Prekano is making a spin-off for Inre’s ChuSingura46+1 focused on Yamayoshi Shinpachirou, titled ChuSingura46+1 Wacchi to Onii-chan no Raburabu Nagaya Seikatsu. It will be out on November 29th.

CRYSTALiA’s Shiraha Kirameku Koi Shirabe has been set for November 29th, while bootUP!’s Mitsu Ane has been delayed to October 25th.

The Evenicle & Evenicle 2 art works will be on shelves on September 30th.

The Aibeya and Ama Ane PS4 ports will be out on November 28th, along with the Switch port for Flowers. The D.C.4 Switch port is planned for December 19th.

Pre-orders have started for the following figures:

ALTER – 1/7 scale Kako Talented Lady of Luck ver. (Deremas, July, ￥15,800)
AMAKUNI – 1/7 scale Caster/Helena Blavatsky (FGO, June/July, ￥19,800)
Broccoli – 1/7 scale Nanami (RIDDLE JOKER, February, ￥16,500)
Ooami – 1/8 scale Shin Heart to Heart ver. (Deremas, November, ￥14,960)

The Koihime Live 2019 will take place on November 9th at Yamano Hall in Yoyogi. Tickets starts from ￥6000.

You still have time to order the dakimakura for Onigyu‘s Akane.

What would you do for love? The romance story only for you may be in Marmalade’s Study§Steady, provided it isn’t delayed again. Maybe you want something light, like Lass Pixy’s Little Sick Girls ~Osananajimi no Koibito~? Then again, nothing is stronger than a sibling bond, as you will see in Applique’s Cross Concerto.

Another empty month. Good news for backlogs everywhere and those who want fandisks. Otherwise the only one actually worth looking at this month is Cross Concerto, the rest are either nukige, fandisks, or nothing special.

Little Sick Girls ~Osananajimi no Koibito~

Company: Lass Pixy
Game site: Little Sick Girls ～幼馴染の恋人～
Release date: September 27, 2019
Comments:
The second-year student Akito is a late-blooming yet stereotypical chuunibyou: engrossed in anime, manga and games, and able to recite lines from memory. Because of this, despite his good looks and attractive voice, he was viewed as a disappointing ikemen. However, he paid no heed to what he believed was mindless drivel and enjoyed his hobbies every day at the school’s anime and game club with his close friend Shunta.

Then due to a certain incident, his childhood friend and class rep Eri began to stay by his side at all times, devoting herself to him. He thought that it was strange and after seeing a specialist, she was diagnosed with the ‘dependence type’ of ‘Aphrodite Syndrome’ and labelled as a ‘Little Sick Girl’.

This is the first game in Lass Pixy’s new low-priced series. It prides itself on starting off with the heroine at max affection, no unpleasant feelings and lots of ero. The heroines are all ‘a little sick’, but not like a yandere. There’s nothing that really stands out for me, so it’s just your usual play-if-you-like-the-girl game.

I understand the need for some gimmick for this type of format to work. You need something special for the heroines to stand out so trying to do something unique is fair enough. The big unfortunate but which smothers what could have been lies in the very same gimmick. To simplify things without their tactful re-marketing of what is going on, the protagonist’s role is to take advantage of mentally ill girls who can’t help themselves. Good job Lass Pixy. I cannot facepalm hard enough at whoever thought this was a good idea. Whats worse is at least for this episode the girl literally suffers from “Fuck me please” syndrome.

It’s fine to make a nukige, may not be my cup of tea but they are what they are. I loathe when nukige get pretentious about their identity though. Either be straightforward and simple about the content or make it hilarious and it’s all good. Trying to make an excuse for the ero content just makes everything awkward.

In summary, should have just been a yandere.

Kimagure Temptation

Company: シルキーズプラス WASABI (SILKY’s PLUS WASABI)
Game site: きまぐれテンプテーション
Release date: September 27, 2019
Comments:
There was an extremely baffling incident at a certain apartment building where all four of its residents were found deceased, with their stomaches cut open and internal organs removed. The dense miasma in the building suggested that there was a spiritual influence behind it all. Since the police was swamped with cases, the young onmyouji Haruhisa was instead dispatched to conduct the investigation.

At the same time, the demon Anneliese arrived from England to partake in the otaku culture that she admired, and agreed to help him in exchange for permission to stay permanently in Japan. However, she was more interested in his lower half than solving the case. Her fierce advances made him feel uneasy due to his lack of experience with women.

Thus begins a cohabitation life in a cursed apartment between an onmyouji seeking to solve a mystery and a demon who just wants to make out with him. Will Haruhisa be able to shake free from the temptation or give in readily to it?

Despite featuring many characters, this is actually a low-priced game where the only heroine is the Ayumi Sarah-voiced Anneliese. Scenario writer Kazuki Fumi wrote Palette’s nine series and Kimishima Ao’s art is attractive enough, so it’s worth checking out in my opinion.

I don’t understand the need for the whole private investigative onmyouji bit. Silly demon girl antics would have been plenty, just focus on making her attempts at seduction funny. There doesn’t even need to be too much done to make sense of her existence in that case as the focus is more on comedy. Can have the protagonist accidentally summon her or something and it’s enough. Could even have him summon her by accident through some item while being surrounded by delinquents and have her kill them if whoever came up with the idea insisted on the murder bit. At least in that case could have been both a funny and slightly disturbing entrance depending on how its handled.

From another perspective the demon girl herself is unnecessary if you wanted to do a PI onmyouji story. At the very least there would have needed to be more heroines as more exploration of setting and characters would be absolutely necessary for such a story to be successful. Would be fine to keep her as a heroine just not a sole heroine in that case, or at the very least changed her character and role in the story to fit better.

Essentially this is a clash between two eroge, making compromises to both to accommodate each other. A stronger focus on either side would have resulted in a much better game in the end. Though I’ll add this to my list it is only because I love demon girls, the rest is unimpressive at best.

No one can say no to demon girls. Even Zen.

If that’s not in the bible, it damn well should be.

Study§Steady

Company: ま～まれぇど (Marmalade)
Game site: スタディ§ステディ
Release date: September 27, 2019
Comments:
New release date after being pushed back from July.

Her first lesson about love started when she met you.
As you two spend time together, she gradually changes herself to match your type.

Perhaps she might call you by another name. Just by doing that, what had been normal conversations up till now would surely feel somehow more special. Hearing these whispers of love every day, whether with others or alone, will make you love her more and more.

Perhaps she might change her hairstyle. Surely it’s her way of mustering up the courage to appeal to you. How you will respond to her feelings is up to you.

Before long you will become true lovers. This is what they call ‘going steady’.

Returning from school together while holding hands.
An unexpected time alone in the classroom after school.
Exchanging presents during Christmas.
Welcoming the new year together at the temple.

Such a love story only for you is surely out there…

It’s a bit hard to gauge how the game will go since there’s no trial out, but I wonder if it’ll be kinda like hibiki’s CATION series where you can customize many aspects of each route. The characters and graphics look good to me. I want a kouhai like Mai-chan!

Their heart is in the right place with this title but these types always bite off more than they can chew. The real problem lies in the writing, there are just too many variables to cover well so it ends up making everything feel more bland as a result. I personally would rather have a more focused and well written heroine route as this makes it easier to empathize with the characters. Hard to find a point to a dress up sim if it dulls the attraction of the heroine.

Of course this is all under the assumption that their implied meaning is as such. Should it turn out to be a normal route or just minor clothing choice changes with no real significant differences to actually change accordingly then I would instead be annoyed at their emphasis on such a minor thing as something significant enough to establish an entire eroge around.

So poor story or sly marketing pick your poison.

Sex Open World e Youkoso!

Company: MOONSTONE Cherry
Game site: セックスオープンワールドへようこそ！
Release date: September 27, 2019
Comments:
When Seiya woke up following the accident, he found himself in another world Laurentide. There’s an ancient legend that spoke of a man appearing from another world, who would help give birth to heroes that will bring an end to a period of strife. Even though it was essentially becoming a stud, he still wanted to have sex. Moreover, he could be called the king of this world as the father of the heroes. As if prophesied by the legend, bishoujos from across the world came to seek his seed, whether with the ambition of uniting the nations or just to have sex with him.

It’s a nukige where you’re supposed to get all the heroines pregnant. Then, you can fuck them some more in the name of love. I would be more interested if they weren’t all big-chested.

Well, they’re honest at least. I mean the title sums it up and they stick to it so I can’t help but respect that. Unlike the contempt I have toward Little Sick Girls attempt to cover up what the game actually is. Can’t say anything bad when they are honest about it as it is what it is, the end. 

Sen no Hatou, Tsukisome no Kouki -Hana Akari-

Company: オーガスト (August)
Game site: 千の刃濤、桃花染の皇姫‐花あかり‐
Release date: September 27, 2019
Comments:
This is the fandisc for Senmomo, taking place in spring following the events of the first game. A light-hearted affair in this sequel. I would like to see them make a brand new game instead of just putting all their time in Iris Mysteria…

Fandisk.

Onaji Class no Idol-san.

Company: Sonora
Game site: 同じクラスのアイドルさん。
Release date: September 27, 2019
Comments:
Kentarou’s childhood friend Akari transferred schools a few years ago and they haven’t much contact since. One day, it was decided that he’ll live with his grandfather due to his father’s job transfer. When he arrived at the house, he saw Akari for the first time in a few years. She had enrolled in the celebrity course at Itsuko Gakuen and was living at his grandfather and the board chairman’s house, which had recently been converted to a student dormitory.

