Artesneit information

[cuttingagent]

It's a little hard to make sense of Artesneit's website. Google translate pretty much butchers all the text, and the layout is a little strange in itself--his free games oddly only seem to be listed on the -18 page, which only shows 2 of his commercial games(I'm assuming they're the only ones with -18 versions[?]).

The 18+site has tits but the -18 site has full frontal cartoon nudity.

I'm wondering if anyone can fill in the blanks on anything, really, a definitive list of his works and maybe a brief description in English would almost be too much to hope for, but I was confused by a couple things in particular:

Is Miku's Multiply Spiral a fully 'clean' game in all versions?

Why is there a game called Galshell 2: Bullet Rain, and another wholly different game merely called Galshell 2 listed as in development?
Why is there no mention of Bullet Rain on the site? Is it some kind of abandoned beta? That would make sense, as it's somewhat confusing that IIRC there only seem to be 3 stages and not all the characters can play the 3rd stages.

Any other info on the games would be spectacular. I checked for the dude on Wikipedia, nothing, and I checked to see if there was any specialized wiki for him like Touhou has, nothing still. I'd totally buy some of the games if I could figure out basic shit like how many stages there are and such could find translations of the menus and configs, and where people with filthy green gaijin money are allowed to order them, of course. They seem to get mentioned on this board often enough so I though it worth asking.

Also has anyone played the ARPGs and Puzzle game? Are they any good, and, more importantly, playable for a monolingual filthy gaijin?

[Aisha]

I'll give it a shot since Artesneit is my favorite circle.

The 18+site has tits but the -18 site has full frontal cartoon nudity.

While it's the same guy behind the scenes, as I understand it Akira Hut Original is the label he uses for his "all ages" works, while Artesneit is the label he uses for his 18+ things. I really have no clue what criteria he uses.

a definitive list of his works and maybe a brief description in English would almost be too much to hope for

Death Ephemera (X86000), Galaxy Hero, Galshell: Blood Red Skies, Hellbound, Yakouga, Yakouga 2, Yakouga 3: Nightmare Prison, 邪神学園戦記ペルマス (no idea how to read the kanji here), Yakouga 4, Miku's Multiply Spiral, Galshell 2 (still in development), and Yakouga 5 (still in development). All are horizontal or vertical shmups except for ペルマス and Yakouga 3. Hellbound and Galshell: Blood Red Skies are free. Galaxy Hero is also free, but the game's page and download link were taken down. The C79.1 trial of Galshell 2 is also free, and despite being a trial, it still takes 20-30 minutes to get through so it's like a full-length game.

Is Miku's Multiply Spiral a fully 'clean' game in all versions?

There's only one version, I believe. It's SFW in that there's no nudity or pornographic content, but you still strip down bosses to their underwear, and there are some enemies which you may not want to have on the screen with other people around (e.g., midbosses of stages 3, 4, 6; stage 4 boss and the final boss).

Why is there a game called Galshell 2: Bullet Rain, and another wholly different game merely called Galshell 2 listed as in development?
Why is there no mention of Bullet Rain on the site? Is it some kind of abandoned beta? That would make sense, as it's somewhat confusing that IIRC there only seem to be 3 stages and not all the characters can play the 3rd stages.

He abandoned Galshell 2: Bullet Rain as far as I know. Galshell 2 with no subtitle is the sequel going forward right now. IIRC, there used to be a page for Galshell 2: Bullet Rain, but it was taken down.

I'd totally buy some of the games if I could figure out basic shit like how many stages there are and such could find translations of the menus and configs

A translation of Yakouga 4's menus can be downloaded here. You can probably use it to work out the menus in the other games if they aren't in English already.

Most of the shmups are your typical 5-7 stages long. Yakouga 2 is a bit different in that it's one long stage with no breaks, but it still has bosses and BGM changes and such.

and where people with filthy green gaijin money are allowed to order them, of course. They seem to get mentioned on this board often enough so I though it worth asking.

You should be able to buy most of his games from his DLsite Maniax store. Very NSFW, obviously. Apart from the games, the other things are CG sets. Miku's Multiply Spiral can be purchased from rancor's store, and if you prefer a physical copy, Yakouga 4 All Ages from nanapo's. That should cover everything except for Death Ephemera, which is only available upon request and pickup at conventions (unless I'm reading incorrectly) meaning that it's extremely difficult for filthy gaijin to get.

Also has anyone played the ARPGs and Puzzle game? Are they any good, and, more importantly, playable for a monolingual filthy gaijin?

