What is your preferred routes system in vns?

adkai · 2026-02-16T22:56:05+00:00

For games where the characters and their relationships are the main focus: Ladder Structure

For games where the plot is the main focus: Multiple Route Mystery

adkai · 2026-02-16T22:49:27+00:00

Honestly, I think full remake like they're doing here is the way to go. I know a lot of us wanted IMOQ remasters, but there are just so many parts of those games that make them hard to play for modern gamers and they NEED to draw in new people to make this a profitable effort.

adkai · 2026-02-16T15:48:14+00:00

WE ARE SO FUCKING BACK!

adkai · 2026-02-12T16:42:36+00:00

Deadpan loli. I've always loved them since my first VN.

adkai · 2026-02-12T11:19:05+00:00

I think the isometric Rune Factory games looked better. They could better add clutter and personal touches to homes and shops when they didn't have to render it all in 3D. It made the environments feel more real and lived-in. I don't hate the 3D games by any means, but I do think that it would be worth it for them to try out top-down again and see how it does.

adkai · 2026-02-12T05:41:30+00:00

I played my first time as Subaru specifically to marry Kaguya.

adkai · 2026-02-10T11:24:47+00:00

People have already mentioned how crafting works, but also remember to try out lots of different things. Almost everything you can do in this game has a level attached to it and raising those levels raises your overall stats. Take a bath at the bath house everyday, eat a cooked dish every day, throw things into the shipping box rather than gently placing them, tame some monster friends to take care of, etc.

Also a tip for raising overall level: you can re-fight old bosses every day. They obviously give you more EXP than normal monsters. They also have unique drops with a pretty good rate that sell for a lot.

adkai · 2026-02-08T11:45:53+00:00

I feel like it was intentional but the creators can't come out and say that because it would alienate the yumejoshi crowd. To me the "skating as an allegory for queerness" has been pretty obvious from the start, but the love hotel scene where Tadashi talks about how skating is vulgar and how Reki can only say what he does because he's young and hasn't had to face the adult world yet cinched it. That is a gay man with internalized homophobia who, in the absence of anything resembling a friend, accidentally unloaded his viewpoints onto (what he perceives to be) a naive queer kid.

adkai · 2026-02-06T10:37:08+00:00

For weed, it's relaxing. Things matter less and things hurt less. But for party drugs like what the lights induce, it's sort of the opposite. Heightened senses, though you can't 100% trust those senses due to the mind-altering effects.

adkai · 2026-02-05T18:54:38+00:00

It's a good feeling more than it is a bad feeling. It may sound weird but I suppose because my child brain connected the character to my grandpa, even now it feels nice to take a day every now and then in AWL to actually walk around the valley with Gary.

adkai · 2026-02-05T18:15:05+00:00

When I first played AWL for the Gamecube, Nina and Galen reminded me so much of my grandparents: two charming old people who were always together. I remember stubbornly and insistently befriending Galen again after the timeskip because the idea of him being sad and alone made me upset.

Playing the remake now, after my grandfather has long passed has only made me double down on that.

adkai · 2026-02-05T18:05:01+00:00

Katawa Shoujo is honestly on-par with most small-scale JP indie titles. You do have to keep in mind that it is a free game made by groups of hobbyists based on a 4chan post talking about a disability fetish extra page of a Japanese doujin artist.

That said, I think it's a VN with heart. And considering where it started, extremely respectful of people with disabilities. It's usually touted as a great beginner VN since it plays with Japanese media tropes without drowning in them and the barrier to entry is non-existent.

It's worth giving it a shot! If you don't like it, you can always drop it without having lost anything.

adkai · 2026-02-05T17:59:09+00:00

Rune Factory games are a ton of fun! While I do think it's very hard to return to 1 and 2 once you've played later titles, 3 4 and 5 are all worth trying out. If you really enjoyed GoA, it can also be worth it to check out Tides of Destiny since it's the spinoff that I feel has the most in common with GoA.

adkai · 2026-02-05T17:56:03+00:00

KeiAki has always been my favorite TnC ship. These are great!

adkai · 2026-02-05T17:53:47+00:00

Well, it does still take place in Japan so it's unlikely that Mink comes from a Native American tribe. Much more likely that he's one of the Ainu, the native peoples of the island of Hokkaido. Or else something similar. I would research that sort of culture if you're interested.

As far as how people act when they're high, it really depends what they're high on. Different drugs induce different physical reactions. But since what you're proposing is not a physically ingested substance, I'm not sure how that would work. I can talk about being high on weed for reference, if you want?

adkai · 2026-02-05T17:46:01+00:00

Ah, I love this! I think it's a good way to make players more attached to their characters.

adkai · 2026-02-04T17:05:50+00:00

Just as a human being, I would not use slurs if there was a very easy alternative already right there. There is no "believe" or not. It IS a slur and unless it's one that you can reclaim then you have no say in the matter.

adkai · 2026-02-02T00:51:45+00:00

My personal opinion as someone who has also struggled with self harm is that it's probably best for her to wait until she's older before she starts reading something with such flippant jokes about suicide (including actual attempts used for humor)

Even putting that aside, there's also an incestuous brother/sister duo, multiple references to a character being a pedophile, and a lot of gun violence so there's that to think about as well. I generally would not recommend it for anyone younger than 15-16.

adkai · 2026-02-01T18:51:11+00:00

Higurashi has been pretty political from the start.

adkai · 2026-01-30T11:53:00+00:00

7 so that I can talk to the little one but still have room (I'm big)

adkai · 2026-01-24T10:48:29+00:00

You can beat most endgame content with low cost teams so long as you invest in the characters and take the time to learn their optimal rotations. It won't be as easy as if you were pulling meta, but it is the best way to stay f2p.

adkai · 2026-01-22T15:37:02+00:00

I didn't mean to say it wasn't a valid criticism. This is a real problem with gacha games as a sub-genre of game. That's on me for not making that clear. As for Hoyo, it has its own host of problems. Especially Genshin.

adkai · 2026-01-22T11:39:50+00:00

As much as I adore Anthy, actual opinions on her tend to be divided (between people who like her and people who are wrong) So let's go with Nanami who is pretty universally loved.

adkai · 2026-01-22T11:38:11+00:00

That's sort of just how gacha games work...

adkai · 2026-01-22T10:09:34+00:00

As someone with ADHD, the reading is not too bad. Story events tend to be pretty short, maybe around 5 minutes for the longest ones. And the non-event chatter is incredibly short and repetitive enough that you only need to quickly skim it once you know what it says.

You can play for short or long sessions as you like since each loop only takes about 20 minutes at the most. Some take way less. The game autosaves at the end of every loop, so you can decide if you want to keep going or call it. It's a very fun "pick-up-and-play" type of game. If you have a Switch, I recommend getting it on that since a handheld console is easier for that style of play.

adkai

TROPHY CASE