It’s hard to believe, but Nook News is now over a year old! Every week, I, along with Nook have been keeping you all up to date with all the happenings relating to the topics we love. I’d like to thank Nook for the opportunity to not only help me keep up with the latest news but also the chance to share it with all of you over the last 12 months! With that said, on to the news for this week:
Visual Novel News:
MangaGamer have announced the CLOCKUP title, Erovoice! Sexy Voices Lead to a Successful Love Life♪ will release on February 24th 2022.
This visual novel follows a young man who gets the job of his dreams – to work at a voice acting agency that manages voice actresses for erotic games, anime, and sound dramas! With heroines including voice actors and engineering staff, there are different types for everyone.
Find the Store Page Here (NSFW) – or check out their Valentine’s Day sale
Sekai Games has announced that Heart of the Woods will release on PlayStation 4/5. This Original English Language Visual Novel by Studio Élan has been widely praised, with an Overwhelmingly Positive score on Steam.
It describes itself as a “fantasy yuri visual novel about paranormal investigation, ancient mysteries, and a love between two girls that transcends life and death”.
Prefer the 18+ version and want it on PC? Either the 18+ patch for Steam or the 18+ version can be found on Denpasoft.
Ratalaika has just launched another yuri visual novel, this time on PlayStation, Nintendo Switch and XBox.
Blackberry Honey is a Original English Language Visual Novel by ebi-hime, who is behind titles such as Embraced by Autumn which we previously reviewed. It describes itself as a cute lesbian love story in a Victorian setting.
Recently we wrote up our thoughts in a preview of the Suhoshin visual novel demo. Now you can download the first few chapters of this mystery visual novel set in Korea for yourself.
As there’s quite a lot of visual novel news this week, here is a summary of some more interesting things to check out:
- Kamigawa: A Visual Novel released on February 9th based on a Magic the Gathering set.
- Boys-Love visual novel He’s Just My Buddy released on February 10th.
- Failbetter Games has released a demo of Mask of the Rose.
- Moonchime Localization has announced boys love title Tokyo Onmyoji is releasing on February 25th. There is currently a demo.
- Every Day’s Different by Snowfall Studio has launched on Steam. This is a slice of life OELVN
Gaming News:
As is the norm, Nintendo announced a new Nintendo Direct presentation a day before its broadcast earlier this week, and it came with a gigantic list of big announcements! Here are the biggest among them:
Koei Tecmo and Omega Force are teaming up with Nintendo again for a sequel to one of their most popular titles, Fire Emblem: Three Houses. Instead of a turn-based strategy game, this serves as a follow-up to Fire Emblem Warriors and will be an action title that will deepen the lore of the well-loved original.
Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes releases exclusively for Nintendo Switch on June 24th.
Watch the announcement trailer for Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes
One of the most beloved Mario sports spin-offs was undoubtedly the Mario Strikers series. It’s been 15 years, but Nintendo has finally seen fit to release a third entry in the series: Mario Strikers: Battle League! In this chaotically fun version of the time-honored tradition of soccer, the big new additions to this title are gear customization and the ability to create online clubs for online play.
Mario Strikers: Battle League (with the word football being added in some regions) launches exclusively for Nintendo Switch on June 10th.
Watch the announcement trailer for Mario Strikers: Battle League
A complete remaster of Square-Enix’s Chrono Cross is coming, and not too far into the future too! Alongside the original title, this version also adds the ability to turn off enemy encounters and an enhanced soundtrack.
Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition is coming to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC on April 7th.
Watch the announcement trailer for Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition
The Klonoa platformer series has been dormant for over a decade and fans have waited for the long-eared Namco mascot to make his return. To celebrate the franchise’s 25th anniversary, that day has finally come! Remakes for both Klonoa: Door to Phantomile and Klonoa 2: Lunatea’s Veil are being packaged together in Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series!
Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series launches for Nintendo Switch on July 8th. Versions for the PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, and PC will release at a later date.
Watch the announcement trailer for Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series
Live A Live is finally making its debut in the west almost 30 years after its Super Famicom release! For those unaware, Live A Live is a JRPG developed by Squaresoft and was the directorial debut for Takashi Tokita, who later went on to direct titles such as Chrono Trigger and Parasite Eve. This new release of Live A Live will be using the same HD-2D style used in titles such as Octopath Traveler and the upcoming Triangle Strategy.
Live A Live is coming exclusively to Nintendo Switch on July 22nd.
Watch the announcement trailer for Live A Live
Remember Wii Sports back when the Nintendo Wii launched? I’m sure many of you have fond memories of playing the game with friends and family, so you’ll more than likely be thrilled to hear that a new entry in the series was announced! Nintendo Switch Sports brings back three of the classic sports, Tennis, Bowling, and Chambara while introducing Soccer, Badminton, and Volleyball into the series. What’s more, a later update in Fall will add Golf to the list of sports on offer. If you would like to try the game out for yourself, Nintendo is hosting an online playtest from February 18th to February 20th.
Nintendo Switch Sports releases exclusively for Nintendo Switch on April 29th.
Watch the announcement trailer for Nintendo Switch Sports
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is getting a ton of new content in the form of a bunch of new race tracks! Eight courses will be released across six waves for a grand total of 48 new tracks from all throughout the Mario Kart series. The DLC pack will be $24.99 and the first wave of courses will release on March 18th, though if you have a Nintendo Switch Online + membership, the Booster Course Pass will be included in your subscription.
Watch the announcement trailer for the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass
To close out the Direct, they ended it with a bang! The third numbered entry in Monolith Soft’s Xenoblade Chronicles was confirmed! This new installment aims to tie together the futures from the first two installments, but not much else is known about the title as of now.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 arrives exclusively for Nintendo Switch this September.
Watch the announcement trailer for Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Anime News:
Originally scheduled to premiere back in October 2021, the long-awaited second season of The Rising of a Shield Hero is only a few months away. This was confirmed with a brand new trailer for the continuation, along with a new piece of key art.
The Rising of a Shield Hero season 2 premieres this April.
Watch the season 2 trailer for The Rising of a Shield Hero
Demon Slayer‘s Entertainment District arc may be over, but fans will be happy to know that the series will be receiving another season! Dubbed the Swordsmith Village arc, we got a teaser image featuring Hashira Muichiro Tokito and Mitsuri Kanroji.
Demon Slayer: The Swordsmith Village arc currently has no premiere date.
On the topic of continuations, the anime adaptation of Hiro Mashima’s EDENS ZERO will be getting a second season! While no premiere date was listed, we got a teaser image to coincide with the announcement.
The return of Black★Rock Shooter is only a few months away! A brand new trailer giving us a better glimpse of the series in motion was just released, along with the premiere date.
Black★★Rock Shooter DAWN FALL premieres on April 3rd.
Watch the trailer for Black★★Rock Shooter DAWN FALL
Upcoming Releases:
SNK has been doing quite well in the fighting game sphere thanks to the release of the latest Samurai Showdown title back in 2019, but it was only a matter of time for their most popular fighting franchise to make its return. The King of Fighters XV releases this week, hosting 39 playable characters at launch, and will implement rollback netcode for improved online play.
The King of Fighters XV releases for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, and PC on February 17th.
The second entry in the Voice of Cards series releases this week. This JRPG from the creators of the NieR series is told using only playing cards with gorgeous artwork while telling a brand new story.
Voice of Cards: The Forsaken Maiden launches for PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC on February 17th.
An anime/gaming aficionado, experienced content creator and lovable goofball. Name a game genre and Seamus has likely played it… yes, even that one. Follow him @TrueStorySeamus
