The arrival of spring signals the beginning of new relationships and plenty of love-oriented games, including the dating sim PRETTY×CATION from hibiki works and Niijima Yuu’s latest story in Qoobrand’s Majo Koi Nikki. RPG enthusiasts will enjoy a trio of works: Eushully’s Ikusa Megami remake Tenbin no La DEA., ALICESOFT’s Rance IX, and Astronauts Sirius’ Demonion 2. While I’m still saddened by the delays of Sakusaku and AstralAir, there still should be many games this month to choose from, whether you’re looking for yuri, a tragic story, your own harem, or a ‘slightly risky’ relationship.
Another month with games I will actually play? What is the world coming to!? It feels like this has not happened in years at this point. Thankfully there are plenty of attempts to fill the need to aspire to mediocrity and below that has plagued eroge for so long lingering around to make all other games appear so much better by comparison. While we may never be completely rid of the wingman eroge, I am thankful to see even a tiny handful of games worth paying attention to in any given month. One can only hope this trend continues, perhaps even serving to prod some companies to experiment beyond copying their neighbors homework.
FLOWERS
Company: Innocent Grey
Game site: FLOWERS
Release date: April 18, 2014
Comments:
This is a fully-voiced all-ages yuri title from Innocent Grey. The small missionary school St. Angraecum is located deep within the forest. A young girl with a wounded heart, Suou, joined the beautiful girls at the secluded school. Due to a past incident, she had shut herself in, cutting off all contact with others aside from her family. She was attracted to the school because of its experimental ‘amitié’ system by which every new student was assigned a ‘friend’ based on their interview and written test results. These temporary friendships gradually turned to a faint feeling of love. In the midst of their calm daily lives, there was a mysterious disappearance of one of the school’s students…
So, is it safe to assume that there won’t be any blood shed here? But the genre is ‘yuri mystery ADV’, so maybe they’ll somehow work it in? Currently, the main semblance to their previous works is the beautiful art. The OP is brilliant as usual. That by itself is enough to warrant a look, but is it enough to pull someone into the lily garden? The trial didn’t tell us much except reminding me that I really really really hated Wuthering Heights. It was well presented and seemed like watching a movie though.
Yuri, as the softer bouncier companion to the word yaoi evokes about as much interest from me as it would the average shoujo manga heroine who is too busy being more interested in swooning in angsty debate over which of the five or so upside down pyramid head impressionist rich pretty boys will rape her out of overflowing uncontrollable love to care about her female friends emotional duress. Thanks to my inner shoujo heroine intervention upon hearing the word yuri, I can honestly say I will not play this game. At least from my perspective a game where the desired route may end up with the reader mostly inclined to wage war upon the panties concealed under his or maybe I should say her, own skirt comes across as a little odd. In such a case the game becomes more about which servicing station you wish to take your favorite shiny new car to for an oil change. Perhaps having your routes rotated along the way would add a bit of flavor to this, however I still find it difficult to play as a heroine in a game about choosing heroines. Once one has achieved alpha heroine status by being the protagonist heroine where does one go from there? Sorry Grey’s Anato… Innocence, but if this is the direction you want to go, you should be aiming for Lifetime prime time, not eroge central.
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: April 25, 2014
Comments:
New release date after being pushed back from March. 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.
Love Sweets
Company: MOONSTONE
Game site: Love Sweets
Release date: April 25, 2014
Comments:
After Itsuki’s first year at Hayagase Gakuen passed uneventfully, he thought that if things continued as is, then he would graduate without having done anything. His friends all got girlfriends after the spring break. He didn’t think that they were seeing anyone during school, and it seemed that they had met while working part-time. Itsuki wanted a girlfriend too, so he decided to find a part-time at a place where there were lots of girls. That’s how he started working at Cafe Hot Chocolat with his osananajimi, energetic kouhai, kind senpai and a girl who he thought was out of his league.
This seems awfully like Sphere’s Berry’s, even up to the imouto who also happens to work at the same café (nii-san joined her). It’s a little bit unlike MOONSTONE since they usually have some magic in their games, but this is more in line with HOOKSOFT/SMEE or CUBE/CUFFS/Sphere. Well, not that that’s a problem with me. It’s got the holy trinity (imouto, kouhai, osananajimi), so I’ll be visiting the café this month. Kushina will be hard to contain (she tired me out in the trial), but Iori seems like a great imouto. I’d like to have her to go~
On another note, did they use Google Translate for the English in the OP? A reckless out-of-control girl is a bit different from a runaway girl. And what’s a ‘pert fellow’?
