Archive for August 2022
Best Visual Novel Releases – August 2022
With
summer almost behind us and autumn fast approaching it is time to
round up the best visual novels released in the past month. It has
been a quiet month for major translated releases but the indie sphere
is more than happy to provide some incredible games to help fill the
gap. This month has been one where heart wrenching drama and mind
boggling meta-narratives are sitting right next to fluffy slice of life
moe. Let’s see what gems we can pick out.
Official Releases
All Ashes And Illusions -
Who Is The Red Queen? -
Animal Trail ☆ Girlish Square -
Lair Land Story -
Making*Lovers After Stories -
Muyuu Senkyou Romanesque: Chronicles of Refugia -
a pet shop after dark -
Fan Translations
Nagomibako Innocent Grey Fandisc -
Patch Download VNDB Genre
– Horror, Mystery Play Time – 8 hours
The Bad Ending – An Anatomy of Visual Novels
When Everything Goes Wrong
A
good story is often defined by its ending and a bad one can be
redeemed by it. Visual novels are no exception to this rule and must contend with this opportunity multiple times
over the course of the game. The most common form of endings used in
visual novels are the Good and True Endings, but there are also some games
which use Bad Endings. This kind of ending is one in which the
protagonist fails in some fashion based on the players choices and it
is generally treated as a short optional side path to expand the
players experiences. Handling a Bad Ending properly can be a
difficult task as they are inherently negative by nature and can make
the player feel as if they are being unfairly punished.
Bad Endings can be broadly split into two types, the Tragic End, where
events end poorly for everyone involved, and the Dead End, where the
protagonist simply dies. There is obviously a degree of overlap
between the two types and this will be explored more as we address
them separately. Their are other mediums which have the player
character die based on the players choices like with Dead Ends, most
notably choose your own adventure books, but none which place the
emphasis on them which visual novels do with Tragic Ends. This
strange evolution is what this article will be exploring as it details the aspects and usage of the Bad Ending and why it fits some
games but not others.
Tragic Ends
Of
the two types of Bad Endings the Tragic End is by far the most common
simply because it can fit into any genre and does not require any
form of character death. This allows it to sit alongside a more
grounded or personal drama oriented story. Death can still be a part
of a Tragic End but it is rarely the defining element and as a
result it can explore the outcomes of a failure in an expansive manner
not present in Dead Ends.
One
important feature of a Tragic End is how it expands the narrative in
some fashion, be this hinting at a future revelation or showing
another side of a character which might otherwise have been hidden.
This offer the visual novel a chance to allow the player to explore
the narrative and feel rewarded with the sense of discovery and the
idea that they have had a glimpse behind the curtain. On the flip
side the Tragic End can serve the same tension providing purpose as a
Dead End and be something the player wants to avoid so they can have
a happy ending for the characters they are invested in, which keeps
them on their toes. Player engagement is one of the most important
aspects for a game and the use of Tragic Ends provides it with ease, but
to really explore how they achieve this we will need to look a few
examples of good implementations of them.
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| Another side to the people we know |
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| Thinking outside the box can lead to exciting results |
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| Shock factor cannot be underestimated |
Dead Ends
In
contrast to the complex possibilities offered by the Tragic End, the
Dead End results simply in the swift death of the player character or
another key character. Dead Ends are often short in length and are
the closest visual novels come to having a simple game over screen,
but unlike them Dead Ends have a degree of narrative flexibility.
The
most common use of the Dead End is to build tension within a visual
novel by offering a fail state. This works to sell the lethality of a situation though showing it rather than simply implying it, which
allows the story to keep a sense of suspense throughout its length
rather than the player becoming accustomed to the threat of death. It
is surprising how a sudden death from a simple choice can wake the
player up and make them think more carefully about what they are
doing in order to avoid a similar fate again.
