Foreword: Well, this title was finished about 4 days ago, but I had exams (so couldn’t write up a review). I hope my memory serves (since it was filled to the brim with Physiology and Biochemistry until about a few hours ago) as I write up a new post.
Alright, let’s get on with the title I finished in high spirits. Okiba ga nai! roughly translates to “There’s no place for it!”, and refers to one of the characters which I’ll get into detail in the summary.
Overall, this was your typical Akabei Soft 2 game, with great story line, careful attention to even the smallest details, and a splendid mix of both drama and humor. The story also doesn’t fail to include a few scenes where you are literally at the edge of your seat because you’re looking forward to how things will turn out.
“Yaya Okiba ga Nai” is the title of the fandisk, and is also very well designed, to the point it could even become a standalone game. However, I also have reasonable complaints for these two titles, which I’ll get to in a bit. Nonetheless, its title translates into “There’s even less place for it!”
If you remember the titles “Sharin no Kuni” and “G-sensou no Maou”, you should note that both titles are from the same company. Keep that in mind as you read through the review
Title: 置き場がない！ (Okiba ga Nai!) [Lit. Trans: There’s no place for it!]
Producers: Akabei Soft 2
Release Date: May 27, 2010
VNDB Link: http://vndb.org/v3098
Getchu Link: http://www.getchu.com/soft.phtml?id=685775
Game Type: Sci-Fi Novel
Summary: One day, as Seiji, Renka, and Genji return home from school, they spot a bright red star. While it was Seiji that first spots the red star, it is Genji that remarks that it was growing larger. What does this mean?
If something is fixed in place in the sky, but is getting bigger, there’s really only one explanation…..
IT’S COMING RIGHT AT YOU!!
The crew then start to panic, but is fortunately not directly hit by the “meteor”.
As the dust clears away, the trio soon find out that it wasn’t a meteor, but a giant human (whose head is smashed deep into the ground). Approaching it, they soon realize it’s not a human, but a giant robot!
Seiji soon realizes that the robot is friendly, and become the first to approach it. Thus begins the friendship of Seiji and this giant robot who is named “Yarusenaizer” by Genji.
However, the group will not have it easy; governments and other individuals will chase for the robot’s authority, and with no place to even keep the 20-meter tall robot, how will Seiji avoid the people who are chasing after him, while being able to keep a strong bond of friendship with this strange robot?
The strange robot. He looks friendly though
Story Length: Slightly Long (30 hours), Fandisk: Short (10 hours)
Complete Story Clearing Difficulty: Slightly difficult; Fandisk: N/A
Comments:
Character Design Rating: 8/10
Story Rating: 8/10
Game Quality: Moderate
Overall Rating: 8/10
Rating Comments: A game with superior character design and story, I found myself laughing hysterically in various scenes, while literally glued to the screen in some of the fight scenes, with the desire to know what happens next. Akabei’s tendency to “introduce conflicts on top of another” is still present here, and that only adds to the drama of the story, as well as make the scenario that much more difficult to produce. They really earn my respect in this field.
I also appreciate that the subcharacters also get a story of their own to a certain extent. While I somewhat expected more of it in the Fandisk, I can’t really complain because the Fandisk really had an entirely different story that acted as a “concluding story” for the main game. (Which is also why I’m somewhat forced to merge the two titles onto a single post)
Character Summary:
Shannon’s first! This strange girl is the subcomputer to Yarusenaizer, and is actually trapped in the cockpit for a while even after Seiji and the giant robot meet. Very polite and honest, this girl immediately becomes fond of Seiji after seeing that he accepted Yarusenaizer despite their differences. It seems that Shannon’s connection with Yarusenaizer is similar to that of a sibling, which makes her address the giant robot as “onii-sama”.
It also seems that Shannon can share “thoughts” with Yarusenaizer in real-time, making the two seem like one individual at times. It is Shannon that usually translates the giant robot’s speech, since Yarusenaizer cannot speak.