Poor delusional Itsuki and his belief that the achievement of a lifetime is a girls panties, or rather what is contained within. Not content to further his studies he musters up his hormone driven courage to get a job as a cafe’s harem manager. With a noble goal of knocking up a teenage girlfriend leading to an early marriage and quick divorce followed by life in a dead end job thanks to spending his high school years studying for his penis instead of his brain our protagonist sets out on a series of conquests you the reader are permitted to direct, since hes an indecisive douche as well. Being the negative Nathan to Innocent Grey’s newfound Nancy aside what we have here is textbook bland character based eroge. Either you like one or more characters enough that you wish to read about them parroting their way through typical eroge scenes like the soulless puppets they are, or you dislike the game entirely.
My theory on their translations is either they are making a comment on lazy people who like their shampoo and conditioner in a single bottle, or we have a misspelling of “Perky fellow”, which perky fellow being best left to the imagination most likely.
That scenario is scarily realistic…
PRETTY×CATION
Company: hibiki works
Game site: PRETTY×CATION
Release date: April 25, 2014
Comments:
This is the latest title in hibiki works’ LOVELY×CATION series. Spring has come to Tokyo once again, except this year you’re now living alone after your parents had to leave due to work. You’re renting a room at an apartment run by your aunt, who bluntly asks you, “Could it be that you’re not interested in girls…?” Well, of course you are! It’s just that you haven’t had much luck finding someone. “Your youth is now. Go and find your love or you will regret it later.” With just that little push, you feel a little confident that it’s your time to fall in love. Yes, your love will begin to bloom now…
While the old-style dating sim concept is still the same, this new title is produced by a different staff. The artist, Oryou, last worked on AkabeiSoft3′s JOKER. I much prefer girls when they’re smiling, not screaming, and the art looks good enough to me. The scenario by Kokuyouseki (Otomimi, Shikigami, Shiden) will be more the measuring stick of how well or poorly PRETTY×CATION does. The default name is Tadashi, but you can change it with the ‘lovely call’ system. There’s a lot of options in the system configurations too and your stats also affect the H scenes. The heroines this time around are sisters Nozomi and Sakura (classmate and kouhai), Russian transfer student Elektrichka (Leche) and sensei Komachi. Sakura is definitely in my strike zone. She’s both a kouhai and (Nozomi’s) imouto, friendly with others, respectful to senpais, but also isn’t honest with her feelings sometimes. But I know that she loves me very much! Hau~ omochikaeri~!
Poor eroge protagonists, left to fend for themselves as a coming of age trial by the nomadic tribe known as Japanese parents. This rite of passage involves parents randomly packing up and abandoning their children while still providing them with all money for daily necessities, simply not gracing them with their presence. It is during this time the youth is expected to conquer a maiden from a neighboring tribe and bring her home to the now emptied nesting grounds to fulfill their wandering providers hopes for grandchildren. Those living in other countries will note how common it is to find middle aged Japanese couples on their pilgrimages, as it is a custom most international companies embrace by agreeing to arbitrarily relocate said parents to allow their male offspring a once in a lifetime chance to swim in a sea of boobies. Well at least they aren’t dead this time, lucky them. And that’s pretty much the game, sounds fun huh?
What about the parents of the maiden from the neighbouring tribe? It seems that they stay in the tribe and do not leave similar to tribes with male offspring.
The parents of female offspring stay with their children longer to protect them from being abducted by the children of dark (Hados) tribe parents.
Shuki Shuki Daishuki!!
Company: Iris
Game site: しゅきしゅきだいしゅき！！
Release date: April 25, 2014 Delayed to May 30, 2014
Comments:
Youji was half-forced by his older sister Mimi to be the new manager (in training) of the Fancy Shop USAMi, a cute store which is frequented by little girls. He got to know the shy Chikage who helps around at the shop, the pure Russian girl Tamara who lives next door, and the ‘little idol’ Aoi who ran away from home and now lives in the park. Their relationship grows closer and more intimate as they advance towards being a slightly risky lovey-dovey couple.
