Archive for April 2024
Best Visual Novel Releases – April 2024
As
the gentle April showers patter against the window, now is the time
to immerse yourself in a visual novel while you wait for the storm to
pass. This has been a month of some standout titles with a wide range
of appeal from underworld Otome to heart pounding thriller to a
mystery laden apocalypse. Let’s find some shelter and see what
treasures we can uncover from this month in visual novels.
Official Releases
Amazing Grace -What color is your attribute?-
When
Shuu wakes up he finds himself in a town sealed off from the outside
world and he possesses no memories of who he is or how he got here.
Fortunately, the people living there are kind and take him in as one
of their own, but this is short lived as the town burns down and he
discovers he can travel back in time. So he sets out to save the
people who treated him kindly and uncover the cause of the fire. This
title is an interesting blend of the standard route based heroine
romance visual novels we have all become accustomed to seeing and an
overarching mystery where the cast are in genuine danger if it goes
unsolved. Its tonal aspects are nicely blended together and there is
a real understanding of the value each part provides the other while
still offering what people are looking for from each element.
Overall, this is an excellent visual novel for those who want
something a little more substantial to their romance narratives.
Aoi Tori
As
Purple Software’s latest title to be localised for an English
speaking audience, Aoi Tori looks to continue off the success of its
sister game Amatsutsumi and it aims to play on a similar emotional
axis. Following the tale of a young priest at an all girls school who
has a strange power which has made him a target for demons seeking
it, but his life is a relatively peaceful one until an ancient
vampire arrives at the school and he get a phone call from the devil.
Soon he becomes deeply involved in the lives of the girls he meets as
the supernatural begins to stir around him. The strengths brought by
a blend of the emotive idea of love and desire taken through a lens
of the supernatural are on full display here and allow the game to
invest you in the intimacy it offers. For those looking for a visual
novel which will get them to cry and feel a connection to the
characters then you cannot go wrong with Aoi Tori.
The Shell Part II: Purgatorio
Once
called Kara no Shoujo – The Second Episode, this marks its second
release and its first time coming to Steam. Being available on more
platforms will help The Shell Part II have the needed exposure to
avoid falling into the cracks like its previous version which never
achieved the popularity of the original game. Tokisaka Reiji gets
involved in another string of strange murders where the victims were
all found with clay doll in their body and soon finds himself deep in
a web of deception and desire. For him this is a distraction, he
still purses a certain disappearing girl who he cannot let go of even
after two year of silence. The Shell Part II is a worthy successor to
the first game and if you have ever been curious about it now is the
chance to get it on your preferred distribution service.
Tengoku Struggle -strayside-
Nintendo Eshop VNDB Genre
– Otome, Supernatural Play Time – 60 hours
As
a tale of love after death, this Otome divides its time between
romance and the pursuit of souls who have escaped hell for a mix of
supernatural tension and heartfelt emotions. Following the journey of
Enma Rin as she hunts down these souls, this is a game very much
focused around her interactions with her male teammates who are all
people condemned to hell for their crimes in life. However, it is the
why of their actions which holds a lot of the narrative hook for
which drives forwards both the player’s and Rin’s interest in
them and ultimately makes them more complex characters. Another in a
long line of high quality Otome visual novel in recent years and one
you should consider picking up if the genre appeals to you.
Fan Translations
Sampaguita
Patch Download VNDB Genre
– Thriller, Romance, Action Play Time – 7 hours
Of
all the things to get a fan translations, an old PSP thriller visual
novel was not an expected choice. Yet there is no denying there is a
certain charm to Sampaguita’s integrating of action with pure
romance leads to short and compelling tale. Using stills in a
classical animation style as its main method of visual presentation,
it shapes a grimy and grounded atmosphere where the characters’
struggles appear to have them constantly walking on the edge and
makes their danger more palpable for the player. If you are looking
for a short bit of fun from an older age of visual novels then you
will have a good time with Sampaguita.
