High-Quality Catgirls, Beautiful Singing, and some Technical Nitpicks.
Let’s start our discussion on the graphics, by talking about installing the game. I ran into an odd issue during installation. This is a new system and upon trying to launch the installer, I could not get it to run. I didn’t even get an error message, just nothing. Turns out that DirectX is required to launch the installer. Thankfully the 18+ download includes an installer for DirectX. If you run into any issues, I’d recommend installing the latest version and seeing if that fixes your issues. That out of the way, let’s talk about colorfully animated goodness.
Aside from the catgirl motif, NEKOPARA is most known for its high-quality presentation. NEKOPARA meanwhile not only has HD art but also has its character models use the “E-mote” system. This system allows the characters to have animations and convey emotion. Most famously, NEKOPARA also features jiggle physics that can be adjusted in the in-game menu. This kind of graphical fidelity went unmatched for quite some time until Frontwing’s Corona Blossom released.
Corona Blossom uses the E-mote system as well and many would say pushed the quality bar even further. NEKOPARA Volume 3 attempts to take back that crown and makes a good effort at doing that. The game looks beautiful and I have no complaints regarding the quality. I will say that we’re seeing a lot of the same areas we saw in Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 appear again, but part of that is the fact that the story takes place primarily at La Soleil. So, it makes sense to reuse those assets. However, we do still see some new venues and they do look good. Before we move onto sound I do want to touch on two other technical details: load times and stability.
For the most part, NEKOPARA is a very stable game. However, there are two things I noticed during my playthrough. The first are load times. Normally, you won’t notice this at all. The game moves from scene to scene flawlessly and even the usual eyecatch transitions load quickly. However, like other visual novels, there is a feature where you can jump back to a previous line of dialogue via the backlog menu. Sometimes, this would work flawlessly and other times it would take upwards of ten seconds for the scene to load. I’m not sure what causes this especially since I’m running this off an SSD and normal saving and loading work fine. It’s not detrimental, but it leads me to think the game wasn’t 100% optimized. The second reason I think this is more of a stability problem.
I played the game in full-screen mode, which ran fine at max resolution. However, if I ever went back to my desktop and then tried to go back into the game, I’d just get a black screen. It would lock up and I’d have no choice but to force close the program. These two things are minor, but they do bug me. Nitpicking done, let’s move onto the sound.
In terms of music and voice acting, I can say both are good, but you’ve heard these voices and songs before. Voice acting-wise, more of the same is a good thing. We want people to stay in character. Music-wise though, I would have liked to see newer music or remixes. My favorite piece, however, was a rendition of “Grandfather’s Clock” that’s in English no less. While not perfect English, there’s a certain charm to it that I found very heartwarming. The accompanying scene helps, but it was one of the high points of the game for me. The new opening and ending are also nice, but “Grandfather’s Clock” take the crown I think. So, that’s all the technical bits. What about the plot and characters?
What Measure is a Catgirl and the Love They Possess?
The plot of NEKOPARA Vol. 3 focuses on Cinnamon and Maple as I mentioned earlier. This includes fleshing out both their characters, their relationship with each other, and their relationship with Kashou. This follows the pattern that we’ve gotten used to over Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 and Cinnamon and Maple really needed some development by this point.
While my personal favorite of the girls is Coconut, I really was interested seeing how Cinnamon would develop. I always found Cinnamon’s ability to turn just about anything into a perverted delusion funny and in general, she’s lighthearted and just fun to be around. Maple was the one I really didn’t care for of the six. She was high-class, always like she had something to prove. It felt like she was ready to thumb her nose at you while sitting upon her prideful throne. Not quite a queen or a mistress, but someone who just wanted to be an expert. Thankfully that’s nothing a good dose of character development can’t explain.
Without spoiling why I really came to like Maple, for one, we learn why she seems like she has something to prove. It helps to define why she gives her all at something and tries not to be just another catgirl. In addition, while the game tries to peg her as a tsundere, she avoids a lot of the pitfalls associated with them. Specifically, the extreme flip-flopping of emotions. Really, it’s her pride getting in her way more than anything else. You can tell she’s built up some walls around herself, but Kashou’s just the guy to accept her and help her with her various issues. However, Kashou isn’t the only one helping her, as Cinnamon plays a significant role in that too.
Cinnamon’s character development is directly tied into Maple’s. Her own personal conflict revolves around her trying to support Maple as she prepares for the party. While her intentions are good, and her method makes sense, it might just not be the best thing for her and Maple’s relationship. And I do mean relationship as we find out some interesting things about the pair’s past.
Each volume of NEKOPARA, save Vol. 0, has had two of the girls form a bond with each other. Chocola and Vanilla are inseparable, while Azuki and Coconut act like an older and younger sister. Maple and Cinnamon though, form a much deeper bond. Some of you may have been wondering why “Yuri” is listed as one of the genres at the top of this review. Well, now you know. While Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 have had Yuri undertones at times. Vol. 3 is where we delve into that territory. How? Why? Well, I’ll leave that for you to discover, but as for my own take, I liked it and it felt like a natural point to lead to. Before we move onto the Eroge though, let’s talk Kashou really quick.
Kashou continues to be the wise mentor and partner to the girls that he’s grown into. While Vol. 1 had him realize just how important the others were to him, Vol. 2 had him share more of his personal backstory with Azuki and Coconut. He started to become the sensible counselor to the girls that they needed. In addition, while certainly energetic in bed, he was always kind to them and never took advantage of anyone. The fact he can keep everyone happy and not succumb to jealousy says something about his character. Vol. 3 continues this trend as we see his relationship with the other four catgirls is still developing well.
The new bonds that are formed with Cinnamon and Maple feel very natural as well. By this point, it’s partly because he’s already taken the other four as Catpanions, but it’s more than that. Kashou is just a nice guy. He cares about them and wants to see them succeed. The advice he gives to Maple and Cinnamon isn’t generic platitudes, but something meant for them to hear. I really like the relationship building and to romance between the three in this game. Which brings us to the 18+ portion of this review with a discussion about the Eroge bits on the last page.
