Shining Song Starnova

Shining Song Starnova
N/A
Metacritic
94
Steam
80.499
xDR
Our rating is calculated based on the reviews and popularity of the game.
Price
$7.49
Release date
13 September 2018
Developers
Publishers
Steam reviews score
Total
94 (302 votes)

Take the stage in Shining Song Starnova!

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Shining Song Starnova system requirements

Minimum:

  • OS: Windows XP
  • Processor: 1 GHz Intel or AMD Processor
  • Memory: 1024 MB RAM
  • Graphics: OpenGL or DirectX Compatible Graphics Card
  • DirectX: Version 9.0c
  • Storage: 3 GB available space

Recommended:

Recommended requirements are not yet specified.
Updated
App type
Steam APP ID
675240
Platforms
Windows PC
Mac
Linux
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Kronos27
Kronos27

Pretty long game (expect around 40h of playtime) with a surprisingly low amount of sexual Innuendo.
the game is basically like a long book with the first part being similar for all girls and the second part branching out in 7 (quite different) parts.

Decisions have only minimal influence on the game, no need to level up any stats by choosing right answers - basically you cannot choose any answers anyway, decisions are limited to 1-2 in each "Lifepath".
"Wrong" decisions will quickly dump you in a bad end, with the option of jumping directly back to the decision and pick the other path.

Characters are written pretty well and have very different traits, ambitions and behaviour. The storylines are diverse and fit each of the girls.

Recommended, buy on discount.
And look for the +18 patch if you want to spice up things a bit.
But again - sex isn't really the main thing here, more like the icing on the cake.

Cyrus
Cyrus

I was on a fence for this one for years since i didn't like that they put Sunrider on hold to make this. But i recently put down my pitch fork and gave it a try.
This is the first VN in a long time that made me laugh, cry and get emotionally invested inn. This is Love in space VN writing at its finest. First presenting a simple story when you start it, then the story gets layers on layers to the point that if you have want to get the whole story you have to play it 1 more time.
+ You do get to learn a lot about Japanese culture and the production of idol/Anime by reading this. I even picked up the names of some unique drinks and food like Shochu . Gave it a try at my bar for the first time and i'd never would have picked it up if it was not for Starnova.

TheHolliwood
TheHolliwood

Really enjoyed this one. A lot of time is spent in the beginning to set up the premise and it gave enough time to get to know everyone, before any choices need to be made. Every route felt unique and interesting enough, to make me want to see all there is. While the english translation/grammar is a bit dodgy at times, it always got the point across.

stevenhorbury622
stevenhorbury622

a super tedious but beautiful game, the dialogue can get really annoying in this game but the animation and art is really good, music is fine too, but if that's the case it should also have language options for voices, i was mainly getting sick of reading that i skipped a lot of it, next time keep the dialogue to minimum or have language options something, i won't give it a thumbs down but its more of a middle ground for me, also as a visual novel i feel like it was lacking in the choices area, it was more forced than anything, you barely had any control in the game, still not a bad game just needed more thought into it

Ayanami
Ayanami

Overall while there were a lot of bad things that happened, it was great to see how the characters all worked to surpass them and find a happy ending. Very hopeful even in the face of despair, and being able to keep that hope and fight for your dream is a very important thing that is shown.

Order I did (Was going favorite to least, not including Sasami who would have been first or second):
Mika, Julie, Mariya, Nemu, Aki, Nattan.

Best thing about it is that I genuinely grew on the characters I did not like after really diving into their arc and learning more about them.

Jimmyn0x
Jimmyn0x

When it comes to anime games, adult or not, I always look for two main things generally, and in neither of these did Starnova disappoint, but more about this in a moment.

You portray the role of a manager of an up and coming all girl pop group in Japan. I had no idea how cutthroat this business was before playing this. I mean I can't believe the 'Spice Girls' would have been through this trauma and drama in a Western world. This opened my eyes for how hard this industry must be in Japan and I have new respect for other Asian groups like 'Black Pink' for example.

The story is superb, and the translation is perfect (one of my main boxes and gripes checked). I ran through my first play trough, and the ending with Mariya (my original fave girl) and I enjoyed it tremendously. The H scenes are not overboard, nor blurred out and ended up enhancing the experience for me. If you are here for just anime boobies, this might not be for you, this one is definitely more for fans of narrative and story. With that said, the sexy scenes arent' written with the same passion as the story, felt a bit off at some points, but then again, not a lot of reading happens when viewing sexy scenes normally :) Other than that there really is very little to fault in this game.

As with anime games in general, the art, sound and music is perfect, absolutely no complaints. All of this has left me with the feeling of wanting to try all the other ending the game has to offer, so replay-ability and choices matter boxes checked as well. And this brings me to most important thing about anime games for me. A simple question really. Is it moving? Does playing/reading it move you? Do you feel some bond or feeling when reading it and experiencing this life through the eyes of these characters. And it is a resounding yes. It will not leave you unmoved with it's magic. A really good visual novel this, and highly recommended for fans of this genre. A little undiscovered sleeper gem. 9/10

Absolute|NOOB|
Absolute|NOOB|

At first, I thought this would be another management game like Sunrider Academy. But it's not, sadly though.
Anyway, this one is good!!! The characters are cute. Music is OK, kinda match with each situation. The plot is somehow normal everyday life stuff, sometimes it's happy, sometimes it's sad. There are not many choices to be made though, which is ok imo. I took 10 hrs for my first route and I'm pretty sure that it's the best route// will read the others when I've time. #teamMariya

Shiro♌
Shiro♌

So... Our story takes a place in Japan, where a lot of successful people are working - The business is unpredictable, fast, and a hella huge ammount of money is there to achieve.
The business has been turning around the most famous - So, around Quasar, and the Empress of Entertainment, Shiro Okuda.
The beautiful woman, that has everyone dreamt of... Quasar was a nightmare in a certain degree, due to the highest requirements to keep up there, to not be fired, but also the best one, as the time spend there could've made you pretty easily and fast the best of the best(s).

