Review of Neko Para Vol.3 Neko-tachi no Aromatize

Subject	Neko Para Vol.3 Neko-tachi no Aromatize
By	Helpfulness: 0 Vote: 8SomeDude on 2022-09-08
Review	Compared to Vol. 1, this game is two steps forward, two steps back. Compared to Vol. 1, this game is one step forward, two steps back. I typically rate moe games based on the cuteness and purity of the heroines (Moe value, it's right there in the moe game genre), as well as the plot, the quality of the H-scenes, and censorship / lack thereof, as well as the routes and endings. A moe game with mosaic censorship can earn a maximum score of 9 in my eyes, while one with censorship and no harem ending can earn a max of 8. Since this does have a harem ending, then it's very close to scoring max points... so close, and yet there's one thing that bothered me a lot. Every catgirl in this game gets max points in my eyes. They're absolutely adorable, well animated, and total waifu material. The MC, ehh... I don't think he gives enough attention to the catgirls, but most every MC in most every moe game is pretty unlikable and unrelatable to me, so it's hard to deduct points just for that. And I do like the fact that he's an adult, not some high school donkan like most games. Maple is one of my favorite catgirls, while Cinnamon is one of my least favorite (a bit too perverted for me). The story itself is more about Maple, though, and how she has her own goals and ambitions, which are rarely found in cat girls, as well as how Kashou helps her to achieve this goals. Overall, this is actually the best plot and character route I've seen in Nekopara. So where did this game go wrong? Well... there's an H-scene that doesn't include the protagonist (but thankfully doesn't include any other men, either... the only redeeming factor for me). And this sort of thing is typically an instant no-go zone for me. In a series that always has at least two girls per H-scene, I still think every H-scene should include the male protagonist. On top of that, this scene happens before the catgirls involved get together with the MC... which also strips purity points away from their personality. Cinnamon is the big offender here (hence least favorite) but I don't like how Maple went along with it without objecting too heavily. Thankfully this doesn't meet the requirements for a Lesbian NTR tag, but I still can't say I like it. If it weren't for this scene, this would have likely been the best game of the series. As it is, I still think this is a must-play for all fans of neko girls, despite Sayori's stubborn insistence on maintaining early 2000s era mosaic censorship of English releases.
	0 points

#1 by AmanoKaze 2022-09-08 at 05:40	< report >The censorship isn't sayori's fault...IDK how do you come up with that, censorship is depending on the policy of each publishers
#2 by SomeDude 2022-09-08 at 05:41	< report >It is Sayori's fault. She publishes through Denpasoft, and Denpasoft always requests the uncensored version when localizing. It's no secret that Sayori has adamantly refused to allow for the decensorship of any of her artwork when licensing English releases. She's quite infamous for it, in fact.Last modified on 2022-09-08 at 05:43
#3 by AmanoKaze 2022-09-08 at 05:42	< report >Again, how did you come up with this? Got any source? Since some of denpasoft games are still censored e.g 9nine series or whirlpool gamesLast modified on 2022-09-08 at 05:43
#4 by SomeDude 2022-09-08 at 05:49	< report >Sayori owns Neko WorkS and self-publishes. What more proof do you need? Every Whirlpool game on Denpasoft is a demosaic. You must be looking at the original Japanese version CGs if you're seeing mosaics. They do have bleep (or just silent) censors though, which are also a bit annoying but less so than the mosaic. 9-Nine is published by Palette, who, like Sayori, refuses to allow their games to be decensored by Denpasoft, for whatever reason. You yourself say that the policy depends on the publisher. This is partially true... it depends on both the Japanese publisher and the English publisher agreeing to demosaic it together. And Neko WorkS, owned by Sayori (The S in WorkS literally standing for Sayori), is the Japanese publisher in the case, while Denpa prefers to demosaic whenever possible, provided the Japanese publisher will supply them the pre-mosaic CGs. So you've proven my point for me, thanks.Last modified on 2022-09-08 at 06:01
#5 by AmanoKaze 2022-09-08 at 05:52	< report >-redacted-Last modified on 2022-09-08 at 05:53
#6 by SomeDude 2022-09-08 at 05:53	< report >If you know of any VNs with uncensored CGs from Sayori, please enlighten me! Because every single one that I've found, I've played, and they all have mosaics. But seriously, I'd love to find one with no mosaics. Wouldn't change the fact that this has them, but I'd legit like to see her demosaic art work in a VN. I really am a fan of her art style, even if I disagree with mosaic censorship as a general rule.Last modified on 2022-09-08 at 05:55
#7 by AmanoKaze 2022-09-08 at 06:01	< report >I don't know any since i mostly play games in their original language i.e Japanese and a decensorship is only wishful thinking. I saw some uncensored cg of her art in hitomi, idk if it were done by fans or fanbox bonus or something. Reducing points for censorship is a pretty weird thing to do but hey you do you. There are some other SP games that are censored but i couldn't be arsed to check their actual cg's
#8 by SomeDude 2022-09-08 at 06:05	< report >Ah, I see your point then... every Japanese original has mosaics due to some seriously outdated laws repressing sexual expression in that country. Just keep in mind in the future that when people discuss demosaics, they're referring to the English version as English publishers often use the original pre-mosaic CG to decensor the Japanese releases! As more and more English publishers demosaic, more and more players of English translations are getting critical about mosaic censorship in English releases. I envy the fact that you have enough fluency in written Japanese to read the originals, but as I don't, the best I can hope for is an upgrade to the visual fanservice to go along with the inevitable imperfect translations.Last modified on 2022-09-08 at 06:08
#9 by Draconyan 2022-09-08 at 06:45	< report >I feel that spoiler paragraph. Scenes like those are the main reason I'm considering playing the all-ages versions, as weird as it may sound for the Nekopara series.
#10 by SomeDude 2022-09-08 at 06:47	< report >#9 Unfortunately, if you don't like it in this game, I have bad news for you about Vol. 4... which I'll cover if/when I do a review of it. However, all of the scenes in Vol 4 are optional, so you can choose the obvious dialog option to not view it. If you do like H-scenes in Nekopara and don't like the spoiler paragraph, all I can suggest is get the 18+ but speed-click through that scene without reading, or better yet enable skip unread text. Because every other scene is very good.Last modified on 2022-09-08 at 06:54
#11 by jenthefwen 2024-01-28 at 06:15	< report >I fully agree with the spoiler paragraph... the story had a lot of great build up, especially with cinnamon. Seeing that scene was an instant turn off and made me quit playing for a few weeks until I forced myself to finish it.. I'm glad i'm not the only one who had this experience. Hopefully vol 4 will be more similar to 1 and 2, because I didn't really like where this one went
#12 by SomeDude 2024-01-28 at 08:37	< report >#11 I don't want to ruin your day but.... There's a scene in Vol. 4 where two catgirls can't hold back while Kashou is out of country. I guess nekos are just bisexual. Well, we always knew one of them was.Last modified on 2024-01-28 at 08:39
#13 by jenthefwen 2024-01-31 at 04:42	< report >#12 Oh no... well thanks for the heads up. I'll just try to speed read through those parts, and pretend they didn't happen ;-; This is why the first 2 games are my favorite, the nekos in those games have such a pure, genuine love for their master. When the 2 girls get with each other first instead of the mc, their love for mc feels more forced and fake.
#14 by SomeDude 2024-01-31 at 07:21	< report >#13 Or, as I said earlier, you can pick the option that skips that particular scene, as you'll see it coming a mile away. Since all of the H-scenes in Vol. 4 are optional. I know what you mean, though. I'm not really a fan of the fact that the protagonist of the Nekopara series is as sexually passive as he is... I can't think of a single H-scene where he made the first move. It's always the catgirls pretty much forcing him to sex them.
#15 by Omikron 2024-01-31 at 19:08	< report >Now I have to get in on this, specifically the part about the 'nekos in part 1 and 2 have such pure, genuine love for their master'. I don't disagree, but I am somewhat irritated by Vanilla's acting. Does she actually love Kashio? Her feelings for Kashou never really were clear to me... Which scene would you say brings her feelings or whatever she is feeling forth the best?
#16 by SomeDude 2024-01-31 at 23:46	< report >#15 She does, she just fits the "kuudere" trope, and is designed that way. Every scene where she says that catgirls are honest in a way is a hint to this. I'm not sure if you've ever had pet cats, but they can have some pretty interesting personalities... such as the cats who pretend they don't like you half the time but then come and demand you cuddle with them from time to time. And then there's the really peculiar female cats who will purr as you pet them, then turn around and bite your hand to tell you they're done. Chocola and Vanilla simply have the most cat-like personalities of the catgirls.