Despite it being the middle of 2017, we seem to be stuck in the past this month, with the majority of the games being released either ports of old games or set in the past. If you like wafuu games then you’re going to have a great month but is there anything in there for the rest of us?
Please note, while this post should be pretty SFW, a couple of the games featured are R-18 so obviously their websites are NSFW.
Hakuouki Shinkai Fuukaden
Original Title: 薄桜鬼 真改 風華伝
Release Date: 13th July 2017
Company: Otomate
Platform: PS4
Age Rating: Cero C (15+)
So this is the PS4 port of the two PS Vita Hakuouki games: Kaze no Shou & Hana no Shou. For those unfamiliar, this series takes place in the Bakamatsu period and revolves around a girl named Chizuru who sets off on a journey to Kyoto to find her missing father but ends up seeing the Shinsengumi fighting strange creatures and is then taken under their protection.
Okay, to be honest, Hakuouki is that one series that I never managed to get into at all, maybe because the game felt more like a history lesson than the action-packed otoge I was expecting? Anyways, this is good for fans who want to play the complete Hakuouki experience, until they release another “remake” that is!
It’s interesting to see what games Otomate choose to port to PS4 with only this and Code:Realise announced so far. I’ll definitely be keeping a close eye on sales figures!
Himehibi Ichigakki -Princess Days-
Original Title: ひめひび 1学期-Princess Days-
Release Date: 20th July 2017
Company: Takuyo
Platform: PS Vita
Age Rating: Cero B (12+)
This is a direct port of the PSP version of Himehibi, with no new additional content.
One hot summers day, Aizaki Koi was walking home from school when she is suddenly approached by 2 guys in black suits who tell her that her grandfather has summoned her and request that she accompanies them to see him. As she hadn’t been in touch with her grandfather for 10 years, Koi is obviously distrustful of the pair and is reluctant to go with them until she sees her cousin and senpai Hayami Naohito who explains that he was sent with the two guys in suits to collect her. Feeling relieved at seeing a familiar face, Koi agrees to accompany him to visit her grandfather.
Koi is taken into a room full of people and her grandfather announces that Koi will attend his super elite all-boys school in order to convince the school’s board of directors that the school could become co-ed. Given no choice, Koi moves into the school’s dorms and starts her new school life surrounded by elite, rich high school boys. Is this heaven or hell?
Omg Takuyo, why are you porting this instead of Shinigami to Shoujo??? I’d even rather see a port of Hoshi-iro no Okurimono! Annoyances aside, this doesn’t seem like a particularly bad game, and the characters seem decent (Hikaru is so cute!). I’ve heard that the game is quite funny too, although it’ll be interesting to see if the game has aged well or not. The mini-games look annoying also. The opening movie is so retro, haha.
Hiiro no Kakera ~Omoi Iro no Kioku~
Original Title: 緋色の欠片 ～おもいいろの記憶～
Release Date: 27th July 2017
Company: Otomate
Platform: PS Vita
Age Rating: Cero B (12+)
This is the PS Vita port of the PSP version of the original Hiiro no Kakera & its fandisc Hiiro no Kakera ~Ano Sora no Shita de~.
The story of Hiiro no Kakera revolves around Kasuga Tamaki, a girl who decides to move back to her home village to stay with her grandmother after her parents move overseas. However, when she arrives back in the village, she starts to see strange creatures that are invisible to most people. She ends up getting attacked by said creatures and is saved by a young man called Onizaki Takuma, who then accompanies her to her grandmother’s house. Her grandmother tells Tamaki that she is a descendant of Princess Tamayori, whose job is to seal the demonic sword Onikirimaru alongside the help of her five guardians.
Given that this is one of Otomate’s bigger franchises, I’m honestly surprised that it’s taken them so long to port this. I had little interest until I saw there were two token shota the opening movie & the fact that the FD is included, making the game pretty good value for money. If you’ve not played Hiiro no Kakera before then this is probably a good time to try it out!
Kenka Bancho Otome ~Kanzen Muketsu no My Honey~
Original Title: 喧嘩番長 乙女～完全無欠のマイハニー～
Release Date: 27th July 2017
Company: Spike Chunsoft
Platform: PS Vita
Age Rating: Cero B (12+)
This is the fandisc to the original Kenka Bancho Otome game, consisting of two parts:
- After stories for all 5 main characters, continuing from the romantic endings in the original game.
- Ultimate Fighting Natsugasshuku (UFN) – a newly written comedic episode featuring all of the characters spending time together on a summer trip. This part will also contain the fighting mini-game.
Hmm, well I’m not actually finished with the original game yet but from what I’ve played so far, I actually prefer the friendship endings to the romantic endings so I’m not even sure if there’s a need for fluffy after stories. The new summer side story sounds fun though! I’ll probably end up buying this for Totomaru anyways – he’s too cute!
