TL;DR This Steam release is a bad way to experience Cross Channel, I cannot speak for the JP original, but in my opinion, after finishing this Steam version, your time will likely be better spent on different visual novels.



I initially started this vn ages ago and dropped it about 2-3 hours in cause of how unbearable the mc was and just how confusing everything that was happening was, I felt like I was reading a fever dream.
I restarted it a few months later with a clear mind, trying to go in as unbiased as possible. I have tried to write this review as spoiler-free as possible too.

I did not particularly enjoy this vn, parts of it I did enjoy, however they were not enjoyable enough to warrant praising it as a whole, the writing is not necessarily bad, it is just written in such a way where it’s annoying and frustrating to read through on purpose. I do not want to call the story here bad in terms of writing because after finishing it, I feel like I understand what the writer was trying to communicate, and credit is certainly due where it is due, however it is such a crazily woven story that it requires way too much understanding, perseverance and overall effort from the reader to be able to enjoy it without criticizing it after every other sentence.

Personally, I found myself annoyed at the way characters interacted with each other too many times to count, specifically with how characters for the most part think and speak logically for themselves until Taichi (main character) starts sexually harassing them, the characters then seemingly losing all of their ability to think and speak with the logic that they usually present themselves with before Taichi would start doing his thing. It did really annoy me in certain scenarios where there would be actual constructive interactions happening between characters, and then Taichi does his thing and the good interaction is no more, I do not want to elaborate more on Taichi, just read any other detailed review if you want to know more about him as a character.



There’s too much that I could write about in regard to this vn, so I am going to give my thoughts in small points rather than continue writing paragraphs:

As annoying and frustrating that this story is to read through, I can say after finishing it that yes, everything that does happen is integral to the story and has reason to exist, and I mean everything, even the Taichi example that I just wrote above.

I enjoyed the characters, the ones critical to the plot generally do have decent backstories, but with the way the vn is constructed as a whole, none of them ended up sticking out to me notably or left a lasting impression.

One thing that I can really praise the vn for is how it portrays mental illness through the story and characters, especially in the latter half of the vn, there are specific scenes which I thought were actually very good (the ending song is also really nice).



Now with my thoughts out of the way, here are some things I want to note:

There is no good way to experience this title in English without the original work being completely butchered, I’ve read enough reviews about this game to know that the Japanese original makes this a much better experience overall, with all English translations having severe problems.

This title is an experience with good effort put into it from the original author, but being an eroge it will have obvious eroge problems.

I did not read the extra scenarios, and I skipped my way through the correct ending route cause, without spoiling too much, I got ‘stuck’, and had to use a guide to get to the end, I felt inclined to skip my way through the last few scenes of the vn as by this point in the story, the vn had not earnt my trust to make me want to read through the last few scenes with expectation that it would be any better to the 10+ hours of content that I’ve ended up reading so far, and I was just generally bored with it at this point.



So, with my review done, is this worth your time? This Steam version at least for me was in my opinion not worthy of my time at all, maybe if I read the Japanese original would I have had a better experience, but as it stands, I would recommend reading literally anything else in the top rated visual novel section on vndb over this title, you will likely enjoy whatever else you choose to read more than this release of Cross Channel.

If you suck enough copium the translation being noticeably bad adds to the general vibe of disorientation this VN is going for. Miki Miki channel better tho

CROSS†CHANNEL is a very good visual novel game with a beautiful story.
The graphics are nice and the soundtrack is Chill and relaxing... I don't usually play this kind of game but the MoeNovel games are really great!!! I highly recommend it. 💗💗💗

Curry pan!!!!!!!

Sometimes, one can reflect upon the concept of medium, and without any hesitation the preferable one to impart deep teachings and stories will always be the book. Because the book has got a long story; countless people used books to express their feelings and expose to the world their philosophical thoughts.

All considered, this can be a logical way of thinking: since it's one of the most ancient medium and its story is related to, basically, the major part of the human thinking, the book is certainly a perfect way to express complex concepts.

However nice and well wrapped up they may be, books can even be weapons. At the same time a book can be an immense love letter or a declaration of hate; I think that such is the core of CROSS†CHANNEL. While not being an effective book, this Visual Novel is heavily oriented on the nuances of the language and the understanding of the deep references internal and external to the work itself.

CROSS†CHANNEL is, in fact, the only Visual Novel I've read which can be paragoned to a massive philosophical book about the true sense of being an human and the depth of the interpersonal relationships. Let's start with the characters...


