October 2014 Eroge Releases

The eroge world is full of mysteries. Why do aliens keep attacking Earth? Why do the protagonist’s parents always end up overseas if they’re not dead? This month you can explore the island of illusion in Lump of Sugar’s Unmei Senjou no φ, solve a series of disappearances in Cabbit’s Hakoniwa Logic, or discover the school’s seven mysteries in Lass’ Mayoeru Futari to Sekai no Subete.

Pretty dull month overall, where the only games I may play are delays from previous months. The rest are either boring or just plain terrible. Oh well these months happen and at least it is short enough to meet Micchi’s preferences, better luck next month eroge industry.

Starlight★Idol -COLORFUL TOP STAGE!-

Company: FOUNDATION
Game site: すたーらいと★アイドル -COLORFUL TOP STAGE！-
Release date: October 24, 2014
Comments:
Yuuichi is a producer-in-training who is entering his third year at Mion Gakuen, a school created to find and develop talent for arts and entertainment. As is the custom, he was put in charge of an idol group: the prominent 5-person idol unit CRESCENT. However, the members are all peculiar in their own ways. Even though they each have great individual ability, there was no group unity. He seeked to solve their worries with the help of his best friend Kazutoshi and Katou-sensei, so that the girls can both mature individually and develop together as a group. Their goal is to perform on the biggest final stage ‘live alive’.

Overall, I did not like the trial at all. The writing was awkward, flipping between high and low moments too quickly. It was hard to take the drama seriously when there was hardly any development and the arguments seem so petty (e.g. mistaken double booking). At certain moments, they also tried to tell the story from the perspective of each member, but it just came off as boring and repetitive. Yuuichi is pretty useless and gets bossed around by the group leader Nozomi all the time. We’re supposed to pity him since he got in an accident? It wasn’t even to protect imoutos! I guess he tries his best, but he’s so reckless. The seiyuus don’t sound that good, as most of them have only done nukige. I couldn’t bring myself to like any of the characters, in particular Nozomi who is too pushy and only cares about herself.

I wouldn’t expect a good quality game here as FOUNDATION can’t even spell the name of the idol group correctly. They often call them CRECSENT and CRSCENT. Where’s the quality control?

Idol games tend to be more about the fantasy of delving into the loose panties of your favorite Justin Bieberette than having any sort of logical thought process, or character development, or even characters attempting to at least pretend they have an existence beyond their CG sets created with bad cosplay, a pair of sharp scissors, and an LSD induced color palette. Beneath all the glitter and setting where you totally get to hop into bed with that singing bimbo who makes your pants tight from all her seductive rhythmic hip and chest gyrations is a whole lot of nothing. Basically a faithful rendition of the talent that goes into these groups and general pop artists, along with the fandom who unfortunately continue to buy into it in the hopes thine fair maiden will swoop down from up on high and whisk them away for a life of hedonistic pleasure once she realizes she loves him more than every other gullible, desperate, and unattractive basement troll since he happened to buy every piece of cheap merchandise with her name on it better than they did.

Justin Bieberette…

Yup, that’s the legendary heroine of idol games that all strive to be.

Busou Shoujotai Blade☆Briders

Company: ALICESOFT
Game site: 武想少女隊ぶれいど☆ブライダーズ
Release date: October 24, 2014
Comments:
In the late 21st century, humankind came under a fierce attack from aliens who suddenly appeared via wormholes. They were helpless to fight against them and resigned themselves to imminent death. At that time, an ultimate weapon which could create items out of imagination was discovered in a expansive cave under Japan, along with its young master Ryuusei who was in cryostasis. The indiscriminate alien attacks awoke him and he led the humans to a decisive victory.

One year later, while the areas which had been destroyed by the aliens were still being rebuilt, Ryuusei was appointed as the commander of the newly-formed Defence Force of Earth, which was created to fight against space invaders. However, he was the only person who could use the ‘imagination embodiment device’. If something was to happen to him, then calamity would befall the world. So the Defence Force of Earth decided to recruit girls with potential to fight alongside him. Even though they hesitated at first, they each had their own reasons to join Ryuusei. Thus, the special force ‘Blade Briders’ was formed, to protect the Earth against the aliens who have returned.

