July 2014 Eroge Releases

There’s quite a few RPG/SLGs this month, including Debonosu Works’ Gigai no Alruna, side-B’s Märtopia and ALICESOFT’s Beat Angel Escalayer Reboot. CLOCKUP’s much anticipated Fraternite should be an intriguing read, while FAVORITE’s AstralAir no Shiroki Towa promises to warm our hearts. For me, I’m definitely going to enjoy May-Be Soft’s whacky gender-bending Change!.

Sigh, this month well, it was a long one, and a very very boring month. The one area eroge overachieves anymore is in how much effort they put into underachieving in the most efficient ways possible. I suppose this is what happens when you limbo with lolis, the bar gets set far too low for anyone else to have any fun. For people who only care about the H scenes or if the characters are shaped more or less the same as their favored cookie cutter may find some games to enjoy this month, but if you want something to enjoy the story, development of the characters and setting, so you may enjoy the process of the game itself then… well maybe next month, or the one after that, or sometime in the future….

Girls In Black

Company: Whirlpool
Game site: G.I.B.（ガールズ・イン・ブラック）
Release date: July 25, 2014
Comments:
Unbeknownst to the general public, aliens coexist with humans on Earth. They came from various stars, some to enjoy sightseeing, while others deciding to live here. However, thing doesn’t go smoothly all the time and problems arise every now and then. A secret organization exists to solve these alien-caused problems: ‘Men in Black’ (MIB).

One day, an UFO tried to abduct Subaru as he walked home from school. His classmate Yukano saved him from danger and afterwards, he helped her fight off the UFO. Since he witnessed an UFO with his own eyes, she told him that his memory must be wiped. But after some twists and turns, he was brought instead to the headquarters of the MIB, which Yukano was a part of. There he saw many strange aliens and after being given a tour of the facilities, he was enlisted into the MIB. His normal life instantly turned into a supernormal one.

It’s MIB: eroge ver.! Whirlpool doesn’t even bother hiding the fact that it’s parodying MIB, with the guys in black suits and shades. I wonder if there’ll be a Will Smith cameo. The Japanese branch is much cuter (following leads from the army, navy, air force, etc). The main writer is Wakase Ryou, who has worked on Natsunagi, Kisaragi, 1/2 summer and Timepiece Ensemble. I don’t expect the story to be serious at all. There’s only 3 heroines, which is lower than Whirlpool’s average amount. Sorami appeals to me the most; I love her eyes. She’s a little weird though, obsessed with aliens and doing ‘abduction play’ every morning. The sprites are in unnatural poses and the trial amounted to them doing various missions, which didn’t keep my interest. It seems badly written.

Way to be seventeen years late to the party Whirlpool. One might forgive a deficit of a few years, but this subject matter is almost old enough to go buy itself, and is already too old to be legal for half the heroines on display during the last two months. To be fair though we all know Whirlpool puts about as much effort into the text of their games as I do writing about them, so all the amusement from the game has probably already been expended after reading the summary of the game. Who needs memory wipes when you have a time machine to save hours of time grinding away over poor writing for the sake of a few mildly amusing MIB quips.

Kono Oozora ni, Tsubasa o Hirogete SNOW PRESENTS

Company: PULLTOP
Game site: この大空に、翼をひろげて SNOW PRESENTS
Release date: July 25, 2014
Comments:
New release date after being pushed back from May. This is a winter-themed variety pack for Konosora, including a mini FD for main heroine Kotori, as well a drama CD of the Soaring Club’s winter camp, a soundtrack with Kotori’s character song and some digital contents, such as binaural system voices and wallpapers. The mini FD focuses on Kotori’s sweet cohabitation with Aoi following her leg surgery and rehab. It’s written in a diary format and features lots of ichaicha and ecchi.

Figures that PULLTOP goes back to the Konosora franchise due to the sales. I wouldn’t mind a C@F! fandisc, but I’m not holding my breath.

Easy month, easy month, thank you pulltop for helping to make this an easy month.

