Archive for December 2022
Best Visual Novel Releases – December 2022
Christmas
is here and it is the time to be jolly and mingle, but there is no
rest for the world of visual novels with some of the year's most
exciting releases. We have everything from a long awaited translation
from a major developer to a new studio's time travel release to a
courtroom filled the intelligent birds. Our medium is one which knows
how to keep surprising its players even as the year comes to a close.
Let’s open these glittering presents and see what is worth your
time this month.
Official Releases
Aokana - Four Rhythms Across the Blue – EXTRA2
This
second Extra game for Aokana is a welcome expansion to the main
game’s narrative and this time focuses on the after story of
Misaki. It has arrived quite some time after the first Extra which
released in 2020 and this long gap is surprising given this is not
exactly a lengthy release but at long last we can return to this
sci-fi sports world. Extra 2 only contains the after story for Misaki
and as such there is nothing here for people looking for content about
other characters or new stories, this is all about concluding Misaki
and Masaya’s joint story and there is not much space for anything
else. Sometimes presenting a narrow vision of what a narrative wants to achieve
is for this best and this one of those times. Having more time to
spend with this endearing pair allows for a further strengthening of
the player’s bond with them and gives them a proper send off. A
definite pick up if you enjoyed Misaki’s route in the original
game.
Napoleon Maiden Episode.1 ~A maiden without the word impossible~
Nintendo Eshop VNDB Genre
– Time Travel, Romance Play Time – 5 hours
Moesoft
is a new visual novel developer on the scene and Napoleon Maiden
marks their first release with a title set in French revolution.
Let’s start with the elephant in the room, every
historical figure featured in this game has been gender swapped if
they were originally male. The biggest example being the titular Napoleon who is
now a cute pink haired girl. To be fair to the game it does provide
the excuse that this is an alternative universe our protagonist has
been thrown into, but this will be a big turn off for many people who
have grown tired of this trope. If you are not one of these people
then you are in for an interesting time with this title as it offers
up its own takes on these important people within French History.
While this is the first part of the overall narrative and thus
relatively slow paced, there is the beginnings of an intriguing plot
and an adorable blossoming romance which makes this game worth your
time.
Witch on the Holy Night
Nintendo Eshop VNDB Genre
– Fantasy, Action, 80’s Play Time – 30 hours
Many
including myself had long given up on ever seeing an official release
of Witch on the Holy Night with an English translation. Type Moon has
for, some unknown reason, shown no interest in providing proper
avenues for English speaking fans to purchase their games. For
whatever reason, Witch on the Holy Night has become an exception to
that rule and what a glorious one it is as we step back into the
tightly crafted, and thankfully servant free, creases of Nasu’s
mind. This magically tale follows Shizuki Soujuurou as he finds
himself drawn into the lives of two mages, Aozaki Aoko and Kuonji
Alice, and the strangeness contained in their everyday
existence. Enhancing this journey is the choice to set the game in
the 80’s which gives the whole experience a loosely historical
feeling as well as cleverly sidestepping any narrative problems
modern technology could introduce. Overall this is one of the biggest
releases of the year and you should play it if you have any interest
in Type Moon’s work.
Otome * Domain
There
is a strangely prolific sub-genre within visual novels where a male
protagonist is forced to crossdress and attend an all girls school.
Otome * Domain is the latest release in this sub-genre and commits to
this specific fantasy with a warm and comfortable atmosphere which
has a strong emotional core for each character. While this title does
not step too far away from the standard structure expected of a romance
visual novel, it manages to stand out through the way in it flips the
gender role expectations to create a strong set of comic
interactions. Our protagonist often exhibits more feminine traits
than the entire female cast and this juxtaposition works wonders for
making the characters feel alive, as they show themselves to be more
than what they at first appear. A solid visual novel and something
you should consider picking up if this sub-genre appeals to you.
