So, it’s time to start the investigation! It’s the perfect time for DS and 3DS owners to get into the series, if they haven’t already. Also, iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad and Wii owners can get in on the fun since many of the games received iOS or WiiWare ports.

Objection! How did this get started?

Gyakuten Saiban has been a thing in Japan since 2001, when the first game was released on the Game Boy Advance. Apparently, Capcom didn’t have a lot of faith in gamers and their willingness to accept a comedic adventure game about a defense attorney. It’s probably for the best, as when the 2005 Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney port was released, it contained the original four cases and an all new fifth case with special DS features. That’s when Capcom realized it had a hit series on its hands, and went on to port the original game to Windows PCs in Japan, and to the Wii and iOS in Japan and North America.

Its success also ensured the release of the next three games outside of Japan. We still missed out on GBA released, but DS and WiiWare versions of Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Justice for All and Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Trials & Tribulations both appeared. Plus, the first DS exclusive game Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney was released worldwide without any hesitation.

All of the main games proceed in the same way. There are typically four or five cases. First, there’s an investigation phase where the defense attorney, Phoenix Wright in the first three games and Apollo Justice in the fourth, searches the crime scene, talks to witnesses and meets the client. Here’s when people collect evidence for trial and piece together how a murder happened with the help of an assistant, in Phoenix’s case Maya Fey and sometimes Pearl Fay help. Apollo has Trucy Wright by his side. The second part of each case is the trial phase, where players have to help their lawyer defend the client by picking holes in the testimony of the witnesses by showing their lies and presenting evidence so the true murderer can be revealed.

Now that you’re interested, there’s a little bit of a problem. You may have trouble finding some of the Ace Attorney DS games. The original Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is fairly easy to find, and you shouldn’t have to look too hard for Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney. However, Ace Attorney: Justice for All and Ace Attorney: Trials & Tribulations may be a bit more difficult to find, and odds are you’ll have to pay more than usual for a new copy. If you own a Wii, you’ll have no problem as first three games covering Phoenix’s adventures are always just a click away on the Wii Shop Channel. The same goes for the iOS version of the original game.

As for the future, Phoenix Wright has a lot of things planned. A 3DS mashup game by the name of Professor Layton vs. Ace Attorney is in development and Gyakuten Saiban 5 has just been announced. Gyakuten Saiban 123HD has just been released on iTunes in Japan too, and it is a HD remaster of the first three Ace Attorney games.

Hold it! So just how popular is Ace Attorney?

It’s incredibly popular worldwide, though its fame started in Japan. The result is a huge number of spin-offs and merchandise for fans to enjoy. Fortunately, people don’t necessarily have to import to enjoy all of it. Some of the Ace Attorney tie-ins were released worldwide, among them the forthcoming Gyakuten Saiban movie. The most prominent releases are of the various manga volumes. The Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney manga is being localized, and so were the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Official Casebooks, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Edgeworth Files and the Miles Edgeworth: Ace Attorney Investigations manga is in the process of being translated and will be released in North America this year.

Speaking of Ace Attorney Investigations, the popularity of the main series and its primary antagonist, Miles Edgeworth, lead to the prosecutor getting his own series. Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth received a worldwide release and involved more investigating and no courtroom drama. Instead, Edgeworth finds the suspect outside the courtroom at the crime scenes to assist with arrests. You may have to shop around to find a copy, as it’s gotten rather rare as of late. Sadly, despite the original being a fantastic game, Capcom decided not to take a chance on Gyakuten Kenji 2, making the sequel a Japan-exclusive. A fan translation is currently in progress to create an unofficial English patch.

However, some Ace Attorney extras can only be enjoyed if you’re in Japan or willing to import. In particular, the musical performances and concerts. Actually, even if you visit Japan now you probably won’t catch the musical. Gyakiten Saiban: Yomigaeru Shinjitsu and its sequel were only performed by the all-female Takarazuka Revue troupe in 2009. At least you can enjoy the music from the series. Aside from the official soundtracks for each game, Capcom has also released the Gyakuten Saiban Orchestra Album and Gyakuten Saiban Jazz Album, offering new arrangements of songs from the game. Supposedly they’ll be released outside Japan, but they haven’t appeared yet. You could also check online for Gyakuten Saiban Tokubetsu Houtei 2008, an official recording of a live concert of Ace Attorney music.

You may want to also try plugging Gyakuten Saiban into the search boxes at your favorite online import shops. You never know, you may find phone straps, bags, folders or other Ace Attorney merchandise.

COMING NEXT WEEK: Important Importables reviews Mother 3.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last week Important Importables talked about Marvelous Entertainment.

Follow Jenni on Twitter for more import game updates and general fangirl enthusiasm!

Well, that’s just Marvelous!

The first thing you have to know about Marvelous has one of the best company names ever. I mean, it’s Marvelous Entertainment! You can’t beat that.

Next, you have to know that it’s involved in more than just the video game industry. It produces TV shows, movies, plays and also owns the Artland animation studio and Delfi Sound studio. So while we’re focusing on its gaming presence today, it’s good to know that the company creates lots of good things.

Also, Marvelous Entertainment is primarily a publisher. While it’s true that it has been involved in the development of some games, mainly entries in the Harvest Moon series, it mainly acts as a publisher for other developers’ games. It has worked quite frequently with Imageepoch, Neverland, Hudson Soft, ArtePiazza, Vanillaware and Grasshopper Manufacture. So while you may not see Marvelous’ name on the box of the game you’re playing, there’s still a good chance it had something to do with its creation.

Marvelous Entertainment also does a lot of work outside of Japan. It established Rising Star Games, its European branch, back in 2004 with Bergsala AB. That way, it could have an easier game of getting its games into Europe. It sold its part of Rising Star Games in 2010, though it still works with the company on occasion. Then, in 2005, Marvelous acquired AQ Interactive and turned it into Marvelous Entertainment USA. In addition, it has a co-publishing partnership with the U.S. based XSEED games that started back in 2008. The company also allows other companies, like Natsume and Atlus, to publish its games so a larger audience can enjoy them.

These are Marvelous games.

If there’s one series that is practically synonymous with Marvelous, it’s Harvest Moon. It’s the company’s hallmark series, including the Rune Factory spin-off, and is part of the reason why the company has become as successful as it is. It happened with good reason too. Despite the occasional small bug or glitch, the Harvest Moon and Rune Factory games are mostly solid, well made and entertaining adventures for people who want to play a farming-life sim or take part in an action RPG that occasionally asks you to farm or make friends.

Those aren’t the only games the company is responsible for, as it’s had a number of incredible games released throughout the years. Here are a few in particular that are available in English and deserve some love.

