Posts Tagged ‘quinrose’

24ji Cinderella!

So, 24ji no Cinderella, yeah? (pretend that’s in a cockney accent) Or its official title, 24ji no Kane to Cinderella ~Halloween Wedding~. Even though I worked overtime a bunch this week, I went through all the characters! Only the best endings though (and one ‘good’ ending). Each character has a pivotal point where you can choose to stop investigating the central mystery of the game, and if you do, you don’t end up as lovers, though the one good ending I did, there was still a possibility.

As I said in the preview, Rosaria is Odette’s older stepsister (from 12ji no Cinderella), who in this game, is shown to be much more unsure and worried about Odette than she appears in 12ji. It all fits with her actions from the previous game, but Quinrose is really good at showing a new perspective and it really changes how Rosaria (and Odette, when you don’t see her inner thoughts) comes across. You also get a new viewpoint on Sirius, who I like just as much, but he seems much more mysterious and magician-like herel. Overall, I was really impressed by how they went through the same time period as 12ji but without retconning anything (of course, they were planning this game already, but they did a good job anyhow), and without boring us, even though we’ve seen all the major events already.

I liked all the routes, although I felt that Rosaria’s fiance’s, Linus, route was the weakest. It felt like it needed more story to explain how they fell in love with each other. At the start I wasn’t sure if I would like Linus at all, and I did like him in the end, but I think it could have been much better with a little more showing of both of them developing romantic feelings.

My favourite character…is hard to pick. I was biased towards Oswell because, well, Tsuda Kenjirou, but I also really liked both Feather and Damian’s routes (the monsters). Rosaria’s childhood friend Luis was also really good, but it’s bittersweet to play Linus’s route after him because you know he likes Rosaria (although really, you think he could have pushed a little harder over the years and years they’ve been friends, because she really has no idea).

Rosaria herself is pretty awesome, though I liked her less in Linus’s route – at times she felt unworthy of his high rank, and I felt like she seemed more helpless.
Looking back, the routes all seemed fairly short once you play through once because there is quite a bit of overlap, but while I was playing it only bothered me during Linus’s route.

One more note, though I love Quinrose enough to get their deluxe editions, I gotta say that I prefer Otomate’s pre-order and limited edition drama CDs. The Quinrose ones are fun but I don’t think they add much to the characters, and since the relationships are totally unrelated to those in-game you don’t get any fun rivalries (I like jealousy events in games, what can I say).

Overall, I enjoyed this a lot and definitely recommend it for anyone who enjoys Quinrose games.

Oh, and if Quinrose doesn’t make one more game with Elise, the oldest stepsister, as the heroine, and having Halloween as one of the heroes, I will be very disappointed.

Upcoming Game Vids

For a request! I love doing these posts, it’s a change from my long texty rambles.

24ji no Cinderella
I’m hoping to get this this week, yay!

The VitaminZ fandisk, Graduation! Mostly a mashup of them in their new outfits.

Here are a couple of teaser movies (not the OP and not a promo, so not as much material) for some of the newest announced games,

Princess Arthur:

and Norn9.

School Wars
I love that the heroine is holding a big AK47 in the beginning – though I don’t think I’ve seen any CGs with it.

 
Hyakki Yakou

 

Genroh

I don’t really like the slow pace of the PV, so here’s the OP as well (as one commenter says, it’s reminiscent of the anime themes from the 90′s).

Confidential Money – I’m not really interested in this, but I like the video – it’s different than the usual montage, and shows what the characters roles are in the team pretty well.

Diabolik Lovers
This one’s gonna be a hit. I’m not getting it right away though.

And Koezaru wa Akai Hana, the newest R18 game which I’m waiting for now (we’ll see how long Customs holds it up). I like the music and the art is pretty cute, and I’m hoping it’s good.

Tokimemo 1&2 are being released very cheaply in a double pack this year (4500Y for both).
Here’s OP1 – I didn’t know B’z did the song, they’re pretty huge

and OP2

24ji no Cinderella Preview

So, my 24ji no Cinderella shipped early this morning, and now I wish I had paid for express shipping. Oh well, in the meantime I thought I’d go over the characters and setup (which will make me want it more, but I’ll just have to be patient).