Aviary Attorney
Nintendo Eshop VNDB Genre
– Parody, Courtroom Drama Play Time – 7 hours
Birds,
why is it always birds? Between this and Hatoful Boyfriend, why do
western developers seem obsessed with turning popular visual novel
genres into bird versions? Anyway, here is Aviary Attorney, the bird
infested version of the Ace Attorney style court room game. If it
weren’t obvious this is a parody title taking the elements which
form the genre and pointing out their absurdity by making them even
more over the top. It thrives in this comedy environment, pulling off
some impressive jokes and demonstrating how well the developers
understand the games they are using as their basis. This does mean
that if you have not played normal titles from this genre which this title is
referencing a lot of the entertainment value will be lost on you.
Aviary Attorney is a niche product but if you are its target audience
then you are in for a parody gem.
The Sub-Heroine Route – An Anatomy of Visual Novels
She Was Always Right Beside Me
A
story always has its heroes and heroines, defining characters who
shapes the narrative and break out of the normal to change the world
around them. These are the people who the player remembers long after
they have put the game down and are the focus of a developer's time
and effort. But what about the supporting cast? The men and women
who stand bellow our protagonists and who sit closer to the normal
and mundane, individuals who would normally stand in the background
of a scene. Visual novels have found a place for them within their
structure in the form of the Sub-Heroine Route. This curious
phenomenon is the topic of this article and it has a surprising
degree of complexity and variety to its form. From its implementation
to its effects within the narrative, there is a fair amount to cover.
And perhaps along the way you might see the value and place of
including a Sub-Heroine Route in your own work.
 |
| Being cute is not a requirement of a Sub-Heroine, but it does help |
In The Shadow Of Importance – Defining The Sub-Heroine
The
category of Sub-Heroine is one which is somewhat vague by its
nature. It has been used to refer to a variety of characters, such as
those who have major routes but are not focus of the overarching
narrative or those are not the clear favourite of the writers.
However, the set of characters which this article poses as the real
Sub-Heroines are those minor characters or important supporting
character who would not under normal circumstances have a route of
their own due to their nature as secondary characters. They tend to
either reflect the more normal aspects of the protagonist’s life or
they are some type of plot device required by the story and in most
cases these are the people the developers tend to want the player to
not fixate on. So having entire, albeit shorter, routes dedicated to
them is a strange choice under normal circumstances. Their routes
tend to take two forms, shorter unlockable routes and offshoots of an
existing route, and it is these which we will be examining.
Perhaps
the common manifestation of the Sub-Heroine Route is in the form of
shorter unlockable routes in which the protagonist chooses said heroine
over the main cast. These are generally the home of Sub-Heroines who
are minor characters which would normally occupy supporting roles and
have little influence on the overall narrative. This type of
Sub-Heroine Route is treated as a form of unlockable reward for the
player to incentivise them to keep playing and potentially uncover more
hidden content. In terms of structure, they focus around a single
point of conflict, often romantic, and spend their entire play time
exploring it without any diversions or interactions which are not
absolutely necessary. Sometimes they are even paired up together with
another Sub-Heroine Routes if their content is similar enough in
order to save on space. A prime example of this practice can be seen
in Senren Banka with the coupled routes of Koharu and Roka who share
an initial build up before splitting off into their own self
contained sections. Their shared path is disguised as a competition
between the two heroines to see who will get to be with the
protagonist, Masaomi, and gives them a change to shine through
various character interactions before they enter their isolated
routes. It also allows them to serve as a sort of antidote to the
grander narrative plots of the main heroine’s routes by offering a
glimpse into the mundane lives of the rest of the cast.
 |
| Roka is a good example of normal life style of Sub-Heroine |
By
contrast the Sub-Heroine routes of Sankaku Ren’ai are detached from
one another but serve a similar purpose. The
heroines in question are Akane and Olivia and their routes have
virtually nothing to do with one another yet they share the briefness common to most Sub-Heroine routes. They also serve as a good
example of the issues present in a lot of such routes which stem from
their lack of space. Both struggle under the weight of their
narratives and often feel rushed while at the same time feeling like they
lack in substance due to the speed at which they have to progress.
