My Favorite Japanese Galge of 2016

So I played a shitload of Japanese adult games again this year, but compared to last year there’s actually some progress.

Last year I think I played 80. This year I counted… 77.

See, fewer than last year. That proves I’m one step closer to becoming a normie, right??

Anyway, another year has gone by and I’ve wasted this much time again. To make sure that wasted time wasn’t completely meaningless, I’m gonna recommend some games I thought were good, or at least worth playing. Consider this a sales pitch, I guess?

I can’t guarantee you’ll like them, but I can guarantee you won’t feel like you ate shit! Do you have any idea how much shit I ate this year??!!

Nora to Oujo to Noraneko Heart (ノラと皇女と野良猫ハート)

This is the only game this year that’s solid across the board. If I had to force out a flaw… it’d be the art style. Everyone looks like a female delinquent, but you get used to it after a while, right?

The story goes for a light, magical, fun route. It’s not particularly deep, but the pacing is good—funny when it needs to be, tear-jerking when it needs to be—and the voice acting is outstanding. It’ll at least make you laugh, cry, and feel something along the way, which I think is exactly what most galge are missing.

The music is also unusual for a galge. If you read the track commentary in the OST, you’ll see the composer put a lot of thought into it—they even created a main theme and made multiple arrangements to convey different moods. That’s movie/TV-level treatment, seriously.

By the way, this game was hyped from the start as getting an anime adaptation, but a year later there’s still no news. They say there’s a sequel next year, and they say it’ll get an anime too… I just hope when the sequel comes out, the anime comes with it. And I remember them saying the anime would be a “short”?

Purely x Cation

These days galge push the “romance” element less and less… Oh no, I don’t mean there’s no romance, I mean there’s very little “serious dating.” Think about it and you’ll get what I mean. Originally galge were meant to be “love simulations,” and now they’ve all turned into novels. Where are the games that teach you how to simulate romancing a girl step by step? No wonder otaku all went off to play idol-raising games…

But there was one game this year that did the pure love-raising thing well: Purely x Cation.

Yeah, this is the game where you schedule various dates every day to pick up girls. The art is excellent, the dialogue is positive, and the girls look great (Nana Roka Hana’s original art). Playing it really does give you a nice feeling. Some might find it too clichéd, but before you think that, have you actually gotten a girl yet…? If you can’t even handle something this clichéd, hurry up and learn from it.

Another reason I recommend this game: the dialogue is very everyday-life oriented, so it’s great for Japanese beginners. A lot of the vocabulary I saw were textbook words—play through it and your Japanese might level up a bit.

ISLAND

I’ll just say it: no game this year nailed the story, and ISLAND stands out as a story-driven game with a tightly constructed setting.

Why do I say it stands out? It’s not really for people like me who want “a novel with a simply exciting story,” but more for people who “love intricate foreshadowing, setups, and reveals.”

In other words, ISLAND’s foreshadowing payoff and interconnected details are top-notch, but the setting is too magical—no, more like sci-fi, and a really weird kind of sci-fi at that.

Other elements—music, art, voice acting—are all good, but the scenario is god-tier (if you can accept the setting). As for the story, I’ll say just one thing: don’t think you understand what it’s about until the last chapter…

If you like Steins;Gate or KID’s old Infinity series and enjoy digging into foreshadowing and tricks, ISLAND should be your thing.

Floral Flowlove (フローラル・フローラブ)

This game… SAGA PLANETS’ new title felt like a hassle compared to last year’s cheerful game, but after finishing the final Grand End, I felt the story had a lot of meaning.

By “a lot of meaning” I mean the situations in the game—you’ll often encounter them in your own life, or at some future moment, and realize that what happened in the story actually exists in reality.

Floral Flowlove isn’t as cheerful or delightful as last year’s HanaSaki. If anything, the common route drags like hell, and a lot of the individual routes aren’t that interesting—only three routes connect to the main story.

But the final main route really hits you. At least it hit me.

A story about angels. A story about good people not getting rewarded.

Finish the Grand End, then look at the news, and you’ll feel a bit of that sigh-inducing melancholy…

Kare nai Sekai to Owaru Hana (枯れない世界と終わる花)

This year’s fairy tale—the kind that seems all vague and dreamy but actually tells a story with a bit of artistic flair.

