FMA: The Sacred Star of Milos
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Black Butler Season 1
Okami-san
Silent Hill Downpour
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Ultimate Marvel Versus Capcom 3
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FMA: The Sacred Star of Milos
12:00 PM on 01.20.2011
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i approve of this game with the white hot intensity of a hundred thousand burning suns, i will play it the day it comes out and do the greatest review in history, or at least for that day.
SHIZUUUUNE
SHIZUUUUNE
"(Originally conceived on the 4chan /b/ board, Katawa Shoujo spun out of the board’s affection for a real life amputee.)"
Actually, no, it didn't. It arose from /a/ after someone posted an image from RAITA's Schuppen Harnische containing concept art for the characters in (what would later become) Katawa Shoujo, stating that he thought it would be interesting to play a visual novel with such characters. So claims 4LS, anyway.
Actually, no, it didn't. It arose from /a/ after someone posted an image from RAITA's Schuppen Harnische containing concept art for the characters in (what would later become) Katawa Shoujo, stating that he thought it would be interesting to play a visual novel with such characters. So claims 4LS, anyway.
I will play it for sure. I enjoyed the demo very much, and have been looking forward to it ever since. And it's not like I have a fetish for these kind of things, i'm more of a leather guy. Will be interesting nevertheless.
^I remember the people behind it would seek testers in "Japan General". Almost every other week...
Although I see the concept of the game dumb as hell, you brought up valid points (ones that the creators probably didn't know the direction it would go, either).
"Looking back, disability is not the defining point of each girl. The way she deals with it is."
Yep. I think we have all seen examples of this. That's what eroge, galgames, etc. come down to, isn't it? You might go after the meganekko, but end up with a tsundere because that's who you connected to the most?
You come across the climax of the route thinking "OH SHI-", but then things turn out the way the way it did at the end because you stuck by the girl who took these ambiguous narcotics that made her think she was a magical cat-girl who was always being chased by police or Yakuza. Oh, the way she wanted you inject "magic" in her in the back alley so she could go back to her world, ugh. But, it turned out okay in the end!
Although I see the concept of the game dumb as hell, you brought up valid points (ones that the creators probably didn't know the direction it would go, either).
"Looking back, disability is not the defining point of each girl. The way she deals with it is."
Yep. I think we have all seen examples of this. That's what eroge, galgames, etc. come down to, isn't it? You might go after the meganekko, but end up with a tsundere because that's who you connected to the most?
You come across the climax of the route thinking "OH SHI-", but then things turn out the way the way it did at the end because you stuck by the girl who took these ambiguous narcotics that made her think she was a magical cat-girl who was always being chased by police or Yakuza. Oh, the way she wanted you inject "magic" in her in the back alley so she could go back to her world, ugh. But, it turned out okay in the end!
I'm really intrigued by your review more than the game itself. You got to the point where you yourself saw the girls being represented three dimensionally, but your comment "the inclusion of sex and romance helps to portray the girls as consenting adults" seems a little bit of a rationalization.
It is always nice to see someone else recognize that the selling point of these things goes beyond a fetish. I have a soft spot for "sad girl in snow" type stories. I intend to play this when it is released.
As a guy who's never played VN's until Katawa Shoujo a year ago, I highly recommend it to those who are still wary about these supposed "rape simulator" games they've heard so much about in the news. I would hope no one on Japanator is ignorant enough to believe that propaganda, but if you do, at least play Katawa Shoujo's demo and understand how a game like this can be both compelling and well-written despite its "controversial" subject matter.
And shit, I just realized I totally should've written my ero week article about KS. Too late now I guess.
And shit, I just realized I totally should've written my ero week article about KS. Too late now I guess.
A couple of things.
-First off, both you and Leigh were slightly off as to the origin of the game. It actually spawned on 4chan's /a/ (anime/manga) board, and was based on an omake page from a doujinshi proposing an eroge about disabled girls (even showing prototypes of what would become the heroines of the game). Anonymous was enthralled by this joke idea, and decided to develop an actual game out of it.
-Second, I agree with you for the most part. I was extremely skeptical about this game, especially considering its origins (/a/, while better than /b/, is far from outsider-friendly). But to my surprise, the disability aspect is handled extremely tastefully, and has very little fetishization at all. Combined with the solid art and wonderful script/characters, I'd go so far as to call it far better than many professionally-developed eroge.
