a twist of otome

He says he has been accused of a crime he did not commit, and requests their help.

But the Knights are not what they once were. Utrecht, god of Justice and their patron deity, has been missing for ten years, and can no longer lend them magic or guidance. 

Crocket, an unexperienced young squire, steps forward...

Thoughts:
- I love the injected bits of humor.

- I just love the art style. It's very different from both the "traditional" anime art and the western art style, but I really like it. :)

- The story is the best thing this novel has. The visuals are great, but the story is simply... beautiful. I love the way it's written, and I love how everything unfolds.

- The relationship between the stranger and Crocket is extremely... fascinating.

- Crocket reminds me a bit of myself. -___- I'm not childish, per se, but I... am quite... "child-like" It's child-like, okay?! Childish is when you throw tantrums or complain or grumble all the time. Child-like is when you're... "innocent", and easily pleased by the simple things in life. Like Crocket. She gets happy quite easily I think. :)  She's not being shallow, she's genuinely happy. And despite being a knight, her underlying innocence is visible in the way she speaks.

- The Stranger... I dunno, his conversations with Crocket makes my heart beat oh-so-fast sometimes. It's really nakakakilig. (Nakakakilig: a Filipino word that means... err... it's when you see your crush and your heart starts beating wild and you want to scream out because of love and such. Hahaha.) I really like the two of them. There's this chemistry and it's really interesting. I'm a bit disappointed it didn't work out.

- Speaking of interesting, Deedra and Douglas are both quite interesting as well. Their relationship too, fascinates me.

- Murphy may look like a simple character, but I think he's quite complex. I quite li-- Oh gosh, I like all the characters. Can I just make a character review or something? :( [Be warned! Spoilers ahead.]

CROCKET - Really simple, and quite child-like in many ways. Even though she may seem stupid and slow, her heart is pure and innocent, as most "stupid" and "slow" characters are. I think this is because they don't think or plan to become better than others because they're okay with themselves being simple. She's a really interesting character, as despite being simple, she has a lot of depth to her.

He's... sort of tsundere. In a way.

THE STRANGER - His mystery-shrouded persona fascinates me so. And he's my favorite character. Well, was. Despite... everything that happened. At first, he was presented as a "criminal", but I just decided that he's innocent. Lol. He's kinda... tsundere, but more on the tsun tsun side. In the end, he kinda switched to dere dere for a while, but then... a horrible plot twist happened! :( I am still grieving for the story. I hope... I hope he's simply misunderstood. =) Keep your fingers crossed.

Crazy is the term.

DOUGLAS - He and Deedra serve the same Master. His personality is also complex, as the other characters' personalities are. He seems evil at first glance, but I think he has a pretty good heart. Heck, I'd like to believe he does. Even though... I still don't like him that much. I just like him better than his partner. Besides, like Deedra said, he and Crocket... does seem... no, not similar, more like, compatible? Not in a romantic way of course. In a sibling-y kind of way. They honestly look so cute together! When they're not fighting and when Douglas is not being the irritating smarty-pants he usually is. -____- And besides, he can be cruel and heartless too, believe me. Maybe he's got a split personality or something. Kidding.

Her face... reminds me of the Beldam from Coraline.

DEEDRA - She and Douglas serve the same Master. I sort of don't like Deedra. From the start, I already didn't like her. She seemed like a sadistic, abusive woman who's always giggling creepily. And my dislike for her only worsened when she left Douglas alone in the iron cage. I mean, they're partners! Why would she leave him there?! And besides, I just... don't like her. I don't. Wait, did I mention that I don't like her? Though... I kinda feel bad for her in the end.

Strangely, I think he's charismatic.

MURPHY - He's the leader of the Knights of Utrecht. He's really quite the guy, even though he's blind. I... like him. He seems to be like a father figure, or at least an older brother figure to Crocket. I like the way he speaks. Haha.

She's nice. Enough. Nice enough.

KIA - She's Crocket's best childhood friend. Or not quite. She's quite... a meanie, but... not in a mean way. Ugh. It's complicated. But... that's Kia.

GILLAN -Kia's grandfather. He has been a Knight for a long time. He's really quite wise, as most old men are, but he has quite a temper. Nevertheless, he's also quite a character. I like his epilogues.

--DISLIKE--
- The lack of any good ending. Hahaha. This is a personal dislike guys. :) I understand that some like this, since... "not everything has a happy ending". I... respect that, but... I still would have liked it if something vaguely good actually happened. Especially since the characters here had such amazing relationships. It's sad to see that... nothing came of them all.