Blade Briders is a simulation RPG where you have to repel wave after wave of alien attacks. When you’re not being attacked, you can expand your city to strengthen your defences. Of course, Ryuusei’s imagination embodiment device can also boost the abilities of each girl, give them special abilities and a new look as well. It seems to be catering to tokusatsu fans. It’s pretty much a typical ALICESOFT game, so you’d know if you’re interested in the first place. I’ll be passing on this since there’s plenty of games I’m interested in coming out in the next few months.

Sometime in the future aliens invade as they are known to do, random protagonist gets woken up only to find out he is the only hope of the world, so to appease his newly discovered cult messiah status he was given a harem. Now go do battle with arbitrary alien invasion with your boob platoon, just don’t expect a game, nor a novel of any sort, this is little more than the usual time waster CG bait most ero play games are.

Aneyome Quartet

Company: CandySoft
Game site: あねよめカルテット
Release date: October 31, 2014
Comments:
Kouki is the only child of the Hidaka household, which is very close to their next-door Hanabishi household. Since the two fathers were best friends, he was treated by the four beautiful Hanabishi sisters as their own little brother. One day, it was decided that both their parents would be heading overseas for business. The sisters’ father was worried about leaving them alone in the house, but Kouki assured him that he will take good care of them. Touched by his reliability, it was soon arranged that he’ll be the future leader of the Hanabishi group. It had always been planned, but originally they had wanted to wait until after his graduation from school. However, he must choose one of the sisters as his lifelong partner.

So, he ended up living with the sisters for the summer vacation. Yurina, who’s dependable at work, but lazy around the house. Momone, who loves him greatly and pampers him all the time. Saori, the almighty housemaid who’s also a hikikomori. Anzu, who thinks of him of nothing more than her own personal toy. Which of this older sister quartet will he choose as his bride?

CandySoft seems to love oneechan games, but only the youngest oneechan Anzu catches my eyes (probably since she’s more like an imouto). This is Hisasi’s first foray into the eroge industry as an illustrator. Most of the game will be about them tempting him with their bodies so that he will choose them. The set-up is nothing new, so unless you’re interested in a particular character or two, it’s probably better to skip this one.

I still dislike the concept of binding all the heroines into a single trait. Even when it is something I generally find favorable, actually even more so in that case, the degree to which it cheapens the entire game just makes them so boring to me. Since it has been awhile probably, I will state yet again why I feel that way. Much of the point of a singular characteristic when designing a character is to provide them with something unique to stand against other heroines, both to provide a something for everyone buffet for the protagonist to choose from, as well as to create an atmosphere to the setting where all the characters interact in a diverse way, for that refreshing minty feeling that follows every new scene. When creating a game that forces all heroines to carry a single primary identification, the only differences are gimmicky side traits glued or stapled onto the main theme all five or so character designs are based on. So in this case if you happen to enjoy the older sister archetype you are left with five bland versions of that same theme doing the same thing. Instead you could have one well thought out multifaceted older sister heroine who stands out in a clear role and contrast to other heroines, bringing better development and character interaction to the game. What I’m getting at is this game will almost certainly be duller than a rusty spoon wielded by a lazy sloth, whether you enjoy the older sisters or not.

Doushite, Sonna ni Kuroi Kami ga Suki nano?

Company: ファイヤワークス (FIRE WORKS)
Game site: どうして、そんなに黒い髪が好きなの？
Release date: October 31, 2014
Comments:
New release date after being pushed back from September. This is the first title by FIRE WORKS. Why does the protagonist like black hair so much? Well, there’s no need to have a reason, but it might have had something to do with his surroundings during childhood. As the heir to a shrine, he had been surrounded by black-haired women for as long as he could remember. You could say it was in his blood.

Thus, it’s only natural that a beautiful black-haired girl would appear before him when he was about to freeze to death. He was captivated by her beauty and thought to himself that if he was going to die, he would marry a black-haired bishoujo like her. So, he proposed to her on the spot.

Many months later after he had miraculously survived, the girl Ichou, who was one of the gods of marriage, returned to become his bride. His miko osananajimi Urara would not accept their relationship, but he could not turn down a request from a black-haired lady, especially one who had saved his life. Afterwards, they were joined by Ichou’s imouto Sakuya and the self-proclaimed shinigami-possessed (chuuni) Mizuha. Surrounded by black-haired girls, the odds of his wish being fulfilled look bright.

