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 [Thanks to my good friend AbstractCactus for the banner image and additional expressions!] Sweet Fuse: At Your Side is a mystery/romance visual novel developed by Idea Factory and Comcept. Yes, that Comcept. The one with Keiji Inafune and all the crowdfunding. In fact, Sweet Fuse was the first game the company developed. It was released in Japan on June 14, 2012, with a Western release the following year. It was also the last PSP title to be given a release in retail stores in North America. It seems appropriate, the PSP was kind of a big handheld for visual novels anyways. The game stars the fictional niece of Keiji Inafune himself, Saki Inafune. Keiji is opening up a huge theme park based around video games called The Gameatorium, and relatives of the staff have been given exclusive access for the grand opening of the new park. Saki is really excited to see her uncle’s work and rushes to the park. However, during the opening ceremonies, a mysterious figure takes over, kidnaps the staff, and makes an ultimatum: seven people must participate in a week-long [game] inside the amusement park or else risk the death of his new hostages and the destruction of the new theme park! In order to save her uncle, his dreams, and probably also the rest of the hostages, Saki rushes to volunteer for this hellish [game], and who knows? She may just find love along the way. It’s a little 9 Hours 9 Persons 9 Doors and a little Dangan Ronpa, with a dash of romance thrown in for good measure. The game has a pretty good sense of story development and writing, and it handles multiple playthroughs well by having significant portions of the story unique to each of the dateable characters, encouraging players to play through all the routes in order to get the full story. The soundtrack is bouncy and catchy and while the [games] aren’t super complex, they’re still a fun bit of puzzle-solving to have in between the story segments. There’s also a nice callout mechanic for when characters start to get a bit too much but I’ll leave the specifics for when we get there. The game reads differently post-Mighty No. 9 and Red Ash controversy. While it’s amusing to be playing this now, I’d like to keep the Comcept talk down to a minimum in this thread. Similarly, let’s keep spoiler talk down to a minimum! Feel free to talk about stuff behind tags, but try not to talk about things too far ahead of the game. There’s plenty to discover in the game and it’s best done naturally.  Hi, I’m ChorpSaway! I once did a couple LPs of the Hatoful Boyfriend series and they seemed to be fairly well-received. During the first game I did some write-ups about visual novels and dating sims and through that I discovered and discussed Sweet Fuse, which turned into a bit of a darling in the thread. I feel that with the sort of infamy that Mr. Inafune seems to be garnering through his development and constant crowdfunding for his Mega Man-like projects such as Mighty No. 9 and Red Ash, it’d be worthwhile to look back at Comcept’s humble otome beginnings. I’ll be presenting the game through a narrative LP. While the game is pretty well fleshed out in terms of dialogue, I’d still like to make the experience a little more fluid for you guys by filling in gaps in the narrative and such. Any additions to the dialogue/narration I make will be in italics, and any additional information I’d like to provide will be [in braces and bolded]. I’ll be getting all the endings for this game, which means dating all of the men and getting the full look at the story, and I’ll have your help in it! Early on in the first playthrough, I’ll have you guys vote on which character to pursue and we’ll focus on him. Then, after each playthrough, we’ll take another vote for who to follow next. It’s that simple!  Update 1: The Gameatorium Update 2: The Seven Heroes Update 3: The Rules and Circumstances Update 4: The First Attraction Update 5: Samurai Fantasy VII - The Room of the Guardian Update 6: Samurai Fantasy VII - The Corridor of Hate Update 7: Samurai Fantasy VII - The Intermission Stairway Update 8: Samurai Fantasy VII - The Room of the Supreme Ruler Update 9: The First Evening   [Saki Inafune] [18 Years Old] [The Heroine and a Bright, Positive Girl] The main character. She's headstrong and has a good sense of morals, thanks to her uncle.  [Keiji Inafune] [46 Years Old] [Legendary Creator] A well-known and passionate creator of video games, and the heroine’s uncle.  [Count Hogstein] [??? Years Old] [Odd Mascot] A mysterious person in a pig suit who has taken control of the park, by making hostages of its management.  [Subaru Shidou] [22 Years Old] [Dedicated Knight] A police inspector who was in charge of security for the opening ceremony.  [Kimimaro Urabe] [26 Years Old] [Ball-Carrying Psychic] A young fortune teller known as the “Oracle of Shinjuku” who is very popular with women in corporate careers.  [Kouta Meoshi] [19 Years Old] [Lonely God of Battle] A quiet and timid boy who is currently unemployed. Keeps to himself and seems to get physically exhausted quickly.  [Towa Wakasa] [17 Years Old] [Nervous Pop Star] A member of the Junior Jr. Boys, a famous pop group.  [Ryuusei Mitarashi] [24 Years Old] [Hot-Blooded Escort] The top earner at a club called “Ulysses” in Ginza.  [Ayumu Shirabe] [32 Years Old] [Harried Writer] A freelance journalist who always looks as though he needs a good night’s sleep. ChorpSaway fucked around with this message at 18:20 on Jan 16, 2016 |
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Nov 15, 2015 21:50
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Reserved post!
