This month is the best one we’ve seen in a long time, with 19 varied titles to choose from. I’ve been very excited for ALcot’s 10th anniversary work Clover Day’s and CIRCUS’ Da Capo III Platinum Partner, which returns to Hatsunejima. There’s also a few sequels and fandisks coming out: August’s Daitoshokan no Hitsujikai -Dreaming Sheep-, TENCO’s Eiyuu＊Senki GOLD, and GIGA’s BALDR SKY Zero 2. You can also meet your long lost twin in SORAHANE’s Haruka Kanata or change the world in Akatsuki Works’ Hello, Lady!. There’s so many to play and so little time (since April will be just as good!). Enjoy!
Quantity over quality is how I would describe the releases for this year’s March. In the rush to get the post done during the loli month I was left with the feeling that it’s almost as though March 2014 was made in homage to the Circus constellation of the eroge zodiac. Although my complaints aside Micchi is at least correct that compared to most months of late this does stand out as above the recent relative average. There are even a few games that may be worth reading, a pleasant surprise after several months where not a single game was appealing enough to even add it to the bottom of a backlog. Unfortunately they are still limited to potential rather than something to be actively endorsed, so there remains a very good chance that after the games are released this will be another month with nothing good to show for it. Just having some hope alone is good enough for me to feel a little better about things after so many months were not even a shred of hope for anything worth reading could be found.
ALIA’s CARNIVAL!
Company: NanaWind
Game site: ALIA’s CARNIVAL!
Release date: March 28, 2014
Comments:
New release date after being pushed back from January. The Sakumo ward is well known for its cherry blossoms. In recent years, as part of the redevelopment of the ward, an experimental education system was introduced where the students would govern themselves in the newly constructed Sakumodai Gakuin to improve the student life. Those students who are capable and work hard to improve the learning environment would receive various benefits. Also, it seemed that the one with the top results would get a special privilege.
Ren returned to Sakumo ward after a long time away and transferred into the school, reuniting with his timid imouto Karin and osananajimi Shiina, who had grown up to be very beautiful. On his first day at school, he was caught up in some trouble and ended up saving a girl. The girl Asuha asked him to join her club, aim for ALIA and change the school. He was puzzled over her sudden invitation, but was excited that his new school life will be surely be an exciting one.
Woohoo! More Mitha! More Nanao Naru! But why do they all have to be so big? The lowest is a D!? I don’t like where this trend is going… Also, don’t expect too much from the story, considering it’s the same staff from Yuyukana. I’m not sure what this ALIA thing is, maybe it’s a codename for harem.
Yet another club based game about giving students their own nation for the sake of entertaining the people who pay to watch them crash and burn because they pay more attention to their genitalia than their brains. In all fairness I am not inherently against the idea of the setting allowing students more control than normal, nor of clubs as a basis for meeting. However the problem with these games stems from how they use such matters to cluster everyone tightly together for ease of writing and interaction. Further distorting the stories are how these games push undue importance on the elected officials for their schools for the sake of creating drama. The whole pattern stems from most of the industry filling in the blanks of the same templates, this game being no exception.
BALDR SKY Zero 2
Company: 戯画 (GIGA)
Game site: BALDRSKY ZERO2
Release date: March 28, 2014
Comments:
This is the sequel to BALDR SKY Zero. Edward had waken up in the middle of a virtual battlefield with no memories. He was assigned to the Squall squad under the notorious mercenary corps Fenrir. One time while on a mission, he met and protected Marelle, who was being chased by government forces. A few days after she joined Squall, she volunteered to partner up with him on missions. Their squad leader Goodman approved of it just because he thought it was amusing for two people who didn’t have any memories of their past to pair up. Ed also thought it would be a good opportunity for a ‘wired ghost’ like Marelle, who didn’t have a body in reality, to be in more touch with other people.
One day while they were on a mission to support Kei who had gotten into a bind, they came across a being that looked like a monster, but moved like a robot: the third most wanted Rasayana. He was soundly defeated and thought he was going to be eaten, but nothing happened. It appeared like Rasayana knew them. Who exactly is Rasayana and how are Ed and Marelle related?
The battle system is updated, with additional weapons, plugins and a ‘charge break’ boost. The ‘force crush’ skill from Baldr Sky returns. There is also a mission mode where you can just enjoy the battles. The three heroines from the previous game, as well as the subheroines, get some ecchi mini scenarios. Pretty much everything is for fans of the series.
