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English Translated Japanese Visual Novel/ADV Thread
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Byronic Hero
Member
Just finished all of the Umineko games. I won't bore you with my impressions or with how awesome I am for figuring out one of the only predictions I had but I have one question.
Who. The. F***. Is.
All of the other questions I have can be answered via the Wikia, but I still have no idea who she is supposed to be or why she was so upset when
Who. The. F***. Is.
Beatrice?!?!?
All of the other questions I have can be answered via the Wikia, but I still have no idea who she is supposed to be or why she was so upset when
couldn't figure out who she was. Was she even real? Did Battler meet her when he was young? I'm totally lost when it comes to her.
Do you think episodes 5-8 are worth the read? I've stalled after wrapping up ep4 early this year, might want to pick them up if the ending isn't disappointing - heard conflicting reports about the answer arcs...
Napalm_Frank
Member
If I remember correctly it's something like this:
Shanon/Kanon supposedly is the same person. Shanon met Battler and got pissed after he dissapeared from the family. S/K develops Beatrice persona based on the legends about his/her mother (the "real" Beatrice who was at the hidden mansion and was Kinzos mistress. Who in turn was the daughter of the original Beatrice who Kinzo met duri.g WW2.
Small version of it.
And Knurek you should give a chance for ep 5 at least. It was my fav episode (tho Byronic didnt care for it that much). As for the others, up to debate I guess? I like 5 as a "standalone episode" rather than an "answer episode" tho.
Napalm_Frank
Member
I finished first 4 Higurashi episodes a while ago (I watched the anime before so it isnt exactly new to me). It's fun but it has the same problem as Umineko where the writer can spend 15 minutes explaining something over and over when you understood it the first time it was written. It sometimes feels the writer has to come up with massive amounts of filler to make the episodes meet certain lenght.
One thing I didn't expect and actually made me jump from my chair was in episode 2 when
One thing I didn't expect and actually made me jump from my chair was in episode 2 when
"Shion" gets busted on the phone and for a millisecond it flashes Mions creepy ass fullscreen face. They never used such art before that scene or after so it made it so much more effective. I wonder if it only appeared because of my ps2 patch. I rarely jump even from horror games nowdays but that was unexpected 
One of the worst shit in VNs (edit: in Japanese writing) in general too. There's just too much of it and it's simply not good writing.
I'd argue it's fucking shit writing and it should die and the authors should realize their limits, but that could be going too far.
My heart was a motorcycle for like an hour after that part. Geez. I did not handle that moment well, lemme tell you.One thing I didn't expect and actually made me jump from my chair was in episode 2 when"Shion" gets busted on the phone and for a millisecond it flashes Mions creepy ass fullscreen face. They never used such art before that scene or after so it made it so much more effective. I wonder if it only appeared because of my ps2 patch. I rarely jump even from horror games nowdays but that was unexpected
One of those things that just wouldn't work if it wasn't a VN
This is one of the reason I wished that the translation team would also translate the tips from Ever 17's PSP version. It contains some information on how those 2 games are linked and even without the tips, if you read Ever 17 carefully, you would catch the link between both. Of course as usual being the Infinity Series writers, you should always expect them to answer something and yet leave new questions unanswered.
grim-tales
Member
What's with
Maybe....
Yuni's creepy predictions in R11?.... hmmmm. He said I will be stabbed WTF?[
Edit: Holy shit... SPHIA is in the future?!? In 2012 not 2011?!
Edit again: Why does only Utsumi say its 2012? Everyone else says 2011.
Edit: Holy shit... SPHIA is in the future?!? In 2012 not 2011?!
Edit again: Why does only Utsumi say its 2012? Everyone else says 2011.
Its a bit like Never 7, the whole thing is an experiment run by Utsumi/Satoru to see how DID works and they're tricking you.
Byronic Hero
Member
*sigh* That's what I thought. This game had an amazing build up with such a disappointing payoff. Most of the reveals were told to you either so early or so obviously, that you would ignore them because they felt too "simple" and "expected".
I figured that out when they revealed some things about the backstory back in Ch 6 I think.