• Avalon Code (DS): The world is ending, and players must catalog everything in a massive book so it can be remade after the apocolypse and everything restored. It is an action RPG and was released in North America in 2008.
• Contact (DS): The player is using the DS to “control” a boy named Terry and make him help a mysterious Professor collect power cells while avoiding CosmoNOT terrorists. It is an action RPG and was released in North America in 2006.
• Fate/Extra (PSP): A young man or woman finds him or herself caught up in the Holy Grail War. Only with the help of a Servant can the new magus survive and perhaps have one wish granted. It is a turn-based RPG and was released in North America in 2011.
• Half-Minute Hero (PSP): Players control a hero, evil lord, princess or knight and get each of them through 30 second adventures to save the world. It has RPG, strategy, action and shooter modes and was released in North America in 2009. It was updated and ported to the Xbox 360 as an XBLA title in 2011.
• Little King’s Story (Wii): Corobo is the newly crowned king of Alpoko and it is up to him to get his followers to build up the kingdom to make it a wonderful place to live. It is a combination life sim and real time strategic RPG and was released in North America in 2009.
• Luminous Arc (DS): People in the Cardinal Kingdom and throughout the world are taught witches are bad, but a young knight named Leon and his friends learn there’s more to the story and the world is in danger. It is a strategic RPG with visual novel elements and was released in North America in 2007.
• Muramasa: The Demon Blade (Wii): Players travel across Japan either as the fugitive, amnesiac ninja Kisuke who’s trying to prove his innocence or as the possessed princess Momohime trying to flee to safety while completing the spirit of the man possessing her. It is an action RPG and was released in North America in 2009.
• No More Heroes (Wii): Travis Touchdown takes an assassination job to pay for a beam katana he bought online, ends up becoming the 11th ranked assassin by the United Assassins Association and has to keep killing and trying to be number 1 or all other wannabe assassins will hunt him down. It is an action RPG and was released in North America in 2008. An updated port was released on the PS3 in 2011.

If you are only going to try a few, then definitely go for Avalon Code, No More Heroes and Contact!

COMING NEXT WEEK: Important Importables looks into Gyakuten Saiban (Ace Attorney).

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last week Important Importables talked about the GP2X, Wiz and Caanoo.

Follow Jenni on Twitter for more import game updates and general fangirl enthusiasm!

Title: Katawa Shoujo
Price: Free
System(s): Windows, Mac, Linux
Release Date: January 4, 2012
Publisher (Developer): Four Leaf Studios (Four Leaf Studios)
ESRB Rating: N/A, 18 and over since it does have adult content, sexual situations and smoking.
Pros: Realistic storylines and depictions of relationships, detailed character art, doesn’t in any way make fun of or light of disabled people, has animated cutscenes, can turn adult content on or off, can listen to music or see unlocked images in the Extras menu and there are bad, neutral and good endings for the five characters. It’s also available in 9 different languages. Can pick up at any point in any unlocked story segment with the Library feature.
Cons: Only certain decisions determine if you get bad, neutral or good endings. Only torrent downloads are currently available. Even if you turn off adult content, you’ll still see nudity.
Overall Score: 9/10
Note: This review was conducted with adult content disabled.

Katawa Shoujo was born from controversy. It’s first moments came from potential character art of five disabled girls created by Raita that found its way onto 4chan, and the developer Four Leaf Studios was actually made up of 4chan residents and members of other assorted online communities. That alone would easily dissuade people from playing. Bring up the fact that Katawa Shoujo means Crippled Girls in Japanese only makes things worse.

Yet, Katawa Shoujo isn’t a bad thing. It isn’t insensitive. It isn’t mocking the disabled characters that star in the adventure. It isn’t a means for players to live out strange sexual fantasies, even with the adult content turned on in the options. It’s a well written and thought out adventure that takes a realistic look at relationships between individuals and shows the growth of a newly disabled character as he comes to deal with his new impediment and realizes the true measure of individuals comes from what’s inside.

A heart attack leads to a blank slate

Hisao Nakai is normal. Starts out normal, anyways. His high school crush, Iwanoko, comes to confess her love for him one wintr day and, after hearing her voice her affections, he suffers a horrible heart attack. He then spends months alone in a hospital, undergoing surgery and treatment for the congentital heart defect and arrhythmia it turns out he’s had his whole life. As time passes, his friends and Iwanoko stop visiting. Hisao even starts to think he’ll never leave the hospital.

Of course, he does get that opportunity. His cardiologist and parents feel he’s ready to head out into the world, with multiple prescriptions, and determine that Yamaku Academy is the best place for him. It’s a boarding school with 24-hour nursing staff and an adjacent hospital that caters to children and teenagers who have some kind of physical disability or health issue that requires specialized care. But it’s more than just some kind of day-care for special kids. Yamaku is designed to help its students build learn, encourage natural talents and build life skills while also allowing them to go through rehab so they can lead successful and fufilling lives. Hisao is understandably depressed and pessimistic at this point, since he just sees it as being shuffled off to some special school because he’s defective now, but a part of him also realizes this is a blank slate and a chance for him to have a new start in life.

He arrives in class 3-3 at one week before a school festival and finds that Yamaku both is and isn’t the place he expected. While understandably nervous and tactless at the outset, Yamaku provides an opportunity for Hisao to grow as a person and develop a relationship with Shizuna Hakamichi, Lilly Satou, Hanako Ikezawa, Emi Ibarazaki or Rin Tezuka.

Katawa Shoujo is more professional than some commercial visual novels.

Before you even start wondering, Katawa Shoujo contains no stereotypical or weak characters. Each member of the main cast is completely capable despite any disabilities he or she may have, and may even have surprising talents that will surprise the player. For example, Emi is a character who lost both of her legs below the knee in a car accident. Despite that, she’s the star running on the track team and runs multiple events at each meet. Rin has no arms due to a birth defect, but is a fantastic painter and is charged with the creation of a large mural for Katawa Shoujo‘s opening festival. Shizune is the president of the student council, even though she’s deaf and mute and has to have her friend Misha on hand to communicate with students who don’t know sign language. These characters are more than competant and happen to be ordinary girls who just happen to have some extraordinary circumstances to deal with. While some of these characters may have issues that initially inhibit them as the game begins, like the burn victim Hanako, they also grow throughout the game with the help of their friends and Hisao.

In addition, the relationships that develop between Hisao and each of the girls is incredibly realistic. As someone who’s played quite a few otome (girl’s dating sim) visual novels, I can attest that that’s quite a feat in any dating simulation. Hisao doesn’t just magically launch into a relationship with any of the five girls. They aren’t fawning over him. It actually takes time and effort to build a relationship with the girls and it happens gradually. Hisao and the girls slowly develop a friendship and eventually fall in love, sometimes not even realizing how deep their feelings are until the game’s end. Things aren’t always perfect or happy and they even have issues to worth through together to become closer and well adjusted individuals. Also, the endings available even reflect this. In the case of Emi, you can either earn a good end or a bad end, there’s no in-between. For Lilly, you can either achieve a good end or a neutral ending. It’s almost refreshing to see that there aren’t always limitless possibilities or a good, neutral or bad ending available.

Even more impressive are Katawa Shoujo‘s production values. It is longer and gives the player more than many commercial games. It puts commercial games from both Japan and North America to shame. I’m not just talking about the writing, characterization, character art, soundtrack and gallery options. Katawa Shoujo is the first visual novel I’ve played that was made outside Japan and contains animated cutscenes. Yes, there is actually animation in this free game. There’s a brief segment when the game first begins, after Hisao is hospitalized, and there are five segments that appear before each girl’s storyline begins. Each segment looks as though it were professionally done and offers a brief vignette of a moment between Hisao and the girl or an insight into their relationship. I was floored the first time I saw one of these segments and it just proves Four Leaf Studio’s dedication and love for the game.

