I’m so glad Tess Young, creator of Charmixy: Witch Academy, approached me about covering the game’s Kickstarter campaign, because otherwise I might’ve missed out on this adorable mobile title! Charmixy is a puzzle action game for mobile phones that the developers plan on releasing completely for free if development is funded in order to reach as wide an audience as possible. It even has some romance game elements and a Puyo Puyo vibe… Totally awesome, right?
That’s right, Amnesia: Memories, one of the most requested otome games by the English community, is actually getting localized! I take back everything I said in my slightly scathing article about Idea Factory International not releasing any games from their Otomate library. According to folk son Twitter who attended the company’s inaugural press event, it turns out they’ve been hard at work localizing Amnesia: Memories for both PS Vita and Steam! Update: The official site is now live, along with an English trailer!
Amnesia: Memories is a relatively unique otome game that starts you out in the shoes of an amnesiac protagonist (okay, that part’s not that unique) who is thrown into a reality of your choice where she’s already in an existing relationship with one of the game’s dateable men. Each reality is slightly different, but the ultimate goal is always the same: figure out what caused the protagonist’s amnesia and get lovey-dovey with your sweetheart of choice.
Amnesia: Memories is slated to launch digitally for PS Vita and Steam in August. Stay tuned for future posts where I’ll talk about my experiences with the Japanese game!I honestly believe Amnesia: Memories is a great choice for an English release, given how popular the title is in Japan and among English-speaking otome game fans. But, while you may find yourself so excited for the game’s impending release that you’re tempted to watch the anime adaptation, I’m going to advise against it… Unless you enjoy things that are laughably bad.
I’ve alluded on Twitter to the fact that I’ve been working on a very exciting project over the past couple of months, but now I can finally share what it is. I’m assisting with the translation and English promotion of a Japanese indie game for smartphones titled Fantastic Boyfriends: Legends of Midearth!
The basic gist of the game is you play as the adorable protagonist holding the sword in the image above, who gets magically spirited away to the fantasy world inside an app on his phone (so meta!). Like many epic fantasies that have come before, you’re tasked with nothing less than saving the world from the forces of evil. Fantastic Boyfriends is unique, however, in that you gather a band of hunky fighters and adventurers to aid you in your quest… and maybe share a budding romance with, too!
The developer, Lifewonders, is an emerging LGBT-friendly company with the goal of showing a wide variety of different kinds of relationships and genders in their games, starting with Fantastic Boyfriends. While Fantastic Boyfriends was generally created with a gay male audience in mind, they hope to expand their reach even further in future titles!
Needless to say, it’s been an honor to work with a developer that values diversity in gaming. I’ve already done significant work on localizing the game for them, but as a small indie developer, they’re going to turn to crowd funding to raise the remaining funds to localize Fantastic Boyfriends. The crowd funding campaign will be announced by the end of spring, but for now, you can head over to the official English website to learn all about the characters, gameplay, and world.
You can also follow them on Twitter for updates, but rest assured, I definitely won’t stop talking about it when the crowd funding actually gets rolling!
Who doesn’t love a good visual novel? English speakers are slowly catching on to what might my favorite video game genre, one that focuses on text-heavy narratives and “choose your own adventure”-like branching story lines instead of complicated, action-based gameplay. Whether it be a traditional dating sim, otome game, or something else entirely, visual novels are unique and now, even easier to make yourself!
My, how time flies! If the Official PlayStation Blog hadn’t mentioned it, I would never have realized that the PS Vita is now three years old. I bought mine on launch day and haven’t been shy about sharing my love for the somewhat neglected handheld, and while Sony hasn’t been extremely supportive of the system in recent months, it’s great to see them celebrating the occasion with a big digital sale!
In addition to the large list of titles on sale from this week’s PSN update until March 2nd, PS Vita owners will also be able to download the adorable Toro and Friends theme (normally $1.99) from February 26th until the end of the sale. There are also a couple of free items for Destiny of Spirits and Fat Princess – head over to the official post to get all the details.
While you can read the full list of games that are part of the sale over on the Official PlayStation Blog, I thought I’d take the opportunity to recommend a few of my personal picks from the list:
Atelier Rorona Plus, Atelier Totori Plus, Atelier Meruru Plus ($15.99 each with PS+) – If you haven’t had a chance to play any of the games in the Arland Trilogy of Atelier titles, I highly recommend picking at least one of the updated PS Vita versions up. While everyone has their own favorite, Atelier Totori and Atelier Meruru are generally much more polished than the first game in the trilogy, Rorona, and the stories aren’t connected in a significant way that requires each title to be completed before moving on to the next. These RPG’s are prefect for portable play, and if you’re looking for something that is a little more relaxing than a regular JRPG, all three are great options.
