Top 5 Bizarre English Otome Games
Ah, otome games. It is the genre that sweeps women off their feet, that sets their hearts aflutter and brings a rosy glow to their cheeks. Nothing brings me more joy than writing about… Wait a second. What was the title of this article again? ‘Top 5 Bizarre…’ Oh no. Oh gosh. You don’t seriously expect me to-? Is that a tentacle monster?! Fair maidens, cover your eyes and run away from your computer screens, for I am about to reveal the strangest, weirdest otome games you can possibly find on the dark web!
No, but in all honesty, although some of these games are indeed terrifying, the majority of them are just silly. I’m pointing that out right now because I also don’t want people to misunderstand the word ‘bizarre’ as ‘bad’. Yes, some of these games are pretty awful, but there are others that are very well written. I also want to highlight the words ‘English Otome Games’. This means that all the otome games listed here are, or plan to be, available in English. I have not included any games that are not currently with English localisation companies, which means readers can experience all these games for themselves! Well, if they’re brave enough that is.
5. Hatoful Boyfriend
If the name didn’t quirk your eyebrow, then the trailer surely did! Hatoful Boyfriend is all about comedy, bird puns and pudding! You, the lucky player, have been accepted into the prestigious St. PigeoNation’s Institute, a school made up entirely of birds. As the only human there, you do have your trails to overcome at times. Your living arrangements aren’t the best, as you inhabit a cave and survive your day-to-day life by hunting and gathering, but you’re always pristine and lively when stepping into the classroom! You negate your time between various activates in order to find true love. This could include running with the track team, stopping by the library, hanging out with the school doctor or attending classes.
What’s that? Does this hunter-gatherer hunt birds? Well of course she does! Purely in the name of romance, of course. Like with any otome game, the goal is to win the heart of an available bachelor, which in this case is one of numerous birds. Perhaps your heart will be stolen by the hardworking rock dove, Ryouta Kawara, or maybe your heart will start pounding at the sight of the beautiful but snooty fantail pigeon, Sakuya Le Bel Shirogane? With so many birds to choose from, our heroine is spoilt for choice!
It is very easy to skip over this game due to its perceived ridiculousness, but you would be wrong to think of this game as nothing but shallow laughter. You would be surprised by how much depth Hatoful Boyfriend actually has, and indeed there will be some moments that bring a meaningful tear to your eye. Its replay value is also highly satisfying with various endings and even secret routes to discover. Indeed this game comes under the ‘weird and wonderful’ category. Everybirdie should give it a go!
Hatoful Boyfriend is written by Hato Moa and published by Devolver Digital (remake edition). It is currently available in English via Steam, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita.
4. Jurassic Heart
Do you like dinosaurs? Have you re-watched Jurassic Park more times than you can count? Yes? Well, let me take it one step further. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to date a dinosaur? Of course you have! If that’s the case then I have the perfect game for you: Jurassic Heart!
In this short, but surprisingly earnest, otome game, you play as a human high school girl who has romantic feelings towards her Tyrannosaurus rex classmate. The T-rex, Taira, recently broke his ukulele and our heroine feels responsible for the damage. In order to make it up to him, the player decides to buy Taira a new ukulele, creating an opening for an unusual romance to bloom. For a huge, terrifying carnivore, Taira is oddly self-conscious and is often sporting blushing cheeks. Honestly, I didn’t even know dinosaurs could blush, let alone play musical instruments! Here I am, thinking T-rex’s had the brain size of a walnut and had gone extinct millions of years ago. Good on him for breaking stereotypes, I say.
Jurassic Heart is written by Hima and animated by Piti. It is available for the PC and is completely free to play.
3. Creature Romances: ~for the Ladies~
Those with an aversion to creepy-crawlies may want to look away for this one. On the other hand, if you have a kink for insect people and tentacle monsters with hundreds of eyes, read on! What’s that? You don’t? Well, do you have a strong stomach? You do? Great! Read on anyway.
This otome game is definitely not for the faint of heart. No joke, it actually comes with the warning, ‘These works contain many disturbing, grotesque images and images of non-human creatures. Please be aware of this if you decide to buy this game.’ The game isn’t yet released for English audiences, but with the latest translation status saying that it is now fully translated and is undergoing editing and engine work, I doubt it will be much longer before it is available. Little is known about the story at this time, other than the fact that it centres around ‘ordinary youth’ and ‘ordinary love’. Heck, if this is ‘ordinary’, I absolutely do not want to know what strange is!
The game is being localised into English by Sekai Project and will be available on PC. It does not yet have a release date.
2. My Horse Prince
When I was a kid, one of my favourite games to play was My Little Pony: Friendship Gardens. I have nothing against cutesy horse games. In fact, they bring back fond memories for me. This game, however, is nothing like My Little Pony: Friendship Gardens. Not even the most hard-core, eccentric brony fan could possibly enjoy this game. It confuses me. It frightens me. It hurts my eyes.
Dissatisfied at seeing nothing but middle-aged men at her office, our ditzy heroine decides to take a vacation at a ranch. ‘Why a ranch’, you ask? Well, that’s because we want to meet a prince to fall in love with, and everyone knows princes ride horses. Duh. So it makes perfect sense to visit a ranch and wait for all the princes to appear. I mean, where else are they going to go? Some high-class hotel on a Mediterranean island? As if. There is a problem however, as the heroine suddenly realises one of these horses has a human face!
No one else can see the horse with the perfect, manly face, however. That’s because our heroine is special. She has a gift, you see, because she was born on the year of the horse. It’s not a bestiality thing. Honestly. Seriously. Also it talks. You feed this poor, disfigured animal, carrots by tapping on the screen of your smartphone, and if you’re lucky, he will ask you a question you need to answer. Select the right answer and his affection for you grows. Keep it up long enough and, well… Let’s hope these two use contraception.
Was that my sanity I just heard snapping? Alright, moving on… My Horse Prince is published by Usaya Co., Ltd and is available on iOS and Android.
1. My Curry Boyfriend
Have you ever looked at a plate of curry and thought, ‘Damn, that’s hot!’, but not in the ‘I don’t like spicy food’ kind of way? What was that? You don’t like where my line of questioning is going? Oh dear. Well, just in case you have a secret food kink you weren’t aware of, I invite you to cast your eyes below and take a look at my number one bizarre, English otome game.
Yes, you did read that right. He really did say, ‘Well, Let’s make the babies.’ Hashed beef is just one of four ‘curry fairies’ you can romance in My Curry Boyfriend. It all begins one magical day while working at your family’s curry shop. You see a love-struck couple eating curry together, and you find yourself desperately wishing that you too had a boyfriend. Suddenly, a bright light shines from the curry pot, and four handsome men appear before you! They are the ‘Curry-shi’ from the curry kingdom, and they all want to be your lover! The witch that brought these curry dishes to life must be especially cruel. What on earth was going through her head and how do we stop her? Where’s Dorothy when you need her…
Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore. Oh, but what beautiful ruby sli-! Wait, wasn’t I suppose to crush a witch in this story? Where is she? Why isn’t she under the house? What’s that? She doesn’t have any flying monkeys so she’s out creating curry fairies? Oh, heck. Toto, go bring me that pail of water! I’ve got a wicked witch to melt!
If you do like the look of Hashed beef, Katsu curry, Indian curry or Chicken curry, then do make sure to order one from your local Indian takeaway. Otherwise you can download My Curry Boyfriend from the Android and iOS stores. Err, bon appétit?
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