Pregnancy – An Anatomy Of Visual Novels
The Truth About Children
Due
to how closely visual novels have historically sat to the world of
adult entertainment, they have often been able to touch upon subjects
other games or media struggle to address and one of these is
pregnancy. Their attitude and use of pregnancy varies wildly from
title to title but it remains a powerful narrative element in all
situations since bringing another life into the world is action with
fate altering consequences. By far the most common presentation of
pregnancy is as the natural outcome of a romantic relationship where
the characters are depicted happily awaiting their new or recently
born child. Then there is comedy which loves to poke at the absurdity
of the human condition and there is no better material than people’s
reactions to the natural outcome of biology. Since pregnancy is such
a life changing event with all kinds of emotional connections it is
the perfect breeding ground for drama amongst the cast. Let’s
marvel at the wonders of life and discover how it influences the
visual novel space.
Pregnancy As The Outcome of Romance
When
many visual novels engage with pregnancy it is often in the context
of a romantic relationship and acts as a final confirmation of the
longevity of the couple’s bonds. Having a child is a serious
commitment to make since it will be many years before they leave home
and so it is wordlessly speaks to the intimacy and future nature of this relationship. Presenting the pair as having already
had a child does achieve the same effect, but a pregnancy removes the
need to have a new character design for the child and allows the
player to imagine what they might be like while communicating the
same thematic commitment through being a dramatic change to the
appearance of the female character. It helps that in many eroge the
characters have been engaging in intimate activities beforehand which
makes it easier to present these pregnancies as a natural outcome of
their actions and thus binding romance and pregnancy together. Take
Maji de Watashi ni Koishinasai! series and the character Oshitari
Azumi for an example of the positive and romantic presentation of
pregnancy. The actual pregnancy is confined to the end of her route, long after the point where she and the protagonist are married, in
order to have this be a signifier of their bond without dealing with the
realities and inconveniences of the process. Since it is such a brief
window there has been a lot of effort put into how it is framed from
the gentle illumination and soft colours of the visuals to the light hearted
banter and deep trust in each other. This allows it to land with a
greater impact and presents a bright future for the pair so the route can ends on a high note even if the player will never get to experience
any more of their lives. It does help that the pair were fornicating
throughout the sections after the marriage to provide the context for
the pregnancy and further push the idea of it as the ultimate
conclusion to their relationship.
 |
| Behold the wonders of childbirth |
Titles with a deeper exploration
of pregnancy are less common but those that do exist tend to place it
in the same romantic context. Clannad’s After Story section brings
the focus down to a single heroine, Nagisa, and during this time she
becomes pregnant. Rather than simply skipping over this part of their
lives Clannad engages with the social and biological reality as the
pair get ready to become parents for the first time. It is used as an
avenue to showcase the strength of their commitment to one another and
continues to develop it as they overcome these strange new hurdles.
Despite the difficulties of pregnancy it is still shown to be some of
the best moments of their lives to help drive home just what a
positive thing these events are and how the player should interpret
them. While Clannad is not an eroge, the influence of Key’s history
with the eroge of their earlier titles is clear from their willingness
to present pregnancy, the reason it occurs and its consequences in a
frack way that a developer with a more main stream audience may have
shied away from.
The Comedy Of Our Desires
Pregnancy
sits in a strange place in the social consciousness, it is a thing to
be celebrated since it brings new life into the world yet the process
which leads to it is not something people are comfortable talking
about. Into this awkwardness strides comedy to inject a much needed
dose of humour into the absurdity of this situation. Since many
visual novels already deal in this style of comedy it is only natural
they would take advantage of this avenue as a means to add variety.
One way this can be achieved is by directly pointing to the cause and
effect of how pregnancy and engaging in a bit of tongue and cheek
education for the player. Futamata Ren’ai does this at the end of
Toiro Kirame’s route where she realises she has become pregnant and
then the other characters point of that since she and the protagonist
have been at it like bunnies, this was the obvious outcome. Before
this point the game had not brought up the idea of pregnancy and so
this sudden shift highlights it as the expected consequence which
people do not openly discuss resulting in a kind of awkward laugh
from the player as they realise the mental disconnect they possess
between action and outcome. It helps that Futamata already makes a lot
of adult jokes and regularly utilises its status as an eroge to touch
on such ideas so this discussion about pregnancy does not appear to
come from nowhere but is instead a part of its sense of humour.
 |
| Boys and girls this is what happens when you go at it too much |
Another way comedy visual novels like to use pregnancy is take it too
its logical extreme, if the protagonist gets around then there should
be a lot of pregnancies. The Rance series and its titular protagonist
do not know how to keep it in their pants so the outcome should be
obvious. These games love to play up their promiscuous protagonist at
every chance and pregnancies are a great way for them to do so while
at the same time point out how absurd their protagonist is and how
his actions result in some truly over the top romantic situations.
This plays nicely with the over the top story of the Rance titles
and their nature as eroge to get a chuckle while continuing to keep
both sides of its mechanics and narrative satisfied one joke to the
next.
