I’ve downloaded this Visual Novel and played it a bit a while ago (which according to my youtube video is December 2014). But, for some reason or another, I never really managed to finish a single route until today.
And now that I’ve finished one, all I can say is, I should have played this Visual Novel ages ago. ^^
For a fanmade VN, this is quite well made. The Saki route (of course! its the first route I’ve tried!) is surprisingly entertaining. It even contained a nice hypothesis about the “Miyanaga family” and of course the ever popular question, “what happened to Goldfish?”. As I read the Saki route, I’m surprised that the hypothesis posed by the Visual Novel is actually plausible.
In any case, I’m getting ahead of myself.
The game puts you in the shoes of Teru at the end of the National Tournament. In this VN, “Shiraitodai lost the team tournament but Teru won the individual one.” Not like this fact affects anything in this setting which is just a damn shame.
Instead the visual novel revolves around a festival that Shiraitodai is hosting. And of course, they asked the teams that are still in Tokyo for help in the preparation.
And thus the plot ball rolls….
In any case, for those who haven’t played it yet, I recorded my play through of the Saki route and uploaded it to youtube. So if for some reason you’re having trouble finding or downloading the VN, you can check it out here. The videos are also contained in the spoiler tags in this post so just click to watch.
For my personal comments please scroll way down since it contain spoilers for the VN.
[su_spoiler title=”Part I of Saki Route “][su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYTUdODDPJk&list=PLSVJIHJhmR1G0vDSxqIBDad32g0m6GgU3&index=1″ width=”300″ height=”220”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KU7-A7trviQ[/su_youtube][/su_spoiler]
[su_spoiler title=”Part II of Saki Route “][su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVckx4gjwWI&index=2&list=PLSVJIHJhmR1G0vDSxqIBDad32g0m6GgU3″ width=”300″ height=”220”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KU7-A7trviQ[/su_youtube][/su_spoiler]
[su_spoiler title=”Part III of Saki Route “][su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plU3qU9Rfhk&list=PLSVJIHJhmR1G0vDSxqIBDad32g0m6GgU3&index=3″ width=”300″ height=”220”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KU7-A7trviQ[/su_youtube][/su_spoiler]
[su_spoiler title=”Part IV of Saki Route “][su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPjRuUoGpH0&list=PLSVJIHJhmR1G0vDSxqIBDad32g0m6GgU3&index=4″ width=”300″ height=”220”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KU7-A7trviQ[/su_youtube][/su_spoiler]
[su_spoiler title=”Part V of Saki Route “][su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dY01k7bZNCg&list=PLSVJIHJhmR1G0vDSxqIBDad32g0m6GgU3&index=5″ width=”300″ height=”220”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KU7-A7trviQ[/su_youtube][/su_spoiler]
[su_spoiler title=”Part VI of Saki Route “][su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNTIOH4gS_U&list=PLSVJIHJhmR1G0vDSxqIBDad32g0m6GgU3&index=6″ width=”300″ height=”220”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KU7-A7trviQ[/su_youtube][/su_spoiler]
[su_spoiler title=”Part VII of Saki Route “][su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7nsrJinWLE&index=7&list=PLSVJIHJhmR1G0vDSxqIBDad32g0m6GgU3″ width=”300″ height=”220”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KU7-A7trviQ[/su_youtube][/su_spoiler]
[su_spoiler title=”Part VIII of Saki Route “][su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAbhhMHSfsg&list=PLSVJIHJhmR1G0vDSxqIBDad32g0m6GgU3&index=8″ width=”300″ height=”220”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KU7-A7trviQ[/su_youtube][/su_spoiler]
[su_spoiler title=”Part IX of Saki Route “][su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv3Xk6hlkp8&index=9&list=PLSVJIHJhmR1G0vDSxqIBDad32g0m6GgU3″ width=”300″ height=”220”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KU7-A7trviQ[/su_youtube][/su_spoiler]
[su_spoiler title=”Part X of Saki Route “][su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDIGFqgbb_w&index=10&list=PLSVJIHJhmR1G0vDSxqIBDad32g0m6GgU3″ width=”300″ height=”220”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KU7-A7trviQ[/su_youtube][/su_spoiler]
[su_spoiler title=”Part XI of Saki Route “][su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=885dc14NAYY&index=11&list=PLSVJIHJhmR1G0vDSxqIBDad32g0m6GgU3″ width=”300″ height=”220”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KU7-A7trviQ[/su_youtube][/su_spoiler]
[su_spoiler title=”Part XII of Saki Route “][su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zosz1dyPW9Y&list=PLSVJIHJhmR1G0vDSxqIBDad32g0m6GgU3&index=12″ width=”300″ height=”220”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KU7-A7trviQ[/su_youtube][/su_spoiler]
[su_spoiler title=”Part XIII of Saki Route “][su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPNvaMTeQOE&index=13&list=PLSVJIHJhmR1G0vDSxqIBDad32g0m6GgU3″ width=”300″ height=”220”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KU7-A7trviQ[/su_youtube][/su_youtube][/su_spoiler]
[su_spoiler title=”Part XIV of Saki Route “][su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tm12sU1A8U&list=PLSVJIHJhmR1G0vDSxqIBDad32g0m6GgU3&index=14″ width=”300″ height=”220”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KU7-A7trviQ[/su_youtube][/su_spoiler]
