Narcissu
| Narcissu | |
|---|---|
| Studio | stage-nana |
| Publisher | Sekai Project |
| platform | Linux , Microsoft Windows , macOS |
| Game engine | NScripter |
| Game mode | Single player |
| control | Computer keyboard |
| medium | Download |
Narcissu ( proper spelling in minuscule or Japanese as ナ ル キ ッ ソ ス , Narukissosu ) is a series of visual novels published by the dojin group "stage-nana" , which mainly deal with the subjects of life and death, as well as the name of the first visual novel in the series, which is about the story of two terminally ill people.
Publications
The original work was written by Tomo Kataoka and was published on the Internet in Japan in August 2005. It was published on CD-ROM four days later. The non-commercial web edition of Narcissu is smaller and has a lower graphic and musical quality.
In contrast to many other games, fan translations were allowed and even requested by the author. The author himself was not involved in the various translation processes. This was followed, among other things, by fan localizations in English (several, initially independent translations), German, French, Korean, Russian, Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese.
The first part - Narcissu - was an experiment: It uses fewer graphics than usual in visual novels and displays them in an unusually small, limited window. It also includes two modes: one in which the female main character Setsumi is set to music with voice output and another without setting. In his comments in the game, the author mentions that the story was mainly designed for reading without speech output and that the setting should be understood as a bonus. In the English translation, two different translators translated both versions to show a different perspective of the story. The playing time is up to 10 hours.
The original Japanese version uses the NScripter engine; however, the open source software ONScripter was used for the English translation, which enables the use of the English language.
A second game was released in May 2007 as Narcissu: Side 2nd and also contains the first part. It continues the minimalist presentation of the first part, albeit less strictly. It is also more extensively set to music - not only Setsumi can be heard. In terms of content, it is a prehistory to the first part. After completing both parts within the game, an epilogue for the first part becomes playable. This game was also published as a non-commercial web edition and received numerous fan translations.
The third game in the series, narcissu 3rd -The Third World- , was released in April 2009. Unlike before, this is exclusively a commercial release. In this game, the presentation is much more like typical visual novels. In addition to the first two parts, it contains 4 additional stories, but only one of them was written by the original author. After completing all 4 stories, an epilogue to the second part is playable.
The third part later received a professional and purely commercial publication for the PlayStation Portable from Kadokawa Shoten under the title Narcissu - If there was a tomorrow ( ナ ル キ ッ ソ ス ～ も し も 明日 が あ あ る な ら ～ , Narcissu - Moshimo Ashita ga Aru nara ), which in July Appeared in 2010. In addition to the content of the third part, this publication contains additional content. Below that is a back story written by the original author called Narcissu Final Chapter: ~ Donut ~ ( ナ ル キ ッ ソ ス 最終 章 ~ DOUGHNUT ~ ). It is about the creation of the hospice, which plays a central role in the other parts, as well as the creation of the rules that the residents of the hospice pass on to one another. The game also contains other epilogues. After completing all other content, a mode is activated in which the first two parts can be viewed in their original minimalist presentation style.
In 2015, Sekai Project released a free, official and corrected publication of the English translations of the second and thus also the first part on the Steam distribution platform .
In 2016 also the means appeared by Sekai Project crowdfunding funded Narcissu 10th Anniversary Anthology Project on Steam. The free base game contains the first two parts as well as the epilogue of the second part. The epilogue again contains an afterword by the author and a thematically related short story called 1980 , which was written by the author earlier but never published. More stories are available as paid DLC :
- Narcissu: A Little Iris - One of the 4 stories from the third part, namely the one written by the original author. Also contains an afterword by the author as well as another thematically related short story called 1993 , which was also written earlier by the author but never published. The three other stories from the third part are not included in this publication for licensing reasons and are therefore only available in Japanese so far.
- Narcissu: Zero - A translation of ~ DOUGHNUT ~ , which was previously only available in Japanese as part of the PSP game. The reader has the choice of playing with or without setting the protagonist to music. Also contains a continued epilogue to the first part.
- Narcissu: Sumire - a completely new part of the series. At the beginning of the game, the reader is presented with an introduction with some explanations about this part. Also contains the detailed history of an important figure in this part as well as notes by the author, in which he explains the characters and relationships between the individual parts.
All text content is available in both English and Japanese, including those that were not previously translated. Many stories can be played both in a classic mode, which corresponds to the style of the first two games, as well as in a standard mode, which corresponds to more common visual novels.