There’s actually only one downside I encountered. Katawa Shoujo does have an adult content switch in the options menu, allowing players to turn certain scenes on and off. However, this does not turn off all adult content in the game. There will still be nude character art and you’ll see the dialogue leading up to the sexual situations. The event CGs and text descriptions of said acts will be censored though, with images of food or animals appearing briefly instead of the mature content. This means there really is no “all ages” version to enjoy. So parents or gamers who just don’t like seeing naked people on their screen should know that this is definitely a game for people over the age of 18.

If you really want to give Katawa Shoujo a try and are over 18, but aren’t big on the adult situations, you can always turn the adult content off, check the box to skip unseen text and then just skip through any scenes where Hisao gets intimate with his girlfriend. From what I’ve seen, there seems to be only one or two five minute moments like this in each route, and each storyline takes about three or four hours to complete. So you can see, the focus is on the actual relationship between Hisao and the other characters, and not on physical affairs.

An intimate understandings of relationships regardless of physical abilities or disabilities.

The biggest testament to the greatness of Katawa Shoujo is that eventually, you’ll forget that all of the major characters are disabled in some way. Even though the disabilities are physically visible in the character art for Lilly, Hanako and Rin at all times, I found I kept focusing more on what the characters were saying, doing and feeling than what they looked like or challenges they faced. This change comes through in Hisao’s character as well, as by the second act of each route Hisao has gone from tiptoeing and occasionally tactlessly conversing with his classmates to seeing them all as ordinary people who might just happen to be a little different than everyone else, and even becoming protective of them in some situations and wondering why other people are reacting to them the same way he did when he first met them.

I can understand why someone would be skeptical heading about Katawa Shoujo. It deals with some very strong and sensitive issues. However, it doesn’t skirt around these issues and disabilities or mock them. It’s straightforward and honest. Which is probably why it is such an effective visual novel. It rings true. If you want to play a really good visual novel about interpersonal relationships and don’t mind occasional adult content, then you should put any hesitance aside and try Katawa Shoujo.

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COMING NEXT WEEK: Important Importables looks at the GP2X and GP2X Wiz.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last week Important Importables talked about Japanese drinks.

Follow Jenni on Twitter for more import game updates and general fangirl enthusiasm!

Very likely due to restrictions placed on it by the National Football League, EA removed one of the most enjoyable parts of the game: late hits. The original allowed you to plaster opposing players after the whistle blew. The game didn’t have injuries, so there was no tangible reward from doing it. That wasn’t the point, however. Knocking the opponent out of bounds blew off steam if you were losing, or rubbed salt in the wound if you were winning.

Even worse, the time frame in between plays that would have allowed you to do late hits still exists. New players won’t notice. For those of us raised on the first NFL Blitz, the pregnant pause taunts our muscle memory. It makes me want to drag out an N64 and play that version, which I’m guessing is not the reaction EA was going for.

EA Sports takes a fair amount of bashing for its sports game efforts, and sometimes the publisher earns it. In this case, I’m sure their hands were tied by the “No Fun League.”  The game’s leadership has gotten so paranoid about injuries it’s on the verge of banning tackling with recent rule changes.

The arcade effort’s touchdown celebrations are now much more tame as well. I understand the NFL wants to maintain its professional image but Blitz is not supposed to be wired that way. It’s a world in which a player who’s doing well can quite literally catch on fire. It’s a world in which the San Francisco 49′ers can line up against a team of zombies. But, thanks to interference from the NFL marketing machine, it’s a world in which a player breakdancing is just too extreme to be tolerated.

NFL image police also ended EA’s NFL Street series, an arcadey take on football with aerial moves. The games were just coming into their own, but the “street football” concept was too edgy for the NFL.  It got sanitized into NFL Tour, a game so bland most that played it only did so for easy Xbox achievements. The league’s license has proven mandatory to sell a football sim, but it’s slowly choking the life out of arcade efforts. If Commissioner Roger Goodell is going to have final approval on tackle animations in Blitz, perhaps EA should revive Mutant League Football instead.

Read [Gamertell]

Japanese snacks are always a good way to experiment and try something new without worrying about the whole endeavor going too badly. Since we looked back at some Japanese candy back around Halloween, today we’ll go through some assorted Japanese, non-alcoholic drinks. All of them are relatively easy to find here, either in a local store or online, so you won’t have to

The novelty of Japanese drinks

It’s easy to develop a fascination with Japanese snacks, or even with the way said snacks are provided. Vending machine culture and unusual flavor combinations are typical in the country. It’s unique. People get to experience another culture and feel a little adventurous at the same time, without doing anything too unorthodox.

Vending machines are everywhere in Japan and you can get all kinds of drinks in a hurry, be they hot or cold. Of course there are standard soda machines and hot coffee dispensers with coffee, tea or other hot drinks. Beer machines can also be found in some areas though. Also, the hot drink dispensers are different in that some provide a warm can of coffee or perhaps even a drink like Calpis rather than just giving the buyer a paper cup filled with liquid.

The unexpected flavors are even more common though. Milk flavored drinks and usual tea combinations are everywhere. Coca-Cola and Pepsi are great examples, as both companies have special kinds sold only in Japan. Sometimes they’re even limited editions. Some of the most notable varieties include Coca-Cola Citra (Citrus flavored), Green Tea Coca-Cola Plus, Pepsi Pink (strawberry milk flavored), Pepsi Baobab and Pepsi White (yogurt flavored). Right now, Green Tea Coca-Cola Plus, Pepsi White Sapote (fruit and ginger-flavored) and Pepsi Pink are available in Japan.

Now, finding these Japanese drinks is surprisingly easy in most cases. If there’s an Asian or ethnic grocery store in your neighborhood, odds are you’ll find one or two varieties of Japanese colas, coffees or drinks there. Amazon also carries quite a few as well, or has other vendors selling them there. Or, you can always turn to specialized websites like Asian Snack Time or JBox, which focus on importing snacks from Japan. If you want an unusual Pepsi or Coke variety, you’ll probably have to import, as they rarely appear in stores outside of the country. napaJapan is a good store for picking up the assorted Pepsi and Coca-Cola drinks, and even occasionally carries old varieties for those rare people who collect Pepsi and Coke products.

Drink up!

So, after reading all about how it’s cool to get some foreign drink, possibly in an awesome can featuring iconic characters or unusual designs, you probably want to get one for yourself. Don’t worry, they really aren’t that hard to find. This is especially true if you have an Asian grocery store near your home. Keep an eye out for the following drinks.

Calpis (Calpico)
Price: ~$2 per can, ~5 per bottle
Flavor: Avoid this if you can’t handle dairy, as Calpis, known as Calpico outside Japan, is a drink made of water, dry milk and lactic acid. Depending on the variety you can get Calpis Water or Calpis Soda, with the water version being the standard variety and the soda version being carbonated. There are fruit flavor varieties and people have been known to mix it with liquor to make cocktails. It’s considered a health drink.
Best Served: Cold. Only cold. I can’t imagine drinking it warm. Though, surprisingly, some Japanese vending machines sell Hot Calpis. I shudder at the thought.

