Shuffle!

Shuffle! it’s a big thing.

It’s a game.

 Shuffle! consists of a typical harem romance set-up, where the main character is liked by a number of attractive girls, and he must choose which girl he wishes to be with. The game is fully voiced (except for the main character) and offers approximately six hours worth of gameplay for each path.

It’s a…less perverted game.

The Playstation 2 version greatly varies from the PC version by having all of the H scenes removed. To make up for these deleted scenes, the storylines of the five original characters have been expanded. Additionally, the player may follow Kareha’s or Mayumi Thyme’s paths, two characters whose coupled ending routes were unavailable in the PC version of the game. Tsubomi, Kareha’s younger sister, also has her first appearance in the On the Stage version during Kareha’s path. Tsubomi also appears on occasions in the anime.

It’s a Manga

There have been two official series of Shuffle! manga which originally appeared in Comptiq magazine. The first, titled Shuffle! Days in the Bloom, is illustrated by Shiroi Kusaka, has six tankōbon, and retails for, eh, about 5 bucks (USD of course! =p). Days in the Bloom began running in Comptiq on December 2003, a month before the Shuffle! visual novel was released, to build publicity for the game.

It’s an Anime

Funimation is releasing the Anime in 2008 over here in the U.S. of A. It adds “Idol Clubs” (like worship centers of the main character girls) and removes the H-Scenes as well..heh. It’s pretty darn cute! I love the animation style, and it’s a bit Love Hina-ish looking, but definitely going to be more fun.

It’s an.. Audio .. Drama ?

 Shuffle! also has seven audio drama CD adaptations, which each one focusing on one of the main girls (including Kareha and Mayumi from On the Stage) and a radio drama series that translates as Shuffle! Charadio: Verbena Academy Broadcasting Department. I’d kill to hear these but alas, I only speak English.

Anyhow, lots of fun there, and just wanted to lay the basics. It’s a wonderful success story! One company can make a game and turn it into a franchise without losing the integrity during their move to mass market appeal, I’m envious. =)

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