July 2011 Eroge Releases

While July isn’t as packed with good games like last month, there are still a lot to choose from, especially if you’re looking for lovey-dovey games or SLG/RPGs. You can manage a brothel (Oiran Rouge), raise numerous tsurupeta dragons (Toki o Kanaderu Waltz) or fight evil as an onmyouji (Shikigami). The final chapter of Tiny Dungeon is also available, along with two imouto-centric games (Imouto Style and Sis Koi) and a surprising love comedy offering from the creators of Subahibi (Ikinari Anata ni Koishiteiru). Life is good.

This was one of those months that made it hard to narrow things down to a top three, there are more games I intend on at least giving a chance than I have had in quite some time. My poor backlog aside I am looking forward to a month that may have some real winners, as well as the usual moe filler that has become annoying to comment the same things over and over about games that are the exact same under different names. Sometimes I wish I had Mucchi’s ability to appreciate one trait for all it is worth to the exclusion of all else, would certainly make things easier.

Kuon no Kizuna -THE ORIGIN-

Company: ザウス (XUSE)
Game site: 久遠の絆 -THE ORIGIN-
Release date: July 1, 2011
Comments:
New release date after being pushed back from June. This is the fully-voiced remake of FOG/XUSE’s 1998 title of the same name. It adds a new scenario and also additional events for existing routes. With the arrival of new transfer student Mayou, Takeru is caught up in bizarre incidents and has unexplainable nightmares. He hasn’t realized yet that it is related to his destiny from thousands of years ago, in the Heian Era.

I’m surprised that a title from so long ago is being remade, but I guess it’s an opportunity for more revenue. It’s probably better than making another tentacle pure love game.

I would like to see a few other really old titles remade to reflect the only real positive change in the intervening years, quality of artwork. I can see this game turning into a boon or bane though I do want to play an old Xuse game to see how it compares to some of the titles which came after that I liked.

Yomehapi ~You Make Happy!~

Company: シアン (Chien)
Game site: よめはぴ～You Make Happy！～
Release date: July 22, 2011
Comments:
Hitori is a 2nd-year student at Rinou Gakuen. He’s smart and athletic, but he has no friends. Maybe it’s because he’s noisy or is too straight with his words. When he was lamenting if he will graduate without any friends, he got a call from his father who told him that he found some candidate wives for him… and they’ll be attending his school to see if he is a suitable husband. He is overjoyed and is confident that he will not be alone any longer.

With a name like that, of course he has no friends. At least his father had the conscience to scout out some prospective girls for him. Oh wait, they’re just mostly osananajimis and kouhais. Nayu is pretty damn adorable. Someone tell me where to buy a hat like that!

Hooray for more ill conceived plots involving lazy writers taking advantage of the willingness of the average eroge consumer to be bought off by some cute characters designed to hit their moe sweet spots. Such a weak story doesn’t even deserve mention, makes me wonder why they even bother with story for a game where the CG is the main focus and perhaps only redemption for a game this shallow.

Oiran Rouge

Company: ライアーソフト (Liar-soft)
Game site: オイランルージュ -花魁艶紅-
Release date: July 22, 2011
Comments:
After his father’s sudden death, Kanon was forced to take over the family brothel Takaseya in the red light district of Yoshiwara in Edo. However, the debt collectors soon found out that the business had been passed on to someone who was inexperienced and came to take everything away. With the intervention of the local boss, he was able to keep the building which was now low on reputation, one lone tayuu Hisasa and several lower-grade courtesans, a handful of money and a girl that his father had picked up from somewhere, Amane. He decides to work hard to become one of the top tourist destinations in town.

A brothel-running SLG where you have 3 years to build your empire and become the top tourist destination in town. The set-up is quite similar to last month’s Yukioniya Onsenki by SofthouseChara, except set in old Tokyo and less upstanding. But what the hell Kanon, don’t pimp out your imouto too! Keep her for yourself!

Perhaps surprisingly I am looking forward to this game more than anything else this month for the potential it has even though it is unlikely to be realized. If they manage to bring some subtlety to the complexity of running a brothel where the products are people and not objects this could be a lot of fun to play. Granted the setting helps a lot, as were this a modern game by comparison much of the meaning and appeal of the characters would be lost amidst the trashier backdrop of the modern equivalent. Provided the game does not focus unnecessarily on the H content and instead deals with the lives of the various people and the management of the brothel itself this has more than enough potential to be a winner in my book. Of course it doesn’t hurt that I adore the art style and how well it fits with the chosen setting, and honestly it appeals to my tastes quite well along the way. On the downside while I may hope for some interesting stories and character development I doubt either will be emphasized to a satisfactory level here, however assuming that they are not poorly done I won’t worry too much as long as they get the rest of it right.

I always thought Mucchi would want to share imoutos with those unfortunate souls who do not have them, spread the love around allowing her to become everyone’s imouto. Just think of all the onii chans who would protect her then, I can only see that as a good thing for those who love their imoutos, as they say sharing is caring.

