Archive for the ‘News’ Category

Beyond the Future: Fix the Time Arrows

That’s the name of the newest game from 5pb and Rejet, announced for release December 1 on the PSP AND PS3!

The heroine Lilith is training to be a priest in the small northern town of Dordorn. Raised in the temple, she’s a little naive, but bright, honest and hard-working. She uses a staff called the i-scepter.

One day she encounters Nayuta and Kirite, and she starts out on a new path. Not too much is clear about the plot except that it’s about saving the world.

Krite Asturias (CV: Sakurai Takahiro) A cool samurai who uses a longsword that’s the same height as him, and he’s from Savilla. He doesn’t show emotion much and doesn’t like socializing much, but meeting Lilith causes him to change.

Nayuta Roen (CV: Fujiwara Yuuki)

Born and raised in Ingrid, he’s the straightforward Captain of the White Lily Knights, protecting the temples and law of the city. In addition to being an expert at the spear, he’s also good at using healing and protective magic. Seeing Lilith, who’s still learning, he tends to be a little harsh with her.

Soo Majiku (CV: Yoshino Hiroyuki)

A skilled fighter from Dainus who loves freedom. He hates feeling restricted and isn’t very good at social niceties, so he’s often scolded by Nayuta.

Nate Suruya (CV: Masuda Toshiki)

A werewolf thief who uses a bow from the woods near Midvan, he looks young but is actually the oldest of the whole group.

Nico Velvetnein (CV: Kishio Daisuke)

A magician born in Melrond who calls himself a sage. He’s willing to do almost anything for knowledge, and joins Lilith’s party because he’s interested in ‘saving the world’.

Camus Tetra Porte (CV: Suzuki Yuuto)
A small fairy who’s been Lilith’s best friend since she was small. Usually he’s bright and cheerful, but he sometimes shows a perspective that has many years of experience behind it. He’s very protective of Lilith. He can use nature spirits.

Sep 2011 Otome News

I got the latest magazines, and B’s Log came with a Starry Sky bag! It’s so cute!

Anyways, lots of news, some I’m not sure if I’ve said before, so here it all goes:

• A new Rejet/5pb game, called Beyond the Future: Fix the Time Arrows, for release on both the PSP and the PS3!! Yay, more PS3 games! Looks pretty cool, I think it should get a post of its own.
• New game from Quinrose! Ouma ga Toki, Kaidan Romance. It’s a fantasy game, set in a school that bridges the human and youkai worlds, and the heroine is a youkai. The art is quite cute for it, and the character descriptions sound pretty awesome actually. Can’t wait to hear the cast for it!
• New game! Bakudan Handan, from Otomate for the PSP. The heroine apparently gets caught up in a ‘game’ after a local theme park has a bomb scare (or has a bomb explode?). There are 6 guys: a detective, an idol, a gamer, a freelance writer, a fortune teller, and a host. It’s going to be a mystery.
• Cast info for Strobe Mania, which I almost forgot about (it’s a PSP title from D3, release TBD). Might do a post on this since I can’t remember anything about it Cast: Konishi Katsuyuki, Shimazaki Nobunaga, Miyata Kouki, Suzuki Chihiro, Kondou Takashi, and Hosotani Yoshimasa
• More info on Ozmafia. Apparently the story explores the idea of fairytale characters being rival mafia gangs, and the heroine has amnesia. Interesting.
• Kannou Mukashibanashi Portable – the drama CD series apparently adapts myths and legends to make them more, uh, sensual. In the game you can be romanced by characters from these stories, like Zeus!! (In the Leda and the Swan myth. I guess it’s better than the time he was a bull…)
• Okashi na Shima no Peter Pan ~Sweet Never Land~ from Quinrose is coming on Sep 22 for the PSP, I might have to do a post on this.
• Mahoutsukai to Goshujin-sama is being released for PSP in November.
• Bloody Call on PSP! Awesome, this looks so pretty, and the adaptation has new scenes and outfits. Set for Winter 2011.
• Atelier Elkrone set for January.
• The Hanayaka Nari, Waga Ichizoku fandisk Cinema Mosaic is set for a December 8 release
• More info on the characters in Juuzaengi – probably the Sep B’s Log had more but it was sold out Anyhoo this is scheduled for Feb 2012 on the PSP. Cat people galore!
• More info on the new banchou in Renai Banchou 2, Choi Ero Banchou (CV: Matsukaze Masaya) and Girigiri Banchou (CV: Suwabe Junichi), adding to the new banchou Host Banchou (Morikawa Toshiyuki) and Yankee Banchou (CV: Yoshino Hiroyuki), as well as the ura banchou from the original game.
• Hakuouki will be re-released on the Nintendo 3DS. 3D vampire samurai, whee!
• Hakuouki is also getting a new anime, in OVA form.
• New Uta no Prince Sama, Uta no Prince Sama Debut! for the PSP, coming this winter

Mags and Swag

It didn’t seem right to post fluff right after the disasters in Japan, but things seem to be approaching normal now, and I got a new shipment of otome magazines.

