A Few Questions

Visual Novel Community Archive, 2000-2009
#1

I was here quite a while ago and the products sparked my interest but after a huge series of debates about Win2k/XP support where I was told, to my staunch disagreement, that Win2k/XP support was not important and would not be officially supported in the forseeable future I left. I just recently decided to check back in now that XP has been out for a while and it seems Win2k and XP ARE in fact being supported now so once again I’m considering making some purchases. Let me make it clear that I am a newbie when it comes to this genre, while I have watched Anime in college I’ve been attracted more to the robot combat (Patlabor, Marcoss, Gundam), Cyberpunk (Ghost in the Shell), and Fantasy (Record of Lodoss War) genres. So forgive me if I ask “obvious” questions about the Bishoujo genre. Anyway the first few that I have are really more about the games engines then the story/genre so here goes:

Do all of these games have actual speach (audio) or are they entirely text?

Do all of these games have animation in the images or are they just stills? I’m not looking for anything major, something as simple as eyes blinking and mouthing moving (if there is speach) is fine.

Finally if the answers to either of the two previous questions vary from game to game is it clearly noted on the product page? If not can I get a listing of which games support what?

Thank you.

#2

Do all of these games have actual speach (audio) or are they entirely text?

Yes. All of the games here at Peach Princess except for X-Change have the original Japanese voice actresses.

Do all of these games have animation in the images or are they just stills? I’m not looking for anything major, something as simple as eyes blinking and mouthing moving (if there is speach) is fine.

There isn’t any animation to speak of yet in Peach Princess games, though in the games, most characters use various different poses to emphasise how they are feeling. There is supposed to be animation such as blinking eyes in some of Peach Princess’ future releases though, but I don’t see it likely that these will ever be released because the current games don’t sell well enough.

Finally if the answers to either of the two previous questions vary from game to game is it clearly noted on the product page? If not can I get a listing of which games support what?

I’m pretty sure that the product page specifies whether a game has voice. X-Change is the only game here that doesn’t have voice, but the X-Change product page is not exactly accurate anyway, since the game actually uses CD-Audio rather than MIDI for music (as is stated on the page).

#3
quote:
Originally posted by Asmodai:
Do all of these games have actual speach (audio) or are they entirely text?

Most of Peach Princess games does have voices, yes. The only exceptation of this is as far as I know X-change, since it is the oldest game that Peach Princess sells (many older games doesn't have voices at all). all others of their games do have voices, through.

quote:
Do all of these games have animation in the images or are they just stills? I'm not looking for anything major, something as simple as eyes blinking and mouthing moving (if there is speach) is fine.

They're not just stills, but... Well it's kind of hard to describe, but in ALL of peach Princess's games, the characters behaviour or face changes in some way when you speak tot hem. The characters can blush, look pissed as hell, look cute, etc... in short: they're not just stills, the charaters will react to you depening on how YOU choose to react to them or what they say to you. But it can vary from game to game, tou see. Snow Drop have facial animantions but Tokimeki Check-In, on the other hand, is not the same, but I've forgot what it was called... And judging by the (japanese) demo of Little My Maid, it looks like the characters in that game will have moving mounths, but I'm not sure...

quote:
Finally if the answers to either of the two previous questions vary from game to game is it clearly noted on the product page? If not can I get a listing of which games support what?
Thank you.

Such things aren't, as far as I know, listened on the products page. But if you really wants to know what game supports what, then I suppose that we could give you a list here.

[This message has been edited by Spectator Beholder (edited 04-28-2002).]

#4

Thanks everyone for the reply. So if I’m a newbie to Bishoujo, and know little to nothing about it but am curious and willing to give it a shot… which game would you suggest I start with? I know the Bishoujo fans out there would prefer that I bought them all, to support the gerne in America, but since I’m unfamiliar with the genre I’m not that dedicated… yet. For now I just want to get one and see if it’s something I’m interested in. So which of the Peach Princess games do you think is the most shining example of the genre that has the best chance to convince me to buy more? If I know how good the genre could be then I don’t have a proble buying the “lesser” titles to increase the chances of more coming over. I’m also sure that different people have different taste so there probably isn’t one CLEAR winner, but I’d like to hear some ideas. Thanks again.

