General BL Games Discussion Thread

[ishibashi]

Senge's route has a pretty interesting implementation of noncon, if you'd been around BL games for a while. Usually (at least, before 2012) the obligatory noncon route is something that happens to the protagonist that they're kind of helpless against, once it starts. The first encounter in Senge's route is like that, with pretty awful circumstances, but then to actually get into his story proper.....you will have to actively choose to do/commit to awful things and deny all attempts from other characters to help you from your circumstances. It hands the choice back to the player and the MC can actually choose to destroy Senge and end the route before it properly starts and go back to his normal life. Senge's route needs proactive commitment from the protagonist lol. It kind of feeds back into some of the themes in his route being sunk cost fallacy, self-destructive behaviour and the way trauma convinces you that you have no other choice when you actually do.

The twins bad ending....to this day the logic for why Kaoru would do that randomly isn't clear to me and I'm just like, okay someone just wanted an excuse to write 3P necrophilia noncon, which sure is....an interesting choice! The post-ending short story they wrote for it in Cool-B is hilariously Super Bad End though, it's written like an excerpt from a horror novel.

There's also a noncon bad ending with Senge in Tatebayashi's route, if you fail the last segment. It's pretty short and not really a full sex scene IIRC, but the CG leaves little to imagination as to what happens. There is also a .....death end? noncon end? dubcon end? somewhere in the middle of Shigure's route where the MC gets his body taken over by a random ghost and the ghost decides to go seduce his uncle. The scene where his body gets taken over has no CG but it's a short noncon blowjob scene IIRC.

 

[yukari13]

I agree with ishibashi's comment about Senge. Yes, his route in the og game has non-con, but Ktou has a backbone and doesn't just submit to Senge after the deed is done. And I actually thought Senge was one of the best written characters in the game. I enjoyed his role in other routes, especially in Tatebayashi's and True End's. In his own route he was surprisingly funny and charming, even more so in the fd.

I know people like to compare him to Shiki, but those characters are worlds apart. Taishou Mebiusline is a great game in general if you can read Japanese or Russian(there's a fan tl), I highly recommend it.

 

[Fishish]

I agree with ishibashi's comment about Senge. Yes, his route in the og game has non-con, but Ktou has a backbone and doesn't just submit to Senge after the deed is done. And I actually thought Senge was one of the best written characters in the game. I enjoyed his role in other routes, especially in Tatebayashi's and True End's. In his own route he was surprisingly funny and charming, even more so in the fd.

I know people like to compare him to Shiki, but those characters are worlds apart. Taishou Mebiusline is a great game in general if you can read Japanese or Russian(there's a fan tl), I highly recommend it.

I also think Senge had the best route within the game and because of that he's probably also my favourite character in taishou mebiusline . To me I think the only parallels with shiki are within the endings where you have kinda a "become a pet" route or a "become his second hand man". The actual circumstances of the routes themselves don't have nearly as many parallels considering senge himself is kinda a puppet of war.

 

[ishibashi]

I agree with ishibashi's comment about Senge. Yes, his route in the og game has non-con, but Ktou has a backbone and doesn't just submit to Senge after the deed is done. And I actually thought Senge was one of the best written characters in the game. I enjoyed his role in other routes, especially in Tatebayashi's and True End's. In his own route he was surprisingly funny and charming, even more so in the fd.

I know people like to compare him to Shiki, but those characters are worlds apart. Taishou Mebiusline is a great game in general if you can read Japanese or Russian(there's a fan tl), I highly recommend it.

If I were to describe Senge as anything, I'd actually say he's the anti-Shiki lol. They went to a lot of trouble to set him up so that he outwardly evokes Shiki (to the point that his art doesn't quite match his textual description), and the way his route starts would really make you think he's like Shiki 1913 Militarized Japan Edition.......and then, you actually get to know him, and he's nothing like Shiki at all. He himself is one of the story's greatest victims of Japan's military/arcane ambitions, and he doesn't know how else to live other than pass on the trauma and using trauma to manipulate others, and his situation is far more precarious than it appears in the other routes. He didn't get a choice, so he thinks the best way to accomplish things is to have no choice. Yet, he desperately want people to choose him. The noncon has *meaning.* Senge looks like he is power, but he actually is powerlessness. Even the endings that should evoke Shiki/Akira actually do not feel like that in the least.

