Operation Backlog Completion 2025
Aug 042025
 

Sometimes company acquisitions make a lot of sense, and other times they leave me scratching my head a bit.

Aquaplus, the developer behind the Utawarerumono series (among others, like the ToHeart remake that came out in June) has been sold by its parent company and acquired by Yuke’s.

Yuke’s is a developer most famous for… the WWE series and a few Earth Defense Force games.

Not exactly the first match I’d pick for a developer of visual novel strategy RPGs.

(Then again, their most recently announced game is Full Metal Schoolgirl, so maybe it’s not such a surprise after all that they’re interested in branching out in directions Aquaplus could help them with.)

Meanwhile, I had completely forgotten about the Monochrome Mobius sequel that was announced last year. I wonder if it’s still set for 2025 and if this acquisition will have any effect on it. Of course, I still need to catch up on the series myself.

What do you think this will mean for future Aquaplus games?

Nov 132024
 

While we were busy focusing on The Kaito Files, another exciting announcement came out – a new entry in the Utawarerumono series.

Utawarerumono: Shiro e no Michishirube was announced for 2025 in Japan, with no platforms given yet.

Despite its name, it is the sequel to Monochrome Mobius: Rights and Wrongs Forgotten and will feature an evolved version of its turn-based JRPG gameplay. It was confusing enough that Monochrome Mobius was part of the series without having “Utawarerumono” in the title, and now its sequel does.

(There’s probably a story-based reason for that, actually.)

I still haven’t played Monochrome Mobius, because I haven’t caught up on the rest of the series yet. While Mask of Deception leaving me excited to see where the story goes, Mask of Truth has still been waiting in my backlog. With another game on the horizon, I’m itching to get back into it and see this story through.

Maybe by the time this new game (hopefully) gets announced for localization, I’ll have caught up.

I’d love to see another large-scale visual novel from the series after this, too. Maybe once they finish the Monochrome Mobius storyline?

I haven’t looked into this new game in too much detail, since I don’t want to see spoilers for the games I haven’t played yet. Nevertheless, I’m looking forward to learning more about it in the future and seeing how its gameplay has evolved.

What do you think about the new Utawarerumono announcement?

Apr 142023
 

Last year, the Utawarerumono series saw a new entry, a turn-based JRPG called Monochrome Mobius: Rights and Wrongs Forgotten.

Only the PC version was localized, with no sign of the PS4 and PS5 versions coming west.

Well, that has changed. Yesterday, NISA announced that Monochrome Mobius would be released in the west for PS4/PS5 this fall. They also revealed a Limited Edition available for preorder.

(The website lists a smaller Deluxe Edition, as well, but preorders aren’t up yet. Initially, the website also listed an English dub, but that was an error and has since been removed.)

I already have Monochrome Mobius on Steam, but I have to admit I’m tempted by the art book, soundtrack, etc. included in the Limited Edition. Is it worth picking it up for collection purposes? We’ll see. Maybe I’ll have played Monochrome Mobius by then.

Earlier this year, I finished playing Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception and found it to be a compelling start to the story told across the two Mask entries. This Monochrome Mobius news has sparked my interest in starting Mask of Truth sooner rather than later.

Getting news like this from NISA, along with other announcements from various developers over the past couple of months, has made me miss the New Game Plus Expo that was held in March the past two years. There are several games and release dates that felt like they would have been announced there if it had been held this March as well. The New Game Plus Expo often showcased games that appeal to me, so I hope they’re just planning to hold it later this year (like in 2020, when it was in June).

Anyway, are you interested in Monochrome Mobius? If you already played it on Steam, are you planning to pick up a console copy?