There’s plenty of good reading this month! makura’s Sakura no Uta is still at the top of many people’s lists, but for me, it will be Us:track’s atmospheric romance tale Koi-Kakeru Shin-Ai Kanojo. Chuable’s Watashi ga Suki Nara “Suki” tte Itte! and Lump of Sugar’s Kodomo no Asobi also focus on the romance theme, albeit in different ways. Of course, it wouldn’t be a normal month without some magic, and Glacé’s Amanosora Retrospect fits the bill quite nicely.
Mostly bland month filled to the brim with generic titles. Can only hope to skim a layer of goodness off the top of this steaming pile of mediocrity. I won’t ask for much, just please put a teeny bit of effort into more than artwork.
Sakura no Uta -Sakura no Mori no Ue o Mau-
Company: 枕 (makura)
Game site: サクラノ詩 －櫻の森の上を舞う－
Release date: October 23, 2015
Comments:
New release date after being pushed back from September. After the death of his world-renowned artist father and without any relatives to rely on, Naoya was taken in by the family of his best friend Kei. There he met Kei’s sisters: his new homeroom teacher Ai and actress imouto Shizuku. Then, with the start of the new school year, his osananajimi Rin, who had changed schools long ago, reappeared before him. As the sakura petals blow and the promised reunion unfolds, a torrent of emotions cascades down at that moment of time.
It’s been over 10 years since it was first announced, but SCA-Ji’s planned romance title is seeing the light of day with some staff changes. You didn’t think this would actually come out, did you? As opposed to the Wittgenstein-inspired philosophical Subarashiki Hibi, Sakura no Uta portrays the happiness that exists in normal days, elaborating on the “live happily” notion from Subahibi. They claim that it will not be philosophical, but I wouldn’t take that at face value. It couldn’t be just a normal love story, right?
Boohoo daddy died like every other eroge protagonist. But unlike the other protagonists who take inspiration to launch operation panty invasion, I’m gonna whine and drama all over your face about it.
Ok being an asshole for no reason aside this is one of those games I am a little interested in. Why? Because while there is nothing especially good about it, there are likewise no major stop signs slapping me in the face from the start. This is a huge improvement over most games these days so there is a lingering hope for it. That said long development times usually result in bad ends, and staff changes even more so. Don’t hold out too much hope but might be worth a try with a grain of salt and a healthy dose of skepticism.
It’s actually coming out!!!
Kenseiki Alpha Ride
Company: ETERNAL
Game site: 剣聖機 アルファライド
Release date: October 23, 2015
Comments:
Kai leads a normal student’s life with a nagging father, boring school and inseparable friends. One day, he started seeing a strange dream in which he was a wielding a sword in a strange land. His dirtied hand and the smell lingering smell of iron troubled him every day like a recurring nightmare. When he noticed that his body also began to change, his father revealed that those in their bloodline would be summoned one day to a war-torn world and his dream would become reality. His chance meeting with siblings Shino and Shizuma taught him the preciousness of their everyday lives. As his father repressed his sorrows, Kai faced down a destiny from which he could not escape.
Determined to bring back his older sister Shino, Shizuma headed into the heart of darkness. Arriving at the corrupt country of Rujiwada, he was taken prisoner and sent to the capital. There he met the doll Stigma, who looked just like his sister. This was a world where one must kill to stay alive. He would dirty his hand with blood to find and rescue her. He would risk his life in this battlefield hell to gain freedom. He was caught in the unavoidable gears of destiny, with the strongest enemy standing in his path.
Yes, they’ve got a lot of characters (50+ units) and an involved SRPG system with 3D battles and over 70 maps and missions, but the story is written by Utsusemiza, who did not impress at all in Sougeki no Jaeger. There’s a dozen illustrators working on this title, which features dual protagonists (one of whom is a Kirito clone) who are summoned into the same world as Corona. The true enemy appears only after you have finished both the black and white sides. With it having been delayed twice already, I feel that the system and balancing needs to be on point for this game to avoid becoming a landmine.