Honestly. I say finish up the franchise, but with EXTREMELY LOW expectations. I'm not going to spoil anything but at a certain point you can tell that the writers ran out of ideas and just wanted to stretch the game for as long as they could. The 8th chapter in particular brought almost nothing to the table but a dumb way to tie everything together. It was so cliched that it bordered moronic. If you hadn't figured out some of the answers by the 6th chapter, you won't be learning them.
It was a huge let down when I finally finished it las night but that was mostly due to me stopping for about 3 months and forgetting most of what happened over the course of the preceding 7 chapters.
So in summation: go in with low expectations or you will be disappointed.
grim-tales
Member
I'm confused.
I'm getting an Ever 17/VLR feeling here... OK.. so Kokoro and Satoru are jumping/personality swapping not only through space but time as well. Satoru says its 2012 in SPHIA but 2011 in the Shelter Cabin.
? So why did Yuni and Hotori say it was 2011 when you asked them in SPHIA? Maybe they were told to say that?
? So why did Yuni and Hotori say it was 2011 when you asked them in SPHIA? Maybe they were told to say that?
grim-tales
Member
So Utsumi said it was her son's birthday.... I *think* I'm piecing things together.. (?) My theory:
Utsumi runs SPHIA and has 2 children, a boy called Junichi and a little baby.
In the shelter cabin, its actually 2012 and both kids have died. Yomogi was/is Utsumi's husband. Maybe in the SPHIA world both are actually dead but Utsumi doesnt say this.
Utsumi runs SPHIA and has 2 children, a boy called Junichi and a little baby.
In the shelter cabin, its actually 2012 and both kids have died. Yomogi was/is Utsumi's husband. Maybe in the SPHIA world both are actually dead but Utsumi doesnt say this.
Basileus777
Member
Grisaia's translator has gotten work translating a VN for official release. He says he plans to finish Grisaia eventually, but that it's not a priority. I'm guessing it ends up stalled for a while.
grim-tales
Member
I wonder what VN it could be?
Okay... So finished Never 7 Ending
With that, thoughts...
If anyone has any questions on my impressions of the game (expanding on what I've already said or not), feel free to ask. I'll likely start Remember 11 some time this weekend, and move along it slowly.
Izumi Cure A + Epilogue. Which I will just assume to be the true end
With that, thoughts...
I'm a bit iffy on the whole premise. Cure Syndrome is a very interesting idea, but I felt lacked a bit in execution and closure. One of the things I've liked about Ever 17, 999, and VLR have been that the phenomenon causing it has been clearly defined, allowing for most things to be tidied up quite well. This big mystery that drove the plot had its closure and it wasn't left with a thousand strings hanging. Sure, they might have brought up a lot of new questions in the process, but the mysteries were solved pretty cleanly.
I do not feel Never 7 did this. A concept was put forward. Time travel. Another was put forward. Cure Syndrome. Neither were defined clearly enough to explain their mechanisms. While the characters not knowing makes sense storywise, I do feel as though the game just leaves you hanging on answers it has been dangling in front of your face the whole time.
As for the rest of it, I will say that the routes were largely hit or miss. Yuka was a drunkard through and through. Her route was probably the most enlightening before the Cure routes, but her herself bordered on annoying. Saki had an interesting personality, but her route was boring. Kurumi was a typical character of her kind. Her route was also came across as very forced and borderline creepy at times. Haruka's route was actually quite enjoyable. I said it before, and I'll say it again, she is far and away the most interesting of the cast in personality, character development, background, and more. Her involvement in the story did a ton for it. Izumi's route was more about the Cure than her, but she ended being basically what I thought she was going into it. She felt like a side attraction for the mystery being solved. For this story though, not being solved. Most of the romance interactions for the routes felt really, really forced, though (Kurumi, Yuka, and Izumi seem strong with this). It seems like Makoto's 'type' and such change on a whim.
Generally I have to describe my feeling on this game as such... Disappointing. I will say that I enjoyed it a bit. Specifically, Haruka's route and thinking about the mystery. Even with the routes that bored me or the ending being unsatisfying, I would still suggest it to people who like these sort of games. Its certainly the worst of what I've played, but its worth a shot.
Also, thank goodness for skip text buttons.