For anyone wondering what kind of swag you get with otome mags, here’s a pic I took (the colour’s kind of off but whatever):

1 – several miniposters (one set of five or so from each B’s Log)
2 – two booklets about the Yamanote Boys series (one from each B’s Log)
3 – page of stickers from Starry Sky! very cute
4 – the mags – I got the April and May B’s Log, and the most recent Cool-B and Sweet Princess
5 – The 2011 Tokyo Otome Guide – I have to plan for my fall trip! it has listings of otome-focused stores, manga, games, cosplay, everything, as well as some hotel and restaurant listings (even some butler cafés!), with lots of pics and ideas. Lots of fun to read through!
6 – Two DVD-Roms that came with Cool-B and Sweet Princess. They have promo movies, wallpapers, game guides, and even some playable demos.

And now for the news from those magazines!
A fandisk was announced for Hiiro no Kakera 4 Shin Tamayori-hime Denshou, called Piece of Future. Scheduled for July 2011, the Suwabe Brothers will be capturable! Awesome.

Sangokuren Senki is coming to PS2!!! I’m extremely happy, I’ve heard a lot of good things about this game and darnit, I’m just a sucker for fantasy historicals!

A new Quinrose game, Mother Goose no Himitsu no Yakata (Mother Goose’s Secret House) – scheduled for the PSP on June 23. Apparently there are two parts, a quiz part and an adventure part. The story is kind of like Alice, in that the heroine falls into a different world and has to find a way out. But to do so, she has to pass quizzes based on nursery rhymes. The men she meets all know her, but she doesn’t remember them. There’s a lot of really gorgeous art for this, it seems that Quinrose has over 200 nursery rhymes (which will be shown in English and then Japanese translations) illustrated by lots of different artists. Here’s a pic!

Cute huh? From left to right, the characters are:
Cezary Fritche (CV: Morikawa Toshiyuki) – a poor scholar
Eric Burrell (CV: Toriumi Kousuke) – an odd jobs guy
Heroine
Arthur Lindgren (CV: Sakurai Takahiro) – a noble gentleman
Bacchus Moore (CV: Suwabe Junichi) – a cook
(sitting) Vincent Noble (CV: Yasumoto Hiroki) – a student of Cezary at a well-known school

The Nise no Chigiri fandisk, Omoide no Saki e, is coming July 21!

A new R18 game, Persona, is announced from Mirai, the creators of the Hoshi no Joou series and Jingi Naki Otome, It seems to be based on the Phantom of the Opera, but there was just a teaser spread this month.
More info on the new Otomate PSP game, Amnesia. The heroine wakes up with (surprise!) amnesia, and apparently has to figure out which of her (current?past?) boyfriends is the real one, or something.
Kago no Naka no Alicis, the all-ages fantasy PC game from icingCandy, is set for Apr 22.

Info on the Alice movie! It’s coming out on July 30, in 7 cities around Japan. The art is quite nice, dare I say, possibly nicer than the original game! Apparently the story is new, and they’re trying to make it accessible to people who’ve never played the game. Apparently Joker is in it, and that is a hint as to the story, and there’s lots of action.

Seiyuu announcements for Hotokensaa, the sentai otome game:
Kondou Ryuuichi, Hotokensaa　Blue: Akabane Kenji
Sumeragi Rikuto, Hotokensaa Yellow: Takagi Shun
Doujima Mitsuki, Hotokensaa Green: Kimura Ryouhei

Koei / IF project – Angelique!

Yes, apparently Idea Factory (Otomate) and Koei (Neoromance) are teaming up to make an otome(?) game for 2011, called Angelique Maren no Roku Kishi, and based on a novel called Angelique Tenkuu no Chinkonka ~Kuroki Tsubasa no Moto ni~.  Interesting that this was announced shortly after the other new Angelique game. The character art is really nice, I hope it’s an otome game!

Love Confession Survivor!

That seems to be the general idea behind Rejet’s new game for the PC, Tokyo Yamanote Boys.

The heroine has been picked as the judge in a contest to pick Tokyo’s “#1 High School Student” in a kokuhaku taikai, or (love) confession tournament. There’s one boy from each area of Tokyo (the areas come from the Yamanote train line in Tokyo), and the game setup is kind of like Starry Sky. It’s a multi-release game, with each section coming out two months apart, and featuring the stories of three of the guys (shown together in the video). Here’s the release schedule:

Tokyo Yamanote Boys Honey Milk – April 2011, 3500Y
Featuring Ninomiya Yuuto (CV: Suzumura Kenichi) from Shinjuku, Misaki Kotarou (CV: Morikubo Shoutarou) from Ikebukuro, and Momose Ayumu (CV: Yonaga Tsubasa) from Sugamo

