Foreword: Game had already couple reviews, but those weren't too specific on the story, so I had to check it out myself in the end.
I've waited for this day with terror since it's going to show whether this blog going to have a purpose after year 2008 - first clash with Micchi blog and notably his fool's day edition targeting April 2000! And the results are quite satisfying so far. Micchi highlighted 13 works and has one work that I can't allow to include because it's Tinkerbell work that produces only camouflaged nukige. But I include 11 more works that Micchi does not have. So for now I'm quite content with the result - there are a lot of obscure works Micchi misses and that's why there's probably a reason for this blog even after 2008. So in April 2000 I consider only one game as masterpiece - Gyousatsu♥Shinsengumi Hitokiri Bishoujo Adventure.
Eve Zero is the game of the Month March 2000. The other masterpiece of the month is Harlem Blade II, but it's only suitable for those who appreciate RPG.
The only masterpiece of February 2000 is Phantom of Inferno and thus it's the VN of the Month. I already made full video walkthrough of the game, but it got wiped with the channel, and I'm not doing it again.
There's a big change since 2000. From now on I'm starting to block visual novels by certain criteria (fandisk, nukige, shounen ai, yaoi, antology, demo, non-Japanese, EVN, otome, doujin) which means I'll still note them at the back of the post, but will only provide a synopsis, an opening song and review links where possible. But there is also a good news - I'll be making reviews and video walkthroughs of at least one route from the games of the month.
There should be no two opinions about this, Comic party rocked May 1999. It's very difficult for a SIM to gain my approval, but all the elements fit here perfectly. So far there have not been more than a couple of doujin games released, but this game has woken the devil of 2000s.
euphoria review
2 months ago
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Gram Cats 2 グラムキャッツ２[Dott Kikaku]
Foreword: I was quite intrigued by original Gram Cats concept - mutated humans fight with aliens and ordinary schoolgirl gets an ability to transform into cat and thus becomes a great spy. But the eternal maze of corridors prevented me from finishing that game. So I thought I'd have more luck with the second part to get acquainted with this SF setting.
Phobos フォボス [Himeya Soft]
Foreword: Himeya Soft and C's Ware are basically the same people, so it would really be a shame to miss their first cyberpunk game, father of Xenon ~Mugen no Shitai~ and grandfather of luv wave. How deep is the story? How much torture does it imply on players? Does it already have mind-screw elements? I'll try to answer all those questions.
Shinjuku Monogatari 新宿物語 [Fairytale]
Foreword: Fairytale is the main experimentation company of the early 1990s. And Shinjuku Monogatari is an attempt to go away from adult games for the sake of games that can keep the interest by the story and atmosphere alone. The history shows us now that it was a failure attempt from the start since adult titles with cute heroines are everything the populus wants. But was Fairytale really wrong in that intention?
Armist アルミスト [Basement]
Foreword: I did not intend to play Armist to the end, but its game system was indeed player-friendly and the story turned out to be quite a serious thing instead of being a bakage, so it's well worth a review.
Eve: The Fatal Attraction イブティーエフエーアトラクション [C's Ware]
Foreword: Again, C's Ware game and EVE on top of that. I actually played it before EVE Zero as a substitute for EVE:Adam Doublefactor, but decided to to keep it for a later time since it has some imminent spoilers for EVE Zero.
EVE Zero [C's Ware]
Foreword: Phew, this game took a while to beat! Command selection was not comfortable after point-and-click EVE TFA that I finished before Zero. Eve Zero is best be played as the third game in the series, after EVE Burst Error and EVE Lost One.
VN of the Month April 2000 - Gyousatsu♥Shinsengumi Hitokiri Bishoujo Adventure
I've waited for this day with terror since it's going to show whether this blog going to have a purpose after year 2008 - first clash with Micchi blog and notably his fool's day edition targeting April 2000! And the results are quite satisfying so far. Micchi highlighted 13 works and has one work that I can't allow to include because it's Tinkerbell work that produces only camouflaged nukige. But I include 11 more works that Micchi does not have. So for now I'm quite content with the result - there are a lot of obscure works Micchi misses and that's why there's probably a reason for this blog even after 2008. So in April 2000 I consider only one game as masterpiece - Gyousatsu♥Shinsengumi Hitokiri Bishoujo Adventure.
VN of the Month March 2000 - Eve Zero
Eve Zero is the game of the Month March 2000. The other masterpiece of the month is Harlem Blade II, but it's only suitable for those who appreciate RPG.
VN of the Month February 2000 - Phantom of Inferno
The only masterpiece of February 2000 is Phantom of Inferno and thus it's the VN of the Month. I already made full video walkthrough of the game, but it got wiped with the channel, and I'm not doing it again.
VN of the Month January 2000 - Lien ~Owaranai Kimi no Uta~
There's a big change since 2000. From now on I'm starting to block visual novels by certain criteria (fandisk, nukige, shounen ai, yaoi, antology, demo, non-Japanese, EVN, otome, doujin) which means I'll still note them at the back of the post, but will only provide a synopsis, an opening song and review links where possible. But there is also a good news - I'll be making reviews and video walkthroughs of at least one route from the games of the month.
Gensou no Artemis, Lien ~Owaranai Kimi no Uta~ and Treating 2U are the masterpieces of the month. And VN of the Month January 2000 is Lien ~Owaranai Kimi no Uta~. That's a very solid start of the year.
Gensou no Artemis, Lien ~Owaranai Kimi no Uta~ and Treating 2U are the masterpieces of the month. And VN of the Month January 2000 is Lien ~Owaranai Kimi no Uta~. That's a very solid start of the year.
