September 2016 Eroge Releases

The highly anticipated Sen no Hatou, Tsukisome no Kouki from August highlights this short month, edging out the sequel many years in the making for Lump of Sugar’s Tayutama 2 -you’re the only one-. key has also released their latest kinetic novel Harmonia on Steam in English. Then of course, there’s more D.C. from CIRCUS: D.C.III With You.

Dull month of mostly bad games, but at least it’s slightly better than last month I guess. Thank god for a month we were so late on that the games already released, not like anyone was missing anything important.

Mama Haha

Company: bootUP!
Game site: ままはは
Release date: September 23, 2016
Comments:
Two years ago, Shuuto’s surroundings greatly changed when his father suddenly remarried. His new mother, Iori, works under his father, and had often come to their house to help with housework and his studies. He secretly admired her since she had looked after him for so long. He struggled to come to terms with the remarriage since it was so sudden, but he ultimately decided to support them and wish for their happiness.

Unfortunately, his father passed away in an accident a mere two months later and Shuuto’s life was once thrown into disarray. He could not get used to living with Iori without his father there, and he also noticed that he had begun to have feelings for her. Disgusted at his own immoral feelings, he left against Iori’s objections upon his graduation to live alone in Tokyo and attend a vocational school there.

During summer vacation, he decided after much thought to return to his “home” where Iori was waiting for him. He also reacquaints with his older childhood friend Suzuka, who lives next door with her mother Miyuki. There are only two weeks before he must return to Tokyo. When he finds out about their feelings for him, how will he respond?

bootUP! has went from older sisters to newly-weds to MILFs. I think I’ll stick with imoutos, thanks.

Lets just get this part out of the way first. It’s a Bootup game. Okay, there game summary over.

With the poorly drawn MILF market now assumed, what else is there? Not much. If you want a nukige centered around your mom, well cheers.

Tayutama 2 -you’re the only one-

Company: Lump of Sugar
Game site: タユタマ2 -you’re the only one-
Release date: September 23, 2016
Comments:
New release date after being pushed back from May. This is the sequel to Lump of Sugar’s 2008 title Tayutama. It has been 50 years since the release of the Tayutai which had been sealed in Ashihara-chou. Humans have since acknowledged their existence and the Tayutai have also moved towards living in harmony with humans. The town of Yakotami-chou where Sora lives was blessed with the country’s most favourable spiritual energies. As such, it was promoted as a place where humans and Tayutai can coexist, and underwent rapid development as it took in many humans and Tayutai.

One day, Sora happened to settle a trivial fight between a child and a Tayutai. It’s not uncommon to see such occurrences in this town. However, he was surprised when a girl with cute ears on her head appeared before him claiming that he was the one she had been looking for. She led him to the Tayutai shrine, Yachimata Shrine, and turned towards him with sparkling innocent eyes.

“I want you to be my husband!”

He couldn’t understand the girl Kohaku’s true intention, but after hearing an explanation from her mother Mashiro and deeply impressed with her enthusiasm, he agreed to help her realize her goal of forming the ‘Human and Tayutai Coexistence Society’.

The original heroines are back and they haven’t aged at all (although Yumina is now at 149.9cm tall… still the shortest). Mashiro is back as… a heroine??? Wouldn’t that be NTR??? Anyways, the writer is different (Okita Roshuu), so I’m not sure how it’ll turn out. Hopefully there’s no more of that gimmick stuff and just focus on being a nice simple chara-ge. I’m interested in Kohaku and Nano. I’d take them both home! Hau~ omochikaeri~!

Well Lump of Sugar has in my opinion not made a good game since the original Tayutama which honestly wasn’t even all that great itself. But given how their games just seem to get worse and worse this feels like little more than a desperate attempt to salvage something using old brand recognition. Sadly like usual they screw things up spectacularly. Alongside multiple protagonists one of the worst ideas for an eroge is allowing previous heroines to show up as more than just cameos. This turns previous nostalgia into dislike as it ruins what people may have liked about the previous game. Mainly due to how eroge work. When the entire point is choice having a sequel where that choice is already made makes any other route from the original feel pointless.

Blatantly retarded decisions aside the story itself is about as painful as usual for Lump of Sugar. It feels like they tried to take the concept of Mashiro from the original and use that as a basis for the new game but missed the point entirely. In the original the reason Mashiro asked him to marry her was due to his background as a priest and relationship with her. This time it has zero basis. Though I’m sure they will make up something, even if it doesn’t make any sense in relation to the original. Then there is the whole coexistence thing which was part of the original but feels like little more than awkward filler to get the story going.

So, Mashiro isn’t a heroine after all, although there are still H scenes (with Tayutama protagonist Yuuri).

