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Sayonara o Oshiete さよならを教えて ~Comment te Dire Adieu~ [Craftwork]

February 13, 2019
Sayonara o Oshiete has a good number of English reviews (1 2 3), plus reddit comments (4), but what strikes me is that all of them are positive despite some noticed flaws. But as a plotge fetishist and pragmatist to the bones, I demand demolition of fake idols. This bastion shall fall today.
Video playthrough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvPm3uYd90o

VN of the Month March 2001 - Silent Hill: Play Novel

February 11, 2019
The masterpieces of the month are Silent Hill: Play Novel , Gensou Suikogaiden Vol. 2: Crystal Valley no KettouSilent Hill: Play Novel is the winner, mostly because Suikogaiden Vol. 1 was already the winner once. But I will play Sayonara o Oshiete ~Comment te Dire Adieu~ , because I need to work out my own position here.

Lipstick ADV.4 [Fairytale]

February 09, 2019
Foreword: I rated Lipstick Adv.EX as 9/10 and I just can't believe that absolutely the same people - Fairytale and scenario writer Notori Shinji - could really make a terrible game after that. I hope to present an unbiased opinion from a person who knows the series well.

VN of the Month February 2001 - Tasogare

February 07, 2019
There aren't masterpieces this month, but I opt to choose Tasogare as game of themonth.But for review I'm picking Lipstick ADV.4 to put an end to my history with these series.

Vampirdzhija Vjedogonia 吸血殲鬼ヴェドゴニア [Nitroplus]

February 05, 2019
Foreword: With deletion of boukennonikki blog there's only one review of this game left, so I hope to fill the vacuum, even though it won't be even remotely as good, but should be same critical.

VN of the Month January 2001 - Vampirdzhija Vjedogonia

February 03, 2019
I consider Renaissance , Yougen Tennyo and Vampirdzhija Vjedogonia to be masterpieces of the month, but chuuni always wins.

VN of the Year 2000 Nijuei + failed POLL for full playthrough

February 01, 2019
It took a huge amount of time to finish year 2000, but it's over. The industry has matured to contemporary state, so there's no need to search for novelties this year.
First of all, here's the collection of Visual Novel Openings 2000 with songs.

Dorei Ichiba 奴隷市場 [rúf]

January 30, 2019
Foreword: I heard about this game couple years ago that it actually had a decent plot, and around the same time got acquainted with the anime version. It's been my longtime wish to show that nukige may have a decent story, but is this exactly that case?

VN of the Month December 2000 - Never7 -The End of Infinity-

January 28, 2019
December 2000 is a total ripoff. I have zero interest in almost all its games except for Never7 -The End of Infinity- which ends up to be the VN of the Month. But for review I'd rather choose some nukige over Never7, and that game for review is Dorei Ichiba.

Nijuuei 二重影 [KeroQ]

January 25, 2019
Foreword: I actually knew nothing about the game apart of KeroQ background as a company. There's just one review of the game that blames SCA-JI writing as "feels amateurish and he didn't even try to write characters that would feel fitting to the setting" and theory-crafting as "it wasn't detailed or insightful enough to be interesting alone". I'm speechless. This is an absolutely genius 10/10 work and probably the best visual novel I ever read. The only possible explanation for low scores for Nijuuei is in case of playing PC non-voiced version. I have to admit that my experience of PC version was not too joyful either - the palette was too dark and without voicing I could barely focus attention on characters and the flow. But PS1 version was an absolute revelation for me. This review is based on PS1 version of the game (but screenshots are from PC version due to better resolution).

VN of the Month November 2000 - Nijuuei

January 19, 2019
The main shock this month that the number of blocked games surpassed the number of passed games for the first time and instantly by 50%. The only masterpiece of the month is Nijuuei . I also made 1/4 playthrough of Parallel Harmony ... but it was absolutely senseless to go on.

Kaichuudokei 懐中時計 [Free's]

January 16, 2019
Foreword: Won't lie, I only picked this game since the other notable titles of the month were gameplay-centered. But this one is a mystery story centered around time travel which makes it stand out among the rows of typical charage in October 2000.