#5

About calling the music MIDI because it has low sound quality… has anyone ever listened to a high end MIDI device such as a Roland Sound Canvas? No one would think that MIDI is inferior after hearing this thing. But most people probably never listened to MIDI other than what the SoundBlaster’s crappy wavetable synthesis offers.

[This message has been edited by gaogao (edited 04-29-2002).]

#6
quote:
Originally posted by Asmodai:
Thanks everyone for the reply. So if I'm a newbie to Bishoujo, and know little to nothing about it but am curious and willing to give it a shot... which game would you suggest I start with? I know the Bishoujo fans out there would prefer that I bought them all, to support the gerne in America, but since I'm unfamiliar with the genre I'm not that dedicated... yet. For now I just want to get one and see if it's something I'm interested in. So which of the Peach Princess games do you think is the most shining example of the genre that has the best chance to convince me to buy more? If I know how good the genre could be then I don't have a proble buying the "lesser" titles to increase the chances of more coming over. I'm also sure that different people have different taste so there probably isn't one CLEAR winner, but I'd like to hear some ideas. Thanks again.

I don't know about shining example, but I really like TCI.

#7
quote:
Originally posted by Kumiko Kamiyama:
Just a couple notes...

for Xchange, the product page states the specs - no voices are listed because there is no voice support for that game. The other games have voice support, as their pages state (original Japanese voice actresses.)

Also for Xchange, the music is not what people here would consider CD Audio quality - it is MIDI quality, and the difference between what people are used to hearing in a genuine CD-DA game versus older MIDI games is quite readily apparent. If we listed the music as being CD-DA, people would be quite disappointed because the music simply is not of that level of quality. We try to make sure that such issues are clear - it would be misleading to state that the music is CD quality when it plays as something far less. That is not to say it is "bad" - there are plenty of games with MIDI music that are still enjoyable, and Xchange is one of them. However, don't think that you'll be getting audio that matches Half-Life or something like that. [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/smile.gif[/img]

That all depends on your sound-card. Personally I have a SB-Live, so what you say applies to me, but someone using something such as an ISA Sound Blaster 16 would almost certainly disagree with you.

Anyway, I still stand by that it's very mis-leading to say that the music is MIDI when it IS in fact CD-Audio (regardless of what it sounds like), but I did explain that in the help forum.

#8
quote:
Originally posted by Asmodai:
Thanks everyone for the reply. So if I'm a newbie to Bishoujo, and know little to nothing about it but am curious and willing to give it a shot... which game would you suggest I start with? I know the Bishoujo fans out there would prefer that I bought them all, to support the gerne in America, but since I'm unfamiliar with the genre I'm not that dedicated... yet. For now I just want to get one and see if it's something I'm interested in. So which of the Peach Princess games do you think is the most shining example of the genre that has the best chance to convince me to buy more? If I know how good the genre could be then I don't have a proble buying the "lesser" titles to increase the chances of more coming over. I'm also sure that different people have different taste so there probably isn't one CLEAR winner, but I'd like to hear some ideas. Thanks again.


well, you hit the nail on the head...it's all about taste...here's my take...

if you like fairy tale romantic stories, i'd suggest snow drop...if you like comedy or lots of sex in the title, go for x-change...if you like an interesting mix of comedy, romance, fetish, etc, i'd say try Tokimeki Checkin...if you're into potty humour and sex, Water Closet is the way to go...if you are a sci-fi fan, Critical Point is excellent

my personal favorites are Snow Drop and Critical Point...their stories are excellent and well-told, and the sexual scenes are well-integrated into the telling of the story and don't seem forced or pointless

hope this helped [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/smile.gif[/img]

#9
quote:
Originally posted by ladyphoenix:

well, you hit the nail on the head...it's all about taste...here's my take...

if you like fairy tale romantic stories, i'd suggest snow drop...if you like comedy or lots of sex in the title, go for x-change...if you like an interesting mix of comedy, romance, fetish, etc, i'd say try Tokimeki Checkin...if you're into potty humour and sex, Water Closet is the way to go...if you are a sci-fi fan, Critical Point is excellent

my personal favorites are Snow Drop and Critical Point...their stories are excellent and well-told, and the sexual scenes are well-integrated into the telling of the story and don't seem forced or pointless

hope this helped [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/smile.gif[/img]


What Lady Phoenix said about the games is right.
My first choice would be Tokimeki Check-in!, I love this kind of game, then Critical Point that has a lot of different endings and plots and Snowdrop that has a wonderful opening track and a great ending track. [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/smile.gif[/img]

[This message has been edited by Goku (edited 04-30-2002).]

