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Kumatanchi wallpaper plus a bit of backstory
The site for Vanillaware and Dimple's bizarre zookeeping game Kumatanchi has opened, though it currently offers absolutely nothing other than guest wallpaper. Eventually, it'll have an introduction to both the game system and the setting, and ... probably more wallpaper.Last week, Zepy of Canned Dogs uncovered the reason that Vanillaware, best known for sidescrolling RPGs like Odin Sphere and Princess Crown would veer off into a game about little girls with animal ears, and it's pretty interesting. One of their staff artists makes amateur doujin games, like Habanero-tan House (which looks like Kumatanchi with plant-girls), in his spare time with a group called Ashinaga Ojisan. Somehow, Vanillaware decided to work with the group on a DS game. It's not uncommon for an amateur-made game to become a console release -- Melty Blood comes to mind, as does ABA Games' TUMIKI Fighters. But since this is being done professionally in collaboration with Vanillaware, Kumatanchi isn't exactly a doujin game.
Mitewa Ikenai: creepy photography both in and about the game
Famitsu has posted some new screens of Mitewa Ikenai (Don't Look), the horror game about investigating photographs to look for ghosts. They look really weird, basically -- due in part to the mosaic blur on everyone's face, and due in part to the, uh, creepy ghost stuff happening in the photos.While you can search for supernatural events in the game's photos, you'll have very little trouble identifying super-skeezy events in the rest of the Famitsu article's pictures. Somehow -- perhaps because of the photography theme -- it made sense for Dimple to promote this game by having former AV idol Nana Natsume come to the Famitsu offices and take pictures in which the magazine's editors pretend to sexually harass her. The video at the end, of Natsume praying at a shrine, is clean.%Gallery-19048%
Mitewa Ikenai: More horror for the DS
Still looking for a DS game to scare you out of your wits? Joshikousei Nigeru and its undead schoolgirls didn't do the trick? How about the creepy audio message in Jam Sessions? Mitewa Ikenai (You Mustn't Look), Dimple's latest, could be the horror title you've been waiting for!Due for release in Japan this summer, Mitewa Ikenai haunts you with two different modes -- one in which you examine photographs to spot paranormal inconsistencies, and an adventure game in which you investigate a home terrorized by an evil supernatural being.It's like having your own portable episode of Ghost Hunters, except you don't have to wait until Wednesday night to watch it! Also, you don't have to suffer some tool insisting that every unexplained sound was a sign of communication from the dead. Ignore the warning and take a look at our You Mustn't Look screenshots in the gallery below.%Gallery-19048%[Via Game Watch]
TV-show-starring, plushie-appearing, and screenshot-posting Marsh
Our favorite English-eating creature, Marsh, promoted its upcoming DS game recently with a week-long series of five-minute TV segments in Japan. Sisters Manami, Kinuyo, and Mikako posed an English problem everyday which Marsh would then try to answer. These interstitials served partly as commercials and partly as educational pieces to help viewers memorize English.We would sell our souls to have one of those cute Marsh dolls that the sisters are posing with. We could probably make one of our own with a sharpie marker and a bag full of cotton balls, but, as we're sure all of you spoiled kids out there agree, it just wouldn't be the same! Don't look away! You know this to be true.Developer Dimple Entertainment has posted screenshots for the pet-simulation/English-trainer title which you can see in our gallery below. Eigo wo Taberu Fushigi na Ikimono Marsh (Mysterious English-Eating Animal Marsh) hits stores in Japan this September 27th.%Gallery-5600%
Marsh: The cutest game you'll ever import
Maya, 25 years old and a short-haired brunette, works as a waitress at a coffee shop. Single, she lives alone in her apartment, or at least, she used to live alone in her apartment before an adorable, English-eating creature came to stay with her -- that's English words, not English people. Maya named her new roommate Marsh, taking inspiration from its marshmallow color and fluffy consistency.Eigo wo Taberu Fushigi na Ikimono Marsh (Mysterious English-Eating Animal Marsh) plays like a cross between a virtual pet simulator and an educational game meant to strengthen English language skills. Using a series of menus to string words together, you can help Maya find out how Marsh is feeling, ask if Marsh wants to help clean the room, or enjoy other interactions with the mallowy critter. Should you decide to import the title when it arrives in Japan this September 27th, you won't have to worry much about any language barriers, as Maya insists on communicating with Marsh in English. We're in love with the artwork we've seen so far for the game, so much so that we're willing to overlook that almost everything seems to have been ported from Microvision's cell phone game. Check past the post break for a three-minute trailer. Doesn't your heart just melt when you see Marsh playing with the toy airplane?