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Nov 15, 2015 21:50
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 [Watch the opening cutscene here!] [Opening Song: Jet Coaster Rendezvous]   [And with that out of the way, it’s time to start our journey proper!]  [We’re given the chance to change our first name here, but Saki’s good enough.] [The music stops.]  [An alarm begins ringing.]   Mmm… Is it morning already…? *Yawn* (I guess I fell asleep after all…)I tried to lay in my bed a little longer, but the loud ringing of the alarm grew louder with each passing moment.  …Ugh, shut up alarm…!I threw all my weight into flipping over and slamming on my alarm clock. [The alarm stops.]   (Well, Uncle, I hope you’re ready!)My uncle is the creator of a new theme park called “The Gameatorium”. He’d invited me to the pre-opening event, but I’d been so excited and restless I’d barely slept. Oh, I guess I haven't introduced myself yet, have I? My name is Saki Inafune, and I'm a senior in high school. I woke up extra early today to make sure that I could make it to The Gameatorium's pre-opening, though I wish I'd been able to get a bit more sleep... I grabbed a charm from beside my bed and held it out in front of me, smiling widely.  (All right KANE DE BOO, let’s hope it goes well!) This little guy is called KANE DE BOO, and he’s The Gameatorium’s mascot. My uncle gave him to be a while back. He’s super adorable, but more importantly he looks like a rice ball, and rice balls are delicious.  (I wish I could bring some of my friends, but the invite said it was just for staff and their relatives…) (Oh well! I’m sure I can have lots of fun all by myself!) All right, time to get dressed!Before I knew it I was already on the train to the amusement park.   (I guess he was telling the truth…)My uncle is Keiji Inafune, a game creator known throughout the universe. He’d been telling me for years that his dream was to make a theme park from all his favorite video games. I recalled one of the earliest memories I had of Uncle Keiji.  Ah, Saki… Someday your uncle’s gonna make a theme park, and every single attraction will be based on a video game! Doesn’t that sound great? Wouldn’t you like to meet the heroes and heroines from your favorite games?! (Every single thing in the park is based on a popular game.)Conductor: …Now approaching Kanehama Station. Kanehama Station, next stop.  (Ah! This is my stop!) (I sure hope nothing bad happens today!) I made my way out of the busy station, and walked quickly toward the park, excitement putting a spring in my step. (This is it! This is The Gameatorium!)The only people who’d been allowed in were staff members, their families, and some news crews, but even so the place was packed. I looked around desperately for a place to sit. The opening ceremonies were supposed to start any minute now! (Ah ha! Looks like that seat’s open!)I found a spot next to an elderly gentleman, and I made my way to the empty seat. We smiled at each other as I sat down in the empty seat. I could see a number of older men in suits sitting on the stage in the front. I figured they must have been the park’s managers and owners. In front of the stage was a whole row of cameras. They had to belong to the press. (It’s really getting a lot of attention, huh? I saw a story about how The Gameatorium was about to open on TV just the other day.)I was still looking around excitedly when I heard a drum roll start up. It sounded like things were about to start! From somewhere near the stage I could hear a band begin to play. (This is it! It’s finally starting!) I am Mr. Inafune, the creator of this theme park.[Keiji Inafune is not voiced by his namesake, in an odd turn of events. He is instead voiced by Norio Kobayashi, whose only other role so far has been a minor character in another otome game series, Hakuoki.] (That’s him! That’s my uncle!)I almost leapt up to wave at him before I caught myself. Now, let me tell you a little bit about The Gameatorium-Just as he was about to talk about the park, the sound system seemed to cut out. [The music cuts off.]  (Huh? Is something wrong with the mic? I can’t hear him…)   (I hope everything’s okay…)I was starting to fidget when suddenly-  …Game… …What?An unfamiliar voice echoed over the area.  The screens around the stage began to flicker and show what looked like a deformed pig. Game me a break! You’re going to pay for this?! What is this?!I could see my uncle running back and forth in confusion. (What the heck is going on?! Who was that voice…? What were they talking about?!)Something was wrong. Even from far away, I could see that the men in suits all looked very stiff. Man: H-Hey! Look! I turned towards where he was pointing- Wh-What—?!A crowd of people in what looked like black unitards were running in through the entrance.   Woman: Who are they? Is this some sort of performance art…?  (Of course! That would make sense…)My uncle has always been good at thinking up fun stuff, and he’s got a great sense of humor. The guys in the unitards ran up to the stage and started tying up the men in business suits. I couldn’t begin to guess what was going to happen next, so I just kept watching with bated breath.  The same mascot I had on my phone strap… I wasn’t sure what he’d meant by “doing away with” KANE DE BOO… Did that mean the park was going to close? (Gosh, Uncle Keiji, you sure think of some weird stuff…)Everyone seemed stunned that the park’s mascot would be “done away with” on the first day. Looking at how worked up the audience had gotten, I was sure my uncle was feeling pretty proud of himself. Then suddenly, smoke filled the stage, and I could just barely make out something rising up from below it.   (What is that…? A costume?)It looked a little like KANE DE BOO, but it was… different.  Hello, everyone. Good morning! [Count Hogstein is voiced by Tanoshingo, a Japanese comedian. This is his first voice acting role.] I had to stifle a laugh-his voice didn’t match up with his costume at all! He performed an odd sort of self-indulgent pirouette and bowed.   And boy howdy is this place a waste! I can’t believe you people were going to give this joker your hard-earned cash! So, for your sake… Before I could even process what he was saying, a loud explosion erupted from inside the park. I turned my head to see what had happened.  Huh-?!No sooner had he spoken than the Ferris wheel exploded in a thunderous roar of flames. We watched, mouths hanging open, as the symbol of the park crumbled to the ground in a cloud of smoke. (I-I’m starting to think maybe this isn’t just an act…)As soon as I turned back to the stage, the entire crowd erupted in panic.  The screams of frightened people quickly drowned out the fading rumble of the Ferris wheel’s collapse.  (What?! This pig isn’t done yet?!) (No, forget about him! I have to save Uncle Keiji!)I fought my way through hundreds of terrified attendees toward the stage. Even as I did, Count Hogstein continued his stupid speech.   The bombs I’ve set to go off on that day will be stopped if the players can beat my game and solve my puzzles. If they can’t, well… Then the bombs go off, and this park will be gone! Poof, gone! (Wh-What?! Blow up the park?!) (What the hell are you talking about?! Taking my uncle and the park staff hostage isn’t a game, you jerk!) (This park was my uncle’s dream! And there were so many people looking forward to enjoying it…!) (What should I do…?) Now then… Who should I pick to be my seven little heroes? Oink! Who indeed… (R-Right!) Hey, hold on!Everybody else was trying desperately to escape, but I raised my hand high in the air. Count Hogstein frowned. I’ll take your challenge! (I don’t really know what his game is, and if I’m being honest this is pretty scary, but…)Thanks to Uncle Keiji, I’ve gotten pretty good at figuring out game logic. Count Hogstein stared at me for a moment, then snorted.  I-I know what I’m doing!I stole a quick glance at my uncle, tied up and gagged. He looked worried. I gave him the slightest of nods, careful not to let Count Hogstein notice. (I can’t let this park get blown up by that creep!) (I’ll solve his stupid puzzles and I’ll save my uncle!)
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Nov 15, 2015 21:50
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Keep Dating and Nobody Explodes.
