LAMUNATION is an odd case in the VN world, because we can't say that it's really underrated or unpopular, but it still feels underappreciated given its quality. In short, this is one of the better (full-on) comedies you can find in the medium, and has the added benefit of having an average duration (unlike NUKITASHI, or Majikoi for instance) of around 15 hours. If you ever find yourself in the mood to laugh, this is a great choice.
Positive:
- Comedy - If you were to laugh at 1, out of every 10 jokes LAMUNATION has to offer, dislocating your jaw becomes a serious possibility. I don't know how many kinds of humor exist, but most of them are probably here. Memes, puns, dirty jokes, slapstick, toilet humor, breaking the 4th wall, satire, pop culture references, mentioning real life scandals, meta commentary (eroge), and so much more.
- Reversal of expectations - Imagine a "normal" VN: This one breaks all tropes. The protagonist is not the protagonist (not a lot of spotlight), the narrator is a character, the routes feature all the cast and have the same story, character archetypes are all mixed, no coherence in event order or rules of any kind, a recap of what's happened so far, gives you new content instead... You get the picture.
- OST and voice acting - All about difference factor, in particular the electronic dance music (clubs/disco) makes this OST incredibly rare in the VN world. The voice acting is top tier, and really helps bring the comedic side of things to life.
- Translation - Must have been a lot of work, because there's so much different material to cover, but the translation is very good. Even the difficult (and not always clever) wordplay has an acceptable English counterpart. Feels like going the extra mile, and that's very welcome.
Negative:
- 2 main problems: The first is that a lot of the comedy is based on references, that are old or simply become less relevant/popular as the years go by (ex: mentioning Teletubbies controversy). If you don't understand said references, the VN loses value. The second is that this is a one trick pony. It can execute said trick in multiple and original ways, but it's still delivering just one thing.
Score: LAMUNATION is a 7/10, and a good VN, highly recommended if you want to have a laugh. You should note however, that an audience that understands most of the references presented, is the target here. There's a very good chance that some material just flies over your head, and leaves you puzzled.
(H-scenes have quantity, tags - twins, harem, twin sister incest -, and dialogue going for them. You can unlock everything from the start menu. They were better than expected.)
Positive:
- Comedy - If you were to laugh at 1, out of every 10 jokes LAMUNATION has to offer, dislocating your jaw becomes a serious possibility. I don't know how many kinds of humor exist, but most of them are probably here. Memes, puns, dirty jokes, slapstick, toilet humor, breaking the 4th wall, satire, pop culture references, mentioning real life scandals, meta commentary (eroge), and so much more.
- Reversal of expectations - Imagine a "normal" VN: This one breaks all tropes. The protagonist is not the protagonist (not a lot of spotlight), the narrator is a character, the routes feature all the cast and have the same story, character archetypes are all mixed, no coherence in event order or rules of any kind, a recap of what's happened so far, gives you new content instead... You get the picture.
- OST and voice acting - All about difference factor, in particular the electronic dance music (clubs/disco) makes this OST incredibly rare in the VN world. The voice acting is top tier, and really helps bring the comedic side of things to life.
- Translation - Must have been a lot of work, because there's so much different material to cover, but the translation is very good. Even the difficult (and not always clever) wordplay has an acceptable English counterpart. Feels like going the extra mile, and that's very welcome.
Negative:
- 2 main problems: The first is that a lot of the comedy is based on references, that are old or simply become less relevant/popular as the years go by (ex: mentioning Teletubbies controversy). If you don't understand said references, the VN loses value. The second is that this is a one trick pony. It can execute said trick in multiple and original ways, but it's still delivering just one thing.
Score: LAMUNATION is a 7/10, and a good VN, highly recommended if you want to have a laugh. You should note however, that an audience that understands most of the references presented, is the target here. There's a very good chance that some material just flies over your head, and leaves you puzzled.
(H-scenes have quantity, tags - twins, harem, twin sister incest -, and dialogue going for them. You can unlock everything from the start menu. They were better than expected.)