While I have not played anything Baldr in a long time, I feel they are reaching the point of desperation here. The entire plot feels as though they completely ran out of ideas thus hastily scraped something together in the hope of their flagship series fans buying into it.
Rain’s in this game! Buy it, Baldr fans!
Clover Day’s
Company: ALcot
Game site: Clover Day’s
Release date: March 28, 2014
Comments:
This is ALcot’s 10th anniversary work, set in the same setting as their debut title Clover Heart’s. Yuuto was abandoned by his parents and raised in an orphanage in Britain. He was adopted by a trader Yoshiomi and brought to Japan. Even though he could hardly speak any Japanese, he was supported by his twin imoutos Anzu and Anri, and his classmates Tsubame and Izumi. They didn’t know the meaning of love, but they laughed and cried together and forged irreplaceable and precious bonds.
It’s been 10 years since and both them and their surroundings have changed greatly. But there is one thing which hadn’t changed at all. Another pair of twins, his osananajimi Hekiru and Hikaru, returned to Japan from overseas. “Do you remember… our promise from that day?”
Hidden feelings, eternal promises, sincere wishes, lasting regrets. Those ‘feelings’ which had stopped once again began to move. Their ‘Clover Day’s’ begin here.
IT’S HEREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I made a point of playing Clover Heart’s before this, even though it isn’t an absolutely necessary. ALcot said that there will be some references to past characters and situations (and from the promo videos, it seems there’s references to other titles as well). I miss the greater drama focus of the earlier ALcot titles (Kuroha, FairChild), so I hope that they will recreate some of that feeling here instead of just relying on comedy. The art is pretty as always and I love all the characters!
Yes, the characters! Oh my lovely imoutos! Cheerful Kirihana-voiced Anzu is great, but I can’t get enough of the cool and reliable Anri! Her jealousy makes her go into ‘search and destroy’ mode! Keep your grubby hands off my oniichan, kono yaro! The rest of the heroines have great personalities and nice seiyuus behind them (Kitami Rikka voices both Hekiru and Hikaru!). Saionji and Rin return from Kuroha and the meido is still overpowered. WHY ISN’T IT OUT YET!? I want to give my twin imoutos pri~vate lessons! Hau~ omochikaeri~!
So we have waited ten years for another “ten years later the protagonist returns to his now slightly grown up jail bait in order to fulfill childhood promises made in the hopes of a candy based reward long since forgotten by the sensible human not pining for the memories of a five year old playmate”, game. Oh, Alcot how wonderful all will be when your anniversary edition made to blow away all the pent up frustration with the entire eroge industry is released to great fanfare and awe. In which case the bar has clearly been set far too high when expecting a high jump from what Aloct appears to have believed was a limbo. So what do we really get from the game? A slightly nostalgic trip down memory lane as far as settings go, and some generic eroge characters given a generic eroge script to read from their generic eroge bibles in between their bowing worship for all eroge released during or before 2005. Perhaps the worst insult here is that for a tenth anniversary release not only do they give us a generic plot and characters, they even add in those most obnoxious of recent gimmicks, twins. While inherently there is nothing wrong with twins, surrounding our vapid walking Axe commercial of a protagonist with multiple sets of the little buggers asking him to pick which set looks better on his dining table as though they were a china set makes the whole appeal of said identical DNA strands sublimate into ambivalence. Personally I feel this should have been released as just another game, not something for a tenth anniversary. In a way this is like buying your wife a blender for your tenth anniversary, sure it may be functional and even practical in some ways; However unless it was a joke you used to mix her favorite drink while handing her tickets for a romantic getaway to Tahiti only the most delusional of abused women would appreciate it beyond how well it functions as an instrument of your murder.
So I got around to playing the trial with tempered expectations and… I liked it a lot! Having played quite a few ALcot titles, it was fun trying to identify the references. Of course, they also touched on the backstories for the whole cast, especially Anzu, Hekiru and Izumi. I wish Anri got more screentime, but she’s just letting the rest have their spotlight now. In the end, she will come out on top (kekeke). I didn’t expect to like Tsubame much, but her Kansai-ben and almost onee-chan like attitude definitely won me over. WHY ISN’T IT OUT YET!?
Oh, and I really like the OP as well. The layout is very similar to Clover Heart’s with the dialogue interlude in the middle. I really hope they do a good job with the story. I don’t care if it’s a generic ending; I just want it to be done very well.
