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Everyone Loves Cats!

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Very interesting news from NEKO WORKS: Nekopara will be fully available in three languages (Japanese, English, Chinese)! Look forward to volume 1, which comes out at Comiket 87!

The Fuguriya/YurinYurin staff started yet another website, St. Michael Girls’ School. It still features the same series so I’m not sure why. The most interesting thing is their Twitter follower campaign. They promise to found the school in the 3D world if they pass 59 million followers.

Release dates have been set for the following:

Kanojo no Seiiki – December 19th
Gakuen Butou no Folklore – December 26th
D.C.II Dearest Marriage – April 24th

CLOCKUP’s Ero Manga! has been delayed to December 26th.

FAVORITE’s Irotoridori series is being ported to the PSV next year as Irotoridori no Sekai WORLD’S END -RE:BIRTH-. It’ll add additional graphics and episodes.

I totally didn’t expect a figure of Prism Recollection‘s Konoka to come out. This 1/6 scale castoff figure from MILESTONE comes out in February for ¥12,000. There’s also a 1/7 scale Super Sonico summer santa ver. figure from ALTER available at the MegaHobby EXPO at the end of November. It’s priced at ¥9,900.

Dakimakura are available for preorder for Yakimochi Stream‘s Mutsuki, and Harvest OverRay‘s Yuuka and Sumi.

After finishing Minakoi, I think the story set-up has improved since Koisora, but I still think the latter was better since it didn’t try to incorporate too many elements. At many points in the story, problems were resolved in a matter of a few sentences which made things quite anti-climatic. I still enjoyed playing it, but it could’ve been better overall. Characters are great though. Sakkyun <3



I Have No Regrets

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key’s illustrator Hinoue Itaru is creating a new visual novel called Holy Breaker! -The Witch Betrayed Blue Moon Wicca.- under her own design studio. Izumi witnesses a fight between the black witch and white demon-hunter and gets entangled in their fates. The idea first featured on a tapestry at Character1 earlier this year. It will come out at Comiket 87.

New titles announced this week include:

COSMIC CUTElove, VAMPIRE FLOWERS
ETOILESMomonoko Sweepers

Release dates have been set for the following:

Hanasaki Work Spring! – March 27th
Yuki Koi Melt – March 27th

The following titles have been delayed:

Mousou Complete! – January 30th
PENDULUM – March 27th

Kotori finished first in the second Nanairo Reincarnation chara poll, followed by Yumi and Azusa.

Among Puchipara Bunko’s November line-up is an adaptation of May-Be Soft’s body-switching Change!. It will be on shelves on November 14th.

ALTER has a 1/8 scale figure of Dungeon Travelers 2‘s Mefmera coming out in January. It’s priced at ¥11,800.

GWAVE 2014 1st Favorite, featuring 16 OPs from the first half of this year, will be released on December 26th. It’s priced at ¥3000, but you can get a B2 tapestry and telephone card set as well for ¥5500.

Dakimakura are available for preorder for Daemon BustersLizera, Soratobu‘s Ran, and Yumekoi‘s Kurumi and Miruku.

I haven’t had much motivation to start any October titles, so I’ve just been wrapping up routes that I haven’t played in past games. You might want to check out doujin circle Tinklebell’s Rondo Duo which came out on Halloween. It’s made completely with Flash and exceeds expectations.


November 2014 Eroge Releases

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Another packed month awaits erogamers, highlighted by sprite’s high-flying Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm. It also seems to be a month with lots of transfer students, including the son of the demon king in Windmill’s Harukaze Sensation, a trap diva in ensemble’s Otome ga Kanaderu Koi no Aria, and a loli that wants nothing to do with you in Chuable Soft’s Zannen na Ore-tachi no Seishun Jijou. Me? I’ll be busy playing with my smartphone app in PULLTOP’s fandisc Cocoro@Function! NEO.

A large amount of releases does not mean there will be a large number of good games worth playing sadly, Oh how I wish that were the case though. Unfortunately this month has more mediocre games than anything else. A few games so terrible they make me physically cringe, but nothing present that radiantly glows with an aura of must have.

Koisuru_Kanojo_no_Bukiyou_na_Butai_CGVenusBlood_Hypno_CGHenkoi_CG3
Harukaze_Sensation_CGZannen_na_Ore-tachi_no_Seishun_Jijou_CGKimi_no_Tonari_de_Koi_Shiteru_CG
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Bunny Paradise ~Koibito Zenin Bunny-ka Keikaku~

Bunny_Paradise
Company: SkyFish poco
Game site: Bunny Paradise ばにぱら ~恋人全員バニー化計画~
Release date: November 28, 2014
Comments:
New release date after being pushed back from September. The prestigious girls’ school Usagino Gakuen is rumoured to be full of cute girls. Shinsuke graduated from a top-tier university and was expected to be the heir of his father’s zaibatsu, which is one of the directors of the school. However, he loves bunny girls more than anyone should. The school’s prestige has taken a hit in recent times and he decided to become a teacher there to help rebuild it and prove his worthiness as the zaibatsu’s successor at the same time. He proclaimed that the cause was a lack of etiquette, shyness and desire to serve among the girls. His perfect plan was to create a ‘bunny club’ at the school and train all the students as bunny girls, who exemplify all these positive traits.

From Pochi to Nyan Cafe to Bunny Paradise. The first two didn’t have a good story and this most likely won’t buck the trend. The girls are all well-stacked and mimic the Playboy bunnies (complete with the bunny dip). These aren’t the bunnies I ordered! Where’s my refund?

Hugh Hefner Sim.

Considering there’s a goat sim, there’s likely an audience for this as well.

Rather, this may as well be called “Eroge best friend fantasy sim”, so all those who feel sorry for the poor guys make for a good audience.

ChuSinGura46+1 Bushi no Kodou

ChuSinGura461_FD

Company: インレ (Inre)
Game site: ChuSinGura46+1 -忠臣蔵46+1- 武士の鼓動
Release date: November 28, 2014
Comments:
This is the fandisk for ChuSinGura46+1. Suguha and the 47 ronin were able to thwart the massive plot. However, now he was faced with a new problem: due to a certain event, they all began vying for his love! What will become of him when he’s tempted by all the brave and beautiful ladies across the land?

In addition, there’ll be a shocking revelation about the unexplained ‘empty time’ from the original game. Waiting for them was the Shinsengumi ‘Mibu no Ookami’ (wolves of Mibu)! It seems that they have time-slipped to the late Tokugawa period!

This must be exciting news for fans of the series, which was one of the best received games last year. They probably have enough material with the Shinsengumi to create a completely new game, but wanted to link the two for some interesting crossovers. With so many characters, it’ll probably end up more like a nukige, with some H scenes being animated. There’s even one with an octopus.

Fandisk for a cheesy game.

VenusBlood -HYPNO-

VenusBlood_Hypno

Company: dualtail
Game site: VenusBlood -HYPNO-
Release date: November 28, 2014
Comments:
This is the 8th game in dualtail’s VenusBlood hardcore corruption SLG series. Since the olden days, the sacred land of Helvetia prospered under the goddess El Nath. However, it had now fallen into the hands of the demon queens who conspired to defeat her since being sealed underground in the hell-like Ishta. Their pact of mutual non-interference was broken when Calvia displayed unsettling action against the other three and they declared war in return.

Even when she was totally surrounded, Calvia still did not doubt that she would be victorious. This was because she had the secret ‘pitch black’ unit under her command, which had been vital in securing a critical victory against the goddess in the past. Leonhart was in charge of this unit, which was regarded as war heroes, yet their existence remained covered up in history. With the new battlefield as his stage, his ambitions are about to take flight!

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In this game, you aspire to defeat the four demon lords and make them your slaves. You can control up to 18 units at a time, with plentiful H scenes either in victory or defeat. After the second level of brainwashing, the heroines’ looks change as they awaken to their true nature. Although it’s a very technical battle game, you can easily modify the difficulty level, so even beginners will be able to enjoy it. In fact, there’s even an auto-win button if you only want to follow the story.

If you don’t mind the dark aspect, the VenusBlood series is pretty fun to read with plenty of scheming and backstabbing. Of course, there’s plenty of great corruption H scenes, as some of my fellow erogamers would attest. This particular rendition focuses on brainwashing, although the outcome is basically the same. I don’t really care to challenge myself in the SLG part, but if that’s up your alley, the system is quite complicated. I’m more fascinated at Leonhart’s thirst for revenge for his and Anora’s currently condition. Knowing their backstory, you can’t help but wish for their success, no?

Not my type of game as neither the excessive H content nor primitive gameplay entice me, however every one of these games needs an instant win button, especially when playing through the game multiple times.

Sister Scheme 3

Sister_Scheme3

Company: ミンク (Mink)
Game site: しすたー・すきーむ3
Release date: November 28, 2014
Comments:
Chihaya has a beautiful older sister Akane, who is very popular among the boys at the school. She loves him greatly as a younger brother, but he thought that they should not have romantic feelings for each other. However, he was unable to get a girlfriend, either because of his standards possibly being elevated due to his older sister or that others viewed them as a couple. He did not give up on his dream, but one day, he received a letter which threatened to divulge his secret if he didn’t deep kiss his older sister at school within two days.

Surprisingly at that time, his osananajimi who had moved away, Sayumi, appeared before him. Her father had remarried his mother, so she would now be living with him, to his astonishment. This change of circumstances caused much tension between him and his older sister. What was the origin of the threatening letter and what will happen to his love life from now on?

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Yet another lucky bastard who gets an imouto. I’m not sure who’s sending the letters, but they are all random ‘tasks’ which seem to further their relationship. Maybe it’s Akane’s scheme all along! Well, regardless, I won’t be playing this since the interface is very cheap, with pixelated transition scenes and silly sound effects. Sayumi is pretty cute though, even if she seems like a throw-in here.

Throwing bricks labeled “Imouto” or Onee san” at someones face in the name of plot is not the way to develop characters nor a story, so I’ll be passing.

PV

Hanitsuma

Hanitsuma

Company: bootUP!
Game site: はにつま
Release date: November 28, 2014
Comments:
The executive position of Kirishima heavy industries has been passed down through the Akatsuki household for generations. As the only son of the Akatsuki household, Hibiki was obligated to inherit the position under the strict guidance of his father Raiden. Even though there was great hope placed upon his shoulders, he felt that it was only a burden. While he dutifully followed orders as a kid, he grew more rebellious against his father as the years passed. When it was time for him to change schools, he left his home in Tokyo for the far-away city of Nishiro to attend Narumi Gakuen and live at the Akatsuki household’s villa Kagura-tei there.

With the residence’s manager Misato helping him, he spent peaceful days free from interference from his father. However, these peaceful days which he had long yearned for were ruined with the visit of his fiancée Aoi. She decided to come live with him at Kagura-tei so that she can get to know him better before their marriage. He had never heard about having a fiancée and had strong feelings against it. However, he couldn’t just slam the door in her face, so he agreed to live together with her for a little while. In the end, he wasn’t able to escape his father even after leaving far away from home.

However, after meeting Aoi and living together with her, there was a great change in his heart. No longer was he running away every day from his father’s pressure; he had finally found a life where he felt comfortable. Now having understood how he could not escape reality, he resolved to face it head on.

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If the writer Nagano Hiroyuki is a fan of small destroyers, he’s probably disappointed that the illustrator Shinonome Kazuhiko doesn’t share his preference for smooth runways. The theme isn’t too different from bootUP’s previous game Aneimo Neo+. I wouldn’t mind Aoi as I like her personality, but the game itself doesn’t interest me much. The imouto-like Isuzu has too small of a head; her breasts are as big as it! There’s something wrong with that!

While not a awful setup, there is nothing here special in any way that merits the game being chosen over any other. Story wise the game tries too hard to bring the protagonist to an isolated and unsupervised dorm style location along with the excuse for his fiance. A better setting may have been in his actual home, so the elements of his background have an impact other than driving him out, and a setting that forces him into H scenes. That aside the artist does need to improve in the proportions department. Hopefully since the art is all CG some practice will be enough to make perfect in future games.

Hen Koi ≒ Kuro Rekishi

Henkoi

Company: あかねそふと (Akane Soft)
Game site: へんこい 変恋≒黒歴史
Release date: November 28, 2014
Comments:
This is the first title by Akane Soft. There has always been a great rivalry between the manga research club and the literature club at Oujou Gakuen. No one knows how long this rivalry has lasted, but their quarrels are famous at the school, especially during the culture festival. However, there was a shocking incident this year. The manga research club’s secret journal which is always hidden from view and never leaves the club room somehow ended up in the hands of the literature club! If this became public, then they might have to close their booth at the culture festival, or even worse, the club might be disbanded.

Hiroyuki heard about this incident from his friend Satoshi from the manga research club, but he did not think it concerned him. That was until he learned that it contained the delusional writings (black history) which they had written together in the past. He would do anything to get it back. If the contents became known, then his school life will be ruined!

He was sent to infiltrate the literature club. Even though he didn’t see eye-to-eye with the literature club’s deputy leader Juri due to a previous accident, he was somehow able to join the club. He found it in total disarray since they were finalizing the preparations for the culture festival on a short notice. They probably would have normally been a bit more guarded, but now wasn’t the time to worry about such small things. He helped the members with their preparations to get closer to them, as he investigated the whereabouts of the journal.

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The story is written by three scenario writers who worked on such brilliant works like Starlight Idol, Kozukuri Shiyou yo Souma-kun and the still-not-released Notonoto. After playing the two trials (one of which didn’t really tell much about the story at all), my suspicions were confirmed: the story isn’t that good. It’s supposed to be a gag game, but the jokes just aren’t funny. It’s just a bunch of weirdos doing random stuff every day. The most interesting things were the odd H scenes (jelly in the ass) and what sounds like maracas in the H scene BGM. Shake it baby!

When Micchi complains about a story being bad, you know it has to be an absolute train wreck of awful. With that out of the way, what a dumb premise, maybe it is just me but club focused games in general tend to turn out to be ugly ducklings from start to finish. A club or clubs being a side theme that is a part of the protagonist or some other characters life is perfectly fine, as a primary theme that drives the central plot it is at best a bad idea, and at worst criminally incompetent. If you are after more than just the repeated gags found in every eroge, and actually care about story, writing, and characters, then a good rule of them is to avoid club based games on principle.

Kimi no Tonari de Koi Shiteru!

Kimi_no_Tonari_de_Koi_Shiteru

Company: ALcot ハニカム (ALcot Honey Comb)
Game site: キミのとなりで恋してる!
Release date: November 28, 2014
Comments:
Akito’s parents wed late in life after repeated failed marriage meetings. They both passed away a few years ago due to illness. In their last words, they lamented not having found their love while they were young. Now the track and field club’s manager at Keisen Gakuen, a sudden decision was forced upon him. His grandmother Chiyo was worried about her grandson’s future after his parent’s failed marriage and tearfully appealed to him to find a bride while she’s still alive. If he was unable to do so within a week, then he would be forced to marry whomever she chooses.

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Tonakoi is the latest in ALcot Honey Comb’s light novel series, featuring a new writer (Own Goal). There’s yet another damai in Megumi, whose gimmick is that she likes playing with his nipples. Yeah, you read that right. But I’ll accept my imouto the way they are. He’s got his osananajimis Rina and Nagisa, as well as newcomer Ryouka, to choose from. Nagisa and Ryouka both end up living with him, but it’s not just a happy wedding in living room. As with other ALcot Honey Comb titles, there’s drama which gradually unfolds: Nagisa and Akito’s complicated relationship, Rina’s lack of interest in relationships, Ryouka’s aspirations and Akito’s past. Nagisa is pretty cute and I’d love to have an osananajimi bride like her. Also, grandma Chiyo is quite a hoot.

When unable to think of something to write an eroge about, kill off or otherwise remove the protagonists parents and have grandparents force the unlucky protagonist into cheap H scenes supposedly for the sake of marriage one way or another. Using some variation of the aforementioned eroge plot sums up far more games than it should, and just once I would appreciate a company actually putting in the effort to convince me their version is worth playing. In this case his apparently soon to be dead grandmother rushes things along with the grace and subtlety of a four hundred pound Chippendale’s dancer giving a lap dance. A better approach would have been his parents dying in a car accident which he survived while a bit traumatized, either years ago or right before the story so he was sent to live with his grandmother. As she gets older she begins meddling and or trying to guilt him into relationships in the hope of marriage, great grandchildren and so on. From there they could have built up all the characters backgrounds histories and slowly introduced them in various ways building up the atmosphere and characters in parallel. Instead we get a dollar store eroge template filled with forgettable characters and average writing. Try harder with the next half assed rushed to completion game you release Alcot Honey Comb. One I won’t be saying the same a month or two from now, so I might at least be able to convince myself they put some minimal effort in.

