Archive for June 2023
Best Visual Novel Releases – June 2023
With
extremes of heat and thunder storms engulfing us, the shelter of the
worlds held in visual novels have come to offer some sweet relief.
This has been a month defined by fan translations of major titles and
hidden gems which all demonstrate just how important the fandom is to
enriching the visual novels we play. Not that official release have
been slacking off as they bring us strong games for the otome and
simulation genres. Without further ado let’s cool of in the shade
of these excellent visual novels.
Official Releases
Butterfly's Poison; Blood Chains
First
on our list is the PC release of an otome set in Taishou era Japan
following a young aristocratic woman who must navigate these changing
times and maybe even find love along the way. Here we have yet
another historical visual novel that makes good use of the key
features of the time period it is set in to seep the narrative in a sense
of place it would otherwise lack. For Butterfly's Poison this
manifests in the sense of a world undergoing change which is also
reflected in the protagonist’s struggles against her misfortune and
how this forward momentum waits for nobody. Supporting this tonal
thrust are a series of distinctive suitors who each relate to a
different aspect of the heroine’s world from other aristocrats,
servants and even the military. The result is an emotional and well
thought out otome perfect for those looking for an immersive romance.
Jack Jeanne
Nintendo Eshop VNDB Genre
– Reverse Trap, All Boys School, Theatre, Simulation Play Time –
55 hours
There
are plenty of visual novels where a male cross-dresser enters an all
girls school, but very few where a female cross-dresser goes to an
all boys school. Enter Jack Jeanne, a simulation visual novel hybrid
which presents this less represented dynamic through the lens of one
woman’s theatre dream. This is a game that takes full advantage of
its theatre centric narrative to play up its key events in an almost
over the top manner as if the characters can never escape the idea they are
performing for an audience and it gives the a sense of weight to
scenes otherwise lacking in punch for a more even experience overall.
These strong character beats are used well to pace out the simulation
gameplay through the standard time management style many have come to
expect for the genre. While this side of the game does nothing
revolutionary, it still does a good job of holding the game together
with a regular pattern the player can return to and cool down after
important moments. Jack Jeanne is not the most innovational visual
novel on this list but there is no doubt it knows how to make the
best out of what it has.
Fan Translations
Nakoruru: The Gift She Gave me
Patch Download VNDB Genre
– Romance, Action
This
is by far the oddest game on the list being the translation of a
Dreamcast visual novel about Nakoruru, a character from SNK's
fighting series Samurai Spirits. Originally released in 2002, it is
soaked in the design and narrative sensibilities of the past, many of
which have been lost over the years and the experience it offers is
refreshing. There are no moe girls doing silly things and instead the
focus in around an emotional core the narrative wants to present
through an immersive setting and tone with characters who exist as
more than plot points. While not knowing about Nakoruru beforehand does
lead to moments where the game winks to camera and you just stare
back blankly at it, the main story is detached enough for its source
material to be an entertaining time even without that context. This
is perhaps the definition of a hidden gem and is a good window into
older visual novel design for those who are interested.
Tsukihime -A piece of blue glass moon-
Patch Download VNDB Genre
– Urban Fantasy, Action Play Time – 60 hours
If
there is one thing you should take away from here today it is that
you should play Tsukihime. The original game was one of the founding
titles of Type Moon and it was there that their style gained cohesive
form and influence many other developers through Fate Stay Night. We
are once more placed into the shoes of Skiki who returns to his
family home after a long time living with distant relatives to find
that his home is closely connected to the supernatural and when he
meets the vampire Arcueid everything starts to spiral out of control.
This remake takes the first half of the original game and expands
upon it in an attempt to refine the narrative while fixing issues
with pacing and relevance to the plot. It is an especially relevant
task as the original game is increasingly difficult to get running on
modern systems so this new version may be the only way new players
can experience this defining aspect of Type Moon’s past. For those
who are already played the original there is enough new content here
with the extensive rewriting to provide enough distinction from that
first game to justify playing this one. Why are you still here, you
should be playing Tsukihime already.
Shinseiki Evangelion - Koutetsu no Girlfriend -Portable-
Patch Download VNDB Genre
– Mecha, Sci-Fi Play Time – 8 hours
Evangelion’s
reach extends far beyond its origins as an anime and has now crept
into almost every type of product it can. Enter Koutetsu no
Girlfriend, Evangelion’s jump into visual novels back
before the rebuild movies were even a thought in anyone’s mind.
