Best English Otome Games?

[silverpikachu99]

I'm curious to know- since I'm quite bored- what are the best english otome games for you?

 

[renano]

The best English translated otome game would be Tokimeki Memorial: Girl's Side 1st Love Plus.

Midorikawa Hikaru is my favorite male seiyuu for a reason. His voice can really project a character's personality and emotions well.

His voice as Kei-kun is so humble at times, but slightly awkward or quirky while using subtle, light tones to enhance the atmosphere. He may be smart and athletic, but when he is with the main heroine... you kind of forget about all that and enjoy Kei-kun's small innocent smiles towards the things he loves.

The game overall is a worthwhile experience that can be played many times over. The other two sequels to the series are good in their own way. However, the first one will always be the one I will remember.

Besides the fantastic voice acting (Hoshi Sōichirō ♥), the storyline for each person that the main heroine pursues is well-thought out and endearing.

A simulation game shouldn't make you feel like it's a burden to raise a person's affection. It should be fun, engaging, and make the end result a satisfying feeling. This is what the game did and I appreciate it.

The artwork and music work well hand-in-hand.

The music isn't annoying. It's light and simple. When the crucial or somber times arrive in a certain person's route, the music changes accordingly.

As for the artwork, if you consider the year it was created, I believe it was quite stunning and refreshing even for the girls the heroine's befriends.

Each cut-scene was wonderfully well-placed and we got to see how each character was connected to one another.

Unlocking secret characters, completing the album, the various endings, outfits, and memorable CGs made this game even more appealing and enjoyable.

I recommend this game who are new to otome games or who desire a slightly change of pace from all the sparkles in current otome games. Sometimes, the PSP otome games... despite the lovely artwork and music... lack in building the male character's personality/story line. Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side 1st Love Plus is not like that.

Also, it feels more realistic. What I mean is... you're changing outfits when going on dates and trying to make your heroine smart, artistic, a socialite, etc. to pursue your guy to make him like you. Answering those important date questions correctly to put a smile on their face is rewarding and displays how much hard work you are willing to get your guy.

I hope that you will love this game as I much as I did if you decide to play it. Perhaps, it is the first one I played so I have some nostalgia. Still, do not let that deter you. Try it out. You will not regret it.

 

[silverpikachu99]

Thanks for this! I'll be sure to try it out~!! :)

 

[renano]

No problem. ^^

English translated otome games are quite difficult to find.

I believe you know this... if not, I apologize for my presumption. If you search in VNDB with the correct tags and filters, I'm sure you'll find something.

http://vndb.org/v/all?q=;fil=tagspoil-0.tag_inc-542.lang-en.olang-ja;o=d;s=rel

 

[sweetjane]

According to me , probably Nameless , it is a real VN with no stats raise at all. The art is good .
I did not play all the routes , but the characters I pursued were well developed .
The music is nice and I love the voice acting.
It's not a japanese game though , it's a korean company so you may have a problem with it .
And you have to pay for it , you cannot find it on anime sharing . But I think it's worth spending money , and the price is not that high for a VN .

I also recommend Dandelion (from the same company) , Hakuoki (on psp) , sweet fuse (psp) . There are english patch for starry sky in spring and second revolution .

 

[meigui]

My favorite English otome is definitely Hakuouki. Nothing can match it for amazing writing and characters in my personal opinion. There really isn't a single character I dislike.

 

[Ami-chan]

Yeah, definitly Hakuouki. But I would also recommend checking out the Cheritz games: Dandelion and Nameless. It's a Korean company, but their games are also released in english

 

[Myshella]

I actually really liked Sweet Fuse; it's a fun game that's rather silly. I played Hakuouki too but the story was just a little too bland and I didn't really like Chizuru as a heroine D:

The Second Reproduction is pretty awesome and has an English patch! I'd also agree with Nameless as a really good English otome game. I didn't like how they handled the endings but actually playing through the routes was fun. Also the art is gorgeous!

 

[Langesha]

Hatoful Boyfriend anyone? XD

The main game and the fan disc have been translated and guess what you do in this game. You are a pigeon. And date pigeons. 8D

 

[sweetjane]

Hatoful Boyfriend anyone? XD

The main game and the fan disc have been translated and guess what you do in this game. You are a pigeon. And date pigeons. 8D

I never played this game but I heard a lot of good things about it. Some otome gamer told me the plot was really good.

