Which game to license? (UPDATED POLL)

Visual Novel Community Visual Novel Talk
#1

Edit: Even if you already voted, please vote again. the votes were reset when the poll was updated.

We’re looking ahead to our acquisitions for 2009, and we’d like your input. I should emphasize that negotiations are EXTREMELY preliminary and there is no guarantee that we can acquire any of these titles; we’re in the process of investigating all of our options with various companies, but on the chance that we are able to acquire a single major title recently released from Will (a company PP has worked with in the past, most recently on Yume Miru Kusuri and the upcoming Princess Waltz), which of these three would you be most interested in? A brief description of each game follows:

Edit: the poll has been updated to reflect a more nuanced range of options. Please vote again if you’re interested. ^^;;
More information on all three games can be found here.

[attachment=2]harukani.jpg[/attachment]
Haruka ni Aogi, Uruwashino
(lit. “gazing up at the lovely one in the distance”)

Official Site: http://www.pulltop.com/gp06/index.htm
Opening Movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDVKG8K2FR0

The story of a new teacher who comes to his first job at the secluded, elite Ouka Girls’ Academy, where he is surrounded by high-class female students, each with their own problems he must solve. An “ojou-sama” game; a drama / comedy of manners. Very little ero content, but lots of tender “pure love” romance.

Taglines:
“At that time, there was someone for me at the end of the world.”
“I can’t forget… the day I met those irreplaceable girls.”

[attachment=1]sekaidame.jpg[/attachment]
Sekai de Ichiban NG (dame) na Koi
(lit. “the most forbidden love in the world”)

Official Site: http://www.hermit-game.com/h03/top.html
Opening Movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jA97c66gMmk

The story of a faint-hearted 29-year old former businessman, unemployed due to taking the fall for a mistake that wasn’t his, who spends his days drinking in a hostess bar until a popular waitress gives him her address and says he can come by any time he’s in trouble. When he visits the address he finds out it’s a small apartment building, but the girl who comes out to meet him isn’t the hostess, it’s someone who looks like she could be her daughter - and in fact IS her daughter.

A love story between a down and out, faint-hearted salaryman and a strong-willed “kanrinin” (apartment manager) girl nearly half his age, hence the title, “the most forbidden love in the world”. The title is also derived from the “sankaku kankei” (three-sided relationship) themes in the plot (there are other targetable heroines as well). Contains a good deal of ero.

[attachment=0]bulletbut.jpg[/attachment]
Bullet Butlers

Official Site: http://www.propeller-game.com/product/bb/index.html
Opening Movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cibLtWm1DQg

The epic fantasy story of a butler and his master in a world of guns and magic, depicting the struggle for succession to leadership of a noble house of heroes against the backdrop of the resurgence of an evil cult of the god of death and the ambitions of an emotionally scarred war veteran. In a bustling modern city reminiscent of 1930’s America, rife with political intrigue and ancient legends made flesh, three stories of high romance unfold. Some ero content, but not the game focus.

Taglines:
“He’s neither a valet nor a servant, but a butler with a bullet.”
“Even if I lose everything, yes, we’ll be together, my master.”

#2

My formal review. 8)

#3

With the disclaimer that I wouldn’t actually, because I’m non-US and the last time I tried to preorder it created a bit of a snarl, based on just skimming the review posted for Bullet Butlers elsewhere, I’d want to slap an order on it as soon as you could announce it in the system. :slight_smile:

I might be interested in the first game, but not to the extent of “MUST. HAVE.” It’d be one I might pick up eventually. No interest in the second game at all.

#4

I will check them later. I may pick one of them.

#5

  1. Bullet Butlers or Haruka ni Aogi, Uruwashino, with a slight preference for the latter. It’s difficult to decide between them, as I know a lot more about Bullet Butlers :wink:, so the above decision is made on which game is immediately more striking/appealing etc for me, without having that extra knowledge.

  2. Sekai de Ichiban Dame na Koi - I guess the genre doesn’t appeal to me as much as the other two games.

It would be great to have any of the three available in English, although I have a strong preference for the first two.

