The anime was decent if you're a ML fan, but without mincing words, I thought it was kind of bad. The VN is much much better. (I believe the anime covers about a half of the VN.)
What you can do is watch the anime then read the spoilers from the VN that's posted on pastebin somewhere. (I can also personally confirm that the spoilers there are accurate, so beware.)
Total Eclipse is actually surprisingly decent when you consider its origins as something created mainly to sell toys rather than being something to expand the MLA universe. It does devolve into stupid annoying harem cliche at times (especially towards the beginning), but by the end there's actually some flashes of the political intrigue etc. that makes MLA so interesting.
We should be getting word next week at the JAST USA Panel at Anime Expo 2013, which is July 5 at 10PM Los Angeles time. 7 new licenses being announced, one of which has been strongly hinted to be Steins;Gate.
This post may contain accidental spoilers so don't read it if you haven't played and finished the series. I'm not really expecting anyone to read this post but ey, I really like writing about my opinions and experiences so might as well warn anyone :V
OOOOOKAY! And I'm finished with Muv Luv Alternative.
Short version of honest feelings: massive disappointment. In almost every aspect. Well, except the length, it really was long as fuck. It was so long, that I wouldn't have read it at all if I knew what it was like. It was good. But that's it. 7/10. This should be sufficient for most of you, the text below this will be mostly random thoughts.
Longer version
I went in with completely wrong expectations. After Extra and Unlimited, I thought Alternative would be, as I earlier said, all plot. And with plot, I meant stuff about BETA, why and how the loops and dimension jumps happened, and of course, saving the world.
Story.
It was just.. good, nothing groundbreaking. But when the credits rolled, I didn't feel the usual feelings I do when something as long as this ends. Regretting that I had read/watched/played through it so fast, heartwarming stuff because it felt like a bigger-than-life journey with friends had come to an end, sadness because it actually ended, the usual stuff. The only emotion I could come up with was disappointment, I stared at the credits for a few seconds and just thought to myself, "was that it? Was this the highest rated VN in vndb?"
The story was far more predictable than I had feared. We're talking quantum physics here, everything is possible with quantum goddamn physics. And yet, talking big twists, there were only 4 I really didn't predict.
Two of them,
what are BETA and why Takeru was pulled to the ALT-verse in the first place, were disappointing as fuck. BETA were tools, nothing more, nothing less. What a massive fucking anti-climax. Takeru was pulled there by Sumika? Because her brainy feelings for Takeru were multiplied by gravity distortions, that hit the the BETA core under her and created a hole in the spacetime??????? That was just fucking dumb, seriously. And it could have been treated way better. Now it was just Kasumi suddenly infodumping you.
The third one was
Sumika subconsciously sending BETA information about the humanity.
Okay. So.. She did. I was supposed to feel shocked, but.. It did nothing.
The fourth one was
Marimo's death
, which was the high point of the story to me. It was shocking. What followed was utterly depressing. It hit all the feel notes perfectly, all I could do was sit, feel depressed and just keep on going, hoping everything gets better. This was the only time when I properly felt something.
The better, very good parts of the story were Isumi's last speech, Sumika's stabilizing and everything that had to do with Kasumi. Rest was there. Some of it was enjoyable, some of it wasn't.
And I never got an explanation to some parts, like what prompted Takeru to live through the Extra-timeline twice (you know, both Meiya and Sumika? Pretty sure he had flashes from both) and why his physical strength stuck with him through seemingly only one loop. Oh and the "rewriting" notion was dumb. Going by the branching timelines theory, there are infinite worlds, that cover every single possibility there exists. Yes, even the one where Marimo is murdered and Sumika injured. I have no idea how they "fixed" it.
Characters and writing and whatever else I guess but not music (or art).
The characters were fine for the most part. Aside from Takeru, nobody was super irritating. I felt indifferent about Miki, Chizuru, Mikoto and Akane, from the most important characters. Towards the end, I just wanted them to shut up.