You play as a male, who has been a celebrity, a famous idol, but due to the certain circumstances, your manager has decided to move on, to throw you and the rest of your friends, who've been singing with you altogether.
Some of them have already died, the others have travelled away, and the rest has stayed, being forced to find a new job to begin with.
Once all that have been gone, your Dream to achieve or catch-up to has changed. Being idol didn't mean a lot to you - Instead, you've decided to create the idols yourself by starting being a producer of a starting, unknown club, that has later on been renamed on Starnova, also known as just Nova amongst the fans.

You were there to accomplish your Dream, to be proud of being yourself, not for money. The money was just a reward. A bonus.
The beginning was hard - You don't know anyone, and so on...
- But, as the time flied on, you've grown up with those idols, that were working in Starnova. They were no more like idols for you, but like your family.

As you keep being a workaholic, some feelings start to develop between you, and between the center of Starnova, that you've had to announce.
Some symptoms of... Love. Lust. Hope. Energy... Regretts. Sadness... Happiness...-

Because the time flies by, you do hardly even notice, that the center starts to be developing the same feelings towards you... Unfortunately, a producer and an idol - That'd mean violating the rules in the business, and therefore being disbanded.

Well... As much as I'd love to tell you more, I have to end it here. I don't want to ruin your story, expectations, by explaining and elaborating, how great this game is!
Seriously... It can make you to drop crocodile's tears in any minute. It's... Beautiful, sad, happy...

PS; Shiro-Senpai is the best. The best of the bests... And will be.. for me.. Forever, the only one.

Good luck! Happy reading!

In case you'll need someone to talk to about Watanabe Julie, Kashiwagi Aki, Shimazaki Sasami, Yamamoto Mariya, or Okuda Shiro... I'm all ears.
I'll be more than happy to help you to go through it.

That's it from me, enjoy!

Chippai
Chippai

My first grievance is that I have to play as some Japanese virgin. Instant immersion breaker. "Mr producer" would have been better.

Second up is the voice acting, my biggest issue. The Kansai girl doesn't sound "kansai" at all, to compound this issue, most of the time when she speaks, regardless of what the English text says, a sound clip of a (presumably) Kantou resident says "そうやね”. This is already annoying about 30 minutes in; I will likely be going insane by 5 hours. (Edit: This does not improve; she has just "yahoo'd" 3 times in a row, sadly 2 of the lines actually utilised the word "Yahoo").

I know it is impossibly expensive to voice every line, but would if be so hard to cast a little more carefully and maybe get a few different recordings of the same line to mitigate such repetition?

Next weird gripe: "Starnova" doesn't mean "new star" in latin; star is modern Germanic English. Stella is the word for star in Latin. This is expected or a cheap translation, but alas English is meant to be the first language of the creator. Overall, the writing is above average in general though ("average" is a pretty poor measure of prowess when compared to machine translated wank though).

The character types are as tropey as expected (and hoped for). The art is nice (the boobs are fairly weird though, most of the girls look strange; only 2 have vaguely human proportions).

Finally, I appreciate that gay men are not the target audience here, but I cannot be the only person tired of the "OMG HE IS GAY" spit take reaction whenever a character is more than 14% queer? Tired trash. This point alone moved me from slightly positive to heavily negative. I expected something much better from an American developer. Using that same character for two roles at the time of writing also seems a like a lazy way to make your voice clips go further.

Overall verdict: 50% or more sale item.
In general, there is more here than most VNs, unfortunately much of the more is rather poor.

Lil Glowsticc
Lil Glowsticc

11/9 would sell my spine for mika

Dorian Gray
Dorian Gray

Reading through it to the first ending took about 8 hours. Those hours were filled with various impressions. Sometimes the story is intense, sometimes funny, clichee, erotic, fourth-wall-breaking or just cute. The different sides of the subject of idols are presented with the upsides and downsides of fame, relationship building at work, dating people and earning people's trust. And compassion.
And compassion is the one red thread of fate being woven through the entire story. When one casts the veil of lies and deception, of frustration and desperation aside, the warm feeling of compassion shines through. Compassion shines like a star.
This is the first visual novel I read which featured the protagonist asking the other main characters of the story what *they* wanted and wished for, listened to their wishes and tried to make everyone happy without abusing their own position of power or objectifying anyone. It's not about clicking on the right boxes to gain maximum favor with anyone, it's about immersing yourself into this world of glitter and uncertainty and about bringing the light to those who crave it but can't get it on their own.

Fishy
Fishy

Man, where to even begin with this title...

This was my first real experience with the Visual Novel (VN) medium, and I couldn't be happier that I chose Shining Song Starnova. I highly recommend this VN to anyone. I loved everything from the characters, the art style, the music, the stories, and the messages and meaning conveyed by these stories.

While the characters all have their 'trope' that makes them come off as a generic VN character/idol group member, the game actually addresses those tropes, and dives deeper into each character on her own routes to develop them beyond our surface level understanding, and judgement, of them.

I love that this game delves a little deeper into the world of Idols, and entertainment as a whole, to offer a more realistic and relatable experience. However, this game is heavily a work of fiction/drama, The scenarios you find yourself in aren't exactly impossible, but they are highly exaggerated (as many good stories are) and kind of plays into this sense of irony/self awareness that the game has in being an anime/VN.

All in all, this is a fantastic read. It took me about 45 hours to fully read every line in the game, experience every CG, look at all the backgrounds, and appreciate the music. I have personally been inspired by the girls of starnova to better myself, and I took to heart the morals of each of their stories. For me, this title was life changing. I do not expect it to have such a profound effect on everyone, but never-the-less this is a fantastic work of art and literature.

(Aki is my favorite by the way, she is #1 in my heart)

sandramino
sandramino

This is probably one of the best VN I've played!

Great stories for all different paths that really suit the characters backstory leaving you truly invested in the outcome, both for the main girls, but even the side characters and rivals of the girls.

Add to that great art, music and 18+ scenes/animations and a great bonus scene after finishing all paths this is easily one of my top visual novels ever and easily worth the price!

Tornado Messiah
Tornado Messiah

Where to begin... Why do I have to recommend a "Yes" or a "No"? I would rather just recommend it as "Meh". Granted, I am coming into this VN right after some, IMO, spectacular VN's, so my standards may be a bit high right now, hence why I'm recommending "Yes"

The lack of full voice acting was a real let down, especially with the $30 price tag I paid for this VN garners. Most of the sound quips that play when a character starts are just annoying, particularly Natsuki's pig calls and Julie's random swear words.