#6

Here’s my list:

  1. Bullet Butlers

Good reviews and the kind of fantasy/supernatural stuff I like, add in some good looking art and it seems like smiles all around. :smiley:

  1. Sekai de Ichiban Dame na Koi

Can’t say much about it, but it seems interesting… :expressionless:

  1. Haruka ni Aogi, Uruwashino

Frankly, seems a little boring to me. Probably not my thing. :frowning:

#7

Butler Brothers by far.
Haruka ni Aogi, Uruwashino would be a distant 2nd.
Sekai de Ichiban NG (dame) na Koi if you can get all 3…though I’d perfer some other titles [size=50]Popotan[/size], but don’t think that’s likely.

#8

I know how much Narg and you alraedy hyped “Bullet Butler” here - and it might be great. It’s just that the synopsis as well as the hyping reminds me very much of another game that Olf and Spec hyped to me before - and I never managed to reach in that game even the end of the prologue after four weeks of playing. Thus the “epic” part scares me off here quite a bit…

Actually of all three games, “Haruka ni Aogi, Uruwashino” sounded at first glance most interesting to me. Even thoughit is supposed to be an otome-game. But perhaps that’s why it sounded different and stirred my curiosity more than it deserved.
I can’t find anything special about “Sekai de Ichiban NG (dame) na Koi”.

However, if I look at it, actually none of them really makes me go “YAAAY” right now, so I rather make no vote yet - though the fourth option comes probably closest to how I curently feel.

#9

Bullet Butlers looks to be the most interesting to me, personally. I like the background, and overall it just sounds more grandiose in scheme than the other two. Haruka ni Aogi, Uruwashino would be my second pick, though considerably behind Bullet Butlers. I’d place Sekai de Ichiban NG (dame) na Koi not too far behind Haruka ni Aogi.

In a nutshell, I’m pretty partial to Bullet Bulters from the get-go. :slight_smile: Fingers crossed!

#10

1 : Haruka ni Aogi, Uruwashino

2 : Bullet Butlers

3 : Sekai de ichiban

In fact, first I’m not interested in Sekai de ichiban (story seems too boring).
After there is the choice between Haruka and BB.
BB seems intersting and it would add some originality for us, those who can’t speak japanese… but there is something in this game that I want to avoid at all costs : rapes.
BB is obviously one of those games where women are raped several times…
(in fact i’m not sure, but some websites say it)

That’s why I would go for Horuka ni Aogi.

#11

A few points of clarification:

Haruka ni Aogi, Uruwashino isn’t an “otome game” in the standard Japanese usage of the term, which usually refers to reverse harem scenarios (where a female protagonist is surrounded by a group of bishounen who vie for her affections). It is a game that features “otome” (maidens) as its heroines, though.

Let me address this right away: rape is not a primary characteristic or a selling point of Bullet Butlers. There is a small amount of rape in the game, but it is not glorified or depicted in a favorable light, nor is it perpetrated by any of the protagonists. It’s shown as a despicable criminal act and one for which vengeance must be exacted. It’s a grim part of the story, and like other serious stories with grim elements may be unpleasant to the viewer. Luckily it’s easy to skip.

If anyone has concerns about this part of the game I’d be happy to address them in private; I don’t want to say any more in the thread for fear of spoilers, but rest assured that it’s a very minor part of the game.

Edit: As far as I know neither of the other games in this poll contain any nonconsensual sex at all.

#12

I vote for Haruka ni Aogi, Uruwashi no. Looks verx interesting to me. But i like to see BB too :smiley:

#13

Bullet Butlers sounds ideal, yes, but I think that it would be nice if at least one title catering to the “real Japanese taste” like Haruka ni Aogi, Uruwashino no can become available for the rest of the world too…
Therefore, I’ve voted for Haruka, but also Bullet is good.
No need for Sekai de Ichiban.

#14

Hmmm… now hat is an information that might tip my balance in favor of Bullet Butler!
Vengeance is a theme that can attract me!

Still didn’t take the poll though - but have to think about it more now… :wink:

#15

I still say you suck, Unicorn, for not willing to give Tsukiko a chance. :wink:
For my part, I think Bullet Butlers would be an interesting title to give to the English market, since it’s a very high quality game. Obviously, I wouldn’t buy it, but I’d for sure hype it to people I know who may be (or are already) interested in erogames.

