Are we still in 2012? There’s sure a lot of fandisks/sequels this month, for Konosora, Material Brave, Corona, Leyline and even Sakura Sakura. But of course, the one you all are probably looking forward to the most is August’s Daitoshokan no Hitsujikai. Light fantasy stories in a school setting are their forte after all.
Boring months filled with games that can only be described as nothing special continue. Personally I hope 2013 ends up being a rough year for eroge so maybe they decide to evaluate the direction the industry is taking and hopefully start putting more effort into their games again.
Offline Girl
Circle: チェーン荘 (Chainsou)
Game site: オフライン少女 -offline girl-
Release date: January 11, 2013
Comments:
This is a doujin game by Chainsou. Nayuta lives with his mother in the not-too-distant Nipponbashi in Osaka while working on creating apps for smartphones. The Nipponbashi Street Festival (Sutofes) has had growing attendance over the years, but it has particularly garnered a lot of attention this year with the expansion of the underground shopping centre, being featured in the world’s premier internet company Eagle-sha’s real map web service Roadview and also being supported by the mayor. Nayuta and his friend Hajime went to the underground idol concert and met the idol Rikka, and he was charmed by her song. He also happened to met a new system engineer from Eagle-sha, Chisato, with whom he had often chatted online.
While set in Den-Den Town, the focus of the game appears to be rather on family relations. Nayuta dropped out of school in order to help out his divorced mother. Chisato gave up everything she had to become an engineer in order to gain her parents’ love. Rikka was raised by a foster father and doesn’t know her true parents. The game is unvoiced and I like the interface and the art is quite good for a doujin. The trial didn’t delve into their problems as it served mainly as an introduction to the characters. It’s probably a short game, so it may be worth checking out.
For a doujin game this does appear surprisingly well made, though a little incomplete as well. While the basic plot elements are pretty standard some of the themes feel like they may make the game worth reading, however my greatest misgiving would be that I get the feeling the writers don’t quite know enough about their subject matter. Obviously many, or perhaps most these days of the readers don’t care about plot cohesion or meaningful character development, for those who do the inconsistencies and lack of feeling that occurs from writing in unfamiliar territory detracts from setting, characters, and plot. Hopefully they avoid focusing too much on the engineering side of things and instead on the characters and how they develop through the setting so this may end up being a diamond in the rough worth the read.
GEARS of DRAGOON ~Meikyuu no Uroboros~
Company: ninetail
Game site: GEARS of DRAGOON ～迷宮のウロボロス～
Release date: January 25, 2013
Comments:
The dangerous new continent of Elysion on the southern sea is rich in resources and is also home to carbuncle, which can repel dragons and produce unlimited energy. In spite of the demons that roamed about, people flocked there in hopes of striking it rich. Ladius is an adventurer who came looking for the treasure with his friends in order to earn money to pay for his sick imouto’s treatment.
ninetail touts this game as a 3D dungeon RPG, but there’s nothing 3D about it aside from the backgrounds. Rather it’s similar to an old-school RPG with a customizable skill tree. Not sure if the system is similar to the Venus Blood series. It’s difficult to tell how the game balance is like until the full game comes out.
While they never put much thought or effort into the gameplay of these games I wish they could at least put a tiny minuscule amount of work into making the story at least feel less cookie cutter bland. These are like playing a really bad flash game, with less motivation than Robot Unicorn Attack chasing after the dangling carrot of an H scene at the end. I’ll have to pass yet again.
Kono Oozora ni, Tsubasa o Hirogete FLIGHT DIARY
Company: PULLTOP
Game site: この大空に、翼をひろげて FLIGHT DIARY
Release date: January 25, 2013
Comments:
This is the fandisk for Konosora, featuring a before story for the Soaring Club (after Amane’s route), an after story for the Soaring Club (after Kotori’s route), as well as if stories for subheroines Hotaru and Kanako. There’s also some additional ecchi-focused side stories for twins Asa and Yoru, and siblings Ageha and Hotaru.
This is the first FD by PULLTOP, but it makes sense that they would make one for the top eroge from 2012. It’s nice that Hotaru has her own route now. This is likely to be worth checking out.
Didn’t play, won’t play.
Sakura Sakura Festival!
