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[Hours Left]

Lifewonders LLC/4JH App has just launched their Indiegogo campaign for the gay dating sim/JRPG game for mobile, Fantastic Boyfriends -Legends of Midearth-. This game is made by a studio that is dedicated to furthering LGBT+/Ally development in gaming in Japan and beyond, something that is sadly still a rarity. They are asking for $20,000 dollars, and the the campaign is fixed funding so you'll be refunded if the campaign is not successful in reaching its funding goal. Oh, and did I mention that a Gaffer is helping with the translation? GAF's own apricot has already contributed work to the game, and with successful funding will hopefully be continuing on with the project. You can read more about her involvement here.

Here's some English screen shots...

As you can see, the game (which has already been released in Japan) has a very colorful and appealing artstyle, something that harkens back to a more retro JRPG look mixed with the bara aesthetic. (For those unaware the term bara generally refers to gay themed content featuring muscular men.) There are currently 4 datable men and a plethora of campaigns already released so they have a lot of content at their disposal waiting to be translated.

Here's the available dudes you can date...

Here are the reward tiers they're offering...

$3USD - New Adventurer

-‘SPECIAL THANKS!’: your name in the Special Thanks page on our English website

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$10USD - Great Adventurer

-All previous rewards & An illustration card with a thank you message from the staff (digital rewards)

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$30USD - Ranger

-All previous rewards & mini soundtrack will be sent to you (digital rewards).

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$50USD - Dragonewt

-All previous rewards & a visual book (PDF) will be sent to you (digital rewards). The book will be special version written in English, containing sections such as “Characters notes” and "Artworks" from Fantastic Boyfriends.

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$250USD - Monk

All previous rewards & the following:
-a printed version of the illustration card with a thank you message
-a mini soundtrack CD
-a printed version of the visual book with limited edition cover (in English!)

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$799USD - Knight

All previous rewards & the following:
-a special tapestry featuring characters from Fantastic Boyfriends
-a black and white illustration from Fantastic Boyfriend artist BomBom (you may choose one favorite character from our website)

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$999USD - Hero

All previous rewards (not including the black and white illustration) and the following:
-a special 3D mouse pad of our character
-a color illustration from BomBom (you may choose one favorite character from our website)

Hopefully this campaign will be able to reach it's goal and that we can show that LGBT content of this nature has a viable fanbase in the west. With the recent success of other LGBT projects, I know that they do, and considering other notable crowdfunding campaigns of late have been able to raise much more money in mere hours, I'm hoping this game can also find support in the English markets.

Links...
Indiegogo Campaign Page
English Website
Japanese Website
Japanese Promo Video
English Gameplay Video (20+ Minutes)

Please make sure you read the campaign page thoroughly to see how the perk structure works. There is currently no option to get the entire game included with any contribution. The initial base game/chapter is free for everyone with additional chapters being IAP.

Note: In case anyone is wondering, I personally don't have any connection to the project other than being a fan.

 

[Robin64]

Really nice sharp clean look, but I hope the "FIGHT" etc buttons in the battle UI change. The pixel look on them doesn't fit with the rest of the aesthetics in the game at all.

 

[Lightning Count]

Really nice sharp clean look, but I hope the "FIGHT" etc buttons in the battle UI change. The pixel look on them doesn't fit with the rest of the aesthetics in the game at all.

While it's great to see the LGBT community having better representation in gaming, this comes across to me a bit like begging.

So best of luck, but my money will stay where it is.

 

[NotLiquid]

I quite like this kind of art style but other than the monk I hope to see a little more body type variety.

I hooe this goes well, it looks interesting.

 

[Haunted]

They all look like different versions of the same guy.

 

[Muskieratboi]

Aww, Maaaan.. No Dateable BaraKemono..

Ah well, there's always KemoColiseum for my Big Burly Fuzzy tastes.

And the Demon guy's kinda cute anyway

*backs*

They all look like different versions of the same guy.

The Bara Aesthetic leads to a lot of that, especially for humans.

That's why I prefer BaraKemono (the Furry version). Much more variety, even with the similar body types.

 

[Robin64]

They all look like different versions of the same guy?

That'll be the twist, haha.

 

[Fat4all]

But seriously, really digging the art style!

 

[Squall5042]

They missed an opportunity to call it the MENu

 

[BGMNTS]

I don't get it, why the focus on gay?

Don't a lot of RPGs have same sex romances?

I'd rather fund good games than single out a specific community in the industry and 'support' them.
If its a good a game, i'm interested.