Daiteikoku has taught me that sharing only gets you screwed in the end. Imoutos are all mine!

Plunder them before someone else does eh? Well think of it this way, it is an imouto rental agency so that even you could buy an imouto to keep you company, no longer would you need your hobo.

Shinkyoku Soukai Polyphonica Plus

Company: ocelot
Game site: 神曲奏界ポリフォニカ プラス
Release date: July 22, 2011
Comments:
This is the latest title in the Polyphonica all-ages kinetic novel series. This episode, “Farewell Song’, details a spirit beauty pageant where the grand prize is the one-man orchestra of Corticarte’s previous contractor, Kuchiba: ‘Ibara-hime’. Corticarte, Eufinley and other spirits join in the battle for the vintage instrument, as the shrouded past of Kuchiba is gradually revealed. Another Polyphonica game for fans of the series. I haven’t been following the series, so obviously it’s not on my radar.

Too much ribbon. Cortie is well over ribbon capacity in that swimsuit, she is a veritable singularity of ribbon having achieved the critical mass necessary to become one with the ribbon moe. On a serious note however as much as I ended up loving the Polyphonica series, this newest game feels more like a cheap gimmick to siphon money from dedicated fans. There is not enough depth to the plot here to warrant reading this in my opinion, well although I say that I will most likely end up giving it a chance anyway, just for what it is as I can still have hope even if I don’t believe it myself.

PV

D-EVE in you

Company: Twinkle
Game site: D-EVE in you
Release date: July 29, 2011 Delayed to August 26, 2011
Comments:
New release date after being pushed back from May. Ren is the son of the president of Hiura Productions talent agency. While the company used to produce lots of top idols in the past, now it is managed solely by them with no current idols to their name. They wish to regain their past glory and a huge opportunity appears. The idol-raising Houou Girls’ School was recently built and the principal allows Hiura Productions to secure a classroom. However, his father Yukichi suddenly collapses and Ren is forced to take over as the role of lecturer instead. With limited knowledge about how to raise idols, will he be able to bring the 4-girl idol unit D-EVE to stardom?

I hate the art. I hate the art. I hate the art. Oh, did I mention I hate the art? I understand that idols generally have slim bodies, but I don’t think they mean in this way. It looks like some idol hater took them each by the head and stretched them vertically. Luckily, the SDs by Poyoyon Rock are pretty cute, but I’d rather find a CG set than torture myself.

I am willing to bet the secret to producing popular idols ends up being copious amounts of H scenes. Perhaps breasts the size of watermelons is yet another positive factor in creating a popular idol. Of course they have not forgotten the lolicons in the audience and have courteously provided a flat chested girl to be the Cyllene to their Jupiters. More pointless idol moe to appeal to the people into that by given them a group of such characters to choose from. I have yet to see an idol based game that doesn’t look like something put together by said idols. As far as the art I don’t see Mucchi’s problem as their ratios are proportionate respective to the style in use, I can only imagine Mucchi is racist against large chests and since they are taller than a meter they don’t quite look childish enough for his tastes.

MISTAKE×MISCAST

Company: ミニヨン (Mignonne)
Game site: MISTAKE×MISCAST
Release date: July 29, 2011 Delayed to August 26, 2011
Comments:
New release date after being pushed back from June. This is the debut title for Mignonne. Itsuki occasionally has dreams about a lover from his past life, Suou-hime. One morning in homeroom, a new transfer student named Rin who looks just like her appeared in front of his very eyes and he embraced her, happy that he finally met her again. “What are you suddenly hugging me for… What’s wrong with you?” Well, it’s natural that he would get hit after that doing that to someone who he met for the first time. However, that isn’t what shocked him the most. It was that the cute Suou-hime that he knew was now a tomboy. Meanwhile, her twin older sister Yui, his osananajimi Kuu and the rest of the class watched dumbfoundedly.

Itsuki, you just don’t understand the allure of the tsundere! I’m sure in the end Rin will be really cute and fawning over you. Not too original of a story, but a safe title by mignon if they can pull it off well.

I wonder which game mignon got his past life from, there are plenty of choices after all. As far as his current life this is about as standard as eroge setups come, a dangerous choice for a first attempt at a game, unless the writing is amazing, this is likely to be a failure, especially in a month with so many more appealing releases, notably key releasing Rewrite, the competition is too fierce for a new company to not stand out in some way that attracts people other than die hard fans of the particular setup they have chosen. Since it is not my concern however I will take a look at the game when it is released to see what mignon is capable of, since though it may be standard there is also nothing that stands out as immediately bad or sub par save some minor artwork issues.

Copy paste from last month.

Wow. You really are that lazy…

Yes I really am, and proud of it.

Princess Evangile

Company: MOONSTONE
Game site: Princess Evangile～プリンセスエヴァンジール～
Release date: July 29, 2011
Comments:
On a cold March evening, Masaya was loitering in the street since his lazy father passed on an enormous debt on to him. He saw a girl surrounded by many suspicious people and helped protect her from them. The girl, Rise, was the granddaughter of the headmistress of the famous Vincennes girl’s private school and after seeing his good side, decided to invite him to study at the school. She suggested a co-education plan to the board, but there was much opposition to the idea. The headmistress decided to implement a one-year trial period and Masaya was chosen as the trial male student.