I've played all of the games except for Death Ephemera. ペルマス reminds me of Columns, but it has very long dialogue and porn cutscenes between the stages. I think it's fun, and I really like the music. It has been a while since I last played it, but I think there's a time or score attack mode without the visual novel aspects. As for Yakouga 3, I've played it here and there, but unfortunately, it has a habit of randomly crashing, which is a shame since it's a pretty large Castlevania/Metroid-type game. I can't play more than about 10 minutes without having the game close on me. In fact, Hellbound, ペルマス, and Yakouga 3 all randomly crash when playing on Vista or Windows 7. Hellbound and ペルマス are stable on Windows XP though, but Yakouga 3 will randomly crash for me no matter what I try. Your mileage may vary. I keep wanting to send a long and detailed bug report to Artesneit, but there's a language barrier.

As for playing ペルマス and Yakouga 3 without Japanese knowledge, yeah, you obviously won't be able to make sense of the stories, but you should be fine otherwise.

[cuttingagent]

Nice, thanks!

What is the deal with the pixeled-out hentai scenes between stages in Yakouga 4? Very graphic hentai, with the genitals censored, as if the lack of vagina makes it any less hentai-ish. Are all versions like that or... is that a japanese law for video games? You can show tentacles raping a splotch of pixels but not a vagina?

[trap15]

Yes, there is a law forbidding display of genitalia. That's why most Japanese porn is censored.

[cuttingagent]

Why have I seen so much uncensored tentacle rape? I've definitely seen some censored porn but I've seen uncut as well... but porn made in Japan is unpleasant to say the least, it pretty much all looks like rape. Just doesn't make sense to cut out a cartoon's vagina and leave absolutely everything else under the sun. So I'm guessing half the porn/h in Japan is illegal in its home country, unless it's pixelated... I did know they pull this stuff in some parts of Europe.

[AntiFritz]

Tentacles aren't penis' so don't need to be censored.

[ciox]

Hey guys what's going on in this thread?

[BPzeBanshee]

I saw in a doco artists get more cash from the Hentai industry than they do making normal mangas and such so it doesn't surprise me that there's a lot of it. The show was on 60 Minutes in Australia here.

[matrigs]

Hey guys what's going on in this thread?

srsly man everything said in op's post seems relevant to my interests yet i have NO idea what's going on.

the internet is frightening.

[MathU]

As for Yakouga 3, I've played it here and there, but unfortunately, it has a habit of randomly crashing, which is a shame since it's a pretty large Castlevania/Metroid-type game. I can't play more than about 10 minutes without having the game close on me. In fact, Hellbound, ペルマス, and Yakouga 3 all randomly crash when playing on Vista or Windows 7. Hellbound and ペルマス are stable on Windows XP though, but Yakouga 3 will randomly crash for me no matter what I try. Your mileage may vary. I keep wanting to send a long and detailed bug report to Artesneit, but there's a language barrier.

A lot of his games crash on me (using XP) as well. It's hard to try some of them out because they crash before you can hardly do anything, including trying to change options in the config menus. I have a similar problem with Diadra Empty.

I do like Galshell though, that's a fun game. Galshall 2 is pretty neat as well; it just feels like it needs a little something more. I hope he adds an extra mechanic or more complicated shooting for the final release.

Also a shame that his games never have proper keyboard setup, but that's pretty par for the course for doujins.

[cuttingagent]

I must be lucky, the games only occasionally trill the fuck out on split-second loops for about 10 seconds instead of crash.

Galshell 2: Sprite too big, play area too small is the main feeling I got. Plus the first couple minutes of popcorn enemies I'm thinking 'What? These just look like normal things. Where's my Eldritch abominations?' I'll have to give it a fair chance later on but right now I miss the OLD Galshell 2:Giger Boogaloo.

entacles aren't penis' so don't need to be censored.

You're missing the SUBTEXT. Of course they are penises.

[cuttingagent]

Galshell 2: Sprite too big, play area too small is the main feeling I got. Plus the first couple minutes of popcorn enemies I'm thinking 'What? These just look like normal things. Where's my Eldritch abominations?' I'll have to give it a fair chance later on but right now I miss the OLD Galshell 2:Giger Boogaloo.

After a bit more play I have really changed my mind about this. The bosses are AMAZINGLY over the top and the spritework is just great, there's a certain rushed ugliness to a bit of the spritework in games like Miku and Yakouga 4 that is missing here. The aiming mechanic is great, but dear god, I would still really love a smaller character sprite.