Title: Enzai: Falsely Accused
Genre: Yaoi / Crime / Suspsense
Platform: Windows XP/Me/98/2000
Credits: 2006 Langmaor / JAST USA
Shop: Enzai: Falsely Accused, Hentai Game Shop, Hentai Item Shop

Cover Description:
A story of murder and intrigue in France during the time of Napoleon. Although the Revolution brought with it new laws and justice, there is one place that never changes: the dark hole known as prison. Into that hell, a boy named Guys is sent. The crime is murder, and the sentence, life without the possibility of parole.

In prison, Guys must endure a world of violence and betrayal as he fights desperately to survive. “I just want to be free…”

Will his strength and determination be enough to help him uncover the truth of the murder, and win his freedom? Can he enlist the aid of those around him to solve the mystery, and find his salvation? Langmaor brings you the very first interactive yaoi game in English, fully translated and 100% uncensored!

And Enzai is a game that definitely leaves a lasting impression. It somehow reminds me of Divi-Dead, very serious, but has an utterly beautiful interface. The title screen showcases both English and Japanese text. In all honesty, I could say that Divi-Dead comes distant second to Enzai in terms of overall look and feel. This leads me to say the next sentence with full-bodied conviction: Enzai is, hands down, the best digital novel I have ever come across. The artwork is breathtaking! The gothic feel is captivating and I lost no time getting absorbed into the stories. The colors and rendering seem professionally done. The downside for those who love realism is the fact that everyone is gorgeous, with only one or two ugly people, in the entire game.

There are many elements in Enzai that reminded me of real console RPGs. For one, you can pick your fonts. Two, the face of the person talking is displayed beside the message window. Three, there are no irritating female voices — although Guys’s, Io’s and Vallewida’s voices sound really feminine. Four, the musical scoring is nothing short of excellent. I have never played a bishoujo game that has captivating BGMs like this, especially Treue, which predominantly features some romantic guitar plucking. Genosse, with its melodious piano inserts, is also another track worth listening to.

I was actually astounded when I realized that I had become completely engrossed in the plot. Unlike all the bishoujo games I’ve played, where the setting is Japan by default, Enzai is set in France. Then again, Enzai isn’t a bishoujo game. Most bishoujo games’ premise is that you’d be expecting to hook up with the girl of your dreams. Enzai is a yaoi game, where you are supposed to be a dude — not necessarily homosexual — expecting to hook up with the guy of your dreams. The difference in settings is just the tip of how astonishingly different b-games and yaoi games are.

You know from the very beginning that most of the scenes in Enzai happen inside a prison, so the developers got to work on a realistic setting. What better way to pick up dudes than to be in a place populated with men, right? But Guys’ ordeal is no laughing matter. He is not in prison because he wants to get laid. He is in prison because he is a kid who wanted to survive the unforgiving streets of old France and he just happened to be the wrong person stuck in the wrong place at the wrong time. Like most impressionable young men his age, he had hopes and dreams of meeting a girl, getting married, and starting a family. To see all of it dashed so cruelly is exhausting. In the first path I chose, he gets beaten and raped in almost every scene. And this is just the first day alone. Of course, he does master the ropes after a while and to quote him, “I learned how to get tobacco and dirty pictures from the guards, and how to deal with guys who grope other guys.”

There are a lot of interesting prisoners that I found myself exploring. There’s Evan, the former journalist; Vallewida, the former soldier; Belbet, an adorable lunatic; and José, the bully. Even the sinister Inspector Guildias has his own sickeningly twisted secrets and you, playing Guys, must uncover all of them if you want to get out of hell alive. Almost everyone in that place is psychologically damaged and this is made even clearer by the fact that points-of-view may shift to the other men. The crimes, the drama, the suspense! Every route exposes an entirely different case to be solved, though Guys’ own personal journey remains constant. Even the courtroom sessions — despite the questionable way in which the trials are being conducted (the judge not objecting to new evidences being introduced on the spot) — are exciting. The plot is well-written, if you can suspend your disbelief for several moments.

The most difficult part of being female and playing a game about hot bishies is making the crucial decision: which man should I pick first. As a woman playing a bishoujo game, picking a random colorful female character isn’t too hard. I normally think, “Pick a girl, any girl,” and it’s usually the one that doesn’t grate my ears or the one with the nifty hair color. As a girl surrounded by delicious anime hunks, how do you survive not wanting to chew on them? I suddenly understand that my gender plays an important factor in games like these.

