Category Archives: News

Otome Game Spirit Parade Preorders Open, 2 Additional Routes Added

There is certainly no shortage of small, independent English otome games and smartphone dating sims for those of us who like to romance handsome anime men, but it’s great to see more otome-style titles coming out from western developers. Spirit Parade is one such game, and it is now available to preorder for only $10! 

I’ve had my eye on this one for a while, but after trying the recently-released demo, I’m looking forward to its release later this spring even more. The main protagonist Nara (can be renamed by the player) is spunky and self-confident, and when she finds herself in the spirit world (an amalgamation of Asian mythology, drawing from Japanese, Chinese, and Korean folklore) she’s determined to find out how she got there. There are a number of different endings to the relatively beefy demo, which introduces the two main male suitors and an eccentric cast of supporting characters.

The fun, engaging writing is perfectly complimented by the game’s gorgeous visuals and setting, which, admittedly, is often what turns me off about many western otome games. I love that clearly a lot of time has been put into the backgrounds as well as the characters themselves, and I can’t wait to see the other locations that will make it into the final game!

When developers Lettuce Waltz teased further announcements related to the game, I decided to hold off posting about the demo so that I could include any additional news, and I’m so glad I did! While I figured the two suitors in the demo weren’t going to be the only romance options in the full game, they clarified that Shuye’s partner Haiyue will be available once Shuye’s route is cleared. In addition, due to fan demand, they’ll be adding Mikio and Diaochan routes, bringing the total number of romance options to five. This is not only exciting due to the increased options for players, but the fact that including Diaochan means there will now be a female character to date!

If Spirit Parade seems up your alley, be sure to try out the demo for PC/Mac/Linux and preorder now to get the game for the reduced price of $10 when it releases before summer hits in North America!

Game Art: Creative Inspiration, from Indie Games to Blockbusters Now Available for Preorder

Last year, Matt Sainsbury of Digitally Downloaded launched a Kickstarter for a book on game art that, while ultimately unsuccessful, proved that there are a variety of methods to getting a book published. No Starch Press took notice of the project and, as a result, are now publishing the book under the title Game Art: Creative Inspiration, from Indie Games to Blockbusters.

Available to preorder now from No Starch’s site, Game Art is a collection of interviews and concept art from a wide variety of video game developers, from big names in the western gaming scene such as BioWare and Ubisoft to indie studios and Japanese developers. The book even contains an interview with Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn producer Naoki Yoshida, which will undoubtedly be a highlight, but interviews with notable individuals from the Dynasty Warriors franchise and Hyperdimension Neptunia series are also included in the comprehensive book for fans of Japanese games. The book features artwork from over 40 console, mobile, and PC games, so there will definitely be something for everyone!

Game Art is priced at $39.99 for a physical book and free digital copy, while just the digital version is $31.95. If you preorder, however, you’ll be able to get the book for 30% off the cover price, which sounds like a great deal for over 300 pages of full color art!

Game Art: Creative Inspiration, from Indie Games to Blockbusters will launch in July 2015. In the meantime, you can read Matt’s work over at Digitally Downloaded.

Nintendo of Australia Releases Adorable Mario and Yoshi Wallpaper for Summer

People often forget, but while the rest of the world is freezing, things are really heating up down here in the Southern Hemisphere! In honor of the summer season, Nintendo of Australia has released a special wallpaper to folks in the land down under, and it’s pretty darn adorable!

The wallpaper, featuring Yoshi and a catsuit-wearing Mario trying to escape the heat, is available in 13 different sizes for computers, tablets, and smartphones. The wallpapers can be downloaded from Nintendo of Australia’s website. Alternatively, I’ve uploaded the whole set here as per request of folks having problems accessing the page.

I just can’t get over Mario”s off-shoulder cat suit. And what’s with Yoshi hogging all the fan?! I know I’ve set this as my iPhone 6’s lock screen, but if you live in the frozen north, you may want to wait until summer rolls around to use this one!

RegionThree Loader Makes Region Free 3DS a Reality

Have you always wanted to play Japanese 3DS games on your North American/European 3DS, but couldn’t because of the region lock? Or lamented the fact that North America gets everything before Europe? Well never fear, because RegionThree is here!

