[h1]Introduction[/h1]
NEKO-NIN exHeart +PLUS Saiha is the second stand-alone 'mini sequel' to NEKO-NIN exHeart, from developer Whirlpool and published by Sekai Project.
It's not clear whether this one follows on from NEKO-NIN exHeart +PLUS Nachi or if it's the other way around, but it doesn't really matter for understanding the story. It logically follows from the first game in the series, in any case, with Houjou Haruki, high school student and heir of the Houjou clan, and thus rightful master of the demi-human Fuuma shinobi, living with his two catgirl ninja pets / friends / lovers, Yura and Tama.
Haruki has accepted a part-time role working for Saiha, the female transfer student from his school known as Suzuki Aya, and leader of the local group of the Four Heavenly Kings: a band of ninja tasked by an unknown master with investigating disruptions caused by runaway shinobi. The new story begins with Haruki meeting Suzuki-san on the roof at school, and learning that one such shinobi has been reported in the area.
After an encounter between the Four Heavenly Kings and the runaway ninja, Saiha decides she needs to watch over Haruki more closely. You can guess how that ends up.
[h1]Presentation[/h1]
Once again, the same game engine is used as in the other titles in the series. Everything works well and it has many options and settings, including a good range of text speeds and an easy-access history that lets you resume from anywhere. I didn't encounter issues with it as I did in the first game, except that F12 for Steam screenshots still doesn't work.
The background art will be familiar to anyone who's played the other titles; I don't think any of it is new here. Paper-doll character art, too, is mostly reused, but as usual it's very well drawn. There are a few new CG image sequences featuring Saiha, including two that are adult oriented, accessible only with the free R18+ patch. I believe all the character art and new CG sequences are still by Takano Yuki.
Animations make a return in the short combat sequences, with all sorts of actions and little visual effects, and accompanying sound effects.
As with the other titles in the series, all characters except Haruki are fully voiced in Japanese. The H-scene is censored ("beep, beep"), making it even more hilarious. I believe the music is the same as in previous titles.
[h1]Gameplay[/h1]
Unlike the first game in the series, but similar to NEKO-NIN exHeart +PLUS Nachi, +PLUS Saiha is a 'kinetic' visual novel; it has no decision points and thus no branches in the story. There's no real gameplay, then; rather you simply read the story a few lines at a time and look at the nice character art.
Once again, the story begins with "review time", with Yura and Tama providing a humorous high-level review of the story so far, and then moves into the new content. The story here is focused on Saiha / Aya / Suzuki-san, and her time getting to know Haruki. The lovely Fuuma sisters play a bit of a back-seat role here, and Nachi is barely seen at all, but given the very short length of the game -- no more than an hour even without skipping any of the voice work -- there's only so much that can be covered. Characters are fairly consistent with previous episodes, with Saiha seeming aloof and rather ♥♥♥♥♥♥ and Haruki even more of a sap than he's been previously, if that's possible. But somehow he always gets the girls ... .
The script is better translated than +PLUS Nachi, but nowhere near as professionally done as in the first title. It doesn't jump around quite as much, either, which is good, but the sex scene is once again laughably awful.
As with +PLUS Nachi, there are no Steam Achievements or Trading Cards.
[h1]Pros and Cons[/h1]
Pros:
+ Good character art
+ Free adult patch!
+ Cheap
Cons:
- Mediocre translation
- Very short
- No achievements or trading cards
[h1]Verdict[/h1]
The price and free H-patch push this one into my list of solid recommendations. Personally I didn't enjoy the story quite as much -- the focus of the series has been the catgirls, after all, so a title focused on Saiha is necessarily less enjoyable -- but I think the translation quality has improved slightly from NEKO-NIN exHeart +PLUS Nachi. I'm hoping the true sequel, NEKO-NIN exHeart 2, returns to the great quality of the original, but for the price this one is still a worthwhile addition to your collection.
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