For what's here already I really enjoyed it. There are some moments where emotions are forced on you a little though. I get that Lancelot is meant to be a sympathetic figure in an otherwise hostile environment, but I feel that my character warms up to him far too quickly, especially given all my choices up to that point had been either silence or outright hostility. The kitchen scene seems especially chummy given that my character still sees him as an enemy.
lanceheyen
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Spoiler question below:
Is it possible for the MC to "win" in the BDSM battle during the governor's party in the JCS storyline? I retried it until I full cleared it (I didn't lose any will and the other person completely lost theirs) but I still had the attitude shift and "lost" my will. I get that it may be integral to the storyline, but if it is I'd say just don't make it a minigame with health bars, just have the text.
Accolon as best dad I am 100% on board with, but Morgana as best mum? Really? I get that her backstory justifies some of her actions but her unremitting bitterness towards Arthur despite him being the father of her child disqualifies her as best mum in my eyes.
Also, let's not forget that Mordred is not just the product of incest, but of rape. Arthur makes it clear that he never would have slept with Morgana had he known she was his half sister, a fact she knew and concealed from him. Not allowing him all the information needed for him to consent is a type of rape.
Galahad really annoyed me at first, until I realised he was only two years older than Mordred. I had imagined him as mid-teens, but knowing he's only twelve at the time makes it much easier to realise he's just parroting back the opinions of his father. That, combined with the character growth we see happening in chapter three, is really bringing me around on him.
Wow. For what's here it is amazing. I started the story determined to reconcile Mordred with Arthur and be an upstanding knight. Ended basically wanting to brawl every single one of those small minded bullies that call themselves knights that seem to want to unload all their baggage on a child and not caring about Arthur at all because why would I when Accolon, the world's greatest fictional father, is right there!
So, I'm going to raise some issues I had with the game, but I want to keep in mind that, overall, I liked the characters and the story.
The first is kind of on me in that I don't get why anyone likes stat raising visual novels. For me they ALWAYS devolve into me just finding a guide and following it to the letter which, at that point, it may as well have been a kinetic visual novel with no choices at all. But to the point of this specific visual novel, what is the point of over half the stats in the game? From what I can tell the only stats that REALLY matter are art basics and to a lesser extent colour theory, and on the social side confidence, eloquence and persuasion. That leaves a huge amount of skills that you may need one or two points in for the best ending, but end up being almost completely unused.
Now, I don't like to offer criticism without offering some form of solution. I think, rather than requiring an arbitrary number in certain skill categories for the best ending (according to the guide it is art basics 40, colour 20, all art skills +3, and confidence +25) instead require a total of 70 across any art skills and 25 across any social skills. That way your character would feel a little more unique in their art style and social approach. You could even have small snippets of dialogue from the art dealer depending on what the highest art skill is, highlighting your character's specific approach to art.
Secondly, I kept hitting an error message in many of my runs that completely stopped the game dead. And not a Renpy error page but an error written into the text of the game. "Test, a ver donde leches esta el error". It completely stopped all forward progress and rolling back didn't change it. Errors happen, but it is still frustrating to have a run through completely bricked because of it.
The writing isn't perfect English, but in all honesty I actually think it's a little charming. As if the characters are all actually speaking French and it's being translated a little loosely for the reader.
Onto the good. Despite their flaws I actually really liked all of the characters, which is rare for a VN. Usually there is one clear favourite, but I think I liked all of them about the same The setting as well is great, and I really got caught up in the post WW2 new wave of art and philosophy. I'm not familiar enough with the time period to say how accurate the portrayal is, but as a setting it is very good. The 18+ scenes are also very well written. In some games they can come across as a bit cringey (and entirely impractical) but these felt very realistic and well thought out.
The art style and character design is great. Emile is my favourite, but all of the love interests are well designed, and even the side characters have great character design.
All in all, I'd say it is well worth the price, but I really hope the dev does some bug fixes to make the game a bit smoother and maybe adjusts the stat raising mechanics a bit.
Okay, this one really surprised me. I wasn't expecting a whole lot, mostly because "adult" games don't tend to try supremely hard, but I was wrong. I have been a Fenoxo fan for years, but the quality of this one blows Fenoxo's games out of the water, and with continued development it can only get better.
For a start the artwork in this game is objectively fantastic. Whether it is for you or not is subjective, but on a technical level it is super high quality. I feel the writer is an ESL speaker, but they are an ESL speaker on a very high level. You can tell they aren't a native speaker through some syntax and sentence flow issues, but the text is all still, not only legible, but engaging.
You've earned my Patreon support. I look forward to seeing where this all goes.
I would say all the routes are equally good, though in different ways and explaining the ways they are different would spoil them. Just pick one and get started.
In terms of branching, they are basically all separate stories, they branch almost immediately, you'll know very clearly the branching point.
Oh also forgot to add that I am super impressed that they managed to walk the line between under and over sexualising a teen romance. Most teen romance either has them screwing like bunnies at the drop of a hat or seemingly being completely chaste until they are legally adults. Both scenarios are completely unrealistic. The awkward fumbling and growing confidence we see between Cove and the main character are perhaps the most honest depiction of a teen romance I have ever seen.
Dear god... this one hit me hard. So glad I stumbled across this VN, it is incredibly well written and the characters are so well realised. I don't understand how games like Dream Daddy get mainstream recognition but an absolute gem like this is relatively unknown.
Despite my own childhood being, relatively, idyllic, some of the scenes had me absolutely bawling. The one that still makes me tear up even after going through it several times is the adoption discussion and the subsequent talk with Cove. I think that was what cemented the relationship in my mind as a true relationship, with Cove supporting the MC just as much as I supported him.
While I am sad that the story of Cove is basically over (I will get the wedding DLC as soon as it arrives, don't you worry about that) I am looking forward to what this team does next. I am not as personally invested in a female or NB love interest, but given the quality of writing and characterisation in this game I trust it to be an amazing story anyway.
I agree that there are certain situations where I'd like to see the game respond to your choices, rather than give another option. The lab saving especially as it seems like that is the point that sets the romance route for the rest of the game, so it would make sense for the person you have been flirting and interacting with the most show up, rather than choose who shows up.
I disagree about the MCs personality, or at least I thought the level of the MCs personality really depends on how you play the game. The MC can be vengeful (refusing to forgive Damon for suggesting turning them over), aggressively flirtatious (the Ayame romance choices are good examples of this), or peaceful and devoted to non violence.
This is a very exciting project. One of the few visual novels where I am just as interested in the overarching story as I am in the individual romances. While I wish I had found it after it had already been completed because I am a pathetic goblin with no ability to delay gratification, I am happy that I found it to be able to throw some money your way to support the project.
Looking forward to future updates. Also, any chance of an Android version in the future?