Dramatic Pregnancy
Given
how life changing a pregnancy is for all those involved it naturally
lends itself to being a source of drama. In particular the idea of
pregnancy as binding two people together regardless of whether they
like it or not can be leveraged to drive a wedge into proceedings in
a way a player might not be expecting. As such it primarily deals
with the discovery of the pregnancy rather than the later stages so
it can side step the physiological changes and just use it as a
narrative device which does not impede the character’s ability to
engage in other plot points. This allows it to be a flexible element
which can either be the focus of events or a compliment to a
situation with already high stakes without being invasive since it
can be framed as the natural escalation of romantic tensions.
However, it does need a specific kind of story for it to not feel out
of place due to it being so closely tied to intimate relations and as
such placing it into a game without even the slightest allusion to it
would make this subject especially jarring. Perhaps the most
memorable example of a visual novel using this dramatic device is
School Days. Before pregnancy is even brought into the conversation
this game presents itself as a drama fuelled descent into romantic
madness as every character does the stupidest thing possible in every
situation. Having such an open season on what is reasonable for a
character to do in pursuit of love makes the presence of pregnancy
feel like the natural conclusion or extension of these conflicts.
Sometimes it a cause to be happy and in others it is cause for
murder, School Days gets a surprisingly large amount out of this dramatic
moment as a means of pushing the cast over the edge for the most
outlandish endings possible. As with many of the previous examples in
this article it helps that the characters have been sleeping around
so the pregnancy appears natural yet this game takes it further since
the sleeping around is a major source of drama and the pregnancy
pushes those strained relationships to its breaking point.
 |
| Be careful who you sleep with... |
Conclusion
One
of the defining experiences of a human life is to bring another person
into the world so it makes for perfect material for visual novels to
include in their stories. Romance likes to use it as the ultimate
conclusion of a relationship where the commitment of the pair is
shown in a physical manner which speaks to the bright future ahead of
them. It can also be a source of drama and tension since its life
changing nature may not be what all parties want or represents the
breaking point of a relationship. Playing off a pregnancy can be a great
means to create comedy where the taboo nature of the process leading
to pregnancy is juxtaposed against the happy outcome of the union as
a means of highlighting the obvious connection between the two. As a
narrative tool there are few with the potency of pregnancy and if
handled correctly can leave a powerful impact on the player’s
impression of your game.
Roguelike/lite – Uncovering The Hybrid
Repetition Towards Perfection
Roguelikes/lites
and visual novels have never been styles of game associated with
one another for good reasons. Repetition is an extremely problematic
element for anything which leans into narrative since it undermines the
feeling of progress stories rely on yet it is core to the appeal of a
Roguelike. Of course this has not stopped developers from trying and
this has led to some interesting results as they attempt to reconcile
these two halves. A common narrative device used to try and justify
the repetition in the visual novel is the time loop where the player
character is trapped in some kind of repeating cycle which they have
to extract themselves from. When it comes to integrating these
elements into a compete package one method used is to segregate them
so they do not impact each other in any negative ways. Another way is
to firmly plant the visual novel within the Roguelike mechanics
either through narrative events or making whole story a Roguelike.
These three aspects are the defining pillars around which this hybrid
struggles to construct its identity. Let’s get ready to start all
over again and discover what this hybrid has to offer.
Groundhog Day
In
order to justify why the characters are constantly repeating the same
levels and fighting the same enemies many stories present it as them
being in a time loop and visual novels are no exception. The reasons
for its prevalence in Roguelikes stems from it being a popular trope which is
easy to understand while at the same time being open enough to not
restrict the kind of settings or characters it can have within it.
Utilising a widely known narrative framework frees the visual novel
aspects from having to extensively justify the existence of the
game’s mechanics since a loop naturally invokes the idea of
repetition. It also works to help make the reuse of some story beats
or lines of dialogue a means of creating the same emotional
experience of the cast being trapped even if many of them might
not be aware of their predicament. The loop as a means to further
this feeling is used by Gnosia to great effect when combined the physical confinement of the spaceship. Doubling down on the
restrictiveness of the setting might seem like a poor choice since it
limits the opportunities to add diversity to events, but here it
works in Gnosia’s favour as it ties its narrative closer to the
design space of its Roguelike mechanics. By removing all distractions
the game can focus on selling the life and death tensions its
investigation and social deduction elements thrive on and make each
new cycle have the same impact throughout its play time. The
randomness and unpredictability of a Roguelike is the core element
which allows this style of interaction to be possible with its ability to
shift the pieces around so they feel new again.
 |
| Oh no! Should have framed some. |
Time loops are not
limited to strictly sci-fi stories and any genre can comfortably fit
within its vague outline. This is one of the reasons it is so
prolific as a narrative device within Roguelikes and it has led to a wide pool of titles that might not have otherwise seen the mechanics
as compatible with them. One notable example of this is the game
Expelled! where its protagonist has become the prime suspect in an
attempted murder case and they have to figure out how to avoid
getting expelled by any means possible. This school setting and its
younger characters opens up a lot of possibilities for interesting
situations and more flexible morals given their desperation to avoid
an outcome which would ruin their lives. Teenagers tend not to be the
most stable people so the web of lies and questionable actions the
protagonist weaves over the course of her various loops do not feel out of place given all that is happening to
them. Assisting this narrative direction is the Roguelike mechanics
and the way they play on the slightly exaggerated nature of the game
with their social navigation and evidence manipulation that encourage
the player to experiment in what they can do before it blows up in
their faces. The aim always returns to uncovering the truth about who
is responsible for the attempted murder and curiosity guides the
player onwards through the title’s various cycles.