His parents still end up dead in your version!

Well it is still an eroge, some things just can’t be helped, as is tradition, they won’t be missed thanks to the comfort of heroine buffet.

Cocoro@Function! NEO

Cocoro_Function_NEO

Company: PULLTOP
Game site: ココロ@ファンクション! NEO(Network Enhanced Operation)
Release date: November 28, 2014
Comments:
This is the fandisk for Cocoro@Function!. It includes an after story for Mina and Hijiri, an ‘if’ story for subheroine Chie where Taiyou did not create the CFC, and a full story with Asagao and Bell which follows Asagao’s route in the original game. Some H scenes will also use the motion event movie system from Konosora SP.

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MORE BELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

Fandisk for a game I don’t even remember, so have fun if you liked whatever this game was about.

Otome ga Kanaderu Koi no Aria

Otome_ga_Kanaderu_Koi_no_Aria

Company: ensemble
Game site: 乙女が奏でる恋のアリア
Release date: November 28, 2014
Comments:
Tsukasa is a sopranista-in-training, a male who can sing in the same vocal range as a female soprano. He had been studying overseas for the past year and came back to Japan a month early for vacation to surprise his parents. However, they were gone for a trip and were having the house fully renovated while away, so he ended up without a place to stay. After deciding to live alone for the month, he met a girl named Ayaka by chance when she heard him sing at the park. She told him that she had been looking for someone who could sing like him and wanted him to come to her school to sing at the upcoming festival. Even though he was troubled at the sudden request, he wasn’t able to turn her down and ended up at Shinou Gakuen, a European-style girls’ school.

“W-Wait! D-Didn’t I tell you I’m a boy?”
“But with your looks and voice…”

His complaints fell on deaf ears and after being dressed up in girls’ clothes, he was surprised when he looked in the mirror. Tsukasa agreed to attend Miou Gakuen for the month as a girl, Izumi, and star as a ‘diva’ at the Shinou-sai one month later.

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ensemble is going back to what they do best: trap games. The festival is basically a hide-and-seek competition with a team of 3 knights (valchiria) who must find their utahime/diva by following her voice. If they meet the other team, then they must battle (no bloodshed here). It’s a very important festival at the school that is full of tradition; that’s why Ayaka was searching so hard for a replacement diva after one stepped down.

The trial was really long, following either Mikoto or Kotori’s route until the reveal (his gender cover is blown). The story moves at a good pace and all the characters are likeable. Tsukasa doesn’t have as much appeal as the other ensemble traps, but he is a good guy/girl/nee-sama. The cast is great and my only complaint is that the character designs are a bit all over the place since there’s five illustrators. I’m still looking forward to this as a relaxing game.

Was it really necessary to have him overseas come back and have no parents? Not only is that rather unbelievable, but really could they not think of any better way to strand our gender ambiguous protagonist away from the parents that keep it in his pants and a roof that keeps him out of girls schools without the nonsense? So many better ways to do that which wouldn’t have taken all that long to deal with either. To offer up a quick example, Ms. protagonist could have been “scouted” by a teacher or student who heard him sing and not knowing it was an all girls school was forced to cross dress for the sake of scholarship or something along those lines. At least then the parents could have stayed involved and given room for writing in various gags based on keeping them away from the school. But alas, we are dismissively thrown a standard eroge “Protagonist has bad luck, and thus with no one else to rely on is forced to cross dress.” game. I can only hope the rest of the game has more effort put into it, but it is rather hard to hope when so little effort was put in right from the start.

Well, he’s only there for a month for the purpose of the festival. No one’s forcing him to do it, but he consented since he’s a nice guy/girl.

The curse of eroge, can never say no to a girl. That said though, the premise is still flimsy, and could use some alterations.

Zannen na Ore-tachi no Seishun Jijou

Zannen_na_Ore-tachi_no_Seishun_Jijou

Company: チュアブルソフト (Chuable Soft)
Game site: 残念な俺達の青春事情
Release date: November 28, 2014
Comments:

“Greetings, plebs.”

Those poison-laced words said with a sneering smile were transfer student Rinne’s first words… and she immediately regretted saying them. That’s because Yutaka took an immediate interest in her and it was the first step in his quest to make her join the unofficial student council. From that day on, her life changed, for better or for worse.

There is no one in this world who is perfect as we all have our own deficiencies. That’s why it’s important for us to join hands and be together with others.

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Rinne is definitely not perfect… unless you’re a do-M who loves black-haired twintailed lolis (I can think of a few already…). I like the theme of the game, as well as the metaphor given in the trial: everyone is a piece of a jigsaw puzzle, but those ‘deficiencies’ interlock with others to form a beautiful picture. All four heroines are definitely ‘zannen': sharp-tongued Rinne who’s a poor communicator, penny-pinching Chimachi, housework-inept Natsume, and Sakuya… who’s just a total idiot. The goal of the unofficial student council is to have fun, although it might seem like they’re just bullying her sometimes (nekomimi! nekomimi! nekomimi!). There’s plenty of manzai, gags, meta jokes, but they also manage to fit in some dramatic moments. It’s kinda like Haganai on overdrive. Pretty good for some laughs.

Over the top charage. Basically the game is just taking standard heroine archetypes, then stretching them till their primary traits are a little more extreme, the end. Story? None. Development? Virtually non existent. Comedy? Check.

Harukaze Sensation!

Harukaze_Sensation

Company: ういんどみるOasis (Windmill Oasis)
Game site: 春風センセーション!
Release date: November 28, 2014
Comments:
The human world has friendly relations with both the barren demon world and the lushly-forested spirit world. This spring, the demon king’s third son, Touma, came to study abroad at Shikikaze Gakuen in the human world. It was his first time in another world and he was excited to gain more experience for the future. Shortly thereafter, a student from the spirit world, Haruka, asked him to be her husband. Now, a spring breeze is blowing through the human world.

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What a lucky sukebe. He even gets to do it with the subheroines too. Once you finish the routes, you’ll get more intense H scenes too. The art is by Ko~cha and Fujiwara Warawara, although it seems a bit different than usual. Naruse Mia is back as the SD artist, as well as voicing Kotetsu. And if Naruse Mia is there, then most likely Agumi Oto is too! She may be using a pseudonym, but my ears won’t deceive me! She’s voicing Touma’s maid Ayame under the name Unohara Tsukino. That pretty much sparks my interest, even in a packed month like this one. I don’t know why they delayed the game a few months to use E-mote for H scenes too, since it doesn’t look that great.

Probably the hardest type of game to write about, as it is neither great nor awful, it just is what it is.

Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm

Ao_no_Kanata_no_Four_Rhythm
Company: sprite
Game site: 蒼の彼方のフォーリズム
Release date: November 28, 2014
Comments:
New release date after being pushed back from September. In Masaya’s world, flying is as simple as riding a bike; all you need to do is strap on a pair of anti-graviton shoes. He used to be considered a child prodigy of the popular sport ‘flying circus’, but he stopped after suffering a crushing defeat. However, he regained his passion for the sport while teaching the transfer student Asuka how to fly. So, he returns to the sky, this time while holding Asuka’s hand. How high can they fly together?

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I’ve played both of sprite/fairys’ games thanks to the great art and relaxing feel drawing me in, not to mention their OPs as well. As good as Imaimo was, it’s nice to see them make an 18+ title again. It’s a different set of writers from Koichoco, so I think the endings will turn out better this time. They’ve previously worked on Grisaia and Natsukumo. I’m not going to question how shoes can make you fly and take it at face value. I like sport themes, so I was really into Asuka’s first match against Reiko, cheering for her. The prodigy-turned-coach theme kinda reminds me of Sensuibu!, among others. The heroines are all really charming and I’m definitely going to play all the routes!

Canvas2 with booties instead of paintbrushes, and minus the tiresome and poorly written student council election of earth shattering importance from KoiChoco.

Perfect! I enjoyed Canvas2 a lot and didn’t care much for the election part in Koichoco.

Well… when you put it that way both apply to me as well, but my implication was how poorly written Canvas2 was. Sure it was better than games today, but it was painfully obvious they had zero understanding of their subject matter. In this case I expect a similar attempt for the protagonist, without the same quality of writing Canvas2 had.

I played through the first three chapters and it feels just like an anime, complete with great art and music and previews of the next chapter. The matches are exciting and the rivals are intriguing. It’s much easier to get into than an election. I’m looking forward to this game the most and the (soon-to-be-mine) Mashiro tapestry~ Mmm~

Koisuru Kanojo no Bukiyou na Butai

Koisuru_Kanojo_no_Bukiyou_na_Butai

Company: CUBE
Game site: 恋する彼女の不器用な舞台
Release date: November 28, 2014
Comments:
The students at Hayakubo Gakuen are all excited about the upcoming culture festival. However, the clubs with not many members have a problem on their hands: if they don’t complete the task that the student council assigned them for the festival, then their club will be disbanded.

For the literary club which Ichigo was part of, they must prove that they deserve a club room and funds by selling 100 copies of their latest work. His osananajimi Mayuu, who used to be a famous actress, was worried about losing a place to call her own, while his kouhai and writer Sena had no desire to join another club. However, they had only sold 35 copies at the last festival and they couldn’t see how they could meet their goal with only the three of them in the club.

The leader of the 2-member drama club, Momoka, came to them and offered them with a solution. Their club would be disbanded if they didn’t put on a great play at the culture festival, so she asked them to write a script for them and also to take part in the play. She also wanted Mayuu to return to the stage. Will the literature club and drama club successfully complete their tasks?

Koisuru_Kanojo_no_Bukiyou_na_Butai_CG2Koisuru_Kanojo_no_Bukiyou_na_Butai_CG3Koisuru_Kanojo_no_Bukiyou_na_Butai_CG4

CUBE’s games are quite hit-or-miss. Kurafuta and Natsu no Ame are pretty good, but your diary is one of the most boring games ever (and a waste of Kantoku’s art). Well, Kantoku is back, but this time it’s with the writers from Kurafuta. This made me much more relieved and willing to at least try it out. All the heroines start off with high affection for him, and he’s oblivious to it as any eroge protagonist would be. Mayuu’s definitely the main heroine; she’s cute, but something feels off about her mannerism. Momoka’s childish behaviour combined with the drooping eyes (垂れ目) makes her my favourite. Hau~ omochikaeri~! (It’s not because she’s a 71A. Really.)

See what I said above about club games and apply here. In fact this is probably the worst type of the lot, arbitrary school rules bound to the setting that force the plot and protagonist along the rails of the story. Given this is Cube however this game is probably pretty bad, as other than Natsu no Ame being great they have been unable to even reach the level of eroge par, how sad is that in this day and age? Even though my policy is to take each game on its own merit, not only do things start out poorly at best, but their previous game was the single worst game I have ever had the misfortune of even glancing at, which counts for something against them. I may have given Cube another chance if the setup wasn’t so lazy, but all it does this time is prove the writing is going to be just as poor as Your Diary was. As far as the artist, they are just as bad as the Your Diary writing was. Stylistic choices aside, the artist’s shading is amateur plus their expression and poses are wooden and emotionless. There is more emotion put into stick figures than this hacks so called “art”. Can we please have the Natsu no Ame team back? I’ll beg if I have to Cube.

Minamoto Airu also worked on your diary, but if you’re referring to Konno Asta, the last major title he worked on was PULLTOP’s Konosora.

I mean the entire team, none of them alone have done much, at least nothing worth mentioning.

Hotarubi no Shoujo

Hotarubi_no_Shoujo
Company: 地雷ソフト (Jirai Soft)
Game site: 螢火ノ少女
Release date: November 28, 2014
Comments:
The solitary island of Kyuubi-jima lies in the Sea of Japan. It was named after the legendary nine-tailed fox after a shard of the sesshouseki (killing stone) had reached the island when it died. However, many people left the island to escape from the inauspicious name, and before long the island had its name changed to Hotarubi-jima (light of the fireflies). However, even with its new beautiful name, an ominous shadow still casts over the island.

Natsuki lost his mother when he was born and moved at a young age to Hotarubi-jima when his father remarried, along with his two new imoutos. But his surroundings changed completely after the accidental death of his father. Taking care of three kids was deemed too much for his sickly mother-in-law Kaede, so Natsuki and his youngest sister Tsugumi were taken in by relatives outside of the island, while his other sister Madoka remained on the island as the successor of the Tsukumo household.

Many years later, Madoka suddenly vanished and there were whispers among the islanders that she was spirited away. No one could find her, so she was considered as dead by an accident. News of Madoka’s death reached Natsuki and Tsugumi on the mainland. However, Kaede prohibited their return to the island and they were unable to attend her funeral. A few years after that, Tsugumi suddenly received a letter from Madoka, simply telling them to come to the island. After discussing it with Natsuki, they decided to return to Hotarubi-jima to find out the truth behind the letter. They soon learned about the sad truth and cruel past of their family clan, as well as the secret of the island.

With only low-rated nukige under scenario writer Maeyama Nobuyori’s belt, I can’t help but feel this game will be a landmine. There’s many better games this month for me to play this. Pass.

I have to agree with Micchi here. At first glance the plot may not seem so bad, but there is a lot of unnecessary convolution to it, and the back and forth of the protagonist points to poor writing. Even were that not the case however, there is still the issue of how inept the attempt at creating a mysterious atmosphere is. A much better approach would have been to have things occur after moving to the island the first time, very slowly and subtly while keeping a normal eroge feeling on the surface. Throwing everything in the protagonists face along with the conclusion that something unnatural may have or already be happening is amateur, as it doesn’t leave room for doubt in the reader.

Micchi’s Top 5 for This Month

  1. Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm
  2. Cocoro@Function! NEO
  3. Zannen na Ore-tachi no Seishun Jijou
  4. Kimi no Tonari de Koi Shiteru!
  5. Otome ga Kanaderu Koi no Aria

Zen’s Top 3 for This Month

  1. Otome ga Kanaderu Koi no Aria
  2. Harukaze Sensation!
  3. Archeage

BELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Think if I hit your head hard enough it would ring and make you forget all about the sisters and their childhood friend ilk?


Chocola or Vanilla?

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Sekai Project had a pretty good week. Their CLANNAD official English release KickStarter was fully funded in a mere day and has already topped $200K. It will be released via Steam. They also announced that they are doing the translation for Nekopara Vol.1, which was also greenlit on Steam very quickly. The Steam version will be all-ages, although you can purchase the 18+ version via the NEKO WORKs’ official store or DLsite.

HamHamSoft’s LOW-RISE!!! has been set for March 27th, while Mink’s Sister Scheme 3 has been delayed to December 19th.

Skyfish has started up the Bunny Paradise chara poll, which runs until November 25th. Go make your choice after playing the trial that just came out.

sprite’s upcoming game Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm is getting an anime adaptation! Most of us pretty much expected this since the game is already written in chapters, complete with previews of the next chapter. They also had a previous work adapted to anime (Koichoco), although it’ll be a lot easier to get into an aerial competition than an election. I would love it if it turned out like Saki.

Yukie’s illustration collection, “Flower Flower”, will be on shelves on November 29th. The 128-page book will be sold at ¥2800 and features drawings from Cabbit games (Kimisora, Hakoniwa). The visual art book for ApRicoT’s Oshirikko Venus series will come out on December 17th. It also sells for ¥2800.

Dakimakura are available for preorder for Aneyome Quartet‘s Yurina, while one for Hoshiori‘s Rikka is in the works.

Rondo Duo had very good animation for a doujin. Now I can say that I’ve played a futa game. I also played Astraythem on Oot’s suggestion. It was Agumi Oto heaven ^____^ Now I’m continuing the trend with Natsumero.


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A Flurry of Activity

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New company LevoL will debut with 11gatsu no Arcadia on March 27th. Takuto’s special ability ‘time return’ caused the death of his imouto, so he plans to steal a precious jewel which can resurrect her. Take responsibility, onii-chan!

