Greetings to all! Today I'm reviewing the Free-to-Play slice-of-life GxB Visual Novel from TeaCup Production, "(P)lanets- the Life of Normalcy has Ended," also known as "(P)lanets." I'll be critiquing this Visual Novel based on it's story, characters, art, sound, and gameplay. Let's get to it!

Story: This synopsis TeaCup Production provides reads, 
"Marin was a normal girl, until one day she fell down the staircase at school. She had a concussion, and when she awoke in the nurse's room, something had changed. She could hear the thoughts of everyone around her! What was going on...?
It was then a mysterious boy appeared before her. “Come with me, where there are others like you.”
Like that, Marin's days at Planets began. 
Perhaps she will find love through the chaos of a new and strange school?"


Now, here's what I thought of the story: first of all, the whole psychic ordeal makes a good supernatural twist on the typical slice-of-life genre. The story is a real emotional  roller coaster through each of the five routes (I mean this positively). The story has a good balance of comedy and drama, and takes into account many realistic dilemmas to psychic abilities. I must applaud because this game isn't entirely otome fairytale doki-doki fluff (There is just enough though). 


Alas... I didn't have one problem, but i suppose that will be addressed between my character and gameplay critiques.


Characters: This visual novel rotates around its protagonist, Marin. She isn't anything too remarkable, but her lack of an overbearing presence makes the game more enjoyable. However, I really don't like her lack of motivation to do well in her psychic endeavors- it really sucks all of the fun and intrigue from the whole supernatural scenario. Despite that, the cast of (P)lanets is nothing to scoff at!  In addition to the heroine, there are six other big roles, three(?) of which are romancable males. While the characters are as stereotyped as they come, I couldn't adore them more. Each character reveals many twists and are very real people. 


Art: Fantastic! The characters sprites are beautiful and so full of life in (P)lanets. The visual animations such as the spinning stars are quite cute as well. This Visual novel also has some major boasting rights, because it features over a whopping thirty stunning CGs. The backgrounds are your typical bgs for the slice-of-life genre, but they fit the game and support the story instead of detracting from it.


Sound: Cheery.Fluffy.Zany.Rainbows. EVERYWHERE!!! The soundtrack for (P)lanets has got me throwing up glitter and rainbows while I shed lemonade tears (ocular citrus ouchies?) of both laughter and sorrow! Now, the soundtrack does contain more than happy upbeat music, but the dramatic compositions are so... nonexistent when compared to the latter. Perhaps this is not only because there are more cheery pieces (that much makes sense for this Visual novel), but also because those contrasting are merely inferior compositions. Not to say the dramatic pieces are bad,- they are quite satisfactory in themselves- but when paired off with the upbeat pieces, there is an evident lack of presence and identity for the dramatic scores. It is my opinion that, either the dramatic scores need to step it up a notch, or the cheery pieces need to take it down- perhaps both actions would be the ideal solution. 


Now, while I seem to hate the soundtrack of the game by the above description, it is actually pretty cute, fitting, and tolerable- provided that you don't go on a binge play session to unlock all five endings at once like I did. For a free-to-play visual novel I can't be so harsh. Nevertheless, there's room for some fine tuning and improvement (Haha, tuning... I'm talking about sound...Pun not intended).


Gameplay: The gameplay in (P)lanets is simple, but that's normal for visual novels. I didn't find errors of any kind, and the overall flow was pleasant and right. My only regret (and it's a big one) is that you don't really get to do anything with your psychic powers. (P)lanets easily could've been a stat-raising sim, but even as a VN, there are many different player interactions (Such as puzzles and minigames) that could incorporate and support Marin's new-found abilities. Alas, aside from some comedy and entrance to the psychic academy, her powers  are rather useless. She can't read the mind of any of the romancable characters either. Sadly, this game closed off every opportunity for a sequel, but if is ever remade, I'd really like it if at least her telepathy classes were actually delved into:I mean, you feel so removed from the whole class and world because the bg is a empty bleak gray hallway. Take us into telepathy class! Who's the teacher? What are other telepaths like? How does one hone such a skill? etc.


Despite all of that I really, really, REALLY enjoyed (P)lanets. I've played it through and through, and felt so much during it all! I reccomend this to everyone. Kudos TeaCup Production, kudos.


Well ta-ta for now guys! You can download (P)lanets here:http://lemmasoft.renai.us/forums/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=11779&hilit=life+normalcy
Play it and let me know what you think~

Until next time,
YourGeekGoddess

Hello again everyone! Today, I'll be reviewing the Free-to-Play GxB Visual Novel from Circle Pegasi, "Days of the Divine," also known as "Divine." Divine is a stunning visual novel that was created in just one month for the 2013 NaNoRenO event. I'll fill you in on the story, characters, art, sound, and gameplay- spoiler alert- it's all great!