The characters of CROSS†CHANNEL are, without doubt, complex and well developed. For each week, a singular character's story is presented and then "resolved" (partly) only in the last sections of the story. Probably, the most interesting girls of the entire cast are Youko and Nanaka.

The first, Youko, isn't well developed in the first sections of the story, but when the ending comes near, she plays a vital role to the plot. She is, at the end, a traitor. She is the epitome of a weak person: Youko wasn't able to commit an heavily sinful act, murder, to escape her dire situation, so she made someone else do that for her. That someone wasn't needed to be a particular person, that individual had the only characteristic to be close to her. In fact she choose Taichi, and lied, making him think that two different people where effectively able to become one single thing. The contrast in her actions and in her behaviour made her one of the most interesting characters in the whole VN.


The second is Nanaka. A misterious character. Something about her is off, but it's clear that her connection with Taichi is deep. Despite the final plot twist, her true identity is not made clear. Even her story isn't explicitated; while it seems to be a downside, such a lack of information is, in my opinion, a good thing. If the true past of Nanaka was told, Taichi would be completely exposed: but, this story doesn't tell what seems to be vital information for a precise purpose. Because, in this VN, the reader is bound to the vision of the main character, so the truths presented are often distorted and not always reliable. That's a charm of CROSS†CHANNEL, and Nanaka literally impersonate it.

The other characters are good but not great: the friendship element is vital and well developed, but some characters simply aren't made to be memorable.

Now, to the main topic. Since the start of this masterpiece, I was stricken by the behaviour of the main character. Kurosu Taichi. It's clear that he's not a completely normal person, his adaptation coefficient is soon revealed to be over eighty and his perverted behaviour hinders an obscure, malicious, side. Even so, Taichi seems to be, to the core, a specimen: he is, since the start, heavily characterized, and his true emotions, while not laid bare until the very end, are functional to the story. He is the perfect main character for this tale, in a way I've never seen before in any other VN. The story spins around him, and he's never out of place.

That's right, since CROSS†CHANNEL is, firstly, a story about Taichi and his interations with the other people. Will he try to make others life better? Or will he try to ruin the people around him? Can a person like him, subjugated by self-hate, live alone for all eternity?

These are the superficial questions that a reader may have during the reading. But, in my opinion, the story itself is not even about Taichi.


Then, what is the story really about?

CROSS†CHANNEL wants to depict an impossible situation, the existence of a world outside the "real" one which can still hold contact (somehow) with the latter. All of this is just an allegory. The repeated world is, in fact, Taichi's inner world. It's the manifestation of his sorrow and of his deep emotional world. The atmosphere is oniric, sometimes it's unclear if the reality Taichi sees is a dream or not. Every information in the repeated world is distorted by the view of the main character and given to the readers in that form; in fact, speaking of truth in CROSS†CHANNEL is a really dire affair.

What can be analyzed, are the numerous references and hidden critiques of the author toward the modern society. I remember a part about how literate men wheren't able to conform in society and had to isolate themselves in order to write a true "masterpiece". Maybe Tanaka tought that while writing CROSS†CHANNEL; he wanted to write the masterpiece of a new form of media. He naturally included H-scenes and perverted acts, but they aren't clearly the main point.

The VN insists on the concept of solitude and promotes the connection between people while exposing the "bad" ways to form such connections; these topics aren't related to the sole Taichi, but to the other characters as well. Touko and Kiri needed to be dependent to someone else in order to fully know themselves. Youko betrayed Taichi due to her impotence, and she felt alone, after having a spontaneous contact with someone else. Miki felt aggressive impulses, even when with other people, she felt alone and uninterested in their lives. The list goes on.

But, at the same time, the VN instill the fact that, after all, Taichi's decision was right. He did well, deciding to be alone in the world. A man that known such dephts of the sin, can't be cured anyhow. That's the sad truth of CROSS†CHANNEL. And even the ones who exited the loop, aren't really happy. They are still longing for connections, while struggling to respect each other, but that's not always possible for them. Their problems are still there, and the only things Taichi did, was sacrifice himself in order to save the others from his presence.

So, the truth of CROSS†CHANNEL is a much darker and deeper one, than the superficial vision one can have of the epilogue. The final sentence, "Until the day this sky is no more", express this dark meaning very well. Taichi will continue his struggles, he will build over and over the same antenna, repeat over and over the same actions, the same weeks... All in order to give a message.