Other new titles announced this week include:

3rdEyeSorcery Jokers
ASa ProjectPuramai Wars
Escu:dePanical Confusion
ETOILESMomonoko Sweepers (December 19th)
EushullyKami no Rhapsody
Gesen18Sengokuhime 6 ~Tenka Kakusei, Shingetsu no Kirameki~
GIGAShirogane×Spirits! (March 27th)
hibiki worksPRETTY×CATION2 (April 24th)
SEVEN WONDERHimegoto Union Last Secret

Release dates have been set for the following:

Silverio Vendetta – February 27th
FLOWERS -Le volume sur été- – April 17th
Chrono Clock – April 24th

Arisu won the Monomono second chara poll and gets a dakimakura. Other recent chara poll winners are Sengoku Koihime‘s Yuu and Tonakoi‘s Nagisa. Chara polls have started up for Mayosube (until December 2nd) and Hakoniwa (until December 14th).

The VenusBlood -HYPNO- 3-disc OST will come out on the same day as the game, November 28th. It contains 63 tracks and costs a very reasonable ¥3300.

YuzuSoft is releasing 7 YuzuPara double tapestry sets, featuring Erina, Tae, Yuu, Chihaya, Sana, Sena and Shirley. I only had Sana (pre- and post-evolution) in game.

The black version of ALTER’s 1/7 scale figure of Yosuga‘s Sora will be out next February for ¥13,800. I think I still prefer the white version. Kotobukiya also has a 1/8 scale figure of Shining Blade‘s Roselinde out in April for ¥17,800.

Dakimakura are available for preorder for Change!‘s Rumia, Onikin‘s Kaede and Cocoro@Function!‘s Bell. The C87 and Denkigai event goods are starting to be revealed as well, including dakimakura for Sengoku Koihime‘s Konami and Hina, Koihime‘s Ren, Amakano‘s Mizuki, Byakko‘s Arisa and Zannen‘s Chimachi.

Natsumero wasn’t as good as I thought. The side tachi-e had weird proportions and there was not much plot to speak of. Tsugumi was playful, but still not one of my top Agumi Oto characters. I’ve since started Sukimazakura and again, there’s a bit of inconsistency in the art due to two illustrators, but the story is much better. It revolves around lies and how people use and cope with them. I really liked Kaju’s route and of course, Sakura’s too.


Ring Ring♪

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Baseson‘s sub-brand, Baseson Light, will be making a short yuri-ge, Kimihane -Kanojo to Kanojo no Koisuru 1kagetsu-. It tells the story of 3 yuri couples and will come out on January 23rd. I’m not sure if nekomimi style is a doujin circle or not, but their debut title Otoge Love! will supposedly be released in 200000000000015.

SofthouseChara’s Akuma Musume no Kanban Ryouri has been set for February 27th, while ETERNAL’s Kenseiki Alpha Ride has been delayed to spring 2015.

Mimi won the Bunny Paradise chara poll. Chara polls have started up for Gakuen Butou no Folklore (until December 7th) and Aneyome Quartet (until December 15th).

The AstralAir complete sound album will be sold at C87. It contains a total of 55 songs over 3 CDs and sells for ¥3500.

The PSV version of GIGA’s Parfait comes out on February 26th. Inre’s ChuSingGura46+1 is also getting a PSV port. Meanwhile, the PS3 adaptation of Rewrite has been scheduled for February 11th.

key and Sekai Project have added some stretch goals for CLANNAD: HD assets ($200K), Hikari Mimamoru Sakimichi de side stories ($320K), all-new anthology manga ($380K). The first one had already been met.

The following dakimakuras will be available at C87/Denkigai: WHITE ALBUM 2‘s Setsuna and Kazusa, Himegoto Union‘s Koharu and Diane, Tenbin no La DEA.‘s Valefor and Metisana, Koisex‘s Kotone, Shiho and Suzuka, and Shitsuaru‘s Amelia.

Sukimazakura was a decent read, although some parts were a bit fragmented. propeller also threw in some action scenes, which I felt were quite unnecessary. If you do end up playing the game, make sure to get the siscon patch! I’ve been awfully busy this week and December post will be late. Sorry, Bell takes priority. There’s Aokana on the way too.


It’s That Time of Year

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PULLTOP LATTE‘s has a teaser up for their next title, Mirai Kanojo. It will come out next spring.

Escu:de’s Panical Confusion has been set for March 27th, while the following titles have been delayed:

Unionism Quartet – December 26th
Gakuen Butou no Folklore – January 30th

Nana easily won the Mayosube chara poll, while Rinne also did the same in the AstralAir chara poll. The Otokana chara poll has started up and will run until December 19th, while the Henkoi chara poll will end on January 5th.

Himakoi‘s OST will be on shelves on December 19th, while the Flowers -été- OST will be released on April 17th. Both are priced at the standard ¥3000.

Whirlpool’s Justy×Nasty and AXL’s Hyakka Ryouran Elixir are both being ported over the PSV. The Iroseka PSV port has been set for March 19th.

Eiyuu*Senki‘s Beethoven is ALTER’s latest figure. Coming out in April, it is a non-scale figure 230mm tall with the stand and sells for ¥9800.

Dakimakuras coming out at C87/Denkigai: Mayosube‘s Nana and Touka, D.C.II‘s Otome, D.C.III‘s Ricca, Daito‘s Senri, Aneyome‘s Yurina, Sakigen‘s Yuria, Yakimochi‘s Sana, Otokana‘s Chikage, Nainai‘s Hazuki, Hoshiori‘s Misaki, Clover Day’sTsubame, Harukaze‘s Ayame, Sumire‘s Hinahime and SEX Gassen‘s Moa and Nana.

Bell was everything I wished for in Cocoro@Function! NEO. I especially loved Asagao/Bell’s joint route. It had a good combination of icharabu and ero. Aokana arrived yesterday so I’ve started on it. Shiro-nyan!


Pillow Fight

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A pair of fandiscs were announced this week. ensemble’s Golden Marriage -Jewel Days- will come out on March 27th, with after stories for each of the six heroines, plus two bonus episodes. Ricotta’s Walkure Romanze Re:tell II for Celia and Akane will follow on April 24th.

MORE’s Himawari to Koi no Kioku has been delayed a week to December 26th, while release dates have been set for the following:

Ichibun no Ni Koigokoro – March 27th
Mirai Kanojo – March 27th
Sengokuhime 6 – March 27th

Futaba topped the Gakuen Butou no Folklore chara poll. Cute twintailed girls are the best!

The FLOWERS official fanbook for the first game will be on shelves on January 30th for only ¥1000.

SMEE’s Fureraba gets a PSV adaptation on March 26th.

Feel free to play around with the super movable edition nendoroid Archer from GSC. It costs just a little bit extra at ¥3426 and comes out in April.

Here’s more dakimakura to take home: Cafe Sourire‘s Miyuri, Moteyaba‘s Yurika, Unmei‘s Nagisa, Sakusaku‘s Konami, Natsu Kagura‘s Keika and Hatsuka, Aokana‘s Misaki, Harukaze‘s Isuzu, Sakura Synchronicity‘s Rise and Yukari, La DEA‘s Ilzave and Wendice, Tsuriotsu2‘s Lumine, Majikoi‘s Margit, Majokoi‘s Alice, Chiccha Love Apart‘s Hinata, Koishiki‘s Honoka, WA2‘s Setsuna, Pricolle‘s Tae, and Sorahana‘s Ran and Mea.

So ridiculously busy and tired this week. I came back home one day after work and just went to bed. Then woke up 12 hours later. Ugh. I want to play Aokana



December 2014 Eroge Releases

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There’s no Santa or reindeer this Christmas, but there’s plenty of witches, magic girls and catgirls as presents. While Navel’s Tsuki ni Yorisou Otome no Sahou 2 is likely on your wishlist, it will probably be worth your time to check out Uguisu Kagura’s Kami no Ue no Mahoutsukai. And of course, there’s NEKO WORKs’ trilingual Nekopara! Doujin games are the future of eroge!

Not the most Christmasy December by any stretch, which is a little disappointing even if I dislike those games. On the plus side there is not much to worry about gifting yourself with on a slow month filled to the brim with superficial games churned out by companies looking for a quick buck. Kind of sad when the doujin games are better quality than most of the actual releases.

Kami_no_Ue_no_Mahoutsukai_CGTeito_Hiten_Daisakusen_CGIdol_Mahou_Shoujo_Chiruchiru_Michiru_Part2_CG
Tsuki_ni_Yorisou_Otome_no_Sahou2_CGNekopara_Vol1_CGPrism_Princess_CG
Harvest_OverRay_Reconnection_CGHimawari_to_Koi_no_Kioku_CGUnionism_Quartet_CG

Sister Scheme 3

Sister_Scheme3

Company: ミンク (Mink)
Game site: しすたー・すきーむ3
Release date: December 19, 2014
Comments:
New release date after being pushed back from November. Chihaya has a beautiful older sister Akane, who is very popular among the boys at the school. She loves him greatly as a younger brother, but he thought that they should not have romantic feelings for each other. However, he was unable to get a girlfriend, either because of his standards possibly being elevated due to his older sister or that others viewed them as a couple. He did not give up on his dream, but one day, he received a letter which threatened to divulge his secret if he didn’t deep kiss his older sister at school within two days.

Surprisingly at that time, his osananajimi who had moved away, Sayumi, appeared before him. Her father had remarried his mother, so she would now be living with him, to his astonishment. This change of circumstances caused much tension between him and his older sister. What was the origin of the threatening letter and what will happen to his love life from now on?

Sister_Scheme3_CGSister_Scheme3_CG2Sister_Scheme3_CG3

Yet another lucky bastard who gets an imouto. I’m not sure who’s sending the letters, but they are all random ‘tasks’ which seem to further their relationship. Maybe it’s Akane’s scheme all along! Well, regardless, I won’t be playing this since the interface is very cheap, with pixelated transition scenes and silly sound effects. Sayumi is pretty cute though, even if she seems like a throw-in here.

Throwing bricks labeled “Imouto” or Onee san” at someone’s face in the name of plot is not the way to develop characters nor a story, so I’ll be passing.

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Amakano

Amakano

Company: あざらしそふと (Azarashi Soft)
Game site: アマカノ
Release date: December 19, 2014
Comments:
This is the debut title by Azarashi Soft, which falls under the Nexton brand. It’s only the end of November and the hot springs town Yomase-machi was already a winter wonderland, having been dyed white from the falling snow. Yuuki moved to this snowy town to help his grandparents shovel snow at their home, the former boarding house Yamanouchi-sou. He met many warm-hearted people, including the shrine maiden Sayuki who worries about her inability to properly greet strangers, his mysterious but playful housemate and senpai Mizuki, and the local cafe’s cheerful and energetic kouhai mascot Koharu. Even though he was still feeling lost, he tried to get used to living in this snowy land. During that time, his grandfather suggested that he find love while he is still young and lead a new life in earnest. Now’s the time for him to take the first step and fall in love.

Amakano_CGAmakano_CG2Amakano_CG3

Similar to hibiki works’ LOVELY×CATION and PRETTY×CATION series, there will be post-release monthly appends which add after stories with more H scenes. Yuuki is definitely your ‘nice guy’ protagonist. Who in their right mind would volunteer to shovel snow? We just had a snow storm here and I’m sure glad as hell that I’m indoors and not spending time shovelling snow (only for the snowplows to come and ruin everything you’ve done). However, I am quite fond of snowscapes and I liked the feel of the trial even if the heroines are on the upper limit of my strike zone. They seem to use the heroine view a little too much. You can change the protagonist’s name, which isn’t something I’d do anyway since I prefer a third-person view of the story. Duca sings yet another beautiful OP. I think this would be a good pick-up for someone looking for a light love story.

At the risk of sounding like a parrot month after month I regret having to say yet again that the first release under a new brand must stand out. How it stands out is up to the people making the game, however it must have something that others do not have, otherwise why would people risk their money on pandora’s box when they could instead buy a box of your standard chocolate covered heroines. Without that something special, I would risk my money on known mediocrity than unknown mediocrity. Which brings me to the crux of the issue for this game, it is almost painfully boring. Not bad mind you, just boring. Of course there are nitpicky issues like how the setting is the main driving force for the story and character development, and the protagonist apparently is unable to do anything himself. Or how the heroines are all sort of already there, as though he has stumbled into a dealership specializing in heroines of various models. But in the end the problem is how dull the entire game is, there is no sense of drama, development, or even romance, just going through the motions across a series of snow filled set pieces. This is a board room slide show demonstrating what an eroge is with power point, not an actual game, not a story, not even characters growing and developing together. A collage where all the elements that make up an eroge are present and accounted for, only held together with bits of string, glue, and soulless printouts of generic eroge template writing.

(parrot voice) Zen wants chocolate-covered heroines. Zen wants chocolate-covered heroines.

Charage would be 100% tastier with chocolate coatings.

Harvest OverRay Reconnection

Harvest_OverRay_Reconnection

Company: 戯画 (GIGA)
Game site: ハーヴェストオーバーレイ リコネクション
Release date: December 19, 2014
Comments:
This is the mid-price append disc for Harvest OverRay. It features a new heroine Uino and the final route’s main heroine is sub-heroine Mochiko. It will reveal the true form of Harvest. There is also a short story for popular sub-character Rio. It seems like append discs are getting more popular, especially when companies don’t want to make a full fandisc.

A fandisk by any other name would smell as foul. 

Tsuki ni Yorisou Otome no Sahou 2

Tsuki_ni_Yorisou_Otome_no_Sahou2

Company: Navel
Game site: 月に寄りそう乙女の作法2
Release date: December 19, 2014
Comments:
This is the sequel to Navel’s popular 2012 title Tsuriotsu. Saika returned to Japan after 10 years with the burning desire to attain the top grades at the world-renowned arts school, Filia Academy. That meant winning the grand prize at the year-end academy designer show. His dream was to follow in the footsteps of his parents and possibly surpass them. However, his journey met a critical obstacle before it even started.

When he returned to Sakurayashiki where he was born, his uncle Aeon informed him that boys would be restricted from the designer class next school year. Aware of his own feminine figure, he decided to cast away his manhood for the next three years in order to attend the school. If he became an attendant under the school’s master-servant system, then he could attend while hiding his true identity. He assumed the name of the legendary maid, Kokura Asahi, and served the upper class girl Est.

Although he was successful in entering the academy, the hardest part had yet to come. Even if he wore the best clothes, just walking down the runway alone would not achieve his dream. He must incorporate fashion, acting and music to create the best performance. To achieve this, he needed to get closer to the talented girls in the 66-storey high-rise apartment, Sakura no En. Will Saika be able to find the perfect partner while keeping his secret, and win the grand prize in style?

Tsuki_ni_Yorisou_Otome_no_Sahou2_CG2Tsuki_ni_Yorisou_Otome_no_Sahou2_CG3Tsuki_ni_Yorisou_Otome_no_Sahou2_CG4

Luna-sama!!!… doesn’t seem to be in this sequel. We know that Saika is Yuusei and Luna’s daughter son. There’s many similar characters and the setting is pretty much the same, although there’s no direct continuation from the previous two games. In fact, all the endings in the original game are considered as ‘if’ endings. The story is written only by Higashinosuke, which means Ou Jackson isn’t involved. I have the feeling that those who are expecting a game to match the level of the first game will be left disappointed. It might turn out to be a decent game, but don’t overhype yourselves as it’s hard to do better than the original. May Luna-sama grace you with her presence.

Wow this patchwork of pestilence is difficult to write about, if only because there is so much wrong, that I have no idea where to begin or how to keep the rant from becoming more effort than they put into this game. I suppose I will try to keep it as general as possible, thus starting with the theme itself. Fashion and desgin is a poor choice on many levels, first of all we have a rather metrosexual protagonist that is difficult for most readers to identify with on top of a theme that does not evoke the same feelings of class and artistry as say music, or painting. How many people reading this could truly feel some connection with the so called “passion” of the protagonist for design? Especially when such things come down more to the name, than whether they actually look good. So from the start there is a wall between the central theme that drives the protagonist and most of the readers, even if the writing was spectacular that is a difficult hurdle to overcome. At least when dealing with painting or music they are things people have some exposure to. Maybe this is not much of an issue for some people, but then comes the rest of the bad news, the story is entirely contrived to force him into relationships with the girls. The entire premise of an arbitrary plot generated barrier to his goals, compounded by his completely insane and nonsensical judgment in response is laughable at best. Perhaps the only thing worse is how it is all so “neatly” resolved by becoming a maid, along with the horrible excuse of needing a partnership with the heroines to get the ball rolling. I have to wonder how long Navel can survive on past success, no matter how die hard the fan, everyone has a breaking point somewhere.