Sen no Hatou, Tsukisome no Kouki

Company: オーガスト (August)
Game site: 千の刃濤、桃花染の皇姫
Release date: September 23, 2016
Comments:
The Empire which had ruled for two thousand years came to an end at the hands of barbaric invaders. One after another, things which had been taken for granted came tumbling down. Even as the populace was at the mercy of the changing times, they still valiantly continued to look for a better future.

As the sole remaining heir to the imperial throne, Akari seeks ‘power’, in order to vanquish the enemies and restore the nation.
The warrior who had forgotten his past, Soujin, seeks a ‘lord’. His drawn sword must be wielded in the name of loyalty.

One day, fate would have it that they met one another. No one knows if their journey will end in triumph or in despair.

There’s probably quite a few of you who have already started (or finished playing) this highly hyped title from August. The setting is more reminiscent of Eustia than Daito, and the CGs from Bekkankou are always astounding. They still have the school setting, which Akari attends undercover and into which Soujin transfers. This story with love and loyalty as its central themes is definitely more plot heavy, so hopefully they will make something which is even better than Eustia. Of course, Kanami and Kotone catch my eye (although Akari is good too!).

While reading the summary isn’t great it is not terribly bad either. Of course this is an August game, a month late that is. Which inevitably these days means one of two things. Either the game will be painfully boring and drag on as though your head was pinned to a conveyor belt made of sandpaper while reading the Scarlet Letter… Or it will make an attempt at actual storytelling only to start eating leaded paint chips while drinking turpentine to wash it down and make them easier to digest. The former being Fortune Arterial, while the latter would be Eustia. What this means for us the reader is that August are bipolar and the quality of their game depends entirely on their mood. The bar for eroge in general is so low these days that the masochist in me is willing to give August one more shot before I would rather shoot myself than play another of their games.

PV

Harmonia

Company: key
Game site: Harmonia -ハルモニア-
Release date: September 23, 2016
Comments:
This all-ages 15th anniversary commemoration title is key’s second kinetic novel. It is first released in English on Steam, followed later in the year in physical format. In the distant future, a great war left the world in shambles. The sky was covered in ash, the land was barren, the water evaporated. As a result, the human population declined drastically, and the remaining people grouped together to survive.

During this time, a “Phiroid” woke up in an abandoned factory. It is a robot capable of emotions which was created before the war as new companions to better people’s lives. However, he soon realized that he had no emotions. His right hand is not covered in artificial skin, so it was most likely that he was left unfinished. As he has an innate desire to be with humans, he left on a journey across the devastated world in search for his lost emotions.

One day, he was found by a young girl. She thought he was a human, so she took him with her to a small and warm town. While living together with her, the Phiroid gradually began to learn about emotions.

Building on the success that is their first kinetic novel planetarian, key spreads it heart-wrenching stories to the West with Harmonia. It’s pretty short at 5-10 hours and a good entry point for those new to visual novels. It’s not often that you see a title released in English first (albeit with Japanese voices). I wonder when the packaged version will be released in Japan.

Type Moon is that you? This is bad on two levels. One is the previously implied Type Moon syndrome. Where the company realizes they haven’t made any new content that could be considered decent for years and so rummages through their old garbage bin digging up the old ideas they were smart enough to toss out back when the consumer was a more discerning creature. The other level is this is just some re-release to justify an english port to steam. Steam is to the eroge industry what Apple is to the tech industry. It is where all the uneducated hipsters get their flashy overpriced inferior goods. In both cases all they achieve is a general lowering of IQ for the entire market, making stupidity profitable.

So to sum up my opinion on this. Go **** yourself with a key, Key.

PV

D.C.III With You

Company: CIRCUS
Game site: D.C.III With You～ダ・カーポIII～ウィズユー
Release date: September 30, 2016
Comments:
This is the fandisc for D.C.III R X-rated and D.C.III P.P., with stories in both Kazamidori and Hatsunejima. There are after stories for the five heroines from Kazamidori (after escaping the loop world) and an if story in Hatsunejima where Kiyotaka could see the girls’ dreams, there’s also 3 new scenarios for Shiki, Sumomo and Mikoto.

More D.C.!!! More Sara and Himeno! Mikoto finally gets a route! Thank you CIRCUS! (I’m such a fanboy.)

It’s Circus, did you really think there wouldn’t be a fandisk?

Goshujin-sama, Maid Fuku o Nugasanaide.

Company: MONAKO
Game site: ご主人様、メイド服を脱がさないで。
Release date: September 30, 2016
Comments:
This is the first title by MONAKO, a sub-brand of MORE. Sou was born to a traditional upper class family. It was decided by his family that he will marry his childhood friend Chinatsu when he graduates from school. To ensure that his married life will be perfect, his maids provide sex training to him. While Sou obediently follows along, Chinatsu would not allow anyone else to have sex with him.