I really liked Marimo, Isumi, Hayase, Haruka, Meiya, Kasumi and Sumika. I hated Sumika in Extra, but really liked her here. Not sure why. Because I'd like to possibly see more of them, I may check the spin-offs and earlier games where some of the characters came from. As long as there's no war or ~~resolve~~ anywhere.
Extra and Unlimited's Takeru was someone I would probably hire an assassin after if I knew him in real life. Alternative's Takeru was someone I'd "only" punch in the face. Stop that fucking endless brooding. If I ripped the source files, opened them in a text editor and searched for "disappointment/pathetic/childish/synonyms" when he talking/thinking about himself, guess how many hits would I get? Way too fucking many. So fucking repetitive.
Which was also the main weakness of the writing, like I posted earlier. Repetitiveness. So much fluff I can't fucking take it, the VN could have been 20 hours long and it still would have been as good.
Then there's the romance. After the two harlem fuckups, I thought this would be all Sumika. Wrong, the fucking harlem is still there, but as I said - at least it came up at the last minute. Actually, when I think about it... Was it fucking necessary to bring up at all then, IT DID HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH NOTHING BECAUSE IT CAME UP SO LATE???? Holy shit they could have come up with something great for the "main groups'" girls' last speeches but no, fucking everyone was "HAHA well guess we all love kateryu eiku takeru we have such a baaaaaaad taste~~~~". EVEN KASUMI??? WHY?? And of course the ending implied Yuuhi was also one of them.
The other girls' having other love interests gave them character. Such simple things, short conversations about Hayase's and Haruka's love triangle, Isumi and her sisters' love pentagon (???lol), Munataka's hesitations, they made them feel much more alive. The main group ended up being robots falling in love with Takeru. I wonder what made fucking ALL of them like him. Maybe it was the continuous self-loathing and self-pitying, or the ignorance towards anything that resembles a woman? I have no idea.
I'm not even going to comment the sex scenes.
Music was good. Art was nice. Vaginas were pixelated. (Seriously though, the animated parts were breath-takingly well done, goddamn. And the music was good for the most part.)
And... I don't know. I never think through what I'm going to write, and I have this feeling of emptiness inside my black, rude, childishly pathetic heart so I guess I said all I wanted to say. All in all, Alternative was a good experience, but nothing that would deserve a numero uno rank. I gave it a 7/10 at VNDB.
e: this ended up longer than I thought. Sorry about your scroll wheels.
Saw it coming for a while now, haha. It's a bit of a bummer when you said you wouldn't have played it if you knew how it would go, so there's that, but for the most part it was "there's stuff, they annoyed me, they may not have annoyed other people, that's it" sorta thing.
The fact that the detail didn't get to you I think is the biggest point here, it's really what sealed the deal for me. I had sparkly eyes during the
hive and BETA types lessons. The conversation with the core was also one of my favorite parts
. Also has to do with the fact
you expected crazy twists that you weren't gonna get (whatever is twisty becomes predictable thanks to <--- the detail mentioned previously, and huge revelations aren't a thing with MLA).
Yeah, the biggest reason to my disappointment definitely was that I was expecting something like VLR or Ever17. It was dumb of me to not ask around a bit first.
And the infodumping is a double-edged blade. I read every single word when Yuuko and Takeru talked about
quantum mechanics and causality and all that
, the subjects are super interesting and I loved all the analogies they used. On the other side, I'm not that much into mechs so I wasn't very interested in the lessons and such, yeah.
About that "wouldn't have read" part, it was only because of the sheer crazy length. Shorten Extra and Unl to ~5 hours both and Alt to ~20-25 hours and I would have read them even if I knew what it was going to be like. It just makes the disappointment bigger when you've spent soooo much time with the series.
I have this weird feeling that I want to read something utterly depressing, I "liked" the "ptsd arc" so much. Something like "It Got Worse the VN" with a proper downer ending.
