Word has come in over the past few days that new game projects are in the works from three of the artists featured previously here at HD: Happoubi Jin, Sano Toshihide, and INO. The first news is an update to the G.J? official site, with a teaser page online for the next Sano Toshihide designed game. The teaser page is modeled after a Nico Video entry and doesn’t give away much in terms of content, though this looks to be a lighter-themed title than much of the brand’s recent fare. The page is scheduled for another update on the 25th, and a full scoop will be coming in Dengeki Hime, released on the 30th. News regarding the new INO and Happoubi Jin titles comes from the cover of the March ‘08 issue of Tech Gian, set for release tomorrow (January 21st); there’s not much to go on yet, but apparently the INO game is a collaboration with Yukiyoshi, the current sole proprietor of Mu Soft and creator of several very highly successful doujin games. Odds are that the new Happoubi title will be from Crossnet; we’ll bring more detailed info on both titles following the release of the March issue of Tech Gian. Updated with additional information and images from Tech Gian below:
The official Tech Gian site was updated yesterday evening with information on the contents of the current issue, on sale today. After looking the magazine over, further details are available regarding both the new INO game and the new Happoubi Jin game announced within its pages:
The Ino-designed, Yukiyoshi directed game is tentatively entitled Otome Function, and will be coming from newly established brand Skyrockets/mu. It features a real time, interactive “osawari” ADV system where you can mouse over and manipulate various aspects of the game characters, and will be animated using Adobe After Effects. In this respect the system will be similar to that used in Hizashi no Naka no Real.
The game’s four heroines are not only designed by INO but colored by him as well, in a style similar to that most recently shown on the cover of his artbook Velvet Skin. The Tech Gian article contains much more information on topics related to the game which I haven’t had time to read yet, but overall this is looking like a very exciting project that the creators are quite excited about as well – we’ll be keeping close watch on it as development moves forward.
The Happoubi Jin-designed game is called Kanojo x Kanojo x Kanojo ~San Shimai to no Doki-doki Kyoudou Seikatsu~ (”exciting co-ed life with three sisters”), and is coming not from Crossnet but from a new brand called “ωstar” (that first letter is a lower-case Omega). The scenario is a tag team effort from Izumi Banya and a newcomer called Neko Kosume; given the range of titles Izumi has worked on it’s hard to say how this one will turn out, but it’s described as an “ero-moe ADV” and it seems likely that’s what we’ll get. I’m really liking the look of the purple-haired sister… the game has a release window of “spring 2008″, but no website as of yet. We’ll be tracking this just as eagerly as Otome Function in the coming days.
Stay tuned for further information on the new Sano Toshihide G.J? title, as well as other promising prospects for 2008 eroge, coming soon!
More Sano Toshihide? God bless that wonderful man and his healthy, healthy heroines.
Looking forward to more on this. Also glad to hear that it’s going to be a bit lighter than some of his recent stuff. . . .
Ohhhh……..looking at those pictures makes me hungry!! Definetly keeping an eye on these updates!!
The picture from Sano’s teaser is enough for me to make up my mind: BUY IT! 8D
p.s. Definitely a METER maid if I ever see one. 8)
Hey Shingo, just wanted to let you know that the SkyRockets site is up.
http://www.skyrockets.jp/concept.html
and here is the Otome Function site:
http://www.skyrockets.jp/otome/index.html
>>ed
Thanks, I actually did a stealth edit to the post shortly before you left your comment. I’d seen the Skyrockets site in an earlier Moon Phase update, but forgot to make the connection until just now (note to self: if the URL published in the magazine doesn’t work, check the root directory before proclaiming that the site doesn’t exist).
[...] won’t go through the details since Shingo @ HeiseiDemocracy has given the current lowdown on these games (and has more access to information materials…oooh I envy you for being in Japan!). I will [...]
haha that’s quite amusing! *pokes 7*
anyway these three artists draw such drool worthy characters it makes me cry tears of joy for their existence.
Have you noticed that OLE seems to have another GunnerL game in the works?
http://www.teck.co.jp/ole/products/turibaka/index.html
Looks like it’s dated for 03/28…
Hmm…I see the standard Tsun heroine, the blue-eyed blonde, the oneesan/senshi and the loli character. So where’s the white hair meter ‘maid/okasan’? 8)
Anyway, it will still be a MUST BUY for me. Thanks for the update, Shingo.
>>suneo
Yeah, there’s a lot more to look forward to this spring and summer than I was anticipating just a month ago. I’m excited to see what the next few months will bring!
>>kahm
Yeah, I noticed that when the site first went up last month. Haven’t had time to properly report on it yet, but I plan to do so soon.
After skimming through the other Gunner-L designed games from OLE I’ve been a bit underwhelmed, I’m not sure whether I’ll get this one or not (I probably will, but the fishing gimmick really doesn’t do anything for me :/).
>>blacklotus
I think you might be confusing the Sano game, which the post thumbnail is from, with the INO game, which the images in the post body are from. There’s no new visual data from the G.J? game at this point, though we’re expecting a page update on Friday that will hopefully include further goodness.
Thanks for the correction. Guess I will be getting both now. 8)
Money’s tight, what with the recent global stock market crash. But I’ll managed to squeeze out some cash for these 2 games. 8)
I have to agree with finding the purple haired sister interesting in the second picture. 2008 is starting to shape up nicely . . . .
I’ll agree that the new Gunner L game doesn’t look as interesting as the last. When you think about it, though, how do you top a game like Oppai Baka? :)