September 2009 Eroge Releases

After an August lull, there are 23 titles that are coming out in September. Aside from Sorairo and eden*, most can’t be classified as ‘great’ games, but they aren’t bad either. So it’s most likely that you can find a game that interests you this month. There’s also a lot of fandisks, which will please people who have played WLO or Yosuga no Sora.

This month reminds me of watching a flatline on an EKG. Nothing really bad just nothing that really gives me a feeling of “I must play this!”.

Kokuhaku

Company: サウンド・ウィング (Sound Wing)
Game site: こくはく
Release date: September 14, 2009
Comments:
The premise for this all-ages game is pretty standard: a love confession by a new transfer student and other girls. However, the interesting part of the game is that you get to decide who each heroine is voiced by, and the choices are very good: Noto Mamiko, Tsuji Ayumi, Horie Yui and Hirano Aya. This is definitely worth checking out.

The concept of allowing you to pick the voice actor is somewhat unique, however in the end it is a complete waste of space in my opinion. I cannot see a need to choose which voice actor voices the character in a game when much of the point is the way the voices and characters mesh. What I mean by this is that the voice is just as much a part of the character as their personality or looks, which in the end I feel is not something that should be easily changed without a purpose for the story itself. Changing the voices is akin to being able to slap a new sprite of [insert favorite character here] on all of the other characters. In the end this destroys the soul of the characters and the game itself.

What? You don’t want 4 Hirano Aya?

Angel Navigate

Company: Aries
Game site: ANGEL NAVIGATE（エンジェルナビゲート）
Release date: September 18, 2009
Comments:
This is the first game by Aries. Souta returns to his hometown Takatsumatsu-chou with his sister Koharu. However, he is bad at communicating with girls and is recommended by a friend to use a popular love relationship website called “Angel Navigate”. Little does he know that some girls at the school also use the site.

I’ve been interested in the premise from the first time I read it. How will the net side and real life side be related? Will the characters act differently on the net? My only complaint is that some of the CGs look a bit awkward. Koharu’s such a clingy imouto!

I have to agree with Micchi that this game has an interesting premise that could make for a good game. I also like the chance to see the variation of characters personalities online and in real life. On the other side however the overall feel ends up being pretty standard so whether or not they will make full use of the plot potential remains to be seen. I will remain cautiously optimistic about this game.

Distance

Company: Silksoft
Game site: Distance（ディスタンス）
Release date: September 18, 2009
Comments:
This is Silksoft’s debut game. Taka was asked to become the coach for the athletics club, but he got in an accident. However, he refused to let things end like that and decide to make happy memories with a group of 5 girls. Ok, that was a really half-assed summary, but I couldn’t be interested when the artwork, voices and OP are pretty low quality.

Well Micchi your summary is even less halfassed than mine. Here goes… I wish Silksoft a swift and painful death for visiting such terribad work upon the world.

L.i.n.k.

Company: SGP SOFTWARE
Game site: L.i.n.k. -奇妙な運命に繋がれた者達の、血と涙の謡（うた）。
Release date: September 18, 2009
Comments:
I’m not familiar with SGP Software, but this one seems to be a suspense novel about magic users called ‘witches’. Not really interested, so pass.

Seems rather boring, though this may just be because of the rather sedate feel the OP presented. My feeling on this one is that it probably will not be worth playing in the end, too much ecchi, not enough skillful writing or character designs. Ah well I will check up on it post release in the hopes my initial outlook was dead wrong.

Princess Party Camellia

Company: CIRCUS
Game site: Princess Party Camellia～プリンセスパーティーカメリア～
Release date: September 18, 2009
Comments:
The fandisk to Princess Party is just as crazy. The main dish is loli teacher Tsubaki, with additional routes for PP‘s heroines. IOSYS’s songs never get old. It seems kinetic typography is the ‘in’ thing for OPs.