Saw it coming for a while now, haha. It's a bit of a bummer when you said you wouldn't have played it if you knew how it would go, so there's that, but for the most part it was "there's stuff, they annoyed me, they may not have annoyed other people, that's it" sorta thing.
The fact that the detail didn't get to you I think is the biggest point here, it's really what sealed the deal for me. I had sparkly eyes during the
hive and BETA types lessons. The conversation with the core was also one of my favorite parts
. Also has to do with the fact
you expected crazy twists that you weren't gonna get (whatever is twisty becomes predictable thanks to <--- the detail mentioned previously, and huge revelations aren't a thing with MLA).
This. I dunno what to say, but there were so many epic moments going from Extra to Unlimited to Alternative that basically made this one of my most favorite (I think maybe even only favorite) VN series. I'd show you my ML collection that I built up since finishing the trilogy around this time last year (MLA Integral Works, PS3 copy of Total Eclipse, various Kotobukiya kits, a bunch of Volks A3s, all the age VNs, etc.), but no camera on hand.
I loved
Yuuko's and Isumi's infodump sessions (Oh, Captain, my Captain).
Unlimited - The ending made me cry inside and I wanted jump straight into Alternative. Seeing the mother and your child safe on another planet after the credits where Songs of Distant Earth was playing. Humanity's exodus from their home planet and only 100,000 get to leave. Alternative 5's G-bombing. Takeru's speech where he questions the reason for why he's sent to the BETAverse, saying that he and humanity won't lose, because he's still there... because... he's still there.
Alternative - XM3, PTSD (where Tsubasa plays and Yuuko tells him to save the world), Coup, Sadogashima, Yokohama, Operation Ouka arcs. The world-building. 00-unit.
The implications that Takeru brings doom to the world he so very wants to return to. Sumika trying her very hardest to remember Takeru. I almost cried at the diary scene after accident, which, if you remember, was how Extra started.
The ending, where "he" gets sent to the Extraverse because he deserves that rest. Kasumi being there because Sumika wanted to do something for the only other person there for her when she was just a brain and spine.
I thought the BETA being mining tools was compelling, that humanity had this enemy they can never comprehend. That there are 10^37 of them (Superiors or general BETA numbers, either way, it's incomprehensibly huge). Takeru's actions gave humanity a fighting chance, there is still much to be done (they eventually start clearing each Hive, one by one starting in 2003/2004). You have to also wonder, who are the BETA's creators? Are they still alive? Hopefully Kouki can answer these questions in MLA2.
I could go on and on about the things that made me love this series and am kinda bummed that you weren't touched in the same way I was, but I'm glad you gave this series a chance.
I could go on and on about the things that made me love this series and am kinda bummed that you weren't touched in the same way I was, but I'm glad you gave this series a chance.
Hehe, eh I feel a bit like this deep inside when someone calls my precious Persona 3 and 4 bad :V
I can definitely see why MLA is so high rated, though. If the things it offers happen to interest you, I can definitely see why you'd call it the best thing ever. As I probably said, the ptsd arc is the best goddamn depressing thing I've ever read, I don't think any other story has made me go ":O what the fuck?!?!?! :O" so much
best
depressing
e: best at making me feel depressed? in a good way? well you know what I mean lol
Well, that's a shame. It's one of the highest rated VN for me, but again, my sensibilities lie somewhere else (like mechas, I don't mind 18+ content, love character interactions, etc etc)
Still, at least you took the time to read it, so there's that. I know someone who just shoots down whatever I recommend to him.
So, what VN will you tackle next? This question is open and anyone can answer.
As for me? I'm just waiting for the Grisaia no Kaijitsu patch. Hopefully it will be released next month.
Seconding Grisaia. I believe the TL said it'll be released early next month if the 2nd editor finishes editing. I might start "If My Heart Had Wings" soon (my huge backlog beckons me)
Yeah, the biggest reason to my disappointment definitely was that I was expecting something like VLR or Ever17. It was dumb of me to not ask around a bit first.