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| A battle should hold danger for those involved |
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| Perhaps it is time to run... |
Lack of Popularity
If
Bad Endings are as useful and expansive, as has been shown here, why do
so few visual novels use them? The simple answer is the game’s
genre determines whether the negative features of Bad Endings are
necessary for them. For example, one of the most common genres of
visual novel is romance / slice of life and it generally steers clear
of anything serious and instead want its tone to be light and upbeat
in nature which is highly incompatible with Bad Endings. On top of
this those genres which are more compatible with the negative tone of
Bad Endings might choose not to use them because of the potential to
upset the game’s pacing by diverting the player onto a side path
which they might not want to see. Those visual novels which do use
Bad Endings do so since it fits the type of narrative they are trying
to tell.
Conclusion
There
are a wealth of possibilities when it comes to the forms Bad Endings
can take and their use within a visual novel’s narrative. The
Tragic End offers a chance to explore a side of the world and
characters that might not be possible otherwise and Dead Ends give
tension and stakes to events.
Of course you want to know if you should include a type of Bad Ending
in your visual novel and the answer to that is based on if it suits
the story you are trying to tell. Do you need the tension and mystery
they add and are willing to pay the cost of potential pacing issues
and player confusion when they make a wrong choice? If you answered
yes then it might fit into your story, but be
careful since the trade off may effect you in ways you do not expect
like the confusion over the cause of a Dead End as in Fate Stay Night.
Overall, the Bad Ending and its mutations are a strange feature of
visual novels and it will be interesting to see how they develop in
future.
Heaven Will Be Mine – Review - Clashing Steel And Warming Hearts
Finding Heaven
There
is a certain beauty to the simple impulse to say, “Wow that is so
cool”. It is a short phrase filled with an innocent emotion many of
us lose as we get older and the realities of life turn everything
into a grey soup. An adult is meant to be mature and sensible so
expressions of wonder at something are frowned upon. After all “The
nail that sticks out gets hammered down”, being different is hard
and finding a place to belong is the eternal quest. Heaven Will Be
Mine is an exploration of this space through the medium of cool
mechas and three protagonists who are each seeking someone who
understands them and a place to be themselves. As you will soon see it
has a deep understand of its subject matter and the skills to speak
to the player through their mind as well as their heart.
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| There is lots of clever presentations of key dialogue. |
The Tale of Some ‘Bad’ Girls - Narrative, Themes and Metaphor
The
story of Heaven Will Be Mine is through a unique mix of intimate
interactions and clever implications and metaphors. It brings three
distinctly different protagonists to the table to enable its rich
narrative and places them on contrasting side of a conflict they have
an increasingly personal investment in. Their conversations and the
factions they side with form the backbone upon which the metaphor
driven events and the story's themes are built.
Presenting
the player with a choice of three possible protagonists the moment
they start the game is a bold decision. We know nothing about each of them
outside of the brief description provided nor what the consequences
of our choice will be. However, this ultimately works in the game’s
favour as it sets the tone for the types of choices the player will
be presented with and the individual centric nature of the narrative.
The result of having three different playable protagonists and asking
the player to play through each one separately is that it allows for
each path to focus on their own thematic angle. It also provides
a more even experience inside each protagonist’s route in order to keep the
messages and ideas clearer while also presenting a sense of variety
in the long term.
If
there is one thing this game loves above all else it is figurative
prose and in particular metaphor. This covers everything from the
elegant writing style to the awe inspiring visuals. When a metaphor
is used it is not made of a single element but from combining parts
to create the desired effect. This commitment to ensuring the quality
of the metaphors helps to fuel the player’s immersion by
surrounding them with metaphor and giving them the room to soak
it in. Through this engagement with the player the themes and
messages on display can be subtlety conveyed to them in an organic
and gradual fashion which prevents the game from coming across as
preachy.