D.C.III P.P. ~Da Capo III Platinum Partner~
Company: CIRCUS
Game site: D.C.III P.P.～ダ・カーポIII プラチナパートナー～
Release date: March 28, 2014
Comments:
This is the new story for D.C.III, focused on the Kazami Gakuen side. Kiyotaka enjoys his third-year school life at Kazami Gakuen with the other official news club members, Ricca, Charles, Himeno, Sara and Aoi. After Golden Week, they are excited for the various seasonal events, such as the athletic meet, summer camp, culture festival and of course, the Christmas party. Will he end up in a special relationship with one of the girls after a year that passes like a dream?
This can pretty much be counted as a D.C.III fandisk (and it’s 18+!). We’re back in Hatsunejima and the common route goes through relatively normal events at school from spring through to winter. I wonder if there’ll be a misscon at the Christmas party and if a Shirakawa will win again (Mikoto? No way!?). Anyways, all 5 heroines are lovey-dovey with Kiyotaka from the get-go. Full raburabu! Woohoo! I’m not sure if I’ll go for Himeno (who isn’t an imouto here, but just an imouto-like osananajimi) or Sara (a kouhai who’s in the same class as him). Maybe Sara first… those flustered expressions are too powerful! “Senpai, fuketsu desu!”
It’s Da Capo, you know what you signed up for, just as you know there are about five years left on the DCIII line before Circus decides to maybe try something else, then go right back to Da Capo when that inevitably fails.
Actually, I don’t remember the last title which wasn’t D.C.. Oh well, not that it matters.
The last non DC title they released that I remember was Valkyrie Complex? Which was promptly forgotten about since the story sucked.
Endless Dungeon
Company: ロゼブル (Rosebleu)
Game site: Endless Dungeon
Release date: March 28, 2014
Comments:
This is a sequel to the Tiny Dungeon series, featuring new heroines. Trinity is a school which trains future heroes. A half year after the past heroes successfully passed the trials, a group of new youths pass through the gate, brimming with confidence. One of them was Hime’s imouto, Miko, who came to support her brother. In addition, there was a second blond-haired dragon girl and two girls who came from 20 years in the future and are of a fifth race which was a mixture of all the special traits of the demons, gods, dragons and humans. What future lies ahead for our hero who had opened the gate?
This is still going on? I wonder if Zen is still playing it. Well, the heroines are all different now, but the old heroines are still around as subcharas. Opera-san is amusing. His harem is expanding!
What made Tiny Dungeon likable was how endearing a train wreck it made. Sure the story was pretty lame, the art was mediocre at best, and the lack of any real choice made for some frustration when entire sections of the story dragged on about the most boring heroines. But through it all the series had a strange appeal that made it fun to read despite it all. However trying to revive that series is a poor decision, even if everything since from Rosebleu has been pretty terrible. Series such as Da Capo above are able to survive being milked endlessly because they don’t rely on good writing to hold up all the holes and flaws, instead such games simply press moe buttons while ignoring everything else. Such a task cannot be successfully done with the Tiny Dungeon series, the instant this feat is attempted all the flaws come into sharp focus and ruin the fond memories of the previous games. So I can only hope there is some miracle granted by whatever evil god rules over eroge allowing lightning to strike twice.
PV
Haruka Kanata
Company: SORAHANE
Game site: はるかかなた
Release date: March 28, 2014
Comments:
Kanata gave mouth-to-mouth to a girl who fell from the observation platform. “Could this be… a kiss?” she said as she checked off an item on a notebook labelled “Future List”. He returned home where his imouto Yui greeted him. They live together with their adoptive parent, Sister Asahi. He headed out once again to the observation platform, but there was a different girl there. He helped her fly a kite and she introduced herself as Kokone and called him senpai. On the way home, he met his osananajimi Shizuku and helped her carry some bags of food, walking side by side with her like always.
When he returned home, the girl from before was waiting for him. Her name was Haruka, and she had the same eyes, hair, feel and ‘blue wings’ as him. That’s normal… because they are twins. It was the beginning of a slightly mysterious and heartrending love story.
Suddenly a twin appears! Who dares separate twins when they are orphans!? Actually, now that I think about it, that would take care of the Westermark effect? SORAHANE’s stories generally are a step up from other chara-ge. I’ll wait for the trial, but with two imoutos, a genki kouhai and an osananajimi, that’s a good start already. Aside from that oshikko CG >_> Great OP song as always from SORAHANE.