Things that are positive about this game would be that they at least put some token effort into it for one. Also it is nice to see Japan realize computers are capable of graphics more advanced than 2d sprites or gelatin physics. Oh the black and white aspect COULD have been brilliant too, ah if only it wasn’t for the first in the list of derailing tracks that send our unfortunate train hurtling towards a minefield with a crazed sense of self abandonment.
First up and the absolute biggest problem with the entire game, dual protagonists. Yes this is usually something I denounce because it ruins the immersion and ability to associate with characters. This time however it is even worse as it ruins any chance at a story entirely. A better approach which would have made the black and white options actually feel important would have been a single protagonist that can go in either direction. This way you can feel invested in the same character, and see the world from their perspective without feeling torn between loyalties, and choose heroines without that lingering awkwardness when the heroine you like best is paired with the protagonist you like least. Furthermore the entire point of eroge is choice, giving you a choice in how things develop beyond which girls panties to conquer would have been involving. Sadly Eternal instead saw fit to sniff the paint thinner while brainstorming.
So you get your paragon and renegade protagonists there to divide your attention, and that’s fine for some people I guess, so what else makes the game so terrible? Too many heroines for one. There is a reason most eroge have limits on both heroines and side characters. The reason being a sense of satisfaction. When you pick a heroine the goal is to read through to a conclusion that satisfies the reader, an unlikely event in the case of so many heroines there is no time to properly write them all out. This was one of the things that made Type Moon popular up to and including the first Fate game, Everything after being garbage. Emphasis on how things change, evolve, and adapt to your choices makes a route fulfilling. Many heroines, or just characters who you may find attractive completely ruins the moment. It is as though you had a bag of chips, each one a different flavor, some leaving you wanting more, others you want to avoid. A single bag filled with what you like would be so much better.
Oh other point against it is the fact these games still can’t decide if they want to emphasize story or gameplay. Instead of doing both they wind up doing neither well, sigh I would really like to see one succeed.
Chuuni Hime no Teikoku
Company: ウシミツソフト (Ushimitsu Soft)
Game site: 厨二姫の帝国
Release date: October 23, 2015
Comments:
This is the first title by Ushimitsu Soft. Behind the skyscrapers which rise like castles in the old downtown area of the 23-ward Galapagos lies a remodelled love hotel, inside of which lives a self-proclaimed princess from another world, along with her guardian knight and personal maid. In reality, they are actually a gamer addict, a light novel author and a elf cosplayer. The protagonist inherited the management duties for this building from his mother and signed an extremely suspicious leasing contract, triggering the princess’s ability and making him her ‘hero’. He must now begin a chuuni life with new abilities outside of his control.
Chuuni stories really make no sense. There’s also his osananajimi Suzuka, who’s also conveniently a chuuni who wears around a cape all day (even in the summer). The princess is really cute though. It’s not my job to cure hikikomoris, but I’ll gladly bring her home with me. Or maybe play games with her. Or take her home with me and play games with her. That sounds like a plan.
A dragon came and ate everyone, the end.
I’m assuming that you are the dragon and ‘ate everyone’ is a metaphor.
You know for these times when your way of thinking shines like a beacon in the night I think of the words a wiseman once said: “Oniichan no sukebe!”
Kadenz fermata//Akkord:fortissimo
Company: ラクリマ (La’cryma)
Game site: Kadenz fermata//Akkord：fortissimo（カデンツァ フェルマータ アコルト：フォルテシモ）
Release date: October 30, 2015
Comments:
New release date after being pushed back from July. This is the all-ages PC port for the PSV title of the same name which came out in December 2014. The only difference is the inclusion of an append patch in the limited edition which focuses on the normal life side of the story. But basically it’s just an opportunity for those that don’t have a PSV to play the game (and La’cryma to milk the series further). Wait for the H version that’ll likely come out in a couple months!
Circus is that you?
Considering there’s a lot of staff overlap, pretty much.
