Archive for the ‘News’ Category

May News!

Some new games announced for May!

• Hakuouki Sweet School Life! This is based on a very short extra from the original Hakuouki (think it was the fandisk) where the setting is AU, in a regular high school. They’re obviously not using Kazuki Yone for the art, but it seems like they’re re-using as much as possible. Details are still unclear as to what system it will be for.
• Jewelic Nightmare, from Otomate – it sounds a little similar to Trick or Alice, where the heroine moves between two worlds and meets the same guys, but with different personalities and positions in each. The art  looks really nice!
• Snow Bound Land, also from Otomate, based on the Snow Queen fairytale. The heroine Gelda (reminds me of Beastmaster and Prince) travels through five worlds with four companions trying to get to the White World in order to remove a curse.
• Uta no Prince-sama Music 2 – coming Sep 5
• Kamigami no Asobi is coming Oct 24!
• Dot Kareshi – We’re 8bit Lovers! is set to come out for the PC (and CDs) starting Jul 24.
• Some more info on Arcana Famiglia 2 – it seems like there’s a special reason Elmo is grown up so fast,
• The PSP game for Meiji Tokyo Renka is scheduled for Sep 26!
• Hanasaku Manimani is coming out on the PS3 as well as the PSP! Don’t know if I knew that before.
• Quinrose is remaking Heart no Kuni no Alice (Alice in the Country of Hearts) with new art from Fujimaru Mamenosuke (thanks Hinano!) (same artist as Diamond). It will now be a VN-only style. Normally I would be disappointed (I love gameplay in my otoge), but the original was really annoying to play – I’ve still only finished Blood’s route. Maybe with this game I’ll finally understand all the Ace love ? (Nahhh)

Anything you want more info on? I’m working on an O*G*A post since that’s coming out soon, but there’s also:

• Norn9, coming out May 23
• 0ji no Cinderella, May 23
• Urakata Hakuouki, May 30
• Tiny x Machine Gun, May 30!

Also, a new English release from Aksys! They’re adapting the 3DS version of Hakuoki. Thanks to @Ayreesa for the news! Don’t forget, they also picked up Bakudan Handan (Sweet Fuse in English) and it’s coming out this summer!

News for April!

The biggest news is Quinrose’s new title, Romeo vs Juliet. It’s set in Verona, where Juliet wants to become a vampire hunter  because her parents were killed by vampires when she was small. Romeo and his friend Mercutio are vampires, but they keep saving Juliet from vampire attacks (from the description, she doesn’t seem that great at vampire hunting…). You can choose between the vampire route with Romeo and Mercutio, or the hunter route, with your mentor Lawrence Groves and your fiance Paris Verona.  There’s also the duke of Verona Eskaras Verona, a ‘good’ vampire, Benvolio Montague, a doctor William Shakespeare, and Tybold Capulet, Juliet’s stepbrother.

• The mobile game Meiji Tokyo Renka is being made into a PSP game by Broccoli.
• Beast Harem is finally being released for real!? At least, it has a 2-page spread in B’s Log with chara designs and CGs (without backgrounds). It’s supposed to come out May 23.
• New characters for Solomon’s Ring Earth. The seiyuu are Iguchi Yuuichi (Berito), Ookawa Tohru (Amon), and Hagi Michihiko (Relage).
• not too much else at least in the mags.

Chromatic Press!

I don’t know how many people know this, but I’ve been working on something big, and it was finally announced a few weeks ago – some friends and I are starting up an online magazine, Sparkler, and our company name is Chromatic Press. This has been in the works for a long time, and I’m really excited we can finally talk about it. Sparkler’s first issue will be this summer, and I’m really busy with making sure it goes well and we have a great lineup of stories to publish, so I haven’t been updating as much as I’d like to. I’ll still be around here though, posting otome game news and some reviews and previews.

Sparkler (twitterid:@sparklermonthly) will include illustrated prose stories, comics, and audio dramas, all serialized and targeted to young women.  Our first official ‘appearance’ will be at the Toronto Comic Arts Festival in May, and if you’re around, please come visit, it’s free!

The first series we can confirm is the continuation and completion of the original English-language manga, Off*Beat, by Jen Lee Quick. This series was originally published by Tokyopop, but only two out of three volumes were published before Tokyopop closed its English-language publishing arm. We really wanted this story to be completed, and happily we were able to get the rights for the first two volumes, and are going to serialize the last volume in Sparkler!

More announcements to come!

B’s Log news

I didn’t get B’s Log till today, so this is probably late, but hey, better late than yada yada.

