August 2014 Eroge Releases

It wasn’t looking so good earlier, but at least we got some games this month after all the July delays. We’ve got magic girls, time travellers, human-eating mermaids, demon fighters, aliens, and a God in the form of a bunny. Enjoy an exciting summer vacation in sweet light’s Himawari!!, or help a sickly heroine in AkabeiSoft3’s Dekinai Watashi ga, Kurikaesu.. If you’re looking for a cute chara-ge, keep an eye on Marmalade’s PRIMAL×HEARTS and Parasol’s Harenochi Kitto Nanohana Biyori. Remember: cuteness isn’t a problem, it’s the solution!

Filler month, with nothing major or especially noteworthy coming out, giving most plenty of time to work on their backlog until the next exciting episode of eroge Z.

Ame Koi

Company: Noesis
Game site: 雨恋
Release date: August 8, 2014
Comments:
Nozomu is a novelist who returned to his hometown of Katsumi for inspiration for his next work. He arrived in a downpour and took cover in an abandoned shed, where he met a young girl. They stayed close to one another to stay warm, which soon resulted in their passions taking over.

Afterwards, he ended up staying at her house and she introduced herself as Isshi Mizuki. That’s when he realized from her name and her smile that Mizuki was the daughter of his first love, Mizuho, who he wasn’t able to confess to at that time due to his timidity. But he has once again fallen in love. He planned to do what he couldn’t do back then, say what he couldn’t say back then. It is a continuation of the youth which he had let slip away.

This is a low-price title from Noesis that should attract people’s attention thanks to Coffee Kizoku’s art. The lone heroine Mizuki (CV: Ogura Yui) is quite younger than the protagonist, so this would appeal to those who like such relationships. The selling points of the game are wet and see-through clothes, black hair and sailor uniforms. That’s always a good combo.

May as well be the poster child for “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again”. At least she’s not a loli I suppose, not that it makes going after a girl who could be your daughter any better.

It doesn’t matter, so long as there’s LOVE!

You know a parent still “LOVES” their children.

Idol Mahou Shoujo Chiruchiru☆Michiru: Part I

Company: フロントウイング (FrontWing)
Game site: アイドル魔法少女 ちるちる☆みちる 前編
Release date: August 15, 2014 (Comiket 86)
Comments:
14 year old Michiru is a little-known idol who aspires to become a top idol one day. She looks up to the famous Kazuki, and wants to dress in cute clothes, sing wonderful songs and be loved by everyone. However, that dream is very far from reality. She just spends every weekend doing a mini concert (more like karaoke) in the dimly-lit jazz bar 9029 to a small group of fans, while selling goods on the side.

One night while walking home, she saw a shooting star and wished to become a top idol soon. Many other shooting stars appeared, including one which headed straight at her! It was actually the cat familiar Nyanmeru who came from the magic world. He told her that the world was in danger, so it’s up to Michiru to become a magic girl and save it! In return, he’ll grant anything she wished for.

This is a low-price Grisaia spinoff, featuring Michiru as a magic girl. This was first announced as an April Fool’s joke, but it’s now reality. It will be released in two parts, presented in an anime-style episodic format. The cast is the same as the original work, but this is not serious at all. It’s a slapstick parody-comedy similar to Innocent Girl, which writer Kuwashima Yoshikazu was also part of. Kazuki is Michiru’s rival, while the rest of the Grisaia cast will have different roles (Makina as the idol production president lol). As for Yuuji, he’s a sickly grade-schooler stuck in the hospital. The jokes are pretty funny, so I’m looking forward to being entertained.

Oh, and it’s all-ages, so there’ll be no tentacle rape. Sorry to disappoint those who were looking forward to it.

When it comes down to it the only thing that can compete with loli for the number one spot on my list of eroge hatred are the abhorrent abominations known as magical girls. There is something about the combination of stories that are impossible to be anything other than absolute garbage bundled in more pink lacy fluff than exists inside Micchi’s brain that elicits a level of loathing great enough to turn me into a raving madman heralding the end times.

