Author: Anne

First Impressions: Cupid Parasite

Chic Pixel First Impressions

Idea Factory International’s first otome game localization in years, Cupid Parasite, is out today in North America, and Europe on November 5! This romantic comedy otome game is full of vibrant colors and a really fun retro pop Americana vibe, which is why I’ve had it on my radar since it came out in Japan. To celebrate this exciting release, I’ll be sharing some first impressions of the game, with a full review coming once I’ve completed all routes.

In Cupid Parasite, you play as Lynette Mirror, a top advisor for the marriage agency Cupid Corporation who takes on the 5 toughest clients at the company, known as the Parasite 5. Lynette has one thing up her sleeve, though – she’s the actual mythological goddess Cupid, and she’s come down to earth to prove to her father Mars that she doesn’t need godly powers to succeed at matchmaking humans.

The members of Parasite 5 have a range of extreme “quirks,” from the Thieving Parasite Allan who’s only interested in girls who already have partners to Ryuki, the Glamor Parasite who won’t even acknowledge a woman’s presence if she doesn’t satisfy his strict beauty ranking system. But Lynette isn’t going to let that stop her, and soon the group find themselves at the center of a sharehouse reality show focused on finding the Parasite 5 love!

So far, I’ve played through Ryuki’s route, which is generally recommended as one of the routes to start with because it’s pretty self-contained. On your first playthrough, the only characters available are Ryuki, Shelby, and Gill, and after your second playthrough the ability to play Allan and Raul’s routes will be unlocked. After clearing all five of these characters, there’s one more secret character route at the end. While I’ve seen some variation in the suggested route order, it seems like Ryuki, Shelby, and Gill are pretty interchangeable, while Allan should be saved for last due to the story elements in his route.

While I can’t yet comment on the story as a whole, I’m quite enjoying this game as a lighthearted palette cleanser after Olympia Soirée. Though both games are heavily focused on marriage, Cupid Parasite is so goofy it’s hard to take seriously most of the time. In fact, the Parasite 5 are all pretty unlikeable from the beginning, at least for me, so the game’s fun really comes from discovering the charming side of each of the characters.

Ryuki, in particular, is extremely difficult to like at first due to his focus on beauty, to the point that he won’t even speak to people he feels aren’t pretty enough for him to associate with. While his behavior is quite toxic, the whole game plays everything off sillily enough that I didn’t take him very seriously, but at times it still made me rather uncomfortable, and I can see him really turning off some players. Despite this, I still found him growing on me more than I expected over the course of his route!

It’s important to note that as of this post, and the launch of the game, Ryuki and Raul’s routes have unedited English text in them. Idea Factory International has announced it will be patching this, along with any text overflow, in about four weeks. For their full statement, see below.

Unfortunately, these textual issues are quite apparent in the latter half of Ryuki’s route, with pronouns being mixed up and many rough lines of text. Since IFI has already announced they are addressing these issues, if you can wait for the patch or want to play through other routes first, such as Shelby and Gill, I would recommend doing that. I’m not saying the game is unplayable by any means, but I did feel the unedited text in Ryuki’s route marred the experience for me.

An example of the rough text and overflow in Ryuki’s route

I’m planning on replaying the latter half Ryuki’s route after the patch is implemented to see how it’s been updated. It’s a shame, but IFI has shown great transparency by sharing exactly what sections of the game are affected and how/when they will be fixing it.

For now, I’m looking forward to playing through the rest of the routes in this extremely fun and silly otome game!

Olympia Soirée Review

Olympia Soirée is the latest in Aksys Games’ lineup of localized otome games from Japanese publisher Otomate, and it comes with an extremely high pedigree. Featuring art from acclaimed otome game artist Satoi (Diabolik Lovers, Ozmafia!!, Nil Admirari), a team including Nil Admiari‘s director Tanabe Wataru and scenario writer Yuma Katagiri, and an all-star cast of voice actors and a compelling fantasy narrative, it’s no wonder this release came with a lot of fanfare!

In Olympia Soirée, you play as Olympia, a young woman who is the last remaining survivor of her clan, and as a result, is the sole bearer of her clan’s duty to perform a ritual dance to keep the sun shining on the world. On her 18th birthday, she is finally able to enter society as a woman of marriageable age. However, the world is governed by a strict class structure, where people of different color clans are segregated and treated differently based on the color they are born into, with “colorless” people and criminals who break the class rules relegated to the underground world of Yomi.

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My Dear Frankenstein Review

My Dear Frankenstein is the latest English localization from Moonchime Studios, arriving just in time for spooky season. Developed by Japanese indie team Number7, this point-and-click adventure visual novel features a gothic tale inspired by Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and is available for PC and Mac as a digital download for $4.99 USD. If you’re looking for an atmospheric adventure game that deals with some dark themes without scares, this quaint game is the perfect Halloween romp.