Then he was surprised once more when he was told that he would be part of this new curriculum starting the next day. They were lacking students since many had quit due to the rigours of the program, so he reluctantly agreed to participate for a year. He was unfamiliar with the specialized classes, but managed to get by with help from Akari, aspiring singer Ei and his other childhood friend Wako, who decided to join to stay by his side.

It’s a lot of hard work preparing the stage for the trio. What does the future hold for them?

I like idols, so this piques my interest. There’s also some cameos from Koikakin. I have nothing bad to say about the trial, and it deals with both the positive and unsavoury sides of the entertainment industry. Wako is gonna make it big as a gravure idol, I’m sure.

Want to make a high school romance and idol game in one? Lets make an idol class! Because that totally makes sense. Honestly the idol heroine thing works best when one or two at most out of five fall under that category. Too much focus dulls the edge, of course that applies to all gimmicks. But in this case they went way too far with the whole class thing while forcing the protagonist to join it. That they could not be assed to put more effort into their story, setting, and characters just means this is likely not to be anything special or of interest if you aren’t a die hard idol fanatic. Even then it most likely won’t be a memorable experience, play it and forget it right after is the best you can hope for here.

Cross Concerto

Company: あっぷりけ (Applique)
Game site: クロスコンチェルト
Release date: September 27, 2019
Comments:
It was spring, the season of new beginnings. Satoru finally broke free from the closed remote village where he had been held captive as an unwanted child, and entered the same school that his late mother attended. However, he was surprised to find his twin sister Ruri and her attendant Kyouka waiting for him there. He met the cool senpai Touko and occult-loving student council leader Mirai and gradually got used to the dormitory life. However, there were figures working in the shadows; will they find out the truth behind the events around them?

Applique’s 10th anniversary title was crowdfunded at 260% of the original target of 15 million yen. As a result, they were able to come up with a pretty solid title with lots of content (4 heroines, 3 subheroines, 100 CGs, an extra route). It’s nice to see the campaign be so successful; it may be a viable option for other companies. The trial was interesting, revolving around Ruri’s ability to see the future (except her own) and their attempts to change it. I’m not going to go into the details, but if you do play it, do choose both options in the single choice presented. I have no qualms about the characters nor seiyuus chosen for them. This should be a nice pick-up for those that want a more involved story.

Perhaps it may be against my better judgement but I want to give Applique a chance. They have a rather good track record and there is nothing too obnoxiously bad flashing warning lights at me. Though I can’t help but question a lot of the themes the story revolves around, it’s fine. The reason it is fine in this case, and perhaps only this case, is the solution to the entire story will determine the quality. Honestly just being slightly interested in where the story will go because I don’t immediately know roughly how things will end is good enough for me.

CM

Micchi’s Top 3 for This Month

1. Study§Steady
2. Kimagure Temptation
3. Cross Concerto

Zen’s Top 3 for This Month

1. Cross Concerto
2. Kimagure Temptation
3. Sex Open World e Youkoso! Because Honesty gets a gold star.

I need to treat these little sick girls.

Because they are in dire need of “Injections” right?

It’s the 11th anniversary for Hau~ Omochikaeri~!! Thank you for your continued support. On a related note, this will be the last weekly news. As you may have noticed lately, the frequency of these posts have declined as there is not much news coming from the industry, which has seen a downturn. On top of that, most of you probably consume this material via other sources like Twitter. I hope that they have been useful to you. The monthly posts will still continue as usual.

YuzuSoft has revealed their newest title: Cafe Stella to Shinigami no Chou. It will be released on December 20th. ASa Project’s Ren’ai Karichaimashita will be getting two mini after stories. The first (Tsubaki, Chinatsu and Konatsu) is scheduled for November 29th, while the second (Emi and Hasumi) comes out on January 31st.

Gesen18’s Shin§Sengokuhime has been delayed to November 29th.

Pre-orders have started for the following figures:

FREEing – 1/4 scale Archer/Gilgamesh (FGO, June, ￥26,000)
KAITENDOH – 1/7 scale Super Sonico jogging ver. (December, ￥15,000)
knead – 1/7 scale Miku Dreaming Bride ver. (Deremas, April, ￥17,600)
Max Factory – figma Archer/Jeanne d’Arc (FGO, April, ￥8000)

The key character election has started up and runs until September 12th. The results will be announced on the third episode of Key Channel.

The NEXTON official English community Nextension has opened! Join their Discord server to interact with other fans and give feedback and suggestions to the staff.

It’s hard to be excited for a month when there’s only six games. Applique’s crowdfunded Cross Concerto has technically already been released on Steam, but the package version will be out this month. GIGA’s Ai Kiss continues their school setting series, albeit with a new staff. Cabbit tries to recreate their past magic with the mysterious Kagi o Kakushita Kago no Tori.

Boring month yet again. Not only are their few games but most aren’t even up to the usual standards as sad as that is. I will certainly give thanks if next month can finally improve the releases we are offered.

Mitsu Ane

Company: bootUP!
Game site: みつあね
Release date: October 25, 2019
Comments:
Hayate’s parents departed on a cruise around the world, leaving him and his three sisters Haruka, Fuyuka and Natsuki to take care of the house. He thought that these three months would pass without much problems, but his sisters decided to take advantage of the situation to draw even closer to their dear little brother.

They had once made an agreement to not make any moves on him before he became a working adult, which was reaffirmed shortly after their parents’ departure. However, Natsuki gave a daring kiss to Hayate while he was sleeping to cheer him up from the strange dreams which he had been seeing. Hayate began to see her as a woman, and this incident was seen by Haruka. Despite Natsuki’s claims of innocence, the other two sisters became increasingly impatient knowing that Natsuki was one step ahead of them. A passionate summer lies ahead for Hayate and his sisters.

Good luck Hayate. I can’t help you here.

I would like to see a new means of ridding the setting of parents for an eroge besides the usual, work, trip, or death. Or even better properly involving them in the story as ya know that is kind of relevant most of the time.

Well not that it would be relevant to Bootup as story isn’t really their cup of tea. No they are more about spamming bad artwork for incest nukige. I suppose they have found their niche, which luckily for them has little direct competition, or they would probably be out of business by now given their lackluster artwork.

I’m sure you would be more than willing to help if they were younger sisters *cough*.

There would be no need to help in that case.

Ai Kiss

Company: 戯画 (GIGA)
Game site: アイキス
Release date: October 25, 2019
Comments:
The first day for Ren at the arts school Arimori Gakuen came as a total shock to him. He was reunited with the sisters Hinata and Ayame, with whom he had drawn together when they were kids. Even though he was taken aback by their development, they quickly became close once again to make up for lost time. Moreover, he made friends with his eccentric senpai Junko and otaku girl An.

GIGA’s Kiss series doesn’t usually stand out, but this one feels different since the staff has changed. The story is written by Hozumi Kei (D.C.4), while the art is by relative newcomers Kirisawa Saki and Hazuki Gyoukoto. It’s still probably the safe pick in such a short month like this one.

Typical generic Giga game, it sure feels like there is one of these a month with how often I have to write about them. Median game, don’t expect too much, but might be nice if you want something that doesn’t need too much investment. 

Cross Concerto

Company: あっぷりけ (Applique)
Game site: クロスコンチェルト
Release date: October 25, 2019
Comments:
New release date after being pushed back from September. It was spring, the season of new beginnings. Satoru finally broke free from the closed remote village where he had been held captive as an unwanted child, and entered the same school that his late mother attended. However, he was surprised to find his twin sister Ruri and her attendant Kyouka waiting for him there. He met the cool senpai Touko and occult-loving student council leader Mirai and gradually got used to the dormitory life. However, there were figures working in the shadows; will they find out the truth behind the events around them?

Applique’s 10th anniversary title was crowdfunded at 260% of the original target of 15 million yen. As a result, they were able to come up with a pretty solid title with lots of content (4 heroines, 3 subheroines, 100 CGs, an extra route). It’s nice to see the campaign be so successful; it may be a viable option for other companies. The trial was interesting, revolving around Ruri’s ability to see the future (except her own) and their attempts to change it. I’m not going to go into the details, but if you do play it, do choose both options in the single choice presented. I have no qualms about the characters nor seiyuus chosen for them. This should be a nice pick-up for those that want a more involved story.

Perhaps it may be against my better judgement but I want to give Applique a chance. They have a rather good track record and there is nothing too obnoxiously bad flashing warning lights at me. Though I can’t help but question a lot of the themes the story revolves around, it’s fine. The reason it is fine in this case, and perhaps only this case, is the solution to the entire story will determine the quality. Honestly just being slightly interested in where the story will go because I don’t immediately know roughly how things will end is good enough for me.

So there’s some news making the rounds that a certain HCG has some questionable genitalia placement. Hope they correct it before the package release.

CM

Raillore no Ryakudatsusha

Company: 3rdEye
Game site: レイルロアの略奪者
Release date: October 25, 2019
Comments:
New release date after being pushed back from July. A century or more from now, all humans have acquired superpowers in this new world. These powers are such a commonplace that those who do not possess them are viewed as outcasts. Civilization has greatly declined during this time of change with the human population greatly reduced and nature reclaiming lands which had been developed.

The town of Raillore, with brick dwellings reminiscent of the Middle Ages, is surrounded by forests and rivers and blessed with fertile soil. Since the concept of countries has vanished, it is self-governed by an order of knights who fight crime to protect the townspeople.