Utsusemi no Meguri
Original Title: 空蝉の廻
Release Date: 27th July 2017
Company: Matatabi
Platform: PS Vita
Age Rating: Cero D (17+)
Far from mainland Japan, there is a small island where demons and humans co-exist which has two gates connected to the underworld. One of the gates is protected by the humans and the other by the demons. Due to past tragedies, the humans and demons despise each other and try to stay as separate as possible. However, one day, something unusual occurs to the gates and the human heroine (Shizumiya Amane) is sent to investigate the demon gate. Through her involvement with the demons, she gets to know the secret of the island and the fate of the demons. With the girl and the demon’s hearts intertwined, a tale stained by destiny and prohibition now unfolds…
Actually, this game sounds really interesting! I love stories that involve fate and destiny and all that sort of thing. Matatabi seem to have fixed some of the problems with Rear Pheles – heroine now has a name & the mini-game is MUCH simpler, which should hopefully mean that the game runs at an acceptable speed! It’s not every day that you see a cero D otome game & judging by the CGs and some of the dialogue samples, this game should be spicy. I’m pretty interested in Yuzuru, who seems as though he could turn out to be yandere?
Furue, Yurayura to: Kagen no Shou
Original Title: ふるえ、ゆらゆらと 下弦の章
Release Date: 28th July 2017
Company: A’s Ring
Platform: PC
Age Rating: 18+
Abe Kaguya, a girl with a mysterious disease whereby she suffers a lot of pain when she is touched. One day during summer vacation, she is suddenly transported back in time to the Heian era. She ends up in the capital city – a place where the elegant world connects to the land of death. While wondering aimlessly around she encounters a man called Abe Seimei, an exorcist working for the emperor, who tells her that she will return to her world at the next full moon. Kaguya replies that would be fine in a sullen tone, as she doesn’t know if he’s speaking the truth and is dubious that anyone would believe that she’s actually from another time. The boy, who likes to meddle in other people’s affairs, raises an eyebrow at her nihilistic nature and orders that she must change from being a “living corpse” to a “living person” before he sends her back . However, with this change came the start of her sorrows…
This is the second and final game in the “Furue, Yurayura to” series, with the romancable characters being Fujiwara Yasusuke, Hayanami and Abe Seimei. I’m not a big fan of the artwork but the story seems okay if time slips are your thing? I don’t tend to play many R-18 otome games due to darker content but I will admit that I’m interested in Seimei, although Kuuya from the first game stands out the most to me (give me a kimoi onii-chan and I’m there). At least they seem to be releasing download editions of the games – maybe I’ll play them eventually. I’ll just sit here and wait for a PS Vita port of one of their other games, Enkan no Memoria.
Oni to Hanazuma ~Hananusubito wa, Tsutsuji ka Tsubaki ka~
Original Title: 鬼と花妻～花盗人は、躑躅か椿か～
Release Date: 28th July 2017
Company: Eins
Platform: PC
Age Rating: 18+
Nine years ago the heroine, Tooko, disappeared while out playing in her family’s garden. She reappeared a number of days later unharmed but with no memory of what happened to her. Soon after, rumours began to circulate that she had been spirited away by a demon and was henceforth referred to as the “Demon’s mistress”. Due to these rumours, no suitor would approach Tooko, even though she was from a rich family. In order to avoid any more shame, her family hid her away in one of their mansions in the countryside.
With nothing to do, Tooko spends her days aimlessly sitting in the mansion as she isn’t allowed to leave. She always wishes that someone would come and take her to the outside world. She thinks that nobody hears her wish, until she comes face to face with a beautiful demon…
I was kind of unsure of this game at first because looking at the cover art, this game looks pretty dark (or filled with dubcon) given that its all about the demon kidnapping the heroine to be his wife. However, the demon was actually not that bad in the trial? The trial itself was quite short but it was decent enough, although I’m still not desperate to play the main game, maybe if they release a download edition? The heroine is voiced though, which is nice. Basically, not terrible for a first attempt but there’s not much to make this game stand out.
My Picks this Month:
- Utsusemi no Meguri
- Hiiro no Kakera ~Omoi Iro no Kioku~
- Kenka Bancho Otome ~Kanzen Muketsu no My Honey~
So that’s it for July, despite being the same number of releases as last month, I seem to have managed to write a lot less, maybe I’m getting lazy or just better at summarising? I’m quite glad that it’s a slightly quieter month as I’m trying to save up for the craziness that September’s releases will bring! It’s also giving me a good chance to chip away at my out of control backlog, haha.
Is anyone else buying anything this month?
Zettai Renai! 