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| One of the larger walls of text in the game. |
One
of the more prominent metaphors used in Heaven Will Be Mine is the
idea of gravity. It is used both in the literal sense with the
gravity of celestial bodies effecting the practical realities of
space travel and as a metaphor for the social and cultural forces
which act on us to try and bring us into line. These are regularly
used in the same breath as the story plays with double meanings and
implies it core ideas through it. Earth’s gravity is an ever
present power over the characters lives, it simultaneous wants them
to return while also rejecting the aspects it finds unacceptable and
it subtly seeps into every part of their lives even where it is not
wanted. This is just a single layer on the complex web of metaphors
which define the identity of the game.
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| Gravity is everywhere and you cannot escape it. |
The downside to this figurative prose driven narrative style is its
sheer variety and indirectness can confuse the reader as much as it
informs them. Heaven Will Be Mine does not do much to alleviate this
problem and instead expects its audience to keep up with the ideas
and themes being thrown subtly their way. As a result it is possible
for someone to completely bounce off the game and fail to understand
it or leave with the impression that it is nonsense. So it is worth
keeping this in mind if you struggle with more opaque writing then
this story might not be for you.
Another
issue lies in the games endings and how they relate to each
protagonist’s path. Throughout the game you are given the option to
remain loyal to the faction that protagonist belongs to or betray it.
However, the narrative outside of these choices focuses on the
faction that protagonist is part of rather than the other factions
which leads to a disconnect within the story if you choose any ending
other than that faction’s one since it jarringly switches focus
with no build up. This dissonance between the choices and narrative
is not unique to Heaven Will Be Mine and is one which many visual
novels have to deal with. It does not ruin the overall experience but
it does push you towards remaining loyal to a faction in order to
ensure the smoothest narrative experience which is doubtless not the
intent of the developer.
Those Who Seek A Place To Belong - Characters
It
is obvious from the moment you start playing Heaven Will Be Mine just
how important the characters are to the themes of the story. If
metaphors are the fine threads which make the narrative shine then
the characters are the loom on which the story is weaved before our
eyes.
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| Luna-Terra is quite distinct from the other two protagonists. |
To
complement each protagonist they have a companion character unique to
their path who act as a foil to them while at the same time playing
into their character arc. Saturn has the serious Mercury, Pluto has
the hot-blooded Mars and Luna-Terra has the mentor figure Europa.
By providing a character that the protagonists can bounce off without
the tension that exists between the protagonists we get to
see them be more honest. Most of the interactions between a
protagonist and their companion occur through the Comms menu which is in the
form of a chat room. This is used as a stage for some of the
cleverest manipulating of the structure of dialogue to represent each
characters mentality. One example of this is the lack of punctuation
and capital letter in Saturn’s texts which shows off her need to be
rebellious no matter the context and contrasts well with the clean
and clear grammar used by Mercury. The game plays with their
interactions throughout the game as we slowly see more of what
defines each of them and how the fallout of the protagonist’s
conflicts are effecting those beyond them.
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| The prose here is quite something. |
Glittering Stars And Cosmic Abysses - Visual, Audio and Technical
When
it comes to the presentation of this layered narrative and its complex
characters Heaven Will Be Mine delivers on multiple levels. Haunting
visuals are complemented by a soundtrack which expresses loneliness and
companionship in the depths of space. This is a game which understand
well the trapping of the genres it draws from and how to use them in
an appealing and powerful manner.
Saying
a lot with a little is the strongest aspect of this visual novel’s
presentation. There is no wasted space in any moment of the playtime.
From the use of the protagonists’ cockpit views to express what
kind of person they are as well as their facial expressions to the
use of showing directed parts of an image to slowly build up the scene
while playing into the metaphors present in the occupying text. The
economising of content is definitely a result of the budgetary
restrictions which are visible in the overall small pool of art
assets. However, it is from this necessity that innovation is born
and Heaven Will be Mine understands how to utilise what it has to
great effect in a manner which allows it to outshine games with a
much higher costs. This also enhances the role of metaphor in the game
and makes it lean into its unique style all the more.