I recommend it because it goes for a literary vibe. That heaven-like atmosphere makes you feel cozy and entranced; only the old Iro Tori Tori could compare.

The art is flawless, and the music is a highlight—the BGM deserves praise. The atmosphere-building is really on point.

The story itself might be divisive, but it’s exactly this game’s unique atmosphere and fairy-tale-like writing that make it stand out this year. If you like poetic fairy-tale worlds, this one’s probably good.

Senren * Banka (千恋＊万花)

Normally I’m not too keen on recommending Yuzusoft games…

But this year, the only company that released a new title with absolute improvement over last year was Yuzusoft.

Senren * Banka is a bit stronger than the previous game, Witch’s Garden—the storytelling actually broke new ground. Unfortunately, there’s no route lock, so if you play in the wrong order the story gets scattered.

Same old Yuzusoft daily moe, same high-quality engine, same assembly-line BGM, plus stronger foreshadowing and main story than before.

This time Yuzusoft actually told a complete story instead of giving everyone different routes—that’s a breakthrough. I wonder if next year they’ll add a lock and a True End?

Personally, I’d suggest saving the foreigner’s route for last; it’s basically the True End.

Seiken Tsukai no Meidai (聖鍵遣いの命題)

I think this should have been an RPG. Or rather, due to budget cuts, they removed the battles from an RPG story and made it an AVG.

Japanese players rate this game poorly, but I think it’s fine… Actually, its story is better than stuff like “X no Kiseki.”

The BGM is a highlight, and the art… feels watercolor-style. I personally like it, though some can’t stand it.

As for the story, I really don’t have much to say—it’s a standard RPG plot, just without battles. I know a lot of people hate RPG battles, so this might suit you.

The scenario writer is a woman, and the effect shows in the dialogue: the protagonist is adorably dumb, and the girls’ dialogue is more lively. These are things those fat otaku scriptwriters can’t do. A lot of guys might find it boring? But that’s just how a woman writes…

As for flaws… the battle system is bad, not enough impact. But after seeing how Liber_7 turned out… this is acceptable…

Wagamama High Spec (ワガママハイスペック)

This year’s most standard, most classic moe student council eroge is this one, hands down.

Good or bad aside, it’s the only game that truly delivers the “classic eroge formula.”

I personally think the quality is high. As a character-selling game, the characters are well developed. The only flaw in the art is that the coloring is too digital—looks like that polarizing paint bucket in Flash—but you get used to it, and the artist is still solid.

The story is light and fun. It’s not as good as Noraneko, but it follows the traditional eroge formula. Marika Honda and Mai Goto give standout performances; anyone who likes cute girls should be satisfied.

The game gets a sequel next year and also got an anime this year (though it was crap), so the promotion is strong and reception decent. I hope the sequel does better by Eriko Nakamura, who’s finally romanceable…

Overall, this year’s games weren’t great. As you can see from my recommendations, most are moe character games. Story-driven games almost all crashed and burned—some even became exceptionally stupid, like Sen no Hata, Momo Iro no Kisaki. That nonsensical, idiotic setting gets more disgusting the more I think about it. A game with a better execution of the same framework would be Utate Meguri. Many moe games that should’ve been good ended up mediocre because they did too much unnecessary stuff… playing them felt like a rip-off, so I won’t recommend them.

This year’s games were so weak that I went looking for old games to fill the “story-driven” gap. These are worth recommending: Aokana (蒼の彼方のフォーリズム), Unmei Yohou wo Oshirase Shimasu, Magical Charming!, Majo Koi Nikki…

I also played some otome games this year and got a feel for the atmosphere. That said, otome games aren’t as good as galge—they just have a unique vibe.