Kami no Ue no Mahoutsukai

Kami_no_Ue_no_Mahoutsukai

Company: ウグイスカグラ (Uguisu Kagura)
Game site: 紙の上の魔法使い
Release date: December 19, 2014
Comments:
This is the debut game for Uguisu Kagura, which succeeds Yonaki Uguisu. There was a small library on that island. It was the Yuugyouji family’s private library built solely for one girl, Yoruko, who didn’t attend school and spent all her time there. With lots of intriguing books on its shelves, there was no happier place for a bookworm like her. There were also other wonderful and pleasant people who resided there: the protagonist Ruri and his cool sharp-tongued imouto Kisaki, the freeloading tennen moodmaker Rio, and the curious and honest “detective” Kanata. It’s as if they were all brought together by someone or something. Their love of books was the beginning of their youth. Before long, the lonely library became full of light and they became close like childhood friends.

Two years later, Ruri returned to the library after leaving the island due to family matters. Nothing seemed to have changed from six years ago, except that there was a secret which they were not aware of back then: “Anything that is written in the magic book will become reality”. If it’s a romance novel, then a miracle-like love story will unfold. If it’s a fantasy novel, then vampires will appear the next day. If it’s a horror novel, then there’ll be a ghost beckoning you from behind.

Yoruko’s strong will. Kisaki’s beauty. Rio’s cheerfulness. Kanata’s brilliance. Let’s fall in love with them and books.

Kami_no_Ue_no_Mahoutsukai_CG2Kami_no_Ue_no_Mahoutsukai_CG3Kami_no_Ue_no_Mahoutsukai_CG4

Kamimaho is very reminiscent of Majokoi and its diary, while the mystery feel is like Hapymaher or Furuiro. The game is set up in chapters, with each chapter representing a new story in the magic book, with the characters taking on different roles. Combined with the music, it was hard to put down even though the trial was quite long. The characters are all pretty likeable and I liked the character designs by Kiriha. The story is written by Lucle, whose Unmei Yohou was surprisingly decent. There’s quite a lot of content and you can get a feel for it on the game site, where everything is written from different perspectives. On the downside, there were quite a few typos and the skip function is rather slow, but these are things which can be fixed prior to release. For those that don’t like magic, you might want to stay away. But who would hate magic?

I know even just a few games ago I mentioned the necessity of unique appeal when coming out with a debut. I also have no intention to go back on that, but as an addendum, whatever element you use to stand out must be both well written, and more sensible than deus ex machina written into the setting itself. This isn’t like little kids playing and claiming they were not shot by the invisible bullets from their toy guns, you can’t just write in some method to rewrite the rules whenever it is convenient. If this is the best they can do, I can’t see this company lasting long no matter how appealing their characters may be. 

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Kanojo no Seiiki

Kanojo_no_Seiiki

Company: フォン (feng)
Game site: 彼女のセイイキ
Release date: December 19, 2014
Comments:
This is the first low-price title from feng, featuring one main heroine and two sub-heroines. The protagonist’s osananajimi Fuyuka came from a rich family and was neat and pretty, so she was like the idol of the class. All the boys admired her, but they also found it hard to get close to her. He felt the same way as he had liked her since they were small. Maybe she was his first love. However, they grew distant from one another after they went to separate schools.

One day while returning from Akihabara, he was mistaken for a train molester. The girl was Fuyuka, who he hadn’t seen for a long time. Even though it was just a misunderstanding, she told him that if he wanted her to forgive him, he’ll have to become her butler.

For a game with Ryohka art and a story by Nakahiro, 2000 yen is pretty cheap (and for 8000 yen more, you can get a Fuyuka dakimakura as well). Main heroine Fuyuka is voiced by Haruka Sora, which is even more appealing if you’re one of those do-M types. The two sub-heroines are tsuntsun imouto Yukana who has exhibitionist tendencies and denpa classmate Maika who has a smell fetish. The story probably isn’t long, but since I like all three of the girls, I think I’ll check this out when I get a chance.

I can forgive a bit of manhandling the characters or setting to herd the plot in an appropriate direction, as long as it feels even remotely plausible. Everything was fine up to the butler demands, where reality ended up feeling a little bit stretched for the sake of the characters. However even demanding him to be a butler can be seen as acceptable depending on her character, and how that impulse is explained. There are many ways to do it, but in essence there must be either a direct or indirect cause for her to want him around her existing from before the train incident. How deep that goes, how well it is represented, and how skillfully it is revealed will determine the worth of both the game and the writer. So for me this is actually something I am interested in reading, if for no other reason than to see if Feng still knows how to write.

Hello Lady! -New Division-

Hello_Lady_New_Division

Company: 暁WORKS (Akatsuki WORKS)
Game site: ハロー・レディ! コンプリートブック -New Division-
Release date: December 19, 2014
Comments:
This is the fandisc for Hello Lady!, bundled with the visual fan book. It adds if stories for popular subheroines Mori and Mitori. It’s a surprising move by Akatsuki Works considering they haven’t made a fandisc for any game other than Ruitomo. Note that if you only want the game and not the visual fan book, you’ll have to purchase it in downloadable format.

Heeeelllloo boring. This game was pretty dull and uninteresting, I tried to like it I really did, I wanted to like it, but it just was not interesting in the least. Neither the characters, nor the plot, or even the setting gave any desire to keep reading. As for why it was worth a fandisk I have no idea. I do wish they instead put their effort into something, anything else.

I think you just don’t like fandiscs in general.

Other than rare exceptions I don’t, their content is generally of poor quality, for a chance at a quick cash in on the popularity of the actual game.

Idol Mahou Shoujo Chiruchiru☆Michiru Part 2

Idol_Mahou_Shoujo_Chiruchiru_Michiru_Part2

Company: フロントウイング (FrontWing)
Game site: アイドル魔法少女 ちるちる☆みちる 後編
Release date: December 26, 2014
Comments:
This is the second chapter and finale of the Chiruchiru☆Michiru spinoff. Here’s a synopsis courtesy of the great Michiru herself (with some improvisation):

Four hundred years ago, a cute princess was born in the magic kingdom. She was brought up in a modest manner, but while she was still small, she was given a “cursed fruit” by an evil witch and ate it without knowing the consequences. Her magic powers were taken from her and she fell to the “earth”.

“Please… go and find Chiruchiru… I ask this of you, not as a goddess, but as a mother.”
“Will I… be able to do this nya?”
“Nyanmeru, I trust you.”
“I understand. I will go down from this magic world to Earth and find Princess Chiruchiru nya!”

“… but will I be able to find the princess in such a big world nya…”
“Hey kitty, are you OK?”
“Ah! That beautiful blonde hair and pale skin, those azure eyes which shine like jewels! You must be the princess of the magic kingdom, Princess Chiruchiru!?”
“M-Me, a princess!? Oh don’t joke around, I’m just a normal girl.”
“No, there’s no mistake. You are Princess Chiruchiru!”

So, the strange black cat from the magic kingdom was able to meet the princess by fate. However, she didn’t wish to return to the magic world. That’s because there was chaos in this world.

“I will bring peace to this world with my magic!”
“As expected of the princess nya! What sense of justice! I will follow and help you for the rest of my life nya!”

The princess became Mahou Shoujo☆Chiruchiru, fighting to bring peace to the world. What trouble will break out today…?

Oh Michiru. Stay the way you are. The game’s pretty funny, so if you’ve had the chance to play the first chapter, make sure you follow Chiruchiru to the end! If not, then you should get and play it. Will she save the world? Only Chiruchiru knows!

Ok Frontwing we get it, you are happy to have a series of games that were successful and now you want to keep milking them for all they are worth. It works for Circus and Type Moon, sure, because of their blind and rabid fanbases, mostly based around the characters. Please let’s not have yet another company let it go to their heads and travel down the dark evil path where they abuse the progressively fewer poor saps who still buy their products.

Sekai Project’s Kickstarter for Grisaia and Chiruchiru stretch goal were both achieved within a day, so you’re only going to see their fanbase grow even further.

That’s the problem, people want more of it, but will slowly be forced to realize it will never be quite the same. Also the games were not even that good to begin with, I suppose it just goes with how bad everything else is that standards keep dropping steadily.

Himawari to Koi no Kioku

Himawari_to_Koi_no_Kioku

Company: MORE
Game site: ヒマワリと恋の記憶
Release date: December 26, 2014
Comments:
Youth only comes once in a lifetime. It’s the time to go out and play with friends, do your best to achieve your dreams, and fall in love. Yuu is a second-year student at Ishigami Gakuen who is wasting his youth away. He thinks that he should do something about it, but lacks the motivation to take the first step. He soon meets four girls who have their own worries: Ai, the school’s #1 beauty who calls herself a delinquent; Akane, his classmate who yearns for the spotlight; Shiori, a quiet girl who is looking for ghosts; and Kana, his osananajimi who wants to get along with her friends once more. He spends precious time with each of them in turn.

Himawari_to_Koi_no_Kioku_CG2Himawari_to_Koi_no_Kioku_CG3Himawari_to_Koi_no_Kioku_CG4

At first glance, it’s a pretty standard romance game. After playing the trial, it’s… still a pretty standard romance game (with subpar art). However, the OP suggests that there’s possibly some time travel involved (going back in time to do something over). It would make things a little more interesting, although the heroines just aren’t doing it for me.

I cannot help but feel the girl’s feet are a visual representation of this game, smaller than they should be, misshapen, and not quite pointing the right direction. 

Prism Princess ~Futari no Himekishi to Kokan no Monshou~

Prism_Princess

Company: ぱじゃまソフト (Pajamas Soft)
Game site: プリズム・プリンセス ~ふたりの姫騎士と股間の紋章~
Release date: December 26, 2014
Comments:
This is the latest game in Pajamas Soft’s Prism series. One day, a naked girl appeared in hikikomori Naoto’s room. She stripped off his pants and declared: “I’ve found you, son of the demon lord! Now die!” She swung at him with a sword that she pulled out of nowhere, but it was stopped by another naked girl. “I will definitely protect you…” On top of that, his osananajimi is an idol and his imouto is not just a chuuni, but secretly a powerful magician!? What the hell is going on?

Prism_Princess_CG3Prism_Princess_CG2Prism_Princess_CG4

WTF indeed. It’s like they took ideas out of a hat and just pieced them together. I know they’re going for a harem gag comedy, but this is a little too overboard for me (in many ways). Even if it has Sakakibara Yui, Ogura Yui and Agumi Oto. I’ll get my Agumi Oto fill in a few months anyway. Pass.

When a game has to resort to naked girls falling from the sky there cannot be much imagination at work. Even more so when giving them weapons and turning it into a gladiatorial battle for our emperor Mr. protagonist’s amusement and presumably affection.

Unionism Quartet

Unionism_Quartet

Company: CLIP☆CRAFT
Game site: ユニオリズム・カルテット
Release date: December 26, 2014
Comments:
Fehde, a ceremonial duel with its origins in the Middle Ages, has morphed into the wildly popular sport ‘fehda’, with the combatants being called ‘knights’. Akito transfers into a school (Camelot) which trains knights and thanks to the Princess Yurina of the Albion Kingdom, he was made a member of the Knight Order (“Union”) and tasked with the goal of winning the school’s grand tournament, Vartok Fehda. He started out as an unknown, but people started knowing his name once he fought past many strong opponents and progressed deeper into the tournament. Will he be able to come out on top and claim the title of strongest of them all?

CLIP☆CRAFT’s debut title Koikuro wasn’t any good and this doesn’t look any more promising. While the characters are nice, the battles aren’t that interesting (there’s a lot of them though) and stories with the protagonist going from zero to hero are not hard to find. Milly is quite cute, but that’s a given for any character voiced by Fujisaki Usa who calls you onii-sama. Also, just who thought it was a wise idea to put a blonde-haired character in a golden room…

You know I will always cringe at how hard they have to try to bring these silly knight games into high school settings. Or wait, rather the effort they assume the readers will want to put in to suspend their disbelief for the sake of these half assed princess knight games. Honestly if you want to make a game with these themes just change the setting to match. Crying “Blasphemy!” and trying to fit every square peg into the triangular high school hole is just painful to watch. There are some common sense things we all, or at least most of us learn as children, so I can only give them at least that much benefit of the doubt and assume the cause is utter contempt for their audience.

I’m not fond of the knight setting either, like in Otokana. What was up with that?

Ugh trying to get through that game now, it’s just so much nonsense. On the plus side it’s not as bad as Valkyrie romance as far as sheer stupidity, but as an attempt to make a game of the same style of their last, it’s just too pitiful.

Teito Hiten Daisakusen

Teito_Hiten_Daisakusen

Company: ライアーソフト (Liar-soft)
Game site: 帝都飛天大作戦
Release date: December 26, 2014
Comments:
This is a world which looks very similar to ours, or possibly a world which shares the same history, but developed in another way. In 1926, the bustling imperial capital of Japan, Tokyo, is a strange blend of newly developed mechanical technology and automatons from the olden days. A great world war had ended not too long ago and another loomed in the horizon, but even with the special procurements in preparation for war and rising anxiety in the city, the general populace were still enjoying their lives full of pleasure and prosperity.

However, there was an influx of atrocious crimes menacing everyone from the poor to the rich: murders in back alleys, child abductions, robberies with arson, currency counterfeiting and property destruction. It did not seem to be work of humans. Accounts of strange persons in the city soon spread, and it was agreed upon that they were the work of the spirits, specifically the tengu. One tengu who had come to the city to enjoy the culture in his own way, Garan, resented being blamed for all these crimes. He sensed that these incidents were linked to his bitter enemy, the kijin, and sought to annihilate them.

Teito_Hiten_Daisakusen_CG2Teito_Hiten_Daisakusen_CG3Teito_Hiten_Daisakusen_CG4

Instead of having a long nose, our tengu protagonist is a carefree do-S ikemen who makes the main heroine Kitora his servant. You could say he’s the anti-hero to Gahkthun’s Tesla. Liar-soft puts great detail into their settings, but it’s still not something I’m really interested in.

As usual with Liar soft, good ideas let down by poor writing and implementation. Their games are generally the most painful for me to see every time they appear, along with rail soft. The ideas are there, just they can never really make the fundamentals connect with their characters, settings, and stories. It is such a shame to see so much good wasting away for reasons that not be happening in the first place. I can only hope one of these days they manage to sort out their writing issues so maybe they will be worth reading, and can increase their fanbase. Maybe then we would finally get away from trying to make everything in the world a high school.

Lolipop Nightmare!

Lolipop_Nightmare

Circle: studioハイライト (studio hilite)
Game site: ロリポップナイトメア!
Release date: December 30, 2014 (Comiket 87)
Comments:
This is the first game by doujin circle studio hilite. Touka met a cheerful girl Phantasma in a cemetery in the outskirts of town. She told him with a broad smile that she was a witch and that if he helped her find what she was looking for, then she will made his love come true. Thus began a slightly strange love story which also roped in his osananajimi Mana.

They’re a little late for Halloween, but I’ll forgive them since they’re a doujin circle. The story is written by Jouge Sayuu, who also wrote the crazy Baka wa Shinanakya Naoranai! by integral in August. At least this one seems somewhat comprehensible.

I am actually scared by how sensible this story is relative to other doujin games. Sure everything just arbitrarily moves along because the characters are compelled to do so but I can at least understand the words and concepts. Try harder Studio Hilite, you are letting your doujin peers down! Unless of course they are only trying to lull you into a false sense of security and the latter half of the game turns into incomprehensible gibberish on an insane asylum wall like we come to expect from doujin games.