Akane in particular suffers from a pacing problems with the romance
appearing to be rushed to its conclusion without being given the time
to breathe.
 |
| Sub-Heroines have more space to be a bit more silly then the main cast |
A
less common type of Sub-Heroine Route is one which exists as an
offshoot of a major route. In these the narrative will shift off the
original main heroine and moves onto the Sub-Heroine while maintaining
the same thematic and tonal aspects. The Sub-Heroines often found here are
those which under normal circumstances would serve as plot devices or
form part of the world building and the routes they off shoot from
are generally the ones they have an important role to play in. This
results in an expansion of the player’s understand of this character
and their role in the story. It is less prevalent than the separate
route type due to the effort required to set it up and there being no
call for such a route in many less narratively complex visual novels.
An interesting example of can be seen in Hoshizora no Memoria with
Mare’s route which is an offshoot of the final route of the game.
Here the player gets to see the mysterious Mare behave in more human
fashion as opposed to the aloof manner she has been throughout the
game and serves to tie her character up. Mare is a constant presence
in the narrative but never shifts out of a supportive role, acting as
a means of moving the narrative forward both within a route and in an
overarching sense. There is a definite argument that Mare’s route
is not a particularly good Sub-Heroine route due to it being short in
duration and lacking in substance, but it is nonetheless a good example of how this type can be
presented and placed inside a visual novel.
 |
| Plot device characters are often left underdeveloped |
Why Writing Sub-Heroine Routes Is Hard
There
are relatively few Sub-Heroine routes in visual novels compared to
total number of titles which just include a spread of standard routes. This drought has come about for a variety of reasons with the
most prominent being that the compact nature of a Sub-Heroine routes
requires a certain set of narrative skills. Writing a long main
heroine route is very different from a short form narrative with a
single focus. As has been expressed earlier, this is a problem which
many Sub-Heroine routes suffer from and there have been various
attempts to mitigate it such as the aforementioned partial merge of
two routes in order to give the developers more space to work with.
However, these are just band-aids and demonstrate the writers
are much more comfortable creating a longer story than managing the
swifter pace of a short route. Knowing how to keep events to their
necessary space while at the same time not making the whole route not feel
rushed is an off-putting challenge for many and so they simply choose
to avoid the problem entirely.
 |
| Mare is an example of these problems to the point that the Fandisc attempts to fix them |
Another
noticeable barrier to the effective inclusion of a Sub-Heroine route
is the fact that the emphasis they place on mundanity through these
more minor characters is difficult to make engaging for the
player. Our everyday lives are not filled with constant excitement
and so a narrative focused around such ideas and themes may bore an
audience which is expecting an escape from that life. There is also
the issue of how it can rub up against a serious and supernaturally
inclined story
with the sudden shift into a slower paced route coming across as
jarring and even as a betrayal of the experience the player signed up
for. It is a delicate line to tread when designing a Sub-Heroine
route and there are as many aspects to consider as there are in a
main route even if the outcome differs. Balance has to be found
between the heroine’s arc, their lower narrative stakes and their
shorter length, and this is a struggle for many Sub-Heroine routes. As
such their quality varies even more wildly then normal routes despite
how relatively few of them there are and it is perhaps a sign of how
flawed their core ideas are in practice.
For The Importance Of The Sub-Heroine Route
If
Sub-Heroine routes are so hard to get right within their constraints
and they focus on less important characters, why would anyone choose
to use them at all? This is the inevitable question which comes from
the issues shown above and a perfectly reasonable reaction to them.
However, even in the face of these concerns the Sub-Heroine route
offers some unique strengths which allow it act as an important
narrative pillar for the main routes. The first of these, which has
been alluded to before, is the contrast it provides. By supplying a
point of reference for the player for what the more grounded elements
of the world and characters are like, it gives the player a lens through which to
appreciate the dramatic highs of the central plot. It makes clear that not
everyone lives in the high powered drama and action which the main
cast finds themselves in, there are normal people living their lives
and doing their best to deal the changes brought by the protagonists.
