Notes:
- They're all machine translation (no humans edit involved).
- I've used the latest Sugoi Japanese Translator offline model combined with DeepL translator.
I think the machine translator is improved a lot, and it's way better than Google Translate. This would be a very good translator for people who wants to play otome game in Japanese but don't know any Japanese. What do you think?
I think it's pretty scummy to want to hack these games when there's so few otome content out there. We need to support the developers so we get more, not cheat them out of their effort and money.
There are completely free otome if you do not have the money. Check out itch.io for free otome games.
The only game that I know of that kinda matches that description is this one, but it only came out in 2017 (if I'm not mistaken), and because it's been quite some time since I played it I don't remember the details very well (~_~;)
Hello! I'm a developer of mobile game Railways of Love, which I hope could be interesting to the community.
It is an interactive road novel about love and fate in the tradition of Russian classics.
Two people - a man and a woman - go back home from the city of the future. They have feelings for each other. They are doomed to part.
You can change their destiny and help the protagonists confess their love. It’s impossible to do the very first time, but every successive attempt will reveal more about the protagonists’ background, about the world controlled by Progress-program and unlock additional ways to influence their conversation.
It's not an otome game by definition, cause two protagonists are in the focus of the story at the same time, but it lies near.
Links: Google Play App Store
I feel like I'm always pushing the MC from The Rose of Segunda (PC, itch.io or Steam), but I just love her so much. She's been sent to the palace by her overbearing mother to snag the prince for a husband, but she's not about to do anything she doesn't want to do. You can play her as a total rebel or have her play the game of nobility in her own interest. She can smack a butler on the arse, backstab noble ladies, rewrite a classic play on the fly, and get geeky with a scholar.
All the love interests are impressed by intelligence, wit, courage, and an independent mind. One of them in particular enjoys a conniving sneak of an MC. He is my favourite, of course. ;)
-67% for the Limited Edition on Vita (non-affiliate link).
I think that's this game called EveryTown by FLERO. However, I haven't played it, nor do I know anything about it, it just looks similar in the art and the female in the picture is close to the female in the game. Also, going to FLERO's Korean site gives me a male character in that exact outfit for the game, so... Maybe?
I'm fairly sure I'll end up forgetting half of the ones I might want to put in there, but from the top of my head:
Honorable mentions go to Sounds of Verity and Let's not stay friends for having really nice art; however, the romances felt kind of rushed in those so I hesitate a bit to count them among my favourites.
Yes it does, but from the reviews it looks like they nickle and dime you to death for the "free" version and the paid is more than it goes for sale on steam (usually around 5 bucks). I searched the playstore and got what is linked below.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gloczus.amnesiasmp_premium2
I adore Love Spell: Written in the Stars and Sifting Thyme!
Thank you!! I bought the kitty paw analog covers on Amazon. They're also on Ebay and some other sites, but they were cheapest on Amazon when I bought them :^)
Hmm, I guess it depends on how much you like your flavour of tsundere.
For example you've got the type that is very cold to you and constantly insults you. Every now and then they say something sweet.
Then you've got the other type that's very prone to outbursts, but even though he may insult the MC, the MC usually bickers back. This type can also blush a lot.
Anyways, if you like the last type, Rin Yakumo from My Last First Kiss has a healthy, bickering romance with the MC.
As another person said all of those pictures are all from the same mobile otome called, "sins of the everlasting twilight" and its by genius. Idk if it's on the Apple play store, but here's a link of it on Google play! Hope that helps~ also if we are on the subject of genius otomes, I seen their apps on the app store all with super pretty art/interesting story concepts. But what alway turns me off from their games is the fact that you have to pay gems for all of the "correct" or "the better" choices. Idk if it's just me but I'd rather just pay for the whole route at once lol
I've heard of Miraclr - divine dating sim which is available on both PC and mobile - the PC version is paid and the mobile version is f2p. However some of the reviews on Steam aren't too good so it might not hold up to MM quality-wise.
Edit: Oh, and I think Golden Hour has some social media parts but as far as I'm aware it's just a demo at the moment.
Shout out to Ephemeral, which has a zombie protaganist, a werewolf, a vampire, an invisible guy and a mummy >!who is a mermaid!<, as datable options.
Of course, they all look human...
Speaking of slimes though... I once made a kinetic novel about a slime turning into a human boy.