I’m staying far away from the sparkly oshikko.
Games like these should come with a built in program that automatically alerts the authorities upon install, thus allowing apprehension and subsequent castration of the offending criminal.
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: April 25, 2014
Comments:
New release date after being pushed back from March. 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.
Demonion 2 ~Maou to Sannin no Joou~
Company: アストロノーツ・シリウス (Astronauts Sirius)
Game site: デモニオンII ～魔王と三人の女王～
Release date: April 25, 2014
Comments:
This is the sequel to Demonion. The nomadic people founded four countries on the once barren Nilt region. They were the Elven kingdom of Lusario, the Eastern empire Shuka, the ice empire Kilos and the dark demon kingdom of Hados. However, Hados collapsed due to an instigated revolt by the humans. One hundred years later, the Diabolica were viewed as bringers of destruction and chaos, and as such, they were a target of discrimination and suppression.
Caym was a Diabolica prince who survived the fall of Hados in a remote place. A girl named Risbell visited him and pleaded for him to revive Hados to save the Diabolica, and to avenge the deaths of her parents by human hands. He proclaimed that he would defeat the three countries and make their respective queens his servants.
A dark SLG where you attack rival kingdoms and enslave lots of bishoujos for your pleasure. Pretty similar concept to the Venus Blood series. Demons aren’t all bad; they’re just exacting revenge, folks.
Ah so this is where all the eroge parents go when they leave the house, it explains so much, each kingdom being a genre with Hados being the dark games parents society. Even accounts for how boring and similar to work it is to get through these games, click click click clickity click click, the player drones along with nary a thought in mind till up pops an unwarranted rapey H scene as a precursor to some good ole fashioned stockholm syndrome.
Battle system
Rance 9 -Helman Kakumei-
Company: ALICESOFT
Game site: ランス9 ヘルマン革命
Release date: April 25, 2014
Comments:
This is the latest game in ALICESOFT’s longstanding Rance series. The Helman Empire is the oldest of the countries on the continent, as well as being the most powerful for a long time. However, corruption had ruined the nation and most live in extreme poverty. It felt like it was only a matter of time before an internal revolt would break out or they would be invaded by a neighbouring country. Then the former Prince Patton Misnarge, who had disappeared after failing to conquer a neighbouring country, returned after training hard to keep his promise of bringing back glory to his country. To aid in his revolution, he recruited the best and most courageous men that he had met during his travels, including the most powerful warrior Rance.
Rance is only here so he can defile Empress Sheila, who is also Patton’s sister. You are probably also here to do the same. More of the same old from the Rance series. I’ve never really gotten into it, so pass once again.
Click click click clickity click click, the player drones along with nary a thought in mind till up pops an unwarranted rapey H scene as a precursor to some good ole fashioned stockholm syndrome. Only less deep as it fails to answer any great lingering cosmic mysteries such as “Where do all the parents go?”.
Teaser
Racial Merge
Company: アクセル (AXL)
Game site: レーシャル・マージ
Release date: April 25, 2014
Comments:
New release date after being pushed back from March. 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.
Natsukoi High Pressure
Company: スミレ (SMILE)
Game site: 夏恋ハイプレッシャー
Release date: April 25, 2014
Comments:
A year after unsuccessfully applying for Hekikuu Gakuen, Sora passed the transfer examination to fulfill his promise of reuniting with his osananajimi Hikari. They joined up on his first day at the dormitory and he started helping out at the natural onsen Sakura-yu in the shopping mall next to the school on her recommendation. There he met the oneechan-like classmate Misaki, the half-blooded imouto-like Maria, and the shy but hard-working kouhai Yuma. Every day is lively, boisterous and full of laughter. These days of youth are summer love high pressure!
Similar to SMILE’s previous title Loveressive, Natsupre is predominantly a gag game and it does its job quite well. It’s high tension from the get-go and stayed interesting through the whole trial. Sure, you might see some things you might wish you hadn’t, but don’t mind~ The ‘tsubuyaki’ (whisper, kinda like Twitter) system is amusing, especially when Bavarois posts. Not only are all the heroines just my type, but the subheroines aren’t bad either! Even the pug is adorable’ssu. I mean, how can it not be when it’s voiced by Ogura Yui? It’s a stellar cast and I look forward to this game!