Their hair doesn’t look black! They look like dark blue or purple! I find it interesting that while hair colour can usually hint at a character’s personality, just their hairstyle alone can have the same effect. Maybe I’m just partial to twintails. Other than the hair colour difference, it is your typical shuraba comedy. Scenario writer Touta worked on ensemble’s Ojonana. I like the OP song.

Okay, so I like black hair, it is my favorite hair color, but is there a need to even make that a central focus, a driving point for the protagonist? Let us for example say the protagonist did not have or at least express any sort of sexual fetish for hair color, and the heroines remained as they are. Does anything actually need to change to suit this? Nope, not a thing save the protagonist and game itself would feel more likable and easier to identify with, all while the heroines are less about mannequins with wigs that make him high and horny, instead just characters who simply have, heaven forbid, a common Asian hair color. If people happen to like black hair on heroines, I would assume they are not blind and are able to see that elegant, luscious, silky, shimmering black hair features quite prominently with a single glance at the cover.

I prefer Skittles.

Dark chocolate is way better than the diabetes rainbow.

The trial was surprisingly interesting to play. Even though there’s plenty of comedy, there’s a serious side to the game as well. Ichou is clearly the main heroine and they have no experience in love. The first few choices are for love, ero or step-up (H). Depending on what you choose, they’ll hold hands for the first time, go for a walk, write love poems, and other little moments to further their relationship. If you don’t consummate the marriage before a time limit, then you’ll get a bad end (for a good reason). Sakuya would appease the do-Ms out there. Also, I recommend playing in windowed mode since the full screen mode makes everything pixelated. This game looks promising for this month.

Himegoto Union Motto H! ~Kan no Yon Himeria no Love Mori Sweet Album~

Company: SEVEN WONDER
Game site: ひめごとユニオン もーっとH！ ～巻ノ四 ヒメリアのラブ盛りスイートアルバム～
Release date: October 31, 2014
Comments:
This is the fourth and final mini fandisc for Himegoto Union. Saizou and Himeria enjoyed their time together after openly becoming a couple. In the midst of these fulfilling days, Himeria continues her goal of collecting all five star cards. However, a sixth star card appeared unexpectedly. The test from the protection star beast Nanoka was different from the others: to solve the riddle of ‘something which feels good’. Then, Himeria’s rival Diane also joined into the trial.

The imouto turned into a star beast!? Well, Nanoka still takes the form of a small girl. This marks the end of the Himegoto Union series, so SEVEN WONDER can go back to making new games.

At this point I wonder if they forgot how to make new games, and not these trite Circus games.

Daemon Busters ~Ecchi na Ecchi na Daemon Taiji~

Company: MOONSTONE Cherry
Game site: デーモンバスターズ ～えっちなえっちなデーモン退治～
Release date: October 31, 2014
Comments:
Kou is a member of the public morals committee at Moriyaji Gakuen, along with his osananajimi Ai and kouhai Karen. One day while he was making the rounds after school, he was attacked by a weird being. He was frozen in fear and could not evade its attack, but he was saved by two girls, Konoka and Lizera. They were ‘daemon busters’ who fight against daemons borne from the lust and cravings of humans. They told him that he was a kyuumashi who could absorb the desires that create daemons, and they asked for his help since his special ability makes their battles much easier. When he uses his ability, it causes him to be able to see girls naked and also makes them horny. If the daemons aren’t defeated, then their lust will cause the whole school to become an orgy. As part of the public morals committee, he can’t let that happen!

MOONSTONE Cherry never fails to deliver with their ero-centric games. No one cares about the story, when you have lots of H scenes complete with animation and climax counters. There’s even internal shots if you’re into that kinda thing. The whole daemon battling thing is more of a joke. Karen’s my favourite here, although his bokukko imouto Tomoko also gets a route thanks to a tokuten patch.

Correct me if I am wrong here, but considering the lack of anything worth calling a story or characters less interesting than a political debate centered around economics, I would think the entire point of this game is to let the school to devolve into a giant orgy. I mean other than the CG and sound effects behind them there doesn’t seem to be much of a point to the game so anyone who feels like playing it is probably doing so specifically for the ero content and not to satisfy their craving for Shakespearean drama. So for my part please Moonstone Cherry, stop trying to coquettishly hide the games naughty bits as though ashamed someone might realize your game is little more than some erotic CG images and moans, and embrace it, at least then the people who want that sort of thing in their game could have more content with less of that annoying text in their faces.

