Aksys Games is a popular video game publisher that primarily focuses on releasing English localizations for Japanese titles. Aksys is also pretty known for releasing English versions of Otome games. In fact, the publisher recently launched yet another Code Realize game for western fans this year.
That being said, it doesn’t look like the company is going to slow down anytime soon, as Aksys’ recent announcement revealed that three Otome titles by Idea Factory — Dairoku: Ayakashimori, Olympia Soiree, and Variable Barricade — will be heading to the Nintendo Switch next year.
For those who aren’t familiar with the term, Otome is a type of video game genre that primarily targets young women. Usually, the heroine of the story will be surrounded by several charming men, and the goal is to form a romantic relationship with one of them.
In recent years, more and more Japanese titles have been receiving localized versions and then consequently released on Nintendo’s hybrid handheld console. This time around, the three otome games that Aksys will be publishing will be joining the ranks of Please Be Happy, a girls’ love visual novel, and other romance-focused games.
Dairoku: Ayakashimori doesn’t have a localized title just yet, but it was initially released in Japan in May of this year. In other words, it hasn’t been out for very long. In this game, players will take on the role of Shino, who is a young woman with the responsibility of overseeing yokai or supernatural entities.
Interestingly enough, these yokai are the romanceable characters in the game as well. That being said, an overview of the game written in a Play-Asia blog post mentions a battle system.
As such, we expect Dairoku: Ayakashimori to deviate a little bit from the usual dialogue-based formula that most Otome games have. We’re definitely excited to see how Shino protects the yokai through these battle sequences.
Next up we have Olympia Soiree, which was also released earlier this year like Dairoku: Ayakashimori. The game follows the story of Olympia, a lady who is having a difficult time trying to find a romantic partner, especially since the society she lives in has a particularly stern class system.
Colors play a huge role in this Otome, so much so that the aforementioned class system is more of a color hierarchy. Olympia happens to be the last remaining white, so she’s pretty high up the ladder.
Being the only white left in her clan, Olympia has to find a partner from the other colors at the age of 18. The game’s concept is pretty interesting and so is its trailer. It’s definitely worth checking out, especially since the color-themed boys look quite charming.
Last but not least is Variable Barricade, which happens to be the oldest game on the list with its initial launch date being 2019. The heroine for this one is named Hibari, and she refuses to follow the carefully laid out plans her wealthy grandfather has for her.
In an attempt to get what he wants, Hibari’s grandfather situates her in a grand villa where he sends potential suitors her way. As the young men do all they can to win her affection, Hibari will do everything in her power not to fall in love.
Aksys Games didn’t reveal a specific release date, but the English versions of all three titles should be available some time in 2021.
