Geten no Hana

Geten no Hana (下天の華, Literally: Flower of the Human World) is the latest entry in the Neoromance series. It was first teased during a press conference celebrating Hyakuman-nin no Harukanaru Toki no Naka de's completion and revealed online through a revised promotional trailer. Various interviews and commentary were gradually revealed within the Otome game magazine, B's Log.

It is one of the company titles which celebrates the thirtieth year anniversary of the Nobunaga's Ambition series. While Nobunaga no Yabou Online preceded this title for simulating romance within the Warring States period, Geten no Hana is being advertised as the first game within the company's history to give players the chance to romance Nobunaga. The target audience for this game is young adults. According to the developers, this story will have a darker and mature tone than other Neoromance entries.

Keiko Erikawa is the general producer. The character designer and main illustrator for the game is Hayate Kuku. Mayura Mori is the illustration director, or the one who is responsible for the polished designs seen within the game. Shinichiro Nakamura and Masako Otsuka composed the music.

The Premium Box includes a book featuring event illustrations, a character drama CD with music from the game, and three art cards. The merchandise is included within the larger Treasure Box edition; this version also has a wall scroll calandar, three additional art cards, an additional book which includes Hayate Kuku's original artwork and concepts, and a third book with a few exerts of the original script and the voice actors' autographs. A limited edition bonus for early buyers includes a character message slip, a downloadable image for the PSP, and a specific character CD offered at select online shopping sites. Consumers who purchase this game or the PSP revamp of Harukarnaru Toki no Naka de ~Hachiyoushou~ using GAMECITY's online shopping service can obtain a limited edition card set.

Plot
The main setting is Japan with a story which begins at the peak of Nobunaga's dominance over the other provinces. The protagonist is an orphan who was taught and raised within Iga Village to be a kunoichi (female shinobi). One day, she accepts a request to serve at Azuchi Castle under her new master, Mitsuhide. He orders her to obey him whilst she poses as a princess within the castle. Her primary objective is to assassinate Nobunaga.

General
Unlike other entries of the Neoromance series, Geten no Hana's presentation leans heavily towards the visual novel aspect like the majority of the Otome games in the market; it also follows current Otome game trends with an auto-play option for text and by being fully voiced. Like the Kiniro no Corda series, the protagonist is routinely given a mission from Mitsuhide and must complete story events within the deadline to proceed with the game's story. The game flows in a daily format and the player is given three energy to expend per day. Once the energy is depleted, the day has ended and the cycle repeats. A total of five chapters is dedicated to every story in the game.

An overhead map of Azuchi Castle and its surroundings acts as the main setting for the game. For every story mission, the protagonist must use her ninja spells to transform herself into one of six different forms to successfully complete her task. If the wrong form is chosen, she will need to retry until either she succeeds or until time runs out. She can only transform if she has enough ninja scrolls for it; scrolls can be replenished by visiting their designated spots on the map. Information gathering events are symbolized as the purple exclamation point icons on the overworld screen.

Transforming is a mandatory action needed to complete story and character events, thus requiring the protagonist to be stocked with multiple scrolls at all times. If transformations occur during character scenarios, the player must select the correct form in one shot. Failing may trigger an option that will restart the entire chapter depending on the scenario.

The protagonist must occasionally defeat enemies blocking her path. To do so, the player needs to complete a chain of Quick Time Events (or Button Actions as the game calls them). These events are timed and require the player to press whatever button or direction is flashed on the screen. The final blow might require the player to hold the button or mash it. Players can witness different scenarios based on whether they win or lose these duels.

Character Routes
The locations of the main cast are clearly indicated for the player's convenience via character icons. Character events are indicated by exclamation points hovering over a character's icon and can be activated by conducting a visit with the icon present. When the punctuation is not present, a normal conversation between the pictured character and the protagonist will occur. Since romance events and story events are timed per day, the player will need to juggle their schedule to accommodate a character's events if they wish to view personal routes.

Most romanceable characters have two parameters which can be altered by the player through their conversation options during personal visits or the main story: affection and doubt. Affection is symbolized by a light orange cherry blossom icon hovering above a character's portrait. A positive relationship rating increases the likelihood of initiating the affected character's romance events. This is the stat needed to unlock a character's good ending.

Doubt is shown as red spider lilies and causes the affected character to suspect the protagonist. Having too much of this stat will lead to their special bad ending. These parameters and hints for triggering the good ending events can be checked by the player within the in-game menu. Aside from Momoji and Nobuyuki, every romanceable character has two different endings available for their event and gallery sections.

Once the player has unlocked the second chapter, the protagonist may use one of her energy slots for training. Training can either be performed in a manner similar to duels or as a synchronized button challenge. Clearing these sessions rewards one of the three flowers: spotted bellflower (ホタルブクロ), Japanese bellflower (キキョウ), or the cape jasmine (クチナシ). If the player completes their training session perfectly, their reward is doubled.

Flowers can be presented to a male character during the protagonist's visits to greatly increase their affection stat. Each male character has their preferred flower, and the protagonist can only obtain these flowers during specific times of day (morning, noon, or night). Once the player has discovered a character's favored flower, it will be noted in their profile. Completing the game once with any ending keeps whatever flower data the player has discovered. The game needs to be cleared at least once to unlock Momoji and Nobuyuki's story routes.

Good endings unlock a special staff roll dedicated to the character who was romanced. Similar to Kiniro no Corda titles, these sequences additionally play the character's image song.

Continue
Load from a previous save. There are a total of thirty-five save slots available.