Tropical VACATION

Company: TWINKLE
Game site: トロピカルVACATION
Release date: October 31, 2014
Comments:
New release date after being pushed back from September. The giant spa resort ALOHA has been a popular spot ever since its opening, with an endless line of customers. Then an even bigger spa resort COCKTAIL OCEAN opened up next door, with better facilities than ALOHA. However, it was not able to attract people away from the established ALOHA. In order to turn the tide and beat ALOHA, they asked the service-oriented Yakumo to help rebuild C.O..

So this is a spinoff of Tropical KISS, with the previous girls being the rivals. I wonder if we’ll see some cameos. The first game was decent due to its comedy and relaxed atmosphere, so I hope they won’t dwell too much on the business side. You’re at a resort! Check out the girls!

Changing the cast and setting to rivals from a previous game is both a good and bad thing. It is good to see things from another angle, but bad when you may like the other side you already know of better. This puts the game in a difficult position which may be more accessible to people who have not played the first game, as they can play it without feeling a little guilty over ruining what was built up the first time around. Unlike Micchi though, I would appreciate more focus on the business side, it allows for greater depth in the writing and character development, as well as offering a much needed break from the standard eroge antics. By mixing in other aspects to the setting such as the business, the moments the characters spend forming bonds become all the more poignant.

Unmei Senjou no φ

Company: Lump of Sugar
Game site: 運命線上のφ
Release date: October 31, 2014
Comments:
New release date after being pushed back from September. The solitary island of Shintenjima is said to be an island of illusion, only mentioned in occult-like rumours. It does not fall under Japanese territory, nor is it owned by anyone else. No one knows who lives there, nor what lives they lead. It is an island shrouded completely in mystery.

Iori is a young man who doesn’t remember anything more than five years ago, but he has a link to the island. He received a letter summoning him to Shintenjima. He was greeted by the maid Linja and brought to the mansion Hourinkan. There he met the owner Karin, as well as the fellow guests, many of whom were around his age.

Surrounded by bishoujos in a suspicious mansion on a secluded island…. He had a feeling that something was going to happen.

Lump of Sugar’s latest work is written by the team that worked on Magicha. The game is compatible with tablets running Windows 8. It features two new systems: the ‘Fortune Divide System’ where you could use a sword in the interface to ‘cut’ the screen and reveal new choices (swipe the screen for tablets), and the ‘Detective Mode’ where you search for clues to solve a task (although you could always right click for the answers). There’s also a ‘touching mode’ where you um… touch girls and you can hear their reactions (dokidoki!). At first, it feels that this gameplay is a throwaway, but the use of the sword is actually vital to the progress of the story. There’s also a secret notebook and flowchart to help you along the way.

Just how important is the new system? It’s like night and day! If you’re playing the trial, don’t stop after completing the detective side! There’s another side of the story which is completely different. Start the game again from the very beginning and change your destiny! I thought the blademaster side was much more fun to read than the detective side, but there’s still many questions to be answered. The characters’ personalities don’t differ too much between the two sides. Karin is still a playful master and Nagisa is still an angel. I think this will be worth trying out!

Lump of Sugar games are all pretty much the same thing, so if you just want to replay their past games with a new and rather silly gimmick added on to use when making choices instead of just clicking along, but with a renaming of the same setting and plot elements I suppose this would be the game for you. I wish the eroge industry would stop and look at itself so that maybe, just maybe they might realize that it is not about how you tell the story, but about whether the story is worth telling in the first place.

Hakoniwa Logic

Company: Cabbit
Game site: 箱庭ロジック
Release date: October 31, 2014
Comments:
Arata is a student at Senba’s Tsurubane Gakuen. Modelled after the capital, the recently-built city of Senba is commonly referred to as the ‘miniature garden city’. Even though it is still small, the facilities are quite similar to what you find in downtown Tokyo and the population density is also quite high.

