Goshujin-sama Daisuki is one of the many games left forgotten in my not-so-large hard drive. Due to the fact that it is a nukige, I didn't give it much attention until a few hours prior to writing this review. I bought it through Mangagamer a few years ago, but the fact that I spent actual money to grab a copy was still not enough to convince me to play it back then. I somehow regret that decision now. While it is a game that is far from perfect, I must admit that it is pretty enjoyable.
In Goshujin-sama Daisuki, you are put into the shoes of Yuuki Toshiya, the head of the world-renowned Yuuki Corporation whose products and sphere of influence are remained unknown, but that doesn't matter. They're just filthy rich. In order to keep his position as the head, he must marry to provide an heir for the corporation according to their family custom. The problem was he had roughly 2 months before the 2-year deadline, so he needs to act fast. But there's another problem: he's super perverted. That made him believe that no one would ever agree to marry him once they have learned his true colors behind his perfect guy persona. So the solution was to pick candidates and make her/them suitable for him instead. Therefore he chose three among his classmates, paid their family's debts to force them to work as his personal maid and that is without disclosing the fact of training them as his prospect wife.
It sounds perverted, of course this is an ero game, but it kinda gets better after a while.
The three girls are for the most part likable. We have Murakamo Sakura as a "normal" and cheerful girl thrown into this situation, Kuu Spitfire who has a very odd name but nothing special around her... except for her name and Shishiouin Hime as a loli tsundere ojou-sama. They are a generic cast of heroines if you have played enough VNs for the past who knows, eons? If you're new to the medium however, everything about their personality and reactions are surprising at least.
Aside from the three chosen girls, we also have another heroine, Ichijou Ema, who works as Yuuki's personal maid and the house's head maid. The true extent of her ability was never revealed. Though it is implied that she is very skilled by being able to handle the family's business at some extent, prepare every single meal and snack for Yuuki and do some odd jobs only rich people can order to. In other words, she's the perfect maid.
Aside from the massive amount of H-scenes which is pretty much at every corner of this game, the character interactions is what makes this enjoyable, and that is very surprising for a nukige. Not to mention some of them are really funny.
Each girl has their own problems which gives them enough depth to be likable, and of course those problems are solved, sometimes rather too quickly, by Yuuki through his sheer intelligence and assets. Yuuki is also not spared from the good writing as he was also given depth at some points in the story. His actions and decisions during the major points of the story are believable, justified and makes sense unlike almost all nukige MCs whose brain is made up of cottons thus doing the most absurd decisions at the most crucial points, if there is such thing. The story also managed to surprised me once. I definitely didn't see it coming. While that surprise wasn't a game changer, it still left a big impression to me.
The art makes this game better and considering that this was released in 2008, that just make it plain gorgeous. They are well-drawn. There are a variety of poses or sprites that helps portray the characters better. The voice acting also does a good job at conveying the characters' emotions. I was never in the brink of muting the game because of an awful acting. However the music is just, well, forgettable since I can't even think of how to describe my experience with it. Its good point perhaps is it wasn't annoying enough for me to mute it.
If you're here for the H-scenes you will definitely not be disappointed. There's lots of them, really. Look, the game literally starts with a fellatio! I initially thought that there will be rape or rough plays based on the synopsis. Well, I was wrong. It was primarily tame with one or two scenes arguably otherwise. There are the typical punishments involving vibrators but that's the "worse" the game has to offer. And don't you dare skip most them! Some scenes provide character developments and background stories. And here I was only expecting moans and the usual stuff. xD
Obviously the game has its flaws but they didn't break my experience as they aren't really a big deal in a nukige. Take for instance the unused potential of the tension between Yuuki and his uncle. In a normal story-focused game, that sub-plot will be expanded and often leads or paves way to drama and action. It could have showcased Yuuki's brilliance more. And also despite the absurd amount of H-scenes for 4 heroines, only 2 scenes got me excited. They aren't that bad at least but I've seen better. What bothers me the most was the repeated HCGs for different fellatio scenes. I'm not sure if it is because of budget constraints.