Shannon’s name is actually given to her by Seiji, after he became disturbed that she should be addressed as a sub-computer, not an identity. The what’s-originally-supposed-to-be-a-program then becomes even more affectionate for the protagonist, who she immediately registers as their “pilot”, and addresses as “Master”.
Bright and cheerful, Shannon’s CV (Miru) is a very good choice. Many of the scenes involve Shannon relinquishing herself to Seiji in a way or another, and simply the fact that a girl calls someone “Master” is pretty attractive even in my eyes. Shannon is also “overly” diligent, and becomes extremely angry if Yarusenaizer becomes lazy (since he really has nothing else to do…). However, her anger is more “cute” than “scary”, in the eyes of readers (obviously this is not the case for the 20-meter tall robot), and I think the most affection for this character stems from her “diligence” being crushed occasionally by the actions of our protagonist, and her panicking at this fact.
As the childhood friend of Seiji, there are many factors for this character. One is that she LOVES An-donuts. “An” refers to the red-bean paste that is often in the snack items in Japanese snacks, including Taiyaki or Red-Bean Sundae. However, this particular snack has an extreme detriment; it’s very fattening. This is why Renka often finds herself going on diets, and continuously teased by Genji (and even Seiji) about her weight. Despite this, Renka always carries around this snack with her; she actually shows signs of addiction according to the game.
Renka’s route is largely uninteresting; her role is more fitting for a support character, since there’s not much of what I could call “drama” within her route. In addition to this, her “affection” towards Seiji is rather strange. She is highly attracted to Seiji’s “manly” moments. (I’ll try to not get too detailed into this) Despite this, I found myself unable to hate her route; this is because her route is filled with symbolism, as well as various elements such as friendship, loyalty, and trust that’s actually the theme of the game in general. Another element that she had was that she is actually an “ojou-sama”, or a high-class lady. This element, however, does not play a big role in any of the routes.
As readers will also quickly realize, it is also suggested that Renka is a masochist. As her hairstyle also suggests, she often fantasizes being Seiji’s “pet”.
Another character with a highly contradicting personality, it is rather unfortunate that characters like Amane are the ones that usually annoy me the most. As the Student Council President, she is well known for her abilities and even looks (that attract Genji), but is actually “in love” with Seiji from a past event, and is considered to be very frail and cowardly to a certain extent.
Seiji DOES mention that this is actually an attractive trait in this “tsundere” character, but I would disagree; Amane’s normal actions, which includes her sadistic teasing and later her words that explain her actions, cannot be properly categorized as “tsun”, and this girl really pushes the limits to see how far she can go.
Despite this, Amane is a character that ultimately supports the group of friends, and even faces against her own older sister Haruna. This sub-character is a member of the local government to attract visitors to the town, and immediately “falls in love” with Yarusenaizer at first sight; thinking that a theme-park of him as the mascot would bring great business. Like the other characters that try to kidnap Yarusenaizer, Haruna does everything she can to get this giant robot.
One of the things I really like about Amane’s route in the fandisk is not only the event that tie her story together (the death of Shiro), but also the fact that the relationship between Haruna and Yarusenaizer is clarified; Haruna is still in love (in a romantic manner) to Yarusenaizer, but the giant robot is confused about how to return her affection. While short, the after story shows the two being very close; even to the point it is possible to see them as lovers.
Haruna, standing on Yarusenaizer’s hand
Probably my favorite character even over Shannon, I swear that this isn’t because she’s loli, but because there’s an element that I find extremely pleasing within her route.
While it is true that Hatoko is small (in physical size), she is an extreme genius who creates various inventions. She’s the homeroom teacher for Seiji, but is often ridiculed because of her quick temper and childish personality. Hatoko also has a large complex about her physical properties, and genuinely dislikes Haruna (who is actually a former school-mate) for being the same age but being so different in body size.
Hatoko’s original affection for Seiji comes from the fact that it was only Seiji that gave her the respect as a teacher. Despite being bossy or selfish, Seiji was very helpful to Hatoko, who soon fell in love with her own student.