One time, it was confirmed that there were people called ‘errors’ with unknown powers known as ‘moments’ which bring about strange phenomena. These events caused fear to the masses and it was up to the order of knights to deal with the situation after it was determined that the errors suddenly appeared due to an illness.

Just like Korolum, there’s a battle scene at the beginning. I do like the dynamic presentation and a more interesting protagonist than your usual eroge one (what’s five destroyed buildings when you’ve caught the target?). That being said, I’ll pass on playing it, but it does look promising for those who are into battles and that kinda stuff.

What strikes me the most is the completely unnecessary setting. This could just as easily been a different world or your standard new world plot. By forcibly warping an existing setting in such an awkward manner I can’t help but have reservations towards the plot they came up with. A unique world has less common sense restraining it whereas things like lack of countries are just unbelievable regardless of their reasons. Whereas should this have taken place in a completely foreign location the common sense may have taken a different turn due to a different development. This is of course also avoiding the random superpower convenience. As much as I truly enjoy reading something where there is more substance to the romance than just arbitrary and generic high school students hook up, I am just as sick of how little effort is put into such titles. Most just end up with some random gimmick an almost copy paste low grade manga or light novel story and a few ero scenes. Take that as you will, but I do hope to eventually see some more critique in this direction so some more effort will be spent on what matters.

Kagi o Kakushita Kago no Tori

Company: Cabbit
Game site: 鍵を隠したカゴのトリ -Bird in cage hiding the key-
Release date: October 25, 2019
Comments:
Touko was taken into custody on suspicion of committing murder and testified that she was the culprit. However, she was subsequently released due to insufficient evidence. The general public did not approve of this, so she ended up being imprisoned in a large mansion.

Youta was once saved by Touko when he was young, and he decided to live with her in the mansion after his grandmother passed away, leaving him all alone. They were joined by Touko’s friend Mion, the class rep Yoru, and their eccentric classmate Izuru. He felt that it was a pleasant life, cooking together, chatting about random things and having the occasional argument.

But who is the true culprit? And why did Touko confess to the crime? Can the caged girl be saved?

I dunno, they seem pretty happy in their own little world already. Do they really need to clear her name when they get to live in a big mansion? It’s pretty dangerous to search for the true murderer…. or maybe it’s actually one of them!? Actually, probably not. I think it’s likely just another excuse to put them all under one roof.

I have to hand it to these idiot savants for coming up with what can perhaps be the most contrived setting to throw the harem under one roof I have ever seen. Not only does the entire setup make zero sense, but as Micchi already said there is little to no reason to even bother doing anything. When the entire purpose is to create a sense of curiosity towards the questions they present, I just cannot help but feel zero interest towards the answers here. Better luck next time.

Yuusha to Odore!

Company: catwalk
Game site: 勇者と踊れ！
Release date: October 25, 2019
Comments:
Kyou’s adoptive parents passed away suddenly in an accident, leaving him at a loss at what to do. Then he was summoned to a parallel world, where he was greeted by the person who summoned him, the holy princess Felicia.

“Welcome back, Hero. You are truly the descendant of the dragon, the Hero who I had been waiting all this time for…!”

This parallel world of Altair was once protected by a goddess and her follower divine dragon. However, they lost their lives in a war with the god Nyx from the world of Abyss. The citizens of Altair seeked power to oppose the invading forces, so a summoning ritual was performed to bring back the Hero from Earth.

“We need you. Will you fight alongside me…?”

Kyou did not see himself as a Hero, but he could not refuse to help the princess. However, he lacked any battle knowledge, so he entered an explorer training school with her. As if by fate, other girls joined them, harbouring secrets of their own. He finally found the place where he always yearned for: a peaceful life full of warm smiles and happiness.

Before long, these fine days and the whole world would be under threat. Will their bonds of friendship protect them and will they be successful in saving the world?

This is basically any isekai LN in eroge form. They aren’t that good and this one probably won’t be either. The usual escapism with a self-insert protagonist. There’s a dungeon fighting system that has a puzzle element as well. Pass.

I laughed way way harder than I should have at his parents death. Not because they died mind you, but because it was so superfluous to do so yet they were adamant enough to stick to their eroge guns and kill off the protagonists parents anyway. I mean why would you even do that when you are removing the protagonist from the world regardless of his parents existence, it’s so pointless. Sure it may come in to play later but there’s no need to actually make that happen if that was their intent. Poor eroge parents, eternally making the most noble of sacrifices so their kids can get laid.

As far as the game itself Micchi said everything I would want to already so I’m out of a job on this one. If this happened more often I could just sit back and copy paste “Micchi said it already” over and over. Oh well if nothing else the random imouto characters will stop Micchi from ever being jaded enough for that sadly.

I think their death is to highlight the fact that he’s in a pitiful position in his current world and without any tangible connections to it, free to be taken to another world where he is coveted by all females.

Micchi’s Top 3 for This Month

1. Cross Concerto
2. Kagi o Kakushita Kago no Tori
3. Ai Kiss

Zen’s Bottom 3 for This Month

1. Kagi o Kakushita Kago no Tori
2. Raillore no Ryakudatsusha
3. Yuusha to Odore!

Even though I have a top 3, most likely I won’t even touch any of them.

That’s because you are too intent on being a top, should try being a bottom sometime.

No need when you already filled that position.

It’s not often you can have things both ways, but in HOOKSOFT’s Docchi no i ga Suki desu ka? you can either take the lead with your girlfriend, or let her do so. Your decisions are also critical in the two RPGs this month: Astronauts Sirius’s Chaos Dominas and catwalk’s Yuusha to Odore!. For something much darker, there’s always BUG SYSTEM’s yuri title Manakashi no Yuri wa Akaku Somaru.

While not a particularly great month, nor are there many releases in general It is nice to see some slight turns towards a more positive direction. Sure it seems like the industry is dying, and in a lot of ways it is, but it would be nice if a lack of more business oriented thinking towards eroge allows people who actually care about the games they make to come back.

ChuSingura46+1 Wacchi to Onii-chan no Raburabu Nagaya Seikatsu

Company: プレカノ (Prekano)
Game site: ChuSingura46＋1 わっちとお兄ちゃんのラブラブ長屋生活
Release date: November 29, 2019
Comments:
This is a spin-off game for Inre’s ChuSingura46+1, produced by Prekano. Shinpachirou failed to stop the raid of the forty-seven ronin and returned to Naoto on the verge of death. Her injuries healed as they spent a quiet life together. As spring arrived, he asked if she would like to live in Edo, to which she readily agreed. However, they were not samurai but rather ronin, and without money, they have no jobs. Still, they believed that they’ll be able to figure things out when they got there.They found a place in a cheap longhouse and she explained to him the various lifestyles and customs of the Edo period, much of which was a still a commonplace in the present age. Their loving cohabitation true story begins now.

I don’t expect this to be much different from Prekano’s previous single-heroine games, other than a historical setting and featuring a beloved character by another company. It’s clear there’s an intended audience here.

I do like the idea of taking a game with roughly a billion+1 heroines and then throwing that out the window to focus on one at a time, *Coughs loudly in Baseson’s direction*. Whether or not this is any good or worth it really just depends on if you care about the heroine as is usual for single heroine games.

PV

Docchi no i ga Suki desu ka?

Company: HOOKSOFT
Game site: どっちのiが好きですか？
Release date: November 29, 2019
Comments:
Tadaomi is a second-year student at Gouketsukan private school. Since he’ll be busy preparing for university entrance exams next year, he thought that this summer vacation would be the best time to make memories with his girlfriend. But how would he spend his time together with her…? If you were in his place, would you take the lead or leave it all up to her?

Well, first he needs to make a girlfriend. But that aside, the selling point of this game is the choice of being aggressive or passive in your relationship. The endings will be different for each heroine, so you might as well try both. There’s also an extra pillow talk system to further your relationship. I feel like the pacing is similar to SMEE now, with more comedy and tsukkomi. I find the interactions with Koyuzu sometimes goes a bit overboard. Of course, I’ve got my eyes set on the lovable (do-M) kouhai Mea. I’m gonna spoil her so bad.

It is nice to see a gimmick that could be interesting and should at least provide some more interest and incentive when replaying for new scenes with your favorite heroine. Beyond the gimmick however there isn’t much special going on here, thus resulting in the usual “Hope for the best, but expect the worst mentality”. The main problem to cause this being many of these eroge feel fun and much more enjoyable for the first few hours. After which the writing and story tend to fall apart making the routes feel more tedious. In other words they focus on the trial then just half ass the rest of it. Of course I do hope that is not the case here, as I actually am looking forward to this one.

Chaos Dominas

Company: アストロノーツ・シリウス (Astronauts Sirius)
Game site: カオスドミナス
Release date: November 29, 2019
Comments:
The island of Regulus was once a prosperous and peaceful nation ruled by a royal family. The country was said to be protected by a dragon and an angel, which were depicted on the royal coat of arms. The kingdom’s history dated back thousands of years, and its inhabitants had complete faith in the reigning king and queen.

However around a decade ago, demons led by an archdemon who called herself the “Primordial Demon” suddenly appeared a decade ago and attacked the kingdom, annihilating the knights with their immense magical power and murdering the king and queen. The capital fell in one night amidst the flames and the island was put under the control of five of her loyal followers, known as the “Witches”.

Now, the witches rule by fear with their formidable powers. Even after over ten years, they have not aged at all, and have actually become more powerful instead of weakening over time. People thought that making a contract with them would result in eternal life and magic powers. While there was initial resistance against the demons, their numbers gradually dwindled as the islanders resigned themselves to the witches’ unjust rule.