Edit: after some thoughts, I may buy it after all, since it would be cheaper than buying the Japanese version (and I trust PP with the translation, ufufufufufufufufu~) and it’s on my buy-list anyway. It would be a first, heh. :smiley:

#16

I voted for Bullet Butlers, although if the chance arises for PP to obtain both Bullet Butlers and Haruka ni Aogi, Uruwashi no, I would certainly buy both titles. Here’s to wishing PP luck on getting both.

#17

Just to play a Devil’s Advocate here, let me point out a few good things about Haruka ni Aogi, Uruwashino. :slight_smile:

While the scenario and character roles are clichÈ as hell, there is a lot of cross interaction between the cast. They’re very close friends, and it shows in the dialog between them - although there’s always something they comically disagree about (from how to do class work to where they’ll go shopping). The personal development of each heroine is deeply explored, which would appeal to those liking heart tugging moments. Furthermore when they emotionally breakdown, their need for comforting guidance (“please don’t let me go”) targets those types who want to be a hero who makes a difference in someone’s life. The individual routes aren’t anything complex, but simplicity is often nice. The heroines are also VERY captivating, thanks to their overwhelming innocence. Being cute is a powerful weapon…

Graphics in Haruka are WAAAAAAAY better than those in Bullet Butlers. It doesn’t have all the special effects that BB does, but the designs are magnificent and everything is at a higher resolution quality. The backgrounds in Haruka put the ones in BB to shame… in fact, it puts like three-fourths of the eroge market in general to shame. The CG illustrations also get your attention, and the collection of paper dolls are numerically above the norm. Generally speaking, the leading artist of Haruka is outright superior to the one in BB.

With exception to the comedic selections, the soundtrack consists of “soothing” instruments: the best use a piano and/or acoustic guitars (synthesized I suspect; but incredibly well done). The quality of voice acting in Haruka is generally equal to that in BB ñ however BB has some REALLY annoying (at least in my opinion) aspects in the speech patterns. While Haruka has some of the same, BB tries to use it to be cool, whereas Haruka uses it to be cute. BB honestly fails at that I think… Haruka wins hands down (because they really are cute).

As for sex… well… its lopsided. There are like 20 scenes in Haruka, but most of the girls only have 1 or 2 each… but two of them get like 8 apiece. This seriously sucks. The two girls I particularly liked, got a measly 2 each… However, sex is not the focus in Haruka, so that’s probably just my sexfest gene being biased. This said: when it happens, the sex is rather lengthy. Plus combined with the great art style… well… you get the picture. Also I’d like to add that the voice acting for Shino and Yuuna really shines at this part. Errr… it’s all tradition sexing: no threesomes or harems. One girl has a thing for ropes though. :wink:

Oh… I can’t end a Devil’s Advocate post, without pointing out that Haruka ni Aogi, Uruwashino blew away the competition according to a certain Japanese award group. It got acclimation after acclimation: best scenario, best pure love, best bgm, and voter’s choice. If the Japanese think this simple love story is better than all those complex action plot games, then it REALLY must kick ass.

#18

I vote for Bullet Butlers first, and Haruka ni Aogi, Uruwashi no second (if possible please acquire the license for both). I pick Bullet Butlers mainly because I read the review on it and that definitely got my attention. Also I think PP needs to have more action/adventure themed games to its line up, you know more stuff outside the standard eroge setting and story. However, as Haruka ni Aogi, Uruwashi no also sounds like a good game so let’s just say that in terms of interest, Bullet Butlers beats Haruka ni Aogi, Uruwashi no by a fraction of a point in my interest field.

#19

i vote for Bullet Butlers

Haruka ni Aogi, Uruwashi no coming in 2nd; with Sekai de Ichiban Dame na Koi a distant 3rd.

Bullet Butlers just looks more interesting. :smiley:

#20

Heh… this coming from a guy who took YEARS to finish MinDeaD BlooD… and he’s still not done with the series. My estimates from this indicates that Unicorn would 100% finish Bullet Bulters in 9.75 months to 13.25 months… depending if he uses a walkthru or not. :wink: