Skyler
Skyler \s-ky-ler\ as a girl's name (also used as boy's name Skyler), is pronounced SKY-ler. It is of Dutch origin, and the meaning of Skyler is "fugitive".
There's an excellent reason why I haven't updated for four months: Hime Hibi is a very repetitive game. Also, I started playing La Corda d'Oro. It's not as difficult as I remember, but if you're determined to get all the CGs, it's going to take some time. I've completed all the secondary character routes and am slowly working on the main five guys. (I gave up on getting all the memories, but if I have the leisure one day, I might actually attempt that.)
You are now forewarned that there are spoilers abound.
ひめひび -Princess Days- ぽーたぶる (Hime Hibi -Princess Days- Portable, Princess Days Portable) is a girls-oriented romantic adventure game released for the PSP in 2008. It was originally released for the PS2 in 2006.
The protagonist is Aizaki Koi, a high school second year at Sakurazuka High School (!). She's currently living alone while her parents are working abroad. One day, two guys in suits along with her beloved sen'pai who transferred to another school claimed to represent her grandfather. They take her to a prominent boys' school, Ten'jouji Gakuen, where her grandfather springs on her that he wants to transition into a co-ed school and for her to be the first female student. She's not interested in being uprooted from her current life, but when members of the school board and teaching staff start to criticize the integration of girls into their boys school, she is instantly riled by their misogynistic comments and takes up the challenge of convincing the student body of a co-ed school.
Unfortunately, there are people who are against a co-ed school, some of whom are even willing to use violent means. So, with her bodyguards and compatriots by her side, she'll convince the school and discover who is plotting against her!
Gameplay consists of visual novel crossed with a map feature and mini-games. On most days, you'll pick a location to trigger events for the guy you want to go after.
On weekdays, you'll mostly likely play a mandatory mini-game. I'm not entirely sure that the score will affect the ending, but they're pretty easy provided your hand-eye cordination is average. The backstory for those mini-games is that you are building your rapport with the student body and the better you do, the more they support a co-ed school. The first mini-game you'll encounter is handing out flyers. You will need to press the corresponding button for the path you are on, but make sure that the path you are on is adding to your score. If you are on the path of someone who doesn't support a co-ed school, your overall score will go down. The second mini-game is a Simon-says game. The more correct chains you complete, you get more bonuses added to your score.
-----
Ten'jouji Masaya is a fellow second year in Koi's class and the Jack-of-all-Trades at school. He has great athletic ability and participates on all the sports teams, but still finds time to help out the student council. More importantly, though, he is Koi's cousin and fiancé and bodyguard, the latter two roles as arranged by their grandfather. They don't get along very well at the beginning, but he takes his role as her bodyguard seriously and accompanies her from the dorm and around the school. They gradually warm up to each other, but their relationship is hampered by several bumps.
Koi doesn't remember, but she and Masaya met as children and played together, going as far as to make a promise to be together. He does remember, but feels conflicted as he also knows that she has a crush on his estranged brother, Naohito. She later remembers their promise and makes up with him. Masaya comes to her rescue when the mastermind lures her out to rescue her, and they confess their feelings for each other. In the epilogue, they are out on a date. Voiced by Yoshino Hiroyuki.
My biggest issue with Masaya is actually his voice actor, who voiced Toudou Heisuke in Hakuouki. When Masaya speaks, all I hear is Heisuke.
Hayami Naohito is Masaya's estranged older brother (and thus, Koi's cousin). Their parents divorced when they were children, and Naohito went with their mother while Masaya stayed with their father. Up until the year before, he attended Sakurazuka High School with Koi, but his mother passed away and he transfered away to Ten'jouji Gakuen under the guardianship of his grandfather. However, since their reunion, Masaya is curt and short with him and takes pains to avoid him, despite Naohito's repeated entreaties.
