is an adult Japanese visual novel developed by Hooksoft which was released on June 29, 2007, for Windows. Kadokawa Shoten published a PlayStation 2 port of the game on September 3, 2009. HoneyComing is Hooksoft's sixth title, along with other games such as Orange Pocket, and _Summer. A fan disc called @HoneyComing RoyalSweet was released on August 28, 2009. The gameplay in HoneyComing follows a plot line which offers pre-determined scenarios with courses of interaction, and focuses on the appeal of the five female main characters. The game offers three different modes: Amusement, Feeling, and Only One. The story revolves around Kōichirō Ogata, a young man entering his first year of high school into a former all-girls school. However, at this school, there are still mandatory subjects taught on love and romance, much to the dislike of Kōichirō.
There have been three manga adaptations based on HoneyComing published by ASCII Media Works and Kadokawa Shoten. Five character song CDs were released between December 2006 and April 2007. Many drama CDs have also been produced. Two light novel series were published by GoodsTrain and Harvest, and another light novel adaptation consisting of one volume was published by Eagle Publishing.
Gameplay
The gameplay requires little interaction from the player as most of the duration of the game is spent on simply reading the text that will appear on the screen; this text represents either dialogue between the various characters, or the inner thoughts of the protagonist. Every so often, the player will come to a "decision point" where he or she is given the chance to choose from options that are displayed on the screen, typically two to three at a time. During these times, gameplay pauses until a choice is made that furthers the plot in a specific direction, depending on which choice the player makes. There are five main plot lines that the player will have the chance to experience, one for each of the heroines in the story. In order to view the five plot lines to their entirety, the player will have to replay the game multiple times and choose different choices during the decision points in order to further the plot in an alternate direction.
The game begins with a choice of three modes: Amusement, Feeling, and Only One. Amusement Mode is intended for beginners where each of the heroines will have a favorable impression, and an icon on the screen shows the player how far in the game they have progressed. The Feeling Mode does not have an icon to show how far the player has progressed, and is seen as the typical setting for an adult visual novel. The last mode, Only One, starts with a selection for the player to choose one of the five heroines. Whichever girl the player chooses will determine which route the player will experience.
Plot
Story HoneyComings story revolves around the protagonist Kōichirō Ogata, a male first-year high school student who does not have any interest in matters such as love or romance. The high school he is admitted to, named , used to be an all-girl school formally named , and still carries a high population of female students. He starts school with his childhood friend Asahi Kamijō, his younger stepsister Mio Ogata, and best male friend Masanori Shinozaki. Kōichirō eventually meets two more female upperclassmen from the same school named Clarissa Satsuki Maezono, and Yuma Shichiri, along with a female underclassman from an affiliated school named Marino Tagaya; Kōichirō becomes friends with them. Since the school used to only have female students, there are certain classes oriented towards girls which are still required to take, such as lessons on love and romance.
These lessons are known as , and students at Aikyō are required to take these classes on how to fall in love, and the ways of proper romance techniques. Each lesson, two people (of the opposite sex) pair up to make something, such as a meal for example, and they must form good communication if they intend to pass the test. There are also tests on practical skills which required note taking to later be studied for tests. During these lessons, students from Aikyō, and a nearby affiliated junior-high school, are combined for a total range of six grades from the lowest to the highest. Each time, forty new students from either school are chosen to take part in a special class for the Love-making Lessons. The students in the special class this year include: Kōichirō, Asahi, Clarissa, Mio, Yuma, Marino, Kaoru, Masanori, and Hiroko. Two teachers are assigned to this class: Ichigo Raidō (who is in charge of the boys), and Tsukasa Kurebayashi (who is in charge of the girls).
Characters
Main characters
Kōichirō is a first-year high school student and is the protagonist of the story. He lives in a four-person household with his father Hajime, his stepmother Minatsu, and his younger stepsister Mio; Mio is Minatsu's daughter, and is not related by blood with Kōichirō. Due to the relationship between his father and birth-mother, Kōichirō dislikes matters such as love or romance. Kōichirō's father wants to change this side of his son, so he enrolls him into Aikyō Academy because they teach lessons on love and romance. He dislikes sweet food.
(PC), Kyōko Fujimoto (PS2) Asahi is Kōichirō's childhood friend, and is the same age as him; since they have known each other for a long time, she likes to address him as . She has a strong personality, however she is sometimes shown to be shy. Unlike Kōichirō, she is very interested in love and romance, and gets excited about the lessons at Aikyō about them. Again in contrast to Kōichirō, she loves sweet food, especially chocolate, so much so that Kōichirō sometimes refers to Asahi as a "chocolate junkie".
(PC), Aiko Okubo (PS2) Clarissa, or simply , is a second-year student at Aikyō. Her father is Italian and her mother is Japanese, making her half Italian, and half Japanese. A year before the story began, Clarissa's grandmother on her mother's side was sick and Clarissa and her family moved back to Japan from Italy. She has a gentle personality accentuating through her kind heart and speech patterns. Due to this, she is seen as an idol at school and around her neighborhood. She is in the Gardening Club, and will often help out at the local senior citizen's home as a volunteer.
