Sekai Project certainly made a name for themselves and the entire international visual novel market for the matter in 2014. Not only have they begun pushing some enticing titles out to market, but also managed to run successful Kickstarter campaigns for high-profile titles such as Key’s CLANNAD and the Grisaia Trilogy from Frontwing – both of which met their goals in a matter of days and have begun hitting stretch goals. To wrap up what had been a major year for them, Sekai Project was able to get one final release in for 2014 that will likely appeal to anyone out there who sees the appeal of catgirls.
In partnership with the Japanese developer Neko Works, Sekai Project was able to simultaneously launch an all-ages edition of NekoPara Volume 1 via Steam a couple of days ago to the international market; with a physical adult release also planned for distribution by Denpasoft in February 2015. While it is likely that some visual novel fans may prefer to wait a couple of months to check out the adult version, those who can do without the sexually-oriented content / CG Artwork will be able to enjoy what was to me a solidly built visual novel experience. NekoPara Volume 1 may not test the waters of its genre too much, but its simple yet enjoyable storyline and high production value makes it a great starting point for those interested in visual novels, while offering something of value to those who have been reading them for years.
NekoPara Volume 1 takes place from the perspective of a man named Kashou Minaduki, whom is part of a long line of Japanese confection makers. His sister has also been raising quite a few catgirls, some of whom have become attached to him over recent months and years. Seeking to forge his own path in the industry, Kashou decides to leave home and open his own patisserie by the name of “La Soleil” – completely in secret to avoid the attention of his family. Originally it was his plan to run this cafe by himself, without the assistance of either his family or any catgirls he left behind. But this all changes when he finds two unopened boxes sitting in the shop with some perplexing notices on them. The noises from the box show that two of the catgirls his sister was raising: the enthusiastic Chocola and more docile Vanilla, have decided to stay by his side and help run the shop. Although willing to send them back home at first, events that follow see him deciding to keep the two on board – as they begin their life of running La Soleil together.
As you may have already noticed from the artwork at the top of this review, a majority of the characters featured in NekoPara Volume 1 are catgirls. Similar in approach to Ivory’s Wanko to Kurasou which was unofficially fan-translated many years ago, this series takes place in a world where humanoid pets are popular and can live peacefully amongst humans. Despite their many similarities to humans, they do have the traditional cat ears / tail ensemble and retain some other traits such as aging at a much faster pace, clawing madly at the traditional cat toys you would purchase for a regular cat and other general mannerisms. It isn’t really possible to forget that most characters are catgirls, with the writers incorporating this element well into the story. As catgirls are the main draw of NekoPara, it was satisfying that the writers and localizers managed to get the concepts behind them right.
NekoPara Volume 1 is not a particularly long visual novel, and can easily be completed in a couple of reasonable-length sessions. Given that volume 1 only costs $9.99 USD, the length is satisfactory and around what I was personally expecting. Hopefully additional volume releases in 2015 and beyond will be able to continue the storyline, as I think there is still much that could be created from the world that Neko Works have crafted. Despite its length, the storyline still delivers a satisfying experience that I would class as being light-hearted and entertaining, with a few more serious moments throughout and topics such as pet abandonment being touched upon.
Unlike some of the visual novels I reviewed last year such as Steins;Gate, NekoPara is something you could come home to after a long day and not have to be constantly thinking or carefully considering which character route to take. On the matter of character routes, NekoPara is similar to Sekai Project’s earlier release of Planetarian ~the reverie of a little planet~ where there are no dialogue options. I presume this is to ensure that the story is compatible with future volumes.
Translation was adequate overall, with no major grammatical errors or impossible-to-follow moments standing out to me during my read-through. One of the more surprising additions was the ability to switch the user interface and text language between English, Chinese and Japanese. Not something I have come across in a visual novel to date, but I suppose would allow them to cater to a wider audience both on Steam and presumably in marketing the adult edition as well.
One of the major limitations of NekoPara’s all-ages release is that there isn’t too much in the way of CG Artwork, but what is present is of a good quality. While it is clear a fair bit of adult content has been dropped, some scenes have been salvaged through the inclusion of convenient “fog” which anime fans might be familiar with during hot springs or bath scenes.What makes up for any shortfall in this department is the E-Mote system, which is used on all character portraits.
Many visual novels make use of static character portraits that only switch between static facial expressions when the dialogue demands it. In more recent years we have seen character portraits receive lip-syncing, breathing, chest jiggle and eye blinking. The E-Mote system is a culmination of all these features while taking things one step further by having the characters move backwards/forwards, wriggle around on the spot and perform body/head movements. This system more or less animates that characters as much as possible while using the traditional means of displaying dialogue in a visual novel; without needing to use specialized CG artwork on a regular basis. Aside from the occasional lag that occurs when displaying the characters, the system worked well and is something I wouldn’t mind seeing more of in future visual novels.
Unfortunately, this system is only used with character portraits and not CG artwork. However, when promoting their physical edition, Denpasoft mention that “H-scenes are also animated”. It is unclear if this is animation using the E-Mote system or animation of the CG artwork itself. Also, the options menu has a dedicated E-mote Settings section where you can change “Chest Bounciness“. I altered the scale during my read through but didn’t see a noticeable difference.
NekoPara Volume 1 features a small compilation of background music, most of which have been named after cats / neko including: “Cat Work”, “Nyaight Dream” and “Nyannyan Paradise”. Most of the music does the job, but is otherwise fairly unremarkable. After completing the prologue, you are also treated to a lyrical opening song (Purportedly named Taiyou Paradise) with some solid animation associated with it.
Considering its budget price, I was ecstatic to find that the visual novel was (almost) fully voiced and features some competent Japanese voice work that suits each character very well. Although it isn’t an uncommon decision to not voice male protagonists in visual novels, I was disappointed that they decided to not voice Kashou. The experience is in no way ruined by this omission, but I find that it helps set the tone for the protagonist instead of just displaying his dialogue.
If you are after a complex visual novel that will leave you pondering over it or will otherwise offer some form of replayability through character routes or gameplay, then NekoPara might not be the best match for you. However, if you are after a simple yet pleasurable experience and/or just adore catgirls – then this may be right up your alley. NekoPara is a short yet sweet read which is over far too quickly, yet will hopefully be offering its new fans much more in the future. I look forward to seeing where Neko Works go from here.
Disclosure
I would like to acknowledge that a pre-release Steam download code of NekoPara Vol.1 was provided to me by Sekai Project. This review is for the all-ages Steam edition, and may not cover some elements introduced in the adult edition.
Final Score
Storyline / Character Development: B
Design: A
Music / Voice Acting: B
Replayability: D
System: A
Personal Opinion: B
Final Score: B
This review is currently being transitioned over to the new review system.
