December 2015 Eroge Releases

The winter season upon us and Azarashi Soft offers another snow-capped romantic tale in Amakano -Second Season-. You may also take the time to pass on life’s lessons to your dear imoutos in Galette’s Onii-chan Teacher ~Himitsu no Jugyou o Kibou Shimasu!~. If you’re living in the Southern hemisphere, maybe something summer-themed like Parasol’s QUINTUPLE☆SPLASH will tickle your fancy. Spend the end of the year with the ones you love!

Note: Zen seems to be having internet problems (or he’s just hiding from me and playing Fallout 4), so he’ll post his comments when he’s around.

Sorairo Innocent

Company: あかべぇそふとすりぃ (AkabeiSoft3)
Game site: 空色イノセント
Release date: December 11, 2015
Comments:
New release date after being pushed back from October. Kuutarou wanted to fly in the sky, but the flying school which he attended went bankrupt and he was forced to transfer. He ended up as part of the biology club where they raised waterfowl from eggs. It was a totally new life for him, but he was satisfied with having something new to do. With the help of his friends, every day was a lively affair taking care of the chicks.

However, one day he learned about the existence of the airplane club which was in hiatus, and his desire to fly was rekindled. His classmate Mahiru suggested that they fly together with the Canada geese which they are raising. Teaching the young ones how to fly and soar to the skies which they yearned for… it’s a challenge which must be more fun than anything else!

At first glance, I thought it’d be something like Konosora, but it’s more of a slice of life title. In fact, it might be a bit too slow for some people, unless you really like chicks (the birds, not the heroines). I like the art a lot (SDs are so adorable!!), so I might end up playing this if I need to de-stress after a long day’s work.

So twenty years later they saw Fly Away Home and decided to turn it into an eroge? Apparently now that they are running so low on ideas for eroge story gimmicks the time has come to copy from the old hollywood bargain bin. Hard to trust the writing of a game where a normal slice of life would have served the purpose better than their token commitment to force feeding us foie gras. Before you add gimmicks onto a story, make sure it is worth adding onto without the garnish first.

SD art aside as those are near impossible to screw up I have to disagree with Micchi about the art. It is bland and very flat. They deliberately chose a style that makes it look softer and more complex but that is nothing more than a cheap illusion. This style of art requires a skillful use of gradient shading which is completely absent. In fact shading in general is ignored as much as they feel they can get away with, leaving a feeling where the characters are not part of the background. lineart as well, may be competent but both composition and expression are lacking. The artwork is as though an “Eroge by numbers” coloring book was used as a template, with no real connection to the work at hand. These type of “Artists” need to learn that softer colors and sunsets do not automatically give emotion to their art.

JK Trouble & Main”s

Company: 娘娘 (Nyan Nyan)
Game site: JKトラブめいん”s
Release date: December 18, 2015
Comments:
Haruto is the heir to the wealthiest household in the world, but he’s still only a student spending happy-go-lucky days at Amagi Gakuen. Then one day, he fell in love with his classmate Hisa. He sought advice from his classmate-cum-maid Emi, who began to secretly investigate Hisa to know her nature better.

Then, Emi heard an awful moan and found her respected master passed out on the ground in a strange position. Next to him was a crying frightened Hisa. Emi was completely dumbfounded at the turn of events. Will his first love come true? Or rather, would they be able to salvage their past relationships?

This is a new type of love triangle, where the main heroine actually has a crush on your maid, who in turns has sexual relations with you (under the pretense of training). Throw in a koakuma loli who’s after your family jewels (in both meanings) and you’ve got yourself an amusing ero comedy. As a mid-priced game, it’s worth checking out, especially if you like K-ko’s art.

Sono Kojou ni Yuusha Hou Ari!

Company: ソフトハウスキャラ (SofthouseChara)
Game site: その古城に勇者砲あり！
Release date: December 18, 2015
Comments:
The hero Oura arrived at an old castle on his journey to defeat the demon king. By chance, he discovered an ancient super-weapon called the ‘hero cannon’ (yuusha-hou), which only activates after having sex with girls! Together with the failure succubus Tina, envious osananajimi and healer Flare, overly serious royal knight Mira, and selfish magician Ekuri, Oura’s ecchi battle begins!

