Fans of the visual novel genre were surprised and delighted when Chaos;Head Noah, a classic mystery VN that first debuted in 2008, made its way to the West in style. After years of remaining Japan-exclusive, Chaos;Head Noah saw a worldwide release for Nintendo Switch and PC in late 2022. While many fans suspected that the game's long-awaited English release would remain digital-exclusive, publisher Spike Chunsoft dropped a physical "deluxe edition" for Nintendo Switch. This edition contained both Chaos;Head Noah and its sequel Chaos;Child and included costume DLC and a steelbook case. This major physical release could be good news for the visual novel genre, and many hope that other classic visual novels will receive the same treatment in the future.
Visual novels were long a Japan-exclusive genre, with Western publishers feeling that an English-speaking audience was not interested in plot-heavy, wordy titles with little actual gameplay. However, the popularity of series such as Danganronpa, Ace Attorney and AI: The Somnium Files has led to more visual novels seeing official English localizations. Publishers are increasingly more willing to reach back into the past and redo classic visual novels for the modern day. Chaos;Head Noah, part of the mystery/science fiction-focused Science Adventure series, saw its long-awaited physical release due in part to the popularity of its sequels, Steins;Gate and Robotics;Notes. Hopefully, Chaos;Head's Switch bundle will not be an isolated incident but rather the sign of a new trend.
The Portopia Serial Murder Case
Generally considered to be the first true "mystery visual novel," and one of the first games to combine the adventure and visual novel genres, The Portopia Serial Murder Case released in 1983 for PC and Famicom. Despite its iconic status, the game has seen only one remake, which was a Japan-exclusive port for mobile phones in 2003.
The game combined the point-and-click gameplay elements of the adventure genre with a surprisingly large world to explore, a branching conversation system with multiple outcomes, and a complex mystery with a shocking twist ending that would later go on to inspire other mystery-focused games such as Persona 4. Despite Portopia releasing decades ago, a modern remake is definitely possible, as both developer Chunsoft and publisher Enix exist as part of Spike Chunsoft and Square Enix respectively. Square Enix recently filed a new trademark for Portopia, making this release a real possibility.
When They Cry
Developed by horror master Ryukishi07 and published by his company 07th Expansion, the When They Cry series began in 2002 and now consists of three sub-series: Higurashi When They Cry, Umineko When They Cry, and Ciconia When They Cry. Each sub-series consists of several smaller visual novels that combine to tell a large, complex murder mystery tinged with supernatural, horror, and science fiction elements.
While Higurashi and Umineko have seen official English translations, they have been limited to PC and sold either separately or in mini-bundles containing two or three games. Ciconia remains ongoing, but simultaneous English and Japanese releases for future titles are planned. A physical, polished bundle of either Higurashi or Umineko for the Nintendo Switch or other consoles would be a treat for existing fans of the franchise and could bring in new fans who may be drawn to the complicated mystery. They could also be bundled with any number of side games in the series that have never seen an official localization.
Infinity
Creator Kotaro Uchikoshi has seen success in the Western market with his two series of visual novel/puzzle hybrids, Zero Escape and AI: The Somnium Files. His most recent release, 2022 title AI: The Somnium Files - nirvanA Initiative, received positive reviews for its tricky mystery and escape room-inspired gameplay. However, Western Uchikoshi fans are disappointed that his first work, the visual novel series Infinity, still remains a Japan exclusive despite the creator's growing popularity.
The Infinity series consists of five games: Never 7, Ever 17, Remember 11, 12Riven, and Code_18. All are choice-based visual novels with elements of romance, mystery, and science fiction. Of these games, only Ever 17 received an official English translation. A physical multi-game bundle would be the perfect way to bring the entire series to the West for the first time, possibly with updated art and polished game mechanics. The bundle could even include costume DLC based on Uchikoshi's other works, an element introduced in nirvanA Initiative to positive fan reactions.
Hakuoki
Romance-focused visual novels targeted towards women, also referred to as otome games, have had particularly bad luck when it comes to receiving English translations. Unfortunately, otome games are sometimes seen as shallow and frivolous in the West, and they suffer from the ongoing misconception that women and girls spend less time playing video games. The Hakuoki series would be the perfect choice to begin improving the reputation of otome games, as it features well-written, deep plots starring real historical figures from Japan's history -- most notably members of the Shinsengumi police force -- with a supernatural twist.
Although a handful of the Hakuoki games have seen Western releases, they have been generally limited to North America and debuted nearly a decade ago for out-of-date handheld consoles such as the PlayStation Vita or Nintendo 3DS. A physical bundle re-release, especially on a more modern console such as the Nintendo Switch, could be the perfect collectible for fans of romance. It could even come with physical merchandise of the many handsome men players can choose to pursue in the various Hakuoki titles.
Thhe Chaos;Head Noah bundle might just be the beginning of a new trend that will delight existing visual novel fans and bring in new players to the underappreciated genre. Spike Chunsoft is already planning to give other visual novels in the Science Adventure series the same treatment; Robotics;Notes and its sequel Robotics Notes DaSH have also released for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch, and Anonymous;Code is scheduled for a 2023 worldwide release for Switch, PC, and PS4. Hopefully both Spike Chunsoft and other publishers will give both classic and modern visual novels the chance to reach a global audience for the first time.
Chaos;Head Noah is currently available for Nintendo Switch and PC.
