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It's finally time for my first visual novel entry! Hello, my name is CrescentValentine, or just CV, for short, and as I stated in my introduction post that I also have a fondness for Visual Novels or as I abbreviate them, "VN"s, for short, and I was originally going to go with my favorite visual novel so far with my first entry, but deciding doing so would just burn me out from wanting to do more of these so I picked a different visual novel that still had great appeal to me and also really enjoyed, NEKOPARA. I should probably mention that all of these visual novels that I play are ones that I have gotten off Steam so they're all the "All Ages" versions, but even still, they can get pretty erotic sometimes and Nekopara falls under this jurisdiction so I warn you to play at your own discretion. Some bull or rather likewise nonsense would probably want me to tell you not to play this game if you are under 18, but I say "Screw that nonsense!". If you want to play something, then PLAY IT! As such, I won't even being hiding anything with a spoiler so if you are looking to make the discovery of this visual novel on your own then please do not read any further than this opening message. But that's enough talk for now, time to get down to what is important... -queues Motorhead's "The Game" or Triple H's entrance music if you better understand the reference that way- It's time to play... I mean, TALK, about the game!






As I stated in the title above, Nekopara is a paradise of catgirls. Also, though I am sure you noticed, but the title is a url link that will send you to a pic of the game's main two titular catgirl characters, Chocola (left with black hair and brown eyes) and Vanilla (right with white hair and blue eyes), and the first volume of the this catgirl paradise series centers around these two catgirls. Oh... almost forgot. There are two volumes of this visual novel. Well, technically three if you count volume zero, but I haven't played volume zero so I have nothing to tell ya about volume zero I am afraid. But, as with most visual novels, or any kind of story in particular, they all follow around the life of one Kashou Minaduki, the protagonist, and he is the very first and foremost problem I had with the visual novel at first. Then again, it is the problem I have with most of ANY visual novels that I play is that I generally do not like the protagonist, because majority of the time, they're all so incredibly daft and stupid that it just pisses me off. I mean, come on! How can so many people so be incredibly dumb that they can't tell right off the bat that a girl likes them or manage to figure out that the girl's actions are because of such feelings...

Sorry... went off on a rant there. But, Kashou is only a dullard, at first. He becomes a little more likeable as volume one progresses, and in my opinion, MUCH more likeable when we follow him in volume two. But one thing that drew me right away into this series is right off the bat in the beginning or rather the prologue of volume one, is that it told such an endearing story that it drove me to tears. In the prologue of volume one, Kashou has successfully moved out of his family home, which is famous for making sweets, but his passion is for baking so in opposition with his family, he decides to move out, and open his own bakery. However, when he arrives at the bakery and after the movers leave, he enters the bakery for the first time, he discovers two large boxes he does not recognize. It should be plainly simple and obvious to everybody at this point. The two catgirls, Chocola and Vanilla, are inside those boxes. Since, by rights, their legal guardian is Kashou's younger sister, Shigure, and there are laws residing around catgirls in the world of Nekopara, but I'll get to those later, they could not just up and leave the Minaduki household of their own accord to follow Kashou, they instead had themselves literally shipped and delivered to his new bakery. Their cover is blown when Chocola sneezes and the two catgirls are prompted to come out of their boxes and reveal themselves. Chocola is an energetic happy-go-lucky type who always refers to herself in the third person and Vanilla is completely opposite. She is a little more quiet and reserved, but has a witty sense of humor that I just love. Though, if I had to pick out of the two, I would definitely go with Chocola. I like the girls who are the most lively, probably because I consider my own life to be pretty boring so I think it be fun to be with an energetic type. But out of the six, that's right I said SIX, catgirls involved in this series, she is not my most favorite. That distinction belongs to Coconut for obvious reasons. But we'll get to her later. Back to what I was talking about.