Vincennes is divided into two groups: the White Lilies (shirayuri-kai) and the Red Roses (benibara-kai). Rise was the leader of the White Lilies and wanted the group to support the co-education plan, but all the members opposed it and quit their positions. In fact, over 99% of all the students in the school opposed the plan. Masaya definitely did not feel welcome from the very beginning and Rise kept something secret from him. In order for him to continue at the school, he must gather enough votes in an election by the end of the first term. Will he be able to accepted by the ‘Filles de la Vincennes’?

The game is divided into 26 episodes like in an anime, spanning over a full school year. Similar to past MOONSTONE titles, it’ll be in widescreen and have Twitter capability embedded in the game. There are so many story elements that I have seen before: the co-ed plan from Mashifoni, the dual groups from Flyable Heart and the election aspect from Koichoco. And yet I can’t really see how it will all tie together into a story that is compelling. I do like their art, but I think it’s probably best not to expect too much in terms of storytelling. Most (All?) of their games are chara-ge after all.

In this case, I think being the only guy in a school of girls is probably more hell than heaven. At least he has the headmistress’ granddaughter on his side. Remember kids: If you plan to save someone, choose wisely for maximum future reward!

Well first off I do have to give them credit for not turning this into yet another cookie cutter crossdressing plot, as it certainly has the setup for that. Story wise it is about the same as your average crossdressing plotline, with a few added gimmicks stolen from the premise other games have been successful with. That being the case I don’t see this as much more than an excuse for harem moe, it is basically Infinite Stratos without the retarded mecha. Personally I would much rather play something along the lines of Noble Works than some moe centric garbage looking for an excuse to place a guy in an all girls school thus surrounding him with a harem of the standard heroines seen in just about every eroge. I do not doubt their individual routes will be as lackluster as the story and setting they exist in, giving the entire game a stale and tasteless feeling.

Of course Mucchi would only help select people thinking of the reward, just to offset this I pledge to ignore any imoutos or imouto type characters I encounter under duress.

Tiny Dungeon ~BIRTH for YOURS~

Company: ロゼブル (Rosebleu)
Game site: Tiny Dungeon～BIRTH for YOURS～
Release date: July 29, 2011
Comments:
The concluding chapter of the Tiny Dungeon trilogy. Hime continues his battle with Dail Grande. Hime watches him fight even though the difference in power is obvious and feels the faint hope to oppose the dark power residing in her body. She decides to tell him about the secret behind her birth. At the same time,  Trinity is suddenly thrusted into chaos with the appearance of a bounty hunter Gen, who easily repels off the attacks of Vell and Note, the two strongest students. 

A game about Note means more screentime for Amia-chan ^_____^

While I do enjoy this series, I really dislike most of the characters the last game and this one focus on, I absolutely hate Ururururururu, Note, and Amia. Personally I will be rather annoyed if this truly is the final story, since that places undue emphasis on the route that follows Note. If anything there should be a fourth and final game that brings the other three choices together and focuses on Kou. Ah well that said despite the minefield ahead I will be playing this game as despite the flaws this series tends to be a relaxing and entertaining albeit simple series to follow.

Ikinari Anata ni Koishiteiru

Company: 枕 (makura)
Game site: いきなりあなたに恋している
Release date: July 29, 2011
Comments:
New release date after being pushed back from May. High-spirited Tane, bitter smiling Eika, cold gazing Ryou and new resident Tsumugu. How did Chouji’s normal life suddenly become like the Palace of Versailles? The story is constructed like a slice-of-life light novel, albeit with lots of ichaicha since there’s four heroines who are already at max affection with him. While this seems pretty straightforward (for a makura title), once you choose a heroine, it seems the actions of the other girls will change (instead of just disappearing from sight). Scenario writer is Sukaji of Subahibi fame. I guess there’s nothing that can go wrong with playing this game…

While I approve of the heroines not chosen sticking around as characters instead of becoming invisible for all intents and purposes, the rest of the story is lacking, with the heroines coming pre-caught there is little point to this in general. In my experience the majority of eroge become less interest once the common routes end and the individual routes begin, so when a game starts at that point I have to question the value of such a decision. Obviously directed at people like Mucchi who care more about the ichaicha post relationship development, but at least it is at least trying some variation to the standard formula, not that I am hopeful of it being a good example of anything other than standardized routes with a few more characters and less character development.

Irotoridori no Sekai

Company: FAVORITE
Game site: いろとりどりのセカイ
Release date: July 29, 2011
Comments:
New release date after being pushed back from June. When he was a child, Yuuma received a special power from the “translucent magician”, Shinku. Just by touching someone with his hand, he is able to cure all of their wounds in return for all their memories. In the furthestmost port town of Kazatsugahama, there is a link to a another world hidden in the basement of the Arashiyama-sou dormitory. Within this world he lives his life like a dream. One night while the full moon shone brightly, a girl descended from the sky. “Mister magician, please save me.”

