ICHIGO PANTSU RABU!

Of course that’s all a huge lie and the game is really about Asa-senpai and how hawt she looks with long hair. :3

The game starts off pretty normally. You meet your other childhood friend, Sakura Yae, whom you somehow forgot to mention in the previous games. She’s pretty cute, but I have a thing against Aoi Nishimata‘s design in general.

“Rin-kun, how could you forget about me for the past two games?”

So, ignoring the huuuuge plot hole and the fact that Sakura wants to jump your bones too, let’s talk about RiaRia’s unique point compared to the previous two games. In Tick! Tack! you have to gauge your dialogue options against a clock that shows you Nerine’s current status, which brought some uniqueness to an otherwise plain AVG. RiaRia takes this a step further by introducing a completely new gameplay system.

Well, to explain this requires a tiny spoiler. It shouldn’t detract from the game since it happens right at the start of the whole story.

Due to a magic accident, Kaede loses consciousness. Her memories have been mixed up and she is unable to wake up until they have been restored. Rin and company enter her mind to unravel each memory and to fix the erroneous memories.

Usually two or three memories are available for you to enter at a time. You are free to select which one to enter first, although sometimes you may need to unlock certain paths before others. Memories come in three categories: childhood, middle school (with Asa-senpai!) and high school (present).

After entering a particular memory, Rin and the rest all play the roles of themselves (or how they appear to be in Kaede’s confused memories.) So depending on how screwed up that particular memory is, hilarity ensues to various degrees.

MEIN EYES!

Just like that. This just goes to show what Kaede spends her free time thinking about.

So anyway, how do you repair the memories? This is where the fun comes in.

No, you do not journey through different dimensions collecting feathers. Instead, you look for keywords in the game. A keyword is a piece of information about an event or a person familiar to Kaede. You gain them automatically after progressing through certain parts of the game.

At certain key conjunctions, you will be plunged into the “Really Zone”. This is like the Twilight Zone except less creepy. Basically, when Kaede (in her memories) says something that is factually wrong (such as Itsuki being a girl), you have to correct her by throwing her the right keyword from your collection. The keyword will jolt that memory back to normal. Or as “normal” as Kaede gets.

“Rin-kun, I think I’m pregnant…”

Not only do you have to use the appropriate keyword at the right Really Zone, you also have to select the statement that you are correcting. Each Really Zone spans several lines of dialogue and you have to scroll to the correct one before using your keyword.

“REALLY?”

After selecting your keyword, this is where the cheesy “REALLY?” sound clip comes in. Now you know why the game is called “Really? Really!”. Doesn’t this remind you of that detective game?

If you chose the wrong keyword or the wrong line, Kaede DIES!!! Okay not really. You only lose the game after four mistakes. (Or was it five?)

If you know that you don’t have the required keyword yet, you can escape from the current Really Zone and come back later.

“Oh yeah, it was a safe night.”

Once you have corrected the mistaken memory, a lot of changes may take place. For example, if you corrected a misconception about a certain hawt character’s hair length, then this change will be applied to all the memories where that character appears in.

Because the memories are often (read: almost always) linked, if you hit a dead end in a memory, it means that you should probably try another one first.

Above is how unlocked memories look like. Yeah, you collect cards instead of feathers. :P You can click on a card to playback the memory in its corrected form. You view the memories from Kaede’s perspective this time and Rin’s lines are voiced! (But not by Kyon.)

So basically, that’s what RiaRia is all about. Pretty cool concept.

NEKO NEKO WAI WAI

As you may have guessed, the story focuses on Kaede and Rin’s past, especially the cause of Kaede’s oyashiro mode. Because of the unique gameplay system, the story is not told in a linear format, so some scenes may be confusing if you do not know the context.

I can’t say for sure, but I imagine that RiaRia’s story would be really hard to follow if you have not played at least Shuffle! and preferably Tick! Tack! too. Knowing the right time to throw your keywords requires you to understand the background story of the franchise pretty well. Even if you use a walkthrough, the fact that the game jumps around to different time periods means that it’s difficult to follow the story if you don’t know anything about Shuffle!.

NEKO NEKO NEKO WAI WAI WAI

Also because of the new system, there are no alternative endings to the game. (Except the bad ending after you used up all your Really Zone tries.) Some dialogue options will affect the CGs you get, but that’s really inconsequential since you just need three short reloads to get a 100% CG collection.

There are ero-scenes for Asa, Kaede, Sakura, Nadeshiko, Primula and Mayumi. They ALL take place in the same path. All but two of them in Kaede’s mind. This proves that Kaede is a closet nymphomaniac.

Art-wise, RiaRia is pretty darn good. I just love Hiro Suzuhira‘s art. Kaede is still fugly as usual. The Asa CGs are godly.