The heroine is the older stepsister, Rosalia Scarlet, of the heroine from 12ji no Cinderella, Odette Scarlet. Odette was cynical and cool, while Rosalia is warm and impulsive, but they’re both Quinrose heroines, so they’re smart and independent. Rosalia is really protective of Odette and shows her affection a lot (in fact Girl’s Style has a gag comic where the heroes are worried she’ll never love them as much as she loves Odette), as well as the rest of their family, Rosalia’s mother Fatima, and her older sister (yeah I can’t remember her name).

For those who haven’t played 12ji, Odette’s father, a fairly high nobleman, and Fatima, a low-level noblewoman, get married and the family lives fairly happily for a couple months until the father dies in a carriage accident. Then it’s discovered that he had lots of debts, and the four women have to sell the house and move to a creaky apartment downtown, working to live. The city they live in is a strange mix of 19th-century Europe and fairytales, where the king shares power with Hallowe’en, a ‘monster’. Monsters are kind of supernatural animals that live as humanoids (but I think they can all turn into their animal forms as well). The humans of the town don’t really trust the monsters so they don’t deal with each other much, but the Scarlet family don’t care – in fact their only neighbour in the apartment building, Feather, is a pigeon monster, and they’re all very good friends.

Rosalia finds some strange papers one day, one with the emblem of the royal family, and the other the emblem of the Scarlet family. The game is partly trying to find out the meaning behind this.

Along with other characters she meets along the way, here are the main heroes:

Louis Reed (CV: Suzumura Kenichi)  – Rosalia’s childhood friend who’s training to be a knight. He has a strong sense of justice and has a crush on Rosalia.

Feather (CV: Shimono Hiro) – The lovely neighbour who can not only talk to and get help from the city pigeons (a great spy network), but can change gender! She/he is pretty great, and always fashionable, and has a weakness for beans.

Linus Randor (CV: Yusa Kouji) – Rosalia’s fiance, he’s kind of oblivious and it’s hard to tell what he’s thinking.

Oswell Savaray (CV: Tsuda Kenjirou) – The prince’s tutor who wants to learn through experience instead of books. He travels when and where he likes, and doesn’t like getting involved with people.

Damian (CV: Morita Masakazu) – A mouse monster who works in the city doing various odd jobs. He’s a bit of a pushover, but is very versatile. He meets Rosalia when she saves him from a rat-catcher. Oh, and he loves cheese.

And two more characters who I’m not sure if they have routes or not:

Sirius Bradley (CV: Takahashi Hiroki) – A kindly but weird magician who knew Odette’s parents. He had a route in 12ji, I kind of thought it was the true route but I guess not…?

Spencer Hendrick (CV: Nakata Jouji – he was in Escaflowne as Farnel!!! He’s also Serizawa in Hakuouki and will be in Double Score) – A retainer of the prince.

I have no idea what the plot about the emblems will be like, but I’m really looking forward to playing a Quinrose game again, especially because when I played 12ji I really liked Rosalia. I guess I can finish Grimm the Bounty Hunter while I wait…

12ji no Kane to Cinderella Halloween Wedding

Man, I had almost this whole post written up and never posted. ages ago.

I still haven’t started playing Brothers Conflict, but I just got 12ji Cinderella and Abunai Koi and started playing Cinderella – I felt like I needed some good Quinrose storytelling.

At the beginning, I got a little impatient because it takes a while to set the story before introducing any of the love interests. It starts with Odette and her father only, and then introduces her stepfamily, and goes through the whole event of her father dying and them becoming poor.

Now I’m finally getting to the part where you meet the guys (not there yet!) and I didn’t easily find a guide, so for anyone playing I thought I’d put one up. For the intro I just chose the most welcoming options, like agree to meet Fatima, invite them over, that kind of thing. The ones that matter for which route you’ll enter are when you’re talking to Feather.
Her first question is what kind of guy you like, and it’s shown which one represents your answer so that’s easy. Then later at night, you’re contemplating love and ‘meetings’, and wonder where would be a good meeting place. For these, here are the places for each character:
Hiroba (Square): Chance
Ichiba (Market): Roy Diefenthal
Rojiura (Alley): Gilbert Kroisu
Kutsuya (Shoeshop): Glass Walker
Jitaku (Home): Sirius Bradley

I still haven’t gotten to a route yet, but I’m going for Chance first – for some reason he interests me (maybe it’s the salamander thing?)

