VN of the Month February 2002 - Kusarihime ~Euthanasia~

The sweet goddess of February 2002 is Kusarihime ~Euthanasia~

1. Ame ni Utau Tanshikyoku ~A Rainbow After the Rain~ 雨に歌う譚詩曲～A rainbow after the rain～ [020201] Emu 1 Throughout the game you are presented with various flashbacks of a psychiatrist talking with a girl named Ame.  At the start of the story the protagonist lives with Chinatsu due to various happenings in his childhood that caused him to become an orphan, and as such mainly sees her as an older sister. The prologue basically starts out with Chinatsu telling the protagonist that 3 of her patients will come live with them for a few weeks as a part of their rehabilitation. There is an English review.

2. Boku to, Bokura no Natsu 僕と、僕らの夏 [020201] light 1 2 A secluded place in the rural mountains. Takao returns to the village where he grew up. However, this summer will be the last time, for a dam is being erected and is to submerge the entire valley. For the first time in 3 years, Takao is to reunite with comrades from his former school. He remembers about a certain treasure they buried a long time ago. Typical nostalgic pure love story, but thanks to change of psychological portrayal it can be read to the end without getting tired. Development is serious, with few gags. Quite satisfactory game for those who like village slice-of-life.

3. Love Letter [020201] Mu Takuya works as an assistant professor in a medical school, and with his talent, he shows promise not only in the academy, but also in the medical society. One day, Takuya receives a letter from an unknown sender. Though he thinks it's suspicious, he still opens it and finds a piece of human skin inside. Then afterwards, the bewildered Takuya continues to receive letters written by "The woman who loves you the most in the world". The contents of the letters gradually continue to escalate, and finally it reaches a point where video recordings of women close to Takuya being brutally murdered are sent to him. It's another brand of Mink, so ero-tilt is inevitable. But such bizarre atmosphere is not something expected. Guro scenes are mostly disgusting rather than appealing, and for that reason game can't be called a nukige.

4. New ~Maid-san no Gakkou~ new～メイドさんの学校～ [020201] Succubus "Maid" has become a profession girls look up to. To nurture maids special school is created. Main character needs to find his love in this maids school.  Seven different people wrote the scenario routes, so each route is very different. Some even have only sad endings. There are only 10 days given. Quite original moege.

5. Talk to Talk [020201] Clear Main character is a clone without emotions. As he leads the school life, he gradually deepens friendship with five girls. Will emotions manage to show up in this interaction? Normal school love story. Every heroine gets a good ending, although there are questions about how relations can remain good with such poorly adapted protagonist. Role of protagonist varies greatly from route to route - he can be both proactive and passive pushover. So it's quite an unusual moege, but unusual setting delivers many problems as well.

6. Ultimate Hunter アルティメットハンター [020201] Xuse 1 You are Keith, a hunter of the Hunters Guild and who dreams to become the Ultimate Hunter. In truth you are one of the worst, because you're very lazy, to the despair of your partner Elena. One day, you meet a girl, Serika, who asks you to help her take back a rosary that the bandits stole from her. You help her, she thanks you and goes away just like that... Thats how you start your real hunters life... There are 37 stages that include battles - satisfying winning condition ends battle. Multiple capture is possible and almost all heroines can be flagged with just one playthrough. Second playthrough on a higher difficulty adds new location with several battles prepared. The density of H events is higher that in typical ero rpg. And such scenes are animated.

7. Waitress-san Hai! ウエイトレスさんハイ！ [020201] Evolution 1 Our hero, who is really into uniforms, wants to buy a bike and decides to work part time at a restaurant called "The White Plum." The White Plum is well known among uniform groupies. Most of the customers are here to see the girls, so there are hardly any males working here. Our hero luckily has a friend employed at the restaurant, who helps him get a job. However, the manager says, "You cannot have a relationship with any of the waitresses." Our hero refuses to give up. He waits for the right time to get close to the girls. As he protects the cute waitresses from other guys, just what will our hero find awaiting him? A mediocre moege.

8. Himawari no Saku Machi ひまわりの咲くまち [020208] Fairytale Main character is asked by his grandfather to come to home town run a boarding house with a public path for some time. This boarding house is inhabited only by girls. Protagonist starts his everyday chores in hope to find his childhood friend he fell in love many-many years ago.  Again a cliche setting and again inviting Carnelian to try to sell the result. Comedy in the main part and short heroine routes. Moege with clear character patterns.