The better ones were the Clover Toshokan no Juunin-tachi series. The others… were just okay, felt more like galge with the genders swapped…

But there was one dark horse at the end of the year: while SMEE and Asa Project both crashed, HOOK’s main brand pulled out a killer: Amenity’s Life. I haven’t finished it yet, but so far it feels like the pinnacle of comedy eroge… details will have to wait until I finish…

As for next year’s games… I’ll probably keep playing until I find a partner…

There are plenty of new titles next year: Ouka Saku, Hoshi Koi, the new game from master Luku, etc., etc…

Thinking about the future is pretty nice…

Games I played this year:

Hatsukoi Sankai Me /archives/5205/

Liber_7 /archives/5169/

Grisaia no Senritsu /archives/5155/

Re:LieF /archives/5097/

Natsuiro Koi Uta /archives/5083/

Suki to Suki to de Sankaku Ren’ai /archives/5051/

Gakkou no Seiiki /archives/5074/

Shinkin Kousai Club /archives/5010/

Danzai no Maria /archives/4984/

Kare nai Sekai to Owaru Hana /archives/4962/

Your Diary + H /archives/4943/

Majo Koi Nikki /archives/4827/

Magical ☆ Dears /archives/4746/

Gusha no Kyouben /archives/4759/

ASter /archives/4729/

Corona Blossom Vol.2 The Truth From Beyond /archives/4715/

Kanojo * Step /archives/4683/

Gaku ☆ Ou + PSP Ver /archives/4626/

Magical Charming! /archives/4529/

Tayutama 2 -you’re the only one- /archives/4513/

Tsukikage no Simulacre /archives/4502/

Hatsuru Koto Naki Mirai Yori /archives/4444/

Sen no Hata, Momo Iro no Kisaki /archives/4405/

Daitoshokan no Hitsujikai Library Party /archives/4372/

Watashi ga Suki nara “Suki” tte Itte! /archives/4273/

Seimei no Spare I was born for you /archives/4258/

Hanahime * Absolute! /archives/4237/

Midare Setsugetsuka Tsukiyo no Inbu, Kyouki no Chigiri /archives/4227/

Imouto to Sono Yuujin ga Ero Sugite Ore no Kokan ga Yabai /archives/4206/

Tarareba as in What if stories /archives/4192/

Senren * Banka /archives/4149/

Teaka Nure no Tenshi /archives/4112/

Kimi to Yume Mishi /archives/4093/

Floral Flowlove /archives/4021/

Unmei Yohou wo Oshirase Shimasu /archives/3924/

PriministAr /archives/3870/

Yome Sagashi ga Hakadori Sugite Yabai /archives/3823/

Yakimochi Kanojo no Ichizu na Koi /archives/3796/

Koi Ken Otome / Sainen /archives/3771/

Satsukoi Yuukyuu Naru Koi no Uta /archives/3741/

Koisuru Kimochi no Kasane Kata Kasaneta Omoi wo Zutto /archives/3733/

Harumade, Kururu /archives/3707/

Seiso de Majime na Kanojo ga, Sai Kyou Yarisaa ni Kanyuu Saretara…? /archives/3698/

Sakura no Mori † Dreamers /archives/3679/

Natsuiro Kokoro Log /archives/3635/

Seiken Tsukai no Meidai /archives/3598/

Miagete Goran, Yozora no Hoshi wo FINE DAYS /archives/3578/

Pure Marriage Akai Ito Monogatari /archives/3555/

Wagamama High Spec /archives/3544/

Onii-chan, Kiss no Junbi wa Mada desu ka /archives/3501/

ISLAND /archives/3469/

Purely x Cation /archives/3390/

Shunki Gentei Poco a Poco! /archives/3378/

Akeiro Kaikitan /archives/3319/

Natsu no Kusari /archives/3208/

Ero Hon wo Sutete Kara Ani no Yousu ga Okashii /archives/3304/

Maitetsu /archives/3189/

Clover Toshokan no Juunin-tachi / Clover Toshokan no Juunin-tachi II /archives/3142/

World Election /archives/3111/

Kadenz fermata//Akkord:fortissimo /archives/3026/

Nora to Oujo to Noraneko Heart /archives/2965/

Ryuuyoku no Melodia /archives/2912/

Utate Meguri /archives/2833/

LOVEREC. -Mini Theaters /archives/2775/

Hataraku Otona no Ren’ai Jijou /archives/2802/

Hanikami Clover /archives/2812/

Maggot baits /archives/2774/

Tokage no Shippo Kiri /archives/2735/

Aokana (蒼の彼方のフォーリズム) /archives/2709/

Bocchi Musume x Produce Keikaku. https://plumz.me/archives/4817/

Corona Blossom https://plumz.me/archives/3913/

Grisaia no Yuukan / Grisaia no Zankou https://plumz.me/archives/2921/

Amairo * Islenauts https://plumz.me/archives/2863/