They went out of their way to evoke Shiki and make you think he's just Shiki 2.0 because everyone wanted a hot red eyed man porn route, right? And then they were snickering as the game shipped, knowing that they went out of their way to subvert the shit out of Shiki in the end.

I tried translating Mebiusline into EN and finished the common route (with mistakes, it was long ago) but alas, things happened and I never finished it lol.

 

[testeeee]

Yeah like I remember Shin saying his backstory in the common route and then repeating it again the next day in game, like was that really necessary ?

ty for the list of games!

I remember that some times in Galtia you get a full flashback with a whole scene and dialogue that you saw earlier in the game. Its already unnecessary imo, and on top of everything i remember getting flashbacks of scenes i played like 5 MINUTES AGO, not even joking. What even is the point ? And the same lines are repeated sooo many times throughout the game. Yeah ok, i understand that Kreuz is having a hard time because this country has no king. Why did i need to read that same thing 10 times ? this game has no business being this long. Take away all repeated lines, flashbacks, characters thinking about uneccessary stuff to themselves or them destroying any implicit from the game, and then youll get routes 2 times shorter, probably.

 

[Riou1]

ty for the list of games!

I remember that some times in Galtia you get a full flashback with a whole scene and dialogue that you saw earlier in the game. Its already unnecessary imo, and on top of everything i remember getting flashbacks of scenes i played like 5 MINUTES AGO, not even joking. What even is the point ? And the same lines are repeated sooo many times throughout the game. Yeah ok, i understand that Kreuz is having a hard time because this country has no king. Why did i need to read that same thing 10 times ? this game has no business being this long. Take away all repeated lines, flashbacks, characters thinking about uneccessary stuff to themselves or them destroying any implicit from the game, and then youll get routes 2 times shorter, probably.

Also this is more of a nitpick but Senri was the only LI not to get a CG of his childhood even tho he's literally Shin's childhood friend. Like I checked the CGs of the game and Shin, Diago, Zeek and Laurus have all gotten CGs with them as children but they didn't make one for the childhood friend of all LIs ? Weird. Not to mention how ugly some of his actual CGs made him look smh.

 

[usagi-k]

hiii im someone i'd consider to be a beginner to blvns so i was hoping if all of you here would be willing to share any recommendations ^^ im open to both localized and jpn-only games !

so far ive only played dmmd , nie no machi , hashihime and uuultrac (my favorite read out of the four i just adored all three of the couples) :D i also have tnc : true blood which i plan on playing and will play ooe after it gets localized

i would really appreciate if any recommendation anyone shares has a character similar to kawase from hashihime he's genuinely VERY adorable to me and it has been really hard for me to get over him - the brainrot is quite severe i fear so i would love to know if there's any other character out there like him :D

i would also like reviews of paradise if possible ^^ ive seen screenshots of azuma and he seems like a really cute boyfailure-esque protagonist which ive realized is personally what i find most charming about blvns ^^

 

[yukari13]

i would also like reviews of paradise if possible ^^ ive seen screenshots of azuma and he seems like a really cute boyfailure-esque protagonist which ive realized is personally what i find most charming about blvns ^^

I found the game lackluster, but Azuma is a great MC. Unfortunately 2 out of three LIs mistreat him, but if you're into toxic relationships with rape and abuse you'll probably find it hot.

Afak the game was originally planned to be longer and have more character development, but the company was forced to split it into three games instead. The endings of the first game were all sudden and borderline badly written in Takara's case. I heard people say the sequel expands on it, but the eng release is littered with typos and mistranslations. Just fyi.

So if you value sex/abuse/gore more than competent writing, it's worth playing fully. If not, Mitsugi's route was decent.

