@Bocam said:

@TobbRobb The 1st season is available on Netflix, though the girl that looks like Rin is from the 2nd season. It's basically Batman meets the X-Men meets Evangelion meets Cowboy Bebop.

I'm a little scared of how well that description fits, I've watched 5 episodes so far. It seem pretty good, though a little disjointed. Are all episodes this selfcontained?

@TobbRobb:The earlier episodes drop hints about the later episodes.

@Cloudenvy said:

@AndrewB: Oh god, you should play Shizune's route..........Ooooooooooooooooooooh my god you should play Shizune's route.

I dunno...

I'm definitely curious about every character, but...

I just finished Lilly's and I sorta feel like it would cheapen the deeply moving experience to go back through anything else in this; especially Hanako.

@AndrewB: I dont think it cheapens it, if anything I think playing the other paths makes it easier to move on to another game.

None will feel like the first one though.

@TobbRobb said:

@AndrewB: I dont think it cheapens it, if anything I think playing the other paths makes it easier to move on to another game.

None will feel like the first one though.

They never do, do they?

@AndrewB said:

@Cloudenvy said:

@AndrewB: Oh god, you should play Shizune's route..........Ooooooooooooooooooooh my god you should play Shizune's route.

I dunno...

I'm definitely curious about every character, but...

I just finished Lilly's and I sorta feel like it would cheapen the deeply moving experience to go back through anything else in this; especially Hanako.

I've finally started playing through the other routes, and it certainly doesn't cheapen the experience. I mean, I'm certainly not finding it as emotional as my first playthrough with Emi, but my Rin playthrough was nice and I'm enjoying my Lilly playthrough so far. I was really worried about going back and playing the other routes ruining the experience, but it hasn't. Just don't expect an experience as intense as the first time you played it, and I'm sure you'll be fine.

I dunno...

I'm definitely curious about every character, but...

I just finished Lilly's and I sorta feel like it would cheapen the deeply moving experience to go back through anything else in this; especially Hanako.

@MattyFTM said:

I've finally started playing through the other routes, and it certainly doesn't cheapen the experience. I mean, I'm certainly not finding it as emotional as my first playthrough with Emi, but my Rin playthrough was nice and I'm enjoying my Lilly playthrough so far. I was really worried about going back and playing the other routes ruining the experience, but it hasn't. Just don't expect an experience as intense as the first time you played it, and I'm sure you'll be fine.

@BulletproofMonk said:

This is pretty much how I feel as well. I'm sure the other paths are great and all, but Shizune's story had such an impact on me, that I just can't see myself playing them. It's kinda how I felt with Mass Effect 2, but this game hit me a lot harder.

A lot of my experiences with other visual novels have been from series such as the Infinity series, where you have to see literally every bit of every path to fully understand the story, which is something I can appreciate.

This being a more linear (albeit with some interlocking character situations) story, and a more personal one, I've weirdly found myself grown attached to one character, and seeing them from a different, foreign perspective feels wrong to me.

But maybe I just need to give it some time. Like I said, I *just* finished a couple hours ago, at this point.

@TobbRobb said:

None will feel like the first one though.

That explains why Emi is so damn low on my list :P.

@Video_Game_King: Well you've played this kind of game before. :P

On accounts of me and MattyFTM, this is the FIRST time.

@TobbRobb:

I have? Katawa Shoujo's my first visual novel (unless shit like Snatcher or Policenauts or JESUS: The Dreadful Bio Monster count).

@Video_Game_King:Oops, assumption on my side. I just figured there would be one in there somewhere.

Didn't you play DIGITAL: A Love Story? Maybe that isn't even a VN, I wouldn't know.

EDIT:Fuck me Rin dropped fast. She had the early lead. :(

@AndrewB:

If you do go back and play them all, I definitely recommend reading Hanako's last. Lilly's personality is on full display in that route, and I found it really easy to want to read her story again right afterwards.

@Rehtayne: Yeah, that's why I added especially Hanako. I found it soul-crushing enough being a dick to Lilly in order to get the Shizune path started... a path where she's constantly around would be super weird right now. Sucks because, on the other hand, I'm really interested in seeing what happens with Hanako after being around her so much in the Lilly path.

How do you even pick paths in this? I remember the game just automatically putting me with Shizune.

@BulletproofMonk said:

How do you even pick paths in this? I remember the game just automatically putting me with Shizune.

@BulletproofMonk: It depends on the choices you make in the early parts.You kind of have to be a dick to the others and focus on one to be sure, It's not very clear and can be confusing.

But as a quick key:

Shizune and Hanako/Lilly are the opposites, choose one to agree with and one to ignore.

Emi is based on one choice which you almost always get.

