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Visual Novels Community Thread | A Little Something for Everyone

Lain

Member
Any of you had your past Jastusa purchases disappear from your account now that they renewed their website?
I had Steins;Gate, Saya no Uta and the preorder for the boxed version of Hanachirasu all disappear. All were boxed versions so I guess it has to do with that, though it's not very cool.
 

Josephl64

Member
I've never purchased a vn/eroge that wasn't imported from Japan, so I'm just curious...overall how good are translations and which companies do it best?
 

Yuuichi

Member
I've never purchased a vn/eroge that wasn't imported from Japan, so I'm just curious...overall how good are translations and which companies do it best?

Honestly that's a really hard to answer question, so I'm going to give a short answer and a long answer.

The short answer: the overall translation quality is ok but has been getting better, JAST has the best overall quality.

The long answer: The real question here is do you mean solely translations or localisations, because those are two very different things. You should know better than most the difficulties of things like properly expressing 敬語 or the implications of honorifics in English, and it's something companies definitely still struggle with in my opinion. Translations, as I said, have been getting better as a whole but a lot of the older material, especially older MangaGamer needs some work. Usually the translations are decent enough, but editors seem to struggle to eloquently rewrite the text they get provided in a way that conveys the correct idea and doesn't make the character sound like a robot. I'm probably more picky about it than most people though because learning Japanese somehow translated in to me having super high linguistic standards even in English.

Also I haven't played a game in English in over a year now, so what do I know ヽ(´ー`)ノ.
 

Josephl64

Member
Honestly that's a really hard to answer question, so I'm going to give a short answer and a long answer.

The short answer: the overall translation quality is ok but has been getting better, JAST has the best overall quality.

The long answer: The real question here is do you mean solely translations or localisations, because those are two very different things. You should know better than most the difficulties of things like properly expressing 敬語 or the implications of honorifics in English, and it's something companies definitely still struggle with in my opinion. Translations, as I said, have been getting better as a whole but a lot of the older material, especially older MangaGamer needs some work. Usually the translations are decent enough, but editors seem to struggle to eloquently rewrite the text they get provided in a way that conveys the correct idea and doesn't make the character sound like a robot. I'm probably more picky about it than most people though because learning Japanese somehow translated in to me having super high linguistic standards even in English.

Also I haven't played a game in English in over a year now, so what do I know ヽ(´ー`)ノ.

Ah thanks for this, good to know...makes sense ~
 
Any of you had your past Jastusa purchases disappear from your account now that they renewed their website?
I had Steins;Gate, Saya no Uta and the preorder for the boxed version of Hanachirasu all disappear. All were boxed versions so I guess it has to do with that, though it's not very cool.

They said on Twitter that they'll be reconnecting purchases from the previous site soon: https://twitter.com/jastusa/status/539606929979346945

I don't know what that means for boxed versions, though.
 

Arcticfox

Member
I like how the Jastusa site says they are having the biggest sales event ever to celebrate the new site, but only 2 VN's show as being on sale in their full list of titles.
 

Yuuichi

Member
I like how the Jastusa site says they are having the biggest sales event ever to celebrate the new site, but only 2 VN's show as being on sale in their full list of titles.

To be fair, I think this is JAST's only sale event ever. JList has maybe done some and RightStuf puts things on sale, but not the official site.
 

Arcticfox

Member
Steins;Gate is $30, which means it's 25% off.
$30 is the new standard price for Steins;Gate on all sites. The jast twitter account has a screenshot of their site that shows Steins;Gate for $22.49, so maybe the new prices just have not loaded.
 

Shizuka

Member
$30 is the new standard price for Steins;Gate on all sites. The jast twitter account has a screenshot of their site that shows Steins;Gate for $22.49, so maybe the new prices just have not loaded.

Now that's a good price, might just bite it after all.
 
JAST has actually set a release date for Hanachirasu, February 10, 2015. Amazing. If only their site wasn't busted I'd put a link.


And the pricing for the Grisaia KS revealed
Grisaia KS pricing
Digital: $30 Kajitsu / $80 Trilogy
Physical: $40 Kajitsu / $120 Trilogy
 

Curler

Unconfirmed Member
That's really neat, nice prices

Yes, yes it is :) 1 physical trilogy plz!

I figured the prices would drop since the original announcement was made. I'm pretty sure it got lowered because of Clannad's success. The higher $200+ for the trilogy was probably Sekai (or the Japanese side of things) saying "well, what should we price these at to break even/make a profit?" and well, seeing Clannad succeed and due to Grisaia being a current anime, there is no doubt that this will due well, allowing the price to come down a good amount. Just my assumption.
 

Shizuka

Member
I can't access the checkout page after choosing Steins;Gate on JAST USA's website. Are they fixing it or will I miss the sale?
 

perorist

Unconfirmed Member
装甲悪鬼村正;141297010 said:
Picked up your namesake VN today, and something lighter to wash it down with afterwards lol

osG5Miq.jpg
 
Picked up your namesake VN today, and something lighter to wash it down with afterwards lol

Well, have fun ( "fun" might be the wrong word to use lol). Half a decade has passed since its release and I have yet to read a better story. Good stuff.