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Nov 15, 2015 21:56
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Fuuuuuuuuuuuck yes I heard so many good things about this game  I can't wait! Wait loving IF helped develop this? Oh 
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Nov 15, 2015 21:56
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Nice to see an LP of this. I always wanted to play it but to my knowledge its not on the European PSN and and it doesn't seem easy to find a copy online (presumably on account of it being a PSP game released in 2013.
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Nov 15, 2015 21:58
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That art is adorable.
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Nov 15, 2015 22:00
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i only played through one route of this and i cant wait to see the other ones.
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Nov 15, 2015 22:03
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SSNeoman posted:Wait loving IF helped develop this? Oh Don't worry, it manages to still be fantastic.
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Nov 15, 2015 22:12
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IF is only bad when they make rpgs this game is cute but i accidently ended up on the Worst Guy's route my first playthrough which made for a bad first impression
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Nov 15, 2015 22:15
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I'm sure IF have made a not bad game at some point. I mean, it had to happen eventually. I believe Hakuoki even reached the dizying heights of "average"!
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Nov 15, 2015 22:17
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IF made Chaos Wars and if that isn't lauded as high art I don't know what to tell you.
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Nov 15, 2015 22:22
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OK, Chaos Wars may not be good, per se, but the VA at least makes it somewhat entertaining.
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Nov 15, 2015 22:46
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Oh, man! I was just thinking about this game! I bought it, in fact, on ChorpSaway's recommendation and enjoyed the heck out of it. It managed -- mostly, I think (I'm fuzzy on some details) to avoid the things that bother me most in this sort of game, and so will always have a special place in my heart... And Saki is a significant part of that. So I am looking forward to this.
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Nov 15, 2015 22:49
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What a bizarre first title. Isn't every other Comcept game a platformer?
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Nov 16, 2015 00:09
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Hogstein's neutral face reminds me of burgerpants
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Nov 16, 2015 04:06
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This game is good.
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Nov 16, 2015 04:51
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I don't know anything about this game but I'll stick around to see where this goes. Any info on the art of this game, it looks very familiar?
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Nov 16, 2015 08:33
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Fabulousvillain posted:I don't know anything about this game but I'll stick around to see where this goes. Any info on the art of this game, it looks very familiar? Tatsuro Iwamoto did the art. He worked as an artist and art director for the Ace Attorney series for basically everything except AA5.
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Nov 16, 2015 09:07
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This game owns
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Nov 16, 2015 11:00
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So wait, Keiji Inafune made a game where you play as Keiji Inafune's imaginary niece and kiss cute anime boys while rescuing Keiji Inafune?
Quinn2win fucked around with this message at 15:44 on Nov 16, 2015 |
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Nov 16, 2015 15:30
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ProfessorProf posted:So wait, Keiji Inafune made a game where you play as Keiji Inafune's imaginary niece and kiss cute anime boys while rescuing Keiji Inafune? This sure seems to be the case. IF has actually by accident made one or two games that are not totally awful. At least in like actual gameplay terms, obviously every good decision they make must still be accompanied by two awful ones. It's just sometimes they confine those awful choices to characters and plot and such and when you stop having standards you'd be surprised how much fun you can still have with a game with total dogshit plot peopled with awful assholes but decent systems.
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Nov 16, 2015 16:23
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ProfessorProf posted:So wait, Keiji Inafune made a game where you play as Keiji Inafune's imaginary niece and kiss cute anime boys while rescuing Keiji Inafune? The most surprising thing about this is that Keiji Inafune actually made a game. But all kidding aside, Chorps has told me his actual involvement was minimal.
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Nov 16, 2015 16:32
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Yeah, I'm guessing dev work was mostly IF. Not necessarily the best choice, but hey, at least they release things.
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Nov 16, 2015 17:36
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ProfessorProf posted:So wait, Keiji Inafune made a game where you play as Keiji Inafune's imaginary niece and kiss cute anime boys while rescuing Keiji Inafune? Hey at least this time they're not using him as a weapon wielded by anime girls in skin-tight outfits.
