Olympia Soiréeis 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.
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.
Café Enchanté is the latest in a growing list of otome game localizations for the Nintendo Switch by Aksys Games, and right off the bat, it had me hook, line, and sinker. Coffee? Check. Monster boys? Check. Stellar development team? Check. With gorgeous art by Yuuya (Cupid Parasite), a scenario by staff who also worked on Code Realize, and a narrative centering around a quaint cafe with other-worldly patrons, I had high hopes for this one right off the bat. Read on for my full, spoiler-free review!
If you ever wanted to hear Anne talk about a lot of game announcements, this is the episode for you! Aside from watching a bunch of video game announcement streams, Anne has been streaming otome games on her own Twitch channel and guesting on the Aksys channel, while Marcus has been busy with his shiny new rhythm game peripheral, EZMAX. Most importantly, the pair have started a brand new anime together!
11:30 – Cafe Enchante Rindo’s route, Monster Hunter World Icebone, Demon Slayer, Dear Brother, Edge of Seventeen, Without Warning, The Bay 36:00 – Notable News: Nintendo Direct, PlayStation State of Play, Pokémon Legends Arceus, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Pokémon Shining Pearl, Sweet Clown Switch port, Wicked King and Noble Hero
♫ “Willie Lomans,” “5 minutes pleasure,” and “6 pence and moon” from Alphabet Planet by Hiroki Kikuta
Welcome back to another episode of Pixel x Pixel, where sometimes we play the hot new games, and sometimes we watch the 1962 version of the Manchurian Candidate. In this case, Anne did the playing and Marcus did the watching, plus Marcus is building a new Gundam (Gundam Astray Turn Red) and reviewing more Evercadecartridges. Anne had her head deep in book chapter editing, and we’re back to a busy news section with new game release dates and more!
10:00 – Media Minutes: Marvel’s 616, Among Us, DJMax Respect, Manchurian Candidate (1962) 29:00 – Notable News: New Pokemon Snap release date, Super Nintendo World opening delayed, Chou no Doku service ending in February, Ephemeral -Fantasy on Dark- otome game coming out on Switch January 21, Code: Realise Wintertide Miracles releasing on Switch February 25, Bleem emulator store
♫ “Willie Lomans,” “5 minutes pleasure,” and “6 pence and moon” from Alphabet Planet by Hiroki Kikuta
Late last year, I decided to bring back the monthly Community Game-Along roundup posts after a suggestion from a reader. But with my trip to Japan at the end of November and the hectic holiday season, I completely dropped the ball on posting roundups for November and December‘s themes! I’d still like to highlight some of the great contributions and game selections from folks who participated, so I’ve decided to combine both months for today’s post. I’ll do my best to make sure I’m not this late again!
Otome games are steadily gaining popularity outside of Japan, with releases such as Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom, Code: Realize Guardian of Rebirth, and the breakout Korean hit Mystic Messenger making waves over the past couple years. However, not much is known about Ruby Party, the female-led development team at Koei Tecmo behind the Angelique series, which is widely regarded as the start of the otome game genre. In what hopefully will become a larger series, I’ll be translating interviews and other information on Ruby Party to help spread knowledge of this influential team!