 

[WistfulWisteria]

I don't know if it can be called an otome game (maybe a VN with otome elements); either way I would definitely recommend Cinders. :3

Spoiler: Screenshot

It's based on the fairytale of Cinderella, and as I love every Cinderella retellings, this game was a must for me. :D
Originally it's not a Japanese game and there's no voice acting in it, but I loved its music and the art is just gorgeous.

Spoiler: Screenshot

The story is really interesting, never boring. You have to take a lot of choices during the game, which change the story line frequently (for example among other things you determine the heroine, Cinders, personality).
I can never get tired to replay it again and again, because it always gives something new. ^^

 

[Timing]

Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side 1st Love is my favorite (and the first otome I ever played). I recently placed A Troll's Fairy Tale and enjoyed it. The unicorn prince was kind of annoying, though.

 

[sweetjane]

I don't know if it can be called an otome game (maybe a VN with otome elements); either way I would definitely recommend Cinders. :3

Spoiler: Screenshot

It's based on the fairytale of Cinderella, and as I love every Cinderella retellings, this game was a must for me. :D
Originally it's not a Japanese game and there's no voice acting in it, but I loved its music and the art is just gorgeous.

Spoiler: Screenshot

The story is really interesting, never boring. You have to take a lot of choices during the game, which change the story line frequently (for example among other things you determine the heroine, Cinders, personality).
I can never get tired to replay it again and again, because it always gives something new. ^^

I bought Cinders , cause the art is great , the MC seemed interesting and the story quite good. I did not finish it yet. I think the game is great on the VN aspects of it . But if you're into the side "romenceable bishies" of otome games. This VN is clearly not for you .

 

[Merefi]

Starry Sky in Spring for PC has an english patch, It's a good game :P

 

[kareshi]

I would vote for "That cheap and sacred thing". It is a touching and unforgettable story. However, the author of it suddenly disappeared without any word.

 

[Asahina]

Okay, I'll mention some of the otome games that I've played and I really liked. (Will try not to post spoilers)

The Second Reproduction - Not actually english, but it has a fan translation. ILezette is my sexy knight hoho
X-Note - Game by zeiva, I really love it. Not only because i love mystery stories, but it has an interesting plot. I loved all of the characters, Specially Oure; he soooo adorable >w<
Area-X - Another game by zeiva, About time traveling this time. It's a great game even though most of the endings made my cry. That aside, I really love the how Elcia (Main Character) acts, She's so cute. My fav is Livan but I strongly encourage all of you to try all of the paths. It was worth it.
Blue Rose - Interesting plot, Unexpected scenes and other. I like it how the art is done, And surely, I love all of the characters in this game <3
Re:Alistair++ - Free game by sakevisual. The art is nice for a free game.
(P)lanets - Another free game, The game is pretty long, I think it took me 2 hours(?) to finish it. It also has a good art for a free game.
Anyo's Love - A really game. It has 3 endings. And the special ending made me laugh so hard xD
Rei - A free game agaiinnn. with a great art also. I only tried it once but I came to love it
Pyrite Heart - The art is realllllyyyy good. Like really. It has voiced version now and I got it for free (I think I saw somewhere that you have to pay for it now, tho but I can upload it if someone wants the voiced version. I got this game a long time ago.

Update: I have been inactive in AS for a long time and I have played a lot more otome games and I'll mention it now. Some are not free but you can find the download links here in AS.