One day in October, he was summoned to the student council, Benizuru-kai. The student council president Shizuku asked him to investigate a string of mysterious incidents which have taken place in the city. There had been six students who have disappeared since April. With no eyewitness accounts, she suspected that it was a very widespread case. There was no link among the disappeared students and the school thought that it was strange as well and wanted an investigation into it. She told him that it would be enough if he would just pretend to do something about it.

He thought it was a bothersome task and was planning to turn her down, but for some reason she knew everything about the embarrassing chuuni novel which he had written before he moved to the city. Faced with blackmail, he had no choice but to accept her request.

He began the investigation with his only friend, extremely perverted kouhai Koko, whose best friend was among the six girls who disappeared. Then a mysterious girl Kirika suddenly appeared, all dressed like a detective (complete with cape), proclaiming that the incident was not a simple disappearance case and it was closely related to the city itself. She then asked him to unravel the city’s secrets with her.

Depending on whether you choose the mystery otaku Kirika or SM-fanatic Koko as your partner, the story progresses in a different manner. As you delve into the mystery and explore the city, you’ll meet many other characters and collect the ‘keys’ which can unlock more stories. The mystery set-up is somewhat interesting and the trial was decent. It’s written solely by Mikuriya Mikuri, who also penned the other two Cabbit titles (Midori no Umi, Kimisora) which were well-received. There’s a flowchart to help you in case you get stuck, as well as showing what points you need keys to proceed. Since Koko is voiced by Ogura Yui, there’s no question who I’d be choosing as my partner. I’d like her to leave the handcuffs at home though.

Of course we all know that the first thing to do when students begin to take their Houdini acts way too seriously and stop showing up to class is to call up another high school student to solve the case. Since we all know student councils act as a legally governing body that makes real decisions and have the sort of power to give responsibility over serious issues to other children, rather than ya know, someone with training, like a detective. Incredibly stupid premise requiring the reader to suspend disbelief so far it reaches orbit aside the game doesn’t particularly stand out. There just is not much content aside from the disappearances and detective theme that makes it any better or even any different to other eroge. So if all you care about is a cheesy and nonsensical detective story for the sake of it being a detective story there might be something to enjoy here, if not, you may as well play a game with a story that won’t make you wince out of pain and shame while reading.

Student councils hold the most power in eroge. You should know this by now.

Till the protagonist sleeps with them all and usurps their powers.

Kanojo to Ore to, Koisuru Resort

Company: PULLTOP LATTE
Game site: 彼女と俺と、恋するリゾート
Release date: October 31, 2014
Comments:
This is the double fandisc for Tototo and Koirizo, taking place a year after Koirizo with the Tototo cast visiting Rosemary Island Resort. There are after stories for all the characters, five 3P scenes (Ayano/Susuki, Tsukushi/Konoka, Yuuko/Chikage, Sango/Konami, Yuuhi/Nagisa) and routes for subcharas Yuuhi and Konami. There’s also a sun-tanned swimsuit patch. Enjoy your summer!

Hooray for fandisks.

Mayoeru Futari to Sekai no Subete

Company: Lass
Game site: 迷える2人とセカイのすべて
Release date: October 31, 2014
Comments:
New release date after being pushed back from September. For the last ten-plus years, Kazuma has been seeing a repeated dream. In this dream, his younger self met a beautiful elf in the forest, who put the pendant that she was wearing in his hand and wished for him to save her daughter in the future. Even though it felt like just a dream, the pendant which he held was indeed real. However, he had never met the elf nor her daughter, and now continues to spend his days as a normal student in the boarding school Kuondai Gakuen.

One time, he noticed a blonde girl staggering about at the top of the stairs. She fainted, but he was able to catch her in the nick of time. It appeared that he was the only one who could see her. Then, he remembered one of the school’s seven mysteries: “There is an invisible girl wandering about the school.”

Not only can Kazuma see the small elven girl Vier, but one can also see her using a special smartphone (darkness cat) which can see spirits. She takes a liking to him and always stays by his side, calling him ‘papa’. Then, he also has an imouto-like osananajimi Otoha (CV: Ogura Yui). Youta’s art is pretty, but hopefully the story by first timer Shimokitazawa Daisuke won’t leave a bitter aftertaste like in Shoujo∞Shoujo. Kazuma looks like a typical chuuni protagonist and there’s some tarot card battles involved. I’ll keep my eye on it, but won’t have too high expectations. The OP is one of the best I’ve seen this year though.

