Circus of Soaring Dreams[GxB][Romance][ILUJam2015]

[Celestial_Toast]

Phoenix Martin is on the run. Knowing her, it's probably not the first time, but this time, she runs into a collection of tents and hides in a small one. She's soon caught by a cat-boy and a gorgeous man with white hair, who inform her she's in a circus tent. While she ultimately convinces them to let her hide out with them until they leave that place and travel to their next location, neither of them seem to like her much. Can she hope to change that and maybe even truly become a part of the circus?

Characters
Phoenix Martin
Age:23
Protagonist

PhoenixGrinFace.png (59.35 KiB) Viewed 10240 times

"This meal is massive! It’s a whole bowl full!"
"This… this is my way of showing that I care."

An upbeat and rather talkative homeless thief who makes the most of her situation. She's genuinely caring and friendly but doesn't have much experience with people or expressing herself.

Raphael
Age: 20
Love Interest

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"Look I don’t need your help, okay? I’m fine! Leave me alone!"
"Nothing's going to touch you here. I won't let anything happen to you."

A rather irritable cat-boy who expresses an open dislike to assumptions made on his cat-like features. He's quick to get attached to you but not as quick to express it, but he can be quite friendly when he's in a good mood. Also, it seems he has a rather cold relationship with his fellow circus performers.

Ziya
Age: 28
Love Interest

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"I would not laugh at you or judge you, if that is what you are afraid of."
"Festivities have never been a particular pleasure of mine."

An aloof and very busy man who isn't afraid to wear makeup or do what he likes. He isn't always keen on social interactions and isn't very good at letting people know he cares about them. While he is aware of his good looks and his status as an audience favorite wherever they go, he appears to be quite unaffected by this.

Marise
Age: 30
Side Character/Love Interest

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"Everyone has a dream… do you?"
"Nobody teaches you love, mon cheri."

An almost overly-cheerful and motherly young woman who is quick to snap from worried to happy. She's quite attached to the boys and seems quick to take a liking to people, even those she's just met. It is impossible to remain gloomy around her, but is she always so cheerful or is there more to her than that?

Bernard Krone
Age: 63
Minor Character

"Welcome to Bernard Krone’s Circus of Soarin’ Dreams!"
"Oh, I like you. No one has had the guts to question me so early in our acquaintance."

A seemingly cheerful man who laughs too much and appears to be a friendly and easy-going man.

This is my entry in the International Love Ultimatum #iluJam http://ilujam.tumblr.com/

Click here to download: http://celestial-toast.itch.io/circus-of-soaring-dreams

Walkthroughs:

Raphael's and Ziya's routes don't really need a walkthrough, especially once you get past the common route (if you get a character-specific bad ending, then just go back to your last choice and choose the other option).

Marise, who sort of shares her route with the Friend route for the boys, might be harder to pursue.
Hint:

Just be nice to both the boys. Split your attention between them and get the individual questions right.

Raphael:

"Common" route:
- Ask about his cat tail and ears (+1 pts) or Just

Apologize (+1 pt)
- Go down to the creek to talk to Raphael (+1 pt)
- Ask how he became a lion tamer (+1 pt)
- Give him a quick hug and thank him (+1 pt)
Official path:
- Go check on Raphael
- Go hunt down Ziya

Ziya:

"Common" Route:
- Ask about his aerial silks performances (+1 pt)
- Say it's actually kind of cool (+1 pt)
- Say he's not bad (+1 pt)
Official path:
- Go for a walk with Marise
- Convince Ziya to talk to him

Marise/Friend:

Just get at least 2 pts with each guy and you'll automatically go on her/friend route, which is the same. If you fail to get enough points with any, you'll get on the bad route
Example:
- Ask about his cat tail and ears (+2 pts) or Just Apologize

(+1 pt)
- Ask about his aerial silks performances (+1 pt)
- Go down to the creek to talk to Raphael (+1 pt)

[Writer16]

Ooh, I'll give this a try, and give my feedback ASAP. Congrats on finishing it!

[Celestial_Toast]

Thank you! Hope you like it!

[Writer16]

Finished it. Got all of the routes.

The writing: it's like most VN that I've played. I like the simplistic writing, but I do believe, you could have spice it up someway. Ignore this if I'm speaking as someone who writes stories, and not screenplay.

The art: absolutely beautiful. I love the CGs'; the characters' designs, and the background. They fit in perfectly against the theme and the feel I got for the circus.

The characters: I like them, but I feel like they could have been fleshed out a bit more. I like Ziva. Maybe this is just me. I love how they all have something in common. That connection relates well to the theme.

The routes: each of the routes has something special in them. Either way, the characters help each other in their struggles, and discover something special about the others. Like that concept a lot.

Overall, I like this, and it's good, considering it took about a month to complete. Thanks for sharing. Hope others find this enjoyable like I have.

[Celestial_Toast]

Thank you for your review! I'm glad you enjoyed the game.

I can understand what you mean by the characters could have been fleshed out more. What I was aiming for was being able to get them well developed enough for an enjoyable experience but also give myself enough time to get everything together (and you're right, it would've been easier to do as a written piece).

I'm so glad you liked the artwork! My friend AuthorCSR did the CG's, and I agree; I think they're lovely! Also, so glad you liked the character designs. I was rather picky about those and was so happy they turned out exactly as I pictured them in my head. And as for the backgrounds... I may or may not have come very close to flipping a table or two over some of them so I'm glad you liked those too. Except for the ones that BCS made. Those were lovely by themselves.

[Konoi]

I've just finished playing Raphael's route, and I must say I really enjoyed it.
It's a short and not really complicated game, that is true, but it's sweet and endearing, and sometimes that's all you need in a visual novel for it to make you happy. It really made me smile at the end of the route!
I'm currently not planning to do the other routes, but it's mainly because I've enjoyed Raphael's route way too much, and I'd feel bad not to romance him again if I replay - it happens to me with some games haha!

What I really liked about this route, is how the characters' background stories are very different, but they still find a ton of similitudes. Raphael saying almost the same thing as Phoenix was thinking, by the end of the route, was a very nice touch.

[Celestial_Toast]

Thanks for playing! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Yeah, agreed it's simple; I didn't want to complicate things since I only had a month, but I'm glad it turned out well! Raphael's was the first route I wrote.