(PC), Maki Kobayashi (PS2) Mio is Kōichirō younger stepsister, not related by blood, but since their age difference is not by much, she is also a first-year student at Aikyō, and is in Kōichirō's class. She has a small build, is short, and has a quiet personality. She is a delicate person, and is known to be a crybaby. She loves her brother very much, and will often go to great lengths to please him. She is in the Drama Club at school.
(PC), Tomo Adachi (PS2) Yuma is a third-year student at Aikyō. Despite Aikyō transitioning to a school with both male and female students, Yuma still embraces the school as an all-girls school, and is seen as an upper-class type of girl. However, she loves the lesser expensive food of the working class, and is known to be quite a glutton in this respect. She is always reserved, and expressionless, though when she wants to talk, she will often speak with a wicked tongue. Yuma is in the Naginatajutsu Club, and is very skilled at the sport.
(PC), Rika Ogaki (PS2) Marino is a third-year student at an affiliated junior-high school of Aikyō's. She was once the daughter of a rich man, but her father's business eventually went bankrupt. Due to this, she has taken a part-time job so she does not have to willingly live in poverty. She still has pride for her upbringing, and will add at the end of some of her sentences. Her school's students are combined into Aikyō's love and romance lessons, of which she is an unwilling participant; this is because she has androphobia, a fear of men.
Supporting characters
(PC), Shinya Takahashi (PS2) Hajime is Kōichirō's father. He is the manager of a small company, and returns home early most of the time. Unlike his son, Hajime can go on and on about how wonderful love and romance is, and he wants his son to be the same way; Kōichirō just treats him like an annoyance when he is like this, which is almost all the time. If he is in a quarrel, or gets excited, he yells very loudly, which is something the neighborhood has grown accustomed to.
(PC), Yūko Gotō (PS2) Minatsu is Mio's mother, and Kōichirō's stepmother after his father remarried. She often gets mistaken for Mio's older sister due to her young appearance. Kōichirō and Mio were still very young when the Minatsu married Hajime.
(PC), Shintarō Ōhata (PS2) Masanori is Kōichirō's best male friend, and is a fellow first-year student at Aikyō. He is a skinhead and has a strong build. Due to this, he appears as though he would fit in with the Japanese yakuza, but he is just impulsive by nature. He has a younger sister named Koyori that he dots on constantly due to his sister complex and lolicon behavior.
(PC), Megu Ashiro (PS2) Koyori is Masanori's younger sister. She does not like her brother at all and thinks of him as if he were trash.
(PC), Akane Tomonaga (PS2) Kaoru, like Masanori, is a good friend of Kōichirō. He has a small build and has a reserved personality, and many of the girls at school think he is cute.
(PC), Natsumi Yanase (PS2) Ichigo is Kōichirō's homeroom teacher and is in charge of the lessons on love and romance for Kōichirō's class; she heads the boys in such lessons. When she gets angry, her speech becomes rude, and with wield a naginata; she is a very enthusiastic teacher. Since Yume is in the Naginatajutsu Club, Ichigo often advises her on the sport.
(PC), Kei Mizusawa (PS2) Tsukasa is another teacher at Aikyō Academy, and is also in charge of the lessons on love and romance for Kōichirō's class; he heads the girls in such lessons. He appears to be female, but almost all the students know he is male. He is always seen wearing traditional female Japanese-style clothing. He differs from Ichigo in that Tsukasa has a calm personality. Tsukasa often gives advice to Mio in the Drama Club.
(PC), Hitomi Nabatame (PS2) Hiroko is Marino's roommate in the women's dormitory, and is her close friend. She wears glasses, and is a plain member of the working class. Hiroko and Marino often call each other , and as terms of endearment.
(PC), Akane Tomonaga (PS2) Ryōko is a girl in the same class as Clarissa. She has a bright, vigorous personality. Without knowing exactly why, Ryōko finds herself thinking about Clarissa often.
(PC), Kei Mizusawa (PS2) Mana is Marino's younger sister, and is the youngest of her three siblings. She has a similar competitive spirit as with her older sister, and is also very strong-willed.
(PC), Natsumi Yanase (PS2) Mamoru is Marino's younger brother. He still has a childish attitude and is mischievous. However, he takes great care with Mana.
(PC), Shinya Takahashi (PS2) Mitsutaka is a son of the distinguished Saionji family. He has a haughty attitude typical of such an upbringing.
Manato is a female maid in the Saionji household. She is in charge of looking after the Saionji family, but flat-out dislikes her line of work.
Development and release history The producer for HoneyComing was Akira Asami, while supervision of the project was headed by Mujin Kawanami, who was also the main scenario writer. The art director for the game was Shitano, but the character artwork was headed by Makako Matsushita, and Racco. General computer graphics was headed by Rohei Yamane, who was accompanied by Mitsuki, and Mahiro. The music in the game was composed by Takao Matsūra, while sound in general was done by VII.