While it should be obvious to anyone familiar with my preferences, I cannot help but feel completely ambivalent towards loli elf girl. Aside from the pointless loli aspect, there is no reason for the reader to care, no investment or attachment beyond what the game tells you to feel. Part of it stems from binding the story to a school yet choosing a contrasting theme such as elves, what made them think that was a good idea is beyond me. Maybe if they chose some remote village in a fantasy setting there may not have been the need to suspend disbelief to the extent one must question the authors intelligence. As is however there is no need for the loli to be an elf save for fetish appeal. She could just as easily have been a space monster from mars, or a cell phone app AI for preemptively arresting pedophiles. Just throwing a random theme at a game to spice things up shows how little care has been put into writing quality characters along with the story and settings to surround them.

Having played the trial, Mayosube has now shot up to the top of my list this month. Even though it is chuuni with special abilities and DRILLS (it’s a similar feel to 11eyes), I was drawn into the setting by the writing. What is the forbidden room? Who exactly is Vier and why can’t she leave the building? Sure, some things don’t seem to make sense early on, but at least it’s not boring. The music helps a lot in creating a feeling of suspense. It’s nice to have a cast which is likeable. I particularly liked Otoha and Suzuran… and of course, Vier. How can you not love a loli elf that calls you papa?

Koiharu Adolescence

Company: Eclair
Game site: 恋春アドレセンス
Release date: October 31, 2014
Comments:
This is the first title by Eclair. Spring has come once again for Kazuharu and he thoroughly enjoys his school life at Ouka Gakuen. However, he had once promised his osananajimi and older sister that he would ‘fall in love’. For many years now, he’d been called a good-for-nothing and chicken by girls around him. His freedom disappeared with the start of the new school year. He was surrounded by girls who tempt him at the school and at the worn-down dormitory Azuma-sou: his glutton osananajimi Kanae, miko senpai Matsuri, lewd imouto Chifuyu, self-proclaimed ‘good girl’ kouhai Miyu, and the stupid ghost Hiiragi who for some reason won’t go to heaven. It’s a daily life unlike any other. Let’s have an exceptional youth!

Although it’s written by a first-time writer Youka Nanoka and illustrated by first-timer root, the nice cast makes up for some of the shortcomings. It’s more of a comedy chara-ge, with a similar feel to HOOKSOFT’s LoverAble. The game is separated into two parts: common route and lover route. The event system and calendar allows you to easily gain enough affection to pursue the heroine of your choice. The protagonist is a total hetare, which might get on some people’s nerves since the girls boss him around all the time. They do repeat some jokes, like Kanae’s constant requests for marriage, Hiiragi’s obliviousness and Chifuyu’s dirty language (calling other girls lewd Holsteins). It’s a tragedy that Izumi doesn’t have a route. It should be fine to play it for a few laughs.

Not the best game. Not the worst game. Just another game. Not enough content here to stand above the crowd where the game is just another “Pathetic protagonist shoved into a situation outside of his control where girls will fawn over him in various ways thus making his life worth living again.” type of game. I suppose there is some appeal in the somewhat stronger personality traits, but all this means is that Eclair decided to scream into your ear with a megaphone that “This heroine has X silly flaw, she’s so unique isn’t she? I bet you can’t wait for her route eh? Nudge nudge wink wink.” rather than anything well written. Obnoxiousness while not always a bad thing when used appropriately does not instantly make bland single dimensional characters suddenly more appealing or give them added depth, try harder next time and maybe if you wish hard enough on a star you can make a real game Eclair, not this copy pasted mock up.

I think you’d like the oneechan chara, especially since there’s only one of them here.

Maybe, but without the game to back her up, she’s less appealing.

Micchi’s Top 3 for This Month

1. Mayoeru Futari to Sekai no Subete
2. Unmei Senjou no φ
3. Hakoniwa Logic

Zen’s Top 3 for This Month

1. Uhh…
2. Doushite, Sonna ni Kuroi Kami ga Suki nano?
3. … Maybe?

I’d love having a loli elf fall into my arms.

I would sprinkle her with miracle grow to ruin your day. On that note, back to farming in Archeage for me.