Speaking of characters, I would best describe them as a mixed bag. Each fills a niche, such as tsundere or yandere, so there's something for most peoples' tastes. Some were good, some I hoped would have been unceremoniously killed off and written out of the story completely. My chief complaint is that with each character's "niche", there was no subtlety or restraint. It was all over-the-top and overbearing.

The art was by no means bad, but also unnoteworthy.

The story just didn't grab me. I'm sure some people will love it, but it just wasn't my cup of tea, probably due to my issues with the characters.

Overall, it's not the worst VN I've ever read, but by far not the best. If you were going to buy it, I'd recommend waiting for it to go on sale, which it is right now as I'm writing this. But if it's not on sale, you'd be better off buying a different VN for around half the price and twice the quality.

HAWAIIANpikachu
HAWAIIANpikachu

Literally wholesomeness and depression. I'm barely halfway through the game. Stop sending my feels back and forth from happiness to depression, my heart can only take so much of this stuff.

1996nick2
1996nick2

Good overall. There was a lot of good writing, but a fair amount of irritatingly cheesy monologuing. Especially the second half of Marya's route. The spriting was excellent overall, especially since asymetrical characters had different sprites for facing left and right. It bugs me when a game just mirrors the same image and it looks bad. I do wish the jaws would go down when their mouths open, though.
Mika and Kaori are my favorites, even though Sasami have the most attractive-looking sprites. I relate to Mika more than is probably healthy, and Kaori is just the best.
Great cast of characters, and largely well-told stories.

kennyd971
kennyd971

I came into this thinking this was going to be a half-ass story for a good wank. BOOOOY WAS I WORNG! This is one of the best VN i'v read. the story is over 10+ hr for gust the first ack, and 100% worth gitting all the ending.

Dan S
Dan S

Fantastic story and development for all the characters. Highly recommend.

Stormfeud
Stormfeud

Rather generic premise but with a story that is above average. It is not fully voiced and the poses are limited, but the art style and music is decent. Honestly speaking, this VN is not my cup of tea but it's still rather enjoyable. 7.8/10

MonoNoAware
MonoNoAware

Eh... with almost 20 hours of play, and having completed my first route just a few minutes ago, which was a good ending route with Julie. Hmm... Since Im Asian and this is an Asian VN, and Julie seemed to complain about Asian men, but Japanese men to be specific, so I will give it a more complicated rating. I give this a rating of 3.12 out of 5. Maybe the rating will jump to a 3.5 if I decide to play other routes. I feel immersed at times, but this VN lacks choice selection. As I stated above, completing my first route, and from what I can recall, a selection of choice was only brought up no more than three times. Other than that, your simply reading throughout. So, I wish this VN had more choice making rather than just reading, and I would love the routes to be even longer as well. Perhaps Mariya will be my second play through. I wanted her to be my first, but my guts told me to go Julie first. Overall, having completed my first route with good ending Julie, I assume I wont be expecting much out of the VN as a whole compared to other VNs that I have read. I guess, I was expecting more. However, Im not exactly satisfied, nor do I dislike it so far. I guess I was just a bit disappointed. As I stated, I was expecting more choices available to select and have an impact on the story, and for the story/route to be longer.

Knight Captain Otaku
Knight Captain Otaku

So far I'm really enjoying this, havent even gotten to pick my waifu yet but the story was far better then I thought itd be so I had to write this! If you like Visual Novels Id say its worth getting picked up!

Yoshiezny
Yoshiezny

Literally the same generic plot of idol story like Love Live or idol master, started from the bottom and trying their best to be the top idol.

But what made this VN is different than other idol anime story?
So here it is. As an idol producer, you can get a "special treatment" from your idols.

Gregole
Gregole

A really touching and well-crafted story. Love in Space is managing to produce VNs that target the real 20- or 30-something western fans who are buying these games on steam, and effectively giving a story with a modern modern take on the genre while still feeling fresh. With 7 endings, providing you go for them all, the story has plenty of gas in its tank, yet doesn't overstay its welcome. Certain other VNs are simply too long. This one is a simple ride with 7 branches. Make each girl dreams come true, simple. Each one earned a place in my heart, even the girls who I disliked before reluctantly choosing to pursue their end. The "best" girl's ending does not unlock until you get all the other ones - I started with the girl I feel deserves a happy ending though, and that's Mariya - a character who I feel would likely not have been included had this game been produced in Japan. And that's precisely why Love in Space and this story are winners in my book. Great work!

Officer of Lies
Officer of Lies

Very entertaining, but also surprisingly dark. I laughed a lot at the characters antics but I also got an idea for how the pop idol industry is way more cutthroat and exploitative than you might realise.

Mariya is best girl

JCFrito
JCFrito

My pp has been reasonably satisfied.

EternalAmbiguity
EternalAmbiguity

8/10. An interesting premise, an interesting story, reasonably interesting characters.

Technical details / Presentation: It's a RenPy VN, so nothing special going on technologically. Art has the standard OELVN slight-weirdness. This is a story about idols who produce music so you might expect the vocal music to be good. You'd be wrong: it's terrible, but that's also kind of par for the OELVN course. One nice touch is that the music is performed by the voice actors for the actual characters. The soundtrack is pretty decent at establishing the mood of a scene.

Gameplay: ...it's a RenPy VN. You pick your girl, and then halfway through you pick bad/good end. I think there was one route where the character did not have a choice, and one route where there were two (but only one of them mattered and split into bad/good ends).

Story: There's a lot to unpack here. This has been either the best or worst time to read this VN, as during the last few weeks I've been listening to KPOP literally every workday to keep my mind occupied (I'm listening to Lovelyz as I'm writing this).

Shining Star Starnova is the story of 7 has-been idols and their producer giving the industry another try hoping to get famous. Each of the characters fits perfectly within a trope: the yandere, the loli who's really cutthroat, the "lamb," the "I'm too old for this" 25 year old who acts 45, the foreigner who's outspoken (she's the only character who curses) and over-lewd, the country girl who's dumb, the chuuni. You get a route with each, which is a pretty impressive effort. There's a common route where the group establishes themselves, and then you pick your girl.

