Three years ago, righteously inspired by The Word of Lamuness 
, I posted a request for Sodatete Miryu? (and a few other games) from Crowd, fully expecting a positive answer from Payne-sama because of the apparently excellent relations between the two companies (not counting the fact that Crowd was then the ONLY eroge producer taking Peapri seriously, in my opinion ).
However no official answer came back, and some time ago I finally admitted to myself that maybe Peach Princess had better things to do that entertaining old fans like me, humph :roll: , so I decided to buy Sodatete Miryu? almost exclusively with the intent to write this review and demonstrate the right(eous)ness of my request and the novelty of this particular game for the Western eromarket.
Now I’ve played it, and although I remain convinced of its “Novelty Value”, there is actually SOMETHING inside the game itself, both conceptually :twisted: and qualitatively :evil: , which does also much to negate my supposed right(eous)ness …
Short Introduction:
In a little village somewhere and somewhen, YOUNG Abel (the protagonist) and his older sister Cecilia, a couple of orphans, live together in the little house of their long lost parents. Their life is simple but happy, and supported by Cecilia’s occasional sales of url=http://www.hyperdictionary.com/dictionary/aphrodisiac natural products[/url] collected from the village forest and, more importantly, from Abel’s job as shepherd at a nearby farm.
It’s only when Sodatete Miryu? starts following Abel’s daily routine that we discover that the story is set in a fantasy world, because the native sheep have a (female) humanoid form and perhaps also a slightly improved intelligence, all a God’s gift for the faithful, as narrated by the holy scriptures at the village church(!!!). A real blessing for lonely shepherds, you could say, but Abel is too YOUNG and naive for such “adult” vulgarities, so he’s not particularly worried when, on a fateful day, an unusually stunted and hairless sheep suddenly appears in the flock.
Fearing for her life if simply left her be (and also moved by her condition), Abel opts for rearing this LITTLE sheep at his home, fortunately with the full support of Cecilia, a real sucker for cute things, who also names the sheep “Lilith”.
Very soon, however, Lilith starts demonstrating, among other things, an unusual intelligence, an unexplicable aversion to any food offered and an almost unhealthy affection towards Abel, following him literally everywhere. But it’s only after two more days of often comical events that Abel finally discovers what exactly Lilith wanted from him, and this revelation comes with a further shock added: Lilith now speaks, or at least she spoke immediately before disappearing into a cocoon(???)…
The truth of the situation is that the supposed “sheep” is on the contrary a highly magical monster(?) capable of extreme physical adaptation/mutation in response to the environmental stimuli, and whose primary food is something that only Human males can provide (yes, that same thing also required in Hanakyuu and various other erogames, heheh… ). But Abel is sooo YOUNG and innocent, can he really cope with such a mysterious and powerful creature in rapid growth, ultimately directing her evolution towards a state amenable to peaceful coexistence with Humans, and not into an implacable stalker of (male) innocents?
Storyline:
I’ve believed in the novelty value of Sodatete Miryu? since the initial announcement from Crowd, and the good news is that Crowd really succeeded in creating an original and interesting concept/product. Stat based games weren’t exactly a novelty even in 2006, of course (however please note that erogames EXCLUSIVELY based on accumulation of stat points, and WITHOUT a single read-and-click decision in the text, are scarce in Japan and inexistent elsewhere… ), but it’s the addition of its original storyline that makes the difference.
Unlike most erogames, Sodatete Miryu? makes it clear from the beginning that Abel is WHOLLY inadequate to confront the menace which Lilith represents. A mix of luck and ability from the player may transform Lilith into one of seven different “monsters” (game mechanics and walkthrough are described in the Sheep Raisin’ section, below), but this doesn’t change the fact that it’s Abel the weak partner in this relationship/lovestory, the male protagonist here ultimately NEVER gets the initiative or the control and is alternatively stalked, harassed and/or (ab)used by even the nicest Lilith available. But this also MAKES SENSE (really!) because Abel is YOUNG, VERY YOUNG, YOU CANNOT IMAGINE HOW MUCH, and his YOUTHFUL innocence remains obviously the same also when the initially LITTLE Lilith starts her evolution (and growth) to mature (and adult) form, a process requiring only a few days, and if you are now thinking that the story writers have dared to plunge deep into dangerous waters, you’re totally right :twisted: , especially if you also add the often superb description of Abel’s YOUTHFUL thought processes, or even just the not-so-veiled comments and treatment he continually receives from the support characters :lol: …
Don’t get me wrong, the story IS light-hearted, funny and fairly good (within limits: see my Final Considerations, below), it’s only that some people may have problems with a game making light humor out of bestiality (those sheep ARE kinda cute, after all :oops: ), incest (Cecilia loves her little brother, and two Liliths are willing to share 
), blasphemy (going to church with Little Devil Lilith is a bad idea, doing the same with Angel Lilith is worse :shock: … ) and, of course, corruption of a VERY YOUNG (ubiquitous ).
