Category Archives: otome game

Alice in the Heart Deserves a Better Localization

The Alice in the Country of Hearts series by QuinRose is otome game series that fans have been clamoring to see released in English since the first game was released in Japan on PC back in 2007. Loosely based on Alice in Wonderland, the series is highly regarded for having sharp writing and a refreshingly spunky protagonist, along with a slightly sadistic yet colorful set of suitors. Largely due to this series, developer QuinRose is now a household name for otome game fans worldwide, and the Alice games have even spawned a number of very successful manga adaptations and spinoffs, many of which have been released in English and frequent the New York Times best seller list for manga.

Needless to say, the series has a well-established western audience that has been eagerly awaiting the release of the Alice in the Country of Hearts game for many years. Why is it, then, that when QuinRose finally brought the game over to their English-speaking fans, they couldn’t even grace it with a serviceable localization?

Alice in the Heart ~Wonderful Wonder World~ is an iOS/Android port of the PC/PSP remake of the original Alice in the Country of Hearts ~Wonderful Wonder World~ game, which, most notably, featured a complete art overhaul. The first thing that caused alarms to go off for me when I learned of the Alice in the Heart release was the title. Why would QuinRose choose to localize the title as Alice in the Heart when the series has already been established by a number of publishers from TokyoPop to Yen Press as Alice in the Country of Hearts in English? Immediately, it breaks continuity from the very popular manga, and also gives an extremely poor first impression for just not making any sense.

Luckily, the prologue and episode one of the game are available for free, so people can try it out before committing to buy it. All of the screenshots included in this article are from the prologue, as I honestly couldn’t bring myself to play any more. I was prepared for a mangled translation going in, and while at first I felt a combination of amusement and disappointment, as I read on, the amusement faded until I was left feeling nothing but frustrated and sad about the state of Alice in the Heart. While I have the Japanese version of Alice in the Country of Hearts for PS2, I was prepared to purchase the version with Japanese voiceovers for $37.99 (it’s $24.99 without voiced audio) just to show my support for this and more otome games being localized. Now, I want to implore anyone thinking of shelling out money for Alice in the Heart not to do so until QuinRose fixes the localization.

While otome games on mobile devices have a reputation for getting subpar localization jobs, Alice in the Heart truly takes the cake. I’m sure I’m not the only one who understands how much work it is to translate the wall of text that is a visual novel, but running the Japanese through Google Translate (I can only imagine this is what they did) to save on time/costs is simply not acceptable. In fact, Jenni Lada over at Technology Tell has already written an article calling the release “heartwrenching” and “one of the worst game localizations I’ve ever seen,” and nearly all of the reviews on both the Android and iTunes pages for the game cite the poor translation and/or a bug that causes the game to freeze during the prologue. It goes to show that in a genre that relies so heavily on reading to advance the narrative, the translation is everything, and fans should and will hold popular otome games like Alice in the Heart to such a standard.

With the huge number of quality freelance translators doing work to bring Japanese games out in English available, combined with the number of people that have been long awaiting an Alice in the Country of Hearts game release, there is simply no excuse for Alice in the Heart‘s poor localization. If you find yourself amused by the gibberish and want to try the game out for yourself, please consider downloading and playing the free portion of the game and then sending QuinRose an email or writing a review telling them you won’t pay for the full product until it is in, at the very least, understandable English. The game, otome game fans, and the localization industry as a whole deserve much, much better.

Have your cake, and men too, in Tokimeki Restaurant

While there’s been a constant stream of otome games, both free and paid, coming out on smartphones in recent years, I’ve never been drawn to very many of them. My iPhone 4’s small screen does not lend itself well to long stints of reading, and one of my favorite aspects of otome games, the voice acting, is often completely absent in smartphone games. But now one game has finally caught my attention… over a year after I originally downloaded it onto my phone!

Tokimeki Restaurant certainly comes from a good pedigree, as it falls into the famous Tokimeki Memorial dating sim series by Konami, specifically the Girls’ Side line that is, as the name suggests, aimed at a female audience. But what makes Tokimeki Restaurant different from the official Girls’ Side titles that came before it is that it forgoes traditional romance simulation gameplay in favor of restaurant management to get the guy (or, in this case, guys).