Mechanics First
In
order to not get in the way of the mechanics focused nature of
Roguelikes, the incorporation of visual novel elements often results
in a kind of segregation where neither side interferes with the
other. This is done in an attempt to not comprise of the qualities of
both parts of the game by giving them the space they need to exist in
their purest form. Such a divide is common in Roguelikes since those
who play them tend to value an uninterrupted gameplay experience
where story exists in its own dimension. As a result is an
immediately recognisable part of the genre such as in Duel Princess
which even at a glance quickly conveys its mechanical origin. This
deck builder Roguelike tells its narrative beats, often between the
various princesses, in between its larger sections of continious
gameplay and the two do not have any meaningful impact on each other.
Instead they are bound together through their common bright anime
styling and emphasis on the princesses and their personalities.
Having been disconnected they are free to focus on what each does
best with the deck building being given the ability to lean into the
castle defence and army management angles for fluid strategies
while the visual novel carries the reason and influence of the
player’s actions. It is not difficult to see why this division is
the main version of this hybrid since it offers the developer a means
of shaping the two halves individually to achieve their desired
effect.
 |
| The divide between this and the card mechanics could not be larger |
If the emphasis is flipped on its head with the visual novel
element being the driving force then the issues of this approach
become more pronounced as can be seen in Forsaker: Ding Ding &
Blade. Here the narrative is front and centre with the Roguelike
being the supporting pillar to provide a means for the player to act
out certain parts of the story. This imbalance highlights the jarring
contrast between the two halves of the game by creating long
stretches of visual novel which then suddenly stop to give way to a
free-form gameplay experience that is nothing like what the player
has been engaging with. It is clear Forsaker wanted to put it
story front and centre so this emphasis on narrative was an
inevitable outcome within this segregated approach and showcases how
delicate a balance is struck in those games who successfully manage
it. Should the positions of the two halves be inverted the problem is
not resolved and it merely shifts the visual novel elements being the
pace breakers to the flow of the gameplay which risks the player
being brought out of the experience provided in the Roguelike.
A Fine Line
Another
method for handling this hybrid is to more closely integrate its
writing into the flow of the Roguelike in a natural fashion. Creating
the space for this approach to work without it breaking the flow of
the other mechanics is not easy and for this reason tends to only be
used by titles able to commit to necessary reorganisation. If the
game can tread this fine line then it gains the ability to more
smoothly blend the two halves of itself together and avoid the
jarring feels possible in a sharply divided experience. A common
manifestation of this can be seen in titles like Umamusume where
small vignettes are used to humanise certain markers of mechanical
progress. This takes what would otherwise be a cold indication of
numbers going up and down and turns it into a moment of growth in a
girl’s emergent story and the consequences to the player’s
actions. The effectiveness of this approach at creating a bond and
telling an unstructured narrative can be see in Umamusume’s
popularity and the way it even made its player’s invested in the
real horses each girl embodies. Of course there is a major flaw here
and that is the way it rubs up against the repetition inherent in a
Roguelike. Reading the same thing over and over again can get boring leading to many players simply skipping through the scenes after a
few viewings which undermines their emotional impact over the long
term.
 |
| The small stories really sell the characters journey |
The ultimate end point of this merger between the two
halves is a game were the visual novel is the means by which the
Roguelike presents its mechanics. This style is extremely rare but
one notable example of it is Gnosia and its deduction sections. Here
the player has to interrogate the other characters to deduce who is
the gnosia while trying to deflect suspicion away from themselves.
All of this is presented within the framework of a visual novel
presentation and pulls from a large pool of responses to invite the
player to comb over every word and the way they were said to try and
gleam information. It is the core element around which the
tension of these situations is both shown and systematised and since who the
gnosia is differs on each run, it keeps the search from clues in the
text meaningful over the game’s play time. Being a linear Roguelike
with a conclusive narrative ending does help provide a place were the
player can stop playing and move on before the repetition starts to
undermine the appeal of its psychological thriller.
Conclusion
Given
the often uncomfortable relationship between visual novels and
Roguelikes it is surprising just how many attempts there have been to
make this hybrid work. To help this along there is an extensive use
of the time loop as a narrative device to justify the repeated visual
novel sections and why progression is tied to success in the
Roguelike. Attempting to blend the two halves together results in a
smoother overall experience at the risk of the narrative elements
losing their impact over time and becoming an irritation. On the
other extreme, segregating them can allow each the space they need to
fully express themselves at the cost of having to maintain a delicate
balance lest one start overwhelming the other. There is a lot of
potential in this hybrid waiting to be tapped into if the conflicts
between its elements can be resolved since there is a demand for a
strong narrative in Roguelikes as games like Hades have demonstrated.