I am never against light hearted games, though can someone please put a bit more thought into it than “Stumbles upon garden of flowers ripe for plucking and reserved for protagonist” plotline? I am however against any game where Micchi can say “Not only are all the heroines just my type, but the subheroines aren’t bad either!”. This is a matter of both taste and principle so there is no possible way for me to enjoy a game where the most attractive position I can see for the heroines is classic, murder victim. If however you like your heroines more ditzy and less ritzy it may be nice to play a game where the story reflects their character perfectly.
Umisora no Fragments
Company: rootnuko
Game site: 海空のフラグメンツ
Release date: April 25, 2014
Comments:
When he was small, Shin made a promise with a girl who only visited the island for the summer. They promised to attend the same school when they grew up, so that they could always be together. This childhood memory and innocent promise faded as the months and years passed by. However, everything changed when he saw a photo of a student council president in one of the school brochures which he was leafing through. He decided to enrol in that school, the promised school.
Shin attended the entrance ceremony with expectations of a new school life, but it was suddenly announced that the school would be closing in a few months. He was obviously disappointed by the news, but he was determined to bring the ‘rose-coloured school life’ which he had dreamt of into reality. The first step was joining the student council which was full of bishoujos. It would be the quickest way to attain his dream.
I thought that Tenioha had some weird proportions, but I can’t bear to look at Amakura’s art. Most of the body proportions for the kyonyuu chars are really off. The puppet-carrying Shii and kouhai Misora are a bit better, but… *shivers* While there was a lot of content in the trial, it wasn’t particularly interesting nor were most of the jokes funny.
While Micchi cringes at the sight of a girl not shaped like a log and taller than your average beaver (Though the art is rather poor at times), I cringe at at the plot slapped together in the crucible that is the reddish pinky’s cleavage. If one cliche plot is bound to fail by blending into the eroge background like an angsty teen proclaiming how much of an individual they are by shopping at Hot Topic, then surely two of them thrown into the witch’s cauldron will be a success, right? Of course following that logic then three must mean we will have a masterpiece for the ages, cried the team of rabid monkeys with glee after their latest trepanning session. It is obviously not simple mimicry when you copy three things at the same time, no sirree then its innovation! Why combining childhood promises with student councils and or clubs as well as a save the school story, how brilliant, Nobel prize for literature here we come! Thanks to having such genius writers at the helm the need for developing characters anywhere other than a progression of chest sizes as if the alphabet started at C and ended so far beyond Z they wound up in the middle of the Greek alphabet is completely irrelevant. Game of the year, nay the decade for sure.
Most definitely, even has the hand puppet-wearing heroine you love so much.
Any game reserving that most loathsome of heroines obviously deserving of a special acknowledgement.
Soratobu Hitsuji to Manatsu no Hana -When girls wish upon a star.-
Company: Navel honeybell
Game site: 空飛ぶ羊と真夏の花 -When girls wish upon a star.-
Release date: April 25, 2014
Comments:
This is the first title by Navel honeybell. Keisuke became an orphan at a young age and he was taken in by the Konohanamiya family. After overcoming strict training, he returned to Japan this summer to serve as a butler to their daughter Kotoya, who was also his osananajimi. He enrolled in the same school as her, Meisei Gakuen, and reunited with an old friend Mea. It seemed like everything would be smooth sailing, but then he received what appeared to be a love letter. Heading to the rendez-vous place, he met a young girl named Merriel who told him that he was a God who had been reborn as a human in order to find his imouto goddess on Earth.
Keisuke naturally didn’t believe what the self-proclaimed angel said, but she used her angelic powers to get into the Konohanamiya mansion and gain approval from Kotoya and head housemaid Florencia to stay there. Merriel told him that his imouto had been reborn as a human before him and she likely had come to this town. In order to bring her back as a goddess, he must collect the ‘fragments’ of the goddess’ power. These ‘fragments’ were used to grant the wishes of five young girls: the student council leader Mea, his apathetic classmate Yuu who possessed great singing ability, the pure half-Finnish kouhai Shiina, the mysterious girl Ran who could use magic, and his master Kotoya.