RiaRia uses pretty much the same sound tracks as Shuffle!, with some additions. The OP theme by YURIA and the song played at the story’s climax are pretty awesome, though.

PANTSU!

So all in all, the game is pretty darn awesome thanks to the game system which is actually pretty fun. This has been one of the rare times where I didn’t feel compelled to use a walkthrough and actually tried to figure out the right options on my own. :)

BTW I don’t recommend this game to people new to the franchise or not very comfortable with reading Japanese. The game can often become very confusing if you miss anything important. Try playing Shuffle! first.

Now I’ve ran out of things to say, but I still have a lot of pictures left. Everyone loves pictures, right?

SPINNING THUNDER KICK!

P.S. Am I the only person who thinks that the title “Shuffle!” would have been soooo appropriate for this game?

You should know how much I really hate Kaede, so it would seem really strange for me to like a game that is based on her Shuffle! ending. But really, Really? Really! is really a really, really good game. Really, if I could stop myself from inserting “really” into every other word, I’d be able to really tell you just how good Really? Really! really is…

Here are some samples of its (really) awesome power.

kinsoku jikou desu~ *wink*

Koi no Mikuru’s legendary trademark line delivered by Kaede pretending to be Momiji (her mother), voiced by Yuko Goto who is also the voice behind the magical high-school waitress girl from the future. Just brilliant.

nazo wa subete toketa! jicchan ga shi ni kakete!

Rin apparently watched one too many episodes of Kindaichi Shounen. The original line by Kindaichi is “nazo wa subete toketa! jicchan no na ni kakete!” or “I have solved the case! I swear in the name of my grandfather!”. Rin’s line reads, “I swear by my grandfather’s life!”

Really, I’m enjoying this game way more than I thought I would. It’s absolutely hilarious and the gameplay system is refreshingly unique. Also, Asa-senpai with long hair = RABU! I’ll post a complete review after I’m done with the game.

P.S. It seems that the game has only ONE path. Quite a surprising (and in a way ingenious) design for an eroge.

P.P.S. Mayumi with breasts.

Anyway, I spent my time yesterday practising karaoke styling instead of revising physics. I rock at life. This time it’s Mirage Lullaby by YURIA, the PC-version OP of SHUFFLE!.

( Torrent | Direct download )

Read on if you are interested in the technical stuff.

The fade-to-grey effect is really just a modified version of 6-simple-effect.lua that is included with Aegisub. I added a bunch of \fad() and \move() for the movement. I was actually going to make something funkier with spins and stuff, but it’s too time consuming and I’m too lazy to write my own Lua script to speed things up.

Comparing this to my YoakeMae OP…

One line of ro-maji in YoakeMae:

{\kf110}ikusen {\kf54}mono {\kf54}mono{\kf157}gatari {\k2} {\k6} {\kf116}tooku {\kf101}inishie {\kf110}ni

One line of ro-maji in SHUFFLE!:

{\a1\move(110,470,160,470,0,6980)\fad(100,300)}
{\r\t(1100,1500,\1c&H808080&
\2c&H808080&\alpha&H55&)\kf24}a
{\r\t(1340,1740,\1c&H808080&
\2c&H808080&\alpha&H55&)\kf58}na
{\r\t(1920,2320,\1c&H808080&
\2c&H808080&\alpha&H55&)\kf47}ta
{\r\t(2390,2790,\1c&H808080&
\2c&H808080&\alpha&H55&)\kf24}e
{\r\t(2630,3030,\1c&H808080&
\2c&H808080&\alpha&H55&)\kf30}to
{\r\t(3330,4330,\1c&H808080&
\2c&H808080&\alpha&H55&)\kf150}
{\r\t(4430,4830,\1c&H808080&
\2c&H808080&\alpha&H55&)\kf60}tsu
{\r\t(5030,5430,\1c&H808080&
\2c&H808080&\alpha&H55&)\kf47}dzu
{\r\t(5500,5900,\1c&H808080&
\2c&H808080&\alpha&H55&)\kf48}ku
{\r\t(5980,6380,\1c&H808080&
\2c&H808080&\alpha&H55&)\kf21}ko
{\r\t(6190,6590,\1c&H808080&
\2c&H808080&\alpha&H55&)\kf33}no
{\r\t(6520,6920,\1c&H808080&
\2c&H808080&\alpha&H55&)\kf67}mi
{\r\t(7190,7590,\1c&H808080&
\2c&H808080&\alpha&H55&)\kf52}chi
{\r\t(7710,8100,\1c&H808080&
\2c&H808080&\alpha&H55&)\kf12}wo

I have never really paid much attention to the various Vobsub syntax documentations before this, but now that I have, it seems to me that it has a fricking lot of limitations (such as no overlapping of \t timings and one \move per line) and typesetters use all sorts of crazy hacks to achieve the results they want, usually involving multiple layers of the same line formatted and clipped in various manners. Of course, the smarter ones use Adobe After Effects instead… but that’s not hardcore and pure enough!