• Diabolik Lovers has a bunch of announcements:
  1. Fandisk!! In 2013 apparently. It will include the new characters, the Mukami brothers, who are rivals to the current guys (whose family name I can’t remember how to spell)
  2. TV anime coming (we heard about this before), no date in the magazine.
  3. New series of drama CDs – More, Blood – coming monthly starting April for 10 months straight
  4. Character songs released starting in June
  5. Monthly radio show on NicoNico starting April, hosted by Midorikawa Hikaru (Ayato)

  Oh, the Mukami brothers are: Ruki (CV: Sakurai Takahiro), Kou (CV: Kimura Ryohei), Yuuma (CV: Suzuki Tatsuhisa), and Azusa (CV: Kishio Daisuke). Pic on my tumblr.

• Seishun Hajimemashita! is going to come on 2 discs, 3 if you get the first edition! Cool.
• Amnesia Crowd will have minigames! Also, if you can order the DX pack from Enterbrain, it comes with a tapestry (about 20×28 inches)
• In Storm Lover 2nd, your choices can change the heroine’s character into either a ‘肉食系’ (meat-eater) or ’草食系’　（vegetarian) – kind of like having a dominant or submissive personality. They show examples for each guy, and I pretty much preferred the 肉食系 reactions for them all, mwahaha. Also, Takashi is in this game as owning a cafe.
• DID YOU KNOW that apparently Geten no Hana will be full-voice?? I didn’t, and it’s not in B’s Log – the source is apparently Neoromance’s e-mail newsletter (I found out from @Mai_Shinozawa, thank you!). I still haven’t seen it announced anywhere, but I’m going to buy the game if it’s true.
• Another Alice in the Land of Diamonds – this one is called Wonderful Mirror World, and the routes are different – buy this one if you want to get Ace, Nightmare, Boris, Grey, or Julius.
• Fandisk for Hiiro no Kakera 4(5) Shirahana no Ori – it’s called Poem (or Song) of Four Seasons
• Hanasaku Manimani will be for the PS3 as well as the PSP!
• Shiratsuyu no Aya will be released on June 27

In magazine news, B’s Log is starting a bimonthly special edition called B’s Log Primo in April, with all original content such as special illustrations, short stories, and interviews – of course all relating to otome games.

And in cell phone news, I got a Nexus 4 and gee, there seem to be a lot more otome-ish apps available, even if they’re still in Japanese. I was able to download all the Soine Kareshi (in English it’s Sleepy-Time Boyfriend), as well as Seifuku no Oji-sama, which at first launch seems really nice! I’m thinking of doing a cell phone game roundup, since there are now a bunch of apps/games that I think otoge fans would be interested in, and even some with English translations.

And I scanned some pics of Arcana Famiglia 2 from Girl’s Style, they’re not great but they show the difference in chara designs.

Elmo!

Dante! (avec cheveux)

And finally, Nova. (Now I remember why I didn’t post these, I took them with a camera and they’re ENORMOUS.)

Next post will be about Chromatic Press!

Jan/Feb News!

VitaminR – pics of the characters!

Fujishige Kazuma
The totally uncooperative leader of the problem kids in Class R who’s also a violin prodigy. Kazuma doesn’t think there’s anyone better than him as well, but because of an event in his past, he was dropped from the elite class. Because of his extremely aggressive playing style, he’s also called the Demon Prince.

Mochizuki Reo
Second in command of the W6, he and Kazuma are rivals and go a long way back. He doesn’t care about anything other than playing his cello, skips everything except music practice, and coldly ignores his teacher.

Akagiri Eita
He’s talented at playing the piano, but does things like play with his feet and break stuff – he’s kind of brutal. He’s even more combative with people, and sometimes bites them. He’s the most violent of the W6. In spite of all that, he has a perfect sense of pitch and can play a piece after hearing it once.

Jan Felix Vallaud
He mixes French into his conversation, says he can see and talk to famous people who are dead, and is generally beyond the comprehension of normal people. He’s also the only member of the W6 who’s rich. Though he doesn’t seem to be a troublemaker, the way he carries out the teacher’s orders makes him unpredictable.

Haibane Kaoru – Said to be the best soprano in the school’s history, Kaoru is also temperamental and it’s tough to actually get him to sing. Because of his prince-like looks, he has fans all over town, but beneath his angelic face lies a black personality.

Asahina Tsukasa
He handles the violin as if it was part of him, and plays with such fervour that he’s called the Fiery Violinist. He and Eita are natural enemies. He’s actually from a village of ninja, and skips class often to fulfill his ninja duties.

And the rest of the news!

