VENUS new game trial 2 is out. Quoting myself to continue summary.
First trial for new VENUS game is interesting and fun. Very short though. Its mostly the protagonist hanging out with his perverted friend. Who is the perverted brat from Summer Salt grown up. You meet the main heroine and the gyarus she hangs out with. There are hints about where the story would go. But its mostly the usual VENUS slice of life which is good.
Whats most interesting is the lying mechanic. It hasnt been explained in the game yet but the character profiles say that protagonist got the power to tell when others lie after an accident. So sometimes in the game you see dialogue in red font like in Umineko. Those are lies. Protagonist doesnt know the truth just that theyre lying. The first few scenes use it in interesting ways. Like he can tell when others are bluffing to threaten him. The main heroine is already lying a lot. Shes trying to fit in with the delinquent gyarus but its obvious thats not what shes like. Protagonist already found out that she has a weird accent she hides. Itll be very interesting in NTR context.
First trial ended after he confront the class gyarus. One of them is very friendly but the other is dangerous and has scary boyfriend. She was bullying the quiet girl in the class and the protagonist stepped in. That surprised even himself. Hed never done stuff like this before. He doesnt care about school at all and just wants to get it done to go work. Because his family situation is so bad he wants to become independent. Thats why hed never got into this kind of problem. But he felt hed have regret if he didnt step in. He handles it perfect and Kuzuhara the scary gyaru swears revenge. Second trial starts with protagonist knowing that her boyfriend will try to beat him up. Thinking about that he happen to meet a weird man at the park. Hes exercising like crazy and tries to convince him to train to fight. Hes the blue hair man in the character list. Name isnt revealed for now.
In the end protagonist runs away. Then he meets the heroine Haruna. Its obvious shes a good kid so its a mystery why she hangs out with the gyarus. She doesnt even notice that theyre pushing her towards selling her body. Protagonist found out that shes hiding a kyushu accent earlier which is one of her many lies. Shes constantly saying small lies. For example says that she only lived there a bit which the protagonist can tell isnt true. She continues to hide things but gets along well with him. When he goes back home for the day things get sour. His parents are arguing as usual. His mother asks for more more money since she doesn't have enough to cover daily expenses. Which is another lie in red text. Father says he doesnt have more money to give. Another lie. She says she doesnt waste money and he says that he doesnt spend his money on other women. All lies. This is the kind of life that makes protagonist want to move away as soon as possible.
The next morning he goes to a combini to buy food. He skipped dinner because he didnt want to see his parents. There he meets Haruna going inside. Shes dressed properly for once. But moments later she leaves and shes more gyaru-like as usual. She wants him to keep that a secret too. At class he meets the gyaru group again. Theres a funny scene where he pisses off Kuzuhara the one who hates him. He wants her boyfriend to hurry up beating him up. Because having to deal with the training weirdo is worse to him. Classic VENUS humor. Another funny scene with Sagara the quiet girl he saved. She drags him and his pervert friend Naoki to study. To motivate them she tells them that theres a spot in school where they can see people in underwear. Since she noticed Naoki is always chasing girls panties. Theres no red text so the protagonist can tell shes not lying. But when they finally go its guys changing for their school club. Its funny but maybe a clue about the red text too. Deceiving doesnt activate protagonist's powers. Only if the sentences are literally a lie.
Protagonist trains with the fighting weirdo. Since he recognized protagonist uniform and threatened to show up at his school if he doesnt show up to train. Hes crazy but his strength is real so he might help him get stronger. When he goes back home his mom says shes going to divorce. She always tells him that. She takes it for granted that protagonist will go with her and support her. He tells her again that his plan is to move far away. She snaps and tells him that the only reason she hasnt had a divorce yet was because of him. None of this is lies so it hurts the protagonist. Since it means her suffering is his fault. This could be another hint about the red text too. From what we know about the mother it seems she mightve not divorced anyway. But if shes not lying consciously it doesnt become red text.
Next morning he sees Haruna changing clothes again. She gets a message and he asks if its from the gyarus. She says it is but thats a lie. Since they installed her an app thats probably to get paid dates with men it might be that. Or just a message from her mom lol. Every day at school the friendly gyaru Shiina has trolled the pervert friend. Shes alright showing her panties for money but always asks for more money than he had. Even though she would show the protagonist for less money. But finally this day he has 5000 yen with him. For that money she says she can show her bra too. Protagonist doesnt like the idea of paying money to a classmate for this kind of stuff so he refuses. They go inside a classroom and she shows him but we see nothing. Protagonist goes to study with Sagara instead. And on the way back they meet Haruna. Shes about to ask her if she can help her study too but then Kuzuhara sees them and comes to "defend" Haruna. The truth is that she just hates Sagara and the protagonist. She stands up to her despite being quiet and the protagonist always gets in the way.
Things continue as usual. The gyarus keep pressing Haruna to use that dating app more. Protagonist still trains with the weirdo. One day he trains so hard with him he passes out after talking with Haruna who was on her way back home. This makes him remember the accident he had as a kid. He nearly died after falling doing stupid kid stuff. Doctors said nothing seemed wrong with him but he noticed something. That awakened his power. Its synesthesia that makes lies feel red to him. So its exactly what we see. Life became more unplesant for him since he realized how many people lie. He wakes up at Harunas house with her mother. Shes a former nurse who runs a shop now. When they ask him the truth about why he passed out he realizes the weirdo is there. Hes Harunas dad. This was foreshadowed well in JP since their unusual accent is the same. Its a fun household that shocks the protagonist since hes used to his awful family.
By the end of the trial you find out that Kuzuhara and Shiina have gotten Haruna to start having paid dates. But theyll keep an eye on her so that nothing happens. Pervert friend also says he has a job to get more money so hes going to be too busy to hang out. The stress at the protagonists house keeps boiling. Its so extreme that hes worried he might even hurt his parents one day. The trial ends there. Nice cliffhanger lol.