To someone who doesn’t play much SRPGs like me, SofthouseChara games are pretty similar. This particular one is base/castle building with H scenes serving as a plot to charge the cannon. I tried a bit of the trial and it was easy enough to pick up. However, I’m already busy with one too many RPGs…

Sorakoi

Company: Chelseasoft
Game site: ソラコイ
Release date: December 18, 2015
Comments:
This is the first title by Chelseasoft, a sister brand of MORE. Hikari and Takuto were born on the same day and have been together ever since. Learning how to crawl, graduating from diapers, running their first errands, riding a bike… they were always together every step of the way. That’s what it means to be childhood friends after all. They went to the same Kinomori Gakuen and joined the movie research club. They believed that they would always be close childhood friends forever.

However, one day while they were watching a movie in the AV room, a mysterious girl appeared before them, proclaiming that she was Takuto’s true osananajimi. He was flabbergasted as his osananajimi should be Hikari by his side, but that girl looked exactly like Hikari. Neither of them would give up their position as his osananajimi, so it became a full-fledged competition. How will it affect their fates, along with those of the other members at the club?

I love Miyasaka Miyu’s cute art and am a sucker for twins (at least visually), so of course this one’s on my radar for a while now! When there’s no imoutos, I’m perfectly fine with osananajimis, so leave them both with me! There’s no problem with the cast (with Akino Hana voicing Hikari), but I’m wary about the story. Most of the writers’ experience has been with nukige by the parent brand. I wonder if it’s worth playing just for the art alone…

Miagete Goran, Yozora no Hoshi o

Company: PULLTOP
Game site: 見上げてごらん、夜空の星を
Release date: December 18, 2015
Comments:
When Akito was small, he would gaze at the stars every night with his childhood friends Hikari and Saya. He felt excited seeing the twinkles of countless stars through the telescope lens, so close that it felt like he could reach out and grab them with his hand. It inspired dreams of journeys into space, exploring the Milky Way and solving the mysteries of the galaxy. However, now he no longer looks up at the night sky and was called the ‘astronomy club member who doesn’t watch the stars’.

He received an invitation to attend the revival of the ‘Pleiades meeting’ with astronomy clubs from other schools in the area and decided to go to their next meeting to turn it down in person. There, he had an unexpected reunion with Hikari, whom he hadn’t seen since she moved some place far away. Together with Saya, senpai Orihime and kouhai Korona, his long-lost desire to look up at the stars has been rekindled and their star-filled youthful days full of new precious memories begin.

Saya-chan is cute. That’s the main thing that stuck with me through the 2.5GB trial. It’s not as plain as Natsuiro Recipe, so at least it kept my attention somewhat. Konno Aster being one of the writers is promising. I wish there was more screentime for Korona though. It felt like she and Orihime were throw-ins when compared with the double osananajimis.

IZUMO4

Company: Studio e.go!
Game site: IZUMO4
Release date: December 25, 2015
Comments:
This is the latest game in Studio e.go!’s tactical battle RPG IZUMO series and the first since 2007 when they became Debonosu Works. It was made in collaboration with light as part of their anniversary product. Daichi attends Yakumo Gakuen with his imouto Misora and osananajimi Honami, and is part of the local history research club. One chilly autumn day with the annual culture festival fast approaching, he was spellbound by a girl in the hallway who had very abnormal looks. Her hair was bone white and her eyes were blood red. She vanished an instant later like an illusion. He met her again the next day and was dragged into an extraordinary world.

Sure, it’s another Yamamoto Kazue-illustrated RPG where the protagonist gets taken to another world, but this time the story is written by light/CLOCKUP artists Kurashiki Tatsuya (Maggot Baits) and Takahama Ryou (Silverio Vendetta). The system has also changed from their past titles, and is in a side-view turn-based battle format. I haven’t played any of their RPGs; they haven’t really interested me. They are probably good if you like mikos though.

QUINTUPLE☆SPLASH

Company: Parasol
Game site: QUINTUPLE☆SPLASH
Release date: December 25, 2015
Comments:
Sakiomi is a student at Seiryou Gakuen, a girls’ school which just recently became co-ed. One day after final exams and before spring break, the school chairwoman suddenly gathered everyone together to announce that due to financial difficulties, the school will be shuttered and merged with its sister school, Shiraho Girls’ School. All the students had to move to the other town, and Sakiomi found himself surrounded by girls at a townhouse dormitory, including former student council president Sae, osananajimi Mio and imouto Tomoe.

