Πρόσφατες κριτικές από τον Eville Caston

You're telling me that I can get over a dozen catgril (and similar gril) for only a dollar? What a deal!
*some assembly required

Alright, who's here because of brutalmoose? Despite his rather harsh review, my curiosity got the best of me, and thus here I am. So is this game truly awful, or is there more to the story?

Let's start with the basics. Chantelise is an action adventure game that's somewhat of a JRPG as well, for reasons we'll get into soon. A quick gander might lead you to think that this is a long-lost PS1 game, judging by the graphics and sound. However, Chantelise is actually an indie game from 2006, back when the indie scene was far less established. So whether by necessity and/or conscious design choice, the overall style is technically only one or two generations old, which makes it rather unique today. I find the 2D-like sprites and low polygon count quite charming, and the accompanying sounds are the same way. It's just something you don't see often, as it's not "retro", nor is it realistic. Fortunately, the horrible pixelation you see on many PS1 games is smoothed out, and the audio quality is decently better as well. The hand-drawn characters are pretty good, though nothing super special. All in all, save for a couple frame drops, Chantelise feels like a slightly remastered game from the late 90's, and that's pretty neat.

So then, what is this tale of two sisters about? In short, older sister Chante has been turned into a fairy, and so she flies alongside her younger sister Elise as they look to undo the curse. They come across a caring shopkeeper named Aira, as well as an enigmatic fortune teller named Elma, among others. From there, the sisters venture through four elemental-themed dungeons (plus a final place) as they discover the truth behind their legend. It's certainly not the most profound story, but it does work well through its own simplicity. There's plenty of whimsy to be had as well, particularly on Chante's behalf. She's always making wisecracks, while Elise balances her out with sweetness. I think the localization is especially good at making this work, as each of those one-liners are delivered just perfectly. It really speaks volumes how a competent translation can do wonders. I was invested in the story, even if it wasn't groundbreaking.

Now for the real meat of the review: how does Chantelise play? You control Elise as she moves around a 3D space, attacks enemies with her sword, and uses Chante for magic. Levels consist of small screens with unique challenges and enemies, all with a boss screen at the end. That's where the action and adventure parts come in, though I'm not sure if I'd call it an RPG. Stats are only managed on a basic level, and there's no real progression system, save for plot advancements. The money you collect from enemies functions somewhat as experience points, which you exchange for equipment and HP levels (which you need to do often). Equipment is also gained in dungeons by doing certain tasks. It's a cool idea in concept, as it encourages you to play around in each screen, but the conditions are arbitrary, and ultimately it's better to use a guide to get everything. While these treasures are optional, you'll really need them to keep up with the game's difficulty, which is very unforgiving, particularly without preparations. Many people say this game is hard, perhaps too hard, and I can't blame them for thinking so. Some players may resort to grinding, though it'll only get you so far. You'll have to adapt to lots of obstacles in your adventure, and they won't be easy. Oddly enough, the first boss is probably the second most difficult in the game (that final boss, yikes), and it's no wonder why so many give up at that point. Another issue I had is that the camera is very unwieldy. While more manageable with a controller, it's tough to lock onto enemies and let go when needed. I eventually got used to it, but it took time, and I still had issues throughout the game. Once you can get past the issues, the game has a nice rhythm to it, but expect to mess up often. I'd say it's not for everyone, but if you can put in some effort and forgive some esoteric choices, there's fun to be had.

Well then, is Chantelise a good game? To me, it was fun despite some problems. You really have to be patient and understanding with the game, which may not make it enjoyable to some people. I think the fun story makes for a good driving force to continue though. If you think Chantelise is the type of game you might enjoy, it probably is. Chantelise certainly isn't a masterpiece, but I can't help but feel it's at least better than the critics told us.

I just needed a hand with the dishes. Besides, how could I turn away Maple2 when she needed my help? I'm a good person, I swear!