The writing can be kind of clumsy. In the common route there's a moment they wanted to push as "the girls overcome their fears," but some of their "fears" are things that came out of nowhere, mere moments before the big climax. They were conjured up for a big dramatic moment. This happens a couple of times in the common route, and a few times in the girls different routes. I think what makes it so clumsy is that it happens to seven characters all in a row at once.

Along similar lines, while this is a general videogame problem, the compulsion to get equal amounts of dialog out of each character results in really silly moments where 7 character have to respond to a situation verbally, or engage in most conversations. One of the girls is a shy NEET: it doesn't make sense for her to be talkative. But she "needs" to have an equivalent amount of screen time as the other characters, so she gets lots of really stock chuuni lines that rarely fit the situation.

Additionally, their attempts to weebify things are pretty awful sometimes. One character frequently has "mou" written out in English in her dialog (and it happens for other characters with other words). I caught at least one instance of "it can't be helped."

The MC initially comes off as the typical OC stand-in. He does have a pretty relevant backstory though, and a couple of routes involve it pretty heavily. He has a name, though apart from one route (that involves his background most directly) everyone just calls him "Producer-san." They lampshade this a bit, where he complains occasionally that people have forgotten he has a name.

I got the 18+ patch, because I'm a bad person. This is a story that could use a 17+ patch like Newton and the Apple Tree had, because there are plenty of moments where the characters are naked and it feels appropriate, but that doesn't mean one wants full-on sex scenes with animated characters engaging in full penetration and awkward VO (complete with a loud, long intelligible squeal at climax). Sex scenes in an idol VN have a lot of potential narrative value, but here it's almost never plumbed. In a number of routes the MC explicitly discourages the idea of sex on the grounds of impropriety, yet 15 minutes later the girl is giving him head and his lines are something like "how could I be expected to tell her no?" There's usually one during the route, and one at the end in an obviously fanservice moment. One thing that bothered me: in numerous scenes the MC sucks on the girl's nipples, and says he feels like a baby. This also happens during a "fandisc" extra episode where another character says it. Even for this kind of thing which includes hardcore sex with a loli character (18* of course) this feels incredibly creepy. I may have mommy issues, but I don't want to feel like an actual baby when interacting with a woman.

The age thing. Here we go, prepare for an "Ok boomer" moment. One of the girls is 27, and the game acts like she's on death's door. Everyone talks about how she's too old to be an idol. There's a line "Most idols were retired by the age of 27, for their own good. They could hurt themselves during a dance routine." There's a line from one of the other girls "I've noticed a sag in her chest." "I don't know what's wrong with my body. I just keep getting fatter and fatter. And I ache everywhere all the goddamn time." At one point she uses a fricking oxygen container.

This was unquestionably the worst part of this VN. It goes without saying but 27 isn't even beginning to approach old, isn't even beginning to approach the time where you'd be unable to keep up physically. Blackpink is the most popular idol group right now (one of their videos on Youtube has over 1 billion views) and their members are 23-25. Twice, probably in the top three, has members aged 20-24. Girl's Generation has members who are 30 or 31. This is only within KPOP. I didn't watch the Super Bowl but after hearing the hubbub I watched a bit of the (rather gratuitous) halftime performance. Those women are 43 and 50, and what I saw of that performance was as active as anything I've seen in a KPOP music video.

One argument might be that the story is trying to portray the idol perception of age rather than reality, but the focus on obviously ridiculous things like her chest sagging from age at 27 implies to me that the writers are serious about her being over the hill. This irritated me so much.

Okay. There are 7 routes, but one is locked until you've completed all the rest. The routes differ quite a bit and really ought to be played in a loose order. If you go to the gallery you'll see them in an order that works okay, though I'd put Nemu near the middle. The main thing is probably to keep Aki until the end or near the end. Each girl still kind of goes through her arc in the other routes, which is a nice way of circumventing the situation VNs typically have where a girl is suspended in time when her route isn't chosen. This is the story of Starnova, after all, not just the girl you pick (and the route choice is really intrinsically related to Starnova as a whole). There's a rival idol group "Quasar" who plays a pretty heavy role in the story. I'll mention a few highlights:

Julie's route seems special to me because the conflict arises from her personal faults. Most routes are centered around either external conflict or completely sympathetic emotional/mental "weaknesses," but Julie's involves her being kind of "bad" person and having to deal with that. That's nice. Also worth mentioning, some of the 18+ content gets uncomfortable (in ways similar to 50 Shades).

Nemu's conflict winds up being entirely sympathetic to her as referenced above, but it goes in some pretty interesting directions.

I found Aki to be consistently annoying, but her route is probably the best after the "true" one.

The true route has a fabulous conceit, but the way it's executed seems a little unrealistic. If Sasami can maintain her kind, gentle nature after dealing with everyone (especially Aki) in her own group, why would Shiro be able to change that?

Ryder King
Ryder King

Overview

The story is about a young producer (the players character) that dreams of creating the top Idol group in Japan and he starts working on a, once apon a time, agency that had big clients, but now was in a smaller scale size business. He signs 7 "wanna-be idols" who all want a second chance of becoming a well respected idol.

Art Style and Sound

Anime Art style with gorgeous detailed character designs and backgrounds. Characters with multiple diferente expressions on dialogs, a great well designed "big moment" stills.
The game is fully Voiced, with Voice actors for pretty much everyone, main characters or otherwise, with the exclusion of the players character. Fantastic work there.
Also the game has a full soundtrack with track specially composed for the game!