VN of the Month October 2000 - Baldr Bullet

January 15, 2019
Baldr Bullet is the definite winner as VN of the Month, but I'm not up for a gameplay game. But then the question arises - what to review from October 2000? The obvious candidate is Bloomers 2000 , but it also has gameplay elements and its content is quite ambiguous for youtube. So my choice is Kaichuudokei - a lesser known school mystery horror.

Heart & Blade [C's Ware]

January 13, 2019
Foreword: C's Ware chuunige is always welcome by me. There are only couple Japanese reviews with mediocre scores, but knowing C's Ware... they must have prepared a new exhausting system like Kazeoto or Vist that most of people could not even pass through. Welcome to the elitist club review, since I made it to the end and have much to say about it.

VN of the Month September 2000 - Gensou Suikogaiden Vol. 1: Harmonia no Kenshi

January 11, 2019
There are two masterpieces this month - Air and Gensou Suikogaiden Vol. 1: Harmonia no Kenshi.  My hate for Air is too big, so I'd nominate any other candidate besides it, so my initial choice is Gensou Suikogaiden Vol. 1: Harmonia no Kenshi as VN of the month.

Ragnapolice ラグナポリス [Air Plants]

January 09, 2019
Foreword: This game has too many girls with guns for me to miss. Sorry in advance for for guns-only gallery! Honestly, Ragnapolice surprised me with quality police story and meaningful heroines. This is a full scale 8/10 masterpiece for me.

VN of the Month August 2000 - Tsukihime

January 05, 2019
There are four masterpieces this month - Tsukihime , Sense Off ~A Sacred Story in the Wind~ , Pure Mail , Gin'iro . Production-wise the most thrilling game is Sense Off, but I opt out for a chuuni whenever possible, so the winner is Tsukihime. I played it in the past, so won't be replaying now. But I still need something for a full rakeview this month. And this month is unusual as I'll be reviewing not game of the month, but some other game Ragnapolice which also turned out to be a masterpiece. Review incoming.

Shoin, Aruiwa Ushinawareta Yume no Monogatari. 書淫、或いは失われた夢の物語。[Force]

December 31, 2018
This game has a good spoilerless review (1) and several mentions on reddit (2 3 4 5) that all claim the game to be a "legendary" eroge renowned for its metafiction-heavy plot" "sometimes seen as a predecessor to games like Ever17" and to have "exciting plot", "saddest and most beautiful H-scene" resulting in being "emotional during reading it". So my only question at this point is "ARE YOU FREAKING BLIND, PEOPLE?!"

VN of the Month July 2000 - Shoin, Aruiwa Ushinawareta Yume no Monogatari

December 27, 2018
There's not much to choose from this month. Shoin is the only masterpiece and the winner by default.

Age Maniax ~Isumi Yon Shimai Saigo no Hi~ アージュマニアックス ~伊隅四姉妹最期の日~ [Age]

December 23, 2018
Foreword: I only started this game to find references to Phantom of Inferno, but it's high quality entertainment, and it does not let you go easily. Instead of just links to Phantom of Inferno, I enjoyed a colossal multi-culture reference mix, but about that further on.

VN of the Month June 2000 - Age Maniax ~Isumi Yon Shimai Saigo no Hi~

December 21, 2018
There are two masterpieces this month - Age Maniax ~Isumi Yon Shimai Saigo no Hi~ and Hateshinaku Aoi, Kono Sora no Shita de..., but the winner is Age Maniax, one of the most entertaining bakage I've played so far. As usual, I'll pour all my admiration in a review coming along with the video playthrough.

Purepure ピュアピュア [Ange]

December 19, 2018
Foreword: There were three particular reasons to choose Purepure for review. First, because May 2000 disappoints me with the range of games - most games are either charage, or nukige, or gameplay focused games. Secondly, I see Purepure similarities with Shunpuu Shoujo that I love gently. The third reason is that I see this game to be very different from previous Ange games. I'll try to elaborate in the main part and give my reasons for nominating this game as game of the month in conclusion. 