And the infodumping is a double-edged blade. I read every single word when Yuuko and Takeru talked about
quantum mechanics and causality and all that
, the subjects are super interesting and I loved all the analogies they used. On the other side, I'm not that much into mechs so I wasn't very interested in the lessons and such, yeah.
About that "wouldn't have read" part, it was only because of the sheer crazy length. Shorten Extra and Unl to ~5 hours both and Alt to ~20-25 hours and I would have read them even if I knew what it was going to be like. It just makes the disappointment bigger when you've spent soooo much time with the series.
I have this weird feeling that I want to read something utterly depressing, I "liked" the "ptsd arc" so much. Something like "It Got Worse the VN" with a proper downer ending.
Thanks for trying out the ML trilogy. As I said before, Alternative is (in my opinion) one the best VNs ever so I'm always glad when people gives the series a chance. If you liked the Alternative universe, check out the wiki for in-depth information on what's going in the world, the timeline and the inner workings of the TSFs:
I also love the Infinity and Zero Escape series (even though I've only played 999), and based on your VNDB score list, you should try out Remember11. Were it not for the ending (it doesn't have one) I'd put it above Ever17. You should also keep an eye on these guys:
GundamAce translated Never7 (the first entry in the Infinity series) and BlickWinkel translated Steins;Gate (try out this one too as it's also an Infinity-esque VN). They're working on the translation of 12riven (written by Uchikoshi and the fourth entry of the Infinity series), I/O (written by Nakazawa) and Root Double (also written by Nakazawa). These are the remaining Infinity-esque VNs on PC left to translate and the latter two (the Nakazawa ones) are very highly rated.
I also loved the info-dumping sessions in Alternative. Follow the link to the wiki above, it's full of information about the universe and it's a pretty interesting read. The Muv-Luv Integral Works is testament of the amount of thought and detail that went into the universe and the wiki's got translated information from that book.
I finished reading Danganronpa today (it was fucking great, especially the last case) so the next one for me would be GnK too. Has koestl confirmed if he plans to translate the remaining two Grisaia games?
GundamAce translated Never7 (the first entry in the Infinity series) and BlickWinkel translated Steins;Gate (try out this one too as it's also an Infinity-esque VN). They're working on the translation of 12riven (written by Uchikoshi and the fourth entry of the Infinity series), I/O (written by Nakazawa) and Root Double (also written by Nakazawa). These are the remaining Infinity-esque VNs on PC left to translate and the latter two (the Nakazawa ones) are very highly rated.
Nice, thanks. I'll add them to my backlog and bookmark list!
And so I started Sharin no Kuni! Kenichi seems to be like the complete opposite of ML's Takeru - smug, arrogant, knowledgeable asshole. I like him already! :lol
"It looked like dumbing myself down would be the best option while dealing with these people." haha oh man, what an asshole :V
I don't think I've ever played a Visual Novel (unless Walking Dead/Ace Attorney count, althought I think they are adventure games), is there any lighthearted visual novels I should look into? They can have serious parts, but nothing overly dramatic and dreading like Walking Dead.
Something amount the lines of Ace Attorney I suppose. And not erotic, of course.
The OP is kinda overloadead for a noob like me. Oh, and I plan to get 999 eventually already.
Played "If My Heart Had Wings" for a couple of hours.
Enjoying it so far.
Characters seem fine, main hero is quite reasonable and isn't annoying.
Art is nice, VN is very well made, and I really like white-blue palette, it gives that "perfect summer" vibe to atmosphere.
Can't judge the translation, because English is not my first language and sometimes I can't distinguish between awkwardly translated lines and phrases that I just haven't seen yet (there are some typos though).
Also haven't encountered any scene where you can say it was censored/cut, but I'm still in the beginning.