Oh don’t be so serious! Embrace the pink lacy fluff!

Cotton candy is for eating, not embracing.

Kanae to Meguri to no Sonogo ga Icharabu Sugite Yabai.

Company: Hulotte
Game site: 叶とメグリとのその後がイチャらぶすぎてヤバい。
Release date: August 15, 2014 (Comiket 86)
Comments:
This is the fan disc for Imouto no Okage de Motesugite Yabai., with after story routes for chara poll leaders Kanae and Meguri. It also features a scenario where you fall in love with both at the same time. You know what happens then, right? I’ll definitely be there!

Yes I do know what happens. The two children get angry at each other then end up mutually stabbing each other and dying, with the moral being chase two get none.

You haven’t played enough harem games. I’ll recommend you some next time.

No thanks, I already know about Sister Princess.

Love+duction!

Circle: ユーエスエイト (US8)
Game site: ラブだくしょんっ!
Release date: August 17, 2014 (Comiket 86)
Comments:
Kanata opposed the demolition of Shiratori Gakuen and lay down in front of the school gates as usual. On an unusual day, the life of this relatively normal student who had a love trauma changed when he met “The Guide for Galactic Lovers”, Siri. He found out his classmate Meru was an alien, a spaceship really came down from the sky, and in the end, he was pestered to make love to Annie, the president of the galactic empire. Furthermore, when he returned home, he found the president-elect Yoshia on his sofa. After a series of events, it was decided that the one that wins his love will become the next president.

As usual, doujin games make little sense. If I had to choose between Annie and Yoshia, I’d definitely go with the former. She gets flustered when she’s with men and turns red if you get near her. Amusing. Let’s do that!

These two doujin games impress me through the sheer scale of nonsense they are constructed of. How can a human mind be so shattered that they are capable of thinking of this?

Baka wa Shinanakya Naoranai!

Circle: integral
Game site: バカは死ななきゃ治らないっ!
Release date: August 17, 2014 (Comiket 86)
Comments:
This is the debut work for doujin circle integral. Kazuhiko was run over by a truck on his first day of school. However, when he arrived in heaven, God told him that it’d be a problem if he was dead, and sent him back to Earth. He didn’t understand what happened, but he went to his classroom and found that he had to repeat the year. His osananajimi Kanade became his senpai, and a Russian serial killer Elena transferred into his class.

“Whoops, I added strychnine instead of salt >_<”
“Idiots can’t be cured unless they die!”

Is there a cure for possibly the most stupid person in the world? What will his destiny be after achieving immortality? Even God doesn’t know!

I’m not even gonna try to make any sense out of this and treat it like an ASa Project game. Yanase Aki’s art still needs a bit of work as there’s some pics where the proportions seem off. Let’s see how many different ways he can die.

Stupid pedobunny, Sense. Do you make it?

PRIMAL×HEARTS

Company: ま～まれぇど (Marmalade)
Game site: PRIMAL×HEARTS
Release date: August 29, 2014
Comments:
Spring is the season of first meetings. That’s what Kazuma thought when he transferred into Ainoshima Gakuen in the middle of the spring term. Indeed, the moment he passed through the school gates, he was accosted by two girls asking him to join their respective student councils. There are two student councils at the school, the traditional Gekka-kai and the avant-garde Tendou-kai. They are always competing against each other and their support is split dead even. It is up to the lucky boy ‘Three Seven’ Kazuma to cast the last vote to break the tie and that’s why they covet him so much. Which side will he choose?

I love Marmalade’s (Sasorigatame) art, so I’m definitely interested. I’ve already made up my mind. Of course I’m going with Tendou-kai since it’s led by the spunky kouhai Haruhi (and has Michi the Bitch). The dual student council system (with two sets of uniforms) brings back memories of Flyable Heart, but this probably won’t have the magical elements. There’s also a ‘walking talk’ system, similar to PRETTY×CATION, but it looks a bit unnatural since the sprite (including oppai) just bobs up and down. The trial was not bad, although it’s not going to be more than a typical chara-ge (although one that looks pretty good… and ero). Protagonist is rather stupid. The first edition comes with an ‘open breast patch’, but I never really liked seeing naked or semi-naked sprites all the time. There’s no fun in that.