So excited! I've been playing the Japanese version for a few months now because I couldn't wait. I'll probably keep the Japanese version on my tablet and start fresh with the English version on my phone. There were a bunch of events I missed because they happened before I started playing, and I also don't want to lose any of the bromides etc. that I've already earned. Plus it'll be fun & useful for my Japanese studying to compare the text and stories in the two versions.
Also, Android users can pre-register!
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.klab.utapri.shininglive.global
If this sounds too gimmicky, I'll edit this as needed. I recently started up a new blog called Visual Novel Facts (https://www.tumblr.com/blog/visualnovelfacts). It's a blog that gives you all the fun facts and trivia about otomes, bishoujo, and just about anything visual novels. We're currently looking for admins, so if you have a Tumblr and are interested, then head on over to our blog for more information and for a chance to become a part of the team. The deadline to apply is July 5.
Hnnng, as much as I despise the devs.... To be fair, there's only 2-3 out of the 5 routes worth it.
Though if you want it might have to go on itch.io or see if it's selling somewhere else.
My personal opinion it's not worth the full price for the whole game, and she needs the money so she won't put it on sale so, there's that.
The regular version is also available on Amazon.ca
~~Amnesia is $2.99 on Amazon digital downloads. Link~~ EDIT: This is the same price. I missed that OP was in CAD.
Ozmafia's at a historical low.
They're on the play store as well! Here's Sleeping Delivery and Love Signal
Try out Ephemeral - the MC is beautiful and the cast won't stop reminding her. ... With the side effect that everyone is shallow as fuck. She still gets treated like a moron by some guys though.
But yes, I am sick of the "you have no sex appeal" line. Please, Japan. Stop.
Just to add to this conversation a game doesn't have to sell well, it just has to make money. This is obvious but its still something to consider on why the first weeks game sells (well really full priced game purchases) are important.
Coding is not for everyone. If Ren'py was too annoying due to the coding, you can always try out Visual Novel Maker which is more drag and drop. You can get a free trial here.
But honestly, making games is a lot of work. I should know, since I've been developing mine for years. But I was sick of meek MCs like you and I wanted to give the player the option to be able to fight back, or stand back - and not get punished for either option. Since there is no such game that does that, I made my own :)
Not an otome game, but I found a cursed visual novel. Then it turned from Cursed to Tragic. I'll toss the title into Spoilers. >!Ambre.!<
​
Also, I found this when I was trying to look up the other game I mentioned.
Edit:
Shall we Date?: Can't Say No. Imo the story isn’t very good but, as others said, that’s the case with many mobile games. The main thing that made me uncomfortable was how it romanticizes kidnapping, how it has stockholm syndrome and also cheating. I know some people enjoy these type of stories, that’s completely fine, I just wanted to warn those who don’t enjoy them, especially since it’s a paid game.
Hi there! A few weeks ago we released the demo for our free slice of life royalty dating sim, and now we've updated it with edited art and an android build! You can check it out on Itchio and Google Play.
Keep checking on Is There Any Deal. If it's being sold somewhere other than Steam and it goes on sale, that site can tell you. Looks like as of right now, both games are only sold on Steam and haven't gone any lower than $23.99.
Have you played Cinderella Phenomenon? It's free, it's on PC, and its quality is on level of paid games. It's probably best free otome around, and I've yet to hear someone didn't enjoy it. Locked Heart is an older game from same developer, with similar setting, and is also free.
Heartbaked is also free and adorable game. If you like funny not too serious stuff, you'll like it.
Some others you may like depending on setting you prefer: Once Upon a Hallow's Eve, Tailor Tales, Magical Otoge Ciel.
You'll find plenty of them on https://itch.io/games/free/tag-otome
Haikara flopped so much, the game's value on Amazon Japan is at an all-time low of JPY1749
I'd think that Birushana Senki might have a chance of getting localized, given that it checks all of Aksys' requirements of "not being too girly" + "hardly any romance". I'd say it will appeal to those "gamer bros" and I even went as far as recommending it to my male bros, but with all of them very secured with their gender identity, I'm sure they'll love the romance aspect if it does get released in English.
Having said that... I'm scared of them botching up the localization/translation.