One day, Taichi's sky will be no more. His broadcasts will stop. But the world, the real world will go on despite that. For inertia.

That's the meaning of CROSS†CHANNEL. See you next week.

A game that holds its cards too long, and plays them perfectly.

I initially encountered this game through an article that was recommending VNs similar to Steins;Gate. The character designs immediately stuck out to me, and I was hooked; Having intentionally avoided the plot synopsis aside from a brief(er) description, I bought the game and decided to give it a shot.

I'll jump to the side for a second and say it's a shame that this game hasn't a proper translation. I dove down the rabbit hole of the various translations that exist (*cough* The infamous character who holds the top review on Steam *cough*) after playing through the game. The game is rife with spelling errors and grammatical inconsistencies, but please don't let that stop you from experiencing what's inside this stories 1.5G worth of space. The story isn't whole in this translation, there's a lot of context, story beats, jokes and deeper meanings that either could not be properly extrapolated or were just missed by amateur translators.

So my best suggestion would be to get familiar, very familiar, with Japanese and then come back.

Though I say that, I still recommend it. It's a gripping story of the human condition, and our indomitable spirits. It's a story that showcases mental illness and trauma in their raw, nasty and toxic forms, but it also shows growth, it shows the ability to overcome your nature, your desires, your trauma and it shows that, at the end of the day, we're only human after all.

The protagonist is flawed. Deeply. Incredibly so. Through no fault of his own he was cast into an expansive void rife with chaos, and because of a series of unfortunate events ended up in the hands of wicked people, who did wicked things.

I think that every character can be related to in one way or the other. I found myself in tears over every one of them, even you Sakuraba. The soundtrack as well is fantastic. 'Signal' is by far my favorite in the OST; It's haunting melodies and use of voice as an instrument made me immediately add it to my daily playlist.

If you have or suffer from mental illness, you will feel a connection to the characters and the story.

Much love.

Cross†Channel is one of the best visual novels ever. It's a deeply philosophical work that attempts to define what just what a "person" and "humanity" is. However, this translation does not do it justice. I don't know who thought it was okay to release this in this state. Shame on MoeNovel for butchering this beautiful work.

Taichi is one day going to become an outstanding groomer. The whole story basically centers around the protagonist being a massive pervert who is trying his best to build relationships with girls. The jokes may rub some people the wrong way, while others will be over the moon. Otherwise, the story isn't that bad, it's a little rough around the edges but there are many enjoyable twists and turns. At first, the plot may seem very generic, though the more you read it, the better it becomes.

I don't know how to feel about the artworks. In comparison to the other VNs, made by the same developer, they look kind of mid. I appreciate the devs went for a softer approach, however, I just can't push myself to like the way the artworks turned out to be. Maybe more sharpness and increased saturation could do the trick.

One of the weaker VNs from MoeNovel for sure, on the other hand, as long as you dive in open-minded and lower your expectations, you might end up having a good time.

Cross Channel gives me a mixed reaction. This game is a top tier visual novel which showcases each character's personality well. However, the steam translation is pretty much horrible and there is a lot of junk, even if I was able to understand the story. It was a little hard to get into it, I took 2 years on and off to complete it. I enjoyed this visual novel thoroughly but just hate how the translation is literal junk. I still recommend this to anyone who loves visual novels and is patient enough to power through the translations. Definitely worth my time.

STORY
Is focused on a - rather perverted to say the least, so buyer beware - male protagonist, and his school friends, who somehow end up being the only ones alive in their worlds.

Lots of choices to make, but unless the correct ones are selected the story loops over and over, giving it a Groundhog Day feel.

There is also further - and quite substantial - stories unlocked once the main story is completed, focusing in the point of view of other characters.

The store page states the game has 20 hours of story, though I feel that is easily an understatement, and should be at least double that.

Overall, the story is well written, if not particularly super memorable, with the tone of the story is mostly funny, with quite a few laugh out loud moments, with some rather sad and shocking twists along the way. The main issue is that it can feel repetitive at times.

VISUALS
Characters are still and while well drawn, feel relatively simple and monochromatic between each other. This is more than compensated by the sheer variety of CGs available in the game.

SOUND
The game has an airy and diverse soundtrack that sets well the tone of the story. Good voice overs as well.

VERDICT
Given the novel's low price and overall solid content, the game is certainly well worth its full price and a worthwhile addition to a otaku's library. 9/10