I love how simple and straightforward nukige plots are. The art is by kakao, who last worked on Studio Ryokucha’s Hanikami CLOVER. Don’t you wish you were born to an upper class family with cute maids at your call?

Sure it’s dumb,  but I give them credit for not trying to hide it under some really stupid story, mechanic, or random gimmick. 

Kanojo＊Step

Company: SMEE
Game site: カノジョ＊ステップ
Release date: September 30, 2016
Comments:
The protagonist has moved too many counts to count and this time, he has ended up in his grandmother’s minshuku located in Shirasagi, a rural town situated near the mountains. His sister told him that this was their last move, and after he graduates from school, he will be free to do as he wishes. After suppressing his feelings of love until now, he sets out to pursue his first love.

The concept this time is about the progression of a love relationship. You can choose between having an open or closed relationship at the end, that is if you want to keep it secret between the two of you or flaunt your riajuu-ness. SMEE’s previous artist Ameto Yuki left for new company SWEET&TEA, and I really don’t like the new art. It looks too simplistic and shallow. They don’t even list the artist(s) on the game site. I don’t think the story will change much from before since it’s still by Hayase Yuu, but their sales will probably suffer due to the artist choice.

Micchi is right about the art. The lineart is stiff and a bit awkward, while the shading is the same as Your Diary and has no definition, sometimes being completely ignored. Also green eyes short brown hair looks like a guy with cantaloupes stuffed in his shirt at a Scottish pride convention.

Natsu no Majo no Parade

Company: Wonder Fool
Game site: 夏の魔女のパレード
Release date: September 30, 2016
Comments:
This is the debut title for Wonder Fool. In a slightly different world, girls called ‘witches’ who are born with a rare mysterious ability are required to use their powers to help people. Living in the rural village of Kanahara-mura, Yukito is the son of the great witch Yuris. However, he has no magic ability whatsoever and lives a normal life like any other young boy. He thought his days would continue like this, until three witches-in-training appeared before him. The girls, Arisa, Carol and Topia, came to complete their graduation training “Witches’ Parade” in order to become a full-fledged witch. They ended up freeloading at his house, and he was asked to watch over them. He couldn’t just leave these eccentric girls who are new to the area alone, so he agreed to the request. However, that wasn’t the end of his suffering.

On that first night together, Arisa and Carol both proclaimed that he was their fiancé. He didn’t remember having ever made such a promise, but when he asked Yuris, she told him that he had promised to marry them when they became a witch. He couldn’t back out from a witch’s promise, so he must choose one of them before they complete their training, that is unless he already has a girlfriend. With his senpai Azuki aggressively going after him and his bracon imouto Saya returning from witch’s school, he senses that this will be the most boisterous summer of his life.

The story is written by Hozakura, who previously had only worked on single routes in Kodomo no Asobi and Rensou Relation. It’s a dotabata love comedy which is pretty easy to read. I like Ani’s drawings of smaller characters like Topia and Azuki (the big boobs look so unnatural). Speaking of the innocent brown girl Topia, unfortunately she’s not a heroine! Too bad!

Sigh, so generic, so stupid. Typical utterly worthless protagonist in every way except for being nice to the point of brain death gets thrown some girls of which he can pick one. Or something like that.

Daimeikyuu & Daimeiwaku -GREAT EDGES IN THE ABYSS-

Company: ライアーソフト (Liar-soft)
Game site: 大迷宮＆大迷惑 -GREAT EDGES IN THE ABYSS-
Release date: September 30, 2016
Comments:
In the world of sword of magic, expert miners discovered an underground labyrinth in a remote area of the continent. “The Abyss” is very huge inside, full of monsters and traps. However, it was rumoured that ancient treasures lie deep inside its depths and adventurers from all over came to challenge the dungeon. Among them is the young and foolish samurai Shouran, and his party consisting of the sexy but problematic alchemist Nicolite, the aggressive M ninja Hakumeimaru and the expressionless mysterious archer Kurozuka.

The story sounds like any other dungeon crawling title. The difference is that each character/class has its own set of ‘effects’. I’m not too interested, so pass.

This is a bit bland for Liar. I’m not sure if that is a good or bad thing, time will tell I suppose. Only hope they can write it decently, as that has pretty much always been their major hindrance.

Micchi’s Top 3 for This Month

1. D.C.III With You
2. Sen no Hatou, Tsukisome no Kouki
3. Tayutama 2 -you’re the only one-

Zen’s Top 3 for This Month

1. Sen no Hatou, Tsukisome no Kouki
2. Daimeikyuu & Daimeiwaku -GREAT EDGES IN THE ABYSS-
3. Backlog.

CIRCUS ended up going back D.C. after all. It never ends!

Does it ever begin with Circus?