Story

Where to even start with this story....The presentation, the setting, the characters....all amazing. It's really hard to unvail what this story is about without giving spoilers, because the story is so well written that every second is basically a spoiler.
The story is about a young producer (the players character) that dreams of creating the top Idol group in Japan and he starts working on a, once apon a time, agency that had big clients, but now was in a smaller scale size business. He signs 7 "wanna-be idols" who all want a second chance of becoming a well respected idol.
The game in general does not contain many choices, but in this case it's ABSOLUTELY fine, because the story is so well constructed, you legitimate feel like your watching a amazing anime, and the fell time you do have to choose, those choices basicaly determine if your going for the good or bad ending from that character.
This game's story is filled with great humor, drama, romance, suspense, hope, even a little action, all in one story.
It also shows the cutthroat side of the entertaiment world, of business in general really; the rotten side of human beings, but also the amazing side of others; shows stories about broken dreams a the rekindling of those dreams.
It talk about human selfishness and overcoming of those. Also raises awareness to serious issues as in mental illness.
The H-patch is present in my game, because i felt like without it the games creators vision was conceived with it, so i felt like i was going to miss things, and i was right! The scenes that involve sex are 100% intagrated into the story, and make absolute sense, and most of it are even about people being or fallin in love. I guarantee it's more tastful then some recent successful history stories in general media that were legit porn in disguise. *cough* 50 shades of gray *cough*. So go in without fear of gratuitous H-scenes just for fan service. In my view is more like an adult story being told to adults, where i assume people can be mature enough to interpret the same way.

Gameplay

Gameplay wise it plays like your regular VN model we're all accustomed to, which is absolutely fine.

Verdict

+ Fantastic story all around. As said previously This game's story is filled with great humor, drama, romance, suspense, hope, sacrifice, action, all in one. It's a MASTERPIECE of a story.
+ Very relatable characters and situations (relatability that adaptable to our realities of course)
+ It's like finding that new amazing Anime or Show and not being able to unglue your behind from the chair and eyes from the screen, until either your to tired to continue or you actually finish it.
+ It's talks about so many human emotions e even conditions so beautifully, even raising awareness to some of those!
+ The game's H-DLC is hentai-ish yes, but it's completly integrated into the story, and all of it (mostly, like 95%) is about love between the characters. In my view, since sex is a normal thing in life as i see it, everyone should play with it, regardless of gender or orientation. but you can play with as miss very little to nothing since it apperently explains whats going on in those times without showing it, according to what i could gather from the discussions tab.
+ It's a well worthy investment of your time and money guaranteed.

RECOMMENDED A MILLION TIMES OVER

spartan1232
spartan1232

Came for Seycara Orchestral... stayed for the surprisingly developed characters... and somewhat dark stories?

Dead Veterán
Dead Veterán

Boooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooring

Machina
Machina

No Kodama route. Seriously disappointed. Seriously.

Melancholy
Melancholy

theres not so many choices you can make in the game. Took about 9-10 hours for the first choice to pop up and finished my first girl's route on my 16th hour gameplay, all with the auto-read pace.

Terranaunt
Terranaunt

Tongue-in-cheek funny novel.
Though I kinda wish it would be more serious ;D
Will recommend though.

xX(Warrior250)Xx
xX(Warrior250)Xx

Beautiful Visual Novel, it never dawned on me that I even regret purchasing the game.
There are such moments in the game where the description of the scenario greatly impacts how I feel, as if bringing me into the situation itself even if it's just through the boundaries of my imagination. Tense, anger, pity, and a multitude of emotions I usually don't express were all but invoked by a just by hearing the story of Mariya in her route.

This isn't my first RenPy VN, and having gone through "If My Heart Had Wings", straight out reading for long periods without being presented with choices isn't stranger to me.

My first route, and probably the one I loved most as of yet that I'd consider it my own canon, is Mariya. After all that she went through, she definitely deserved the happy ending. Babies ever after!

Zaethexboy
Zaethexboy

Bruh I can't wifey all of them got me sad no cap but great game every girl is great in their own way

OldManEstabon
OldManEstabon

only play this if you would give your life for ire and anguihdishes

beccaisadog
beccaisadog

Great story, great animation. The writing is funny. A bit slow in the beginning, and it takes a while before you set out on a route. H scenes are not necessary for the story, but they are very quality.

deemo
deemo

Pretty good game, it's similar to Fruit of Grisaia, shows you how the real world is not as fair as people say or imagine, and shows the dark side behind peoples real motives in order to achieve their ambition or desires.

xMEISTER98
xMEISTER98

Each girl has a long and deep story which is explored in great detail. The story is quite engaging and, despite over exaggerating here and there, it doesn't go too far. The main ideas behind the scenarios can easily be understood even when you don't know anything about idols, as all key aspects are explained when you need that knowledge to understand what is going on. I won't deny though that some knowledge about Anime and japanese culture may be needed to fully appreciate what this VN tries to do.

I personally recommend watching "Love Live" before playing this game so that you get an idea of what Idols seem to be like and then get glimps of how it really is when you play this game.

Tory
Tory

Good game, cute girls, great writing, good music.

Karl Wolffe
Karl Wolffe

Story is good since there's different story for different routes though the VA pretty much repeats the same words that it doesn't make sense to the subtitles.
Expect a longer playtime to complete the whole game.

Nachtflügel
Nachtflügel

If you've played any of Love In Space's other works, this is a little different because there is less in the gameplay aspect. This is purely a visual novel, so I would steer clear if you aren't into reading. But for those who are okay with that, or in fact, are into reading visual novels, it's great.

The story revolves around the idol industry in Japan. The fame and money that idols gain come with hard work, but there are deep, dark secrets in the industry that make it hard for the idols to succeed. There is a lot of exploration in the underground world as to the things that some idols may or may not do, besides regular idol work, to achieve their dreams and reach the top. While some of it is probably true, some of the things that happen or that's talked about is pretty exaggerated, given what I've seen and read about in the actual idol industry in Japan or South Korea. The exaggerations didn't ruin anything for me and felt like a necessary addition for the story to be good the way it is now.

The characters are well-designed with their personalities revolving around typical tropes in entertainment. While it can be a bit annoying at times, they aren't overly used to a point of hating any of them. The characters aren't static with these tropes being the only thing they have for them, but they are more of something familiar to them to fall back on. They each have their own unique backstory, which for the main girls, became part of the reason they want to become an idol. Some are pretty straightforward to understand, while others have interesting skeletons in closet that once you dig them up, it makes you want to read more. In essence, most of the characters and their progression feel pretty human. There are many things they do that are, some of which confusingly, things that occur in reality. Certain things might make you wonder as to why people, business, and society are the way they are. There is partial voice acting, with the main scenes having full voice-acting, and the rest of them having some sound bits.

