Hey Smog,
About Tottemo Pheromone:
Dave E. posted this about the game over on the KASHA website. It might give you something to think about when you reflect on the game.
*****
As they say, this is actually a sequel to the original game “Silk” but it’s a self-contained stand alone adventure in its own right - you don’t need to play the first game at all in order to play and enjoy Tottemo Pheromone. By the way, the title literally does mean “Lots Of Phermone”.
The main character is Takuya, a very unremarkable young guy who also happens to be a virgin at the start of the game.
First of all, note that a correction to the game description is in order - this includes the game description on the actual game package, too. The description incorrectly states that Takuya is charged with collecting tons of pheromone - this is not the case, though. What actually happens is that the original Silk and her alter ego younger Silk cast a “charm spell” on Takuya - this spell creates enormous pheromone aura around him so that girls are much more attracted to him.
Takuya is actually charged with collecting “mystical energy” so that Silk can use it to cast a spell to return her to her homeworld (she’s traveled between worlds for over 500 years due to a curse.) Different people have different levels of “mystical energy” even if they are not aware of it, but it is far more common to find it in girls than in guys… this fact stresses the inherent bond between femininity and natural forces, of course. The “mystical energy” is based in the four elemental forces of nature - Fire, Wind/Air, Water, and Earth. A girl releases her “mystical energy” when she achieves orgasm - this element is found in various natural cultures where sex is viewed as a sacred, holy, spiritual experience. Takuya is not at all comfortable with the idea of needing to make love to girls simply to allow Silk to collect their “mystical energy” - this is partly due to his own inexperience with girls and partly because he just doesn’t feel it’s right. However, Silk has been accursed to travel between worlds for over 500 years, so it’s rather understandable that she isn’t going to take “no” for an answer. Aside from this, her own prior experiences have led her to become very haughty and to have the impression that guys don’t really care about girls, anyway… this comes out during some of the storyline branching and development, even if it’s not immediately apparent at the start.
Takuya is staying at his cousin’s condo while attending college. His cousin is Takashi, who married the original Silk. The interaction between the older and younger Silks is very amusing and touching. Takuya also works for Takashi at his family cafe’ and cake shop “Sakuragi”. The shop is close to the train station and located in a shopping mall with lots of traffic. Unlike Takuya, Takashi has always been popular with girls and a lot of the clientele of his shop comes there simply to flirt with the cute young owner, even though he’s married… and the older Silk tends to be quite jealous of any wandering in his attentions! ^-
Younger Silk soon discovers four girls who have very strong “mystical energy” in the four natural elements. Sana is your coworker and has the “magic of Fire”. She attends school but works at the shop part-time; she shows you the ropes. Her best friend is the totally kawaii lolicon doll Ayumi-chan, who carries the “magic of Water” within her. A frequent customer and long time fan of Takashi’s is Kumi - she’s a very traditional Japanese girl, complete with her own kimono as her preferred outfit, who works at a Japanese sweets shop in the same mall. Kumi carries the “magic of Wind” within her. Finally, there’s Kaori, a very attractive woman who works at a nearby hostess club as a “bunny girl”. Kaori carries the “magic of Earth” within her.
The four elemental magics of the girls are defined within the game - here’s the breakdown:
Sana = Fire = Passion, Life Force, Hidden Feelings
Ayumi = Water = Flexibility, Vicissitude (ever-changing, impulsive), Vanity
Kumi = Wind / Air = Freedom, Change, Loneliness
Kaori = Earth = Stability, Generosity, Motherhood
The four elemental magics define the girls’ personalities and hearts, of course - their very beings are part of the natural forces, and their life is upheld by those same forces even if they don’t realize it themselves.