I am honestly and completely confused at the leaps of logic reached by the authors of this game, I can think of no drug potent enough nor any insane person sane enough to produce something like this. I can only imagine the writer is a Psychologist working in an asylum who decided to turn their notes on the babbling of patients they had given some acid instead of medication into an eroge. The story and characters are so all over the place that someone had to be simply cutting out large portions of text, presumably the incoherent portions of the stolen ideas. If you want to know what it is like to no longer be sane, or have fashioned a mind control ray deflector from your colander and some tin foil you may find something to like here, otherwise keep your braincells and kitchenware well clear of this particular minefield.
Hikoukigumo no Mukougawa
Company: FLAT
Game site: ひこうき雲の向こう側
Release date: March 28, 2014
Comments:
New release date after being pushed back from February. Eiri is a beautiful girl who is perfect in studies, athletics and style. She knows most things in the world… except for love. Lately, she’s been interested in her classmate Kouji who had turned down a confession by the school’s number one bishoujo Risa. Why would he not go out with her when every other boy would? Could it be because he already has a girlfriend? Or maybe he’s gay? She did some checking into it, but none of the possible explanations satisfied her. So, she started up the ‘love observation club’ to uncover the special circumstances behind his decision.
FLAT’s making a school-based game? And the scenario writer is Sakaki Kasa (Tsuyokiss)? Well, colour me interested! The soft graphics are just what I like, so I’ll just have to see how the trial is before making further judgment. But having a pure imouto is always a good start for every game. It’s probably why he turned down Risa. You’re free to dote on me anytime, Mina! Also, there’s a badminton CG! Woo!
Finally a game where you get to play from the perspective of a crazed stalker heroine, hunting her prey, observing him, finding a home for discarded products that have touched this youthful Adonis’s body picking up a few delicious skin cell flakes along the way. Then when you have amassed enough knowledge of behavior and a large enough pile of discarded combs and stained porno mags, that you can bring him to the home your parents abandoned you in to live a life of bliss devoted only to each other. What’s this you say? The game has nothing to do with anything remotely fun or interesting and all those thoughts were just hallucinations I had while being bored into a near comatose state by a game with less character than the pet brick named Shelly I keep to save braincells by bludgeoning my head with? Well that is just great, another game where they could have done something unique and interesting, flirting with greatness before deciding Icarus was the ideal role model for business decisions. Thus we are graced with yet another game where the school of pre caught fishy heroines all hop into your boat, eager to be the one chosen to grace your dining table just to spite you as they remove all the enjoyment in fishing for them in the first place.
Hitori no Qualia + Futari no Qualia
Company: 10mile
Game site: ひとりのクオリア ふたりのクオリア
Release date: March 28, 2014
Comments:
These two low-priced titles by 10mile featuring Fue and J-MENT, formerly of Tarte and RococoWorks, are yuri novels which cross-over with each other.
Hitori no Qualia: The mysterious girl Karin saved Makiri who carelessly walked out into the road. Makiri showered her with thanks, but it was a bit too close for Karin who refrained from interacting with others. However, Makiri’s purity helped Karin open her heart to her. Afterwards, they started living together. That’s when Karin found out that Makiri didn’t go to school and just played games all day. She decided to help her new friend who’s a hikikomori beyond her imagination by all means possible.
Futari no Qualia: One night, Natsume came upon the beautiful Ginza passed out on the street and took her home. Ginza got better under her care, but she didn’t seem like she wanted to leave. Natsume felt a strange sense of satisfaction from taking care of the free Ginza, who lacked common sense. However, there was a problem: she lived in an apartment for singles. If their cohabitation was found out, then they might be kicked out. What will they do with their futures?
I’m not sure how closely linked are these two yuri titles, but considering they’re each about 3000 yen each, I wouldn’t expect too much from the story. The OP makes me want to try it out though.
Eh, I’m about as into yuri as I am yaoi, and I expect about the same from both, which is nothing.
Love Love Life ~Ojou-sama 7nin to Raburabu Harem Seikatsu~
Company: ぱじゃまエクスタシー (Pajamas EX)
Game site: らぶらぶらいふ ～お嬢様7人とラブラブハーレム生活～
Release date: March 28, 2014
Comments:
This is the first title by Pajamas EX, in collaboration with SkyFish. Takuma transferred into the famous private school Ayame Gakuen, which is attended by the richest girls. What sets him apart from others is that he will always come to the aid of a troubled person, and he loves girls so much that he wants to make his own harem. Naturally his declaration was first met with disdain, but all the girls slowly warmed up to his kind nature and actions. Soon, he had a harem of 7 girls living with him.