Mitsuya Cider
Price: ~$2 per bottle
Flavor: Pretend the “cider” part of Mitsuya Cider isn’t even there. It doesn’t matter. This is just a plain old soft drink, with the original flavor being similar to 7Up or Sprite. It’s supposed to be fizzy and refreshing, and it is. There are also varieties that add in hints of fruit flavor, like lemon or orange. Actually, as good as the drink is, the Mitsuya Cider hard candies are actually better because they not only have the same flavor, they also have the same fizzy feeling when you eat them.
Best Served: Cold

Pocari Sweat
Price: ~$3 per bottle
Flavor: Think of Pocari Sweat as being similar to Gatorade. It’s a non-carbonated sports drink designed to rehydrate people and boost energy with sugar and electrolytes. As far as taste, it’s rather bland and mildly fruity. Unlike health drinks we’re familiar with, Pocari Sweat is only available in a grapefruit variety.
Best Served: Cold

Ramune
Price: ~$2 per bottle
Flavor: Ramune is just a carbonated soft drink. The taste isn’t all that phenomenal, no matter which variety you get. (The standard flavor is lemon-lime, but there are various fruit and cola flavored Ramune as well.) It’s good, but the real appeal comes from the bottle. It’s a Codd-neck bottle with a marble keeping the drink fresh and sealed. It’s held in place with pressure and you have to use a little piece of plastic, included on the top of the bottle, to push the marble into the bottle so you can drink. You even have to drink it in just the right way so the marble doesn’t slip back into place. It’s more about novelty than taste.
Best Served: Cold

UCC Milk Coffee
Price: ~$2 per can, $18 if you get the can and Evangelion figure set.
Flavor: The product description actually does a pretty good job of describing the UCC Milk Coffee taste. It’s coffee that’s flavored with milk and sugar. It’s reminiscent of the kind of coffee you’d get from a vending machine or gas station, actually. Which figures, because it’s sold in vending machines in Japan. It’s particularly notable for anime fans as there have been multiple promotions with UCC and Evangelion, with either the cans featuring characters on them or coming in a pack that includes a figurine.
Best Served: Warm or cold. Remember to pour it into a glass or mug before heading it up in a microwave.

COMING NEXT WEEK: Important Importables looks at the GP2X and GP2X Wiz.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last week Important Importables talked about Doctor Who games.

Site [AmiAmi] Site [Play-Asia] Site [YesAsia] Site [NCSX] Site [Himeya Shop] Site [Strapya World]

Even though Doctor Who‘s fanbase in other countries is steadily growing, the Doctor Who video games have typically been a British thing. That’s starting to change now, what with the release of the Doctor Who: The Adventure Games series and some other forthcoming games. So it’s worth knowing what the series is about and if it could be something that would interest you.

Doctor Who?

The star of Doctor Who is an alien known as the Doctor. He’s an alien from the planet Gallifrey. During the Last Great Time War, which pitted the Time Lords against the Daleks, the Doctor stole a TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimension In Space) and found a way to end this war that could possibly destroy the universe. At the same time, it (supposedly) wiped out the Daleks and Time Lords, leaving the Doctor as the last survivor. As a Time Lord, the Doctor is capable of regenerating after death, which makes it really easy to replace the lead actor when necessary.

The show first began its run in 1963, and then went through seven different doctors until its run ended in 1989. Shortly after, there was a movie with an eighth doctor in 1996. In 2005, the series was rebooted with Christopher Eccleston appearing as the ninth Doctor. Since then, David Tennant and Matt Smith have respectively played the tenth and eleventh Doctors.

The TARDIS is a ship capable of traveling through both time and space. The Doctor is quite fond of Earth and humans though, so he’s there quite often. Also, his fondness for humans means he usually travels with one or two human companions. The party then goes around the universe, exploring. Of course, most adventures aren’t quite peaceful as the TARDIS has a tendency to occasionally drop them off in the wrong time or location and the Doctor has a way of getting involved in situations where people or aliens are being persecuted or attacked by unknown forces.

The Doctor gets into games

Now, the first thing you need to know about Doctor Who-inspired games is that they’re usually bad. And I’m not talking, “So bad they’re good” bad. I mean really, absolutely absymal. Which is pretty sad, really, considering how good the show is. Fortunately, some of the more recent games have taken towards rebuilding the Doctor Who video game reputation. They have a lot of work ahead of them though. especially when you consider how ridiculous some of the older games were.

Most of the first Doctor Who games appeared before 1997, and starred Doctors from the original series. Some of the earliest games from the 80′s are difficult to find information about simply because of their age. The first game ever was Doctor Who: The First Adventure for the BBC Micro in 1993. It was a rather unspectacular mini-game collection with four episodes, each offering a different kind of game (based on other arcade games) to complete. Doctor Who and the Warlord came next in 1985, also on the BBC Micro, and was a text-based adventure game. After that was Doctor Who and the Mines of Terror for the a BBC Micro, Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC. It featured an extremely fragile Doctor character who could die really easily as he wandered around some cavernous mines. Think of it as being similar to Castlevania, but a lot less interesting. Doctor Who: Dalek Attack was next in 1992, and was a 2D action game like the previous title. This Commodore 64, Amiga, Atari ST, ZX Spectrum and MS-DOS game was also not well received.

In fact, it wasn’t really until Doctor Who: Destiny of the Doctors that the Doctor Who games really started getting good. In this Windows game, which blended action, puzzle and adventure elements, players had to help the first seven incarnations of the Doctor defeat the Master. All seven versions of the Doctor have been captured and placed in the Determinant, which the Master created after taking control of Siralos. Players are the Graak, a creature created by the Doctor before he was captured, who has to use the sonic screwdriver to get past aliens and free the Doctors. It was notable for all the voice acting, most of which from the original actors who played the Doctor, as well has having newly recorded video for the game and a huge database with information on all things Doctor Who.

Unfortunately, when Doctor Who games started appearing again after 2008, they weren’t all that good again. The first offender was easily Top Trumps: Doctor Who, a Doctor Who-themed game where players played the card game Top Trumps. Sadly, this atrocity was spread across the PS2, DS and Wii. It only got worse though. In 2010 Doctor Who: Return to Earth was released on the Wii and dubbed an instant failure due to a horrible camera, terrible graphics and not being fun in any way possible. It was an adventure to absolutely miss. At the same time, Doctor Who: Evacuation Earth was released for the DS. It was a designed to play in a manner similar to the Professor Layton games, only its puzzles were insultingly easy and it was both bland and formulaic. As someone who’s actually played both the DS game, I can wholeheartedly say it’s an insult to any fan of the series over the age of seven.

However, there was a slight sign of hope despite the initial fumbling of new Doctor Who games. The iOS entry, dubbed Doctor Who: The Mazes of Time, actually had its moments. The controls were terrible, but it had an interesting story involving the 11th Doctor and Amy Pond going to rescue a family and then stopping Daleks, lots of puzzles and eventually extra level updates with new adventures. Even better was the Doctor Who: The Adventure Games (Windows, Mac) series. It is a point-and-click adventure game following the 11th Doctor and Amy as they go through various adventures in time against new and familiar enemies. The first series had four episodes to playthrough and, best of all, anyone who lived in Europe could download them for free. If you live outside of Europe, you actually have to pay for the episodes.

