JAST USA originally announced their license of D.O.’s Family Project (家族計画) back in 2007 during their Anime Expo panel. At the time, they touted this game as the highest ranked eroge on the Japanese eroge review website, ErogameScape. Currently, elf’s Kono Yo no Hate de Koi wo Utau Shoujo YU-NO (この世の果てで恋を唄う少女YU-NO) has pulled ahead of Family Project on ErogameScape as the top eroge, but oddly, the highest rated games on the site, including number one, are actually all-ages games. At their 2008 panel, JAST USA noted that the game is taking some time to localize because the long script needed special care; if the script received a shoddy translation, JAST USA owner Peter Payne claimed that outraged Japanese fans would swim across the Pacific and ransack their San Diego headquarters. At their 2009 Anime Expo panel, JAST USA announced that Family Project had hit golden master status and would be shipping soon.

Family Project tells the tale of how a group of misfits, totally unrelated to each other, come together and form a virtual family. Each family member has his/her own issues to come to terms with, and the story explores how each one deals with these issues. The main character, Tsukasa, is a lone wolf who, by a random series of chance happenings, meets the rest of the characters in the story, and learns the true meaning of family. The script features a mish mash of odd, bizarre humor, tearjerking serious moments and of course sex scenes, being an eroge. The game also contains an opening animation with a song produced by I’ve Sound, with KOTOKO as singer and MOMO as lyricist. Furthermore, the ending song is also produced by I’ve Sound, with MOMO as singer and KOTOKO as lyricist. As for the voice cast, the game features eroge voice actress veteran Minami Hokuto as well as two male voice actors who sound remarkably like anime voice actors Norio Wakamoto and Takehito Koyasu. There were several versions of the game released in Japan, with the original (unvoiced) game released in 2001, a voiced and graphically enhanced “Kizunabako” version released in 2002, a Playstation2 port released in 2005 and finally a discount version of the Kizunabako version released in 2005. JAST USA is releasing the voiced Kizunabako version in English.

However, bringing out the English version hasn’t always been smooth sailing. The translated script was originally in a form that was deemed unacceptable for release, and had to be reworked greatly, attributing to the increased production time. In fact, a script update patch is planned for the game, which fixes some more issues that have been discovered even after the game had gone Golden Master. Lastly, due to the rush to get things done, the download version won’t be available until later, most likely by early August.

Specifically, we asked whether there would be any effect on their current titles and whether this will have an effect on future titles, since he had hinted that there would be some “dark titles” coming up in the lineup at last year’s Anime Expo. Here is what he had to say on the matter:

Just saw that. I think that we will be okay as we have no connection with Sof-Rin [abbreviation referring to the EOCS] and no obligation to follow their rules. It should be noted that we have avoided games that are heavy in this genre, and don’t have anything that is as shocking as the titles they were carrying. Of course we’ve never sold games like Rapelay, whether in English or in Japanese or whatever. The new games we’ll be announcing will be awesome, and will be quite far from the current controversy.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

G-Collections Adult PC Dating-Sim Game Amorous Professor Cherry Now On Sale, New Titles Announced San Diego, California, Wednesday, July 16, 2008.

JAST USA, the leading publisher of Japanese PC dating sim games in English, today confirmed the availability of AMOROUS PROFESSOR CHERRY, the latest “dating simulation” game from JAST USA brand G-Collections and hit Japanese maker ZyX. The game is now officially on sale in both package and Internet Download Editions.

In Amorous Professor Cherry the protagonist takes the role of Kouta, a college sophomore in love with his beautiful young professor Chieri “Cherry” Hase. When she finds out that she’s the reason he can’t pay attention in class she offers to help him relieve his sexual tension, sending the inexperienced pair on the erotic adventure of a lifetime. It’s up to the player to guide Kouta through the maze of his youthful passions and his complicated relationship with Cherry and the story’s other heroines, deciding whether to rely on the experience of Cherry’s best friend and colleague Mamiko, or to act as a support for Kouta’s childhood friend Kiyoka. Regardless of the path chosen, this fantasy romp through co-ed campus life offers hours of gameplay and dozens of hardcore sex scenes, including several with full frame animation. With a full selection of alternate endings based on player choice replayability is guaranteed. The game’s artistic team features the creators of The Sagara Family and Crescendo, an all star staff dedicated to bringing this amazing tale of sexual fantasy to life.

In conjunction with the successful launch of Amorous Professor Cherry in both package and download editions, JAST USA is proud to confirm two new game licenses first announced at Anime Expo 2008: MOERO DOWNHILL NIGHT and CLEAVAGE.

The Moero Downhill Night series (provisional title) puts the player in the position of both driver and navigator in a fast-paced car racing simulation environment, where the outcome of the races determines how favorably the game’s heroines view the protagonist. It’s very much an erotic tribute to the classic anime “Initial D,” and even features downhill racing movies created by the staff of that anime series.

Cleavage features fantastic art from Sei Shoujo, the creator of the popular Bible Black and Discipline, and takes the protagonist on an adventure of courtship by two assertive women – his stepsister and his teacher. The player must choose how to withstand the onslaught of their affections in this erotic love sim. Details on both of these titles will be available soon on the official JAST USA website.

The official Amorous Professor Cherry website is now online at (http://jastusa.com/cherry) and contains full information and previews for the latest G-Collections fully uncensored English bishoujo game from Japan.
About JAST USA

Ever since the first computers with color displays, Japan has had a strong culture of “love simulation” computer games, which recreate emotional and sexual interaction between the player and various game characters when the player “wins” the love of a given character. PC dating-sim games are often referred to “hentai” or “H” games by U.S. fans, and often as eroge (from “erotic game”) in Japan. JAST USA has been involved in licensing and translating Japanese dating-sim games since 1998, and is the leading producer and distributor of English-language PC games for adults in any form. The company has a catalog of over 50 English-translated games with every theme from maids to “cat girls” and more. Game titles are available to retail customers via http://www.jastusa.com or for wholesale customers at http://www.pcrdist.com/.