Lover Pretend is a good otome game for anyone looking for a "starter otome", so here's to hoping it gets localized. I am slowly making my way to one route (I've had some personal issues that I needed to sort out), and it's been good so far.
You can check out my game, Love Cuts. | Android | iOS | The protagonist is a surgeon, as is one of the love interests, and the story takes place when they're on a Doctors Without Borders kind of assignment in a war-torn country. They don't have access to a regular hospital, given the situation, just a small clinic.
I've got a recommendation (although it is unfortunately not really free...) Demon's Bond a.k.a. Toki no Kizuna.
It's a port that was originally a psp game and it's set in the same "universe" as Hakuouki :)
Complete: Mnemonic Devices, The Pretenders Guild, Paths Taken, and Belong.
Incomplete: The Duenkhy, The Neptune Diaries, Gehenneam, One Thousand and One Days.
Hey there! I've got an otome VN I'm on the team for that has a version for free on both PC and mobile. It's called My Only Sunshine.
I've also got a list on Itch that I call "Entry level free VNs" but it's like half otomes, lol. My criteria is that things are relatively vanilla, as well as completed games that are free or PWYW. Check it out here if you want!
You should've received your download link from itch.io when you made the purchase. If you have it attached to an itch.io account, you can just log in and download it from the game page. Otherwise, you'll need to retrieve your download key from here: https://itch.io/support
PPerhaps Tyranobuilder? You don't even need to know how to code to make games using Tyranobuilder, if you can figure out how to use the kids block-based learning website "Scratch" You can probably figure out Tyranobuilder, it's quite intuitive and they even have tutorials on their website if you need help! It's what I've been planning to use when making my otome (haven't started yet, still designing the characters QwQ)
Anyways, here's a link to their website; http://tyranobuilder.com
I bought it on itch.io when it was released! I've played two of the male routes so far and had some fun. I know who the ~secret~ route is and I'm not sure how I feel about it. I'll get around to completing them all eventually. I'm a sucker for nobility-based games.
That is not true. I have no knowledge of python whatsoever, and I found it pretty intuitive to pick up. Here is an example of a short visual novel that I made with Ren'py. It's pretty basic, but you can check out my itch.io for another VN that's a bit more complicated/polished.
The built-in tutorial is all right, but a simple way to get into it is to google "renpy quickstart" and check out the results. Note that the Renpy Wiki is obsolete and a total beginner might want to go with the Renpy documentation instead.
I'm just gonna go on a rant about B&P. I'm quite surprised it got an FD despite the poor feedback on the first game. The only reason I can think of is they planned it from the start. But still, usually you'd think that games with poor feedback wouldn't get an FD. I have no idea about the number of sales but I don't think it'd be discounted so much if it had good sales. Amazon JP and Animate for example.
I didn't have high expectations of it but I thought it'd be decent at least. They tried to hard to make it 'dark' and it felt half-assed. Maybe I would have enjoyed it more if at least the characters had more development. The only thing I really liked about the game was the music and art.
Hiya! This week I released the Android version for That Which Binds Us on Google Play and Itchio!
If I get enough requests for it I'll put it on the Kindle store as well.
English indie games, like Dead Wishes (though I don't know about PG-13 with this one :-|), Hustle Cat, The Pretenders' Guild, When the Night Comes, A Foretold Affair.
EDIT: Here are some: https://itch.io/c/198059/choose-your-genderambiguous-gender-protagonists
EDIT2: There are also CYOA (Choose Your Own Adventure) games (companies like Choice of Games and Hosted Games)! Even though they're text-only, I highly recommend them, though they may not count as otome, but there are some out there being close.
I asked Fabi over at Hayurika for some advice (since I'm just her graphic designer lol) so I'll try to write out what she offered. Everyone's given you some great advice so we're probably echoing a lot of it lol.
So when it comes to finding games to cover, don't limit yourself!! It's fine if you don't understand Japanese (we sure don't)! There's a lot of other stuff you can cover, like otome mobage and OELVNs. Be sure to look outside of Steam for games, like itch.io! Especially after the recent Steam fiasco, I wouldn't be surprised if more creators moved their stuff over there.
In terms of community engagement... one way to find other people to connect with and find readers would be to set up a twitter. We've got a big community there that's like, super vocal about otome games and they're all very supportive. Best to use hashtags like #OtomeArmada to get their attention. Also, don't be afraid to reach out to other otome blogs since most of them are willing to promote each other!
