is a Japanese visual novel developed by Lump of Sugar. It was first released as an adult game for Windows PCs on July 11, 2008, in both limited and regular editions, and was later followed by an Xbox 360 version. Tayutama is Lump of Sugar's third title after their previous titles Nursery Rhyme and Itsuka, Todoku, Ano Sora ni. The story centers on the male protagonist Yuri Mito, a high school student who is the son of a family that presides over the local Shinto shrine. As Yuri performs a ritual to transfer a relic that hosts a fictional, supernatural race called Tayutai, he and his friends accidentally summon a goddess, who incarnates as a young girl.
The gameplay in Tayutama mainly consists of reading a text-based, branching plot line with multiple endings, and offers pre-determined scenarios and courses of interaction based on the player's decisions. The game received two awards from the 2008 Bishōjo Game Awards for its visuals. It received a fan disc titled Tayutama: It's Happy Days in May 2009, and made several transitions to other media. It received a manga adaptation illustrated by artist Yukiwo, who co-created an original story for the adaptation. A twelve-episode anime series produced by the animation studio Silver Link was broadcast in Japan between April and June 2009. A manga anthology series drawn by multiple artists, an Internet radio talk show used to promote the anime adaptation, and several music albums were also released.
Gameplay
Tayutama is a romance visual novel in which the player assumes the role of Yuri Mito. Its gameplay mainly consists of reading and progressing through the story's narrative and dialogue. The game's text is accompanied by character sprites, which represent who Yuri is talking to, appearing on top of background artwork. Throughout the game, the player encounters CG artwork at certain points in the story, which take the place of the regular background art and character sprites. When the game is completed at least once, a gallery of the viewed CGs and played background music is available on the game's title screen. Tayutama follows a branching plot line with nonlinear sequences and multiple endings, where the plot's direction is affected by the player's decisions.
Throughout gameplay, the player is given multiple options to choose from, and text progression pauses at these points until a decision is made. These decisions determine the sequence in which the story's events will occur, and progress the plot toward a specific heroine's ending. There are four main plot lines in the original Windows version that the player will have the chance to experience, one for each of the heroines in the story. This is increased to five plot lines in the Xbox 360 version with the extended scenario for Nue. In order to view all plot lines in their entirety, the player will have to replay the game multiple times and make different decisions to progress the plot in alternate directions.
Plot
Setting and themes The main part of Tayutama takes place in a town called , which houses various landmarks such as the , which the main characters attend, and the , a local Shinto shrine managed by Yuri's family. Sosei Academy consists of two departments: a notorious all-girls department named , which stems its roots from the Sosei Girls' Academy;Untranslated quote: 元々は創聖女学園という、良家のお嬢様の為の全寮制の女子校だったらしい。Translated quote: "It seems to have originally been a girls' boarding school, named Sosei Girls' Academy, for high-class miladies." and a recently added coeducation department named . The campus grounds are separated into two parts which houses the two separate departments. Students attending the Flawless department live in a dormitory across from the school building, which is separated from Slightly's school building and schoolyard by a small forest.
Supernatural phenomena are a recurring theme in Tayutama. The fictional, mythological race is worshiped by the Yachimata Shrine, and its members are able to take shape in various forms, including humans. Various characters also possess supernatural abilities, such as Yuri who excels in Shinto studies and practices, and Mashiro, who is a Tayutai herself. Yumina and Ameri both receive wings as a result of gaining the favor and allying respectively with Houou and Ouryu, two Tayutai. Mifuyu is befriended by Nue, another Tayutai, and is physically powerful enough to engage a Tayutai in battle.
Principal characters The player assumes the role of , the protagonist of Tayutama. Yuri comes from a family that presides over the Yachimata Shrine, and holds a vast knowledge in Shinto practices. He takes an interest in automobile maintenance, and also aspires to be an auto mechanic or designer. , the main heroine of Tayutama, is a Tayutai girl with a high understanding of spiritual powers. She is the incarnation of the goddess , and wishes for a mutual harmony between humans and Tayutai.Untranslated quote: 「さあ、五百年越しの夢を叶える時です！人間と太転依が共存できる新しい世の中を、私たち夫婦で切り開きましょう！」Translated quote: "Now, this is when a dream comes true after five hundred years! Let us create a new world where humans and Tayutai can coexist together as a couple!" She falls in love with Yuri soon after being left in his care, to the extent that she claims to be his wife.
Several characters also become involved in Yuri and Mashiro's attempt to create a world where both humans and Tayutai can coexist together. , another heroine, is Yuri's energetic and outgoing childhood friend. She frequently carries around candies, which she often shares with others, and has a crush towards Yuri, but is unable to carry her feelings further. , also a heroine, is Yuri's stepsister who resided with his family until their mother's death. She is often shy and quiet in front of others, and takes an interest in activities such as drawing and cooking. Yumina transfers into Flawless early in the story, and often voluntarily takes care of the household chores for Yuri's family. , the last of Tayutama heroines, is an honor student from Flawless. She is calm and intelligent, and tends to act as an elder sister figure to other Flawless students.Untranslated quote:「フローレスの生徒として一度でもその制服を着た以上、君は私にとって血を分けた妹に等しい」Translated quote: "... Once you wear that uniform as a Flawless student, you are the same as a blood-related sister to me." She is skilled in various martial arts, and is in particular proficient in kenjutsu.