Well, this was...a thing. As the third game in the Sunrider "series", Liberation Day has left me quite conflicted. The series as a whole has done much to transcend the boundaries of traditional visual novels, for better or worse. So it only makes sense that I write out another long-winded review for such a complicated game, right? Here goes...

Remember Mask of Arcadius? While classified as a VN, most of your time with this prequel was probably spent in the turn-based space battles. LD does the same thing, though the battles are more balanced and interesting. All of your crew from MoA is back and better than before, including new abilities and upgrades for a more diverse strategy (especially for Kryska, she's great this time around!). To compensate, there are some interesting new enemies that require a bit more planning to manage effectively. Also, upgrades and purchases now have separate currencies, which makes customization significantly more interesting. Command points are now capped, but since you get them from each unit you defeat, you're encouraged to use them more often, instead of merely accumulating them for the final missions. With everything factored together, I think the difficulty of LD is roughly the same as it was in MoA, as I alternated between Captain and Ensign difficulties depending on my patience. Now that it's said and done, I think I had more fun with the battles in LD.

The strategy battles may be the bulk of your playtime in LD, but it's still a visual novel, so it's only expected that we should judge the visuals and the sound. You'll notice that the store page boosts an improved artstyle, and I agree with this claim. While not a massive overhaul, I really like how crisp everything is, for lack of better words. There are even some animations this time around, and they're pretty exciting to watch. Oddly enough, the battle graphics are streamlined, so you won't see the attacks play out up close. This may be a disappointment to many, but I don't really miss them, because they were very laggy and ultimately made battles last longer than they needed to be. As for the audio, the music is mostly the same, save for another awesome main theme. I have no complaints there! You'll probably also recognize the sound effects from MoA, and that's to be expected. What's new, however, is voice acting for the VN segments. It's only in Japanese, which is understandable, but I really don't care for it. Overall, I just find it too overbearing and cheesy. Battle voices are also back, and fortunately you can set them to English (which is just reverting to MoA, but oh well). Also, while the visual stuttering is far better, the battle voices seem to sound off at the wrong times. It still has issues, but I find that LD's presentation is much more competent than before.

Right, so let's get to the story. LD picks up right after the cliffhanger of MoA (so definitely do NOT play this one first!). While it functions roughly the same, I felt as if this volume is much more plot-intensive. Comparatively, the battles take up less time (though still they take the majority of playtime), and the character scenes between battles are only a handful in number. As such, there's much more linear reading, which causes the plot intensity to increase. As for the plot itself, it's just ludicrous. Without spoiling anything, the tropey but interesting space opera from MoA has been injected with significantly more anime insanity. LD is just bizarre, from its awkward plot-centric romance and related drama, to its insane (and irritatingly so) ending. Once again, we're left on a cliffhanger, which I guess shouldn't be surprising since we know a sequel is coming. I just can't help but wonder how everything will come together in the end, and honestly I'm nervous that it just won't work out. I should also mention that the romantic subplot is fixed and does not have options a la the Academy. This wouldn't be such an issue if it was a good romance, but such is not the case. So if you were hoping for a spaceship harem, you won't find it with LD. I could go on and list more plot grievances, but I should just conclude by saying it almost ruined the entire experience for me.

Fortunately, it seems that my plot concerns didn't go unheard, because there's a free DLC that somewhat rectifies things. The REturn allows you to replay the ending non-canonically, armed with foresight as to what will happen. There are no space battles, as the episode instead is in the form of a choose your own adventure story. The choices you make will determine which of the new 18 endings you'll get. Speaking of choices, you can also choose four different romantic subplots this time around. I feel as if the writers gave us the REturn as a sort of apology for the less-than-stellar canon decisions they made. It's an apology that I'm willing to accept, but next time I expect better results...

All we can do now is wait for the final chapter to come out. Given the strange story of LD, I'm a bit apprehensive to see what happens. Regardless, I can't bring myself to dislike LD. There was enough interesting content to justify the price (since it wasn't free this time), and I'm still willing to risk it again next time. I can still sense the love being poured into the series, so I can only hope that it works out in the end. We can all hope for that...