This sense of perspective is lacking in many visual novel and the
Sub-Heroine route can give a space where the developers can insert
the necessary fleshing out of their vision.
 |
| Suzume's route is one of my favourite in recent memory because of it being a Sub-Heroine route |
The
other strength offered by the Sub-Heroine route is the opportunity it
gives for humanising more minor or plot device characters and
providing another angle to their interactions with the main cast.
There is an inherent imbalance necessary in a standard linear
narrative to allow for a proper pacing of events and arcs which
visual novels have assumed to make certain they can keep the player
engaged. However, it is only in breaking out of these conventions
where the medium can truly show its uniqueness. The Sub-Heroine route
plays into the non-linear nature of visual novels by allowing for the
exploration of characters who would normally go ignored and in
doing this expands the player understand and investment in the
overall game. No longer are these character to be simple background
noise, they are as alive as the main cast and in many ways more
relatable due to the smaller scale of their problems and triumphs. In
addition their optional nature ensures the player will never become
bogged down by them and helps keep the Sub-Heroines from the
possibility of overshadowing the main heroines.
Conclusion
If
there is one thing which the existence of the Sub-Heroine Route
demonstrates it is the flexibility and engaging nature of visual
novels. Having the ability to examine the side characters of a story
within a cohesive and thematic section of the game is a major
advantage of the medium. While Sub-Heroine routes do have their
issues in terms of being difficult to write for, due to their short
length and focus on the more mundane, the ability to humanise these
characters and provide much needed contrast greatly outweighs these
problems. The debate as to whether a game should have one or not is a
matter decided by the overall narrative need for these strengths and
a defined enough secondary cast to utilise it with. Having a
Sub-Heroine route can elevate a story in a surprisingly effective
manner and should definitely be on your list of possible options when
you create your own visual novel.
Lamunation! Review - It's A Mad And Brilliantly Shining World
Genre - Comedy. Play Time - 15 hours. Developer - WhitePowder. Steam VNDB
Always Be Happy!
Most
visual novels use comedy in some form, be it a joke to break tension
or a scene to make the player empathise with the characters, but few
commit to it as the single focus of their identity. This is for a good
reason, humour is subjective and as such making a comedy game with a
wide appeal is a difficult feat. Lamunation comes along and says ‘but
what if we just double down on our style, twice the intensity should
mean twice the appeal’. It makes for quite a strong statement of
uncompromising vision and it is this which will either enrapture you
or turn you off the experience. However, does this gambit really
work to draw you into its humour laden world? Let’s find out.
 |
| My only question is... Why? |
So I Hear You Like Ramune – Narrative and Themes
Lamunation
has a surprisingly diverse set of narrative tools and tricks to break
up its comedy into manageable chucks while offering something
substantial to chew on. This a game which knows how to lean into the
emotions it draws out through its humour and utilises them to create
a bond between player and characters. However, this approach is not
without its issues and these force a strange balancing act with the
game’s writing.
When
a game opens with the cast skydiving with no safety equipment just to
get the perfect photo you know what sort of experience you are in
for. Setting the tone for the type of humour the player will be
presented with and acclimatising them to this content is one of
Lamunation’s greatest strengths. While it opens with a bang there
is a concerted effort to make sure that future jokes and events have
some basis in what has come before, and in doing so establish the
boundaries of this humour within the player’s mind. This is cleverly
used with a selection of delayed pay offs to keep earlier moments of
the narrative in the front of your mind in a manner that does not
detract from your enjoyment of the immediate joke or scene. These
work in tandem to ensure a coherency throughout the entire game which
is surprising given how off the rails it gets.