The basic premise of Tokimeki Restaurant is that you’ve landed a job at a cafe that just happens to near a famous talent agency. As such, all the gorgeous idols from the talent agency, specifically the members of two idol groups, stop by the cafe from time to time. Since you act as all but the official owner of said cafe, you can purchase new decor, change the layout, and, of course, decide what food to serve.

Welcome to my little establishment, the busy bee cafe! 

Since Tokimeki Restaurant is a free game with in-app purchases, a familiar stamina gauge rears it ugly head to keep those of us who don’t want to pay from playing constantly. All food costs stamina to prepare, with the more labor-intensive dishes requiring a bigger chunk of stamina. You’ll need to prepare each dish a certain number of times to level it up, which will often unlock new recipes to try.

I feel a little like the witch in Hansel and Gretel…

Of course, all of this is done to lure in unsuspecting men for you to engage with. It’s a strange concept – Tokimeki Restaurant isn’t quite a Dinner Dash clone, nor is it a traditional otome game since you’re never going down any single character “path” unless you deliberately choose to play that way (and even then, it’s very difficult to only romance one guy at a time). Rather, you’re simply trying to make your restaurant the best it can be and checking out as many hot guys as frequently as you can in the process!

Because of this, there really isn’t much romance per say, and in its absence are quaint little scenes with one or more of the characters that unlock after certain requirements are fulfilled. For example, right now I’m trying to raise my restaurant’s proficiency in meat dishes because my one true love Kento has a real “steak tooth,” as it were. After five scenes with a character have been unlocked, there will be the opportunity for a thoroughly embarrassing “skinship” scene, which is basically a minigame where you can poke and prod the men to elicit a range of amusing responses. This harkens back to the original Tokimeki Memorial Girls’ Side games, but it’s really the only thing in the game that is reminiscent of the original series.

Needless to say, I’ve found myself completely enamoured with this game, but I think it’s more for the food than the men! Everything is strangely cute and appetizing at the same time, and since it is free, it’s a great guilty pleasure for those few spare moments when I’m caught with nothing else to do (or, more frequently, when I’m multitasking). As it turns out, there were even a couple of pages on the game in the latest issue of B’s Log – a clear indication that even over a year later, the game still has many, many fans. The constant new events and merchandise can’t hurt, either…

As you can see, there are all sorts of different events, which usually are accomplished by cooking x amount of a certain food. Since I’m all about the deliciously-rendered food items, here are a couple close-ups:

Hina matsuri (girl’s day) treats! 

Special sweets for that special someone

I’m not sure how long I’ll actually stay with Tokimeki Restaurant due to its highly repetitive nature, but it certainly is adorable and could easily be something I pick up on occasion just to see what new events are going on. Though the game is only available in Japanese, it’s easy to make a Japanese iTunes account or download the APK to play the game on Android devices, so don’t let that stop you!

If you do intend to check the game out but aren’t confident in your Japanese, I highly recommend using these two guides over at Natto Pudding!

Japan Envy: TokiMemo Girl’s Side Credit Card and Exclusive Events

I have to say, this is going to be my favorite Japan Envy posts in a while. Why? Because it’s about Tokimeki Memorial Girl’s Side-themed VISA credit cards!

official website

Of course, there’re credit cards for virtually everything these days, but this is the first time I’ve seen a credit card game tie-in before (feel free to point out others in the comments, if you know of any). And this isn’t just any game tie-in, but an otome game tie-in!

The perks of this card are that once you collect a certain number of points, you’ll be rewarded with various exclusive merchandise. The lowest revealed tier contains stickers featuring characters from the three games, and there’s also a 800-point option that gets you a signed illustration.

But most interestingly, only cardholders will be able to attend a certain upcoming event being held in celebration of the series’ 10th anniversary. On March 9th and 10th, cardholders will have the chance to go on a “live 2.5D” date with one of the series’ 32 different characters:

It’s still early, so there aren’t many details available on the website, but it will take place at Tokyo Disneyland and there’ll be all sorts of exciting things for fans going on, such as appearances from the voice actors and special exclusive goods for sale. 
But who cares about that –– this date thing is what’s got me really interested! Apparently, it will consist of some kind of animation sequence that actually changes depending on the things you say. Along those lines, the website is touting that it’s an event where you’re not merely watching, but actually actively participating in. I’m not sure how they’re going to go about achieving any of that without having everyone just playing copies of the various games, though… 
So, if there was a credit card available for your favorite game franchise or company (Nintendo VISA, perhaps?), would you want one? What kind of perks would you want it to have? I’ll be completely honest and admit that even though I probably wouldn’t actually attend the date event, I’d want a TokiMemo credit card solely because of the fact that it’s so adorable! 
For more information on Tokimeki Memorial: Girl’s Side, head over to my Otome Game Primer post!