 

[usagi-k]

So if you value sex/abuse/gore more than competent writing, it's worth playing fully. If not, Mitsugi's route was decent.

uwaa that sounds like a pain honestly i do like if a game explores toxic relationships but only if there's actual nuance to it rather than it being for shock value or just for the sake of it being entertaining. i'd heard some things about takara too which i found interesting but i guess ill probably skip out on it which is a shame cause azuma genuinely seemed really cute but i wouldnt really enjoy myself if it's just him getting borderline tortured throughout the game >.<

 

[Fishish]

hiii im someone i'd consider to be a beginner to blvns so i was hoping if all of you here would be willing to share any recommendations ^^ im open to both localized and jpn-only games !

so far ive only played dmmd , nie no machi , hashihime and uuultrac (my favorite read out of the four i just adored all three of the couples) :D i also have tnc : true blood which i plan on playing and will play ooe after it gets localized

i would really appreciate if any recommendation anyone shares has a character similar to kawase from hashihime he's genuinely VERY adorable to me and it has been really hard for me to get over him - the brainrot is quite severe i fear so i would love to know if there's any other character out there like him :D

i would also like reviews of paradise if possible ^^ ive seen screenshots of azuma and he seems like a really cute boyfailure-esque protagonist which ive realized is personally what i find most charming about blvns ^^

Paradice is a bit hard to recomened, on one side Azuma is a FANTASTIC protaganist, probably one of the best in BL, on the other hand the first game has flaws and quite a few of them. I didnt mind the LI's in paradise though im also not one to shy away from toxic tropes but the story is to me the most major hiccup since it does the oopsie of trying to hard to explain its own plot to much and thus kinda has a lackluster ending XD. Kiwame on the other hand, the final fandisk of the game stops taking itself seriously AT ALL and actually benifits from the sillyness and so I actually think its worthwhile to play the first two games just to get to it but its also a mater of taste and kiwame doesn't get any less toxic XD. Kiwame is kinda like a "what if" scenario of the original game so it makes the story more complete by speenruning to where it gets batshit and just rolling with it! Paradise is best when azuma is on screen reacting in azuma ways to random shit, you just gotta feel for the man, hes like a dumb dog surrounded by toxic waste.

As for other recomendations I would say lucky dog is up there, it is another story with a fantastic protaganist that is about the italian mafia in 1930s america. One of my favourite games is shingakkou noli me tangere but thats a really long game available only in japanese so its kinda a commitment XD (a worth it commitment but a commitment nonetheless!) Its about a student of a chritstian seminary who is investigating a cult who he believes is responsible for the death of his family. Im shit at summaries so I would look up the actual plots on VNDB but I made an attempt XD.

I actually cant think of any characters kinda like kawase, a lot of Adelta characters are really unique. were their any partiular traits of his you enjoyed? That might make it a bit easier to narrow down. Like if its just his snark you might like a character like shiki from togainu no chi or senge from Taishou mebiusline or actually quite a few characters from omerta! They all have that fun ego attitude going on XD.

 

[usagi-k]

Paradise is best when azuma is on screen reacting in azuma ways to random shit, you just gotta feel for the man, hes like a dumb dog surrounded by toxic waste.

azuma really does seem so so cute ive only seen a few screenshots but those were enough to try and convince me to see if the game would be good or not since nothing else about it drew me in. ill skip on it for now maybe ill pick it up impulsively to give it a try after my backlog is more cleared out just for azuma ^^

I actually cant think of any characters kinda like kawase, a lot of Adelta characters are really unique. were their any partiular traits of his you enjoyed? That might make it a bit easier to narrow down. Like if its just his snark you might like a character like shiki from togainu no chi or senge from Taishou mebiusline or actually quite a few characters from omerta! They all have that fun ego attitude going on XD.

in kawase's case i really adored his way of showing affection for tamamori and the pairing of how he said he's only this mean to him because he finds him "pure" that kind of balance between being so adoring internally vs also being so sharp-tongued and strict just felt really well written and realistic to me ^^ in general alot of his approach on his love towards tamamori felt serious but also self-deprecating almost so he felt like a good anchor in the story. i do like shiki's design so maybe i'll enjoy his character :D

also thankyou for your recommendations i have seen people talk about shingakkou before but i havent ever looked into lucky dog - i really liked yura's art in hana awase so that's made me quite interested in it

