Yumina the Ethereal: A new ecchi JRPG for Agarest War fans

[magusgs]

Background
After 3 years in the making, JAST USA is finally ready to release Eternal-Will's popular adult visual novel RPG Yumina the Ethereal.  This will be the highest profile ecchi RPG to ever be officially released in English.  It's highly rated on both VNDB (8.3/10; #5 ranked in untranslated RPGs) and Erogamescape (80/100), and is particularly praised for its strong gameplay melded with moe romantic comedy and sci-fi themes.  The game was developed by members of the same team that worked on the popular titles Aselia the Eternal (released) and Seinarukana (also being worked on by JAST).

Recommended audience
Are you a fan of the Agarest War or Ar tonelico series?  Looking for something a little more story-focused than Agarest War?  Or perhaps more...ecchi?  This may be the game for you!

Synopsis

"The Student Council Election is your only hope. Fight, win, and change your destiny!"

Midorishita Yumina is a junior at the prestigious Jinbu Academy. Far from being a model student, Yumina skirts the precarious line between barely passing and failing hard. One day, a young man named Akashima Ayumu transfers into her class. Ayumu claims to have been sent by his father, an eccentric and possibly delusional man who ordered Ayumu to find and protect Yumina, whom he believes will one day save the universe.

Ayumu and Yumina are at odds from the moment they first meet. They bicker endlessly, day after day, until finally Yumina goes too far and starts a fight just before a critical test. Her failure dooms her to repeat the year.

But just when it seems all hope is lost, a mysterious girl named Kurokawa Kirara appears and invites Yumina to run for Student Council President.

According to Kirara, whoever wins an Election War and becomes President will have the power to change any school rule he or she likes. Realizing that this is her only hope of becoming a senior, Yumina agrees to join the race, and drags Ayumu along for the ride!

Thus begins an epic tale of love and friendship in which youthful passions run high and debates shake the foundation of the heavens.

Who will emerge victorious!?

Free trial
JAST has released a playable demo which includes the entire first chapter of the game, including story segments and combat.

Release date and availability
Yumina the Ethereal is scheduled for August 30 release (discs are currently being pressed), and is available through JAST, J-List, and RightStuf in hard copy or downloadable format for PC.

School-life OP
Sci-fi OP
Official site
Gameplay overview
Combat tutorial
Free trial (includes the entire first chapter of the game)
VNDB
User review

[magusgs]

Long time no post for me.  Would RPGFan be interested in reviewing this title?

[Andrew]

Long time no post for me.  Would RPGFan be interested in reviewing this title?

We do not cover games with adult content. We did review Aselia, but only because all the sex had been removed.

[Sagacious-T]

Long time no post for me.  Would RPGFan be interested in reviewing this title?

We do not cover games with adult content. We did review Aselia, but only because all the sex had been removed.

Why?

[magusgs]

You won't review a game just because the game is rated for those who are aged 18 or over, regardless of its potential?  That's a shame.

[Klyde Chroma]

Lets face it, there is a spectrum of content that can qualify as "mature" or "adult". Take films with R ratings for instance. There is world of difference between an R-rated skinimax flick and say the Matrix Reloaded. Games are no different. I think RPGfan is simply exercising their right of content control on the site, in regard to the games they cover here as responsibly and tasefully as they could.

Now, with that said, I am sure there is a decent plot somewhere amongst the sea of soft-core porn flicks that propell said title into the realm of something "greater" or more "substantial" than most other similar films. However that does not mean it is going to be, nor should it be, reviewed and covered by the same critics who are looking at the Matrix Reloaded.

Ok... so my film example sucked... but you get the point.

[Dice]

You won't review a game just because the game is rated for those who are aged 18 or over, regardless of its potential?  That's a shame.

What kind of potential are we talking here?  Is the gameplay like Bayonetta meets Valkyrie Profile meets Final Fantasy's 1-12 meets Pokemon meets Grandia meets Diablo II or are we talking Project X Zone with T&A?