The gameplay may seem pretty straightforward; you have your “Auto-skip Read Messages” mode and all the other tools needed to maximize your reading pleasure. The story branching, however, is not. The choices are pretty tricky. For instance, if you get raped by a particular guy you’re eyeing, there’s a huge chance that you won’t get to know him better. There will also be options that might make you think you’ll score, but you won’t. Retracing your steps may not be enough. Sometimes you have to start over in order to check if you may have unlocked new routes, as what had happened to me when I stumbled upon a hidden character named Shion. It took me four tries before I finally achieved a good ending and I experienced a couple more bad conclusions before I got another good one. Thing is, the bishounens are just so yummy I couldn’t keep still until I got all of them. As of this writing, I managed to complete all Events and Endings 1, 3, 4, 5, and 7, and missing only 3 CGs.

As for hentai scenes…the word “overabundance” comes to mind. I just get a little queasy when it comes to the ass-violation parts. I think that’s one thing I will never get used to, no matter what genre a game or a hentai anime is. I must also impart a little warning: expect a chockful of blood and gore. This is a psychological thriller so there’s plenty of S&M to assail your senses.

What really bugs me is that I have never encountered a bishoujo game that’s as exquisitely made as this one. How can something that feels so horribly wrong (I was praying they’d mosaic penetration CGs. Yowch!) be done so magnificently right? Why can’t normal heterosexual bishoujo games be created like this? It’s twisted, I tell you. Twisted!

And I loved every inch of it.

Individual Rating: Art/Animation: 10 Story/Plot: 9 Characters: 10 Sounds: 10 Gameplay: 9 Ecchi Level: 10

Title: Fatal Relations
Genre: Bishoujo Game / Fantasy
Platform: Windows 95/98/ME
Credits: Himeya Soft
FAQs and Cheats: you don’t need it ^_-
Shop: Fatal Relations CD, Hentai Game Shop, Hentai Item Shop

Cover Description:
An erotic tale in Freudian tradition, from Himeya Soft!

Your parents die and your fate changes when a millionaire wants to adopt you, so you naturally jump at the chance. You move into her mansion right away, and a charming old widow and her lovely daughters meet you. The sweet smell of her daughters lures you into a world of pleasure. As you drown in unbelievable pleasure, you learn the unspeakable secret of the family. It is simply…

A classic bishoujo game for all collectors, explore the bizarre erotic side of the wealthy. With a great story and characters, we think you’ll love it!

If you are a true-blooded gamer just starting with the adult bishoujo genre, please stop reading this now and go on to either the Tokimeki Check-In or the Legend of Fairies section. I would not want to be responsible for you swearing off the adult bishoujo genre just because you had the misfortune of playing the most dragging click-and-click-and-click game you could ever encounter in your life.

If, however, you are more interested in seeing a guy bang so many girls in one day and do not care about linear endings, then by all means, enjoy this title! This is good for the erotica insatiable since it’s all about sex, sex, and more S-E-X.

So what is Fatal Relations all about? Well, basically, you get adopted by a family of beautiful women (quite similar to Gloria) who enjoy destroying whatever sense of sanity you have by imposing their eccentric sexual practices on you. A dream come true? Not if you’re actually living the personality of the main character, who seems to be really sweet and honest about how terrible he feels about the entire situation. There is no real “deep” story, unlike in games like Snow Drop where you actually don’t mind clicking your mouse all the time because an engaging plot and multi-linear ending awaits you upon every click you make. In Fatal Relations, whatever option you choose, you just get one ending. There are no consequences to speak of, which is surprising, considering most bishoujo games nowadays are innovating themselves towards more interactivity.

The women of Fatal Relations aren’t even that special because this game is abundant with stereotypes. They don’t have any distinct personality at all that would push them farther away from the limits of a typical oversexed male’s fantasies. We have a word for it in my native language. We call it “de-kahon”, meaning everything’s pre-defined inside a box.

I could say one positive aspect of it, though. There is this one little part where I was actually tasked to use my — GASP — brains! It’s where Yuko, the “nerdy” daughter, gave me a set of questions to perfect before she would allow me to view her naked splendor. I actually answered all of them correctly, save for one that was about the “C” language, which I shouldn’t have had any trouble answering since I’m a programmer. Actually, the questions are for the high school student level. But hey! It’s been almost a decade since I graduated from high school and my memory of all my lessons are a bit hazy now. The little aide memoire from a silly game has actually been fun and exhilarating. Thank goodness for that one small reprieve.

