I’m back with another assortment of short reviews, this time with a focus on shorter, more fanservice-heavy titles. Most of these games were fairly low-price but does that mean that they’re also low quality?
Koi to H Shika Shiteinai!
Official Site / VNDB
My Score: 7/10
KoiH is the first title from Unisonshift in over 6 years, which is why I personally bought it. The story is typical eroge sillyness – the protagonist Kyuujin Shidou was an average young man until he finds out that he is the sole heir to a rich corporation. His first meeting with his long-lost grandfather is on his deathbed and grandpa has but a single request. In order for him to inherit the family business, he must find himself a suitable spouse. Luckily for Shidou he has two childhood friends who agree to help him with this momentous task, so just who does he choose?
Literally the only choice in the game lol
Like I mentioned, I only really bought this to support the return of unisonshift so my expectations were pretty low. That being said, this game was surprisingly cute and the romance was actually pretty fluffy. The title makes it clear what this game is about and it sticks true to its philosophy, delivering a nice moege with a high dose of ecchi. I kind of respect the honesty.
Iwai – the calm, kind Yamato Nadeshiko from a wealthy family
With only two heroines, it makes it even more imperative that they stick out. In this case, they do as Iwai & Ririka are pretty much polar opposites in design (both visuals and personality). I liked both but definitely preferred Ririka: her route had the better romance and I just enjoy the friendly gyaru type of heroine in general. One nice touch is that, despite whom you choose, the other heroine is genuinely supportive of her friends’ relationship.
There was a good amount of artwork in this game, although some more SFW CGs might’ve been nice. I like Go-1’s artwork anyways from their work on Hooksoft’s KoiAma but I really need to praise the graphics & colouring staff as they really made the art look great. The SD CGs from Shiroe Rie were also disgustingly cute.
Ririka – Friendly, talkative and yet still approachable (also very pure-hearted).
Overall, KoiH is a very safe title to pick up if you want a short, cute moege with a lot of H. The romance was done well enough, and the heroines are likable so if either appeal to you then this wouldn’t be a bad pick-up. If you want something with more of a serious or heavy tone then this absolutely is not the game to pick.
Aikotoba -Silver Snow Sister-
Official Site / VNDB
My Score: 3/10
Aikotoba SSS is a low-price single heroine title from Azarashi Soft +1. The story follows the pair of Hoshitsugu siblings Kotetsu & Shirone. Upon the sarcastic advice from his sister to get himself a girlfriend, Kotetsu downloads the popular dating app “Aikotoba” and gets matched with someone with who he has 88.88% compatability (in the top 10%). Upon this, Shirone notices a change in her brother and decides she needs to take action! But just what will happen to the siblings now?
I’m not going to beat around the bush – I hated this game. And I hate that I hate it, if that makes sense? I don’t know if I went into this with the wrong attitude, expecting a sweet romance but that’s not what I got.
To give this title its fair praise, the start of the game is interesting and has a decent build-up but as soon as the pair start having sex the game just stops doing much of anything else. There’s no relationship development, minimal plot, nothing. I also don’t think their relationship really changed that much either from the start to end of the game emotionally which was a little weird. There’s also a complete lack of family drama despite the fact they live with their parents.
A major part of my dislike for this title was that I just didn’t like the H Scene writing for the most part. The character dynamics felt weird in them and I just wasn’t a fan. The “fantasy” scene that the game takes its time to warn you about just should not have been included.
There were some positives in this title though: the main one being that Shirone is a really likable heroine, who’s sharp witt and surprising cuteness is really endearing. The soundtrack, while limited, is also really catchy. And the artwork was nice, especially those Marotaro SD CGs.
While I can’t personally say I enjoyed this game, I fully realise that many of the problems experienced were subjective. The game is cheap and if you are interested in Shirone then it would be worth considering. Otherwise, it’s not worth going out of your way to read.
D.C. Dream X’mas
Official Site / VNDB
My Score: 5/10
DC Dream Xmas is clearly a thinly-veiled cash grab aimed at fans of the first two Da Capo games. It’s actually a collection of 3 titles (one main game + 2 mini-games).
The first mini-game is called “Otome to Issho!” and basically has you interact with a 3D model of Otome. You can converse with her or touch her (as in pat her head or hold her hand). Crappy modelling aside, the idea of this game is quite cute and it’s fun to mess around with for like 15 minutes but I don’t really understand the appeal even as a fan of the heroine??
The other mini-game is “Dungeon D.X.” and features Otome, Koko & Kotori in a board game-esque RPG, where you fight opponents using dice rolls. It’s basically the same system as Circus’ RPG Gakuen games. On a side note, I really do want to play the RPG Gakuen series at some point – yet another title to go on my wishlist.
There’s only one game board/dungeon, and a very small story so the game can easily be completed in an hour once you figure out the mechanics. It’s still an eroge so of course your party leader’s clothes get destroyed in a silly cutscene if they take a lot of damage.
Again, this was a bit of a random addition but it was fun to play through admittedly.
The main part of the game is in the “Seiya no Amazing Stories” section. This contains crossover stories between the characters of the first two Da Capo titles. The DC1 stories focus on Nemu & Kotori, whereas the DC2 stories contain episodes for Otome, Yume, Nanaka & Anzu.
The Asakura family reunion did not go to plan
This was a fun little game, it’s been a while since I played the first Da Capo game and playing this made me appreciate just how likable that game’s heroines are (especially Kotori). The silly character interactions are the main draw of this title and I can say I definitely did enjoy the crossover. The plot isn’t great but you know everything can be explained by the magic of Christmas.
The DC1 routes were a bit better overall imo, with the DC2 routes being too similar despite which heroines you choose, leading to it feeling like a bit of a chore to get through.
This title definitely had a more “modern” artstyle compared to the older games. Some of the first game’s sprites had been redone which was a nice touch. Most of the artwork was fine but there were definitely some inconsistent and rushed images.
Da Capo Dream Xmas is clearly a
Koakuma-chan no Yuuwaku!
Official Site / VNDB
My Score: 5/10
Koakuma-chan no Yuuwaku is the first title released by Clover Games, which is the game subsidary of Drama CD publisher Clover Voice (which in itself is a sister brand to Cuffs/Cube/Sphere/Hulotte). The plot is pretty simple – Otonashi Sumiya is an average guy and was in his classroom one afternoon when his childhood friend Suzumori Mei suddenly confesses that she has feelings for him. Sumiya brushes her off, saying that the two are close enough already. Mei, on the other hand, makes it her personal mission to get Sumiya to take her feelings seriously by the time their summer break starts. And how does she plan to do this? By way of erotic temptation of course~
This is essentially a nukige (pretending that most of the games in this post aren’t lol). The combination of Kanekiyo Miwa’s adorable artwork and Kanako voicing the main heroine are what convinced me to purchase this though and I have no regrets in that regard.
The game is pretty straight-forward and I liked Mei as a heroine. Her early game antics were pretty funny and seeing a heroine be so forward was kind of endearing. The romance was okay, definitely a little different than a typical childhood friend heroine route.
However, this game for some reason has two routes – one where Mei takes the lead in the relationship, and another where the protagonist takes the lead. Given that the whole premise is about Mei taking the lead, the latter route just feels weird and unnecessary. The route where Mei takes the lead and remains her adorable 小悪魔 self is superior by far.
Overall, this game was decent enough, if let down by one of its routes. If you’re a fan of Kanako’s voice acting or like Mei’s design then check out this title, otherwise I would recommend skipping it. If you’re the former then I would nudge you in the direction of the deluxe version for the Drama CD + Maxi single (the opening is super catchy).
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