Doujin games

Visual Novel Community Archive, 2000-2009
#1

A few days ago I wanted to try some doujin games translated in english.
So I decided to play Red Shift and… omg I didn’t realize that it could be so good.
My only regret : after 2H30 without interuption, the game (or maybe the visual novel since there are not choices) showed me a sad “the end”.

Today, after having recovered from the emo-wrecking caused by Red Shift, I plaid Narcissu…
OK that’s it… I almost feel as bad as when I plaid Kana little sister. i don’t feel as sad since the game was really short (2H30 I think), but it was damned good.
Stage-nana definitively know what’s good and I can’t wait for the translation of Narcissu II now (how can those who wait since it’s out in japan ?).
Now excuse me but I have to listen to the OST of narcissu :slight_smile:

Next time I’ll try True Remembrance.

#2

I don’t know about translated into English, but I love doujin games. Most recently been playing deathlori and a bunch of other titles. Myth came out at comiket, and I haven’t scored a copy, but it looks pretty awesome and is on my priority list.

The thing about doujin games that I love is the element of individualism. Typically the teams that work on them are very small (commercial games that had small teams, like G-Senjou no Maou, also get the same sort of thing to a lesser extent), and they become more of a ‘personal’ work, it seems. You get things like Himawari which are utterly wonderful because they have this certain ‘style’ that you just don’t get anywhere else.

Doujin games only occupy five slots in my top 25 list, which is a bit sad, but understandable. There’s a lot of other doujin games I rank very highly that just didn’t make it, too. In fact, the upcoming title I’m most looking forward to, moreso than Witch on the Holy Night, Girl’s Work or Rewrite, is a doujin game! =P

#3

True Remembrance, A Dream of Summer, and Ballad of an Evening Butterfly are all good reads that have been translated as well.

It’s not a Doujin, but if you haven’t already played Planetarian, it’s a good one as well. For anyone interested, you can go to the following link for details on how to get it. http://planetarian.insani.org/get.html

#4

I just finished Moonlight (day 4 of the al|together 2008). http://altogether.insani.org/2008/4.html

I almost cried (almost because since the game is quit short (2H) I managed to keep my tears).

Fot those who would like to know before playing it : no there are no H-scene. It’s an important question since the girl is a trap.
I didn’t feel disturbed by that in fact and it doesn’t really matter in this story.

No I need to put my hand on the theme song !

#5

Mai is a trap from the beginning. She said that she is not a girl, but at the same time not a boy either. She was a boy, now she is both, or maybe neither. But the importance is: the protagonist appreciate the girl’s side of her. But their relationship is exactly what we call “taboo” and so they simply just couldn’t cross the line. Moonshine is very different comparing to other doujins on these terms.

Also in al|together 2008, The Letter is quite an original visual novel, not many VNs give focus on the family relationship like it does. It’s sad, but heartwarming at the same time. The Letter let us feel the warmth and kindness from a family, from a mother, from a father. I’m not good at words, but it, The Letter does stand out among the English doujins.

Overall i could say that this year’s al|together was quite an success, despite of the questionable content in Crimsoness and although i haven’t finished LEAVEs yet, i could say that it’s a fairly adult story, not just on erotic terms.

Oh, and here is an interesting find of mine on this year’s festival. :lol:

#6

Where are the best (ie somewhat trustworthy) links one can head to to track these down?

#7

Head over to the official site: http://altogether.insani.org/
I also have a summary writeup of each of the games at http://novelnews.net/2008/11/28/the-alt … rocession/

#8

Be sure to try Narcissu and MoonShine :

http://www.insani.org/index.html

#9

http://www.shii.org/translate/
http://www.tsukuru.info/tlwiki/index.ph … =Main_Page

#10

I just finished May Sky.
Not the best game ever, but it was still enjiyable. I really appreciated the side story 'August Snow". It was more interesting than the main story.

For some reasons I prefered playing May Sky than finishing Amorous professor Cherry (and i have to see all the endings before I can buy princess Waltz).