Individual Rating: Art/Animation: 7 Story/Plot: 3 Characters: 3 Sounds: 5 Gameplay: 1 Ecchi Level: 9

Title: Figures of Happiness
Genre: Fantasy
Platform: Windows XP/Me/98/2000
Credits: 2005 AngelSmile / G-Collections
Shop: Figures of Happiness , Hentai Game Shop, Hentai Item Shop

Cover Description:
have an argument with my girlfriend and we break up. The girl who actually causes it is suddenly killed in an accident; I’m dumbstruck when her spirit suddenly appears before me. “Please lend me your life force so I can confess my feelings to the guy I love.” Deciding to help her out, I lend her my life force, but…

No one told me that I’d become a spirit during all of this!! I’ve got to get my life force back before it’s too late!! To accomplish this, I get to use someone else’s body, but things get complicated… Every time I turn around, there’s another figure to deal with!

Figures of Happiness is just one little twist after another. In fact, I couldn’t believe that this is a G-Collections game, not to mention a V-Mate activated* one at that. I had already mentally prepared myself to another round of absolute inanity when I realized that I staring at the computer screen with complete involvement.

Story and Characters

Well, for starters, the plot is unique in itself. You play a young man who suddenly gets into a series of unfortunate events, starting from the breakup of your wonderful relationship to the accidental death of one of your friends. The clincher is that the girl that you thought was your friend sort of tricks you into exchanging places with her and you set off into a new supernatural adventure.

One thing amusing with the protagonist Ryo is that he is somewhat naïve. He’s got a lot of heart and this made me love him from the first moment. It’s because of his innate niceness that I got attached to Mio, his girlfriend. While there were many touching endings—as well as hilarious, bizarre, or even twisted—to this game, I still find Mio’s the best. I suppose the developers intended for Ryo to fall in love with the dead girl Minamo, but I suspect this makes his character flighty. Negative possibilities—of them both cheating on each other in the future—just pop into my head. This rings true for the other endings as well, although I must admit they were all well-written.

The girls are exceptional. Mio, in my mind, is Ryo’s dream girl. On the outside, she is the epitome of perfection—a leader, a responsible student, and a straight-laced older sister. On the inside, she’s just an ordinary girl who usually has her klutzy moments. Minamo is the overeager waitress, who just happens to have every insecure girl’s affliction: how do I tell that special someone how much he means to me? And then there’s your wacky but wise Miss Death, also known as The Soul Collector. For someone who’s in the apocalyptic business, she certainly exudes warmth and charm. Other notable characters are Mao, Mio’s twin sister; Narumi, the psychic; Kokoro, the effervescent rival of Minamo; and Izumi, the roaming out-of-body-experience enthusiast. The supporting male characters, loyal Wataru and enigmatic Satoru, also left quite a collective impact, so much that I wish this game had given them the chance to hook up with some of the more interesting women. Giving us female gamers more naked male eye candy to look forward to certainly wouldn’t hurt. Heh.

Ryo’s story threw me in for a few loops. There was even one point wherein I thought I bungled up my path and I was already screaming, “Nooo!” in pure unadulterated horror. I definitely know that I underwent several degrees of every emotion you can name while playing this one. I immensely enjoyed Ryo’s adventures, meeting up with different people and trying to solve so many cases while he deals with his own. Even though I wanted to bitchslap Minamo, for her bratty attitude, throughout the game, I still ended up laughing at her antics. Figures of Happiness is truly an experience that you can take pleasure in even if you remove the h-scenes.

Audiovisuals

At first I found the artwork too simplistic, and the girls’ heads reminded me of hazel nuts. I positively adored the coloring, however. (I think I began appreciating these aspects ever since I worked as a digital ink and painter in an animation studio.) The colors are vibrant, yet light enough to make the atmosphere effectively ethereal. I got used to the art halfway through the game, markedly with the appearance of Miss Death, whom I consider to be exceptionally stunning. Sometimes there’d be scenes where everyone would be in SD mode and I’d be amazed at how cute and genki everyone looks. You’re also treated to a short presentation, somewhat like a delayed intro, near the beginning of your spiritual adventure.

The voice actors were excellent. Satoru’s voice, in particular, is totally sexy. That seiyuu must be pretty talented, considering he also played Wataru. All of these, of course, are accompanied by hauntingly beautiful background music.

Gameplay and Other Features
The system is straightforward. You have the usual hands-free mode (or Auto), skip text mode, and conversation logs. You can adjust the settings via the Options menu. The Extras menu contains background music, CGs, and album galleries. The Album is a collection of your most memorable scenes with the girls of Figures of Happiness.

The game itself is easy. I managed to collect all of Mio’s three albums on the first try, even though I thought I had fumbled in the middle of her path. You’ll encounter a few tricky choices, mostly in Izumi’s and Kokoro’s routes but these just add a bit of spice and challenge to your game.

