#blvisualnovel

[suzuran777]

Review: Ooe Complete Edition + ending names explained

I finished the second part of Ooe which was finally released last week! I have so many things I want to talk about as I loved the game, so I think it's going to be impossible without mentioning any spoilers. If you want to read a completely spoiler-free post about the game, I've summarized most of the common route in my review of part 1. I also made a general post about the plot of the game and the characters which you can find here, though I wrote it some time ago, so some of the speculations might be a bit outdated now (I do try to keep it up to date, but I don't want to change everything as it's fun to look back at later).

I'll of course put a warning when I'll be talking about any big spoilers, but I will mention the route order and which characters have 18+ content, so if you want to avoid that, it's better to read this later.

The update + recommended route order After the update on the 19th, all versions of the game were updated to the "complete edition", so if you already own the game, you can just redownload this for free. It's possible to transfer save files to skip the first routes (a guide how to do this is included in the game files), but it also doesn't take too long to just skip through the first 3 routes. Just like part 1, most of the routes only unlock after playing some other routes first, so usually you can just start a new game after finishing one ending and see if a new choice pops up somewhere in the game. The route order for the first 3 routes is Ariake (who has two endings) > Shimbashi > Aomi, and afterwards you can either play Shiodome ending B or Takeshiba's route. After this the route order is Shijoumae > Shiodome ending A > Toyosu > Hinode > Funeno > Daiba. If you want to enter a route, you should select the choice on the right side of the screen. Some choices don't have a silhouette of the character, but the choice to enter their route will still be on the right side. Just like part 1, you might get some other choices in some routes, but most of these don't matter and you can try out all dialogue options. If you're unsure if you missed an ending, you can check the status screen by pressing the camera roll button next to 再開 in the main menu screen. Occasionally an ending wouldn't register for me and I had to go back to replay it once more.

The story of part 2 While part 1 seemed to focus more on the mystery who committed the murders on the island and Oosaki's own backstory, part 2 focuses on the characters who didn't have their own routes in part 1. In most of the new routes you don't really try to find the culprit for any new crimes anymore, as we already saw that in part 1, but I think it's more about trying to understand the characters better, and of course finding out the real reason why they gathered on the island. Almost all of the new routes have 18+ scenes, though Hinode and Toyosu don’t have one. Like mentioned in the initial setting & data collection book, Shiodome has 2 separate routes, which is why the new update mentions it added 8 routes rather than 7 (no secret Shinkiba or Shinagawa route lol). Part 2 also has a new ending song which is really good, so I can’t wait for it to be officially released on Adelta’s Booth page (which is soon I think!). I really liked Takeshiba's route and also Daiba, who does in fact have a route (he used to be promoted as a side-character, though I think this was done on purpose to mess with us lol). There is some information in the game that you'll only learn about through the letters you unlock in-game after finishing every route, but generally I think the plot and the mysteries of the game are not too difficult to understand. One of the latest blog updates also mentions that this isn't a difficult game in which you have to guess the culprit, but a game in which you can find ''various forms of love'' which you definitely do…

Review of each route (beware of spoilers!) From now on I'll be talking about spoilers for each route! I'm not going to describe everything that happens of course, but it will include some pretty important plot elements. The first route I played was Shiodome's B route, but I didn't know that his other ending was locked, so maybe starting with Takeshiba is a better option!? I really liked how the color green was used in the CGs in this route, and how even the main menu screen temporarily changed after finishing it. The theme of cannibalism returns, as Shiodome ends up eating one of Oosaki's eyes and ears… and Shinagawa and Shinkiba aren't happy at all that Oosaki decides to stay with someone like this. There are a few Kotou no Oni references in this route too which I liked, such as Oosaki's hair partially turning white. Ending A is locked until you finish Takeshiba's and Shijoumae's routes, but ending A is the complete opposite and actually has a much happier ending. I liked how cute Shiodome was in this, wanting to be Oosaki's wife… Two completely different sides of one character.