Gilbert is a demon hunter who possesses demonic powers. He set foot on the island determined to defeat the demons who have possessed the five witches, as well as archdemon who controls them. What fate awaits him…?

The main RPG entry for this month. I’m still busy with Evenicle 2. Yes, I know it’s been almost a full year.

As usual I simply prefer more substance to my RPGs. Eroge tend to have embarrassing simplistic or mind numbingly tedious gameplay even by the standards of thirty years ago. I am honestly not asking for much, as I don’t expect a triple A level budget but at least write out a proper story before adding game mechanics that don’t feel like a chore after the first playthrough.

In the case of Chaos Dominas, it is another one of those “Welcome back to the 1980s” style of RPG once the combat starts. Personally I feel sticking to the isometric view and following a more Diablo or Secret of Mana style would have been better, you know like the 1990s. Ah well, maybe next time.

Play movie

Oshikake Kanojo wa, Ore no Sewa o Shitai

Company: とこはな (Tokohana)
Game site: 押しかけ彼女は、俺の世話をしたい
Release date: November 29, 2019
Comments:
The protagonist began living by himself in the regional city because of his new job. One day, he noticed that Isana was having problems with her bicycle and helped her out. He wouldn’t accept payment for repairing it, so she offered to help out at his home in return. He agreed thinking that she wouldn’t actually follow through, but she actually came to his house to cook and clean for him. Then, as he helped her out with studying and played together with her, they rapidly got closer to one another.

This is the latest game in Tokohana’s low-price Healing series, with a sporty kouhai heroine (although I don’t see how having such a huge chest can’t be anything but a detriment to competitive swimming). It seems like a big jump from fixing a bike to getting everything done for you. Maybe I should go around offering to fix bikes for girls…

While I may not have much to say as this is a case of “It is what it is” I just have to question the lazy premise behind the characters coming together. As Micchi already mentioned there is a huge gap between having a bike fixed and turning into a personal slave. At least don’t be lazy and make the process more gradual.

And so if any little sisters bikes break we know who did it when we call the police.

Manakashi no Yuri wa Akaku Somaru

Company: バグシステム (BUG SYSTEM)
Game site: 真愛の百合は赤く染まる
Release date: November 29, 2019
Comments:
Manami couldn’t remain any longer at her previous school due to being treated as an outcast after confessing to another girl and moved to another city. She vowed not to let it happen at her new school, but she quickly ended up having feelings for her classmate who was also named Manami. At first she tried to kept this a secret, but it wasn’t long before her feelings were noticed. She was shocked to hear that she also liked girls and reciprocated her love. However, their relationship gradually became more twisted…

BUG SYSTEM is among the few companies that make games with gore in them. Rubi-sama’s art is very nice to look at, but I prefer to have my heroines stay in one piece, so definite pass.

Yuro.

Shiraha Kirameku Koi Shirabe

Company: CRYSTALiA
Game site: 白刃きらめく恋しらべ
Release date: November 29, 2019
Comments:
Ayato is an exorcist who works for the government. This time his mission is to investigate and destroy a supernatural object which had been brought into the sword arts school Murakumo Gakuen. With the help of his team members Hime and Ruri, he traced its location to Matsurika, the sole daughter of the head of the Swordbearing Defence Group. They were successful in destroying the object, but as a result, Matsurika became the initiator of the Spiritual Calamity. To teach her skills to fight against spirits, Ayato became a temporary mentor to her.

“No matter what, I want to stand by your side…”

This sequel takes place three years after the events of Kizuna Kirameku Koi Iroha. While the setting is the same, the cast is completely different. The cast is pretty good, with Kusuhara Yui, Misonoo Mei and Ayumi Sara. I don’t really care much for chuuni battles, so I’ll gladly stick to my school comedies.

The usual case of protagonist needs to go to a random high school where all the girls are holding weapons because of reasons we can’t be assed to properly work out. To be clear here I am not against the whole weaponized women thing in general, though I am a bit iffy on always making it a high school. The main issue is the lack of world building for their settings and general story being lackluster. In this case there would have been many other ways of throwing the protagonist in his heap of girls, but just like most others it is too convenient. You can just feel how the writers didn’t want to spend an extra five or ten minutes to flesh out the start and motivations properly instead of rushing to the girls.

Yuusha to Odore!

Company: catwalk
Game site: 勇者と踊れ！
Release date: November 29, 2019
Comments:
New release date after being pushed back from October. Kyou’s adoptive parents passed away suddenly in an accident, leaving him at a loss at what to do. Then he was summoned to a parallel world, where he was greeted by the person who summoned him, the holy princess Felicia.

“Welcome back, Hero. You are truly the descendant of the dragon, the Hero who I had been waiting all this time for…!”

This parallel world of Altair was once protected by a goddess and her follower divine dragon. However, they lost their lives in a war with the god Nyx from the world of Abyss. The citizens of Altair seeked power to oppose the invading forces, so a summoning ritual was performed to bring back the Hero from Earth.

“We need you. Will you fight alongside me…?”

Kyou did not see himself as a Hero, but he could not refuse to help the princess. However, he lacked any battle knowledge, so he entered an explorer training school with her. As if by fate, other girls joined them, harbouring secrets of their own. He finally found the place where he always yearned for: a peaceful life full of warm smiles and happiness.

Before long, these fine days and the whole world would be under threat. Will their bonds of friendship protect them and will they be successful in saving the world?

This is basically any isekai LN in eroge form. They aren’t that good and this one probably won’t be either. The usual escapism with a self-insert protagonist. There’s a dungeon fighting system that has a puzzle element as well. Pass.

I laughed way way harder than I should have at his parents death. Not because they died mind you, but because it was so superfluous to do so yet they were adamant enough to stick to their eroge guns and kill off the protagonists parents anyway. I mean why would you even do that when you are removing the protagonist from the world regardless of his parents existence, it’s so pointless. Sure it may come in to play later but there’s no need to actually make that happen if that was their intent. Poor eroge parents, eternally making the most noble of sacrifices so their kids can get laid.

As far as the game itself Micchi said everything I would want to already so I’m out of a job on this one. If this happened more often I could just sit back and copy paste “Micchi said it already” over and over. Oh well if nothing else the random imouto characters will stop Micchi from ever being jaded enough for that sadly.

I think their death is to highlight the fact that he’s in a pitiful position in his current world and without any tangible connections to it, free to be taken to another world where he is coveted by all females.

Ren’ai, Karichaimashita Tsubaki & Chinatsu & Konatsu Mini After Story

Company: ASa Project
Game site: 恋愛、借りちゃいました 椿＆ちなつ＆こなつ ミニアフターストーリー
Release date: November 29, 2019
Comments:
This is the first fandisc for Ren’ai, Karichaimashita, with after stories for Tsubaki and twins Chinatsu and Konatsu. I always like a little twin rivalry, especially over me.

Fandisk.

Micchi’s Top 3 for This Month

1. Docchi no i ga Suki desu ka?
2. Ren’ai, Karichaimashita Tsubaki & Chinatsu & Konatsu Mini After Story
3. ChuSingura46+1 Wacchi to Onii-chan no Raburabu Nagaya Seikatsu

Zen’s Top 3 for This Month

1. Docchi no i ga Suki desu ka?
2. Ren’ai, Karichaimashita Tsubaki & Chinatsu & Konatsu Mini After Story
3. ChuSingura46+1 Wacchi to Onii-chan no Raburabu Nagaya Seikatsu

Take good care of your girls.

Except when you break their bikes in anticipation of services rendered once you fix the bikes you broke for them?

That can’t be me since that’s not something an onii-chan would do.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all! Did you wish for a cafe chara-ge like YuzuSoft’s Cafe Stella to Shinigami no Chou? Or maybe a dungeon management spinoff title like KarinProject’s Suzukuri Karin-chan? It isn’t all coal this year, so you should have ample games to play over the holiday break. Perhaps you’re already playing them now! (Zen will probably add his comments later when he’s free.)

Little Sick Girls ~Kagami no Naka no Idol~

Company: Lass Pixy
Game site: Little Sick Girls ～鏡の中のアイドル～
Release date: December 20, 2019
Comments:
This is the second title in Lass Pixy’s low-price single-heroine Little Sick Girls series. This time, Akito learned about the secret of his class’ loner and problem child Ruchie by chance. This caused her to suddenly become attached to him, becoming diagnosed as an ‘attachment type’ Little Sick Girl.

Ruchie doesn’t open to others after her parents’ early deaths, and she became an idol after being cheered up by an idol during her most painful times. After becoming an LSG, she just wants to have sex with Akito all the time. That means there’s a lot of H scenes and there’s a lot of good ones.

MUSICUS!

Company: OVERDRIVE
Game site: MUSICUS！
Release date: December 20, 2019
Comments:
Kei used to attend a famous high school with aspirations of one day becoming a doctor like his parents, but he stopped for a term due to certain reasons and is now studying part-time. While his journey had become more difficult, it was still possible to get back on track. However, after meeting many different types of people that he had not previously encountered and realizing that there was so much in the world that he did not know, he began to question what future he truly desired.

After receiving a prize from a city-wide competition for a short story that he wrote, he was asked by Yagihara, the president of a music production, to accompany their band on their upcoming tour and write a report about the event. The band was Kachoufuugetsu, which once performed on the big stage. Its leader Korekiyo is quite a peculiar fellow and talked at length about how music was pointless and good for nothing. Even though Kei was perplexed about Korekiyo, he was taken away by the band’s music when he heard it for the first time.