That explains so much.
PRIMAL×HEARTS2
Company: ま～まれぇど (Marmalade)
Game site: PRIMAL×HEARTS2
Release date: October 30, 2015
Comments:
New release date after being pushed back from August. This is the sequel to PRIMAL×HEARTS, with a new cast at the same school, taking place 6 years later in the same school but with a new set of heroines. On the advice of his older sister, Daichi transferred into Ainoshima Gakuen in the second term. His heart was full of expectation for a new life, at least until he crossed the school gates where he was accosted by the two student council leaders. There are two student councils: the noble Gekka-kai and the fashionable Tendou-kai. They regularly compete against one another and their support is evenly split. As such, he held the sway vote and everyone greatly anticipated his arrival, much like what happened at the school 6 years ago. They say 777 is lucky, but to Daichi, who had planned to spend a quiet school life, it was extremely unlucky.
The story is very similar to the original, with the new protagonist Daichi being the younger brother of Bitch-san, Michi. It was well received as a pretty chara-ge, so fans will probably still love this one despite the unoriginality. I’m still a Tendou-kai supporter! Note that the first edition features a raburabu after scene for PRIMAL×HEARTS‘s Sera.
Am I the only one who finds this series title horribly unappealing for the subject matter? It makes me think they are trying to fight off velociraptors after their delicious hearts or something. Other than the title though its one of those more of the same, so as long as that’s what you expect and want from it have fun.
Cocoro Rista!
Company: Q-X
Game site: こころリスタ！
Release date: October 30, 2015
Comments:
This is the sequel to Q-X’s 2003 title Cocoro Navi. In the near future, the otaku world which had been somewhat accepted into society returned underground as a result of large-scale regulations. The regulations then began to spill over to the Internet and even the once popular communication tool IRIS showed signs of decline with the departure of many occasional users.
The shy Yuuto has no confidence in communicating with others and lives an uneasy life while keeping his 2D passion a secret. For him, who avoids others in real life and would only talk with strangers online, IRIS’s decline was a huge problem. However, he did nothing but lament at his situation. Then suddenly he discovered that ‘Cocoro Rista’, the next-generation version of the rumoured magic browser ‘Cocoro Navi’, was force-installed on his smartphone! He was pulled into a virtual, where he met a mysterious young girl, Alpha. She was a ’rounder’ who lives in the online world and she had been waiting for him.
This software (Cocoro Restarter) was like a dream which allowed Yuuto to be with the rounders like in reality. However, in order to use this software, he must acquire ‘navi coins’, which he can only get from real girls! In order to achieve his dream 2D life, Yuuto unwillingly gets to know the girls around him. All these happenings which occur in both the real world and the online world… is this the work of Cocoro Rista?
Cocoro Navi is known as one of the better true imouto games which came out during a time when such games were frowned upon in the industry (under strict rules from Sofurin). I personally didn’t play the game, but I read the manga, which is based on Rinko’s route and I quite liked it. There’s been a lot more games with virtual reality settings nowadays, so I’m intrigued to see how Q-X will upgrade the experience this time around. For a start, I know there’s double the number of imoutos this time (and the osananajimi counts as one too)! The trial was not bad and I took a liking to Alpha and her peculiar speech. Alpha wants to know what true love is and also aims to ‘restart his heart’. She gives him 9 days until Christmas Eve to fall in love with someone and tells him that she intends to support him. If you look past the net-related stuff, it’s essentially a love story for bad communicators.
Another attempt to cash in on past success and to reach an understanding with their target demographic through choice of protagonist.
Tincle★Twinkle Festival!
Company: Digital Cute
Game site: ちんくる★ツインクルフェスティバル！
Release date: October 30, 2015
Comments:
New release date after being pushed back from September. Situated on an expanse of land in a corner of the city, Saint Maradonna is a girls’ school with a long, storied history dating back to the early Showa Era. One of its traditions is a festival which is not known to outsiders: Chinkousai. It is a holy ceremony performed every year so that the girls at the school may be blessed with children with the greatest man in the future. The top student is chosen as the worshipped male deity Vernis and bestows the best genes upon everyone.