Fandisks are fandisks, if you are a fan then play it, if not ignore it… That is all.

eden*

Company: minori
Game site: eden*
Release date: September 18, 2009
Comments:
The world has 100 years left due to a star of destruction. As humans scramble to escape, a girl named Shion is guarded by a soldier Jun. This girl is important to everyone’s survival since she is a ‘Felix’, a superhuman with extremely high knowledge capacity and eternal life. During this last moment, the world’s last love story begins.

The game itself is all-ages, but you can get the additional patch eden* PLUS+MOSAIC, which adds the H content, as well as more explicit scenes. As usual, minori’s OPs are breathtaking, even though Shinkai Makoto isn’t listed in the credits (probably just overseeing his studio). Similar to ef, this should have plenty of drama. The first thing that I thought of was Saikano; I can just feel a bittersweet ending already. I’m sure this is on most people’s playlists, though I thought some CGs had bad body proportions.

I can FEEL the drama, as though it were a living being perched behind me, breathing heavily down my neck. Aside from the obviously overdone drama I personally cannot see any appeal to this story. Maybe it is just me who feels the entire concept of the girl and their relation is just plain lame, not to mention completely overused as a story element. The character artwork while not Umineko bad is hardly awe inspiring while on the other hand the backgrounds are breathtaking, quite a contrast really.

The OP is good for an eroge though pretty standard for anime OPs or music videos. Really though most of the elements that define the OP and make it seem excellent are just the most cliche elements in video strung together one after another.

Sorairo

Company: ねこねこソフト (NekoNekoSoft)
Game site: そらいろ
Release date: September 18, 2009
Comments:
New release date after being pushed back from August. With a loving imouto, tennen osananjimi and baka genki kouhai, this is definitely at the top of my list for this month. Of course, the childhood system is very interesting with how it affects the present. Myaa~ I can’t stop staring at that pink shima-mizugi.

New, improved, and topless this time?

YES!

Dakko Shite Gyu!

Company: タクティクス*ラテ (Tactics Latte)
Game site: だっこしてぎゅっ！～オレの嫁は抱き枕～
Release date: September 18, 2009
Comments:
This is Tactics Latte’s debut game. Yuuya is a hardcore dakimakura collector and his room is full of his ‘wives’. One day, a girl named Tobari meets him, claiming to be from the Dakimakura Institute. She needs his help in research and gives him a special high tech dakimakura. When he sleeps while hugging it, he will meet that girl in his dreams. You heard that right. It’s a pretty hilarious fanboyish plot and the OP is really catchy. 枕子灯は俺の嫁！

I can’t really say I particularly enjoy “Otaku finally gets some” style storylines or games so my impression overall is a bit negative. Though the characters do seem cute, I suppose if you like dakimakura and have fantasies about them coming to life in order to provide various services… then this is definitely the game for you!

Momoiro Guardian

Company: ALICESOFT
Game site: ももいろガーディアン
Release date: September 18, 2009
Comments:
The latest game by AliceSoft is an ecchi mahou senshi ADV where the protagonist is told by his mother that when it is his birthday, he will become a demon king. I mainly included this in the list because the song is nice and Hemi-tan might be interested. The art is nice too.

All Sailor Moon spinoffs can go to hell… Is my default policy regarding mahou senshi, and I am hardly about to change this now.

Wiz Anniversary☆Complete!

Company: FAVORITE
Game site: ウィズ アニバーサリィー☆COMPLETE！
Release date: September 18, 2009
Comments:
This is a new package for FAVORITE’s previous slapstick majokko game Wiz Anniversary with Vista support, a fandisk with some comp goodies and the drama CDs. Maybe I should try this since I liked Hoshimemo…

I have yet to play anything from Favorite, and since this is more like a fandisk I suppose there is not a whole lot to say anyway…

Puri☆Sara ~Dokidoki x Raburabu W Fan Disk~

Company: アトリエかぐや Berkshire Yorkshire (Atelier Kaguya)
Game site: プリ☆さら～ドキドキ×らぶらぶWファンディスク～
Release date: September 18, 2009
Comments:
Puri Sara is the joint fandisk for AKBY’s Prima Stella and Sara Sara Sasara. Since I didn’t play either games, I don’t have much else to say.

A disk specially created for fans.

Natsuiro Penguin

Company: リトルプリンセス (Little Princess)
Game site: 夏いろペンギン
Release date: September 18, 2009 Delayed to October 30, 2009
Comments:
New release date after pushed back from July. I’m still not exactly sure what else this game offers aside from the standard love comedy fare. Normally a penguin would be interesting, but Primary and Natsunagi already had those…

What is with the sudden penguin fetish overload….

Hime x Hime

Company: Etoiles（エトワルズ）
Game site: 姫×姫（ヒメヒメ）
Release date: September 18, 2009
Comments:
This is the first game by Etoiles, which was made from SIESTA. Basically, Yuusuke has the unenviable task of watching over tsundere ojousama Saki and romantic stuff happens at the private ojou-sama school. Honami reminds me a lot of Narumi from Arpeggio. An interesting note is that the SDs are drawn by Naruse Mia, but she doesn’t voice a character.

A bit difficult to tell whether this game has promise or not without more information on the protagonist. The premise reminds me a bit of Like a Butler, though really for now I feel sorta neutral towards Hime x Hime. Depending on how things develop as more info and the game itself comes out I may play if I have the time to.

Koibumi Romantica

Company: チュアブルソフト (Chuable Soft)
Game site: 恋文ロマンチカ
Release date: September 18, 2009
Comments:
Set in the Taishou era, Koibumi Romantica follows aspiring writer Fumito as he pursues his dream and learns about love. Obviously, the draw points for this game are in the outfits and observing how romance ADV themes play out in a different time. I like how the OP is partially animated.

Has a very sedate slow paced slice of life feel which is well conveyed by the OP. Maybe a little too on the side of romance for my tastes but does appear to achieve this style quite well. If you enjoy slice of life and romance Koibumi should be worth your time.

W.L.O. Sekai Renai Kikou L.L.S. -Love Love Show-

Company: あかべぇそふとつぅ (AkabeeSoft2)
Game site: W.L.O. 世界恋愛機構 L.L.S. -LOVE LOVE SHOW-
Release date: September 24, 2009
Comments:
First there’s PP fandisk, now there’s a fandisk for WLO too! I’m sure that this will be very exciting for all those that played it, as there’s after stories for each of the 6 heroines, plus additional scenarios for TEN subcharacters. TEN. They’re going all out with this one.

Quite a lot here for a fandisk it seems, Definitely worth the time if you liked WLO I would venture to suggest.

Nega0

Company: ETERNAL
Game site: Nega0（ネガゼロ）
Release date: September 25, 2009
Comments:
New release date after being pushed back from August. Good thing Hemi-tan and Kresnik, it looks like ECO won’t be out by end of September! So you can enjoy spending hours upon hours on this battle ADV XD

The one and only comment I have for Negao is really a question which I am sure we are all deeply reflecting upon. Does Micchi still see imoutos when she looks at this game?

Reiko does look like an imouto…

Battle demo:

Signal Heart

Company: パープルソフトウェア (Purple Software)
Game site: Signal Heart
Release date: September 25, 2009
Comments:
Signal Heart is a love comedy ADV about a guy that ended up living at a girls’ dorm because a fire burned down his house. The girls’ and boys’ dorms have never been nice to one another (I wonder why?), but I’m sure that he will somehow win all of them over with his motemote power. I think this has potential to be a nice light-hearted affair and the characters are all nicely drawn with their own quirks, but not anything too drastic. I like how the eyes are drawn.

Has something of a been there done that feel, though appears to be a little less on the wacky comedy side than most similar plotlines, really have to envy protagonist power though. While certainly nothing amazing, I will probably end up playing just a little bit to see if it is any good.

Hapi Tora -HappyTransportation-

Company: ブルームハンドル (BloomHandle)
Game site: はぴとら－HappyTransportation－
Release date: September 25, 2009
Comments:
In the far future, the world’s mantle and core had disappeared, causing the outer shell to break up into ‘floating islands’. The main method of transportation is on ‘brooms’ or airships (‘tragett’ or ‘cruisers’) flown by young girls known as Sylpheeds. With the airship that looks like a giant gondola, there is an obvious resemblance to Aria. If BloomHandle pulls this off well, HapiTora could be an enjoyable light-hearted slice-of-life fantasy romance story.

I could not agree more about the aria reference, that is the first thing that came to my mind. On the other hand I can’t really see the point, the world setup is kind of neat in the way its floating islands and all.. however the setting does not appear to have much bearing on the story as an element that changes the characters, relationships, or plot. The girls could just as soon be a Ramen delivery service and work just as well.

Tropical Kiss

Company: Twinkle
Game site: トロピカルKISS
Release date: September 25, 2009
Comments:
Tropical Kiss is the first game by Twinkle. Kaito dreams to be a “BIG guy” and moved from the countryside, but didn’t really have a plan. He ended up working at the newly-opened resort “ALOHA”. So there’s going to be a lot of mizugi and waitress outfits. The art is pretty, so this would be a nice game to pick up for comedy or fanservice. The OP was fun to watch.

Tropical Kiss gives off a very lighthearted feel that is a bit refreshing in this month full of drama. OP was well made though fanservice does seem to be a little high for my tastes, nevertheless a good comedy is a nice break every now and then.

Haruka na Sora

Company: Sphere（スフィア）
Game site: ハルカナソラ
Release date: September 25, 2009
Comments:
Haruka na Sora is the fandisk for Yosuga no Sora. I haven’t played the original before, but… Sora is so adorable!!! That CG is godly. I can feel the raburabu through the monitor. Also, the OP song is really soothing.

More fans and their disks.

Natsu no Ame

Company: CUBE
Game site: 夏ノ雨
Release date: September 25, 2009
Comments:
This is CUBE’s debut work. Sousuke is living a normal life with friends Midori, Hinako and Kazushi, when a girl appeared at his door one day. She introduces herself as Rikako and says that she is his older sister and is the same age as he is. Since her father recently passed away, she decided to come live with him. She tells him that it’s fine if he doesn’t pay attention to her since she doesn’t want to bother him. The plot actually is a bit interesting and the artwork definitely reminds me of CUFFS’ works. Might try this out.

I am a little intrigued by the plot, as it has a bit of unknown elements in the story. I like the overall feel this game gives as the focus appears to be on the story and character development. I will probably play this one as I want to find out how the story progresses.

Moe Moe 2ji Taisen 2

Company: システムソフト・アルファー (SystemSoft Alpha)
Game site: 萌え萌え2次大戦（略）2[chu～♪]
Release date: September 25, 2009
Comments:
An expanded version of the original SLG Moesen, more characters representing the various WWII countries and ammunition are added. The cast are drawn by a lot of different artists. Well, since there’s ‘loose adaptations’ of Sengoku, it’s not a farfetched idea to do the same for WWII.

As amusing as it is to see personified military equipment this game is simply just way too silly for me to even think about playing. I just cannot look upon it seriously enough to even care about the characters or storyline.

Mahou Shoujo no Taisetsu na Koto

Company: めろめろキュート (MeroMeroCute)
Game site: 魔法少女の大切なこと。
Release date: September 25, 2009
Comments:
This is basically your standard cute mahou shoujo game… except that the protagonist is a guy who is also a mahou shoujo! That actually sounds a lot like the upcoming Pajamas Soft game. Lots of loli-style chars. The OP song wasn’t what I was expecting. I haven’t really heard much about MeroMeroCute, so I’ll pass on this.

Ahh this is depressing. A game that is just so easy to insult or make smartass comments on I lost all my will to do so. Regardless I have absolutely zero interest in this game

Micchi’s Top 5 for This Month

1. Sorairo
   
2. Signal Heart
3. Hapi Tora
4. Angel Navigate
   
5. Natsu no Ame

Zen’s Top 3 for This Month

1. Natsu no Ame
2. Signal Heart
3. Angel Navigate