Title: Hoshizora no Comic GardenPrice: $54.90System(s): DSRelease Date: September 9, 2008Publisher (Developer): D3 Publisher (HuneX)ESRB Rating: N/A, Cero B (12+)Pros: Incredibly pretty art, interesting premise and unique mini-games that simulate manga creation.Cons: Its boring. Each chapter of the game is devoted to a guy, so if you save at the right point, you can get all the endings quickly. Structured save points. Not really import friendly.Overall Score: 6/10

I was excited when my friend announced she had purchased Hoshizora no Comic Garden for two reasons. The first is that I’m a fan of otome (girl’s life/dating sim) games. The second is I’m a big comic and manga fan. So a game revolving around an aspiring mangaka (manga artist) finding love and success sounded like a must-have for me.

I was disappointed though, to find that Hoshizora no Comic Garden felt fairly generic. It didn’t really stand out, was lacking a save anywhere feature other games in its genre possessed and didn’t have the same replay value of other otome games. Its a beautiful game, but looks aren’t everything…

2008 has definitely been a big year for DS otome (girl’s life/dating sim) games. Looking back, I can see at least eight recent games which fall solidly into the otome catagory. Plus, another – Vampire Night – is supposedly scheduled for December 2008. There’ve also been a few games released in North America which can even qualify as otome style games.

If you’ve been waiting until the holidays to start picking up your titles, you’re going to have some tough decisions to make. Plus, some of these games may be difficult to find, so you’ll want to order them early to make sure they arrive in time.

Here’s a quick compilation of all the recent otome games released, divided into English and Japanese so you can quickly jump to the section you desire