RegionThree is a loader by smealum released for Nintendo 3DS, 3DS XL, and 2DS (it does not work on new 3DS models) and is compatible with firmware versions 9.0 – 9.4. With it, loading 3DS game carts that are a different region from your system is a breeze. All you have to do is download the loader, move the file to the root of your 3DS’s SD card, and perform a little magic on your 3DS (full instructions on the official site) to get it up and running! 
Not only is RegionThree great for those who like to import games, but it does not in any way promote piracy, as it requires an actual copy of the game to work. There is no flash cart or other illegal method required, and I can confirm that using it to load a Japanese game on my North American 3DS did not harm my system in any way. 
So, what are you waiting for? It’s time to get out there and import some games! A couple standout titles from Japan this month include Legend of Legacy and Yowamushi Pedal: Ashita e no High Cadence. You can also check out my list of 10 Japanese Games Worth Importing. The exchange rate is also really great for Americans looking to import from Japan right now, too! 

(via NeoGAF)

Surprise! Steins;Gate English version coming to PS3 and Vita in 2015

Talk about a surprise announcement! Just before the holidays, UK publisher PQube has announced that they will be working directly with developer Mages to bring acclaimed visual novel Steins;Gate to PlayStation 3 and Vita to both North America and Europe in 2015.

So far, other details are scare: According to Siliconera, who followed up with PQube, it’s not set in stone whether the release will be physical, digital, or both, but PQube representative Geraint Evans is adamant that they will strive to release a physical version if at all possible.

What makes this announcement particularly surprising is the fact that JAST USA already released their own English version of Steins;Gate for PC earlier this year (both physical and digital), but at that time there was no word of a console release. When speaking with Siliconera, Evans said he was unsure at this point if they would be using JAST’s translation.

(gif from the Steins;Gate anime adaptation)
Steins;Gate is about the self-proclaimed mad scientist Rintarō Okabe (pictured above) and his group of tech-savvy friends who discover they have the ability to send text messages back in time and effectively alter the past using a modified microwave. The game is a classic visual novel with gorgeous visuals and a story that advances through a text message-based system where what messages you choose to respond to determines the direction of the narrative. 
As someone who doesn’t really enjoy playing games on my computer, I’m extremely exited for the console version of Steins;Gate. It will be the perfect game to play on the Vita, and it’s always great to see more visual novels come out in English! For more updates on the 2015 release, like the official page on Facebook.

Square Enix Announces Theatrhythm Dragon Quest

After Square Enix was heavily applauded for the Nintendo 3DS rhythm game Theatrhythm Final Fantasy and subsequent Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call, some fans mused about the possibility of Theatrhythm-like games focused on different series. Well, apparently Square Enix had the same train of thought, as today they announced the next game in the rhythm series, Theatrhythm Dragon Quest!
gif via Tiny Cartridge

What I find interesting about the teaser site is that while it plays a revamped version of Dragon Quest‘s iconic theme, it doen’t have the same funky vibe that the revised Final Fantasy prelude has in Theatrhythm Final Fantasy. Does this indicate a more traditional direction for the menu/background music in Theatrhythm Dragon Quest?There’s not much information about the game yet aside from the teaser site that reveals that a trailer for the game will debut at Jump Fiesta on the weekend of December 20th – 21st. Not only that, but it will be playable, as well! The game already has a release date of March 26th in Japan, and will retail for 5,800 yen.

Also, it can’t be said enough how adorable the Dragon Quest monsters look in the big-eyed Theatrhythm art style!

Do you think Dragon Quest has enough catchy tunes to make as meaty of a game as Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy? Unfortunately, none of the Dragon Quest games on 3DS have made it into English yet, so localization chances might not be so good for this one… Then again, as a rhythm game it won’t have anywhere near the amount of text as an RPG, so maybe Square Enix will throw us a bone!

Rune Factory 4 Finally Comes to PAL Regions on December 11th

When Marvelous AQL announced that the PAL release of Rune Factory 4 was canceled in January this year, the door appeared to have closed on the RPG/farming hybrid. Rune Factory developer Neverland shut down in 2013, which was likely the cause of the cancelation, meaning that European and Australian fans may have never gotten to play what could be the last Rune Factory game ever. In an exciting development, however, XSEED Games, publisher of the North American version, has announced that they will be releasing game in PAL regions next week!

While the game will be digital only, meaning no snazzy box art or potential collector’s editions, this is thrilling news for Rune Factory fans who do not own a North American 3DS. The game will retail for £24.99 / €29.99 and $49.95 AUD on December 11th.

Regarding the game’s delayed PAL launch, project lead Brittany Avery tweeted that after Neverland’s closure, XSEED had to negotiate to get the source code themselves, something that is usually left to the game developer. She explains that 99% of cases when the original developer is no longer available to assist with the code, the project is doomed to never release, making the fact that XSEED was able to pull off a PAL version of Rune Factory 4 a real feat indeed. 

If you own a PAL Nintendo 3DS, please consider purchasing the game to show your support! With developer Neverland being no more, this very may well be the last Rune Factory game we ever see…