Dra†KoI Review

Title: Dra†KoI
Original title: 竜†恋
Release date: 2006-02-03
English release date: 2013-04-21
Developer: Nitroplus
English publisher: TLWiki (as a fan-patch)

Another review - another Nitroplus game. This time it's a small, short and completely insane piece named "Dra+KoI".

Actually, "Dra+KoI" has never been released as a standalone game, but rather it was included in "Sabato Nabe: Nitro Amusement Disc", together with a "Hanachirasu" fan-disc and "Nitro Wars". It was translated not so long ago by our resident troll Moogy and I finally got around to playing it.

Saya no Uta Review

Title: Saya no Uta
Original title: 沙耶の唄
Alias: The Song of Saya
Release date: 2003-12-26
English release date: 2009-02-24 (as a fan-patch)

2013-05-06 (commercial release)

2019-08-13 (re-master)

Developer: Nitroplus
English publisher: TLWiki (as a fan-patch)

JAST USA (commercial)

One hardly needs to introduce "Saya no Uta" - after all it is one of the most famous visual novels in the West and for good reason. No, shock value is not that reason, but rather the fact that it is a brilliantly written little piece of fiction that, while being quite short, still manages to pack a real emotional punch.

Kara no Shoujo Review

Title: Kara no Shoujo
Original title: 殻ノ少女
Alias: Girl in the Shell
Release date: 2008-07-04
English release date: 2011-06-29 (voiceless)
                                  2013-10-04 (voiced)
                                  2013-12-09 (Limited Physical Edition)
Developer: Innocent Grey
Publisher: MangaGamer & TLWiki

This time let's review something on a darker and grittier side of a visual novel world. How about a serial murder story set in a post-WWII Japan that doesn't pull any punches when it comes down to displaying the darkest abyss into which a human psyche can sink? Yes, that is a perfect description for "Kara no Shoujo" a.k.a. "Girl in the Shell" - a visual novel heavily influenced by the writings of Edogawa Rampo. Even the chapters in the novel are named based on the titles by this author.

Sharin no Kuni, Himawari no Shoujo Review

Title: Sharin no Kuni, Himawari no Shoujo
Original title: 車輪の国、向日葵の少女
Alias: Sharin no Kuni: The Girl Among the Sunflowers
Release date: 2005-10-21
English release date: 2009-11-04
Developer: Akabei Soft2
English publisher: TLWiki (as a fan-patch)

Err... so, "Sharin no Kuni" - a work that is considered a "Citizen Kane" of visual novel world. If VNDB is to be believed, Sharin is one of the most critically well received adult games together with FSN, MLA and FDA (well, probably not this one). Translated as "Wheel Country, Sunflower Girl", it's a dystopian sci-fi political and social commentary cross-dressing as a romantic adventure game.

Remember11: The Age of Infinity Review

Title: Remember11 -the age of infinity-
Release date: 2004-03-18 (2010-10-11 in English)
Developer: KID
English publisher: TLWiki (as a fan-patch)

Of trolls and trollops...

If I was Ben Croshaw, I would already be preparing a hate filled rant about Remember11. Thus I consider it the game's luck I'm not him as the game itself is a huge troll - the sort you find under the Golden Gates Bridge or visiting 4chan. It appears, the main message the writer of Remember11 wanted to convey us was: "LOL pwned U". And despite it I consider it quite a good game. But let's talk about everything from the very beginning.

Chaos;Head Review

Title: Chaos;Head
Release date: 2008-03-21 (2008-12-31 in English)
Developer: Nitroplus & 5pb.
English publisher: TLWiki (as a fan-patch)

Synopsis

Whose eyes are those eyes?


Nitroplus is a Japanese VN company that is best known for their quality titles mainly involving sci-fi, fantasy and horror themes. So I suppose, when this title was patched into English, my expectations were kind of high (especially as I previously played Saya no Uta). However, the thing is, C;H is much more of a 5pb. title than Nitroplus one (or at least I want to believe that other N+ titles do not fall so short).

So, the protagonist of the story is Nishijou Takumi, a nice and outgoing fellow, who was just minding his own business, when all his life went to hell (if you managed to read that sentence with a straight face, mad props for you).