Fabi keeps a relatively strict update schedule and it's been... four years? Since she started. Since then, she's also tried to broaden her content with things like unboxing limited edition sets and covering local events/cons. It definitely takes a while to get things moving but if you keep it up, you'll definitely see results! The important thing is that you're doing this because you want to and not to appease an audience. I've seen a number of people get burnt out from that.
If you do go forward with your blog, be sure to hit us up!
I like kanji study, idk if ios has it.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mindtwisted.kanjistudy
I like that you can copy and paste the radicals. A lot of times I know a similar kanji, Iook that up, copy a bunch of radicals with a tap so it's quick. Super convenient to look things up. (There's draw mode too, but kakijun is harder for me haha.)
You can make different lists for different games and such, and sort/lookup by grade level (or JLPT/jouyou/frequently used in media /kentei etc).
I paid up the $10 to upgrade for full features bc it was so easy to use and solid app.
I think there's like flash card mode and quiz mode. I would've absolutely used this in my upper div JP classes if I'd known about it at the time.
in terms of physical copies of otomes, i only actually own the LE of the code realise fandisk, but i know my brother bought it from amazon.com for something like €60. i did a quick check just there and you can get bad apple wars (such a good otome!) for $27, which is €22 on amazon. most otomes follow this type of price on the american amazon, and shipping varies depending on how fast you want the item. whether it's otomes or just regular video games, amazon US are really reliable. i live in ireland, and i still get my items within a week or two.
as others have said, though, if you have your digital editions downloaded, then they'll be on your vita until you delete them, even if the psn store shuts down :) that in itself is unlikely to happen any time soon, though; i imagine sony will wait until they've announced another handheld before they'd even consider it.
hope this helps! and your english is super good, by the way! i study french for school and i doubt my level of french would measure up to your english ;w;
Don't worry, I'm much the same! I liken having physical copies of visual novels to books in that I can also browse and pick one off my shelf to read whenever the mood strikes me. There's nothing different in functionality between the models (I'm rocking a 1000 myself), it's mainly a convenience thing. 2000 is more ideal for portability due to the reasons I've already listed, while 1000 is arguably a better quality build ("premium" feel and not as flimsy, but conversely more heavy) with an OLED screen as opposed to LCD (therefore images are much crisper and vibrant, but the screen is vulnerable to screen burn), and uses a proprietary cable. If you want to splurge on a shiny new Vita, I would recommend importing the special pack from Amazon Japan which is a silver 2000 model that comes with a 32GB memory card. Given how expensive the memory cards are, it's good value!
That's precisely the reason I'm leaving the Switch until way, way later if ever. By the time any otoges that aren't mobile ports hit the Switch in the west, Nintendo will probably have come out with a newer, better model anyway.
And no problem! Always happy to encourage people to partake in the joys of my beloved, forever on its deathbed console. xD
Do you mean the kitty paw analog stick covers? I got them on Amazon! They're also on Ebay and some other sites, but they were cheapest on Amazon when I ordered them 😅
The wiki says right under it "The game has returned and is available for download on Google Play. (Downloaded successfully on 8th May 2018)" and seems to be up/have a page? https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.skillshotlabs.NoticeMeSenpai&hl=en_US
Well since per route purchases are out (Voltage), I guess you have... Ephemeral? You can pay for all the routes at once.
Translation is awful, but the story and art are nice.
There is one app called First Love Story
Its got your standard otome routes BUT also has BL and GL
I'll be honest, the translation is...not the best...but it's cute~
The black model has a certain sleek beauty to it too :-D I think both are really lovely! Light CGs look especially wonderful on the black Vita. I bought the cat paw covers from Amazon if you'd like to add them to your own Vita!
Definitely try out Dui from Voltage's Star Crossed Myths! He's the nicest guy ever... with a very dark side. One of my top favourite guys.
There's even a whole game about it (and all the ridiculous variations)
Kabedon Never wanna let you go
If you've played JimiKare, it's like that. Just tap away on the screen till you fill a gauge and get a new picture and a short story. It's a cute time waster.
Since you said you liked split personalities, I really, really recommend Dui from Star Crossed Myths.
