If you’ve been with HD since mid-’07 you may remember me ranting about Bullet Butlers prior to it coming out last summer. Well, I finally installed it earlier this week (in the process of working on a “2007 eroge year in review” post), and it took me by the scruff of the neck in the way that no game (or novel) has in a very long time, pulled me in, and refused to let me out until I finished. It’s a long game. I finally just got through one of the major story arcs, and am pausing to post this before diving back in – I expect to be finished with the whole thing by the end of the weekend, at which point an exhaustive review will be forthcoming. In the mean time please forgive the lack of updates while I indulge myself a bit longer… a YouTube embed of the Bullet Butlers OP can be found below:
For those interested the game’s Erogamescape page can be found here. I’ll say this, prior to the full review: this is the best-written visual novel I have ever played (or read, or experienced – pick a verb). It’s probably not the all time best out there, but if you like heroic heroes, fantasy novels with deep, intricate settings, high romance, and plots that weave together like a Chinese puzzle box, this is a game I can’t recommend highly enough.
I’ll be back in a few (dozen) hours…
*wipes away tears left over from the Valeria ending*
January 14 Update: I finished the final route last night this morning at 4:30 AM. Review coming soon, after I can catch a bit of shut-eye…
take some time off and watch some a daily show!
Heh, that’s funny… I just finished the Valeria route as well (and I also found myself getting a little teary). I enjoyed Ayakashibito, but this grabbed me a lot more from the start.
Good to see you’re still alive!
Yeah, we all have times when we cannot resist immersing ourselves in a videogame…I do that a lot when I have free time all for myself, hehehe!
Enjoy the game, looking forward to the review! ^_^
Curious – how easily could this be adapted into an anime? If the story’s as good as you say and the ero-content is easily separated, it’s about the only chance non-Japanese literate fans would have to experience it.
>>CMWilly
Done and done. :3
>>Dagger
I’m not sure if I can bear to go back to Ayakashibito after this, though it seems like the next best thing (other than the novels) to sate my appetite for more, given the pace at which Propeller’s games come out. I wonder if they’d consider doing a sequel, or another game set in the same universe.
>>Y
Alive, and trying to stay that way (no thanks to this game for depriving me of precious sleep). >:O
>>L.C
I really didn’t have the free time to do this, to be honest, but it kind of forced me to regardless of whether I had the time or not. I guess it’s my addictive personality to blame… it’s probably a good thing the game did end, else I’d still be with it now instead of typing this. orz
>>Richard “Pocky” Kim
I enjoyed it very, very much – perhaps too much, if that’s possible. It may just be that it filled the gaping void of fantasy literature I’ve been lacking for the past few years, but man – great stuff.
>>Kurushimi
Now that I’ve finished the game I’d still say it would make a good anime adaptation, though I think only a studio like Production I.G could do it justice – in spirit it’s a bit like a fantasy version of Ghost in the Shell, only with more romance (it’s really not like that at all, but it’s an easy comparison). If anything would hinder an anime conversion it would be that the character dialogue is at times a bit too literary, and would need to be trimmed for conversion to a more actively visual medium.
There’s a faint chance the game could see an English release… here’s hoping.
I can understand that. I’ve been playing a little Mass Effect recently, and it reminded me how much I missed good sci-fi RPGs. ^_^;;
お疲れ様！
I’m done too! Looking forward to your review. Yeah, as much as I’d kill to see this as an anime, it’d be easily ruined if they didn’t at least give it a good budget.
>>Richard “Pocky” Kim
I saw some footage from Mass Effect recently and was really impressed, I didn’t know next-gen systems were capable of that kind of graphic pyrotechnics. Yet another reason to get an Xbox 360 (and a TV to display it on).
>>Dagger
Engaging in a bit of hypothetical fantasizing, if they do make it into an anime I wonder how they would deal with incorporating information from the secondary character routes into the main story. I don’t think Bullet Butlers would have nearly the trouble with streamlining multiple routes into a single narrative that other visual novels have had, but there would still be challenges.
Haha, I was actually thinking about that too. The hardest part to keep would be the Gustave backstory, but I think it’d be doable… they could justify it by using him as a sub-boss and following what happens in [CENSORED]’s route with him, but ending things earlier (with [CENSORED FOR SPOILERS]).
Looking back over it, actually, I’m even more impressed at how well the game comes together as a whole… you really do need to play the [CENSORED] routes first. It’s remarkable that it doesn’t creak under its own weight (unlike Ayakashibito, IMO).
Have you seen the Bale x Dark!Selma wallpaper/short story-riff at the official site? Awesome stuff.
>>Dagger
On the off chance that this does get licensed I’m trying to keep too many spoilers from leaking, pardon the edit.
I think your suggestion for incorporating Gustave’s story would be a good way to do it, though to fit everything in the series would have to be at least 26 episodes, I think. Probably not too likely unless it manages to amass a Fate-class following (here’s hoping!).
I agree regarding the game coming together remarkably well – every time I thought the writer was introducing a new character or concept on the fly merely as a cheap dramatic gimmick he actually went back and made me care about whatever it was, which is no mean trick for a game like this.
I think the final route could’ve relied even a bit more on the others than it did, but narratively it’s definitely more mature in that respect than just about anything else I’ve played.
I love that Bale x Selma wallpaper, I’m using it on my machine right now as I type this. :3
Working on the review, should have it out tonight (maybe) or tomorrow (for sure).
It is definitely a pretty game, and the writing is pretty good, too.
It’s nothing mind-blowing or super-innovative, but it’s definitely enjoyable, and a fine entry into a genre that is pretty barren.