VN Ren'Py Imperial Chronicles [v0.7] [Lazy Monkey]

[Belphegor]

English (translation) is very poor, grammar and spelling mistakes all over the place always really breaks my immersion. Does this get better in later chapters?

No, there's still regular translation mistakes, which is noted in the reviews as the most striking problem for an otherwise very good game. Dev is Russian, and while I hope at some point he'll go through fixing the english mistakes with someone's help, it's a bit annoying that they're not being corrected even after several updates.

So far nearly all the sex scenes (I stopped at the "rape your sleeping elf tutors feet in her sleep") feel SUPER shoehorned in. Again, does this get better?

The tutor elf feet is suuuuper early in the game, so yeah, I'd say it get better. I didn't feel the scenes were really 'shoehorned' but I see what you mean: at that point in the game the sex scene have no plot significance/intertwining and thus come in-universe from the MC being kind of an aimless hedonist manchild (and out-universe, from the dev's need to give sex scenes in a sex game). It get much better later in that regard, as MC get thrust into the plot. It should be noted that you can ignore such scenes if you do not feel like playing a horndog without any standards nor restraint too (or limit them to one such run). Personally I did not care for the tavern girl, and chose the tutor scene only in my magician run.

Honestly I think you should continue the game, just play it like you want, don't feel obligated to go for every sex scene if you don't want to play your character that way, and try to ignore/get over the spelling mistakes. The game is worth a try I'd say, and the very beginning is not where it shine the most.

 

[Loquete]

It all depends on what you expect from this kind of VN. This is not a literary masterpiece with deep characters and a masterfully crafted story, but as an adult game, I think it's very good, especially when compared to others here

It has a more complex, ambitious, and interesting story than 99% of the VNs you can find here. The dialogues are fine, the dev doesn’t try to be pretentious or deep and end up being cringy. The update frequency is perfect, in other good VNs, you have to wait 6 months to a year and that's crazy. Okay, the dev probably has to sacrifice something to provide such frequent updates, maybe less detailed animations or renders in general, but personally, I don't care about that, and the LIs look good. This is not a book, it's important that you can insert yourself into the story, and the choices must matter and in this VN, they really do, you have great control over where the story goes. There's a good balance between rewarding the player and not making it a stupid game where you can’t get any scenes just five minutes after starting.

It's true that the English might not be great because it's not the dev's native language. It's not my native language either, so most of the time I don’t even notice if the writing is bad. I guess for a native speaker this might be more annoying though.

Anyway, this VN is not for everyone, and that's fine. If someone doesn’t like it because they aren’t interested in the characters, medieval fantasy, quality of animations, quality of English, or incest, that’s understandable. But compared to other VNs, I think it should be considered a top game.

 

[Walter Victor]

As a native (American) English speaker, I know just enough Russian to confirm that the translation to English results in several awkward phrases that probably sound a lot better in Russian.

However, I can say that I am blown away by the plot quality. The base story is amazingly interesting for an AVN.

Also, the amount of meaningful choices and paths beggars the imagination. First off, the initial choice between the 3 styles of MC causes scene differences throughout the game. Then you have two ladies to pursue as the MC's wife, or you can ignore them completely. Plus, of course, how you deal with the King (the MC's father) and the MC's older sister makes entire lengthy scenes available or not. In that regard, this game rivals BaDIK for the need for multiple playthroughs. It's got to be a bugger for the developer to keep track of all this. There must be extensive advanced planning, storyboarding and flowcharting to keep this game moving toward its intended completion, whatever that might be.

All in all, an enjoyable experience to play, some petty translation awkwardness be damned.

 

[SARBASST]

Nearly all the reviews talk about amazing writing and plot, so I just wanted to confirm if the writing from the beginning picks up or if people's idea of "really well written" is just different to mine.

English (translation) is very poor, grammar and spelling mistakes all over the place always really breaks my immersion. Does this get better in later chapters?

