Vitamin Plus Review

Title: Vitamin Plus
Release date: 2013-11-28
Developer: Ark Thompson (using the art by Butakoma 300g)
Publisher: Ark Thompson

"Vitamin Plus" is an odd fish on my site, as it is an eroge, but not a visual novel. The game is made in RPG Maker VX, but it's not an RPG either. It's more of an adventure yarn with lots of dialogue and the only thing preventing me naming it a visual novel is a lack of narration.

The game was initially released without the consent of the artist Butakoma 300g, whose art was taken by the developer Ark Thompson and used for the creation of then so called "Mega Vitamin". After the artist objected, the game was removed, and after Ark reached a deal with Butakoma, returned as "Vitamin Plus". At least I think that is the story behind this little gem. And gem it is, as with the hiatus on "Elysium" and "Emmerzail" I consider it the best completed erotic RPG Maker game currently available in English.

Yuki and Ayame are two sisters being sent to their uncle Saiichi's farm during the summer vacation. They have never visited this side of their family before and are a tiny bit apprehensive - what if they don't get along and their cousins do not like them. Luckily their fears are ungrounded and they receive a very warm welcome. Everyone is sure that the countryside will do good for the girls, after all there are a lot exciting things around - pigs in the barn, chickens in a henhouse, horses, cows and sheep in a pen, demon in a nearby mine... wait, what?! Well, let me tell you, the sisters are gonna experience a vacation the likes of which have never been seen.

It's like Christmas come early.

The demon - succubus Anaëlle - is not even the most important aspect of the game. The game has a different theme, one which is gonna make a lot of people uncomfortable. Just like "Unteralterbach" was its author's tract about lolis, "Vitamin Plus" is the same about bestiality. Yep, you read that right - majority of the game's sex scenes are with animals, so if that disgusts you, get away from the game. Moreover, the game doesn't even try to pretend that its characters are over 18. Yuki, our protagonist, is 13, Ayame is 17 and three out of four Saiichi's children are underage too. All in all, the game is pretty daring, however shock value and H-scenes are not the only things going with VP. The most attractive features of this game are its characters and the gameplay.

I hear you, girl.

"Vitamin Plus" has a huge and varied cast of characters, who are all unique in some way or other. They are all well written and serve a purpose. Our main characters are no exception. Yuki is both childish and really mature at the same time, she is also the more outgoing of the two sisters and is always eager to try new experiences. She is a walking poster for a child's innocence unsoiled by "adult conformism". Ayame is the shy one and needs to be coaxed out of her shell. Together they explore their sexuality and ultimately deliver the game's main message to be yourself and not hide behind fake personas in order to conform to the society. If the society doesn't like you sucking a horse's cock it can take a hike. It's also a message I can get fully behind. Sadly most people will be way too offended by the game to play it.

Other characters are no less interesting. Shotacon Fubuki, brocon Mari, nymphomaniac Misao, mute lolicon Tetsu, porno producer Gensi, all of these and more characters have their place in the game. You talk to them, get to know them and eventually may even help them with their problems. In a true "be yourself" fashion you may even help a lolicon come out of the closet :-).

Some quality incest is never amiss.

VP also delivers a great gameplay. At first the game consists mostly of talking to people and occasional fetch quests, but soon you are able to play a multitude of well realized minigames, e.g. Minesweeper, Tetris, sliding puzzles, and an original card game S. Battle. All of these are seamlessly integrated into the game and feel like a part of it. Some of these games can be brutally hard, but the only game I found unbeatable was SameGame (how the fuck can one get 2 mil points, when I managed 300k at most?). It's a good thing that there are two versions of the game released: normal and easy mode. First I played normal version without a walkthrough, then downloaded easy one and did a 100 % run with a guide. I think that is the optimal way to play this game. "Vitamin Plus" has so many hidden scenes, secrets and Easter Eggs that it's virtually impossible to actually experience everything by yourself without any help. Still, I think that it is best to at least try and see how well you can do without an aid. I personally managed to uncover only about half of the H-scenes during my first run.

You can never go wrong with lolis.

Sadly, in order to stuff the game full of secrets its developer introduced some logical fallacies. The most glaring of those occurs late in the game, when Yuki's cousin Misao acquires a pregnancy talisman. We know she is gonna try to get pregnant, we see her naked in a room with her chosen partner, but if you don't actually peep on them, she doesn't get pregnant. So, you watching her is what inflates her belly... Yeah, that's a sound logic. However, it's a testament to the author's skill that it's the only such flub I remember after playing the game twice. On the other hand it would be fair to mention a possibly game breaking bug in the normal version: if you have any cards in the active slots when you are abducted on the 11th day, those cards will disappear after you get free (the bug was fixed in the easy version). I fell afoul of this nasty bugger during my first run, and it would have ruined my game if I was doing a 100 % run at the time.

Actually, the 11th day is the most important day in the game, as it has not only the highest amount of various scenes to see, but it has a choice which determines the ending you get: good or bad. On the bright side, the choice is painfully obvious, though completionists might like to experience the bad end too. It's tragically depressing for such a cheerful game, though. In comparison, the 12th day hides the highest amount of secret content you are sure to miss without a walkthrough. The game itself lasts for 13 days (good end) or 12 days (bad end) and takes about 8 hours to beat. My first run took exactly 8.5 hours, while the second one required 7 hours. So, yes, the game is not short.

Doggies need some fun too.

I won't hide that I liked the game, even if bestiality is not one of my fetishes. I liked the message, quirky characters, well implemented gameplay, and hey, not all of the sex scenes were with animals - about 40 % of them were pretty normal and hot human on human (or, well, demon) action. However, the game's largest flaw is its plot. It kind of falls apart in the later stages; there is a secret society, there is a ceremony, there is some magic, but it is not really all that interesting when taken out of context. Still, I won't bash the game too much. Just play it yourselves and make your own opinions.

P.S. Oh, yes, one last thing - the author is French and the game has a large number of grammar and syntax mistakes. I managed to turn a blind eye to that, but it CAN get annoying in the long run.

Links of Interest

Blue Axolotl's (Ark Thompson's) site
Blue Axolotl Fanbox

Blue Axolotl SubscribeStar
Blue Axolotl Booth
Ark Thompson Pixiv

Final Verdict: 73%