Sunrider Legends Tactics Review – From The Solar Sea To The High Seas
Genre – Fantasy, Naval, Strategy Play Time – 30 hours Developer – Love In Space Steam
Sailing The Seven Seas
Legends
Tactics marks the sixth title in the Sunrider IP and the second spin
off as it swaps out space for sail. After so many games it is hard
for new players to know where to start and, with the first game now
showing its age, there was a need to release something to remedy this
issue. As such Legends Tactics takes the main series story line and
remixes it into a new player friendly form with its own twists on the
story to carve out its own identity. The characters are still have
familiar personalities but have lived different lives and so differ
from their main universe selves in ways which inject new life into
them. Artistically it uses Sunrider’s visual language just passed
through a fantasy and seafaring filter to tread this line between old
and new. In terms of its sailing mechanics they are an iteration of
those from Sunrider 4 with momentum traded out for wind direction and this makes for some necessary improvements on that foundation. This attempt to
remake the old does run into some problems when it comes to its odd
relationship with its new fantasy elements and the lack of new cast
members it needed to create its own identity. Are these difficulties enough to
take the wind out of the Sunrider’s sails? Let’s assemble a crew
of fantasy races and find out.
Elves, Orks And The Undead – Narrative and Themes
In
terms of the plot, it broadly follows the same outline as the first
two Sunrider games with some elements brought in from Liberation Day
and Captain’s Return to spice things up. For example Cera is a
small island in a sea of other small neutral islands rather than a
planet in the neutral rim but its destruction by PACT is still the
motivating incident for the entire plot. Recontextualising familiar
aspects of the original storyline into a new setting forms the bulk
of the narrative particularly during the early game. This ensures it
can operate as its own stand alone title since it begins the story
from its origin and explains all its world’s concepts rather than
expecting the player to be familiar with them from prior entries.
Those new to Sunrider do not have to play four games worth of content
just to be able to have a fun time which is in the best interests of
a spin off aiming for a different genre. For those already invested
in Sunrider this shaking up of events gives these players a chance to
re-experience them from a new perspective and gives the characters a
fresh coat of paint to allow them to shine anew. The additions for
Liberation Day and Captain’s Return are more subtle than a
wholesale retelling and mostly aim to streamline the experience.
These are things like Lynn having her own distinct personality rather
than starting out as one of many similar prototypes or Crow being
tied to one specific area and only being important to Sola or Chigara
figuring out she is a sleeper agent. Each one allows Legends Tactics
to skip over the elements of the original story it does not want to
engage with while still include parts of them which fit within its
world.
 |
| Sailing on the high seas changes a man |
In terms of the new ideas Legends Tactics brings to the table,
they focus on trying to recapture the magic of the early titles and
making it feel fresh again. It takes full advantage of its naval
setting to dramatically change the way the player engages the context
of the battles and the structure of the world. No longer is the world
map some vaguely defined planets in a galaxy divided along nebulously
lines, one look at the solid continents and islands gives immediate
context as to the strategic value of locations. In the old games the player is told Far Port is an important choke point in the war but in Legends Tactics it is obvious from one look at the map why it is
even before being told. This adds a lot to the texture and
believability of the story since, despite its fantasy leans, much of
it operates on the same axis as our own world. Race also plays a role
in how the story unfolds with more existing than just the humans of the original with
elves, orcs and half-elves holding various levels of political and
social power. The arrogance and eternal life of the elves is the
pillar around which many characters motives rotate and puts emphasis
on the crew of the sunrider being a mix of all races working together
as key to their success. Binding all these narrative elements
together is a series of large and small choices the player gets to
make over the course of the story which feel weighty and offer unique
divergences. They put the player in the head-space of Shields as he
struggles with these dilemmas. There is a good variety to them with
some being big climatic choices where the crew can be consulted for
their opinions on what to do next and others being choices made
almost unknowingly during gameplay. By showing the player their
actions have significance, Legends Tactics gets the them invested in
the world and story they are influencing and keeps them hooked to the
end.
 |
| The Shields family are certainly a bunch of excentrics |
For
a title which shifts the Sunrider series into a fantasy setting, it
seems at odds with some of the fantastical elements of its world.
This manifest in the ways it fails to properly engage with certain
ideas it introduces and just moves on as if the subject is something
they do not want the player to think about. Orcs are presented as the
undesirable end for a fallen elf but little of what the player is
shown seems to back up this view. The only orc in the story appear
perfectly fine with their situation and before the rise of PACT the
orcs even had their own kingdom so they clearly were not as monstrous
as some characters describe about them. Their appearance is the only
aspect of note as they have a pig like face, and while unappealing,
it is hardly the horrific spectacle the cast seems to think they are.
This leads to a slight feeling of disconnect since it is treated as
this terrible punishment for elves to become orcs yet nothing outside
of their appearance changes so it is difficult to feel the danger it
is meant to pose. In the universe of Legends Tactics there are gods
and goddess who have the divine power to reshape the world and yet they
are never important or talked about outside of single example. This
one character is important to the Sunrider crew but is ultimately
minor in the overarching narrative but they provide the only example
of divine power and makes the player question why such beings are not
more involved in the world or worshipped more directly. No
explanation is ever offered to excuse this inconsistency and the game
moves on. In reality the existence of gods is simply an excuse to
give this one character their powers rather than a considered part of
the setting. There are numerous other small niggles like these
throughout the game. None are so large as to undermine the overall
story but they do show a lack of care and attention.