This is like combining the worst of a club based game with the entire story revolving around giving the protagonist importance by forcing it on him via the setting, also known as pointless H scene buffers to pad out the only thing they actually put work into.

Dekinai Watashi ga, Kurikaesu.

Company: あかべぇそふとすりぃ (AkabeiSoft3)
Game site: できない私が、くり返す。
Release date: August 29, 2014
Comments:
Five years ago, Riku was given a pocket watch by Ren. It could rewind to any moment in time and repeat the same events as many times as one wished, while still keeping the memories of the time traveller. However, it was impossible to change the future. For example, one who is destined to die soon will still die even if they complete a major operation. She told him that it was futile to try to change it. She too had once tried to do so, but failed. However, she won’t stop him if he wished to attempt it.

He tested the powers of the pocket watch, helping many people along the way. He met by chance a young girl Shino and they quickly became friends. However, she had cancer and will die within a couple months. Before long, it was time to say farewell. She was prepared for the moment, but there were still many things that she wanted to do before her death. He decided to turn back time to grant all her wishes, and to possibly change her destiny.

The main theme of the game is how to make the most of the time that you have left. The time loop motif has been done often, to varying degrees of success. I have more faith in AkabeiSoft3 in pulling it off than most companies. The trial was everything I could ask from it: amazing music (I listened to the title BGM on loop), quality art and a thoughtful plot. The heroines all had their own charms as well, especially Miki, but their routes will likely be secondary to Shino and Ren. I wish for a good end for them. Just how many times will we have to endure sadness to (hopefully) attain a happy end? Or they could be heartless and just have her keep on dying. Either way, I think it has the potential to be one of the better games for this month.

I also got a bad end from asking for ramen too many times. I never knew that was possible.

One can only hope they use the watch to undo their own existence. Time travel as a gimmick is something usually poorly done and used as something of a deus ex machina to explore characters and settings consequence free. One can hope they stay consistent and go for the tragic end, although that is unlikely. Much more likely is ending up with a “Power of love conquers all” type story. As time travel generally falls under comedic or serious with this being an example of the latter there are certain problems that need addressing or else its little more than a cheesy drama gimmick. When the theme of time travel exists for comedy it is fine for it to be nonsensical when used to drive the humor, however a serious drama requires a greater attachment to the setting to properly develop their characters and involve the reader adequately. In this case I feel depth is lacking in favor of trying to create an easy setting hook that brings on the drama without having to really put effort into the story.

Himawari!! -Anata Dake o Mitsumeteru-

Company: sweet light
Game site: ひまわり!! -あなただけを見つめてる-
Release date: August 29, 2014
Comments:
You could spend your summer vacation only sleeping and doing your homework, but don’t you want to do something more? How about a boisterous time in swimsuits or throwing a pajama party? We could gaze at the full moon and make the sweetest love. Let’s have the best summer vacation ever!

Sweet light is again using the E-mote system to add more animation to the game, and it looks quite good and feels natural! It really makes you feel like you’re enjoying the summer with the girls (or spanking your imouto). Even the H scenes are fully animated, with lots of facial expression changes. Love p19’s colourful art. This chara-ge is set in the small rural town of Himukai-chou where Ryouta is part of the ‘himawari club’. While ‘himawari’ means ‘sunflower’, it might as well the ‘hima-ari (have free time) club’ as they just do random stuff. I’d love to do nothing all day.

The five heroines all have their eccentricities, which makes the character interactions fun to read. I love all of them, particularly the ultra-lewd ‘oniichan meister’ imouto Mikoto, secret peacekeeper Tenshi-senpai Tsubasa, and stargazing maniac Tenma. Actually, can I just take them all home? Please?