A few days later after that memorable first live, Kei found out that they were disbanding. Unable to accept the sudden news, he approached Korekiyo many times to convince him to change his mind, but no argument could sway him. Instead, Korekiyo asked him:

“How about you play rock in my place?”

This is the final title by OVERDRIVE, which was quickly crowdfunded last year. There is both an 18+ and all-ages version. The story is by Setouchi Renya, his first since Kira☆Kira over 10 years ago. The trial didn’t do much for me, but those who funded the project will no doubt play it.

SugarKiss!

Company: はちみつそふと (Hachimitsu Soft)
Game site: SugarKiss！
Release date: December 20, 2019
Comments:
The smoking room at Kenji’s company is small and intimate, allowing people to talk freely regardless of position. This was where he got to know Yuki well. Soon they started seeing each other in other places as well, and eventually they began living together. This is a story about working adults who fall in love over a cigarette.

It’s not unexpected that we’ll get more stories involving working adults now that the median age of eroge players has went up. Just from the intro, I feel like the writers might be smokers themselves, lamenting the fact that they have less people to have a cigarette with. However, even though many use it to socialize with others, smoking is bad for you. Don’t do it, kids.

VenusBlood -FRONTIER- International

Company: dualtail
Game site: VenusBlood -FRONTIER- International
Release date: December 20, 2019
Comments:
This is a crowdfunded localization of dualtail’s VenusBlood -FRONTIER, in both Japanese and English (partnered with JAST USA), with new characters, outfits and scenes. There’s even an English OP and ED. It’s a pretty popular series, especially if you’re into RPGs and mindbreak/corruption, so I’m sure there’ll be many takers on this.

Gameplay trailer (EN)

Animal☆Panic

Company: QUINCE SOFT
Game site: あにまる☆ぱにっく
Release date: December 20, 2019
Comments:
There is a ‘Wishing Crystal’ in the fairy world which can grant any wish. The fairy Nyaron stole it for himself, but he carelessly broke it and the fragments scattered to the human world. The Fairy King summoned Nono to head there to recover the fragments.

One day, Masato and his imouto Yuna picked up a strange jewel and was attacked by Nyoron, who tried to steal the shard from them. Nono rushed to their aid, and after Yuna transformed as instructed by Nono, they were able to fight him off and seal the fragment. Afterwards, Nono asked for their help in capturing Nyoron and gathering the remaining pieces, and Masato decided to lend a hand to Yuna, who had readily agreed.

They began the search with his classmate Shiori and Yuna’s friend Hinata, but Nyoron and his new allies stood in their way. Who will gain control of the Wishing Crystal?

Art by CANVAS+GARDEN artists Miyasaka Miyu and Miyasaka Nayu? Kemonomimi transformations and a story reminiscent of Cardcaptor Sakura? An adorable imouto Yuna that you must protect? Yes, YES, YESSSSSSSSSS!!!

Aikotoba

Company: あざらしそふと＋1 (Azarashi Soft+1)
Game site: アイコトバ
Release date: December 20, 2019
Comments:
“Aikotoba” is a very popular matchmaking app where you can find your soulmate just by filling out a short questionnaire. With a stable job as an office worker, Takumi was introduced to this app by a friend. He was matched with a girl named ‘Yozora’ with a 99% compatibility rating, and he indeed fell in love with her.

At that time, he was to travel to Sendai for work, so he decided to meet ‘Yozora’ in person. He waited for her to appear by the gates at Sendai Station with both excitement and apprehension. However, when ‘Yozora’ appeared, she was shocked and her eyes welled up with tears immediately upon seeing him.

“Onii…chan…?”

It was the voice of his imouto Uzuki, who he had not seen in seven years.

Of course, your imouto is most compatible for you. I don’t need no app to tell me that! Come to me, Uzuki-chan! Hau~ omochikaeri~!

Shiny Sisters ~Josou Shujinkou Idol Project~

Company: ensemble
Game site: シャイニー・シスターズ ～女装主人公アイドルプロジェクト～
Release date: December 20, 2019
Comments:
This is an all-ages game featuring the protagonists from past ensemble games. The cross-dressing protagonists met each other at an informal social gathering attended by the ojou-sama schools. While not knowing that they are all guys, they felt a strange affinity with each other. This development was amusing to Yuuki’s master Ran, so she plotted to make them into an idol group and have them perform at an upcoming event in town. After some initial confusion about the sudden idea, they all ended up agreeing due to varying reasons. Will they be able to become idols while keeping their true gender a secret!?

Let me iterate that this is an all-ages title. I believe ensemble is the one who can pull this off.

Cafe Stella to Shinigami no Chou

Company: ゆずソフト (YuzuSoft)
Game site: 喫茶ステラと死神の蝶
Release date: December 20, 2019
Comments:
Kousei is an ordinary student who one day died in an accident. However, something unexpected happened: he found himself waking up the day of the accident. It was not a prophetic dream nor déjà vu, as the day unfolded once more exactly the same way. He visited the site of his death and the accident while dreading the outcome. At the moment of the accident, he met a shinigami and a talking cat, who told him that he still can’t escape death yet. In order to change his fate, he will have to help open a cafe to save those who are losing their will to live.

YuzuSoft doesn’t disappoint when you want a chara-ge. This will definitely be on my list.

Jibaku Kanojo ~Kanojo wa Kakurete Mimodaeru~

Company: Hending
Game site: 自爆カノジョ ～彼女は隠れて身悶える～
Release date: December 20, 2019
Comments:

“How much do you love me?”

It’s been a week since Kazuya started going out with his first love and classmate Asa. It was the first time he had dated someone, so even such a simple question left him at a loss for words and blushing profusely. She would come up close to him suddenly and stare at him, knowing very well that he would feel embarrassed. He felt like she was doing it just to get a strange reaction out of him, but it was because she thought he was cute when he was flustered. She wanted to see more of it, while he was determined to do the same to her in return.

Just a simple nukige with multiple viewpoints.

Suzukuri Karin-chan

Company: KarinProject
Game site: 巣作りカリンちゃん
Release date: December 20, 2019
Comments:
Kazuto is an ordinary adventurer who was considering quitting since his friends had left and his job prospects seemed bleak. That was when the Gyungyuska Company reached out to him. Directed by a girl named Fuu, he came in contact with the ‘labyrinth’ and the ‘Demon queen’. But why did an adventurer like him meet and be tasked with her revival? Who exactly is the ‘Demon queen Karin’? One thing led to another and he ended up as the manager of the labyrinth.

This is a joint project between BaseSon and SofthouseChara: a SLG featuring some of the more prominent Gi and Go heroines. It’s definitely an upgrade from the rock paper scissors ‘tactical’ mini-game of past Koihime games, and is a refreshing change from the others, offering something different for players. Will there be something new for the Shoku heroines?

Micchi’s Top 4 for This Month

1. Aikotoba
2. Cafe Stella to Shinigami no Chou
3. Animal☆Panic
4. Suzukuri Karin-chan

See you again next year!

Happy new year! It’s another light start with only a half dozen games. The highlight is Cabbage Soft’s kemonomimi café title Amairo Chocolata, drawn by Shiratama and Korie Riko. DESSERT SOFT’s Kami-sama no Shippo ~Etogami-sama-tachi no Ongaeshi~ features the twelve zodiac animals, so most likely at least one of them will appeal to you. Maybe the rat? It’s the Year of the Rat after all!

Happy new year. Though sadly not off to a great start for the year for eroge. Nothing this month is much more than decent, though one or two may be worth playing depending on your tastes. Just don’t expect anything to be too memorable a month later.

Amairo Chocolata

Company: きゃべつそふと (Cabbage Soft)
Game site: あまいろショコラータ
Release date: January 31, 2020
Comments:
Yuzuki came to the town of Yuunagi as the leaves were starting to change colour. The first person he met was a cute cat-eared waitress, who was handing out pamphlets on the street.

“T-This is Cafe Setaria. Please come in!”

When he was led into the cafe by the waitress Chieri, the other girls there also had animal ears. Seeing his wondering look, they worriedly asked him:

“Could it be… that you could see these ears?”

They explained that they were actually hybrid beasts whose ears and tails cannot be seen by normal humans. After learning about their secret, he started working at the cafe with them, while being both shocked and impressed at the differences between them and humans.

Very similar to Recette’s Shugaten! and seemingly even more fluffy and healing. Don’t expect much of a story. Of course I’m interested in café settings, nekomimi and art by Shiratama and Korie Riko. The adorable Chieri is voiced by Fujisaki Usa. Hau omochikaeri~!

The saddest part of this is how bored I am getting towards cat ears in cafes. I get that animal ears in general are a popular and cute gimmick, that much is fine as no one dislikes the idea itself. However! Turning various types of ears into a gimmick so overused it may as well be a high school to hide an otherwise lackluster eroge is disappointing at best. I say this often but while there is nothing wrong with the generic and overused themes they still need to be managed and written well to pull it off. Just copy pasting a generic cafe setting with little more than some cat ears to spice it up just doesn’t do enough to be worth it. Even when the focus is on the characters in a charage there is a limit to how interesting any heroine can be when no effort is put into the story and setting that develops her as a character. This doesn’t mean there needs to be some labyrinthine story of emotional and dramatic ups and downs to be acceptable either. Rather just give us an eroge where the makers care enough to put some effort into more than attempting to market a shiny gimmicky sticker pasted on a piece of brown cardboard setting with a story sloppily written in crayon.