[su_spoiler title=”Part XV of Saki Route “][su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZeKPA1SSX0&index=15&list=PLSVJIHJhmR1G0vDSxqIBDad32g0m6GgU3″ width=”300″ height=”220”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KU7-A7trviQ[/su_youtube][/su_spoiler]
[su_spoiler title=”Part XVI of Saki Route “][su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfBCIYehpt4&index=16&list=PLSVJIHJhmR1G0vDSxqIBDad32g0m6GgU3″ width=”300″ height=”220”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KU7-A7trviQ[/su_youtube][/su_spoiler]
[su_spoiler title=”Part XVII of Saki Route “][su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RB1Y5Ttof70&index=17&list=PLSVJIHJhmR1G0vDSxqIBDad32g0m6GgU3″ width=”300″ height=”220”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KU7-A7trviQ[/su_youtube][/su_spoiler]
[su_spoiler title=”Part XVIII of Saki Route “][su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FALyiPpREKw&index=18&list=PLSVJIHJhmR1G0vDSxqIBDad32g0m6GgU3″ width=”300″ height=”220”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KU7-A7trviQ[/su_youtube][/su_spoiler]
[su_spoiler title=”Part XIX of Saki Route “][su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBH4cTJ-2p0&list=PLSVJIHJhmR1G0vDSxqIBDad32g0m6GgU3&index=19″ width=”300″ height=”220”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KU7-A7trviQ[/su_youtube][/su_spoiler]
[su_spoiler title=”Part XX of Saki Route “][su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3xunJvPAwI&index=20&list=PLSVJIHJhmR1G0vDSxqIBDad32g0m6GgU3″ width=”300″ height=”220”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KU7-A7trviQ[/su_youtube][/su_spoiler]
[su_spoiler title=”Part XXI of Saki Route “][su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FS3eVsha7Ok&list=PLSVJIHJhmR1G0vDSxqIBDad32g0m6GgU3&index=21″ width=”300″ height=”220”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KU7-A7trviQ[/su_youtube][/su_spoiler]
[su_spoiler title=”Part XXII of Saki Route “][su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMNEPLBE35g&index=22&list=PLSVJIHJhmR1G0vDSxqIBDad32g0m6GgU3″ width=”300″ height=”220”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KU7-A7trviQ[/su_youtube][/su_spoiler]
Walkthrough for the Saki’s best end is this.
- Behind the Bulletin board
- Say Hi
- Invite Saki to that Place
- I’ll go myself
- Go to the bookstore with Saki
- Look.
- Because of this festival.
- No.
- Look for her outside of school
- Don’t know.
- Reject Haramura-san
If you’re done with the VN or just want to read spoilers, scroll way down for my personal comments.
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First, thing first. I haven’t ventured out in the other routes yet, but I think this visual novel is made or conceived when the burning wheelchair page was released because a great amount of content was related to that. And considering Ritz-sensei release schedule, there is still nothing that contradict the theory espoused by the VN, so let’s dissect it shall we.
In the VN, goldfish as the fans have dubbed her is Teru and Saki’s cousin from her mother side. And contrary to many popular fan theory regarding “Demon Lord Saki”, its Teru who is jealous of Saki and Goldfish relationship than the other way around.
I personally find this more palatable than Saki being jealous of Goldfish. We did have a small scene of Saki and Goldfish at the pier and from the brief glimpse we have, I have a feeling that the two of them were quite close. Saki was even crying after that dream.
Of course, at the same time, I have a hard time thinking of Teru as a jealous person, but we haven’t seen any intense emotion from Teru ever… Most of the time, our elder Miyanaga emulates a rock.
As for the estrangement.
According to the VN, it happened because the hospital that Goldfish was checked in burned. Saki tried to go in the fire but Teru stopped her. Unbeknownst to Saki, Teru also tried to get in to rescue Goldfish but the fire was too widespread and hot that Teru couldn’t do it and almost became a victim herself.
Because of this incident, Saki became very depressed that she won’t come out of her room and won’t even eat. Teru afraid that Saki would die said that Saki won’t be her little sister anymore. Saki who at this point is very depressed said that its okay because she will be and be with Goldfish. Saki also said some very bad things to Teru. “If Onee-chan didn’t stop me, she would still be alive.” ~ thing going on.
Teru was very hurt decided to go with her mother to Tokyo.
Saki, of course, immediately regretted her words but Teru was already gone when she came to her senses.
…. The past flashbacks is pretty sad all around. There are cute scenes though like how Saki and Teru interacted when they were kids which are cute. And the fact, that Teru is in-love with Saki when they were little kids. That was cute even if Teru was angsting about it.
Though, it sort of became uncute since it was the source of Teru’s jealousy. Saki was of course also in-love with Teru but while it shows in her action; Saki doesn’t know it herself because its Saki and she’s oblivious to feelings. Of course, its only when Teru left that Saki realized that she likes Teru in the love-love way.
Its also the reason why Saki cut her hair.