Take a walk down otome nostalgia lane with Angelique (GBA)

Okay, I confess –- I’m on a bit of a Game Boy Advance kick. Ever since I got my hands on a hot pink GBA micro, I’ve been itching to add a few more GBA titles to my collection. And, since we all know I’m a huge fan of otome games, it was only a matter of time before I acquired a GBA otome game. 
Well, in the case of Angelique, I really should say the otome game. Angelique was originally released for the Super Famicom in 1994, and is generally regarded as the first dating sim title to be marketed specifically towards girls. Players assume the role of Angelique, a young girl who has been chosen as a candidate to become the next queen of the Cosmos. Becoming a queen isn’t easy, however –- Angelique must face off against her rival, Roselia, in a race to see who can populate their country the fastest. Both Angelique and Roselia can call upon the aid of nine elemental guardians to either increase their own country’s stats or inflict damage on their rival’s lands. The otome aspect comes from the fact that the nine guardians are hot men who are all potential love interests for Angelique and Roselia… The catch being, however, that if you choose love, you must forfeit your title as queen. 

The GBA version is a direct port of the Super Famicom version, and a bare-bones one at that. There aren’t any additions whatsoever to this version, but that’s fine by me, as the portability is a great bonus and the box art, which totally screams 90s shōjo manga, is completely adorable. 
I plan on doing a separate post about the gameplay, but for now I’d like to share some of the great illustrations in the game’s guide!
First up are a series of illustrations from the manual’s opening pages, which introduces the premise:

The art reminds me a lot of CLAMP’s early work!
Incoming rival alert! 
Angelique and Roselia face the nine guardians/suitors

It’s interesting to see the emphasis placed on quality illustrations inside the manual. Modern otome games have the technology to actually replicate manga/anime-style art in the games themselves, but the Super Famicom couldn’t really give the same effect, so the images in the manual really mimicked manga styles of the time.

Next up are a few guardian profiles. Each guardian has a specific element he resides over, which is generally reflected in their design and personalities.

Randy, the wind guardian
Olivie, the dream guardian
Traditional shōjo alien hands 
Closeup of Lumiale, the water guardian,’s profile

Finally, here’s just one sample page of the instruction portion of the manual. Not quite as interesting as the above sections, as pretty much all of the pages look the same, but they’re very colorful and littered with screenshots and quaint illustrations. 

Overall, I’d say it’s a pretty nice manual! In an upcoming post, I’ll talk about my first playthrough of the game (Ever! Can you believe it?). Do I choose to become queen, or elope with one my guardians? Stay tuned!

By the way, have I ever mentioned that I’m complete rubbish when it comes to making up titles for these posts? I probably would’ve had this posted days ago if it weren’t for the fact that I couldn’t come up with a witty title. I’ve toyed with the idea of doing something similar to The Gay Gamer’s Acquisition #123 series, but I don’t really plan on posting every time I get a new game… Any thoughts/suggestions? Leave them in the comments! 