Multiple Title Screens – An Anatomy Of Visual Novels
The Many Faces We Wear
Upon
booting up a visual novel, the first thing the player will see is the
main menu. Over the course of their play time they will pass through
it countless times and come to memorise its details. As such altering
this key feature will immediately be noticed by the player and the
more dramatic the change, the greater this impact will be. A wide
variety of visual novels utilise this approach and it has become a
staple to underscore some kind of narrative progression in order to
signal an upping of the stakes. It can also go a long way to set up a
tone shift even before a single word has appeared on screen and helps
maintain it for the duration of what remains of the game. Sometimes
the change occurs after the entire title has been completed and
communicates all that the player has achieved. Let’s transition to a
new frame and find out what Multiple Title Screens provide for visual
novels.
Indicating Progress
By
far the simplest implementation of the multiple title screens is to
tie them to key milestones in the forward momentum of the visual novel.
This is commonly seen in games with an unlockable true route or other
such route and the menu change reflects it becoming available to the
player. Here the intended effect is twofold, to communicate to the
player that more content is open for them to experience and to sell
them a sense of progression as a means of rewarding them. People like
to feel that their actions have meaning and the natural forward
momentum of games is an easy way to take advantage of this emotional
response. The larger the signal of progress the better and there is
nothing larger than the menu the player will see every time they load
up the game. It shows them that their hard work pushing through the
game is being acknowledged and acts as a form of encouragement
to keep going into the last section of the title. It has even become
an expectation for many of those familiar with the medium and acts as a
comfort blanket to reassure them that they are moving in the right
direction.
 |
| Changing from blues to oranges is a powerful colour shift |
Take Irotoridori no Sekai for example, this game has a
main menu change after all of the main routes have been completed and
the final route has been unlocked. Initially the main menu shows a
brilliant blue sky and later it transitions into a deep orange evening sky.
This communicates two things, firstly that something has changed and
the player should investigate to uncover what it is and second that
this marks the final section of the game. The evening sky makes the
player think of the coming night and since the night is the end of
the day so to must this new content be the end of the game. All
of this is conveyed without the need for a single word and provides a
good motivation to continue to the end and a sense of how far the
player has come through the main routes. It smooths over what might
otherwise be an awkward transition between the major acts of the
visual novel in a manner which will leave a strong impression on the
player even after they put it down.
Setting Tone
When the mundane is transformed into the novel, there is
something about it which draws the mind away from the past and firmly onto the
present moment. We take notice of the change and what
it says to us enables a framework from where we can pull how to
understand this transition and everything that accompanies it. As such the
changing of the main menu can be used to convey a change in tone or ideas without demanding any narrative connection or time consuming
scenes. Simply looking at the menu immediately fills the player in on
the sort of story they are in for after this transition into the
depths of the game. This is important for visual novels as it
conserves resources and adheres to their general ethos of high impact
uses of limited space and so does not come across as out of
place. Setting the tone is most important when the game is seeking to
move from a more non-linear route structure onto a single direct
pathway and acclimatising the player to this shift is key
to keeping them engaged.
 |
| Nothing says tone shift like a barren wasteland |
Hello Lady! showcases this in practice with
its multiple main menu changes in the Complete Edition. As an
amalgamation of several different version of the title with shifting
tonal needs, there is the possibility this change between these sections might take the
player off guard if they are not familiar with the game’s history
and so a clear divide needed to be established between the parts. The
Multiple Main Menu’s fulfil this need perfectly due to how much
Hello Lady! already leans into locations and CG’s with strong
colours and imagery in order to add impact to its combat so large
changes are within what the player expects. Each changed menu offers
a distinctive tone separate from the others in order to ensure there
is never any confusion about what these shifts mean for the tone of
the game.
A Constant Reminder
The
final major use of Multiple Main Menus is as a monument to all that
the player has achieved and witnessed over the course of the visual
novel. This type appear after all the content has been completed and
are generally the first thing the player sees after the credits
have rolled giving them a greater emotional impact. They also remain
present whenever the title is revisited and will stay regardless of
what part of the narrative is revisited and so act as a constant
reminder of how this is all going to end and a monument to the
player’s success. Generally this type of Multiple Title Screens comes
in two flavours, a wholesale shift in the imagery being used or the
addition of key characters to the existing picture. Fate/Stay Night
is an example of the first kind with its menu shifting into something
bright and hopeful from its formerly darker or more conflict
orientated original. What this larger shift achieves is to
communicate the key themes and ideas the title has been building up
to in a simple fashion which will inform the player’s future
playthroughs and cause them to have a greater sensitivity to them.
