Here it is, my very first light novel review! You may have guessed as much from the trademark surprisingly long light novel title, Hello, I am a Witch and My Crush Wants Me to Make a Love Potion! (どうも、好きな人に惚れ薬を依頼された魔女です。). The English translation was released by Cross Infinite World earlier this year, and when I saw it was a heartwarming fantasy romance featuring a witch, I had a feeling it would be exactly the kind of cozy read I’ve been looking for this year.
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The ability to play the Nintendo Switch in both handheld mode and docked means it’s my go-to console to bring when traveling, visiting friends, or when I’m called in for last-minute entertainment at a work function. But while it’s super portable, the folks at Human Things decided to see if they could make Switch could be even more portable by shrinking the dock down to less than 10% of its original size. The result? The Genki Covert Dock!
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2020 has been a great year for boys’ love (BL) game localizations so far. First, we had Togainu no Chi ~Lost Blood~ from JAST Blue, and now MangaGamer is following with Room No. 9. Room No. 9 is significant as developer parade’s latest BL title, following No, Thank You!!!, which, when MangaGamer released the English version five years ago, it was the first major BL game localization since Enzai: Falsely Accused back in 2006. Seeing as No, Thank You!!! was a very enjoyable title, I’ve been very interested to see what parade’s next game would be like.
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It’s time to review yet another JAST Blue boys’ love (BL) visual novel localization! After being thoroughly engrossed by Sweet Pool (there are still scenes that remain vivid in my mind a year later), I couldn’t wait to see what Nitro+chiral’s first release, Togainu no Chi ~Lost Blood~ had in store for me. I soon found out that that would be another bleak narrative with a solemn protagonist and serve of Fight Club, post-apocalyptic Tokyo, and drugs added to the mix.
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Professor Layton and the Curious Village recently received an HD port for iOS/Android, making the game that started the world-famous series more accessible than ever. Unfortunately, it seems to have gone under many people’s radars, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to review it for the site. After all, I always welcome any excuse to return to the quirky world of the Layton series!
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Sumikko Gurashi: Atsumare! Sumikko Town is the second game featuring Sumikko Gurashi characters to come out on the Nintendo Switch in Japan. The first game, Sumikko Park e Youkoso, was a Mario Party-style party game, while Sumikko Town is a town building game with a few mini-games sprinkled in.
Sumikko Park e Youkoso was adorable, but I ultimately found it rather repetitive, and soon grew tired of it. Does Sumikko: Gurashi: Atsumare! Sumikko Town step up the variety and fill the gap until Animal Crossing comes out on the Switch? Read on to find out!
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Sweet Pool, the first of JAST Blue’s Nitro+chiral BL game localizations, is finally out in English! Not only did I have the very exciting opportunity to contribute very slightly to its release as a PR consultant, but I’m thrilled to share my thoughts on the full game with you in this review. It’s not often we get an official English BL game release, so Sweet Pool‘s release is definitely cause for excitement!
When the news was first announced that Sweet Pool was going to come out in English in time for its 10th anniversary, I was thrilled, albeit surprised. As the first Nitro+chiral game to come out officially in English, it’s a rather interesting choice… because Sweet Pool is quite notorious for its dark horror themes and grotesque, body horror elements. So, while Sweet Pool is billed as a BL game, I would recommend anyone interested in it solely for the BL elements to tread with caution.