So far nearly all the sex scenes (I stopped at the "rape your sleeping elf tutors feet in her sleep") feel SUPER shoehorned in. Again, does this get better?

Not trying to rip on the game or dev, just honestly want to know if I should continue on or not.

Yes continue, this game is way better than %80 of all games on the website.

 

[can't_relate]

English (translation) is very poor, grammar and spelling mistakes all over the place always really breaks my immersion. Does this get better in later chapters?

So far nearly all the sex scenes (I stopped at the "rape your sleeping elf tutors feet in her sleep") feel SUPER shoehorned in. Again, does this get better?

The translation is sadly something that can be improved a lot in this game. But if you pay less attention to the grammar and let you brain fill in the gaps, the plot and branching is very complex. Characters are fleshed out and behave like people would in that kind of a setting (they have questionable loyalties). It may even be called the Game of Thrones of AVNs.

Regarding the sex scenes, if you stopped there you're missing out on a LOT. Most of the important LIs haven't even been introduced at that point. Elis is definitely a horn dog to an extent, but most scenes are believable.

 

[n00bPanda]

The translation is sadly something that can be improved a lot in this game. But if you pay less attention to the grammar and let you brain fill in the gaps, the plot and branching is very complex. Characters are fleshed out and behave like people would in that kind of a setting (they have questionable loyalties). It may even be called the Game of Thrones of AVNs.

Regarding the sex scenes, if you stopped there you're missing out on a LOT. Most of the important LIs haven't even been introduced at that point. Elis is definitely a horn dog to an extent, but most scenes are believable.

I believe the translation doesn't disturb us non-native english speakers like myself compare to native speakers that said have you guys ever played early JRPGs? If you guys ever played one you would be fuckin' grateful to Lazy_Monkey for translation that is completely understandable and clear. Also, given how Russians are pretty infamous for their English skill, he is doing a pretty good job in my eyes. Though, ofcourse as I have said, I am non-Native speaker.

 

[icedogg]

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[can't_relate]

I believe the translation doesn't disturb us non-native english speakers like myself compare to native speakers that said have you guys ever played early JRPGs? If you guys ever played one you would be fuckin' grateful to Lazy_Monkey for translation that is completely understandable and clear. Also, given how Russians are pretty infamous for their English skill, he is doing a pretty good job in my eyes. Though, ofcourse as I have said, I am non-Native speaker.

I mean, I'm a non-native english speaker myself and I can fill the gaps in pretty easily. I never said that the translations were better in other games, there is no shortage of shitty games on this site. I'm just saying that Lazy Monkey could benefit from having a native english speaker to proof read the translations, or to come up with english counterparts of russian phrases. That would make the game even more enjoyable than it is right now. Again, IMO Lazy Monkey is making the best games on this site right now (Monkey Business is my favorite of all time).

 

[Krepax]

I'm still undecided on this one. Sure there're many branching storylines, but sometimes the game has a habit of railroading the player on a set path without agency. One such example is the relationship with mom. After the initial look/don't look, there are no more opportunities to prevent descending into an incestuous path with her (either via love or corruption - it doesn't matter).

I can't say I also liked how the current 'coup' plot is handled. Considering that some interesting and powerful figures like Sona or Isis entered the picture, it should have been possible to 'improvise' other solutions than the with me/against me hard choice (although with Isil a "betrayal path" opens up) . Sona claims she's become the most powerful vampire and she lurks in the castle observing. She could have easily killed the 3-4 key figures of the plot in time to prevent the situation to spiral out of control. She's vowed to protect the prince and to be his ally, after all.

Also the whole king poisoning event is handled in a strange way, if the MC refuses to cooperate at first. I don't know if it's due to the translation but, it's not clear if Cass knew all the details beforehand or if she has been manipulated as well; also how Priscilla has been discovered as the real culprit is not clear, nor why she claims to have done it alone, not implicating the others plotters, even in the scenario where the loyalists take back the castle by force (so, there's no reason to cover the accomplices anymore, as they're all dead or imprisoned).