However, this year’s chosen one, Sena, refused to be put in such a shameful position. Instead, she ordered her twin brother Seiji to take her position. So, he was forced to dress as a girl and to live in the girls’ dormitory. His cover was quickly blown and his manhood was shown to all of the students. He thought that this was the end of his life, but they all thought that he was a true form of Vernis and greatly respected him.
What’s with Japan and dick-worshipping festivals? It’s a twist from the usual ‘guy ends up in a girls’ school’ story. I like Kouguchimoto’s art, which is both cute and ero. They promise lots of fetish H scenes and animation. There’s also some hidden scenes, so good luck with completing the game! Do you have the chinko fever?
Uuuuuuh…. Hooookay then…
…
……
………
Yeah, so uhh the game kind of makes fun of itself. How do you even make fun of a game with a protagonist who is essentially a big throbbing penis being worshipped in an all girls school?
Well hopefully it’s funny. If so I’ll go with it. If however it tries to be even remotely serious I would chop this festival off my list so fast this girls school would never even know it was there in the first place.
Hanitsuma Hs ~After Wedding~
Company: bootUP!
Game site: はにつまHs ～アフターウェディング～
Release date: October 30, 2015
Comments:
This is the ero-filled fandisc for Hanitsuma. Hibiki’s relationship with his partner grows increasingly closer. To affirm his decision to his father, he proposed to her and their sweet married life begins. The characters didn’t interest me in the first game and nothing has changed since then.
Yet another game by the worst artist to achieve reliable employment since Navel.
Unlucky Re:Birth/Reverse
Company: ういんどみる (Windmill)
Game site: アンラッキーリバース Unlucky Re：Birth/Reverse
Release date: October 30, 2015
Comments:
Spring is the bright season of new exciting beginnings. However, the unlucky Yuuto felt in the dumps after having failed to find a job. Ever positive, he looked at the silver lining and felt that everyone has these kind of days in their life and tomorrow would be a brand new day. That’s when he suddenly fell into a hole and the self-proclaimed goddess Urushu took him to another world, Alternia. He ended up on top of Eris, the girl who had summoned him, and was promptly labelled as a pervert. It was the worst first impression, but he didn’t know that his unluckiness will soon be completely reversed!
Windmill is the latest to join the moe nukige fray. Lucky sukebe ends up in another world, where he gets to have fun with all the girls. Two of the three storywriters also worked on Love Relation, but the plot’s not important here anyway. I actually prefer the kouhai sub-chara Fiona more than any of the four heroines (other than maybe Lisley). I wonder if she’ll get a few scenes…?
Throwing everything but art to the wind and focusing on the nukige aspect is becoming more and more common. I suppose that reducing costs is one way to improve profit but I sincerely miss effort being put into games.
I believe some of them are made to fund more story-centric projects. If a nukige does its job, I don’t mind it.
If we were to get a good story out of it then fine, I’ll consider my wish fulfilled. However I’d rather not have my memories tainted by nothing but nukige.
Kodomo no Asobi
Company: Lump of Sugar
Game site: コドモノアソビ
Release date: October 30, 2015
Comments:
Kiyosumi is cursed with a strange spell: he can’t get anything done no matter how much he wanted. He had resigned himself to live forever like this when spring arrived and ‘she’ showed up. It appeared that she knew who he was, but he doesn’t remember ever meeting her. It should be their first time; he would never have forgotten if they did. She grimaced at him painfully and proclaimed:
“It won’t go away, even after all these years.
It continued to burn inside of me.
I love you so much it hurts.
It hurts so much, I can’t take it any more.
Even though I’m not supposed to have feelings for you, I love you so much that it’s driving me crazy.