Takeshiba's route ended up becoming one of my favorites as he's ??? so cute ???. The extra pamplet that comes with the game doesn't rate his appearance very high but I disagree! One of the reasons I was pretty surprised by this route is that he was very violent in most of the first routes, but this doesn't really happen in the new routes. He does try though... but he's not strong enough to attack Oosaki and he gives up... What a clown, I love him. His backstory (the circus, and his mother being a snake lady) reminded me of Suehiro Maruo's Shoujo Tsubaki, which is a reference many other fans have noticed as well, and one of the new illustrations also shows him wearing a shirt which matches the pattern of the dress protagonist Midori wears, so I'm sure that's all on purpose. It also references Dazai's No Longer Human too, as his first name Youzou is the same as the main character in the novel, but he also has a (non blood related) daughter called Shigeko who he tried to care for. I think his character profile mentions that she was eventually adopted by another family, but I hope they'll meet again, as he even learned sign language to communicate with her. I'm not sure if he would be a great father, but it's really sweet to see him try... I loved his scenes with Oosaki in the ending too and I'd love to see more of this pairing!

I was very curious about Shijoumae's route as he usually pairs up with the murderers in other routes and will immediately betray others and lie, which... doesn't stop in his own route! And I love that for him. This route sometimes references a short story called Kaika no Satsujin where Shijoumae's first name also comes from. Shijoumae has a wife called Akiko who is also mentioned in this short story, though in the original story he never marries her and she ends up with another guy called Mitsumura (whose name also returns in the game, but in Ooe he's the psychologist Shijoumae talked to). Akutagawa Ryūnosuke's novel Kappa is also referenced in this route by Shijoumae himself. I really like the dynamic between Shijoumae and his wife Akiko... I think they go long periods without seeing each other and I don't think their marriage is anything romantic, but she still cares about him and sends assassins after those who wish him harm lol. I wonder if that's how he survived all this time because he's such a bad liar. She used to be a war painter, which back then were used by the Japanese government to spread propaganda, so I think she's a good match for Shijoumae, who has also done countless of bad things during the war. This route branches off where you'd normally already be in Ariake's route, so Shijoumae kills him and Oosaki's in despair once again. By the way, Shijoumae's character profile mentions that he will outlive Oosaki and will even watch his final moments, so I'm not sure if he will truly get his justice lol.

The next route is Toyosu's route, which doesn't have an 18+ scene liked I mentioned before, but the writing of this route was really good and it helped me understand the motives he had! This is also the first route in which Oosaki smiles... his smile is beautiful. It's confirmed that Toyosu passes away shortly after his ending so I don't think Oosaki will be spending a lot of time with him anymore, but the moments they had were beautiful. In this route Oosaki's first name "Hiiro" is also revealed, which literally translates to scarlet and has actually been in the first ending song dying breath all this time.

Toyosu's route unlocks Hinode's route, which explains that it was Hinode who kind of hijacked Toyosu's plan to make everyone come to the island, as he's looking for the person who killed Ooe An, who used to work together with his mother. Even thought there's not really any romance in this route, his character profile mentions that he develops feelings for Oosaki later when he's an adult, so I would love to see that some day. I think Hinode never learned who the real killer of Ooe An was, so I wonder if they will tell him the truth one day. The final letter you receive in-game is his mother's letter, which implies she killed An, and then ended her own life afterwards. In a previous blog post I discussed the first names and their references, but I honestly have no idea if Hinode's name ''Riichi'' and his mother's name ''Riko'' are references to anything yet, as they are both pretty common names. I will add this information if I ever find it!

Funeno's route was definitely very different than all the previous routes lol. Some extra information about his was posted on Bluesky, but I also thought it was intentionally designed to make the player a bit uncomfortable and confused. Funeno gets humiliated a lot, and it's also kind of a harem ending which could be a reference to the Anatahan Incident in which all men fight over one woman, though in this case they're not really fighting and they all just share Oosaki lol. Oosaki does get an 18+ scene with Funeno later at least! This route also kind of felt like a comedy route to me because some things that happened were so absurd. I've seen a lot of mixed reactions to this route specifically, but I did enjoy parts of it. Both Funeno's first name and the way he brutally killed his fiance Momoko are references to Dogra Magra, which I've written a bit about in my previous blog post about the character names and their references which I also linked above.