Nekopara Vol.1 ~Soleil Kaiten Shimashita!~

Nekopara_Vol1

Circle: NEKO WORKs
Game site: ネコぱら Vol.1 ~ソレイユ開店しました!~
Release date: December 30, 2014 (Comiket 87)
Comments:
This is the first title for doujin circle NEKO WORKs. Kashou comes from a family that owns a traditional confectionary shop. He left to become a pâtissier and found his own cake shop La Soleil. However, two of his human-shaped cats, Chocola and Vanilla, ended up in his moving boxes. He wanted to return them home, but he soon relented after hearing their pleas. This is the heartful tale of two cats who work hard for their master who they love so much.

Nekopara_Vol1_CG2Nekopara_Vol1_CG3Nekopara_Vol1_CG4

What amazing quality from a doujin circle! Sayori’s art is beautiful, the cast is great, it uses the E-mote system, it’s fully trilingual (with help from Sekai Project) and they’re all catgirls! And they’re all catgirls! (←important point) Main heroines Chocola and Vanilla are Sayori’s mascots, while Cinnamon is based on her actual cat. I’m really fond of the cheerful Chocola. I already put in my order as soon as it went up, so I look forward to welcoming the new year with kitties galore!

At least the make their subject matter quite clear with the name Neko Works. That said I can’t quite seem to decide whether they were lazy and just pretend the whole cat girl thing is normal, or were clever and felt trying too hard to explain the elephant in the room would detract from the story. Either way at least the game is visually more pleasing than some normal games *coughs at Himawari to Koi no Kioku*.

Micchi’s Top 3 for This Month

  1. Kami no Ue no Mahoutsukai
  2. Nekopara Vol.1 ~Soleil Kaiten Shimashita!~
  3. Idol Mahou Shoujo Chiruchiru☆Michiru Part 2

Zen’s Top 3 for This Month

  1. Kanojo no Seiiki
  2. Teito Hiten Daisakusen
  3. Nekopara Vol.1 ~Soleil Kaiten Shimashita!~

Time to nyan nyan~♪

*Sprays with water bottle* Bad kitty.

I haven’t been naughty! I’ve been very nice!

Only towards imoutos, and only with ulterior motives! That’s not being nice, that’s being devious and trying to get your Christmas presents early, Santa is very disappointed in you!

Santa is an old man who sneaks into children’s houses while they’re sleeping at night. I don’t think he’s qualified to express an opinion on this.

So, he’s you with less discriminating tastes? You racist.

I don’t sneak!


Bringing You Lots of Holiday Cheer

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Baseson is planning a huge expansion of their Koihime series over the next two years. Shin Koihime†Eiyuutan will come out in three separate chapters (for each faction) next April, July and October. There are also plans for three additional chapters after that. These will be set in a world similar to Moeshouden. In late 2015, there will be the 18+ version Sengoku†Koihime X, with new characters, episodes and H scenes. Finally, even more characters will be revealed in Shin Koihime†Musou -Kakumei-, which is scheduled for summer 2016. Do they really intend to turn everyone into girls?

Other new games announced this week include:

Astronauts SiriusVerethragna Seisen no Duelist (April 24th)
fengYume to Iro de Dekiteiru
GlacéKoitama
Haikuo SoftMenkage Railback
HOOKSOFTTraveling Stars
Lump of SugarRensou Relation (May 29th)
NanaWindALIA’s CARNIVAL! -Flowering Sky- (May 29th)
PeasSoftChuunibyou na Kanojo no Love Equation
RosebleuWalkure Runabout!

Release dates have been set for the following:

Anekouji Naoko to Giniro no Shinigami – March 27th
Kami no Rhapsody – April 24th
Sorcery Jokers – April 24th
Soushuu Senshinkan Gakuen Bansenjin – April 24th

Yurina topped the Aneyome chara poll and will likely get something in next week’s announcement.

The Boku no Hitori Sensou and Panical Confusion OSTs come out on February 25th and March 27th, respectively.

Nanaca Mai’s illustration collection, “Le ciel des anges”, will be on shelves on January 29th. It will mainly feature artwork from FrontWing’s Pure Girl and Innocent Girl, but there will also be illustrations from her doujin circle NANACAN.

There’s an arcade game coming out next year, Nitroplus Blasterz, which pits characters from their games against each other. How about Saya versus Miyuki?

The Grisaia kickstarter was fully funded with all its stretch goals (Chiruchiru, platform ports) within two days. It seems there’s an appetite for visual novels after all.

Dakimakura are available for AstralAir‘s Yuuki and Ochiba, Haruno‘s Karin, Walroma‘s Akane, Minakoi‘s Mitsuki and Sakura no Uta‘s Rin.

Played a bit more Aokana this week while prepping various posts. Christmas is the busiest season of the year. I know playing eroge is very important, but do spend some time with family and friends! Happy Holidays!


And There’s More to Come…!

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Getchu has a nice interview up with Nekopara‘s scenario writer Yukihito and illustrator Sayori. It touches on how it all came about, game genre selection, desire for harem scenes, certain characters and their route availability, use of Steam and translations (which weren’t decided until September). It’s an interesting read if you have some time.

key has announced that Angel Beats! -1st beat- is slated for a May 29th release. They also have a new kinetic novel in the works called Harmonia.

Loli lovers will be happy to know that Tanuki Soft’s next game, Shoujo Ramune, is coming out on May 29th. It’s about lolis and cheap candies. That’s really all you need to know. Meanwhile, Rosebleu’s Walkure Runabout! has been set for March 27th.

Kafuka was the most popular bunny by far in the Bunny Paradise chara poll. Also victorious was Hakoniwa‘s main heroine Kirika, beating out a stiff challenge in Riru (powered by onii-chans). The Hanitsuma chara poll has started up and will end on January 20th.

The anime adaptation for sequels Grisaia no Meikyuu and Grisaia no Rakuen will be on air starting end of March, with an hour-long first episode.

The release dates for the PSV adaptations for Justy×Nasty and Hyakka Ryouran Elixir have been set for March 26th and April 9th, respectively.

5pb. has cancelled the planned Steins;Gate original novel which was due out in January.

A mini visual fanbook for doujin game Sistopia will be available at initial’s booth on the third day of C87. They’re also got the OST.

You want Saber in lingerie? You. Got. Your. Wish. All four WAVE figures are coming out in mid-2015 for ¥9800 each.

There’s a Hanasaki alarm app for Android out from SAGA PLANETS, so you can get to know the heroines better before the game’s release.

Dakimakuras are coming out for Sister Scheme 3‘s Sayumi and Hoshiori‘s Sora.

We’ve reached 3 million views! Thanks everyone! ^^


Best Eroge OPs of 2014

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Yet another year has come to an end, so it’s time to recall the best OPs over the past 12 months. As usual, I’ve chosen my favourite eroge OPs from 2014 based on song quality, visual arrangement and creativity. I’ve also included some consoles, all-ages and doujin titles. They are listed by release date and you can listen to the entire playlist on Youtube. My top 5 this year are Mayosube, Clover Day’s, Dekinai Watashi ga Kurikaesu, Sakusaku (Grand OP) and HapyMaher FD. Enjoy!

Kimi to Boku to no Kishi no Hibi

Company: piriri!
Release date: January 24, 2014
Song: “Share the Thoughts”
Vocal: Sakakibara Yui

Koisuru Doll to Omoi no Kiseki

Company: Sugar Pot
Release date: February 28, 2014
Song: “Eien Naru Kizuna to Omoi no Kiseki”
Vocal: nao

Innocent Girl

Company: FrontWing
Release date: February 28, 2014
Song: “Art as ♡”
Vocal: KOTOKO

HapyMaher Fragmentation Dream

Company: Purple Software
Release date: February 28, 2014
Song: “Gensou Roukaku”
Vocal: Hashimoto Miyuki

Honoo no Haramase Paidol My★Star Gakuen Z

Company: SQUEEZ
Release date: March 20, 2014
Song: “Haramase Oppai! Shining My Star Z!”
Vocal: Yun, Tamako, momiji

Eiyuu*Senki GOLD

Company: TENCO
Release date: March 28, 2014
Song: “UNLIMITED HEART”
Vocal: Masaki Erica

Clover Day’s

Company: ALcot
Release date: March 28, 2014
Song: “Clover Day’s”
Vocal: Marie

Hello, Lady!

Company: Akatsuki WORKS
Release date: March 28, 2014
Song: “Truth and Light”
Vocal: Marika

FLOWERS

Company: Innocent Grey (all-ages)
Release date: April 18, 2014
Song: “FLOWERS”
Vocal: Shimotsuki Haruka

PRETTY×CATION

Company: hibiki works
Release date: April 25, 2014
Song: “Loving you”
Vocal: Shimotsuki Haruka

Haruka Kanata

Company: SORAHANE
Release date: May 30, 2014
Song: “Haruka Kanata”
Vocal: Tsukiko

Houkago no Futekikakusha

Company: NostalgicChord
Release date: May 30, 2014
Song: “Sanagi”
Vocal: Fukuyama Yoshiki

Sengoku Tougeki ~Burning Spirits~

Company: DMM (all-ages, web)
Release date: June 10, 2014
Song: “Hikari”
Vocal: Sakuragawa Megu

Magical Eyes -Red is for anguish-

Company: Pomeranian Swingers (all-ages, doujin)
Release date: June 22, 2014
Song: “Good Morning!!”
Vocal: NAOKIEE SHOW

Shuki Shuki Daishuki!!

Company: Iris
Release date: June 27, 2014
Song: “Shuki Shuki Chu~ihou”
Vocal: Nashimoto Yuri

Koi ga Saku Koro Sakura Doki

Company: Palette
Release date: June 27, 2014
Song: “Koi Saku Mirai”
Vocal: Sasaki Sayaka

Song: “Distance”
Vocal: Sasaki Sayaka

Fraternite

Company: CLOCKUP
Release date: July 25, 2014
Song: “Aogeba Tattoshi”
Vocal: Kotatsu Miyako, Yuki Yuzumi, Tsuruya Haruto, Ashikubi Mukumi, Suzumiya Nayuta

AstralAir no Shiroki Towa

Company: FAVORITE
Release date: July 25, 2014
Song: “White Eternity”
Vocal: Nitta Emi

Kono Oozora ni, Tsubasa o Hirogete SNOW PRESENTS

Company: PULLTOP
Release date: July 25, 2014
Song: “PrivateSky”
Vocal: Hoshizaki Iria

Liànzhàn Bùxiū

Company: POLKA-DOT (Chinese, doujin, all-ages)
Release date: August 1, 2014
Song: “Liànzhàn Bùxiū ~Love Wars Never Stop~”
Vocal: Kazuzu

Idol Mahou Shoujo Chiruchiru☆Michiru

Company: FrontWing (all-ages)
Release date: August 15, 2014
Song: “MAJICK”
Vocal: Hana

Dekinai Watashi ga, Kurikaesu.

Company: AkabeiSoft3
Release date: August 29, 2014
Song: “Re:call”
Vocal: Shimotsuki Haruka

Himawari!!

Company: sweetlight
Release date: August 29, 2014
Song: “Himawari!!”
Vocal: Tamiyasu Tomoe

Harenochi Kitto Nanohana Biyori

Company: Parasol
Release date: August 29, 2014
Song: “I will”
Vocal: solfa feat. Chata

Onii-chan, Migite no Shiyou o Kinshi Shimasu!

Company: Galette
Release date: September 26, 2014
Song: “Onii-chan, Migite no Shiyou o Kinshi Shimasu!”
Vocal: Yakushi Ruri

Mayoeru Futari to Sekai no Subete

Company: Lass
Release date: October 31, 2014
Song: “Owaranai Monogatari”
Vocal: marina

Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm

Company: sprite
Release date: November 28, 2014
Song: “Wings of Courage -Sora o Koete-“
Vocal: Kawada Mami

Song: “INFINITE SKY”
Vocal: KOTOKO

Cocoro@Function! NEO

Company: PULLTOP
Release date: November 28, 2014
Song: “Mirai Circuit”
Vocal: Ceui

Kadenz fermata//Akkord:fortissimo

Company: La’cryma/5pb. (PSV)
Release date: December 11, 2014
Song: “fermata~Akkord:fortissimo~”
Vocal: fripSide

CHAOS;CHILD

Company: 5pb. (Xbox One)
Release date: December 18, 2014
Song: “Hijitsuzai Seishounen”
Vocal: Itou Kanako

Tsuki ni Yorisou Otome no Sahou 2

Company: Navel
Release date: December 19, 2014
Song: “Glitter”
Vocal: Misato Aki

Nekopara Vol.1 ~Soleil Kaiten Shimashita!~

Company: NEKO WORKs (doujin)
Release date: December 30, 2014
Song: “Taiyou Paradise”
Vocal: nao

Are there any other OPs this year that you particularly liked? Please share them in the comments!


Welcome to 2015!

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Happy new year everyone! 明けましておめでとうございます!

やっほー! (CV: Sakura) Before starting out on a brand new year, let’s look back on what happened in the past one. I was MMO-free this year, so it gave me more time to enjoy the many games that came out (or just search for Ikazuchi pics all day).

The blog passed its 6th year anniversary in September and recently achieved 3 million total views! Thank you!! Not much has changed in the site structure (still mostly weekly and monthly posts). I’ve now moved the picture uploads on Twitter from Twitpic (RIP) to the native image uploader. There’s also an Ask.fm page up for those who want to ask me stuff. I’ve had some interesting and thought-provoking questions so far, so keep them coming!

Last year‘s resolution was to try out at least five companies which I haven’t played a title from before. I am very happy to announce that I actually succeeded! The games were hibiki works’ PRETTY×CATION, sweetlight’s Himawari!!, AkabeiSoft3’s Dekinai Watashi ga Kurikaesu, Acacia Soft’s Natsumero and propeller’s Sukimazakura.

Random 2014 tidbits:

I played a total of 26 games this year (on top of trials), with a mix of both old and new games. Among new games, I particularly enjoyed Clover Day’s, Sakigen, Sakusaku, Onikin and Aokana. I also played Clover Heart’s at the start of the year to prep for Clover Day’s. Astraythem was quite good as it’s pretty much Agumi Oto heaven. Thanks for the recommendation, Oot! I think out of all the games I played, my favourite was Clover Day’s. Imoutos, twins, nostalgia, lots of mofumofu. It also made me crave fish sando for months afterwards. I didn’t end up reading much manga or LNs last year, but I hope to return to them in the coming year.

I love imoutos and there’s plenty of them this year, including Sekachu‘s KokoroInnocent Girl‘s HinakoHapyMaher FD‘s MaiaBakamoe‘s Kurumi, Koisex‘s Shiho, ALIA’s CARNIVAL‘s Karin, Clover Day’sAnzu and Anri, Endless Dungeon‘s Miko, Hikoukigumo‘s Mina, Juukishi‘s Miyabi, Renai Harem‘s Yuina, Love SweetsIori, Sistopia‘s Yuno and Chika, Golden Marriage‘s Marika, Hapiemo‘s Sumomo, Haruka Kanata‘s Haruka, Sakigen‘s Ririko, Souma-kun‘s Yuna, Chiccha Love Apart‘s Hinata, Niina-chan‘s Niina, Scramble LoversYui, Harvest OverRay‘s Sumi, Koi DOKi‘s Kokoro, Sakusaku‘s Konami, G.I.B.‘s Sorami, AstralAir‘s Rinne, Shinsei Mokushiro‘s Suzu, Ichayaba‘s Meguri, Himawari‘s Mikoto, Satsukoi‘s Yuu, Onikin‘s Tsugumi, Ayuka, Kaede and Yuki, Yakimochi‘s Sana, Minakoi‘s Miyako, Monomono‘s Tsubasa, Koiharu‘s Chifuyu, Bunny Paradise‘s Karin, Tonakoi‘s Megumi, Cocoro@Function! NEO‘s Asagao, Tsuriotsu2‘s Atre, Kamimaho‘s Kisaki, Seiiki‘s Yukana and Prism PrincessAi. And this year’s winner is… no, winners are… Clover Day’s‘ Anzu and Anri! You can’t have one without the other, so there’s plenty of mofumofu to be had!

可 愛 い じ ゃ な い か !

2015 promises to be full of hype for Tree of Savior. With its 80 classes, I might end up disappearing for a while at some point. There’s also lots of #hikaributts love, but an Agumi Oto-voiced imouto in Nonoka…?! Take my money!! But I guess I still need to make a New Year’s resolution. Last year’s seems to have worked pretty well, so let’s go with that again: play at least five games from companies which I have not tried before.