This is a game very much bound to the late 90s style of anime
narrative from which Evangelion emerged and the game benefits from
retroactively have a distinctive identity due to how much the medium
as a whole has changed. As the later PSP release there are a
selection of quality of life upgrades a gallery and auto saves as
well as new scenario which make this version the definitive way to
experience this time capsule of old Evangelion. Its short length also
makes this an excellent title for someone looking for a bite sized
classic Evangelion experience.
Built-in Flowcharts – An Anatomy Of Visual Novels
Divergent Paths To The Future
For
the longest time when you wanted to know how to get to a specific
route in a visual novel the only options open to you where trial and
error or looking up a walkthrough. However, in more recent years
there has been a trend to include built-in flowcharts that fill out
as the player progresses through the game. These help the player
understand the structure they are working within as well as the
consequences of each choice. More importantly it opens up an
interesting design space for visual novels to interact with and set
up their narratives around to increase the player’s engagement and
sell these games as a total experience. It is rare for a game to
have such direct avenue to show its internal workings and this offers
a unique opportunity to examine how a player reacts to having this
knowledge. With all this said, the built-in flowchart’s biggest
benefit is also its biggest weakness as all mystery about action and
consequence is lost which is a killing blow for any visual novel
focused around those things. There is definitely a fine line to be
found here so let’s trace the paths of destiny and discover what
this design element means for visual novels.
 |
| Complicated narratives demand fancy flowcharts |
The Utility Of The Flowchart
By
far the most common reason for the inclusion of a built-in flowchart
is the developer’s desire to provide a tool of convenience that
allows for an easy presentation of the visual novel’s structure.
This feature allows the player access to information that would
normal be hidden and removes the need to look for external sources of
information to help complete the game. These flowcharts often include
a function to select and jump to one of the displayed scenes which
Yuzusoft games, such as Senren * Banka, have made a core part of
their accessibility features. Despite how simple these games are
structurally, the ability to jump where the player needs to go frees them from needing to sit through the same common route content that
they have already played through, and instead get to the next route
without unnecessary delays.
 |
| Yuzusoft flowcharts are clear and easy to parse |
For visual novels which aim to keep the
player engaged through emotion rather than complicated plots, this
removal of downtime is a great benefit as it ensures the player will
not lose their bond with the characters that might occur while they skip through material.
Standing on the opposite side are the plot heavy game who benefit
from the flowchart in the clarity it brings to their intricate plots
and the way it gives the player a set of guidelines to follow what is
going on. Sorcery Jokers is a good example of how this is implemented
as it has two protagonists who act separately from one another and
they are often doing things at the same time as each other. It can be
difficult to conceptualise how the two protagonists’ stories relate
to one another with the constant jumping back and forth between them and
this is where the flowchart comes in. Through showing the
relationships between events in visual form the game brings an order
to the plot which can be easily understood at a glance even as the
big twists are revealed.
Flowcharts As Narrative And Mechanical Tools
While
many visual novels simply use built-in flowcharts for utility
purposes, their representation of the narrative’s structure offers
an intriguing angle through which the player can be addressed and
the very structure can be put to use to tell the story. The way that the
flowchart often grows as the player explores the game space not only
gives them a sense of forward momentum in sync with events and
characters, but can also do the opposite and provide a sense of being
trapped in a maze and constantly running into dead ends. For the sense of
confinement that the flowchart contributes to, there can be no better
example than the Zero Escape games. These visual novels all focus
around characters being trapped in an unknown place and forced into a game for
their lives. Everything in these titles rotates around feelings of
isolation and loss of control, this includes the flowchart which
invokes these emotions through showcasing the blocked and spider web
like paths available while daring you to overcome them. On a similar
level of narrative complexity we have 428: Shibuya Scramble, but
rather than trying to sell an oppressive feeling the flowchart instead works to
give the game a sense of constant progress. In combination with the
switching between characters the flowchart facilitates, its stream of
newly revealed scenes and how they relate to one another pushes the
player forward on a tide of new information that stimulates them at
every turn. These two contrasting uses of the narrative incorporation
of the flowchart demonstrate the degree of flexibility it has as a
means of targeting the player’s perception of events in a meta
context.
