True, although the prejudices that people are bringing to the table here would clearly apply to more Japanese games that Western ones. Apparently Princess Peach and Zelda escape the "it must be pedophilia" curse because Nintendo is just too pure. ^_^

Since Japanese games came up though, I'd really like to see Recettear on GOG. Part economic sim; part RPG - both popular genres with GOG gamers. Although it would also have to battle the same freak out about art style as Long Live The Queen is enduring... :-(

Japanese or not, it does -look- like one. How on earth are we going to encourage those "legit" japanese games to be ported in english when the reception is like this?

Are we really this narrow-minded?

I couldn't have said better than both of you. No wonder we never see any japanese translated game of that kind if the prejudice are so high.

Of course I'm not familiar with Japanese cartoons aimed at little girls (saying young girls is redundant, I've never seen an old girl). I'm neither Japanese, nor little, nor a girl. And so are most people. That's the point I'm trying to make. If I invented a cartoon with aliens that have breathing tubes in their crotch area everyone would think of penises instead of breathing tubes and it's not the people's fault, it is simply what people associate with elongated body parts in the crotch area. If the first thing people associate with those screenshots is "entertainment for pedophiles", even if there is nothing like that in the game, then thre is something in the aesthetic choice.

You know there is nothing pornographic, I know it as well, but I believe that in entertainment you first have to explain something you have already lost. If people's first association when seeing the front page image is creeping out, then you have already lost them. That's not lways a bad thing, not everything can be for everyone of course.

I really want more Monster Hunter here :(

Nice. This kind of style was missing mostly so far on GOG.

It's pretty damn stupid that there's even discussion attacking the way the game looks - what ever happened to the sentiment that it was how the game played, how well its written, and how much you enjoyed it that determined a games worth? I'm not to sure about this game in particular yet, but it's a sad day on GOG.com when the community judges these types of games based on prejudice and visuals alone.

I wouldn't call it prejudice. Post-judice, maybe.

The thing is that a lot of Japanese stuff *is* porny to US/EU sensibilities, which is partially from different cultural standards on what's acceptable in media, and partially because there's a lot higher tolerance for sexually-flavored creepiness in general in Japanese culture. A lot of people have started an Asian show / game / movie before and suddenly found that they were out of their comfort zone. It only takes that happening once to become very wary of anything that seems to be pulling from the same trope.

This *is* an upskirt shot of an underage girl. That may be OK by Japanese-game standards, but it's definitely icky by Western standards, and people who make these kinds of games know that. Hanako has been making these games for the Western market for years now.

The cover could have been magical-girl without being an upskirt shot, and doing the cover this way shows that the game makers are using all the anime magical girl stereotypes, including the ones that make the genre controversial. So I'm going to wait for a review that fairly thoroughly documents whether there's any more creepiness built into the game, and then consider buying it.

TL;DR Deliberate skeeviness is deliberate. Different cultures are different (and sometimes, difference is not good). Waiting for reviews is always the best policy.

the font page cover makes her look like she is shoving something up her poopoo |:(

That's actually a very interesting idea! :) *makes a mental note* Thanks! :)

Now I'm waiting for a sequel to "The Dance" with crotch-tube aliens.

As I see it, the only way to make headway against the naysayers is to ignore them. They do not share the interests of people who enjoy Japanese games, and as such should have no say in the matter. Keep voting with your wallet to promote games like La-Mulana, Long Live the Queen, HuniePop, Mighty #9, and Cosmic Star Heroine. Those dollars feed the people who make stuff that we like, and is a good way of showing our appreciation for their efforts.

Tried the last one on my 3DS, absolutely not my kind of game. But to each its own, I guess.

I'd love to see more japanese visual novels here on GOG, but I think I'm almost the only one in that case... -_-

how long does one game take? Is it as sophisticated as Princess maker?