I do not feel Never 7 did this. A concept was put forward. Time travel. Another was put forward. Cure Syndrome. Neither were defined clearly enough to explain their mechanisms. While the characters not knowing makes sense storywise, I do feel as though the game just leaves you hanging on answers it has been dangling in front of your face the whole time.
As for the rest of it, I will say that the routes were largely hit or miss. Yuka was a drunkard through and through. Her route was probably the most enlightening before the Cure routes, but her herself bordered on annoying. Saki had an interesting personality, but her route was boring. Kurumi was a typical character of her kind. Her route was also came across as very forced and borderline creepy at times. Haruka's route was actually quite enjoyable. I said it before, and I'll say it again, she is far and away the most interesting of the cast in personality, character development, background, and more. Her involvement in the story did a ton for it. Izumi's route was more about the Cure than her, but she ended being basically what I thought she was going into it. She felt like a side attraction for the mystery being solved. For this story though, not being solved. Most of the romance interactions for the routes felt really, really forced, though (Kurumi, Yuka, and Izumi seem strong with this). It seems like Makoto's 'type' and such change on a whim.
Generally I have to describe my feeling on this game as such... Disappointing. I will say that I enjoyed it a bit. Specifically, Haruka's route and thinking about the mystery. Even with the routes that bored me or the ending being unsatisfying, I would still suggest it to people who like these sort of games. Its certainly the worst of what I've played, but its worth a shot.
Also, thank goodness for skip text buttons.
If anyone has any questions on my impressions of the game (expanding on what I've already said or not), feel free to ask. I'll likely start Remember 11 some time this weekend, and move along it slowly.
grim-tales
Member
I think I can guess where R11 may be going (thoughts):
If Ever 17 is any guide, one of the massive twists was the "unexpected family"... in R11, Utsumi says her husband was a 'mountaineer' but 'is gone now' and 'died in that airplane incident' - so... Yomogi is Utsumi's husband.. and that points to SPHIA being in the future, imo. Maybe the radio broadcasts there are fake. If SPHIA is in 2012, it would explain why there's no current news on the radio about the crash, right?
But where did the newspaper in the cabin from..?
But where did the newspaper in the cabin from..?
EDIT: Why is all this crap about "It's 2011 in the cabin and 2012 in SPHIA being explained AGAIN? The game's already done it about 4 times.
grim-tales
Member
Holy crap.... all that work, and I wound up getting a 'bad' ending, what now? Do I start a new game?
Oh my....
Oh my....
Someone has been killed.. someone I don't recognise, there is something slightly off about Yuni imo - I dont know why, I just get that feeling....
What the... I (Satoru) seemed to be have been posioned WTF?!?
grim-tales
Member
Satoru is such a selfish b*stard, why did he eat everyone's food in the shelter cabin? :x
Edit:
Eh?!? I (Am I Satoru now?) killed that unknown man (let's call him Guy X) at SPHIA - what the actual FUCK???
What a jerk!
grim-tales
Member
Exactly what I thought
grim-tales
Member
Damn you Kokoro
.......... Gone a bit further....
And more....
Why didnt you hand the phone to Yomogi straight away then maybe you wouldnt have been cut off! Did their message even get through?!?
Did their message even get through?!?.......... Gone a bit further....
So Mayuzumi DOES know Satoru, I bet he must have been her ex or something, and maybe the guy he killed was jealous of him and Mayuzumi?
Mayuzumi is a real tsundere character all right, sheesh.
Mayuzumi is a real tsundere character all right, sheesh.
And more....
And now there's the radio.. why is it damaged like the one in SPHIA, and why is Yuni injured? Why did Yuni have the charm in SPHIA just like in the cabin? Is "this" Yuni in the cabin from the future?? Hnnnn.....
EDIT: Just WHO is Yuni? And WTF was that screaming all about? Maybe Yuni has multiple personalities as well?
EDIT: Just WHO is Yuni? And WTF was that screaming all about? Maybe Yuni has multiple personalities as well?
grim-tales
Member
HUH??
WTF is this? Now I can see the sea in front of me? We're on a snowy mountain FFS... aren't we?
grim-tales
Member
Just read there are 33 endings (!) in total
Surely there cant be 31 'bad' endings? Think I might get some more Kokoro endings first before going onto Satoru.