Change! ~Ano Ko ni Natte Kunkun Peropero~

Company: May-Be SOFT
Game site: ちぇ～んじ！ ～あの娘になってクンクンペロペロ～
Release date: July 25, 2014
Comments:
Yuusuke is a healthy boy who has a dream of switching bodies with the girl he likes so that he can do whatever he wants with her. He would gaze at her breasts and feel them up. He would be free to enter her room as he pleases and sniff her panties. Of course, he could also look down there and check that she’s still a virgin. He greatly wanted such a power, but there was a huge gap between his delusions and reality.

Nowadays, smartphones have surged in popularity, and more than half of those who have cell phones own them. The main thing that spurred this trend was the free calling app ‘Connect’, which Yuusuke also decided to download. By chance, he was the 100 millionth user to register and the operating company sent him a special gift. It was an app that allows him to switch bodies with any girl that installed ‘Connect’ on her smartphone! His dream ability is now in his hands! Let’s make use of full use of this!

Have you ever thought about what it’d be like to be a girl, even if it’s just for a day? Well, Change! aspires to give you a (downward) view of this. I guess it can be viewed as an extension of the Henshi~n! series since you’re still changing into something else. In fact, Yuusuke is the cousin of Yuuji, the protagonist from Henshi~n!!!. I’d be lying if I hadn’t thought of this myself, so I’m very curious to see how May-Be SOFT will pull this off. I really like the kneesocks-wearing CG using the top-down view. I anticipate a lot of ecchi comedy and odd H scenes due to the partial changing (for example, only the legs or hand). Out of the main heroines, I love kouhai Rumia and classmate Ui. However, you can basically choose any girl you like, similar to their previous games. Let’s have some fun!

Actually, when I think about it more… doesn’t it end up just being masturbation in the end???

Gender bender themes would be interesting in eroge, but this is a cheap rather boring way of going about it, aside from gags there probably isn’t a whole lot here. I will give them credit for a somewhat unique idea though, something I’m sure everyone has thought about in regards to the opposite gender at some point. The main issue with the themes of this type is how to explain it, in this case the explanation was obviously rushed to get to the meat of the game, which is something of a demerit, as it loses ambiance and important development that could have otherwise been gained. Even when the purpose is a joke, the buildup and setting are important to get the full impact. Ah well at least the concept is different for once, and in my book that is worth a lot these days.

One only plays May-Be SOFT games for gags and ero!

Even gags are better when effort is put into them, rather than relying on the same situational jokes found in every game.

Neko Masshigura ~Nekomimi Cafe ni Youkoso~

Company: こねこソフト (KonekoSoft)
Game site: ねこまっしぐら ～ねこみみカフェにようこそ～
Release date: July 25, 2014
Comments:
This is the debut title for KonekoSoft, sister company of NekonekoSoft. During summer vacation, Kazuo moved to another town to work at a live-in part-time job at the cat café Masshigura. However, he found out when he arrived that there weren’t any cats there, but rather catgirls! And it’s not a cosplay… the cat ears and tails are real! He thought to himself that this must be paradise.

Nekomimi is definitely very ni~ce. It seems that all girls in this town grow nekomimi, which disappear at a certain age. There’s different types of catgirls, from kuudere to doting (even puppy-like). Of course, there’s the tsun one too. She’s probably plotting your demise. They’ve got some good seiyuus in the cast. Come check it out if you like nekomimi!

At least TRY to make up an excuse for catgirls, please that’s all I ask here. I don’t care if they are naturally a part of the setting, if its not set in our world fine, if it is just a little bit of effort to explain would go a long way in helping people believe there is more to your game than cat ear HCG.

Himegoto Union Motto H! ~Kan no Ni Kirishima Yuuki no Marshmallow Life~

Company: SEVEN WONDER
Game site: ひめごとユニオン もーっとH！ ～巻ノ二 桐島夕輝のマシュマロライフ～
Release date: July 25, 2014
Comments:
This is the second of four mini fandisks for Himegoto Union. It’s been a couple weeks since Saizou and Yuuki became lovers. After the ‘Starship incident’ and the subsequent stability of the police department’s acclaimed high-performance android Fubuki, Yuuki has been dispatched less frequently and she can enjoy more intimate time with him.