This is an especially desirable trait for games which lean into plot
and themes as it can give the player something new to unveil in old material
rather than feeling as if it is something known by heart.
 |
| Bright colours always make for a strong final impression |
For the
second kind we can look to VA-11 HALL-A for an example with the menu
background being constant, but characters being added to it after the
ending. This addition has them side by side and works as a symbol of
their bond which is the key thematic pillar of the later narrative.
An approach like this is favoured by visual novels where the
characters form the main appeal of the story and works as a reminder
of why the player fell in love with them. It also helps VA-11 HALL-A
as the background is the city and from the player’s perspective the
city is the characters as it is through their eyes we experience what
it is like beyond the bar making the link between them clear.
Conclusion
The
effects of Multiple Title Screens cannot be underestimated as the
power of such a sudden change and its constant exposure have a
profound impact without the player realising it. It is often used to
indicate progress within the game’s structure and provides a sense
of accomplishment and motivation to continue onwards. Selling a tone
plays a large role in the strength of these title screens as they can
communicate a shift in the game’s story without having to say a
word and help smooth over any possible confusion. Once it has
changed the new title screen acts a constant reminder of all the
player has experienced as well as key thematic or character elements
that can recontextualise any subsequent playthroughs. Integrating a
change in the main menu may be something you want to consider for
your visual novel especially if you are planning a longer game with
unlockable routes.
Fighting Games – Uncovering The VN Hybrid
Fight Start!
As
a style of gameplay Fighting Games are at once wonderfully expressive
and yet incredibly restrictive and so combining them with visual
novels make for an interesting hybrid. The primary feature which
binds the two together is their heavy focus on characters and
invoking strong emotions through their expressiveness. Visual novels
offer the chance for fighting games to expand on those characters in
a direct narrative where they can be explored in more depth than just before battle conversations. This is especially true for Fighting
Games which are spin-offs from a story heavy game series and need to meet the audience's expectations for storytelling while merging smoothly with the combat on offer. Let’s allow the
wheel of fate to turn and see how these two gameplay styles are able
to form a harmonious hybrid.
Selling The Characters
Larger
than life personalities define the Fighting Game. Since the characters have so
few chances to show the player who they are, these games make the
most out of each second of it. However, on the flip-side this also
makes them feel flat and lacking the depth and emotions needed to pass as a believable person. To compensate for this weakness the visual
novel can provide a means of expanding on the characters established
by the Fighting Game in an environment where their personalities can be shown off
while not feel out of place. This is due to how visual novels
naturally lean into character centric stories and it allows the
conflicts depicted in each section to blend together through how they focus
on the same key notes of a story with differing levels of details. On
the reverse side a Fighting Game can express events in a much more
direct and player interactive manner and so it can create a more
intimate experience by punctuating key moments of the visual novel with these combat
encounters. They act as highlights which increase tension and allows
the visual novel to focus on the surrounding events without having to
spend time depicting complicated fight scenes.
 |
| Characters are the foundation of a Fighting Game |
Having the two form a
hybrid helps sell the characters which are the main attraction of
both in a more holistic manner than either could achieve on their
own. UNDER NIGHT IN-BIRTH provides a good example of how this shared
focus on characters enhances what each part has to offer. Its modern
fantasy setting where people possessing unique magical powers clash
is a perfect breeding ground for the mechanics of a fighting game and
the drama of a visual novel. The powers match the expressiveness of
the characters allowing them to maintain a sense of continuity
between combat and story through the way they frame the characters
and expand on different elements. By jumping backwards and forwards
between the two halves and their magical powers, the game can keep
the characters fresh and provide a means for the player to feel what
it is like to be them from an immediate and an emotional perspective.
There is also a level of narrative tension offered by the player's
direct involvement as they feel a desire to help the characters they
have come to love through the story and might choose to continue to
play them after it is over.
Substitute For Another Style Of Narrative
Sometimes
this hybrid is born because the game is a spin-off of is known
for its narrative focus. Here the visual novel elements act as a
substitute for the storytelling style of the original titles while
not being as invasive to the Fight Game when compared to something like a full blown RPG.
