Visual Novel News:
Sekai Project have announced that 9-nine-:NewEpisode will be releasing on the 18th of March, 2022. You can wishlist it on the Steam page currently.
This is a sequel to the 9-nine- series which concluded last year with Episode 4 and contains short after stories for each heroine. For those not familiar with the series, each episode contains a supernatural mystery story, focusing on a different heroine in the same setting.
Find more information about the series here
Medibang have released the yuri visual novel Secret Kiss is Sweet and Tender on PC and Nintendo Switch.
It follows a student teacher who suddenly got kissed by a student during her teacher training. The same student happens to be an illustrator, who she is a huge fan of.
Sekai Project has confirmed they will be releasing A Clockwork Ley-Line: Daybreak of Remnants Shadow on March 18th, 2022. Kickstarter backers will be receiving keys for the game on Monday, March 14th. This is the sequel to A Clockwork Ley-Line: The Borderline of Dusk, which is it strongly recommended to play first.
In another announcement by Sekai Project, yuri visual novel Uso Kara Hajimaru Koi no Natsu from developer Lycoris has been announced as a future English release. There does not appear to be an official localised title yet, but it has been subtitled ‘Summer Love Begins with a Lie’.
Hanako Games has released Night Cascades, a yuri visual novel. This indie developer is known for titles such as Long Live The Queen and Magical Diary: Wolf Hall.
Night Cascades follows two women who must solve an occult-themed mystery set in an alternate 1980s while unraveling the secrets of their past. It included interactive minigames and multiple perspectives.
While not a visual novel itself, Heartthrob Memorial: Under the Tree of Legends (otherwise known as Tokimeki Memorial: Densetsu no Ki no Shita de) has received a fan-translation patch of the SNES demake version of this title. This dating simulator is seem as historically relevant in the related genres such as visual novels and has had multiple unsuccessful translation efforts made since it’s release in 1996.
The legality of this patch and it’s application may vary based on your location. We do not make any suggestion of using it, but are merely reporting on it due to its noteworthiness. When last checking, several copies of the SNES Cartridge for Tokimeki Memorial: Densetsu no Ki no Shita de could be found on eBay for approximately $20 USD for anyone wanting to find a legal copy of the game.
As there’s quite a lot of visual novel news this week, here is a summary of some more interesting things to check out:
- The upcoming game Ghostwire: Tokyo has released a free prequel visual novel on PS4 and PS5
- Outdoor Adventures With Marisa Kirisame has been released – this visual novel is set in the Touhou universe
- The Hepatica Spring has released on Steam. You run a hotel with a colorful cast in this visual novel
- Enigmarella, a steampunk Otome visual novel with 16 unique endings has been released on Steam
- Harakiri Geisha Girls will be released on Steam and Nintendo Switch in Spring 2022
- The House On Holland Hill has released on Steam and Itch.io
- Opportunity: A Sugar Baby Story is releasing today. This is an erotic visual novel exploring what it means to rebuild and reinvent yourself
- Homunculus Hotel has been released on Steam and Itch.io. This visual novel consists of six stories set in a mysterious hotel
- A demo for Elven Revenue Service has been released on Itch.io
Gaming News:
JRPG fans have been singing the praises for Trails in the Sky and Trails of Cold Steel for a while now, but there was a very noticeable gap between those two series. Thankfully, that gap is finally going to be filled with the release of Trails of Zero! While this segment in the series was teased for a western release, it finally has a release date!
Trails of Zero releases for PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC on September 27th.
Watch the story trailer for Trails of Zero
Want a chance to play the latest installment in the Kirby series? Along with releasing a showcase trailer going over all the game’s features, a demo is now available to play on the Nintendo eShop.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land launches exclusively for Nintendo Switch on March 25th.
Watch the overview trailer for Kirby and the Forgotten Land
Anime News:
I’m sure many of you have a lot of nostalgia for Funimation. They were most known for making Dragon Ball Z a household name in the west, along with the talented dubbing productions they’ve been releasing for over 25 years. In a surprising move for the company, they have merged with Crunchyroll to bring their massive library to the anime streaming service. It’s a shame to see the Funimation brand go, but we’ll always have the fond memories the company provided us.
Komi Can’t Communicate is returning for a second season just in time for the Spring anime season! The announcement came with a key visual for the new season, along with a premiere date, April 6th.
After the recent reveal of the new promotional art for the film, Toei Animation has released a brand new trailer for the upcoming film in the Dragon Ball franchise, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero! It teases a few new things, such as a new form for the fan-favorite character, Piccolo, which can also be seen in a new piece of promotional art.
Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero premieres in US theaters this Summer.
Watch the new trailer for Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero
The future exploits of anime’s most famous slime are coming to the big screen! Titled That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Guren no Kizuna Hen, the story will be an original one written by the light novel’s original author, Fuse. The same animation studio, 8bit will be working on the film and is set for a November 2022 release in Japan.
Watch the trailer for That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Guren no Kizuna Hen
One of Shonen Jump’s most recent series that found great success came to an end last week. Dr. Stone may have two seasons of material already adapted into an anime, the original manga ended its story at an impressive 232 chapters. Beginning back in 2017, it told the story of a world that was frozen in time for thousands of years when all of humanity was turned into stone statues. After the newly unpetrified humans awaken from their frozen forms, the rest of the story is all about attempting to rebuild civilization from square one. It’s unclear what the writer, Riichiro Inagaki and artist, Boichi will be working on next, but fans of Dr. Stone should definitely keep an eye out for whatever their next project will be!
Upcoming News:
While CyberConnect2 are more known for their games based on popular anime licenses, they are also known for making a unique action RPG series based on MMORPGs: the .hack series! If you never got to play the enhanced version of the second installment, .hack//G.U. Last Recode, you’ll now get your chance with a newly released Nintendo Switch port.
.hack//G.U. Last Recode releases for Nintendo Switch on March 10th.
Need an alternative for Mario Kart and are a fan of Final Fantasy? You might be thinking of the 1999 PlayStation release, Chocobo Racing, but it’s actually a sequel to it: Chocobo GP! This kart racer brings a ton of recognizable faces from the series, while also including the tried-and-tested drifting around corners for speed and items to give yourself an advantage on the track.
Chocobo GP arrives exclusively for Nintendo Switch on March 10th.
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