VN of the Year 1999
1990s are over. And to commemorate that I've made a video playlist of all the openings/demo/endings with singing/energetic instrumental from 1990s here Visual Novel Openings 1990s
I'll be making such playlists for each new year starting with 2000 since each year is going to have over 100 such opening/ending/demo themes.
Second Windows era year is behind. It failed to bring such a game that I'd announce Vn of the year 1999 right away. Instead, it brought a number of quality galge and some quirky cryptic games that I personally had a good time unwinding.
I'll be making such playlists for each new year starting with 2000 since each year is going to have over 100 such opening/ending/demo themes.
VN of the Month December 1999 - Elemental Arts
There are surprisingly many masterpieces this month. There are three: Elemental Arts, Green and SPARK! My personal favourtite would of course be Vist, but even I understand that it lacks the masterpiece level. The game of the Month December 1999 is Elemental Arts since I would not like to compliment eroge'ish Green and bakage'ish SPARK!
Vist [C's Ware]
Foreword: It's a C's Ware story game so I'm in. I have not read reviews prior to playing the game. I followed three different walkthroughs though - and still failed to get even a single happy ending. You can read about my torments below.
EVE: The Lost One [C's Ware]
Foreword: If you do not know of EVE:Burst Error, you better stop here right now and go watch video playthrough of that gorgeous game. EVE the Lost One is a direct sequel to that game and there will naturally be spoilers on the prequel content. That being settled - I did not pay much attention to the Lost One right away and did not review it properly while observing year 1998. Japanese reviews failed even to give an outline of the plot and were generally not too favorable. Only after playing it myself I found out the perfect answer "why" and that will be covered below.
Refrain Blue リフレインブルー [Elf]
I don't feel eligible to write a full review since I only listened to the voice parts of the game. And the reason for that is that the game is unhookable by any instruments. No threads are found at all. Still I'm confident enough on the grappled content to write my thoughts of it.
VN of the Month November 1999 - PARTS
The VN of the Month November 1999 is PARTS. The only really serious work.
Silver Jiken シルバー事件 [Grasshopper Manufacture]
VN of the Month October 1999 - Silver Jiken
The game of the October 1999 is Silver Jiken. I wanted to write in couple sentences why, but I failed at that miserably and I'd better post a non-structured review of it in order not to overburden this post.
Kazeoto, Chirin かぜおと、ちりん [C's Ware]
Foreword: It's a C's Ware game and these guys have not let me down even once. Unlike Re-Leaf which has quite a clear synopsis and multiple endings, this work is much more mysterious. I thought I'd get just another rural slice of life with some side mystery, but what I got was an ancestor of Cross†Channel with a global anomaly and looped story.
VN of the Month September 1999 - Kazeoto, Chirin
For me the best VN of September 1999 is Kazeoto, Chirin. There's such well known game as Memories Off as well, but a I place a good midscrew over a good slice of life in most of cases.
VN of the Month August 1999 - Tsui no Sora
There's not much to talk about this month. Tsui no Sora and L no Kisetsu: A piece of memories are the masterpieces of August 1999. My heart is totally with Tsui no Sora.
VN of the Month July 1999 - Mamatoto ~a record of war~
Wow, there's a mortal combat between such titans as Team Baldrhead, Alice Soft and Studio e.go this month. Well, Men at Work is the first RPG offspring of Studio e.go and it's just too simplistic to compete yet. Baldrhead is also the first part in the series and suffers from some technical problems and short duration. Mamatoto ~a record of war~ on the other hand is quite a polished RPG that even has English patch and it is the VN of the Month July 1999.
VN of the Month June 1999 - Kanon
The VN of June 1999 is Kanon. Not because it's well known - that's irrelevant. But because I've found a route in it that I totally liked. I'm talking about Mai route, the demon hunter. The main funny part coupled with night school hunt were a cool mix. The three-sided friendship of Mai-Sayuri-Yuuichi was just perfect, because the bonds between the girls were so firm and that they understood each other completely compared to Yuuichi who doubted them often. There are night evil spirits fights, lots of swordplay, cool and always right Mai - what's not to like here? I did not notice forced drama or sleazy relations there. Well, the last hour of Mai route was horrible, because nothing happens apart of childhood memories and desperate attempts to squeeze a tear by endless repeats of the same things. I safely ignored the last hour and thus saved only good memories about Mai route. I'm not going to explore other heroines routes since I'm not ok with their personalities and/or mental health. So hip hip hooray to Kanon, the great devil hunter story or at least so I remember it for. I'm absolutely assured that the main power of Key is in creating very enjoyable drama-free general routes and heroines routes and especially endings fall into being forced nakige.
VN of the Month May 1999 - Comic party
There should be no two opinions about this, Comic party rocked May 1999. It's very difficult for a SIM to gain my approval, but all the elements fit here perfectly. So far there have not been more than a couple of doujin games released, but this game has woken the devil of 2000s.
VN of the Month February 1999 - Campus ~Sakura no Mau Naka de~
There aren't masterpieces this month, but Campus ~Sakura no Mau Naka de~ is the only title worthy of being game of the month.
Chiruhana ~Kindan no Ketsuzoku~ 散櫻 ～禁断の血族～ [C's Ware]
Foreword: I've been mesmerized by C's Ware game for quite a long time by now and I could not miss this work even though it's not my type of game at all.
VN of the Month January 1999 - Ikusa Megami
Refrain Love 2 and Ikusa Megami are masterpieces of the month, but my preference goes to Ikusa Megami
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