Okay so, we've just gone from space opera insanity with Mask of Arcadius, to a high school dating sim with Sunrider Academy? W-what?! And I just spent forty hours on it, damn! I guess I better review it then, huh?

If you're wondering how MoA and Academy are in the same universe...well, they're not. This time around, our protagonist Kayto Shields is the vice president of the student council. Under the command of his childhood friend and superior, Ava Crescentia, he has to fix the three most troublesome clubs, which are led by some of his alternate universe crewmates (Asaga, Chigara, and Sola). Meanwhile, his sister Maray dares him to find a girlfriend this year, and it's clear that Kayto's only chance is with one of the aforementioned girls. Needless to say, his life is about to be quite busy, and so it's up to the player to make it all happen.

Naturally, much of the story and gameplay is in a dating sim format. The first third of the game revolves around gaining those stereotypical hearts with the girl(s) you're hoping for. All you really do is find them at random throughout your days and choose what to talk to them about. Pick the right topics and you'll gain those hearts. Finally, once the fourth month rolls around, you'll be presented with the chance to pursue a romantic arc. I'm assuming the hearts you accumulate play into when you can start each arc, but once you choose, you're locked in. From there, the story diverges as you spend the rest of the year falling in love and all that nonsense. I found each route rewarding to complete, and they're all fairly equal in terms of quality. You'll realize that they're rather formulaic, but they're all enjoyable at least, even if you may have a favorite. I find it funny how each route heavily references the counterparts from Mask of Arcadius. Actually, the entire game is chock full of silly references, sometimes even entirely re-created scenes. While you don't strictly need to play MoA first, I think that doing so will pay off greatly with the Academy. This may be an alternate universe, but these characters are still very much how we remember them.

As for the other gameplay bits, they're what you might call a life management sim. Not only does Kayto have to find love, but he's also responsible for the three clubs, as well as his own school obligations. Most of the game involves choosing what Kayto does to meet his goals, all while keeping an eye on his stats. As the months pass, the goals get loftier, and thus your responsibilities increase. It's all pretty straightforward, but there's a good deal of RNG behind the scenes. The difficulty level seems to mostly affect your RNG outcome, and since you can easily save scum each action, it's neither difficult skillwise, nor is it particularly rewarding. Also, you absolutely MUST keep your stress level to a minimum, or else you'll end up failing at everything and quickly spiral into a game over. Fortunately, waifu mode allows you to breeze through everything so you can get to the good parts (i.e. the waifus). In addition, once you complete one arc, you get access to the cheat skip, which gives you high stats and starts you at the fourth month, right when all the routes are unlocked. So even though the whole life sim is the majority of the gameplay, it's so mundane that it's almost not worth talking about. At least the romantic routes break up the tedium and give a reason to finish.

Finally, I suppose it would be prudent to talk about the more surface-level aspects of the Academy. Visually, everything looks pretty good. It's basically the same as Mask of Arcadius, just with school uniforms instead of those skintight plugsuits. Thankfully, there's no annoying stutter happening this time. As for the sound, I think I like the music in the Academy more than MoA. Maybe it's because it's not constantly on loop, nor does it feel as overpowering. The sound effects can be slightly grating though, as you'll be hearing a lot of the same beeps and bloops. There are no voiceovers, and that's fine. Oh and of course, there's the naughty bits that you can see if you use the free restoration patch, assuming you're old enough and wish to do so. Just thought I'd mention that briefly...

In conclusion, I had a good time with the Academy, generally speaking. The school sim was bland and lengthy, but the dating sim parts ultimately made the experience worth the time spent. It's odd to think that the more unique ideas in both MoA and the Academy are respectively less interesting than their visual novel counterparts, but maybe that's how I maintain interest. I can at least respect what the team is doing with the genre. On that note, the Academy was an interesting diversion from the "main" Sunrider story, and I'm glad it exists. It's going to feel strange once I get into Liberation Day though...