 

[Walter Victor]

I'm still undecided on this one. Sure there're many branching storylines, but sometimes the game has a habit of railroading the player on a set path without agency. One such example is the relationship with mom. After the initial look/don't look, there are no more opportunities to prevent descending into an incestuous path with her (either via love or corruption - it doesn't matter).

I can't say I also liked how the current 'coup' plot is handled. Considering that some interesting and powerful figures like Sona or Isis entered the picture, it should have been possible to 'improvise' other solutions than the with me/against me hard choice (although with Isil a "betrayal path" opens up) . Sona claims she's become the most powerful vampire and she lurks in the castle observing. She could have easily killed the 3-4 key figures of the plot in time to prevent the situation to spiral out of control. She's vowed to protect the prince and to be his ally, after all.

Also the whole king poisoning event is handled in a strange way, if the MC refuses to cooperate at first. I don't know if it's due to the translation but, it's not clear if Cass knew all the details beforehand or if she has been manipulated as well; also how Priscilla has been discovered as the real culprit is not clear, nor why she claims to have done it alone, not implicating the others plotters, even in the scenario where the loyalists take back the castle by force (so, there's no reason to cover the accomplices anymore, as they're all dead or imprisoned).

Well, it doesn't bother me one little bit that Mom is unavoidable, but that's just me.

As for the rest of your post, the choices must matter, because I didn't experience ANY of what you wrote... just didn't happen in my playthrough in the way you described it.

 

[Krepax]

Well, it doesn't bother me one little bit that Mom is unavoidable, but that's just me.

As for the rest of your post, the choices must matter, because I didn't experience ANY of what you wrote... just didn't happen in my playthrough in the way you described it.

Yes, choices do matter. Looking at the game code, >90% of choices affect some variable state and this is imho quite rare and commendable in a AVN. But I feel some parts of the plot are not well explained or it would be logical to expect some other opportunities / consequences for certain actions.

 

[justheretopirate]

The fact is you can kill main character LI in this game and the game acknowledges it and the story diverges (red emperor path) is enough to put this above 95% of other VNs in here.

 

[Filipis]

The fact is you can kill main character LI in this game and the game acknowledges it and the story diverges (red emperor path) is enough to put this above 95% of other VNs in here.

The game acknowledges it by making you lose out on an entire content patch, though, let's be honest now. A content patch where the MC goes down on the Queen Mother. Something that wasn't even acknowledged by the Queen in the 0.7 update, so not perfect by any means.

 

[can't_relate]

Something that wasn't even acknowledged by the Queen in the 0.7 update, so not perfect by any means.

The dev really should have dealt with this better. I know the mom scene got erased or something, but it would have been so much better to not have anything instead. Hope that in 0.8 Queen Mother talks about what happened with Elis.

 

[SARBASST]

I'm still undecided on this one. Sure there're many branching storylines, but sometimes the game has a habit of railroading the player on a set path without agency. One such example is the relationship with mom. After the initial look/don't look, there are no more opportunities to prevent descending into an incestuous path with her (either via love or corruption - it doesn't matter).

I can't say I also liked how the current 'coup' plot is handled. Considering that some interesting and powerful figures like Sona or Isis entered the picture, it should have been possible to 'improvise' other solutions than the with me/against me hard choice (although with Isil a "betrayal path" opens up) . Sona claims she's become the most powerful vampire and she lurks in the castle observing. She could have easily killed the 3-4 key figures of the plot in time to prevent the situation to spiral out of control. She's vowed to protect the prince and to be his ally, after all.

Also the whole king poisoning event is handled in a strange way, if the MC refuses to cooperate at first. I don't know if it's due to the translation but, it's not clear if Cass knew all the details beforehand or if she has been manipulated as well; also how Priscilla has been discovered as the real culprit is not clear, nor why she claims to have done it alone, not implicating the others plotters, even in the scenario where the loyalists take back the castle by force (so, there's no reason to cover the accomplices anymore, as they're all dead or imprisoned).

