Some Otome Games That I Hope Aksys Games Would Localize
I am a fan of a number of Aksys’ localized games. They’re one of the reasons why I love my PS Vita (which I got last year), with their localizations of Xblaze Lost: Memories, Code: Realize and Norn9. Of course, they also did localize Hakuouki, which was the first otome game I ever played on PS3. While Hakuouki is definitely not the first otome game in English, it really helped build the market here in the West and other anglophone regions.
I’m noticing a pattern in which they pick up otome titles. A lot of their titles are from Otomate. Usually, they pick titles with comparatively stronger female protagonists, those that feature a more-or-less complicated universe and ones with a well constructed plot (so goodbye Reine Des Fleurs). And it’s also a bonus if there’s an anime adaptation, or it figures cameos by a figure that some otakus might recognize (ie. Keiji Inafune).
What’s most interesting too is that they also market otome games in a way that boys might also want to play them, thus dropping the usually gendered distinction and marketing. And I do know that there are boys out there who could enjoy otome games, as much as I enjoy games that are marketed mostly to boys.
I wonder if they will localize more otomes, and if they are, here’s some that may fit their some of their usual picks:
1. Â Psychedelica of the Black Butterfly
It’s a mystery and survival game much like Sweet Fuse, which I thoroughly enjoyed. It has positive reviews from English otome blogs, and many reviewers say that we do get a strong female protagonist in Beniyuri. And she’s fully voiced too, which is rare for an otome heroine.
It also has a shooter minigame, which might appeal to some. Personally, I suck at console aiming (the last time I played something that involved aiming on a console was The Last of Us, and I mostly just went for the just-beat-em-up option. I play most shooters on PC), but I probably won’t mind with this one.
And did I mention that the art is just beautiful?
This game is not out yet. But the plot summary sort-of reminds me of Code: Realize.Â
It’s a mystery game where you play as a police officer. There’s a string of murders in Shinjuku, and someone places a collar on you that might unleash poison. So basically, it involves you, the protagonist teaming up with ex police officers to restore order in Shinjuku and to save yourself.
I do think that that is a cool concept, and did I mention that I once wanted to be a police officer?
This was released last year.
At the beginning of the story, the protagonist gets into an accident in her first day of high school. She ends up in this school-underworld with a lot of Alice in Wonderland references, and where good people who graduate from this school gets sent back to live the life that s/he once lived. There’s also a school war going on, and the protagonist has to choose between the rebellious take-the-system-down Bad Apples and the Disciplinary Committee.
However, there is also a feature called soul-touching where you get to touch other characters’ souls and hear what they are thinking. While it might be a great way to get to know characters, there might be some problems with this regarding the issue of consent. So I am mixed about that.
But apart from that, I heard a lot of really good things about this game.
This game is slightly old, but it is a lot like Code: Realize wherein one gets to date literary characters.
It’s basically a rewriting of the Arthurian legend. The main difference is that Arthur here is born a woman, and her knights are all bishonen. What I love most about Alu (aka female Arthur) is how much she tries to push for peace despite her knights insisting otherwise. I think she knows that a peaceful Camelot is impossible, but she wants it nonetheless. I do think that that is admirable, and I do think we need more characters like her on this side of the world.
The concept is really cool, and someone already put this request forward in one of their interviews.
This is a Vita port of a PS2 game. It features time travel just like Norn9, but compared to Norn9, there seems to be two timelines here: one where the heroine is a child, and the other when she is an adult. But what’s awesome about this though, is that one gets to see one’s childhood friends as adults too. I think that’s compelling.
This game features school quizzes and some players found this annoying, but maybe the quizzes to could be localized that might translate well with English players. I just hope it is not science. I really suck at science.
This game is ridiculous on so many levels, but it does sound fun because it does not seem to take itself too seriously.
In this game, you play a rich girl who finds that she has glass heart syndrome--a sort of rare disease (I actually must ask my Mom who’s a cardiologist if this is a real disease) where she might die if her heart beats too fast.
So, what better way to cure one’s self than dating?
This is of course, a stat-raising game, where one gets to build up one’s HP by exercising, and romantic sensibilities by reading manga, watching anime or playing, you guessed it, otome games. This mechanic reminds me of Dandelion: Wishes Brought to You where one gets to raise stats such as Beauty or Femininity. Yes, it does have essentialist gender assumptions, but oh well.
None of the characters are weird. Not psycho-weird like some characters in Nameless, but mostly a good kind of weird. Some of the guys you could date include a high-stakes thief/vigilante (oh yes one could date Batman), a school nurse vampire, and a robot. The concept makes me think of a reverse version of Katawa Shoujo.
I know the problem that some might have with this is that this is a very “girly” game. And while it may have some problems with its gender discourse, these can be an opportunity too to bring something a little different to an industry that thrives on marketing hypermasculinity.
Though I may rant about it on occasion, I have no problems appreciating games that some may see as ultra-feminine, especially when they have other things to recommend it too.
And despite the glass heart syndrome, reviewers have a lot of good things to say about the heroine.
Like Collar x Malice, this hasn’t been released yet, but it’s going to be release in Japan on May.
According to sources, the protagonists goes to a school in her twin brother’s place that is full of delinquents. Basically, it is an otome version of the Kenka Bancho PSP game, where one gets to beat up, stare down and date other characters.
And did I also mention that I love gender-bender comedies (like Coffee Prince)?
It’s not exactly an Otomate game, and Spike Chunsoft did mention that they might be interested in localizing it if there’s enough interest. But in case, the original devs don’t localize this, I hope Aksys does pick it up.
I am sure that there are a number of other titles that other people would want Aksys to localize. Diabolik Lovers already has a huge fanbase and that shows in the recent Mangagamer survey, but there might be some games that don’t receive the attention that they need.
I am curious to know about those.