Only thing that worries me is that this can be the type of novel where I get so attached to main route story, I can't play any other route, because they would feel "wrong", if you know what I mean.
I definitely recommend trying trial version if you're still on the fence.
P.S. Animals that are voiced by humans are kinda freaking me out...
Played "If My Heart Had Wings" for a couple of hours.
Enjoying it so far.
Characters seem fine, main hero is quite reasonable and isn't annoying.
Art is nice, VN is very well made, and I really like white-blue palette, it gives that "perfect summer" vibe to atmosphere.
Can't judge the translation, because English is not my first language and sometimes I can't distinguish between awkwardly translated lines and phrases that I just haven't seen yet (there are some typos though).
Also haven't encountered any scene where you can say it was censored/cut, but I'm still in the beginning.
Only thing that worries me is that this can be the type of novel where I get so attached to main route story, I can't play any other route, because they would feel "wrong", if you know what I mean.
I definitely recommend trying trial version if you're still on the fence.
P.S. Animals that are voiced by humans are kinda freaking me out...
Good to know. I was thinking about picking up a physical copy at AX later this week.
Only thing that worries me is that this can be the type of novel where I get so attached to main route story, I can't play any other route, because they would feel "wrong", if you know what I mean.
I think the only VN this happened to me was in Little Busters! Where Rin's arc >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> everyone else's. Granted, I've enjoyed Lucia's arc so much in Rewrite that everyone else's arc seems wrong haha.
I remember a thread for an adventure game/VN that DIDN'T get localized. I believe it was a crime/murder type of story. There was a lot of yellow in the imagery- I believe it was all police tape, and the characters looked relatively realistic. Does anybody know/remember what I'm talking about?
I remember a thread for an adventure game/VN that DIDN'T get localized. I believe it was a crime/murder type of story. There was a lot of yellow in the imagery- I believe it was all police tape, and the characters looked relatively realistic. Does anybody know/remember what I'm talking about?
We are happy to announce that Yumina the Ethereal has gone Golden Master and is expected to ship around the beginning of August. Yumina the Ethereal is an RPG/visual novel hybrid by the creators of Aselia the Eternal.
the whole reason behidn Takeru coming to the alt verse, with Sumikas feelings coupled with G-elemnts creating this shitfest was just plain dumb, as dumb I may add as 999 and VLR's time travel esper bs
I may play Yandere for the haha's since it looks so bad it's good.
Also if I would recommend to ya'll two good ones read Umineko and Kara no Shoujo.
the whole reason behidn Takeru coming to the alt verse, with Sumikas feelings coupled with G-elemnts creating this shitfest was just plain dumb, as dumb I may add as 999 and VLR's time travel esper bs
999 and VLR's twists weren't nearly as dumb as MLA's, solely because MLA built this massively detailed, as-realistic-as-possible universe around it... And then that happened. MLA spent hours and hours trying to explain quantum mechanics and the reasoning behind causality and causality "weighs", which was actually pretty reasonable, just to throw a "it just happened" kind of answer at your face in the end.
999 didn't even try to achieve a very realistic base for itself, and while I definitely understand why some people would find the twist very dumb, it's not comparable to MLA's one. And, obviously, after playing 999, you really should be expecting some crazy twists in VLR too.
I'm very tired and I don't blame you if you don't quite get what I'm trying to say. In short, MLA had this established rule of being very detailed and thorough about everything, and the twist broke it by being unreasonable in every way. 999's twist worked along perfectly with the rest of the story.
In another news, Sharin no Kuni's world is a fucking horrible place, goddamn. I have no idea where this story will be taking me, but as I understand it, the routes don't differ very much from one another? So it doesn't really matter which girl's route I go for?
In another news, Sharin no Kuni's world is a fucking horrible place, goddamn. I have no idea where this story will be taking me, but as I understand it, the routes don't differ very much from one another? So it doesn't really matter which girl's route I go for?