All Around Me Are Familiar Faces – Characters
Sunrider’s
cast are as strong as ever in Legends Tactics and get the same new
coat of paint as the narrative. Everyone gets a few traits to
spice up their existing personalities and give them new angles the
game can push for dramatic and comic effect. Shields is now a
half-elf to push the idea of him as a neutral element who can see
beyond the conflict to what the different sides have to offer which
helps solidify his role as protagonist. These additions have been
carefully considered to both match the character’s existing traits
and challenge them in some way such as Sola being an elf allow her to
have a resolution about her past and Kryska being a religious zealot
rather than an Alliance one leading to friction when those beliefs
are shown to be flawed. By reframing the characters they can be
properly integrated into this new world without feeling like they are
just the old characters cosplaying and provide arcs for them the main
line entries could never achieve due to the direction of their
narrative. When it comes to the new character added by Legends
Tactics, they are few in number and lack impact on events. Each of
them are side elements to the main story and never step outside the
role of supporting the growth or characterisation of the core cast.
This results in the overall cast feeling very familiar, and while the
personality additions do spice things up, there is a disappointing
feeling of having already seem all the characters have to offer.
Leveraging more new characters to give the cast its own distinct
sense of identity could have been done without it coming at the
expense of the old characters so it is disappointing they did not
lean more into their new material.
 |
| Character skill points being tied to affection is a nice touch |
Trading The Stars For The Ocean – Visual, Audio and Technical
Combat
is an iteration on the foundation laid in Sunrider 4 with its
momentum conserving movement and emphasis on positioning. The vacuum
of space is traded out from the direction of the wind carrying the
ships in its wake and this change in context has allowed for the idea
to be expanded on in interesting ways. Having the wind decide the
direction of vessels gives the game the option to change its
direction during the mission and allow the player the ability to do
the same. This opens a lot of possibilities for outmanoeuvring the
enemy while having to constantly keep the wind in mind when making
plans for future turns. In order to utilise the winds a ship must
have sails and so it follows they should be able to put them away which the
game uses to present the player with the choice between faster
movement in the wind’s direction or shorter range but in any
direction. Maps now have a variety of terrain features from islands
to block enemy or allied cannons to shallow water that damages ships
passing through it. These make the ability to fold the sails
important since a ship cannot simply be left to the mercy of the
winds or it will just collide with the terrain and juggling the
overall status of the player’s ships is given a greater importance.
Legends Tactics is focused on giving the player options and this is
continued into the removal of unique character ships, outside of the Sunrider, in favour of allowing the player to capture any ship they
fight. As such the title offers the ability to fully customise the
weapon and armour load-outs for each vessel for whatever role the
player want them to fill. This brings us to the turn based person to
person combat that takes place during boardings and at certain points
in the story. If it had to described in one word it would be
unremarkable, it is a basic round based system with simple attacks,
skills and one use items that does exactly what it needs to and
nothing more. The problems which were present in Sunrider 4’s
ship battles return in Legends Tactics in the form of it running out
of new ideas in the late game and resorting to ship spam to try and
escalate the difficulty. Just like before this is more frustrating and
grindy than an actual challenge and sours what should be a grand
finale with a lack of inventiveness to match the game’s engaging
naval combat.
 |
| Positioning matters more than ever |
From
a presentational standpoint everything in Legends Tactics is in line
with the increasingly high quality of the Sunrider titles just passed it through its own fantasy filter. The shiny gleam of technology is
replaced with the wood, stone and magic of this naval world and yet
it maintains the same visual styling which made the older games so
memorable. Each character’s redesigned appearances preserve their
core appeal while making changes to capture how their personalities
would influence them in this new setting. Backgrounds sells the
locations as entirely novel places for the series with everything
from Japanese style wooden homes to grand stone temple built by the
elves. Supporting these visuals is a suitable soundtrack and SFX for
the setting which leans into the game's physicality and smaller nature as a
means of creating the feeling that the impact each action or scene
has as greater weight due to this contraction in scale. Overall, this
package comes together as one of Legends Tactics stronger elements
and works to support the tone and texture the game is aiming for.
Conclusion
When
making a spin off of a series with a strong identity like that of
Sunrider, it can be difficult to balance the expectations of old and
new players and yet it is this fine line Legends Tactics choose to
tread. It remixes the storyline of the Sunrider games into a fantasy
setting with a series of exciting changes to prevent it from being
too familiar while still making sense without any prior exposure to
the original titles. The cast remain their old selves and the change
in circumstances allows them to show sides to themselves not possible
before. Visuals and audio are similarly reimagined from the old for
Legends Tactics as the familiar art-style is put to work for sails
and sorcery rather than spaceship. There is an evolution of the
gameplay set out in Captain’s Return, the naval based nature of the
combat is take full advantage of to introduce new ways to control the
movement system and add terrain for the player to consider as they
plan their next move. The title is not without its own issues such as
its unwillingness to properly engage with its fantasy elements and
the combat falling back on ship spam in the late game, but, overall,
these do not detract from all that Legends Tactics achieves in its
play time.