Surprisingly, the future of Doctor Who video games looks promising. Series 2 of Doctor Who: The Adventure Games has just begun, with one episode released so far. There’s also a free-to-play MMORPG for Windows and Mac coming out in 2012 called Doctor Who: Worlds in Time that will allow people to create a custom avatar who will work together as companions of the Doctor to save the universe. The most intriguing prospect of all may end up being Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock though, as it will be a PS3, Vita and Windows adventure. In it, Doctor Who and River Song will have to save Earth by traveling through time, and their actions in various time periods will influence other areas of the game.

COMING NEXT WEEK: Important Importables samples and suggests awesome Japanese beverages to try.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last week Important Importables talked about the first four Phantasy Star games.

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So before we head into a whole new year, Important Importables is going to salute the past, and one of the best early RPG experiences people could get.

So what’s this Phantasy Star series all about?

Despite the similar names, Phantasy Star actually existed before the Final Fantasy series, with Phantasy Star appearing on the Sega Master System in 1988, two years before Final Fantasy showed up on the NES. The first four games managed to help set the pace for turn-based RPGs and was a pioneer, and showed people how a challenging, story-driven adventure could work.

Actually, the early Phantasy Star games had more in common with the Star Ocean series in terms of plot, despite being grounded in turn-based RPG roots like the Final Fantasy series. Each entry has a group of heroes facing off against a common enemy, on either a foreign planet in space or, in one case, a space ship. Each entry also blends some futuristic elements with more traditional fantasy ones. So you’ll see characters wielding swords, using magic and fighting monsters, while also having access to guns, space ships and androids/cyborgs/robots. This blend is both most and least evident in the third entry, which is typically considered the black sheep of the original Phantasy Star quartet. These ties between all four games is enforced by the main villain, the Dark Force. It is a sort of ephemural being that has the power to influence those around it and seeks only to cause pain and misery.

In each game, players had access to a fairly large party of characters. They would be tasked with some seemingly small quest in the beginning, as is common with RPGs, and would then somehow get involved in saving the entire world. In the process, they would have to travel not only around their planet, but also to a neighboring planet. While the difficulty could get quite challenging at times, especially in Phantasy Star 2 and 3, there were plenty of towns to stop at and lots of equipment to collect. All battles are turn-based, with a first person view as in the Dragon Quest series.

As for finding these first few entries, you’ll have the best luck if you look to the Game Boy Advance, PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360. In 2002, Digital Eclipse and THQ released the Phantasy Star Collection for the GBA and it includes the first three games. The Sonic Ultimate Genesis Collection (PS3, Xbox 360) includes all four games.

Let’s look at the first four games

Now, let’s get into specifics. While each game did share the commonalities mentioned above, they were individual adventures and you sometimes couldn’t even see the connections among them unless you really searched for them. Of course, the exception to that is Phantasy Star 4, which was filled with all kinds of easter eggs and references that anyone who played a previous game could pick out. This does main that players can jump in without any background information, even though the games all take place in the Algo Star System.

Phantasy Star is the first game in the series and chronologically. It begins on the planet Palma, where Alis is living with her brother Nero. Nero is part of an underground rebel force that is standing against king Lassic, who used to be a good ruler but turned into a tyrant overnight after converting to a new religion. Lassic’s robotic police force ends up finding and killing Nero, and he passes his cause on to Alice. Her quest means she has to travel around Palma, Motavia and Dezolis, recruiting the human Odin, the Musk Cat Myau and the Esper Noah to her party.

Phantasy Star 2 is the second game and the second chronologically, occuring about 1,000 years after the original game. Shortly before the game begins, the planet Palma was destroyed after the Gaila satellite crashed. So Rolf, our hero, is living on the planet Motavia, which has been made hospitable due to a climate control system installed by Mother Brain. He’s an agent working for the Commander of Motavia, and as the game begins he’s tasked with investigating why Mother Brain is allowing Motavian systems to fail and letting loose biomonsters. He heads out with Nei, a Numan girl he rescued, and eventually other companions.

Phantasy Star 3: Generations of Doom is the third game and even now people aren’t exactly sure where it fits in. The Japanese translation says that it happened 1,000 years after Phantasy Star 4, while the English translation means it happens at the same time as Phantasy Star 4. I’d go with the Japanese timeline, since translation errors in RPGs were common in the Genesis and SNES years. It’s actually considered the strangest entry in the series as well, since it initially seems to have no ties to the previous games, almost all futuristic elements are absent for most of the first generation and it covers three generations of heroes.

Phantasy Star 3 begins with a young man named Rhys, who is an Orakian prince from Landen. He found a mysterious woman named Maia washed up on the shores of his land, fell in love with her and is gong to marry her when the game begins. However, she’s abducted by a dragon on their wedding day. Rhys sets out to save her, but along the way starts to find out more about the Layan people the Orakians have been at war with for years. As time goes by, his descendents find out more about their world, the war between Orakio and Laya and their peoples’ true enemy. Now, in case you’re wondering how all this ties in without having to play the game, Phantasy Star 3 takes place entirely on one of the Alisa III evacuation worldships that set out after Palma was destroyed prior to Phantasy Star 2.

Phantasy Star 4 is the fourth game in the series and takes place after another 1,000 year time jump. That’s 1,000 years after Phantasy Star 2, by the way. It is also set on Motavia, except this is a Motavia after Mother Brain was shut down. So no more climate control – people are living in a desert. Alys and Chaz are two Hunters, mercenaries who take missions to help people in the game. As the adventure begins, Alys and Chaz are sent to the Piata Academy to investigate a biomonster outbreak. There, they are joined by a researcher named Hahn and learn that this isn’t an isolated incident. Strange things are happening all around Motavia, and a priest named Zio and his followers seem to be connected to all of them.

COMING NEXT WEEK: Important Importables looks at the Doctor Who video games.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last week Important Importables reviewed Bleach: Heat the Soul 7.

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Title: Bleach: Heat the Soul 7
Price: ~$60
System(s): PSP
Release Date: September 2, 2010
Publisher (Developer): Sony Computer Entertainment (8ing)
ESRB Rating: N/A, Cero A for All Ages
Pros: 84 different characters in the game and many are new to the Heat the Soul series, you can now fight giant characters, you can now take part in versus battles with four characters, you can trigger Tag Special attacks, can have single or tag team battles, there are multiple difficulty options and Soul Codes can improve characters/ Can unlock characters, Soul Codes, character art and voices. There are Story Mode, Hueco Mundo Conquest, Arcade Style, VS CPU, Soul VS and Training game modes. You can upload your Arcade Mode ranking to the website. Covers the Hueco Mundo, Zanpakuto and Karakura Town rescue storylines.
Cons: Not very many updates or improvements compared to Heat the Soul 6, only local multiplayer. You have to get certain rankings on certain chapters to unlock extra Story Mode levels.
Overall Score: 7/10

We see Namco Bandai bringing us new Naruto PSP games all the time, but have yet to see a Bleach: Heat the Soul game appear overseas. Somehow, it doesn’t seem fair. Thankfully, the PSP is region-free and fighting games transcend language, which means its fairly easy for people to import and enjoy a game like Bleach: Heat the Soul 7. However, while it is a good fighting game that is visually impressive, represents the Bleach series well and is fun to play, it doesn’t make the same strides forward as previous Heat the Soul entries. The result is a game that, while good, is okay to pass over if you’ve already purchased or played Heat the Soul 5 or 6.

