Let me start off by saying this isn’t really meant as an insult or flame, nor is it directed in one company in general, but it’ll probably come off sounding really mean and bastardly. But I’m actually quite curious as to the status of the English bishoujo game industry.
Okay, there are games like Snow Drop, Tokimeki CHECK in!, X-Change, and such that have been officially translated into English. But really now, Sweet Basil, Guilty, and CROWD have never put out any really good games, and it really doesn’t make sense to translate them when there are a large number of other Japanese companies out there that have better art and stories. So then why? Even in the 1999/2000 years, there were a number of games that had better stores and graphics than both Tokimeki CHECK in! and Snow Drop. Snow Drop over Sense Off ~a sacred story in the wind~? What about games like CANVAS ~Sepia Iro no Motif~ (11/24/2000), Oyakusoku LOVE (06/29/2001), Moonlight ~Omoide no Hajimari~ (02/25/2000), and even Tasogare (02/09/2001)? Game makers like Leaf, Hayashi Gumi, Cocktail Soft, Clear are able to put much better graphics and stories (and even music) into their games. Why aren’t they being translated?
And what about the newer games. Hitozuma Hime Club was released in Japan on 11/15/2002. But why Se-ki-ra-ra, ZyX, and TRABULANCE? Their games lack in all sectors except weird sexual scenes. Why don’t the English bishoujo game companies partner up with some of the better Japanese game companies (or buy the licenses for the game or however it works; obviously I’m not very informed here)? So then what about the good games? There were a LOT of good games released in 2002. Wind -a breath of heart- had absolutely beautiful graphics and a really nice story, which, although was a little weird, kept me very interested. The music was great, too. D.C. ~Da-Capo~ was also released in 2002. Not only did it have really nice CG, but, like Wind -a breath of heart-, the music and story were very good too. Of course, there were a ton of other good games… Boku to Bokura no Natsu, Kaze NO Uta, Silvern ~Gin no Tsuki, Mayoi no Mori~, the two univ games (although univ ~Koi - Hajimaru yo~ was released in 2001, which I must say, surpassed all other GameCG in that year except perhaps Oyakusoku LOVE), Himawari no Saku Machi, Sekai no Subete, “Hello, world.”, Hitsuji-tachi no Yuuutsu, Nanairo ~Koi no Tenki Yohou~, Harumachi Kagerou, Masaru - Ashita no Yukinojo 2, Ebenbourg no Kaze, etc.
But one game really stands out in 2002, and that’s BALDR FORCE (11/01/2002). I have personally spent over 53 hours on the game. Sure, the CG is beautiful, and the music is nice, but it’s the story and the gameplay that really set the game apart from all others. I’ve played a lot of games, both English and Japanese, hentai and non-hentai, but no single game (that isn’t multiplayer) has even come close to holding my attention for that long. The game consists of numerous paths and endings to choose from, along with an actual action element. That’s what makes it unique. There are a ton of hentai games out there that are RPGs, but where are the action games? Sure, ASSAULT ARMOROID Angelio was action, but it doesn’t even come close to BALDR FORCE. BALDR FORCE has a lot of things many games seem to lack: fun. It’s fun moving around in your mech blowing things up. It’s fun being able to get new weapons and master them, while at the same time, moving through an extremely wonderful story that slowly unveils itself as you go through each character’s scenario. BALDR FORCE, starting off as a seemingly small game, starts to grow bigger and bigger as you go through different scenarios, improving your mech’s weapons and getting new ones.
So then I ask myself “why?” Why has such a wonderful game not been translated yet? Why are games with no plot that have less replay value than a dead rabbit being translated instead? BALDR FORCE is absolutely revolutionary in the hentai gaming world. There is no game like it. I just think it’s a shame, because although I can read quite a bit of Japanese, there are still a lot of things I don’t understand. A game like BALDR FORCE in English? Something I may not see for a few more years, I guess.