Since Shigure, his sister, whom is the little sister that loves her older brother so much that it borderlines on incest types, is their legal owner, and Kashou wanted to make a fresh start all on his own and pretty much not desiring the responsibility of running a bakery while also taking care of two catgirls, he immediately requests and seeks out to return them back to his sister, to the family home. However, the two catgirls, Chocola and Vanilla, do not seek to return and wish to stay with Kashou, whom they both see respectively as their "Master" even though Shigure is their legal owner... because of this one certain incident in their past. And this heart-wrenching past story is what drove me to initially fall in love with Nekopara. This story is told by Chocola. You see, Chocola and Vanilla, were initially strays (they're also twins by the way) that Kashou found six months prior to the when the prologue starts and feeling sorry for them, he picked them up, and carried them both back home. They were both such young catgirls that they could not even speak yet. But being put in a new unfamiliar place filled with people and catgirls that they did not know so drastically took a heavy toll on them. They were both so afraid and uncertain, they didn't touch their food and coupled with the cold weather, their bodies gradually weakened, and developed high fevers and were both in much pain. It was then that Kashou charmed them with his warm words: "It's all right. I'm with you two, so don't worry." and continued to stay by there side and comfort them until morning came and he took them to the hospital. This story, though it may sound incredibly simple and may be not as emotionally moving as I make it out to be here, but I found this story so heart-moving that it drove me to tears and when I play it again, my eyes begin to tear up just hearing the conviction in Chocola's voice.

And after retelling this tale of Kashou saving them back in the past when both her and Vanilla were only just kittens, Chocola's determination and resolve renews and she pleads to stay with Kashou and also Vanilla joins in and voices her case for wanting for all of them to be able to stay together and Kashou finally caves in and starts to open up his heart and follow it as he decides to let them stay and help him out in the bakery and from there on, it's your usually romance story fanfare: 1. Chocola and Vanilla getting acclimated to their new job. 2. The two of them studying and taking their test to receive their "Bells", which also double as GPS tracking device so their owners can find them quickly in a hurry if needed to be, but their Bells also allow them to leave their household without their owner present, because doing so without one is an offense and if they are caught, they are actually arrested since the crime rate caused by stray catgirls is high. 3. Chocola and Vanilla both go through some internal conflict and both of them in turn fall in love with Kashou and become you know "more than just friends" or as the visual novel puts it, he becomes their "Cat-panion" and he starts living with them as lovers instead of friends. 4. And then a finale where Chocola and Vanilla must overcome a gread ordeal on their own without Kashou's guidance or assistance even though Kashou still shows up at the very last second at the end to save them like some kind of white knight.

And that is volume one in a nutshell. And volume two follows about the same method, though it centers around my favorite catgirl as stated above, Coconut, and Asuki, and pretty much the same thing happens with them. We discover parts of their personality that was not present in the first volume and go through some troubled inner conflict that Kashou helps them overcome and both of them in turn also fall in love with Kashou as well and also become his "Cat-panions". Though what is revealed about Coconut's character made me love her all the more. It was a nice surprising turn of events with Coconut. Also, Kashou further interacts with his sister, Shigure, but don't worry, nothing adulterated happens between the two of them or anything, but their interactions together in volume two are ridiculously hilarious and I couldn't help but start laughing out loud for every one of them. I also find it really funny and it will probably make you think the developers of the visual novels are just perverted when you read this, but "Uuuuh... HELLO!". This is a visual novel about having sexual relationships with catgirls! But there is setting in the game's configuration menu under Sounds & Effects called "Chest Bounciness"...

I'll give you a few moments to let that settle in...
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You good now? Okay!
That is right. There is literally an option for how much their boobs shake around when their in-game sprites move around. Now, I can't say for certain that the game developers are perverted or I am because I play with it blasted all the way up to MAXIMUM BOUNCINESS!!!!! Well, I am a boob guy anyway, if you haven't figured that out already, but I just thought it be a funny thing to mention and also a strange thing to put IN YOUR GAME. But I think it's great! Why don't other games use this dammit!?

... Okay, got to calm down. Almost went off on another tangent there. But that's all I have to say about Nekopara... well, for now, anyway. I'm sure I can find an excuse to talk more about it in the future, but this is all for now for CrescentValentine's Steamy Visual Novel corner and as always...