You shouldn't be too surprised, not many gaming sites review "ecchi" titles (there are separate places on the net for that), probably as a sign of "respect" because it may be inappropriate considering the target audience the Administration here at RPGFan have in mind (by not reviewing games with explicit/offensive content since this site is seen by a wide audience).   It's not so much a dislike because the game allegedly "has potential", but it's not really part of the catalogue here; closest we come is to visual novels.

At the very least, RPGFan has excellent writers on staff who take the content they put up on the site seriously, and as Klyde said, it's not a matter of what's got potential, but "controlling content with respect to being responsible and tasteful". ...and yeah if you really want to get into it, ecchi titles are simply one of those contentious areas that's hard to get passed despite whether or not the game is phenomenal.

....I will say the SD graphics look adorable!

[magusgs]

What kind of potential are we talking here?  Is the gameplay like Bayonetta meets Valkyrie Profile meets Final Fantasy's 1-12 meets Pokemon meets Grandia meets Diablo II or are we talking Project X Zone with T&A?

Yumina the Ethereal is like Aselia the Eternal, except with better graphics and a focus on comedy.  It was made by the same people and it's rated similarly by English users.  The ecchi content is probably less than 1% of the overall experience.

[Dice]

What kind of potential are we talking here?  Is the gameplay like Bayonetta meets Valkyrie Profile meets Final Fantasy's 1-12 meets Pokemon meets Grandia meets Diablo II or are we talking Project X Zone with T&A?

Yumina the Ethereal is like Aselia the Eternal, except with better graphics and a focus on comedy.  It was made by the same people and it's rated similarly by English users.  The ecchi content is probably less than 1% of the overall experience.

I admire how you didn't quote the rest of what I said.

Anyways, that's up for them to decide then.  Maybe someone can take a lot and decide, but it could just be part of their credo to avoid (as you even described it in the first post) ecchi stuffs.

[magusgs]

You asked a question.  I answered.  Why should I quote your entire post?

I'm actually not here to start a debate about RPGFan's reviewing policies.  I'm perfectly fine just discussing the game with the community here and potentially stirring up interest.  If the staff here *want* to debate their policy with me, well I'm willing to do that too.  I doubt there's any precedent for this, as I doubt there have been any officially released ecchi RPGs to date that even bordered on the sort of quality RPGFan expects.  This will be the first.  It won't be the last.

[Annubis]

I doubt there have been any officially released ecchi RPGs to date that even bordered on the sort of quality RPGFan expects.  This will be the first.  It won't be the last.

Actually, I'd say Utawarerumono. There's even a no porn English version of it =/

[magusgs]

I doubt there have been any officially released ecchi RPGs to date that even bordered on the sort of quality RPGFan expects.  This will be the first.  It won't be the last.

Actually, I'd say Utawarerumono. There's even a no porn English version of it =/

Point me to the official English release of Utawarerumono.

My point was that such debate has probably never occurred, because it never needed to occur.  Am I willing to debate it?  Sure.  Am I content not debating it?  Absolutely.  The fans of RPGFan are perfectly capable of voicing what content they want to see without me telling them what to think.

[TiamatNM]

Well I'm getting it

[ZshadeZ]

You won't review a game just because the game is rated for those who are aged 18 or over, regardless of its potential?  That's a shame.

What kind of potential are we talking here?  Is the gameplay like Bayonetta meets Valkyrie Profile meets Final Fantasy's 1-12 meets Pokemon meets Grandia meets Diablo II or are we talking Project X Zone with T&A?

 I'm just guessing. but I'd say the potential boners for sad, lonely guys.

[Chronix112]

There have been some  Eroge with rpg gameplay that would give many of the non adult content games a run for their money.
"Utawarerumono"
"Tears for Tiara"
 Eushully titles like "Kamidori Alchemy Meister"
AliceSoft titles such as the "Rance" Series

Running off on an unrelated tangent but the point is if RPGFan doesn't want to cover porn games. It IS their right, and to be honest you are probably better off not  having Yumina on the site, seeing how passionate  you are about it. It would probably get ripped apart worse then Ar Tonelico III was and I mean that was everyone's whipping toy . RPGFan is just not the right audience type for this sort of thing.