Verdict –
A successful reimagining of the Sunrider series into a grand tale of
magic and naval battles which blends the new and familiar into an
exciting adventure. Unfortunately it also inherits some of Sunrider's
weaker elements such a reliance of ship spam for difficulty and
inability to engage with its concepts in a meaningful way.
Pros -
+ Remixes the storyline of the Sunrider series into a tale
of sail and sorcery with a few fun new additions.
+
The cast get a new injection of life as they are reimagined in this
fantasy setting.
+
Improvements to the movement system and the option to more freely
customise your ships make for engaging naval battles.
+
The presentation maintains the same high and improving standard as
the previous titles.
Cons -
-
Not quite comfortable with its fantasy concepts and often leaves them
awkwardly unexplored.
-
Lack of new characters weakens the game’s sense of identity as more
than just a rehash of old content.
-
The problems with Captain’s Return’s late game are also present here with unit spam being a common occurrence.
Best Visual Novel Releases – September 2025
The
chill of autumn has truly begun to set in and now the trees have
turned their customary brown it is time to look at the harvest of
visual novels from the past month. It has been a good one from lovers
of mystery stories with all kinds being released from magical girl to
murder to puzzle alongside a suite of other exciting genres and a
surprise port of a classic title. Let’s dive in and discover the
exciting games on offer.
Official Releases
Lock and Key: A Magical Girl Mystery
This
title is an interesting take on the magic girl genre in a variety of
ways from its married couple of magical girls to most of the cast
being in their late 20’s. Choices like these create a very
different style of magical girl story with people who have more worldly experience
than the children/ teens typical of the genre. Yet it is still
undeniably a love letter to the genre as it uses the same themes and
ideas but places them through the lens of its older cast. The story
follows the married pair of Sherri and Kealey Cohen as they are
pulled out of retirement after a string of murders demands their
skills to help uncover the perpetrator. It will lead them down a
winding path through the past and the future where they will have to
confront the web of lies surround the case. Not everything is clear
cut and it is up to the player to guide the pair towards an ending to
their tale. Another strong visual novel from Studio Élan who seem to
be on a role when it comes to thoughtful yuri games.
Illusion of Itehari
Nintendo Eshop VNDB Genre
– Otome, Steampunk, Politics Play Time – 45 hours
Set
the floating city of Itehari, this utopia seems to be a picture of
paradise for the young noble lady Hinagiku, and yet she still wonders
what beyond its boundaries. One day she meet a strange amnesiac man
named Yashiro and is dragged into a conflict which unearths secrets
about their paradise. There is a strong political thriller angle to
Itehari as Hinagiku finds herself having to navigate the structures
of power defining her world alongside the people she meets there and
it is never certain who is friend or foe. This game has a distinctive
visual identity which mixes Japanese styling with its steampunk
setting to create an interesting and immediately recognisable landscape. These elements combine to create a memorable ride which
fans of otome who are looking for their monthly fix.
SHUTEN ORDER
The
latest title from the weird mind of Nakazawa Takumi comes off the
release of HUNDRED LINE earlier this year and there appears to be no
slowing this man’s creativity. What makes SHUTEN ORDER stand out is
each section having its own distinct gameplay style associated with
it. This ranges from stealth action horror to dating sim with every
one of them taking their style to its absurd limits. It is drenched
in a constant scene of dark humour as the subjects being tackled are
serious in nature, but the entire package is presented through its
strong brightly coloured art and larger than life characters who make
light of what are some horrible affairs. The absurdity of this nation
run by a religious cult never leaves the player’s mind as it slowly
dawns on them, through the lies and dark jokes, exactly what is going
on in this world and why the cults leader was murdered. Overall
another fun and thrilling ride which is worth
your time if you are looking for something completely distinct.
Blood Lily Ghoststories
Now
for something much smaller in scale with this light and short yuri
horror anthology. Split into four parts each one covering a different
character and aspect of the plot as they build towards the truth.
Each one does a good job selling the cast and creating tension when
new reveals occur while still having their own identity. Its
stylistic use of silhouette sprites lends those scenes a detached
sense of place to them and helps to underline this as a horror title.
The short play time works in its favour since it does not have much
substance to its plot so keeping its length down hides its weaker
elements and intensifies its stronger moments. For anyone looking for
a lighter horror experience, this is perfect for you.
ROAD59 A Yakuza’s Last Stand
Looking
for a crime thriller then perhaps ROAD59 might be up your alley.
This drama packed yakuza story set in the bright neon glow of a
future Tokyo aims to hit all the right notes of the genre. As the
heir to a crime syndicate Sho Himuro’s life was never going to be a
simple affair no matter how much he might yearn for normality. He
finds himself entangled with the family's future as a conflict breaks
out over the mysterious Power of Orochi and a rival gang seeks to
overthrow them. Faced with danger on all side, he must set up into a
world of betrayal, desire and honour in order to protect those he
cares about. A solid sci-fi crime game with just enough unique flare
to keep you engaged until its finale.