Tokyo Yamanote Boys Super Mint – June 2011, 3500Y
Featuring Kirishima Iori (CV: Suzuki Tatsuhisa) from Shibuya, Isono Rui (CV: Kaji Yuuki) from Akihabara, and Kujou Takumi  (CV: Yusa Kouji) from Meguro

Tokyo Yamanote Boys Dark Cherry – August 2011, 3500Y
Featuring Rudou Jesus (CV: Namikawa Daisuke) from Roppongi, Moroboshi Tetsu (CV: Toriumi Kousuke) from Ueno, and Hamada Shinnosuke (CV: Suwabe Junichi) from Shinagawa

There are also music CDs coming out for each release, as well as events. As you can recognize, the artistic as well as directorial team is the same from Lucian Bee’s. It’s interesting that they’re moving from the PS2 to the PC for this project, I wonder if it’s to keep the game costs down, since they’re splitting it up into parts?

Each game is set in the last week of the tournament, when only three guys are left.

Hallowe’en otome goodies!

Yes, there are some very nice downloadable things available to celebrate Hallowe’en! Otomate is focusing on their old titles Edel Blume and Will o’ ‘Wisp (maybe they’re planning some PSP ports soon or something?) and you can get some nice backgrounds as well as a couple screensavers by clicking on the top banner that says ‘trick or treat’

Quinrose actually has an event on Oct 30, but no online swag unfortunately.
And that’s it for Hallowe’en! I was hoping Karin might do something (their games are so perfect for atmosphere) but no, just an update about Omerta, a BL game, which is set for April 22 2011.I didn’t even know they did BL! In checking Koei I also noticed that Harutoki 5 is set for release on Feb 24 2011. Set your clocks! I think I might be taking some vacation in March

Xechs fandisk!

Yup, a Xechs fandisk is coming, not much info about it yet though! I am still working on the original game, I’ve done the two ‘main’ characters and I’m working on the rest now, although having my Japanese PS2 break down has slowed me down a lot Anyways, I’m kind of excited for this, it was definitely a fun game with a distinctive attitude and style!

Harutoki 5 demo w/ Harutoki 4 PSP!

Yup, I just saw on Dengeki Online that Harutoki 4 PSP will have a trial version of Harutoki 5…Damn you Koei, how do you know how to tempt me to spend all my money!!! AND apparently there are 20 scenes added to Harutoki 4 (including the new epilogues) YAY!

B’s Log also had mini posters of all the H5 hachiyou as furoku *dies*. They’re pretty much the same pics as in the DOL article here. As well as a 20-PAGE ad – mainly showing the characters again, and a couple scenes. The first looks like the inside of a huge ruined building in a Western style, with a long silver-haired guy taking the hand of a girl in a high school-looking uniform on a half-gone staircase, and text which says,
“Choose. Which world will be destroyed?”
“Will he be the one to disappear…or will you?”
Then all the hachiyou have their own 2-page spreads, with a line of dialogue and a short description.
And then another scene where the girl in the foreground watches as a firebird erupts from a row of houses, and a group of people in Bakumatsu period clothes stare. The text here says “Time, long sleeping, is moving.”

So excited! XD

Vampire Sweetie – Sugar Beans

Sugar Beans has opened a site for its newest R18 title, Vampire Sweetie. It will be full-voiced including the heroine, and is scheduled for F2010 right now (probably no earlier than November). I’m kind of looking forward to this, the main character Yuuri doesn’t look like a doormat the way whatsherface from Ijiwaru My Master did, hopefully she will actually have a personality and not just be an annoying victim! Yuuri is taking care of a summer home that her family owns, including four renters staying there. The four renters also happen to be brothers and high-ranking vampires!

The cast is:
Faust: Sakiware Spoon : The oldest brother, he likes drinking and is quite old (vampire and all that)
Mikhail: Sakura Hiroshi : The second oldest, the element of darkness is very strong in him, so he’s weak against light. He doesn’t show much emotion.
Yuuri: Toomi Haruka : She’s cheerful and takes care of people, and has a strong heart.
Aron Valente: Kijima Uta : The third brother, he’s strong with light, so often spends time outside.
Joshua Valente: Yuuki Takuto : The spoiled youngest brother. He can talk to animals.

Of course, these names are R18-specific names, if you want to know who they really are you’ll have to search a bit ^_^ But some hints: Sakiware Spoon was Asou in Jingi Naki Otome, and Kijima Uta was Yuki in Sumire no Tsubomi.　I actually don’t know the other two at all, so if anyone knows, please leave info in the comments!

A little news

Je n’ai rien a dire! My weekend has been filled with non-otome stuff – I was hoping to get Desert Kingdom or Meikyuu Grimm on Friday but no such luck.

Anyways, new game announcements from Otomate!
Clock Zero – November PS2 (I love the genre description for this one – “Living in a broken world with you”)
Wand of Fortune II – December PS2
Hakuouki Reimeiroku – PS2 September (this seems to be a prequel to Hakuouki featuring Ryuunosuke?)