The good news here is that you can now deactivate Virtual Mate, or V-Mate, by going to http://support.g-collections.com and entering your game’s product key, which is written at the back of your V-Mate blue booklet. Once you’ve gotten the patch to remove V-Mate, you can enjoy the game to its fullest. Meaning, if you were suddenly struck by sudden floods that cause your internet connection to go down, which often happens to me, you can still continue playing the game.

Hentai Aspects
I mentioned earlier that Figures of Happiness can actually survive without the sex. That doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have any ecchi flavor to it. The hentai scenes are explicit, but they’re very sweet and tender. Every sexual moment you encounter with any girl of your choice is special and magical. This is the type of game where you’d want to use the words “make love” instead of “fuck.”

If it isn’t obvious yet, Figures of Happiness broke all sorts of stereotype I’ve listed in my book. It’s not linear, but it doesn’t have that get-all-the-girls obligatory feel. It’s not perversely naughty, but it’s not boring. It’s long, but it’s not an insomnia buster. Best of all, it has everything good I have said for previous favorite bishoujo games. Kudos to AngelSmile and G-Collections for coming up with this one!

Individual Rating: Art/Animation: 9 Story/Plot: 10 Characters: 10 Sounds: 9 Gameplay: 8 Ecchi Level: 8

And so the wheels of fate turn, winding the destinies of everyone together: Minamo and her reluctant helper Ryo; the pure Mio and her carefree twin sister Mao; the competitive Kokoro, who won’t give up Satoru without a fight; the lonely spirit Izumi; and the perplexing Soul Collector. What twists and turns await this cast of characters before the final act is played? The longest and most complex game ever released by G-Collections — dont miss it!

What more can I say? This game is the single most magnificent work of art, in my opinion. The elegant and haunting soundtrack urges you on to explore this beautiful tale of love, life, death and accomplishment, from start to end.

The style of art is nicely matched up with the theme of the game. No striking colors, nothing to poke into your eye. Just a mild tone to go with the gentle and very touching story that unfolds slowly, piece by piece.

The story is simply too great for words. You play Ryo in this game, happily in love with Mio, the class president. The love between you two is pure, untainted and innocent. You two always meet after school at the Blue Cosmos. There you’ll meet a waitress, Minamo, who just admires the real and natural love between you two. But little did anyone know, when the day tragedy strikes, Minamo and you will be going on an epic adventure beyond all boundaries… Beyond life and death.

The characters are all designed with outstanding qualities. You’ll get emotionally attached to them deeply, seeing your beloved by your motionless body, weeping and sobbing. You can see her every single movement, hear her every single word, yet you can’t do a thing, and you can’t say a word. You can’t comfort her, you can’t thank her. Just look at her crying, and you can’t do a thing. The story had me in tears many, many times. You’ll loath Minamo at first, but in the end… You start to feel for her. The emotional bond you’ll experience with the characters is simply something that must be felt to be appreciated.

The soundtrack is truly amazing. The sorrowful but elegant melodies that chime in your ears as you feel for your beloved, makes the experience all the greater. It is one of a kind, and you can feel your emotions drifting with every single note. Looking back on the events in your album, while those touching tunes dance in your ears, is something unlike anything before.

Gameplay is relatively smooth without any huge glitches or problems. The only little annoyance is that you can’t exactly tell how many endings you’ve achieved, but that is easily remedied by the large amount of saving space.

The hentai content is something else worth a mention. While the art in those scenes are magnificent as well, nothing seems out of place. It doesn’t feel like “Oh, another hentai scene.” Those scenes fall perfectly in place with the story; it almost feels like you’re no longer playing “just another H-game”. I’d still love this game to pieces even if there wasn’t the ecchi stuff; the story alone holds its grounds in my heart as the best game that ever existed.

This entire experience will make you think. Think about all those around you, and all those you love and care for. I, for one, can personally relate to Minamo in a lot of ways. After all, the true feeling of love can only be felt after the bitterness of losing it. But how many times could a lost love be fulfilled again? The only time when we are truly going to confess our feelings… Is often just too late.

“I wish I could have told him sooner…”

Do not let the title screen fool you. This is more than just another H-game.

Individual Rating: Art/Animation: 9 Story/Plot: 10 Characters: 9 Sounds: 10 Gameplay: 8 Ecchi Level: 8

I reviewed Stepmother’s Sin, Gibo’s animated version, two years ago and I observed two major differences: (1) the characters in the game don’t look much like their anime counterparts; and (2) the story here isn’t nearly as dark as the anime. For one thing, I noticed that the women here a little bit more believable when they protest. Gibo is not as two-dimensional as Stepmother’s Sin. You get to delve more into the characters’ backgrounds for better understanding of the plot, which makes Gibo the superior storyteller. You can actually hear Misako’s thoughts and how she slowly develops feelings towards her “son”. Also, the woman obviously has a bit of substance between her ears. I mean, the first ending I got was of her filing a case against Yusuke for his indecent behavior. Go Misako!