I'd like to think that the idea behind Mask of Arcadius was "I love Starcraft, but I wish it turn-based, and merged with a gundam anime". Need I say more? Well, I probably should anyways...

Mask of Arcadius is a sci-fi turn-based strategy game interlaced with visual novel segments. If you're a fan of either one, you'll certainly get your fill of content. Personally, I was hyped to see what the VN parts were about, and fortunately MoA does not disappoint in that regard. To put it simply, the story is a space opera akin to Starcraft, but fraught with anime tropes. That might sound bad, but it's honestly endearing. I really had a feel for the love behind it all, even if it's not wholly original. At the very least, I was paying attention and curious what would happen next. There are numerous choices you'll make along the way, but I'm not sure how much they matter in the long run. I guess I'll find out once I get to the sequel, Liberation Day. That'll be exciting, considering what we have already!

Most of the time you'll spent with MoA is in the battles. I think I'm somewhat competent with strategy games (not great, that's for sure), but this one is pretty tough. I managed to beat the first half on captain difficulty, save for one mission. The second half got crazy, however, and I dropped down to ensign for the last three missions. I wouldn't blame anyone for staying on the easier difficulties entirely, because there's a fair bit of challenge to be had. It vacillates between tense but satisfying, to annoying and frustrating. That escort mission in the first half (which I couldn't do as captain) was just...bleh. Then in the end, it just gets insane, with loads of crazy enemies to deal with at once. Things will go wrong, that's for sure, and you'll need a fair bit of luck to win. This isn't helped by the fact that the game itself has a lot of issues like stuttering and a clunky interface. Fortunately, there's a "VN mode" which almost makes you invincible if you're at your patience limit and just want to move on. I can't say much more because turn-based strategy isn't a genre I'm very well-versed in, but your mileage may vary. I can't say I hated the combat, but it annoyed me on multiple occasions.

That should cover everything. Oh wait, did I mention that Mask of Arcadius is FREE? The price tag isn't lying; you can grab it now and never have to pay at all! Apparently the Kickstarter went so well that the devs didn't feel the need to ask for more money. Good for them, I say. It certainly makes the experience better, but there still needs to be a reason to play. MoA has that, and even though it's far from perfect, there's so much being offered here. I hope Liberation Day builds and improves on what we've seen here (I'm not pretending to not know, for the record, I just now got it), because I had a mostly good time with Mask of Arcadius. I wonder what's waiting for me in space...

Alright folks, we've made it this far. The end of NEKOPARA is upon us (at least for now), and I don't know how to feel about that. After reading the first two volumes, I want you to take a moment and think of what you expect from this one. Should Vol 3 be more of the same, or do we need a major change? How should we conclude this trilogy? With that in mind, all good things must come to an end, so it's time to see how Vol 3 measures up.

I'll start with the easiest aspects: the sights and sounds. It's all more or less the same as before. We've got a few unique backgrounds for the new locations, plenty of CGs peppered in, and a few new music pieces. Other than that, it's all familiar territory. However, there is one technical difference that I found interesting. You may not have even noticed, but Vol 3 has a new engine, and it's even better than before. If you're like me and don't have great specs, you likely remember how difficult it was to run the heavily animated parts, namely the opening and credits sequences, as well as the lewd DLC. Well you may finally rejoice, because they're much more optimized now. So you can leave those H-animations on and enjoy to your "heart's" content. And the timing couldn't be better, because Vol 3 features FIVE naughty scenes that total around two hours runtime. Sheesh, what a time to be alive!

Now comes the tricky part: how does Vol 3 wrap up this trilogy? Naturally, we need to let our remaining two catgirl sisters have the spotlight. There's Cinnamon, the daydreaming lewd sister with a sort of maternal complex, and Maple, who's a bit of a fancy pants but has some real complexity. Since the bakery is running fine with everyone around, it's not as integral to the plot anymore. Instead, the main focus is on Maple's dream of being a singer, as well as Cinnamon's desire to help out. It's not so simple though, and along the way there are plenty of obstacles. Overall, I think it's most plot-intensive volume of the bunch, as well as the most thought-provoking. The duo dynamic between Maple and Cinnamon is spelled out clearly as best friend sisters. Though I think Chocola and Vanilla make the most entertaining duo, it's Maple and Cinnamon that have the most important one. Speaking of characters, I really liked Kashou this time around. Sure, Maple teases him for being kind of dense, but this time around, he's actually rather competent and caring. There has been talk about the catgirl sisters developing throughout the series, but I think Kashou has been developing alongside them, and finally we get to enjoy the fruits of those labors. Overall, Vol 3 is the longest of the series (it took me 7 hours to read without the patch), but it manages to be the most emotional as well, in my opinion. There's lots of great humorous moments, as well as solid serving of serious and thought-provoking ones. I won't talk about the climax in depth, but everything came together so wonderfully that I was earnestly crying. Yes, I'm a full grown guy who was reduced to tears by a story about catgirls, and I'm not even ashamed because it was so good. There's still an hour of solid denouement left afterwards, which still brings up good moments! Now that it's all done, NEKOPARA, especially Vol 3, was joy to experience. It may not be the pinnacle of literature or anything so lofty, but it does what it sets out to do with aplomb, and then some.

You know what, I need to take a moment to profess my adoration for Maple. Not only do I think she's best girl by far, but she's very much of the reason I love NEKOPARA. She's got a bit of a himedere and tsundere complex, but I think she's the least archetype-bound of the bunch. Funny enough, I didn't care much for her upon first impressions. I remember seeing her prideful attitude and thinking "Oh no, this girl's gonna be a pain", and I couldn't have been more wrong. Every character has their development over time, but I think Maple's is the most fulfilling. It's the driving force behind much of the plot of Vol 3, which makes it all the more rewarding to see moment play out. I think the parts that best subverted my expectations of Maple were her exchanges with Kashou. They really bring out the best in each other, most of the time. Now if all of this too much to take in, I should point out that Maple is a great singer and guitarist, and she has a fine fashion sense to boot. Really, what more do you need? By all means, pick your own favorite girl, but I hope we can all agree that Maple has so much to offer.

Okay, even though I had a fantastic time with this volume, I should take a moment to address some criticisms I have. First of all, I think Vol 3 has a few more script errors than its predecessors. They're not egregious, but I had to do a few double-takes on some lines that had issues. Also, the petting button didn't work for me in fullscreen. Maybe I could have remedied this by fiddling with options, but it's odd how it wasn't as seamless as Vol 2. Finally, perhaps most puzzling, is a certain...yuri scene. I'm not here to judge what readers may be into, but this felt like tacky fanservice. Oddly enough, it wasn't completely relegated to the lewd DLC, so you can't entirely avoid it if you want to, either. At least it's over quickly, and I suppose no real harm is done. All in all, these are some slight blemishes on an otherwise amazing experience.

Well, all I can say now is that Vol 3 is absolute best of an already awesome series. I recommend all of NEKOPARA, of course, but it's this final (for now) volume that has the biggest payoff. I was sad when it ended, not because it was abrupt or unsatisfying, but because I wish it never had to end. On a side note, I noticed that a lot of my friends who own the series either haven't touched this volume or don't even own it. If for some reason this applies to you, I implore you to see it through to the end. Please, don't miss out on this. You won't regret it! As for the future, I believe we have confirmation that there will be a Vol 4, though it may be far off. Even if it ends up not being as good as Vol 3, I think it'll be great. After the experience I had with the series thus far, I want this series to go on as long as possible. Thank you so much NEKO WORKS, and we're all looking forward to whatever you have for us in the future!

Yay, more NEKOPARA! I don't think anyone could have predicted how important the first volume would be back in the tail end of 2014, but it was soon made obvious that we needed more. Well, we got more, folks! How does the sequel compare? Let's get into it.