Oni Ama -Watashi ni Amaete, Onii-chan-

Company: プレカノ (Prekano)
Game site: おにあま -わたしに甘えて、お兄ちゃん-
Release date: January 31, 2020
Comments:
The protagonist had found a job in the city, but the overload of work made him tired of his daily life. One day, his childhood friend Akane came to stay with him for a week while doing an internship at a nearby kindergarten as part of her nursery school studies. However, his room is a complete mess since even though he lives by himself, he is inept at everything in the home, such as cleaning, cooking and doing laundry.

“As thanks for letting me stay here, I’ll take of you for this week!
You can depend on me, onii-chan!”

It’s nice knowing you will always have an imouto osananajimi around to take care of you.

Imoujimi maid the ero. Would have been a better more accurate title in my opinion.

PV

Saleté

Company: Soiree
Game site: サルテ
Release date: January 31, 2020
Comments:
“Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot.”

There is a stage in the afterlife at the end of the blood and despair, madness and resentment.
On this stage devoid of an audience and cheers, Saleté performs “The Past” as directed by the Clown.

It is to find the reason for her death.
It is to return to the world of the living once more.

The prepared play is one of contempt and derision, where struggle and humiliation are inevitable.
Behold, this is the comedy of Saleté.

Soiree’s debut title is a dark nukige with guro elements. Is there really going to be a happy ending to this or will it just be a parade of unfortunate and inevitable events? Not my cup of tea, but it might be a different pick for others.

I am perfectly fine with dark games no matter how violent or sexual they are. What I dislike is pretentious edge forced down my throat under the guise of being dark. Nitro+ fell into this particular pit, piles of garbage hiding under edgy violence and darker themes. Of course Nitro+ is rather tame when it comes to darker games but they are also a good example of what not to do. Don’t try to sell us over dramatic nonsense with some blood as if that alone makes it artistic, or dare I even suggest it, good. In this case my impression of the game is a whiny emo teen dressed all in black poorly acting out a shakespearian tragedy while cutting themselves on stage. A comedy unintended. 

Kamikura Hina no Himitsu ~Gohoubi wa Watashi no Karada♪~

Company: アストロノーツ・コメット (Astronauts Comet)
Game site: 上倉雛のヒミツ ～ごほうびは私のカラダ♪～
Release date: January 31, 2020
Comments:
Makoto is on the university swimming team, but he can’t seem to better his time. He discussed with his coach and the reliable club leader, and they determined that it wasn’t a physical or mental problem. However, they were unable to figure out the underlying cause.

An important swim meet was fast approaching and he was feeling the pressure that he would be a burden for the team. However, he was not alone; his senpai and club manager Hina was always there to cheer him on. She knew about the anguish that he was going through and wanted to help him somehow. She took advice from many people and thought hard about a surefire plan, and…

“I’ll let you touch my breasts if you clock a good time♪”

Makoto was taken aback by the half-joking proposal, but agreed to it since he was running out of options. What will be the end result and what will happen to their relationship after this wild idea?

It’s nice to have some extra incentive to reach your goals. That’s why we have club managers, right? The trial itself doesn’t waste time getting to H scenes. I felt like the pacing was off and the story was forced.

The idea itself is more or less fine and could even be endearing if done well. Some teasing, leading to them coming closer and the usual developments for that sort of story. This however feels cheap. Everything from his arbitrary doggy paddle stagnation to sudden boob groping is just awkward and clearly done simply to justify rapid transition into H content. Boring and pointless.

Kami-sama no Shippo ~Etogami-sama-tachi no Ongaeshi~

Company: DESSERT Soft
Game site: 神様のしっぽ ～干支神さまたちの恩返し～
Release date: January 31, 2020
Comments:
In the remote village of Tenbu, watched over by the gods, lies a shrine where the twelve zodiac signs are enshrined. Akinari is a young man who had been taken in by the Asatsuki family that currently runs the shrine when he was a baby. He secretly possesses a mysterious ability: he can understand what animals say. Since he likes animals more than others, he used this power to enjoy his life every day.

However, his everyday life changed one day after he casually inserted a precious orb into a mysterious stone slab in the shrine’s storehouse. The statues of the twelve zodiac signs suddenly vanished, and were seemingly replaced by twelve girls, the Etogami. They began living together after an unexpected turn of events, and he became good friends with them due to his innate love for animals.

Renge, his childhood friend and the sole daughter of the Asatsuki household, wished for everyone to gather around dining table, which was too big for just the two of them. Akinari always wanted to have family to call his own, so he decided to welcome the twelve of them as family. This is the beginning of a wondrous fairy tale with the twelve zodiac signs.

The first thing that came to mind was the guardian angel anime Tenshi no Shippo. My favourite back then was the parakeet Tsubasa, and I similarly am interested in the chibi bird sensei Misora. They even have the same green hair colour! My impression from the trial was that it’s difficult to tell a deep story with such a huge cast of heroines, but they do all have their own appeals. The writing is a bit rough around the edges, but I do get a sense of the ‘family bonds’ that the story wishes to convey. Also, I’ve never imagined Romeo and Juliet as two star-crossed birds.

At least the animal ears feel like they reflect the setting and story better than Amairo Chocolata. Instead of using it for a gimmicky appeal it is more a central concept around which everything else revolves. That said though, I agree with Micchi in that there are too many heroines to do a proper story. To do this right would either be a massive undertaking sufficient for two games or need to be broken up in some way. Be it two games with six heroines each, or removing a few heroines by separating the setting, such as other shrines around the country or something. I don’t dislike this one, and is probably the best pick of the month, I just dislike feeling that the characters I like aren’t developed enough due to so many others needing their share of the limelight. 

Ren’ai, Karichaimashita Emi & Hasumi Mini After Story

Company: ASa Project
Game site: 恋愛、借りちゃいました 絵未＆八純 ミニアフターストーリー
Release date: January 31, 2020
Comments:
This is the second mini fandisc for Ren’ai, Karichaimashita, featuring Emi and Hasumi. There is also an extra story based on what happens after you choose neither of them. It should be pretty short if similar to the first fandisc, but hey it’s only 2800 yen.

Fandisk the return.

Micchi’s Top 3 for This Month

1. Amairo Chocolata
2. Kami-sama no Shippo ~Kanshi Kami-sama-tachi no Ongaeshi~
3. Ren’ai, Karichaimashita Emi & Hasumi Mini After Story

Zen’s Top 3 for This Month

1. Kami-sama no Shippo ~Etogami-sama-tachi no Ongaeshi~
2. I tried.
   
3. Ren’ai, Karichaimashita Emi & Hasumi Mini After Story

I want to pet the fluffy tail…

Beware what it’s attached to.

There’s a choice of isekai games this month, from SMEE’s slapstick HaremKingdom to TOKYOTOON’s Marco to Ginga Ryuu, which combines both traditional anime and cartoon styles. GIGA also has their spinoff Full Kiss S, while SukeraSomero offers the yuri title Oshi no Love Yori Koi no Love.

A month full of the worst kind of game. All besides one are just boring rather than good or bad. Or rather than boring perhaps nothing special or median for eroge is more appropriate. The sole exception to this is just weeb bait, so pretty dull month.

HaremKingdom

Company: SMEE
Game site: HaremKingdom -ハーレムキングダム-
Release date: February 28, 2020
Comments:
On a day off, the protagonist was once again being chided by his osananajimi Hikari for not pursuing a girl. He just wanted to spend his time enjoying his hobbies, and ran away from relationships by any means, due to his past trauma. She was worried that if this continued, then he would become completely useless.

Then suddenly a bright light enveloped them and they were transported to another world. While they were still lost in their new surroundings, the prime minister Marrou told him that he was the ‘last king’ of the kingdom. He was loved by the people, but he must abide by the duty of building a harem to father his future descendants for the prosperity of the kingdom. In fact, it had already been arranged that the princess Sophia from the neighbouring kingdom and Charlone, the beautiful daughter of a noble family, will be part of this harem. Seeing him surrounded by girls, Hikari could not hold back as well, to his dismay.

“I just want to fall in love normally!”

It’s got a pretty cool OP, but it’s essentially just an isekai gag nukige with a lot of dirty jokes. You get to enter your name so you can live out your own isekai dream (if you want to) or randomly assign one at the beginning of the game. I’m liking Char, who reminds me of Suzunone‘s Sumire, since she’s a ‘loli’ koakuma type who calls you onii-sama (but is actually a haraguro). Give me more of that please!

Smee Feels like they are rushing games a bit too much now, going the route of quantity over quality. Comedy without content can only take you so far in the end. Which is where the problem lies with Harem Kingdom. Putting some more effort into the background for the characters, and the setting in general would have made the comedy elements more poignant. Which is furthered by making the heroines more likable when they aren’t thrown at you like a bargain bin trail mix of boobs. 

LOVE Destination

Company: JADE
Game site: LOVE・デスティネーション
Release date: February 28, 2020
Comments:
With no social status, money or love, Ryou has reached a BAD END. However, the ‘heavenly voice’ that had mistakenly guided him to this BAD ROUTE brought him back to the branch point which led to another possible future.

He didn’t choose the option when he was a student since he didn’t want to be labelled as a pervert, but now given the opportunity again, he enrolled in the former girls’ school where there were no other male students. Now he just needed to choose one of them and enjoy the HAPPY ROUTE… or so he thought. His ‘memories of the future’ hint that there were still many BAD END which he must avoid!