Satoru was certainly a Deus Ex Machina in Kokoro's (true?) ending, the game even explains what that is - I'm not sure if thats an intentional swipe at itself but 'deus ex machina' just sounds like lazy writing, imo
R_thanatos
Member
JAST finally sent me my download code and J-list finally sent the package
Yeah it's stein's gate time !
SOOOOON
Yeah it's stein's gate time !
SOOOOON
grim-tales
Member
SPHIA seems to be natural for Satoru just like the cabin is 'natural' for Kokoro.. he seems to be know who Inubushi Keiko is but doesnt seem like "ARGHHHHH! A murderer!", maybe he doesnt know what she did?
I'm sure Keiko is out to kill Satoru for some reason....
EDIT OK so.... from Satoru's POV it's 2012 and the others (except for Yuni) in the shelter cabin, all died in an avalanche? Yuni must have been sent to SPHIA for the mental shock, if we go by Kokoro's ending. But what about Utsumi, why is she in SPHIA?
And then theres some weird terabyte disc...
I'm sure Keiko is out to kill Satoru for some reason....
EDIT OK so.... from Satoru's POV it's 2012 and the others (except for Yuni) in the shelter cabin, all died in an avalanche? Yuni must have been sent to SPHIA for the mental shock, if we go by Kokoro's ending. But what about Utsumi, why is she in SPHIA?
And then theres some weird terabyte disc...
grim-tales
Member
Let's finish the story together! What are your thoughts so far?
I don't know if
What are your thoughts so far?I don't know if
this just illustrates Japanese stereotyping or not, but in the 1st arc as Kokoro everyone in the cabin seems much more understanding of you (Mayuzumi aside) in general even when things get weird. No one seems to like me in the cabin when I'm Satoru
I did think that scene in Kokoro's story where you pretend to be Satoru is kinda cute
From Satoru's POV - Kokoro's 'end' didnt really happen then? :s *confused*
I did think that scene in Kokoro's story where you pretend to be Satoru is kinda cute
From Satoru's POV - Kokoro's 'end' didnt really happen then? :s *confused*
amishpriest99
Member
Basileus777
Member
The Ayakashibito translation patch has been released, assuming it's not an April Fools joke (it doesn't look like it).
grim-tales
Member
Hmmm... what's a magazine from July 21 doing under Satoru's mattress in SPHIA?
Maybe it will be from the future like the newspaper in the cabin was.
Maybe it will be from the future like the newspaper in the cabin was.
grim-tales
Member
I really want to know why
Kokoro would rip up the newspaper, and where it actually came from, wtf
From having absolutely nothing to read (Wasn't that interested I/O, tbh) to get three VN releases (S;G. Chou & now this) in a short time span. Yikes, I need more time, haha.
Who knows how long this streak can last though, and how long the next drought will be. Don't let 'em trick you!
:'(
I'm hopeful that the next translations released are Koichoco and F/HA, but I highly doubt the later will be done before the end of the year, at the pace Ranmafan is validating the translations. The first one should be done relatively soon, tho.
Basileus777
Member
F/HA is still a ways off given how fucked up their crowdsourced translation method is, but Mahoyo will come out in a few months. Ixrec will finish Comyu this year.
grim-tales
Member
Oh God, now whats going on here?
Hitori's trying to seduce me or something.. Maybe she wants me to 'do' something.. I bet its related to that dead guy in Kokoro's route...
There's definitely something odd about Yuni imo - so did his conscienceness from 2011 jump to 2012?
EDIT:
"Cat locked in the box" - yes I know what Schrodinger's Cat is.. damn it Japan....
Maybe she wants me to 'do' something.. I bet its related to that dead guy in Kokoro's route...There's definitely something odd about Yuni imo - so did his conscienceness from 2011 jump to 2012?
EDIT:
"Cat locked in the box" - yes I know what Schrodinger's Cat is.. damn it Japan....
grim-tales
Member
Hmmm.
W... T.... F.....
Oh shit oh shit...
Why is Hotori so interested in the Kagome song (and Yuni is for that matter?)
