Jitteh Dawn - Synopsis

‘Lord Koji Ippongi’
‘Yes, Your Excellency’
‘It has come to my attention that you have married a half-demon.’

Story: You are Hogi Hasekura, an eager student who wants to find out a secret about the once-glorious Ippongi family.

Relationship type: Non-romantic

Length: 40-60 minutes (all endings)

Positives: Very intriguing mystery presented, effective use of character art.

Unusual Features: Impulsive young protagonist, very strong Japanese influence (for an OELVN), solo project.

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Jitteh Dawn - Review

Warning: This review contains spoilers.

Amongst the OELVN scene, particularly in 2007, there have been a lot of solo VN’s made. One of the advantages of working by yourself, is having total control over all the creative aspects of the game, and perhaps because of this, some very distinctive and original VN’s have been released recently. One game that can be described in these terms is Jitteh Dawn, particularly because of its’ unusual and intriguing storyline.

Personally, I found the story arc where Hogi continues to pursue his research to be more interesting. There were a lot of clues given as to what the Ippongi family’s secret might be, and with careful thought the mystery could be deduced, The other arc felt a bit odd, as the reader will probably have to suspend their belief for some of the wilderness scenes, particularly as to how the characters get lost. The other story element I found problematic was having Tatsunami immediately introduce himself as a member of the Ippongi family, which felt a bit odd, given the families notoriety. On the whole though, the story presentation was well done, particularly the opening allegory, which effectively foreshadows the Ippongi family’s secret. I should also add that the Death scene(s) are rather unusual.

The other thing that really struck me about Jitteh Dawn, was the protagonist, Hogi Hasekura. Although his age is not given, his over-eager and somewhat immature personality suggests that he is quite young. When playing I found myself enjoying his personality, but at the same time often wanting to stop him from saying or doing certain tactless things. However, that does not mean that I dislike Hogi – on the contrary, having a protagonist with a strong personality really made the game come to life. Also, without a protagonist like Hogi though, it is unlikely that any of the mystery would be uncovered.

One of the more unusual features of Jitteh Dawn (in terms of OELVN’s) is its heavy use of Japanese. Although a few OELVN’s use Japanese honorifics, and several have Japanese settings (and many display at least some Japanese influence), the extensive use of Kanji on maps and the family tree As an aside, the player does not need to be able to read Japanese. At the same time though, there is probably a hidden dimension to the game – for example the various name Kanji are unlikely to be randomly chosen. In some ways, perhaps this game might have worked even better in Japanese rather than English, although the OELVN scene would be much poorer as a result.

The character art (all from the public domain) uses a combination of head graphics and sprites, with Sayaka being shown at various times as both of these, depending on the situation. There is a version with improved artwork in progress, and this paragraph will be extended once the revised game is released.

Overall, I found Jitteh Dawn to be a very unique and enjoyable experience. It’s definitely worth playing if you’re looking for a VN experience that’s different from a typical romantic game.

Review by Ignosco

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Black Pencil - Synopsis

Short evaluation:
Story: Kiyoshi sees a woman die in his dreams, and when he discovers that such a woman exists he tries to rescue her from this bleak fate. Excellent story, despite having only two characters. Almost no branching until the ending. Very original.
Presentation: Intresting use of scenarios for conveying an specific mood. Good art, regular presentation and no music.
Strongest points: Original plot and powerful atmosphere. An excellent example of how a good game may be done using few, but well-chosen resources.