After every ending you finish, you unlock a new letter, of which most seem to be written by Ooe An. I don't really want to spoil every detail of the letters and Daiba's route, but I did enjoy the twist how you shouldn't just believe everything characters say in this game. The final letter also reveals some more information about Hinode's mother (who was the person who turned Ooe An into an actress), and that she tried to do what's best for Hinode. An is usually described in the game as a girl who manipulates men and who lies, so I also don't know which of her letters in the game are true, but Shijoumae wasn't lying (for once) when he said her death was never a suicide at all. Daiba as a route character was really good too and I liked seeing his interactions with Oosaki. I remember reading that everyone in this game was a virgin or at least hasn't slept with a man before, but the 18+ scene with Daiba made it look like this was not his first time with a man at all lol, he was covered in hickeys. I do love it when Oosaki gets jealous though, so this scene was really great.

The title of the game also changes when you finish this route. Normally it's written with the kanji for impurity/filth (穢), but when you finish it, it changes to ''江'' again which means bay and a common kanji used in names for islands. I wonder if it's supposed to symbolize something like Oosaki moving on from his past, or perhaps because the characters admitted their own sins. In the end, most of the characters are still murderers and they might never change, but I did enjoy seeing the different types of relationships Oosaki had with all of these characters, and I'd love to see what kind of content Adelta releases in the future. The after-stories are already confirmed, so I can't wait until these get uploaded.

List of ending names and their meanings This isn't about the titles of the songs which I've discussed in the part 1 review, but about the titles you can see in the status menu in-game (the little movie scroll icon). I had to look up some of these terms as I’m not familiar with all of them, but I thought it would be fun to write a little bit about this too and I'm curious how this will be translated in the English version.

Ariake's B ending which you unlock first is called 送火 Okuribi, which literally translates to the ''farewell fire''. This is a ceremony held on the last day of Obon to send the returning spirits of ancestors off to the afterlife. I think this could also be a reference to Oosaki killing some of the other attendees before someone burns down the inn. Ariake's other ending, ending A is called 迎火 Mukaebi, which is the complete opposite and translates to ‘’welcome fire’’. This is the ceremony that is held on the first day of Obon to welcome the spirits.

Shimbashi's ending is called 冥界 Meikai which literally translates to ''underworld'', but I think it's also a reference to Shimbashi himself, as the kanji for his first name ''Mei'' is in it. ''Pluto'', the name which he uses for his theater company, is also the god of the underworld in Roman mythology. Aomi's ending is called 挽歌 Banka which is a song or poem written to mourn the death of a person, which might be referencing the death of Aomi's father and his occupation as a music teacher.

Shiodome also has two endings, with the B ending being called 抱擁 Houyou, which means ''embrace''. I'm not sure if this references anything specific, but it is the only ending in which Shiodome tells Oosaki what his grandmother really thought about him (of course we don't know if this was really true, but it is something Oosaki has been looking for). The title for his A ending is 大祓 Ooharai, a Shinto ritual to cleanse people of their sins and impurities. In Shiodome’s case he paid for his sins by going to prison, so I think it could possibly be a reference to that too.

Takeshiba's ending is called 福音 Fukuin which translates to gospel, or the teachings of Christ. This of course references that he at some point turned to Christianity. Shijoumae's ending name on the other hand was a bit more difficult to analyze, as it's called 彼岸 Higan, which can refer to multiple things. The literal meaning is ''the opposite side of a shore of a river or ocean'', so it could be referencing how different Oosaki and Shijoumae's ideologies are, though it can also mean ''reaching nirvana''.

The title of Toyosu's ending is 正体 Shoutai which means ''one's true identity'', of course referencing Toyosu's role in the story, as he is the one who made the plan to gather all of them on the island. Hinode's ending is called 蠱毒 Kodoku which I did have to look up, but it's really interesting! This seems to be some type of ritual in which a large number of venomous insects are put into a jar and made to cannibalize each other, which in some way, is what Hinode has been doing on the island. In almost all of the routes he doesn't directly try to attack anyone, and instead he waits for the other attendees to kill each other.

Funeno's ending is called 習合 Shuugou, another term I had to look up because I haven't seen it before. It seems to be the fusion of different things such as religion, culture etc. and is also used to refer to the fusion of Shinto and Buddhist beliefs. I don't know if I should look too much into this, as Funeno's route is not the most serious, but I'm wondering if could mean that he still stays with Oosaki despite everything Oosaki has been doing with the other attendees (?). Lastly, Daiba's (or Shizuma')s ending is called 椿事 Chinji, which translates to ''an important, yet unexpected event''. This route is of course a lot different than the other routes because Oosaki never ends up going to Ooejima, as he notices Daiba is lying to him and doesn't accept his request, unlike all of the other routes.

