It might seem like I'm hella late to the party, but in truth I'm just a lazy broad who doesn't like writing when she doesn't have to. (Hell, I don't like doing anything when I don't have to. Umaru is my spirit animal.) NekoPara is totally worth writing about though, and I cannot express enough how much I adore Sayori's little cat crew. I totally caved and bought physical copies for both games when I got the chance. I missed out on the vol. 1 LE due to IRL shenanigans, but at least I got vol. 0 and its artbook.
Actually, I've known about Sayori for quite some time. So when I heard she made a game I got an instant tingly sensation in my naughty bits.
I mean, her regular artwork was already really, really, nice to look at.
Seriously. Sayori's girls look so soft and squishy and adorbs that I think I'd contract diabetes from a single cuddle session. (Kiririn touch mode is GO!)
She also makes THE cutest outfits for her illustrations. For years, Chocola and Vanilla have rocked some pretty stylin' threads that look fabulous both on AND off. Sometimes their outfits are so good you totally forget there's a tit or two hanging around out in the open. Hell, Sayori could drape the two in just ribbons and they'd still look well dressed.
Clothes on, clothes off, it's always win-win when it comes to Sayori.
But enough gushing about the artist, let's get to talking about the games! NekoPara vol. 1 and 0 are rather linear eroge. But what sets them apart is that they're not just nukige with ridiculously nice art, they utilize what's known as the e-mote system to make the character portraits move and jiggle in realtime. (And if that's not enough, you can make them jiggle on command by pressing P to bounce. It's cathartic.) It looks REALLY nice, much nicer than just having a static portrait with a moving mouthflap. If you've seen some of the nicer ero animations done in After Effects, it kind of looks like that. It's a REALLY nice touch that I'd like to see more projects utilize because it looks really, REALLY nice in the visual novel format. Really!
Fun fact: Dengeki Flat Climax also uses a similar presentational style, and it looks REALLY nice with most characters, especially Kirino and Shana. Shana's animations look gorgeous.)
Story-wise, the games are extremely linear:
In vol. 1 you're not even given an option to ejaculate in or out or around like most nukige offer, but it doesn't matter. The story's mostly cute and fluffy, but it totally works here since it's written as more of a romantic comedy than a straight nukige. Really, you could enjoy the story even without the H scenes. The characters interact well enough with each other that it helps carry the plot through to the ending without the reader getting too bored.
It's a bit hard to judge the plot since it's clearly meant to serve as the introduction to a series, and it establishes a lot of likeable characters, but it's not all that long nor complex. At the same time, it's because the cast is rather likeable that it's a bummer that the game ends so soon. For what it's worth, it IS written rather well: The plot's paced reasonably well. You will also contract the diabetus while reading, and that is definitely the sign of a solid writing job. In this genre, you sometimes take for granted how important it is that a decent story is established, since a good setting and use of language can be just as hot as bare naked pussies.
Ha.
Now, while vol. 1 was a pretty solid product, vol. 0 manages to be just as good, if not slightly better:
In vol. 0, the focus rewinds to what life at the Minazuki household was like shortly before Kashou leaves to start up the bakery. This includes a better glimpse into the characters of the other 4 catgirls that hang around with Shigure. NekoPara is written rather well, relying on solid (yet simple) characterization to help establish relationships between each character, and using these relationships to help tell a story. In granting the other 5 characters more screen time, there's a lot more variety that goes into each scene without the plot becoming too eclectic. Each character also has their charms, so it's always fun watching them all interact with each other.
This had me dying.
Above, I mentioned how vol. 1 had good enough writing that the plot could be carried out and still enjoyable even without the sex scenes. (Kind of like "mezzo forte".) In vol. 0, we get a chance to see just how strong this writing is because there aren't any sex scenes to distract from the story. And sure enough, this game is just as enjoyable as the first. (Instead of being cute and sexy, the game is now 95% cute with 5% sexy, and it makes the risk of contracting diabetus even greater. This is not a bad thing.)
What also makes the game great is that the animations in the e-mote system have been improved a little since vol. 1. The characters are little more expressive now beyond just moving around the screen. (This is noticeable the second you watch the scene where Shigure wakes up the twins.) My only major gripe with this game's graphics is that the game now has an exit icon fixed at the top-right corner which is kinda distracting. Sayori's great artwork is still in full force here, although there's far more SD pieces than full illustrations this time around. (Not like it's a bad thing though. It all still looks great.)
Personally speaking, if you were a little weirded out by the spontaneous sexytimes of vol. 1, you might appreciate vol. 0 a little more since it's slightly more tame. While Chocola and Vanilla don't come on too strong in vol. 1, vol.0 is more of an ecchi comedy than an outright nukige. I mean, the kitty titties are still there, but that's all you're getting this time around.
Another thing that's enjoyable of vol. 0: You get to see more of the other four catgirls. There's nothing wrong with the twins, but the other four also have distinct personalities that are really fun to watch. I know I mentioned this previously, but it's worth repeating. For years, I really liked Chocola, but vol. 1 made me appreciate Vanilla more due to her wit, and vol. 0 bumped Coconut from Chocola-tier to top-tier-neko-waifu because of how awesome she is. (She has a great physique, she has a great personality, her heterochromia is cute like Sega Saturn's, her everything is overall cute, and she looks so adorably cuddly and soft and boingy and ugggggggggggh I need to lay down.)
Also, I got to see my top-tier-neko-waifu nekkid, so super bonus points there.
Overall, it's not hard to see what the buzz is about with these two games. And being a Sayori fan, I'm happy to see her catgirls come to life in this wonderful manner. It's a nice feeling when someone you like finds success. (Like when she got married. I was totally surprised to find Sayori got married!)
That said, if you haven't played these games yet, or don't even know who Sayori is, what are you waiting for? Go lose yourself in some marvelous pussies.