Anyway, I truly recommend that you guys read this visual novel! It's a really nice one. I give it 9 out of 10 strawberries. I only took one point because of the lack of a truly good end (this is a personal reason. Haha, I'm a sucker for happy endings), but... aside from that, this VN is truly amazing. :)

Download it here~

Hi guys! :)

I discovered this little gem of a visual novel while I was looking through my desktop folders. It's really neat.

It used to say "The Insidious Manipulation of Mr. Jones." Really.

It's a cool game, haha, and it sort of re-defines this whole "dating sim" genre for me, since this is... err, quite a literal dating sim one. ;)

In the story, you get to meet this girl, Eve, who is said to be a dangerous gynoid or robot. The plan is to disable her so that she won't get in the way of the government and stuff. And to do that, only you, Mr. Jones, can use your handsomeness to seduce her.

Thank you.

Boys, take note of this. Haha.

I  kinda agree with this one.

She will try to recreate classic romantic scenes from her favorite mangas with her not-so-secret admirer, Matt, in order to get him to confess his feelings. Duh! Fortunately, her reluctant friend Warren is there to help. Will she succeed, or will all her plans fail miserably? Hint: it’s not the former.

Likes:
- Since it's GlassHeart, you can expect a good, solid story that delivers its humorous parts well. :) I really loved Summer Found Me and, well, this one didn't disappoint. ^^ I'm looking forward to more of her games.

- Despite it being short, the plot was well-developed. The whole story happened in less than a week I think, but at least... something did happen. Right? :) And it didn't feel rushed. That's the problem I have with plots that span a week: they feel rushed. But this one? Nope. We can see the "attempts" unfolding every scene.

- Even though, to be honest, Matt wasn't... the real main guy in this visual novel, I still liked him as a character. I think he's really sweet, and... you know, just... a good guy.

- I totally squealed at the end. <3 Warren's end I mean. I don't know, I've seen lots of movies and even visual novels with the adorable best friend (ahem, even Summer Found Me has one. Seth. Though I didn't like him as much as I like this one), but I simply never get tired of them! Warren's quirky and funny persona kinda made this game for me. <3 He's so cuuuute.

- I like how the "twist" was a classic, yet still made unique in this game. I mean honestly. For those who've played this game, you'll know what I mean. :) We always see this kind of plot twist. But there's something special in the way it was presented in this visual novel. ^^ I like it.

- I have to comment on the GUI, coz I like it as well. The design is simple yet pleasing to the eyes. <3

Dislikes:
- Some of the backgrounds didn't match the sprites. Not in the art or the hue or whatever it is that I usually notice in games, but... umm, it's sort of hard to explain. But I guess... the characters look almost giant because the angle of the ceilings are visibly sloping... forward? I don't... know. It just doesn't seem like we're looking at the sprites and the backgrounds from the same angle.

In short, this one is a short, simple story that is easy to play and find time for. It's only around 10, 000 words. I think I finished all endings in around 30 minutes? As you can see, it really doesn't take too much of your time so there's no excuse not to give this a try! :)
I give this 8 out of 10 strawberries. To be honest, I wasn't expecting much, (It's a NaNoRenO. I'm not underestimating them or anything, but they're usually shorter than your average visual novel. Usually.) but I did expect a good story and cute visuals, and this VN didn't disappoint me. And, I didn't expect to actually feel so giddy about this, but I did! :) Like I said, I was totally squealing in Warren's end. <3 Omoooooo. I think this VN is such a feel-good novel that everyone will enjoy playing it. Lol. :))

Download it here! :)

I don't usually post things regarding my own projects these days, but... haha, I have to say something about the reasons why I haven't been able to review visual novels lately. :))

I've been a bit busy with school and when I do have free time, with my own VN project, Seasons of Love. Let's just say that I really enjoy script writing. Lol. I have to admit, sometimes I do get mental blocks where I am unable to make decent scenes and events, buuuut I still really love writing this story. Hahaha. :))

Anyway, I recently updated the placeholder art for this game, which I am using for beta-testing and... such. I got them from Tokudaya. It's amazing how they can be used for free for freeware games. Thank you so much for the creator of this site, and these sprites! They just look so... beautiful.
ほらみて！

Placeholder Kaname is so hawt. <3

Placeholder Satsuki may not be a redhead, but I think the expression perfectly portrays his character.

Takashi, the big brother type. Placeholder Take is more like a boy next door, but isn't he such a cutie?

