Today’s project is Shira Oka: Second Chances by Okashi studios
Demo is available now HERE review HERE
Demo is available now HERE review HERE
With the school semester being out for summer, I’ve been finding it much harder to network with artists in the area. Fortunately while I was cleaning out my email box, I ran across a studio that was working a project that has not been released yet, hence making them the perfect subject for my next project to feature.
Okashi Studios is a small group of programmers and weeaboos based in San Fransisco working on a big beefy dating sim project named “Shira Oka: Second Chances” They have going at it for a few years, ever since I first ran into their booth at AX 2006 (four years now? Yeesh) Anyways, Shira Oka is a dating sim about a failure of a person who gets a chance to relive high school. While that tells little about the actual scenarios that will be encountered, it lays the basis for the games attitude. The most important thing about a dating sim is the characters and scenarios that run it, and I’m here to talk about the previews that have been released.
To start, we have the preview that was shown at previous conventions
This shows a bit of the characters and the plot, but little on the scenarios presented.
Now then, because I don’t feel like writing about everybody I’m going to write which characters appeal to which of my fetishes and why.
Alright, after watching disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, shy moe- blobs managed to appeal to me again. Let’s not forget that scarves make everybody, male or female, obviously much more attractive. Never underestimate how much sexier a scarf can make a person.
Next we have the Genji girl
Everybody who doesn’t like Genji girls has never talked to a real girl. Easily exited people actually do things, making them more interesting, leading to better dates. Also, this person appears at the town introduction here
After this we have the mechanic, Innou Suzu
Wasn’t very interesting until I read the word Motorcycle. Motorcycles make everybody sexier by about 50% I certainly hope we get to see her on a Motorcycle, mmmhmm.
Now then, I normally don’t play dating sims, but instead prefer my dating sim along with some ass kicking, like shown in the best game ever, Persona 4. Alas, your average RPG doesn’t focus on these aspects very much, and the great Persona 4 only has it in there as an optional side thing. On another note, while many western based RPG’s such as Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Although I had assumed that the project was either dead or already finished, it does appear to still be in progress. Perhaps they should hire me to go down there and show my awesome C++ skillz and help them finish their project. I have been meaning to program my own dating sim, one of these days. Alas, it is actually closer to completion. Perhaps I will pay these people a visit while I’m at Anime Expo 2010, as they may have some promotional goodies.
While the characters manage to fill most of the dating sim essentials; don’t really matter for much without the scenarios. I’ll need to see that before I can give a full opinion on the project. HOWEVER, I am moderately intrigued to see how an American made dating sim placed in Japan
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Next Artist: ArionHawk
Related Stuff:
Shira Oka Second Chances Demo review
Persona 4 Review
Why won't my Boyfriend stop looking at Hentai
Why Weeaboos Really Grind my gears
Next Artist: ArionHawk
Related Stuff:Shira Oka Second Chances Demo review
Persona 4 Review
Why won't my Boyfriend stop looking at Hentai
Why Weeaboos Really Grind my gears
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1 comment:
Hey BryAnime, I found your blog post thanks to a comment you left on the Shira Oka Facebook page.
I also played Persona 4, and enjoyed the RPG gameplay as well as the relationship building. There are only a few games in English which mix RPG and relationship gameplay -- some have been commercially translated, some fan translated, and some written originally in English. As you should expect, quality varies. While I currently like Sakura Wars 5, there are several technical and translation problems with the game. So instead of recommending any commercial games, I'll instead recommend instead looking through the Renai Archive at www.renai.us -- there you'll find some freeware visual novels in English with hybrid genre gameplay.
From your blog post, it seems you're familiar with western RPGs. I gave KOTOR, Sonic Chronicles, and the 2004 Bard's Tale a chance, but I didn't enjoy the graphics or the gameplay. (I admit my tastes are kinda weeaboo-ish, but I'm also a dedicated fan of Worms, Simcity, and Civilization.)
Finally, I've been following the progress of Shira Oka for several years. I know that Okashi Studio has been taking its time to create a commercially viable game with complex gameplay and a professional level of polish. But it's a little discouraging to realize that since work on Shira Oka began, the independent game development teams at Hanako Games and Winter Wolves have finished several high quality visual novels and raising sims.
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