Company: ハイクオソフト (Haikuo Soft)
Game site: さくらさくら FESTIVAL！
Release date: January 25, 2013
Comments:
New release date after being pushed back from 2012 2011 2010. This is the fandisk for love triangle ADV Sakura Sakura. Tooru was still undecided between Nanako and Sakura, but it had gotten to the point not only for him, but for everyone else around too, that he make a decision. A girl who said she did not have long to live told him about a legend that eternal love would be blessed upon those who confess at the Rintoku Gakuen culture festival, and that she wished to confess to the one she loved too. He decided to help her out and at the same time vowed to choose his true love on that special day.
Let’s see if it’ll end up coming out this year. It isn’t required that you play the original game since there’ll be a summary of past events at the beginning of the fandisk… which is a good thing since even those who played the original might have forgotten the story after so long. Not particularly fond of either main heroine (I prefer Kurumi), so I’ll pass.
Maybe the incentive I need to finish this game, I never could get past the point where the protagonist switches. Though not really sure what the value is for a fandisk with this game.
Shiro no Pikapika Ohoshi-sama
Company: Sweet light
Game site: しろのぴかぴかお星さま
Release date: January 25, 2013
Comments:
This is the debut title for light’s sub-brand Sweet light. ‘Fairyland’ is like a heaven for animals after they die. Shiro waited for her master Yuki to come take her home since she had seen other pets meet their masters after waiting for dozens of years. However, she was an impatient puppy and decided to call for him, wishing from the bottom of her heart to meet her dearest Yuki again and to see his smiling face once more.
Ten years passed and the Fairyland granted Shiro’s wish with a miracle. She was given a human form and her calls finally reached him. Even though he didn’t recognize her at first, she knew him right away even though he had grown up. She was so happy to finally reunite with her master whom she loved so much. So, Shiro lives together once again with Yuki, but this time as a girl.
Sweet light will be focused on light-hearted games (basically not Dies irae). Shiropika‘s pastel artwork is done by p19, while the story is written by Sano Shinichirou who worked on Tapestry. It’s also partially voiced. A fluffy heartful tale about hope and dreams? Count me in! The trial felt quite playful (both the art and music) and Shiro is beyond adorable. I don’t expect there to be too much drama since Yuki’s parents found him in bed with a young girl and were relieved when they found out it was just Shiro… as a girl. Eroge settings work wonders. Definitely gonna check this out!
It seems as though the goal of a lot of the games, mangas, novels, animes, or whatever else along these lines focus on finding some way to justify the entire plot revolving around providing the protagonist with an obvious and extreme underaged girl to sleep with. In this case things would go along the line of “It’s ok, she is actually a mature dog that has lived its life and now come back just to be with him as a human so even if shes underdeveloped she is not really a little girl, right?” so the remnants of guilty conscience can be safely ignored while indulging in something frowned upon for good reason. Since I am pretty against sexualizing children I will have to pass here, light seriously, sibling brand or not what am I to do with you these days?
But why wouldn’t you want to partake in something as pure as puppy love?
Because I’m not Wanko, I don’t yearn to actually MAKE love to my puppies.
Princess Kiss! ~Shoujo 1000-nenki Monogatari~
Company: Princess Sugar
Game site: プリンセスキッス！ ～少女1000年紀物語～
Release date: January 25, 2013
Comments:
A great disaster will befall the island nation of Grande Yakumo on its 1000th anniversary. A large tectonic shift caused a giant relic structure to suddenly appear out of the ground. After a difficult journey, an investigation team arrived at the ‘first room’, where they found Akira in a cold sleep. They wondered if he could offer a hint about the pre-collapse era, but no one knew if he was alive or how they could wake him up.
One day, three friends Himari, Fiora and Luka snuck into the research lab where Akira was being held to take a look at him. Suddenly, there was a large quake and the princess Himari accidentally kissed him. Her kiss woke him up, just like in Sleeping Beauty except with a reversal of roles. Later, they found out that when he fell asleep, someone must kiss him to wake him up. Since Akira was essential to the search of the ruins and understanding what caused the collapse of the previous world, the three girls were also brought along to give him kisses.
As suggested by the company name, it’s yet another princess game. It doesn’t seem like they’ve improved much fromHime-sama Gentei since the story seems pretty shallow and there wasn’t really anything interesting in the trial, either in scenario or presentation. I wouldn’t have minded it if they went with something cliched, but did it well. However, this just seems like a run-of-the-mill type of game.