Don't forget it's 1 dev, and he gives new update every 1,5 to 2 months.

 

[destroyerofassholes]

I believe the translation doesn't disturb us non-native english speakers like myself compare to native speakers that said have you guys ever played early JRPGs? If you guys ever played one you would be fuckin' grateful to Lazy_Monkey for translation that is completely understandable and clear. Also, given how Russians are pretty infamous for their English skill, he is doing a pretty good job in my eyes. Though, ofcourse as I have said, I am non-Native speaker.

This is cope. "My English is bad, so bad English doesn't bug me" isn't really a justification, no offense. I'm an ESL too fwiw.

It's pretty obvious that the dev thinks and writes in Russian and translates somewhat literally to English rather than actually bothering to localize the dialogue. Sayings, idioms, sentence structure and such do not properly translate across langauges when you take everything literally, you need to write from scratch to get a similar meaning which is why localization is not the same thing as a translation. I assume the dev himself is just not that proficient in the language because he'd notice this consciously or not while writing the English version. I don't see what I should be "fuckin' grateful" for.. what relevance do 90's JRPGs even have in this conversation lol.

It just feels unnatural to read, though I can sort of ignore it and "fill in the gaps".

 

[n00bPanda]

This is cope. "My English is bad, so bad English doesn't bug me" isn't really a justification, no offense. I'm an ESL too fwiw.

It's pretty obvious that the dev thinks and writes in Russian and translates somewhat literally to English rather than actually bothering to localize the dialogue. Sayings, idioms, sentence structure and such do not properly translate across langauges when you take everything literally, you need to write from scratch to get a similar meaning which is why localization is not the same thing as a translation. I assume the dev himself is just not that proficient in the language because he'd notice this consciously or not while writing the English version. I don't see what I should be "fuckin' grateful" for.. what relevance do 90's JRPGs even have in this conversation lol.

It just feels unnatural to read, though I can sort of ignore it and "fill in the gaps".

Well, first of I won't accept translation is bad, I didn't say nor saying it is good either, I said it is clear, understandable. You don't need to ponder on sentences if it has second meanings and all, like in most JRPG translations back then. Even to this day DS and Elden Ring loremasters making lots of mistakes because translated text doesn't give the intended meaning of devs.
Second; seems to me you forgot this is a free game. If you played the game, loved it you should be grateful in a way. He could just use the AI or net translator(s) and be done with it in a day. Most ppl wouldn't care, most ppl is here to jerk off. I know localization and translation are diffrent things but 'localization' itself had never been a top demand let alone I suspect it is even in top ten of demands.

 

[justheretopirate]

The game acknowledges it by making you lose out on an entire content patch, though, let's be honest now. A content patch where the MC goes down on the Queen Mother. Something that wasn't even acknowledged by the Queen in the 0.7 update, so not perfect by any means.

Not at all. There are entire scenes with Isis that are missing if you go the Cass route (and married to ISIS)

 

[Filipis]

Not at all. There are entire scenes with Isis that are missing if you go the Cass route (and married to ISIS)

What are you talking about?

If you kill Cass at the end of 0.5 (when she's in your room, late at night, and offers the "ultimatum"), 0.6 has a grand total of 10 renders for that path - you get the coronation, and that's it.

Whereas if you spare Cass at the end of 0.5, the infamous Coup (0.6) happens, and you get a shit ton of unique story bits depending on your previous choices.

I'd say there is no fair comparison. You want more story? Spare Cass.

 

[Youtiy]

I'm not sure why this needs to be said but apparently it does, all the content that people are complaining about. Specifically a certain choice to do with Cass, is still WIP, let's not forget this game is still in active development and these are the newest parts, part's that are getting expanded upon actively, neither of the routes are fully complete yet from what I understand so naturally your either going to see a lack of content or not see certain things since they're either not adapted for whichever path you took yet or were never intended to occur during that path to begin with.

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