The question of fandisks – are they worth it?

On a recent post here I was talking about Ukihashi and miruki commented that it’s not really a game by itself, it’s more of an in-between thing, and it’s true – players new to the franchise really shouldn’t start off with it.

But when fandisks cost almost as much as completely fresh games, are they really worth the money? I’d say a cautious yes. As long as the games have some new idea, and provide enough content to satisfy fans of the original, I’d say they’re worth the money.

Let’s look at some fandisks vs. their regular games:

Hiiro no Kakera vs. Hiiro no Kakera Ano Sora no Shita de

Hiiro no Kakera was widely liked for its deep and complex storyline. It was full of drama and angst, and was quite long for a straight visual novel. It also had very different storylines for each guy.

Ano Sora no Shita de took a lighter tone, having no real conflict and just being set on a festival night (and an extra small Valentine’s minigame). You got to see the characters have fun and just be normal. There was lots of interaction between the characters, and personally I really liked it. I was lucky enough to get it in a double pack with Hiiro no Kakera though – I don’t know if I would pay $50 or so for it alone.

Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 3 vs. Izayoiki vs. Unmei no Meikyuu

Harutoki 3 might just be the queen of fandisks – it has Izayoiki, where the only true addition is that you can get Shirogane and Tomomori, Unmei no Meikyuu, basically an excuse to put the hachiyou in modern clothes, and now Ukihashi as well. However, each of these also adds a fair bit of gameplay and events – though of course, as with most Neoromance games, they’re not fully voiced.

Angelique and Corda d’Oro also have a couple fandisks. In fact, the only Corda d’Oro game I’ve played so far is 2 Encore, which is technically a fandisk, but it had enough gameplay that I think it stands on its own. Though the story itself was bare bones, I found the game to be a lot of fun, and it made me want the original game.

Now Will o’ Wisp is getting its own fandisk, Easter no Kiseki, coming out on October 10. I’m kind of skeptical on this one, because the original game felt very short to me. I liked it, but didn’t really feel it was a full-length game, especially as most routes followed a very similar path. The only new thing I see in this one so far is that Emily is brought back as Emilio, a boy. I really liked her subplot in the game, so I might get this on sale, but I still don’t think I’ll get it when it first comes out.

When you really like a game, do you buy its fandisks? Do you think they’re worth it?

0 Responses to “The question of fandisks – are they worth it?”

1. Keo says:

   September 12, 2008 at 2:29 am

   I totally agree with you on that part, with majority of fan discs being worth it. (Especially if you enjoyed the game) The La Corda d’Oro Fandisc was really a lot of fun, since I played the main game and it was nice seeing them all together again and playing them all. ^O^

   BUT. I find the ones that are made for like the 18+ Otome Games, a total rip off most of the time. There aren’t much to say, but from the three that I’ve played with the gameplay is pretty short and it’s only nice if you liked the game and all. They’re good especially if you liked the game…but comparing to how short it is and all, it just is just so not worth that big huge price of almost the main game though.
2. Yamialexa says:

   September 14, 2008 at 8:55 am

   I’d say it depends on what the fan disc contains.

   I have Harutoki 3 and though I’d really really like to get Tomomori and Shirogane I don’t want to buy Izayoki since it’s basically the same thing again with just some little extras. I bought Unmei no Meikyuu however since it promised a new story.

   But if you liked the original story, it’s always great to see the characters again in a fan disc story, so overall I’d say most of them are worth buying.