Just finished Ao no Kanata no Four-Rythm. And I'm kind of dumbfounded because I expected a normal romance story with a gimmicky sports background but got the reverse, a serious story about an imaginary flying sport involving anti-gravity boots with comparatively little romance and a fantastic soundtrack.

I'm a total sucker for sports anime and manga and this game had the typical stuff you come to expect from stories about sports: natural talent vs. hard work, dealing with pressure, training sessions, bonding with rivals and exciting close matches. While I really enjoyed the game as a whole it's unfortunate how weak the heroines are. Asuka is too perfect, Rika is boring as hell, Mashiro is annoying. Misaki is interesting, hot and often unlikable. The game also peaks at the finale of the common route and never gets as good in the heroine routes again. The finale of Asuka's route is still awesome because of the ridiculous powerlevels in the final match, but the story just kind of fizzles out after the common route and loses itself in trivialities.

This is going to get an anime btw (announced even before the release of the game wut), should be interesting to see how this turns out because it would actually need a high budget to be convincing in animated form.

So yeah, sports. There should be more eroge dealing with sports.

 

perorist

Unconfirmed Member
装甲悪鬼村正;141835375 said:
Well, have fun ( "fun" might be the wrong word to use lol). Half a decade has passed since its release and I have yet to read a better story. Good stuff.

Just finished Ao no Kanata no Four-Rythm. And I'm kind of dumbfounded because I expected a normal romance story with a gimmicky sports background but got the reverse, a serious story about an imaginary flying sport involving anti-gravity boots with comparatively little romance and a fantastic soundtrack.
Yeah I'm not great with dark stuff and usually avoid Nitro+ (even a mention of rape is usually enough to turn me away) but I've been getting pestered to play it and have been given ample warning about what I'm getting into.

A little disappointing about Ao no Kanata having a backseat romance focus ( ´Д`)=3
Still planning to pick it up as koichoco was enjoyable and I like the Sprite/Fairys artist's work.
 
A little disappointing about Ao no Kanata having a backseat romance focus ( ´Д`)=3
Still planning to pick it up as koichoco was enjoyable and I like the Sprite/Fairys artist's work.

Yeah, you're not going to get a whole lot of icharabu in this, it's a sports story through and through. But I enjoyed the focus on something that you don't see very often in this medium and it's just a good read in general.
 

Yuuichi

Member
Mail finally showed up.
bcd6ef8e9e.png


Probably going to get more stuff with the Yen where it is, but depends on some other financial stuff.
 
Halfway through Murder Club:

ZuMi2jF.png


Time elapsed isn't representative of time played (I usually don't pause DOSBox games, dunno why). Plot's excellent so far, some lines came out of nowhere (usually involving Glenn Axworthy), and characters are both caricatures and well-rounded. Even the femme fatale doesn't act much like one. Only dislike right now is that I'm not suffering repercussions for needless interrogation (no complaints from arrested suspects on that) or begging the prosecutor for warrants.
 

Speedwagon

Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel. Yabuki turned off voice chat in Mario Kart races. True artists of their time.
Just found out about the JAST sale and made an account. What's worth getting?
 

Yuuichi

Member
Just found out about the JAST sale and made an account. What's worth getting?

Assuming you've played literally nothing from JAST, Aselia the Eternal, Yumina the Etherial (spiritual sequel to Aselia), Stein's;Gate, Saya no Uta (disturbing content warning), Deus Ex Machina Demonbane, Hanachirasu (pre order still?) are what's worth checking out.

There are a couple other titles I would add (or some I would remove) if I had some metric of your taste.
 
Update to the Grisaia prefundia page, looks like no ero version, but there are stretch goals for ports and Michiru Idol VN. Goal is $160,000 to do the whole series.


And there's the explanation
Well, Frontwing is demanding 18+ versions of Grisaia be pushed back and treated as "separate products" not covered by the Kickstarter.
18+ versions will be released eventually. There might possibly be discounts or some other arrangement for people who pledge on KS.
 

Speedwagon

Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel. Yabuki turned off voice chat in Mario Kart races. True artists of their time.
Assuming you've played literally nothing from JAST, Aselia the Eternal, Yumina the Etherial (spiritual sequel to Aselia), Stein's;Gate, Saya no Uta (disturbing content warning), Deus Ex Machina Demonbane, Hanachirasu (pre order still?) are what's worth checking out.

There are a couple other titles I would add (or some I would remove) if I had some metric of your taste.
Thanks, I'll check those out. I like Steins;Gate and Grisaia because of the anime. Art is important to me. Sex is a plus. Don't care for mechs and guns.
 

Curler

Unconfirmed Member
Looks like I'll get the $180 Grisaia tier with the physical games + soundtrack. I guess no artbook this time around?