Story The story of Tayutama revolves around the male protagonist Yuri Mito, whose family manages the local Shinto shrine. One day during spring break, Yuri and his friends Ameri Kawai and Sankurou Kaname find in the school's woods a mysterious relic that was used in the past to seal the Tayutai, an ancient, mythological race. Yuri discovers that the school board has determined that the relic is insignificant for preservation, and that it will be demolished to allow the school to expand. After coming to the conclusion that destroying the relic may have adverse consequences, the trio attempts to relocate the relic's spirits. As Yuri performs the ritual, he summons Kikuramikami no Hime, a Tayutai goddess who explains to him the belligerent relationship between humans and Tayutai; Kikuramikami then incarnates as a young girl, Mashiro, in hopes of maintaining a mutual relationship with humans. Shortly afterwards, the relic is destroyed in an accident, releasing the entire race of Tayutai. Among them are Nue, Houou, and Ouryu, three influential Tayutai who hold humans in low regard and are referred to collectively as the . Following the incident, Yuri takes Mashiro to the Yachimata Shrine to live with his family, and later finds Mashiro as a teenager, who proclaims herself to be Yuri's wife.
In their attempt to create a world where humans and Tayutai can peacefully coexist, Yuri and Mashiro battle the members of the Three Mightiest in a successive, nonlinear order determined by the player's decisions. In one scenario, Nue, a young female Tayutai, begins to steal undergarments from the Flawless dormitories due to her curiosity in them. She is defeated by Mashiro and Mifuyu Kisaragi, and finds herself befriended by Mifuyu, who later begins to take care of her as a guardian. Yumina Takanashi, Yuri's stepsister, also begins to take care of Hou, an exhausted bird Tayutai who begins to nest on Yumina's head. Yumina is later attacked by Ou, another Tayutai who makes up the Houou couple with Hou, before the couple reconciles with the help of Yuri and Mashiro. Lastly, Ameri allies herself with Ouryu, the last of the Three Mightiest, out of jealousy from the amount of attention Mashiro receives from Yuri. After Ameri reconciles with Yuri, Ouryu agrees to stop attacking humans, and acknowledges Mashiro's goal.
Development and release Tayutama is the third title developed by Lump of Sugar. The visual novel's scenario was written by Chihiro Fumikata. The character designs and illustrations for the visual novel were drawn by Fumitake Moekibara; Moekibara also served the same position for Lump of Sugar's previous titles. The game's music was composed entirely by Shigenobu Ōkawa, who was also one of the two composers for Itsuka, Todoku, Ano Sora ni.
Tayutama was first released for Windows on July 11, 2008, in both limited and regular editions. The limited edition contained the game itself, a vocal collection CD, an official fan book, character portraits, and a phone strap; the regular edition did not contain the aforementioned extras. A fan disc of Tayutama, titled Tayutama: It's Happy Days, was released on May 29, 2009, in both limited and regular editions. The limited edition of It's Happy Days contained the game itself and a visual fan book with short summaries of the game's characters, illustrations, conception materials, and an interview with the game's development team. 5pb. released an Xbox 360 version of the original game on November 5, 2009. The Xbox 360 version contains remastered graphics, additional music, and additional scenarios for Nue, a supporting female character being promoted to a heroine. It was released in both limited and regular editions, and the limited edition contains the game itself, a phone strap, and a drama CD adaptation.
A sequel titled Tayutama 2: You're the Only One was announced on April 24, 2015, to commemorate Lump of Sugar's 10th anniversary and released on September 23, 2016. The game was submitted to Steam Greenlight by Chinese publisher Hikari Field on September 15, 2016. An append disc for Tayutama 2, featuring the characters of Tayutama, was released to users who purchased Lump of Sugar's previous titles, Rensō Relation and Kodomo no Asobi.
Adaptations Printed media A manga adaptation based on Tayutama was serialized between the January and July 2009 issues of the manga magazine Comp Ace. The manga series was drawn by illustrator Yukiwo and written by Yūya, and features an original story in which Yuri becomes a girl. The individual chapters were later compiled into a single bound volume published by Kadokawa Shoten on June 26, 2009. Enterbrain published a series of four-panel comic strip anthologies, titled Magi-Cu 4-koma Tayutama: Kiss on my Deity. The anthology series spanned four volumes, and it was released under Enterbrain's Magi-Cu Comics imprint between April 25 and October 26, 2009. The contents of the anthologies were drawn by numerous artists, and eighteen different illustrators contributed to the first volume.
An art book titled Tayutama: Kiss on my Deity Official Book was released with the game's limited edition release on July 11, 2008. The book included content such as sketches of the characters and staff comments.