VN of the Month May 2000 - Purepure

December 16, 2018
Quite a bland month with few games. There aren't masterpieces this month, but I still need to choose the game of the month that I would record on video. So I need to choose something without gameplay elements, too much insult and not too evident plot. The only game that suits my demands is Purepure, and thus it's the game of the month that deserves a video playthrough.

Gyousatsu♥Shinsengumi Hitokiri Bishoujo Adventure 行殺♥ 新選組 人斬り美少女あどべんちゃ~ [Liar-soft]

December 12, 2018
Foreword: I have a difficult history with Liar-Soft. Their games amaze me, but I usually get really confused by them as well. Like I really liked Forest, but it's so overburdened with meanings and layers that you never know if you grasped it all or not. But Hiragumo-chan that's probably the closest thing to our game disappointed me both times I tried to play it. All I knew that Gyousatsu being the second game of the company (it does not mean first one was not crazy) was already crazy. Crazy good or crazy bad?

Treating2U [Blue Gale]

December 10, 2018
There is a hospital where almost noone is ill, and everyone spends days peacefully waiting for examination day... There is a proper review ( 1 ), so I intended to skip this game entirely. However, I got a request and thought why not, what could possibly go wrong with a game that got an average score of 8.29 on vndb? Actually, everything went wrong right from the start. The genre is heartwarming hospital themed nakige, or so I determine it. I really detest hospital theme and nakige. I would never be able to play Kana little sister, for example. But hey, at least I can find interest in comedy, characters, songs and those fun events at CG, right? I really failed to see traces of comedy in Treating2U. Characters aren't really something that stands out here. In Masami route that I played I could not see her appeal at all, just a traditional Japanese widow, who could just wear kimono as well. She looks to me like an addition to her son Tatsuru, not like a main heroine at all. Japanese reviews also don't rate her route highly, and I admit that for me someone like green-hair scar face girl Ikuno would be a much better choice.

Lien ~Owaranai Kimi no Uta~ ~終わらない君の唄~ [Purple]

December 02, 2018
There is a normal Japanese family - a rock star priest, a fox goddess and their son ghost... ok, maybe not so normal. Anyway, there's a fantastic review ( 1 ) on this game already, so I can have a free style review for a change just to put something along with a video.
So following that review... first things first - game has no bugs on win98, all icons are in order - everything is perfect. But since the game can't run install on newer Windows, we indeed have to copy contents to the disk folder, launch reg file (need to edit it to change cd drive letter) and speech volume up tool. The full guide is here ( 2 ). Just in case - the link for the volume up tool is ( 3 ). So the only little inconvenience that we need to tolerate on newer Windows is that icons get messed up. It's not that much of a deal, right?

Viper-GTB ~Rise After~ [Sogna]

November 27, 2018
Foreword: After single story editions of F40 and F50 I was curious whether next games follow the set trajectory or move elsewhere. The following single story game is Viper-GTB, so...

Viper-F50 ~Mirai Tokusou Bureiban~ VIPER-F50 ~未来特捜ブレイバン~ [Sogna]

November 26, 2018
Foreword: I was really impressed with Viper F40, claiming that was a masterpiece. It's only natural I'd take on Viper F50 which is same SF single detective story. Is it a masterpiece as well?

Lipstick Adv.EX [Fairytale]

October 17, 2018
Foreword: I have very high evaluation of the games of the series and since this is the only Windows game of the series (I'll play Lipstick ADV.4 as well just out of spite, but it's universally despised by the fans of the series), I just had to play it. It took me quite some to realize that wish, but finally it's there. Welcome to the Lipstick ADV world!

