Doushin: Same Heart

Doushin: Same Heart (同心～三姉妹のエチュード～, Dōshin ~ Sanshimai no Ecūdo) is a dating sim/eroge single player game created for Windows-based personal computers. It was originally developed by Crowd, and later translated into English by Peach Princess. The game offers a multiple-choice, "zapping" interface with heavy use of CG.[1]

Doushin: Same Heart
Developer(s)Crowd
Publisher(s)
  • JP: Crowd
  • NA: Peach Princess
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
Release
  • JP: April 21, 2000
  • NA: May 24, 2008
Genre(s)Eroge, Visual Novel
Mode(s)Single Player

In the game, the player takes the role of one of the three Suruga sisters: Ryoko, Maki or Miho. Each character has her own story line. The story lines are intertwined. Each sister has a secret they cannot tell anyone because of an unexplained physical phenomenon where one sensation experienced by one Suruga sister is also felt by her other two sisters no matter where they are.[1]

Gameplay

The player assumes the role of one of three sisters, each unlocking different areas for exploration and assuming different roles. To achieve the best possible ending, the player must pay close attention to all of the clues. At times, the player must use the "switching" mechanism. The player can turn on a reference that gives a letter grade indicating how close he or she is to completing their objectives.

Switching

"Switching" in the game allows players to switch from playing one of the sisters to another. The player can sometimes switch between any of the three sisters while at other times choices are limited. "Switching" is supposed to help lead to further discussion in conversations, started during the same time slot. Sometimes, one can switch to a time 5 minutes in the past or future. "Switching" between characters not only helps the player encounter different story lines, but also changes the story and allows the player to see all of the endings. Occasionally, this may block other story lines, so the player should be careful and use this feature wisely.

Characters

The Suruga Sisters
Ryoko Suruga (駿河 遼子, Suruga Ryōko)
Ryoko is 23 years old and is the eldest of the three sisters. She works as an administrative assistant, along with Misaki Suou, her colleague and friend. Ryoko has been responsible for her younger sisters since their parents died. She is popular with the male employees at her company. The player must find a way to make Ryoko stand out and be noticed by male employees, who follow her around the office.
Maki Suruga (駿河 真樹, Suruga Maki)
Maki is 20 years old; and is the middle sister. She is bubbly and full of energy. Maki goes to college with her boyfriend, Ippei Takebayashi and a foreign exchange student, Chamsi "Cham" Benenetty. Maki is the top player of the tennis team. The three sisters and their arch-rival, Alice Kagurazaka, are on the tennis team. The storyline progresses through the game as Maki deals with her college life.
Miho Suruga (駿河 未歩, Suruga Miho)
The youngest of the three, Miho, complains about looking younger than she is despite being in high school. She is a bookworm and has only one friend at school, her classmate, Kei Satonaka. Miho has a secret crush on another classmate, Yusuke "Nasshi" Nashimoto, who is only known about by Kei. The story follows Miho's high school life as turmoil erupts between Miho and Kei over Miho's feelings for Nasshi.

Main Supporting Characters
Kazuhiro Natsume (夏目 轄浩, Natsume Kazuhiro)
Chief of the General Affairs office, Kazuhiro, age 29, is a capable manager, but has a tendency for a wandering eye when it comes to female employees. He is a charming man with a powerful will. As the story progresses he becomes involved with Ryoko.
Misaki Suou (周防 美咲, Suō Misaki)
Best friend of Ryoko's and another office lady at the same branch. She comes from a well-off family and has a pure heart. She tries to do everything she can to help Ryoko, even though she keeps her distance (she does this to keep her from trouble).
Ippei Takebayashi (竹林 一平, Takebayashi Ippei)
Ippei, known as Ippei-chan by Maki, hangs around with Maki despite him being a male. The relationship is questionable as a boyfriend/girlfriend. Ippei is cheerful and full of energy just like Maki, but he is also very laid back as well. He is a part of the Tennis Club and, according to Maki, could be better than her, but because he does not like it, he ditches the club most of the time. He is also friends with Cham.
Chamsi Benenetty (チャムシー・ベネネッティ「チャム」, Chamsī Benenetti)
Cham is a foreign exchange student from Thailand. Maki and Ippei appear to be her only friends, although Alice seems to tolerate her and even get along with her at times. She is quite clueless and has an unusual sense of taste in food compared to her friends. Because of her cluelessness, Maki feels like a guardian or older sister and tries to protect Cham.
Alice Kagurazaka (神枝坂 アリス, Kagurazaka Arisu)
President of the Tennis Club, Alice comes from a rich family and is very competitive. She is Maki's self-proclaimed arch-rival, though she constantly falls short of Maki; Maki claims it is because Alice gets worked up too much. The rivalry includes everything from tennis playing to seeing who can eat the fastest or Alice retaking classes just to beat Maki in that session.
Kei Satonaka (里中 螢, Satonaka Kei)
Kei is 18 years old and has a crush on Hashiba-senpai. She is the classmate and best friend of Miho. Kei wants to see romance bloom between Miho and Nasshi and, though the former dislikes it, even tries to force them together at times. As the story progresses, she thinks Miho is trying to steal Hashiba-senpai from her and becomes jealous.
Yusuke Nashimoto (梨本 有助「ナッシ」, Nashimoto Yūsuke)
Yusuke Nashimoto, nicknamed "Nasshi" by Kei, is quiet and reserved. He is completely oblivious to Miho's feelings for him. He is classmates with and friends with both Miho and Kei and tries to help them out when they need it.
Hashiba-senpai (羽柴せんぱい, Hashiba-senpai)
Hashiba is a senior in Miho's school and the class heartthrob, and he has a tendency to use women as objects. As the game progresses, Miho, Kei and Hashiba get involved in a love triangle, and Kei becomes jealous of Miho.

Reception

The zapping interface featured in Doushin: Same Heart has had mixed reviews. On one hand, it showed a new innovative twist to the redundant visual novel format. However, according to Otaku Review, there were concerns that it left the players confused because of all the possibilities and, how many times, a switching can affect many different outcomes.[1]

gollark: Yes, I finished blaming it.
gollark: Ah, I finally worked out how to do the thing in JS.
gollark: The fact that there's a meme about it doesn't mean it's *actually* got a high probability of being a problem. And Paradox's question isn't very sensible because of what I said.
gollark: Not really. The actual meme emergence may be random, but the conditions it can persist/replicate in aren't.
gollark: I blame javascript.

References
  1. "Doushin - Same Heart". Otaku Review. Archived from the original on 2009-03-14. Retrieved 2008-10-25.
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