So, with the talk of too much sex on that other thread I thought I’d open another specifically for the purpose of recommending some sex free - or very light sex - b-games (translated to english). I know there are a few, but since I’m going to be next to dead broke for a couple months (tuition) I don’t really have the money to play hit and miss when making decisions.
JList carries a few, such as: Ai Yori Aoshi; Ever-17; and Hourglass of Summer … any thoughts on these, and any other suggestions?
Ever 17 is a safe bet. Don’t bother with Ai Yori Aoshi, very short, very disappointing, very not worth it. I can’t really comment on Hourglass of Summer, as I’ve avoided the DVD games, I’m sure someone else will be able to comment on it. Either way, get your hands on Ever 17 as soon as you can.
However, if you are willing to risk some bad interface playing DVD games, then HOURGLASS OF SUMMER and PHANTOM OF INFERNO are your best choice. 
You can try the old himeya-soft PC game, EVE BURST ERROR, too.
Does it only have to be a strict b-game, or do b-game influenced titles also count?
Princess Maker 4 is incredibly beautiful thanks to Tenhiro’s artwork, and it has a strong “character intensive” plot… more so than the other PM titles. Princess Maker 5 has more “gameplay mechanics” than any other PM - although I feel the storyline is weaker than PM4… but that’s just me. Everyone much laments Tenhiro didn’t work on PM5 though…
Sakura Taisen has PC versions for 1 thru 4. The first and second are based off the old school 2D Saturn engine, while the third and fourth use the Dreamcast 3D engine.
Princess Maker is not, of course, translated to English. It can be played in semi-English through a combination of translation software and an unofficial patch to change the interface, but if you’re looking for something that you can just stick in and have it work, it doesn’t count. (Also, being Japanese-original, it can be a bit expensive to obtain.)
I own both Anima Mundi and Hourglass of Summer and have never gotten very far with either of them. Hourglass of Summer is supposed to have a great story but wrestling with the DVD stuff to try and get it playing was so painful that even when I finally got it mostly working, I didn’t enjoy it. AnimaMundi… It’s hard to explain where it went wrong. I’m very mixed on the art, some is cool and some is ugly. I have been told there are straight pairings but the whole thing does tend to lean in a BL direction, and not in an appealing way (to me). I don’t really like most of the characters. It’s a pity because it’s a neat setting and I’m sort of interested in the story but something about it puts me off.
Oh… I didn’t catch that part. They have to be in English… :oops:
Well fortunately I can somewhat save face, for the scripts to Sakura Taisen 2 & 3 were totally translated into English by a demigod named Kayama:
http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/recogn … tml?type=1
He did some for ST1 and ST4… but I think he grew tired of the whole project and never finished them…
ONE ~kagayaku kisetsu e~ has been fan-translated into English. Unfortunately, this means you have to pay full price for the original game at Himeyashop or something (himeyashop link, NSFW). The game DOES contain sex scenes, but an incredibly tiny amount - extremely easy to skip through.
Nothing released by Hirameki has sex in it. Ever17 and Phantom of the Inferno come highly recommended, though I have yet to play either.
If it comes to eroge with almost no H-scees, there is Kana little sister. (I think there are only 3 H-scenes and you don’t automaticaly see 2 of them)
I’d definitely get Ever 17. Out of the other Hirameki games I own that I’ve got round to playing, Hourglass of Summer is difficult to recommend as the interactive DVD format is very frustrating, and Yo-Jin-Bo is GxB, not BxG. There are plenty of good free sex free games available too, although it would be a stretch to call some of them, eg Narcissu bishoujo games.
There is a non-eroge version of the Tsukihime translation and Wind translation.
Ever 17 is of course highly recommended. Hourglass of Summer is worth it, it can ba a little slow, but once you get used to the password system it’s no big deal. Crescendo will have few tastfully done H-scenes, except on one path, and they really fit the story well. As someone mentioned, Kana is worth it as well. Those are the four I can vouche for, having completed them fully. Kana and Crescendo are worth playing even with the H-scenes, not to be missed really.
Kana and Crescendo are indeed great games, and perfect examples of what I’d be looking for in a game with both story and sex, but I’ve played Crescendo all the way through and Kana … that game will kill me - last time I played it I was left walking around in a depressive daze for half a week … later I was told I didn’t even get the most depressing ending … no, for the sake of my mental health I’m staying away from any more Kana.
Since the concensus seems to be Ever 17, I’ll buy that and see where I am for money for a few months … I appreciate all the input and if anyone thinks of anything else I’ll be quite interested.
This is a kind of ‘hail mary’ recommendation, but here goes. Nocturnal Illusion.
So it would be much easier on your wallet than the other recommendations (which I mostly echo: Ever 17 is awesome, Crescendo and Kana are both really great, etc etc).
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Bad internet connection! No lag! Bad!
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