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Black Pencil - Review

Back in the Dawn of Time, when dinosaurs walked the earth and The Ren’ai Archives were still only a distant idea rising in the horizon (i.e. January, 2004) there came to be a game called Black Pencil.
Forgive the strange words of the previous paragraph, but I thought they were necessary for a number of reasons. One of them is that it was the first game created by ATP games, which would later contribute with other 11 games in the following three years, an impressive number in the free English visual novel scenario. Other is that it was the second game to be created and posted in the Lemmasoft Forums, right before Tales of Lemma. But if you think that the game is old, and therefore bad, think again.
The game IS old. And it shows. The Ren’Py engine still hadn’t its popularity and so the game used a different engine, different controls (it’s impossible to rollback or skip) and no music. The art is also quite sketchy and has no colors, just black and white. But Black pencil somehow manages to get these things, which some would consider drawbacks, and make them part of the game. Actually they ENHANCE the experience (ok… Maybe except for the inability to skip).
But first you must understand the mood of the game. When mikey wrote the game he had one emotion in mind: Loneliness. The game focuses only on the main character, Kiyoshi, and Yuki (a name that, incidentally, means “snow”. I don’t know if that was intentional or not.) There is only one character graphic (Yuki’s) and no dialogues with any secondary characters. In the game there’s Kiyoshi and Yuki, no more no less. The sketchy art gives a somber tone to the whole story and reminds the player of the game’s title, which will only be understood in the ending. Indeed the game seems like it was entirely sketched with a black pencil, giving it a very different and meaningful atmosphere. Some of the backgrounds, especially the windshield and the fog, defy belief in sheer melancholic impact.
The story also shines as original and true to its theme, with many characteristics that would later become iconic in most ATP’s games. The introspective, somewhat passive hero, only one heroine per game, the heavy focus on atmosphere, the plot showing small and simple things in the everyday lives of the characters and of course, the twist ending. Getting the “true” ending in this game may not be so easy, but it’s worthwhile, and even the bad ending has the merit of its tragic impact. The manga version of Black Pencil in fact focuses on the bad ending, which proves its value and importance for the player. Even the good ending is not a “happily ever after”, although much more cheerful than any of the others, which just reinforces the theme of the whole game. The whole script may be a little short, but says what it needs to and works.
Black Pencil is a classic. It came from a time when creating a game was an astounding feat and resources were hard to find (both of these are still true today, but less so. Ren’Py and a strong community have done wonders for the game creators and now that the Ren’ai Archives holds 76 games creating one more doesn’t sound such a Herculean feat, although any creator will readily tell you that it’s no bed of roses either). It also hails from a simpler time, when any good graphics and music were a pleasant surprise. But now that age is gone, for better or for worse and the Lemmasoft Forum right now has more than 800 members as I write these words.
Why am I writing about the changes in the Visual Novel creating scenario, you ask? Because Black Pencil IS an iconic example of the games in that period. Some would call them bad-quality but I, unashamedly and in a completely biased way, call them unique and personal. Of course, limited resources and being old doesn’t render a game automatically good, just as being new and having professional-quality doesn't nescessarily mean game is good, but Black Pencil WAS good and still is, even today, which was the whole point of this review anyway...
Although I cannot deny I liked the old period, I don’t regret the new one. Interesting things show up every time and the quality of the average games improves more and more. Time moves things move forward, never backwards.
The king is dead, long live the king.

Review written by Mr. E, archaic teenager

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The Loyal Kinsman - Synopsis

Story: In the 14th century, Gunther is a page on Castle Berwartstein on the verge of becoming a squire. However, when the knight who was meant to train him dies unexpectedly, Gunther suspects murder and begins to investigate...

Relationship Type: Non-romantic (male protagonist)

Length: 30-60 minutes

Positives: Very well written and challenging detective game, strongly evocative historical setting

Unusual Features: Medieval setting, solo project, young protagonist, non-romantic

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The Loyal Kinsman - Review

The Loyal Kinsman is the fourth mystery/detective game from the OELVN community, and the inspiration from it is derived from the third of the Jane Whitman games, The Wandering Child. Many elements are found in both stories, such as a historical, non-romantic setting, a large cast of characters, and challenging gameplay.

What particularly impressed me with the Loyal Kinsman's story was the character’s personalities and the setting. The feudal society with its’ Old Testament based morality is portrayed very well – and this VN, perhaps more than any other I’ve played so far, really made me feel like I was there, despite some of rather modern idiomatic expressions in the dialogue. The characters all came from a very diverse range of classes and backgrounds, and the resulting dialogue between them accurately reflects the conventions of a medieval society.

The game’s use of actual portraits as a substitute for character sprites was an idea taken from Mokenju’s games, (which use old photographs). This approach works has several advantages, particularly as the need for a sprite artist is avoided, which allows the script-writer to create a one person project using public domain resources without reusing existing character sprites. Notably, both the Jane Whitman games and The Loyal Kinsman both have historic settings, which the portrait approach is ideally suited. The music, whilst being more in a Renaissance than Medieval style, still suits the game’s atmosphere very well.

In terms of solving this mystery, Gunther is several stages ahead of the player, as he is able to link the evidence to provide a near-complete explanation for the murder and the surrounding circumstances. In contrast, if the player takes the correct path through the game, they will be able to deduce who the murderer was and some of the surrounding circumstances, probably without being able to figure out the background surrounding it. For me, having the mystery told in this way works well, as it allows for there to be focus on both the storytelling and the mystery, as well as providing a satisfying ending when the true ending is reached and all the details of the crime are revealed.

Overall, The Loyal Kinsman combines a well developed medieval setting with an excellent mystery story, and can be highly recommended to anyone interested in detective stories or historical settings. The game’s true ending definitely leaves open the possibility of a potential sequel, and personally, I would be very interested in reading more about Gunther’s future.

Review by Ignosco

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