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| A lot can be shown with smart use of few assets. |
If
there is one visual element which best encapsulates the distinctive
style of Heaven Will Be Mine it is the self-ships. These are the
vessels through which our characters act out the major events of the
story and serves as another powerful image of their selves. Their
designs of an evocative mix of other worldly cosmic forces and human
vulnerability and each one perfectly reflects the pilot while still
being consistent with the overall aesthetic of the game. The game’s
Evangelion influences also peek through here with the self-ships
having an aesthetic and purpose reminiscent of the Evas while still
being distinct from them. Abstract imagery invokes what concrete
picture cannot and this is the core strength of not only the
self-ship designs but also the art direct as a whole. The game could
have simply used a more standard mecha design and it would have
functioned within the narrative but lacked the impact and presence of
the self-ships. Placing a focus on the self-ship design was
ultimately rewarded the game with an excellent supporting pillar for
the overall experience.
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| Self ships are the a sight to behold. |
Soundscapes
play an important role in setting the tone of a visual novel and so
the haunting and evocative tone of the narrative and art of Heaven Will Be Mine are carried
over to the music with exceptionally powerful results. Synthesisers
are the weapon of choice in this war of emotion and in this role they
are an outstanding choice for a game set in the depths of space in
multiple senses of the word. The music carefully builds up a scene
without overwhelming it and speaks both to the coldness of the world
and the warmth of find people to belong with. While the overall
selection of tracks is not as expansive as some other visual novels,
each one of Heaven Will Be Mine’s tracks knows how to perform its
duty and carries a weight to it which highlights the level of quality
present in them.
There
is one area in which Heaven Will Be Mine struggles and this is the
lack of quality of life features. These includes an absence of
standard elements such as a skip function and a gallery. Not having
these features can be felt more acutely on the repeated playthroughs
the game expects you to do since you cannot pass over text you have
already which can make them a chore. The omission of a gallery is a
disappointment as it would have been nice to be able to examine the
beautiful art at my own pace rather than how it is shown in game. None of
the absent features are a deal breaker as they game itself excels in
most other aspects, but it is something to keep in mind if these
features are important to your viewing pleasure.
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| How much I would give for a skip button on repeat playthroughs |
Verdict – 9/10 –
Heaven Will Be Mine is one of the few visual novels which truly
understands the power of metaphor and themes and employs it with such
finesse that its every moment is a pleasure to play.
Pros
+
Hits hard with an art style and soundtrack which use vagueness and
imagery to invoke emotion and imply the metaphor in each scene.
+
A cast which is one of the most flawed and empathetic sets of
characters in fiction with even side characters getting the emphasis
they deserve.
+
The game understands the trappings of the sci-fi and mecha genre and
knows how to play to their strengths with exceptional ease.
+
A strong commitment to its thematics which echoes throughout the
entire game and keeps them present in the players mind.
Cons
-
The only ending which make sense for each character is their faction one
and the others feel somewhat forced for the sake of having choices.
-
Its heavy use of figurative prose could make the game too vague for some
people.
-
Lacking some features such as a skip function or a gallery.
Top 10 Mystery Visual Novels
Deducing The Truth
Mysteries
have always been a constant part of fiction both as a minor addition
and the central driving force of the narrative. In the medium of
visual novels, the use of mysteries is particularly common by
comparison to other types of games due to how its traits align to
enhance the best qualities of a mystery. This list will cover various
kinds of mystery visual novels from murder mysteries to multiple
route mysteries, the only requirement is that the mystery must be
core to the identity of the game rather than a minor part of it. With that
out of the way, let’s begin the countdown to number one.
