I must say though, it looks great on the PSP – very clean and crisp. I also got Dear Girl Stories ~Hibiki~ at the same time, so I’m kind of comparing it to the DS as well. By the way, apparently DGS doesn’t really have any romance in it – d’oh! It’s just a stat-raising game with some almost-romantic-but-not-quite moments in it.

I also got some new magazines, and ooh good stuff in them! Girl’s Style came with an 8-page book about Kazukiyone and Hakuouki, as well as Hakuouki bookmarks and Starry Sky stickers! It’s probably because there’s no CD or DVD-ROM.

I didn’t even realize that Starry Sky got animated, but um yeah, it is! Haha. Girl’s Style also had info on the PSP versions, which will have several additional scenes, backgrounds, and other changes (one is that you can choose to show the heroine’s face, which is good, but sounds creepy that she didn’t have one before )

Storm Lover had some info as well, it will not only have routes leading up to a relationship, but will be about maintaining the romance or breaking up if you fail, and maybe even getting back together later! Interesting.

There’s also an article on the game system and some of the scenes in Xechs, it seems kinda complicated so I think I’ll post on that later.

Oh, and Mahoutsukai to Goshujin-sama has a release date! It’s set for July 31.

• Mizu no Senritsu 2 Hi no Kioku to be released in February.

• Designs for Kin’iro no Corda new characters (7 guys from other schools) are released! And their seiyuu! This deserves its own post…
  

If you haven’t gotten VitaminZ OR X, go out and get one! They are both awesome. The system and story might seem boringly similar if you haven’t played both, so here’s my rundown on the differences:

Characters

The characters in both games are totally different. You might think that the student in Z with a certain teacher from X would be similar, but it’s only a surface thing. For example – Both Tenjuurou and Tsubasa are rich heirs to a conglomerate, but Tenjuurou, unlike Tsubasa, has a great family, and doesn’t care at all about “high-class” stuff like Tsubasa did. Their personalities are almost opposite.

I enjoyed all the characters in both X and Z. Even the two characters I wasn’t looking forward to, Yakumo and Arata, had me really liking them in the end. If there’s an overall difference to X, in Z they’re nicer to the heroine in the beginning, though they still don’t really trust her until later. I also liked this heroine better, she’s not as ditzy as X’s heroine.

Depending on who you liked, and what you liked about them, in X, you can probably find someone in Z that has that aspect. If you like Tsubasa’s arrogance mixed with cluelessness, you’ll probably love Kei. If you liked Hajime’s ‘bad boy’ aspect, you might go for Nachi. And of course, if you like cute boys like Gorou, Yakumo will definitely be your pick.

Apart from the A4/P2, there are of course the B6, GTR, and the president & VP. Personally I wish the GTR had had a little more airtime and the B6 a little less, but with the extra ‘ura’ route and the append chapters, if you do a full complete they still have a lot of material. I’m also hoping for an adaptation like VitaminX Evolution to flesh out their stories a bit Plus, if you’re a huge fan of one of the B6 then you’ll probably be quite happy. Another thing that I like is that there is no flirting or anything between the B6 and the heroine, they still all like X’s heroine.

Plot:

The overall goal is the same, but in VitaminZ the school president actually has a sinister motive in picking an inexperienced teacher, and so the overall plot is a little more complex and interesting. The events happen mostly the same way no matter whose route you’re in, but what you actually see as opposed to what goes on behind the scenes, and the details that you’re shown, are always different.

You have the same school events as in X, but in Z there are also assemblies where things happen (mostly in the P2’s routes), and there’s a summer ’study camp’ (gotta have that kimodameshi doncha know!).

Gameplay:

VitaminX was quite easy to play (in terms of saving etc) and VitaminZ is apparently even easier. The setup of tsukkomi/through and month-end quizzes is the same, but in VitaminZ you have to pass a special quiz in Chapter 11 to finish a route, so it might take a couple tries. The character designer’s style evolved since X; though it’s still obviously the same artist, I like the newer designs better (Chisato, マジでかっこいい!!)

Other differences:

I think VitaminZ has a little more romance than X, in that the characters all show in little ways that they like the heroine earlier, and (maybe) a little more obviously than in X. And though each route has some drama in it, I don’t think there’s quite as much angst as in X (not that it was huge there either).