In the end, due to the Saki and Teru finally talking and spending time with one another. They stop being oblivious idiots pining for each other and become a couple.
Happy Ending all around.
<I personally give this theory. A three out of five. Its certainly plausible. But, I cannot see Saki actually saying bad things to Teru even though I know that Saki admitted that she did something wrong. Supposedly. That and I want Goldfish to be alive and be the boss at the future world cup. Saki would not end until Ritz dies of old age. lol >
Other miscellaneous comment:
- I know that Saki is being portrayed as innocent. Or at least in Teru’s pov, Saki is an innocent lamb that cannot know of sex or lewd things. But, who was suspicious when Saki said that NODOKA recommended a yuri incest book. Yuri, I can sort of get. Yuri incest …. pffft. Saki you picked that book on your own.
- Awai maybe an idiot in mahjong but her antics are fun to read. I would like to pair her for this route with Sumire. Someone needs to make that person loosen up. … Though, I do wonder how Awai managed to get something that increased libido anyway? lol
- I really like the reoccurring motif of the Sakura flower keychain as it ties the past and present.
- Considering some choices that forks other path, the great conflict of Teru and Saki’s route is for them to have some courage and face each other. (Which fits Saki’s canon personality, though as I’ve said Teru actual problem and actual personality in canon is still a cipher. ) Heck, when you make a bad end. You do it not because you have made Saki irreconcilably mad at you but because you wasted a perfect opportunity and now too cowardly to face her.
- I don’t know why Teru has to transfer to Kiyosumi for a few months, specially since she is in her third year already. They could have done the events in the break between school years.
Anyway, I greatly enjoyed this route. Thanks for yuritime for making it and Trueend for translating it.
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So Saki as a demon king an interesting idea. I must say the captains match has been progressing at a surprising rate. *knocks on wood*
Lots of new powers and I've decided definitely not Uzusan the captains power won't recover in time if they go all out and the rest of the team is either average or stinks. I can't wait to see what happens will Saki only observe during the west seat or will we see something new.
I can't really see rishan working so long as saki shows that she is aware of it
I've always thought that its very unlikely that Uzusan would go considering their team composition and their captain's action just make it likelier. To be honest, I'm wondering if Uzusan sort of function as a millstone for Kiyosumi and a way for Rinkai to shine in this semifinal match.. And speaking of Rinkai, they are undoubtedly the strongest team in this tournament. But, that's what you get for filling your roster with international superstars.
As for Saki. She's still not doing anything much but I expected her to lose it completely when Nelly got a Rinshan Kaihou and I'm actually happy that she;s not falling to pieces? Even though, Saki could do much more though.
I'm actually wondering if I should actually tackle that match in real time and not just wait for it to finish. Ritz can't sneak in +/- shenanigan when we have Saki's reaction to everything, right?
Well I guess Hisa's hell wait payed off again
As for +/- Ritz is very good at sneaking it in even if t takes a yakuman however I don't think it would be very useful.
+/- is amazing but for Saki and Teru it needs to go away for a while.
Also we get Saki's reaction from time to time but only surface thoughts there is so much about Saki that we don't know besides +/- is something she can do almost automatically
To be honest, +/- zero is one of those broken powers that gets increasingly scarier the more I look at it. When we start the show, its kind of like parlor trick that while showing how skilled and strong Saki is seems kinda useless. After all, if your goal is to win – a skill to never increase/lose a point would have niche usefulness. (Though truthfully, even then its going to be broken if Kiyosumi ever gives Saki a huge advantage at the beginning of the match).
But, when I think about it more. It seems that +/- zero isn't really Saki's power. Its just the end result? The very first episode established that the +/- zero is really just an arbitrary number that Saki mentally (unconsciously) assigns to herself. And if Saki can shift her mental thinking a bit, she has a ridiculous amount of flexibility there.
And the captain match is pretty fun. Even if its taking like 1 chapter per month. Uzusan is going to rapidly run out of steam at this rate though….And then, I think Nelly would show her mettle. As for Kyouko, the moment that Saki became aware of her, I have a feeling that her entire plan is going to be hijacked. Relying on someone else reaction is a tricky thing, the moment that certain someone discovers you are doing it. And its not like Kyouko is being subtle here.
Also, there are certain parts of the game when Saki became very hard to read or have confusing reactions. Like, last match's "I'm going to release an aura of doom but my ultimate goal is to lose point "confusing. So yeah…
When I said +/- needs to go I meant that the the number Saki usually assigns to it needs to go. Also in a prior post you mentioned tackling this match in real time, how?
I'll probably review it per chapter released .though considering how little each pages each chapter has maybe every two or three chapters…. My only problem with that is the fact that I might not have the full picture mahjong wise. For example. I still have no idea what the hell is Nelly's power. Some sort of power copying? Though its heavily implied to be flow control previously… so I'm expecting its related to that.
Then, I don't know if Ritz will fit some sort of background shenanigan once again.
Meh. I'll start thinking about it when I finish episode 8 of Euphonium. That and my one-shot fanfiction related to it. That episode really inspires fan-related work for some reason. I'm apparently not immune. ^^