Finishing up business in Hueco Mundo, then heading off to save Karakura Town

Unlike some prior Bleach: Heat the Soul games, Heat the Soul 7 doesn’t attempt to cover the entire Bleach saga. In fact, it has one of the shortest story modes in the Heat the Soul series. It starts by covering the very end of Arrancar vs. Shinigama arc, where the fighting in Hueco Mundo ends. It then covers the entire Arrancar: Decisive Battle of Karakura Town arc and has one brief segment that covers the anime-only Zanpakutou Rebellion arc.

So in short, here’s what happens. Ichigo, his friends and a number of high ranking Soul Reapers went into Hueco Mundo, both to face Aizen and his Arrancar and Espada minions and rescue Orihime, who was taken hostage by Aizen. While the Soul Reaper Captains and Ichigo did manage to deal with some of the Espada, Aizen and some of his top ranking Espada followers took the fight to Karakura Town to destroy it. Everyone follows and, once Ichigo and his cohorts reach Karakura Town, they’re joined by the Vizards, Soul Reapers who went through the hollowfication process, who also want to help save the town. There is also a complementary story mode called Hueco Mundo Conquest which goes through pretty much the same story, only with a different viewpoint.

Bleach: Heat the Soul 7 enjoyment levels rise and fall depending on how familiar you are with the series.

As with all Bleach: Heat the Soul games, Heat the Soul 7 is a 3D, cel-shaded fighter. You control one or two of the 84 characters in either a single, team or tag team battle. Of course, saying 84 is actually a bit generous, since a few of the characters are actually different versions of the same character. But still, it sounds impressive and it’d be a pain to go through that many characters, so let’s leave it as is. You can use various characters’ spirit pressure to unleash special moves. It isn’t terribly difficult to play or use combos, and anyone familiar with Street Fighter, Tekken and Naruto style fighting games should have no trouble jumping in and easily adapting to Heat the Soul 7.

Bleach: Heat the Soul 7 also offers a number of different battle options. As I mentioned, there is the standard one on one battle. You can also take part in tag team battles, where you pick two characters and either face off against one enemy or two enemies, switching between the two when necessary. Heat the Soul 7 also introduces battle royales to the series. In these, four characters fight at once, and are either divided into teams or take part in a free-for-all battle. It works really well, however the battles can tend to drag on a bit as the AI characters seem to be stronger than usual.

Another bonus is that there are a number of different game modes to choose from. Story and Hueco Mundo Conquest are both rather basic story modes. You go through scripted fights from the Bleach manga and anime series. Both are rather short, which is a bit of a letdown. What helps with that are the Arcade Style and VS CPU modes, which allow players to just take part in standard one on one, two on two or four character battles. If you can manage to find a friend nearby who also owns Heat the Soul 7, there is also ad-hoc multiplayer. A training mode is available to test out characters and perfect moves. However, most of these modes aren’t very substantial. You can easily clear both the story modes within a few hours and, while unlocking does provide some motivation to return to Heat the Soul 7, it doesn’t seem to provide the same incentive as earlier entries.

The biggest downside to Heat the Soul 7 is its remarkable similarity to Heat the Soul 6. While I didn’t purchase that particular entry, a friend did and so I had the opportunity to play both games. Aside from a few cosmetic changes and additional features, Heat the Soul 7 is essentially Heat the Soul 6. Even the menus and layout look practically identical. Yes, there were a few additions mentioned above, but for the most part all the returning characters look and play the same and the various gameplay modes are similar as well. Which means that Heat the Soul 7 is rather underwhelming if you’ve kept up with the series. If you haven’t, you’ll probably be fine. Before I borrowed my friend’s copy of Heat the Soul 6, I was enamored with Heat the Soul 7 because the only other entry in the series I had owned prior to that was the first.

If character selection, minor adjustments and gameplay modes matter to you, this is your game.

As anyone who’s played more than one Bleach: Heat the Soul game has gathered, each entry is typically only slightly different than the one before. Bleach: Heat the Soul 7 is no exception. It’s a great game, but it makes only minimal improvements and upgrades over its previous entries. Granted, if you compare it to Heat the Soul 5 or one of the other earlier games, it’s great. But compared to Heat the Soul 6 not much has really changed. The character roster is slightly larger, you can encounter giant enemies, there are more tag team options and the four player battles are nice, but that’s pretty much it. Still, if you are looking for a Bleach PSP fighting game and have never purchased one before, Bleach: Heat the Soul 7 is the one you want to get. If you have Bleach: Heat the Soul 6 already, then you don’t need to upgrade.

COMING NEXT WEEK: Important Importables talks about the Phantasy Star series.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last week Important Importables was all about the Fate/ series.

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With visual novels suddenly starting to appear more often outside of Japan and Aksys’ latest risk undertaking the translation and localization of Fate/Extra, it seems like a good time to look at one of the best known and most popular visual novels out there, Type-Moon’s Fate/stay night. This first commercial already famous doujin creators of Tsukihime managed to be such a success, despite its original release as an adult bishojo game, that it ended up crossing over and becoming an all-ages hit, as well as inspiring a manga, anime, light novels and additional games.

The original Fate/stay night

Fate/stay night (Windows) and its all-ages counterpart Fate/stay night [Realta Nua] (PS2) both center around a futuristic quest for the Holy Grail. Every sixty years, seven Magi Masters fight with summoned Servants against one another, with the winner getting the Holy Grail and the opportunity to have a wish come true. Oddly enough, the fifth Holy Grail War has begun only ten years after the fourth one.

Not only that, but it features an unlikely participant. A young man named Shiro Emiya wanted to become a Hero of Justice and a Magus, but has no talent for magic. Despite that, he ends up stumbling upon two Servants, Archer and Lancer, and is nearly killed by Lancer. A classmate and associate named Rin Tosaka heals Shiro. Somehow, this seems to have an additional effect on him as later when Lancer comes to kill him again, Shiro is able to use magic to defend himself and ends up somehow summoning the Servant Saber to his side to assist him.

From there, players make choices to determine what happens to Shiro. Depending on choices made, Shiro may or may not survive the war and may end up even finding love with one of the female characters. In addition, information about the war and Holy Grail could be discovered and players see a storyline that looks at how people see and deal with oneself. There are actually three plots that can be followed, which means people will need to play at least three times to understand the whole story.

No official translation of Fate/stay night has ever been released. However, the fan translation group Mirror Mirror has completely translated the Windows PC version of the game. Keep in mind that this translation does require you to purchase a copy of the full version of Fate/stay night. An all-ages, PC version of the game was never released, so keep in mind that if you do set everything up to play it in English, you will be playing a game with adult content.