Um, if it's okay to self-plug... I wrote an otome game that features a protagonist that I think will be rather refreshing for a lot of the players here, judging from the comments in the protagonist personality discussion thread? You can download it for free on Android here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.hanabimedia.android_descendantofthesun
And on iOS here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/love-cuts-free-otome-fanfic/id1123385295?mt=8
We put up an itch.io page for our new project Gilded Shadows.
A demo download should be coming later this week as well as a short trailer. But for now you can see some art, screen caps, and read about the game. OwO
So I've been shifting my otome game list over to trello because I like how intuitive it is and how you can share it publicly so everyone knows how shameful you are for not completing tasks, but BOI IS THIS LIST INTIMIDATING...And this is only my otoge fam.
I've just started setting up a blog for otome media related ramblings too so hopefully that combined with this very terrifying visual representation of my wasting of money will help me actually read and review them.
In other news Persona3 is $5 on PSN and I'm itching to get it but then I looked at my backlog list and suddenly I cooled down.. I'll never get to it for another 2 years..../deadfish eyes
Halloween Otome and Valentine Otome are both good and free on itch.io. There is a Christmas one currently at a demo stage and I really enjoy them a lot, I think they are two of my favourite free games. Cute Demon Crashers is really enjoyable too though does have the potential for it to go 18+ territory. Changeling is my favourite game recently, I really love it and it has 6 LIs which I love and I also love the MC if you enjoy sassy MCs. It's around $20USD I think so it's only about $3 per LI.
Lucette from Cinderella Phenomenon is my fave MC in otome period. Seriously, the girl has a lot of gumption and a really dang good character arc... I honestly think she's just as much a draw to the game as any of the love interests. Also the game is free, which is a plus.
If you're looking for an eastern game with a better protagonist... the only one I can personally recommend is Nightshade. >!(That said, my library is smaller than most in this reddit, seeing as I don't generally play mobile and don't have a vita. Don't take this as me condemning anyone else's recs lol) !<While she's still got a relatively sweet personality, Enju definitely feels like she's got agency in her story where a lot of MCs don't. Also she's a ninja!
The was a game called "Queen's Crown" on Itch.io that looked very promising in the customization territory in its demo, but the dev did a kickstarter then promptly disappeared with 11 thousand dollars for the past two years so I wouldn't bother with it :/
That's super interesting! Here, the raw food diet has a relatively large following and...it's honestly sounding more like a cult the more I read about it LOL. I dug up some linkshere and here if you're interested.
Most of the vegan recipes I've found while browsing don't seem to be that snobby, in fact a lot of them bake and love cooking, etc. The "raw food" usually talked about here is just that - raw, uncooked food, so basically vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds. Some people eat raw meat and eggs and that's just >_>
Man, you Swedens are so much more inclusive and forgiving than Americans lol. We could learn a lot from Europe in general.
Most of the ones I can think of have been said already, but:
NJ here - it snowed the other day, it's snowing right now... it's been in the 30s or so. You are definitely going to want to bring a coat! DC will probably be warmer but not by a ton, though at least you don't have snow coming up. I'm going north for Christmas and it looks like there will be snow or ice.
I've been following the news coming in via Twitter and hoo boy. Valve definitely didn't think sending those emails would cause as much of a stink as it has. I'm glad to see that Valve is "re-reviewing" the games instead of just taking them down, but we'll see what happens. (It does seem like at least a couple of the games in question were legitimately violating Steam's TOS by distributing porn hidden Hot Coffee-style in the files, with "patches" that are just 0kb files that enable them to be accessed in-game.)
The good news for people who don't want to buy from Steam is that now MangaGamer and Sekai Project have partnered with GOG.com, so that's one more place that you can buy from. Right now there's only a limited selection (eden* and Higurashi from MG, the fault and Sunrider series from SP) but at least MG has confirmed that all of their games on Steam will be put on GOG as well. Fruitbat Factory is also selling all their VNs on itch.io now, though they don't have any otome games.
I'm so close at playing it when it came out last year but my translator doesn't run Korean so I never bothered playing it but am keeping a close eye on it on qooapp, it's a korean otome but with rpg and fashion element in it, that is what I've read from qooapp https://apps.qoo-app.com/en/app/10230
No problem! The game varies in difficulty but I don't find it too bad - I find the gachas to be very forgiving too and its pretty easy to get decent cards. As a bonus the art is gorgeous too!