• New Hakuouki game! Uragata Hakuouki, with a new artist and new heroes – Takasugi Shinsaku (CV: Sugita Tomokazu), Katsura Kogorou (CV: KENN), Okada Izou (CV: Suzumura Kenichi), a ninja, and Glover (CV: Sakurai Takahiro), a blond guy with green eyes (not blue!!).
• No release date yet for Tokimemo Restoran
• Amnesia Crowd, however, is set for April 18
• Sangokuren Senki (kind-of) fandisk – Sangoku Rensenki Omoidegaeshi – it will have several parts including an afterstory part. I know right now that I’m going to get this.
• Info on O*G*A – I’ll put that in a separate post.
• Kuro to Kin no Akanai Kagi is getting a mobile(iphone only) version!! That will be interesting to see…it will be 750Y for each story, 250Y to get the boy’s perspective, or 850Y combined. I’m not sure if that’s for each story, or if the 750Y covers all the stories. If it doesn’t, that’s one heck of an expensive mobile game when it’s already available on the PC.
• 0ji no Cinderella has been pushed to May – *extreme sadface*
• Don’t know if this is news, but Quinrose is also making a sequel to Hyakki Yakou, and School Wars. I don’t know how I feel about that.
• Characters for Solomon’s Ring ~Mizu no Shou~ announced. I just started playing Fire now – it feels a LOT like a mobile game.
• Not exactly otome, but it’s in Girl’s Style so I can include it – Tiger & Bunny’s game ~Hero’s Day~ for the PSP is an adventure game with a new story! So I’m gonna get it.

Cheap Harutoki games!

I’m not sure why, but Koei is releasing ‘best edition’ (read: cheap) versions of two of the most popular Harutoki games this month for the PSP.

The first is Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 3 with Izayoiki Aizo Ban (best edition), one of the most enduringly popular otome games as rated by fans. I’m thinking of getting this, as I only have it on PS2, and as Izayoiki was a fandisk that you had to swap in and out with the original game to play, is a right pain, especially since my Japanese PS2 went kaput. In this version Izayoiki is one the same PSP cartridge as the original game, so NO swapping is needed! Yay! Plus, at only Y2800 this is pretty cheap. It’s an RPG (nothing too hardcore), so you get quite a few hours of playtime. And Shirogane was before his time as the sexy psycho who ends up being more popular than the main characters (I love him too, I can’t help it).

The other is the sequel/2nd fandisk for Harutoki 3, Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 3Unmei no Labyrinth Aizo Ban (best edition). It’s also new to the PSP and Y2800. It’s set after the ‘normal’, happy but not romantic, ending of #3, and is in the heroine’s world. The plot is totally unrelated to history in this one.

So if you’ve never played a Harutoki, and/or you’re interested in otome RPGs, I’d recommend getting the first game.

They’re also releasing Harutoki, the original game Hachiyousho (OK the original was on PS1, but Hachiyousho is the PS2 adaptation) for the PSP, but for some reason it’s more expensive. I don’t think it’s really worth it. Plus i just like #3 much better.

January News!

News from Girl’s Style:

• A new series from Hakuouki – more info next month of course. It seems like a new heroine (please please please!), and I’d assume new main heroes too.
• Girl’s Style is going to run a series of new ‘stories’ from Hakuouki, extra stories I’d guess. Not sure if it will be a novel or a comic.
• Hanasaku Manimani has a website up! From redjuice and 5pb., the game is about a girl who gets sent to the Edo period and ends up in a specialized amusement parlour(?).
• Have I put up the seiyuu for Norn Noetto (Norn9)? If not, here they are: Team 1: Yuiga Kakeru (CV: Kaji Yuuki), Ichinose Senri (CV: Shimono Hiroo), Tooya Masamune (CV: Satou Takuya), Team 2: Azuma Natsuhiko (CV: Ono Daisuke), Nijou Sakuya (CV: Saiga Mitsuki), Kagami Itsuki (CV: Yusa Kouji), and Team 3: Shukuri Akito (CV: Sugiyama Noriaki), Muroboshi Ron (CV: Sugita Tomokazu), and Otomaru Heishi (CV: Yoshino Hiroyuki).
• Cast announcement for Tsukikage no Kusari, Takuyo’s newest game in a while. Mochizuki Satoya CV: Matsuoka Yoshitsugu, Kagurazaka Hibiki CV: Shingaku Tarusuke (for any PoT fans, he’s the voice of Kite!!!^_^), Inoguchi Wataru CV: Asanuma Shintarou, and Haruna Nozomi CV: Naruse Mikoto. I was going to get this anyways, but now I hope they have a drama CD…probably not since it’s Takuyo ; ;
• Issho ni Gohan will have a route for the android landlord, Satou (CV: Hatano Wataru)!

I’m tired, but I’ll do B’s Log soon.

Ozmafia release date!

I’m almost done 24ji no Cinderella (on thw last character, Linus), and I was just checking out online stores to see what I could order, and Ozmafia is scheduled for Dec 21! It always was listed as 2012 but honestly I didn’t think it would be released until next year. Since it’s a PC game, I can only get it through amiami, so I ordered it. And the website has voices up!

Also, CDJapan has a sale on now, a bunch of limited edition games are 30 or 40% off – it makes me want to buy some, like Mahoutsukai PSP and the Miyako fandisk (even though I haven’t even finished one route!)…and FFXIII-2.