Suddenly one day, Saizou’s imouto Nanoka returned after a long time away from him. There was some initial bewilderment, the three of them ended up doing everything together just like old times. However, Yuuki soon became frustrated that she doesn’t have any more time alone with him. Fubuki got involved after sensing Yuuki’s feelings, along with another of Saizou’s osananajimi Haneru. Will this be a sweet lovers’ life or a tumultuous harem?

It seems like Nanoka is gonna figure into all of the games, attracting oniichan’s full attention as any imouto is wont to do. In the end, it’s still a fandisc, so play this if you played the original and liked this particular heroine.

Yay for fandisks, mini or otherwise.

AstralAir no Shiroki Towa

Company: FAVORITE
Game site: アストラエアの白き永遠
Release date: July 25, 2014
Comments:
For two years, snow had been falling continuously in the town of Tsukigasaki with spring nowhere in sight. Aside from the snow which never built up, the town was also struck by other abnormal incidents, such as tornadoes, thunderbolts and floods. Riku is an ‘elfin’ who possesses a mysterious ability known as ‘rune’, which he uses to save others. He returned to Tsukigasaki, where he grew up in an orphanage, along with fellow elfins Rinne and Hinata. Their duty was to protect two young sisters, Ochiba and Hazuki, from rune abilities which go out of control, while also keeping the existence of elfins a secret to the public.

When he arrived at the town, a girl in a pure white dress was waiting for him. He used to play with the girl Yuuki when they were small, having snowball fights and making snowmen. To his surprise, she still looked exactly the same as before he left. While she’s sad that the city has since changed a lot, she told him that he still remained the same to her even if he grows up.

FAVORITE is one of my favourites for many reason. I love Shida Kazuhiro’s art, Hoshimemo had a great cast, Iroseka/Irohika was a true kami-ge and there’s always a good mix of serious and funny moments in their games. Nakahiro’s also back on board with the scenario this time. I can’t help but draw parallels with Natsunagi due to the strange weather patterns, but even if this is all a dream, Yuuki is too adorable! Same with Ichika, Corona and pettanko-sensei Rinne! And also Hazuki, Marimo and Shiina! Ochiba isn’t bad either! You’d never be cold and lonely if you had them all warming you up!

In the trial, the heroines all had ample introduction time, except the supposed main heroine, Yuuki. Maybe they’re leaving her identity a mystery. There’s plenty of other mysteries as well. Who are the elfin and what are their purpose here? What is Rinne’s relationship with Riku? What is the goal of the Valhalla research lab? Who is Yuuki exactly and is she the one who’s making it snow? Why are there so many imoutos? There are many types of runes (clairvoyance, psychometry, power amplification) and the battle scenes are not bad. It seems like the themes will be family and friendship.

There were some parts where I thought the comedy parts seemed out of place (they should be saving people instead of chitchatting), and kindergarteners really shouldn’t know words like tsundere, kyonyuu and pettanko. However, I feel that the game still has potential. Luckily since this was delayed in June, I didn’t have to choose between this and Sakusaku. Now it’s easily my top pick for this month!

Maybe this town should learn to turn off their snow machines, or learn to stop whining about it. You don’t see people at ski resorts complaining when they make sure the snow never stops, damn selfish whining lolis. If anything this game proves that Dante had a point about hell freezing over while a three headed imouto gnaws on pedos or something along those lines. When all else fails, and you can’t be sure to leave impact with writing, always remember the easy crutch that is weather. I have noticed that weather featuring strongly as an element in stories has become a lot more common of late, using the weather of a region to set the tone for the setting rather than relying on quality writing with the weather being little more than a background happenstance. Aside from the weather acting as the club mechanic of this story, the inclusion of random magical power elements just dilute the quality more. It is not as though some sort of supernatural element be it weather or magic naturally detracts from a story, but by including it for the sole purpose of bringing characters together, giving the protagonist importance, or easy plot resolution just weakens the rest of the game and characters. So I am not looking forward to a game guilty of all of the above, copy pasted character archetypes aren’t enough to make up for poor story, design, and development for me.