New Game
Self-explanatory. If the player has flowers leftover from their previous cleared game save, they can choose to keep their earned stock for one flower when they start a new game.

Extras
Includes an image gallery, event collection, and music selection. The gallery includes alternations of the same illustration and illustrations used for intermission segments. A special congratulatory image for completing every character scenario in the game can be unlocked. The player can also take pictures during the game and view them as a slide show within this mode.

Settings
Lets the player adjust the speed of text being displayed on screen and the skipping speed of the game's events. Volume adjustments for sound effects, music, and voices (as well as a muting option for certain characters) is also included. The player can choose to remove the tutorial guides throughout the game. If these settings are changed before starting a new game, they will automatically be in effect.

Mobile Joy
Insert passwords given in the game box to grant wallpapers, icons, and character audio files for personal cellphone.

Install
Installs a digital copy of the game.

Characters

 * Hotaru
 * Nobunaga Oda
 * Mitsuhide Akechi
 * Hideyoshi Hashiba
 * Ieyasu Tokugawa
 * Ranmaru Mori
 * Naomitsu Momoji
 * Nobuyuki Oda
 * Oito - Voiced by Masami Asano. Oito is one of the servant maidens within the Akechi manor who is assigned to be the protagonist's personal attendant during the main story. Modest and gentle, she genuinely worries for her masters' health and may occasionally voice her meditations to her mistress or Mitsuhide.
 * Rekka - Voiced by Shunzō Miyasaka. Cocky and cruel, Rekka is one of the enemy shinobi the protagonist faces in the main story. He specializes in fire techniques and using shurikens. While he may seem apathetic in his contract with his master, Rekka is concerned for him.
 * Shigure - Voiced by G.Mee (Infini). Like Rekka, Shigure is another enemy shinobi who opposes the protagonist. Stoic and aloof, he conducts himself in a manner true to his profession and believes death is the only punishment for failure. Since he is one of Rekka's childhood friends, he can read his friend's emotional state better than others.
 * Luís de Almeida - Voiced by Sori (Infini). A traveling Portuguese merchant who provides imported goods to interested buyers. During his short audience with Nobunaga, he enjoys their cultural differences and the young daimyo's charisma. Both he and Nobunaga share the dream of living in a peaceful and united Japan.
 * Yoshirou - Voiced by Kan (Infini). A master of the tea ceremony who was one of Rikyu's apprentices during his youth (who will later be Sen no Rikyu). He is invited to Azuchi Castle during the end of chapter three to display his talents to Nobunaga. When he is left alone with the protagonist, they are attacked by a viper dropped by Rekka and Yoshirou faints due to shock. The protagonist has to save him to proceed with the story.
 * Hazuki - Voiced by Yuuki (Infini). An enemy shinobi who is captured by Mitsuhide before the main story. Although his profession calls for emotional restraint, he is easily provoked to anger and loathes Nobunaga. During his interrogation, he unintentionally hints his master's identity and chooses to kill himself as punishment.

Expansions/Spin-offs

 * Geten no Hana Yumeakari
 * Geten no Hana Toki no Uta - smartphone app/conversion of the game with a voice clock feature. Players can tap on their favorite character icons daily to build character affinities for their stories.

Related Media
A Twitter campaign on the Neoromance twitter is being held mid to late January. Lucky participants can win a free copy of the game, an illustration by the character designer, autographs from the voice actors, or tickets to the affiliated stage event, Neoromance ♥ Festa Alamode 5 with Geten no Hana. Those who purchased the game can participate in a limited time friend invitation shopping campaign to obtain a special clear file.

Animate hosted a small talk show event to celebrate the game's completion with Masaya Matsukaze (Nobunaga) and Kenji Nojima (Mitsuhide) as its MCs. The event included a mini performance from Infini, mini character dramas, and bonus illustrations from Kuku Hayate. A stage event dedicated solely to this game, Geten no Hana Hotarumi no Utage, will have the voice actors for the entire romanceable cast present. Interested users can see a rehearsal of the event theme song on the company's official Youtube.

Like other Neoromance products, Geten no Hana has a character image song CD. The same CD includes the game's opening and ending songs on it. Interviews for the CD and the voice actors' thoughts regarding their general character performances are up for viewing on the official site.

A three part comic adaptation of this game will be in the monthly magazine, ARIA. It is illustrated by Yuka Kumada. The first issue will appear in the magazine's April issue on May 28.

The first guidebook includes an explanation for Azuchi Castle, character bios, portraits, and artwork not present in the Treasure Box book. Additional voice actor and developer commentary is also included within its pages. A compilation of character conversations, romance events, and other miscellaneous events are featured in the second guidebook.

One of the events for celebrating 30 years of Nobunaga's Ambition includes hosting an all Nobunaga event in Hyaku-man nin no Nobunaga no Yabou. One of the sixteen different Nobunagas available for earning is his Geten no Hana persona.

Image Songs

 * Geten no Hana ~Amor
 * Ichirin no Hana
 * Performed by Grace Mahya


 * WILD SURVIVOR
 * everlasting ties ~Eien no Monogatari~
 * Performed by Infini

* Amor is used in promotional videos and as the opening theme. Ichiren no Hana and WILD SURVIVOR are the game's ending themes. The second Infini song is an original song created in the game's image.

Allusions

 * A remixed version of Hana Ichirin can be learned and played by the player's musical ensemble in Kiniro no Corda 3 Another Sky Feat. Jinnan. Housei's introduction for the song during the tournament mentions this game's themes.