Urmm that doesn't sound like the right game at all - it's definitely mostly in Japanese but there is no couple kissing in it haha. I had a quick look on apkture as that's always the most up to date on the game's apk's and I think you downloaded the one above it by accident in the list! It's this one! I have no idea if it'll let you do it on IOS tbh or if it's just android. You can find the game in Quooapp though too!
Note: this is the V2 version!
From Zeiva Inc's tumblr, paraphrased:
Those who had already bought Area-X, email Zeiva () with the email used to buy the game (for downloaded version) or the code in the serial.txt file (for CD version), to get the free V2 upgrade, as well as a free Steam key.
For those who haven't bought the game but are interested to try, you can play the demo on Zeiva's website. If you're interested in buying the game, I would suggest waiting for a few days; both Train of Afterlife and X-note have been part of Groupees bundles before, so waiting to see if Groupees' upcoming bundles (of which there will be a VN bundle in July!) will have Area-X can yield it at a cheaper price and more games. Here is Groupees' website.
At the moment the game does not yet contain Steam trading cards. I'm not sure if they will add them, but since X-note had them I think they will add later.
Edit: on the V2 update, IIRC there are more side stories, more pictures, an extra gallery, and some tie-in to Silent-X, the 3rd entry in the Otome-X and what is likely the last as well.
Edit 2: I am 100% unaffiliated with Zeiva Inc and Groupees, I do not make any sort of money posting these, I'm just a fan who enjoys Zeiva's work :)
Can I recommend Havenless for the cellphone? It's an Otome with 4 LI, 3 males and 1 female. It's a zombie survival story, and it has pretty solid characters. It's story heavy, with a very complex main character and a good mystery to boot.
Congrats! 👏I remember that feeling of accomplishment when I finished my first otome game in Japanese (Ayakashi Gohan). What did you think of Sidekicks? I heard that it's made by the exact same team as Bustafellows. Do you plan to play more games in Japanese for language practice?
I just received my deluxe edition of Bustafellows. I ordered it from Amazon.jp when I realized it was actually cheaper than buying it off of the eshop, even after shipping (!?!?!) Finishing up Olympia Soiree now and debating whether I should dive into Black Wolves Saga, the Yuukyuu no Tierblade fandisk, or Bustafellows next.
That’s totally understandable! In my experience Amazon Japan uses DHL to ship, so it shouldn’t take more than a few days to arrive :) You just have to search it up using the Japanese titles! Here’s the link for Ashen Hawk and Black Butterfly. Just make sure to make a separate account for Amazon Japan cause it doesn’t connect to the US version. You can also change the language to English for easier checkout at the bottom!
Same here! Toma's tied with Ukyo for my favorite in Amnesia, hehe. :D (I like how I have a Kent flair as I write this...)
I'd love to see pictures if you have some! (And feel comfortable sharing, of course!) There's definitely not nearly enough HB cosplay in general, and definitely not enough of best birb. ;D
Here's a link to it on Amazon - I think you might need a Kindle to read it but I felt like it was very much worth it, even though it's a bit short.
Edit: Just saw your edit - thank you! :D
...I might have that issue of B's Log at home? I have vol.23 of B's Log Otomate Magazine that came out on June 6, 2016 according to Amazon JP. I'll take a look when I get home to see if it's in there. -- Checked, nope! Sorry. Just some other Period Cube content.
ETA: But looking at the release date of 4/20 it could be this B's Log Magazine instead, even though it says 7月号 instead of 6月号 like the tweet... lol no wonder nobody can find it.
Thanks for the detailed post! Vitas are not region locked right? Also, would a Japanese charging cable work here?
Are you a Canadian? I was just wondering about what potential shipping and customs fees might be if I order through amazon Japan link. Or if there are any reputable ebay sellers.
Also, any colour recommendations?
Amazon just posted photos of what the limited edition would look like.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07895XFR9/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Seems like it's a little different from the Japanese version.
Your formatting is fine, and I'm positive that others share the same questions as you - so don't hesitate to bring them up. You're an important contributor to this subreddit, and I'm glad that you've found the threads here to be helpful and useful!
As for your situation, do you have a personal preference that you're currently leaning towards? It sounds like you've thought about this for a while, so I can understand your situation. I'm positive that in the end you'll come to the right decision for you, but some things you might want to keep in mind are the costs of shipping (GameStop offers shipping to Japan at a base price of $24.99) and that even if your sister ships it to you in Japan, it could take a month or longer depending on what type of postal service you're using and how much you're willing to pay.