Once again, thank you for your continued support! Let us enjoy another year of eroge and imoutos!


Still in Holiday Mode

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5pb. is remaking one of the eroge classics, ELF’s Kono Yo no Hate de Koi o Utau Shoujo YU-NO. The new character designs are done by Nagi Ryou (Ar Tonelico). The release is planned for this year, but the platform has not been announced yet.

PULLTOP uploaded an impression video over the holidays for their next two games: Natsuiro Recipe, by their new sub-brand PULLTOP Air, and Miagete Goran, Yozora no Hoshi o, by the team that worked on Konosora. They will be released sometime after spring.

The top 5 eroge in sales on Getchu are: Sakigen, Tsuriotsu2, Sakusaku, Daito DS and La DEA. I bet that if Tsuriotsu2 had been out earlier, it probably would’ve taken the top spot. Now we’ll have to wait for the user rankings, which have yet to begin.

Inugami Kira’s second illustration collection, “Nekodoku PARADE”, will be on shelves on January 29th. It is priced at ¥3600.

Two more clock apps are available, for Haru Kiss and Sanoba Witch.

It’s been a packed end to 2014, but now that I’m back, I feel somewhat refreshed! I had the chance these couple of days to play through a backlog of trials, most intriguing of which were Natsu no Iro no Nostalgia and Soreyori no Prologue. Now that I think about it, both are kinda similar in presentation, even though minori is more known for drama than MOONSTONE. Towa-chan is too cute!


January 2015 Eroge Releases

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Another year means more promises and dreams. I’m hoping that MOONSTONE’s Natsu no Iro no Nostalgia and Insync’s Mousou Complete! will help the year start off on a good note. There’s also an assortment of sequels, including UnisonShift Blossom’s Tokeijikake no Ley-Line -Asagiri ni Chiru Hana- finale. What future lies ahead for us in this eroge world?

Another year also means we get to start off on the lazy foot of lackluster eroge in continuation of the last year’s tradition. Not a great month to be honest, A few games with some potential in theory were ruined by the writers yet again.

Mousou_Complete_CGHimegoto_Union_Last_Secret_CGNatsu_no_Iro_no_Nostalgia_CG
Lautes_Alltags_CGTokeijikake_no_Ley_Line_Asagiri_ni_Chiru_Hana_CG1_7_no_Mahoutsukai_CG
Mainichi_ga_Harem_Sugite_Ore_wa_Yome_o_Kimerarenai_CGHaru_Kiss_CGGakuen_Butou_no_Folklore_CG

Kimihane: Kanojo to Kanojo no Koisuru 1kagetsu

Kimihane

Company: BaseSon Light
Game site: きみはね 彼女と彼女の恋する1ヶ月
Release date: January 23, 2015
Comments:
This low-priced download game is the first title by BaseSon Light. Hina, Rin and Fumi are new roommates at Seiba Girls’ School. Even though they had different personalities and upbringings, they had one thing in common: they recall seeing an angel when they were small. They each suspected that one of the other girls was actually an angel.

This yuri story is written like a 4koma, depicting their casual lives together as well as their growing relationships. There are three separate couplings and it doesn’t ignore the third person when a coupling has been decided, which is a refreshing change. It costs under ¥3000 and has decent art, so it’s probably worth getting if you like sweet yuri or girls doing girly things.

This has to be one of the most painfully contrived means of bringing a same sex based plot together I have seen in a long time. Throw three girls together, add in arbitrary angel crap where they all find each other absolutely angelic, and yuri happens. Sounds like a winner to me.

1/7 no Mahoutsukai

1_7_no_Mahoutsukai

Company: Regulus
Game site: 1/7の魔法使い
Release date: January 30, 2015
Comments:
This is the debut title for Regulus. When he was very small, Yuuji made a promise with a girl to become a magician and save the world. They parted ways soon after and the promise also gradually changed its meaning until all that remained was a ring which they had exchanged at that time.

Many years later, with the world trembling at the impending return of the “witch”, he decided to enrol in a magic school to fulfill his promise. However, even though he had top grades in the written and practical exams, he was failed for the simple reason that he had no training as a magician. He was recognized as a special case in a follow-up exam and entered Maialens Magic Academy half a year later. It is where youths with excellent magic ability train in anticipation of the witch’s revival.

While he was touring the school, he suddenly heard a familiar sound and was witness to a battle. In front of him stood a girl in colourful clothing, wielding a giant weapon that’s too big for her and with a shimmering ring on her right hand. She was the girl who he had made the promise with, Ema. She looked at the ring on his hand and declared that he wasn’t the Yuuji that she had hoped for. He didn’t understand what she meant, but she continued: “I will be waiting ahead for you.”

Afterwards, he discovered that he had been placed into a class of students with low grades. Unless all of them show qualities of a magician within a month, then they will be forced to drop out. So, Yuuji still had not been recognized as a proper student at the school. This is the first step in fulfilling his promise and to save the world.

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It’s always so easy to find the one you made your childhood promise with even if it’s been years and you don’t remember anything. That’s because you’re destined to become the greatest magician and saviour of the world. Not sure what this witch is, but the theme seems very similar to Koiken, which scenario writer Tatsuki was director for. If the stories are similar, then should we expect the witch to be a cute loli? The rest of the cast is already pretty loli to begin with (no complaints here!).

I also found the plot to be kinda pointless since even when they succeed, they find out that there’s more obstacles in their way, and some tournament was introduced for this purpose. I think it’s just an excuse to add battles. There’ll be battles aplenty, but don’t expect it to much more than a chara-ge.

Now Regulus, I know how often I am forced to berate new companies for their profound aspirations towards mediocrity, usually a few times a month these days. However this does not mean you can just shove random themes into a high school setting like fifty kilos of stuffing in ten of turkey. The normal problem with new companies of sticking to more proven copy paste games is that they have no clear way to decide on whether it is good or bad, aside from the writing and story. Which in most cases is sub par and thus the games end up looking as appealing as roadkill barbeque. Regulus on the other hand decided to rebel against the norm by taking the standard high school romance and making it unique! Well by unique I mean pretty much the exact same just with some magic and a witch with world ending significance poorly written into the plot. Honestly I have to wonder where these ideas come from, do they copy their 8 year old children’s writing homework because they are so at a loss of what to do? Well I suppose I do have to thank them for coming full circle here and proving that a well written game in a humdrum setting is a thousand times better than an uncoordinated orchestra of kazoos and whistles.

Himegoto Union Last Secret

Himegoto_Union_Last_Secret

Company: SEVEN WONDER
Game site: ひめごとユニオン Last Secret
Release date: January 30, 2015
Comments:
This is a compilation of the four mini fandiscs released over the past year, plus a finale for imouto protection star beast starship traveller imouto Nanoka. I thought they were done last time, but they had more H up their sleeve.

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When in doubt over what to make, just make a bunch of fandisks in rapid succession, seems to work well enough these days.

Magical Canan 2 ~Hiiro no Bergamot~

Magical_Canan2

Company: Terios
Game site: まじかるカナン2 ~緋色のベルガモット~
Release date: January 30, 2015
Comments:
This is the sequel to Magical Canan. One year after the Dark Materia incident, contact was lost with the unit monitoring the human world. Natsuki once again headed to the human world on the orders of Tsuyuha, the Queen of the magic world Evergreen. He immediately went to meet up with Chihaya, but he was attacked by a black magic warrior named Crimson. However, he can’t fight by himself; he only had the power to bestow magical powers to his partner, transforming her into a magic warrior.

He ran around looking for Chihaya and bumped into Misaki, kissing her on the lips and turning her into Magical Warrior Machalite. They were able to fight off Crimson, but Natsuki was perplexed at how he was able to give his powers to someone other than Chihaya. After he found Chihaya, he discovered that she could no longer turn into Magic Warrior Carmein. Will he be able to overcome the dangers and bring back peace to the human world?

It’s a blast from the past, as suggested from the plot and artwork. I remember watching the H OVA a long long time ago. I’m surprised that Terios still exists. Even though this is a sequel, it’ll be written by a different scenario writer (Ki-tan). This will likely end up mostly being H-centric like the first. Pass.

If hell was a personal realm of the absolute worst horrors you can imagine, my hell would be magical girls. I loathe the fact they exist almost as much as I loathe the male fanbase for these things. If a five year old girl likes it, fine, nothing wrong with that, she is the target demographic. When an older male becomes obsessed with both the series and the quest to find justification for it in a higher meaning I am forced to fondly recall the end of Old Yeller. Why these have a place in the eroge market will forever baffle me.

Haru Kiss

Haru_Kiss

Company: 戯画 (GIGA)
Game site: ハルキス
Release date: January 30, 2015
Comments:
This is the latest title in GIGA’s school love ADV Kiss series. Shuuji’s grades have taken a hit since he played around too much, so his cousin Tsubame decides to take him in to keep an eye on him. But since she’s usually busy with work, he ends up taking care of the house along with younger cousin Aoi. He wishes to become independent soon. At this time, he helped his classmate Itsuki and became pretend lovers with her. Then his imouto Konomi came to see him, along with the daughter of his judo teacher and his osananajimi, Amane. What future awaits him?

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All the Kiss games up to this point kinda melded into one since I couldn’t tell the heroines apart. This time they seem a little bit more distinct! Maybe it’s cuz there’s an imouto in the mix. Konomi is pretty darn cute and she even followed him all the way to his new home! So cute! >w< Although I think her voice didn’t quite fit; I expected it to be higher pitched. The trial wasn’t good nor bad, but I wasn’t bored while playing it. It could be worth a try.

The latest in Giga’s “We can’t do anything besides the Baldr series, but will keep trying anyway, hoping that banging our heads against a wall will produce results!” line of games. As a game that just screams poorly thought out and poorly written, along with the less than stellar record of Giga for games like these, I will go out on a limb here and say this is probably a poorly made game. As usual the biggest tip off here is the start of the game and how the setting forces the protagonist into the center of his orbiting heroines. A lazy approach to heroine situations, introductions, and relationships generally spells out disaster in the making.

Lautes Alltags

Lautes_Alltags

Company: ヘクセンハウス (HexenHaus)
Game site: ラウテスアルタクス
Release date: January 30, 2015
Comments:
Kisaragi was not able to find a job after graduation, so he has been reluctantly helping out his older sister Mutsuki at her café Kirschtorte since spring while continuing his job search. Located near the train station in a residential neighbourhood, it was often visited by students returning home. He did his shift every day with veteran part-timer Himari and osananajimi Sana, and business was generally quite good.

Summer soon turned to fall, and his employment situation didn’t change. One day, the manager Torie brought in a girl who had looked troubled on the street. They gathered to ask her questions, but she seemed hesitant in answering them. Himari remarked that it must be because she lost her memories. So, Mutsuki suggested that she live and work part-time at the café while regaining her memories. The girl, Nanase, reluctantly agreed and the everyday at Kirschtorte gradually changes.

This seems to be a relaxing slice-of-life café drama, with a focus on Nanase’s background (no, she didn’t actually lose her memories). I was surprised to find out in the trial that the game uses the E-mote system. It’s nothing really special, but the graphics page seem to be mostly ecchi scenes. Guess he’ll be in no hurry to get a new job.

Everything was well and good until the girl who achieved such a dumbass density that her brain imploded and she managed to forget herself showed up. The reason this is so silly, is due to how what could have been a relaxing and touching slow paced heartwarming story decided to hurl the awkward lost puppy gimmick into the fray. While this plotline tends to be focused on a cafe the majority of the time, probably because it is easier to write when the setting does everything for you, that does not mean they are any good. Sticking to a story of their lives, with the protagonist making different life choices based on who ends up being closest to him throughout their daily life in the cafe would have made for a good story. Having to pick up the lost and brainless hobo girl off the street to actually come up with something to write about is rather sad and tells the all too common eroge story of poor writing.

Natsu no Iro no Nostalgia

Natsu_no_Iro_no_Nostalgia

Company: MOONSTONE
Game site: 夏の色のノスタルジア
Release date: January 30, 2015
Comments:
When Ryouto awakened from his coma, the world seemed to have changed colour. This is because he gained a special ability which allows him to see people’s emotions as colours. For example, happiness shows as amber, sadness as sapphire, anger as ruby, and desire as emerald. Aside from that, he was like any other normal boy.

He returned to his hometown Kaido-chou with his imouto Miu for the first time in three years and transferred into Himawari Garden. They were surprised to see a field of large blossoming sunflowers for which the school was named after, even though it was only May. It was said that sunflowers which bloom outside of their normal periods are supposed to bring good luck to the students. However, there was not much excitement in the quiet classroom and he was also unable to notice any colour in his classmates.

He reunited with three girls whom he was friends with in the past. Their friendship which was thought to last forever had been shattered during that summer three years ago. As he picked up the broken fragments one by one, he felt both the darkness and love which they held in their hearts.

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This is the title I’m most excited for this month. Even though it has pretty art by MOONSTONE staple Yamakaze Ran, the setting and plot by Kureichirou is quite promising. I almost feel like I’ve read a similar plot before (seeing colours in people), but I can’t quite place it. It makes me wonder how their hearts and relationships will be mended. I don’t want to spoil too much about the game, but you should play the trial since it’s not a standard school love comedy. What may be a labyrinth to one may be Eden to another. I like both the scenery and characters, especially Miu and Shouko. They’re both so cute (even if I know they have dark sides)! Hau~ omochikaeri~!

The point of most eroge that focus on story and character development, well as best as they are able anyway, is to gradually bring two people closer forming a deeper understanding and bond with each other. As a gimmick the ability to see emotions cheapens the entire process to the point of making it all pointless. This is due to how the protagonist and heroine usually begin a gradual process of coming to an understanding where they can read between the lines and comprehend the other person on a deeper level. Really this progression is the most effective way to convey the sense of bond between them. To give an easy example, it would make the entire all too popular tsundere archetype completely pointless as the protagonist would instantly understand what lies beneath the tsun tsun front. When Mr. emotion invader comes into play many of the normal protagonist excuses of block headed density which allow for multiple heroines to approach to the point the reader is able to pick the one they like best, become untenable and ridiculous. Even for a gimmicky charage this is a poor choice, as even the most Micchi of readers are likely to feel there is something missing the longer the story goes on.

Gakuen Butou no Folklore

Gakuen_Butou_no_Folklore

Company: シアン (Chien)
Game site: 学園舞闘のフォークロア
Release date: January 30, 2015
Comments:
This is another Japan in a world supported by people with fairy tale-like powers. Kouji was born with the extremely rare power (‘cast’) “roi jewel”, which can make one into a king. He transferred into Gokyou Gakuen with his attendant Tsubomi, and three girls with powerful casts were waiting for him. Their goal was to defeat him in the Butoukai tournament and to claim the position of future queen. They all ended up sharing a dormitory and he gradually began to fall for them.

At that time, there was a disappearance at the school. As they investigated the truth, they unexpectedly revealed the presence of a mastermind behind the incident. It was a test of whether he was worthy of becoming king and it would end up involving the entire school.

Ugh, another battle game. Chien’s writing leaves a lot to be desired and I didn’t even recall Miyamura Yuu’s latest works (Koikoi, Guardian Place). If I really had to play such a game, why not go for 1/7 no Mahoutsukai instead?

Writing a good eroge is hard, I recognize this. But no matter how hard it may be, when it is your job you should at least put some token effort in. Having the setting tell you the entire plot and motivation for characters along with forcing them into encounters in an attempt to progress their relationship is painfully bad. As terrible as 1/7 Mahoutsukai looked, I have to admit Micchi is right about choosing that instead. I would rather something be bad, than be bad plus treat the readers like they are either idiots or five years old.

Tokeijikake no Ley-Line -Asagiri ni Chiru Hana-

Tokeijikake_no_Ley_Line_Asagiri_ni_Chiru_Hana

Company: ユニゾンシフト:ブロッサム (UnisonShift Blossom)
Game site: 時計仕掛けのレイライン -朝霧に散る花-
Release date: January 30, 2015
Comments:
This is the third game and finale of UnisonShift Blossom’s magic mystery Ley-Line series. The ‘night world’ crumbled and their students vanished. Mitsuyoshi thought that the cause might have been a fire that happened at the school 20 years ago, and began to investigate this incident in order to reunite with his friend Kotarou who had disappeared as a ‘night school student’. Meanwhile, the school principal who had also vanished secretly planned to bring back the night world from the other side. All of the remaining mysteries of the school will finally be brought to light.