From a presentation standpoint, Vol 2 is just like the first. Other than a few new backgrounds and CGs to match the story, you've seen it all before. Considering how much of a treat Vol 1 was, this is a very good thing, and in no way does it cheapen the experience. The audio is also very much the same way. There are a few new music tracks, including new opening and credits themes. While I prefer the first volume's themes, these are also very catchy. Also, the reprise of the opening theme is especially effective. As for the "gameplay", you can still cause brief localized earthquakes, but there's also a new button on screen you can use to pet the girls. I love it!

Now I need to talk about the aspect that can't be reused, the story. Follow up from the first volume, we now have all six Minaduki catgirls working at La Soleil. Chocola and Vanilla, the stars of the last story, get caught up in plot concerns for about the first half of this volume, so we instead focus on two of the older sisters. There's the eldest Azuki, who is the brash tsundere with a somewhat motherly complex, and Coconut, the next youngest but biggest sister, who's shy and seriously lacks self-confidence. The two have started to butt heads often, and it's up to Kashou to intervene and bond with both of them. Oddly enough, the sisterly dynamic that drives the plot climaxes around the middle of the novel. Afterwards, it's almost taken for granted, as from then on it's mostly about Kashou giving them...well, you know. I'm a little disappointed that there's no major emotional payoff at the end, similar to what the first volume had. In all, I also think this volume was lighter on the emotions as a whole, notably being not quite as humorous or tear-jerking as before. There were still those moments, of course, just not as many in my opinion. Also, I think the dynamic between Azuki and Coconut isn't as effective as between Chocola and Vanilla. Maybe it's because I don't have any real-life sisters, but I think that's the driving force behind it all, so I guess I couldn't relate as well as I wanted to. Finally, I just have to get this off my best, but Azuki is my least favorite of the bunch. She's just so mean, and I never cared much for tsunderes in the first place. Even still, I do like her, so I think that speaks quite a bit on how good all the characters are. I guess once it's all said and done, Vol 2 is still more of what we've come to love, but not as enthusiastic and it ends quicker (well, except for the lewd DLC, hehe). Yeah, this one only took me about four hours to read, and I can definitely feel the shorter runtime.

Comparatively, I think Vol 2 was overall not quite as impressive as its predecessor, but I definitely recommend it all the same. At this point, you've likely already become invested in this catgirl bakery's story, so why stop here? Some may think that Vol 2 "playing it safe" is boring, but there's no need to fix something that's so solid already. That said, at this point it's hard to imagine what the inevitable third volume will be like (it's already out of course, because I was late to the party), though it's certainly worth hyping up. Stay tuned for Vol 3!

After a year and a half and at least four readings, I think it's finally time I reviewed NEKOPARA. While the thousands of meme reviews are indeed quite funny, I figured it would be best for me to put in some serious effort. So then, let me share with you why this series, particularly this first volume, resonates so well with me.

Where do I start? Well, if you've taken a peek at some screenshots, you'll likely come to some easy conclusions. You may think the CGs are plentiful and varied, the backgrounds are high quality, and the sprites are incredibly detailed. Indeed, you'd be right, except for the last bit. You see, NEKOPARA isn't content with mere sprites that you'd see with most other visual novels. Instead, you'll notice that characters are in fact rendered in 3D, but still look very anime-esque. At least, that's the best way for me to describe them. Characters are in constant animation, often moving around in the screen space, with fluid facial expressions provided by the "e-mote" system. If you believe that VNs are too formulaic-looking, NEKOPARA will be a pleasant surprise.

In addition to glorious visual prowess, NEKOPARA also features complimentary sounds. There's a healthy amount of music, and each track does a good job of setting the tone of each moment. The opening theme never fails to get me dancing! Sound effects are numerous as well, and coupled with the visual movements, I find that they do a good job of eliminating the need of many awkward and drawn out descriptions that other VNs might require (though some of them are...well, you'll know when you hear them). As for the voice acting, I don't have any complaints really. I love how even though it's all in Japanese, you'll often hear English words and phrases thrown in nonchalantly. It's charming, really. Everything works together to be a joy for the senses.