I’m a huge fan of Shida Kazuhiro’s art, so this game is definitely on my radar. Even though Nakahiro (Hoshimemo) isn’t writing the story, I think that Urushibara Yukito (Happy Margaret!) will do a decent job. They did a good job of designing a mysterious magical setting. Why is that the chara I’m most interested in are the two subchars Kyou and Tsukasa???

Wishes, powers, and lolis, what more could Micchi want? Unless meteors descend from the sky and destroy all that I find cheesy in a gigantic fireball I shall be avoiding what appears to amount to a boring story with boring characters as though I was a loli avoiding Micchi.

Doushite Daite Kurenai no!? ~Onna no Ko Datte Yaritai no!~

Company: chococo
Game site: どうして抱いてくれないのっ!?～女の子だってヤりたいの！～
Release date: July 29, 2011 Delayed to August 26, 2011
Comments:
Haruto loves girls a bit too much and confesses to them indiscriminately, ending up being rejected every day (the count is up to 665 now). One day, a cute girl transferred into his class and he quickly went to confess to her. The girl Misuzu responded with a question: “Do you want to make a girlfriend? To find love? Or maybe only to have sex?” Caught off-guard, he stutters that he might want a girlfriend. Hearing his answer, she smiled and cast a magic spell on him making him popular amongst girls. He didn’t believe it as first, but when girls he had never met before started confessing to him, he found himself in heaven. That is until she told him that the spell will wear off as soon as he has had sex with a girl and that girl will forget about him.

He doesn’t have to worry about dying a virgin anymore. I wonder if the game will provide choices for you to do it or to hold back throughout the story. One thing is for sure: there’s going to be lots of ichaicha… which is perfectly fine with me! Might be treading a little bit close to nukige territory even if ironically the goal is to avoid sex. Ren is a really cute kouhai… just as cute as Shinobu.

Simple solution to the problem this spell presents, have Kanon invite Haruto to have a good time in his brothel, two birds with one stone. Essentially this is just another harem style game with the sole differentiating factor being the spell that was cast on him, how to dispel it and the consequences thereof. Is that really enough to justify playing this game? I can’t imagine why it would without a compelling story and cast, the latter of which is pretty much standard fare, and the former appears to be unimpressive by all appearances.

Shikigami

Company: あかべぇそふとつぅTRY (AkabeiSoft2 TRY)
Game site: シキガミ
Release date: July 29, 2011
Comments:
In the capital during the Heian era, there was a onmyouji named Douman who doesn’t fare too well in his studies. However, the talented noblewoman Michinaga told him that everyone is unique and he should be himself. Because of this, he continued to study hard and vowed to protect her. The most powerful onmyouji Senmei told him that he is useless and is just a burden to everyone else in the world, and end up taking Michinaga away from him. He devised a stupid plan to oppose her, but how can the weakest guy like him defeat a genius like her? On top of that, suspected of planning an assassination against Michinaga, he was driven from the city. Now alone except for with Michinaga’s cousin Akimitsu, who is just as dumb as he is, how will he be able to gain revenge against Senmei?

This is an SLG using actual figures such as the protagonist Ashiya Douman and Abeno Senmei (although now female). Of course the setting is a bit different being in a girl’s school, and there’s robots and stuff as well. During the ADV parts, you can sneak in as a girl to gain intelligence, or go and equip yourself for the battles during the SLG part. A jankenpon system similar to Koihime is used although onmyouji attacks trump all 3 types (infantry, spearmen and archers). There are light and dark elements which also modify damage, and there are area elements as well.

Hello there, Bakatest. I’m sure that he will find a way to win. He’s the main character after all. Akimitsu is pretty much a Rinrin clone, useful only for her combat skills. She’s still adorable though!

This could have been interesting without the silly parts of the story and the SLG elements. Ah well rest in peace potentially interesting ideas ruined by people unable to develop their own creations beyond cheap gimmicks and tacky absurdities. Had they at the very least removed some of the extra conflicting elements that do not fit the setting I may have still played this but as is, the nature of the game changed too much from what made it interesting for me, pass.

Diamic Days

Company: Lump of Sugar
Game site: ダイヤミック・デイズ
Release date: July 29, 2011 Delayed to August 26, 2011
Comments:
Rei is supposed to be starting second year at a newly established school after transferring out from Happousan Gakuen, but he couldn’t find his name on the bulletin board. At first he was not too happy about all the troubles, but then he realized that he is starting anew in this school and he has the opportunity to create the school life that he wanted, from the student council and anthem to the annual festivals and clubs.

Diamic Days is worked on by the same staff that made Prism Rhythm, Lump of Sugar’s venture into the iyashi-kei genre. This time the concept is having fun and enjoyable school life. And that includes the return of Stitch! I’m not falling into this trap though as Kotora is absolutely adorable!! She’s like Koromo’s twin! Hau~ omochikaeri~! I think the story will be quite enjoyable if you don’t mind your standard school-based love comedies. I know I’m looking forward to it!