 

[Fishish]

azuma really does seem so so cute ive only seen a few screenshots but those were enough to try and convince me to see if the game would be good or not since nothing else about it drew me in. ill skip on it for now maybe ill pick it up impulsively to give it a try after my backlog is more cleared out just for azuma ^^


in kawase's case i really adored his way of showing affection for tamamori and the pairing of how he said he's only this mean to him because he finds him "pure" that kind of balance between being so adoring internally vs also being so sharp-tongued and strict just felt really well written and realistic to me ^^ in general alot of his approach on his love towards tamamori felt serious but also self-deprecating almost so he felt like a good anchor in the story. i do like shiki's design so maybe i'll enjoy his character :D

also thankyou for your recommendations i have seen people talk about shingakkou before but i havent ever looked into lucky dog - i really liked yura's art in hana awase so that's made me quite interested in it

Yeah azuma is legitimately super charming but if you have certain tropes you know your not to keen on then the title might not be worth it (it has abuse, non con, DV, and all the other general issues of being trapped on a deserted island to name a few). Pil slash as a company is a bit old school with its yaoi. it like a few other BL VN companies (parade and even nitro plus to an extent) are a bit infamous for their darker themes and extensive trigger lists making them hard to recommend to those newer to the scene or without a background of reading like a wide array of manga/webtoons/danmei. There is a reason that DMMD is a lot of peoples gateway and why there aren't as many overly popular titles beyond it because it's a bit more palatable and it's bad endings are in my opinion perceived as shocking but tame enough to be still be within the realm of general reading. A lot of other BL games go the full 9 yards, almost horroresque in their descriptions and delving into very complex topics some games more haphazardly and others with a more nuanced understanding (Some will even flip flop between the two!)

Yes kawase is super special in that regard and you'll see the same type of amazing dynamic character relationships once you play ooe also! (However long that it takes to be fully localised). I can't think of anything with direct parallels to what you mentioned but the characters mentioned before are all ones that have an element of "soft vs harsh". A certain soft spot reserved for the protagonist even if it can be regarded as a more unhealthy or one sided relationship as a whole. My favourite characters are usually the happy go lucky types tho so maybe the reason I can't think of many is because of just personal bias and attention on my own faves

Yura the artist of lucky dog and hana awase has been around for a hot minute! I've always loved her art but her modern style is BEAUTIFUL. If you're ever interested in more recommendations feel free to message I know a few western titles also!. I lean personally towards darker stories but I'm sure I can think of some more varied genres also. Btw If you were unaware, nie no machi has a fan disk with after stories of all the characters and endings that you may enjoy if you liked the base game! I hope you find more games that you enjoy in the future and feel free to chat about any games you start or finish playing!

 

[ishibashi]

Yura has been making doujin BL games since 2000. She's been making BL games for 26 years, which is amazing! Her oldest art style is basically unrecognizable compared to her modern art style, unless you also saw her intermediate art style (I'd say around the time of No-ton and Zettai Fukujuu Meirei, which is almost LD1 art style but not quite) then you can connect it all together.

Her BL-making career is almost as long as the history of BL games itself, I'm not sure how many other BL game staffers can say that lol.

 

[Riou1]

hiii im someone i'd consider to be a beginner to blvns so i was hoping if all of you here would be willing to share any recommendations ^^ im open to both localized and jpn-only games !

so far ive only played dmmd , nie no machi , hashihime and uuultrac (my favorite read out of the four i just adored all three of the couples) :D i also have tnc : true blood which i plan on playing and will play ooe after it gets localized

i would really appreciate if any recommendation anyone shares has a character similar to kawase from hashihime he's genuinely VERY adorable to me and it has been really hard for me to get over him - the brainrot is quite severe i fear so i would love to know if there's any other character out there like him :D

i would also like reviews of paradise if possible ^^ ive seen screenshots of azuma and he seems like a really cute boyfailure-esque protagonist which ive realized is personally what i find most charming about blvns ^^

I didn't play Hashihime so I'm not sure what would count as a Kawase type of LI but besides the games mentioned already I'd also recommend Tokyo Onmyouji (has Eng TL) and Haiiro no Arcadia (only in JP).