Dandelion Wishes Brought To You - After waiting for long years I FINALLY GOT THIS GAME. This game is pretty popular so I'm guessing that some of you knows this already but I really loved it, specially the art. Just look at the game and you'll see, all of the character looks good BUT JIWOO IS MY BAE <3 It almost feels like I only wanna do his route haha.
Nameless One Thing you Must Recall - Another game from Cheritz, this game is wayyy longer that Dandelion so it takes so much more space. I liked all of the characters but I haven't tried all of the Endings yet. (I just got the game lately, so yeah)
Nicole - Game from Winterwolves. Great game but the culprit is a bit. . . predictable. But hey, I actually loved the MC so much and Darren
Winter in Fairbook - I absolutely loved all the characters in this game. I tried all of the endings and I was pretty pleased.
Days of the Divine - I played this long time ago. It's free and short but worth the read.
That cheap and Sacred thing - You aren't actually going to make choices with this but I cried at the friggin ending. It was very short but I love Jude so much Oh God.
Prince Maker Braveness - Apparently, there are a lot of endings for this game depends on how you raised the prince. It was a bit long bc you'd raise the prince starting from when he was a kid until he grow up. (I only tried it once but It was pretty good)
Seduce Me - I have only tried the demo and the art was nice. Really, WAS. They changed the art and, uh, well, the new art wasn't very bad as well but the old art was MUCH better, as in MUCH. I was pleased with the art before but I discovered they changed it. I know I don't have the right to complain but really, the old art was too good to be replaced.
Freak quency - A free stat-raising game about virtual reality game. There are a lot of choices to make so I guess it won't bore you.
1931: Scheherazade Library at the Pergamum - This game is like, really long ( I haven't finished it yet) and is focused on mystery more than romance. I actually like it because it's not just all romance. This is also a stat-raising game and you can travel in other countries (depends on the scences) so it's pretty enjoyable

I'll update again once I found my Hard drive that contains all of my Otome games

 

[LaCaL]

Hatoful Boyfriend anyone? XD

The main game and the fan disc have been translated and guess what you do in this game. You are a pigeon. And date pigeons. 8D

I agree with this recommendation, though a couple of things: one, you're not a pigeon- you play as the only human attending a school that birds go to (mostly of the pigeon family, as the name of the game implies), and two, the otome aspect isn't a huge factor in the game. The full version of the game focuses much less on romance and way more on explaining the oddities/mysteries of the game. So if you're looking for a more romance-oriented game, Hatoful Kareshi might not be entirely satisfying.

 

[Sorata]

Haven't played Hatoful Boyfriend yet, but maybe I'll try getting it now. I've heard good things and people have told me not to underestimate the fact that they guys you're pursuing are pigeons. The stories apparently tug at your heartstrings too. It's more storybased? You mentioned mysteries, so is there an underlying mystery behind the whole game? LOL is it really that good as people say? Hmm well it's really cheap ($5 I think), so I will probably will get it soon anyway :)

My personal recommendations are (some have been mentioned earlier, but I'll just say them):
- Dandelion Wishes Brought to You: well worth the purchase and probably one of the best otome purchases I've ever made. The art is absolutely gorgeous and the characters are all fantastic. I've cried a lot for this game, which is a huge plus in my book. I mean I love when games are able to make me so emotionally invested in them. Heejung was an incredible heroine and I could really relate to her ^^
- Nameless The One Thing You Must Recall: again worth every penny. This is their most recent and second game released by Cheritz. They're a Korean company and they translate their games into English. I was not disappointed with this game and loved it a lot. Again, I've cried many tears for this game too.
Trust me, getting both of these cheritz games is highly recommended. And if you can, try playing dandelion first and then nameless due to all the little references here and there ^^

The Second Reproduction is another good one (it has an english patch) and the heroine is fabulous. It's free since the doujin company (Heterodoxy) went defunct. Now they're known as Operetta and their games continue to have amazing heroines (in particular Koezaru's Naala).

I also enjoy Zeiva's games, X-Note and Area-X. Both games are really great ^^ I'm patiently (well unpatiently lol) waiting for Dragon Essence. The Royal Trap and Date Warp are enjoyable too. A Troll's Fairy Tale is a free game and was a pleasure to play too.

Hakuouki for the PSP was incredible as well and I'm glad it was localized to English. I'm hoping Aksys will stop the milking trend that Otomate is such a pro at, and bring over more otome games to the West. I didn't really understand their idea in bringing sweet fuse over.. well i kinda do, but at the same time, I'm just like :/ I wish they'd bring over other popular psp otome games in the future!

There has been a recent surge in mobage otome games. Though a lot of them are lacking in quality. Voltage is the most popular one, and their games have been more of a hit or miss for me. But there are a couple of games from them that I really love! If you do have an smartphone, I'd recommend in your arms tonight, kiss of revenge, love letter from thief x, kissed by the baddest bidder, and my forged wedding. In Your Arms Tonight is definitely their best work thus far in my opinion though. With kiss of revenge and love letter from thief x being close seconds.