In addition to the main game, multiple aforementioned spinoffs have appeared. A Fate/stay night manga was released both in Japan and North America, as well as an anime of the same name that appeared in Japan, North America and Europe. A Fate/stay night Unlimited Blade Works animated movie was also released in Japan, as was a Fate/Zero series of novels. So people had plenty of opportunity to hear and see the story, even if they don’t enjoy visual novels.

Fate/ Offshoots

Additional entries in the Fate/ series tend to fall into one of two categories. They’re either visual novel style games, like the original Fate/stay night, or they’re fighting games. The one thing they have in common, oddly enough, is that they have a better chance of being localized and released outside of Japan than the original Fate/stay Night. Yes, while there still isn’t an official Fate/stay night release, there are actually two entries released in English for people to buy.

I’m talking, of course, about two of the PSP games. One is Fate/Unlimited Codes, which was also released on the PS2. It’s a standard, 3D fighting game featuring some of the Servants and Masters from the original game. Capcom created it and released it as a PlayStation Store exclusive in North America. It’s nothing astonishing, but it is pretty good fighter. The other is Fate/extra from Aksys, an original visual novel and RPG inspired by Fate/stay Night that features a few familiar Masters and Servants, but a all new storyline that makes it easy for newcomers to get into the series. I prefer Fate/extra myself, but both are pretty good games.

Then, there are the games that didn’t make it outside of Japan. Here’s what you can look for, if you’re a huge Type-Moon fan.

• Fate/extra CCC (PSP): This is an updated version of Fate/Extra due out in Japan next year with new storylines and extra content.
• Fate/hollow ataraxia (Windows): A direct sequel to Fate/stay night. It’s only available in an adults-only version for Windows PCs and is a visual novel just like the previous game.
• Fate/tiger colosseum (PSP): A 3D fighting game with chibi-fied versions of the main characters. It’s region-free and very import-friendly.
• Fate/tiger colosseum upper (PSP): Again, a direct sequel to the previous game with more characters and environments.
• Nendoroid Generation (PSP): No, this isn’t a Fate/ game, but this RPG and mini-game collection will have Saber, Rider and Rin Tosaka Nendoroids appearing in it.

COMING NEXT WEEK: Important Importables reviews Bleach: Heat the Soul 7.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last week Important Importables played Hatoful Boyfriend.

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]]> http://www.technologytell.com/gaming/80103/important-importables-fate-stay-night-and-its-offshoots/feed/ 0 http://www.technologytell.com/gaming/80809/important-importables-review-hatoful-boyfriend-for-windows-mac/ http://www.technologytell.com/gaming/80809/important-importables-review-hatoful-boyfriend-for-windows-mac/#comments Fri, 02 Dec 2011 10:31:48 +0000 Jenni Lada http://www.technologytell.com/gaming/80809/important-importables-review-hatoful-boyfriend-for-windows-mac/ So, Hatoful Boyfriend. Yeah. Way to go proving those Japanese gaming stereotypes right Japan! Here, I'll translate the title. That should be enough to give you an idea of the crack-tacular adventure you're going to embark upon if you play this free, recently translated into English, dating sim. Hato means pigeon. Hatoful is a combination of "Hato" and "Beautiful". So basically it's Pigeon-Beautiful Boyfriend. Did I just blow your mind? I knew I would...]]>



Title: Hatoful Boyfriend
Price: Free, a paid version is available in Japan for ¥500 and is twice as long with an extra character and lots of extra content
System(s): Windows XP or better and Mac 10.1-10.6
Release Date: August 6, 2011
Publisher (Developer): PigioNation Inc. (PigioNation Inc.)
ESRB Rating: N/A. I’d say at least 16 and up, because of Shu Iwamine’s route.
Pros: An English patch is available here, you can have human portraits for bird characters show up on the intro screen (But why would you want that?), you have to manage stats to earn the affection of certain guys, the story and dialogue is absolutely ridiculous and hilarious and there are ginormous pictures of birds used as character portraits! Also, there are 8 endings and a skip function. You can unlock an additional route after playing through once.
Cons: YOUR CHARACTER IS A HUMAN GIRL WHO’S DATING BIRDS. (BIRDS!) Oh, and the skip function is too fast making it easy to skip over both seen and unseen text at the speed of sound. Music is generic. It’s rather short. Nageki’s route is a bit slow and boring, compared to the others.
Overall Score: 9/10.

So, Hatoful Boyfriend. Yeah. Way to go proving those Japanese gaming stereotypes right Japan!

Here, I’ll translate the title. That should be enough to give you an idea of the crack-tacular adventure you’re going to embark upon if you play this free, recently translated into English, dating sim. Hato means pigeon. Hatoful is a combination of “Hato” and “Beautiful”. So basically it’s Pigeon-Beautiful Boyfriend.

Did I just blow your mind? I knew I would.

Don’t get me wrong though. If you go into Hatoful Boyfriend with the right mindset – preferably suffering from some kind of cold-flu and doped up on Nyquil and Robotussin – you can enjoy a gaming experience of epic proportions. It’s an absolutely ridiculous and outrageous adventure, made even better by a English translation that isn’t afraid to proudly flaunt how messed up this game is.

It’s so ridiculous, you will have to play it at least eight times so you can acquire every ending. Maybe even more, since your brain will go numb in some endings due to the inexplicable twists and turns, requiring a second run-through to appreciate the hilarity of the situation.



Welcome to St. Pigeonation’s Institute, every girl’s dream school!

So here’s the deal. For some unknown reason, Hatoful Boyfriend‘s heroine decided to attend a school for birds called St. Pigeonation’s Institute. Yes, she’s a human being. A somewhat ordinary girl named Hiyoko Tousaka. (You can change the name to whatever you’d like, as usual.) She’s a sophmore who’s starting her second year at this most unusual school.

Of course, Hiyoko probably wasn’t too ordinary in the first place. Because, you know, she lives in a cave on a cliff.

Back to the story! This year, school’s going to be more special for Hiyoko. Because this year, she may just find a birdie-boyfriend! Huzzah! There are seven to choose from: Ryouta Kawari the rock dove, Kazuaki Nanaki the quail, Sakuya Le Bel Shirogane the fantail, Nageki Fujishiro the mourning dove, Yuuya Sakazaki the fantail pigeon, Shu Iwamine the partridge and San Oko the fantail pigeon. Yes, there are seven elligible bachelors.

As far as gameplay, it’s a standard otome visual novel with some mild life-sim elements. You do have to take certain classes and participate in select activities to boost Tousaka’s stats so she can end up getting a good ending with one of the seven dateable birds. There will also be instances where Tousaka will have to respond to questions from certain birds or decide on what she wants to do for the day, which could bring her closer to a happy ending. Of course, how happy can said ending be when you’re trapped with a talking bird for the rest of your life? Nevermind. Let’s not dwell on that.

Oh yes. There are also optional human portraits for each character. I have no idea why. Maybe the human portrait on the splash image is supposed to show what the bird’s soul would look like? It’s confusing. As I mentioned earlier though, who in their right mind would want to enable those pictures? I mean, with a game like Hatoful Boyfriend, you’re coming for the pigeons!



Critiquing? We don’t need no stinking critiquing!

