Shining Song Starnova

Anyone who's played Love in Space's previous works in the Sunrider universe will immediately be familiar with the artwork. It may not necessarily be to everyone's liking, but I found it to be pleasant enough, and I liked that the seven girls in the story were reasonably distinct in their artistic style. (Possibly minor spoilers ahead) The game starts with a fairly lengthy (3-4 hours at least) introduction where, for the most part, it's just reading through the story. This bit can be a bit cliche in numerous ways, but eventually you get to the point where you get to pick from the seven girls (one of whom is locked until you complete all other routes). I have yet to complete all the routes (done 5 of 7 so far), but the girls' stories are considerably more interesting than the introduction. There are definitely some shocking and dramatic moments that you definitely wouldn't expect in an idol game/story, and I don't mean sexual content. Many of the stories make me feel that this is designed specifically for adults, even if you play the GoG family friendly version. For the most part, this is a kinetic VN with few choices. There are good and bad endings, but you'll know VERY quickly when you get a bad ending. I've played for 18 hours so far, and I estimate I'll be done in about 24. I'm a fast reader, so you might get more out of it, but I'd imagine that 30 hours is probably the max someone could play this game. Aside from the slow and boring start, I believe that this is a story worth exploring. As a fan of popular Japanese idol franchises, I was pleasantly surprised that Starnova has storylines that do not follow idol conventions. Any fan of visual novels and idols should definitely give it a try, and 20-30 hours is a decent length of time for a reasonably priced VN. Just endure the initial slog, and you'll find some interesting and engaging stories.

What to expect: - A kinetic novel for the first half, with one major decision that branches into multiple paths. Each path has one key choice that determines a good or bad ending, plus possibly a throwaway choice that briefly adds flavor to the current scene. - Roughly 10-40 hours of gameplay, depending on how fast you read and how many endings you go for. - A story that simultaneously celebrates and tears down the Japanese idol industry, blending serious drama with lighthearted comedy and social commentary. - Discussions and/or depictions of potentially triggering topics, including mental illness, abusive humiliation, stalking, pedophilia, and sexual assault; some bloody violence; pervasive swearing; and frequent sexual content. The GOG edition censors the nude scenes and completely removes the explicit sex scenes; however, this can be undone with the Denpa Edition patch, which is free to download on the developer's website. - Archetypal characters (eg, the self-insert protagonist, the innocent girl next door, the country bumpkin, the sinister rival producer) who end up having more complex personalities and backstories than they let on. If you've played any of the Sunrider games, you'll notice a lot of similarities at first. - A polished interface, clean art style, and varied soundtrack (though not as many vocal tracks as one might expect for an idol game). - Several menu options and features, including a CG art gallery and the ability to toggle Japanese voice acting for each character individually. What I think: - Pros: The story is engaging and surprising, the aesthetics are nice (I'm fond of the CG backgrounds and colorful, easy-to-read font), and the game as a whole generally feels professional. - Cons: The story sometimes gets longwinded, there's a lot I dislike about the characters, and I'm unsure whether some emotional payoffs are worth all the depressing and uncomfortable stuff. I have mixed feelings, but your mileage may vary.

I have played this game in steam but wanted to made review in GOG too. This is story of group of girls trying to become Idols. They all once fell, but they do not intend to surrender, they want to shine brighter than any star as SUPERNOVA (rebith star, if you don't know). Pros: +Lovely Appearance (well-developed locations with some easter eggs and beautiful characters) +Incredible Music (this is the pearl of game, already bought soundtrack dlc) +Wonderful Story (smart protagonist and no fictional conflict) Cons: -Few Choices To Make Inability to influence the fate of the group, you don't actually feel like you are producer SPOILER BELOW!!!------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- During the first concert when the girls begin to doubt their actions, they recall the words of the producer and get inspired. How great this scene would be if they remembered what the player said through the choice, and depending on this they could be inspired or not. SPOILER ABOVE!!!-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And there's many other examples of not having enough space to choose. Game description says: "YOU are Mr. Producer - it's your job to make these girls' dreams come true!" But I do not make any decisions, so it doesn't feel right. However, this game is really deserves attention. I expect this studio to improve and look forward their next project.

I bought this VN on sale and started the game being kinda clueless about japanese idols and having my first contact with a Love-in-Space-VN. The beginning is a bit draggy and very slice-of-life'y, but interesting enough to keep you attached to the world around your idol-group "Starnova". The characters are basically VN-cliche, but still have a bit of uniqueness attached to most of them. The game starts to shine after branching into the routes, dealing with numerous serious, emotional, adult topics. Some of these topics are very dark, resulting in some wicked bad endings (unlocked after the very, very few choices in this VN, that are just implemented to tell these bad-ending-branches). Most routes luckily still have a very positive default ending. The game lasted for around 30-35+hours. The length/price-ratio is definitely a thumbs up. The soundtrack is amazing! I added 3 of the voiced songs to my youtube-playlist and already wishlisted the whole soundtrack. Mariya's route is gold. An excessively heartwarming story. "Shining Song Starnova" is a contender for my VN-Top-Spot along Pixelfade's (Ace Academy, Crystalline, Ethereal Enigma) and IMHHW (If My Heart Had Wings).