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Nov 16, 2015 18:30
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Junpei Hyde posted:Yeah, I'm guessing dev work was mostly IF. Not necessarily the best choice, but hey, at least they release things. I mean, so long as the writing holds up I have to imagine it's relatively easy to not gently caress up developing a visual novel, right?
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Nov 16, 2015 18:59
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Opposing Farce posted:I mean, so long as the writing holds up I have to imagine it's relatively easy to not gently caress up developing a visual novel, right? Yes but if it can be done trust IF to do it.
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Nov 16, 2015 19:03
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You have good taste in VNs, Chorp. I played through a couple of routes of this game recently and I unironically enjoyed it, it was good to see a VN with a female heroine that actually had some amount of agency. If we don't end up going for the Best Boyfriend the first time through I will be annoyed with all of you. Also the banner/character art you're using is really stylish.
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Nov 16, 2015 19:35
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Someone Awful! posted:You have good taste in VNs, Chorp. You gotta save the best for last, though. Granted I have no idea who this is so assuming it gets put to thread vote I'll go with whoever has the best hair.
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Nov 16, 2015 19:43
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Someone Awful! posted:If we don't end up going for the Best Boyfriend the first time through I will be annoyed with all of you. i agree, we should go for meoshi. ryusei is also acceptable. wait are these spoilers they were in the opening movie. whatever
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Nov 16, 2015 19:43
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alcharagia posted:i agree, we should go for meoshi. ryusei is also acceptable. Yeah, this dude. This dude gets it.
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Nov 16, 2015 20:24
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Someone Awful! posted:This lady gets it.  the best guys are a universal constant
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Nov 16, 2015 20:49
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Oh hey, this game's finally getting LP'd here. To be fair to Idea Factory, they do a better job when it's strictly VN work; Hakuouki was surprisingly not bad from what I've heard about it. They're still trying to work out problems when they make RPGs, though!
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Nov 16, 2015 21:15
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alcharagia posted:
Meoshi seems to have the best hair and I hope that my method of decision making hasn't failed me.
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Nov 16, 2015 21:16
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I know none of these names and I feel like maybe we should wait until we officially meet the characters before deciding who to pork ( ).
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Nov 16, 2015 23:25
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GeneX posted:I know none of these names and I feel like maybe we should wait until we officially meet the characters before deciding who to pork ( I'm merely going off the opening movie here.
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Nov 16, 2015 23:42
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ChorpSaway posted:The game reads differently post-Mighty No. 9 and Red Ash controversy. While it’s amusing to be playing this now, I’d like to keep the Comcept talk down to a minimum in this thread. ??? What's this? Not asking for a debate or anything, just a hint would help.
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Nov 16, 2015 23:44
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Small Frozen Thing posted:??? What's this? Not asking for a debate or anything, just a hint would help. I assume you mean the first part. Well, Comcept's Mega Man "revival" game, Mighty No. 9, had a wildly successful Kickstarter. But since then, Inafune has run two smaller campaigns for additional content despite reaching like $4mil from the initial Kickstarter. The project has bloated to include spin-off titles, a proposed animated series and a possible. He also started a since-failed Kickstarter for another game and animated series. The release date has been pushed back multiple times, and is currently delayed by about a year from its initial release goal. Lots of people are starting to be suspicious of Inafune and his management skills. I wasn't sure if there would be a bunch of discussion of this sort of stuff or anything given the plot and all, but I wanted to just nip it in the bud early so that this didn't become a place to complain about stuff that wasn't related to the game being LPed. That's all.
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Nov 17, 2015 22:52
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ChorpSaway posted:I assume you mean the first part. Well, Comcept's Mega Man "revival" game, Mighty No. 9, had a wildly successful Kickstarter. But since then, Inafune has run two smaller campaigns for additional content despite reaching like $4mil from the initial Kickstarter. The project has bloated to include spin-off titles, a proposed animated series and a possible. He also started a since-failed Kickstarter for another game and animated series. The release date has been pushed back multiple times, and is currently delayed by about a year from its initial release goal. Lots of people are starting to be suspicious of Inafune and his management skills. Okay, thanks. That was very informative.
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Nov 18, 2015 00:47
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So, who wants to go make the comparison between this game's villain and Monokuma, hmm?
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Nov 18, 2015 05:08
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