Gangsta Arcadia ~Hipparcos no Tenshi~

Company: WHITESOFT
Game site: ギャングスタ・アルカディア ～ヒッパルコスの天使～
Release date: July 25, 2014
Comments:
New release date after being pushed back from May. This is the fandisc for Gangsta Republica, with Shahluke being upgraded from subchara to main heroine. Walking the dog, replacing the sliding door, babysitting. It’s another day of ‘bad’ deeds by the Gang Club. However, there is one thing different: his senpai Shahluke is doing a ‘homestay’ at his house for various reasons. Even though there are many problems living together, their days are happy ones. But those days are gradually threatened by something unknown to them: “the Angel of Hipparcos”.

Didn’t play the original since I wasn’t interested in the characters nor the plot, and my opinion hasn’t changed with this release.

Didn’t ask for it, don’t want it, but thank you for not making a real game.

Hitori no Qualia + Futari no Qualia

Company: 10mile
Game site: ひとりのクオリア ふたりのクオリア
Release date: July 25, 2014
Comments:
New release date after being pushed back from April. These two low-priced titles by 10mile featuring Fue and J-MENT, formerly of Tarte and RococoWorks, are yuri novels which cross-over with each other.

Hitori no Qualia: The mysterious girl Karin saved Makiri who carelessly walked out into the road. Makiri showered her with thanks, but it was a bit too close for Karin who refrained from interacting with others. However, Makiri’s purity helped Karin open her heart to her. Afterwards, they started living together. That’s when Karin found out that Makiri didn’t go to school and just played games all day. She decided to help her new friend who’s a hikikomori beyond her imagination by all means possible.

Futari no Qualia: One night, Natsume came upon the beautiful Ginza passed out on the street and took her home. Ginza got better under her care, but she didn’t seem like she wanted to leave. Natsume felt a strange sense of satisfaction from taking care of the free Ginza, who lacked common sense. However, there was a problem: she lived in an apartment for singles. If their cohabitation was found out, then they might be kicked out. What will they do with their futures?

I’m not sure how closely linked are these two yuri titles, but considering they’re each about 3000 yen each, I wouldn’t expect too much from the story. The OP makes me want to try it out though.

Eh, I’m about as into yuri as I am yaoi, and I expect about the same from both, which is nothing.

Tropical VACATION

Company: TWINKLE
Game site: トロピカルVACATION
Release date: July 25, 2014 Delayed to September 26, 2014
Comments:
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.

Fraternite

Company: CLOCKUP
Game site: フラテルニテ
Release date: July 25, 2014
Comments:
Mio shut herself in her room after being raped by a thug. She met a girl online, Yuka, who wanted to save her since she had experienced a similar past. Upon Yuka’s suggestion, Mio moved to a new town with her family to seek a new beginning. She joined the rather dubious group which Yuka was part of and seemed to be much more cheerful since. Mio’s younger brother Taichi met the beautiful Megumi and felt a slight attraction to her. He found out that she, along with Mio, had joined the group and decided to save them from it.

There are girls who seek salvation from the cruel reality and there are others who wish to save them. However, even though they are both aiming for the same salvation, their feelings do not cross. It is a tragedy borne in the name of ‘salvation’.

Many have been looking forward to another title from CLOCKUP which stacks up to their surprise hit euphoria. Well, you’ve got your happiness syndrome ADV now. What twisted and bloody futures lie ahead for our poor heroines? Will they finally attain salvation? Just the cover art with each character holding their funeral portrait is quite jarring. My guess is that their ‘happiness’ comes from drugs or something, and the OP suggests it may be a ‘suicide club’. I do hope that they achieve a happy end, but I’m not sure if I can stomach the events that lead to it.

