Apparently complete English fan translations are now available for Key’s kinetic novel Planetarian and Studio E-go’s Castle Fantasia II: Renewal. In addition, the original Japanese version of Planetarian can be downloaded legitimately for $10 from the Kinetic Novel site!
See this topic at the MegaTokyo forums for the Planetarian patch download and an explanation of how to purchase the game from Kinetic Novel (as well as related discussion): http://forums.megatokyo.com/index.php?showtopic=1694552
I bought Planetarian ~The reverie of a little planet~ using the instructions on the patch’s website. The novel was very good IMO, but of course also pretty short. There will those who might feel that it isn’t worth even $10, seeing as it lacks any kind of gameplay, is very short and has few CGs and music tracks.
I liked it, and since it costs about the same as a standard movie theater ticket here, the ~4 hours it lasted was more than enough value for the money.
So the trade-off is that it’s short, huh? Since I have the dubious super ability to spend twice as long on a game as anyone else, that would probably still be worth the money.
quote:Originally posted by Dark_Shiki: So the trade-off is that it's short, huh? Since I have the dubious super ability to spend twice as long on a game as anyone else, that would probably still be worth the money. [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/wink.gif[/img]
But it's not a game. It's a kinetic novel (whatever the reasoning behind the name is). It's like a visual novel, except it has no gameplay, no choices you make. I still think that the 4 hours for $10 is a good deal, seeing as I spent far less time on Virgin Roster which costed me $68.
quote:Originally posted by Dark_Shiki: Is the text progression automatic, and at a set speed? If not, my super ability should not be underestimated....
Well, if you stretch your imagination enough, I guess you COULD consider it "gameplay" when you get to choose how long a portion of text remains on the screen before clicking the mouse button to display the next part... It's pretty sucky gameplay though.
And I think automatic text progression CAN be enabled.
quote:Originally posted by AG3: Well, if you stretch your imagination enough, I guess you COULD consider it "gameplay" when you get to choose how long a portion of text remains on the screen before clicking the mouse button to display the next part... It's pretty sucky gameplay though.
And I think automatic text progression CAN be enabled.
I think someone missed the point here. Might have been me. [img]http://princess.cybrmall.net/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img] Or was there a point to be missed in the first place...?
[This message has been edited by Dark_Shiki (edited 03-08-2005).]
If I knew a neutral link, I would give one. Unfortunately, I believe the Castle Fantasia 2 patch was released on IRC, and the translators involved don’t have a website. It’s out there, if you know where to look.
[This message has been edited by Dark_Shiki (edited 03-10-2005).]
Buggy as hell. It’s not BTAxis’s fault, either (he’s done a fine translation, btw ). Even without the patched components, the game crashes constantly. It crashes so frequently that it’s difficult to make progress. I’ve tinkered around with it, but with no success yet. I’m fairly certain it’s a graphics issue with the ADV engine. I’m updating my grapics drivers right now to see if that helps.
The game itself…is unique, to say the least. It’s a strategy-RPG/ADV combo. The story very much involves military procedure and tactics…and let’s just say that the game was obviously made by an H-game company. The military strategy elements are ridiculous…the designers obviously learned all they know from Final Fantasy Tactics. For example, a recent military plan involved taking a troublesome border fortress by launching a large-scale feint, a pincer movement, on the enemy’s capital city deep within enemy territory. But no, it gets better. To command their 7 army divisions, they appointed several cadets that had never even seen battle. We’re not talking about prodigies here. We’re talking about ditzy anime girls and a guy who’s so lazy that he stays with his division in the rear and camps out while the rest of his army gets slaughtered in the battlefield (that would be you, the main character). Not to even mention that his grand “army division” apparently consists of him and his two suboordinates. If he has other soldiers they never actually, you know, do any fighting. Extrapolating, their entire army’s battle-capable forces must number around 20 soldiers.
That said, the game manages to redeem itself somewhat in the typical ADV character interactions, and the battles are actually pretty fun. I can’t stand how half the girls are dimwits though. They’re cute…but oh so empty. The resident loli has the formiddable intelligence of a 5 year old, putting even me off. The character designs are really nice however–even the guys look cool.
[This message has been edited by Dark_Shiki (edited 03-10-2005).]
Yeah, it’s a game that causes problems for just about everyone. I do believe I’m the only person in the universe who DIDN’T have any trouble with it. I hear using Win98 compatibility works for many people. I never needed it myself.
As for the rest, it’s a hgame. What do you expect? And anyway, you didn’t play very far. Other soldiers show up from time to time, but they’re all nameless, faceless, and generally short-lived.
I didn’t play very far because I can’t. But yes, I tried Win98 compatibility mode. That has the curious effect of making all the saved games unloadable…
And since I seem to have forgotten in all my whining…thank you for your hard work in bringing this title to an English-speaking audience, BTAxis. To tell the truth, I can’t fathom what motivates self-sacrificing folks like you…
[This message has been edited by Dark_Shiki (edited 03-10-2005).]
I think I’ve found my problem…disabling sound in device manager has gotten me past two very stubborn crash points. That would indicate that either the voices or the music are causing the problem. I’m inclined to believe that it’s the former.
Hm. That seems to be consistent with what a friend told me. He told me it seems to crash when he clicks on to a next message while a voice file is playing AND when a transition happens between lines, such as a different character portrait. You can try to test if this is the case for you by waiting until the voice has stopped before clicking.
[This message has been edited by BTAxis (edited 03-11-2005).]
quote:Originally posted by BTAxis: Hm. That seems to be consistent with what a friend told me. He told me it seems to crash when he clicks on to a next message while a voice file is playing AND when a transition happens between lines, such as a different character portrait. You can try to test if this is the case for you by waiting until the voice has stopped before clicking.
[This message has been edited by BTAxis (edited 03-11-2005).]
Negative. The crashes still occur.
However...instead of disabling sound in Windows, I tried turning down the volume of the music, voice, and sound effects to the lowest value...and this did seem to prevent a particularly annoying crash. I'll have to test it further and see if I can avoid crashes just by turning off a single setting...
[This message has been edited by Dark_Shiki (edited 03-11-2005).]
