Please help me find a new eroge

Visual Novel Community Visual Novel Talk
#1

Well, last time you guys introduced me to a ton of great games so it’s that time again.
It’s been a while since I last played an eroge so I was hoping you guys could help me find a new one. Lately I’ve been getting tired of the same old crap that’s been shoveled out but I want to go back to more familiar territory.
I’m looking for a romance oriented eroge but one that isn’t too stereotypical. In other words I’d prefer that the writer gives you enough reason to care about the characters involved and get caught up emotionally with them as the player. I’d prefer a game that starts on a low note, i.e. the protagonist isn’t too popular, has some kind of bad experience or is generally unhappy in some way and then ends on a high note with the catharsis provided by a relationship or realization of romantic attraction between one of the other heroines.

To cut a long story short, I want a slightly more complex/quirky protagonist perhaps with some emotional scars and a story with characters I can actually care about instead of just roll my eyes at. I’m pretty sure there’s at least a few games like that out there as romance in eroge is a very broad and central genre, I just don’t want another lame romantic comedy with a protagonist useless protagonist who is too normal to be real and cookie cutter heroines.

That’s pretty much my only criterium. I’m okay with nakige as long as I can obtain a happy end so I don’t mind if the start or middle is depressing. I just want to feel a sense of catharsis by the end of it.

Thanks in advance guys.

#2

Some ideas Ignosco and I had:

White Album 2 (Introductory Chapter is already out, Closing Chapter should come eventually)
Kimi ga Nozomu Eien
StarTRain

Sekai no Subete -remind of you-
Natsu no Ame
??? (doujin game)

#3

Interesting that you should bring up Sekai no Subete. Olf was just mentioning that the other day. Specifically, that the story was so interesting that he couldn’t stop the game and play mahjong. :stuck_out_tongue:

#4

I’m not sure if it fits 100% with what you’re requesting, but I think in some ways you might find interesting Hoshizora no Memoria.

This is the best review I’ve found of the game, I think it pretty much sums the game up:

http://www.reikon.org/2009/11/08/hoshiz … ar-review/

#5

Excellent work so far, I know of Natsu no Ame and KGNE but can someone give me a quick synopsis of Sekai no Subete and Star TRain?

#6

I don’t know anything about Sekai no Subete, but here’s a review of Star Train:

http://yandere.gray7.com/?p=219

#7

Clear is pretty interesting,try that!

#8

no

#9

I liked it ;_;
Miki was awesome…: ( [size=50]and the ghost thing was cool…[/size]

#10

It’s pretty much exactly the opposite of what the thread poster wants, though. In fact, none of Kure’s works would be appropriate- his eroges are more high concept story-focused titles, not so much character-focused.

#11

Clear has romance
I’ve never read anything like Haruno’s route
The protag at the start isn’t very popular (because he moved!)
The protag has some emotional scars
The Side characters have a purpose
Protag isn’t useless
Of course it doesn’t match everything he asked for,but it got some.

#12

I don’t understand, judging by what he’s saying it seems clear fits the bill well enough? Then again rarely have I found cause to disagree with Lancer’s opinion in the past.
How about SEkai no Subete? Is there a review for that one?

#13

Well, I’ll be honest; I didn’t like Clear much at all; especially compared to earlier MOON STONE works: Ashita Deatta Shoujo and Doko e Iku no, ano hi (neither of which are very good romance eroges either, but they have excellent stories so I don’t mind). Regardless, I interpreted the request as being for a romance-focused title (where the romance is the focus of the story, not just a side-inclusion) and where the story and drama come from the characters and their interactions. I think that Clear will probably disappoint in this respect even if you enjoy the game.

As for a review of Sekai no Subete-- I have no idea if there’s anything in English. It and ??? are probably two of the best examples in this thread of eroges where the protagonist improves during the story, so if that’s your thing, I definitely recommend it. Sekai no Subete has a bit of a pathetic protagonist-- but as one of the focuses of the story is on his growth, this actually works quite well. There are two versions of Sekai no Subete- the original and ‘remind of you’. I recommend ‘remind of you’ although it’s not available for download. It consists of two different versions of the game you can play: the original game and ‘remind of you’, which is a rewritten version of the main heroine’s route with a new introduction and ending that make it IMHO superior to playing the main route in the original game.

??? is available for DL sales, has one of the best opening movies ever and has an incredibly unique story. The protagonist is one of the most terrible protagonists in eroge but improves quite a bit over time, making it far more about the growth of the protagonist than that of the heroines. It’s just good stuff all round and will probably take 6-10 hours to clear.

#14

I’m also going to suggest Gin’iro
It has almost everything you want

Edit: You should really make it clear that you arn’t trolling when you post that >-<

#15

it’s a great game; i just want everyone to play it!

#16

The author of the game shouldn’t have made the op so misleading,lol.

#17

Okay I think I’ve decided that I’ll go for Sekai no Subete out of all the available options. Seeing as I already have Natsu no Ame, KGNE and white album it’s probably a good bet for me to go with Sekai given the high opinion everyone has here of it.
I recently got around to playing through Sakura Sakura as well which wasn’t too bad but I felt like the emotional impact of the story tapered off and died towards the end. Still it was nice to have the option to actually play as the comic relief best friend character and have a happy end together with another heroine inaccessible to the main protagonist. Also Touru was a pretty decent guy and seemed to be more human than the usual jackass I get stuck with. I have a major weakness for any game with Aoyama Yukari in it. Probably comes from my Tsuyokiss days.

That all being said, I wouldn’t mind hearing a bit more plot details about Sekai no Subete without spoiling too much before I make my final decision.