NekoPara Vol 1. is an adult oriented, though there is an All-Ages version available, VN featuring adorable catgirls and is the 1st of a series of 3. There are no choices to be had just plain ol’ reading/listening & a few vanilla sex scenes in the 18+ version, this is an Eroge not a Nukige, so the sex is not the aim of the game, one does not equal the other. It features only Japanese voice acting, a lot of it & for everyone but the MC. The story follows Kashou Minaduki, an aspiring baker who has recently moved away from his family for reasons to open up his own shop. Metal Gear Solid style our 2 main catgirls, Chocola & Vanilla, have snuck in inside of his moving boxes. After some back & forth they convince poor baker boy to let them stay. Right out the bat I will say that the overarching story is a bit drab as this is an introductory game, though individual characters show some growth so it isn’t all that bad & has its funny as well as its share of sad moments.
The story is presented in the VN style of text boxes & sprites, though the sprites are animated using ‘E-mote’, a system akin to Live2D. It is pretty amazing seeing what would normally be plain static images come to life as they express themselves in various ways as they talk. This feature is also used on most of the sex scenes to great effect. Standard art is also used, with some chibi art used on comedic occasions & backgrounds fitting the overall style, which I appreciate. Music is decent with most of it being cheery stuff and a few somber tracks.
Option wise, it is also the standard VN affair for the most part, with sliders for sound volume, text box transparency, etc. The game features Chinese along with Japanese & English text, as mentioned voices will always be Japanese. You can customize the sound volume for each character along with extra voices. The ‘E-mote’ system allow for… chest bounciness (Press the ‘P’ on your keyboard, trust me) which you can customize with a slider too, though I must be blind since I didn’t see much change.
All in all, Neko Para Vol. 1 is a beautiful, but only ok storywise VN that would be of best value when purchased at a discount as the story was very tame & serving as more of stepping stone to the sequels. The art & usage of ‘E-mote’ to bring to life sprites is pretty amazing & something to be experienced & will definitely continue to experience as soon as I get my hands on the sequels. With a 3rd one in the works along with an anime OVA fans are sure to have plenty of NekoPara for a while to come.
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