Nope, sleeping and getting the annoying work out of the way sounds like a good summer vacation to me. As a simple man I like my rainbow tarts in bathing suits kept well away from my pajama roofie parties, werewolves, and masturbating with honey. For a game insistent on covering its graphical flaws with the 2d sprite equivalent of enough bloom to make Helen Keller go blind, adding in a useless gimmick like the E-mote system does little to reinforce anything beyond the cheap plastic exterior. Maybe if the characters had more appeal written into them than some used cotton, an incontinent little sister H scene, a ball, a cinder block, and a piece of poo, there may have been some redeeming qualities. Alas this overly ambitious studio has decided to grace us with a tech demo for a gimmick that may one day be used in an actual game.

Himegoto Union Motto H! ~Kan no San Miyoshino Koharu no Osanazuma Nikki~

Company: SEVEN WONDER
Game site: ひめごとユニオン もーっとH！ ～巻ノ三 三芳野小春の幼な妻日記～
Release date: August 29, 2014
Comments:
This is the third of four mini fandiscs for Himegoto Union. Saizou and Koharu had been enjoying an intimate relationship ever since they successfully activated the ‘starship’ and became lovers a few weeks ago. Suddenly, his imouto Nanoka showed up and declared herself as Koharu’s rival, often arguing between each other.

One day, Nanoka suddenly disappeared, and everyone but the two of them lost their memories of her.  They decided to search for her, and came to a mysterious hole in the mountains after following her footsteps. When they jumped in it, they found themselves in a parallel world of the town a week ago. In this world, Koharu’s mother Filia was married to him, and her best friend Mei also had feelings for him. Will they be able to save Nanoka?

Koharu’s the best out of all of the heroines. Now we get two hinnyuu rivals together. Not only that, but since her mother is married to him, that makes Koharu his imouto AND daughter. Heaven.

Fandisk that reeks of giving up on trying to actually make anything more than what is the most popular and unoffensive fetish they can think of.

Satsukoi ~Yuukyuu Naru Koi no Uta~

Company: ALcot ハニカム (ALcot Honey Comb)
Game site: サツコイ ～悠久なる恋の歌～
Release date: August 29, 2014
Comments:
One snowy night, Izumi was stabbed by his guardian, kicked from his home and left half-dead in front of the train station. Unable to move due to starvation, he no longer felt cold and was about to lose consciousness. He no longer felt despair and became apathetic at his current situation. That’s when his classmate Yuu, who always skipped school, picked him up like a stray cat and brought him home with her. She told him with a slight smile that he is her food, so she will fatten him up before eating him. He thought that he shouldn’t be with her, but since he didn’t have any other options, he chose to stay in her apartment for the meantime. However, he soon found out that she was a mermaid who eats humans and lives eternally.

Will you sacrifice your life for love? What about your imouto? It’s definitely an interesting concept for the latest mid-priced title by ALcot Honey Comb. Let’s hope they fare much better than with Aka-san. They are bringing back Seo Jun, who worked on Aemushi and Harupoco. The game is nicely balanced between comedy and serious moments. The trial revealed the true nature of the mermaids and their existence, but I won’t spoil it for you since this is a short game. I was hooked though, and the plot advanced quite briskly. It’s almost like a mix of Riaimo and Shinikiss. Main heroine Yuu is voiced by Kusuhara Yui, who most recently did Alice in Majikoi. The other characters were more forgettable, and Nao was on the annoying side. It’s different from most titles, so check it out if you want something new.

Two problems, one even if she falls for him she could just eat someone else then, and two if they actually dare to bring in crap like emotions being the sustenance with some concept along the lines of love being the best spice… I hope whoever actually thought such a thing would be a good idea gets eaten by cannibal, raw. So basically my point is unless those two issues are properly dealt with, the game has no hope of being anything other than a mermaid that eats your legs instead of wishing for her own gimmick. Although personally I hope for it to be dealt with well, as I could probably stand to read and maybe even enjoy the game in that case, I am not especially confident in that being the case, so I will remain warily optimistic for the time being.