#10

I would have to agree with Turrican and disagree with Kumiko.

The issue which Turrican brought up at the beginning of this thread (MIDI vs CDDA) is not about “quality”; this depends on the individual’s taste regardless of whether it’s in MIDI or CDDA, whether you believe it’s high quality or not is up to debate and there is no right or wrong answer to it. What we are talking about here is the technical specs, or hardcore facts, which is being stated on the page. There is no MIDI files on the CDROM at all, only CD-DA tracks (I just checked it). Even the original Japanese Crowd xchange.txt file states that it’s CD-DA for music. Kumiko, telling people about music in terms of “quality” is very misleading, at least from a technical spec point of view. If you insist that it’s MIDI, people may purchase a high-end MIDI device just for this game, and I am sure they will not be too happy to find that it’s actually CD-DA just because someone said it’s MIDI based on “quality”.

So I pretty much agree with Turrican that it’s very misleading to state that it’s MIDI when it’s techinically CDDA coming out of your sound card, and I think the info page needs to be fixed and corrected (for all the game pages actually, among other things on the site). I will try to ask the staff fix it soon.

#11

I don’t know about X-change and Critical Point, but isn’t Tokimeki Check-in! of 1999?

#12

Stating that a game uses MIDI music when it doesn’t is false advertising, is it not? With the advancements in soundcards, MIDI isn’t low quality anymore. Kumiko must be thinking of the old days of FM synthesis. And the reason CDDA music was used at all was because it provided a cheap solution to the low quality MIDI that everyone had. This MIDI vs CDDA is very similar to prerendered 3d graphics vs realtime 3d.

[This message has been edited by gaogao (edited 04-30-2002).]

#13

Well, there’s a huge difference between MIDI and CD audio - not always in terms of quality, but just in technology. It’s sort like 2d vs. 3d - two different technologies. And even if somebody’s 3d art really sucks, you don’t describe it as 2d. :slight_smile:

Hexen also had a CD audio option. The songs were nothing more than digital recordings of MIDIs. However, they were still CD audio and not MIDI. And they were advertised as CD audio as well. The “ignorant” Western market didn’t seem to be too upset about that.

#14

I went ahead and ordered “Critical Point” (the Collector’s Edition) and “Tokimeki Check-in!” and they came in yesterday. I’ve played them both through at least once now and here are my thoughts:

As a newbie I didn’t really know what to expect. To be honest I was a bit disappointed at first by the minimal animation and low level of interaction. I wasn’t expecting anything to the level of big production game cut scenes or anime videos but I did expect a little more along the lines of blinking and such and not simply frame substitions that occur only when I click to continue (and even then it doesn’t happen EVERY time.) Likewise I was completely unaware that the gameplay doesn’t amount to much more than a choose-your-own-adventure novel (anyone remember those?) I had thought I’d be able to walk around the base and inn respectively on my own (even if not animated, maybe something along the lines of a map that allowed me to click on adjacent rooms to go to that room.) As I played through the games though, I did find myself growing more and more interested in the stories. Personally I enjoyed “Critical Point” the most, perhaps it’s because I’m a big sci-fi fan. While I did enjoy “Tokimeki Check in!” and I certainly don’t regret buying it I was a bit uncomfortable not knowing where I stood in the game with the various characters. I played all the way through with only one… “romantic encounter” (is that normal or am I just REALLY bad at the game?) I tried to play it through again choosing some different options and found it rather repetitive to read through. Also I picked different things and while I did get a different “encounter” this time (still just one though, but not the one I got the first time) I have no idea WHY.

Again, forgive my ignorance because I most certainly am a newbie in this genre but I just thought I’d share my thoughts in case anyone was interested. Overall I don’t regret buying the games, I do enjoy playing them, but I’m not exactly devoted to the genre either.

I’m not too keen on potty humor (Water Closet?), I’m not particularly fond of the art style in “Snow Drop” (it looks “hazy” to me for lack of a better word), and the technical limitations of “X-Change” are keeping me from placing any further orders just yet… but I am still keeping an open mind on the genre. “Brave Soul” looks far more interactive and I love fantasy settings (I actually play D&D with friends on the weekends) so I’ll probably give it a shot when it comes out (I never pre-order anything) and from the screen shots there seems to be some sort of meters (Love, Trust, P-S) in “Little My Maid” which look like it could solve the uncertainty problems I had with “Tokimeki Check In!” so I’m thinking of giving it a try too. “Gibo” the art looks good but I’m not sure it’s anything more than another multiple-choice story as I see no meters or anything in the screenshots so I’m not sure about it.

