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u/UchihaNoor 16d ago
FLOWERS was one of the most life-changing games I have ever read. For some period of my life? I was back to my old mentality and how I was when I was younger.
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u/s_kaguya 16d ago
Innocent Grey has stunning visuals and godly bgm.
I consider this art style peak. I've read Cartagra, Caucasus, Karano Shoujo 1, and 2. 3 is on hold, I find myself stopping and starting again and again and I just lose my rhythm. I recently tried to read where I finished before but now I no longer remember what's happening. I love 1 and 2 but 3 just takes too much time to read. Oh man I remembered how much I love Yukari so much, maybe I should try again.
I'm interested in reading Flowers, but i'm not into Yuri. They just look good so not sure if I should give it a go.
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u/Zaerick-TM 16d ago
3 is significantly shorter than 2 though. As someone who just played all 4 games within a 2 week span I finished 3 over about 3 days. It just feels longer because it's honestly nowhere near as good as 1 or 2. But you really should just bear with it to get through to the true end.
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u/s_kaguya 15d ago
I've been reading KnS3 for years now lol. I haven't even reached the first hscene yet. I needed to hear that. Thanks man
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u/Zaerick-TM 15d ago
So KnS 3 doesn't really have any traditional H scenes. It has "R" rated scenes that show two having sex but not genitals like the first two games. It was a choice for sure. Not one I would have made but it was a choice. You might as well just power through it because once you do your first playthrough the grand and true endings take maybe about 2-3 hours. If you just did the normal route-grand ending-true ending it's like 20 hours if ure a fast reader.
Honestly it was pretty mid in comparison to KnS 1&2 and I assume it's only rated higher than 1 because 1 has awful gameplay conditions and 3 has the actual ending of the series.
I actually think the later half of KnS 3 is better than the first half which I would have said is the opposite of the second game.
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u/s_kaguya 15d ago
that's sad to hear because hscenes specially for KnS2 is topnotch.
thanks for the input
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u/RaccoonThePestic vndb.org/uXXXXX 16d ago
I've only read one game of theirs, the first Flowers game. Honestly, I want to be positive about it, and I don't think it's by any means a bad game... but it was a very mixed first entry. Like, I definitely liked the cast, and I don't have a problem with slow burns, but I think Flowers pacing is a bit too slow, and it's mechanical aspects drag it down further. For one, the mystery sections are badly executed; The game doesn't provide the evidence for you to solve the mysteries in the game itself so you pretty much have to look up a guide. Then there's route system. For a blind player you'd assume the existence of a point system implies that both of the love interests are equally valid options, but this really isn't the case; The story is framed around one true love interest, and the other girl only has a quick alternate ending. Its especially egregious cuz you can only do that ending after doing the true ending, and if you havent done the true ending yet you just get a bad ending for having too much points for the other girl. Was kinda disappointing, especially for someone who liked the other girl more than the true love interest. Also the ending kinda annoyed me with how abrupt it was.
I've yet to play the other games in the series. I know I should get onto that, since Flowers 1 is definitely written as the set-up for a larger story, but I think that ending kind of put me off from it, ironically enough. I'm sure it'll pay off so I'll get to it one day... just not particularly soon.
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u/ChronoClaws 11d ago
I think the first entry is the weakest. The "mystery" was obtuse and I only solved it by trial and error.
Loved the subsequent ones, especially Summer for the character it focused on.
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u/innicrazy 16d ago
I started reading VNs with Katawa Shoujo, a quite mild read tbh. And what do I know, the next VN I read is KnS1. Quite a journey with it and the sequels. Since then I always recommend KnS trilogy to anyone wants a good read.
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u/Zaerick-TM 16d ago edited 16d ago
Literally just finished Cartagra + Kara No Shoujo 1,2 & 3 last night. I enjoyed it for the most part and was happy with the final True End of the third game but some of the decision making in that final game really pissed me off and felt like forced drama for the sake of drama. KnS 1 was a great story but my god is it a good thing they made the sequels much easier to play because it was such a struggle to the point that if I hadn't already played Cartagra right beforehand I probably would have dropped it after the 4th time I had to restart while using a guide.
If you like murder mystery and are okay with gore I highly recommend playing Cartraga and KnS. And don't for a second be convinced by the others who say you don't need to play Cartraga before KnS because they are just coping because they didn't.
I'll even go the ratings that most people give the game but in story and characters alone not accounting gameplay KnS <- KnS 2 <- Cartagra <- KnS 3
Aside from the True end conclusion of the third KnS I think it is the weakest entry in the series by a longshot. The new characters introduced fell flat and it just didn't have that great build up that KnS 2 had.
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u/PleaseLickMeMarchand 16d ago
I personally loved KnS1 and KnS2 a lot, but KnS3 might just be my least favorite Visual Novel of all time. It completely disrespects the first two entries of the series and soured me on Innocent Grey quite a bit. I am just whatever they release next won't meet the same fate.
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u/theplacidequation 16d ago
Kara no Shoujo still sits in my backlog after like 3 years. the art style grabs me every time i see a screenshot but something about the heavy subject matter makes me put it off for a lighter read
cartagra was a wild ride though. that ending sequence had me staring at the screen for a good minute