The magic academy-themed yuri visual novel Perfect Gold: The Alchemy of Happiness is the third game by the Philippines-based indie studio YangYang Mobile, and the Nintendo Switch and iOS/Android ports have just been released just in time for Pride Month. As a short and sweet romance with gorgeous visuals, I couldn’t resist checking it out!
I’ve been following YangYang Mobile’s titles since their first release, The Letter, a horror visual novel. Their second title, Love Esquire, is a romantic comedy dating sim with RPG elements with a clear bishojo influence. It’s really fascinating to see their trajectory (they currently have a new horror title, Saint Maker, coming out later this year), but I was admittedly a little apprehensive about how a company without any yuri titles in their lineup might handle the subject matter.
My Dear Frankenstein is the latest English localization from Moonchime Studios, arriving just in time for spooky season. Developed by Japanese indie team Number7, this point-and-click adventure visual novel features a gothic tale inspired by Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and is available for PC and Mac as a digital download for $4.99 USD. If you’re looking for an atmospheric adventure game that deals with some dark themes without scares, this quaint game is the perfect Halloween romp.
MARS RED is a multimedia vampire narrative set in Taisho Era Japan originally conceived as a stage play by Bun-O Fujisawa performed in 2015. The story focuses on a secret vampire military unit of vampire hunters known as Code Zero and is currently in a rather delayed renaissance with the release of a manga in 2020, followed by an anime and a video game adaptation released in English for mobile phones on May 20, 2021. The game, titled MARS RED: Edge of the Nightmare, features an all-new storyline written by Bun-O Fujisawa and stars a character absent from the anime named Yatsufusa Yuki.
Moonchime Studios announced today that they are localizing two new Japanese indie games for PC, the 18+ BL title Tokyo Onmyoji -The Tale of Rei Tengenjibashi- (Japanese title 東京陰陽師) and the point and click adventure game My Dear Frankenstein (Japanese title 愛しのフランケンシュタイン). Tokyo Onmyoji is scheduled to release for PC on JAST USA and other unannounced platforms in Q4 2021, and My Dear Frankenstein will release for PC and Mac on Steam this summer (winter if you’re in the southern hemisphere).
Both titles look really fun, but I’m particularly excited to see another publisher releasing BL games in English, and this is Moonchime‘s first foray into the genre after their first localization, the otome game I Love You!, released for PC for free in late 2020. Tokyo Onmyoji by Holicworks was originally released in Japan in 2014 and centers on Rei Tengenjibashi, an onmyoji for hire who exterminates demons. There are four romanceable characters, gorgeous art by Akira Sakamoto and fully-voiced characters. For more information on the story and cast, see Moonchime’s official announcement.
My Dear Frankenstein has a lovely fairytale-like art style and features a story inspired by Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Players control Adam, a newly-created monster who must explore the City of Shipberry for pieces of his heart that were scattered throughout. Players who like point-and-click adventure games and moving narratives should keep an eye out for a release date in the upcoming months! You can read more about My Dear Frankenstein on Moonchime’s announcement page.
Both of these games look right up my alley, so I’m really excited to check them out when they’re released! Moonchime Studios is shaping up to be a publisher to follow closely if you like visual novels and alternative indie Japanese games. I can’t wait to see what titles get added to their lineup in the future!
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.
Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony, the forth game in the Danganronpa series, was probably my most anticipated game of 2017. After I was gradually won over by Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc back in 2014 and then falling completely love with Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, the series is now one of my favorite video game series of all time. But as impressions from Japanese players started trickling in, it became clear that Danganronpa V3 was going to be the most divisive entry in the series yet. Would it deliver for this longtime fan of the series? Read on to find out!
So you’ve decided to learn Japanese to play all those otome games that haven’t been released in English (not to mention other games!). Good for you! But what games are best for beginning language learners? I get a lot of questions about learning Japanese, particularly from people who want to play otome games because so few of them are available in English. So, I decided to round up 5 otome games that I think are good for Japanese language students!