 |
| Do you feel trapped yet? |
Incompatible With Immersion
Despite
the many opportunities and benefits that having a built-in flowchart
provides the developer, it is not something all visual novels find
desirable to include due to its effect on the player’s immersion in
the narrative. Between the complicated web like narratives of games
like the Zero Escape series and the simple structures of a Yuzusoft
game are a set of visual novels focused around telling a story
interested in emphasising their plots but only offer a limited axis
for player choice. If these games where to include a flowchart they
would lose any ability to derive tension from their choices as the
player could easily see at a glance their extremely linear and
simplistic nature. Since choices are one of the primary methods of
engagement for visual novels, this makes the flowchart a poison for
this subset of games and has led to their continual absence from many
titles despite the increasing adoption in many others.
 |
| Is this a major turning point? Probably not, but you do not know that for certain. |
We can see in
Steins:Gate a visual novel with a relatively simple structure that
attempts to obfuscate the exact effects of its choices by presenting
them in relation to the phone rather than standard boxes and by
constantly shifting timelines. This gives the game a disempowering
quality as the player is swept along through events while being
unsure if they are making a choice or just taking a phone call. If
Steins:Gate were to have a built-in flowchart all of this tension and
mystery would be lost since the player would know exactly where they
stood and what actions have consequences, potential killing their
interest in the game’s attempt to get them into Okabe’s mind set.
Think of your favourite plot centric visual novel and ask yourself,
would this really benefit from a flowchart? You will find that there
is often just as much of an argument against their presence as for
it.
Conclusion
Presenting
the game’s internal structures to the player has a surprisingly
diverse effect on how they perceive it. The built-in flowchart
provide a developer with not only a useful utility but also a strong
meta narrative element to engage the player. It is a clear method of
presenting information and ensures the player knows the actions and
consequences available to them while also giving them a means to jump
to a desired scene. Within a narrative context it offers a visual
means of conveying an emotional tone without any need to specificly spell it out
and instead have it seep into player’s mind on a subconscious
level. Of course, as with all tools it is not a fit for every game
and those which rely on mystery or the concealment of the action and
consequence economy would be harmed if they where to include one since it
undermines a key strength. So should you include a built-in flowchart
in your visual novel? If your game is not aiming for a tone which
would be damaged by its presence then it should be a definite
consideration. The flowchart is a tool of convenience many players
are coming to expect from their visual novels so they do not have to
rely on external sources to complete your game.
Yandere Horror VNs – Genre Deep Dive
Obsessive Love
The
Yandere is perhaps the most iconic ‘Dere’, not just within visual
novels but within the more general anime fandom, with their
distinctive mix of love and violence, they have found their way
into everything from Comedy to Slice of Life. It is the particular
combination of Yandere and Horror that is the focus today and the way
this niche aspect of visual novels has captured the hearts of many.
For what appears to be a simple concept at first sight, there is a
surprising amount of variety to the Yandere through how they create fear as well as how they play into the work in its
totality. On top of this, the normal side to a Yandere’s
personality has a lot a possibilities to it which helps obfuscate the
Yandere and suprise the player, but also provide a humanising element
to drive home the contradiction in their nature. So let’s lock our
crush in the basement and examine this fascinating sub-genre.
Defining The Yandere
In
short, a Yandere is an individual who initially appears to be normal
and caring but once the mask drops reveals themselves to be willing
to resort to violence, be that against the target of their affection
or those around them, in order to right something they perceive as
intruding on their idealised vision of a relationship. The mental
instability which characterises them when the mask is off is focused
around this idea of violence, but this does not always mean it has to
be physical in nature and more often than not it is a psychological
angle that the Yandere takes to achieve their desires. In turn there
is also an elemement of them being true to that desire in a way no other type of
character can be. This would almost be an admirable trait if not
for the extreme to which they take it. It is these
extremes surrounding their romances that separates the Yandere from someone
who is merely possessive and manipulative and it is in them
where the horror finds its material. Their mask or ‘dere’ side is not
a completely fake exterior and instead is a more even version of
their true nature crafted to allow them to exist in society. They are
a presentation of the way human interactions and hierarchies change a
person and how it twists our true selves taken to its logical
extreme in pursuit of the one thing that might set them free, the
unconditional love of another. Through the combination of these two
halves the idea of the Yandere has burned itself into our
consciousness and is ripe for exploiting to create a sense of fear.