Overall, a great read about a dark idol industry that might be a bit hard to get through at first, but it delivers by the end. If you are of legal age and interested in more adult things, I recommend getting the free 18+ patch, which just adds some extra content and is by no means necessary for the story. Not all routes are immediately playable, but in my opinion, this design choice was a good idea to encourage the player to understand the characters before really getting down to the story the developers wanted to deliver. A lot of the content is easier to understand if you are familiar with the idol industry in Japan or South Korea.

Animeki
Animeki

All girls are best girls because they all deserve some love.

nowayfarout
nowayfarout

Shining Song Starnova is a fantastic visual novel with heaps of content and a story that will keep you on your toes. It's probably not a great game to play if you are currently grappling with the transient nature of existence because of how the idol/entertainment industry functions. However, Starnova definitely has plenty of invigorating moments that'll make the more difficult spells worth experiencing.

Kolya
Kolya

>Gets Nemu Bad End
>DDLC Intensifies

Ghospa
Ghospa

Really enjoyed the story even if the whole idol business isn't my thing. The art is great, the writing is nice and the soundtracks are pretty dandy. Also the fact that one of the girls is locked till you played trough all other routes really encourages you to go trough the entire game and I definitely enjoyed paths I didn't tought I would from the first look in the games intro.

Nicopolis
Nicopolis

Is very fun, I recommend the "steamy" patch, you can find this online easily.

xxFionAxx
xxFionAxx

- Nice as shown in review rating, my conclusion rating is 82/100

HAYSEU.群青
HAYSEU.群青

bought on sale, worth the price, 10/10. -100 ligtas points

Nick Toe
Nick Toe

Well, I'm not even through a single route yet, and I already can tell that this is a criminally underrated VN. It has great premise and characters, decent writing, many hours of content, fine music and even authentic Japanese voice acting. I mean, what else to wish for?

It is also quite unusual in a way that you get to play as girl characters during their routes, and not only the MC.

I've only played one other game by Love in Space - Sunrider Academy - and honestly Shining Song Starnova is MILES ahead in terms of production value, writing and art quality, and the amount of content in general. It's a damn shame that it doesn't get the amount of attention it deserves.

Some people in the negative review section are complaining about "lack of gameplay". Well, to these people I gotta say: thank GOD that this game isn't one of those repetitive skill management grindfests, like Sunrider Academy. I'd much rather have a VN focus on story and character development, rather than on unnecessary "challenge" elements that no one should care about.

chefcook90
chefcook90

Shoulda had a Kodama route ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Easily the coolest, wisest, camp-gay photographer / dance instructor in fiction.

I give it a 7/8

Kud
Kud

This is a really good VN on idols that I enjoyed all the 7 routes (of course I have a favorite character I like more than the other but all of them are great). The game is a really long story to read through even to just one route character but the pace is good in my opinion and do get to know the specific character you select backstory and know they are as a person while helping them to succeed as an idol since you the main character is the producer. Even the producer who you play as have a backstory (from a specific route you choose) to also understand his goal and why he became a producer.

This is a really good visual novel that have good music and the art style got more better from the developers' last game
I played they made which is Sunrider.
I don't mind much of little voice acting in the game since its still a great VN but can be nice if it did.

Tricks
Tricks

I wasn't sure how much I was going to get out of a VN whose plot revolved around the idol industry—something I was only vaguely familiar with and never had much interest in myself. But I was pleasantly surprised by the charming cast of characters, engaging story and lots of laughs to be had. There were genuinely heartwarming moments as well as some (pleasingly) over-the-top drama.

TLDR; Shining Song Starnova is a lot of fun, and I heartily recommend it.

Shadowfire34
Shadowfire34

If I could preserve only one piece of human culture to last forever it would be this. Not even joking. You may look at this game on the store page and think it'll be just another visual novel, but trust me when I say this one is special. Love in Space (devs) continue to deliver phenomenal storylines with lovable characters all around, and deeper meaning that may even change your whole worldview. If you read this far then please just buy this game, I promise you'll enjoy it.

Trychtr
Trychtr

10/10 i would like to sleep with idols again

djshuler1985
djshuler1985

normally I don't review games so please pardon me
Very complex story telling.
Girls has intense backgrounds
overall a solid B+ game

Acting - 9/10
Music - 10/10
CG - 9/10
stories - 9.5/10
characters - 9/10
main character - 6.5/10

Marcus Skerratt
Marcus Skerratt

A heart warning peace of art, It pulls st the heart and gives hope at the same time. The women are so sweet and compelling you could get cavadese

Ryudo
Ryudo

This is an amazing visual novel Ive ever had!

Kayto
Kayto

epic vn, love in space never fails to deliver.

Prime
Prime

A story about the grim reality of the idol business and what goes on behind the stage of this at first glance joyfilled world. With damn good art and a few choices for you to make its pretty good if you want to see what idols go through although I recommend it I would wait to get it on sale.

SkySoulSword
SkySoulSword

Based on what little I played, this visual novel might be kind of underrated. Plus it comes with a free DLC that restores the game to the original form. (Note: DLC is not for those underage.) The music is actually pretty good, which makes sense given the whole scenario. The story also has a wide variety of characters who seem to each have a little tale that led them to you, the producer. Plus whether you want adorable characters or mature ones you're definitely covered.

While the game does not have full voice acting, what voice acting there is has been very well done. Same with the art, a lot of time was clearly put into it as well. I will say based on what negative reviews I have seen though, the story may have issues as it goes on and the main character may not be that likable, though the latter isn't something I would be unused to dealing with.

Length: Depending on how you play, this visual novel seems to go from a range of 10-30 hours.
Art: 8/10
Voice Acting (Partial): 9/10
Music: TBD
Story: TBD

Extra Notes: If you're not a fan of NSFW scenes then obviously don't download the patch. Alternatively if you are then be sure to download the patch, especially if you like some story and emotions to go with it.

Developer Suggestions: Maybe add a Japanese translation and partial dub of Japanese voice acting. They seem to really love idols, so it could be worth pursuing.

Kaaa the Barbarian
Kaaa the Barbarian

I Cried and Came and Saw and Conquered!

Haki
Haki

This VN makes grown men (me) cry like babies.

Anonymous
Anonymous

Just a very enjoyable Visual Novel, but one other thing that enhances the story and keeps me coming back to play is the music, at times sad and haunting and others joyful and playful and I found myself many times just relaxing and listening to the music. definitely glad I purchased the soundtracks.