A game about finding some excuse to get the protagonist in the pants of a princess, and in this case it certainly is not a very good excuse. As someone who doesn’t have any specific attachment to the princess genre I can’t help but feel this game is kind of missing the point by forcing the relationship. I always thought the appeal was in the difference in status and overcoming that gradually over time, not a rushed situation that basically tethers the protagonist and heroines from the start.
Pocket ni Koi o Tsumete
Company: 青空ビスケット (Aozora Biscuit)
Game site: ポケットに恋をつめて
Release date: January 25, 2013
Comments:
This is the debut title for Aozora Biscuit. The gender split in Sayahama-chou’s Kouchourinkai Gakuen is greatly imbalanced, with 2 boys for every 8 girls. However, it’s not like a harem situation for the boys since they are treated as nobodies. Faced with a dimming future, the boys decided to create an unofficial ‘hero club’ with the aim to become people that everyone will want to have around.
Pokekoi uses the same Live2D animation system as Latte’s Imosen. From the CGs, it seems like this is closer to a nukige and the setting sure does allow for it (every boy gets 4 girls based on the gender split!). Obviously Mau is my type of heroine (berets make everything better), but I’m undecided if that’s enough for me to even consider playing this.
When a game does so little to properly establish the setting in a way that makes explaining the situation at least plausible if not completely logical you know there is very little emphasis on the writing and story. What is left then typically comes down to characters and H scenes. Sadly these days we have a label for sub par games that need a word to hide behind so they can excuse themselves from writing anything halfway decent because hey the characters look cute, ya know those things called charage? While this leans more towards the nuki side of games my point is that even if you like the way the characters in games like these look, why bother when their stories and development are so poorly written?
Material Brave Ignition
Company: 戯画/TEAM BALDRHEAD (GIGA/TEAM BALDRHEAD)
Game site: マテリアルブレイブ イグニッション
Release date: January 25, 2013
Comments:
This is the fandisk for the action adventure Material Brave., consisting of after stories for the 5 heroines, as well as a new story for osananajimi Ena. There are additional dungeons during the ADV/ACT part, with new weapons and outfits.
After an all-out battle with Ena, Ayumu lost his unleashed powers and Ena fell into a deep sleep as a cocoon-shaped enigmatite. He set out to recover his powers and bring Ena back to normal, but hurried back to Kamioshiro-jima when he heard that the research facility where Ena was being held was being attacked by a new type of Neoplasm. Ayumu suffered serious injuries while trying to fight them off without his powers. He touched Ena’s cocoon and there was a flash of light, with Ena’s pained voice warning him about a new enemy which would be the beast of the apocalypse. His unleashed powers returned to him and his teammates were happy to welcome his back as their leader, but many mysteries and challenges await them.
It seems like the action part is smoother this time and the system is better too (partner combos), and there’s even an online ranking for those who want to claim they’re the best. As for the story… well, that’s probably not why you’re playing this game anyway.
I am a fan of these disks since I never have to bother writing anything about them.
Mirai Sekai no Planeta
Company: りぷる (Libre)
Game site: ミライセカイのプラネッタ
Release date: January 25, 2013
Comments:
New release date after being pushed back from December. In the near future, technology has progressed to a point where people can live both in reality and the internet world, Planeta. Satoru came to Planeta to enjoy a school life in the virtual world. But he was recruited to work for the detective team Sprites after meeting their leader Ayaka. At the same time, there was a terrorist attack in Planeta, caused by a hacker who went by Irurihito.
Never really liked Libre’s games much, but this is written by first-timer Umino Sachi, so maybe it’ll turn out differently. However, it doesn’t seem that appealing unless you like sci-fi stuff.
Best ending for this game? The girl you meet and have H scenes with is a guy in real life, with the ending being you meeting them in a dark alley in complete hard gay attire. Now that would be a realistic near future where you can live in both reality and the internet. In the interests of making things differently you could even have each heroine turn into a completely different type of guy in real life, one could be a fat, balding old man, another the stereotypical salary man, and yet another your typical mahou shoujo fan dressed up like sailor moon or madoka. Man I’m a genius I should totally write these games myself. I suppose in the interests of being a little serious I should point out the fact that while the idea does have some potential, its unlikely to be realized as there is little to nothing here that suggests anything beyond your average attempt at a near future sci fi.