 

[Gappy]

im open to both localized and jpn-only games !

My recommendation for a hidden JP-only gem is Messiah from CORE. Its about a down on his luck protag and his friend being kidnapped and trapped in a vampire's mansion. Its got a great atmosphere, art style, and the story is (for me) the perfect length. There's only two routes, your friend and the vampire, but they're really well written. I did the friend's first (the only one I've completly finished so far) because I thought I wouldn't like him, but I ended up liking him a lot!

 

[Fishish]

My recommendation for a hidden JP-only gem is Messiah from CORE. It's about a down on his luck protag and his friend being kidnapped and trapped in a vampire's mansion. It's got a great atmosphere, art style, and the story is (for me) the perfect length. There's only two routes, your friend and the vampire, but they're really well written. I did the friend's first (the only one I've completly finished so far) because I thought I wouldn't like him, but I ended up liking him a lot!

AHHH YES MESSIAH! That game is great fun! The fan disk is pretty enjoyable also! I love vampires but I actually liked the friends route more

 

[ishibashi]

I'm thinking if it'd be a good idea to have some sort of rec list for newcomers to the genre with various levels of warnings-may-apply, since that appears to be a stumbling block for a lot of people.

Seems like a pretty big task to take on, though.

 

[Fishish]

I'm thinking if it'd be a good idea to have some sort of rec list for newcomers to the genre with various levels of warnings-may-apply, since that appears to be a stumbling block for a lot of people.

Seems like a pretty big task to take on, though.

Certainly a good idea tho, maybe like some sort of public spreadsheet that anyone can add titles / warnings to. At least then those with triggers have a way of identifying what might be up their alley!

 

[sobian]

Anyone tried Norn's Dine yet? Highkey got interested cus of Shido

 

[Gappy]

AHHH YES MESSIAH! That game is great fun! The fan disk is pretty enjoyable also! I love vampires but I actually liked the friends route more

I can't wait to play the fan disk, it looks like such a fun time and we get to interact with some of the band mates more. Interesting that you liked Ryouta's route more even with vampirism in Kou's favor! I wonder if I'll end up feeling the same once I finish and can reflect on both.

 

[akechisdecay]

My recommendation for a hidden JP-only gem is Messiah from CORE. Its about a down on his luck protag and his friend being kidnapped and trapped in a vampire's mansion. Its got a great atmosphere, art style, and the story is (for me) the perfect length. There's only two routes, your friend and the vampire, but they're really well written. I did the friend's first (the only one I've completly finished so far) because I thought I wouldn't like him, but I ended up liking him a lot!

Is there a link anywhere on here or just somewhere in general to download Messiah? I've been looking for it for soooo long

 

[Gappy]

Is there a link anywhere on here or just somewhere in general to download Messiah? I've been looking for it for soooo long

I found it in the big torrent file on aarinfantasy. Its got the fan disk too. Not sure if it's been shared here though

 

[akechisdecay]

I found it in the big torrent file on aarinfantasy. Its got the fan disk too. Not sure if it's been shared here though

I think I found it ^^ Thank you soo much you're a life saver omg

 

[Riou1]

Tbh for warnings on BL games you can look them up on vndb, they're (for the most part) fairly accurate. Or make a post asking for warnings and which routes to avoid on a specific game on the BLgame subreddit.

 

[ishibashi]

It's less about trigger warnings than making it a bit easier for people to dip their toes into the genre. Trigger warnings are a big part of it since that's what a lot of it revolves around, but I see a few people being like "I want to try something fluffier/story heavy/funny but where do I start" and it might be nice to have a starter list for stuff.

Also for warning lists on vndb, sometimes they can give the impression that a game is more extreme than it actually is, y'know.