One of his lovers, Leone, was the princess of a small European country which allows polygamy for royalty. She invited him to come to her homeland and he agreed without too much thought. However, the other heroines were really worried and upped their attacks on him at school and in the dorm, from morning to night. What will he choose in the end: pure love or a harem?
You can accomplish anything when you put your mind to it! There’s a lot of H to go around in this nukige, especially if you like them big (the smallest are the twins’ Cs). Similar to Innocent Girl, they all have their own fetishes. You like 3P, right?
Seitokai no Ichizon the nukige. A shame though, if it was an actual game, and did away with the goody two shoes nature of the protagonist in favor of him being a rampant pervert for comedy sake like Sugisaki they might have had a fun game to play.
Now that you mention it being like Seizon, it makes me want to play it…
If it was more like Seizon I would consider playing it too..
Doko no Donata no Kanjou Route
Company: ad:lib
Game site: ドコのドナタの感情経路
Release date: March 28, 2014
Comments:
Shouta’s mother is the Kaguya-hime from fairy tales. This spring, a new transfer student Tsubasa appeared in his class. In her previous life, she was a prince who were rejected by Kaguya-hime. She recognized features of Kaguya-hime in him and fell in love with him at first sight. However, her confession was stopped by other girls who used to be Kaguya-hime’s suitors and who held feelings for him.
ad:lib’s games have great art, but an average plot. It’s the same thing here, with lively characters. I especially like cheerful senpai Sayaka and energetic classmate Kokona (with the double peace). Not sure how many non-H CGs there are, but the HCGs are good as is…
As Micchi already said, not the kind of game to expect much from, more of a quick gimmick to get the protagonist into girls pants. At least they made some semblance of an effort to change the names around as for why the heroines are attracted to him instead of leaving it to ten year old childhood promises of marriage and such.
But childhood promises are romantic!
Hello Lady!
Company: 暁WORKS (Akatsuki Works)
Game site: ハロー・レディ！
Release date: March 28, 2014
Comments:
Many problems lie ahead for society in the 21st century. The best youths in the country are gathered at the super-elite Amakawa Noble School where they are trained to lead us to a brilliant future. They are led by five bishoujos known as ‘crowns’. One day, the leader of the crowns Saku was the target of a terrorist attack. She was saved by Shinri, who was invited to the school as the sixth crown. However, he is at odds with the school system. He vowed to do things under his accord and bring change to the school. Saku decided that she must keep an eye on him.
The same staff that worked on & and Ruitomo return for this title. Even though it’s supposedly focused on the school setting, we still get to see the battles and special abilities which we know and love from Akatsuki Works. One thing I like about their games is that the protagonist typically has a strong personality (at least when it’s necessary). This time, he’s quite a gentleman… and also quite a pervert. Who feels up a girl when they first meet? Well, the trial went along quite smoothly, so it’s worth looking forward to this. Eru’s so cute~
At the very least they could have made it so all five of the tooth fillings were not girls. Is it really that hard to start a game without the flagpoles standing straight and strong before any input or semblance of effort on the protagonists part to raise them? Putting the writing quality death flag and first major hurdle faceplanting failure aside for the moment however, and I admit to having managed to, against my better judgement muster up some small bit of hope here. The reason for this is the potential for the protagonists growth as he desires change and appears to be doing so of his own accord, not just to get into a girls pants by doing what she asks. Although this is a slim hope, the fact there is at least some potential is enough to make me consider it these days, now that my standards have plummeted enough. I can only pray that all the extra fighting stuff is smoothly integrated and not overbearing or too silly.
Love Relation
Company: I.D.
Game site: ラブリレーション
Release date: March 28, 2014
Comments:
Yuuto’s house burned down one spring day. Luckily, he and his parents escaped injury, but they lost everything else. His parents could stay in their company dormitory, but only a 1-bedroom unit was available. They also didn’t have any relatives nearby who could help them. Ultimately they were able to secure a place for 3 persons, but it’d be a month before they could move in. His suggestion that he would spend a month in a capsule hotel was overheard by his homeroom teacher Sakurako who happened to be sitting behind them at the family restaurant. He ended up staying at her home in exchange for doing household chores. However, will living in a house surrounded by three sisters be too stimulating for a boy in puberty like him?
I.D.’s plots leave much to be desired. None of their titles have been rated over 60 on EGS. Their heroines don’t have much appeal either (one of them just happens to forget wearing panties often). Pass.