A Matter Of Degrees
When
it comes to the usage of the Yandere in horror there are broadly two
ways of integrate it into the narrative, make it the sole focus or
use it to highlight a specific moment. These two offer vastly different
executions of the Yandere due to their contrasting uses of space and
their differing aims. However, this contrast reveals some interesting
aspect of the sub-genre.
 |
| I think we might be in danger |
Forming
a game around the concept of Yandere Horror presents some interesting
challenges, especially since the focus on a Yandere is often used as
the primary selling point of the title and as a result the player
already has some idea about what is going to happen. So rather than
try to pretend that the Yandere is not going to appear, they
instead lean into this inevitability as a source of tension and dread
as the player knows that the peaceful life and love presented to them
will end soon and this makes them jumpy at even the slightest sign
that something is wrong. This technique is exaggerated by the way
these games make the real Yandere hard to spot and giving other
characters red herring personality traits to throw people off and the
player is often led to jump at shadows or misread the situation as
they too slowly descend the spiral towards paranoia. Traumermaid
provides a good example of how these ideas are implemented in
practice. It plays up the cliches of returning to your home town
after an absence as well as being reunited with childhood friends to
create an almost inviting atmosphere. However, from the very start
something is subtly off and the player can feel it but it is
difficult to pin down exactly what it is that makes them feel this
way. Only as the curtain is pulled back and the illusion of peace
shattered does the source of this fear become clear. Assisted by its
leanings into the trappings of fairy tales, the encroachment of the
Yandere pulls the player deeper into the spiral of disaster. Drawing
the entire experience around Yandere Horror is an all consuming task
for a game and in turn that is felt by the player.
 |
| Things look normal now but just you wait. |
On
the other end of the spectrum, the Yandere forming only a part of the
overall experience allows the game to put their natural high impact
to good use. Concealment and distraction are the name game for this use of
the Yandere with hints about their existence being mixed into the
other narrative elements in such a way that makes their reveal a
surprise but not to the point of feeling out of place or poorly set up.
This form of horror is used to enhance specific moments and help
create a sense of escalation or climax using the Yandere’s
appearance to quickly shift the game into direct tension and an
immediate threat. As a result they generally burn bright and
disappear just as rapidly once their role has been completed so they
do not get in the way of the other elements present in the game.
Perhaps the most iconic example of this use of Yandere Horror is Doki
Doki Literature Club! which has multiple instances of it within the
game’s relatively short play time. Each time Doki Doki invokes the
Yandere it is to signal the end of a section of the narrative and a
raising of the stakes for the protagonist as his clubmates slowly
lose their sanity and the safe space is eroded away. To top all this off
the major antagonist force is also a Yandere and is involved in the
largest continual tension scene in the game as they exert their
controlling nature to capture the protagonist leading to the dramatic
resolution. Without the presence of the Yandere none of these
elements would have had the same effect since they rely on this shift
in personality to help draw attention to key elements while keeping
the feelings of unease the game has been building up.
Tension Between Desire, Love and Ownership
The
aspects of the Yandere which horror utilises all revolve around the
ways they reflect back onto us the darker parts of our desire and
relationships, the thoughts we never act upon. Ownership is the idea
the Yandere taps into the most with them often becoming paranoid that
the target of their affection might be stolen away from them. We all
want to be the focus of our partner's affection and may even get a
little jealous when they turn to talk to others, but, since most
people are well balanced enough to realise these feelings are
illogical, we do not act on them. However, the fact that those
thoughts existed inspires a quiet fear of our own thoughts and what
sort of person we would be if we acted upon them and a hope that
nobody else would act on similar thoughts against us. By contrast the Yandere
does not have that filter or self control and so acts on this part of
themselves and as a result are a figure we can empathise with while
also fearing since we know what their desire demand and what it means
for us. Building a bond between the player and the Yandere before the
inevitable decay into madness is key for this element of Yandere
Horror to work correctly and The Way We All Go showcases this set up
extremely well. It achieves this through mixing in romance to the
formula to humanise the Yandere and deal with them within an everyday
context to drive home just how similar to the player they really are
before they lose control. The banality also acts as a contrast to the
extremes of the acts performed later by the Yandere and they stand out all the
more, but at the same time these actions calls back to those simpler times to make
it clear where the Yandere’s line of logic originated from.