If you're curious, the game is basically linear; there are no routes. However the choices you make will make slight changes to the story and will decide what CGs you'll see in that particular playthrough.
There's really not much to say for these kind of games so as to conclude, I can't really recommend this for non-nukige fans. There's little to no reward for casual players. But if you have enough money and libido, you should consider grabbing a copy!
Warning: Super slight spoilers ahead. Kidding, there's none.
If players think that the game's common route is more or less average, I say that is an understatement. The common route surprised me in many ways. The pacing and they way the story was structured is very unique, which made me realized that both the common route and our main character himself, Okonogi Masaya, are a breath of fresh air.
Let me give you a super short synopsis of the route first. The story is set in an all-girls school, with of course, full of girls. However there is a plan to make the school coed due to its financial problems. There has been a gradual decline in the student population because, well, it is exclusive to girls, the tuition fee is expensive and the entrance exam is hard. There are oppositions, of course. These are the guys who can't leave behind the old traditions and want everything to remain the same. Eventually, the two opposing parties are stuck in a loop, and this is where Okonogi Masaya enters. A few minutes in the game, he will be scouted as a male "sample". While he doesn't represent all the males in this oh so little blue planet, it was the best compromise the two parties could agree on. He is given a deadline to prove himself and convince not just the school's authorities, directors, backers or whatever you call them, but also the students, that it is not so bad to accept male students in the future.
So you know the drill, our beloved character is surrounded by beautiful ladies which is impossible to happen in real life (duh), however the fact that no one is pointing out this impossibility baffles me to no end. And as the story goes by, he will eventually establish a harem comprised of girls of all sorts and sizes....sort of.
So what's so unique about this? It looks like your run of the mill moege.
It is not the story which is unique, but the pacing and structure which I said earlier.
It is common for common routes across multiple VN titles that they start with some sort of slice of life feel into it. Characters will be introduced to you one by one, then you get to know them a little bit while hiding the important facts like their background, traumas, and/or circumstances that will be essential in their individual routes if necessary. Princess Evangile takes a very unique approach to that. It introduces almost all of the characters at once then you get to know them naturally without the feeling of "oh, so it's this girl's turn now eh?". That is how it goes in real life. If you experienced transferring once, you'll mostly likely agree. You'll be suddenly put into a class full of strangers and no one is going to approach you one day and say "Hey, today's the day you'll get to know me. So treat me well, okay? Don't worry, that cute girl by the window will be introduced 2 days from now.". I'm not saying that the game completely didn't use that approach. It is just that it rarely did, and when it does, it is out of necessity. In Princess Evangile, there is no GirlA's day. It is everyone's day to get known.
Another thing that is unique about it is the fact that it contains actual drama that you'd expect to be used in their individual routes. Dramas are what makes the individual routes in most VNs worth waiting for, but they completely ignored that advantage and threw them to our faces. Why is that? Do you need to be someone's lover so that their parents will die? Do you need to be someone's lover so that their oh-so-bad-parents do something bad? Do you need to be someone's lover so that their fiancee would show up and ruin your relationships? Of course not. You don't need to play their routes to know them a little bit more deeply. It is not necessary and I like that.
The common route is extremely long. I took my time reading the route but it still took me around 6-7 hours to reach the branching point. I didn't record how much time I played it, but I must still say that it felt longer than Grisaia Kajitsu and Little Busters!'s common route because of the amount of content it offered. It wasn't boring as what some people said. There was always something happening. It sometimes comes as a surprise and some are seen from several miles away. There's no sense of build up to most of these eventful events because of their realistic approach which made me surprisingly fully awake most of the times. Gosh, now I 'm reminded that I yawned many times while reading Rewrite's common route.
To end this, Princess Evangile's common route is a great read. I'm now looking forward for my first heroine. This better be good~