Top 10
10. The 25th Ward: The Silver Case -
Suda51
has always been known for the distinctive style of his games and The
25th Ward is no exception with its interweaving narratives within a bleak semi-futuristic world. Set five years after the first
game, it follows three separate protagonists with their own stories in
the 25th Ward and each expanding on the mystery which
permeates their distinctive experiences. The 25th Ward is a
visual novel which knows how to hold its cards close to its chest and
reveal just enough to help the player put the pieces of the mystery
together without making the truth too clear. Dystopias are a common
feature in many aspect of modern fiction but the 25th Ward
has a special kind of unsettling features with its reflection of our worst
qualities and they are merged with the mystery to slowly reveal
their true horror. The 25th Ward’s ability to juggle all
of these competing element with such grace and subtlety puts it above
many other mystery visual novels.
9. Kara no Shoujo -
VNDB Play
Time – 25 hours
The
bleak setting and tone continues with the ninth place on this list
except this time it is historical instead of futuristic. Kara no Shoujo is a
murder mystery set in 1950’s Japan and focuses on a series of
bizarre murders plaguing the area, where young women disappear, only
to turn up dead and maimed with their wombs torn out. As you can
imagine this is a visual novel which is relatively light on humour
but it understands how to use its darker moments sparingly so it does
not become unbearably depressing. Instead it uses these darker
elements to build the tension around the mystery to make sure
the player never becomes too comfortable and is always second guessing
themselves. An excellent example of what proper use of tone and
pacing can do to elevate a mystery visual novel.
8. I/O -
VNDB Play
Time – 40 Hours
If
there is a poster child of the multiple route and protagonist mystery
it is definitely I/O. This is the first game on this list to really
use the structure of visual novels as one of the core pillars of its
mystery. It uses its individual sections to contrast the perspectives
of seemingly very different protagonists while subtly dropping clues
as to how it all comes together and then asking you to return to this
section latter to gain a proper picture of how it all fits into the big
picture. On top of this, the clever way in which it uses time and
multiple perspectives adds a layer of intrigue which keeps the player
on the edge of their seat. A colourful sci-fi aesthetic and engaging
world building go a long way to complement and sell the story. The
only reason I/O is not higher on this list is that it can be very
hard to follow what is going on especially in the later sections when
the narrative really goes of the rails.
7. Collar X Malice -
Nintendo Eshop VNDB Play
Time – 50 Hours
The
number seven spot is occupied by the only otome on this list with
Collar X Malice. This game is a here because of its ability to
seamlessly blend the romantic trappings of otome with a well written
mystery. Collar X Malice’s emphasis on its characters and their
interpersonal struggles gives an intimate edge to the story. Coupled
with the protagonist having an explosive collar around her neck, the
story makes the player rooting for the cast to solve the case the core interest of the mystery rather
than just the intrigue of it. This is not to say that the
mystery is in any way weak as it continues the emphasis on characters with
each route focused around a different villain who holds a key to the
mystery while also acting a foil to the hero of the route. Successfully
mixing characters moments and keeping the pace of the mystery up can
be difficult, but Collar X Malice does an exceptional job with this
balancing act.
6. Chaos Head -
VNDB Play
Time – 25 Hours
It
is difficult to describe the brilliant madness that is Chaos Head.
This is in no small part due to the story being told from the
perspective of perhaps the most compelling unreliable protagonist in
visual novels. Trying to figure out what is real and what is
imaginary adds a great sense of suspense to the overarching mystery
of murder and paranoia by adding false pieces to the puzzle. This
works better than a simple red herring as the chaos of having an
unreliable narrator makes these false pieces seem like they might be
real and it is only through logical thinking can the truth be
reached. As you can imagine this type of stroy is a nightmare to write properly
which is why we see so few examples of the technique, but when done
well, as it is in Chaos Head, it is a sight to behold and a good
backbone for a mystery.