Will he be able to retrieve the ‘fragments’ and complete his goal? If he couldn’t, then what fate lies ahead of him?
No matter who you are, even if you are a god, you should always care for your imouto. If she leaves, you must be the one who finds her. Then you have a romantic kissing scene and go home together to There’s not too many games where you are a god, but it’s weird that he’s also a butler. Is this gap moe? Anyways, the whole thing is actually a heavenly game of hide and seek. The imouto goddess lost her memories when she was reborn and all traces of her ‘footsteps’ were erased. So, if he finds her, it must be because his love for his imouto conquers all (just like in Sana’s route)!
The trial was really long and it had Nakaimo vibes to it, even throwing a clear reference to it at one point. All the charas are pure and tennen, so if that’s not your cup of tea, it’s recommended to stay far far away. My personal favourites are Kotoya and Shiina, but Merriel and Asumi are good too. What’s interesting is since the wishes have already been granted, will retrieving the fragments nullify their wishes? Does that mean he needs to do it for all five of the girls in order to bring back his imouto?
I call sexism. Apparently Jiminy Cricket is wrong, it does matter who you are, and only girls are allowed to wish on stars now. I demand equal opportunity heavens. Though this would explain why I have to deal with the eroge equivalent of what Harry Potter was to fantasy literature month after month lately, some god obviously hates me, probably Izanami. Speaking of which if the little wench decidedly to spontaneously and unintelligently redesign herself upon reality, couldn’t she at least have kept her own theme and done so after the protagonist? I mean if she was here first that puts her under the realm of older sisters, not younger ones, at the very least then she may not be as touched in the head as touched in the body after Micchi is through with her. Story wise the game feels more like trying to connect the dots between the plot points on a polka dot dressed designed by a depressed Picasso. If there is some connective form of sanity to this madness I am not man enough to figure it out. Wee gods, yay angels, woohoo younger sisters created from wishes of a thousand, or maybe just five, bishoujos, a mansion full of butlering and boobs. Maybe I have not reached the state of zen or the state of hallucinogenic drugs required turn some arbitrary lights in the sky into a constellation but I can’t imagine any amount of sweaty toads or bathtubs full of cleaning supply cocktails would be enough to make this game seem like a good idea.
……………. D:
Spiritual imouto?
Apparently not if she chose to be the elder sibling, her spirit must be noble indeed to rebel against her own degenerate archetype.
Tenbin no La DEA. ~Ikusa Megami MEMORIA~
Company: エウシュリー (Eushully)
Game site: 天秤のLa DEA。 ～戦女神MEMORIA～
Release date: April 25, 2014
Comments:
This title is the continuation of the Ikusa Megami series and is a remake of the original title from 1999. Celica Sylphil obtained the body of a goddess by slaying her. As a result, he was chased by gods and nations, and hunted by assassins until the ‘water miko’, the guardian saint of the holy nation of Rewinia. During the Battle of Dounel, he lost almost all of his divine power while defeating the evil dragon Aracale. Rewinia was saved, but he had become a soul-less female body.
Before he had time to recover his wounds, the ‘water miko’ requested that he head to the Rerun area to investigate the disappearance of the princess of Rewinia 18 years ago. Following the Rewinian order of knights who had left before him, he arrived to find a giant labyrinth. Will he be able to uncover the truth and regain his lost power?
As a full remake, Tenbin no La DEA. offers a new combat system, story and characters. One new addition is summoning stones, which can your abilities; there are over 50 different kinds of monsters you can summon. You can also use a gamepad to play the game. RPG fans must be happy this month with this and Rance IX both coming out. I would prefer this over the latter, but it’s not really my favourite genre, so I’ll be busy playing others. If you’ve got a lot of time to spare, this would probably be a good pick-up (and it’ll help you get into the series as well).
I am saddened by games like this. For all the effort they put into the game system for the RPG elements, they could have made it something more fun and interesting to play, sigh. I may have played it were it something more interesting or involved. Not that the story is anything special or interesting, but I do like the idea of combining the two elements, if only someone would do it well. I don’t need amazing graphics or some kind of action game, just something that is actually enjoyable to play and less like manipulating a spreadsheet to progress in a story.