Ai Shimai ~Futari no Kajitsu~ 愛姉妹 ~二人の果実~ [Silky's]

September 29, 2018
Foreword: I never wanted to play this game, but got a request to make a playthrough recently, so agreed to do that since I was quite curious to see how much the original differs from the remake and why actually PC98 version is described as kamige by some reviewers (1) while remake being trampled to dirt.
Title: Ai Shimai ~Futari no Kajitsu~
Developer: Silky's
Date: 1994-09-30
VNDB link: https://vndb.org/v1836
Youtube walkthrough: https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=u8udgdLjN0U
Synopsis: A sincere older step-sister and a curious younger step-sister are doomed to become love slaves. One day, a house wife named Yukie has a traffic accident. She is ordered to pay a large settlement to the other party, Taketo, the son of the owner/president of Nogawa Industries. Unable to make the settlement payment, Yukie allows Taketo to have her sexually. At the same time, Takato's father, Nogawa, approaches Yukie's step-daughter, Rumi, and blackmails her. His evil scheme even reaches for Tomoko, Yukie's younger step-sister.
Structure: 10 branches with endings, some of which are bad endings and some almost identical. Game takes part during 5 days of Taketo father trip overseas - during that time Taketo must settle the incident.
Length: 2.5 hours
Game type: Nukige.
Difficulty: Quite difficult due to big number of branches, guide recommended
Character Design rating: 5/10
Protagonist rating: 2/10
Story rating: 2/10
Game quality: 7/10
Overall rating: 5/10
Rating comments: Even posting a nukige review is a high enough score for such a game, so 5/10 is not that bad. There's no real story and MC is just pure evil golden boy. But character design and graphics overall (including animated pieces) are really nice and all.
Protagonist: Taketo can only compete with cruelness with his father, corporate bigwig. Basically he has zero morality, so easily forges documents, drugs the opposite party and blackmails everyone. Don't think there was ever a trace of his humanity depicted anywhere in the text.
Characters: Main heroines are sisters Rumi and Tomoko, but their mother Yukie and secretary Yumi also play a very big and picturesque part in all this mess and all possible variations including 3P and 4P. Characters are cute, but not developed at all. What I disliked the most was that the interaction between the sisters is minimal, they remain schematic pieces.
Story: It's really all in the synopsis. Taketo's father gets into a crash and imposes dealing with its consequences on his son Taketo (in exchange for giving him pocket money) instructing him using harsh methods and using women weaknesses. And Taketo does just that - invites Yukie to the company office where drugs and binds her making lewd photos of her and forcing to sign a 5 million yen debt receipt. With that document and photos he goes straight to each of the girls at school, violating them as he wants in exchange of partial debt lifting. After 5 days father comes back from the overseas trip and finds out his safe cracked. Basically all the endings differ by the person who cracks the safe and the person who actually gets the safe contents in the end triggering all kinds of good/bad endings.
CG: Game hugely lacks non-HCG. It should probably be noted that pc-98 version does not contain censorship. Instead it just... lacks detail in some parts which was quite mainstream way of censorship in 1994.
Sound: BGM... I definitely remember there was BGM and I even waited for two minutes for the intro piece to finish. But overall I guess I did not pay enough attention to that.
Title and Themes:  Title reflects the brainless story - only the fruits of those two love sisters matter here.
Overall comments: I really did not know what to write about here, so let's keep this at minimum volume. Silky's had a great success with Nonomura Byouin no Hitobito and with that established a standart of multiple branches, multiple endings for further generations. Ai Shimai is their next game, so it's natural that it was meant to reap the success of that new experimental structure. But while Nonomura Byouin no Hitobito is an intriguing mystery game, Ai Shimai is made as a brainless nukige where multiple branches structure looks redundant. They could prolong the game time from 5 days to like 10 days to include all combinations of participants and add some bad endings, but instead they developed these 10 almost identical routes that don't even have logical endings. Like in one ending hero gets hit on the head and receives the best possible ending as a result and in other cases he gets to jail after the very same loosing consciousness instead. There's no effort made in any branch, so it all looks like a very spontaneous development. I'm just happy Silky's stopped spamming the same structure in their future games in favor of more variety. But Ai Shimai original is not all that bad compared to its remake that's a parade of ugliness. So is this game bad? Yes. But is this game good and significant enough to get a review? Absolutely yes.
 
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