Ratcha_M
Ratcha_M

This game is, or rather this compary is, for no reason, give me the fear of pink haired girl. First with Sunrider, understandable. But now this! She just staring the producer right into his soul like a yandere or something. And both of them has to be pink haired, for no reason whatsoever.

Ittō Rikui Xoffee
Ittō Rikui Xoffee

Aki ending is best ending.
Change my mind

XXX⁧⁧♥sxtka
XXX⁧⁧♥sxtka

🖤LG4 Trey x SpaceMan Zack - Walk Out That Door🖤

Anime - Ijiranaide, Nagatoro-san

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENTJ82R7kCw
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▕◀▐▐ ►▏ ──○─ 🔊 0:00 / 2:54 ᴴᴰ⚙ ❐ ⊏⊐

🖤LXST CXNTURY - WAR🖤

Anime - Demon Slayer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPu6fwLzc1E
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▕◀▐▐ ►▏ ──○─ 🔊 0:00 / 1:50 ᴴᴰ⚙ ❐ ⊏⊐

🖤scarlxrd - we waste time FADED🖤

Anime - Naruto

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOhtN2xYB0A
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▕◀▐▐ ►▏ ──○─ 🔊 0:00 / 2:29 ᴴᴰ⚙ ❐ ⊏⊐

RavenHeresy
RavenHeresy

Ok, the characters are good, well developed, the story is ok, the endings are diversified and fleshed out, the art is good, the H is ok, the software is fine, branching is minimal but acceptable, etc. etc. It would be a fine VN except...

Damn, the writing is unbearable. This reads like its been written by 11yo weeb with asperger and ocd. The story and the characters are not deep enough to justify this heaping literary monstrosity. Everything that's in there could have been delivered with a quarter of the text. Maybe people feel they get their money's worth because the thing takes forever to read, but man is it quantity over quality. Clearly, the writers "tried their best", but damn was it not enough. Anyway, if you pick this up, just be ready for death by a thousand (wordy) cuts. Everything is overwritten and over described, you can generally see twists and turns come from a mile away and you *will* wish they just got to the point (and I don't even mean H, I mean anything of minimal substantive value story wise.) Some of the routes simply feels like they are wrapping up... then are wrapping up... then are wrapping up... for hours! I get what the creators tried to do, and I can believe this is a labor of love, but really, they need to be more respectful of people's time.

Shimmerback TTV
Shimmerback TTV

It's a VN (my first) where you're the producer/manager of a group of has been/wanna be JPop idols trying to make it to the top. There's a regular and an adult version (free patch), and so far I really enjoy it. It's entertaining, all of the girls are pretty distinctive, and I haven't laughed out loud at a game in a while. I'm only about a third through, but I'm loving it so far.

(Will update this when I'm done.)

cHamzKi
cHamzKi

Review using one quote from the game:

"PSA: ENERGY DRINK ABUSE IS NOT GOOD FOR YOUR CHEST! DRINK RESPONSIBLY!"

jeremy5-7-10
jeremy5-7-10

Best visual novel i have played, all the characters have very compelling stories and radically different outcomes based on the choices you make through their paths. Will likely play again and would highly recommend!! 10/10

Yureina
Yureina

I thought this would be a silly VN with a bunch of cute anime girls doing cute anime girl things. What I got was a silly VN with a bunch of cute anime girls doing cute anime girl things that sometimes got pretty dark and disturbing. Not quite to the same degree as something like Higurashi or Doki Doki Literature Club, but there were some moments that I remember really got to me.

Also at one point an alpaca shows up. It is as bizzare as it sounds.

takeohakuto
takeohakuto

After finally getting around to completing the final story line, I figured I owed it to the makers of this game to give a review. As many others have mentioned, this is a Kinetic Novel rather than a Visual Novel as there are precious few decisions that you make in the game. That is fine as constantly reminded by Producer-San in the game, you aren't the star of the story, that honour goes to the 7 members of Starnova.

On the whole, i don't know if you could call it fun and enjoyable, just because a lot of the subject matter deals with the abuse and bastardy that seems to be common place in the entertainment industry. However just because a story covers some messed up issues doesn't mean that it isn't worth going through, and sure enough by the end of each route each member of Starnova has dealt with their demons and learned to move on.

My biggest gripe with the game is the locking of Sasami's chapter until last, almost acknowledging that it is the "true" ending of the game. It builds upon all the histories of the other routes and so can present a culmination of everything that has happened, but I felt that it is only mildly interesting due to how passive Sasami felt as a character through the rest of the game. If I had to suggest a playthrough order, it would roughly be in the order I accidentally went through.

First (these two are fairly inoffensive and didn't really contribute much to the back story of the rest of the game):
Julie
Natsuki

Second (these two are touching on some of the more problematic elements of the industry as well as leading onto other stories):
Mika
Nemu

Third (whilst it does require the knowledge of the last two girls, and is locked until you complete everything else, it wasn't as interesting to me):
Sasami

Last (I thought either one was a more fitting end, and I did prefer Mariya's ending compared to Aki's but both have their strong points):
Mariya
Aki

Finally, I did enjoy the side characters in the game quite a lot, from dedicated fans Kyousuke and Junpei, through to choreographer and every person Kodama. It felt a bit nasty that Nitta Kaori was the punching bag for pretty much everyone in the game and it would have been nice if she could have had a more positive ending in one of the stories.

Finally, the game actually works well without the adult content. For the most part I skipped through the H-scenes just to continue with the story as I wanted to see where it would go next.

~y~Moff ♡
~y~Moff ♡

Remember folks! This game despite having the Nudity tag does NOT have the 18+ patch available! To see the girls in their full glory you must go to https://forum.loveinspace.moe/thread/568/shining-song-starnova-denpasof… which is a full comprehensive guide into unlocking the game's full potential!

Reborn
Reborn

Hentai content quality is average. Visual novel story is plain. The overall feeling is like a Japanese comic but the quality is below average for its price group.

NotAWeeb
NotAWeeb

Really enjoyed this EVN. I actually pirated it a while back and only played through the routes I liked, but recently I gave it a look again and decided to buy it and play through the entire thing from start to finish. Honestly, really happy that I did.