-First off, both you and Leigh were slightly off as to the origin of the game. It actually spawned on 4chan's /a/ (anime/manga) board, and was based on an omake page from a doujinshi proposing an eroge about disabled girls (even showing prototypes of what would become the heroines of the game). Anonymous was enthralled by this joke idea, and decided to develop an actual game out of it.
-Second, I agree with you for the most part. I was extremely skeptical about this game, especially considering its origins (/a/, while better than /b/, is far from outsider-friendly). But to my surprise, the disability aspect is handled extremely tastefully, and has very little fetishization at all. Combined with the solid art and wonderful script/characters, I'd go so far as to call it far better than many professionally-developed eroge.
The game does a fantastic job of making their disabilites something that contributes to them but doesn't define them. Out of all the girls in the game, Shizune would have to be my favourite. It's a testament to the writer that a character who is both deaf and mute can come across as so adorably diabolical. I pray I don't have to do anything important the day it comes out.
I played the first sample that came out, and I gotta say this is anything but plain fetishism. It might have started that way (it did came out from 4chan) but it's obvious it morphed into something a lot deeper. I honestly forgot about the girls' disabilities and enjoyed the ride just wanting to know more about them.
I also liked Rin for her quirky personality (not to mention she's an artist) so when the game comes out I'll probably approach her first.
I also liked Rin for her quirky personality (not to mention she's an artist) so when the game comes out I'll probably approach her first.
You should have mentioned any of Rins lines such as "the problem is in your pants" that would have fitted perfectly in ero week. But yea Rin is my favorite. Her lines in that game were amazing. Kenji's lines were also amazing especially his ending "no women, no napkins, no glasses, just whisky, the beverage of true men and pretzels." I recommend this game to anyone who has never played a VN or someone who has played VN before.
I was blown away by the first chapter and I will definitely be playing the rest, the story and the characters are good enough that I really wouldn't mind it if it wasn't an eroge. Theres certainly going to be plenty of people who play it for the fetish factor, but I think youre completely right that it doesn't play into those hands and stands on its own, allowing the girls to really be individuals distinct from their disabilities. The only thing I think that is focused on their disabilities is how their personality becomes more attractive and many of them seem to be much stronger individuals because of the way that they lead their lives, but I'd hardly call that a bad thing to focus on.
I've been following this game and its development for a long time. The developers clearly have struggled a lot with the theme, and in my opinion are trying hard to make sure that the disability of a girl is just a characteristic, like red hair or blue eye, or the ability to run fast or paint well, and they treat it as such, to insure the girl isn't defined by it, but it simply adds to who she is. I think they have done a great job and I'm super excited its finally set to be released this year
I am so glad you explained that the game WASN'T about fetishizing disabilities. I've been following the game for a long time, and I read the first part of this article in my rss reader and was like "WTF ARE YOU SAYING HERP DERP?"
That's the thing that we have to get across to people when they hear about this game. The disabilities are plot points yes, but not turned into a sick fetish. I recommend playing the first act (no sex scenes) and look forward to the final version supposedly coming this year. For those who are scared of playing games with full on sex scenes, there will be an option to turn them off in the final game.
That's the thing that we have to get across to people when they hear about this game. The disabilities are plot points yes, but not turned into a sick fetish. I recommend playing the first act (no sex scenes) and look forward to the final version supposedly coming this year. For those who are scared of playing games with full on sex scenes, there will be an option to turn them off in the final game.
Ir has been a while since I read the KS demo. I recall being fairly impressed with the writing. So when the group publishes the final version, I will read it. Not sure if I want the adult content, but at the same time wondering if the final version will feel incomplete without the adult content.
In 2010, I read only a few adult visual novels. I found the Mangagamer title Edelweiss to be okay, but until the company releases an improved translation, it will remain flawed. I read the fan translated version of Canvas 2, which was not bad, but I felt uncomfortable with all the relationships being older male teacher x younger female student. And I read a fan-made adult game based on To-Love-Ru, but I did not have many positive things to say about it.
These days, I enjoy worksafe visual novels and romance games. I was not sure if I would enjoy Tokimeki Memorial Girls Side, but thanks to its fan translation, I have been able to appreciate its complex gameplay and humorous writing. And as for material originally written in English, I became a fan of the indie games The Flower Shop, Jisei, Date Warp, and the freeware game RE: Alistair. Right now I am looking forward to the final version of Planet Stronghold, and The Flower Shop: Winter in Fairbrook.