In a typical review, this is the part where I’d say what was incredibly awesome or unbelievably horrible about the game. However, this is Hatoful Boyfriend we’re talking about. I think you already have some idea of the good and bad from the outset. So instead, we’re going to go through the various topics that flew through my stuffed up and sniffling head as I played. I’m typing these up during my Shu and Yuuya playthroughs, so forgive me if they come across as disjointed.

• The first thing that came to mind is, are we dealing with gigantic, mutant birds? Because everything in the school is human-sized and you’d think a school geared towards birds would be more accomodating towards them. Especially since the heroine is supposed to be the only human there. So could these be some kind of freakish birds that are the size of human beings and attending this school to prepare for world domination? Or are they normal-sized, super intelligent birds who have learned how to use the standardized equipment? I don’t know which idea is worse! I’m leaning towards human sized, simply because the character picture for each bird is freakishly huge. Plus, it’s more amusing that way. Plus, that way I can imagine the bird Hiyoko ends up with carrying her away in his talons as they fly off into the sunset.
• Then there’s the sports festival. Now, this is a school for birds. Birds, mind you. And yet, every single sporting event involves not flying. In fact, one of the most publicized events is the three-legged race. Now, I can understand bird cheerleading. That even made me chuckle at the thought. (Especially since it was the pretentious, stuck up fantail who chooses to be a cheerleader!). But seriously. Birds participating in a three-legged race? All I can conjure up is a mental picture of two birds tied together, floundering on the ground and spinning in circles because they can’t stand up. Okay, maybe the ¥500 paid version would be worth it if there was a CG image of that event. Yuuya also says they have an obstacle course event, which seems like it’d be cruel and unusual punishment.
• Kazuaki got me thinking what life would be like for a narcoleptic bird. You know, if there were such a thing. Which there probably is. Anyways, it’s got to be ridiculously dangerous. Especially if it happened while flying. Maybe that’s the secret reason why some birds get sucked into airplane engines. The more you know…
• Why does Hiyoko live on a cliff? I think she was secretly raised by birds, explaining why she’s so happy to attend a bird school and is okay with dating avian creatures. Because if you spend 14 to 15 years of your life living alone, outdoors, I’d imagine birds may start looking pretty good.
• Doctor Iwamine comes across as quite the bloodthirsty bird, which makes you wonder how he would actually manage it. You know, the cutting off of limbs, disposing of bodies and such. His beak doesn’t look all that sharp and I’d think it’d be quite difficult to manage a scalpel or saw with talons. Besides, he doesn’t look like an especially large partridge, which would cause some trouble as well. I suppose he could just have a twisted sense of humor. It’s hard to tell with birds though! They have the ultimate poker face.
• The school festival puts the birds in costumes. Maid costumes. And not photoshopped costumes either. The artist just drew maid outfits on top of the pigeon. That is just classy right there. What other game, do you know of, includes pigeon maids? And Animal Crossing doesn’t count, because Brewster is a barista! Of course, this event image is made even more special because the pigeon in question is actually a male, so it also involves cross-dressing. Headline! “Japan’s major contribution to gaming in 2011 was a pigeon in drag!”
• This chick considers herself ordinary, and yet she lives in a cave. A cliff-side cave. With a visible fire as the only furniture. Plus, she considers this kind of dwelling not only acceptable, but glorious. Even the birds think it’s weird! Oh, but it can’t be that bad because this cave apparently has a door.
• Oh yes, and the school’s cafeteria serves poultry. If we saw a hawk, eagle or vulture at any time, I’d consider this no big deal. But all we see are pigeons, a partridge and a quail. Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen any of those birds snacking on their own kind.
• When it’s convenient and suits the story, the birds have hands. It’s magic!
• And then there’s the route that’s only unlocked after playing through the game once. This route is the craziest, most outrageous, ridiculous and weirdest thing. I couldn’t even imagine a visual novel or game ever including a route like this. Part of me wants to say that’s a bad thing, but another part is thinking back to how many I was laughing while playing through Hatoful Boyfriend and thinking that it can only be good. The worst thing about this additional, insane route is that it ends on a cliffhanger that can only be resolved in the full version of the game. (Which looks more and more attractive, each time you play.)



Time for famous bird quotes!

Hatoful Boyfriend is ridiculous and the script clearly reflects that. So to help drive the point home, here are some out of context, ridiculous quotes taken directly from the game. If these don’t make you curious enough to try playing, nothing will!

• Hiyoko: “But we can’t just let him break the rules like that, sir! The system will collapse and we’ll all turn into kulaks and dissenters!”
• San: “This is no pudding for a man! Okosan rejects it! It is a lie! A vicious falsification!”
• “Okosan used WING ATTACK! It’s super effective!”
• Hiyoko: “Nepotism, ho! Don’t we get a vote!?”
• Yuuya: “Mystery is the most powerful of aphrodisiacs.”
• Kazuaki: “Not too… mmm… nope, sorry. You did badly.”
• Hiyoko: “Doves smell kind of funny when it gets humid like this…”
• Shuu: “You’re even stranger than I had thought. I’m fascinated. How I’d love to expirement (sic) on you…”
• Ryouta: “Yeah. Well… there’s one that says that sometimes students will disappear in the infirmary only to show up again as food in the dining hall and quill pens in the school store.”
• Shuu: “Very well, I will accompany you. In exchange for your left arm, of course.”
• Hiyoko: “Yup, he’s a pervert. Yippee.”
• Hiyoko: “… forgive me, sir, but I need to go home. I must return to my people with the spoils of war, lay my bloodied sword at the feet of my great king, and celebrate my conquest of all the lands from here to distant Macedonia.”
• Sakuya: “What is this ‘fun’?”
• Hiyoko: “My heart’s racing, but I can’t tell if it’s love or fear for my life!”

As you can see, Hiyoko clearly gets some of the best lines in the game.



Come on everybirdie! Let’s play!

As crazy as Hatoful Boyfriend is, and bear in mind that it is absolutely and completely ridiculous, it’s actually not a bad way to kill some time. Hell, I’m ready to go through an online shopping service to get a copy of Hatoful Boyfriend Hurtful Edition right now. It’s absolute rubbish and nonsense, but part of the fun is that everyone knows it. The developer knows, the translation team knew and of course we know. Sometimes, you just want a game that’s absolutely unexpected to play, and Hatoful Boyfriend is it. If you really want to think about it, it has everything! There’s high school drama, clandestine affairs, scandal, humor, love and a random serial killer.

Oddly enough, don’t go in expecting to easily earn the love of one of the birds. You’ll actually have to work and pay attention to Hiyoko’s stats for some birdies to make progress and end up with one of the seven good endings. Of course, it’s no big deal if you do screw up. Hatoful Boyfriend is usually hilarious either way and I suppose you could consider Hiyoko not ending up with a bird boyfriend to be a good thing!

In closing, here are two recommendations that I feel very confident in making. First! Don’t play Shu Iwamine’s route at night. It’s simultaneously creepy, disturbing and hilarious. Second, save before making the final choice in Yuuya Sakazaki because then you can get his good ending and the “bad” solo ending has the craziest twist ever and is actually better than his good ending.

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COMING NEXT WEEK: Important Importables talks about Fate/stay night and the whole Fate/ series.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last week Important Importables suggested some imported goodies you could give as gifts.

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