5. Ever 17: Out of Infinity -
Patch Download Play
Time – 40 hours
Ever
17 is easily the oldest visual novel on this list and it has enjoyed
continued popularity in no small part due to the quality of the
mystery which is the narrative’s driving force. What makes this
game stand out from the rest is its ability to play on and with
perceptions of time and place with its mystery. It achieves this
through a clever presentation of what are seemingly simple facts in
such a way that the player knows there is something more going on but
cannot quite put there finger on it while still having enough to
start to theorise. Ever 17’s ability to walk this fine line of
implicit and explicit truths is where is shines brightest and it keeps
the player engaged over the game's length. It also helps that it has one of
the greatest payoffs in a mystery visual novel to backup this
ability.
4. Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair -
The
entire Danganronpa series could easily take up three positions on this list
by themselves since they are some of the most well put together and
totally insane mystery stories the medium has available. However,
since that would make for a boring list, Danganronpa 2: Goodbye
Despair was selected to the trilogy's representative. It encapsulates
the defining traits of the series an over the top narrative driven
by murder mysteries and trials which are simultaneously
hilarious and deeply touching. This unique blending of tones makes
Danaganronpa stand out from its peers and the second game is a
shining example of how to build upon a first game while not losing
what made it special. The loss of the magic in a sequel is a common
trait with mystery visual novels as the first game has already set
the expectations of the player and if the second game does not shake
things up it will become predictable, but at the same time it cannot
shake things up too much or it will lose what people liked about the
first one. Goodbye Despair brilliantly sidesteps this issue by
playing on the expectation of the player by both adhering and
subverting what the thought they knew. It is these qualities which
make Goodbye Despair deserve its number four spot.
3. Virtue's Last Reward -
If
Danganronpa is the wacky mystery game series then Zero Escape is its
serious twin and in particular the second game Virtue's Last Reward.
Having an enclosed space makes the mystery elements easier to keep
track of as the narrative progresses and this technique has been a
core part of mysteries for a long time with books like And Then There
Were None exemplifying its strengths. 999 used this technique with
some success but it is only with Virtue's Last Reward that we can see
how the medium of visual novels is well suited to the claustrophobic
feelings it invokes. Virtue's Last Reward revels in how
it can jump from paranoia to isolation so that the player is never
sure what is going to happen next and this allows the mystery to be
kept fresh through these changing emotions. Few other games can so
brilliantly manipulate the player with their mystery and for that
Virtue's Last Reward deserves its third place spot.
2. Higurashi When They Cry -
The
title of second place goes to a series which many of you are likely
very familiar with, Higurashi When They Cry. It earns its place here
through how it is able to marry horror and mystery over the course of
the entire game without either end of the partnership suffering as a
result. The problem with stretching a mystery out over a long
playtime is that the player can become accustomed to the patterns of
the mystery and either become able to predict them or simply become
bored of it. This is why most narratives mix in another element, be
it a murder or some actions scenes, to keep the player engaged and
this is what Higurahsi does exceptionally well. Neither half of
driving force of the narrative ever outlives its welcome as Higurashi
is careful about controlling it pacing and uses is moments of high
and low narrative tension to sell the overall story in a way which
neither half could do on its own. If you want to experience fear as
you desperately want to know what is really going on then Higurashi
is for you.
1. Wonderful Everyday ~Diskontinuierliches Dasein~ -
At
the top of the pile we have the phenomenal visual novel Wonderful
Everyday which brings together many of the traits which made the
previous games on this list brilliant while adding its own flair. It has multiple
protagonists, unreliable narrators, horror elements and many other
little touches which are often used along with the mystery and
cleverly blended into a whole which utilises the strength of each
part. What makes Wonderful Everyday work is how it uses its themes
and philosophical ideas as the backbone of both the personal
narrative and the mystery it is building before the player. This
commitment to a singular vision and identity which is nuanced enough
to allow for flexible storytelling but concrete enough that the
player never loses sight of the point the game is trying to make with
the mystery. It is this skillful understanding of how to use the
medium to enhance its mystery which earns Wonderful Everyday the top
stop on this list.