Just before the start of the new school term, he unthinkingly walked towards the pool after attending the information session at his new school. He noticed a beautiful girl Sahori there, and it would be the beginning of a love story centered around him.

The school situation is not really believable (nor does it really have much bearing on the aquatic theme), but hey we get swimsuits and sukumizu, so I ain’t complaining. Chikotam isn’t among the five artists, but it does include Ichiri, Yukie and Mikeou, and the loli style is still there (even for the school chairwoman).  I’ll be taking Ami, Mio and Tomoe, thanks. Tomoe in particular looks especially glompable in her PJs. Hau~ omochikaeri~!

Onii-chan Teacher ~Himitsu no Jugyou o Kibou Shimasu!~

Company: Galette
Game site: お兄ちゃんティーチャー ～秘密の授業を希望します！～
Release date: December 25, 2015
Comments:
Shuugo grew up in a remote snowy area. He left his village to chase his dream of becoming a teacher and got a job at a city in the same prefecture. However, he was temporarily assigned as the lone teacher and administrator of the branch school until the snow melted in spring. There were only four students at the school: Kanae, Ruri, Ai and Tsubomi. They were all his imoutos and they all loved him very much. So begins his strange dual life as their teacher during the day and as their older brother at night.

The third title in Galette’s Onii-chan series features another quartet of onii-chan-loving blood-related imoutos. It’s a formula that works (they won gold in the fetish category last year from Moe Game Awards), so why deviate from it? Surrounded by imoutos at home and at school… this is the life we all dream of! Who do you like the most? For me, it would be Ai, who reminds me a lot of Sana. She can warm my heart and body this winter~

Tsuyokiss FESTIVAL

Company: CandySoft
Game site: つよきすFESTIVAL
Release date: December 25, 2015
Comments:
This is the latest in CandySoft’s Tsuyokiss series, as part of its 10th anniversary. It features new heroines Kachiki and Kitsune, along with side stories for the Tsuyokiss NEXT heroines and subcharacters. After the graduation of the ‘legendary era’, the fighting between the student council and the public morals committee at Ryuumeikan Gakuen had simmered down. Sanagi was loved by the student council leader Hakari and also friends with the public morals committee chief Neko. He thought he could spend his days at the school quietly, but that all changed one day when a mysterious intruder was chased by the public morals committee member Kitsune. Her name was Kachiki, bearing the famous surname Kiriya of the former student council leader during the ‘legendary era’, which still carries influence at the school to this day. Thanks to her appearance, the original strong girls showed up at the school once more.

I thought the last game was the final one in the series? Well, the same ‘strong’ theme is here, so expect a similar feel to the game. The original Tsuyokiss heroines are back and grown up. The cast is very impressive and matches well with the characters. It should be a joy to play for those who have followed the series to this point.

Wan Nyan☆À La Mode! ~Docchi ni Suru no? Wan Nyan H na Cafe Jijou!~

Company: SkyFish poco
Game site: わんにゃん☆アラモード！ ～どっちにするの？わんにゃんHなカフェ事情！～
Release date: December 25, 2015
Comments:
The pâtisserie school PochiTama is world famous in producing the best pâtissiers. It’s easy to enrol there, but very difficult to graduate. With many branches not only in Japan, but also around the world, it is very influential in various industries. The best students are invited to the main school as trainees, where they must stay for a few weeks and manage a store by themselves. Finally, two MVPs are chosen after a rigorous evaluation process, and they would be given the opportunity to train at any famous store in the world of their choice for a year. Needless to say, it is a must for any aspiring pâtissier. Which store will you manage: the cat café “Nyankatei” or the dog café “Beans Puppy”?

As a sequel to Nyan Cafe Macchiato, you get to choose between cat(girl)s and dog(girl)s. Which ones do you want to mofumofu and ichaicha? Tough choice, but I think I’ll go with the nekos. If there were any fox or bunny girls, I’d be all over them. All the girls are at max affection from the very beginning for the protagonist (Kenta) since they all met him before during his trip across Japan. I hope you like the art, because the story by Miyamura Yuu (Gakuen Butou no Folklore, KoiKoi) will likely be quite bad.