Seifuku no Ojisama is for all the daddy lovers out there

Seifuku no Ojisama. Older men in uniform. This upcoming Android otome game puts more mature men then we normally see in games such as these as objects of our protagonist’s affections. Poor Sachi, a third year university student, has the hots for men more than twice her age, and, like in any good otome game, it’s the player’s job to make sure she finds true love (as long as it comes in uniform!). 
I have to say, I am beyond intrigued by this premise. I’ve long thought older men were turning into somewhat of a trend in female-oriented media in Japan, and this confirms my suspicions. Funnily enough, the boys love manga titles I’m familiar with that feature older men all focus on café staff and the like, so perhaps the two go hand-in-hand? 
You can give me a check-up any day!
For the curious, the oldest male suitor revealed so far is 60 years old (and a professor, at that!). Gameplay is traditional otome game format: players read through text and make an occasional selection to dictate the path of the narrative. Seifuku no Ojisama adds an interesting twist, however, in the form of two types of endings, called “receiver” and “pursuer.” Depending on which options you choose, you may get an ending where Sachi makes the first move, or has the moves put on her by her love interest (completely non-sexual moves, I’m sure, since this isn’t a PC game). If you don’t pick the right response, you might even be stuck with the “friend” ending.
Though friend endings are common for “bad” endings in otome games, where the player hasn’t met the right conditions to have a “good,” romantic ending with one of the characters, this “receiver” and “pursuer” element is something I’ve never seen before. Even more interesting is the fact that it’s literally called the seme and uke system in Japanese. Seme and uke are pretty much exclusively used in reference to the male characters in boys love manga (referring to “top,” and “bottom,” respectively), so this may be a conscious nod to the BL fans who are eagerly eating up any and all stories about older men these days. But if that’s the case, why not make it an all-out boys love game, instead? Perhaps they are trying to reel in a larger audience while still appealing to BL fans, or that BL games don’t fare as well on smartphone markets. The alternative is that I am, of course, reading too much into all this. Just some food for thought! 
My personal favorite from the male rooster. What can I say?
I appreciate a man in a vest and apron! 
So, otome fans and non-fans, is the idea of a game that features older men (or women, if bishōjo titles are more your thing) something you’d like to see more of? I have a feeling most would write it off as unappealing or worse, and though I readily admit it isn’t for everyone, I personally think it’s all in good fun and would be eager to give this game a go myself. If you’re interested, do head over to the character page and let me know your favorite! (Before anyone asks, the younger guy in a school uniform is the protagonist’s cousin. It says he has a secret… I sincerely hope it isn’t that he turns into a 50-year-old man at night!)

Square Enix’s Otome Break: Otome or bishoujo?

Now here’s a Square Enix title that may come as a bit of a surprise: The company is set to release an iOS/Andriod title called Otome Break, which is described by the official site as being an “android girl raising simulation.” Basically, players spend their time communicating with one of three android high school girls, slowly unveiling their individual stories and hopefully steering them towards becoming a true “otome,” or “maiden.” The title is set to release in Japan this August.

One of the characters is literally named Otome. Is Square Enix grasping
at straws? 

I’m not really interested in discussing the merits of this title per say, but rather who the intended audience of this title is meant to be. Many western sites who have offered coverage on Otome Break have called it an “otome game,” which I personally feel is a little misleading. As mentioned above, the word otome literally means “maiden” in Japanese, but is also used to refer to a whole subgenre of visual novel/dating sim games aimed at a female audience (you can a more in-depth analysis Otome Game Primer). On the flip side, similar titles that are created with a predominantly male audience in mind are called bishōjo (lit. “beautiful woman”) games.

The “otome” in Otome Break is clearly referring to “maiden,” given the premise of the game. Three young android girls want to discover what it means to be a real lady, and it’s your job to teach them how… Sounds pretty obviously bishōjo to me.

That said, there are many otome games that appeal to their female audience’s interest in being an older sister or motherly-type figure. In fact, we can trace “raising simulators” back to titles like Princess Maker, where it’s the job of an ambiguous protagonist to raise a young princess into a capable adult woman.

It’s your job to shape this girl into whatever kind of woman you want her to be.

Now, it’s almost universally accepted that the Princess Maker games are bishōjo titles aimed at a male audience. Granted, there are many female gamers that play Princess Maker, as I’m sure there are both men and women who play more traditional bishōjo titles such as Tokimeki Memorial, but it’s worth noting in this comparison to Otome Break that the “raising sim” subgenre has had, to my knowledge, a predominately bishōjo bent to it. 


Another point that is worth considering in raising sim titles is how the player character is framed within the narrative. In Princess Maker, the player is acting as a parental figure for the young girl, which allows both men and women to play the game from a relatively equal standpoint, even if it has aspects that make it bishōjo. Otome Break‘s official website, however, explicitly states that the protagonist is a classmate of the three young android girls, making it clear that the player is meant to feel more of a brother/sister-type connection with the girls, rather than a maternal/paternal one. Would this make it easier or more difficult for women to connect with the narrative? I’m not entirely sure. 