Deception IV: Blood Ties ($15.99 with PS+) – I normally wouldn’t recommend a game I haven’t played, but I recently purchased a physical copy of Deception IV: Blood Ties solely based on my Nichiest Podcast Ever co-host shidoshi’s glowing recommendation. But let’s face it, how many games that came out in 2014 are based entirely around executing elaborate plans to murder people? That doesn’t sound creepy at all, right? Wait, where are you going?!
Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F 2nd ($19.99 with PS+) – The Project Diva games are by far my favorite rhythm games on the PS Vita (not that there’s that much competition), and while they’re also available on the PlayStation 3, I highly suggest getting the handheld versions if at all possible. While 2nd is the only Project Diva game in the birthday sale, it’s definitely the better of the two, so I’d say it’s a great place to start. Even if you’re not sure you enjoy Vocaloid music, I can guarantee you’ll find at least a couple tracks to get your toes tapping! If I still haven’t sold you, check out my full review.
Monster Monpiece ($11.99 with PS+) – Okay, I know what you’re thinking. Yes, this is the controversial game where you literally rub your PS Vita suggestively to level up your female monster cards. Funnily enough, the game is actually quite fun outside of the blatant fan service, which I could quite honestly do without. For only $12, though, I’d still recommend it as one of the only card battling games to ever come out in English! You just might not want to whip it out in public…
Unfortunately, my favorite games of 2014, Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc and Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair aren’t part of the PS Vita’s 3rd birthday sale, but as you can see, there are still quite a few great titles that made the cut! I actually own nearly everything I’d want on the list, but I am eyeing Tales of Hearts R… If anyone’s played it, let me know if it’s worth picking up in the comments!
In what might very well be the best Humble Weekly Bundle ever to exist, the charity game bundle is offering not only a plethora of quality games at a pay-what-you-want price, but a Hatoful Boyfriend body pillow, as well.
You can grab the lovely body pillow featuring Ryouta and both pigeon and human form by spending $35 or more on the bundle, which is quite the steal! In Japan, body pillows often go for upwards of $100, and though you’re only getting the pillow case for $35, it should be easy enough to find a suitable pillow.
The body pillow will be made to order by The Yetee, who have a great record of offering quality t-shirts at affordable prices. Unfortunately, while worldwide shipping is included in the $35, the Humble Weekly Bundle page states that it may take 3 to 6 months for orders to ship.
Of course, spending $35 won’t just get you an awesome pigeon body pillow, but a slew of great visual novel and simulation games, as well! You can pay any price you desire to receive Long Live the Queen, Analogue: A Hate Story, and Go! Go! Nippon ~My First Trip to Japan~, or spend more than the average and also get WORLD END ECONOMiCA episode.01, Hate Plus, and Roommates – Deluxe Edition. Finally, all that and Hatoful Boyfriend can also be yours for the low price of $8!
Finally, for the low price of nothing, the Humble Weekly Bundle is offering a set of adorable Valentine’s Day cards. You can head over to the official site and enter your email address to download the full set, but I’ve uploaded the best one here for your viewing pleasure!
Of course, I had to go the whole nine yards and get the body pillow, so now I’m swimming in duplicate game codes! As such, I’ve added Long Live the Queen to the Valentine’s Day giveaway I’m currently running – if you haven’t entered yet, please do check it out!
The original Boys Over Flowers, or Hana Yori Dango, was published over 10 years and finished with a whopping 37 volumes, making this sequel announcement even more of a shocker. Twelve years after the final volume was published, the series is back with a new set of faces at Eitoku Academy, two years after the F4 have graduated.
What’s particularly exciting about this announcement is the fact that the series will be released bi-weekly simultaneously in Japan and North America, and on top of that, Viz Media is offering current chapters for free on VIZManga and the Viz iOS and Android apps. The first three chapters will also be featured in Weekly Shonen Jump as part of the Jump Start Initiative, so if you’re already subscribed, you’ll be able to read them on February 16th (or you can subscribe online for only $19.99 for 12 months!).