Amakano -Second Season-

Company: あざらしそふと (Azarashi Soft)
Game site: アマカノ -Second Season-
Release date: December 18, 2015
Comments:
This is the second season of Amakano, with a new group of heroines in a similar winter setting. The protagonist came to the snowy town of Yomase to start a new life at the quiet inn Enki. Meeting the kind and cute, yet mischievous wheelchair-bound Kanade, the timid and earnest library committee member Yuzuka, and the cheerful and reliable student council leader Ruika helped him feel at ease in his new surroundings. However, there was another girl Honami who transferred on the same day, and she did not feel comfortable like he did. He wished to help her enjoy it, and that feeling would be the beginning of his love life.

Duca’s songs are always great and this one is no exception. I love snow settings and the moving lips adds an extra dimension to those emotional moments. Each heroine has their own charms, and the trial was pretty good, so I’ll be playing this one. There will also be additional episodes in the three months following the release.

Fairytale Encore

Company: ライアーソフト (Liar-soft)
Game site: フェアリーテイル・アンコール
Release date: December 25, 2015
Comments:
This is the fandisc to Liar-soft’s mysterious fairy tale horror Fairytale Requiem, including a main story featuring new heroine Dorothy which takes place before the events of the original game, and three side stories for Odil/Odette, Rapunzel and Gerda. The isolated medical center “Paradise” treats those that are afflicted with ‘fairytale syndrome’, where they believe they are fairy tale characters. The young doctor Ikeno, formerly an aspiring fairy tale writer who had his dreams crushed, couldn’t keep up with the patients who acted out their fantasies as they wished.

One day, a girl who carried the book “Wizard of Oz” arrived at the institute. She had a lively and pure personality like Dorothy, but she was suffering since her body was very weak and she could not move well. He couldn’t ignore her situation and unknowingly pretended to be her ‘three followers’. Although his actions made the depressed Dorothy happier, they also made her more delusional.

Fairytale Requiem received good reviews and I was pretty happy about what I played. It’ll be interesting to see how Dorothy will interact with the other characters. I’d recommend giving both games a shot.

PV

Kikan Bakumatsu Ibun Last Cavalier

Company: キャラメルBOX (Caramel BOX)
Game site: 機関幕末異聞 ラストキャバリエ
Release date: December 25, 2015
Comments:
During the Bunkyuu Era, the Tokugawa shogunate that had remained in power for three centuries was being pressured by both foreign countries to open its borders and feudal lords who aspired to restore Imperial rule, and was on the verge of collapse due to internal and external scheming.

The political strife shifted from Edo to Kyoto, with heroes and conspirators alike attracted to the Imperial capital. At that time, a new Shinsengumi was formed on the orders of the Military Commissioner Matsudaira Katamori to maintain peace and order. They are known as the Shouki, those that have been baptized by the stone ‘kishouseki’, which grants them great fighting power. However, the only persons who had affinity with this stone were women.

Soujirou was the leading student at the Shieikan dojo in western Edo. Without any relatives, he considered the dojo master Kondou Isa and his brother Hijikata Toshi, who rescued him from distress, to be both his master and family. One day, he heard that the Shouki were recruiting and he set out immediately with Isa to Kyoto. Even though he understood that he would become successful as a Shouki, he felt indebted to his two benefactors and hesitant to leave them. However, Isa surprised him by telling him that now was the time that his natural talents would be of utmost use.

It’s been a while since Caramel BOX’s last title Semiramisu no Tenbin, and they’ve returned to a crossdressing protagonist, this time for the Shinsengumi.

Kenja no Okuri Imouto

Company: 脳内彼女 (Nounai Kanojo)
Game site: 賢者の贈り妹
Release date: December 25, 2015
Comments:
Kenichi threw away his porn. His digital collection, suspicious DVDs, adult manga, eroge, even browser bookmarks… all of it was gone. He had been shocked that his imoutos were repulsed at his interests, so he had decided to give up his otaku hobbies. For his imoutos, he will become a responsible onii-chan!

On the other hand, his imoutos were pained, not knowing of their onii-chan’s decision. They felt guilty that they had hurt him beyond their imagination just by teasing him a little bit. As a replacement for his porn, they will offer themselves to him instead!