This is JADE’s first title in nearly 20 years. All the meta talk aside, it’s basically just your typical love comedy eroge. There are four routes, covering the seven heroines. There’s bad ends to avoid, but I have the feeling that they’ll be relatively shallow in development. The game will actually indicate what the right choices are, and which choices lead to bad ends, if you want to not have to guess or consult a walkthrough. You can turn off this function if you want. Also, it’s really odd playing with furigana for every single kanji. While it’s helpful for learning how to pronounce them, I hope there’s an option to turn them off to make the dialogue easier to read. Probably not gonna bother with this one.

Breaking the fourth wall of a generic eroge. Not enough of a gimmick to add significance to the story or characters thus not really interesting in my eyes. If something like this wants to be done right a lot of effort needs to be put into the branching narrative of each route, and every character and heroine during every single route to give significance to the choices. Without the effort it’s just a half-assed token gimmick, I’m with Micchi on this one.

Hajikano ~Kimi ga Iru Heya~

Company: キャラメルBOX いちご味 (Caramel BOX Ichigo Aji)
Game site: はじカノ～君がいる部屋～
Release date: February 28, 2020
Comments:
It’s been two years since Naoki became a working adult. There hasn’t been any particularly good or bad things; it’s been extremely normal and peaceful. However, he was lacking excitement in his life.

With the arrival of spring, he rapidly got closer to three girls: the helpful but naive Mai, his cheeky tomboy imouto Yuana, and his boss Misaki, who seemed outside of his league. A trivial incident one day leads to him falling in love with one of them, and soon they begin living together, bringing moments of happiness that they have not felt until now.

Art and characters seem fine, and the story is the usual simple pick-your-heroine-and-go fare, although I feel like the execution is rather lacking. I like cheeky imoutos who actually love you a lot (well, all imoutos are like that…), so it’s tempting to play for Yuana, but I’m not expecting much development at all.

Something of note here is Micchi turned down a little sister character. Read that again and think to yourself what it says about the game at hand. Truthfully I can’t help but agree there isn’t enough content or emphasis on the setting. Despite proclaiming an adult protagonist it just feels like a skin put over your boring high school setting rather than there being substance to the setting choice. 

Teaser

Full Kiss S

Company: 戯画 (GIGA)
Game site: フルキスS
Release date: February 28, 2020
Comments:
Takuya is always positive, but takes time to make the first step since he is too cautious and thinks too much. Entering his second year, he decides to try to get a girlfriend and becomes closer to his classmates Hana and Yuu.

This is the latest game in GIGA’s Kiss series, being somewhat related to Full Kiss. They’ve toned it down to only two heroines, but both of them are good choices. GIGA produces the same level of quality, for better or for worse. I feel like it’s the safe pick this month.

What Micchi put tactfully as “Same level of quality” can be more accurately said to be boring rushed out copy paste of eroge 101 template. Seeing what amounts to the same exact game every other month makes it all blur together to the point I’m not even sure they aren’t Circus under a new name. 

Marco to Ginga Ryuu

Company: TOKYOTOON
Game site: マルコと銀河竜 ～MARCO＆GALAXY DRAGON～
Release date: February 28, 2020
Comments:
Marco, an orphan with missing memories, and Arco, a dragon who rules the galaxy, were hunting for treasure in space! On one of their adventures, Marco was given a clue to the whereabouts of her mother.

Their next stop, her birthplace – Earth!

This is an all-ages title from TOKYOTOON, available via Steam (in Japanese, English and Chinese) and packaged formats. The art is in both standard anime and Western cartoon style, which is quite unique among visual novels. I can’t say that it appeals to me, but maybe it will gather more interest among the Western audience.

Stupid weeb bait.

Mononokei Kanojo ~Inkya Desu ga, Koishite Ii Desu ka?~

Company: North Box
Game site: モノノ系彼女～陰キャですが、恋して良いですか？～
Release date: February 28, 2020
Comments:
This is the debut game by North Box. Yuutarou is an ordinary student at Yatsuya Gakuen with a slight interest in the occult. It was the last day before summer vacation, and he still didn’t have any special relationships with the girls in his class. That all changed when his osananajimi Yuumi invited him to come to the school that night for a ‘courage test’.

She came completely prepared, dressed in tactical gear, pressing an airsoft gun into his back and forcing him down the eerily quiet hallway. He heard faint laughter and turned around, and Yuumi had already dashed out of sight. The strange creaking and sounds of running… could this be the paranormal encounter that he wanted!?

You basically do it with a bunch of youkai. The smallest is an F cup. No thanks.

I mean it’s a nukige so enough said. What makes me laugh is that Micchi rejected it simply because of cup size. 

Oshi no Love Yori Koi no Love

Company: SukeraSomero
Game site: 推しのラブより恋のラブ
Release date: February 28, 2020
Comments:

“As a child, there was a love story that captivated me.
In the story, an alien came down from space and extravagantly
proclaimed her love to an Earthling man.
I never imagined that, decades later, I’d be living out that story for myself…”

Akuru Hayahoshi is an unlucky otaku office worker who just can’t pull her husbando in the gacha game she’s obsessed with, no matter how much money she throws at it. Until one day, she runs into the garishly gorgeous and freakishly lucky Ren Furutachi.

A series of misunderstandings lead to a proposal, and Ren starts to full-on pursue Akuru. One thing leads to another, and in order to bring her husbando home, she ends up… bringing Ren home?! Now they’re sharing a house… and a bed?! To unpresuming Akuru this cool, lady-loving girl might as well be an alien!

Akuru wants her husbando, and Ren wants Akuru as her waifu… Are these two ever gonna end up together?!

This all-ages yuri title is the first game by SukeraSomero, a sister brand of SukeraSparo. There is a 18+ append planned for the future. It seems like a cute story and there’s not much else to play this month, so might as well check it out since it’s available in Japanese, English and Chinese.

Yuri.

Micchi’s Top 3 for This Month

1. Full Kiss S
2. Oshi no Love Yori Koi no Love
3. Hajikano ~Kimi ga Iru Heya~

Zen’s Mediocre 3 for This Month

1. Hajikano ~Kimi ga Iru Heya~
   
2. HaremKingdom
3. LOVE Destination

To be honest, none of the games this month seem memorable to me.

Because they aren’t, and will be forgotten as soon as this post is done.

Did you need more games to keep you busy while you’re stuck at home? Good thing that there’s a few promising ones this month, such as Hulotte’s Ore no Sugata ga Toumei ni!? Invisible to Suuki na Unmei and CUBE’s futuristic Kami-sama no You na Kimi e. GIGA is remaking AXL’s Koisuru Otome to Shugo no Tate Re:boot THE “SHIELD-9”, while ninetail’s alchemy RPG Soushin no Ars Magna should keep you bound for hours. Stay safe everyone.

At least there are a better series of releases than last month, while I can’t think of anything worth pining for there is a good range of choices. What is even more noteworthy is that even if some are poorly made in one area or another, they don’t feel as bad as what makes them inferior isn’t because they are boring generic copy paste eroge.

Jinki Resurrection

Company: 戯画 (GIGA)
Game site: JINKI RESURRECTION -ジンキ・リザレクション-
Release date: March 27, 2020
Comments:
Ryouhei woke up in a hospital, having lost all his memories, even his own name. In search of clues on how to regain them, he arrived in Kyoto and was welcomed by a group of girls who were part of an organization called Angel. He would end up living together with the three girls: the friendly Aoba, the reserved Akao, and the openly-hostile Kanae. He thought that it wouldn’t be that bad living like this with them, but it would soon all be turned upside down by the existence of large humanoid robots called “Jinki”.

This game takes place in the same world as the Jinki series. The previous title JINKI EXTEND Re:VISION didn’t fare so well. They’ve added the E-mote system, but the boob physics look really awkward. I don’t think it works well for a mecha-focused game.

Garbage Gundam. Mecha as a genre has generally lost a lot of its appeal as Japan seems to have lost what made it good way back when. Now they are too focused on being the “Chosen one” type of pilot.

Anyway General Mecha griping over, Jinki itself doesn’t look very promising. Giga hasn’t done well for awhile, probably why they focus on generic eroge spam nowadays. Thus I cannot bring myself to trust them on this one. Since they butchered the Baldr series I can’t imagine they would do much better here, especially given their recent track record. I sincerely do hope I am wrong, as I would like nothing more than this to turn out great, but I simply cannot see it happening.

Ama Mama Holic

Company: ましゅまろそふと (Marshmallow Soft)
Game site: あまママほりっく
Release date: March 27, 2020
Comments:
Ikuto was raised by his father, having lost his mother at a young age. He attends a technical school to become a nursery school teacher, and started working part-time at a nursery school as part of his training. There he met the older Nozomi, who he admired after feeling maternal charms which he had not felt before.

One day, his father told him that he was going to marry again and it was going to be with Nozomi! At first he was overwhelmed with the sudden news, but he was happy that the one who he looked up to will become his stepmother.

On the day that Nozomi was to move in with them, his father got news that the long-term insect research study deep in the Amazon that he had been eager to go to for quite some time had finally been approved. She supported him on his work, so she readily agreed to stay behind. So, Ikuto was left alone with his new stepmother, who would dote on him and make him feel better, including in bed. Their fun and exciting days have only just begun♪

They’re literally cheating on his father. You could choose Nozomi’s imouto Megumi, or the mother-daughter combo Aoi and Ichika instead. There’s also a harem route after completing all three routes. I’m not really interested in this type of setting, aside from maybe being Ichika’s private tutor….