Update:
Before I took 12ji out of my PSP, I finished all but one route, Glass. I really liked 12ji a lot, and the long intro actually makes the rest of the routes better, because Odette’s family relationships are pretty great, and she has to work through some issues about her mom and dad as well, which wouldn’t be as engaging without having the intro with her dad and his remarriage.

So far I think Sirius is my favourite, although they were all good. Gilbert reminds me of Curtis Nile but more confident in his relationship, and Chance (maybe Glass too) had the least amount of backstory plot. I got this more because I wanted to play it before getting 24ji (which I wanted first for Tsuda Kenjirou, my new fave seiyuu), but I don’t regret it at all. I wasn’t completely sure after being burned by the Mother Goose game (so unforgiving), but thankfully Quinrose came through and I trust them again. I do want to finish Glass’s route as well, he was just the least interesting to me because he shows up the latest and is the most rude.

I think I may have enjoyed this more than Ouma ga Toki even, although it’s hard to decide. I definitely recommend Cinderella – it’s not hugely long, but since I enjoyed all the characters, I feel like it’s a good value.

Post-Weekend videos!

I’m sitting here watching Toki no Kizuna scroll by (almost done two characters and going to post after that), and I thought I’d post these vids as well.

Vids:

Grimm the Bounty Hunter

I haven’t quite finished Adolf’s route yet, but it’s pretty fun.

Issho ni Gohan

This is really cute, too bad it’s unfocused.

Genroh PV

I’m really hoping this is good, although recent games have lowered my expectations…I just love the character designs.

Arabian’s Lost

Yay! It’s as fun as I remember, and the new art is definitely nicer. For me it strikes a nice balance between gameplay and story.

Toki no Kizuna

Going through this now – as you can see the art is gorgeous. And I love the voice cast.

Custom Drive

This is actually available through the PlayStation Network! If you’re in Japan, that is.

Edit: The Butterfly vid was removed, so here’s another treat – a preview of Hana Awase!

Butterly Lip/Gloss/Rouge

One route per game, I hope it’s worth it. It seems to be targeting a more mature crowd, maybe there’ll be lots of adult drama.

24ji no Cinderella

I got 12ji just to play this, and I really enjoyed it, so I can’t wait for this one! Already orderd the deluxe set.

Oh, one last link to a vid – the VitaminZ fandisk!

http://www.d3p.co.jp/vitamin_z_fd/

And that’s it for now!

School Wars

School Wars is coming out by Quinrose for the PSP November 29, and they announced the seiyuu so it’s time for a post! (Wow, I just checked my news post and I used pretty much the exact same words there.)

Ichijou Shiori is a student at Seiran High School, and the head of the morality club (why can I never remember the better translation of Fuuki??) A case of arson at their rival school, Suzushiro, results in Suzushiro students attending Seiran. Shiori investigates the arson while trying to keep the two groups of students from killing each other.

Ujiie Itsuki (CV: Namikawa Daisuke) – a second-year at Suzushiro who’s fairly quiet but always up for a fight, he’s strong and it shows.

Kurobe Daigo (CV: Fujiwara Keiji) – a big third-year at Suzushiro who looks intimidating and though he’s a ‘banchou’ (gangleader) type, he has a pretty serious personality.

Misaki Shinya (CV: Sakurai Takahiro) – A third-year at Seiran, he’s very popular with the girls and comes from a rich family.

Hisa Masafumi (CV: Nojima Kenji) – A third-year at Suzushiro who’s a well-known idol, his public side is nice but his real personality is very cynical.

Tsukamoto Hisamitsu (CV: Hino Satoshi) – A second-year at Seiran who will likely be the next head of the morals club, he admires the heroine.

Miyakomaru Kyouhei (CV: Tachibana Shinnosuke) – A second-year at Seiran who has a wide network of information. He can`t always be trusted.

Itty Bitty Review

Because I had to work late again I have no energy (and no memory power, which is why I can’t remember people’s names here), but I did play Ouma ga Toki a fair bit on the weekend. It’s good, but not as great as I’d hoped – I’ve finished two routes so far and they feel kind of short. I haven’t done Hisoka’s route yet, and I feel like that’s the ‘true’ one, so maybe that will feel more substantial. Also, since I’m not using a guide it’s quite possible I’m missing a bunch, although there aren’t that many choices to make overall.
I did Touno (Suwa, of course!) and the guy who helps out in the nurse’s room. One thing I found refreshing was that it was pretty heavily implied that once they were in a relationship, they had sex! Since they’re all youkai and pretty old, it makes sense that they wouldn’t be typically shy teenagers. Although it’s still not clear how old the heroine is – I think you only find out her whole story with Hisoka. I’ll have to finish his route next, but I took a break for some fluffy fun – Beastmaster and Prince ~Snow Bride~. Mofu mofu forever!