Houkago no Futekikakusha
Company: Nostalgic Chord
Game site: 放課後の不適格者
Release date: April 25, 2014 Delayed to May 30, 2014
Comments:
This is the debut work by Nostalgic Chord. It’s autumn at Shuuka Gakuen, a full-boarding private school. The first-years have finally adjusted to life at the school, the second-years are enjoying their time, while the third-years are reminiscing with graduation approaching. Itsuka is your average third-year student who likes soccer and hangs around with his close friends: twin osananajimis Asagao and Yuugao, fellow soccer club member and best friend Jun, partner-in-crime Kousuke, iincho Kanade, and homeroom teacher Shiori. There’s nothing particular special, but they enjoy each day happily. But then one day, their lives completely changed.
Nostalgic Chord is a sister brand of AkabeiSoft2. Why didn’t they just release it under COSMIC CUTE? It’s kind of a joke how they keep making and disbanding sub-brands. But anyway… the synopsis doesn’t tell you much, but what might ring a bell is that Takehaya is in charge of the story. He wrote Konakana, Kanishino, Asuseka and Secret Game, and you’re right in thinking that the story will likely take a darker, tragic tone than the exterior suggests.
While I won’t divulge the details too much, the trial is fully-voiced and starts off with the diary of younger osananajimi Yuugao. When looking at the character descriptions, I was wondering why she wasn’t a heroine and hoped that her subcharacter status wouldn’t be a death flag. Note that true to the AkabeiSoft2 brand, this isn’t your typical school-setting game and has action and death scenes. My biggest question is what determines the ‘marks’ and what role does new transfer student Haruka play in all of this. I’ll keep my eye on this as it probably will end up as a tearjerker.
This game definitely has a tragic air about it, which is not something I particularly enjoy, though a good bittersweet ending is nice from time to time. Difficult to tell how good the game will be, I feel that most often the best way to determine how it will likely play out is very beginning when all the characters are brought together. The reason is because more than anything it says a lot about the attitude of the writers and everyone else involved in the games creation, more so than a trial which is often meant and designed to be as catchy as possible to the point of being deliberately misleading. Not to say nothing can be gleaned from other sources, just that expectations for quality built upon the basic building blocks we are given in the form of a synopsis plus the trial become clearer with such consideration. In this case I feel the unification of the characters while not the typical blender where everything is thrown together then reduced to some grey, amorphous, unappealing slurry is not present, there is a distinct lack of any effort put in to really break away from a quick and easy starter by working it directly into the setting ahead of time. All this means is that things could go either way sadly, with an ever so slight leaning towards the likelihood of sub par. Thanks to this I won’t be holding my breath in anticipation anytime soon, but that doesn’t mean the game has no merits, as a bottom line there was more thought than usual, as the catalyst that defines all future actions and development cannot be the initial meetings for everyone itself.
Majo Koi Nikki
Company: Qoobrand
Game site: 魔女こいにっき
Release date: April 25, 2014 Delayed to May 30, 2014
Comments:
This is the first game by Qoobrand under the AMUSE CRAFT brand. Alice lives alone in an old barber shop in the shopping district of the rose-coloured town. It was the second spring at her school and nothing special happened. That was until one day when she was exploring a clock tower in a forest a ways from the school with a friend and found a strange diary which had been dropped. She took it home with her and when she opened it, the days of a young boy were spelled out there. It was the story of first love and a broken heart.
While it’s a new brand, it’s gotten a lot of attention since one of the scenario writers is Niijima Yuu, who left SAGA PLANETS after writing the ‘seasons’ games (Kamihami, Natsunagi, Kisaragi, Hatsusaku). I’m not sure which routes he’ll be doing, but I’m sure we could tell pretty quickly. Inugami Kira and Kozakura Ryou are two of the illustrators, so there’s no worries about the art. Samoto Fuuri is back as seiyuu, and I don’t have any problem with the others based on the available voice clips. Well, I don’t have any reason to not try it out.
Interesting plot device, though not as interesting as sheep BBQ. To be honest even the bitter jaded shell of a human that I am is interested in this game. Sure there is plenty to be wary of, but it is already subtly different than most of the games I have had the misfortune of bearing witness to over for months and months prior. At the very least they did not simply throw some heroines into a protagonist pit and wait for something to happen so they could sell tickets, but at least put the bare minimum of effort into the opening and setting. Though like any game the most important aspects are both the story itself and how it interacts with the characters to develop them and their relationships relative to the changes throughout, this points to the fact there may be some consideration put into those matters for once. No amount of trials or summaries can truly inform of the standards of quality for an entire game but, perhaps against my better judgment I do have a good feeling here for once, and I hope to see an enjoyable game.