What a thoughtful Christmas present from your imoutos! It seems like Nounai Kanojo can only do two types of games: imouto-ge and trap games. I’m glad that they’ve went with the former again, even though there’s still no improvement on the visual front. Their stories in general aren’t that good, but they’ll give you a few laughs here and there. Note that the title is a play on The Gift of the Magi (Kenja no Okurimono).

PV

Tenmondokei no Aria

Company: Campus
Game site: 天文時計のアリア
Release date: December 25, 2015
Comments:
This is the second of four low-price titles by Campus. No one knows who built the mysterious clock tower at Mahoshi Gakuen, nor why it was built, but there was a legend associated with it.

“You will find happiness if you hear a song from the astronomical clock.”

One day, Taiga heard singing emanating from the clock tower. Upon reaching the top, he found Aria, a self-proclaimed ‘star spirit’ who bestows happiness upon others. However, as she was about to give him ‘happiness’, he refused it, saying that happiness is a thing borne from the heart, not something that one can receive in an instant. Despite being a ‘happiness’ giver, Aria did not know what true happiness was.

“If I live together with you, I may learn what ‘happiness’ is. Teach me what it truly is.”

With that, she gave up her immortality to be reborn as a human and attend the school together with him.

The theme of their first game was ‘lies’, and this time it is ‘happiness’. The only carryover from the cast is the student council leader Setsuka. Aria is pretty adorable; I love how cheerful she sounds. Will Aria’s sacrifice help her attain true happiness? Or will she be NTRed by the next loli to show up? (Yes.)

Kami-sama no Mimi wa Kemonomimi!?

Circle: integral
Game site: 神さまの耳はけものみみ！？
Release date: December 31, 2015 (Comiket 89)
Comments:
While attending university, Tooru was frequently recruited by religious people, asking him if he believed in God. One day on his way home, he was by chance captured by two Gods: the pure goth loli catgirl Rin and the playful fox girl miko Kuzuha. They fought over who would be the first to grant his wish, as it would prove that they would be the better God. He was forced to stay at their shrine until one of them won, and was subjugated to assorted scheming. Where is the God to save him from this situation!?

There is no God. There are only girls with animal ears ready to do as you wish. All’s right with the world.

Alice-san Kore Nan Desu ka?

Circle: studioハイライト (studio hilite) (doujin)
Game site: アリスさんこれなんですか？
Release date: December 31, 2015 (Comiket 89)
Comments:
Other than dressing up as a girl and attending a girls’ school, Aoi is a normal guy that you’d find anywhere. However, one day he was suddenly kicked out of the school, betrayed by his roommate, and abducted to some place at the behest of his own sister.

“This is Tea Town, a mysterious place not found on any map, where you can find anything and anything happens. Aoi, go find yourself here.”

The dumbfounded Aoi met the strange residents of the town: the former hero Patman who refused breast enlargement surgery; the great phantom thief Nana-sama whom he fights day and night; the split personality part-timer ‘Takanashi sisters’ who has both sleeping sickness and insomnia; and, the self-proclaimed mentally-ill owner of a strange shop, Tsukune.

Tsukune told him that the town is in danger and it is up to him to save it, as the heroine Alice. But wait, isn’t he a guy? Can a guy become a heroine?

I think I fell down the wrong rabbit hole. Just like Lollipop Nightmare before it, this makes no sense. …. I kinda want to play it.

Christmas Trick Star!

Circle: シガレットソフト (Cigalette Soft) (doujin)
Game site: クリスマストリックスター！
Release date: December 31, 2015 (Comiket 89)
Comments:
This is the first game by doujin circle Cigalette Soft.

“Fucking Merry Christmas”
“Umm… Who are you?”
“Santa Claus”
“And my present is…?”
“Lead”

Naughty boy Yuusuke’s life changed after Bell the crimson Santa crashed through his window and pointed a gun at him. This is a silly and happy love story, which also ropes in his perverted childhood friend Tamaki. Will this year’s Christmas be black or white?

Hey! We’ve finally got a Christmas-themed game! Fucking Merry Christmas, everyone!!

Micchi’s Top 4 for This Month

1. QUINTUPLE☆SPLASH
2. Amakano -Second Season-
3. Onii-chan Teacher ~Himitsu no Jugyou o Kibou Shimasu!~
4. Tenmondokei no Aria

Zen’s Top 3 for This Month

1. TBD
2. TBD
3. TBD

And have a helluva happy new year too!