9. Kusarihime ~Euthanasia~ 腐り姫 ～euthanasia～ [020208] Liar-soft 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 After the mysterious death of his father and his younger sister Juri, Itsuki, now suffering from amnesia, moves back to his hometown with his stepmother. There he meets an enigmatic young girl dressed in a crimson red kimono named Kurame, and the two soon become friends. The strange thing is, Kurame looks exactly like his younger sister Juri... On the surface, Itsuki's family and friends all appear to be rooting for his full recovery. However, deep inside, they also seem to be burdened with secrets and guilt about the past. In the span of four days, Itsuki's memories will slowly return as he struggles between his loss and his fear of the truth, until the fourth night, when the whole world becomes blanketed under a red sheet of snow and wrapped up in the silence of death.... There are many English reviews.

10. Memorial. めもりある。 [020208] Bell-Da Main character serves as director of visual media research department of a certain university. He has recently moved in with his lover. One day he is asked to investigate frequent spirited away cases in same section of Rena. He gathers his fellow students and begins investigation. From the start we choose two girls to investigate cases with. Night H events depend on progress and interactions during daytime. Daytime comedy does not really fit regular, but short H night scenes. All the elements feel incomplete. Story is absolutely trampled in favor of ero scenes.

11. Chocolate Kiss チョコレートキス [020214] DigiCube 1 2 The player is a high school student that begins the game in 15th of January. He wants a girlfriend that can give him chocolate on Valentine's Day and has one month to complete his mission. There are 9 different girls to date: Marie, Sachi, Saeko, Yayoi, Miko, Anju, Natsuki, Yuka & Kira.  Each day is divided in 3 sections: Morning, Launch break & After School. The player decides what he wants to do in each section of the day. Depending of his decision he will meet one girl or another in that day.  Realistic moege.

12. Re.verse ~Kioku~ Re.verse～記憶～ [020214] KIT Main character loses his job and follows a newspaper vacation for a vaguely depicted job. The next day he is picked up by woman Kaoru and taken to a mansion where he needs to overcome girl Elena's phobia of men. Only Elena route is well done. Genre can be described as nakige. Average playthrough per route is 4 hours. Just a single H event per heroine.

13. Daimon ダイモン [020215] LiLiM The "people of the universe" suddenly attack a peaceful town from space!  The powerful armored machines are opposed by a colorful bunch of strange girls.  Genre is gag comedy with parodies. There are five heroines each presenting some kind of trope. First half determines the heroine, the second half is the actual battles, and this second half is pretty much the same for every heroine. There is just one H scene per heroine.

14. Flugel ~Yakusoku no Aozora no Shita e~ フリューゲル～約束の青空の下へ～ [020215] Tactics Humans divided into two categories - those who could use magic and those who could not. After invention of internal combustion engine the need in magicians waned and two factions began living isolated.  One day a certain witch visits technology world... Story is one way road with three endings for each of three heroines. World is depicted well, but second half of the story is forced.

15. Masquerade ~Kamen Yuugi~ Masquerade～仮面遊戯～ [020215] Spiral Main character has the power to manipulate personalities in the direction desired by clients. Among other cases one day he gets a request to get rid of multiple personalities in young man's lover. So starts his adventure to the labyrinth of girl's heart. There are three cases, but protagonist knows exactly what to do right from the start, and that irritates. Game definitely has ero-tilt due to dark personalities of characters. Story is weak.

16. Binary Pot バイナリィ・ポット -Binary Pot- [020222] August Connection with a famous network game "a world", delicious coffee, and network cafe Binary Pot with a famous girl. As a young chief of the shop, a hero will experience various tales with a regular customer etc. Since girls are the players of a network game, respectively, after closing can also meet them on on-line. And the tale which becomes entangled in both of the worlds, the tale which is not involved. Is a hero how to make it put the body on which world? Moege comedy. World is of near future and is described vaguely. There are five heroines, but only three scenarios. All scenarios are basically the same.

