visual novel
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Half-Elf Tentacle Assault is -- gasp! -- canceled
Alas and alack! Team-DSX, the doujin developer behind Half-Elf Tentacle Assault has announced that it has canceled the homebrew hentai game. You'll have to get your half-elf-assaulting kicks elsewhere!According to media reports, the preparation committee behind comic convention Comiket -- where Team-DSX was expected to debut and sell the title -- declined the developer's registration for the event. The group has since taken down its official page and posted an apology for the cancellation at its blog.Presumably, the Comiket rejection was due to Team-DSX's publicization that the game's ROM requires a flashcart. In fact, the developer went so far as to distribute double-sided flyers promoting Half-Elf Tentacle Assault on one side and advertising an R4 distributor on the other.And so it goes, the lewd game has disappeared just as quickly and as quietly as it slithered into our lives, wrapping its slimy tendrils around our limbs and devastating our orifices, promising, "I'll call you sometime," before taking its leave. We'll spend a week waiting by the phone for that call, but we won't be surprised when it never comes.[Via Canned Dogs] Interested in "adult" homebrew games for the DS? Make sure to check out Naughtiness on the Nintendo DS ands its sequel, More Naughtiness on the Nintendo DS. Also, you'll want to have a look at our homebrew guide for more information on how to play these saucy games!
Half-Elf Tentacle Assault's boxart is -- gasp! -- NSFW
Looking to satisfy the legions of perverts interested in its upcoming homebrew release, Half-Elf Tentacle Assault, doujin-developer Team-DSX has posted a potential design for the game's CD-ROM cover -- to cut down on costs, the group plans to release the ROM on CDs instead of traditional carts, so that customers can transfer the game to their flashcarts.The screenshots featured on the packaging give you a good idea of what to expect from the visual novel (if the Half-Elf Tentacle Assault name wasn't descriptive enough) and are, naturally, very NSFW. Even with stars and white spots covering all the naughty bits on the images, we've hidden the cover past the post break, away from chaste eyes.Just one last quick caution -- the boxart depicts half-elf Colin and another heroine in suggestive scenes of forced sodomy. Also, a green pig-man with killer abs has his head totally slashed off. You've been warned!See also: Naughtiness on the Nintendo DS, More Naughtiness on the Nintendo DS
Not quite 428 screens, but a few
Titles like 428 -- a clear member of the outstretched-hand club, even if it's not box art -- make us wish we had a Japanese Wii. Also, that we could understand Japanese. That's probably pretty important when it comes to Sound Novels, and from these shots from the suspenseful 428: The World Doesn't Change Even So, the story looks like it might be worth following.Y'know, if we could. Instead, we'll just have to sift through the images and try to reconstruct the surreal story they paint. And we'll have to be happy with that, since the chances that we'll see an English version are somewhere between negative 15% and a cold day in hell. Too bad -- we really wanted to know what was going on here.%Gallery-27138%[Via GoNintendo]
Imabikisou's screenshots are slowly creeping up behind you
By themselves, these Imabikisou: Kaimei Hen screens barely register on the "scary scale" -- a highly advanced, experimental fear-measuring instrument that we purchased through eBay. When sorted into a collection, however, such as our massive gallery below, the images begin to grow a feeling of unease in your stomach as you peruse each shot.Maybe it's the fact that none of the characters' faces are ever completely shown? Or perhaps it's the ambiguous, likely supernatural conflict that presumably connects all the images? We just hope that Sega decides to eventually bring this Chunsoft-developed visual novel, a port of a PlayStation 3 title (with two new chapters), to the States! Lock your doors, pull your curtains shut, and peek past the break for a creepy Imabikisou trailer.%Gallery-26054%
Fire on the Water almost as awesome as Smoke on the Water
Having garnered near-unanimous praise and placed first in the NEO Spring Compo's DS game category with Lone Wolf: Flight from the Dark, Project Aon is readying another homebrew port of the Lone Wolf "gamebooks," this time for the second book in the series, Fire on the Water.Project Aon has already posted a release candidate for the game, allowing users to download and try out the visual novel before its final release. As with Flight from the Dark, the sequel allows readers to take control of the story with RPG-inspired elements, such as branching narrative options and character customization (e.g. skills, disciplines).In addition to fixes and general improvements, Fire on the Water now features four new music tracks, an improved game engine for handling more complex events, merchants, and mini-games. If you haven't jumped into the homebrew scene yet, now is a good time!%Gallery-17942%[via DCEmu]
Chunsoft reveals a suspenseful non-game
In Japan, developer Chunsoft isn't just known for inventing the Mystery Dungeon subgenre of roguelike RPGs. They're also responsible for the development of the "visual novel" genre: graphical text adventures that focus on telling a story with very little player involvement. Chunsoft calls these Sound Novels, a name they have trademarked.The company has announced thier latest Sound Novel as a Wii release. Like most other Chunsoft Sound Novels, the "suspense drama" 428: The World Doesn't Change Even So uses real photographs as backgrounds for its text; while early releases featured silhouettes, the later Sound Novels now use real actors as well. Also like other Sound Novels, it has approximately 0% chance of being released outside of Japan.
Headlock's ai sp@ce virtual world to launch this year
It's always a thrill when one of your favorite game-developers announces that they're working on an MMO or virtual world or when a developer takes on one of your favorite properties. Developer Headlock is well along on one such virtual world now. Japanese developers are working on a number of virtual worlds (which we hope to get more of a handle on over time). This one, ai-sp@ce, is set in Akihabara and will also feature characters from Visual Novels Clannad (????????????), Shuffle!, and Da Capo 2 (D.C.II). Yes, it's the world of Japanese Visual Novels come-to-life in a 3D virtual world!
Reading is fundamental (for playing Lone Wolf)
Though we couldn't manage to load the game employing our usual methods of homebrew wizardry, LoneWolfDS: Flight From The Dark looks to be a very polished and complete release. It's a port of the first book released for the Lone Wolf series, a collection of "gamebooks" that allow the reader to take control of the story through branching narrative options, character customization (e.g. skills, disciplines), and other RPG-inspired elements. Think of it as a more involved and satisfying Choose Your Own Adventure. It's clear from the official site and screenshots that Project Aon put a lot of thought and time into Flight From the Dark's presentation, so you should definitely try it out if the visual novel experience we described above sounds like something you'd fancy. Peek past the post break for a four-minute video of the game's character creation process and story progression.%Gallery-17942%See also: Snatcher Pilot Disk ported, fantastic
Import game releases for the week of 04/22/07
Every week we give you the lowdown on what's happening in the PSP import scene. You then can choose if you want to buy some, and use your PSP's ability to play games from any region. This week, we a visual novel and more map software for Sony's GPS. If you're brave, check out the full details. Continued after the jump ...
Import game releases for the week 02/11/07
Another week, another week of import games to feature. For those not in the know, every week we profile the coming import games for that week. It's an interesting list this week, we have the Japanese version of Lumines 2 and multiple RPGs and an anime visual novel. Will you import any of these games? Check the list and let us know. Continued after the jump ...