PV
Natsu no Owari no Nirvana
Company: ぱじゃまソフト (Pajamas Soft)
Game site: 夏の終わりのニルヴァーナ
Release date: January 25, 2013
Comments:
Four girls gathered in the transient world between life and death. Karma was tasked with judging the sins which they had committed over their lifetimes and with sending their souls to be reborn. However, all of them lost their memories of their past life and did not remember what sins they had committed. To find out about their past, he had to get to know them better. However, it’s not as easy as he thought. He has to watch out for Mihaya’s desire to jump to her death, is playfully teased by Nayu, is avoided by Leia after accidentally seeing her naked, is troubled by Nono’s lack of common sense, and even gets chased by his osananajimi Kuon. Will he be able to do his job properly considering the difficulties which lie ahead of him?
It amazes me how eroge writers manage to include a school setting no matter what. I didn’t really care much for Karma’s character; he seemed to mainly be dragged about by the other characters and lacks any sort of personality. The writing was quite disjointed, compounded by the fact that the trial presented the story in seemingly unrelated segments. I did find the classical music arrangements quite amusing though. Of course, there’s bits of comedy and drama here and there, but I really can’t say I found any of it interesting. Pass.
Not much to the game aside from finding some way to attach all the heroines to the protagonists hip for him to dine upon at his leisure.
Kikouyoku Senki Gin no Toki no Corona -Fortune Dragon’s-
Company: ETERNAL
Game site: 輝光翼戦記 銀の刻のコロナ -Fortune Dragon’s-
Release date: January 25, 2013
Comments:
This is the fandisk for the ADV+SLG Corona, featuring an after story occurring one year after the end of the original game with Touka hearing a meteorite land nearby and finding an injured Fii and Zeon who had lost their memories. There are also additional stories for popular characters Kaname and Corona and a battle arena mode where you can play with any character in the game, as well as guest chars from Yumina.
More Corona is good. Also, love the SDs.
Thank god for fans.
Tokeijikake no Ley-line -Zanei no Yoru ga Akeru Toki-
Company: ユニゾンシフト：ブロッサム (UnisonShift:Blossom)
Game site: 時計仕掛けのレイライン -残影の夜が明ける時-
Release date: January 25, 2013
Comments:
This is the sequel to Ley-line. Michiru and Ushio continue to spend their days solving problems at Tenpinruri Gakuen as part of the special investigation office, otherwise known as ‘Tokusa’. One day, a foreign girl named Adelheid came to seek their help in looking for her grandmother’s memento. Along the way, will they find out more about the link between the day and night worlds?
Micchi’s nighttime adventures continue! Let’s hope this time, it actually ends properly. If you’re planning to make this into a trilogy, tell us beforehand!
Not a company known for story, especially not with sequels so I am inclined towards being completely ambivalent towards their attempts to write anything more than cookie cutter games. At least as a sequel the majority interested would be fans of the first game so like a fandisk not a whole lot to comment on.
Seisai no Resonance
Company: Yatagarasu
Game site: 星彩のレゾナンス
Release date: January 25, 2013
Comments:
Otofuse-jima is a remote island located south of the mainland. While it is a beautiful sightseeing place surrounded by clear seas and lush forests, it is also bound by tradition. A long time ago, a giant fireball came down from the sky, burning the island for three whole days. Since the men were out fishing, it was up to the women to control the flames and protect the island. They sealed the fire so that it would not ravage the island again. Even now, a sealing ritual is performed by a selected pair of mikos.
Kanae came to Otofuse-jima looking for her mother who was formerly a miko there, but had went missing 7 years ago. She also had an acceptance letter into Sakihana Joshi Gakuen. However, she was attacked by a girl from the island’s secret organization Shouraikai which is in charge of the rituals, then found out that her enrollment had been revoked. Leaving the school grounds, she noticed something amiss and came face-to-face with a giant monster. Suddenly, the amulet which her mother had given to her for protection lent her fire powers to defeat the beast. Her power was sensed by the miko candidates and she was taken in by the school. She also became part of the otome-kai and a miko candidate herself. It is the otome-kai’s duty to put their lives on the line to fight against these strange beings known as ‘impurities’. They have to train together to strengthen their bonds while cleansing the impurities using their powers.
This fully-voiced game uses a real time 3D map battle system modified from the one used in Tentacle Lord. The battle system wasn’t bad, but I was able to easily win battles with auto-target and some button mashing. After beating the story mode, an arcade mode where you can control over 10 different characters will be unlocked. An another story will also be available. With a female protagonist and no male lead in sight, this is a good pick-up for anyone who likes chuuni and yuri. Yuu is so delicious (berets make everything better). Nagi is also fine too.