A spin-off aims to offer the fans something new without challenging
them or investing too many resources into the game’s creation and
so the visual novel is a cost effective and easy to understand
stand-in for what their audience expects. This is often a tightly
told narrative where the characters get a chance to show the traits
the player has come to love without changing over the course of the
game so the main series does not have to deal with the events of a
spin-off. Battles seek to express the characters in the same expected
way by showcasing their unique skills through their combat moves with each one being a nod to their original
appearance. Working in tandem, this simulates the titles it is based
off and provides a dose of something new for the players to inject life into their love for this world and its characters in an
organic manner. Choosing a more complicated system of narrative
expression than a visual novel could alienate or confuse the players
as they have would to grapple with a disconnect between story and
battle mechanics while a visual novel provides a clean and clear
method of storytelling designed here to be as modular as possible.
 |
| The spin-off does not have to work as hard to impress an already invested player |
Let us take a look at Persona 4 Arena, a spin-off of the successful Persona
series, as it shows how the merger of these two halves is flexible
and meets player expectations for the story. Coming from a JRPG
environment the players expect a certain style of story and character
interactions so the visual novel acts a conduit to imitate a Persona
narrative. The previous focus on characters allows the game to lean
into this synergy between the visual novel and Fighting Game halves
to capture the essence of the original cast in a way which will be
entertaining across its entire playtime. This is helped by the game
being given room to introduce its own characters who exist to have
the development that the main cast cannot and this gives the title a space
where the unique aspects of this hybrid can be put to full use
without the limitation of an established personality. In their
totality these pieces allow for a smooth transition between the main
series and this spin-off while still have enough of its own flair to
keep the player engaged.
Narrative Ambition
Not
all Fighting Games are satisfied with being just an expressions of
their characters where the gameplay is the only attraction. There are
a subset of them which have grander narrative ambitions with a desire
to utilise their many characters to tell a sprawling tale. Merging
with a visual novel is an option to achieve this approach which is at
once flexible to their needs and simple and cost effective to
implement. Visual novels can present the complex narratives the
designers want while keeping the character focus of the Fighting Game
front and centre. Compared to other methods of storytelling like an
RPG or Cinematic style cutscenes it lacks the more immediate strength
of their impactful moments due to its more abstract nature, but in
exchange it can easily express intricate ideas and engage in route
based stories. So rather than simply being the best option for a
merger with Fighting Games, it is instead a narrative style which
offers a specific toolbox that a subset of Fighting Games lean into
due to their desire for intimate and complex storytelling.
 |
| Blazblue is nothing if not ambitious |
We can see
an example of this with the Blazblue series and how it handled its
story over the course of multiple games. As the series has developed
each entry has tried to push the visual novel element in a new
direction to fit their extensive use of narrative. Calamity Trigger
experimented with an open structure and Continuum Shift offered a
wide range of character stories and this variety was enabled by the
flexible and inexpensive nature of visual novel presentation. It also
allowed the large cast to act towards their own goals while
preventing the player from becoming lost in the web of motivations
through the clear divisions between sections. The narrative outcomes
even stretched into the Fighting Game sections with victory or defeat
having different and interesting narrative consequences which
encouraged the player to explore and experiment.
Conclusion
Adding
a visual novel element to Fighting Games creates a hybrid where both
sides can showcase what makes them special. Their common focus on
characters and expressing them in a distinct and memorable manner
furthers this connection by presenting the same traits from different
angles. Having visual novel sections in a spin-off title can work as
a substitute for an expected type of narrative structure while not
being invasive or confusing for the player. Then there
is the way it allows for a game with narrative ambitions to express
complex stories and routes in a flexible and smooth manner. Overall,
Fighting Games are a good partner for visual novels and taking the
two together should definitely be considered when designing a title
where the larger than life characters need another avenue to express
themselves.
Synergia Review – Blurred Lines And Robotic Hearts
Genre – Cyberpunk, Dystopia, Romance Play Time – 5 hours Developer – RadiArt Steam VNDB
Are These Feelings Real?
Dealing
with romantic emotions can be a difficult and this is doubly so when
the entire world seems to reject what you are experiencing. Such is
the situation Cila finds herself in when she develops feelings for
the mysterious android Mara as the powers in the shadows will not
allow their happiness to last. Synergia is an extended exploration of
this pair’s relationship through a mixture of mechanophilia, yuri
and dystopia. The result is a case study of their identities which
grounds them within a sense of place many longer games can not match.
