Shikigami 2008 means no MinDeaD BlooD 2

Visual Novel Community Archive, 2000-2009
#1

Sigh… the artist who worked on MinDeaD BlooD was recommissioned by Cyc early this year. I was REALLY hopeful this meant there would be a MinDeaD BlooD 2, but it turns out his talents are being used for a remake for Shikigami (to make it more epic) from White Cyc: :frowning:

http://www.cyc-soft.com/w-cyc-pro/koisu … okuchi.htm

http://www.getchu.com/soft.phtml?id=542405

Disappointing. I mean Shikigami is really nice for a non-dark sex title, but I wanted more MinDeaD BlooD damn it.

The limited edition special for Shikigami 2008 will also include all the titles that Shiisaki Hiyokoju worked on with Cyc: both MinDeaD products (DVD and the expansion) as well as the abysmal failure that was Mugen Kairou. Not worth it to be honest, unless you don’t own both MinDeaD for some reason. Mugen sucks so much ass.

Release date is August 29… I suppose that covers Cyc’s second title for 2008, because the crew who makes Shikigami is also the Black Cyc team (in a less violent mode). Now I’m left waiting to see the final third release. :expressionless:

I was so hoping it was going to be MinDeaD 2 for August… :cry:

Well at least the artist still has twincest in the upcoming BIFRONTE.

In somewhat related news, Mio has been making major updates to the Asaki site. It’s a new Cyc studio targeting girl gamers (unlike the Rose branch, which is for hardcore yaoi gamers). So long as you avoid a harem ending, it should still appeal to boy gamers somewhat… maybe. :wink: Appears to be White Cyc type stuff - no hardcore violence or rapes (makes sense, given the target customer).

#2

I suppose White Cyc is the feel good luv-luv division XD.

#3

Actually, I wouldn’t go that far…

Cyc is the “feel good” division to be honest. Most of the titles in that line assume a good ending occurs, and sex is meant to be consensual.

The addition of Shikigami to the White Cyc brand, makes it seem like the “not as violent as we could make it” type deal. It avoids the more brutal situations - especially in regards to sex - but still maintains dark undertones. As an example, here’s a death scene from one of the Shikigami “bad” endings:

SPOILER WARNING

While not exactly “angelic” or anything like that, its a far cry from the deaths in Black Cyc games.

#4

Mio seems to be an all-ages branch :o

The limited edition includes MDB… very, very tempting :twisted:

#5

The words “jun’ai” and “love comedy” catch my attention better than “MinDeaD BlooD 2”~

#6

Hmmm… I didn’t even notice that, until you mentioned it. Quite interesting… no sex scenes so far. The site is still in teaser mode though, so they might be saving it for last. However that makes sense, why they aren’t using “Cyc” in the studio’s name. It would be neat, if this really is a no-sex line. I’d certainly pick it up then. Might be aimed for the ladies, but its safe for a guy. :wink:

Which is REALLY weird! I mean if a customer is going to get a White Cyc title to avoid the overkill gore and violence, why do they need a Black Cyc? It’s like they’re trying to “tempt” people into joining the Dark Side. :twisted:

What’s this “true love” you speak of? Is it like the feeling you get, when you’ve utterly broken the spirit of a rebellious woman into joining your harem of mentally subjugated sex slaves? :wink:

#7

I just noticed it on the Cyc homepage. The protagonist is also 17 :). It does look interesting - although female protagonists aren’t that uncommon in ADV/VNs, they mainly seem to appear in GxTentacle titles etc.

#8

I’m confused so if Cyc is feel good and Black Cyc is the one for Sith , what is White Cyc’s target audience?

I think it is. :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

#9

In a really simplistic stance:

[list]White Cyc = Dark Eroge
Black Cyc = Dark Eroge + Brutal Eroge[/list]

The problem is that people tend to see “dark” eroge as the guro/rape/tentacle insanity, when in fact these are better classed as “brutal” eroge. OLF and I have pointed out this distinction from time to time in other threads.

Titles such as Fate/stay night and Tsukihime are dark eroge - and it is these types of audiences which Shikigami and Toki no Kairou aim to please without disgusting them. While Shikigami and Toki no Kairou contain sex, the story within them could actually work without it.

MinDeaD BlooD, Gore Screaming Show, Gun-Katana… these are “brutal” dark eroge. Make no mistake - these titles have FANTASTIC plots - but the violent sex is a strong fundamental of what make them so awesome. If a non sex version of these titles existed, it would be profoundly disappointing. The Black Cyc lineup would appeal to Fate/stay night and Tsukihime fans, but only if they have a tolerance and open mind to accept brutal sex as a legit tool in painting a story.

In the overall scheme of things however, White Cyc has not proven themselves to be as talented as Type-Moon in the “no brutality” storytelling. However Shikigami won quite a bit of attention. Shikigami 2008 appears to be White Cyc’s attempt to prove they’ve got what it takes, greatly improving what they might have released without putting serious thought that it would actually succeed. In another light: the original Shikigami might have been rushed… like MinDeaD evidently was… this perhaps is an attempt to rectify and release the title as it should have been done.