I dont think Yuni can actually recieve premonitions.. maybe he's been tricked himself....?
Maybe Yuni is actually Kokoro's kid, or something, that's why she's so protective of him? (It seems a bit creepy, imo...)
I dont think Yuni can actually recieve premonitions.. maybe he's been tricked himself....?
Maybe Yuni is actually Kokoro's kid, or something, that's why she's so protective of him? (It seems a bit creepy, imo...)
W... T.... F.....
Why does the moon look the same at the Shelter Cabin as in SPHIA? Maybe its 2012 in the Shelter Cabin and 2011 in SPHIA instead? That would explain the radio saying its 2011 in SPHIA.. I think.
Oh shit oh shit...
I'm at the sea, I'm at the sea, how can there be ocean on the mountain?
I also just realised 'Junichi' (Yomogi's son) means 'eleven' Yuni is 11 (right?) and the game is called Remember 11 so.... ?
Maybe Yuni IS Junichi or a replacement for him?
I also just realised 'Junichi' (Yomogi's son) means 'eleven' Yuni is 11 (right?) and the game is called Remember 11 so.... ?
Maybe Yuni IS Junichi or a replacement for him?
Basileus777
Member
I played through Chou Dengeki Stryker this week. I enjoyed it for the most part, it had some good humor (especially scenes with Sayaka) and the campiness of it was pretty entertaining. The big climatic fights were good and the characters eventually grew on me.
Unfortunately Light saga was a poor way to end the VN, it was my least favorite route, a poor and unsatisfying imitation of Sky saga. The other additions to Chou were good though, especially Steel saga, and the VN would have felt pretty short and bare without them.
Route ranking:
Steel > Heaven > Sky > Love > Zero > Light
Unfortunately Light saga was a poor way to end the VN, it was my least favorite route, a poor and unsatisfying imitation of Sky saga. The other additions to Chou were good though, especially Steel saga, and the VN would have felt pretty short and bare without them.
Route ranking:
Steel > Heaven > Sky > Love > Zero > Light
grim-tales
Member
HOLY CRAP. (thoughts on Hotori)...
So maybe the 'Hotori' side of the girl is really the 'Big, Bad' here - not actually Inubushi Keiko?!?!
grim-tales
Member
!!
I got
I got
A bad ending where Utsumi killed Hotori and then herself.. Maybe she came to or set up SPHIA in order to get revenge for her son's death!
But I heard a name I didnt recognise.... who is Enomato (sp?)
Maybe she came to or set up SPHIA in order to get revenge for her son's death!But I heard a name I didnt recognise.... who is Enomato (sp?)
... Shit, really? This makes me want to stop where I am and not read Light saga. I've managed to read the first two new routes and I've liked them a lot, but if light is indeed like Sky, I have the feeling that I'll hate the novel even more than the original. For the record, the original was 8.5/10 for me, but the ending alone made me rate it 6/10. Yes, I hated that ending that much.
Anyway, can you answer me this?
Does everyone disappear at the end like the original?
Basileus777
Member
Yes, and there is zero closure for what happens after they disappear. It's like the Sky ending but executed even more poorly. Though this time the child Yuuki lives and Stryker Zero dies.
grim-tales
Member
Now I think I get it...
.
It's quite a sad twist.. I think Utsumi is actually the true monster/killer, she's going to kill Hotori because Hotori killed her son - she came to SPHIA to do that and in the process her pain has made her mad (though she doesnt show it), she plays the kind mother figure so it's a shock to see her angry. I can understand her feelings
Ahahaha...
I'm done with this VN, then. Good thing I didn't have my laptop with me when you answered that, otherwise I would have gone through it. Goddamnit, Overdrive
On to the next VN, then! Ayakashibito it is.
grim-tales
Member
Ah-ha....
Who's this guy in a suit and shades who said he'd been "waiting for me" in a control room? And why did I have an ID card anyway?
Enomoto Naoya - who is this guy?
Enomoto Naoya - who is this guy?
Considering that it's one of the biggest VN out there and that it was released officially, it's a pretty big deal in a sense.
Shame I can't read the improved translation; I'm poor as fuck
, plus I wanted the Limited Edition with the pin badge
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