Yeah, your beloved reviewer 
has much enjoyed the unique(?) story of Sodatete Miryu?, BUT I also have to admit the possibility of trouble arising from its release in the West, it’s therefore difficult to say if the continued Peapri silence about this game (and Crowd in general) is caused by engine problems, economic difficulties or abject terror, and the passing of the years just makes its release even more unlikely 
…
Graphics:
A mixed bag. The (few) backgrounds and the village map are excellent, but the (few) character graphics are often a bit rough (especially those of the secondary characters), although not bad at all.
Character Appeal is the most important asset for any “porno game” in my opinion, and because I truly liked only 60-70% of the CGs, I say that the graphics of Sodatete Miryu? are slightly above average, and nothing more.
Sounds:
The musics are not particularly outstanding, but still support very well the light-hearted ambience of Sodatete Miryu?, and surely raise the value of the game itself.
The (female only) character voices are more varied in quality, one or two literally grated on my nerves, but I still loved most of them. However I have NOT appreciated the fact that a few Liliths share the same voice actresses, each “evolved” Lilith is an entirely different creature, after all.
Strangely (or maybe not :oops: ), the sheep ARE voiced…
Bonus:
I don’t know if a physical copy of Sodatete Miryu? includes extra goodies (the DLsite version offers none), the game itself has only the classic CG, Music and Scenario galleries, although nicely done and more informative than usual.
But the real secret of Sodatete Miryu? is the terrifying eighth ending, you can only gasp at the horror unleashed there if, after getting the official seven endings (one for each “evolved” Lilith), you DARE :shock: to replay and finish the game with a particular Lilith.
I’m still shocked, Crowd struck hard, but, oh, the HORROR…
Final considerations:
SIGH If you started believing that Sodatete Miryu? is a masterpiece, the Bad News time has come.
In fact, I had doubts since my first visit at the DLsite page of the game, when I discovered that the hard disk space required for its installation is a mere 579 MBs, maybe typical for an old, text-only erogame, but definitely scarce for a theorically advanced product with 10 different Liliths, detailed location map, character point system, etc. etc.
I don’t know if Crowd worked on a strict budget or if the game concept was a bit extreme even for them, however this doesn’t change the fact that both story and game system are VERY short/basic: if a walkthrough is available, you can easily complete Sodatete Miryu? in one (1) day :shock: .
I repeat: the story IS really interesting and original, BUT also crammed inside a short timeline (10 days + 1 ending), and only in four (4!! Less than 50% of the game!!!) of those days you can decide how to raise your Lilith, within very strict limits (the village map has five (5) locations only, for example). It’s not a surprise if Sodatete Miryu? has been practically ignored/forgotten in Japan, but still I had hopes for a future Peapri release, Peach Princess and Crowd were best(?) pals after all, and it was three years since the last Peapri release of a non-XChange, Crowd game (Brave Soul -Doushin Same Heart was released five months later-).
Unfortunately nobody at Peapri ever replied to my request, and although it’s absolutely true that a loose tongue is suicide in the business world, I also think that 3+ years of continued silence on the Sodatete Miryu? (and Crowd, too) topic is very bad form :roll: , especially now that Crowd has released one or two additional erogames (apparently) worth playing.
In conclusion, I wrote this review as a final, personal tribute to the oddball charme of Sodatete Miryu?, yeah, but it’s also a heartful plea for any “LICENSING AGREEMENT” info about this game and the latest Crowd products in general, can anyone at Peapri finally give us an official/public answer (and an uncensored/translated erogame )?
Crowd Home Page:
http://www.hs-crowd.co.jp/
Sodatete Miryu? Home Page (Very clear and informative):
http://www.hs-crowd.co.jp/crowd/product … ntasy.html
Getchu: Sodatete Miryu? Page:
http://www.getchu.com/soft.phtml?id=215001
DLsite: Sodatete Miryu? Page:
http://pro.dlsite.com/work/=/product_id/VJ002632
Sodatete Miryu? Demo Movie (42.54 MB; Cute and stupid but, hey, that’s eroge innocence for you :lol: ):
http://www.hs-crowd.co.jp/crowd/product … f_demo.lzh
Sodatete Miryu? Theme Song (1.64MB; Only for those who loved the demo movie ):
http://www.hs-crowd.co.jp/crowd/product … f_song.mp3
Sodatete Miryu? Demo Game (155 MB; The complete game, at least from the Prologue until the morning of Day 4):
http://mirror1.pachi.ac:8000/download/200601/f_tri.exe
And now, aspiring shepherds, let’s go do some sheep raisin’ in the next post :mrgreen: …