Move outside of this core bubble and the cracks begin to show with
the secondary cast lacking proper development and certain plot
elements having little substance. However, is this inconsistency
enough to undermine the strong foundations of the core relationship
and the ideas it explores? Let’s get lost in the neon lights and
find out.
Mechanical Love – Narrative and Themes
No
matter how small an element might be, everything returns to being
about the romance between the two leads. In making their relationship
such a cornerstone of the narrative it forces the player to see the
world through the lens of their emotions. Synergia is very much a
title which wants people to engage with it on an immediate and
visceral level. It puts a lot of effort into placing the player inside the
head space of Cila by putting them into her perspective and dragging out the
contradiction between her work and her own feelings. This tension is
a core part of the underlying momentum that the story uses to keep
the slow pacing from causing players to lose interest through the
promise of what will happen when she eventually choose what she
values. Prospects for the pairs future together are initially
presented as bleak given how their world’s views on romance between
human and machines. Here Synergia draws parallels between real world
discrimination over who it is correct for a person to be able to
love, with the most noticeable being the treatment of homosexuality
especially since the pair are both female. Through this the narrative
can present grounded themes and ideas about the subject without
spelling it out in a way that insults the player’s intelligence and
adds something solid to all the emotions they have been immersed in.
Drawing these elements into a whole allows the game to offer
something for every part of the player’s mind to engage with from the emotional to the intellectual and this ensures even after they
put it down they will still think about it.
 |
| From their first meeting Cila and Mara's relationship is the core of the narrative |
Acting
as the backbone supporting this focus around the main romance is a
strong sense of place within the decay of this cyberpunk dystopia.
While we are never given a complete picture of the state this city is
in, there is never any doubt this is a civilisation long past its
prime with its ailing emperor and oppressive government. It sits on
the edge of collapsing into nothing as it totters along and yet it
still have teeth to bear against those who stand to oppose its
beliefs. In many ways it is a perfect reflection of Cila’s own
internal psyche as she remains trapped in the past and slowly rots
away in the life she finds herself consigned to walk. Without Mara’s
arrival she would probably have sat forever in that pit and so
overcoming and moving on from the city which has constrained her acts
as both as a literal and metaphorical escape from her own prison.
Beyond this metaphor the world works as means to explain why people
act the way they do and create a thick atmosphere of melancholy to
contrast with the moments of happiness between the two leads. Leaning
into this emotional representation of a lived in place gives an
intimate feeling to the player’s time there as it offers an easy to
grasp idea of place in a way they can draw parallels with their own
experiences.
 |
| The setting is a wonderful mix of concrete and vague |
When
everything is so heavily focused on a single narrative and emotional
direction, it makes the parts which go against this route stand out in a
distracting manner. For Synergia this takes the form of Cila’s past
and in particular her nature as a Daughter of Velta who was created
from an artificial womb. This is used to explain Cila’s ability to
heal from injuries faster than normal, but does not tie well into the
otherwise machine facing narrative nor does it add anything
meaningful to her dynamic with Mara since that role is already taken
up with Cila’s past love for another android. It is brought up out of
nowhere and is dismissed equally as fast creating a sense of whiplash
where the smooth tonal flow and pacing of the game is broken
abruptly. The only place where is take the spotlight as the core
element of the plot is in the second ending where all previously
established ideas take a backseat including Mara. However, nothing
revealed during this ending is of any real consequence and it mostly
just spins its wheels until events beyond Cila’s control allow her
move on with the plot. It does not help that Cila has already come to
terms with her origins and so lacks any character arc related to them
leading to an absence of dramatic tension. The absence of Mara or
events relating to her means this ending struggles to justify its
existence in a visual novel so focused around Cila and Mara’s
relationship. This leaves Cila’s creation feel like an odd
inclusion which could have been written out and takes up space that
could have been better utilised to expand on side characters or other
themes.