I’ve made my decision, so Kiyosumi, it’s now your turn to decide…”
Lump of Sugar is doing away with gimmicks for this standard romance title. Each of the four heroines is drawn by a different artist (Moekihabara Fumitake, Hatori Piyoko, Anii, Nanaroba Hana), which I find a bit jarring due to the difference in styles. There’s also four scenario writers working on the game, likely one for each route. At first, it looks like just another chara-ge, but what’s all this about roles and finding their hearts? And there’s a talking red-eyed furball too… that’s never a good sign. I have the feeling that it’s all a play – for whom?
Still not completely free and clear of the Lump of Sugar gimmicks, but at least toned down. However even if they were entirely eliminated that does little to solve their second major flaw, the writing itself. Traditionally Lump of Sugar games have been about terrible made up plots filled with deus ex machina and completely random and nonsensical twists and turns while the writing would take the wrong direction towards the narrative. Emphasizing telling over showing with long overly verbose and awkward explanation and dialogue instead of creating a natural flow with the opposite.
I can only hope the plot doesn’t get any dumber than it already is, and the writers are able to beat competence into each other.
Royal Garden ~Otome ni Koisuru Ouji no Gikyoku~
Company: あざらしそふと (Azarashi Soft)
Game site: ロイヤルガーデン ～乙女に恋する皇子の戯曲～
Release date: October 30, 2015
Comments:
Life is a series of choices; one must make important decisions at various points in one’s life. Shinkurou is a poor guy barely getting by every day while troubled by debts. Yue is a dark-skinned maid who was tasked with a secret mission from her mother country Elgandia. They came together on the main street in the resort town Oumisaka, and she asked him to enrol for a year at Oumisaka Girl’s Private School as Yang, the Crown Prince of Elgandia.
Thus, he ended up in the midst of a maiden’s garden with only the daughters of the elite. He must abide by two rules: he must not reveal to anyone that he is a fake, and he must capture the heart of a princess. A tragic end would await them if he was unable to keep this oath. How will he act along with the princesses? Will he be able to ad lib through the entire year?
Princesses and the pauper. Some of them may have loli faces, but 90G is the lowest among the choices. Azarashi Soft will release an append disc for Yue and the other subheroines at a later date. None of the four scenario writers stand out, so I’d rather go with an ensemble title. If you’re feeling like a title from this company, I’d recommend Amakano ~Second Season~ which comes out in December.
Everyday guy is dragged into a school where the only thing greater than the depth of the girls pockets are their chest sizes, because… plot? These stories invariably end up with either body double or the protagonist is actually royalty! Oh my! There was just some stupid rule in their family that they have to live a common lifestyle at a young age or something. With so little effort put into developing the setting, story, and characters themselves I would be giving them more credit than they deserve with a single sentence.
Kyuuketsu Hime no Libra
Company: onomatope*
Game site: 吸血姫のリブラ
Release date: October 30, 2015
Comments:
Shuuma was a normal guy until the vampire Iris suddenly abducted him and revealed that the blood of the ‘founder’ vampire coursed within his veins. She was also a founder and aimed to awaken him as a vampire, but her attack was interrupted when a bright light shone from a ring, his mother’s memento, which he wore as a necklace. He took the opportunity to escape, but he had turned into a half-vampire with sudden thirst for blood and attraction to the opposite sex.
The wolfgirl maid Maritima, who once served his father, came to his side, along with his self-proclaimed fiancée Calendula, the daughter of the Officinalis founder family. The Vatican’s secret service anti-nonhuman armed group Rubina sent Aoi to find his location. Despite all these absurd developments, Shuuma still wished to live as a normal human. However, Iris laughed as such a thought and sent an assassin Lycoris after him. He must repel all the attacks coming at him from all sides while resisting his vampiric impulses.
Well, this is a bit of a change. onomatope* is mostly known for cute ecchi stuff and suddenly… VAMPIRES!! Not only that but also chuuni-like abilities and fighting and such. Why do we always get reluctant heroes? Why can’t they just accept being a vampire and do cool vampire stuff like sucking blood and wearing capes? You even get a wolfgirl maid! I want one! Can I take her home?
