Kaeru Batake DE Tsukamaete

About

Kaeru Batake DE Tsukamaete is a PlayStation 2 visual novel about a group of high school students who accidentally turn into frogs after messing with a crumbling shrine on their campus. Playing as Fuu, a first-year student, you follow her and classmates as they investigate the school's "Seven Mysteries" during club activities. Their casual curiosity leads them to pry open a rusted shrine door, triggering a chaotic transformation after they toss a mysterious object into the air. The story shifts from mundane school life to absurd frog antics, blending slice-of-life moments with sudden magical consequences. The game stands out for its quirky blend of otome-style character interactions and slapstick body horror. While the frog transformation is never explained beyond the initial smoke, the narrative leans into the absurdity, focusing on how the group adapts to their new amphibian forms. With branching dialogue and relationship-building mechanics typical of the otome genre, it offers a lighthearted take on magical mishaps. No major awards or modern acclaim, but it remains a niche curiosity for fans of offbeat visual novels.

Storyline

"It all started when we broke that shrine." Sugano Fuu is a 1st year student who goes to Tsukiyado High School. One day she along with her upperclassman Norizuki and her classmate Hirose decided to investigate the "Seven Mysteries of Tsukiyado" as part of their club activities. It wasn't a particularly interesting topic to find information on, they were just wasting time. "Ah, There's a weird shrine at our school isn't there. Why don't we go investigate?" In that kind of noncommittal fashion they went to look into it. At the shrine Hamura and Kuga were waiting. They weren't really on good terms with those two, they were more like complete strangers. With a quick greeting the investigation started. The shrine was pretty old and even though it wasn't locked the door wouldn't open. It seemed like it was rusted shut, when they tried to pry the doors open they quickly crumbled. Within that dirty rubble they saw "something". As they blankly gazed at that "something" suddenly smoke started pouring out. "What if it's poison gas!!" With all their might they threw the "something" as far away as they could. But after all that they were still enveloped in the smoke coming from that "something". And before they knew it they were transformed into frogs.