Well that's my two cents and sorry if I sound repetitive or anything. These are just my personal recommendations and hope this helps someone in at least one way or another.

 

[BlackLillith]

The Second Reproduction. ( loved everything. There is also another game made by the company and I really wish someone could translate it).
Hakuouki ( nice art, voices, soundtrack and story)
Cinders
Date warp was good too, but I hated the puzzles...
Duplicity had some pretty nice moments and plot
Yo Jin Bo was absolutely gorgerous ( I played it many times cause I liked it so much :D)
Starry Sky the translated one was very nice. One thing I didn't like was the fact that the MC had her eyes hidden in the CG's. :(
(P)lanets was one of the best free games ever. Every otome game lover should play it!!! XD
Nachtigal was another nice free game. Short, dark but enjoyable.


And that's all that I liked and I would replay them gladly. I really want to buy Dandelion, but my I can't because I like in a ****** country and there are some problems... Maybe in the future, when I leave this place I WILL MANAGE TO PURCHASE IT CAUSE I WANT TO PLAY IT SO BADLY :D

 

[starryJ]

I play a lot more Japanese otoge than English but of the ones that I did...Yo-jin-bo (PC) is one of my favorites.

I noticed some people have mention some other familiar titles so I won't repeat. But actually, if you have iPad or android(I think?) there are otome game apps by Voltage, inc. They have both Japanese and English version, though the Japanese version updates quicker since they then translate the text over to English. There's one free chapter (occasionally you can catch a special deal to play like three chapters free of charge) for each character and some of the stories are pretty nice. It gets costly if you try to play through every single character so I generally pick my favorite ones and go from there. OR you can just wait and look around to see if anyone uploaded the play through on Youtube, because there are some out there.

Some of the titles from their games are: Love Letter from Thief X, My Forged Wedding, 10 Days with My Devil, Serendipity Next Door, etc. The heroines in some of these stories are grown women which I found interesting that they focus on more mature audience. The writing can contain innuendos (haha) but the drawings are not explicit (just enough to tease). Anyways, here's their facebook page if anyone's interested: https://www.facebook.com/RomanceSims

 

[kurea-shi]

We should keep in mind also that otome games aren't only visual novels though.
So here I recommend the Aveyond series! I'm not sure if others will agree with me, but I myself categorize this as an otome-type ADV game.
And to me the latest trend for otome games made at freem is also pointing to ADV games..
Well, of course the otome games there are still mainly VN-kei as they're probably easiest to made if we put aside the graphic matter, but the ADV-kei games have been getting a lot of good reviews recently, and I myself have been having problems falling asleep in front of the screen playing VN games..

Aveyond games are mostly otome-kei, although the MC is sometimes different with each game. But for the latest Aveyond Orb of Night series, the MC is the same thief-spy girl, and it was really fun "attacking" the Prince. But the genre differs with each installation of game in the series (e.g. pure love or harem or reverse harem), so I guess you can't really say this series is a pure otome-kei, but just has an otome element.

I haven't really played english otome games, sadly to say, but lately the android otome games have been big on english fans with no same title in japanese.. Especially the Shall We Date series from NTT Solmare. I cried seeing this because I always felt like something is lost during the translation (though in this matter there weren't original japanese titles in the first place). Like the Magic Sword etc.

 

[Juliet]

I can just agree with Sorata It's weird but I would actually give the same recommendations haha. Although Dandelion and Nameless I didnt't play yet but they do look awesome :D

 

[BlackLillith]

I also loved the Aveyond series. I would have liked some other endings for Mel. DARK ONES especially! :D I heard that someone plans to work on Aveyond 4. I hope is going to be awesome! XD

 

[Timing]

I hope they greenlight Dandelion Wishes on Steam.
Anyways, I've enjoyed Chiaki's route in Our Two Bedroom Story. I want to play the sequel Don't know why I never played any Voltage games, but now I'm hooked!

 

[starryJ]

@Timing Ohh I haven't play that one yet haha. I really enjoyed the chemistry between Kenshi and MC in Love Letter from Thief X though!! (Another plus is that the MC is pretty badass in this storyline at times)