There isn't much I can say about this visual novel - just get it to work and easily the best visual novel I've featured and probably that I will feature. It gets to the start of the plot fast,has a good pacing,it doesn't stray off,and the ending is spectacular. Doesn't suffer from any (at least not obvious) holes. Graphics look gorgeous,aside from maybe one screen I didn't really like,but it didn't bother me. I only wished it was longer,and well,I wasn't completely disappointed in that aspect too. This visual novel was created to promote an actual(not visual) novel. It's too bad it is in Japanese,but I managed to find some of the next parts translated. Here's a clicky for the first half of the next chapter,another clicky for the rest of it, and an extra clicky for something that comes between chapter 2 and 3(the translator has started working on another series and will not resume translating this until he finishes). I think reading them really helps you understand how different a visual novel is from being just a book.
Comment has been collapsed.
1.The files shouldn't change anything.
2.There are 3 files that start the game: phenomeno.exe,phenomeno en.exe,start game.bat. Try both phenomeno_ en.exe and start_game.bat. Everything should be in English if you pass the menu. What error does it give when crashing? Try running them as administrator?
3.If you reach another menu,not like the one in the screenshot,click the top-most and left-most option. The menu will change to normal in future runs.
Comment has been collapsed.
I'm pretty sure it is. Even if you try brute forcing it,it won't take more than 3 and a half minutes,so no hints for this one.
Edit: Why exactly are you stuck? Two people already solved,I tried it myself and it is working. Where are you looking for the answer?
Comment has been collapsed.
Ugh. Thanks for mentioning it. Dejsav,try again,should be okay now. As a note,whenever I can my puzzles will accept answers both with and without pronunciation marks. There was a (rather weird) problem with the ' at Q5. It will now accept answers with a regular ',the special ' and without ' at all.
Comment has been collapsed.
I figured people will have issues with Q1,that's why I added the hint :)
The size is so big because due to engine limits the pictures are completely uncompressed.
Almost no one wrote anything about the previous visual novel,and I'm still not sure why. I wanted a visual novel that is impressive and similar to 40 minutes(linear with strong focus on plot) this week. This is one of my all time favorite novels and it's also short,so I figured,why not? Think of it as something to recover the somewhat lost reputation from last week. I'll go back to smaller novels next spotlight.
Comment has been collapsed.
Kinda late, but I finished it. Hmm, well, horror is one of the genres I like the least, so yah ... :p It was a nice reading tho - the beginning might have been a bit boring, but it soon started to keep me interested. Although, I'm not really sure if I understood the ending ... Anyone willing to explain to someone dense like me?
Other than that, I agree about the graphics, they really are gorgeous. Noticed a few really minor mistakes in the text, but it didn't really bother me. What kinda bothered me, though, was the odd font when reading the previously read text (scroll up I believe). I'm guessing that was due to the engine's limitations as well, so yah, let's leave it at that. ^^
Had some fun moments as well - throw up scene for example. Well, overall I think it was a good VN & I'm glad I took some time of off Rift to read it. So, thanks yet again for your spotlight. :)
Comment has been collapsed.
There really was a ghost in the house that posessed Nagi to write the numbers. Krishna lied to Nagi in order to keep him away from occult and protect him seeing as he's susceptible to spirits influence. However Nagi went to Yoishi to learn the truth anyway. Yoishi's true nature is not revealed to keep the intrigue for the main novel.
That's what I understood. I guess we'll have to read the novel to learn more.
Comment has been collapsed.
I'll copy the important details from the script:
House:
The meaningful space under the stair is the center-point of a sturdily built house. The kitchen, which gets abused the most, was deliberately omitted. The living quarters were deliberately designed to interfere with daily routine. It was a house constructed for durability. The groaning of the house was to give it durability against hurricanes and earthquakes, along with a bit of playfulness to deliberately make it groan.
Normally, houses should revolve around the inhabitants, but not in this case. People naturally begin to feel like the house was built for something other than themselves, and that was enough to psychologically rattle people.
Countdown:
You may have felt fear at first, but you probably tolerated it. But eventually you reach a limit, and then what do people do? They create a reason for escaping from fear. Your fear was alleviated by carving anything into the wall, to act as the source of the sounds. You probably carved a cross on the wall. The number '十' (10). It's possible that it might not have been meant to be a number to begin with. It probably didn't matter to you. Your fear was alleviated by carving anything into the wall, to act as the source of the sounds. On top of your '十,' someone had added a scratch to make it '七.'
Ending:
I was always wondering. What it was called 'the house that grants wishes.' The title lacks a subject. Whose wish?
That house isn't a house of hope. I just felt an incredible source of malice. The architect that had disappeared while loving strange buildings. The countdown that began with '七'. The mysterious space under the stairs. The house that grants wishes. There's a single answer that ties everything together.
When you were carried out, some man I'd never seen before was clicking his tongue on the stairs.
The architect is still inside those stairs.
Comment has been collapsed.
Gee, that much I already know, lol. My apologies for making you go find all that.
I guess what I'm asking for is, what's the meaning behind Yoishi's face turning all "evil" in the very last scene. Like, is she bad news for Nagi, or did they just want to somehow portray the other side, seeing as, if I'm not mistaken, the scenery changed to creepy as well. Plus Nagi was mentioning he was interested in seeing how Yoishi saw the world. That's what interests me about the ending. ^^
Comment has been collapsed.
Well,she's not evil. It's shown in case 2 that she had regrets over thinking she harmed someone innocent,even though she didn't show it,and on raven notes she pretty much saves Karasu from dying.