The same characters are introduced: Yusuke Yagami, the protagonist; Misako Yagami, the beautiful stepmother; Mio Yagami, Yusuke’s cousin and fuck buddy; and Shiina Kikuchi, Misako’s daughter. Unlike the anime, where the end is tragic, the three women of the bishoujo game have different paths that could either be happy, depressing, or bleh. There are a total of 14 different outcomes, and you’d find yourself thoroughly involved, depending on which girl you’re rooting for. Most of Gibo is about Misako, though, and none of the endings seem to be less than bizarre—even the ones you’d think were good.

One minor nitpick I have about Gibo is that the ages aren’t very consistent. The booklet that came with the package says that Misako is 37 and Shiina is 18. But in the story, Misako declares that she lost her virginity at age 20 (hatachi). If she lost it at 20, then there’s no way Shiina could be 18. Either they failed to correct the age factor and Shiina’s real age is 16, an age considered legal in Japan, or Misako is lying.

This would’ve been the ultimate incest game, if it weren’t for the fact that Misako and Shiina aren’t related to Yusuke by blood. He bangs his cousin, too. (Although in some parts of the world, having relations with your first cousin is acceptable.) Still, mixing and matching the females, especially ones that are related, can somehow seem disturbing. Imagine, too, the convenience of Yusuke’s dad being so busy with work that Yusuke can molest all three women in his house without any hitches. Hm. Perhaps “molest” isn’t the word I am looking for. After all, Yusuke exposes his women to various acts of perversions like pee-drinking, whips, candles, ropes and the like. The girls also somehow manage to fall in love with him in some paths, despite his ocassional brutality. Yusuke must be one lucky bastard.

The music is poignant and somewhat touching, and the voice acting is excellent. Appreciation of the artwork is an acquired taste (I find Misako’s hairstyle a bit tacky), although many of the CGs are exquisite. The backgrounds are rendered in 3D, giving the game a smooth texture. There’s the Extra menu, which contains all the CGs, music and events in the game.

The gameplay itself isn’t too bad, since you have the “Love” bar and the “Lewd” bar, wherein you can check if Misako’s feelings for you borders on love or lust. There’s also my favorite fast forward button. Other handy features are the Quick Save, Quick Load functions, and the buttons that let you move back and forth in the story.

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

Title: Gibo CD-ROM
Genre: Bishoujo
Platform: Windows XP/Me/98/2000
Credits: 2002 Will Co. Ltd. / Peach Princess
Shop: Gibo CD-ROM , Hentai Game Shop, Hentai Item Shop

Cover Description:
My name is Yusuke Yagami. When I was a boy, I witnessed something no one should ever see: my own mother, locked in the throes of passion with a man who wasn’t my father. Her adultery caused our happy home to come crashing down when my father divorced her for her sin.

Now, after many years, my father remarried, and suddenly, I have a new stepmother, or Gibo. But the woman my father married was not old. She was young and beautiful. When I looked at Misako-san for the first time, I felt something very strange stir inside me.

As the days went by, I found myself thinking of my new mother in shocking ways. Could I really accept this beautiful woman as part of my family? After all, I found out what mothers are really like the day I witnessed their unfaithfulness. I swore to uncover the sinful truth about my new stepmother. Punishment may be necessary.

Title: Heart de Roommate
Genre: Bishoujo / Romance
Platform: Windows 98/ME/2000/XP
Credits: Angelsmile / G-Collections
Shop: Heart de Roommate, Hentai Games, Hentai Item Shop

Cover Description:
Due to a number of unfortunate incidents, Yusuke is left without a place to live when he transfers to a new school. In an unknown land, he suddenly runs into his childhood friend Asumi again. Misunderstanding a prior incident, the hyper Asumi tells Yusuke that she needs to repay her debt. Then she forcibly takes Yusuke back to her all girls’ dorm and announces to her astonished roommates that Yusuke will be living with them! However, Asumi orders Yusuke to take care of the cleaning, prepare meals for them and wear a girl’s uniform when they go to school to hide their secret…all the while, he’s made to live in a closet! Tough luck for Yusuke, but he starts enjoying life with his cute roommates. What he never expected was his ever-growing passion towards these pretty girls…

About the game:
“Heart de Roommate” is a command selection adventure game. This game utilizes a multi-ending system, where the stories unfold and change according to command selections. It’s entirely up to you how the stories will unfold. Please try to achieve all the endings.