Sometimes there is nothing scarer than a person pushed to their
limits.
 |
| Is approaching her a good idea or will it seal our doom? |
What Lurks Behind The Smile
People
can be scary, they hide their true intentions behind masks to get
what they want or lie to play the social game to the point that we
can never be truly sure we know even our closest friends. While this
line of logic is mostly just nonsense as very few people are
actively out to get you, the thoughts which lead to it have a power
over our imagination perfect for Yandere Horror. The Yandere is the
epitome of this fear with a loving exterior concealing their violent
and dark inner thoughts. Playing into this concealment is by far
Yandere Horror’s greatest tool as it makes even the simplest
actions come across as suspicious to the player in order to build up tension
or creates a greater sense of betrayal and being up the creek without
a paddle. Tapping into this opportunity requires the game to commit a
decent amount of time as YOU and ME and HER: A Love Story does with a
large section of its first half being used to presenting a veneer of sanity and
normality for both the characters and the setting. A lot of effort is
placed into preventing the player from sniffing out what is going to
happen and at the same time creating a feeling of unease that the
player wants to shake off as their own natural paranoia. The game’s
use of fourth wall adds a directness to this switch as the person
being addressed by the Yandere’s darker desires is not some in game
character but instead the player themselves. This breaking of the
fourth wall follows the same escalation as the treat posed by the
Yandere and this ensures that it does not come across as silly due to
a smother transition into these elements.
 |
| For now.... |
Conclusion
The
Yandere is an odd creature, at once loving and faithful yet also
violent and possessive, but it is exactly this contradiction that
makes it the perfect subject for visual novel horror. This can be the
entire focus of the experience or just an aspect to highlight a key
moment. Regardless of which is chosen both share the common desire to
play up the tension of the Yandere’s reveal and actions around the
player character. Much of the fear invoked by the Yandere is born
from how their actions are exaggerated version of our own thoughts.
They act on the parts of ourselves we would rather deny, our
possessiveness, jealousy and fear of the two faced nature of humans.
So when the Yandere appears before us it is a mirror onto our own
faults and the urge to look away is just as strong as the desire to stare in facination. Yandere Horror is a fascinating sub-genre and
spreads well beyond the visual novels covered here and, since it
works well as a supplementary element, there is a lot of explore if
anything here has tickled your interests.
Kunado Chronicles Review – A Beautiful Post-Apocalypse With A Side Of Mechanic Menace
Genre – Action, Post-Apocalypse, Supernatural Play Time – 35 hours Developer – Purple Software Steam VNDB
Beneath the Sakura
Once
the apocalypse is over and all the damage is done will the world be a
peaceful place? And what of those who come after, how will they
adapt? These are the questions Kunado Chronicles opens with and it uses
them as the foundations upon which to build its themes and
characters. As with many of Purple Software’s other titles this is
a game about the inner struggles of its characters and spends much of
its play time focused on them. However, unlike its predecessors it
knows how to leverage this emotional power for a greater narrative
purpose. The main route knows what it wants to achieve and fixates on
a small set of ideas which it lets permeate the entire experience.
Can it shake off Purple Software’s bad habits and allow these
flickers of brilliance to shine through? Let’s wander into a world
reversed and find out.
What Is Old Is New – Narrative And Themes
A
world after the storm might be the backbone of the opening, but this
is a game which quickly shakes off this starting point and expands in
its own unique direction. Through a strong and constant thematic
presence, the narrative can worm itself into your head and, alongside
the questioning of the modern world it offers through contrast,
what is told is a compelling and well directed visual novel.