So after reading one too many eroge Yuuto realized the reason he was unable to live life surrounded by girls arguing over the rights to his pants is because of the existence of parents, thus he hatched his plan to set the house on fire, so he could be the eroge protagonist of his dreams. Lo and behold he was rewarded for his proactive role and given a home made to surround him with his choice in boobs. I suppose chasing the pesky family away with flames is one way to isolate a character, but at least have the decency to kill them off before staring the pity parade of protagonist worship.
PV
Racial Merge
Company: アクセル (AXL)
Game site: レーシャル・マージ
Release date: March 28, 2014
Comments:
Will was the first youth from his remote village in 50 years to be selected for the elite school in the capital. Lovingly raised by the town’s elderly folks, he was a kind fellow who possessed great knowledge and technique. However, there were no young women in the area. They gave him a warm send-off and told him not to come back until he found a bride. Along the way to the capital, he came upon a lot of young women and also many people in trouble. His kindness led him to coming to aid of a blind girl Meryl, but she didn’t thank him in return. Later, he met her at the school, where she worked as a maid.
The Royal Invitational Institute for the Elite is an avant-garde school which aims to break down the wall between the nobility and commoners, with graduates becoming the elite who will help lead the country. However, that is merely the facade since social class differences exist within the school, with the commoners acting as servants to the nobility. However, having grown up in the country, Will could not grasp the concept of social class differences. While others would not dare casually approach a royal like the princess Phyllis, he only saw her as a ‘young woman’. His way of treating everyone equally gradually changed the deep-rooted discrimination at the school.
It’s been quite a while since I’ve seen an somewhat interesting premise from AXL. I like the concept of a rural kid being able to bring about change to a country. The characters are a mix of royalty and commoners, but as Will would put it: they’re all beautiful young girls (and prime targets). When there’s a Will, there’s a way!
I have to agree with Micchi that the premise itself is not too bad. The problem lies with the protagonist himself being more of the overly kind stereotype, making the whole thing feel less organic even before the issue of the school itself is brought up. While we can allow some suspension of disbelief on why the protagonist being brought in from his countryside feels out of place, too great a contrast is exhibited between the situations. As much as I hate to admit it this is a game that may have benefited from a more standard high school setting to bring the tone of the game down to earth where they could focus more on the social interactions and relationships of people. By forcing an archaic high class setting to merge with a rural commoner protagonist it feels as though the writers are hoping that by mixing the two extremes good things will magically pop into existence instead of annihilating each other in a reaction of mutual exclusion. Though all things being relative the problem may be that I am nitpicking, as compared to most recent games there is a chance the game may actually turn out decent if not amazing. Looking at it from another way this game is what used to be considered average in a good month, so if I realign my standards for the present average quality I will admit to this being one of the better games this month and maybe even worth playing.
Eiyuu＊Senki GOLD
Company: 天狐 (TENCO)
Game site: 英雄＊戦姫GOLD
Release date: March 28, 2014
Comments:
New release date after being pushed back from January. This is the powered-up version/sequel of Eiyuu＊Senki with additional heroines. It adds an item creation system, as well as achievement trophies and an infinite dungeon. The old Far East country of Zipang is ruled by the greatest hero Yamato Takeru and since it has secluded itself from other nations, it had developed its own unique culture. The hero of Oushuu, Masamune, starved for excitement in this time of peace. After finding a young man by the sea who had lost his memories, he concocted a plan to put him in charge and challenge Takeru. If he was able to defeat him, then Zipang would break its seclusion and take over other countries, leading to world domination!
World domination is a man’s romance. Especially when almost all of the generals are of the opposite sex. The original SLG was quite fun, so even if you haven’t played the first one, it’s worth checking out.
Why is it impossible for eroge to come up with decent gameplay, there have been others that flirted with improvements but in the end they always wind up back at mindless time consumption for little reward. These games would be more fun without the gameplay and more focus on the story and characters, at least to me. If I wanted to conquer the world via gameplay I would play a real game thanks.
It’s hard to ask for decent gameplay if you’re going to compare them to games like AC4. I played the mini battle trial and it was pretty fun to manage your units.
Hey im not so harsh as to compare them directly to a major release of a different genre. The main problem I have is that even old 2D games did everything much better. They could at least learn from the success and failure of such games. Would have been easy to turn something like Eiyuu Senki into a strategy game either turn based or real time that is enjoyable. Even quality levels of old games from the 90s like Warcraft II are still leagues ahead of them, despite how much better the sprites look now. There is simply no excuse for that. Perhaps my biggest pet peeve with these games is the lack of a skip function for battles you have already beaten, it makes replaying the games tedious. If they at least had this feature I would be more inclined to play more than one route. Eiyuu Senki could have easily been a decent TRPG, or failing that taken a page out of the Total War series book with the map and battle mechanics, managing the leaders and unit types, maybe with a system that allowed formation control.