 |
| Know where your nearest bathroom is kids. |
As
for Lamunation’s particular brand of humour itself, it sits in the
Pop Team Epic end of the spectrum rather than the more traditional
Slice of Life humour found many other visual novels. What this means
in practice is a parade of increasing improbable and elaborate
situations which serve as the focal point of whatever joke is being
made and it is interested in having its characters be both the
straight man and the advocate of this madness, often at the same
time. However, it never reaches the disconnected segments which
define Pop Team Epic and instead structures them along character
route lines with certain through themes for each which are a constant
presence for the player to latch onto. As such this is a particular
friendly example of this type of humour for newcomers, it never
ventures into complete nonsense and meets them halfway by offering a
familiar route based core so its tendrils of humour
can wrap around you.
If
there is one noticeable weakness to the narrative of Lamunation it is
the lack of a plot centric driving force, outside of Corona’s
route, to propel the player and keep them hooked. There are forces at
play in each route to keep the narrative going but they lack any
overall direction and are only relevant in that single moment. It is
hardly a unique feature of Lamunation as many other visual novels use
similar techniques, but it is a problem here due to its combination
with the focus on humour. As you might imagine this can lead to the
story feeling like a string of jokes which are going nowhere in the
grand scheme of the game. Thankfully this is only something which
comes to the front in retrospect after a route has been completed,
but it does hurt player retention since it might make them feel as if
there is no point to playing another route since they have seen all
it has to offer. A stronger foreshadowing and focus on building up
Corona’s route would have gone a long way to alleviating this issue
and it is a shame the developers did not choose to play up an
overarching narrative.
 |
| The entire cast romance is certainly a distinctive recurring gag. |
While
the character routes might lack a strong plot through line they make
up for with the focus on making each scene as memorable as the last
with a gradual escalation in their quality. Lamunation understanding
how to get the most out of every single screen of the game and milk
it for as much humour as possible. It manages to make sure that this
constant barrage of new content is not overwhelming by ensuring it
never puts two events which are too different next to each other,
which help to provide a sense of progress and continuity to what
would otherwise be a seemingly random series of encounters.
Helping this along is the core of most visual novel routes, a focus
on a small subset of the cast. This trick is especially effective in
Lamunation as it gives it an otherwise absent bedrock for the player
to identify with and invested in. In combination, these traits create
an extremely impactful experience in the moment supporting the
humour at the core of the game’s presentation.
The
one exception to most of what has been talked about above is Corona’s
route. This is the only route which has a focus on a plot and it acts
as a finale to all of the ideas and character beats present
throughout the rest of the game. Given the complete absence of plot
up to this point, Corona’s route is exceptionally strong as it
plays on how the humour and narrative have been previously been set
up to both throw a curve ball into the mix and add a new level to
every event before this point. Each joke comes full circle and each
character arc is moved to a suitable conclusion with the structure helping to tie the entire tale into a nice knot. It is a strange
choice to have such a strong sense of narrative momentum only be
contained within the effective final act of the story, but this is one
hell of a bang to go out on and well worth all the time spent to get
to it.
Bring Smiles To Their Faces – Characters
Lamunation
is a highly character focused visual novel and without its strong
cast the humour would not be able to land properly. Their banter and
bonds serve as the basis of everything which happens in the game, so
it is a good thing that they are utilised to their fullest extent by
placing them in strange circumstances and having them react appropriately.
 |
| Every member of the cast stands out in their own unique manner |
There
has been a concerted effort by the developer to keep the cast number
down with most scenes involving a handful of the five main characters
and maybe an occasional side character popping up. Each of their
conversations mixes small glimpses of their various personalities with the
humour in an organic manner by ensuring the lens of a scene never
extends beyond that small group of characters. This enables an
intimacy with them which the game can leverage to make sure you are
laughing along with their antics as if you were part of
the group yourself. The effect of this angle is that the strong and
distinctive personalities of the cast are put front and centre as the
main pole around which the humour can dance and bring the madness of
proceedings into a more relatable format for a wider audience. Such
an empathsis on characters is the corner stone on which Lamunation is
based.