Tokeijikake_no_Ley_Line_Asagiri_ni_Chiru_Hana_CG2Tokeijikake_no_Ley_Line_Asagiri_ni_Chiru_Hana_CG3Tokeijikake_no_Ley_Line_Asagiri_ni_Chiru_Hana_CG4

It’s nice to see the trilogy come to a proper conclusion even if I didn’t play the series.

Continuation , yada yada.

Mainichi ga Harem Sugite Ore wa Yome o Kimerarenai!

Mainichi_ga_Harem_Sugite_Ore_wa_Yome_o_Kimerarenai

Company: PeasSoft
Game site: 毎日がハーレムすぎて王子(おれ)は姫(ヨメ)を決められないっ!
Release date: January 30, 2015
Comments:
Chiaki is the son of the Tenmyouji family, which runs the the leading zaibatsu in Japan. At his birthday party, his parents decided that he’ll marry Nina, the daughter of a famous Italian opera singer and a Japanese world-renowned pianist. However, he rejected their matchmaking, stating that he can’t marry someone who he just met. They reluctantly accepted his opinion and came up with a new set of conditions.

1. He must attend Tsukimiya Gakuen, where there are many girls from high-class families, and search for a bride while studying.
2. He must conceal his social status and use a false name.
3. The girl that he chooses must be sexually assertive. (← since they want lots of grandchildren)

He agreed to their conditions since he can choose his own bride. There, he met four girls: the friendly and cheerful Ayano who is great at cooking but seems to have a secret, the proud and dictator-like Tamaki who sets strict school rules on a whim, the rich Misuzu who’s always on a high horse, but is actually quite an idiot, and the extremely ecchi Nina who followed him to Tsukimiya Gakuen even though he had turned her down. Along with his expressionless sharp-tongued maid Chloe and his meddling imouto/maid Rurika, he begins his search for a bride. However, it seems like they are all either quite sadistic or masochistic. Will he be able to safely make a choice?

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Good on Chiaki for taking charge of his future, but alas his only choices are all eccentric ones. Is it because they are ojousamas that they develop differently from us normal folk? If I really had to choose one of them, I’d go with Ayano or Nina. I’m not a do-M!

Alright you want to make a game about an expensive private school for classy girls, fair enough. Protagonist does not want to have an arranged marriage, not just fair enough, kind of a necessity to even have a story. False names and concealing your status, sounds like a good idea to me. The condition of the girl being “Sexually assertive” basically throws the whole thing out the window and into the dumpster. What could have been a natural flow where the protagonist finds himself aquainted with some of the more eccentric girls of the school, perhaps due to his lack of status or whatever reason would have been fine. By adding in this single condition the entire process is setup to be cheapened. Why is that? It’s simple, the entire plot is forced to go into a direction rather than letting it happen. From the perspective of writing it is the difference between taking the time to write out a steady and seamless progression of showing without telling, and slapping together an amorphous mass of telling without showing. Lets be honest, it is not as though we have a choice outside of the few heroines the game gives us, and H scenes are assumed in an eroge. So why would you need to openly force the heroine’s sexuality into the process. It speaks to poor writing and design. A little spice is nice, but too much is poison.

I think that condition was added to appease all those do-M and do-S folks out there. It’s true though that a good eroge shouldn’t have to force extremes to be interesting.

I agree that it is probably for a certain crowd, but the problem is that you could just as easily introduce the characters in say, the demo and hint at their characteristics without spelling it out. Gives the game an air of mystery and a sense of “Wow I want to know how things develop so I must play!” instead of having it all forcibly spelled out, and in this case set in stone as the rules of the universe.

Mousou Complete!

Mousou_Complete

Company: Insync
Game site: 妄想コンプリート!
Release date: January 30, 2015
Comments:
This is the debut title by Insync. Seiji sees precognitive dreams from time to time. However, since it’s usually only fragments, he doesn’t pay much attention to them and just lives a normal life. One day, he saw a strange dream in which he was very intimate with a girl who he had never seen before. They were both naked and doing what lovers do. When he awoke the next morning, he was puzzled and wondered if it was a sign from the future. He had never dreamt about someone he had not seen before, so he dismissed it as only a delusion to avoid any weird expectations.

He got dressed, walked to school with his imouto Mari, entered his classroom and greeted his classmates. It was the start to another normal day at school… or so he thought. There was a new transfer student in his class, Erika, and she was the girl in his dreams. While he was still stunned, her gaze fell upon him.

“Ahhhh!!! N-No way… You must be joking…!?”

It seems that a strange love story has suddenly begun, with Seiji squarely in the middle of it.

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I love the art by Azumi Kazuki! I wanna take both Mia and Mari home! This seems to be your standard love comedy and the writer Kobayashi Kouji came from Ex-iT (the patching problems in the latest games weren’t really his fault), so I won’t really expect too much. I’m still waiting for the trial to come out…

Nothing like starting out with the ending. Honestly a pretty weak concept whether it be comedic, charage, or standard eroge. Do try harder next time, maybe with a gimmick you didn’t buy from the eroge template bargin bin.

Micchi’s Top 3 for This Month

  1. Natsu no Iro no Nostalgia
  2. Mousou Complete!
  3. Haru Kiss

Zen’s Top 3 for This Month

  1. Alas my fair maiden
  2. I have no choice but to,
  3. Make you a knight.

Oh god, please not another game about knights… I hope there isn’t one next month too…

Can someone invent an eroge gun to make the Knight plots obsolete?



Melt My Heart

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Tigre is making a pair of new games, one of which is Maboroshi no Dystopia. SILKY’S PLUS has also announced their next title, Neyuki no Genei, a horror and suspense AVG set in a Western-style boarding house which used to be a all-girls’ mission school dormitory.

The following titles have been delayed:

Bishoujo Mangekyou Ch3 – February 27th
Kishi×Kano – February 27th
Sumire – March 27th

Chara polls have started up for Zettai Seifuku☆Gakuen Kessha Panyanyanda!! (until January 23rd) and Unionism Quartet (until January 29th). Oppai oppai!!

Orca Toys has yet another risqué ToHeart2 figure coming out this July: a 1/5 scale figure of Sasara white bunny ver. It costs a smooth ¥13,800. Does that mean there’ll be a red version coming in the future? GSC has a nendoroid of Fate‘s Rider available for preorder for ¥3704.

The CLANNAD official English release kickstarter finished with a total of $541,161. Good job, guys!

The Sanoba Witch OP came out and I wasn’t really impressed with it even though it was fully animated.

Played through a few trials this week and I liked Yuki Koi Melt. It retains the same charm as Pure Girl and Innocent Girl. I can’t wait to play the full game in March. Just don’t touch the nekomimi!


Innocent Grey 10th Anniversary

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The following titles have been delayed:

Mainichi ga Harem Sugite Ore wa Yome o Kimerarenai! – February 27th
Mousou Complete! – March 27th

As part of their 10th anniversary, Innocent Grey is holding a popularity vote for all characters from their games. It runs for two months until March 16th. Lump of Sugar has also started up a poll for their upcoming title Rensou Relation. Which heroine do you like the most?

The complete guide for Nanairo Reincarnation will be on shelves on March 27th. It includes a sound mini drama.

New figures available for preorder include:

Max Factory – figma Saber dress ver. (Fate, February, ¥4630)
PULCHRA – 1/10 scale Tamaki (ToHeart2, April, ¥10,584)

The winners from the Taiyou no Puromia dakimakura renewal poll are Elegano and Renoir! They will get new fabric, priced at ¥12,000.

It sure has been quiet on the news front for the past couple weeks. With the delays, there’s not much in January and February, but March is looking like a beast. Maybe work on the backlog now?


Show Your Support!

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Getchu has started up the user poll for the bishoujo game awards 2014! It runs until February 14th!

New titles announced this week include:

ALICESOFTEvenicle (April 24th)
DebonosuKagura Kaentan (April 24th)
Pajamas EXLove Love♥Princess ~Ohime-sama ga Ippai! Motto Ecchi na Harem Seikatsu!!~
St. Michael Girls’ SchoolSono Hanabira ni Kuchizuke o New Gene!

Gesen’s Sengo Muramasa has been delayed to early summer, while release dates have been set for the following titles:

Namaiki! – April 24th
Natsuiro Recipe – April 24th
Puramai Wars – April 24th
Koitama – May 29th

Flat-chested Saku topped the Panyanyanda chara poll. Loli is justice!

The PSV adaptation for Rewrite has been scheduled for February 11th. Also coming out soon is ToHeart2 Dungeon Travelers for the PSV, on April 30th.

Phat!’s 1/8 scale figure of im@sTakane will be available in July for ¥8000.

Still nothing much happening on the news front, other than March looming in the distance…


February 2015 Eroge Releases

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Everyone knows about shooting stars and tanzaku, but did you know that mirrors and loli whales also grant wishes? There’s not too many titles this month, but there’s some chara-ge with varying levels of plot included. MintCUBE’s Ama Koi Syrups, Whirlpool’s Kujiragami no Tearstilla and YuzuSoft’s Sonuva*itch Sanoba Witch should tide you over until March. minori’s Soreyori no Prologue promises to be a good title as well.

For such a small month I am surprisingly hopeful for the games being released. Though my embittered hatred of the continued monotony the entire industry is suffering continues, sigh. Still there is enough here to give me some hope, and maybe nudge others ever so slightly to stop copy pasting the same games over and over again. After all there isn’t much point when a game feels as though the writing and story are just there as a conduit for H scenes.

Kujiragami_no_Tear_Stilla_CGSoreyori_no_Prologue_CGSilvario_Vendetta_CG
Boku_no_Hitori_Sensou_CGSanoba_Witch_CGAma_Koi_Syrups_CG
Akuma_Musume_no_Kanban_Ryouri_CGKamitsure_CGSakura_Synchronicity_CG

Ama Koi Syrups ~Hajirau Koigokoro Shitakunaru Amagami-sama no Koi Matsuri~

Ama_Koi_Syrups

Company: MintCUBE
Game site: あま恋シロップス ~恥じらう恋心でシたくなる甘神様の恋祭り~
Release date: February 27, 2015
Comments:
This is the first game by MintCUBE, a sister company of CUBE which focuses on cute ero. Sachikazu lives in Hoshikago-machi which holds a festival called Hoshiai (Meeting of the Stars) every Tanabata. One early summer day, he went with his osananajimi Tsuyuri to a small shrine on the rocky shore to make an offering of handmade sweets. There they met the strange round being Manjuu-sama. After being embraced by it, Tsuyuri’s face turned increasingly red and her breathing became heavier. He was about to help her, but was instead pushed down. It looked like she was sexually excited. She turned back to normal after he sprayed his semen on her. Then, a girl in a miko outfit, Hozumi, appeared before them and proclaimed that since Manjuu-sama had awakened, she will help make sure the “Thanks of the Hoshiai” is performed accordingly.

The only way to combat the sexual urges that are caused by Manjuu-sama’s mysterious ability is his semen! With his imouto Rin and English transfer student Anastesia also dragged in, the festival of love has begun!

Feels like an even more ecchi Kurafuta without twins. I like Pan’s art, but I’m not feeling drawn to it as much I was to Kurafuta. It’s possibly since the plot pretty much marks this as a total nukige. There were many times in the trial where ecchi/H scenes were thrown in just because. That being said, all the chars (especially Tsuyuri and Rin) are very cute, particularly in the waitress uniforms. Rin has a ‘warphole’ to oniichan’s room, called the ‘oniho’. Manjuu-sama is like a Pannya wannabe, but her true form is…!!

I don’t see why they need a second company when this basically amounts to the direction they were taking their main brand anyway. A shame Cube was a company I had high hopes for once upon a time. Many bad games later I cannot see either the main nor sister company creating something worth reading.

Sakura Synchronicity

Sakura_Synchronicity

Company: WHITESOFT
Game site: さくらシンクロニシティ
Release date: February 27, 2015
Comments:
It was April and the first year for Haruka and his imouto Rise at Sotoorihime Gakuen, which is surrounded by beautiful cherry blossoms. First meetings with new friends awaited them, as well as reunions with childhood friends. And, as if it was waiting for this exact moment to come, the synchronicity of love begins.

Sakura_Synchronicity_CG2Sakura_Synchronicity_CG3Sakura_Synchronicity_CG4

This is a story where all the heroines love the protagonist at the same time with mutual affection. According to Wikipedia-sensei, synchronicity is “the occurrence of two or more events that appear to be meaningfully related but not causally related”, in other words, a sequence of meaningful coincidences. WHITESOFT loves delving into philosophical themes, so this is right up their alley. And that usually means it’s not up mine.

I cannot be the only person who thinks pinky looks utterly insane in that picture above… Creepy heroine stares aside though I do have some hope for this game, albeit not a lot. The Idea is sound, it is just that the writing will determine whether the game is a diamond or dung. Which lets face it, stacks the odds against the game as writing has not been the strong point of eroge in quite some time. Kudos for being ambitious though.

Boku no Hitori Sensou

Boku_no_Hitori_Sensou

Company: あかべぇそふとつぅ (AkabeiSoft2)
Game site: ぼくの一人戦争
Release date: February 27, 2015
Comments:
The world that Eiji knew changed completely one calm spring day. The school which he attended was attacked by evil enemies which cannot be seen. The students all took up arms to protect the things which they treasured the most. It was a battle which would not end until there was only one left standing.

Boku_no_Hitori_Sensou_CG2Boku_no_Hitori_Sensou_CG3Boku_no_Hitori_Sensou_CG4

This is a drama about how fate plays around with Eiji and his girlfriend Rumi, although I find these types of stories quite forced since they’re pitting a group of people against themselves usually under the guise of a ‘game’. I’m also not fond of the vertical text since it covers up the art and is generally hard to read. The first trial wasn’t badly written, but it was boring and the characters held no appeal. Pass.

This reminds me of the worst part of Kanon, the completely random nonsensical invisible monster fighting that was the main story of the one heroine uhh Mai? I expect it to be about as well written as when Key makes the attempt at anything beyond romantic drama.

Oh god, I hated Mai’s route.

I liked the character but I hated her route and entire backstory just as much, it was so bad in every way.

Kamitsure ~7 no Nijou Fushigi~

Kamitsure

Company: りぶる (Libre)
Game site: カミツレ ~7の二乗不思議~
Release date: February 27, 2015
Comments:
Mutsuki is very much a girl. However, she knew ever since she was a child that a ‘boy’ existed inside of her. Sometimes he would appear to help her, sometimes to trouble her. Her parents soon divorced because of this and she was separated from her dear twin imouto Nanami.

The years passed and there was a new transfer student to Mutsuki’s all girls school at the end of the summer vacation of her first year. It was her long-separated twin imouto Nanami. However, her personality had changed from doting to cool. Mutsuki was worried that Nanami would become outcasted in the class, but she was particularly cold to her.

She heard from her roommate about one of the school’s seven mysteries, the large mirror in the concert hall. She went there and asked the mirror what she should do. At that moment, she was swallowed up by an ‘alternate time’, then reappeared in front of the mirror. There was a bright light and she heard a voice say to her: “I will grant your wish”.

When she came to, she was in her own room. Was it a dream or was it real? She was holding a small mirror in her hand. From that moment on, the relationships between Mutsuki and Nanami, as well as with the girls around them, began to change greatly.

Kamitsure_CG2Kamitsure_CG3Kamitsure_CG4

I don’t get the part about the boy inside her. It’s basically just a yuri-ge, so it’s not like there’s any guys around. They’ve been changing their synopsis over the past few months, so maybe it’ll end up being cut in the final version. Either way, it’s a yuri-ge and no guy doesn’t like yuri. Especially one that is full of cuties. Mirror, mirror, on the wall. Tell me who’s the lewdest of them all.

I don’t like yuri.

But you like traps, right?

I like pushing younger siblings into bear traps?