 

[N7Commander95]

Gordon's hot yo. *backed*

 

[Fat4all]

I don't get it, why the focus on gay?

Focusing on a gay relationship can be just as much part of the aesthetic as any other design choice.

It can focus on that and still be "a good game".

 

[Hours Left]

They all look like different versions of the same guy.

I don't really agree with that. Same body type for sure (hence it being a bara game), but they don't have the "same face" malady that many dating sims suffer from.

I don't get it, why the focus on gay?

Don't a lot of RPGs have same sex romances?

I'd rather fund good games than single out a specific community in the industry and 'support' them.
If its a good a game, i'm interested.

Lots? Hardly. Barely a handful, particularly JRPGs.

It's a gay dating sim made by a studio who's whole mission is to focus on supporting LGBT games/developers in the market. This is sadly not a common occurrence.

 

[Mystic Theurge]

Is this an H-Game?

 

[Hours Left]

Is this an H-Game?

No, it's an iOS/Android game. No nudity or sex.

This is about as racy as it gets to my knowledge...

No more than your standard console fanservice game.

 

[BGMNTS]

I don't really agree with that. Same body type for sure (hence it being a bara game), but they don't have the "same face" malady that many dating sims suffer from.


Lots? Hardly. Barely a handful, particularly JRPGs.

It's a gay dating sim made by a studio who's whole mission is to focus on supporting LGBT games/developers in the market. This is sadly not a common occurrence.

Fair enough.

I'll support good games

If they are made by any gamers who are in the LGBT community. Cool.

I hope this does well though and is a good game.

 

[Fat4all]

No, it's an iOS/Android game. No nudity or sex.

That's fine with me. I'd be interested in the stories and relationships, but not so much the "physical" aspects.

 

[Mystic Theurge]

No, it's an iOS/Android game. No nudity or sex.

Alright.

Looking at the reward tiers, it seems like you don't get the game if you back. Also I'm worried about the regional restrictions/variations.

 

[Hours Left]

Alright.

Looking at the reward tiers, it seems like you don't get the game if you back. Also I'm worried about the regional restrictions/variations.

In Japan the base game/initial campaign was free I believe. Then you can buy additional campaigns if you like. I imagine it'll be the same in the western version, though hopefully they will clarify this soon.

As for restrictions, if you live in North America or most parts of Europe, I don't imagine you have anything to worry about. As I said before, it's a mobile game so they can only get so racy. If they can release Senran Kagura games where you live (for example), I'm sure this game will be fine.

 

[apricot]

Wow, what a gorgeous post! Look ma, I'm famous XD

I'm going to try to pass on some of your questions/concerns to Lifewonders, and will post back here with any info I get.

Regarding the full game, the initial opening chapter is free, with additional chapters available to purchase.

 

[Hours Left]

Wow, what a gorgeous post! Look ma, I'm famous XD

I'm going to try to pass on some of your questions/concerns to Lifewonders, and will post back here with any info I get.

Regarding the full game, the initial opening chapter is free, with additional chapters available to purchase.

Thanks apricot. Any insider info you can share would be most welcome.

I hope they release some more English media and info of the game and have someone working on the social media side of things. Contacting some of the western sites that features these types of games would be a good step too. I don't want to see this project fall through the cracks.

 

[meltingparappa]

The art is beautiful and the world just got a little bit brighter for bara aficionados.

Neat!

 

[EdibleKnife]

There's a friend of mine who'd love this

 

[Hours Left]

The art is beautiful and the world just got a little bit brighter for bara aficionados.

Neat!

This will be the first full "real" bara game officially released in English to my knowledge, outside of small independent projects.

Coming Out On Top and No, Thank You!!! had bara dudes, but not the whole cast. (Though COOT is debatable depending on how strict your definition of the term is.)

 

[AtomskEater]

Bara isn't my most favoritest art style/genre (whatever you would call it) but fire dragon king is hot (pun not intended, seriously) and honestly I'm willing to support anything that leads to more games of this type being created and translated.

 

[cm osi]

No, it's an iOS/Android game. No nudity or sex.

This is about as racy as it gets to my knowledge...

No more than your standard console fanservice game.

Spoiler

that's like muscles over muscles

 

[Gbraga]

Man, the art is great. Not a big fan of this kind of "first person dungeon crawling" gameplay though.

 

[jonno394]

so there's no "fund and get the game" option? I'd wager this means it's gonna struggle.

 

[Werewolf Jones]

Just bara? lol. Is it really mobile only though? No PC release?