Story: Here's the synopsis Circle Pegasi provides:
 "Long ago, in a valley where a small village lay, two deities fought each other. One was imprisoned, the other vanished. Yet some time ago, an unnatural mist began lingering in the village, dissolving people's memories.

Biyu, a young shrine maiden, is now working her hardest in the shrine of one of these deities in the faint hope the mist will one day dissolve. Even though her good friend also lost his memory, not all hope is lost; she meets a stranger who seems to be recovering from his memory loss, and rather quickly as well..."


Alright, so here are my thoughts...the story in Divine is just that. While not really based on Chinese history, or any history for that matter, I was still transported to a lovely Asian-esque realm and really felt strong cultural ties to the world within Divine. The story was smooth and polished, and differs greatly on each of the three routes. Thus, I felt much more motivation than normal to replay the game and get every ending (normally, my love for bishounen men is the only thing that drives me). This game has quite a serious tone, but it is never over-the-top melodramatic. In fact, it has just the right amounts of lighthearted moments.
Indeed, this game has genuine depth and is therefore both enjoyable and believable. This game may have been created entirely in one month, but the story, as well as every other aspect thereof, is solid.

Characters: Divine has a small but enjoyable cast including the main character, three love interests, and another guy. Haha, I hope you can discern which is which
 in the above screenshot. Divine's protagonist, Biyu, doesn't stand out much, but personally, that's great news. She was created with the intent of being someone to relate to, but not as oblivious, whiny, or naive as your average otome heroine- mission achieved Circle Pegasi, and job well done.

The other characters are just as deep, each with their own distinct personalities. While one can instantly pinpoint, "Oh he's  the angsty one, that's the happy guy," etc., each character is so much more than that. Each route pained me greatly because I couldn't bring myself to hate anyone! 


Art: The art of this game is radiant! Every eloquent background and character art greatly supports the story. Here is another example as to why visual novels are superior! I'm speechless, really! Just give it a go yourselves- trust me!


Sound: Once again, beautiful! Emotional traditional Asian  compositions bring life to this game. During my first playthrough, I was crying a gentle river, kind of like that double-rainbow guy (Though I'd like to think I was more graceful, haha). Let's just say I'm glad I was playing in solitude at four am. 


Finally, gameplay!


Gameplay: I really must commend Circle Pegasi, because Divine runs so smooth. I really never fathomed just how great a game made in four weeks could be! I know they was a lot of sacrifices to the game and team, but I can honestly say I never would've known! The length seems just right, and each true ending was simple as well. I loved the game so much that I still have many questions though! It's really hard for me to close this one up. plus, there are lots of unlockable goodies that provide insight to the creative process that ultimately resulted in Divine. 


To everyone reading this out there, I couldn't give this game higher marks! Again, Divine is free-to-play, and runs on windows, Mac, Linux, and Android. To see the official thread and download Divine, click here: 

http://lemmasoft.renai.us/forums/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=20147&hilit=divine



Tell me what you think guys! I must part from now, but I shall return!

With love, 
YourGeekGoddess

Hello everyone! My first post here will be a review of the Free-to-Play GxB dating-simulation from 
Unbroken Hours, "Heartstring Bugs."  I will assess this game by story, characters, art, sound, and gameplay. First things first, the story:
 
Story: In this slice-of-life simulation, the story revolves around our completely normal(?) protagonist Elly (Name is changeable). On a perfectly normal day Elly happens to hear a strange voice calling for help. That voice belongs to none other than Vi, a baby virus from another planet. Vi beamed himself to Earth in order to do a research project for his educational facility on his home planet... Anyway, Vi throws a tantrum and Elly reluctantly decides to let him follow her around. However, for this partnership to work, Vi had to rewrite some of Elly's genetic code. Now Elly has some sort of power that allows her to see the emotions of others. Now Elly must try to go to school as if everything is as it has always been (which really, it is).
 
Personally, I think the idea here is quite creative. Vi is the cutest little virus ever! However, I have to deduct some points here. The very thing that sets this apart from any other high school, slice-of-life creation is the virus and inheritance of powers. However, much to my disappointment, there are many holes regarding said powers, plus, they rarely make a significant appearance- scratch that, they may be funny/cute sometimes, but they never add to the story save the very beginning... Next, THERE IS NO STORY! Jeez-Louise! I'm not picky at all when it comes to games, but this Heartstring Bugs really pushes my buttons sometimes. Allow me to clarify, Aside from the opening scene, a few directly following  and some in year three, there are no events(Not including annual events such as Tamera's parties), no signs of progression, nada!Aside from the stat-raising and little dates, nothing happened. That was incredibly frustrating to me, and I expected a real kick-ass ending to make up for it- though, the ending for my romantic ending with Chase was OKAY at best. Now, I will say that as of yet, I've only beat that one path, so perhaps others may yield a completely different experience. Unfortunately though, I suspect everyone will suffer from at least two years of repetitive, unsatisfying, tedious gameplay with no story progression aside from the literal aging of the characters.


