kkhohoho
Since: May, 2011
05/26/2014 00:00:00
'Visual novels certainly aren't literature'
Any medium is capable of telling a fine story. Just because something isn't pure written text doesn't mean it can't achieve greatness in it's own right.
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kurosu sleeps: a review of cross channel
Cross Channel might very well be the best visual novel ever written. The problem is that explaining why would require spoilers of massive proportions. So a word of warning that the following will ruin a lot of the twists in the interest of figuring out what makes this game so great.
Most visual novels follow a set path—a generic lead, weak-willed moeblobs, terrible writing and dramatic twists that occasionally border on the exploitative. In Cross Channel, the writing is pretty great, the twists make total sense and throw the story into stark relief and the moeblobs are all well-developed characters who would probably be better off without you. But what makes Cross Channel brilliant is its protaganist, Kurosu Taichi. Somewhere between a monster and a human, longing for human connection while at the same time capable of horrible acts, he might just be the best protaganist in any visual novel ever. Many visual novels work in the spaces between the protaganist and the player, but "controlling" Kurosu Taichi might stand as one of the most fascinating (and occasionally terrifying) experiences I've had in a video game. His decision at the end is horribly tragic, made even more so because even though it is probably what he and everyone else in the story needs it is almost certainly not what he wants. He might not be a good person, but he tried as hard as he could.
So yeah—it's not as famous as Ever17 or Fate/stay night, but Cross Channel remains superior (not to mention that the English patch has the option of cutting out much of the sexual content!) Visual novels certainly aren't literature, but of any game I've played Cross Channel might have come the closest.