visualnovels
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A place to discuss Visual Novels
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I've recently played through the demo of Save the Villainess, one of multiple villainess themed titles suggested to me by @[email protected].
I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it - not because I dislike it but rather because it's very different from what I expected. It's much closer to Umineko (in terms of the atmosphere as well as meta and magical elements) than a straightforward VN. Structure wise however it has more interactivity and actual choices then that series.
I'm a bit mixed on the writing - on one hand it tries to be kind of serious, on the other it plays around with already mentioned meta elements, through the use of a narrator actively participating in the story, and presents the MC as a bit of an aloof weirdo. That last point isn't bad in itself but doesn't really mesh with what's going on and how the game tries to present its creepy vibe. At times the writing makes me confused on what emotions devs want me to feel.
That's how I felt early on anyway.
After finishing the demo I feel like all the characters are aloof weirdos to some extent and the whole things started to feel more like an American McGee's "Alice in Wonderland" interpretation than a mystery romance novel. Despite my initial impressions this story doesn't take itself (too?) seriously and with this approach the whole thing becomes way funnier to read.
Speaking of presentation, it's also all over the place. The art style is very nice and all the illustrations are great from the technical standpoint. There's also a decent amount of dynamism in how the scenes are presented - like panning the camera over various elements of the background or moving characters to represent some actions.
At the same time, the game goes a bit too hard with animating certain character elements (to the point they look weirder/more robotic than if they were static) as well as when employing various effects during some scene transitions or meta focused segments. I hope they tone these down a bit in the final release.
Also, this might be a petty complaint but the semi-regular title drops can get a little obnoxious - the fact they are always accompanied by a full logo reveal doesn't help either. Please let this be a demo or prologue only thing and not a recurring stinger happening throughout the whole story.
Most of what I wrote here might sound like I don't enjoy the game but that couldn't be further from the truth. I do like what I played so far and I hope it improves even more in the full release. This demo seems to be about a year old or so - I'm sure things will be more polished once the full version comes out.
I've you're in mood for a villainess themed story and don't mind a cast being filled with weirdos this title might be worth a look. I'll be definitely keeping an eye on the full release and search for other similar titles in the meantime.
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PROJECT MIX - Upcoming VR Indie Title Inspired By 90s Anime (Kickstarter Campaign + Demo)
(www.kickstarter.com)
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I wanted to share something for those interested in less known, historical oddities today.
Girl of the Bakehouse ~ Withered is a short kinetic novel from a Chinese doujin group called MICA Team - group which later found their footing as a gacha developer with games like Girls' Frontline 1 and 2 as well as Project Neural Cloud. The game had a very limited release (400 copies, available only during few Chinese cons) and never received an official English version so the only way to play it is to use a fan translation packed with the full game. I'm not linking it here since we didn't have a conversation about how to handle such cases on the community level but anyone interested in checking it out feel free to message me or just check the fan patch release on game's VNDB page.
Action of Girl of the Bakehouse takes place in a small town occupied by an invading military forces and follows two characters: Mendo (a war reporter attached to said military) and Jefuty (a local girl whose parents were killed by the troops). The story itself is pretty simple and focuses on revenge - not the exciting and fun kind of revenge but rather the sad and "unnecessary" one. It's down to earth, it's personal and it's tragic (from a purely humanist perspective).
On the production quality standpoint the game is alright - it's an amateur production and it shows, though I don't think it necessarily takes away from the experience. The writing is good for what it is, not the best thing I've read but also never got boring or took me out of the experience. The art is pretty rough, music and sound effects do their job well. As long as you don't expect a high-budget affair your time with it should be a positive one.
Considering the limited release and the amateur development you'd probably be prone to expect this to be a neat but long forgotten curio. Wrong, this title isn't just a one-off but was actually remade twice - first as Codename: Bakery Girl and later as Reverse Collapse: Code Name Bakery (the only one available officially these days, here is the Steam page in case anyone's curious).
Both games moved away from a pure VN approach and changed into tactical RPGs. The story itself also evolved, with Mendo becoming a soldier/agent tasked with extraction of a mysterious person from a hostile territory (Jefuty).
World building got a lot more fleshed out, leaning further into the sci-fi setting as well as providing new details about who, what, where, why, the history of the world and much more.
The world and lore of these remakes were also utilised in already mentioned gacha games, with Girls' Frontline titles acting as prequels (though not directly related) to Mendo and Jefuty's story.
I always had soft spots to historical oddities and rough but ambitious attempts by indie developers. Trying out this small but passionate project, one which gave start to a franchise spanning universe I fell in love with almost 7 years ago, was a really fun experience. I'm glad I finally got a chance to see it for myself.
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Description
The Ghost of Alcantra is a passion project made by four people. It is a free kinetic romance/mystery vn that alternates between two perspectives, one taking place in 1987 and one taking place in 1997. In 1987, Nick Fox meets the mysterious Alexandria (who seems to know more than she lets on) at the Summer Festival of Alcantra. They become closer, but at the same time, Alcantra finds itself the center for a series of murders. In 1997, an unknown narrator gets hit by a motorcycle and ends up in the hospital with amnesia. A detective, Scarlet Storm, informs him that a murder has just occurred and gives him a note found with his belongings that says: “Her blood is on your hands.” He joins Detective Storm to assist in the case in hopes that doing so will help him recover his memories. She tells him that the townspeople think the murder was done for The Ghost of Alcantra. As the events progress, it becomes clear that the events of 1997 are connected to those of 1987.
If you’re looking for a fairly lengthy visual novel focused around a central romance and mystery, consider The Ghost of Alcantra. There are many great visual novels that involve different routes or dating sim elements, but if you’re wanting to experience a narrative that emphasizes a singular, fleshed-out story, consider checking out The Ghost of Alcantra.
Links:
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ebi-hime announces new horror yuri visual novel set in an isolated abbey, The Darkness Delivers
(store.steampowered.com)
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JAST announces English release of Paradise: Musubi, sequel to BL game Paradise
(store.steampowered.com)
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Kindaichi Mystery Series: The Honjin Murders to release on Steam and Switch on April 24th
(store.steampowered.com)
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