Here’s where I get to the plus of Hatoko. She actually does look rather unattractive (I refer to her sprite in game) when she has the glasses and the labcoat on. However, when she actually changes her hairstyle, takes off her glasses, and wears casual clothing, Hatoko actually looks really pretty, and it’s probably not the difference in artist that causes this difference.
In her route, she is seen smiling more often, and despite being “small”, she also has the knowledge of an adult. This is why even outside of her routes, Hatoko can be seen to give advice to the other heroines, who are struggling with problems of their own. It is also hinted that Hatoko possesses large amounts of affection for Seiji in ALL of the routes presented, which creates a dramatic irony between the readers and the characters; only Seiji is unaware of such affection. Perhaps because of this, as well as scenes that show that Hatoko still likes Seiji, is the main reason why my affection for this character is highest for me (even more than Shannon’s); in all three other routes, Hatoko advises each respective heroine on how to act towards Seiji.
This is a CG from Renka’s route (of the Fandisc). I’m sure I don’t need to explain what’s going on here
Hatoko’s after story was even better (at least in my opinion). Because of her physical properties, Hatoko finally snaps. However, the heartwarming element of this anger is that she is angry for the judgement of others on SEIJI; not herself. She is frustrated that Seiji is looked upon with a cold eye because of her size.
This finally gets her to look for a solution. Being the genius scientist she is, there’s no knowing of what she can do.
Ooh, this is cool :D
Fandisk Main Story: Introduction of Nimomo and Berarutuaides
This “last” story is actually the first one you come across in the fandisk. It is actually slightly long, but well worth the time reading it. This portion features sprites for many additional characters, which includes Grace (Shuraudia’s Sub-computer), the Gardening Club’s 3-upperclassman (where Asagao frequently breaks the fourth-wall), and the hands of the three robots.
The route is all about the crew being sent to Africa, where the last and 3rd giant robot is located. From signals, the sub-computer who identified herself as Nimomo were desperately calling out for help, so the crew immediately prepares for rescue while going on their vacation. Little did they know, what will be waiting for them will be far from what a vacation is supposed to be!
Personally, I found it rather disappointing that there were no additional scenes for Nimomo, Grace, or Janette. Sprites were created for the upperclassmen of the Gardening Club, but they were only used for weak humor which had the same pattern over and over again.
Nonetheless, the main story was enjoyable, due to the large cast that all played an important role in solving a “big” (?) problem that was plaguing the last giant robot for over 2 years.
Aw… Why are you crying, Seiji? D:
Sexual Content: Low
Comments: A great game with various “mini-stories” that relate back to the main theme, which is arguably “friendship”. I also enjoy that some characters are polar opposites of each other (Seiji vs Genji), yet the two are related somehow. Evenmoreso that they’re friends in this situation. It’s always a relief to see a form of poetic justice as well, seeing how Genji is always being used as a punching bag in some way.
Contrary to its summary and first impressions, many of the battle scenes, as I’ve mentioned, are very well done. I’m not sure about the Gund*m fans out there, but I can state that I’m not one; yet I still enjoyed these scenes greatly. It also helps that these “giant robots” also has a personality, of which you may find a correlation with its each sub-computer counterpart.
Shannon is cute! I love blue hair
Nimomo is cute too, but in a different way :3
Despite all my compliments, I still must complain that the final portion of Shannon’s storyline has one of those “everything-revealed-at-once” patterns that I dislike. I would’ve appreciated it if the story somewhat suggested what would happen before it was presented, but… that’s generally really hard to do, so no biggie :P
Finally, a last compliment I have is that many of the elements are connected. From past events appearing to take on different roles in each route (aka, Seiji’s past refers to something different in Renka’s and Amane’s routes).
Affection for the Characters: High
CG Quality: Above Average
Music Quality: Good
Addictiveness: Moderately Low
Conclusion: A very well designed Akabeisoft 2 game, which is a must if you enjoyed either Gensou Maou or Himawari no Shoujo. This story is very light compared to the two previous games, but rest assured that if you want some serious story involving morality, friendship, and sacrifice, you’re looking at the right game.
Visual Novels and Eroge Review 