Koi has liked Naohito since she met him at Sakurazuka and notices that he has stopped playing the piano, which he was very talented in. Though she tries to ask him why, he always demures and changes the subject. Eventually, she finds out indirectly that he's going overseas to study the piano. His reasons for leaving are partially due to Masaya's coldness toward him and his own growing feelings towards Koi. Masaya confronts him for Koi. As it turned out, Masaya was just holding onto a childhood grudge that Naohito never contacted him after their parents' divorce. And the reason why he stopped playing the piano was that Masaya once commented that he hated Naohito's piano, which reminded him of their dead mother. Masaya pushes his buttons, and Naohito punches him, declaring that he'll protect Koi. But as Koi is watching this from a safe distance, she gets kidnapped by the mastermind behind the violent attacks. Naohito and Masaya are on the rescue, and the former is even willing sacrifice his fingers for Koi's safety. Luckily, the rest of the Scooby Gang come to the rescue. With encouragement from Masaya, Koi confesses to Naohito and vice versa. In the epilogue, Naohito puts off his piano and chose to stay in Japan, attending Ten'jouji University, until Koi graduates, so that he can take her abroad. On one of their dates, he takes her to a church and proposes to her with a ring, which he accepts. Voiced by Hamada Kenji.
Naohito and Masaya's routes are probably my favorite; they never get too ridiculous.
Natsuyagi Hikaru is a thirteen year old student, whose genius allowed him to skip ahead to high school second year. He is also part of the school's security division, skilled in martial arts. He is assigned to be Koi's bodyguard.
As expected, they get fairly close to each other, and when Hikaru is unable to foil an attack against her, he gets very depressed. She tries to cheer him up and reassure him, but he confesses that he likes her and that failing to protect the person he likes makes it inappropriate for him to stand by her side. Stunned by his revelation, she hides out in her room. She is lured out of her room by the mastermind the next day, but Hikaru comes to her rescue. After the confrontation, she confesses to him. In the epilogue, they go on a date. Voiced by Suganuma Hisayoshi.
No interest in shouta. NEXT.
Takashiro Yamato is a second year, Masaya's childhood friend and roommate, and the student council president. He comes from an old family that practices tea ceremony and takes history and tradition very seriously. He is fiercely against the co-ed school, but unlike the school board members and teaching staff, he is not misogynistic. He simply believes that having girls in what is historically a boys' school is not conducive.
Just as Koi is raising support for a co-ed school, Yamato tries his best to raise opposition against it. When it is brought up that most students are for it and that unless he uses underhanded means against her, he will not convince the student body. However, he is absolutely against it and is incensed by the violence against Koi orchestraed by the mastermind. Being in the same class and living in the same dorm, they get to know each other, despite being on opposite sides. At some point, Yamato starts to suspect someone as the mastermind behind the attacks on Koi. He distances himself from her, and she chases after him. They both end up in the mastermind's clutches, but are promptly rescued by the Scooby Gang. With the resolution of the mastermind, at the end-of-semester ceremony, he confesses his confesses for her and she reciprocates. In the epilogue, she helps him out in the student council room during summer vacation. Voiced by Nojima Kenji.
It's... not an interesting route.
Tsukimoto Shinobu is in charge of the security in Ten'jouji Gakuen and dedicated to Koi's grandfather's interest. He has three personas: 1) normal but serious mode, 2) silent bodyguard mode, and 3) dorm mother mode.
They bond over their love of sweets, her helping in the kitchen, and her stubborn but courageous stand against the violent attacks. However, he pulls away as soon as he realizes he's getting close to her. His three personas emerged as a result of his fiancée, Yuriko, passing away due to a traffic accident; he found it difficult to be himself, which is why each of his personas are so focused and centered around a job or a goal to be accomplished. He resents his attachment to Koi, because he thinks it's disrespectful to Yuriko. He eventually gets over that, but the attacks escalate on Koi. Shinobu sets a trap for the mastermind, which the latter falls for and is promptly arrested. In the epilogue, Shinobu and Koi are going on a date, and they realize that his three personas are merging back together. Voiced by Ishikawa Hideo.
I have a soft spot for Ishikawa Hideo, since he voices my beloved Kanayan in La Corda d'Oro, but I dislike having to compete with a dead fiancée.
Kashiwagi Rinto is Koi's homeroom teacher. Though he teaches biology, he occasionally covers other classes and teaches the material better than the teachers themselves. He often gives advice to her to better her relationship with the rest of the students and to protect her from threats. He's also Shinobu's friend since they were students in Ten'jouji and is the younger brother of his dead fiancée, Yuriko.