In 2010, I read only a few adult visual novels. I found the Mangagamer title Edelweiss to be okay, but until the company releases an improved translation, it will remain flawed. I read the fan translated version of Canvas 2, which was not bad, but I felt uncomfortable with all the relationships being older male teacher x younger female student. And I read a fan-made adult game based on To-Love-Ru, but I did not have many positive things to say about it.
These days, I enjoy worksafe visual novels and romance games. I was not sure if I would enjoy Tokimeki Memorial Girls Side, but thanks to its fan translation, I have been able to appreciate its complex gameplay and humorous writing. And as for material originally written in English, I became a fan of the indie games The Flower Shop, Jisei, Date Warp, and the freeware game RE: Alistair. Right now I am looking forward to the final version of Planet Stronghold, and The Flower Shop: Winter in Fairbrook.
I actually just downloaded and started playing this a few days ago. I read an article about it on another site and decided to check it out and at that time it was still in early stages. Having played part of it and seeing what they have done after some hesitation, I'm really impressed with how they have handled it. I'm looking forward to finishing what they have out and playing the final version sometime this year.
@EBK, @KururuSouchou, thanks for catching the error. I took my notes from Leigh's post, but I have read the entire archives of the KS dev blog, so I should know better!
@Yaku, Greenman, Rin is my favorite of all the girls! But when I played, I somehow ended up with Emi. Anyone else run into that?
@bobmarleypeople, I'm so glad you read the rest of it after the jump! I am not sure if I will play the game with sex scenes turned on or off -- I have never played an eroge with sex scenes turned on. However, it did occur to me that it would be prejudiced to turn off sex scenes in this game but not others, just because the characters are disabled. That would harken back to a very outdated belief that the disabled are not just as sexual beings as other humans.
@diz1776, agreed!
@Yaku, Greenman, Rin is my favorite of all the girls! But when I played, I somehow ended up with Emi. Anyone else run into that?
@bobmarleypeople, I'm so glad you read the rest of it after the jump! I am not sure if I will play the game with sex scenes turned on or off -- I have never played an eroge with sex scenes turned on. However, it did occur to me that it would be prejudiced to turn off sex scenes in this game but not others, just because the characters are disabled. That would harken back to a very outdated belief that the disabled are not just as sexual beings as other humans.
@diz1776, agreed!
I also found out about KS from that great Kotaku article, and I've been waiting anxiously for the full release ever since. Back then, I hardly even knew what a visual novel was, but for some reason, I downloaded it and played through it. And it was amazing.
I have about zero experience with actual people with disabilities (physical ones, at least), so playing KS really was an interesting experience for me. I'm glad that it handles the topic so well, without delving into fetish stuff.
Actually, I'm pretty sure that if I hadn't heard of it until now, I would know better and not get anywhere near the thing. I guess I'm glad that I was so dumb, after all.
I have about zero experience with actual people with disabilities (physical ones, at least), so playing KS really was an interesting experience for me. I'm glad that it handles the topic so well, without delving into fetish stuff.
Actually, I'm pretty sure that if I hadn't heard of it until now, I would know better and not get anywhere near the thing. I guess I'm glad that I was so dumb, after all.
I played this game last December, which also happens to be my first play-through of a visual novel.
Honestly, the reason I downloaded it was because of the buzz surrounding it on the net, plus it was actually compatible with Ubuntu Linux.
I ended up liking the game very much and will certainly play the full version when it arrives. Seeing that the development of this game has taken an above average amount of time, I expect the story and writing will probably be above average as well.
Honestly, the reason I downloaded it was because of the buzz surrounding it on the net, plus it was actually compatible with Ubuntu Linux.
I ended up liking the game very much and will certainly play the full version when it arrives. Seeing that the development of this game has taken an above average amount of time, I expect the story and writing will probably be above average as well.
Damn, probably the most accurate summary of KS I can remember reading and an even handed one that gets beyond the, "Ewwww! Disabled people having sex? Is that allowed?" reaction that some other reviewers appeared to have had.
But then of course, people tend to forget they are just fictional characters in a romance story; not real disabled people. The common thread that brings them all to the school is their disability, but the disability is not the sum of the character.
Anyway, I've been eagerly awaiting the rest of this story for a couple of years now. I'm happy as hell it will be done "Real-Soon-Now".
But then of course, people tend to forget they are just fictional characters in a romance story; not real disabled people. The common thread that brings them all to the school is their disability, but the disability is not the sum of the character.
Anyway, I've been eagerly awaiting the rest of this story for a couple of years now. I'm happy as hell it will be done "Real-Soon-Now".