I might add some more information later but like always, this post is getting long, so I hoped it was interesting to read!

[twoandahalfstudios]

Extended Demo Released 

The Divine Speaker Extended Demo has now been released! We hope you all enjoy it - please, let us know what you think! 

Play it on itchio! Come chat!

[suzuran777]

Review: Shingakkou -Noli me tangere- (PIL/SLASH)

This is a game I've been wanting to replay for a long time! It has been 10 years, so I had a fun time revisiting it.

The story focuses on protagonist Michael, who's enrolled into a seminary. Excited to finally reunite with his family, Michael and his twin brother Gabby return home during their Christmas holiday, only to find out that someone has killed their parents and sister. To make things even more strange, they find a mysterious mark on the wall, written in their father's blood. Upon returning to the seminary, Michael discovers that this mark belongs to a secret society that exists in his very own school.

It turns out that this secret society is a group of devil worshippers called "Akahebi no Tsuichi" (soil of the red snake). After receiving some hints about how to join, Michael joins their group to find out the true identity of its members. During their first meeting, some of the voices sound familiar to characters you meet earlier in the game... I will try to avoid mentioning any big spoilers in this review because it's more fun to experience it yourself!

The first three routes follow a kind of similar story, you can choose between Leonid, Cecil or Neil. I personally think it doesn't really matter, so I started with Leonid's route. I ended up really liking him. At first he seems like a very serious character who has a lot of responsibilities, but later you learn he also has a different side. Michael often has to help him clean his room because Leonid has a habit of not organizing anything (to put it lightly...). When he does try to organize his belongings, Michael ends up finding shoelaces in tea cans and shirts stuffed in drawers... He's voiced by Midorikawa Hikaru who is in a lot of older BL games, so maybe I'm biased.

I guess it's important to mention that it definitely feels more like a horror game than a mystery game, so after playing the first route you kinda know what to expect from the next routes already, but it's still interesting to see how each character reacts to everything that happens in the game imo! I played Neil's route next, followed by Cecil's route. I thought Neil's personality was really fun, he teases Michael a lot but he also has a serious and caring side. I must admit that Cecil wasn't really my type, but he's Michael's closest friend and I'm sure there's many people out there who do enjoy childhood friend characters.

After playing the first three routes... it was time for August's route. And oh boy this is where things get a lot worse for Michael! I like how you can still choose who tops and bottoms by the way, which you can do for every character in this game. I remember I somehow didn't expect August of all characters to bottom LOL... I actually quite liked the ending because it's so different than the previous three routes. Some very cool symbolism at the end of his route too which is hard not to appreciate! August's route unlocks Gabby's route, which is the final route of the game.

So, one thing you immediately notice in the first routes is that not many people seem to talk to Gabby, he mostly chats with Michael. When him and Michael get too close to the lake, which is kind of a prohibited area to visit, only Michael gets scolded for being there. One of the only exceptions is when August talks to them, who mentions both of them. I promise everything does make sense eventually and I actually really liked Gabby's route and ending... It was also fun to learn more about the side characters!

I think it was interesting to see how the game handled topics like religion. I remember I wasn't sure if I would like a game with these kind of themes, but it was actually quite good. Even though the seminary has very strict rules, many of the students have different interpretations of what religion should mean to someone. In the end it turns out Leonid is not very religious at all and wants to create a world in which same-sex marriage is accepted, and even Neil, who's revealed to be a pastor in his own route, thinks it's fine that people sometimes question if God really exists. At the end of the game Michael also mentions that maybe the god they believe in isn't the one that is literally described in the bible, but that he still believes that there is something out there.

I thought the horror in this game was pretty well done too, not super scary but it never failed to surprise me. As the route progresses, Michael starts having more and more nightmares and hallucinations. Demons, bugs, ghosts etc. Some scenes have these "jumpscares" but I wouldn't say they're too bad. What caught me off guard is whenever the faces of the other characters became weirdly distorted, which was quite creepy.