Though Rinto is known as an easygoing teacher, he sometimes has bad days that send students running in the opposite direction. Koi discovers that he's an insomniac and when he does sleep, he dreams of his sister, whose death he blames himself for. Koi is able to banish his nightmares, which leads to them spending more time together. When a picture of him kissing her innocently spreads around the school, they are both called by the school board and teaching staff. They call for his resignation and her repulsion. Rinto takes the blame and resigns, admitting his feelings for Koi, but he has also compiled evidence indentifying the mastermind. With the plot against her resolved, Koi expresses her feelings for him and wants him to stay at Ten'jouji. He can't be both her lover and her teacher at the same time, so as a consolation he invites her to stay with him over the coming summer vacation. In the epilogue, we find out that she didn't take him up on the offer as her grandfather and Shinobu disapproved. However, they still meet up everyday. When she tells him that she'll be lonely in the upcoming semester without, he proposes marriage to her, telling her that he'll never let her go. Voiced by Ishida Akira.
Rinto was the one character I most looked forward to, because he's voiced by Ishida Akira. Still, DEAD SISTER AND GUILT. Luckily, it wasn't all too bad.
-----
Hime Hibi is an alright game. For a school-based otome game, it's not bad, but when you have a time system that counts each game day as it passes, you will think that the characters falls in love too quickly and unbelievable. Unfortunately, that's not its only fault. The story itself was not interesting, and the characters' backstories were the opposite of engrossing. I got through the first half of the game, because I was looking forward to Ishida Akira (whose route I did third); but once I hit the second half, I ditched the game and started playing La Corda d'Oro, because even an impossibly hard game is more fun that a repetitive game. It took two months for me to pick up Hime Hibi again, and that was only because I wanted to finish the game and write a review. Of course, I abused the skip button like hell.
The art is adequate, but if you're eagled-eyed, you'll notice that some backgrounds are reused from older Takuyo games. Also, the things that made me rage like crazy are that Koi went to Sakurazuka High School, which is the same school from for Symphony ~with all one's heart~ and several characters made references to characters to e'tude prologue ~Yuruugoku Kokoro no Katachi~, Little Aid, and Panic Palette. The long story short: I hated those games and more importantly the characters that were referred to, so I'm a little irritated that they were even brought up.
The one upside is the protagonist herself: Aizaki Koi. In the beginning of the game, you learn that she's an independent and stubborn girl, but not without empathy. However, she falls into the pitfalls of an otome game heroine, where she becomes both a weak character who needs to be protected and someone who is so caught up in the moment that she ALWAYS walks into the enemy's trap. Girl, you should be better than that!
If you want a short, quick game that doesn't need any historical backstory or a learning curve, this isn't half bad. But there are tons of better games out there.
There's an excellent reason why I haven't updated for four months: Hime Hibi is a very repetitive game. Also, I started playing La Corda d'Oro. It's not as difficult as I remember, but if you're determined to get all the CGs, it's going to take some time. I've completed all the secondary character routes and am slowly working on the main five guys. (I gave up on getting all the memories, but if I have the leisure one day, I might actually attempt that.)
You are now forewarned that there are spoilers abound.
ひめひび -Princess Days- ぽーたぶる (Hime Hibi -Princess Days- Portable, Princess Days Portable) is a girls-oriented romantic adventure game released for the PSP in 2008. It was originally released for the PS2 in 2006.
The protagonist is Aizaki Koi, a high school second year at Sakurazuka High School (!). She's currently living alone while her parents are working abroad. One day, two guys in suits along with her beloved sen'pai who transferred to another school claimed to represent her grandfather. They take her to a prominent boys' school, Ten'jouji Gakuen, where her grandfather springs on her that he wants to transition into a co-ed school and for her to be the first female student. She's not interested in being uprooted from her current life, but when members of the school board and teaching staff start to criticize the integration of girls into their boys school, she is instantly riled by their misogynistic comments and takes up the challenge of convincing the student body of a co-ed school.
Unfortunately, there are people who are against a co-ed school, some of whom are even willing to use violent means. So, with her bodyguards and compatriots by her side, she'll convince the school and discover who is plotting against her!
Gameplay consists of visual novel crossed with a map feature and mini-games. On most days, you'll pick a location to trigger events for the guy you want to go after.
On weekdays, you'll mostly likely play a mandatory mini-game. I'm not entirely sure that the score will affect the ending, but they're pretty easy provided your hand-eye cordination is average. The backstory for those mini-games is that you are building your rapport with the student body and the better you do, the more they support a co-ed school. The first mini-game you'll encounter is handing out flyers. You will need to press the corresponding button for the path you are on, but make sure that the path you are on is adding to your score. If you are on the path of someone who doesn't support a co-ed school, your overall score will go down. The second mini-game is a Simon-says game. The more correct chains you complete, you get more bonuses added to your score.