Considering that I’m not currently living in Japan and am as such not exposed to promotional materials to Otome Break out in the wild, I can’t really say definitively whether or not Square Enix is taking a proactive stance on the bishōjo vs. otome categorization or not (this would be made very clear by where they chose to advertise the title). The promotional materials released online have so far been relatively vague, but I stand with my initial impression that this is bishōjo and not otome. Case in point:



This is an image taken from the official website. Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but I consider these relatively highly sexualized representations of young girls. Not only is the angle a worm’s eye view, giving the perfect almost-panty shot, but the gal in the center’s clothes are literally sticking to her skin in a way that not only accentuates her breasts, but her crotch, as well. Can anyone honestly argue that this image was drawn in such a way as to attract a predominantly female audience?

It’s worth mentioning that I’m not intending to rule out the possibility that this is a yuri, or female/female, title, but I would be very surprised if that was the angle Square Enix is going for –– even if this is Japan we’re talking about, I don’t think a big name like Square Enix would knowingly advertise a title with overt lesbian themes (note: there are both otome and bishōjo titles that feature female/female romantic relationships, so even yuri alone wouldn’t necessarily settle the debate of what subgenre Otome Break falls into). 


In the end, it doesn’t really matter what Otome Break calls itself, as long as it’s an interesting and fun game for those who choose to pick it up come August. But the fact that some people have chosen to argue that this title must be otome just because it may instill some feeling of sisterhood seems a little far-fetched to me given the promotional materials available outside of Japan. 


Otome, bishōjo… who cares?! Do you think Otome Break has any appeal, or is it some kooky thing made for purely Japanese audiences? 

The Secret Art of Otome Games

Before Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom was released in English this past Valentine’s Day, otome games remained largely off the radar of the vast majority of western gamers. Unfortunately, as far as I can tell, Hakuoki hasn’t caused a huge surge of interest in otome games. Still, it’s been nice to see some people who wouldn’t normally pick up an otome game review Hakuoki or purchase it on a whim.

But reading about my friends’ and others’ first steps into the world of female-oriented visual novels and dating sims has reminded me how difficult the world of otome games can be for newcomers. I don’t by any means claim to be an authority, but there is one very important piece of advice that most fans of the genre often neglect to mention to inexperienced players that I’d like to make very clear:

In order to get a “good” end in an otome game, one must always select options with the character who’s ending they wish to obtain in mind. 

This may seem so obvious that it’s not even necessary to state, but I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t realize that was how I needed to play when I picked up my very first otome game. Ah, Christopher of Tokimeki Memorial Girl’s Side 2nd Season, we just weren’t meant to be…

My first failed prospect

When presented with a game like a visual novel that allows one to choose from multiple options in order to advance the story through various “paths,” you’d first think to choose answers would be based on what you would do in real life, no? Or, at the very least, a player might fashion a new persona for the sake of playing the game and choose options based on what kind of character they were role-playing as.

How would this strategy fit into an otome game, then? Under normal logic you would think that based on the various options you choose, a male prospect would be selected by the game for you. Otome games, however, are not so advanced, and in an effort to create some kind of difficulty, have a very strict, structured way that they must be played in order to obtain the best endings.

Otome games are based around the idea that the player is going into the experience with a favorite character already in mind, first and foremost. Whether visual novel-style or featuring more sim-based elements, otome games leave little to no room for changing one’s mind, meaning that from the second the “start” button is pressed, all energy must be focused on obtaining one, and only one, “datable” character. This is because set parameters must be met and/or extremely specific options selected in order to advance to the “right”path. Make one wrong decision and it’s a “normal” end, or worse, game over.

It’s going to take a lot of trial and error to see scenes like these

With so many paths and endings to obtain and sometimes seemingly arbitrary decisions that must be made in order to reach them, many players of otome games read walkthroughs before or during play. Though this may seem like it takes all the fun out of getting the right ending through trial and error, saving and reloading a game file every time you make a bad decision (and you often won’t know what was a bad decision until the end of the game) can get extremely frustrating. No one plays otome games for the difficulty, anyway, so the easiest and fastest way to see the whole story unfold is often the most preferable. Luckily, many titles such as Hakuoki offer visual cues to indicate when correct answers have been chosen, and relationship meters that can be viewed at any time to see how well you’re doing with the game’s various characters.

So, next time you want to jump in to Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom or other such otome game, take a moment to consider which male prospect you would like to pursue before loading up the game. Character-specific endings are always so much more fulfilling than the generic ones, and you may even find yourself drawn to a character you wouldn’t have found appealing otherwise!

But, I’ve gotta admit: it’s a little depressing when you first realize what your mother always told you about just being yourself won’t get you any guys. Hah!