up as you are, not wanting to nor settling for being anyone else but you. If you can handle the slow start (its VERY slow) you'll be rewarded with something that may not leave you for awhile. | 2016-12-20 | | |
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| 7.2 | Finished | Himawari no Kyoukai to Nagai NatsuyasumiTo be honest, I don’t really blame SCA-Ji entirely. I mean, he wasn’t even supposed to be involved in the project. But holy shit, the fucking STATE of Yomi’s route. SCA-Ji managed to make a side character and a six year old girl have more personality than either of the main characters. And the absolute joke of a ‘twist’ and random shit that happens in the climax of the story is just… ugh. Basically, only the flashback near the end of the route is the good part, and it’s so good that it kind of makes me mad. This is the thing that really made me start disliking SCA-Ji, if I’m being totally honest. Hina’s route, on the other hand, has grounded, character focused story with a solid theme that executes exactly what it wants to do without too many hiccups. Could have been A LOT better if the game were more focused around it exclusively though, instead of having SCA-Ji write an invasive route along with hack side writers, but alas, didn’t happen. | 2015-06-11 | | |
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| 6.8 | Finished | Hoshizora no Memoria -Eternal Heart-Essentially the missing part of the original game. If you liked Hoshizora you really should read it. Has the proper Mare route (though it gets frequently sidetracked by a ridiculous amount of focus on a side characters imouto) and Yume’s AF, the latter of which being pretty nice. All the other AF’s are just basically 20 minutes long with an ero scene, so wouldn’t bother reading. Funny enough, this was my first game in Japanese that I read to completion! | 2014-04-29 | | |
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| 6.8 | Finished | Hoshizora no Memoria -Wish Upon a Shooting Star-Another EOP game, another terrible translation I have to try and base a score/opinion on. Part of me wants to scratch this off, but I’m not sure if I’ll ever care enough to replay Hoshizora in Japanese. It’s not that its bad, the soft ‘magical’ atmosphere is pretty nice and You/Mare’s conversations are great, but a lot of the game just isn’t all that special until XXXX’s route. Though Asuho’s route is okay, I guess. Doesn’t help that the experience just doesn’t feel very complete without the fandisc, honestly, so it’s hard to judge it by itself. But yeah, take all of this with a grain of salt, since I read this with the god awful English patch. | 2012-11-06 | | |
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| 6.2 | Finished | Kamidori Alchemy MeisterAddictive and grindy gameplay that seems to last forever, with the backdrop of maybe the most uninspired story I’ve ever seen. Seriously. It’s some of the most low effort writing I’ve ever seen. The story is basically non-existent and all playing for is for the sake of playing. It is pretty useful as a timekiller, though, since the gameplay isn’t bad. | 2012-11-06 | | |
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| 7.2 | Finished | Karigurashi Ren'aiProbably Asa'Pro's most consistent work up to this point. Manages to be really funny without overstepping into the terrible moege drama that plagued ren'0, but also without taking its foot off the pedal so fast like puramai wars. The common route does a pretty good job of showing you what the routes for each heroine is like, so just read whatever girls you like. A comfy time killer. | 2018-05-19 | | |
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| 1 | Finished | Katawa Shoujof333333333333333333ls | 2012-11-06 | | |
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