Ah yes the second string group for Lump of Sugar make another appearance, then again considering how bad HGB was maybe they should be the new core of this company. Other than that nothing special here, it is about as cookie cutter as eroge can be, not even bothering to develop more to the story and setting than a basic high school love comedy. If you are either new to eroge, or enjoy reading the same jokes, same character designs, and same stories and routes over and over then there is something of value here worth playing. If not however it would probably best to steer clear of this as I know I shall be doing.

Our preferences are as clear as night and day here.

Of course I am the day.

Blade’s Heart

Company: KAI
Game site: ブレイズハート
Release date: July 29, 2011
Comments:
There is something strange happening in the town and the school. People would mysteriously disappear for days only to suddenly appear again. The school hallways would seem to go on forever, but then all would be normal again. It was as if there are two separate worlds which were intertwined together. One day, Ryouji noticed a girl that he hadn’t seen before, but everyone else did not seem to be surprised at all and treated her like she had always been a student at the school. The girl Ouka approached him and said: “You’ve noticed, right? Which side are you on?”

KAI’s specialty is using both forms of moe (萌え and 燃え) and utilizing numerous battle scenes. Ryouji has the power to see through illusions and notice evil beings, so he is enlisted into helping the BLADES, who battle evil to keep the world safe. Seems a bit like 11eyes. Once again, tentacles appear to make life miserable (pleasurable?) for the heroines. Not that interested in playing this, so pass.

Almost seems interesting till the protagonist appears to be more of the standard lame affair and the story falls apart with the whole “Heros of justice” style of plot going on. Sadly there is not much else to this title, the focus of it is more on battle moe than story so not a whole lot to even note, either you are into that sort of thing or not. Definitely not my type of game, so I am with Mucchi on this one and I’ll pass.

Love-Bride Eve

Company: WHITESOFT
Game site: ラブライド・イヴ
Release date: July 29, 2011 Delayed to August 26, 2011
Comments:
Atsushi and Miyu are childhood friends who are known as the perfect couple by friends and family. They’ve been together since they were small, live next to each other, and are often teased by others for acting like newlyweds. However, there’s one big problem. They’ve never properly confessed to each other. Even though they are so lovey-dovey, it is too embarrassing for them to say those few words, believing that they do not have to say it because they know it deep down. However, Miyu wants to one day have the courage to say the words “I love you”.

This is just the game that I want! A ba-couple type of game full of ichaicha and pretty art. The osananajimi Miyu is the star here, but her imouto Riona and other osananajimi (who’s like an imouto to him) Sarasa are also on my radar. Too cute! While I do have some reservations since this is the first title written by Mutsuki Sayo, the setting alone is worth me putting it at the top of my list this month.

It should come as no surprise given Mucchi’s endorsement of this series that I have the opposite opinion. Well that is the case on my personal taste at least, as far as the game itself is concerned for what it is I have to admit that it does appear to do a good job catering to the target demographic, if not managing to stand out enough to really justify it as anything more than standard. I have to at least give them a nod for doing more than Lump of Sugar has this month and at least giving more background and meaning to the standard school romance comedy.

Yami-iro no Snow Drops

Company: Iris
Game site: 闇色のスノードロップス
Release date: July 29, 2011
Comments:
New release date after being pushed back from June. This is the first title by Iris. Preparing for the university entrance exams for the third time, Takashi lives an unemployed life without any goals. But one day, he gets a call from his aunt Tsubaki, inviting him to come to the countryside to help out with the newspaper stand until the exam time. He reunites with his cousin and osananajimi and feels like he is part of their family, but he is gradually drawn in to the darkness that surrounds them.

Honestly, I’m disappointed. I was expecting a good story-focused game and instead there’s almost nothing but HCGs in the gallery section on the website. I admire Takashi’s perseverance at trying to get into university, but after 3 years, maybe being a newspaper boy is his future. At least you get to meet lolis. There’s no lolis in university.

Gotta love when a game focuses around a failure of a protagonist landing a lucky break that allows him to meet a bunch of girls who for some unknown reason (Maybe they have no standards?) fall for him leading to the healing H scenes that help him get his life together.

Kimi o Aogi Otome wa Hime ni

Company: PeasSoft
Game site: 君を仰ぎ乙女は姫に
Release date: July 29, 2011
Comments:
New release date after being delayed from June. Ryokufuuin Gakuen is a world-famous school for the rich. Satoshi attends this school even though his family is poor. He had gained entrance to this prestigious school via scholarship after working hard, often placing first in the national exams. He looked up to his late father who worked as a doctor in a small town, and wants to become a doctor to help his ailing mother. His fellow students don’t know about his financial situation. One day, the top celeb of the school, Kana, told him that he will be the lead for this year’s school festival, Ryokufuusai.