-----
Ten'jouji Masaya is a fellow second year in Koi's class and the Jack-of-all-Trades at school. He has great athletic ability and participates on all the sports teams, but still finds time to help out the student council. More importantly, though, he is Koi's cousin and fiancé and bodyguard, the latter two roles as arranged by their grandfather. They don't get along very well at the beginning, but he takes his role as her bodyguard seriously and accompanies her from the dorm and around the school. They gradually warm up to each other, but their relationship is hampered by several bumps.
Koi doesn't remember, but she and Masaya met as children and played together, going as far as to make a promise to be together. He does remember, but feels conflicted as he also knows that she has a crush on his estranged brother, Naohito. She later remembers their promise and makes up with him. Masaya comes to her rescue when the mastermind lures her out to rescue her, and they confess their feelings for each other. In the epilogue, they are out on a date. Voiced by Yoshino Hiroyuki.
My biggest issue with Masaya is actually his voice actor, who voiced Toudou Heisuke in Hakuouki. When Masaya speaks, all I hear is Heisuke.
Hayami Naohito is Masaya's estranged older brother (and thus, Koi's cousin). Their parents divorced when they were children, and Naohito went with their mother while Masaya stayed with their father. Up until the year before, he attended Sakurazuka High School with Koi, but his mother passed away and he transfered away to Ten'jouji Gakuen under the guardianship of his grandfather. However, since their reunion, Masaya is curt and short with him and takes pains to avoid him, despite Naohito's repeated entreaties.
Koi has liked Naohito since she met him at Sakurazuka and notices that he has stopped playing the piano, which he was very talented in. Though she tries to ask him why, he always demures and changes the subject. Eventually, she finds out indirectly that he's going overseas to study the piano. His reasons for leaving are partially due to Masaya's coldness toward him and his own growing feelings towards Koi. Masaya confronts him for Koi. As it turned out, Masaya was just holding onto a childhood grudge that Naohito never contacted him after their parents' divorce. And the reason why he stopped playing the piano was that Masaya once commented that he hated Naohito's piano, which reminded him of their dead mother. Masaya pushes his buttons, and Naohito punches him, declaring that he'll protect Koi. But as Koi is watching this from a safe distance, she gets kidnapped by the mastermind behind the violent attacks. Naohito and Masaya are on the rescue, and the former is even willing sacrifice his fingers for Koi's safety. Luckily, the rest of the Scooby Gang come to the rescue. With encouragement from Masaya, Koi confesses to Naohito and vice versa. In the epilogue, Naohito puts off his piano and chose to stay in Japan, attending Ten'jouji University, until Koi graduates, so that he can take her abroad. On one of their dates, he takes her to a church and proposes to her with a ring, which he accepts. Voiced by Hamada Kenji.
Naohito and Masaya's routes are probably my favorite; they never get too ridiculous.
Natsuyagi Hikaru is a thirteen year old student, whose genius allowed him to skip ahead to high school second year. He is also part of the school's security division, skilled in martial arts. He is assigned to be Koi's bodyguard.
As expected, they get fairly close to each other, and when Hikaru is unable to foil an attack against her, he gets very depressed. She tries to cheer him up and reassure him, but he confesses that he likes her and that failing to protect the person he likes makes it inappropriate for him to stand by her side. Stunned by his revelation, she hides out in her room. She is lured out of her room by the mastermind the next day, but Hikaru comes to her rescue. After the confrontation, she confesses to him. In the epilogue, they go on a date. Voiced by Suganuma Hisayoshi.
No interest in shouta. NEXT.
Takashiro Yamato is a second year, Masaya's childhood friend and roommate, and the student council president. He comes from an old family that practices tea ceremony and takes history and tradition very seriously. He is fiercely against the co-ed school, but unlike the school board members and teaching staff, he is not misogynistic. He simply believes that having girls in what is historically a boys' school is not conducive.
Just as Koi is raising support for a co-ed school, Yamato tries his best to raise opposition against it. When it is brought up that most students are for it and that unless he uses underhanded means against her, he will not convince the student body. However, he is absolutely against it and is incensed by the violence against Koi orchestraed by the mastermind. Being in the same class and living in the same dorm, they get to know each other, despite being on opposite sides. At some point, Yamato starts to suspect someone as the mastermind behind the attacks on Koi. He distances himself from her, and she chases after him. They both end up in the mastermind's clutches, but are promptly rescued by the Scooby Gang. With the resolution of the mastermind, at the end-of-semester ceremony, he confesses his confesses for her and she reciprocates. In the epilogue, she helps him out in the student council room during summer vacation. Voiced by Nojima Kenji.
