This week is mostly about games with an anime or cute aesthetic. Despite not being a huge anime fan myself, they continue to draw me in.

It’s Gotta Be East Asia

I generally have a pretty open mind when it comes to games, even if sometimes I can be pretty hard on them pre-release. I will say one of my biggest discrepancies is western games. The majority of them have to work pretty hard to get my attention. Meanwhile I will look at pretty much any video game from East Asia for a least a second.

Dusk Driver, Genshin Impact and Mobile City X gameplay wise are not that interesting. The first two are pretty straight forward action games and the latter is just kind of an arena shooter. But given their aesthetics, I’ll take time to look at them. Even if it’s a western styled game with Anime aesthetics, I feel like I’m less likely to give it the time of day.

It’s something I’d like to be better about or at least would like to have a deeper  understanding of why I’m more interested in these games. 

Desperate for Waves

I don’t actually watch or consume much anime in general. So in saying I’m excited for the announcement of Jet Girls, it’s more about the largely buried announcement that there will be a PS4 game based on it.

I really love Wave Race: Blue Storm, as well as Nintendo’s extreme sports line in general.  On the surface it looked generic, but had a lot of character. The series has been absent for a long time outside of a mini-game in Wii Sports: Resort. 

There are other options, like the Riptide series for iOS and Android, but they have a fairly generic and budget western aesthetic. 

Aside from just wave racing itself, I typically like dressing up characters. Honey Parade Games, developers of Senran Kagura: Peach Beach Splash, are the ones behind the project. PBS allowed for different outfits and hair styles.  In some ways it allowed for a lot of customization with the placement of accessories, but lacked others like RGB values for clothing options. But even if it was just on par with PBS, I’d be largely happy.

Water guns seem to play a role here, too. As a big Peach Beach Splash fan, I’m looking forward to seeing how this is implemented.

The biggest pillar in the way of this is the water itself. Solid wave physics really matter in these types of games and PBS had a lot of technical issues. Given the anime’s trailer though, I get the feeling boob-physics will take priority. 

The Bar for Physical

It’s kind of crazy what ends up with physical releases these days. I think it makes a lot of sense for beloved indie games. But the weird river of Kemco RPG Maker-level releases getting them? It seems like the only audience would be collectors and a very particular niche of JRPG players.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jhLwwMqE_4

Model Debut #Nicola wouldn’t be that surprising for previous generations. It’s a runway game very much aimed at a younger audience. I assume in the hopes that parents will buy it for their children. In some ways it makes a lot of sense, since typically an uninformed shopper would likely opt to buy something from a store blindly than search the eShop.

Though you’re seeing less and less of these style of games in general on modern platforms. I’m guessing a lot of it is just due to the mobile space. Looking at the game, there’s definitely a budget feel here compared to something like the Style Saavy series. It feels more like something that would end up on iOS or Android store.

That being said, I really love the look of the box art here. It’s simple but very cute. I don’t think I’ll import this, but I’m glad it exists. 

Horror Made Cute

Awhile ago I played a little bit of Dead by Daylight. It was fine, but I have very little experience with horror movies outside of at one point playing Mega Man X while Halloween 2 was on in the background. So I really can’t appreciate the monsters in that game.

Obakedoro seems to take a lot of the same concepts.  You’re trying to run around and escape a super-powered ghostly beings while completing objectives and using some tools to briefly stun your chaser. Though, it’s all quite a bit cuter.

Visually it reminds me a lot of Gabrielle’s Ghostly Groove: Monster Mix. It’s a game that I really love the look and feel of, but maybe not so much actually playing it. I can’t say Obakedoro is particularly impressive, but it’s nice to see a cuter-take on the asymmetric survival horror style.