Visual Novel Review: Without Within

Without Within
"As life pressures her toward giving up, will she forget why she pursued this craft in the first place?" 
Available for PC, Mac, and Linux

"Vinty has been getting nowhere with her calligraphy. Her confidence has sunk to an all time low. As life pressures her toward giving up, will she forget why she pursued this craft in the first place?"                                                                                                     ~ InvertMouse

Introduction

Without Within is a short visual novel released by Indie developer InvertMouse which was released free of charge as a gift from the developer as a thank you for the support of their fans. It was released less than a month later on steam as a free download with a purchasable DLC which includes a soundtrack and digital art book.

Story

Without Within is about a young woman named Vinty, who juggles the grind of her daily life and her dreams of being a famous calligrapher (The art of decorative handwriting). The story takes place during a day in the life of Vinty as she tries to make her work known to others.

Music and Art

The art style's main focus is simple and cute Chibi sprites for Vinty. Sprites for other characters other than the landlord of Vinty's apartment are completely absent, however the background images don't get boring as they often change according to the scenery and don't overstay their welcome.

The soundtrack is only a few pieces of music long and don't really portray any feeling other than trying to fit with the current scenario, though the music isn't particularly bad either.

Replayability and Completion

While this visual novel has a fair number of choices for its very short length, the endings which, all but one, are considered bad endings, don't give much choice, as one choice will either continue the story to the next set of choices, or near instantly stop at a bad end. There really isn't any need for save states as its so short that skipping dialogue to the next choice wastes little time. There is no completion bonus or replayability after one playthrough of the good end.

Verdict: 4/10

Positives:

+ It's Free

+ Steam Support

+ Optional DLC for Soundtrack and Art Book

+ Good sentiment from the developer

Negatives

+ Extremely Short

+ Bad Ends seem too abrupt

+ No added routes or bonuses for completion

Final Words / Closing Opinion

Without Within is a fine sentiment from a developer thankful for the support of their fans, though the game feels like it was rushed or unfinished. a good quick read if you are bored or want to fill your steam library. Not worth paying money for, but worth the free download.

Visual Novel Review: Go!Go!Nippon!

Go!Go!Nippon! Review
"The week you spend in Japan will certainly be memorable!" 
Available for PC

"Our protagonist is a fan of Japanese anime and games. He makes friends with some Japanese people on the internet, and decides to stay with them for a week.

Thrilled by the prospect of a week's sightseeing in Japan, he touches down in the airport, only to discover that his new friends -- "Makoto" and "Akira" -- are actually a pair of attractive young sisters!" ~MangaGamer

Go Go Nippon takes a slightly different approach, but does it wander off its own path?

Story

GoGoNippon's story is little and rushed, there's pretty much no way to spoil it since it pretty much has no spoilers. From the start there's no build-up prior to the events, and when you start the game your half-lost.You begin in a plane headed for japan to meet two friends you met online; Akira and Mokoto. Who have offered to allow you to stay with them for a weekend in japan, to which you soon discover are a pair of sisters! 

From there, each of the four days you spend in japan, you choose one of six locations. On the first day, Akira surprises you with Tour Guide costumes for each her and Mokoto, which they wear during the day while your on tour. There are only two routes in the game, and they are determined by where you visit. three of the six locations are guided by Akira, the other three are with Mokoto, who ever you tour with most decides which location you unlock in the final day. There isn't any real plot or character development until the final day, which is only a small amount that seems sudden (especially so for Akira's route).

Music and Art

The art is both professional and simple. While the art for the characters (referring to Makoto and Akira) are professionally done character sprites, other backgrounds are usually photographs with a coat of paint on them to make the fit better with the game, while at the same time its not too fancy and doesn't take away from the characters. Its a decent mix.

There isn't too many pieces of music to keep up with, but they have all different genres for generic happy music to pop, rock, and the music is just generally all over the place. While the music can be rather catchy and very suitable for the more calm and at-home moments, they have a bad habit of being unfitting with the current situation during tour segments.

Replayability and Completion

There are only two routes, and they don't even act as such. The game gives you your heroine depending on the places you visit. Theres no clear indication who will go where with you until you already decided; making the first playthrough feel a bit RNG based. 

Go!Go!Nippon! puts an emphasis on "My First Trip to Japan". The gallery, while holding normally available, ableit limited, images found in-game, it also has a miniature encyclopedia about japan, specifically places you visit in the game with short, yet informative information about different places like Scramble Crossing in Shibuya or Kyoto Studio Park in Kyoto. The replay scenes part of the gallery provides save states to every completed section of the game with an indicator showing who's side of the story it's with, making it easy to relive a specific scene.

Verdict - 6/10

Go!Go!Nippon! is a visual novel that took a swing and a miss approach trying to incorporate educational value that, while not shoved down our throats, kind of takes away from the actual story (what little of it there is). I recommend it only if its available for much less than its regular price and if you really want the goodies from steam cards.

+ Good Visuals
+ Replay Scenes makes revisiting easier
+ Educational but not forced
+ Wide variety of explorative information about Japanese hot-spots

- Music is often unfitting
- Little Replayability
- Minimal Plot and Character Development often felt forced
- Not worth the price