We all know that if you really want to do something, just study hard and get in via some exception. Look, Sugisaki did it and he got his own harem now! I guess it’s still better than having some dumb useless lead, although intelligence isn’t correlated with awareness of the opposite sex. This seems a bit more interesting than PeasSoft’s recent works, so it might be worth checking out… even if it’s a copy of Noble Works. Remember: There is love under a fustian petticoat as well as a silk farthingale.

I also noticed that he has triple imoutos. When you got such cute imoutos, it’s natural you’d want to do your best!

Essentially this is Ouran host club in reverse and in eroge format. It is likely there will be many of the standard problems faced by characters in prestigious settings, along with the usual final issue of dealing with their different places in life. While predictable I am slightly interested in the incorporation of a protagonist who did not randomly wind up in such a school due to dumb luck but rather from working towards it as a goal.

Toki o Kanaderu Waltz

Company: でぼの巣製作所 (Debonosu)
Game site: 時を奏でる円舞曲（ワルツ）
Release date: July 29, 2011
Comments:
This is the sequel to Debonosu’s dragon-raising RPG Sora o Aogite Kumo Takaku. A few years later, Adonis and a young Mint set out on a journey. Along the way, they met the missing dragon girl Thuya and were relieved to see her again. She had not been able to find a partner and made a contract with Adonis to accompany them on their journey. One day, they came upon an old dragon who knelt in front of Thuya and said he had been looking for her. He brought them to the beautiful water city of Alfheim where the princess and Thuya’s twin sister, Salene, wanted to pass on the throne to Thuya. However, Thuya doesn’t remember anything from her childhood and declined the position. Not giving up, Salene decided to join them in the hopes of helping her older sister regain her memories.

The game also includes a patch for SoraKumo which adds an H scene for Iris and an additional scenario. Difficulty settings are available, as well a new strong boss. Adonis now gets 3 tsurupeta dragon girls in his harem and that’s definitely something to be rejoicing about. Mint’s still my preference, but Salene is pretty cute too!

A game that is more or less a fandisk rather than a sequal, though given that people interested know who they are, and I know I am not, there is little for me to say here.

Sengoku Tenshi Djibril

Company: フロントウイング (FrontWing)
Game site: 戦国天使ジブリール
Release date: July 29, 2011
Comments:
After dealing with the twin demons Maimai and Meimei, Kento enjoys the peaceful (ichaicha) days with Momo, Aoi and Yuzuha. Their class decided to run a Sengoku maid cafe for the school festival. However, Maimai and Meimei, who they thought were sealed, showed up during the break with revenge on their minds. They brought along the Maou and Momo and the other Djibril readied for battle. However, Maimai’s clumsiness and the Maou’s power caused everyone in the room to be brought to the Sengoku era…

White sukumizuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!!! Yahoooooooo!!!!! Djibril does a time slip with the heroines from the four previous games representing famous Sengoku chars like Oda Nobunaga and Date Masamune. And of course Loveriel makes a return. From raburabu ecchi to hard rape bad ends, it’s still the Djibril you know. ‘Oniichan daisuki!’ Hikari’s back! I can’t wait to see the OP.

*Facepalm* A series for those of you into battle loli H scenes of various types. Not much else here for anyone else to enjoy, unless you just cannot get enough of lame Sengoku settings.

Tenshi no Hane o Fumanaide

Company: MEPHISTO
Game site: 天使の羽根を踏まないでっ
Release date: July 29, 2011
Comments:
New release date after being pushed back from June. This is the first game by MEPHISTO, a subsidiary of Will. Over the course of history, there had been many prophets who predicted that the end of the world was near, but they were all just imposters. However, it really came true and people were at their wit’s end. Just like no one believed that the end of the world is near, the God that not many people believed in saved the world. It is in Saint Solyluna Academy that μ (Mu) is chosen – the only one that sits in the empty seat next to God and asks for salvation for mankind.

Shumon Yuu is in charge of the story and judging from his past works (Asairo and Itsusora) this should be a well-done story with a true route. The game is fully-voiced and the main protagonist is a new transfer student Ayame, who is actually a boy and has the choice of attending either the School of the Sun or the School of the Moon. There’s a lot of mystery in the story: What is the difference between the two schools? What is the secret that Ayame holds? I think this game will be worth checking out for the story alone and with the beautiful art, you should really try this out if you have time.

Hey look, it’s another Eustia! After the complete failure of the first one, this copycat looks to be even worse, considering the foolish and forcible inclusion of a school to go hand in hand with the lame plot. I find it hilarious that the story involves the concept of god even though it appears the god they are referencing is at least based on the christian god … who basically destroys the world in the apocalypse, yet seems to save it here. Point being little thought went into this story, it is another of those conceived quickly to make a game and likely used ideas from Eustia as a catalyst to create their setting. In short there is nothing here that hints this will be more than your average eroge story wise, likely concluding matters in an unsatisfying way much of the time.