First off, I could not agree with Micchi more about how fed up I am with reluctant heroes. I have trouble picturing anyone who would pine for normalcy to such an extent that even in such outlandish situations would want things to go back to being boring. People find stories about things impossible in reality interesting because normal is boring, and it makes for an entertaining escape. Certainly not to read about how Vlad the Impaler secretly yearns to work in an office.
Aside from the protagonist silliness, there is little to nothing of note here unless you lust for vampire stories to an extent that nothing else matters. Personally I could have accepted the game for what it is were the urges for the protagonist limited to blood. There is no need to insert an easy H scene generator into what is already an insubstantial game.
“Hey Vlad, go make me 20 copies of this report.”
Poor Vlad, having his lifeblood sucked out of him by the corporate machine. Although watching him impale the reports as a warning to others would be amusing.
As a side note, this game is on Steam Greenlight even though it’s still in debug stage at the moment. They plan to launch a Kickstarter campaign for English localization later this fall.
Sorairo Innocent
Company: あかべぇそふとすりぃ (AkabeiSoft3)
Game site: 空色イノセント
Release date: October 30, 2015
Comments:
Kuutarou wanted to fly in the sky, but the flying school which he attended went bankrupt and he was forced to transfer. He ended up as part of the biology club where they raised waterfowl from eggs. It was a totally new life for him, but he was satisfied with having something new to do. With the help of his friends, every day was a lively affair taking care of the chicks.
However, one day he learned about the existence of the airplane club which was in hiatus, and his desire to fly was rekindled. His classmate Mahiru suggested that they fly together with the Canada geese which they are raising. Teaching the young ones how to fly and soar to the skies which they yearned for… it’s a challenge which must be more fun than anything else!
At first glance, I thought it’d be something like Konosora, but it’s more of a slice of life title. In fact, it might be a bit too slow for some people, unless you really like chicks (the birds, not the heroines). I like the art a lot (SDs are so adorable!!), so I might end up playing this if I need to de-stress after a long day’s work.
So twenty years later they saw Fly Away Home and decided to turn it into an eroge? Apparently now that they are running so low on ideas for eroge story gimmicks the time has come to copy from the old hollywood bargain bin. Hard to trust the writing of a game where a normal slice of life would have served the purpose better than their token commitment to force feeding us foie gras. Before you add gimmicks onto a story, make sure it is worth adding onto without the garnish first.
SD art aside as those are near impossible to screw up I have to disagree with Micchi about the art. It is bland and very flat. They deliberately chose a style that makes it look softer and more complex but that is nothing more than a cheap illusion. This style of art requires a skillful use of gradient shading which is completely absent. In fact shading in general is ignored as much as they feel they can get away with, leaving a feeling where the characters are not part of the background. lineart as well, may be competent but both composition and expression are lacking. The artwork is as though an “Eroge by numbers” coloring book was used as a template, with no real connection to the work at hand. These type of “Artists” need to learn that softer colors and sunsets do not automatically give emotion to their art.
Watashi ga Suki Nara “Suki” tte Itte!
Company: チュアブルソフト (Chuable Soft)
Game site: 私が好きなら「好き」って言って！
Release date: October 30, 2015
Comments:
Souta’s dull school life suddenly brighted up after meeting QP, a spirit that came out of an apple. Meeting the easygoing ojou-sama Ayame, a gradual change in his relationship with osananajimi Yuuki, and a re-union with his tiny ex-girlfriend Mahiru. The seeds of love blossomed one by one.
“I love you”
Underneath the apple tree in the school’s rear garden, Souta confessed to ‘her’. After what seemed like an eternity, ‘she’ moved her lips with a flushed face…
It’s been a while since the Chuable Soft’s Sugar×Spice series and the confession system is back and better than ever! It’s animated (not sure if E-mote) so you can see the girls’ cute responses. One problem with the series is that since the games were essentially a compilation of events with no clear order, telling a solid story is quite difficult. The scenario writer this time is Hanno Shuusei, who wrote the award-winning Byakko, so maybe it’ll turn out well. There’s no more rocket talk, but plenty of dirty jokes. I have absolutely no complaints with the 3 main heroines (Ayame, Yuuki, Mahiru) and 2 sub-heroines (Chiho, Rinka). There’s a good balance of cute and ero. If you’re look for a old-style chara-ge, look no further!