I think that covers my thoughts on all the products currently listed on the products page. This has just been my personal opinion but I’m certainly interested in hearing the thoughs of you veterans that might be reading this.

#15

Hello! Well, good to hear that you did like the games you brought! As for your questions, I’ll do my best to answer some of them…

quote:
I had thought I’d be able to walk around the base and inn respectively on my own

Well, not in Tokimeki Check-In or Critical Point, althrough you do get tto choose from a quite huge number of opinions where to go. But Snow Drop has that kind of thing; you move in the game by choosing where to go on a map of either the inn where you’re staying or the ski slopes.

quote:
I played all the way through with only one… “romantic encounter” (is that normal or am I just REALLY bad at the game?) I tried to play it through again choosing some different options and found it rather repetitive to read through. Also I picked different things and while I did get a different “encounter” this time (still just one though, but not the one I got the first time) I have no idea WHY.

Don’t worry about that . You have to roleplay in a certain way before you you can, ahem, get together with most of the people at the in, and certain events/encouners needs to be stumbled upon too. So unless you get everything right, you probably won’t see very many sex scenes during the game (unlike Critical Point), nor get together with any of the characters . But that’s normal. I think that everyone here, when they first played Tokimeki Check-In had to struggle much in the same yay you’re struggling now. It took me two weeks or something like that before I managed to get together with one of the characters. And two more weeks or something like that to get all the endings and CG’s. sigh as I think of this, I wonder how long time it will tkae me to get anywhere in Snow Drop

quote:
“Brave Soul” looks far more interactive and I love fantasy settings (I actually play D&D with friends on the weekends) so I’ll probably give it a shot when it comes out (I never pre-order anything) and from the screen shots there seems to be some sort of meters (Love, Trust, P-S) in “Little My Maid” which look like it could solve the uncertainty problems I had with “Tokimeki Check In!” so I’m thinking of giving it a try too.

Most of us here are awaiting those two with VERY high exceptations , since those two may become the the triumph cards of Peach Princess

[This message has been edited by Spectator Beholder (edited 05-12-2002).]

#16
quote:
Originally posted by Asmodai:
(...)To be honest I was a bit disappointed at first by the minimal animation and low level of interaction. I wasn't expecting anything to the level of big production game cut scenes or anime videos but I did expect a little more along the lines of blinking and such and not simply frame substitions that occur only when I click to continue (and even then it doesn't happen EVERY time.)
You had blinking and mouth animations in the original games. They were lost when porting the old game engine to a new one (this of "Snow Drop")...

#17

Hmm. What of the LMM engine, then? Will we see moving mouths in that one, just like in the japanese demo of the game???

#18
quote:
Originally posted by Kumiko Kamiyama:
No, it would be very misleading to tell people sound is CD-DA when it is composed with the "quality" of the MIDI music in Tokimeki Checkin. That might please certain people, but then there would be complaints about the music quality being very poor and that stating CD-DA is misleading, you see? [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/wink.gif[/img]

You have to explain things from the market perspective - consumers here expect full scores for CD-DA music today. It's not the same market as Japan.

It's not a case of the quality that people may or may not expect, it's a case of the technical specifications of the software. I don't know about the US, but certainly here in the UK, mis-leading information like this would be a case for the Trade Description Act.

If you want people to know that the music is not up to scratch compared with what people expect from the format, then say that instead of trying to mess with the facts.

#19

Well, on the topic of music, does Peach Princess have any plans to carry music CD’s? I’ve really liked all of Crowd’s vocal selections so far, and really want to pick up a soundtrack or two from Bishoujo games… right now I only have a mixed tape of MP3’s from Miss You, Dousshin, Panda Houses’s Rhythmic Gymnastics, and that kicking Dance no D from GS Mikami playing in my car, and am eager to replace it with something more substantial, like not an MP3.

#20

I think it would really be nice if PP somehow managed to get ahold of the two I’ve albums “Verge” & “Regret”. I can’t seem to find them anywhere. T_T