#150 (Patreon)

Yokoshima Salon
Yokoshima Health Check Center By Monotool

[Summary]

Mini-RPGs where the female protagonists go through many questionable treatments.

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Review:

I've been wanting to cover monotool's content for a while now, but knowing that they had another "Yokoshima" game in the pipe, I held and persevered, given how similar both titles are.

The studio has been around since 2013, but only been releasing very short simulation titles, right until 2017 that is, when they decided to develop more elaborated projects.

Fast forward to 2020, monotool has released their relatively most successful project: "Yokoshima Salon" - an RPGmaker game.

I've said this before, but I'm very careful about these type of projects, because well... I mean, it's RPGmaker...
There's only so much freedom the devs have to make the game engaging enough.

However, after "Noelle Will Give Her All!" I've realized that as long as a game delivers quality H content, the gameplay itself can and should be treated as a medium that simply gives context and narration.

Real talk? the whole experience is sometimes more hilarious than lewd - an aspect I always appreciate in any game I play, H or not.

⭐ So, Yokoshima Salon:

Take the role of an innocent voluptuous lady believing she's going to have another relaxing day at the massage and relaxation parlor.

🕹️ There is no other of gameplay besides walking and interacting with NPCs and items or objects, so the entire experience in a sense is also meant for you to sit, relax, and have a good time.

Right from the beginning you'll get the idea of the type of shady establishment you've landed at: the local employee will give you a quick rundown of the desk's features: H mechanics (X-ray / heart emotes during scenes), save / load, and a seemingly pointless questionnaire that will give you a proper welcome to the naughty universe of monotool's Yokoshima.

Although the entire game runs on rails, you will occasionally be given items that will set the conditions to unlock different scenes.
For example, if you throw away your Salon wear at the beginning, then you'll have to get another costume from the pervert dude who'll measure you up before partaking with a piece of clothing he can't even wear to begin with.

All the items usage is very straight forward and uses common sense, but even at "worst case scenario" where you missed a bunch, you'll still get rewarded with the entire gallery unlocked once you reach the end.

Almost every male character will try to get into your underwear one way or another by playing the most shameless tricks on you.
You keep losing your core balance? have some "Strengthening agent" from the masseurs' "tool".
About to enter the Spa? don't go in before your apply a "special oil" from the hot oil masseur special tool (popular tool among male employees).

The ridiculousness of the entire experience does actually work, as silly as it may be, given that the game doesn't take itself seriously at all.

At any given point in the game you'll see the portrait of the protagonist on the right drawn in a large size pixel art.
As you'll progress through new sections, she'll change her clothes, and so will her portrait as a result.

💕 Whenever engaging in a lewd scene, the portrait will change into an animation based on what is happening.
This feature is very well implemented, and what has become a staple in all of monotool's recent titles.

The animated scenes are pretty hot, with over 60 different ones, there's tons to entertain yourself with.
What I appreciated the most is the focus at different angles and parts of the protagonist's body, such as the hot oil "massage" from below, where you get a good floor to ceiling angle of the event.

Overall, the H content delivered is certainly standing out in its presentation: a cute art style, smooth animations, and fun camera angles.

⭐ Moving forward a bit to 2023, "Yokoshima Health Check Center" gets released in this February.

You may as well treat this project as a direct sequel to the Salon, with very small changes to the gameplay, being overall a very similar experience with different theme, animations, but all the same beautiful artwork.

The most noticeable difference is when progressing between floors, where you must perform a mini-quest to clear the rabble in front of the stairs.

Other than that, same as before - take the role of another naïve sexy lady that simply want to have a general check-up.
But this is no regular clinic, no sir, here we have a thorough check for every hole and round part of the body.

Gotta make sure to avoid that breast cancer with a good feel for any lumps, and how can we go on our way without injecting the COVID vaccine through the doctor's "special tool"?

Come in as a perfectly healthy young lady, come out with STD, HPV, HIV, Herpes and the janitor's baby in 9 months. 👌

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All in all, I had a great time playing both titles, way more than I originally expected, given the premise.

H projects come in all shapes and forms, and while I do often keep a lookout for titles with more gameplay "meat", I'm absolutely glad to have a more straightforward ones that do manage to give us a sweet naughty experience wrapped up in great humor and silliness.

Yokoshima Salon & Health Check Center are available on DLsite.

❤️ For relevant H content of these titles you may contact me in DM for referrals.