Type Noise: Shonen Shojo
Six
people awake in Noise Scramble City and into a mental prison of their
own making from which they must escape. This place resembles a
twisted version of down-town Tokyo and is formed of the true selves
each has forgotten. Interpersonal drama from the tension of being
trapped without memories forms much of the initial narrative
driving force with a smattering of personal revelations adding fuel
to the fire. Type Noise makes good use of this tension by playing up
the cast’s personalities in a human and fragile way in order to get
the player to root for their success in the face of this confusion.
Supporting the story are a series of puzzle mechanics which shift as
the player engages with new characters and places to match the themes
and tone of these elements. At its core is a point and click style of
interaction where additional aspects of gameplay, such as a mock
fighting game and managing a live stream, are weaved in to spice up
the formula. If you are seeking another in the oddly large sub genre
of trapped people in extreme situations then Type Noise will meet
your needs.
Fan Releases
Tsui no Sora Original
Rather
than a simple fan translation of the original Tsui No Sora, this is a
full on port out of its ageing and difficult to run engine into
Ren’py making it more accessible on modern hardware. Despite the
change all of the identity of Tsui no Sora is preserved
including its low budget presentation and strong writing and offers a
new audience the chance to experience this cult hit work. You might
be asking why play this version when the shiny new remake is also
available? Simply put they are not identical experiences with the
remake making important changes and additions which fundamentally
distinguish it from the original. All three versions of this story
have their own unique selling points and the original is just the
first iteration on those ideas. The original is worth playing to see the base from which many of the developer’s titles would string and the
imagination it represents.
A Slow Burn: Openings And Pacing – An Anatomy Of Visual Novels
Beginning On The Right Foot
A
game’s opening determines much about how a player is going to
perceive and engage with its content going forward. Since visual
novels are particularly susceptible to this influence, due to their
focus on narrative and longer play times, making those first few hours
critical to hooking the player in as they know this is what they can
expect for the entire duration. As a medium visual novels have
developed tools to try and control this perception, such as the
common route, but this article will not be looking at them and
instead will investigate the way the broader idea of pacing shapes the
experience as a whole. Regardless of whether the game begins with
dramatic battle or a walk to school, these moments must work to set
up the seeds of future beats around which everything will rotate. If
the opening is slow in nature then there is a good chance the player
might begin to lose interest so it has to be carefully curated to
drip feed just enough engagement to prevent that response. The temptation to front load the drama and excitement in a bid to capture
the player’s attention without a means of maintaining this style of
narrative over the long term risks hurting the their trust in the
game. Let’s pace ourselves and see exactly what a good opening has
to do.
Setting Up For The Long Haul
When
constructing an opening and its pacing there has to be consideration
for how it will relate to future plot events and reveals. It can be
easy to fall into the trap on simply establishing characters and
setting in their most immediate manifestation, this is still important
when it comes to setup, but only doing this fails to set the right
expectations for later sections while not giving the player anything
to latch onto. Setting up long term plot elements requires the use of
narrative breadcrumbs which act as subtle hooks to gain the player
interest and gesture towards what might be coming in a vague enough
way so as to not give anything away. How these breadcrumbs are
distributed decides the pacing of each scene in the opening hours as
the intrigue they generate helps even out the story’s momentum in
between larger plot beats. The fact they are so subtle in nature
works in their favour when placed in a section where they can
compliment rather than distract from the main ongoing events. A title
capable of establishing this long term promise with the player will
be rewarded with a passive ability to hold their attention due to the
investment created through these breadcrumbs and the player wanting
to see the way all of this plays out.
 |
| What a strange man, I wonder if his backstory will somehow be important |
If there is one game which
absolutely loves breadcrumbs in its opening then it is Fate Stay
Night. Over the course of its first few hours hints are dropped about
almost every character such as Sakura’s family situation, Saber and
Archer’s motivations and the identity of other masters are all
liberally sprinkled wherever there is space. It promises the player a
wild ride of character centric drama and conflict as all these
elements focus on them rather than being related to the setting. One
key feature to note is how the path which the player takes through
the common route determines what breadcrumbs they will see. This is
important in not overloading them with hints which may not be
relevant for anywhere up to twenty to thirty hours later and keeps
things focused on the route the player is about to enter. It also
allows the opening to feel fresh with each new pass through it
since there will be different hints on display to be digested and
considered within the context of the knowledge gained from the
previous route. Umineko uses its entire first episode as its opening
and uses its nature as a mystery title to fully take advantage of the
benefits of breadcrumbs. It uses this space to establish the
foundation of the ongoing puzzle box around which everything will be
based, but it has to balance the feeling of this being solvable and
not actually giving way enough to make it possible. Here the
breadcrumbs provide the sense of what
solutions might exist without presenting anything with substance
which could hurt future revelations. They tempt the player into
continuing to play for the long term by putting the truth so close
the player can almost touch it if only they keep playing.