As for the story, I'm not exactly sure what I expected. You've likely seen the memes already, and they're undoubtedly part of the drive behind the series' success. That said, NEKOPARA offers more than one might expect at first. At its core, the story is a slice of life with catgirls, which leads to some interesting moments, to say the least. It's about Kashou Minaduki, an aspiring baker who leaves his home and family business to open his own store. He's accompanied by two of his family's (more specifically, his sister Shigure's) catgirls, the carefree and oblivious Chocola, and the cheeky and intelligent Vanilla. These three learn to become an eccentric family-like unit together, all while learning to manage the new store. Overall, there are plenty of humorous and lighthearted moments. Even after several readings, they still manage to get some hefty laughs out of me. Chocola and Vanilla each have their quirks as catgirls, and I think the best moments are when they interact as a duo and show them off. Kashou himself his a bit dense, but I do like him in general. Occasionally though, things can get serious, and a couple times I managed to let a few tears loose. It's silly to think that such a story could pull that off, but maybe it's that very surprise that got to me the most. I won't spoil the ending chapter, but man, that did a number on me! Overall, I found the writing to be very solid, and no doubt much of this is thanks to a great localization. I won't try and proclaim that this volume is literary high art, but it understands exactly what it wants to do and does it very effectively.

Alright, I've managed to avoid it thus far, but it's about time we talk about the naughty bits. Yeah, the very basis of most of the memes. My first reading without the lewd patch was about five hours long. Later on when I finally did install it, I think it was roughly one hour of additional content. There's three scenes in all, and wow do they get intense. This is when the animations go into overdrive, and you may find out that your PC isn't quite up to snuff for them. In fact, if you notice the opening cinematic getting out of sync with the theme, I would recommend turning off those animations. Also, my goodness, those sounds effects are strange. As to the question of if you need the patch, well, it's your call. If you really don't want to participate in that stuff, don't feel pressured to, because it's not necessary to enjoy everything else. But if you're a connoisseur of such content, expect quality. There's a reason everyone talks about it...

I've praised this volume quite a bit already, but I guess I should address some nitpicks. Even though she has some good moments, I don't care much for Shigure. She's just crazy at times. Also, the scene in which all six Minaduki catgirls are present feels a bit crowded, and you don't get to much of a sense of the others until later on. Finally, while I was alright with it, I can imagine some readers may be put off by the intense voice acting, so I could understand if you feel the need to hush or completely mute it. Ultimately though, these are minor complaints, and this is all I could really think of to mention.

Now that I've said all I need to, I can fully recommend NEKOPARA vol. 1 to anyone who might be interested. If you're a veteran of visual novels, it's practically required reading. This was actually one of my first VN experiences, and it absolutely got me interested in the genre as a whole. Fair warning though, it may not be fair to expect other VNs to measure up to this series, because it's just that unique and great. While many of the reviews are humorous and not particularly informative, the overwhelmingly positive status they give does not lie. Unless you're highly averse to these offerings for whatever reason, I can't recommend NEKOPARA enough!

So, I just lewded several monster girls. That alone is a major selling point, but I thought I would be clever by replaying and refusing them all. Then out of nowhere, I get jumped at night a girl who reminds me of...Sabrina from Pokemon? Only this time, she's super lewd, and she looks like a rejected Dragonpapa character. Please forgive me if I sound confused, because I'm pretty sure I just had kinky psychic sex with a very dangerous girl...

Thus I have decided that when the full games comes out, I shall proudly introduce myself to any and all potential kraken girl waifus who are available. Also, I'm hyped for Ara to have a moment, and I guess Renge is worth the trouble as well. Still not sure what to do with Eris though. Oh yea, and then there's Adeline...

Right, I think I'm done here. In short, the hype is real. Try it for yourself!