The one exception to this quality is the tonal inconsistencies which
litter the entire duration and in particular the pervasive horniness
that exists in many scenes.
 |
| A world where the idea of a teacher is alien is a strange experience |
The
biggest strength of Kunado Chronicles’ narrative is its ability to
maintain a constant theming throughout its length and changing focal
heroine. This provides a concrete identity to the game and makes sure
the player know exactly what the game is try to communicate and avoid
the potential for confusion. Individual identity and how is plays
into a desire to belong and community is the main theme which is
applied to most aspects of the story. This manifests in a variety of
ways from visuals, in the form of the fox masks the residents wear, to
the character arcs of the heroines as they work through their
troubles, to the ever present Tekki threat and their lack of
individual thought. Its all encompassing nature lends the setting and
characters a consistency since the concerns of the narrative appear
reflected in the struggles of the people and nemesis they fight
against. This is prevented from becoming too contrived by presenting
it serenely from the characters own mouths while also allowing a degree
of levity in their non-thematic conversations, which this makes them
come across of varied and not hyper fixated around a single point. As
for the non-human factors, the game ensures they never outstay their
welcome and instead mostly exist as abstract ideas for the character
to engage with in the context of an ever present threat or a societal
issue that needs addressing. Together these parts form a strong whole
that richly drip feeds its content in a digestible and thought
provoking manner.
Bring
up ideas and institutions taken for granted in the modern world and
having the protagonist attempt to fit them into the vastly alien
culture he finds himself in allows the game to shine a light on their
value or lack thereof. Topics discussed among the cast have wide
breath such as how to justify marriage in a world where everyone has
distanced themselves from one another due to the likelihood of sudden
death and how to introduce money to a society without any concept of
currency. Both the positives and negatives are talked about and the
values of the modern world are never forced on this new humanity with
the strength that has allowed them to survive seen as something
equally admirable. Each time the characters start to think on these
issues the game adds a level of context and understanding that not all
problems can be solved in a simple and direct manner which fits
alongside the core theming nicely. These debates act as important
palette cleansers to break up the superpowered action and moments of
dramatic tension by providing a much needed pause for contemplation
about what the characters are fighting to create. This works wonders in
preventing the narrative from becoming too fantastical and detached
from the setting which is its foundation. Obviously these extended
talks will not to be everyone’s tastes, especially those who where
simply expecting an action game with a focus on emotion over thought,
but what they ultimately add to the experience cannot be overstated.
Just keep this point in mind when you consider picking this game up.
 |
| Opening the game upside down is one way to make a first impression |
Knowing
when and where to make jokes and insert other non-core elements is
something Kunado Chronicles does not understand and this results in
an uneven feeling in the moment to moment content. Being excessively
horny is the largest example of this issue. Having some horniness is
to be expected in an eroge, but this game does not know when to stop
and it pervades the entire game, even in otherwise serious
moments. We are talking about panty shots in life or death battle and
a constant stream of the protagonist’s inner thoughts about the
female cast’s bodies, when he really should be focusing on the major
character moments taking place. As you might notice the issue here is
how poorly the horny elements match up against a narrative that
otherwise want you to take it seriously and engage in its thought
experiments, which is hard to do if it keeps providing tonally
clashing side elements in an almost constant stream. This almost
feels like a left over from their earlier more simplistic visual
novels where it would have been more in line with the slice of life
genre and the developers simply let it slip in since they are so
accustomed to writing like this, not realising the effect it has on
the player’s experience.
Of Machine and Man – Characters
All
these interesting narrative elements would be nothing without a
strong cast to hold the player’s attention and Kunado Chronicles
delivers on this front with the usual Purple Software style.
Distinctive relationship dynamics between the protagonist and the
heroines help sell them and, backed up by supporting characters who
work to link the elements of world building, they tie together the package to
create a bond between the narrative and the player. Not everything is
up to this standard of quality as some characters struggle to justify
their existence and this can lead to an unnecessary sense of confusion.
 |
| This happens a lot |
Character
bonds are key to making the player care about these individual and
cheer for the characters to overcome the trials put before them.
Our protagonist, Shin, has a good spread of relationships with the
main heroines of the narrative with Yuuri’s serious and no nonsense
approach, Haruhime’s gentle camaraderie and Akane and Aoi treating
him like a new squeaky toy. Each one brings something different out
in Shin reflecting an aspect of the setting they connect to and this is on
top of it just being fun to see them interacting with him. This above
all else keeps the narrative from becoming a dry series of abstract
ideas and debates as the main heroine's bonds inject life into every
conversation and their banter or heart-warming emotions bring home
the reality of the world they live in. During the main route these
relationships are sequentially addressed and given appropriate space to
breath while acting to balance the overall pacing of the game through
the highs and lows it offers keeping players on their toes. However,
when dealing with the side routes for the heroines the quality of
these bonds remains but without the focus of the central narrative
they tend to meander and repeat the character arc concluded by the
main route.