Now, I know that sounds dreadful, but don't stop reading yet! Heartstring Bugs does much to make up for the lack of story, plus, it is a dating-simulation, and those often have little-to-no plot. I suppose it was just Rick-Rolling me to hear such a bad-ass plot, but having it actually matter so little to the game itself. Let's move on to the characters, shall we?


Characters: Heartstring Bugs consists of eight lead characters, five of which are male and can be romantically captured. I'm not going to ramble about each character, but you can read for yourselves on Unbroken Hour's website if you should so desire here: 
http://unbrokenhours.com/projects/heart/characters.html
Now, I will say that I have no complaints about the characters in this game whatsoever. Despite being a little cliche, the cast was bright, lovable, and even fluffy if I may say so myself. This game has minimal conflict, and the player gets to mosy about and really absorb even the most minuscule aspects of the character's lives. I do so love games that make me feel like a giddy little girl! Now, none of the men on Heartstring Bugs had me drooling and creeping like many Otome games do, but I believe the  men are just lovely all the same.Plus, there was a few characters twists that caught me off guard, which is good. nobody likes to know every detail about a game or person/character right away. 


Art:  Absolutely. Remarkable. Talent. The art is without a doubt what really makes this game so great! The character sprites are stunning. Plus, cute chibis were seamlessly woven into the world to act out day-to-day tasks while raising stats. Now, this certainly isn't the first dating sim to express such an art style (first thing that comes to mind for me is RE:Allistair++), it is becoming an expectation for players more and more nowadays. The art alone is enough for me to recommend this game to everyone!


.Sound: The soundtrack for this game is really quite lovely. Although I admit I didn't pay much attention to the music during my playthrough because I was super in-the-zone-focused trying desperately to get Chase to love me (Haha, seriously, it took me until the third year to even get his number). Anyway, I'm listening to the soundtrack at this very moment, and it is light, fluffy, soothing, and cute- a perfect fit for this game. You can listen to the soundtrack here:http://andthesearethetwins.bandcamp.com/album/heartstring-bugs-ost -if you like it, please support Unbroken Hours and purchase the twenty-two tracks for the chump-change of five dollars. 

Last but not least, let me review the overall gameplay.


Gameplay: This isn't a commercial game, so a technical difficulties and bugs were to be expected. Let's see... for me, the biggest problem was the visual bugs. The site itself has a guide for installation help regarding this matter, but, even after following said instructions some things were simply invisible in-game. For example, whenever I tried to look at my inventory, nothing was ever there. I had to click randomly and hope I found what I was looking for. This is especially irritating when picking clothes for dates, because as your closet fills, you have to scroll down. This sucks because if you click on an article of clothing you are sent to the top of the page. Since said clothes are invisible, I always picked the wrong outfits and went through hell to navigate back and forth. Although, the visual bugs are very minor compared to an earlier obstacle. Before installing I had some completely different issue preventing the game from entering my computer, and I waited months to actually play this game because of that... Granted, this experience may never trouble anyone again...

I didn't notice any blatant grammar violations and the program functioned smooth enough. What wasn't smooth enough though, was the flow of the game itself (see story). I was also extremely confused because the game doesn't keep track on what year the player is on. Of course, I can remember that much myself, but, the nonexistent indication of years led me to believe the game was a year long, tops. However, don't be fooled! The game actually spans a whopping three years! That is not uncommon in dating sims, but, if you're like me, you like to binge play Otome games and not get up until completion whenever possible (Not healthy, I know!). So imagine poor little me, expecting to play three hours tops for one ending, who starts playing at two pm, only to be playing till eleven. Let's just say this, I didn't eat, pee, anything! I thought, "Any moment now, this will all be over." Naturally, I don't mean that in a bad way, but I certainly wasn't too fond of the curve-ball i felt the game threw me there. 

Whelp, that's everything in a nutshell! I definitely intend to get the other endings soon, so I recommend this game to all! If you play it, or have any questions, let me know! Bye for now everyone. Your Majesty needs her beauty sleep!

P.S. Screenshots and Credits can be found in this forum thread here: 
http://lemmasoft.renai.us/forums/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=18354&hilit=heartstring+bugs



Keep loyal,
YourGeekGoddess