Casual ren'ai games in English [formerly My Boyfriend (DS)]

[afu]

On the topic of the actual game in the first post, my boyfriend... um, I don't think I would play it with a ten foot pole. I know it's been out for a while now but it seems just geared towards the very younger girl audiences...

There are tons of good (non 18 plus) games out there that have a heroine lead and a harem of guys to choose from. For the DS, there's Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side, Love-revo! that are more stat based but also some NV type like Hiiro no Kakera and Akai Ito no DS. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otome_game << for more info on otome games)

And of course, this forum itself seems to have a lot of people planning their own GXB game in production. ^^
It's always nice to see more GxB games for free or on the market!

[gekiganwing]

I actually played an otome game that had a yuri end. It was the greatest day of my life.

Actually, just about every one of the ren'ai Flash games at Nummyz.com has a "gay option" (to use a term from TVTropes). Is the lead character male? If so, then he can date at least one boy. Is the lead character female? There's at least one girl who's available.

I liked Nummyz' works, but they're awfully dry... A lot of trial and error is involved. It's not fun to save up five days' worth of earnings, purchase a present, and have the NPC say "no thanks." Especially in a Flash game where there's no saving or loading.

Anyway, for those who are curious, here's stuff I learned from browsing Play Asia today: THQ will be publishing "My Boyfriend" and "Princess in Love" in North America around September 2009. And everyone's favorite megacorporation Electronic Arts will publish a game called "Charm Girls Club: My Perfect Prom" this October. (Not sure if it's ren'ai-ish, but there's a chance.)

None of these games appeal to fanboys and Serious Business (thanks again, TVTropes) gamers. But I'm totally okay with that. I don't want mainstream video games to end up like mainstream comics books were a few years ago... where only a few collectors and loyal-but-aging fans cared, and everyone else treated the media form as a punchline. So even if the games mentioned above are shallow or forgettable, at least they're an attempt at expanding the world of games.

Like the last few people said, I'd be okay with an otome game which A) has substance, B) doesn't talk down to the audience, and C) has creative ideas. Ditto for BL games.

[Vatina]

The other day I was browsing a game store to pass some time. And I actually think I saw a Danish localisation of this game (My Boyfriend).

My goodness.

And yes, that's all I wanted to say.

[Sapphi!]

the game ist just... nerve-racking. I started to play it in German language and the "3D" environment nor "3D" guys and girls are nice to look at. You can do things like make up, boring part time jobs and I am stuck in the game where you have to impress your crush's friends with the right makeup and clothing. Found no FAQ in the web since it quite unpopular lol. Really... There are 3 kinds of boys: Rebel, musician and emo and all three of them are quite unattractive >.>.

What, no geek/computer techie kid?!
Really... T_T

[Jo'ogn]

Oh, dear. I vaguely remember, having gotten "My Boyfriend" from dtp (which was our publisher at this time) back in 2006 on my desk. We had the PC version. It's one of those stereotyped 'pink for girls' games. I vaguely recall a wardrobe and going shopping in some oversized mall. I 'enjoyed' TOKIMEMO2 more and I barely got a word of the Japanese, but then I am a boy =D

There was a little hype in Germany some years ago making girl games like "My Pony Stables", or "Animal Hospital" all targeted at girls at the age of 8 to 12.

[gekiganwing]

Just so you know, this topic was retitled "Casual ren'ai games in English" on July 13 09.

I 'enjoyed' TOKIMEMO2 more and I barely got a word of the Japanese, but then I am a boy =D

I happen to be male as well. I have a number of Tokimeki Memorial FAQs... but I almost never purchase a text-heavy Japanese game unless it's about to get a translation patch.

...Moving on, I learned that a (not entirely worksafe) blog called Heartless Doll, which is related to an alternative newspaper called SF Weekly, published an article asking "Are girl games as offensive as Grand Theft Auto?" The writer is apparently not terribly impressed by today's cute games aimed at young girls.

The article in question has already appeared on Digg. Sadly, I don't have many nice things to say about Digg...

I must admit I'm not too wise on child psychology, or what parents should purchase for their kids. But I am interested in seeing games for young girls be more than just disposable entertainment. Sure, companies can make big money from licensed games and other kids/parents stuff, but...

And no, I certainly won't insist that kids' games should be Serious Business. Simple games and cute games can be worthwhile even if they don't cater to l33t fanboys.

[gekiganwing]

The last time this thread was updated, it looked like the DS was winding down. And now in early 2011, it seems like there will be very few DS games besides software for parents and kids.

That said, here's something I just stumbled across. A DS game called "Valentines Day" was released in the UK just a few weeks ago. As of this writing, it's still available on amazon.co.uk.

This mysterious game was made by a company called Phoenix... but there's plenty of game companies and a few retailers with that name, so that's not enough information. The PEGI rating is 3+, so this may be too tame to be interesting for many people. The cartoony/vaguely anime-esque cover shows four girls and some sort of shadow. I don't have any idea what gameplay might exist, or what audience the game is meant for.

A couple years ago, the UK games My Boyfriend and Princess in Love were quietly released in the US for relatively low prices. They sometimes show up in bargain bins to this day. That said, I have no idea if there will ever be a US version of Valentines Day.

[Miss-Mae]

Oooh, that actually looks interesting! I'll definitely keep my eyes open for that. Thanks for sharing.