For those that have played/watched it, how does the non 18+ version work into the game? Did the sex scenes play a big role into the story etc? (Just a vague, non spoilery answer if possible!)
 
For those that have played/watched it, how does the non 18+ version work into the game? Did the sex scenes play a big role into the story etc? (Just a vague, non spoilery answer if possible!)

For the first game they aren't important. Well in one route the fact that characters are having sex matters, the details beyond that are not. And the Vita version that is being used as a base adds extra scenes, so it probably matters even less with that in consideration.
 

Curler

Unconfirmed Member
For the first game they aren't important. Well in one route the fact that characters are having sex matters, the details beyond that are not. And the Vita version that is being used as a base adds extra scenes, so it probably matters even less with that in consideration.

Ah, so it's not like the PC version would even have those extra scenes. Ok then, that seems like a compromise then. I mean, an 18+ version is still in the works, and this one will also have other scenes.

I hope Sekai highlights that more with this version. I already see on FB the "no uncut, no buy" attitude.
 

Josephl64

Member
Ah, so it's not like the PC version would even have those extra scenes. Ok then, that seems like a compromise then. I mean, an 18+ version is still in the works, and this one will also have other scenes.

I hope Sekai highlights that more with this version. I already see on FB the "no uncut, no buy" attitude.

I hope people do realize this...I don't believe there exists an 18+ ver. of the game with all the extra scenes, only if they knew nothing is technically getting cut out.
 

Yuuichi

Member
On the subject of the Angel Beats countdown and because I like destroying dreams, the site was programmed by incompetents and the countdown is based off of your computer clock, it should be counting down to 8pm JST 12/9, or about 13 hours from this post.
 

FelixOrion

Poet Centuriate
On the subject of the Angel Beats countdown and because I like destroying dreams, the site was programmed by incompetents and the countdown is based off of your computer clock, it should be counting down to 8pm JST 12/9, or about 13 hours from this post.

:jnc more like they thought that only people in Japan would care.
 

Josephl64

Member
Hey guys, I see that some new VNs are up for preorder on Rightstuf!

Sorry for lazy links (on phone) but what is the Steins:Gate "Best Edition"? http://www.rightstuf.com/1-800-338-6827/catalogmgr/=UsEHX8qpIz9EYVQyM/browse/item/104102/4/0/0

Also an LE of ef is up for pre-order. I saw the anime which was of course clean, but how graphic is the ero scenes, out of curiosity? (Another "is it necessary to the story?" questions.)

Best Edition is just a priced down re-release of the standard edition, as for ef I can't comment on as I've left it a long time ago.
 

FelixOrion

Poet Centuriate
So about that Angel Beats thing:

The official website for the Angel Beats! original anime updated on Tuesday, and revealed that a new project between Aniplex and Key Visual Arts will be announced at an announcement conference on December 22. More information about the Angel Beats! franchise will also be disclosed during the same conference. The work is being released in celebration of Key's 15 anniversary.

Fans can apply online to be chosen by lottery to attend the conference, which will be held in Tokyo. The conference will also be available to watch live via Niconico's streaming service.

The website is hosting an announcement video:

The website features an image of Kanade Tachibana from Angel Beats!, as well as an unknown silhouette.

wowitsfuckingnothing

just how long have you been working on this VN, KEY? Wasn't it supposed to be episodic/chapter driven? I see you're taking a page out of Valve's handbook.
 

kiunchbb

www.dictionary.com
Just finished Tenshi no Hane wo Fumanaide.

It was okay I guess, a lot of fun moments, the story is attractive enough. I would highly recommend the All-Age version, the h scenes in the regular version is way too forced. There are rape scenes that are just there for the h scenes, it had nothing to do with the story or plot.

The true ending explained a lot of stuff that left out in the normal endings, but the VN is still full of plot holes. If you are that kind of person that can ignore the plot holes and just enjoy the show, it is a good read. If those kind of things bug you, this VN will drive you insane.
 
Coming Out on Top was released today! :)

It's also available for sale for non-backers too on the Obscurasoft website. $14.99 with the discount code on the site.

I'm downloading as we speak. I'm pretty busy the next few days but I'm still gonna try to squeeze in some game time tonight and over the weekend. Anyone wanting to give a quality BL/Bara game a spin, I definitely recommend giving this a shot. The demos have been phenomenal, and the artwork and writing for the game are stellar.

Edit: Just finished a playthrough, it was amazing. <3
 

grim-tales

Member
I'd forgotten I'd pledged for Exogenesis Kickstarter some months ago - has anyone else here done that too? Just wondered when I'd hear anything.
I think pledged for the digital art book, strategy guide and a copy on Vita :)
 
I finished Steins; Gate about a month ago and loved it. Are Chaos; Head and Robotics; Notes worth checking out? Will they scratch that itch that Steins; Gate left me? Are they even available in the US?
 
Not legally, and robo notes doesn't even have a translation because it is console only. I recommend the fan tl for chaos head tho, it is quite different from steins gate but still super enjoyable!
 
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