Japan has always been the homeland of the classics like Mario’s Adventures, Sonic the Hedgehog, Kof King of Fighters, and many more arcade games that we used to enjoy and still do. But, what about the games that people are currently playing in Japan?
We already covered the best-selling games before. Today, let’s take a look at some of the most popular games in Japan.
Besides the most popular games in the world and the most popular series of all time (Zelda, Final Fantasy, Street Fighter, Super Mario, PacMan, Pokemon, and Neo Geo games), Japan is well known for its Otome games.
Otome games meaning
An otome game is a story-based video game with the intent of developing a romantic relationship between the player character and one of the male characters in the game, with multi-choice decisions to define the plot of the game. And here are some of the most played otome games in Japan:
Utano PrinceSama
The first version of Utano PrinceSama was released in 2010 on PSP, and it was popular in Japan only because it was available in Japanese only. It was one of the very first games that adopted the concept of idol group games. It gives you the ability to interact with those idols. Then it got an anime release that was based on it, which made it even more popular.
After that, it got another version with more interaction, more options, and a bunch of updates. What made this version even more popular was its availability in English and Chinese, which made it one of the most popular Otome games in the world.
Disney: Twisted-Wonderland
This is a Japanese mobile game that was generated from collaboration between Aniplex and Walt Disney Japan. Yana Toboso, the creator of the popular anime Black Butler, is in charge of the original plan, script, and character design, which were inspired by Disney Villains from various franchises.
This game is so popular among Black Butler fans, which is already a large community, not to mention Disney’s enormous community. They made a great collaboration, which got the interest of a lot of Japanese gamers.
It’s not as popular as Uta no Prince-Sama because until now it was available in Japanese only, so its huge popularity is was limited to Japan until January 20, 2022 when Aniplex launched an English version.
Amnesia
As the name implies, this game is based on the story of a girl who lost her memory, and the male characters will try to help her get her memory back.
This Japanese visual novel series was first released in 2011 for the PlayStation Portable and then as a fan disc in Japan. Another part named “Amnesia Crowd” was launched on April 18, 2013. You can also find it on Steam.
Hatoful Boyfriend
This game has a very unique and strange concept, which was most likely the main reason for its popularity, especially in 2014. It’s on Steam too by the way.
In this game, you play the only human student at a high school for talented birds and pigeons. You wander in the halls of Pigeon High School and try to find love in between classes.
Collar X Malice
Collar X Malice is a visual novel video game that was released for the PlayStation Vita on August 18, 2016, in Japan, and got a Nintendo Switch port in 2020. It’s about a dangerous organization that spreads chaos and violence in the city of Shinjuku.
You play the role of a young police officer with a poisonous collar attached to your neck and the task of restoring order. You’ll have five mysterious strangers to help you in your quest for the truth.
Meiji Tokyo Renka
This game shows real historical characters in the Migi era in Japan in a very attractive way. You play a girl who has moved from the present to the Migi era. The characters will interact directly with you and try to win your heart in this game.
This otome game also has an anime that adopted its story and characters and contributed to increasing its players’ number and community.
Hakuoki
Hakuoki is a classical Otome game and one of the very first ones in the Otome category. Just like the previous one we mentioned, it shows the historical real-life characters of Shinsengumi in the Edo era as well.
Years after its release, it got its own anime series, which made the game go even more viral in Japan.
Diabolik Lovers
Just like most of the Otome games, Diabolik Lovers was so popular in Japan only, until it got an anime based on it. One of the main factors of this game’s popularity is its attractive characters, which are hard to resist for the target niche, which is young girls.
Otome is the most popular but not the only game category played in Japan. These games of different types got the lion’s share of popularity in Japan.
Fortnite
Fortnite is an action, battle royale, survival online game developed by Epic Games and released in 2017. This third-person shooter game was spread all over the globe in the last couple of years, and it was so popular in Japan as well.
It became one of the most played games in Japan by 2020, especially with the release of the bundle: Fortnite: The Last Laugh Bundle is the most popular one in Japan.
Genshin impact
Genshin Impact is one of the most played games in Japan nowadays. It is an action RPG developed and published by miHoYo. This is one of the best video games for Android that also allows sharing of gameplay with other platforms. It is available on Android, iOS, PC, and PS4, and is planned for future release on Nintendo Switch.
It’s an amazing combination of character design, environment, and a great story. It gives you limitless options to discover an amazing open world that is growing steadily, and it’s available in many languages, which makes its popularity go worldwide.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a social simulation game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch; it is the fifth main entry in the Animal Crossing series. It was the best-selling video game for consoles in Japan in 2020, where it sold over six million units.
In this game, you can build your community from scratch on an abandoned island with endless possibilities. Your island is rich in natural resources to craft everything from tools to creature comforts.
Kingdom Hearts
The popularity of this series of action RPGs has reached another milestone in Japan when Square Enix. The developer company, has decided to bring all the different episodes from the twenty-year-old “Kingdom Hearts” game series to PC.
The most played one in Japan is Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 Remix, which is a bundle that includes six different games from the Kingdom Hearts series, which have been revamped and include the main parts of the series.
Dragon Quest
Dragon Quest, the most famous fire-aware game in the Japanese RPG world of all time is one of the oldest in Japan as times go by. This game was released in Japan as Dragon Quest and in the United States as Dragon Warrior.
It was because there is a game in the United States called DragonQuest, which made the issue of publishing the game with the same name in America difficult. However, this matter ended after the seventh part, specifically in 2003.
The name became unified from the eighth part and beyond until now is Dragon Quest, whether in America or Japan. It happened after the publisher of the previous game gave up the rights to the name for not being interested in developing and publishing his game in the future.
Conclusion
Japan has always been doing a lot in the video game industry. From the beginning of its appearance, Japan’s first computer games are said to be Sega’s “Pontoon” and Taito’s “Erepon,” released in 1973. Until nowadays, in the modernity that includes big jumps in virtual reality and fanlisting assimilation in many game categories and devices, Japan gave too many choices for gamers, too many more than what we can cover in this article.