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All Aksys Event Brings 4 Now Otome Game Localization Announcements

The All Aksys stream this past Friday was chock full of exciting news for otome game fans! Aksys Games was kind enough to invite me to record a segment about the games to air during the stream, so I’ve been sitting on this news for a little while now… I could hardly contain myself! Anyway, if you missed the livestream, Aksys announced that they will be localizing four additional Otomate games, bringing their upcoming otome lineup to seven!

The new titles announced are Lover Pretend, Paradigm Paradox, Kimi wa yukima ni koinegau, and Piofiore: Episodio 1926, the sequel to Piofiore: Fated Memories. Plus, the upcoming three previously-announced otome games, Olympia Soirée, Dairoku: Agents of Sakuratani, and Variable Barricade each now have a special Aksys store bonus soundtrack CD version available for preorder for an additional $10. Olympia Soirée is coming out very soon on September 9, so there’s not long to wait for more otome game goodness!

If you’d like to watch the recording of my appearance on the All Aksys stream and learn more about the titles, you can do so below! I’d recommend checking out the trailers over on the Aksys Games YouTube channel first so you can visualize the titles as Sami and I chat about them.

Since I already did a pretty summary of each title in the video, I’ll refrain from doing the complete overview again here. But since I didn’t really share my personal thoughts on the stream, I’d say I’m most excited for Lover Pretend, since it looks like a really fun romcom with gorgeous art and bright colors. Plus, it has Tomoaki Maeno, who plays Lupin in Code: Realize along with a lot of other great characters! Visual-Novel.Info has a great overview of the VAs in each announced title plus other otome/joseimuke roles they’ve had if you’d like more info (the site is in German but can be translated at the top left).

Paradigm Paradox also looks amazing because of the magical girl theme and the gender-bending aspect: each of the eight guys transforms into a magical girl! I don’t think that’s something I’ve seen in an otome game before (though as soon as I post this someone will probably remind me of one I’m forgetting) and I’m really excited to see how it plays out in the game. KimiYuki also looks great, though it’s a more series story and a historical setting, which is not always my favorite. But it has a killer voice actor cast and great art by the artist behind Clock Zero, so it’s shaping up to be really good, as well!

Of course, Piofiore: Episodio 1926 is a wonderful announcement for all of the fans of the first game. I haven’t played beyond the common route yet, so I need to get on it ASAP! What title are you looking forward to most? Let me know in the comments!

Cupid Parasite and Birushana Senki English Localizations Announced

Idea Factory International, the international branch of Otomate’s parent company Idea Factory, recently had a summer event stream where they announced not one, but two otome game localizations, and teased a third! Cupid Parasite was announced fall 2021 release (for those in the Northern Hemisphere), and a Birushana Senki: Genpei Hika Musou localization was confirmed without a release window specified.

This news is especially exciting as it marks IFI’s return to otome game localization! While Idea Factory is Otomate’s parent company, IFI hasn’t published any English otome games in quite a while. Previously, they took over the Hakuoki series from Aksys Games and put out Amnesia: Memories on PC and PSP, but there’s been nothing from them since then. And personally, Cupid Parasite is an otome game I’ve had on my wishlist for a while, so I’ll definitely be picking it up when it comes out! In fact, there’s even a limited edition available to preorder, though the contents haven’t been revealed yet.

Cupid Parasite follows a top bridal advisor for a company that specializes in finding the perfect match for their clients, but the secret to her success is that she’s actually the goddess of love, Cupid! She’s been tasked to find love for the company’s five most difficult clients, so she comes up with a plan to host a reality sharehouse-style TV show starring the five men.

I love the vibrant art in this game, which is done by Café Enchanté artist Yuuya. The scenario writer is Ririka Yoshimura, who also worked on Café Enchanté and the very well-regarded Ken ga Kimi. In terms of voice actors, if you enjoyed Shiraishi in Collar X Malice or Nicola in Piofiore, you’ll be pleased to know that their voice actor, Makoto Furukawa, plays the role of Allan Melville! Not only that, but Allan is an incubus who works in a luxury pillow store… No, I’m not making this up!

Other notable voice actors include KENN, voice of Shelby Snail (yup), who you probably know from at least half a dozen other anime and video games. He features as Limbo in the recent English otome game release Bustafellows, and plays Urianger in Final Fantasy XIV. Junya Enoki plays the fashion designer Ryuki F Keisaiin – you might know him from OZMAFIA!! as Hansel or Yuji from Jujitsu Kaisen. I could go on, but then we’d be here all day!

As for Birushana Senki, I’ll admit I haven’t followed that one as closely due to the fact that I’m not always that keen on historical dramas, but I know a lot of folks who have very good things to say about it, and the art is certainly gorgeous! This one takes place during the Heian period and features a heroine who is raised as a man to fight in the Genpei War after her father is killed.