I appreciate the desire to do something different than usual and focus on a bit more tragedy, however I cannot help but feel the emphasis was “Lets make a sad game” more than “Lets make a good game”. The reason for this is how everything in the presentation has an emphasis on trauma but not so much on how the story will work or how well it is written. It is easy to throw some sad events together, have a pity parade and the protagonist boo hoo with superficial hugs and feels all around, but if they really wanted to grip you by the pit of your stomach, you need to feel for the characters. With the willingness to emphasize the theme over the direction of the story, it becomes too easy to predict what could happen, as a result the connection between characters and events becomes too loose for appropriate impact.

Märtopia

Company: side-B
Game site: メルトピア
Release date: July 25, 2014
Comments:
This SLG is the first game by side-B. Akito lives with his imouto Yui, who has shut her heart to others following an accident last winter that killed their parents and put him in a coma for more than a week. He decided to use her favourite picture book to bring back a smile to her face. However, even after six long months, he was unable to get her to open up. He fell into despair seeing her as a lifeless doll and was consumed by a darkness. When he woke up, he was in a strange world Märtopia: a world where fairy tale characters reside. He was helped by a ‘bookkeeper’ Alice, and he confronted many crises while he searched for a way back to his world.

side-B is a completely new company with a new illustrator and new scenario writers. However, they did manage to secure a lot of big name seiyuus to voice their fairy tale-inspired girls (Alice in Wonderland, Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel, Momotarou). The fairy-book interface is a nice touch, but the voice recordings aren’t crisp. Since it’s an SLG, the most important thing is the battle system and game balance. The battles are automated in each turn and you merely have to choose your units and their starting positions, and make adjustments in between. Specials can be used to deal more damage or hinder enemies. You can level up your units in between battles to make them more powerful. Collecting heart fragments from battles and talking to townspeople will allow you to progress on any of the eight heroine routes. I thought that the battle system, while interesting, got tiresome rather quickly. There’s not much strategy required at all.

Another eroge that chooses to sacrifice writing and story for the sake of a gimmicky poorly thought out waste of time.

Kakurenbo ~Futari Dake no Himitsu no Jikan~

Company: マーブルCandySoft (Marble CandySoft)
Game site: 隠恋ぼ（かくれんぼ） ～二人だけのヒミツの時間～
Release date: July 25, 2014
Comments:
It was summer and freelance illustrator Kouichi received a mail while drawing at home like usual. It was a request from his relative to take care of her daughter Kanon for a few days. He didn’t want to be distractd from his recently acquired work, but he quickly changed his mind when he opened the attachment and an angel smiled back at him. The week passed quickly and she grew fond of him since he was nice to her and she always wanted an older brother. Afterwards, she still came often to his place to play, bringing along her friends Yuzu and Shiori.

One day, with the cicadas chirping in the background, she raised her skirt up to her belly. “O-Oniichan, please teach me…” Thus begins the sweet and stimulating secret pretend-love between them.

If you didn’t have enough loli-ge last month, here’s another one for you! They’re all pretty short at only 137, 133 and 128 cm, and all view you as their older brother. They come in various flavours as well, including angelic, energetic and docile. We’ve found out that the key to befriending lolis is figures and mahou shoujo anime. The pre-order bonus is a sukumizu patch. The countryside feel is quite relaxing. There’s a system where you try to touch and do other things to them without waking them up. This is probably heading into dangerous territory here… in fact, I felt that the immorality levels were quite high in the trial (during H scenes, the BGM switches off so you can only hear the faint background sounds). Can you resist the charm (seduction) of an angel?

Welcome to hell on earth, unless of course you suffer from pedophilia…

Gigai no Alruna

Company: でぼの巣製作所 (Debonosu Works)
Game site: 偽骸のアルルーナ
Release date: July 25, 2014
Comments:
People enjoy peaceful and rich lives thanks to the protection of the World Tree. However, this peace was shattered by monsters called ghoula which attack and eat humans. Despair filled the world since there was no way to combat this sudden invasion, but they won’t go down without a fight. A self-defence corps was assembled as a last line of defence against the ghoulas. Will joined them not only to protect the townspeople, but to also seek revenge for his family which was taken from him by the ghoulas when he was small.