About the only thing I find interesting is how they try to include fetishes without actually doing so at all. There’s the whole mother thing, but shes not really related so it’s not that big of a deal and she could just be some random neighbor just as easily. Then there is the cheating part which some people get off to but is half assed here anyway with his dad off hugging trees. I feel like they wanted to hit some popular nukige trends but were afraid to exclude anyone so didn’t go all the way. Which brings me back to my interest, if that really is the best way to say it at least, perhaps insulted would be a better description. Go all out with whatever you are going to do, trying to meet everyone half way just leads to mediocrity in all directions. In this case it turns into just a generic nukige with some girls that have some arbitrary titles like “Mother” added to their names.

Ayakashi Yuukaku ~Satori Oni no Seiten Kitan~

Company: Casket
Game site: あやかし遊郭～さとり鬼の性転奇譚～
Release date: March 27, 2020
Comments:
Wakahiko is a kind satori who likes to help others. One day, he heard a strange rumour that there was a village in the youkai world Tasogare where evil spirits gathered. Worried that humans might have accidentally wandered there, he went to check out the village, but was overcome by the intensity of the evil spirits. A few hours later, he awoke in an unfamiliar room with an unusual sensation.

“M-My body has… become that of a girl…!”

He had wandered into Ayakashi Genrou, a red-light district where men go to have sex with youkai prostitutes. Since he could change his form depending on human desires, he ended up as a woman due to the accumulation of evil spirits there. The owner of the brothel told him that if he could gather enough spirits for a hundred people, then he could return to his normal self. So, he decided to work as a prostitute there.

Does it really matter what gender youkai are? You might as well think of them all as female. It’s just a single-heroine low-price title, so just make your decision based on the cover.

One thing I simply cannot fault them for here is originality. I am unable to think of anything to compare this with. So uhh, nukige they at least put the effort in to think up something new, I’ll give them credit for that much at least.

Icing -love coating-

Company: はちみつそふと (Hachimitsu Soft)
Game site: アイシング-love coating-
Release date: March 27, 2020
Comments:
Shigure is an aspiring patissier, along with his wife Akiho, who while loving him unconditionally, also doesn’t like losing in anything. They enjoy their sweet married life together as they work hard towards a common goal, both as lovers and as rivals.

Akiho’s cute and there’s sweets. Might be worth checking it out.

I am fine with single heroine eroge, but I can’t help but feel that starting from the after route of a fandisk somewhat weakens the characters appeal. Maybe it is just me, as I tend to enjoy the common route more than the rest in the majority of eroge. Still some build up to develop context and a sense of value to the characters and their relationship would be nice.

Ore no Sugata ga Toumei ni!? Invisible to Suuki na Unmei

Company: HULOTTE
Game site: 俺の姿が、透明に!? 不可視の薬と数奇な運命
Release date: March 27, 2020
Comments:
Haruki was watching a stream of the extremely popular virtual net idol Kuzunoha Chitose when suddenly a lottery was held for all viewers. The reward was special rights to make any wish come true! He decided to give it a shot, and lo and behold, he was selected as the winner!

“I’ll be coming over, so wait right there♪”

At that moment his doorbell rang and Chitose herself was waiting at his front door. She handed him some mysterious pills.

“They’re pills that will make you invisible! Yay! Let me know how it goes~”

She left with a smile just as quickly as she had arrived, leaving him at a loss for words. Even though he had his doubts, he tried it out immediately and was surprised that it actually worked!

Next he snuck into the bath with his cousin Ame, who had been rather distant to him lately. While he was freely admiring her amazingly delicious developed body, she voiced her true feelings for him, causing him to unintentionally touch her. When he did so, the invisibility effect wore off!

She was obviously very angry at him, but still forgave him considering her feelings for him. When they checked the directions on the drugs, they found out that they can be used once a day and the effect disappears upon touching someone. Haruki was elated at the thrill of using it and potentially being found out, while Ame was determined to make him a normal person again.

HULOTTE’s last game was stopping time, this one is becoming invisible. They sure know what superpowers guys want… and how they would like to use those abilities. Good art, cute girls, mix of comedy and ero, likely harem route. Count me in!

Of course he won, he’s the protagonist of this eroge. Though since it is a silly basic eroge just take it as it is, enjoy the ride, and don’t worry too much about the rest. Probably one of the better choices to play in between other titles.

Shukusei no Girlfriend ALLSTAR

Company: mirai
Game site: 宿星のガールフレンド ALLSTAR
Release date: March 27, 2020
Comments:
This is a compilation of the Shukusei no Girlfriend series, including all three titles, plus a new episode for subheroine Fujiko. The three episodes had decent reviews, so you could check it out if you haven’t played any of them.

Some magical girl nonsense compendium. 

Kami-sama no You na Kimi e

Company: CUBE
Game site: 神様のような君へ
Release date: March 27, 2020
Comments:
Despite being merely a student, Kaito is an expert hacker who broke through the most advanced security system and gained administrative privileges to the C-AI (Central AI) that governs countless AI. In this day and age where the majority of infrastructure essential to daily living has been optimized with AI, he now had the power to do anything. So, he made the following command:

“I want to meet a girl who loves me!
With large cute eyes, who is kind and will spoil me, oh and with big boobs!”

He was dejected when his search got no hits, but it triggered the activation of a late-night robot factory to build a robot according to his specifications.

The next morning, a girl who looked exactly like who he wished for showed up at his door. Tsukuyomi had superhuman physical and mental abilities and loved him immensely. However, since she is an AI, she lacks common sense. Having determined that she still fell short of being his ideal, she decided to perfect her expressions of ‘love’ for him.

What lies ahead in the future for the God-like Kaito and his ideal (albeit robot) girl?

Kantoku’s back, and the writers are thankfully different from your diary, instead a trio of light novel authors: Murasaki Yukiya, Mikawa Ghost and Iwanami Ryou. You can look at it as a light SF story, with virtual idols. It’s not going to wow anyone, but should be a decent read.

Unfortunate Cube brought back their B list trash artist who never learned to shade or how to make characters look more than 5 years old without just increasing their physical size. They do seem to rotate this one in when they make a sub par game though so keep that in mind going in.

Poor employment decisions on the part of management aside, I don’t find myself all that expectant of the story here either. This is just a pre-programmed Chobits girl eroge. What little substance there could have been was destroyed by making the self propelled dutch wife programmed to love him because well hacker reasons. A better choice would have been him spending his time searching secret databases of whatever, and coming across an AI he then communicates with, or a special body somewhere or whatever else to create some buildup. Could even make him accidentally create or trigger an AI that develops alongside him. No matter what drama comes after the point the start is far too abrupt and lacks any meaning when AI girl or supposed AI given shes just acting on programming is just there to “Love” him.

I never thought I would say this, but Cube just go back to making imouto type games. Oh and fire this artist Kantoku or whatever they are called for good this time, they really aren’t worth keeping on payroll.

More imouto-ge! More imouto-ge!

Teaser

Soushin no Ars Magna

Company: ninetail
Game site: 創神のアルスマグナ
Release date: March 27, 2020
Comments:
Once upon a time, the Great Founding Alchemist guided the people from a world where everything turned to dust to the new continent of Archeus. It is a harmonious and fertile land protected by man-made gods called ‘Soushin’ (Gods of Creation), created by spinning the ‘laws’.

However, after a long time passed, the ‘Dust’ also began to encroach on Archeus. The ‘Soushin’ were driven mad and turned into ‘Gods of Calamity’, spawning monsters that wrecked havoc on the land and threatened the populace.

They would not sit idly by while the world was gradually swallowed the ‘Dust’, and a group of alchemists gathered at the top alchemist school, Cagliostro Academy, to attempt to continue the miracle from the past.

Your RPG option for the month. You can choose to be righteous or a heretic as you fight the monsters together in this alchemist quest. The system is kinda slow and boring to me, but I’m not really one who plays many of these games…

I do like having a choice in being good or evil, but these RPG mechanics are just too boring, tedious, and plain not fun for me to care. If they put a bit more work into the gameplay I would probably play it, as the story while not great isn’t particularly awful. I mean it amounts to a generic save the world quest but I would definitely want to try to get a world destruction end by playing evil.

Koisuru Otome to Shugo no Tate Re:boot THE “SHIELD-9”

Company: 戯画 Team AIGIS (GIGA Team AIGIS)
Game site: 恋する乙女と守護の楯 Re:boot The“SHIELD-9”
Release date: March 27, 2020
Comments:
This is a remake of AXL’s 2007 title Koisuru Otome to Shugo no Tate, with new routes added for Yuuri and Setsuko. Senomoto Hisashi’s art has changed a bit over the years, while the cast has stayed pretty much the same aside from Yuuri (Nekoyashiki Mai). Of course, the graphics are now in widescreen full HD and compatible with Windows 10. I liked the original game when I played a bit of it after Otoboku. I guess they’re re-releasing it to appeal to those who weren’t around back then. Check it out if you haven’t played it!

Seems eroge are keeping up with the times and starting to remake the better games of the past, just like the normal game market.

Micchi’s Top 3 for This Month

1. Ore no Sugata ga Toumei ni!? Invisible to Suuki na Unmei
2. Kami-sama no You na Kimi e
3. Koisuru Otome to Shugo no Tate Re:boot THE “SHIELD-9”

Zen’s Top 3 for This Month

1. Ore no Sugata ga Toumei ni!? Invisible to Suuki na Unmei
2. Icing -love coating-
3. Soushin no Ars Magna

I want to be invisible too. Think of all the possibilities… you can even go outside and not be seen!

Think of all the money you would save on clothes!