Makoto Furukawa also features in Birushana as Minamoto no Yorimoto, and if you’ve played NEKOPARA – Catboys Paradise, you’ll recognise Sage’s VA Yuichiro Umehara as Benkei Musashibo! Taira no Shigehara is played by frequent otome game and anime voice actor Jun Fukuyama, who is also Mozu in Bustafellows, Tokiwa in the upcoming Aksys Games otome game Dairoku: Agents of Sakuratani, and perhaps most famously, Lelouch in Code Geass.

As for that final, mystery game… Who can say? I’d love to hear your guesses in the comments! I’m still holding out hope that Otomate will give Moujuutsukai to Oujisama a second chance after its failed Kickstarter a few years back, but I’m not counting on it…

NEKOPARA – Catboys Paradise Review

Neko Works, creators of the popular NEKOPARA series of visual novels about cute catgirls in cafes, made more than a few catboy fans very excited and then extremely disappointed back in 2019 when they revealed NEKOPARA – Catboys Paradise as an April Fool’s joke. But two years later, in a surprising turn of events, Neko Works announced that they were making the game “for real” due to fan interest! The free game was released today and I’ve had the pleasure to play through all the routes. I’m happy to report that it is indeed very cute and earnest, showing that Neko Works can cater to catboy as well as catgirl lovers.

In NEKOPARA – Catboys Paradise, you’re a young adult woman who has taken over running her late grandfather’s cafe (sound familiar?). To help you run the cafe are four live-in catboy employees who apparently go to school to learn how to be good catboys and prepare for a life of being owned by a human. In terms of story, it’s pretty rudimentary and really just a setting for you to watch cute interactions with the characters, as the game can be completed in 2 or so hours, depending on your reading speed. But despite this, I found myself surprisingly charmed by the four different characters and was really happy to find Catboys Paradise to be an earnest, polished experience despite its origins as an April Fool’s joke.

Of the four characters, I most enjoyed the route for “rare” male calico Dill, who loves fashion and makeup and is the “younger brother” type of the group. Fennel, the glasses-wearing butler-like cat who enjoys things like reading and Japanese history, was also a highlight. Each character has two CGs, and the routes involve getting to know them better as you and your employees learn the ins and outs of running a business on the fly. None of the routes have any real closure to them, but instead act as introductions to the world and characters, making the game feel almost like the prologue chapter of an otome game. Even so, the writing (with a solid English translation!), art, and voice acting were all so charming that I didn’t mind playing through the equivalent of a video game candy bar (short and sweet!).

Catboys Paradise doesn’t have any player choices outside of which character’s route to read through, but it includes a fun variety of reactions from the player’s perspective such as nodding in response to things the characters say. But since the experience is free and so short, I’ll refrain from saying much more and encourage you to go check it out for yourself on PC, iOS or Android. Keep in mind that unlike the NEKOPARA games, which have adult content, this game is a completely PG experience.

I hope that NEKOPARA – Catboys Paradise does well for Neko Works and encourages them to do more content with male characters in the future! If they keep up this level of polish, they have the potential to make some really enjoyable titles.

International Game Jam: GAMERella Global 2021

If you’ve frequented Chic Pixel before, you know I’m all about more inclusive video games – whether it’s the games themselves or the community surrounding them. That’s why I was super excited when friend of the site Gina Hara, coordinator and creative director at TAG, reached out to me to help get the word out about GAMERella Global, which is going online for the first time in 2021!

GAMERella is a free, learner-friendly and supportive game-making marathon, dedicated to finding ways to better serve people who are often excluded from traditional game-making spaces. That means anyone and everyone is welcome!

Founded in 2013, GAMERella has helped hundreds of people start making games through mentorship, industry connections, and career advice. It was conceived by folks including co-founder Gina Hara at Concordia University with the goal of making getting into game jams and game-making less intimidating. This year, the event will take place globally through Discord from July 9-11, so that means anyone can participate regardless of location. If joining a game jam sounds a little too daunting for you, there will also be workshops on topics such as scoring for games, character design, and how to break into the game industry. But if you’re ready to take the plunge and participate in the jam itself, get a leg up with this Intro to Game-Jaming video from the 2018 event.

GAMERella participants jamming from home during the pandemic in 2020
(photo by Danielle Olson)

They’re also looking for volunteer mentors, so if you happen to have a couple hours free this weekend and want to support the participants and provide some wisdom, check out the mentor call out.

I might not be making a game, but I’m very excited to see the workshops planned! You can sign up for GAMERella Global for free to get access to the Discord via Eventbrite. Who knows, maybe you’ll get some ideas for your first (or next!) game!