Alruna is a quest-driven RPG with a map exploration and turn-based battle system (a bit similar to Eiyuu Senki). It also has a voiced protagonist who spews the usual kakkoii lines (and doesn’t do much). The story events are the normal bunch: daily classroom banter and training, ofuro peeping, finding naked girls in dark caves, etc. I’m slightly more interested in the characters this time, since there’s the imouto-like osananjimi Clare and the shy and doting beret-wearing Tirya. Yeah, I know I shouldn’t be expressing interest in an RPG based on character appearances, but I am human after all. You can’t do anything but heal? No worries, join my party and I’ll protect you!

Just a typical ero RPG without either story or gameplay being something noteworthy. On a side note though, if all they do is heal leave them on the bench like the useless crap they are, medics are best when they offer something besides potentially unnecessary heals.

You could have them only learn dark magic spells.

More useful than nothing but heals at least, kill the enemy before they kill you sounds like a winning tactic to me.

Shinsei Mokushiroku -Death March-

Company: ザウス【本醸造】 (Xuse Honjouzou)
Game site: 新世黙示録 －Death March－
Release date: July 25, 2014
Comments:
This RPG is the first game by the recently revived Xuse Honjouzou since Spirits Expedition in 2006. Chikara lived in the Haiyama housing complex in the Tama Hills near Tokyo with his imouto Suzu and his mother Emi. Suddenly one day, the townspeople and those close to him were turned into zombies and came after him. There were also many unworldly beings and he wondered if the apocalypse had arrived. Was this reality or just a nightmare?

In this RPG, you fight evil enemies with ‘swords’ while running around in a 3D map. There are over 100 ‘swords’ (of which there are 3 types: holy, demonic, heavenly) and each has its own special ability. You can level them up and also combine them to create even stronger swords. Playing the trial will give you a code for a free sword in the full game. This sounds just like all those browser-based card ‘RPG’s, which are basically a grind-fest. I think I’m happy with playing just one, and one that’s a lot more cuter.

Few of the eroge that choose to include any form of gameplay beyond clicking options realize what makes or breaks them is how fun it is when you are burning time outside of reading. In many of them what they call “gameplay” amounts to a pointless hassle the player is forced to trudge through for the sake of an extra gimmick to charge money for.

Field demonstration

Hoshiori Yume Mirai

Company: tone work’s
Game site: 星織ユメミライ
Release date: July 25, 2014
Comments:
Ryousuke moved back to his hometown of Shionagi, which he had been away from for seven years, and transferred into his new school in the middle of the summer. He reunited with his osananajimi Marika, met the sole astronomy club member Sora and made new friends among his classmates. He joined the event management committee to enjoy his school life even more. Along the way, he noticed the dreams of the girls around him, along with his own desires to be closer to them. On this particular summer day begins a love story that extends towards the future.

I still haven’t gotten over tone work’s previous disappointment of a title Hatsukoi 1/1, for which they even issued an official apology. They are still using the same staff, so I really hope that they’ve learned from their past failures and not give us something like the travesty that is Runa route again. Ughhhhhhhhhhh. This time, the story is broken up into a school chapter and an ‘after’ chapter, so you’ll feel a more sense of completion and satisfaction. Let’s see if they’ll have a protagonist which isn’t a total hetare. You can also change his name if you want.

I do have to admit that their BGMs and insert songs were enjoyable, and they’ll make a reprisal here as well, with 13 vocal songs in total. They also promise over 60 H scenes, so that comes out to around 10 per heroine. None of the characters jump out at me, but maybe some will tickle your fancy. In fact, all the same archetypes from their previous game are back, except notably the clingy kouhai-osananajimi. It’s almost as if they know they can’t write a good story for those.

