Tech-Gaming Technology, Gaming, and Culture

Often it’s the attractive full-screen images known as CGs (for Computer Graphics) which attracts an audience toward a visual novel. But arguably, it’s the narrative that faces a tougher job- with exposition and dialog tasked ...

Following an agonizing eight year, two console generation hiatus, historical simulation Romance of the Three Kingdoms returns, shepherding in a selection of new releases. If a recreation of Luo Guanzhong essential text isn’t your thing, ...

Unquestionably, Full Mojo Rampage is a game with a myriad of moving parts. On a rudimentary level, the circle-strafing protagonist launches an unrelenting flurry of projectiles at skeletons, snakes, and bomb-carrying foes. In another way, ...

Visual novels tend to be a hit-or-miss affair for most, with gamers being drawn to the strong narrative which often accompanies these titles or turned off by a lack of player input. Highway Blossoms takes ...

What is the concept? Following The Fruit of Grisaia’s (Gurizaia no Kajitsu) 2011 release in Japan, Sekai Project mounted a successful Kickstarter campaign, raising nearly half a million dollars to fund an English localization for ...

Here’s the irony surrounding a discussion of Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma- revealing even the slightest detail threatens to diminish the experience. So, if you were a fan of 2009’s Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors or ...

From Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness, Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE, and the physical release of Grand Kingdom, role-playing fans have a number of reasons to be excited. And if that trio of temptations doesn’t interest ...

Japanese role-playing games are often criticized for not offering enough innovation. According to detractors, most new efforts do little more than recycle well-established plots and play mechanics.  But spend a few hours with either the ...

What is the concept? When Clannad was originally released in 2004, the visual novel resonated with quite a few Japanese readers. Although identifying with a standoffish delinquent might seem like a lofty hurdle, the storyline ...

This week, the thrice-delayed Might No. 9 finally hits store shelves and digital marketplaces. Given the protracted three-year span from initial PAX announcement hype to release, it will be interesting to see how the hiatus ...