I would be interested to know if you have played pinneapple express and if so, what is your opinion of it?
Yes, I played Pineapple Express (PE) and still have it because some of the sex scenes are hot. Other than that, however, my opinion of the game based on the overall story (all paths considered) is not very good. The F95 review of Pineapple Express by Cthulu45 voices some of the concerns I had about the overall story, which center on reliance on contrived scenarios.
However, similar to Exploring the Big Apple (ETBA), I preferred the sharing path in PE because it does not forsake love/loyalty in the relationship, is altogether more eventful/exciting than the monogamy path (see more on this below), and does not reduce the sexual involvement of the MC with his female partner to that of a spectator.
Broadly speaking, I would say that ETBA is generally of higher quality than PE, though ETBA is a more recent product and is not superior in every way. Also, the opening themes differ in some important respects: bf and gf vs. married couple, female partner agreeing to live with a male friend for a few days to act like she's his fiancee vs. married couple agreeing to live with a friend while they get on their feet financially, and MC admitting that sex with the FMC had become stale lately vs. young married couple who still have quite passionate sex with each other when able.
Having said that, I think if I were the MC in PE that I would have told Cornell he should have known better than to drag my gf into his rich family mess, and that what he was asking was too much. However, PE does not give the option of refusing the request, and even if it did, I'm sure it would be game over.
One common issue with the non-NTR paths in games involving NTR is that the most sex-filled/sexually exciting paths usually are the ones where the female partner becomes more interested in or aroused by having sex with men other than the MC, whereas paths involving more of monogamy usually have a lower number of sex scenes and scenes that are less visually exciting/animated, which amounts to being relatively boring. So for me, the best compromise in games involving NTR is usually the sharing path (ideally involving loyalty, permission, and mutual enjoyment). It's also nice when the MC is potentially allowed sexual pleasure from other women (which to its credit PE includes) instead of the game being all about the FMC potentially being allowed sexual pleasure from other men (which thus far is what ETBA does).
To do like I did with ETBA, here's some early dialogue from PE that comes to bother me later along some paths:
Cornell (in presenting his request): "Julia, you don't have to do anything intimate or anything like that. Just be there with me when my mom visits, and spend a few nights at my place."
Julia (in assuring the MC about agreeing to do it): "Deal! But remember, it's just acting."
Peter: "I trust you, babe. Just make sure you don't fall for him while you're playing fiancee."
Julia: "Don't worry, I'll save all my love for you. Cornell's just gonna have to deal with that!"
Peter (speaking to Cornell afterwards): "I've talked to my girlfriend, and she's on board with helping you. But remember, it has to be within reasonable boundaries."
Cornell: "Hell yeah! That's awesome news, Peter! I swear, I'll be on my best behavior."
So after all of that was said, if the MC allows the FMC and Cornell to act as they will (not intervening when they're "acting" for family or when what is viewed is from a hidden camera), then the following happens: Cornell sleeps naked in bed with Julia; Cornell places his hand on Julia's breast while kissing her; Julia places her hand on Cornell's cock in bed; Cornell whips his dick out in front of Julia in a bathroom stall; Julia gives Cornell a handjob in bed; Julia licks Cornell's dick while jacking him off under a table; and Julia gives Cornell a blowjob in bed. Does that sound like just acting, saving all the love for the MC, or being on one's best behavior? Essentially, the (mostly) monogamy path in PE where the MC allows the FMC and his friend to make their own decisions while shutting them down when explicitly asked amounts to a semi-cuck path, where the FMC and friend act quite differently toward each other relative to their initial assurances to the MC. Lastly, I dislike that along this semi-cuck path (and the full-blown cuck path), the MC is depicted as this guy who gets so excited from seeing his girlfriend have sex with another man that his dick becomes useless for having intercourse with her (due to masturbation or premature ejaculation), in effect making him of little use in sexually pleasuring his girlfriend except to eat her pussy.
Similar to ETBA, there's also some inconsistency in the chain of events in PE if the MC does not give the FMC permission to cross the line with his friend yet trusts his girlfriend and friend to make their own decisions without intervention. On one path, even if the MC chose not to share the dream he had about the FMC having sex with Cornell, the FMC later teases the MC about possibly doing naughty things with Cornell and says that maybe he'll get excited about it like he did about his dream. Then if the MC sends a text to Julia in the hospital that she's a big girl and can make her own decisions, she immediately after rides Cornell's dick in his hospital bed. However, even if the MC sends a text to Julia explicitly saying that she needs to shut down any sexual advances from Cornell, when the MC next speaks to Julia she talks as if she just had sex with Cornell (despite the MC witnessing Cornell alone in his hospital bed watching porn on his phone). So similar to ETBA, I feel that the cuck and sharing paths were the most carefully and coherently constructed in PE, whereas the other paths (the ones more or less involving monogamy or cheating) seemed to make less sense or have less care devoted to them.