I guess my only "complaint" would be that it's one of these games in which every route doesn't really have a completely different story, therefore it can get a bit tedious when you have to complete Leonid, Cecil and Neil's route before you can play August's route, which unlocks Gabby's route. I always try to play every route though, so for me it was no big problem.

I was actually surprised there's a completed Shingakkou manga which focuses on Neil's route! I think it has also been fan-translated, so if you do want to get a feeling what the game is like before playing it, it might be an option to read that instead. Shingakkou hasn't been translated into English, but it's very easy nowadays to download a tool like Textractor and to play it using machine translation. I definitely recommend checking it out yourself!

[suzuran777]

New visual novel: Akechi to Iu Otoko ~A Danshaku-tei Satsujin Jiken~

Holicworks announced yet another project they’ve been working on during yesterday’s NicoNico AGF stream! It’s a collaboration with Animate Games and the title of this game is  Akechi to Iu Otoko ~A Danshaku-tei Satsujin Jiken~ ( 明智と謂ふ男～A男爵邸殺人事件～), literally translated ‘’ A Man Called Akechi: The Case of the Murder at Baron A’s Residence’’. This game is a detective murder-mystery story set in the late Taisho/early Showa period. Holicworks’ official twitter account mentioned that it will have Edogawa Ranpo-like mysterious elements and focuses on detectives, soldiers and scholars,

Unlike their previous titles, this game will be all-ages, doesn’t seem to be tagged as ‘’BL’’ either right now, just ‘’novel game’’. During the livestream the director, Mio Kouji, mentioned that the four guys you can see in the picture are the main characters, though so far they’ve only tweeted information about two of them.

Akechi Kogoro ( 明智小五郎 ) The protagonist of this story. A detective and novelist in search of unusual events. He often works together with a soldier called Kada. He lives in the Sendagaya ward of Tokyo.

Kada Ryuujou (賀田 龍驤) An army soldier who received an order from his superior to search the Baron's residence in Tsurumi. 

Additional info: Art: Fuga Yuyu Planning & Scenario: Mio Kouji

Platform: Animate games, PC, smartphone Release date: Still undecided Voiced/unvoiced: Fully voiced

[suzuran777]

Uuultra C review + summary

Recently MangaGamer released the English version of Adelta's BL visual novel UuultraC and I was very excited to play it! I really enjoyed Koshotengai no Hashihime (Hashihime of the Old Book Town) and was interested in seeing what Adelta would create next. This review is spoiler-free, so if you haven’t played yet, you can still check it out!

Story The story takes place during the second half of Japan's Showa era (1970s) and focuses on superheroes who fight monsters (kaiju). Kaiju usually look identical to humans until they transform, which often happens when they experience severe emotions and lose control of themselves. It’s up to the heroes called ‘‘Icarus’‘ to defeat them.

Unlike most other BL visual novels, this game has 3 different pairings and each episode focuses on one specific pairing. There are no choices, so you can just select an episode an enjoy the story! The second and third chapters are locked until you completely chapter one.The story is the same every time, you just see it from a different character’s perspective each time. I do recommend playing the second story before the third one, even though it’s technically possible to completely skip it and immediately play the third route. Also make sure to check out the extras menu, as cleaning certain routes unlocks new information!

Chapter 1

The first chapter focuses on the protagonist Kagome Shoutarou. His dream is to become an actor like his idol, Sayashi Juurou, who plays one of the most popular heroes on TV: Icarus, though things don’t exactly go as planned. Shoutarou is in a relationship with Kozuka Akira, an aspiring manga artist. I think this is my first time seeing a couple in a BL visual novel who are already together when the game starts, but it was interesting! They live together in the Setagaya ward of Tokyo and also experience their own struggles communicating with each other. Even though Shoutarou really wants to become an actor, nobody wants to hire him, which is why he currently has all kinds of other unrelated part-time jobs. Akira always disappears when the hero siren goes off and Shoutarou wonders what Akira has been hiding from him... The theme of his route is supposed to be like the superhero shows they would show on TV every Sunday morning! 

