Takuya is back and he loses no time in getting himself into scandalous situations yet again! No longer virginal, Takuya starts his morning with a dose of loving…and then some.

Audiovisuals
True to the tradition its predecessor set, X-Change 2 has beautiful artwork, lovely background music, and a roster of talented voice actors. Almost every scene is worth capturing, whether it’s CG or just a regular dialogue picture. The only minor flaw in the visuals is that all the women have the same body proportions. Asuka, who’s supposed to be flat-chested, looks like she has Onna Takuya’s bra-size. And Onna Takuya’s breasts are huge! The same applies to Kyoko, the college girl who supposedly looks like a junior high student. Other than the females’ generic builds, everything else feels perfect.

Story and Characters
The concept of a guy changing into a girl is nothing new. It’s been there since the days of Ranma, SailorMoon and older gender-bending shoujo titles. We’re just basically continuing where we left off in the first X-Change. This time, however, one can notice a deeper transformation in Takuya that has nothing to do with outward appearances. He still remains the eternal goof, but he gets to ponder more about his relationship with Asuka and how to make things better with her. Of course, this game has multiple endings and Asuka isn’t the only girl Takuya can end up with, but I’m appreciating his interaction with Asuka here than in X-Change 1. I guess it’s because X-Change 2 has more drama than your usual high-school centered bishoujo game.

On the other hand, now that I’m getting to know Takuya even more, he suddenly seems too idiotic and bimbo-ish to be a real guy who just happened to live in a girl’s body. He always gets himself into messy, and ultimately compromising, circumstances with other men. Women, he can handle quite well. But men? He never did quite resolve his issues from the first installment.

Besides the melodrama, you’d notice that there are a lot of hilarious stuff going on in there. Mini-stories outside of Takuya’s school also happen, like for instance, when Takuya meets a girl that looks exactly like him and the girl suggests they trade places for a while. Or this secret admirer who’s so clumsy, she can’t get her wits straight.

The only thing that’s bothering me in the other endings is that, when you think about it, his hook-ups with some of the women he’s just met probably wouldn’t last. Good thing his endings with Asuka, Chisato, and even Kouji (yes, there is that dreaded yaoi ending that straight guys would probably touch only out of sheer curiosity) can be believed.

Gameplay
The best features of the first X-Change are the options. Thank goodness Crowd removed none of the options there, but instead added more. Not only can you fast forward scenes, you can actually toggle with the fast forward settings! You can now also save favored images into your hard drive as there is a “Save CG” button that allows you to do this. The usual “Save”, “Load”, “CG Gallery and Music Room”, “Help” menu are available. You might also want to check out the “Opening Sequence” if you want to sing along.

There are quite a few surprises that spice up this game, too. Just when I thought I was going to die of ennui, the next runs made me perk up. I got to play mini-games in some of the alternative scenarios and I had a hell of a good time, especially with Battle Force, wherein you get to play Paladin, Sage, or Werecat. Other mini-games you will have to participate in are the Strip Karaoke, Crowd and Script Quizzes, Rock Scissors Paper, and Name That Tune.

Extras
Aside from the obvious bonuses that most bishoujo games give you, X-Change 2 has a second disc that contains OMAKE files. These are the MP3s or the soundtrack, liner notes, as well as the ability to play in Japanese. Get to know the staff and other elements of the game in detail.

Hentai Aspects
In the first X-Change, there had been a handful of strange post-pubescent boys hitting on Onna Takuya even though they knew she was formerly a guy. This time, with so many other experimentations going on at the Chemistry Club, you’ve got even bigger surprises in store for our hero. First, you’ve got a whole slew of lesbian action scenes that could whet the appetite of any normal hot-blooded male. And second, well, when you start to brood on it, the entire package reeks of shonen-ai. And since there’s anal sex, the yaoi-ness of this game is complete. Imagine, this is originally a man, who, at the throes of passion, exclaims he enjoys having someone’s cock up his ass…

Then again, here are other benefits not much explored in the first X-Change. Like…getting into the places where men would never be allowed in. What guy can feast his eyes on endless mounds of delectable female flesh other than he who has been ensconced in a female body?

Judging from the popularity of the X-Change series, I daresay my brother and a few of my very straight male friends do not share the majority’s feelings. While my brother found this game disturbing, so much that he announced he’d shoot himself were he in Takuya’s place, the rest of Japan’s raging XY hormones begged to disagree. Why else would there be a sequel?

Individual Rating: rt/Animation: 9 Story/Plot: 8 Characters: 9 Sounds: 7 Gameplay: 9 Ecchi Level: 8

This entry was posted on Monday, November 24th, 2003 at 12:22 am and is filed under X-Change 2, Games Hentai. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.