Ayumi-chan is my favorite, of course, being the lolicon “doll” of the group. As is sometimes the case, though, one should not judge her simply by her outward appearance and behavior. Ayumi-chan may seem like a helpless little girl, but she also has a very strong spirit. She’s extremely curious about everything, and quickly becomes enamored of sexual experimentation (it’s lots of fun as far as she’s concerned, and Ayumi is the type of girl who’s always looking for someone to play with her!) Ayumi’s response to her first meeting with the younger Silk is hilarious - Ayumi herself is described as doll-like when Takuya first meets her, but that’s exactly how Ayumi describes Silk, too! You have one girl “doll” describing another girl as a “doll” - it’s very funny in context. When Silk starts talking, Ayumi exclaims “Wow! The doll speaks!” ^- However, Ayumi’s “Water Magic” heart makes her very vane about her own cuteness - she works very hard at it and wants to be sure that she’s the cutest of the cute, and that she outshines any other girl around her! Aside from this, her “Water” nature also means that she’s extremely emotional - she tends to have emotional outbursts for little or no real reason, only to chide herself after the fact… and only to repeat her behavior when another opportunity presents itself! She can’t help it - it’s just the nature of her “Water” personality.
Sana-chan is very passionate, but tends to hide her emotions as much as possible… except that she’s so passionate that they usually slip out, even if she doesn’t realize it. She has a crush on someone who she can never be with, and she tries very hard to hide that fact. Her “Fire” soul tends to respond best to aggressiveness, even if she seems like she’s embarrassed or would rather not be treated aggressively - her mind is one thing but her heart is another. Since her heart is “Fire” any emotions she has tend to be extremely strong… this can be good, or bad, depending on circumstances.
Kumi is a wonderfully airheaded girl - she operates on a totally different communication level from most anyone else due to her “Wind” personality. She’s also very free and openly sexual, sometimes aggressively so. However, she’s also extremely lonely… a fact that she tends to hide very well. NOTE: Guy and others who might be interested in the kimono fetish should notice that Kumi points out another reason why this style of dress is so popular as a sexual fetish - women do not wear bras under kimonos, and even go without panties from time to time.
Kaori-san is outwardly the opposite of her “Earth” spirit. Working as a “bunny girl” hostess is certainly not in keeping with the concepts of Stability and Motherhood - such things are normally considered more conservative! However, she isn’t like that outside of work - her true personal life is quite the opposite from her image at work. Still, one should not get the idea that she’s terribly reserved about her own sexuality - that is, she isn’t a playgirl by any means, but if she’s interested, she doesn’t hesitate to show her affection. Kaori’s opposing nature has to do with traumas from her past. Also, her past causes her to be generally mistrustful of guys - this is why she has a specific Special Event within the game storyline (but not on the “winning path” so to speak… just something to add to her character development overall.) In fact, Kaori’s own personal views are even more different than you would think from her initial path - her epilogue shows her to be quite given to losing her head when her emotional heart takes over!
As seems to be the norm for Trabulances’ games, the good endings for each girl include an epilogue story as told from her point of view… this adds to the character development and can be quite touching or funny, depending on the story and the girl. In addition, there is an extra Special Storyline available after all the good endings are achieved.
As a final note, Silk’s story is very well done - you see, Silk has kept her distance from any involvement in any world due to her treatment in various worlds, the abuse she’s suffered, and the pain of constant farewells. Helping her to understand her older self’s happy acceptance of this world is a very gradual process, and one that she resists to the very end.
Trabulance has very good character designs overall - at least for this title and Kango Shichaouzo (I’m Gonna Nurse You!) They do tend to make the girls top heavy, but this was corrected well for Ayumi-chan; she’s very petite. The attention to detail on the girls’ outfits, eyes, and hair is very nice. The legs, arms, fingers and toes tend to not be as well drawn as more popular artists such as Carnelian, but this doesn’t detract from the overall impact too much.
One other element that is stressed in both Kumi’s and Kaori’s episodes, and alluded to in Ayumi’s and Sana’s, is the sexuality of a girl’s hair. Not only for guys but also for girls - it’s mentioned that a girl’s hair is actually a sexually sensitive area, and erogenous zone, for many girls. The brushing of a girl’s hair is often considered very erotic for both a guy and the girl… also, stroking or petting a girl’s head is considered comforting for both. Of course, this can also take on negative connotations - a girl’s hair is considered a living thing, and extension of herself and her feminine power, and could be used for negative means if she is angered.