Ouma ga Toki

I’ve been working late so I’m kind of brain-dead, but for what it’s worth: I’m still not far into Ouma ga Toki, but so far I like it – the heroine is self-aware, kind of a smart-ass, and awesome in almost every way. There’s no gameplay and the music is bland, but the setting is fun and the characters are good so far. I’m trying to go for Tooya (CV: Suwabe Junichi), the banchou-type, but who knows how I’m doing – I can’t see any affection meter or anything.

Also got Kanuchi Futatsu no Tsubasa from amiami – SAL packet with no customs (phew). Now I have to decide how to order more games with the best shipping…

And still no Tokimemo 3! Booo.

C’est tout! G’night.

News

Not too many new games this month:

• Hiiro no Kakera 5! Shirahana no Ori. They list it as HnK 4, but we all know that ヒイロノカケラ, the one set in the futuristic city, was #4 so I’m gonna keep going with that. Anyways, it’s set in the Heian period and the art is by Ike, who did #4. Lots of nice costumes but no seiyuu announced yet! It’ll be interesting if they change them.
• A sequel for Asaki Yumemishi. It’s set for Jul 27 on the PC.
• A new Quinrose game that I almost missed because I thought it was Cinderella! Which it is…but the first was 12ji, and this one is 24ji. So maybe I was wrong and the Cinderella one is Noon Bells, and this one is Midnight Bells? This game features one of Cinderella’s stepsisters, Rosalia. Man, I should really get 12ji.
• Fandisk for VitaminZ – I thought VitaminXtoZ was that, but hey I’m not complaining – more Chisato is always good (o^-^o) ウフッ
• Fandisk for Wand of Fortune 2, which I’m finally playing now – I wasn’t sure if it had enough material for a fandisk but I guess so. It begins when Ruru runs into a little fairy called Bell that looks just like her

The seiyuu for Confidential Money were announced:
Kirishima Shun (CV: Toriumi Kousuke) – A genius with a 190 IQ who leads the group. He’s Japanese.
Daniel Johnson (CV: Miki Shinichirou) – A natural athlete who’s good with guns and joins the group to pay his friend’s medical bills, who protected him and got hurt instead
Allan Morris (CV: Midorikawa Hikaru) – The quiet and serious treasurer, he’s a former air force member and can pilot anything.
Michael Watson (CV: Nojima Kenji) – a genius programmer and hacker
Raymond Davis (CV: Kawada Shinji) – a perceptive conman with a poisonous tongue
Luke (CV: Tokumoto Yukitoshi) – The coldhearted, do-S sniper who’s trying to get money to escape his criminal group, he’s also the resident pervy guy.

Other than that, there was some more info on Koi Sentai Love & Peace The P.S.P., which I’m really looking forward to, and lots of pages on drama CDs, which are great, but I want more games! Also several pages on Ai wa Kat-tun, which I’m pretending not to have seen.

I also heard a rumour that Kazuki Yone (Hakuouki’s artist) is being hired by someone for another game! That would be awesome.

Bounty Hunter Grimm

Quinrose’s newest game is about a bounty hunter and the men she gets tangled up with – both the wanted men she hunts, and other bounty hunters. Not too much info right now, but here are the characters.
Heroine: Riza Bernet
Adolf Rooto – An up-and-coming bounty hunter who decides that Riza is his rival, he often shows up to compete with her. He also really looks up to Bremen.
Bremen Marsh – Riza’s mentor and former bounty hunter, now he runs a bar where bounty hunters come for info. He seems very nice, but actually still has underworld connections and is very crafty.
Henzel Nashkatz – A conman and thief who uses traps.
Gretel Nashkatz – With his older brother, also a thief who specializes in traps. Both brothers love sweets.
Jure Rosmond – An assassin who uses both knives and poison. He’s always sleepy and is often late.
Rapunzel Doturm – A master spy and thief, he pulls off really unusual stunts. Apparently the heroine met him in her past.