There were a few areas where the story drones on, but those moments were few in-between. However. There are quite a few grammatical errors outside of characters that are suppose to have grammatical errors. That plus quite a few real world references really broke my immersion from the game from time to time.

However, those things aside I really feel like this is a down to earth VN with a smart protagonist and interesting characters. Definitely worth your time and the full price if you can afford it if you're thinking about picking it up.

reconstructed
reconstructed

This game is so amazing and reccomended. so many beautiful girls
//////////////////////////
Play This Game Now
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sesa_serogol
sesa_serogol

One of the best dating SIM's I've ever layed my hands upon. The characters are deeply modelled with their own respective backstory and trauma. I just finished the game today (99%, can't find the last %-tile :'D). Truly a blissful adventure to behold and cherish.

DanB
DanB

It's a good game. I actually liked the characters a lot. The only bad thing is the absolutely terrible writing for the sex scenes. If you don't mind that, you'll probably like the game a lot.

SPAAAAAAACE
SPAAAAAAACE

It wants to be a critique of the absolutely pants-on-head backwards nonsense of Japanese Idol culture, but poor writing doesn't quite get it there.

Nightskies
Nightskies

The balance of humor, tension, and romance is in my sweet spot. "Why do we go through it all? We love idols."
The characters speak to the writer and the reader in these stories, gently enough as to keep the fourth wall standing firm. I love it.

hentaigod
hentaigod

cg's in this game are pretty hot, like me some crazy bitches too 10/10

Niteowl33
Niteowl33

Only 28% of people have gotten the achievement for finishing this VN. That should tell you everything. When the writing is good it can be pretty good. It certainly explores interesting aspects of the entertainment industry that I want to see explored in more media. However, when the writing goes to shit it really goes to shit and some characters just aren't interesting in the slightest. The "Main" girl is definitely the least interesting out of all of them, but you also can't do her route until you've done the other six much more interesting and whole stories. The final route honestly feels like a recap of the others instead of really adding much new to the story, with the exception of the most point blank and obvious themes one can think of (that have already been touched on in the other routes anyway). I won't say it's a worthless experience, but it's definitely the worst of what Love in Space has to offer.

eheuhuehuhshehehehhee
eheuhuehuhsheh…

WRITTEN SO WELL AND DEALS WITH A LOT OF MATURE THEMES. 【8/10】

Jera
Jera

This is a very good visual novel. High quality, very very long. Some routes are better than others, but that's a subjective thing anyways. I laughed, I cried, I felt happy; so many feels. I loved every aspect of it. I definitely recommend it. The 7th route is worth it and there's a reason you have to complete all the other 6 first, which is obvious once you do it.

HYeK
HYeK

About an hour of playtime...
5% completion...
This... is not gonna look good

10/10 would waste more time on this

Champion Red
Champion Red

I was pleasantly surprised with this VN, especially considering that it isn't from Japan. I do appreciate that there is some Japanese voice acting, although only a handful of scenes are voice while the remaining lines are either unvoiced or reuse generic expressions (which tend to get a bit annoying). I will say that the character designs grew on me, although they're far from the quality of certain other idol series.

As far as the story goes, there are three parts; the first part introduces you to your idols; in the second part, your idols "compete" for the center position, after which you get to choose the winner (except Sasami who requires the other routes to be completed); then the third part focuses on who you chose, and has a good or bad ending based on a single decision. The first two parts take about 8 hours, and each route in the last part takes about 2 hours each. Overall, this is a solid read if you like idols, but do be aware that there are some sensitive topics involved.

For the "bonus" content: each route has 3 animated H-scenes, and some routes have extra non-animated H-scenes. There is also 3 bonus H-scenes for completing all routes and reading the "onsen" story.

Anonymous
Anonymous

Wow... I really enjoyed getting to know all the characters and the Starnova story(s)!
Here's hoping for "Shining Song Starnova: 3" ;)

RRMY
RRMY
Check out our Steam curator , YouTube channel and Twitter!

[18+ VN] As a idol manager, grow up the shining stunning girls and get intimate with. Unique and nice anime artworks, 18+ DLC, partly Japanese voiced.
[18+ ADV] アイドル達のマネージャーとして彼女たちを育性せよ。18+DLCあり。

swhgames
swhgames

Don't often write reviews, especially on this account.

This game is exactly what I look for when purchasing a VN. The characters felt fleshed out and realised, the story touches on some very sensitive topics whilst never losing the overall "upbeat" feel from the game (although some of the darker moments were handled very well) and to be honest, you will really appreciate ever girl for what they bring to the story.

I thought I would be bored still by Julie but to be honest, her arc made some real deep connections with events in my own life.

Only downsides, if they can be called that, are the H scenes being a little too long in some instances, and the text within them ... just take the time to read it ok? I have never laughed so much at moments like this! Hard to consider it a raunchy scene with some of Producer-San's dialogue XD

NightCoreMoon
NightCoreMoon

It's a kinetic novel version of a standard harem anime, in all its cliched glory. I'd say the highlight of the experience so far is the character design; the lead developer also did the Sunrider series which I am a fan of, and its quality shines through (pun intended). It isn't particularly phenomenal in any other aspect, but nothing is aggressively mediocre either. CGs, writing, interface, voice acting, art, music, it's all serviceable if nothing to write home about; it does its job well which is tell a fairly solid story especially as far as this genre goes. There are also a few parts here and there that bring it higher than the sum of its parts. First impressions, I give it a solid 4/5. For reference on that scale, Katawa Shoujo is a 5/5 whereas the average Winged Cloud Sakura game is a 3/5. I am blessed to have not encountered a 2/5 or, god forbid, a 1/5.

However I am not impressed by the 18+ segments added by the patch. No I will not tell you how to do it here. The art? Totally fine, and not what I'm concerned about. The writing? It's cringe. It's like a totally different person wrote it. Frankly, I think it's an embarrassing blemish on an otherwise fine VN. However, that's not a part of the steam release itself, which is what I am reviewing here.

Circurose
Circurose

If you're an idol ota trash like me, you will enjoy this.

Some parts hit too close to home.

Joob
Joob

i'm not done with the 7th route but i enjoyed the game a lot