I decided to write this short review because Maid-san She See (this title is a bad Nippo-English pun. MSS, from now) has been released as “Special Limited Edition”, and I want to publicize this game before the inevitable “Sold Out” announcement.
The first product from Le Chocolat, a new software house with (apparently) big money behind (and a good taste in names, heheheh… ), MSS is a total sex romp in the truest sense of the term, and massively veined with a somewhat distasteful sexual fetish to boot (hinted in the title…). But the superior quality of the various components of this game truly makes of MSS a memorable experience, especially considering the usual medium-low quality of most b-games/sex romps gifted with a similar theme…
Short introduction:
Recently -probably because of gaijin influence-, Japan has seen the birth of various girls’ vocational schools for aspiring maids.
The story begins in the most prestigious of these institutes (which has an incredible success rate in the vocational training of its students), where Hiroyuki Inagaki, an esteemed professor genuinally devoted to his profession, receives the supervision of 3 problematic maids-in-training.
But what are the teaching methods of the institute and, most importantly, of professor Inagaki… ?
Storyline:
Apparently, this storyline is the bane of those b-gamers that love long, serious and complex stories.
MSS is relatively short and linear. MSS doesn’t give ANY dialogue choice option (you choose only the girl for the daily lesson -however, you will find EROTIC (although basic) choice options, sometimes…). MSS is TOTALLY disconnected from reality/good sense, and, worse, it’s pervaded with a specific sexual fetish which represents professor Inagaki’s method for obtaining perfect and adorable maids: to pee!!! (Yes, this is an urine-loving b-game!!!).
Admittedly, this seems a disastrous combination for any b-game, but… How is possible to create perfect maids by peeing? Here’s the trick! If you have even a crumb of curiosity and sense of humor in your brain, and start playing with MSS, you will notice very fast the extremely light and funny nature of this game, discovering for yourselves the oddball/outrageous nature of professor Inagaki’s training and his even more incredible/erotic results, different (and not at all obvious) for each girl or COMBINATION of girls (this game contains multiple harem situations and endings, permitting every possible combination of the 3 girls. Besides, the girls are superbly characterizated, and sometimes we get to know their viewpoints, too! I just love these girls!).
Don’t get me wrong, however: professor Inagaki truly (!) wants to instruct his students, and he’s not interested in the creation of sex slaves. Needless sex is the best way for obtaining the (3) bad endings, whereas “normal” training opens romantic moments (and possible marriages!) instead.
Moreover, the urine fetish, although distasteful (to me, at least), doesn’t monopolize entirely the game. Indeed, MSS almost succeeds in the difficult undertaking of making “palatable” (Gasp!) this fetish, generating with its help a few histerically funny situations.
In conclusion, MSS’s storyline provides a short but very intense experience, and, in my opinion, it’s surely able to satisfy most eroplayers (those with a grain of humor and tolerance, at least).
Graphics:
Although affected with a grave form of Invisible Man Syndrome (explanation: the main character isn’t visible/depicted anywhere, often with disconcerting results…), this component remains truly adorable, in my opinion.
A mix of kawaiiness, elegance and innocence, MSS’s graphics reach a superb qualitative level, exalting greatly the erotic nature of the game and, at the same time, diluting in like manner the (negative?) impact of seeing those beautiful girls that spread everywhere their bodily fluids…
Sounds:
Simply exceptional!
The music tracks are generally good, but the character voices are truly impressive! And even a minor MALE character gets an audible voice! Ahhh, I love this game…
Bonus:
The bane of many erogames is another victory for MSS. Not simply for the 10 endings and the various galleries (CG, Scenario and Music): these things are a Must for any serious erogame, after all. It’s the game box (or, better, the contents of the box…) that makes a great difference!
For 8800 Yen+taxes, not counting the 2 CDs of the game itself, you get:
- A 24-page Full-Color Game Manual with lots of trivia and additional images.
- The official Audio CD of the game (21 tracks).
- A 257 MBs Premium CD which provides:
a) A 115 MBs Hi-Resolution version of the opening movie (the normal version is the demo movie).
b) A 14 MBs collection of character voices created specifically for use with your computer system (Japanese voices, yes, and not incredibly elaborate like other similar omake which I’ve seen, but nevertheless kawaii).
c) An omake program with additional (and very nice and erotic!) wallpapers and screen savers, and a sort of (game-themed) memo/label utility (? - Unfortunately, I don’t have really grasped the use of this; my computer abilities are abysmally low…).
Heaven on Earth for omake-loving players!!
The only problem derives from the fact that these CDs are copy-protected, too… (read my Random Thoughts for more about this, below).
Final considerations:
MSS isn’t your usual sex romp. Singularly, the various components are surely of high quality (and the Japanese spoken here is quite easy, too!), but their union produces a result surpassing the sum of the single parts. Truly, I’m enraptured with the deluxe quality of this title, and although I don’t share the same enthusiasm of professor Inagaki for the urine of his female students (sweet-smelling/tasting urine DOESN’T exist… right?), I’ve nevertheless appreciated the exotic/erotic charme of this wacky game, which outclasses all English sex romps produced to date.
Therefore, buy this game, and discover for yourselves the delights of pee…
Le Chocolat Home Page:
http://www.saibunkan.co.jp/lechocolat/
MSS Home Page:
http://www.saibunkan.co.jp/lechocolat/soft/ka_shesee/top.html
Getchu - MSS Page:
http://www.getchu.com/soft.phtml?id=43324
MSS Demo Movie (30,5 MBs):
http://www.saibunkan.co.jp/lechocolat/soft/ka_shesee/download_files/SheSeeOP.zip
MSS Game Patch:
(Unfortunately, this Patch is big -8,43 MBs- and critical. Worse, you must insert manually the installation Folder in the menu -obviously, the same of the game. The default Folder is C:/Programs/lechocolat/shesee/ -, because the Patch program chooses chronically the wrong Folder…)
http://www.lechoco.com/inquiry/supportfile/mspat104.exe
Baldo’s Random Thoughts:
I dislike piracy. I never lend my erogames, not even to friends, and the only videogame that I’ve “downloaded” has been Thousand Arms… But only after awaiting 4 years for a PAL version of this game. BEEP, Atlus!!
However, I regard the sale of CDs with anti-copy protections (SecuRom, here) as an abuse against the customers. A copy for private use is a right of all, especially considering, in our case, the ruinous price of original Japanese erogames+shipping charges+Customs tariffs.
I’m not interested in lenghty discussions about this, but I can suggest an effective and LEGAL solution if you have problems with the anti-copy protection of this game.
Unfortunately, this is a commercial BBS. Therefore, I will give private answers only, sorry.