Kishi×Kano

Kishikano

Company: ぷちうさ (Puchi Usa)
Game site: キシ×カノ
Release date: February 27, 2015
Comments:
This is the first title by Puchi Usa. Souichi attends a knight training school which was founded in a coastal city which was rebuilt with the support of many foreign nations. He trains hard every day to achieve his goal of becoming the victor of the large-scale friendly competition “knight festival” and earn the title of “honour knight”. One day, it was announced that there’ll be a new duo format at the festival. Soon after, many girls who had feelings for him began appealing to be his partner, both in training and in love.

What’s with eroge writers loving knights? I’d rather them do sports or something else, but maybe that’s not fancy or doesn’t have enough prestige. Art is so-so, plot is so-so, oppai is covered by a sword. That doesn’t leave a memorable first impression for me from a new company.

Koikishi with more boobs. Like Micchi, I really hate these games, the knight themes are painful to read. Please eroge companies, I beseech you to at least match the setting to your theme if you want to write these games. Throwing random concepts, like knights and trying to fit that into a modern high school setting usually through sports is beyond unappealing and silly, it is blatantly moronic and insulting.

I’d be happy with any sport instead, except ‘water sports’.

And here I thought with your preference for little sisters those would be your specialty..?

NO!

A shame, seeing as how most of those imouto creatures you have a hankering for seem to enjoy that sport. I figured you would want to bond with them over a shared interest.

They don’t enjoy it! I don’t enjoy it! It’s a shared DIS-interest!

PV

Sanoba Witch

Sanoba_Witch

Company: ゆずソフト (YuzuSoft)
Game site: サノバウィッチ
Release date: February 27, 2015
Comments:
Shuuji has a secret: he is able to perceive the feelings of others. His classmate Nene also has a secret which she cannot tell anyone: she involuntarily gets sexually excited. One day, he accidentally came upon her masturbating and since they both knew each other’s secrets, they soon became close friends. He then found out that her condition is a by-product of her witch’s contract.

Nene’s secret activities as a witch also pull in kouhai Meguru, senpai Touko and transfer student Tsumugi. The peaceful days become quite hurried and Shuuji has a slight feeling that something is about to begin.

Sanoba_Witch_CG2Sanoba_Witch_CG3Sanoba_Witch_CG4

What a convenient, I mean, inconvenient ability! It’s up to me to help Nene with her problem! To be honest, I haven’t really played many YuzuSoft games lately as their characters haven’t really endeared themselves to me. It’s same with this cast, from which I don’t really have a clear favourite. Meguru’s personality appeals to me, and so does Tsumugi’s witch outfit, but neither grabs my heart like an imouto does. That said, I’ll probably still end up playing it just to see how it is. Just please not another route like Airi’s in Amairo. Ughhhhhh…

Yuzusoft gets worse with each and every game they make, as odd as it may sound coming from me, Yuzusoft much like Key, need to go back to standard high school romance games, all the extra rubbish only detracts from their games main selling points. Also my previous point for a similar game stands when it comes to Mr. Protagonist being able to understand others feelings cheapening the story. What’s more, the emphasis on ero with the whole random masturbation theme is just pointless and belongs in a nukige, not here. Unless of course Yuzusoft wants to shift to a nukige company. Still though a good charage needs characters worth their routes and I can’t help but feel they are rather weak this time around, better luck next game guys.

Silverio Vendetta

Silvario_Vendetta

Company: light
Game site: シルヴァリオ ヴェンデッタ
Release date: February 27, 2015
Comments:
In the near future, fossil fuel deposits have dried up and nations scramble to secure the few resources which remained. It was at this time that Japan successfully discovered the previously unknown “Astral” particle was successfully discovered by Japan, which would solve all of the world’s energy problems. However, the other nations would not recognize Japan’s superiority and set out to take the new technology by force, sparking the Fifth World War.

The entire world descended into a fierce war, but no one realized what was the greatest danger to humankind. The malfunctioning of the new Astral nuclear power reactors caused a seismic space-time earthquake which wiped out Japan and most of eastern Eurasia. With the birth of the second sun, Amaterasu, came a drastic change in the world situation. It was impossible to maintain the current culture with a lack of electronic circuits, so the war ended without any victor, but only a deep scar.

It took a thousand years before humankind recovered from this catastrophe. Then another unprecedented calamity came to the capital of the military nation of Adler in former Western Europe. Blood and screams filled the burning streets as the city descended into bottomless despair. Two strange beings appeared to challenge the hero and test the fate of mankind.

Zephyr did not believe this fierce heroic battle suited him and decided to run away instead. He did not care about winning the battle; he just wished to live a normal life. For the only girl whom he had saved, he promised to turn his back on everything. This is not a story about heroes; it is a tale about those who have lost.

Silvario_Vendetta_CG2Silvario_Vendetta_CG3Silvario_Vendetta_CG4

Play if you liked Dies irae. Chuuni just isn’t my cup of tea. I do appreciate the setting construction though, even if it means I need to write more.

I would like to know how a country with almost no natural resources was able to build a particle collider capable of finding some magical energy particle that the LHC could not. Even more how a country with no real military power could be a side in a fifth world war. But nitpicking details aside, why bother making a setting only to run away from it? The whole wanting to live a normal life shtick is getting old in general, even more so when you try to make a fantastical setting only for your protagonist to want none of it. While not my type of game even were it to look more promising, it would be nice to feel like effort was put into more than the CG sets in games nowadays.

Soreyori no Prologue

Soreyori_no_Prologue

Company: minori
Game site: ソレヨリノ前奏詩
Release date: February 27, 2015
Comments:
Shuu is able to read the feelings of others. However, it only brings him pain, especially in places with many people, like a full train. One day, he noticed that he was not able to feel the emotions of a girl on the train, even when he focused his ability on her. Before he knew it, he was completely fixated on her and wanted to know more about her heart although he didn’t even know her name. He only knew that she was a student at his school.

One summer day, the girl went to the school’s roof instead of the classroom. He curiously followed her and when he reached the top, he was greeted by her cold gaze.

“There is a wall surrounding my heart. You cannot pass through it.”

Soreyori_no_Prologue_CG2Soreyori_no_Prologue_CG3Soreyori_no_Prologue_CG4

I really like this story. I know it’s clichéd, but it has just the right mix of fantasy and romance. Combine that with minori’s usual presentation and music, and I’m sure this should do well. The trial was a pain to get, but I enjoyed almost all of it (aside from the ero). It focused on Towa and Shuu, ending with a new beginning. It’ll be interesting to see how Shuu’s character develops, as the story is not only about the heroines. Osananajimi Mayura also had some screentime, but kouhai Haruka didn’t appear. I wish they would have some smaller charas too (even if their personalities are fine), but after Supipara, they probably won’t be going back for a while. Bigger oppai is more ero in their eyes after all (I beg to differ).

What is with all the emotion voyeurs lately? I know it is an easy deus ex machina to abuse in tons of ways, but it sure feels like there was some summit between the makers of these games to all come together and decide on the next big gimmick. Though if they actually cared about more than trying to use a gimmick for their games they may have just made the protagonist a quiet and astute loner. If they had simply given him the feeling of understanding others perhaps at the cost of his sense of self they could have had something to write about and bond with both for the heroines as well as the reader themselves. Maybe in that situation have the heroine be someone similar and thus thanks to each other they are able to add color to their world of grey and blah de blah blah etc. Instead you have characters bound at the hip by unique circumstances written into the setting.

Akuma Musume no Kanban Ryouri

Akuma_Musume_no_Kanban_Ryouri

Company: ソフトハウスキャラ (SofthouseChara)
Game site: 悪魔娘の看板料理
Release date: February 27, 2015
Comments:
Located at the main crossroads, the town of Kaste is known for being a border town with monsters appearing nearby. Gin decides to start his second life by opening a shop in a corner of this town. However, things don’t go smoothly for a newcomer to the business: there’s problems with the locals, roaming monsters and brawling adventurers. Lucky for him, he has his trustworthy allies at his side! With their help (and troubles), will his shop become prosperous?

Another SLG from SofthouseChara, this time it’s an inn/shop management sim. I’m sure some of us have wondered how innkeepers in RPGs make a living off adventurers. Now it’s your turn as Townsperson A to make your mark! Capitalism, ho!

Interesting idea actually, especially with the constant bombardment of repeat games. Never really a fan of economics styled games but I may actually pick this up just for a change of pace. Whether good or bad at least it is something that isn’t mired in a cesspool of underachieving carbon copy mediocrity.

Kujiragami no Tearstilla

Kujiragami_no_Tear_Stilla

Company: Whirlpool
Game site: 鯨神のティアスティラ
Release date: February 27, 2015
Comments:
The water capital, Amanoshima Island, brings in many tourists with its network of canals. It became prosperous due to its ‘energy water’ industry which can be used for everything from consumption to energy, and a school was built to do further research on it. It is on this mysterious island that there is a folklore about a water god who can grant wishes.

One day, Yuuma drifted ashore in a suitcase. He met a young girl Riru, who was the kujiragami (whale god) in the legend. However, for some reason she had lost her ability to grant wishes. She asked for his help to regain her powers and thus, he became her messenger. This is the beginning of the story about the return of the legend of the water of wishes.

Kujiragami_no_Tear_Stilla_CG2Kujiragami_no_Tear_Stilla_CG3Kujiragami_no_Tear_Stilla_CG4

I feel like I’m gonna have a whale of a time with this one! As with Whirlpool’s chara-ges, I have no problems with their art nor seiyuus. The storytelling will probably end up like all their other games, so I’ll just focus on their characters. Bracon imouto? Check. Oneechan-like osananajimi? Check. Loli goddess? Check. Alright, let’s do this! Make me wishes come trueeeeeeeeeee~!!!!!(ノ ̄▽ ̄)ノ

I feel that Whirlpool would do better if they were slightly more down to earth in their settings. Then their games would feel a little less randomized, as though they just threw a bunch of ideas in a hat, picked one out, and using whatever it was to make pretty much the same game they always do. But since they focus on making charage it may be much better to simply let the focus be entirely on them with minimal influence from the setting. Not to say they have to set it in ye ole Japanese high school every time, they can vary them as much as they like from fantasy to sci fi, just keep the random wishes and whales out of it in favor of making good characters with enjoyable routes to the backdrop of whatever pretty wallpaper they choose as their setting.

Bishoujo Mangekyou -Kami ga Tsukuritamouta Shoujotachi-

Bishoujo_Mangekyou_Ep3

Company: ωstar
Game site: 美少女万華鏡 -神が造りたもうた少女たち-
Release date: February 27, 2015
Comments:
This is the third chapter in ωstar’s Bishoujo Mangekyou series. The golden age of humans on Earth had long ended. Mad scientist Ryuunosuke lives alone in a tower located in a place like the end of the world. He seeks friends in this abandoned place and used magic-like science from ancient civilizations to create two maid robots, Alice and Dorothy, in his ideal forms.

I know you just want the Happoubi Jin ero.

Artwork is the only reason people play these games, so all else is irrelevant. The artist is probably the best if not one of the best working in the industry right now though, so even just as reference material it could be worth a look for anyone who enjoys that “Anime” style of art.

Mainichi ga Harem Sugite Ore wa Yome o Kimerarenai!

Mainichi_ga_Harem_Sugite_Ore_wa_Yome_o_Kimerarenai

Company: PeasSoft
Game site: 毎日がハーレムすぎて王子(おれ)は姫(ヨメ)を決められないっ!
Release date: February 27, 2015
Comments:
New release date after being pushed back from January. Chiaki is the son of the Tenmyouji family, which runs the the leading zaibatsu in Japan. At his birthday party, his parents decided that he’ll marry Nina, the daughter of a famous Italian opera singer and a Japanese world-renowned pianist. However, he rejected their matchmaking, stating that he can’t marry someone who he just met. They reluctantly accepted his opinion and came up with a new set of conditions.

1. He must attend Tsukimiya Gakuen, where there are many girls from high-class families, and search for a bride while studying.
2. He must conceal his social status and use a false name.
3. The girl that he chooses must be sexually assertive. (← since they want lots of grandchildren)

He agreed to their conditions since he can choose his own bride. There, he met four girls: the friendly and cheerful Ayano who is great at cooking but seems to have a secret, the proud and dictator-like Tamaki who sets strict school rules on a whim, the rich Misuzu who’s always on a high horse, but is actually quite an idiot, and the extremely ecchi Nina who followed him to Tsukimiya Gakuen even though he had turned her down. Along with his expressionless sharp-tongued maid Chloe and his meddling imouto/maid Rurika, he begins his search for a bride. However, it seems like they are all either quite sadistic or masochistic. Will he be able to safely make a choice?

Mainichi_ga_Harem_Sugite_Ore_wa_Yome_o_Kimerarenai_CG2Mainichi_ga_Harem_Sugite_Ore_wa_Yome_o_Kimerarenai_CG3Mainichi_ga_Harem_Sugite_Ore_wa_Yome_o_Kimerarenai_CG4

Good on Chiaki for taking charge of his future, but alas his only choices are all eccentric ones. Is it because they are ojousamas that they develop differently from us normal folk? If I really had to choose one of them, I’d go with Ayano or Nina. I’m not a do-M!

Alright you want to make a game about an expensive private school for classy girls, fair enough. Protagonist does not want to have an arranged marriage, not just fair enough, kind of a necessity to even have a story. False names and concealing your status, sounds like a good idea to me. The condition of the girl being “Sexually assertive” basically throws the whole thing out the window and into the dumpster. What could have been a natural flow where the protagonist finds himself aquainted with some of the more eccentric girls of the school, perhaps due to his lack of status or whatever reason would have been fine. By adding in this single condition the entire process is setup to be cheapened. Why is that? It’s simple, the entire plot is forced to go into a direction rather than letting it happen. From the perspective of writing it is the difference between taking the time to write out a steady and seamless progression of showing without telling, and slapping together an amorphous mass of telling without showing. Lets be honest, it is not as though we have a choice outside of the few heroines the game gives us, and H scenes are assumed in an eroge. So why would you need to openly force the heroine’s sexuality into the process. It speaks to poor writing and design. A little spice is nice, but too much is poison.

I think that condition was added to appease all those do-M and do-S folks out there. It’s true though that a good eroge shouldn’t have to force extremes to be interesting.

I agree that it is probably for a certain crowd, but the problem is that you could just as easily introduce the characters in say, the demo and hint at their characteristics without spelling it out. Gives the game an air of mystery and a sense of “Wow I want to know how things develop so I must play!” instead of having it all forcibly spelled out, and in this case set in stone as the rules of the universe.

Micchi’s Top 3 for This Month

  1. Kujiragami no Tear Stilla
  2. Soreyori no Prologue
  3. Ama Koi Syrups ~Hajirau Koigokoro Shitakunaru Amagami-sama no Koi Matsuri~

Zen’s Top 3 for This Month

  1. Akuma Musume no Kanban Ryouri
  2. Sakura Synchronicity
  3. Bishoujo Mangekyou -Kami ga Tsukuritamouta Shoujotachi-

I’m gonna regret playing the Whirlpool game, am I?

Yes. And on that note I actually found 3 games in a month with ten or so games to choose from and yet there is zero overlap between us, go figure.


Triple the Fun

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ApRicoT‘s next title, Maple Colors HHH, is schedule for May 29th. There’s probably plenty of H.

Release dates have been set for the following:

Chuunibyou na Kanojo no Love Equation – May 29th
love, VAMPIRE FLOWERS – May 29th

The winners of the Kamimaho and Hanitsuma chara polls are Kisaki and Aoi, respectively! Congrats!

The MeltyMoment complete visual fanbook will be on shelves on February 9th for ¥2800. There’s also a trio of OSTs coming out soon: Majokoi complete soundtrack “Marching Caravan” (February 27th), Etoiles vocal collection 1.5 (March 10th) and Noesis vocal collection “Bouncy” (April 22nd).

New figures announced this week include:

ALTER – 1/8 scale Asbel (Tales of Graces f, June, ¥8,800)
ALTER – 1/8 scale Lloyd (Tales of Symphonia, June, ¥8,800)
FREEing – 1/8 scale Chihaya yukata ver. (im@s, July, ¥9,074)
Pulchra – 1/10 scale Tamaki (TH2, April, ¥10,584)

The dakimakura for Majikoi‘s Rinchu is available for preorder.

Finally installed Nekopara. Time for nyan nyan.


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