I also personally prefer physical copies, and I think that if you really want to get your hands on a physical rather than digital version, maybe you should consider buying the localized version of Code Realize in Japan? I think this is the link here for Aksys' version of Future Blessings on Amazon Japan, and I believe that they may have free shipping depending on where you're living. It's obviously more expensive than what it would cost through the US, but it seems like a potential compromise especially as you don't have to wait for your copy to ship to you from the States. I will mention that I've based this link off of the suggestion that the localized version 7Scarlet was already up for pre-orders on this site, so it may need additional clarification, but I hope this helps you a little with your dilemma!
If you don't mind waiting a good month for it to ship, you can buy it from the American Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Game-Music-Original-Soundtrack-GNCA-7181/dp/B00BTYOEBW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1531347791&sr=8-1&keywords=norn9+cd
It'll be shipping from Japan on the slowest boat available unless you pay a decent amount extra though.
From PC to PSP, there were a lot of new things added. (See Summer page. I imagine it's the same extras for all of them...including heroine having a face.) From PSP to Vita, seems there's nothing new.
6000 yen MSRP is typical for Vita games in Japan. Software, CDs, DVDs, Blu-Rays, etc. are much more expensive. Amazon Japan has them discounted to around 4700 yen, but that's before shipping and possible customs.
My copy of Cendrillon Palika just arrived and oh my god I love it. The art is gorgeous, the writing is great, and the story actually moves at a decent pace in the beginning of the game unlike a lot of visual novels. I can't stop reading it.
Amazon JP reviews are looking promising I'm really excited to dig into this game more.
Hey, I'm also from Australia! Unfortunately the vita isn't the cheapest of investments especially if you buy physical, but I import my games from ozgameshop and videogamesplus. They're about A$40 - 50 each. I'm still trying to force myself to shell out for a memory card (and I've had a Vita since 2012) but there are a decent number of listings for them on ebay, otherwise you can also get them off play-asia.
Edit: I missed your question about bundles, sorry. Earlier this year Amazon JP was selling a special pack that included a silver 2000 model vita and a 32GB memory card. The price has gone up by now and I don't know if JP has resumed delivering to Australian addresses (I know US has) but the listing is here if you want to check it out. If you're fine with used, Gumtree is worth a browse as most sellers include a memory card with their console listing.
Hi there, sorry to butt in, I hope you don't mind but if you're interested in a CR artbook but can't buy the collector's edition, there is an official CR artbook released in Japan ~5 years ago. You can buy it from here, though you could probably find it on other websites/ebay too.
I have never seen how the collector's edition artbook looks so I can't really compare/give insight on the matter but this artbook is definitely worth the purchase if you can't get the other one. I know it's a bit pricey on it's own though but I figured I would let you know nevertheless!
The ones on Genius I tried/paid for seem to be gone now, but HuneX also did a "Play a little a day or but it all unlimitedly" with at least this one: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hunex_play.hsp825009gen&hl=en_US I'd check out their others to see if the others are, too.
All of the Fake Novel series, but those games are really short.
Also, Yum Yum Dating Show
I'm playing a new Dreaded Inc game, The Legendary Love Story. The current version, v0.0.14 (probably still beta) is very patchy with repeated sentences that express the same or contrasting ideas. Such hiccups really slow down my reading speed as I have to ponder what it was trying to get across. The localisation isn't as bad as machine translation, but it's like including draft and edit versions in the same script. It severely needs A LOT OF PROOFREADING. I have no idea why the company has already released the game.
There're 3 routes as usual, but this time round each route only has 1 CG. It's really the lowest quality product in the history of Dread Inc.
The saddest thing is that both the MC and the plot are highly promising. MC is rational, badass and adventurous. The plot involves multiple twists that span across nations and eras. I'm in my first route, and have been intrigued by how fast events are taking place, while building layers upon layers of the mystery. Many things are toying with MC's life while love blossoms. The only concern would be how so many conflicts could be resolved in a single route. Tbh I have low expectation since Together in the Sky, but I'll finish the game anyway.
Ephemeral! Gorgeous art and you pay per route (I think like $4 per guy).
