Putting the D in the double D.

Review: NO, THANK YOU!!!

A Crash Course for Love

No, Thank You!!! (stylized as NO, THANK YOU!!!) is a yaoi eroge published by MangaGamer that follows the misadventures of the protagonist “Haru”, a young man struck down in a car accident while protecting a random pedestrian. Unfortunately, the “accident” has left “Haru” with the good old video game trope of amnesia, meaning that he can’t remember his name, history or what he was even doing before the accident. After a stay in hospital, “Haru” is hired by Kouichi Inui, the man he saved from the opening of the game as a general helper at Sótano’s, the bar he owns. The bar is also staffed by three other men; Hiroyuki Akiyama, Maki and Ryu Kurosawa. As “Haru” progresses through the story, he will come to find that not everything is as it seems.

No, Thank You!!! attempts to utilize a different way in which the player can interact with the surroundings. Instead of the typical constant choice of questions the player, at certain times in the story, can click on the “NO, THANK YOU!!!” flag that appears on the top left of the screen. This mechanic is new but in a way it doesn’t bring much to the table other than frustration. In particular situations if you choose not to stop the proceedings you can get an instant game over, in fact, the first choice of the game will result in a game over if you get it wrong. Playing it is totally possible to save at any time. However, you will not know when the “NO, THANK YOU!!!” mechanic will appear and getting it wrong will deny you part of the game or end it altogether.

In trying to change the way in which a player interacts with a visual novel, NO, THANK YOU!!! has removed enough player input to the point where it should have been a novel or an anime, rather than an eroge. While it sill possesses multiple choice questions that will change the outcome of certain situations, they are few and far between compared to your usual interactive story.

The writing in NO, THANK YOU!!! could be better. While writing this, I was hesitant to blame everything on the game itself and pass a bit of the buck on to the translators. However, as the game progresses the interactions between “Haru” and the rest of the men at Sótano’s slowly paints a broader picture.The protagonist comes off as socially awkward, some may even call him “dumb” or “silly”. The writers may have attempted to make him “so goofy he’s cute” but it can come off as annoying in some aspects. To take an example from the game, upon given shoes to wear fresh off the feat of Akiyama, “Haru” proceeds to sniff them, in front of Akiyama. Fetishes of shoes and feet aside, it just becomes jarring in a social situation especially the one presented at the time. “Haru’s” language also comes off as a bit childish for his given age of twenty-two. He refers to pectoral/chest muscles as “Big titties” and in some cases he’s almost not able to groom himself physically.

The erotic content, art, voice acting and overall plot of the game aren’t that bad, it’s probably the most appealing part of NO, THANK YOU!!!. The massive amounts of artistic cut-scenes, superb music and voice acting along with the detail in the erotic sections are enough to sell the game. However, it’s going to come down to personal taste if you want to get that far considering the protagonist. Each man you encounter that you can sleep with has varying body types, personalities, and interests, and their attitudes to sex are ones you may not expect. If you’re new to games like this, you may want to use this as a jumping on point. If you’re a veteran of interactive smut, you may want to add this to your collection for the art and music alone.

All pictures and game content are (C) MangaGamer / Parade 

Pros

  • Great art Good voice acting Amazing music

Cons

  • Translation / Writing can be hit and miss Potentially annoying protagonist Some mechanics do not work that well
  • Gameplay
  • Story
  • Acting
  • Writing
  • Sound
  • Quality
  • Value
  • Durability
  • Art and Graphics
  • Replay Value

LewdFactor

If you’re new to Yaoi visual novels, you may want to use this as a jumping on point, if you’re a veteran of interactive smut, you may want to add this to your collection for the art and music alone.

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