Maintaining Interest
If
a visual novel opens in a slow burn style then there is a risk the
player may lose interest since it appears on the surface as if little
is actually happening and there are no stakes. For some games this
may be an intentional choice to create a cosy and low stress
atmosphere, but for many others it is a major issue they do their
best to mitigate. This is often achieved by moving the focus away
from the slower pacing and onto the moment to moment events on
screen. Having strong characters and selling the build up on their
interactions is the most common way to go about implementing this
idea. It gives the player something solid to grasp onto in what
appears to be a sea of minor events and provides them with a genuine
reason to care about what happens to the characters which in turn
leads to them sticking around to find out. Much of the content of
these interactions is banter or comedic in nature since laughter can
be an effective way to humanise someone by showing them to be flawed
just like the player. In addition, recurring gags can be used to create a
structure of humour and provide its own brand of narrative pacing to
compliment the main flow. If there is one game which embodies this
approach it is Steins;Gate with its long and slow opening. While a
lot of plot build up does happen in the background, its progress has
long gaps between jumps and these have to be filled with something so
character interactions and scenarios are used to establish the cast.
These are important for establishing all the individuals who will
later on come to define the conflict and the various timelines. Of
course the player is not aware of this significance at the time so
instead a focus is placed on create a believable group who gradually
come together into the lab members they will come to love. This forms
the connective tissue between plot beats and acts as the main reason
to progress during those opening hours before the twist.
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| Kurisu's lecture is a fun way to introduce her and her future interactions with Okabe |
Another way
to hold the player interest in a slower paced opening is to plant the
seeds of intrigue. Rather than big plot beats these are small events
which show a breaking of the facade in small ways from character
behaving strangely for a moment to a sudden time skip which goes
uncommented on. These clues are all player facing with the characters
often ignoring or dismissing them and they are instead designed to
get the player thinking about what they mean in order to keep them
invested in the narrative. Little Busters uses this approach
alongside the previous character centric one to add some variety to
its opening. Individually its hints do not appear significant and it
is only as they compound that the player sits up and takes notice
when the off words of certain characters and Naoe Riki’s abnormal
narcolepsy start to ring alarm bells. This works well for the emotion
centric narrative Little Busters is trying to tell since big reveal
this is all building towards is not all that surprising, but instead
gains its potency from what it means to the cast. As such the
feelings of intrigue are the important part of this approach since
they bring the player into an emotional mindset around which the rest
of the game can create an environment for heart-wrenching moments.
The Risks Of Front-Loading
At
first it might seem a good idea to front-load all the drama and
action in a visual novel since this is the kind of content which can
easily ensnare a player. However, the opening is a type of promise
between game and player about the experience the latter is for and if
the game cannot maintain this content then it can lead to a feeling
of disappoint on the part of the player. Subversion of this
expectation is an option here since some titles may want to play
around with the idea introduced in the opening in unexpected ways.
Yet there are plenty of games which understand the importance of
engaging the player immediately so opt for an exciting start before
shifting onto what they actually want their narrative to be about.
The result is an uneven progression where there is a clear divided
between the two parts of the game with little being done to reconcile
them leading to it distracting the player.
Let’s look at a couple of examples to see the damage this
unrepresentative opening can do. Action and tension are the defining
element of Senren Banka’s opening hours as the cast deal with the
supernatural threat plaguing the village of Hoori. There are multiple
instances of life and death combat throughout to really drive home the
danger and keep the player on the edge of their seat. However, most
of this conflict is suddenly resolved at the halfway mark and the action
and tension almost entirely vanish for the narrative. They are
replaced by the standard Yuzusoft slice of life and romance heroine
routes and these have little in common with the content from just
hours before. It is quite clear the intention was always to have a
story be about the heroine romances but the developer felt they
needed to spice up the usual formula so introduced the supernatural
threat to make the game stand out. This betrayal of player
expectations almost feels accidental since action is not what the
studio is know for and this is just the two parts unintentionally
rubbing up against one another in an unflattering way.
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| This looks like it belongs in an action centric title not a romance one |
From the first
scenes of the opening Futamata Ren'ai pushes over the top drama as
its core appeal. The two timing and character’s reactions to it
supply a steady stream of comedy and they are the pole around which the game
can form plot beats and emotional scenes. As such when it stops the
moment the player enters a heroine route it is like something major
is missing from the substance of the narrative since nothing is added
to replace it while the route trundles along seemingly oblivious to
the empty feeling in invokes in the player. This loss of the opening
promise is a result of the way the two timing has to be resolved
before a heroine route in order to make its romance pure and so the
primary source of conflict must be removed. Yet nothing replaces it
since the title has spent so much time on this one issue it has not
had the room to build up another. However, the end result undeniably
weakens its consistency and hurts the player’s overall impression
of it.
Conclusion
Shaping
the pacing and expression in a visual novel’s opening hours is key
to crafting an overall experience which can capture the player’s
imagination. It is the place where future plot elements can be teased
and set up to allow for the a feeling of excitement in the player
about what is to come. As tempting as it is to make the opening
dramatic and action packed, it still has to represent the rest of the
game since it a promise with the player about what is to come. When
opting for a slower paced opening there is a need to maintain the
player’s interest through other methods and this often means strong
character writing or intrigue to give direction to the downtime. How
a developer starts their game is important no matter what type it is
or what its narrative aims are and so it is the part of it which
needs to be extremely carefully considered in order to get the most
out of it.
