GAME REVIEW | It's Coconut & Azuki's Turn in "Nekopara Vol. 2"
**WARNING: WHILE THIS ARTICLE IS SAFE-FOR-WORK, THE FOLLOWING REVIEWED GAME IS INTENDED ONLY FOR PLAYERS 18 AND OLDER. READER'S DISCRETION IS ADVISED, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE STEAM VERSION**
After waiting nearly a year, the follow-up to Nekopara Vol. 1 has finally arrived! While the first installment was more of an intro -- and was supplemented with a fan-disc-like Vol. 0, this continues the story of Kashou's bakery and life with the cat girls. This time it has a more interesting story to tell...
Nekopara Vol. 1 was more of an introduction to the overall story. It dealt with a young man who wanted to move out of his family's house and start a bakery to pursue his dreams. As luck would have it, two of his family's cat girls somehow mailed themselves to his place, as they missed their master terribly. Wanting to help him with the store, they get him to agree to let them work as assistants, along with the other cat girls and his sister. What was to be a simple bakery turns into a maid cafe. Over the course of the story, the two cat girls Chocola and Vanilla become his lovers. The Steam versions of these games were simple and cute moé stories, whereas the unrated versions on Denpasoft transform the visual novel into a light nukige.
This entry shifts the focus to two more cat girls, this time with Coconut and Azuki (although Chocola and Vanilla do hog the game a bit). The story content is more interesting due mainly to the girls being a bit older this time, as well as their dynamic with each other. Coconut and Azuki don't get along that much, so seeing them overcome their differences was nice. Also the erotic content is also hotter than before. Overall it's mostly an improvement over the first volume. The artwork and music has some recycling, but it still looks and sound good.
One nice thing is that the game has support for three languages, and makes good use of a Live2D-like program for character portrait movement that makes them feel more alive. The story is about five hours long, but the erotic content will bump it up by about two hours. The game will run you about $10 for the edited version, but $20 for the 18+ edition. Either way, the story is fun and sexy, depending on which version you are more interested in.
VERDICT:
The Good: The story on it's own is more interesting and cuter than the previous volume.
The Bad: The sex scenes in the uncut version are hotter than the last, but only one of each for the two girls.
The Ugly: Chocola and Vanilla take up one erotic scene. They are great, but it isn't their story.
SUMMARY: A follow up to Nekopara Vol. 1, Vol. 2's story is a bit more interesting thanks to the dynamic of Coconut and Azuki.
FINAL GRADE:
Review codes provided by David Bruno of Sekai Project and Denpasoft