Houkago Custom☆Time ~Customize Lovers~

Company: TEATIME
Game site: 放課後かすたむ☆たいむ ～Customize Lovers～
Release date: July 29, 2011
Comments:
Nodoka is self-conscious about her looks and decided to join the drama club to change herself for the better, but the club is in danger of being closed. There’s only one member: the club leader Nobuhiko. One day while walking to school, she came upon at a small shrine a tiny being the size of a stuffed animal, which called herself the ‘Goddess of Beauty’. In exchange for all the candy that Nodoka gives her, she offers to grant her a wish to make her into the world’s most beautiful woman. However, in order to maintain her appearance, she needs to have a man’s seed in her.

Ok, no one really cares about the sorry excuse of a plot since TEATIME’s all about the 10 FPS 3D customization! This time not only can you change hair and body, but you have a lot more freedom over faces as well. Wanted to make that tsundere? Well, now you can! I’ll probably fool around with it for a few hours.

Pretty obvious exactly what type of person this caters to, and just as obvious there is nothing here for anyone interested in more than creating a virtual girl to screw.

Actually, I think the customization and dress-up part would be quite fun… for a few hours.

I would admit that if the goal was not to simply have sex with your newly created doll.

Imouto Style

Company: C: drive.
Game site: 妹スタイル
Release date: July 29, 2011
Comments:
In the Kousaka household, one boy lives together with his five little sisters. One day, their parents, who were living abroad due to work, called them and told everyone but him to come live overseas. He thought that it would be fine to live alone, but his imoutos love him too much and don’t want to leave him. After causing a lot of commotion, it was decided that only one of them can remain with him in Japan. Who will he choose to stay with him and what will become of their relationship?

C:drive.’s venture into the moe genre is the sequel to sister brand Citron Soft’s Imouto Smile. This time it adds animation parts (standard Flash short loops) and there’s a harem route as well if you work hard as their oniichan. This sounds a lot like Imopara, but I’d have to say I’d go for that more than this due to the art. I’d definitely choose the devious Mikan to stay with me. It’s not because she’s the youngest, ok? Don’t be mistaken!

One day in the Kousaka household one lucky boy has parents who care enough about him to offer to take his annoying little sisters off his hands to live abroad with them, thus allowing him to have the house to himself and perhaps even find love now that his parents and pets are gone. But no this genius decides he prefers to be a do-M and suffer more with his loli imouto pets. This guy deserves to be Darwined for such a stupid selection, I can only hope there is an option to send them all away so you can finish the game with a good ending.

No wonder you don’t like many games if you view happy ends as bad ends.

No wonder you like most games with those horribly bad ends, fate sure can be cruel to some unlucky protagonists who just happened to have little girls born to their parents after them.

Sis Koi

Company: エトワルズ (ETOILES)
Game site: 妹恋～しすこい～
Release date: July 29, 2011
Comments:
Yuuichi has two twin imoutos, energetic Miyu and tsundere Yui. They keep appealing to him at home and at school, but he doesn’t see them as more than his little sisters. One day, he peeked at Honoka changing in the literary club room and somehow it ended with Miyu and Yui joining the club as well. Then his father called him suddenly and revealed that they were actually not blood-related to him! Suddenly, he saw them as girls instead of imoutos. How will he be able to withstand their advances?

Give it up, Yuuichi. There’s no way you can withstand the advances of an imouto, not to mention two. Both of them are direct hits on my strike zone, with Miyu being devious and lively, while Yui is an amaenbou that wants to be honest to her feelings. Even the other chars are great, including the dependable osananajimi Manami, shy ganbariya kouhai Honoka and news scoop hunter Tsumugi. The chara designs are nice. I can’t wait for imouto ichaicha time! Hau~ omochikaeri~!

Yuuichi sure is a shallow person if all it takes is knowing they are not blood related to suddenly see sisters as women. Unsurprisingly I am about as interested in this as I am in throwing myself into oncoming traffic, moe charage targeting a very specific demographic that Mucchi happens to fall in. At the very least they could have developed the story and setting better, then maybe I could have acknowledged the game as something worth playing for people into such things even if it was not to my tastes. However this is just cheap, I can’t understand how fans of imoutos could even enjoy something that forces relationships in such a half hearted manner, it is almost insulting to the very traits they find attractive. Ah well I suppose when you focus so entirely on a single type of character you stop having standards.

How rude! Of course us imouto fans have standards! Like, they need to be younger!

Yes I would imagine having an “Imouto” older than the protagonist would present a problem… Then again since the only thing many of them seem to care about is the word imouto being present maybe that would still work just fine for a game.

Well honestly I do want an imouto relationship that is gradually built up, but so long as there is sufficient ichaicha time as well, I am willing to let it go if the plot is a bit simplistic. In most titles, imoutos are relegated to being less important heroines or subcharacters altogether (probably due to past regulations), so I appreciate when there’s more imouto screentime. Although I do agree that you do need other charas aside from imoutos to make a better game. For one, the jealousy and rivalry between osananajimis and imoutos is one of the best parts of eroge.

True, and that is why I admit your preference, and honestly it does not only apply to imoutos, but rather any specific character trait. When undue importance is placed on the relationship trait, especially when spread over multiple heroines, the very significance of that relationship which spawns the trait becomes diluted. Those games never truly grasp the essence of what makes a given relationship between protagonist and heroine compelling in the first place, relegating them to only the most shallow of readers who care only about the trait itself.

It appears that the main differentiation is how many heroines can exhibit similar traits. For me, two or three imoutos is fine. Five or six? Well, if you understand that the story will most likely not be good. For you, one is more than enough. What about osananajimis? Is one enough? Two? If each heroine exhibits different traits, then it’s quite possible to generalize them into standard cookie-cutter stereotypes.

Of course number is a factor, however I worry more over how the writing shifts in response to the number than the number itself. When there is only one character of any type, kouhai, osanaajimi, imouto and so on their relationship with the protagonist takes on a special significance. When there are more than one the writing tends to focus on differentiating their individual traits so they are not too similar despite being under the same umbrella trait. This tends to take away much of that special feeling which empowers the bond between two characters due to the significance of their unique relationship.

Mirai Nostalgia

Company: パープルソフトウェア (Purple Software)
Game site: 未来ノスタルジア
Release date: July 29, 2011 Delayed to August 26, 2011
Comments:
Youichi is able to move objects without touching them, but other than that he lives a normal life just like everyone else. That is until Anna appeared, claiming to have been rejected by his future self. After that, he met his cousins Nono and Hinano who lived apart from him, as well as the shrine maiden Iori who said she had been waiting for him. His life has suddenly become a lot more complicated.

Just like other Purple Software games, I feel like this game is just… there. While there are aspects that make me curious about the game, it’s not enough to make me want to play it over other titles that are coming out at the same time. It’s kinda like the osananajimi in an imouto-ge. Although one thing to note is that Kagami Yuu (eden*) is a main writer, so maybe it’ll turn out better than expected.

Purple Software manages to troll me in the most annoying ways possible, many of their games have potentially interesting settings and plots but then the writing turns it all to rubbish. Due to the past precedents I am wary to say the least, and while I like the potential ideas here I am hesitant to endorse a company that has betrayed me so many times in the past and most likely will yet again. Given that this is a fairly slow month for me I think I will dare to set foot in the Purple minefield once more as the premise this time sounds better than the last few games.

Renai Katei Kyoushi Rurumi★Coordinate!

Company: riffraff
Game site: 恋愛家庭教師ルルミ★Coordinate！
Release date: July 29, 2011 Delayed to August 26, 2011
Comments:
This is the professional debut for doujin circle riffraff, featuring a remake of their doujin title Renai Katei Kyoushi Rurumi. Early April is the start of a new school year, when new relationships and new lives blossom. However, Ayuhisa spends his days in his room and doesn’t even go to school. Of course he hasn’t had a girlfriend before nor even held hands. One day, a private teacher of love Rurumi appeared at his door with the goal of bringing him out of his hikikomori state by restructuring his lifestyle, teaching him about fashion and even lessons about girls. Then Rurumi’s rival Mana shows up along with his non-blood-related imouto Shizuku. And how will he react to a beautiful oneesan that he met online Honoka and an ojousama Chieri? Let the private lessons of love begin!

I don’t really like hikikomori protagonists, but the plus in this case is that his imouto Shizuku is the exact opposite. She’s great at housework and takes care of him instead. But he needs to understand her feelings too! Be a good oniichan to look up to! I would’ve hoped for a new company like riffraff to make a new title instead of just expanding on an old doujin title. When your foundation isn’t as strong, adding more to it won’t help.

A game that is more or less a gender swapped version of a typical shoujo makeover story. For once I am in agreement with Mucchi that the hikikomori protagonist is a detriment as is how lackluster the game is for a debut as a professional group. I am however not in agreement about the imouto, I may play in the hopes there are some enjoyably mean options regarding interactions with her. Not much else here that seems worth it though, the premise is not enough to stand above other games, the fact its a remake will likely weaken sales, and perhaps worst is that the characters lack a unique appeal. Ah well I still wish them the best, as regardless of the flaws it is still a doujin circle going professional, so for as long as they are putting the effort in to make the games they want I’ll support them even if I don’t agree with their tastes.

Micchi’s Top 3 for This Month

1. Koiiro Sora Moyou FD Love-Bride Eve
2. Sis Koi
3. Diamic Days

Zen’s Top 3 for This Month

1. Oiran Rouge
2. Kuon no Kizuna -THE ORIGIN-
3. Tiny Dungeon ~BIRTH for YOURS~

Yukki… Miko-chan… Aya… T_____T

Karma at its best. *Points and laughs at your number 1 pick.* Come to think of it I remember jokingly mentioning it would be funny were that to be delayed when working on the June post..

I hate you. By the way, who’s Mucchi?

I thought giving Onii-chan a cute nickname would bring us closer, and let Onii-chan see his cute imouto as a cute girl too, is that no good? *shikushiku*

Uwa! Kimo-!

Onii-chan hidoiii!