17. Flutter of Birds 2 Tenshi-tachi no Tsubasa flutter of birdsII　天使たちの翼 [020222] Silky's The miracle happens again... in another country- The son of an Englishman and a Japanese woman, our main character is Shin'ya. Having grown up in his father's native land, he wanted to visit the homeland of his mother, who died when he was young. White snow covers the town of Kuramachi. His other hometown, the last trace of his mother. That is where his father and mother met and were married. And the time comes when Shin'ya's wish is granted. His aunt Miyu says she'll look after him at her church.. In his mother's hometown, Shin'ya injures his leg and goes to a clinic. As Shin'ya stays in the small, snow-covered town, waiting for his leg to heal, he encounters various young women. His encounter with the girl in the clinic who likes to read, Narumi, becomes one he'll never forget.. Nakige. Each heroine has just one H event in the end. As an individual game it's not particularly interesting. But for those who played the prequel it delivers a lot through references.

18. Juusou Koujo Metal Princess 重装皇女メタルプリンセス [020222] AniSeed School is over for you... Time to look for a job... But what to do now? You realize you are good at nothing. Strangely a double opportunity shows up...  A strange group named "The secret society of Evil" seems completely amazed by your shoulder where a hot cup of tea burnt a shape that looks like a dragon... They don't give you a single chance to reject their offer and you are now their leader! The same day, your grandfather, just before dying at the hospital, obtains from you the promise to accept the position of Commander in a secret "Earth defense army"... Soldiers in both groups appear to be lovely girls, pilots of 'mechas', with very different characters and it's clear they are completely opposite groups and fighting each other...  Survival implies to play both roles simultaneously in a very subtle way... but for how long can you hide the truth and avoid casualties? Battle is done once a week. Battle difficulty is quite low as it's mostly about gauge control. Developer is famous for wide use of animation, especially in H events. There are 9 endings overall - 6 individual endings, one bad end and two true endings.

19. Kamine no Mori 神音の森 [020222] Active "Paranormal Study Group" university club includes two men and three women. They don't have any regulations - just to visit strange places and have fun. This time they investigate a spirit legend in the hot springs resort. The state of the village is strange - it looks like the group witnesses the past of the village. They investigate it to return to the present age, but the village legend starts to reveal itself... A bakage to the bones. The story is the the same in each route apart of animated H event. Good news is that all male characters including protagonist are voiced. Bad news is that all males voicing is done by the same person. The actual playthrough time is one hour initially and just 30 minutes for consequent ones.

20. Yadokari Typhoon! やどかりタイフーン！ [020222] Orbit-Cactus Main character Ricardo is a captain of a pirate ship. His crew is full of energy in search of riches. The jewel stuck in the ship deck hints a way to the legendary pirate paradise with tons of gems. All directions are available for new adventures. The travelling mode is very troublesome since visiting a lot of harbors is required for flagging. Game suffers from the lack of strong vivid characters. There's no violence, and it usually looks more like a comedy tea-party. Four heroines have their endings, plus there is one sub-heroine.

21. Milky Season ミルキィ・シーズン [020228] KID 1 As the newly appointed manager of a female students' dormitory, the player interacts and potentially finds love with 12 beautiful girls. Light comedy. It's a charage, so plot is non-existent.

22. Piece of Wonder ピースオブワンダー [0202] Studio Crossfire 1 2 3 When the new century arrived, so did they. Until now, the Japanese government has managed to keep the mass media from exposing the fact that the future of humankind hangs in the balance... that people are being reborn as a new, evolved form of life. Exactly what triggered the birth of this creature known as "Evolution" is unclear... Kazuya Fuwa, a less-than-perfect university student, and his childhood friend Amane Saionji were leading perfectly happy ordinary lives. But beneath the peaceful surface of their town, Evolution was waiting... There are English reviews.

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1. Virgin Oil バージンオイル [020201] Sekilala Main character is a teacher in a girls school. Transfer student Yura confesses her feelings to him, and their relations begin. One day another student Chitose witnesses their flirt and confesses to protagonist later. The next morning main character wakes up to see Yura and Chitose making breakfast together. That was the beginning of their strange relationship. Nukige

2. Tokyo Love Story 東京ラブストーリー [020201] T.O.E software Mai and Sayuri graduate from high school. Mai enters a college, and Sayuri goes to a four-year university in Tokyo. Together with Yuuichi they rent a flat in Tokyo and start their communal living. Doujin