999 and VLR's twists weren't nearly as dumb as MLA's, solely because MLA built this massively detailed, as-realistic-as-possible universe around it... And then that happened. MLA spent hours and hours trying to explain quantum mechanics and the reasoning behind causality and causality "weighs", which was actually pretty reasonable, just to throw a "it just happened" kind of answer at your face in the end.
999 didn't even try to achieve a very realistic base for itself, and while I definitely understand why some people would find the twist very dumb, it's not comparable to MLA's one. And, obviously, after playing 999, you really should be expecting some crazy twists in VLR too.
I'm very tired and I don't blame you if you don't quite get what I'm trying to say. In short, MLA had this established rule of being very detailed and thorough about everything, and the twist broke it by being unreasonable in every way. 999's twist worked along perfectly with the rest of the story.
Wondering if you guys could make a recommendation for me. My sister loves 999 and VLR, and she also just played Ever17. Keep in mind that she's only 13, so what other VNs would you say are age appropriate? Violence isn't really an issue; I'm just trying to avoid giving her something with a lot of sexual content.
Wondering if you guys could make a recommendation for me. My sister loves 999 and VLR, and she also just played Ever17. Keep in mind that she's only 13, so what other VNs would you say are age appropriate? Violence isn't really an issue; I'm just trying to avoid giving her something with a lot of sexual content.
Welp, I guess that only leaves us Dangan Ronpa. You'll need a PSP emulator, an iso and a patch but from that on I guess it fits the bill. Sure, it has some innuendos here and there and maybe a bit of cleavage but that's it. There's violence but the blood is censored (to a fluorescent pink that arguably only makes it more disturbing).
Wondering if you guys could make a recommendation for me. My sister loves 999 and VLR, and she also just played Ever17. Keep in mind that she's only 13, so what other VNs would you say are age appropriate? Violence isn't really an issue; I'm just trying to avoid giving her something with a lot of sexual content.
In another news, Sharin no Kuni's world is a fucking horrible place, goddamn. I have no idea where this story will be taking me, but as I understand it, the routes don't differ very much from one another? So it doesn't really matter which girl's route I go for?
I don't know where you are in sharin no kuni , but i hope you'll also play the other game ( that is part prequel , part sequel ) in order to get EVEN more of the story.
But yeah sharin no kuni world sucks big time.
It's a blast to experience it in the Vn , but i wouldn't want to live there 1 sec.
I would have become depressed if the cast of characters weren't so dynamic
Welp, I guess that only leaves us Dangan Ronpa. You'll need a PSP emulator, an iso and a patch but from that on I guess it fits the bill. Sure, it has some innuendos here and there and maybe a bit of cleavage but that's it. There's violence but the blood is censored (to a fluorescent pink that arguably only makes it more disturbing).
Although not a VN, Lost Odyssey's "memories" you can find, are among the best written short stories I've ever read in a game so far.
Also just reading about the plot of Sharin no Kuni, really makes me interested in the game. Will add it to my list of what to play. Only other VN on there is Ever 17. Any other "must play" titles that are considered mandatory to experience?
My current favorite, and my most recommended VN is Steins;Gate. Excelent plot and characters. Though at this point, I would recommned to hold on on buying the Japanese version until there's an official (US) announcement, since it will most likely be released through official channels (there should be a release announcement during these days)
It's a blast to experience it in the Vn , but i wouldn't want to live there 1 sec.
I would have become depressed if the cast of characters weren't so dynamic
Sure there was the childhood friends thing, but it never went further than that.
In ever17,
you first had to go through a few romantic routes before you could reach the true route, and even then, one of the romances played a very big part in the story.
If you really want to argue about this, I guess I should have said
"very small amount of romantic content, not nearly as much as ever17"
A very good VN and some repetition, because you have to play through the game once or twice before you can reach the real ending, and you can only speed up already-read text, and you can't skip puzzles.