While I agree with Micchi about it being a simple charage I feel the emphasis is still placed more on the confession gimmick than the characters themselves. Something eroge have been missing with charage for awhile now is that to really emphasize their characters there needs to be enough support from the setting and their stories. It also helps when characters themselves feel more interesting. However unlike the older style games this is a more modern approach where everything is so bland that after playing it the game will be forgotten. If you need something simple along these lines this month go ahead and play it, just don’t expect much, or any kind of lasting impact.
Confession system (Mahiru) & PV
Tsuushinbo ~Mama ni mo Naisho no Jikanwari~
Company: マーブルCandySoft (Marble CandySoft)
Game site: 通心ぼ（つうしんぼ） ～ママにもナイショの時間割～
Release date: October 30, 2015
Comments:
Aspiring to become a teacher at a famous private school, the protagonist moved to the city and worked for four years in a nearby school. He was excited when he learned about the long-awaited transfer, but was shocked when he found out he was assigned to a very remote village. Unable to defy orders, he unwillingly moved to his new workplace. The school building was old and there were only a handful of students. He was discouraged by the dismal situation, but after introducing himself to his small class on the first day, he felt an unexpected warmth which was missing from the city classroom. It was a feeling like family that he had temporarily forgotten.
Following on the positive reviews from their last title Kakurenbo, Tsuushinbo will continue using the himedoki system with plenty of exciting ecchi situations. The game takes place over a full calendar year, so you’ll get to see the lolis in all seasonal clothing. All three heroines are GOOD! The imouto-like Emi and shy Kotone have their own charms, but I find myself strangely attracted to the my-pace Nonoka. I feel soothed just being by her side. Similar to the setting, the pacing is slow and relaxing, mainly showcasing carefree days and the girls’ innocence. I found it a bit more believable than Kakurenbo, at least he acts like a proper teacher at the beginning before he couldn’t resist anymore.
So our protagonist became a teacher in order to feast upon the trust of the underage children that are his students. Great goal for a model individual. Congrats to those aspiring to be a child predator, another month with a game that caters to you.
Amanosora Retrospect
Company: Glacé
Game site: 天ノ空レトロスペクト
Release date: October 30, 2015
Comments:
Amanosora is a small town of around 60,000 people, formed ten years ago from the merger of the villages of Tensei and Sorami. Shikimi attends the local school with the cleaning club leader Himari and his lively kouhai Shinon. There’s a rumour at the school that the door to another world would be opened by pressing a certain sequence of buttons in the elevator at the lighthouse in the Stargazing Commemorative Hall.
One day, the school committee asked the cleaning club to tidy up the interior of the lighthouse. Together with his mysterious book-reading classmate Misumi, they solved the elevator riddle while doing the cleaning. It led to the top floor of the lighthouse, which was a huge fairytale-like library. This was the other world: Remembrance. A small girl named Amahoshi awoke from her slumber and asked for their help in gathering the town’s scattered memories.
New artist and new writer at Glacé. Based on the setting, Lump of Sugar’s Sekachu immediately came to mind. It seems to be a pretty light-hearted affair about recovering their memories which have been disappearing. I’m particularly interested in Shinon and Amahoshi. It should be a decent chara-ge with a bit of fantasy. Remember: “A book attempts to its taste, some book swallowing, book few there should be digested in a good bite.”