Natsuiro Macchiato
Company: Maple software
Game site: 夏色マキアート
Release date: March 28, 2014
Comments:
New release date after being pushed back from November. This is Maple software’s first game. The protagonist loves online games and one day, he spent too much on the gacha while trying to get a rare item. After his parents received a bill for an amount enough for a family to stay at a nice hotel, they told him to either quit playing or earn his own money to fund his gaming. So he ended up doing part-time at the family restaurant Fortuna where his classmates Madoka and Emily, as well as the student council president Marina, also worked.
Shortly after starting work, he heard about a rumour from the store manager about a major chain restaurant which was to open nearby. He went to the rival shop to do some scouting and found his classmate Akane working there. At that time, the owner’s loafing son was arguing with her and he chased him out of the store. Thankful for his intervention, Akane asked him to help her at the store. However, the success of this major chain restaurant would endanger the future for Fortuna.
Does it really matter which side he supported? In the end, he’ll earn some money so he can blow it on ship daughters gachas. I’ve learned early on to avoid gachas like the plague. With two of the three writers also having worked on Heart’s Annaffiare, the story likely won’t be much different, albeit in a family restaurant setting instead.
Seemingly desperate to appeal to potential readers by way of a relatable protagonist rather than an investment into story or even characters. How utterly spontaneous and unexpected that some classmates and the student council president essentially fall into his lap when he takes a job forced upon him by situation circumstances. So convenient they all just happen to work with and go to school with him isn’t it?
Juukishi Cutie☆Bullet
Company: エフォルダムソフト (EffordomSoft)
Game site: 銃騎士 Cutie☆Bullet
Release date: March 28, 2014
Comments:
Saito is a part of the musketeer squadron, Shirobara Gakuen, under the command of his imouto Miyabi. He didn’t have any subordinates, but the group was close like family, fighting against evil in the capital Louvre. His busy days came to a sudden end with the announcement that Shirobara will be disbanded. However, when they found out about a plot by another musketeer squadron Akabara Gakuen, they gathered three other girls (Mayu, Reina, Sara) in order to stop them. He lived with them under the same roof in order to train for the battle, but… why are they wearing bunny outfits, sneaking in his bed, taking baths with him, and waking him up while straddling him? Can they prevent Akabara’s plot at this rate?
For those who didn’t like EffordomSoft’s previous title Koikishi (like me), they’ve got a new writer Mitsuki Miaki working on this title, so hopefully the stories won’t leave a bitter taste in your mouth. From what I can see, it’ll probably leave an overly sweet taste instead (which may be ideal for some people). I’d suggest playing it without much expectations; the guns seem to be used merely as a setting, which will likely soon be forgotten in the midst of the battle for his body. An imouto as your superior… that has a somewhat nice ring to it. My landmine sensor is going haywire though…
Koikishi with guns instead of swords, and RPGs instead of arrows to open the ventilating plot holes on this rusty sinking ship.
Daitoshokan no Hitsujikai -Dreaming Sheep-
Company: August
Game site: 大図書館の羊飼い -Dreaming Sheep-
Release date: March 28, 2014
Comments:
This is the fandisk to Daitoshokan no Hitsujikai. “The book club is eternal!!” Everyone ignored Kana; it’s another normal day at the book club. They still joke around and do random tasks. The only difference is that Kyoutarou has a girlfriend and at least to him, they have a pure relationship even if the rest of the members call them a lovey-dovey couple. It’s become much more fun than before.
More book club hijinks! More Kanasuke! Nozomi and Sakuya from Houkago Shippo Days also appear in this game. More Kanasuke!!
Ah August, no other company has been able to match the same degree of zeal they put into embracing mediocrity. While most of the companies go full retard after making a popular game or two, August believes in the gradual erosion of your standards, a type of half retard if you will. Games like Eustia had just enough interesting elements sprinkled with the good times to sucker unfortunate souls into what amounted to a steaming pile of rotting summer poo. Each new game seeks to lower the readers standards just a little further, starting with Fortune Arterial which was simply boring the games steadily worsened. Perhaps the only thing left are the characters now that all sensible story has flown out the window several games ago. While characters are enough to sell games these days no matter unspeakably terrible the rest of a game is, what truly worries me with this fandisk is how low the next game itself will sink. As instead of getting the disappointment over with in one decisive go, August likes to drag things out, giving us that shiny glimmer of misplaced hope that the pretty carrot they are trying to dangle in our faces is not a rotten maternity ward for maggot larvae beneath the skin.