It's... not an interesting route.
Tsukimoto Shinobu is in charge of the security in Ten'jouji Gakuen and dedicated to Koi's grandfather's interest. He has three personas: 1) normal but serious mode, 2) silent bodyguard mode, and 3) dorm mother mode.
They bond over their love of sweets, her helping in the kitchen, and her stubborn but courageous stand against the violent attacks. However, he pulls away as soon as he realizes he's getting close to her. His three personas emerged as a result of his fiancée, Yuriko, passing away due to a traffic accident; he found it difficult to be himself, which is why each of his personas are so focused and centered around a job or a goal to be accomplished. He resents his attachment to Koi, because he thinks it's disrespectful to Yuriko. He eventually gets over that, but the attacks escalate on Koi. Shinobu sets a trap for the mastermind, which the latter falls for and is promptly arrested. In the epilogue, Shinobu and Koi are going on a date, and they realize that his three personas are merging back together. Voiced by Ishikawa Hideo.
I have a soft spot for Ishikawa Hideo, since he voices my beloved Kanayan in La Corda d'Oro, but I dislike having to compete with a dead fiancée.
Kashiwagi Rinto is Koi's homeroom teacher. Though he teaches biology, he occasionally covers other classes and teaches the material better than the teachers themselves. He often gives advice to her to better her relationship with the rest of the students and to protect her from threats. He's also Shinobu's friend since they were students in Ten'jouji and is the younger brother of his dead fiancée, Yuriko.
Though Rinto is known as an easygoing teacher, he sometimes has bad days that send students running in the opposite direction. Koi discovers that he's an insomniac and when he does sleep, he dreams of his sister, whose death he blames himself for. Koi is able to banish his nightmares, which leads to them spending more time together. When a picture of him kissing her innocently spreads around the school, they are both called by the school board and teaching staff. They call for his resignation and her repulsion. Rinto takes the blame and resigns, admitting his feelings for Koi, but he has also compiled evidence indentifying the mastermind. With the plot against her resolved, Koi expresses her feelings for him and wants him to stay at Ten'jouji. He can't be both her lover and her teacher at the same time, so as a consolation he invites her to stay with him over the coming summer vacation. In the epilogue, we find out that she didn't take him up on the offer as her grandfather and Shinobu disapproved. However, they still meet up everyday. When she tells him that she'll be lonely in the upcoming semester without, he proposes marriage to her, telling her that he'll never let her go. Voiced by Ishida Akira.
Rinto was the one character I most looked forward to, because he's voiced by Ishida Akira. Still, DEAD SISTER AND GUILT. Luckily, it wasn't all too bad.
-----
Hime Hibi is an alright game. For a school-based otome game, it's not bad, but when you have a time system that counts each game day as it passes, you will think that the characters falls in love too quickly and unbelievable. Unfortunately, that's not its only fault. The story itself was not interesting, and the characters' backstories were the opposite of engrossing. I got through the first half of the game, because I was looking forward to Ishida Akira (whose route I did third); but once I hit the second half, I ditched the game and started playing La Corda d'Oro, because even an impossibly hard game is more fun that a repetitive game. It took two months for me to pick up Hime Hibi again, and that was only because I wanted to finish the game and write a review. Of course, I abused the skip button like hell.
The art is adequate, but if you're eagled-eyed, you'll notice that some backgrounds are reused from older Takuyo games. Also, the things that made me rage like crazy are that Koi went to Sakurazuka High School, which is the same school from for Symphony ~with all one's heart~ and several characters made references to characters to e'tude prologue ~Yuruugoku Kokoro no Katachi~, Little Aid, and Panic Palette. The long story short: I hated those games and more importantly the characters that were referred to, so I'm a little irritated that they were even brought up.
The one upside is the protagonist herself: Aizaki Koi. In the beginning of the game, you learn that she's an independent and stubborn girl, but not without empathy. However, she falls into the pitfalls of an otome game heroine, where she becomes both a weak character who needs to be protected and someone who is so caught up in the moment that she ALWAYS walks into the enemy's trap. Girl, you should be better than that!
If you want a short, quick game that doesn't need any historical backstory or a learning curve, this isn't half bad. But there are tons of better games out there.