See? See? :) They're really quite a sight to see. I'm still so excited for this game's own art, but who wouldn't be inspired to write with such handsome characters like this? Wahahaha. :))

Anyway, once we have our own art, I think I'm gonna use these sprites for another project. Hahaha. They're really so beautiful. <3

Oh! By the way, speaking of Tokudaya's art, did you know that Rei and don't take it personally babe, it just ain't your story, and even work-in-progress Ichigo! uses some of these sprites as well? Some of you might know that I just love love love those VNs so much. <3

Well, that's it for updates. Hahaha. I post our progress in the Seasons of Love site, and also in the LemmaSoft Thread.

Thanks for reading! <3

Lines of Symmetry is a GxB or BxG slice of life visual novel.

Likes:
- The monologues are quite... philosophical. Haha, sorry, I can't really explain it. But I like the way the writer evokes emotions in the inner monologues. Like the one in the beginning? I... like that.

- Also, I like how each of the characters have their own speaking style. It wasn't obvious at first but... I just realized it after I compared Vivi and Maya to each other. Teehee. Writing distinct speaking styles for your characters can be quite hard, since you tend to use your own style for them. I myself worry about that whenever I script-write for my own games. So I definitely admire this for that. ^^

- The idea itself. When I first saw this in LemmaSoft, I got really interested.

- the title, ooooh, the title sounds really nice. Intriguing. I don't usually comment on the titles of visual novels, but I realy like the title of this one.

- The title screen, for me, is a really good one. It shows this "Lines of Symmetry" idea with the drawing, and, I think it's perfect for the game as well.


- In this VN, you get to choose a "path" for you, whether it's Maya's or Isaac's. Like the title implies, their lives are symmetrical to each other. Not exactly similar, but almost as if they were moving on the same line or something. They were intertwined. Hah. Lines of symmetry, right? :) And you know, I like how the plot was built around that. There's a lot of character-- err, not exactly development-- involvement (?) in this VN. Another point for that.

Dislikes:
- The textbox. Actually, there's nothing wrong with it but... I just personally don't like how it... doesn't fit with the overall "hue" of the backgrounds. I guess the blue is a little bit too bright for the dim BGs.

- Personally, I like the sprites all on their own. I can't make those myself, you know? :) But when they're already on the screen, you can see how they just don't fit with the backgrounds. For one, the styles are completely different. The sprites are cartoon-ish, while the backgrounds look like filtered photos. And for two, they're just way too bright for the dark BGs. Still, I think the sprites fit well with the textbox. ^^

- Some parts were a bit confusing. Just like his conversation with his sister near the start of the story. She didn't even have a namebox or anything. I was thoroughly confused. I thought, maybe he was talking to a ghost or to himself. Sure, he was on the phone, but I think having a name will clear this up.

- This is super minor, but I just had to say this: I really disliked the ringing at the beginning, in the cafe with Laird. All throughout the scene there was this ringing phone sound. I even removed my earphones to hear if there's a ringing phone in the house, but apparently, it was from the VN. Hahaha. However, when Isaac finally said that "I was expecting this call." I didn't hear the ringing sound at all. -____-

Final thoughts: 

Like I said, I like the idea, and I like the way it was presented. The lives of Maya and Isaac were intertwined in such a "it's-a-small-world" way and I guess that's what totally caught me.

However, due to its nature of changing narrators quite often, I was lost almost... a quarter of the time I was reading this. Maybe it'd be best if there was a side image for both the MCs? That could be possible, and really easy to do too. I admit, some people dislike that because... I think it removes the immersion for them or something, but some, like me, like that a lot, since we get to see the main character as well. I guess it really depends on a person.

Let me give this 7 out of 10 strawberries. The writing is good, and the story is nice as well, but... there's something about it that's... missing. It lacks something, and I can't quite pinpoint what it is. But it's still just a work in progress, and it's only a demo, so I bet the final product will be more polished.

Anyway, I say you guys should give it a try. I know I say that for every VN I review here but... seriously guys. Just check this out for yourselves. :)

Download it here~

UPDATE: Lines of Symmetry has been released! Download the full version here~

Whew. I watched this movie as a sort of stress-reliever after those grueling 5 hours taking the UPCAT! :o Haha, I watched with dad. Lol. Kinda awkward since it's a romantic comedy, but I think he secretly enjoyed too. Teehee.
Anyway, first things first. I really like this movie. Period. Hahaha. I never really liked Xian before, even in his awesome portrayal as Joax is "The Reunion", but now I do. In TR I loved the complexity and depth of his character, and I admired the part where he and his character's child played the piano! Awww. That's like, one of the sweetest scenes ever. <3

As some of you guys may know, whenever I like music or literature, I tend to over-analyze, and write posts such as this about those things. Hahaha.So be warned, this will be pretty long.