Moral of the story: Learn Lua or die when you try to manually time funky karaoke effects in microseconds.

Fresh off the press! From Moon Phase Zakki:

ニュータイプ10月号早売り情報。

WOWOWのディレクターズカット版、総集編仕立て＋完全新作？「SHUFFLE！MEMORIES」が今冬放送とか。

De-moon-ified:

News from early copies of Newtype October.
WOWOW’s director’s cut version, summary episode + a completely new work? “Shuffle! Memories” airing this winter.

I shall confirm this when I get my hands on a copy of Newtype in about 4 days or so. But basically it sounds like this “Shuffle! Memories” thing will contain new content, though it’s not clear what it’s exactly relationship to the first TV series will be. Half summary half new content, maybe? Anyway there will be a new OP and ED to look forward to, at the very least.

Based on the game, I think there’s really not much left to cover, so maybe it’s completely original side stories? Or maybe, Haruhi forbids, an alternate Kaede ending? (I am so not watching that!)

I, for one, am rooting for a Kareha ending! (Let a guy have his dream, okay?)

Image source: 萌えよ！アキバ人ブログ

The magazine will go on sale on the 10th. Kinokuniya in Singapore does not stock Dengeki-Hime, so I’m getting a friend to buy it for me. You can also try Amazon JP, which should be able to do international shipping unless they have some crazy policies about magazines too. Visit Moeyo! for the rest of the pictures.

Buying it is the easy part, but will you use it if you have it?

Apparently Comptiq has all the scoop on this new game and because I have yet to pick up my April issue, here’s a picture of its cover from the latest issue of Newtype instead.

*Stabs Kaede*

I wonder what the new game will be called.

Lots of spoilers ahead.

Asa-senpai runs away to the place where Rin confessed to her because she wants to see the place again before its too late. Rin finds her and asks her again to use magic so as to drain the magical powers that are bottling up in her human body and slowly killing her.

Asa-senpai~

Asa refuses once again, but this time Rin has a plan…

Blackmailing 101

He takes out a pen knife and slits his own wrist.

Remember kids: Mr. Razor crosses the road to get attention
but he goes down the street to do something

Shuffle! now lacks neither nudity nor blood and gore. Yay! Technically since he slits his wrist sideways by sliding the razor across, he shouldn’t be losing so much blood. It will at most leave a scar. The correct way to kill yourself is to press the razor downwards so that it digs into the flesh in a 45-degrees angle… But nevermind that.

Asa-senpai, pinch!

Asa watches Rin slowly lose consciousness. Rin contiunes to persuade her to use magic on his final breath…

Best. Scene. Ever.

She finally does so to save Rin. Her unbottled magical powers causes instant hair growth (?). And they live happily ever after.

From nekomimi to meganekko

All the girls, including Primula, still continue to like him. So even though Rin has chosen Asa, the most beautiful girls in school still lust after him and prepare bentou etc for him. Which means that the only difference between the ending and the beginning of Shuffle! is that Asa now has long hair! (Oh wait, Ama is going to help her cut it soon… nevermind)

Still, I love the ending. ^_^

Don’t ask!

First let me get this out of the way: This game rocks! Nerine’s story really sucked in the original game, so Nerine fanboys (*cough*) shouldn’t miss this.

But anyway, the story is about you (Rin Tsuchimi), Nerine (good sad that the other girls happen to be busy), Mayumi and Itsuki accidentally travelling back in time to the demon world twenty years ago and meeting a young Forbesii (Demon-King-to-be), his fiancée Ai, his maid Sage and his sister Cineraria (Ria-chan).

You soon realize that your presence in the love triangle between Forbesii, Ai and Sage is changing the past and endangering Nerine’s existence.