For Rin you have to pretty much neglect everyone else, or give them equal attention. You start her route basically because you couldn't start anyone elses.

@TobbRobb said:

For Rin you have to pretty much neglect everyone else, or give them equal attention. You start her route basically because you couldn't start anyone elses.

And then if you screw that up, you get Kenji. And something worse.

@FluxWaveZ:

It seems kind of odd to include a letter name with each of those choices. Isn't their placement randomized at every prompt in the game?

@Rehtayne: Actually, I think the initial placement for those decisions are always at the same place until you make a choice at that prompt for the first time. But I`m not sure.

@Rehtayne: I'm pretty sure it's the same placement for the first time, and they sort after choices you've already done after that.

Those little checkboxes are actually really nice.

@FluxWaveZ:

Actually, I've seen some walkthroughs that say that the first choice doesn't really matter. (Also, I wish that was in flowchart form, since it'd make things easier.)

@Video_Game_King:

This is the one I've been using. A bunch can be found on the forums. Linking there also to give credit where credit is due.

Edit: Gah. Transparent, gigantic PNG files probably don't work so well on Giant Bomb. Here's a link to the image itself.

@TobbRobb: Ah, that would make sense then. The checkboxes were a great addition; I definitely wouldn't be able to remember any of my previous choices in Rin's route otherwise.

Apparently, @MattyFTM doesn't want us spoiling the game in his blog, and would very much like it if spoiler talk for the game moved somewhere else. Therefore, I hereby bump the hell out of this thread to attract all spoiler talk. So go forth and spoil, duders!

BEWARE OF SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT!

There we go, that should be enough of a warning.

This works out for me. :P

So I believe I left off with this at @BulletproofMonk :

I went for Lilly, but not done yet. We are still very early in the relationship. I like it so far, I knew right away that she was the one to go after.

Not surprised that Shizune is so unpopular. Not sure if she changes later on, but she has been very unfriendly.

@dagas: Shizune is kinda the same all the way through. Ithink she grows on you though, I didn't care for her at all at first glance, but there is a lot to like there.

@TobbRobb said:

@dagas: Shizune is kinda the same all the way through. Ithink she grows on you though, I didn't care for her at all at first glance, but there is a lot to like there.

Specifically, all the cool characters in her route. Jigoro may be an asshole, but damn it if he isn't awesome at it.

@Video_Game_King: And Akira is the best non-main character. I'll fight anyone who says otherwise.

@TobbRobb:

@TobbRobb said:

@Video_Game_King: And Akira is the best non-main character. I'll fight anyone who says otherwise.

Akira is pretty cool.

Have you played several times? If so how much difference is there between the playthroughs when you go after different girls? Since the girls seem to come in pairs I can imagine that going after Shizune is quite different from going after Lilly while going after Hanako is going to be pretty much the same story as when you go after Lilly since they are almost always together.

@dagas:

Yes and no. Events will certainly overlap between routes (both Emi and Rin cover the race, and both Hanako and Lilly feature drunk high school girls), but for the most part, they're their own stories.

@dagas: Not really, the focus is always on one of them. Going through Emi's route you learn next to nothing about Rin, and vice versa.

Hanako and Lilly are the closest though "and I could argue that Lilly's route almost makes Hanako redundant", but I still think they they all play out differently enough to warrant different playthroughs.

@Video_Game_King said:

@dagas:

Yes and no. Events will certainly overlap between routes (both Emi and Rin cover the race, and both Hanako and Lilly feature drunk high school girls), but for the most part, they're their own stories.

That's good to know.

Does anyone know of any other so called dating sim games that are like True Love? It's the first game I played in the genre and so far no other game has done the same thing. What is unique about that game is that unlike Katawa Shoujo and most other games it's more than just making a choice every 30min or so. True Love is almost a The Sims style game where you need to boost your stats by working out or study and much more. There were about a dozen different stats IIRC.

@dagas: isn't that just princess maker?

@Animasta said:

@dagas: isn't that just princess maker?

No it's not. In True Love you play as a guy in school. Princess maker from what I've seen of it seems to also have a stat system, but otherwise they are nothing alike.

@BulletproofMonk:

I think the reward for 100%ing this visual novel should be an entire playthrough with brown-haired Misha.

@AndrewB:

Even though she looks super generic? This is good enough:

@Video_Game_King: I just think it would be a cool easter egg. And have no one really mention the difference.

I think i just like long-haired, but not drill-haired Misha.

@AndrewB:

I just don't like Misha :|.

@Video_Game_King: Mwahaha~

@Cloudenvy:

.....You want me to post that Hanako pic again?

@Video_Game_King: You already know that I'm not intimidated by you, posting the picture isn't going to change that.

@Cloudenvy:

I DO NOT FUCK AROUND!!!!!