Title: Todoroke Seiki no Daihatsumei Ai to Okori to Kanashimi no Himitsu Kessha Dai Ni Kagakubu
Original title: 轟け性紀の大発明 愛と怒りと悲しみの秘密結社第二科学部
Alias: Throb! The Greatest Inventions of the Sexy Era! ~Second Science Club–A Secret Society of Love, Rage, and Sorrow~
Release date: 2009-07-24
English release date: 2013-06-21
Developer: Softhouse-Seal
English publisher: MangaGamer
"Throb! The Greatest Inventions of the Sexy Era!" is the latest title in MangaGamer's lineup of shitty nukiges that I decided to play. My motto: "Experiencing the shit so that you don't have to". Surprisingly, it's also the best title in the said lineup, beating any previous S-S game in every aspect.
I started this VN without any expectations and maybe that was a good thing, because "Throb" managed to surprise me. We have already had one parody making fun of a superspy genre and it flopped terribly, while also being the worst S-S title. "The Greatest Inventions" makes fun of the supervillains usually seen in Bond-like action flicks, and is a probable homage to Dr. Evil. This game casts us in the shoes of a self proclaimed villain bent on the world (or at least the schoolgrounds) domination.
You have fallen for this hook, line and sinker. |
Every evil mastermind needs lackeys and Kyousuke easily drafts a foolish and ditzy girl Haruhara Fuuka. At first she is frightened of his alter ego "Black Supreme Leader", but after a few minutes of pep talk she is completely smitten and gushing about the greatness of Supreme Leader.
Sleeping Beauty. |
"Whom do you love kids?"
"Leader."
"Look, there are flying bicycles for you two. Whom do you love now?"
"Flying bicycles!"
"Well... that's a start."
But I digress. Fuuka is a real cloud cuckoolander and it's not a stretch to imagine her in a similar situation. She seems oblivious to anything that goes around her and it's a wonder she doesn't get lost while going to school. She is also so innocent that when Supreme Leader is
Matsuri is fickle, rash and even aggressively selfish twintail blonde with tsunderish tendencies. Also, unbeknownst to anyone she moonlights as a mahou shoujo Festa. Matsuri in her Festa disguise interferes with the 2nd Science Club and becomes a pain in the ass for the Supreme Leader. It's laughable how much Clark Kenting goes on in this game as neither of the main characters can see through each other disguises, despite those being just different clothes. Of course, all that is played for laughs. Actually, the whole game is one big laugh fest.
What a lucky guy! |
All in all, this time "Softhouse-Seal" invested more in plot, thus making the game more palatable and accessible. Plot is not the only thing that's an improvement from previous fares. Graphics are also much better looking, especially CGs that are genuinely pretty. Sadly the soundtrack still sucks - oh, well, you cannot have everything. I also noticed that this is the first title from this company that doesn't have an OP. Probably the resources that usually would have gone to a completely useless opening video were allocated to improve the overall game quality.
You ain't fooling anyone, you know. (For those who are interested, she is saying "Mega Drive". What was the reason for Americanizing that?) |
Sadly, while the plot was slightly improved, characterization was not, and all the personages are very shallow. If only the game was longer, it could have been improved even further. You see, there are other fuckable girls, but while they have a few scenes, they do not figure in the endings. Those girls are: the principal Hondou Sakura, a tomboy Sahara Yuuki and an ojou-sama that cannot swim Mizuhara Ururu. I was quite interested in all of them, and especially Yuuki, as I have a fondness for tomboyish girls with short hair. If only their role was expanded and they got their own endings, even a shallow characterization wouldn't have hurt the game that much. Plus any of them would have been a better heroine than Mitsuri whom I disliked.
She actually believes she is boning a god. |
To end it all, let me say that "Throb!" was a better game than I expected from previous MG nukiges, but it was still not a very good game. It was a shallow nukige that still managed to get a few laughs out of me. Graphical representation is pretty good and the sex is nice. If you want a quick fap-aid that will last you a few hours, you could do worse than try this one. Still, I'm eagerly awaiting for that suspected "Lilith" partnership announcement from MangaGamer. That should be epic.
Links of Interest
Visual Novel Database
Official Japanese site
Buy the English digital release from MangaGamer
Final Verdict: 64%
Thank you, my dearest Brazilian friend! Your encouraging words fill my heart with pride :'-)
ReplyDeleteYou are such a hater for giving a low budget nukige an ok score
ReplyDelete