Koisuru Natsu no Last Resort
Company: PULLTOP LATTE
Game site: 恋する夏のラストリゾート
Release date: March 28, 2014
Comments:
Soutarou just manages to pay his school fees by doing part-time jobs. After helping his kouhai Umi and skipping his shift, he was fired from his part-time job and was having problems making ends meet. Umi felt responsible for his present situation and introduced him to a part-time job at a Southern resort. With deep blue skies, clear seas and vibrant vegetation, the place looked exactly like in the travel magazines.
Moreover, he was surrounded by many girls: energetic imouto-like Sango, affectionate tennen ojousama Riho, shy and earnest Shiori, and the kind but also strict manager Nagisa. Arriving at the resort, Umi turned to him and asked him to spend the time there as her boyfriend.
PULLTOP Latte vowed to up the icharabu levels and they’ve promised 3P scenes as well. There’s a change in scenario writer since Tototo; Itsukihara Shin (atled) is now in charge of the story. I bet you all think that I’d go straight for Sango since she has the flattest chest, but after playing the trial, I’ve grown really fond of the main heroine (?) kouhai Umi. She’s weak in the morning which ends up with some funny scenes when they room together. It goes at a relaxing pace, so you might enjoy it during downtime between other story-focused titles.
Another game more about whether the characters are able to press the correct moe buttons for you than about actually making them characters and or giving them a story of some sort. It may be nice to get out of the high school hallways for a game or two but at least do a better job of dragging the protagonist away from them than “He gets fired and thus ends up being dragged onto a tropical island as a result”. At the very least it could have been him getting stuck there on vacation, or someplace he visits every summer or any number of other more natural ways to throw him into the den of desperate, protagonist chastity ravaging female velociraptors.
They’ll rip into you ferociously. And there’s no imouto here to protect your virginity.
Better lock the doors then.
Renai Made Sentakushi Hitotsu
Company: 脳内彼女 (Nounai Kanojo)
Game site: 恋愛まで選択肢ひとつ
Release date: March 28, 2014
Comments:
Riku and his osananajimi Misora loved each other, but she passed away in an accident when they were in grade school. Ever since then, love has become a trauma for him and he did everything to never have the same kind of relationship with another girl again. He treated his osananajimi Kirio like one of his guy friends. He considers his ojousama co-worker Yukari as a rival. Misora’s imouto Suzuho, who’s quite attached to him, is like a follower to him. His imouto Karen seems to hate him. He continued to live his normal life without looking at them as women. However, one day, a girl who looked exactly like Misora appeared before his eyes. He suddenly became aware of his feelings, and so did all the other heroines.
Is this… a normal game from Nounai Kanojo? No traps? No tentacles? The gimmick here is that the ‘main heroine’ doesn’t show up at all since she’s, well, dead. You get a fake instead (her imouto warns him about it). Well, there’s no complaints about the plot from me, especially if they can make it entertaining like Zettai★Imouto Shijou Shugi!!. Baka-kawaii imouto-kei chara Suzuho reminds me of Yomejuu‘s Shiori.
While I laughed at the death of his childhood friend, and the game itself isn’t necessarily bad there is nothing to really stand out either. I can’t feel as though I particularly want to play the game as nothing feels special, I guess it may be for the company but still kind of tasteless. Mostly the game will depend entirely on the writing as there is nothing else for it to rely on here aside from what is pretty much the standard for judging games these days, the moe quotient of the characters. So with all that said, should you find yourself bored enough this may be a game worth giving a chance as there is nothing horribly disfiguring about the game from the outset, which is saying a lot for eroge lately.
OP song
Micchi’s Top 7 for This Month
- Clover Day’s
- D.C.III P.P. ~D.C.III Platinum Partner~
- Haruka Kanata
- Daitoshokan no Hitsujikai -Dreaming Sheep-
- Doko no Donata no Kanjou Route
- Hikoukigumo no Mukougawa
- Koisuru Natsu no Last Resort
Zen’s Top 3 for This Month
- Hello Lady!
- Racial Merge
- Renai Made Sentakushi Hitotsu
I’ve waited 10 long years for this! Let’s look for our clover heart’s!
Maybe if you wait ten more years they will actually give you a good game for the 20th anniversary.