#11

This time I played True Remembrance. http://trueremembrance.insani.org/

A great game. It earns its “le nuage quality label”. 8)

Sometimes I wonder if I don’t prefer free games like narcissu, Moonshine or True remembrance to YMK, Snow Sakura, Crescendo or Kana…
The “problem” is that they’re quite short (even if you can spend 3-4H on True Remembrance)… but even so they’re still better than some games I wont cite (/me look at his APC disk that I still have to finish… one day).

#12

You and me both in regards to APC. It will probably be quite a long time until I can stand attempting to finish the game (i.e. get all scenes and endings and such).

#13

Are you sure the problem isn’t simply that Amorous Professor Cherry isn’t particularly good*? Rather than it being a preferring-short-free-doujins-to-full-length-commercial-games thing.

*as a matter of perception - if you wanted a yaruge, you probably wouldn’t have been disappointed, looking at reviews of the thing.

#14

The advice of the year :
If you like Yume Miru Kusuri, try LEAVEs http://altogether.insani.org/2008/6.html

#15

Hm… judging by what other people have said, I must be one of the few who didn’t particularly like LEAVEs. Although I’m sure the translation is accurate, the rendering of some of the slang into English did feel quite unnatural and jarring. While the concept of LEAVEs was interesting and ambitious, the overall progression of the story and the quality of the writing didn’t feel adequate for the game’s genre. In the end, I felt rather disappointed after finishing :(… 55 to 60 out of 100 I guess?

Edit: Just went back and replayed a few bits - maybe it’s not so much the quality of the writing that’s problematic for me, but it’s more the individual characters. Unlike Yume Miru Kusuri and other eroges in a similar genre, I didn’t feel particularly drawn or interested in anyone, which mitigated any emotional impact the game might have had. Anyway, just my two cents…

#16

I didn’t think LEAVEs was that good either. Moonshine was certainly the title I liked most out of at2008 (and it’s one I’d read prior anyway).

#17

Out of the 6 games translated this year, Moonshin is the one I prefer but LEAVEs is #2.
Of course LEAVEs is not as great as YMK (is there only one game in this world that could reach the level of YMK ? :P) but we couldn’t expect as much if the game is this short. In fact I think the only problem with LEAVEs is the ending since it’s a too happy ending where everyone is happy and the bad twin is forgiven just like that even if we can’t really undestand why.
Some aspect of the stroy could have been developed a little more (like how tomohiro felt when Touka whores herself, we never really see Touka taking drugs and god damned was she raped in the end ?)
I whish this VN could have been a little longer.

My TOP 5 for doujin :

1 : Narcissu
2 : Moonshine
3 : True Remembrance
4 : LEAVEs
5 : May Sky

#18

Well, I guess my top 5 freeware doujins would end up being, hmm…

  1. Narcissu -side 2nd- (incl’s the first, so I have no need to list it twice)
  2. Bye
  3. Textbook of Evil
  4. True Remembrance
  5. Brass Restoration

My top 5 doujin games, regardless of freeware/nonfreeware status, are:

  1. Himawari
  2. Natsu no Tomoshibi
  3. Tsukihime
  4. A Profile
  5. Currently Narcissu -side 2nd-, but it’s looking like Killer Queen might take that if it keeps being this awesome.
#19

Recently I’ve played Brass Restoration.

http://yandere.gray7.com/?page_id=50
http://vndb.org/v167

The main character, Takiguchi Ryo, is a genius percussionist in high school who had a bright future ahead of him.
But he loses his left arm in an accident.
The accident causes him to throw away his dream to become a percussionist like his father, and he loses all hope in life.
Ryo tries to abandon music, but the girls around him encourage him to take up music once again.
Will he be able to find hope in his life and a passion for music in spite of his handicap¬Ö?

I can’t believe there were VN this long in the free VN world (20H).
Usualy it takes 1-2H to complete à free VN but not this time.

I recommend it to all the lght siders (especialy those who like VN like Snow Sakura).

#20

I know Mangagmer’s going to start releasing the Higurashi doujin visual novels in October, if you’re interested:

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/20 … ual-novels