#10

Well, if this rerelease is like how it was with MDB, then hopefully this will mean full voice acting like with MDB (and you’ve gotta admit the main character does look like a younger Shizuru).

Still, I’m interested enough to give this game a try (whenever I get the time) so I’ll probably get this.

Anyway, what exactly is Shikigami about? And how good is its story? Also how many endings does it have and does it take place in the same world as MDB, GSS, and the others?

#11

well i guess :expressionless: it would make more sense though as

white Cyc: feel good

cyc: dark ero

black cyc: dark guro ero

talk about a misnomer :roll:

#12

Well you have to look at it from the prospective of how the branches were formed.

Cyc came in 2000. They were a REALLY small studio back then, and no one probably imagined they’d be as successful as they are now.

In 2001 they came up with Yami no Koe, and since it was so dark, created a new label for it called Black Cyc. It was their biggest hit up to that point, making the money they needed to stay afloat, hence why Chibi-K is the company mascot.

In 2002 they came up with Toki no Kairou, which was too dark for the “innocent” Cyc lineup, but too light for the “wicked” Black Cyc lineup… thus they created yet another line called White Cyc for it.

Between 2002 and 2004, the Cyc and Black Cyc were pushing out titles at about the same rate. It wasn’t until 2004 - with the release of MinDeaD BlooD - that Black Cyc suddenly became popular. However they released two duds in a row (Mugen Kairou and the sole failure of a Yami no Koe game), which began to make people think they were a one trick pony. I don’t know what Black Cyc did, but the studio totally cleaned up their act and released Gore Screaming Show, EXTRAVAGANZA, the MinDeaD BlooD remake, the Yami no Koe remake, and Gun-Katana one after the other. Hits all of them. Verdict is still out for Yami no Koe Zero…

While I’m personally biased for Black Cyc, their original Cyc branch has made major success with their tactical eroge: Senjyo and Sensaga

White Cyc found a hit with Shikigami… which is now getting a remake.

Rose Cyc also released a successful Yayoi title, which even got a non-hentai PS2 conversion.

All in all, things are looking up for the Cyc company, during a time when other eroge group have closed shop. I just hope they can maintain the quality with this rapid growth.

#13

Official site has opened.

According to the journal entry, it seems that the card battle system has been removed :? - unless there was something wrong with it in the original Shikigami, it’s a rather strange decision to make.

#14

Personally, I never felt that the card battle system wasn’t boring - it was just too hard, and thus got annoying real easy. I wonder what they will replace it with? Typically they have a “game play gimmick” of some sort. :expressionless:

#15

First two sample CGs are up :D.

Yeah, I got that impression too from the demo of the original Shikigami I tried - there wasn’t a huge amount of strategy involved, and it mostly seemed to depend on the luck of the draw.

Approximately what score would you give the original Shikigami? Is it a 30/30 story/ero split, or a 50/10?

#16

50/10 split - the sex was REALLY minimal. Not to say that it lacks sex, but just the quantity and duration wasn’t up to par. The eroge and annoyance of the card battle, were probably the top two failings to me. Story and characters were fairly strong though.

On a side note, the Asaki site has also been getting updated. Though its targeted for girl gamers, I’ll be picking it up out of curiosity. Non-ero for one thing… minimal yaoi content for another. :stuck_out_tongue:

#17

Ah ok, thanks :smiley: - that means I’ve probably seen half the ero-scenes in Shikigami already from playing the 2nd demo :(.

So the limited edition has one outstanding game + expansion, one good game, one Mugen Kairou, plus a few other bonuses - will definitely pre-order when the time comes.

#18

In keeping with topic just what type of sequel would you like to see Narg one with all returning characters , cameos, or an all new saga in the vampire wars ?

#19

Well it kinda depends… simplistically, Cyc has three roads they can follow:

[list]#1: Pick one of the four possible “real” endings to be canon.

#2: Remain vague on which ending is canon.

#3: Do not reference anything specific in MDB at all.[/list]

I don’t like option #3, because it would be no different than other Black Cyc entries: EXTRAVAGANZA, Gore Screaming Show, and Gun-Katana refer to some events in MDB through an offhand manner.

If they pick option #1, then I have a STRONG feeling that Vampire Hunter would be chosen, given how much special treatment it got in the DVD remake. Therefore recalling the original cast is entirely possible, as there wasn’t much closure for them, and we could see what this path will do to Shizuru and his new relationship (personally I prefer the Vampire Road ending, but that one doesn’t give much room for additional story as far as Shizuru and the gang are concerned).

I’d REALLY like them to go for them to go for option #2 - which would result in a brand new cast, but still set on Chisakura Island and have a direct connection to MDB.

Ideally something that explains Shin, Master, where that Tree of Blood came from, and who sired Daigo… perhaps a prequel of some sort.

#20

hmmm…still havent played so no spoilers please but I wish for the characters over Chisakura and maybe some thralls of dead characters still if totally new ones are used I like your idea of the return to Chisakura.