Of Man And Machine – Characters
Above
all other characters stand Cila and Mara, it is their individual
characters and the dynamic they share which create the game’s
compelling hook. Cila is our protagonist and point of view character
and she makes for an interesting choice to narrate this journey. She
is at once deeply involved in this world through her job and her
past, yet detached as she merely meanders through her life without
making any meaningful connections. Despite this she never comes
across as cynical, she knows how unfair the world can be but even in the face of
this harsh reality she can never quite give up on the feels which
have defined her. As such Mara makes for the perfect contrast to
Cila. As a bubbling ball of curiosity and smiles, Mara acts as an
excuse to have the world explained to the player and to communicate
just how sheltered she has been from reality. There is an innocence
to her actions which disarms Cila and gets her to open up to Mara,
but at the same time she not without her own intentions and desires to drive her. For
Cila, Mara is a rudder to guide her life towards some kind of future
and help her understand her own emotions. This creates an unbalance
in their relationship with Mara being the driving force and Cila
being dragged along behind and plays into their dynamic for the
eventual pay off to their relationship.
 |
| Yoko is by far the most developed secondary character |
With
so much of Synergia’s short duration focused on Cila and Mara,
there is a distinct lack of development and engagement with the
secondary cast. Each is given just enough time to provide them some
basic substance and fulfil their plot function before they are cast
aside never to change again. As you can imagine this makes them feel
quite hollow and it detracts from the concrete sense of place the
game sets up by making its inhabitants lack a feeling of humanity.
Take Yoko, the most prominent of the side characters and the closest
thing Cila has to a friend. Initially she is involved in events quite
extensively since she is the person who gives Mara to Cila and know
the truth about Mara’s existence. However, after a while she just
drops out of existence and only reappears in the climax as means to
provide a means of escalating the conflict. Yoko’s motivations are
not explored in any detail and end up being boiled down to a simple
hatred of the empire which create a flat feeling character. The
developers do try to correct this through the later released epilogue
Sunrise and this does do a good job of exploring her motives and
humanity. It is just a shame that this does not apply to the rest of
the secondary cast who never escape their lack of screen time.
Our Grimy Dystopia – Visual, Audio and Technical
The
title’s relatively low budget is
clear to see in its lack of the bells and whistles found in larger visual
novels. However, this is not something the player will notice in the
moment as Synergia knows how to milk every drop from what it does
have available. Each part of the visuals and audio works to push a
specific sense of what this dystopia is like to live in and the
emotional
mood of the characters. This manifests as stripes of striking colour
in an otherwise dark and muted landscape, their beauty a fleeting
reminder of the happy moments of people’s lives and the grim
reality which surrounds them. Even at its brightest the colours are
always muted as if smothered by the smog of the city’s factories
and it adds an almost dreamlike quality to the intimate moments
between the cast. The music adds to these vague feelings through its
synth tones and it conveys a world of technological brilliance coated
in a thick layer of soot out of which only glimpses of what came
before can be seen. It
leans heavily into promoting this atmosphere to the point that even
outside of the context of the game the audio sells the experience of
playing it and the fragile mix of oppression and hope it represents.
 |
| Strong and muted colours define the identity of Synergia |
Conclusion
Cyberpunk
is a genre which has gone relatively unexplored in visual novels, but
Synergia provides a compelling case for why more games should make
use of it. The wonderfully all consuming romance between Cila and
Mara makes for a space where the themes and ideas can be explored
freely. Supporting this is a sense of place which paints a bleak picture of
the pairs prospects and yet feels alive in its own unique way. It
also helps the narrative to have Cila and Mara be such strong
personalities with their dynamic being a selling point for the game
as a whole. Making sure these parts for a cohesive is the visual and
audio which present a vision of this world and its characters without
saying a word.
Verdict –
The seamless blending of engaging themes, strong characters and
an atmospheric world make for a highly memorable and immersive
cyberpunk story.
Pros -
+
The romance between Cila and Mara wonderfully engages with the game's
core themes and ideas.
+
The grim reality and decay of this dystopia are palpable at every turn.
+
Cila and Mara’s characters and dynamic is endearing and complex.
+
Careful and considered use of the strong visual style and soundscape
help sell the experience.
Cons -
-
Cila’s past relating to her creation feels out of place with the
heavy theming around machines and Mara.
-
The secondary cast lack development and come across as one
dimensional.
