NEKOPARA Vol. 2

Developer: NEKO WORKs | Publisher: Sekai Project | Release Date: 2016 | Genre: Casual / Visual Novel / Indie | Website: Official Website | Purchase: Steam / Denpasoft

In the first volume of NEKOPARA we met Kashou Minaduki, who along with his two catpanions, opened his own bakery called La Soleil. Unsurprisingly for a place where cute catgirls work, business is booming, especially since Kashou’s sister and four other catgirls also joined the staff. Everything is not perfect though as two of the catgirl sisters seem to be getting into more fights with each other than usual lately. Azuki is the eldest of the sisters and is always hiding behind her tough, sarcastic act, while Coconut, the youngest, is trying her best to be helpful despite her clumsiness. It is up to Kashou to not only keep the business running smoothly, but to also restore harmony to his family.

NEKOPARA Vol. 2 wastes no time with introductions, so some familiarity with the series is highly recommended before jumping in. Two of the catgirls, Chocolate and Vanilla, got their chance to shine in the previous volume, so this time round the focus is on Coconut and Azuki. Kashou’s two catpanions are still around for a large part of the game, but have to leave for a few days, which allows their master to spend more time with the other cats.

NEKOPARA is a very fanservice oriented series, so even in the censored Steam version there are plenty of ecchi stuff going on. Kashou already bedded both Chocolate and Vanilla in the first volume, so it’s no surprise when the other catgirls also start to become more interested in him. His sister, Shigure, also still has an unhealthy obsession with him, but the humor prevents the story from becoming too perverted. Still, if it is hentai content you desire then the uncensored version available from the developers is a much better bet. The Steam version is still good thanks to the cute characters and heartwarming story, but some of the scenes end rather abruptly. The uncensored version not only features nudity instead of just suggestive content, but also comes with animated H-scenes. You can still enjoy the story and characters without the adult content, but the quality and amount of H-scenes more than justify the larger price tag of the non-Steam version.

The previous NEKOPARA titles featured some of the best visuals in the genre and volume 2 continues this fine tradition. The lively colors and detailed character designs make NEKOPARA Vol. 2 one of the best looking visual novels out there and on top of that it features some excellent animations as well. Watching the characters move around and change their expressions is a revelation compared to the mostly static sprites found in other visual novels. The “chest bounciness” slider once again makes a return, as does the hotkey to <ahem> test this feature. Also present is the ability to pet the catgirls, which was introduced in Nekopara Vol. 0. Doing so is worth it just to hear the heart-melting purring sounds they make.

The episodic nature of the series unfortunately means that a lot of the assets are reused, which takes away some of the glamour. Vol. 2 doesn’t feature much in the way of new backgrounds or locations although all of the new CGs are very nice. The catgirls are also as adorable as ever, but seeing them in some new outfits would have been great.

The soundtrack is also as good as always, but this is because most of the tracks are the same. The game is fully voiced though, so all of the dialogue is brand new and the voice actresses definitely deliver some very energetic performances. The interface is the same as the previous installments, but works just as well and we didn’t encounter any issues.

Nekopara Vol 2. is a kinetic visual novel, so there are no choices to be made and the story is very linear. It did feel a little shorter than the first game, but this could be due to the fact that the H-scenes that were removed are longer and more frequent. However, the fact that the game still remains very entertaining even with the H-scenes absent shows that it is not just a typical nukige title. For fans of the series it is pretty much a no-brainer as it delivers more of the same elements that has made the NEKOPARA titles such hits. Everyone else will probably admire the visuals, but shake their heads at the whole genetically modified humanoid cat fixation.

We enjoyed the fact that the game tackled slightly more serious issues than Vol. 1 and it was also nice to see the other catgirls get their turn in the spotlight. Overall, the game is polished, gorgeously animated and very entertaining. Unless you really don’t like nudity and H content we recommend springing for the full uncensored version as it does make the game feel more complete.