3. Lolikko Roshutsu Club ~Mebae Hajimeta Kimochi~ ロリっ娘露出くらぶ ～芽生えはじめたキモチ～ [020207] Sol-fa-soft A short novel collection focusing on the "exposure of girls". Three girls confess embarrassing experiences. ■ Episode 1 "One Night's Adventure" Takes place during a hot summer evening. Aikawa Yuka noticed that the cola she wanted to drink after bathing was gone. Yuki just wanted to drink a Coke right now, and goes out with only a bath towel ... ■ Episode 2 "Sex Education" Takes place at school. Sakuragi Mikari is left alone with the boys and the teacher told her to take off everything ... ■ Episode 3 "Train Person" Takes place on a train. A kind man who was touching Tomoko starts to make her feel good... Nukige

4. Mahjong All Night! Sisters 麻雀オールNight！シスターズ [020208] K'Night! It is a game where you can play mahjong with 6 characters from k'Night games!  Card game

5. Nyan Nyan Shichau! ニャンニャンしちゃう！ [020208] Trabulance Main character awakens on a fluffy bed in a cat country after breaking up with his girlfriend. It looks like he has a relatively good position of a soldier in here. Thus started his exploration of the cat land and its inhabitants. Nukige

6. Rhapsody of the Fear [020214] Gin no Ken Vampire Kyle lives a quiet forest with a were-cat girl, but one day she suddenly disappears. Strange rumors reach Kyle, so he seeks support in the only person he trusts - his half-brother Larc. But how will Kyle find Larc who is travelling around the world all the time? Doujin

7. Doki! Doki! Oisha-san Gokko Doki！Doki！お医者さんごっこ [020215] Candy Soft Main character is a student who aims to become a fine doctor. Healthcare practitioner suddenly quits, and protagonist is asked to temporarily take his place. Will he be able to treat sick people well and prevent all of the seduce attempts? Nukige

8. Kussetsu 屈折 [020215] Tomato Your reputation is in the gutter, but your best friend has the perfect life, even though he doesn't deserve it at all. This irritates you to no end, and you decide to take every girl and woman from his life, one at a time, to expose what he really is. Nukige

9. Doreijou 奴令嬢 [020222] Cadath Main character lives alone and has too much spare time on his hands. A certain company has a huge debt to protagonist father's company, and in order to repay the debt they send president daughter of the debtor company to use as he desires. And father brings the girl to protagonist's flat to live with him as a pet. Nukige

10. Gedou Gakuen Iinkai 外道学園委員会 [020222] Night Mare Ten years ago there was a rumor of prostitution organization inside the school that never spared its members who leaked its secrets. At present time such rumors have revived with mysterious suicide of one of the girls. Main character who is school president is set to uncover the secrets of the organization. In this war he needs to use his own libido to break mind control of the girls. Nukige

11. Raven ~Inoru Shoujo o Otosu Jutsu~ Raven～祈る少女を堕とす術～ [020222] Aqua House Main character studies black magic at school. An angel sends computer virus from heavenly world and disturbs research. Protagonist becomes an access point thanks to the virus. With that he captures a devil and with her help they beat the angel and inject her with "Anti-Mercy Virus".  Nukige

12. Ryoujoku Chikan Jigoku 凌辱痴漢地獄 [020222] Anim Main character is a molester who can change the patterns to reach different endings. Nukige

13. Ura: Jinzai Haken Center 裏　人材派遣センター [020222] Megami Three girls are contacted from the temporary staff center. During the training period girls are being sexually harassed inside the company. After that they hope for a decent job, but is it really what expects them at a new workplace? Nukige

14. Kamineko 噛猫 [020223] Digital Aniki A fan-fiction parody VN based on the manga/anime Azumanga Daioh. Fandisc

15. Magical☆Canon まじかる☆キャノン [020223] Digital Aniki A fan-fiction parody to VN Magical Kanan Fandisc

16. Pearl na Kibun de ~Ashita ni Mukatte Arukou~ パールな気分で～明日に向かって歩こう～ [020228] Jewelry Main character works for a top company in the mids of recession. He's desperate to increase sales. But after work he has meetings with 40 beautiful girls. Working hard doubles his charm! He wants to get both work and love! Nukige

17. Shikkaku Ishi 失格医師 [020228] MBS Truth Dr. Shinji Ishida is a doctor working at a hospital on the brink of ruin. People have heard that this doctor has brought many hospitals back from financial ruin, however his methods are what you might say "unorthodox". After his sessions the patients can't seem to get enough of being treated by him which naturally causes the hospital to be full of money again. Nukige

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