Hanayome to Maou ~Oushitsu no Harem wa Gekokujou~

Company: エスクード (Escu:de)
Game site: 花嫁と魔王 ～王室のハーレムは下克上～
Release date: August 29, 2014
Comments:
The demon world Lonistalia has been ruled by the Queen since the end of the warring period. This successor to her position will be the one who can obtain the love seed of a summoned human who possesses the powers of the demon lord. It is because of this absolute rule that Shinkurou was summoned to the demon world. He was thrown into a school to learn how to be an appropriate husband for a queen, while surrounded by girls lusting after his seed.

It’s a return of the strip battle system from Akatoki!, with the source of clothes shedding caused this time by cat-fights! Each of the heroines has a servant and Shinkurou has to help out in the shuraba battles. You can pick whichever side to help, but if you betray a heroine too many times, she may end up raging at you and you will be ‘punished’. The winner of the battle will get to have their sweet time with you (in other words, H). These demon girls have no shame and would do it anytime and anywhere. The battle system isn’t that interesting, as you just need to keep pace with your opponent, then get in the first strike when HP is low. The studying and stat growth part is more of a chore. Some of the BGMs are weird and sound out of place (mainly since they have lyrics).

I find it amusing that even though he was summoned to this world, it’s only his soul that came. His body is just a vessel and they can toy with him (and break him) all they want. Mmm… delicious twins… So nya~isu♪ Should be a fun and chaotic nukige!

Nukige, which pretty much sums it up in one word.

Harenochi Kitto Nanohana Biyori

Company: Parasol
Game site: 晴のちきっと菜の花びより
Release date: August 29, 2014
Comments:
Haruma was about to enter his second year at Kaminagi Gakuen when he came down with a fever over the spring vacation and was hospitalized for a month. When he returned to school in May, he didn’t know his new classmates and couldn’t fit in his class. However, he wasn’t the only one who had the same problem. Nanoka, who transferred in a couple days before he arrived, also wasn’t able to make any friends. Since he sat quite close to her, they exchanged greetings and talked about their lives, getting along quite well.

Haruma found out that Nanoka wanted to join the gardening club. But the gardening club at Kaminagi Gakuen disbanded a year ago. He promised to help reform the club in order to grant her wish. This enabled him to met lots of friends and regain the ‘one month’s time’ which he had lost.

Chikotam art! And Nanoka is voiced by Anzu Mitsu as well! That’s definitely enticing enough for me to play Haruno. However, it’s a bit worrisome that the 3 scenario writers’ last works were Yumekoi and your diary. My fears were confirmed after playing the trial. While the plot does eventually get going and has some intriguing elements which are foreshadowed, the pacing is really bad. For the first 15 minutes, I only talked to one character, Konomi. Even though I like her, it still got boring. I can only imagine what it’d be like for someone else who hated that archetype; they’d probably drop it right away. I also didn’t like how the writer included explanations directly in the dialogue (not voiced), akin to editor notes in fansubs. We should know what a bra strap is already. The quality of the SDs leave a lot to be desired.

That’s not to say everything is negative. The serene feel of the game gradually shows a darker side, as we find out about Haruma’s past, as well as the unfortunate circumstances of the heroines. The OP is beautiful and likely will be one of the best for this year. I have no problems with the characters. In addition to Nanoka, the imouto-like kouhai-osananajimi Konomi and energetic senpai Karin are also quite appealing. Nanoka’s family is poor, so she wears her oneechan’s hand-me-down seifuku and I really love her extra long sleeve look! She’s so cute! Cute is justice! Hau~ omochikaeri~!

I just wish that the story-writing is able to properly develop the characters. We must stay positive!

This is basically Yahari ore no Seishun Rabukome wa Machigatteiru (yes I had to look that title up) the eroge. All they even bothered to change was the name of the club, the structure is identical otherwise. As far as characters, well they are generally a moot point anymore, as there is so much overlap with the same five to arguably ten designs that about the only difference anymore is whether they say “Onii chan” or “Nii san”. Any time an eroge decides it would be better to rip off an existing light novel, manga, anime, or rival eroge I decide they are no longer worth seriously considering.