*facepalm*
Daitoshokan no Hitsujikai
Company: オーガスト (August)
Game site: 大図書館の羊飼い
Release date: January 25, 2013
Comments:
When he was young, Kyoutarou wanted to read all the magic books in the world, but they were all in the magic library. Someone told him that to get there, he must be kind to everyone and bring happiness to their hearts. He received a bookmark, which was his entrance ticket to the magic library.
One day while heading to school, he received a text from the ‘shepherd’ (hitsujikai) telling him that his fate was going to change. He had a vision of an accident at the tram station and helped prevent any injuries by calling away a nearby girl. That girl, Tsugumi, later came to the Library Club room, which he was a member of, to thank him and also to ask for his help to make Shiomi Gakuen more fun. It seemed that she had also received a text from the shepherd, who is rumoured to appear before people who try their best to grant their wishes. One by one, other students also join their group with the shepherd’s guidance.
After Eustia, August returns to its roots with a light-hearted game in a school setting with a sprinkle of fantasy. I wonder who or what the shepherd is? The pacing was pretty good and all the characters were quite likeable, including the subcharas. Of course, I have absolutely no problems with Bekkankou’s art. My favourite chara is the playful moodmaker Kana-chan, although the Kiritani Hana-voiced neighbour Nagi is also fine. Actually, give me both! Hau~ omochikaeri~!
While August tends to focus on somewhat outlandish designs for their typically school based settings I lost a lot of faith in them after the train wreck that was Eustia and now this only makes things worse. Considering the weaknesses of August writing and plots which were shown in spades during their previous two games I have to question why they would go with such a weak plot this time. The biggest problem aside from the writing itself, is how the setting and story together make up one giant deus ex machina factory. When something doesn’t quite fit there is always the excuse that “It’s fated and the shepherd did it.” available as an excuse for bad writing. Add in their general weakness when it comes to a bland setting and not really knowing what to do with it to make things entertaining makes me feel like I am staring at a rapidly approaching wall just itching to cradle me in its soft embrace. I expect the game to start out fairly standard but enjoyable, then turn boring to the mid and late common route followed by lackluster individual routes and a story conclusion that will be as pointless as it is silly.
Sidenote: “The shepherd did it” should so be a meme.
Komorebi no Nostalgica -Raggio di sole nostalgico-
Company: STREGA
Game site: 木洩れ陽のノスタルジーカ -Raggio di sole nostalgico-
Release date: January 25, 2013
Comments:
This sci-fi ADV is the debut title for STREGA. In the distant future, humans live together with AI and history had been forgotten. Youta enjoyed his quiet life even though he was often manipulated by his genius programmer (but also extreme troublemaker) imouto Akira. One day while accompanying Akira, he came upon a hidden room. With the help of some old friends, they managed to open the door. Inside they found a pretty android girl in a deep sleep. Her body and her heart was broken. Akira decided right there that she wanted to fix her and her words fired up everyone’s curiosity, just like when they were kids. Thus begins their heart-warming days with the android girl Cinema.
The art and story are done by Norita and Takaya Aya, the combo that worked on the Otoboku series. Even though SF isn’t generally my cup of tea, the ‘group of friends gathering together again’ angle makes me somewhat interested. Of course, there’s also the imouto factor, although I’m not particularly fond of Subaru Maia’s rendition. Akira bad habit (skill) is hacking into her brother’s computer. Probably to find out what fetishes he’s into (like bloomers?).
So, Chobits anyone? Not that I am inherently against this but so many minor problems like his sister being a programmer just reeks of setting manipulation, I mean come on it’s not something you are just born with. Further issues involve the means used to include the android into the story and the guiding plot involving her. There is some hope given that I like the people involved but the game does feel rather haphazard in what it wants to be and how it wants to go about the story. Still probably going to be worth a read for me.
Micchi’s Top 3 for This Month
- Daitoshokan no Hitsujikai
- Shiro no Pikapika Ohoshi-sama
- Komorebi no Nostalgica -Raggio di sole nostalgico-
Zen’s Top 3 for This Month
- Komorebi no Nostalgica -Raggio di sole nostalgico-
- Sakura Sakura Festival!
- No August, this time the game is just too bad to even earn the bronze.
The shepherd says I should get a puppy…
The shepherd told me it will be a male puppy named Ayumu.