Plot (first part)
The anonymous protagonist is diagnosed with lung cancer shortly after his twentieth birthday, which is why he is admitted to a hospital in Mito . After a few months of unsuccessful treatment, he is transferred to the hospital's hospice. There he meets Setsumi, a girl who is said to be a few years older than him and who is also terminally ill. Both refuse to die in the hospice or at home with their families. Together they flee in the car of the protagonist's father. You're traveling along the western coast on Japan's highways and prefectures without knowing where. Later, however, they spontaneously decide to go to the daffodil fields in the south of the island of Awaji .
Characters (Part One)
- protagonist
- The protagonist is a 20 year old university student. He lives with his family: a silent and unsupportive mother, as well as a father and a little sister who only have rough words for him. He never really set himself many goals for his later life.
- In the first two parts it is nameless, in the third part it is announced as Yū Atō ( 阿 東 優 , Atō Yū ).
- Setsumi Sakura ( 佐 倉 瀬 津 美 , Sakura Setsumi )
- Speaker: Rino Ayakawa
- Setsumi is a 22 year old girl but has a childlike body. She has a quiet character, loves cars and is also knowledgeable about them. She explains to the protagonist that she doesn't want to die on the seventh floor of the hospital or at home.
Influences (first part)
Narcissu is stylistically and thematically similar to the opening chapter of Gin'iro - a commercial title by the same author. Tomo Kataoka himself describes Narcissu as a variant of Gin'iro set in the now , which is set in the Japanese Middle Ages.
The work is similar in its implementation to road movies. The screen is split in such a way that it gives the appearance of a cinema format. Many of the scenes and events in the story are based on road movie clichés. The ending, in which the physical journey itself is clearly linked to the characters' metaphorical journey through everything they went through (their lives, their self-discovery), is typical of this type of film.
Music (first part)
Several pieces of music in Narcissu are taken from other visual novels. 12 of these pieces from the game are available on demand in an in-game jukebox.
The titles in the following list are based on the list from Narcissu: Side 2nd , which includes corrected and correct titles; In the original Narcissu release , tracks 2, 3, 7, 8 and 12 have slightly different titles, while tracks 4 and 9 are incorrectly listed as Rather Than a Life of Finality and Eightmoon . Narcissu: Side 2nd describes piece 4 as The World is Coming to an W / end , instead of actually The world is drawing to an W / end .
Pieces:
- The Emerald Sea (MASA) - 2:18
- The Silver Coupé (Ebi) - 2:33
- Narcissus (inst.) (Ebi) - 2:01
- From The world is drawing to an W / end (Masashi Yano) - 3:43
- I'm Right Here (vocal ver.) (Hirofumi Ishihashi) - 4:12
- Lamune 79's (Elements Garden) - 3:08
- Route 1 (Sentive) - 2:37
- The Seventh (Sentive) - 2:16
- Sakura (From A ¥ 120 Spring, arrangement: Shitoshi Fujimoto (Ebi) - 2:16
- The Emerald Sea (ver. 2) (MASA) - 2:17
- Scarlet (Noriyasu Agematsu) - 3:07
- Narcissus / Setsumi's Theme) (vocals: REM, lyrics: Tomo Kataoka) - 2:15
Adaptations
On July 25, 2008, Media Factory published an adaptation ( ISBN 978-4-8401-2365-5 ) under the imprint MF Bunko J as a light novel by Narcissu and Narcissu: Side 2nd , written by Tomo Kataoka himself and illustrated by GotoP were.
In the magazine Monthly Comic Alive 1/2009 issue of the same publisher, a manga series started on November 27, 2008, which was also written by Tomo Kataoka, but drawn by Pochi Edoya. On June 23, 2009 and February 23, 2010, the chapters were combined into two anthologies ( Tankōbon ) ( ISBN 978-4-8401-2580-2 and ISBN 978-4-8401-2984-8 ).
Individual evidence
- ^ Website of the English translation of Narcissu
- ^ Website of the German translation of Narcissu
- ^ Website of the French translation of Narcissu
- ↑ Website of the Russian translation of Narcissu ( Memento of the original from March 23, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Website of Narcissu's Chinese Translation
- ↑ Website of the Thai translation of Narcissu ( Memento of the original from July 31, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ VNDB.org: Narcissu. Retrieved April 27, 2017 .
- ↑ ナ ル キ ッ ソ ス . In: MF Bunko J Official Website. Media Factory, accessed August 22, 2012 (Japanese).
- ↑ コ ミ ッ ク ア ラ イ ブ ２００９ ／ １ 月 号 . In: Comic Alive. Media Factory, accessed August 22, 2012 (Japanese).
- ↑ ナ ル キ ッ ソ ス (1) . In: Comic Alive. Media Factory, accessed August 22, 2012 (Japanese).
- ↑ ナ ル キ ッ ソ ス (2) . In: Comic Alive. Media Factory, accessed August 22, 2012 (Japanese).