About the 'other world'..it seems that she has a lot of experience or is otherwise related to those supernatural things and has gained the ability to see or somehow sense them. It's suggested that Nagi is starting to pick this up as well and has a similar ability to a lesser degree.
Comment has been collapsed.
Been looking for something casual to play, a VN is perfect, just waiting for the download ;D
Comment has been collapsed.
While not related to the current game, something for fans of the genre to look at if they have a homebrew compatible DS is VNDS.
Comment has been collapsed.
I had Phenomeno installed for a while (since your VNs 101 thread) but never got to reading it until now - thought it will be a long read because of download size.
Should have done it much earlier - it's a great novel and quite short too. Story isn't something new - we've seen Japanese haunted houses in movies like The Grudge or Dark Water before - but the game itself is very well made. Music sets the mood perfectly and background photos use some nice filters creating unsettling "familiar but strange" feel. I browsed Nitroplus website a little - turned out they're industry veterans, not surprising that even a free game from them have a superb quality.
I was somewhat disappointed how it felt not like a finished work but like a pilot episode of some series. Sure, the "House that grants wishes" plot is finished but I waited for the "on the next" montage of how Nagi and Yoishi will be travelling Japan and dealing with ghosts for two more seasons to be shown after the credits.
Comment has been collapsed.
If I remember correctly there's at least 8 'cases'(not sure what to call them) already released on total,but they remain untranslated aside from cases 1 and 2(as mentioned in my review). I doubt it's ever going to turn into more than a series of novels,which is quite a shame. The visual novel format goes really well with it.
Comment has been collapsed.
I just find out this game's writer:一肇 also writed the "Puella Magi Madoka Magica" novel version
Comment has been collapsed.
SPOILARS AHEAD YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED
Great art and music make a strong atmosphere. But I didn't find the story particularly scary, it was pretty simple and since the mystery has been completely solved, the overall effect was even weaker. I didn't appreciate the jump scares, they can be great if used sparingly and at the right time, but the ones in this novel were just there pretty much to fuck with you (I'm ok with the final number, as it was just a jolt without anything creepy being embedded in my mind, but the welcoming smile at the end is the cheapest, dirtiest trick ever). I feel slightly disappointed with the fact that the sexual fantasy Nagi has at the beginning of second chapter was in the end discarded and meaningless, it was probably the most intriguing part that gave me very mixed feelings (come to think of it, there's a pretty straightforward explanation, but it still was treated a bit negligently). All in all it's a bit of a wasted potential, but the visual and sonic element created a great atmosphere for the most part and made me enjoy it. I feel that if they went for a less obvious story and dropped the "rapid movement scare tactic" it would have been so much more.
Comment has been collapsed.
Well,I don't think of it as something meant to scare people,rather as something that wants to tell a story with a hint of supernatural horror,and it does a good job at that. Also,I can't really see why you think the plot was obvious - I was disappointed when discovering it's just Nagi's imagination,so I definitely didn't expect the Yoishi twist.
Comment has been collapsed.
THERE'S SPOILERS HERE OH MY GOD POKE YOUR EYES OUT
They were convinced he was possessed and forcefully took him to the house to perform an exorcism, then suddenly it turns out they're just retarded? I don't think so. I meant "obvious" in general - it's a pretty cliche story and it lets you know exactly when to brace for impact (and there's not much of it either). Where's the hint of "supernatural horror" in a story about a freakin' haunted house? Nothing is left when you take that "hint" out (or rather anything that's left doesn't make sense anymore). It IS creepy, just not in a consistent way. Why do you feel such a bad need to defend it, that you would use the most bullshit argument you could possibly come up with - I don't know, nor do I care. Take it easy, bro.
Comment has been collapsed.
1,300 Comments - Last post 2 minutes ago by LuckyStrike1305
10 Comments - Last post 3 minutes ago by Golwar
1,397 Comments - Last post 11 minutes ago by star4you
821 Comments - Last post 15 minutes ago by WaxWorm
58 Comments - Last post 32 minutes ago by WaxWorm
15,392 Comments - Last post 32 minutes ago by LuciferLove
1 Comments - Last post 32 minutes ago by Spiralll
26 Comments - Last post 42 seconds ago by AiKirika
500 Comments - Last post 48 seconds ago by HomieDrew
79 Comments - Last post 1 minute ago by jahas10
81 Comments - Last post 4 minutes ago by FullMetalZ
10,370 Comments - Last post 7 minutes ago by WaxWorm
1,177 Comments - Last post 44 minutes ago by PoeticKatana
31 Comments - Last post 45 minutes ago by FateOfOne
Phenomeno
Compatibility: Win only.
Plot type: Linear.
Ending type: Single ending.
Length estimation: 20k words.
Graphics: Well polished.
Voice acting: no.
Engine: n2system.
Source: Official site (jp)
In a nutshell: "If you're gonna kill me,kill me. I don't want to get corenered and hunted like that. Just give me a bad end already.".
Download(925 mb): From google docs From Mega.co.nz
Important notes: Originally released in Japanese,then translated by a Russian team into English and with many release bugs,this is a slightly modified version and I recommend using my download and not going to the source and patching yourself. Likely due to engine limitations,the menu,opening and credits are left untranslated; The story and rightclick menu(which covers saving,loading,fullscreen,etc.) are translated,so the only thing you need to know is how to start the game. This is the topmost option - screenshot. If your menu doesn't look like the one in the screenshot,try
quitting and running the game via start_game.bat. This may sound a bit complicated but this is a very stable version with everything prepatched and in theory it should run fine from the first time.
Did you enjoy week four? Here's your giveaway! 0 CV,one week.
Previous spotlight Next spotlight
Comment has been collapsed.