So. If you loved X, I think you’ll love Z too. Which one you like more will probably depend on your favourite character. And if you didn’t like X, because of the gameplay or setup, you may not enjoy this either. And if you haven’t tried either, go check out the characters on the D3 site (Vitamin X / Vitamin Z) and try out whichever appeals to you most! Although, if possible, I’d recommend playing Vitamin X first, just because you’ll then understand the B6 interactions in Z more, and it makes Z even more fun ^_^

Oh, if you choose Vitamin Z, YesAsia, has the Limited Edition on sale for cheaper than the regular version! In addition to the limited edition box, you get a drama CD and a calendar.

Who knows how long it will take me to really finish, since there’s so much extras – I’ll probably finish everyone’s dream and perfect routes soon, but getting all the extra scenes (especially the ones you get with perfect test scores) may never happen – I haven’t even finished all of them from VitaminX still…

Also, the mysterious project from HuneX and 5pb is being slowly revealed. The title is Lucian Bee’s, and the tagline translates into something like, “Project Start: Global Makeover of Totally Hopeless Guys”. Sounds like fun!

Now back to Vitamin Z – I’ve been slow the past few days (trying to get all four endings takes time!), but I’m partially through Houjou Kei’s story, and have one of Fuwa’s endings as well (just the normal one). I usually do the normal ending first, since it means I don’t have to try too hard about getting all the tsukkomi/throughs, but it is definitely not as fun as the other endings! Plus, I haven’t found a guide yet for it, so it’s all trial and error! I have to say, I’m not a huge fan of how you HAVE to pass the last quiz (in Chapter 11) to continue – and I think you need 7/10 as well! Sometimes that takes a few tries. On the other hand, you can redo just the quiz, so it’s not horrible.

• The B6 aren’t real teachers, they’re just ’special lecturers’ and they’re almost the same as they were in VitaminX.
• So far the real teachers haven’t done too much, they seem interesting but don’t get much airtime.
• The setup of a brand-new teacher teaching trouble students seems to have some sort of conspiracy behind it by the school president
• The quizzes seem a little easier! They have general knowledge and trivia, though that is still pretty tough for a non-native Japanese speaker
• It’s fun!

OK, not much, but I’ll have more in a couple days hopefully if I get enough time to play it!

]]> http://lijaka.com/blog/2009/03/vitaminz/feed/ 0 http://lijaka.com/blog/2009/03/the-biggest-shock-in-history-to-otome-games/ http://lijaka.com/blog/2009/03/the-biggest-shock-in-history-to-otome-games/#comments Thu, 19 Mar 2009 02:43:35 +0000 lijakaca http://www.lijaka.com/blog/?p=249 Or so says a mysterious countdown clock with only four names on it.

5pb, HuneX, Hirotaka Maeda (Vitamin’s artist), and Daisuke Iwasaki (director) are listed at this page, counting down to Vitamin Z’s release date.

What it means? Hmm, well wasn’t D3 bought out by someone? Maybe the otome games are moving over to 5pb?? I guess we’ll find out soon enough…

]]> http://lijaka.com/blog/2009/03/the-biggest-shock-in-history-to-otome-games/feed/ 0 http://lijaka.com/blog/2009/03/gameplay-video/ http://lijaka.com/blog/2009/03/gameplay-video/#comments Thu, 19 Mar 2009 02:24:33 +0000 lijakaca http://www.lijaka.com/blog/?p=222 Less than a month…can’t wait!

]]> http://lijaka.com/blog/2009/03/gameplay-video/feed/ 0 http://lijaka.com/blog/2008/11/vitaminz-p2-and-admin-staff/ http://lijaka.com/blog/2008/11/vitaminz-p2-and-admin-staff/#comments Tue, 11 Nov 2008 23:23:36 +0000 lijakaca http://www.lijaka.com/blog/?p=99 Sorry this has been SO long in coming, it’s year-end at my job and I have been really busy – plus (to be completely honest) I have been playing WoW whenever I have downtime to get ready for its new expansion.

So I’ve had these pics waiting for a long time, but better late than never, right??

OK, first up, the rest of the students Kita has to worry about – the Perfect Twins, or P2.