Behind
the main cast are the supporting cast who act as the backbone not
only for key moments but also for the world building. Characters such
as Some fill the gaps provided by the heroines need to focus on the romantic
and thematic element required by their role within the narrative and
in doing so these background characters take on a whole distinct
flavour not available to the main cast. Some, for example, is a
tailor in Kanto and she shares Shin’s love for the cute female
clothing designs giving them pair a common ground on which to bond.
Alongside this Some is pregnant for most of the game and acts as a
window into the realities of relationships within the new world and
their utilitarian nature. Rather than being told in the abstract, the
player is shown over the course of the game what this way of living
looks like, why it came into being and how engrained it is in the
people of Kanto. Combine these elements and you get a character who
is both relatable while acting as a window into the workings of the
world and this is the pattern reflected in all the secondary cast to
one degree or another. They give much need humanity to Kanto which might have been stripped away from it with its focus on preventing
unnecessary relationships with things like the fox masks.
 |
| Some is a wonderful contrast to the heroines |
Despite
how strong the cast is, there are a few characters who stand out as pointless and struggle to justify the space in they take up
in the game. One such character is Fuyuhito who is a regular feature
of the story since he is one of the Swords, the superpowered warriors
who defend Kanto, but he never adds anything to the scenes he is
involved in and even when his own conflict does come up it is
resolved almost immediately while adding nothing to the narrative.
This strange unwillingness to commit to or utilise these characters
in any meaningful way makes them feel like black holes of
personality and it is difficult to care about given their almost flat
nature. This is not a deal breaker for the game but it is distracting
when one of these characters is on screen as they stand out against
the rest of the well rounded and endearing cast.
Returning To Nature – Visual, Audio And Technical
Presentation
is an odd aspect to discuss with Kunado Chronicles since it is once
beautiful and incredibly stilted. The visuals and audio invoke a
distinctive vision for this new world, but in motion they are almost
entirely static and lack the life needed to sell the scenes. This
contradiction haunts the game throughout its entire length and harms
the impact of important narrative moments.
 |
| The Tekki are both antagonist and opposite to the main cast |
There
is no denying the strong vision Kunado Chronicles has for its
aesthetics and audio. Ever inch exudes a traditional Japanese
presentation from character clothing to the buildings to the music
and each one presents a culture which has returned to its roots out
of necessity while still retaining it identity. Yet it not a
complete invoking of the past as some elements are subtly off and
show Kanto to be the future with items and ideas that would be
anachronistic in a past setting but here help sell Kanto as its own
beast. Immersing yourself in this unique blend is a joy in of itself
and when it is broken up by the mechanical Tekki their power and
alien nature is made all the clearer contrasted against the more
natural wooden Kanto. It is through this ability to play with the
aesthetics to create emotional states in the player and then suddenly
swap it out for something entirely different that gives the game its ability hold the player's attention.
 |
| The chibi art is incredibly cute |
It
is a shame then that the brilliant and cohesive presentation is
undermined when put into motion during the game. It is almost
entirely static with only a few portrait movements, through the
transition from one expression to another, and overall comes across as
lifeless. This is most noticeable in actions scenes where the game is
trying to sell the chaos and violence of battle to create tension,
but what is shown to the player is a series of static CGs which can
be on screen from minutes at a time just passively staring at the
player. As you can imagine the result are some extremely dry
sequences and they are perhaps some of the weakest in visual novels given
the budget on display in all other aspects. In moments of down time
or during discussions this static nature is less of an issue since
nothing of visual importance is happening there and it is possible to
forget this issue exists.
Verdict –
A surprisingly thoughtful game which blends its strong characters
and complex themes into a narrative which grips from beginning to
end.
Pros -
+
The themes of individuality and community are etched into every part
of the game and it makes for an immersive experience.
+
Utilises it setting to cleverly question the value of the modern
world.
+
Characters are endearing in all the right ways.
+
Time spent with the supporting cast helps sell the world and its
inhabitance.
Cons -
-
Has major tonal issues and struggles to keep a straight face when needed.
-
This version of the game lack polish and comes across as stilted and
off especially during action scenes.
-
Some characters struggle to justify their existence and merely take
up playtime.
-
Character routes feel vestigial as most important character arc take
place in the main narrative.