So our protagonist this time around is placed in an arbitrary club to give a reason for him to be cleaning a lighthouse where he finds stuff that makes him do stuff that brings interaction with female stuff. So the goal being one of those traditional terribad eroge cliches, memories. Right up there with wishes as a terrible idea from the start, sorry Micchi. Not that the concepts evoke some kind of pathological hatred in me. But eroge just can never seem to comprehend how to deal with the subjects without making me feel as though I would be enjoying things more had I agreed to the complimentary lobotomy. Instead of carefully weaving the concept into a story they just throw it into your face as either a cure all deus ex machina or a cheap emotional attachment. It’s like they subscribe to the cheap whore school of writing, throw themselves out on the corner and leave nothing to the imagination.
As a side note, professionals should not machine translate things, hilarious though the result may be…
Most translations are pretty horrid, at least this one is amusing.
Fair enough, if they have to be bad, I would much rather they be amusing bad.
Koi-Kakeru Shin-Ai Kanojo
Company: Us:track
Game site: 恋×シンアイ彼女
Release date: October 30, 2015
Comments:
This is the debut work by Us:track, which is the under the AMUSE CRAFT brand. Koutarou is a second-year student at Mikagegaoka Gakuen who is part of the literature club. He dreams of becoming a novelist, but he is unable to write a romance novel because of a first love trauma when he was small. This spring, Mikagegaoka Gakuen was merged with two other schools, Sakuradai Gakuen and Nishi Gakuen. Koutarou found himself sitting in between Sena, his former love who had moved away, and Ayane, his best friend a few years ago who hadn’t talked to him since a certain incident.
Main heroine Sena voiced by Agumi Oto. Shiratama and Niijima Yuu on the staff. OP sung by Duca. A warm and slightly bittersweet story of romance and reunions with beautiful art and captivating BGMs. It feels like this game was made just for me. That’s why I preordered it as soon as it was available. There’s multiple illustrators and writers, so there may be quite a variation in quality among the routes. Yui is so cute! Nako is an amazing imouto! I’ll take both home with me! Hau omochikaeri~! But I’ll probably end up playing Sena’s route first – her angelic smile and voice makes my heart melt~
Perhaps someone should tell this idiotic protagonist that there are genres other than romance? Not to mention traumas can be beneficial towards tragedy or to help fuel an idealistic approach. A better direction would have been the protagonist is already an author who writes romance stories under a pen name known for using the above to create a vivid romantic feeling. Sure such a method is every bit as cliche, but at least gives the sense of a gap between reality and fiction, along with an investment into working things out.
So useless protagonist aside, there isn’t much left over aside from a generic eroge. Characters are pretty bland as well, so unless you are Micchi or are fairly new to eroge this will likely be too boring to bother with.
Shin Koihime†Eiyuutan 3 ~Otome Enran☆Sangokushi Engi [Go]~
Company: BaseSon
Game site: 真・恋姫†英雄譚3 ～乙女艶乱☆三国志演義［呉］～
Release date: October 30, 2015
Comments:
This is the third and last of three low priced sequels to the Koihime series, focusing on the Go generals. It is only available via download (DMM). The main heroines are Renfa, Shishun and Sai. New characters include Sheren and Meirin’s best friend Rian and Sai’s partner general Suirei. There’s also a Rian append waiting for those with the NEXTON-PASSPORT. I want a Renfa and Shao 3p!!! Make it happen, BaseSon!
Well last in the series of Koihime trying to both milk the series and go in the correct direction with it. At least these characters are more interesting than the second game so worth playing for me.
Micchi’s Top 5 for This Month
- Koi-Kakeru Shin-Ai Kanojo
- Sakura no Uta -Sakura no Mori no Ue o Mau-
- Cocoro Rista!
- Amanosora Retrospect
- Sorairo Innocent
Zen’s Top 3 for This Month
- Sakura no Uta -Sakura no Mori no Ue o Mau-
- Shin Koihime†Eiyuutan 3 ~Otome Enran☆Sangokushi Engi [Go]~
- Tincle★Twinkle Festival!
I see Canada geese all the time, but this is the first time I’ve seen them mentioned in an eroge.
Finally an eroge that gives Micchi a taste of home.
