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10. Jake Hunter: Rondo of Revenge
Jake Hunter is a mystery point and click adventure series that has been around for 25 years. The series is known for its noir novel style, playing heavily on classic whodunit elements from crime dramas of the past. The newest entry, Jake Hunter: Rondo of Revenge, features full 3D environments and appears to be one of the best entries in the series due to its higher production value. The game was released in Japan on June 28, 2012, and was published by Aksys Games.
Why it should be localized: Virtual novels, such as Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies, have done quite well on 3DS in the west. Jake Hunter: Rondo of Revenge would be right at home amongst these titles, and could become a small success.
The odds of it being localized: It’s hard to say either way. On one hand, Aksys Games has localized a bunch of virtual novel games in the past, such as 999, Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward, and the Hakuoki series. Yet on the other hand, Jake Hunter has sold poorly in the west. The first localized game, Jake Hunter: Detective Chronicles, suffered from a poor translation that hurt the series. While the second localized title, Jake Hunter Detective Story: Memories of the Past, was a large improvement, it still failed to catch on in the western market. Despite the fact that Jake Hunter has not become a phenomenon overseas, I hope that Aksys Games will still give the series one more shot.
I’m definitely a Game Center CX fan, and I love that there are a group of fans so dedicated to getting the shows translated into English when they come out. I don’t own Retro Game Challenge, but I followed the development of both the first and second game, and I thought the team did a fantastic job of capturing the era of gaming featured so often on the show.
It’s a shame that the game didn’t sell well in the west, but the fact that games like this exist warms my heart.
I’ve wanted to play Beyond the Labyrinth since I first saw a trailer a few years ago. I suppose the only hope is that someone concludes that the cost of localization will be covered by sales in the West, and that Japanese sales might not be the best predictor.
Here’s hoping! These all look interesting in one way or another, but Beyond the Labyrinth looks especially appealing to me.
…Well, that and Dragon Quest VII. :^)
Very, very good list Anthony.
Nice list of games! Some were already on my personal watch list, others I’d heard about then forgotten, and a few were complete unknowns for me. Great to see them get some exposure in the West. With software like this, it’s no surprise that 3DS has become a “must own” piece of hardware.
Thanks for the comments everyone! I had a lot of fun writing this one up, and I genuinely hope that these games get localized! More software on the 3DS is never a bad thing :)