VN - Ren'Py - Netori A Live [v0.35] [Ulith]

Okay, I played v0.35 and decided to leave some thoughts. Ulith told me to post a review on F95, so I created an account.

I've been following and intermittently supporting Ulith since his first work. I think he's embraced some of the same cultural influences as me, which makes his work so unique.

Ulith started off making all the mistakes that a newbie writer can make, but every time I come back and download the game, I see clear improvements. The models, the rendering, the writing, and the new technologies he tries... Ulith combines numerous skills into his beautiful models, creating an amazing spectacle at a low cost.

Most people struggle to change once they find their comfort zone. Ulith's changes might be subtle, like minor tweaks to a model, but he never stops.

This game respects the source material while deconstructing each character through a fresh perspective. Everyone's reactions are unexpected yet logical. But what truly pleases me is Ulith's original characters.

When Ulith announced he was making a fan game, I was worried he would compromise to appeal to the market. But ultimately he quelled my fears, he absolutely didn't just download the model from the internet. Instead, it was carefully crafted. I haven't seen a model of the same character that can compare to his. His MC remains so captivating, with top-tier charisma, and the female characters are still just as cool. I believe he's still doing what he loves.

Ulith's work is almost revolutionary for an NTR game. He could have chosen an easier path, even make much more profit than he does now, without encountering hardships. Like using mind control, or lowering everyone's IQ, turning everyone into a slut, which is what most NTR games do.

But I can say he chose the most challenging route, a story that I've never seen or heard before. He isn't afraid to give the original protagonist Shido, a respectable character arc, and he does even better. He doesn't destroy characters. Instead, through brilliant plot arrangements and MC's charm, he manages to achieve an NTR outcome.

An outstanding lead character is replaced by an even more outstanding lead; I can't question the MC's validity in this story. Even if you have no interest in NTR, you could still enjoy this game. I believe the MC could reach a happy ending for everyone (although that seems somewhat against the spirit of NTR).

Considering the level of difficulty in what Ulith is doing, I understand why he struggled and didn't update for months. He's basically a pioneer.

Now he is back, with huge improvements once again, finding the correct balance between his wants and needs. In this latest story, he portrays every aspect of the complex Kurumi perfectly, and also makes the MC's personality more real, The new BGM is fantastic. I just love him too much.

Welcome back, Ulith.

4.5/5 stars.

Overall, a good story and interesting characters. I've never seen/read Date A Live before, so i don't know how faithful it is to the original work. The renders are really good, having a different shader for the characters in comparison to other Koikatsu games really makes this distinct, the expression of the characters are good and the poses and angles you use in the renders are pretty good as well.

The story is interesting and kept me engaged, however, the worst part of the game, is how the story is told. I really think this game needs more meat on the dialogues, things happen to fast, not because of the script, but more about how the script is told, most scenes have a small amount of text, making some parts of the story feel rushed, the worst example of that, is the h-scenes, most of them consisting of one line of dialogue and showing one render or animation, than changing positions to do the same until the end, making them really short and not much interesting to see. Also, this vn needs some better transitions between scenes, having a short cut or an skippable transition makes it quite confusing to follow.

The other thing i don't like, is the absence of sounds. I don't care that much about music, but some ambient sounds could do wonders to the game, and would fit pretty nicely to the aesthetic, I also think some sex sounds will be nice, but only if you extend the h-scenes a bit more.

TL;DR: Overall, this vn is a pretty good read if you like Netori, but falls apart a bit in how it tells you it's own story.

the game is actually a pretty good parody of date a live so far, which i can't say for a lot of parody games. i also like the cunning personality of the MC which is refreshing. there are like 3 sex scenes and the animations are pretty good for a koikatsu game. can't wait to see more

I absolutely adored it! It stands out as one of the finest visual novels I've ever experienced, particularly in its faithful recreation of a beloved anime. The writing is exceptional, seamlessly integrating new characters into the existing narrative while maintaining a deep respect for the source material. It's a testament to the creators' dedication and talent.

Story:
It's a bit a confusing a first. I only watched an anime. Based on the storyline, there's a gap of time/loop holes between the shido and his girls. Thus there's a chance of interaction between our protagonist and main heroines. What i can share it's more heavier on romance and not heavily on corruption . I hope there's more selection of pathway etc.

Art/Animation:
So far the animations are pretty promising. I hope there's would be more kinks, outfits and fetishes would be introduce in future. Lovely perspective on our protagonist.

Overall/Conclusion:
It's nice to have a netori game. There's too many netorare games , finally i can feel how to be a decent bad guy. Thank you.

I'll give it a 3/5 stars. The main female character (Hakurya) has an amazing design. I cannot state enough how much I enjoy her look; an absolute 10/10. The few scenes that are there seem to be pretty good as well.

But... on the negative side, the story is a bit confusing and there seems to be a lot lost in translation. The story and dialogue is difficult to follow for the most part, with some of it making little sense. The game could benefit from a translator or dialogue editor that smoothed everything out and explained the story better. Also there is one scene where you are in school and a classmate comes up to you. Instead of a character model (using a Koikatsu model or whatever the dev uses), he is literally a low-res .png. It was a bit silly.

Overall, I love Hakurya's design. Some of the other characters are okay, and the scenes are pretty good (I do agree with the other reviewer saying that some sort of meaningful dialogue would be nice during the sex scenes). There is a lot to be worked on, especially regarding the story and dialogue, but it definitely has lots of potential. Hopefully the dev keeps working on it, possibly gets a translator or editor, and adds more to the game. I hope to see more in the future!

I love this idea that your doing and very much hope that you keep up the good work. I also love the oc you've made to go with the mc. Her look and design is amazing. The vibe the mc gives of is 10\10. I'm very eager to see what comes next.

So far a lot of broken english, no narration or conversation during sex scenes and the plot is all over the place. Hopefully it gets better over time because there's currently nothing really here and netori is very underrated.

edit 0.25 ver: the story is still an empty mess, scenes are non existent to a certain extent and the main theme of netori is little to none as not much happens with each update