Sougeki no Jaeger

Company: propeller
Game site: 蒼撃のイェーガー
Release date: August 29, 2014
Comments:
There are evil beings known as ‘oni’ in this world which eat other living beings near them. No one knows when they first appeared, but a guild of exorcists is tasked with vanquishing them. Even though they always fight in the shadows, their actions greatly influence the world.

Homura was a normal student attending school in the city. He was kidnapped by unknown assailants and when he came to, he was aboard a huge ferry. In front of him was the bad-mannered Tetsuya and two exorcists, Anya and Kaho. They told him that he was an exorcist just like them and gave him the talking sword ‘Onitorimaru’ and urged him to use the sword to defeat the oni. The bewildered Homura tried to escape along with the naive Chizuru, but he found himself face-to-face with an oni. He was forced to fight and he felt a bond with Onitorimaru. After the battle, he realized that his fate has now changed.

They arrived at the small island of Hatano, where he was enrolled into the only school and stayed at the same dormitory as the three exorcists, Anya, Kaho and Mai. Chizuru became a welcoming oasis in his surroundings, which changed so suddenly. Just when he had finally grown accustomed to his daily life, she was attacked by an oni. He saved her, but then the oni attacked the school the next day. Chaos ensued as the students ran away from the oni, but many of his classmates and friends were eaten by it. That’s when his fight against the oni truly began: to stay alive, to protect his friends, to save the one he loves.

propeller is returning to the dark (18+) side after two all-ages games (Negai no Kakera to Hakugin no Agreement and Tokyo Babel). However, the writer isn’t Higashide Yuuichirou, but rather relative newcomer Utsusemiza (who has only worked on Guilty games in the past couple months). As with this company, the protagonist is voiced and the cast is pretty good, featuring Kiritani Hana, Aoyama Yukari, Kitami Rikka and Mitsuki. However, the tachi-e are noticeably rough and the action parts cheap. I’m also not really into these chuuni battle to save the world stories which put more focus on the action, so I’ll pass.

Propeller can be hit and miss for me, sometimes they make good games, other times overly drawn out chunni fests that do little more than act as sleep aids. In this case the game most likely falls under the latter, in fact this feels like a poor quality rip off of Dies Irae. Try harder next time, just throwing some weapons and monsters together does not a good story make, noobs.

Maou no Kuse ni Namaiki da! Torotoro Tropical!

Company: ラグジュアリー (Luxury)
Game site: 魔王のくせに生イキだっ！ とろとろトロピカル！
Release date: August 29, 2014
Comments:
This is a fandisk for Maonama which takes place in between the first and second games. It’s split into three parts: the maou chapter at the beach, the maid chapter with mock weddings, and the another story for subchara-turned-heroine Lucifuges. The system is the same as the two previous games. It’s nice to see the girls in other attire. MI-ZU-GI! MI-ZU-GI!

Fandisk about showing off the H scenes that didn’t have time to make it into the original product, so now you have the special privilege of paying extra for them.

Micchi’s Top 5 for This Month

1. Dekinai Watashi ga, Kurikaesu.
2. Himawari!! -Anata Dake o Mitsumeteru-
3. Idol Mahou Shoujo Chiruchiru☆Michiru: Part I
4. Satsukoi ~Yuukyuu Naru Koi no Uta~
5. Harenochi Kitto Nanohana Biyori

Zen’s Top 3 for This Month

1. Satsukoi ~Yuukyuu Naru Koi no Uta~
2. Idol Mahou Shoujo Chiruchiru☆Michiru: Part I    – HA~
3. Harenochi Kitto Nanohana Biyori                           – Just Kidding~

My summer vacation is playing eroge. Just like every other month.

My summer vacation is avoiding bad eroge by sleeping, and doing homework, much more fun.