Not as high quality as Voltage, translation has a ton of spelling and grammar errors. But the stories can be cute.
Onee Gakuen plays pretty much like himo otoko, since it's made by the same people that made himo otoko. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.co.goodroid.onee&hl=en is the link on google play
I also second Jimi-Kare :)
Might not be what you're looking for, but ZombieBoy - Zombie Growing Game and 10 Billion Husbands might be up your alley as well.
I have older android and I could play it normally. On page for Locked heart it says: ''Requires Android 2.3.3 and up'' it says nothing for iOS T-T Here is the link for the game, try to open it
Yeah, CP is awesome xD There are some similar characters in Locked heart xD
No to the first one because Japan will still produce Vitas for MSRP until the end of 2019. As for memory card, depends on the size. 8 GB, no but higher capacity ones, maybe. There's actually an official Vita + memory card bundle that's priced reasonably, espeically for new. On Amazon Japan if it ships to you. There's the Days of Play pack and this value pack.
Ooh, I finally have a reason to recommend Animal Boyfriend! The premise is you're a teacher teaching an animal boy how to be human. There isn't a huge romance element (you do get to see cute scenes with your boy every 5 levels though). You have to raise his stats to unlock personalities, but other than that, the stat-raising part of the game isn't something you have to focus on much.
Amibition also has another dress-up game with guys called Dream Boyfriend. It's very similar to AB except events tougher to rank in. The can also move depending on if they're wearing special outfits. The premise of this game is you're helping the guy become a proper god.
If you like light hearted ones, I suggest going for mogages instead, such as Voltage's Star Crossed Myth or Our Two Bedroom Story.
They focus more on romance and it's never dark, whatsoever.
Norn9 is also more cute and fluffy, but that's on the Vita, which I don't know if you own or not.
If you liked the romance and fantasy part of CP, then I recommend Voltage's Star Crossed Myth for Android and iOS - easily their best app. It comes with a fantasy setting of dating and falling in love with a Zodiac God.
However if you're looking for really well written games, Voltage is probably not something you might like. They focus more on short and quick romances - less on the story front. Their routes are usually about 2 hours each of gametime.
For more story driven games, Otomate is usually the one with longer and more compelling stories (the romance I feel is usually lacking though). They're most known for their Hakuoki series, which is available on lots of platforms such as PSP, DS, Android, iOS etc. Look it up!
There's also The Charming Empire which is a light read, you may want to try it out.
Hey there! I've written a couple of games for Hanabi Media that you might want to check out for your channel!
Love Cuts is about a surgeon with a perfect career, a perfect boyfriend, and a perfectly annoying god-complex. But her perfect life is shattered one night when a mysterious blood-splattered man crashes through her window...
Love Magic is about a self-identified weeb who has lunch with a lucky member of her harem of 300 otome game husbandos everyday. But when her grandmother passes away, she discovers that she's inherited her magical powers... as well as a cat familiar who happens to be able to transform into a cute boy?!
If mobile otome games are included, I remember FR: The Amazing Shinsengumi has this, at least in the route I purchased (Saito Hajime). Though I laughed at how it described the scene ( * ´∀` * )
If it's okay to suggest a game that I wrote, you can check it out here and see if it's your thing. Only Part I is out right now, but if you're interested I can DM you when Part II is published. Or just DM me in general for more details since these things can be rather spoilery haha. :)
Oh... it looks like another one of my games just came out too. :D You can get it on Android for free here:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.hanabimedia.android_lovetrianglecatandwitch
I'm shocked, nobody even told me... ;A; I'm gonna go download and play it right now haha <3 /is a little excited
I recommend this one: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=air.jp.globalgear.make It's a messenger-based otome game, with bad/good endings! However it's only in Japanese so I haven't had the chance to play it yet. There is also this one: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=air.com.globalgear.kr.soudan It's Korean, also messenger-based but not otome. You give relationship advice to your friends. But again, not available in English.
Thank you! 💖 Technically, yes, I got them from this book! It doesn't come with any digital files, though, so you will either have to scan the images in or use transparent sheets to trace them!
So glad that you picked up the game, you're going to have a lot of fun with it and it's so refreshing as a title that isn't made by Otomate. For those who are still looking for a copy, depending on where you live and shipping options, Amazon Japan might be cheaper and faster!