review » Nekoworld

Lair Land Review (raising sim / adventure game)

Raising simulation games are pretty rare, even in Japan. Surprisingly enough, this one was made in Hong Kong!

Lair Land is a game with both raising sim and adventure / visual novel elements in a fantasy setting. The point-of-view character Herol is charged with taking care of Chilia, a mysterious girl who lost her memory. The raising sim part is quite similar to the Princess Maker series, with numerous stat-altering jobs, classes, vacations and even contests to participate in, things to buy and people to befriend. Read the rest of this entry »

The Games We Played in 2009

At Nekomura Games we like to play lots of different games, regardless of the genre, shinsaku (new releases) or current top sellers – if it’s a good game and there’s some time to play it, chances are it’ll be played eventually, even if it’s a game from 10 or 15 years ago. Of course there is some personal taste involved so some genres are completely absent in our games library, but still – the list of games that we played the most in 2009 is pretty diverse. Read the rest of this entry »

IG Maker so far (1)

IG Maker presents data in an easy to understand way

Making games through a visual interface.

Disclaimer: this is not a review, but an attempt of documenting an artist’s (with some rudimentary programming knowledge) experience with IG Maker. In a nutshell: First impressions are very positive and IG Maker functions in a way that is very close to somebody who can think visually – but there are also a few niggles that somewhat downgrade the experience.

Background

Enterbrain have a long history of making game makers across platforms from PC to Playstation: among others, engines for fighter / brawler games, dating sim makers and, probably their most popular product in the West, RPG Maker XP and RPG Maker VX. The main appeal of these makers is supposed to be their magic way of allowing basically everyone to make games, not just programmers. Judging by the amount of games made with Enterbrain’s engines, it certainly seems to work. The role of these makers can best be compared to digital cameras in the media of photography. Read the rest of this entry »

The Stolen Diamond Ring got its first review!

Our mystery visual novel, The Stolen Diamond Ring, was reviewed on White Butterfly, one of the rare blogs specializing in otome game reviews! You can read the review here.

Princess Maker 5 （プリンセスメーカー5）Quick Review

(This review of Princess Maker 5 was originally published on March 22, 2008. The game is currently available from Playasia for PlayStation2 and PSP)

Raise a little girl from the age of 10 to 18! Again. (For those unfamiliar with the “Princess Maker” kind of raising simulation games, Wikipedia offers some basic info.)

I loved Princess Maker 2, but after being severely disappointed by installments 3 and 4, found myself increasingly skeptical of whether its charm can ever be replicated again – even by its original creators. But this time, they got it right! It is as close to gaming perfection (at least for me), as the legendary Princess Maker 2 was. The spirit is the same, but Princess Maker 5 is a much, much bigger game, and set in modern Japan. Read the rest of this entry »

Sweet Ange (スウィートアンジェ) – review

Sweet Ange, a cooking game / dating sim by Koei set in Angelique universe

Sweet Ange, a cooking game / otome dating sim by Koei set in Angelique universe

(This review was originally published on January 12, 2006)

System: Gameboy Color
By: Koei
Year: 1999
Genre: cooking game / otome dating sim
Difficulty level of Japanese: intermediate (an enthusiastic beginner armed with a good dictionary could probably play it without running into major trouble).
Target group: little girls (but cuteness-appreciating adults or people interested in confection making would probably enjoy playing this).
Multiplayer mode: none
Where to get it: amazon.co.jp (used)
Official site: スウィートアンジェ　製品案内
Keywords: cooking, recipe, collecting, Angelique, confection, drink, popularity

Collect recipes and ingredients, make confections and drinks, display your creations to win popularity, or give them to your friends as gifts. Sweet Ange is a cooking game published by Koei and set in the Angelique universe (just in case you’ve never heard of Angelique: it’s a popular dating sim for girls, and considered to be the first otome game).

Sweet Ange

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