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Post by Colonel Kurtz on May 27, 2015 18:11:08 GMT -5
If you want something free (short of pirating), that basically rules out everything but indie games (which aren't always free themselves). I don't bother with them because I have my hands full just trying to make a dent in my backlog of retail games, and a lot of the time these amateur games have pretty eugh art and I'm shallow enough to be put off by that, haha. I think you are completely right when you say that bad art severely diminishes your enjoyment of those games. Be they made from the point of view of a male or female protagonist, be they gay or straight, the idea is to interact with people, and be charmed and seduced by them. In real life, all that can be achieved with average looks, but in a fantasy japanese dreamworld, you bet I want the characters to be beautiful, and I alread know THAT (the chara design, the talent of the artists) will be THE decisive factor that will make me choose one game over the other. I want an ambiance, I want to be charmed, Dammit, and the graphics are indispensable to achieve that. You're not shallow at all, as long as you judge fantasy video games characters that way... you just have some aesthetic standards, like me. Considering all this, I guess I will follow Shelverton's example, and buy the game he cited on my beloved 3DS. But I'll check the chara design first!
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Post by JDarkside on May 27, 2015 18:57:01 GMT -5
Twine games are starting to figure out that using text only allows the writer to overcome this problem, but most Twine games of note are also kind of batshit in some way and deal with various complex human concepts and emotions through abstraction and lunacy. Been wanting to play this game for awhile because it looks like the Videodrome of videogames. spacetwinks.itch.io/anime-hell-1995Waiting till I have enough money to give the dev a good cut without having to worry about helping pay for bills and gas.
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Post by Scylla on May 27, 2015 19:20:33 GMT -5
I actually really like unconventional art styles in visual novels, so I don't mind if the characters aren't your stereotypical pretty boys/girls. I love that Phoenix Wright's artist was behind the character designs in Sweet Fuse. They don't look like the usual bishounen cast at all, and some people complained about that, but I like variety in artistic styles. I mean, Meoshi is a pretty weird, sickly looking kid, but he had one of my favorite routes in that game, haha. It's just technical flaws that bug me. Unfortunately they creep up even in retail games, but with fan stuff they're even more present. Though I would never criticize anyone about it since, if they're offering a game for free, nobody is in any place to complain, and I wouldn't expect them to have the skill of professionals or devote all their time to something they're not making money on. It just diminishes my desire to check a game out, when I already have a huge backlog, that's all.
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Post by kaoru on May 27, 2015 19:21:52 GMT -5
It's the main reason I instantly lost interest in Chrisine Love's games or the original Higurashi (back when everyone first jumped on that wagon, before the prettier re-release): The art is terribad.
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Post by Deleted on May 27, 2015 19:24:27 GMT -5
It's the main reason I instantly lost interest in Chrisine Love's games or the original Higurashi (back when everyone first jumped on that wagon, before the prettier re-release): The art is craptastic. I probably would never have gotten through Higurashi if an acquaintance hadn't shown me the PS2 art/music patch, so true that. The creepy thousand-yard stares the characters give are SO MUCH MORE FUCKING TERRIFYING with actually-competent, non-puni-plush art backing them up. And also the original soundtrack---that "BzzzzzZZZZZZZZZ" sound that plays whenever something in the storyline is suddenly "off" is chilling.
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Post by JDarkside on May 27, 2015 19:47:00 GMT -5
It's the main reason I instantly lost interest in Chrisine Love's games or the original Higurashi (back when everyone first jumped on that wagon, before the prettier re-release): The art is terribad. I was going to say the art in Christine Love's body of work is great ...but then I remembered the CG in Don't take it personally. To be fair, that game was made in a month. Things are way better now, and Ladykiller in a Bind seems to have stepped things up (mainly so the sex and bondage scenes look presentable).
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Post by Resident Tsundere on May 28, 2015 1:15:04 GMT -5
I've played a few. I actually like Hakuoki: Memories of the Shinsengumi the most of all of them. The story is decent in its own right, and the art is great. I wish that there was a bit more interactivity, though. I got Hajime Saito's ending on my first, and so far only, play through. I recommend Hakuoki if you like otome games or Japanese historical stories.
I still have to get Sweet Fuse.
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Post by kaoru on May 28, 2015 5:38:01 GMT -5
It's the main reason I instantly lost interest in Chrisine Love's games or the original Higurashi (back when everyone first jumped on that wagon, before the prettier re-release): The art is terribad. I was going to say the art in Christine Love's body of work is great ...but then I remembered the CG in Don't take it personally. To be fair, that game was made in a month. Things are way better now, and Ladykiller in a Bind seems to have stepped things up (mainly so the sex and bondage scenes look presentable). Granted, the paper cutouts in the main game seem to be at least passable. But when the article about her body of work leads in with this monstrostiy, my boner is gone. The Atelier games aren't Otome ones (they totes should be, though), but it brings back memories of the first Atelier Iris, which has decent art on the cover, but man the ingame character portraits are the shittiest I'd seen in a long time.
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Post by JDarkside on May 28, 2015 5:51:28 GMT -5
Yeah, that's from Don't take it personally, I took that screencap myself. It was a game made in the span of a month, so the few CG in it had to be made by a different artist. That's really the only game of her's since Digital that's like that, and it's entirely possible to play the game without seeing any CG.
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Post by ZenithianHero on May 28, 2015 9:03:08 GMT -5
Huh didn't realize Hakuoki on 3DS is getting pricy. I should really keep track of rare 3DS titles.
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Post by Weasel on May 28, 2015 10:58:43 GMT -5
If I were interested in this genre, what would be the best one to get? I'm a bit on the "broke" side, financially, so I don't want to spend an awful lot of money if I can help it...
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Post by Colonel Kurtz on May 28, 2015 11:26:05 GMT -5
If I were interested in this genre, what would be the best one to get? I'm a bit on the "broke" side, financially, so I don't want to spend an awful lot of money if I can help it... I kinda asked the same question, but went farther, seeking free games. Maybe check Scylla ´s answer on page 2? She directed me to something cool...
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Post by Scylla on May 28, 2015 11:43:34 GMT -5
Sweet Fuse has been getting strangely expensive too. Well, maybe not so "strangely" since it's such a good game and is probably pretty rare (it was the last regular retail UMD release in the US, if I remember correctly; this is not counting the weirdness Gaijinworks has been up to), but it was so cheap for the longest time. I almost kinda wish I had bought a second copy.
Right now the PS3 version of Hakuoki (which should be the best version available in English, anyway) is about 20 bucks, and it's the same for the PSP original (speaking of the standard versions here; not the LE sets). That's as cheap as any officially localized hard copy otome games go. If you want to go digital, there's the aforementioned Hatoful Boyfriend, and I know Sweet Fuse often is on sale on PSN for under 10 bucks (it's exactly at $10 right now). I think the PS3 version of Hakuoki also has been on sale on PSN sometimes, but right now it's the same price as physical copies. Of course if you're going digital, there are plenty of low-cost or free indie otome games out there (besides Hatoful), but I'm in no place to give recommendations as to which are worth buying/playing.
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Post by cj iwakura on May 30, 2015 7:14:27 GMT -5
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Post by shelverton on May 30, 2015 14:00:43 GMT -5
I just ordered Hakuoki, 3DS version, for 29 dollars. It was a limited edition of some kind, which was not really my intention but the normal PAL release seems more rare than the limited one. I always find it funny when that happens. It's the same thing with Pandora's Tower and The Last Story. Can't find the regular releases of those two anymore but the limited editions are pretty easy to find, though they are not cheap.
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