Chapter 2

This route focuses on Choutsugai Shirou, a camera man who also graduated from law school. He's not just a photographer, as he also works for several gossip magazines and isn't afraid to show his own selfish desires. He also hates Icarus because nobody came to save his family when they were attacked by a kaiju in the past. When he was younger, he starred in a movie together with Sayashi Juurou and his childhood love "Belle-chan". Choutsugai is convinced Belle-chan is a girl, but when they reunite, he realizes that "Belle-chan" is actually a man called Isshiki Suzu. Isshiki is a kaiju who pretends to be a fake white icarus and he always shows up when a kaiju is spotted, but his intentions are unknown. He is a kind and caring person who wants to protect Shirou, but Shirou is in denial so he’s rather mean to him at first lol! I believe the theme of this route is a reference to Kaiki Daisakusen (Mysterious Strategy), a supernatural mystery show whose protagonist is also a detective called Shiro. Generally all characters in this game seem to be based on existing protagonists of superhero series, as both their first names and designs are similar.

Chapter 3

The last chapter focuses on famous Icarus actor, Sayashi Juurou, who is mentioned a lot in the previous chapters. He’s a celebrity and many people look up to him, but he has many dark secrets. Juurou often meets up with his childhood friend, Yomi, who he met after a tragic accident when they were kids. Juurou’s uncle raised both of them together after this incident. Yomi has a lot of part time jobs and seems to be very busy, which Juurou doesn't really like because he just wants to be together with him. Yomi is a very mysterious character and his real age is unknown. He also seems to know way too much about icarus, kaiju and various other topics that are important in this game, which is a bit suspicious! The theme of this route is a classic Sentai hero theme, or at least that is what they want you to believe...

Personal thoughts This game is quite difficult to summarize because I feel like so much happens within so little time and I also don’t want to spoil the plot too much! There are also a lot of side characters who all have their own stories too who are quite relevant in some of the routes. The characters are really nice and likable, although the plot might be a bit difficult to understand at first because so much stuff is happening at once. You really need to play all three chapters before you know what's really going on! In the end, I think my favorite pairing is probably the one featured in the final route (Juurou and Yomi), but I also really liked many of the other characters, they all have their own charm.

The game is not super long (I finished it within 12 hours) but it somehow feels longer because so much happens and it definitely has some replay value as well. I heard this game has over 1800 (!!) CGs which is why it sometimes feels like you’re reading a manga rather than a visual novel. The OST of this game was also amazing, according to the credits Kurosawa Rinko created most of it herself which is really impressive, considering she’s also the scenario writer and artist. Definitely a completely different genre than Hashihime, but absolutely worth checking out.

I really recommend checking the official website and reading the short stories as well, which I created a list of in another blog post. There’s also a Q&A which answers some of the questions you might still have, as well as the supplementary reader which also has some additional information. Most of this content hasn't been translated, but if you have any questions about the game I would be happy to answer them if you send me a message! The supplementary reader has this really beautiful cover featuring Yomi and Juurou, I’m a big fan... If you’re interested in buying the digital version, it’s currently available on Adelta’s Booth account!

[suzuran777]

Uuultra C After Story List

Adelta’s second game Uuultra C recently got released in English, so I wanted to create a list with all of the free extra content that’s currently available on Adelta’s website! Make sure to only read these short stories after finishing the routes, otherwise they might not make much sense or even spoil the game’s story. They’re written in Japanese, but not extremely difficult to understand with translation tools.

> Short story 1 (Kozuka Akira x Kagome Shoutarou)

One day when we wanted to go swimming, the town was flooded by a sudden heavy rain. A sweet early summer story.

> Short story 2

Continuation of short story 1

Side A: Akira's point of view

Side B: Shoutarou's point of view

> Short story 3 (Isshiki Suzu x Choutsugai Shirou)

On a tropical night when the moonlight is dazzling, something happens to the body of the citizens of Tokyo. A story about midsummer.

> Short story 4

Continuation of short story 3

Side A: Shirou's point of view

Side B: Isshiki's point of view

> Short story 5 (Hibarino Yomi x Sayashi Juurou)

After spending their time peacefully, it seems like Yomi has found a new ''hobby''. A story about an alien and the end of summer.

> Short story 6

Continuation of short story 5

Side A: Juurou's point of view

Side B: Yomi's point of view

Credit goes to Adelta for creating these wonderful stories and beautiful art! Japanese page can be found here.