The playboy mansion

The entire game takes place in Nerine’s childhood home, the Demon King’s mansion. Who you talk to and what you say will influence whether Nerine’s mother-to-be ends up with Forbesii. (Which should long have taken place, but your sudden arrival messed it up)

Ai, Forbesii’s fiancée (hint: not Nerine’s mother)

There’s a watch at the top left hand corner of the screen and your decisions will cause it to move towards either the left (blue) or the right (red) side. When it reaches a certain level in the red zone, Nerine will be replaced with a red-hair version of herself. Like this:

This Nerine has a completely opposite personality

So, you have to make sure that your actions help to bring Forbesii and Nerine’s mother together. (Then again, if you like red, you can do the opposite and get the Red Nerine end)

Sage-chan (se-ji not sage)

Alright, I think you could’ve guessed by now. Yes, Sage-chan is (supposed to be) Nerine’s mother. *shock* Of course, this being the kind of game that it is, there’s an ending for her too (not a very good one at that). She’s quite cute. Nerine inherited her omelet-cooking skills from her. ^^;

Cineraria, or Ria-chan

Besides Ai and Sage, there’re also Bark (just as his name says) the bulter with homosexual tendencies and Cineraria, Forbesii’s sister. Ria-chan is actually Sia-chan’s mother-to-be and you can really see the influence. (Chair-throwing and what not) She’s the funniest character in the bunch and surprisingly, there isn’t a path for her. *shock no.2* She also learns of your plan to get Sage and Forbesii together and offers her “help”.

Get out of my kitchen!

Personally, I enjoyed Tick! Tack! quite a bit more than the original game. Almost all the characters are likable and it further expands on Nerine’s (underdeveloped) backstory. Two complains: the ending for Ai is better than Sage’s. What gives? And also, more Ria-chan pls kthx bye.

Happily ever after

If you like Nerine and found Shuffle! disappointing, then this game is highly recommended. Now if only they port the PS2 Shuffle! On The Stage to PC.

To end off this entry, Sage-chan pics!

Sage-chan~

Sage-chan~

So anyway, for the two of you out there who cares, I was stranded on Pulau Ubin , which is not a very fun island to be on, and returned to mainland Singapore yesterday at around evening, after which I was to be confined within the school walls for one more night. Yes, this is one of those “school camps” thingies that you often hear rumours about around the net. The horror.

It’s a leadership-training camp where they throw you and a bunch of guys into the wild and hold tribal councils at the end of every episode to eliminate one participant until one is declared the winner and walks away with a million dollars force you to backstab depend on one another to overcome various obstacles. Well, except that in our case, it was not really that “wild” considering how half the paths are paved with asphalt and there are shops selling canned drinks (not that we had any money with us) all around the island…but I digress.

There were ten of us in a group and two tents that looked like they were designed for two. In total, we probably covered enough distance (walking around in circles) to go from the north end of Singapore mainland to the south end. Sadly, it was just a lot of walking and not much adventuring. The most dangerous things we came across were probably the mosquitos, although that sleeping domesticated boar that looked half-dead in the heat was certainly very frightening too. Really.

Other than the sauna tents and the twenty-over bite marks on my four limbs, the camp was quite fun in a way. 生きて残ってよかった・・・

P.S. My penpal finally replied! イエー～！

So, I dug out the original Shuffle! for PC (thank god for Windows Desktop Search) and finally installed it, just to find out if the series missed out anything about Nerine that I should know… (*cough*)

Read on for my thoughts after playing…

For those who do not know, Shuffle! by Navel was originally released for the PC in 2004. You play the main character, Rin Tsuchimi, an average guy who lives with his childhood friend, Kaede Fuyou. Together, they attend the National Verbena Academy, a school set up by the three worlds of demon, man and god. One day, two girls from transfer to Rin’s class. They are the daughter of the King of Demons and the daughter of the King of Gods and they both seem to know Rin’s name…

The game itself is standard harem fare with not much to offer in terms of creativity unless you count the demons-and-gods thing. The elfish ears of the demon race are a plus point, though. ;) The cast is the same in the game as the anime, but the character design is much, much better. Nerine just didn’t look as good in the anime (except for a few rare scenes where she looked somewhat like her in-game counterpart). Storywise, it’s what you would expect from a game like this: cute girls with tragic past.

Sadly I must say, the stories didn’t manage to stand out. I was right (remember my foreshadowing above?) to believe that the anime played around with the timeline in order to fit everything together, but at the same time it seems that the anime didn’t have to cut much to do so…because the game’s story is really short! Air was somewhat tiring with its epic novel-length story and I remembered wishing for something shorter, but Shuffle! is just waaaay too short! The two paths I tried contain nothing new compared to the anime and the endings leave you wondering which part was supposed to be the climax.

The characters are well-designed and the art is excellent, but the lack of a sufficiently well-developed story left a somewhat bitter aftertaste. I guess the only thing that Shuffle! has got going for it is the cute girls… Not that I’m against cute girls or anything, but I think Navel could have spent just a little more effort on the script.

Still, I will be lying if I say that I hated the game. I played through the paths for Nerine and Asa and they are both quite enjoyable. I will be playing through Tick! Tack!, a sequel based on Nerine’s family released just last month, as soon as I get my hands on it in a few days(?) time.