CV: Irino Miyu – this seiyuu is new to me, but it looks like he did Sora’s voice in Kingdom Hearts II as well as Daisuke’s voice in DN Angel!

Uh-huh, this guy is much better than the old student president! His name is Houjou Kei, he’s good at every subject and wants to be a detective like his father.

and his twin brother Houjou Nachi.

CV: Nojima Kenji
More approachable than his twin brother, he’s the student vice-president. Supposedly though they’re ‘perfect’, these twins are totally inept in their own way – guess we’ll have to wait to find out how!

Now for the staff! Only three teachers (so far?), but they’ve changed the school principal and vice-principal and thy are much better than that old bald guy!

The Big Cheese and his Second-in-Command (does anyone else think the principal looks like a crazy vampire version of Tsubasa?):

Principal (on the left, bien sûr): Saeki Kagetora, CV: Koyama Rikiya (ZOMG, this is Basch from FFXII!! <3!)
Vice-Principal: Kamijou Motochika, CV: Kusao Takeshi

Sensei-tachi:

Young and fashionable!

Kagami Ranmaru (CV: Suwabe Junichi)

Cool and mature!

Kirioka Rintarou (CV: Hanawa Eiji)

Charming and debonair!

Tendou Ruriya (CV: Kamiya Hiroshi)

And I can’t believe I forgot the seiyuu for the A4! Here they are:
Tenjuurou: KENN
Chisato: Maeno Tomoaki
Arata: Morikubou Shoutarou
Yakumo: Yonaga Tsubasa

Wow, lots of new seiyuu! Well, I’ve hardly ever disliked a seiyuu in an otome game, so I have high hopes for these guys. And Trick Shot Princess, I agree with you, I’m totally going for Chisato first! Unless I can go for Kirioka-sensei, love the shibui type

That’s pretty much all the pics I have for VitaminZ, but I’ll keep posting any info I find – next spring seems a very long way away!

]]> http://lijaka.com/blog/2008/11/vitaminz-p2-and-admin-staff/feed/ 0 http://lijaka.com/blog/2008/08/the-scoop-on-vitamin-y-and-z/ http://lijaka.com/blog/2008/08/the-scoop-on-vitamin-y-and-z/#comments Thu, 14 Aug 2008 05:29:55 +0000 lijakaca http://www.lijaka.com/blog/?p=38 Thanks to sonnakai, my burning curiosity about the new Vitamin game is satisfied – there will be TWO games; one is a compilation of mini-games and not a new full story, but it sounds like Vitamin Z will have new characters and a story! Yayyyy!! Ahem. I’m very tired and giddy, so please excuse me if I start rambling.

Now, the lowdown!

Vitamin Y:

• Being released this fall on the DS, expected price Y4410
• 26 minigames – one bigger game with the B6 and T6 (and 3D rendering!) and 25 others
• the 25 are split into 2 with each B6 guy, 1 each with each T6, and 7 with a variety.

Apparently the games become available as you move through the main game. It’s school festival time, and though the class has decided on a café, Tsukasa announces that he’s getting his company to take over the whole festival and do everything.
Somehow you manage to convince him not to, but by the school festival, the B6 have still used Tsukasa’s resources to set up a bunch of attractions on school grounds.

Screencap shamelessly lifted from Gamewatch.

Vitamin Z:



• Scheduled for Spring 2009!
• New characters, and the B6 will appear as well – as teachers!! O.o
• It will have animation in it!
• It’s set 5 years after VitaminX
• The new characters are the A4 (aho) and P2 (perfect 2)
• No word that I could find about platform



And I can’t believe, this was announced two weeks ago!! Gyaah, I could have been squeeing for two weeks already! I’ll just quote a Japanese blogger and say, “ギャー！買う、買います、全部下さい！！”

OH, and since I’ve been enjoying the gymnastics at the Olympics, some real-life pics (never thought you’d see any on here eh??) of some awesome athletes that I’m cheering for!

Uchimura Kohei – one of the young guys (19) on the Japanese team – the commentators are driving me CRAZY pronouncing his last name as Oocheemeree – c’mon guys, Japanese names are not hard!! That’s an A not a Y!

And some Canadian guys who are representing us in the all-around competition:

Nathan Gafuik

and Adam Wong.

OK, bedtime!

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