 

[dragonlife]

I'll pass this along to one of my best friends. I'm sure he'll back because the game is perfect for him.

 

[Ganzlinger]

They all look like different versions of the same guy.

I was thinking the same. lol

No woman/woman, though? (not a case of lesbian fetish just surprised they didn't include the option)

 

[PulseONE]

Oh, it's bara
*turns around and leaves*

 

[dragonlife]

I was thinking the same. lol

No woman/woman, though? (not a case of lesbian fetish just surprised they didn't include the option)

You did read the name of the game, right?

 

[Shizuka]

Why did I know this'd be a Hours Left topic? I'll read the campaign and try to pitch in.

 

[Ganzlinger]

You did read the name of the game, right?

Sorry, I missed it, so many words in that thread title. lol

 

[Faustek]

They missed an opportunity to call it the MENu

...that is stupid....and funny

Anyway, glad to see this come up
Will be pitching in.

 

[Shizuka]

I just noticed that this is a project, but the game will get a F2P release. It's hard to back one of these projects.

 

[Hours Left]

Why did I know this'd be a Hours Left topic? I'll read the campaign and try to pitch in.

My reputation proceeds me.

I just noticed that this is a project, but the game will get a F2P release. It's hard to back one of these projects.

That's a totally understandable position. Since it's solely a mobile game, the campaign is a bit different than your standard crowdfunding project. The contributions are mainly to support the translation and if any of the added rewards interest you. As mentioned before when this game was first released in Japan, the base game/initial campaign was released for free, and then you could buy additional campaigns if you wished. I imagine it'll be the same layout for the western release.

 

[Rarutos]

BACKED! Put down 50 bucks. Really hope this gets funded!!! I want to put in more... But my budget can't afford it.

 

[Hours Left]

Some more artwork to give people an idea of the type of CGs/characters the game has...

As I mentioned above there is no nudity in the game, but I added the star just so we don't skirt NeoGAF's rules. The original CG has a lot of lower abdomen showing.

And how many games let you date an ogre? (Who also happens to be the Captain of the Royal Guards?) Not many, I assume.

BACKED! Put down 50 bucks. Really hope this gets funded!!! I want to put in more... But my budget can't afford it.

I think this will be a game that will (hopefully) have a slow, steady trend of funding as more people find out about it. It doesn't have the immediate cache of something like the Igavania game, and since it's a mobile title, that's another thing that takes some getting used to.

 

[Sagely]

I'm only too happy to support more LGBT games - this is great to see, and it looks really sweet! The art style is adorable too. This being an LGBT dating sim without too much sexual content really appeals to my tastes.

So far the funding is going at a steady pace, which is wonderful

 

[Rarutos]

I think this will be a game that will (hopefully) have a slow, steady trend of funding as more people find out about it. It doesn't have the immediate cache of something like the Igavania game, and since it's a mobile title, that's another thing that takes some getting used to.

Yeah I see what you mean. I'd even be happy to put down the 250 for the physical prizes if I made more money. Heck I'd even be happy to go 999 tier for THOSE rewards but that's way too much for my blood lol.

 

[Shizuka]

Some more artwork to give people an idea of the type of CGs/characters the game has...

Will this game have an uncensored PC release or something of the sort? Because it should.

 

[Hours Left]

Will this game have an uncensored PC release or something of the sort? Because it should.

Not to my knowledge, but the artist for the game (BomBom) does draw adult content, so I guess it's always a possibility.

 

[zeorhymer]

I think it's a cool spin on the dating simulator. I don't think I've come across one where it's old school rpg. I wish there would be more variety instead of bara. Even though I won't pick it up, I'll donate to support the studio.

 

[Zuhzuhzombie!!]

Only butch options?

 

[Morrigan Stark]

I don't get it, why the focus on gay?

Would you ever ask about a game, "why the focus on straight"?

 

[Deft Beck]

I heard about this game. I might back it.

 

[Zero²]

They should have hired Mentaiko to do the art :

 

[Hours Left]

Only butch options?

That's the bara aesthetic. If you're looking for more bishounen types, there are a lot of games that fill that need. (Though not very many in English.)

They should have hired Mentaiko to do the art :

I'd love to see him get the opportunity to do character designs for a game. There's tons of bara artists that would create amazing game characters. (Shoutaro Kojima is another one I'd love to see. Another game by Masanori would be incredible too. Gai Mizuki, Ron-9, Rybio, Sakuramaru, etc. Not mention all the great western bara artists.)