However,
a small cast comes with its own problems. This focus comes at the
cost of limiting the space for character interactions and the game
runs the constant risk of the conversations becoming overly familiar.
Having to regularly reuse their pool of character dynamics does
provide the desired familiarity but it also breeds a contempt and
desire for something new to be thrown into the mix. There are only so
many times a pair of characters can play out their similar
conversations before it becomes boring and the player loses interest. Thankfully Lamunation does introduce enough to stave off
the worst effects of this weakness with imaginative new situations
for the characters to act out their interactions in. Nonetheless, it
always hangs uncomfortably over every scene and could easily be the
thing which makes a player put the game down if they are not quite jiving
with the jokes.
 |
| Being naked is a big part of Luna's role in the game... |
Brilliant Moments in Bright Tones -Visual, Audio and Technical
Everything
about the visual and audio of Lamunation pops with a vigorous and
upbeat energy which is infectious in its aggressive positivity. The
art style’s sole focus is making the humour and character moments
have as much impact on the senses as possible. In order to achieve
this it liberally utilises a strong light colour pallet and
exaggerated character poses and features which shift and change to
suit the needs of the scene. The music follows a similar vein with
cheerful tunes that are designed to invoke the feel good vibe at the
core of the game’s thematics. These songs lean heavily into
synthesiser sounds and this lends a near future feeling to the
setting while assisting in detaching Lamunation for the expectations
of a realistic narrative. However, both sound and imagery suffer from
a common problem in that they can feel somewhat standard at times.
Most Slice of Life visual novels lean into similar aesthetic and
musical choices for different reasons but the result for Lamunation
is the sense that it is just another in a long line of such titles.
It never escapes from this feeling over its play time and this is a
shame as the visuals and audio are by no means of poor quality.
On
the technical front Lamunation falls within the standard for the
visual novel industry with all the features players have come to
expect. It does differentiate itself in a few key way which stem from
its understanding of the medium and its desire to surprise the player
as much as possible. The game’s most notable trick is its inclusion
of semi-regular short videos interjected at key points or funny
moments. These increase the impact of the associated moments through
the sudden juxtaposition of the relatively static nature of visual
novels with they more movement centric one of videos. Through their
selective use the game can keep the player guessing as to when they
will appear to both keep them on their toes and provide an extra bit
of chaos to the humour and narrative elements. More generally there
is a keen eye for utilising the systems of visual novels in
expressive ways such as abnormal placement of character portraits on
screen as well as their proximity to each other.
 |
| The little video intros for each character are quite effective |
If
Lamunation missteps in any serious way it is in the failure to lock
Corona’s route behind the completion of the other two. This is a
problem because as mentioned before Corona’s route acts as the
finale to the game and wraps up all the previous routes, meaning that
it simultaneously spoils those routes and references events which it expects you to already know while providing no context. It is truly baffling why the developers would think it is acceptable for an unsuspecting new player to be allowed to
accidentally choose a route which could potential ruin their overall
enjoyment of the game. Of course if you know about this fact it is
easy to plan your playthrough around it, hence why it has been
brought up here, but this is not an issue the player should ever have
to consider in the first place.
Verdict –
Lamunation’s uniquely mad brand of humour coupled with
its likeable characters creates one of the most compelling comedy
visual novels.
Pros
+ A
distinctive and insane brand of humour which always finds a way to
surprise.
+ Visual
and audio which invoke a brilliantly bright and memorable world.
+ Strong
and easily identifiable characters who banter in a believable and
funny manner.
+ Has
some strangely cathartic character routes which work as a pay off to
the humour.
Cons
- Can
feel directionless at times with one comic scenario after another
instead of plot progression.
- With
no route unlocks it is possible to play Corona's route first
despite the fact it is clearly intended to be the finale.
- The
small cast is as much a curse as a blessing given how it limits the
variety of interactions.