After playing the trial, I think that they’ve improved slightly, but I’m still very wary. Especially when one of the first events after coming back is to go to a pool by yourself, meeting your osananajimi there, then visiting her house, and ending up naked with her in the bath. I liked how they added the LIME phone app with lots of stickers!

This may as well be the poster child for the current eroge industry, spread out and water down all elements as much as possible in an effort to generate mass appeal, but in the process lose any sense of soul that would have given the game that extra spice to stand out. Sadly increasing H scenes is not enough to make a game noteworthy unless its a nukige, and since that is really all the game offers as far as anything special, I’ll pass. Maybe if the next game they make offers some more effort put into the characters, or at least hints at being well written the company will be more respectable.

Beat Angel Escalayer Reboot

Company: ALICESOFT
Game site: 超昂天使エスカレイヤー・リブート
Release date: July 25, 2014
Comments:
This is a remake of the original 2002 Beat Angel Escalayer game. The artwork has been updated and there’s additional scenes added (including H scenes of course). The battle system has been refined as well, with additional new monsters and enemies. Escalayer was one of the most popular ALICESOFT titles with its plethora of HCGs. You’ll likely enjoy this remake too if you’re playing it for that reason.

When in doubt, remake seems to be the popular trend these days.

Love Revenge

Company: DE@R
Game site: 恋愛（らぶ）リベンジ
Release date: July 25, 2014
Comments:
This is the first game by DE@R. Yuuki was played around with by his first love, who admitted that she only went out with him as part of a punishment game. Ever since that traumatic break-up, he has had difficulty dealing with girls. Unable to even carry out a normal relationship with his imouto Tatsuki and osananajimi Honoka, he shut himself in his room and only talked with his friends online.

One day, the huge Anderson Corporation bought the whole city of Kouzuki. The small-stature president Riele announced plans to create a ‘love city’ Iris by establishing the “Love Promotion Act” to encourage active love among youths. All students were required to live in a newly constructed hotel-like dormitory with co-ed roommates. There was also a ‘love war event’ started up to further relationships between boys and girls. It was hell on earth for Yuuki, but he decides to aim for a new love with the help of Honoka and his classmate Rin.

This is pretty much a slapstick romance title. Not much originality in the plot (everything will end up as a shuraba), but maybe that’s fine if they keep it interesting. Rin is pretty much the template tsundere with cliché scenes, such as the protagonist walking in her changing. Two of the subcharas appeal to me: do-M bracon imouto Tatsuki and her cheerful twintailed aho girl, Tsukumo. I have the feeling the common route will be enjoyable, but not sure about the individual routes. It’s Tozuka Nagomi’s first game as scenario writer, so there’s not really much to go on. The trial was long, but quite average.

I approve of this war, everyone shoot the younger sister first, as soon as she is dead we can move on to underclassmen and childhood friends till the eroge world is free of the pestilences that spread the pedo plague.

Muv-luv Alternative Total Eclipse

Company: アージュ (âge)
Game site: マブラヴ オルタネイティヴ トータル・イクリプス
Release date: July 31, 2014 Delayed to September 26, 2014
Comments:
This is the all-ages PC port for the 2013 PS3/Xbox360 game Total Eclipse, which started as a light novel and also had an anime. It focuses on the soldiers at the Yukon Base in the same timeframe as Muv-Luv Alternative. The visuals have been improved and a background story for Yui has been added. Basically there’s not much new content from the console version. Not interested.

I am kind of impressed at how well this series is following the example set by Da Capo.

Micchi’s Top 3 for This Month

1. AstralAir no Shiroki Towa
2. Change! ~Ano Ko ni Natte Kunkun Peropero~
3. Neko Masshigura ~Nekomimi Cafe ni Youkoso~

Zen’s Top 3 for This Month

1. Some RPG here (at least RPG is better than loli)
2. Some boring game here (at least boring is better than loli)
3. Change! ~Ano Ko ni Natte Kunkun Peropero~

What would you do if you had the ability to change to the opposite sex?

Assuming a mirror wouldn’t get me arrested, I’d probably fiddle with the controls till I was capable enough to earn my operators license.