I think you’ll have a magically good time.
What are you? A short, green, and irish eroge mascot?
Renai Harem ~Daisuki tte Iwasete~
Company: ぱじゃまソフト (Pajamas Soft)
Game site: 恋愛は～れむ ～大好きって言わせて～
Release date: April 25, 2014
Comments:
Naoki’s father was a world-renowned doctor who often travelled overseas. When his parents left during the summer, he ended up staying at his neighbour and childhood friend Seika’s place. He thought of her as a precious friend, and one day she was more assertive than usual. It’s been 30 years since a certain comet had come close to Earth, and the comet’s tail passing by resembled a bridge across the Milky Way. It is said that a couple that get together on Tanabata will live happily ever after. Seika decided to do her best to convey her feelings to him at this time.
A standard romance title with a common theme (Tanabata), your usual cast (imouto included of course), balloons and lesser-known seiyuus. There’s too many better games this month and subchara Kaoru is annoying as hell. They call her a moodmaker. She definitely puts me in a bad mood. Pass.
I am truly impressed by Pajamas soft, they managed to create a character that annoyed Micchi, that hasn’t happened since Chinami I believe, so congratulations on becoming a rarity. Not that I feel any differently about the game of course, since I would rather be lashed with bamboo than take part in this Tanabata.
Koiken Otome ~Revive~
Company: ユーフォニー (eufonie)
Game site: 恋剣乙女～再燃（リヴァイブ）～
Release date: April 25, 2014
Comments:
This is the fandisk for Koiken Otome, focusing on subheroines Chiharu, Shiho and Mari. There are also after stories for the 4 heroines from the original game and an intense episode with the Kotona. I really like Mari’s new hairstyle! I’ll let her dote on me~
This month really needed more fandisks, where are my quickly and easily dealt with releases?
Happy Sister Utopia!
Circle: initial
Game site: Happy Sister Utopia!
Release date: April 29, 2014
Comments:
This is doujin circle initial’s debut work. The ultra-siscon Haruto was brought to a new world with his two imoutos Yuno and Chika. A sukumizu-clad girl who called herself ‘Kami-sama’ had brought them to Sistopia and bestowed an icharabu gauge on Haruto to grant his wish. He found it awfully bizarre, but after living in Sistopia for a bit, he found that it was a relatively normal place, except that the only ones in this world were him and his imoutos. There’s a sole purpose to this world: icharabu with imoutos!
This is just a low-priced doujin game (￥1500) with a simple motif. Why just make the parents disappear when you get rid of everyone else? ^o^ The art by Suzunone Rena is very cute. Chika’s hat looks like a devi hat >w<
So Dante was wrong, and hell has ten levels, welcome to level ten.
Micchi’s Top 7 for This Month
- PRETTY×CATION
- D.C.III P.P. ~Da Capo III Platinum Partner~
- Soratobu Hitsuji to Manatsu no Hana -When girls wish upon a star.-
- Majo Koi Nikki
- Natsukoi High Pressure
- Love Sweets
- Houkago no Futekikakusha
Zen’s Top 3 for This Month
- Racial Merge
- Majo Koi Nikki
- Houkago no Futekikakusha
I guess I’ll have to be satisfied with the Sakusaku trial only… ;__;
And I’ll have to be satisfied with pretending that Soratobu Hitsuji to Manatsu no Hana, and Happy Sister Utopia do not exist, their creators were never born, and I am not cursed by some terrible evil god, but we can’t have everything no matter how many distant shining balls of fire in the sky we wish on girl or not.
Maybe if you took part in Tanabata instead of wanting to be lashed with bamboos, then one day you’ll reach the state of your namesake and not be as negative.
Or maybe I have reached my namesake so well that no amount of imouto badgering will sway me from seeing the blackened heart and soul that lies beneath. A pity we may never know as it is my sacred duty to balance out the excessively positive views of a certain siscon.