Now off to finish 24ji! I’ve been a little distracted by Persona 4 and overtime at work, but I’m definitely doing a post this week on it. And I’m planning on playing Koezaru this weekend for sure!

Upcoming Game Vids

For a request! I love doing these posts, it’s a change from my long texty rambles.

24ji no Cinderella
I’m hoping to get this this week, yay!

The VitaminZ fandisk, Graduation! Mostly a mashup of them in their new outfits.

Here are a couple of teaser movies (not the OP and not a promo, so not as much material) for some of the newest announced games,

Princess Arthur:

and Norn9.

School Wars
I love that the heroine is holding a big AK47 in the beginning – though I don’t think I’ve seen any CGs with it.

 
Hyakki Yakou

 

Genroh

I don’t really like the slow pace of the PV, so here’s the OP as well (as one commenter says, it’s reminiscent of the anime themes from the 90′s).

Confidential Money – I’m not really interested in this, but I like the video – it’s different than the usual montage, and shows what the characters roles are in the team pretty well.

Diabolik Lovers
This one’s gonna be a hit. I’m not getting it right away though.

And Koezaru wa Akai Hana, the newest R18 game which I’m waiting for now (we’ll see how long Customs holds it up). I like the music and the art is pretty cute, and I’m hoping it’s good.

Tokimemo 1&2 are being released very cheaply in a double pack this year (4500Y for both).
Here’s OP1 – I didn’t know B’z did the song, they’re pretty huge

and OP2

24ji no Cinderella Preview

So, my 24ji no Cinderella shipped early this morning, and now I wish I had paid for express shipping. Oh well, in the meantime I thought I’d go over the characters and setup (which will make me want it more, but I’ll just have to be patient).

The heroine is the older stepsister, Rosalia Scarlet, of the heroine from 12ji no Cinderella, Odette Scarlet. Odette was cynical and cool, while Rosalia is warm and impulsive, but they’re both Quinrose heroines, so they’re smart and independent. Rosalia is really protective of Odette and shows her affection a lot (in fact Girl’s Style has a gag comic where the heroes are worried she’ll never love them as much as she loves Odette), as well as the rest of their family, Rosalia’s mother Fatima, and her older sister (yeah I can’t remember her name).

For those who haven’t played 12ji, Odette’s father, a fairly high nobleman, and Fatima, a low-level noblewoman, get married and the family lives fairly happily for a couple months until the father dies in a carriage accident. Then it’s discovered that he had lots of debts, and the four women have to sell the house and move to a creaky apartment downtown, working to live. The city they live in is a strange mix of 19th-century Europe and fairytales, where the king shares power with Hallowe’en, a ‘monster’. Monsters are kind of supernatural animals that live as humanoids (but I think they can all turn into their animal forms as well). The humans of the town don’t really trust the monsters so they don’t deal with each other much, but the Scarlet family don’t care – in fact their only neighbour in the apartment building, Feather, is a pigeon monster, and they’re all very good friends.

Rosalia finds some strange papers one day, one with the emblem of the royal family, and the other the emblem of the Scarlet family. The game is partly trying to find out the meaning behind this.

Along with other characters she meets along the way, here are the main heroes:

Louis Reed (CV: Suzumura Kenichi)  – Rosalia’s childhood friend who’s training to be a knight. He has a strong sense of justice and has a crush on Rosalia.

Feather (CV: Shimono Hiro) – The lovely neighbour who can not only talk to and get help from the city pigeons (a great spy network), but can change gender! She/he is pretty great, and always fashionable, and has a weakness for beans.

Linus Randor (CV: Yusa Kouji) – Rosalia’s fiance, he’s kind of oblivious and it’s hard to tell what he’s thinking.

Oswell Savaray (CV: Tsuda Kenjirou) – The prince’s tutor who wants to learn through experience instead of books. He travels when and where he likes, and doesn’t like getting involved with people.

Damian (CV: Morita Masakazu) – A mouse monster who works in the city doing various odd jobs. He’s a bit of a pushover, but is very versatile. He meets Rosalia when she saves him from a rat-catcher. Oh, and he loves cheese.

And two more characters who I’m not sure if they have routes or not:

Sirius Bradley (CV: Takahashi Hiroki) – A kindly but weird magician who knew Odette’s parents. He had a route in 12ji, I kind of thought it was the true route but I guess not…?

Spencer Hendrick (CV: Nakata Jouji – he was in Escaflowne as Farnel!!! He’s also Serizawa in Hakuouki and will be in Double Score) – A retainer of the prince.

I have no idea what the plot about the emblems will be like, but I’m really looking forward to playing a Quinrose game again, especially because when I played 12ji I really liked Rosalia. I guess I can finish Grimm the Bounty Hunter while I wait…