[Strategy] Resonation of Gun and Magic

If you're drawn to the strategy component of last week's game but are looking for something more modern and polished... look no more.

[Strategy] Resonation of Gun and Magic 
(銃魔のレザネーション) 
by Sonzaix (also goes by Carlo Zen)
freeware for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10

Normally I have some gameplay video taken from Youtube, but really, all you need for this one is the homepage because it's legitimate and gorgeous. It's another Vahren-based scenario, this time the manifestation of a self-written novel for which the first chapter can be found here.

Language Difficulty: ★★★ ( 3 / 3 )
Same as last week; if you weren't already familiar with Japanese military terminology, you're not going to learn it overnight.
However! I've received news that there is a fan translation due to be put into a patch in the near future. Of course, I'll update this post when there is any new information.

For those who can't wait...

How to Download
Click "Download" in the top menu, and you'll find a large green button that says, "DOWNLOAD". They've made it pretty easy this time, but don't let that fool you: no English from there.

[Strategy] Hikari no Me

At first look, the vast majority of Japanese games appear to fall under sidescrollers (especially in the Touhou vein), visual novels, or retro throwbacks.

For those trying to get their hands on a real-time strategy game, the search can be difficult if you don't know where to look. There's a rather well-known strategy simulator known as Vahrenturga on which various original scenarios have been created. You may have heard of Lost Technology, which has not been fully localized due to the sheer massive amount of data for each faction. If you'd like to try your hand at something even more obscure...

[Strategy] Hikari no Me (listed as "Illuminate" on the wiki) 
by ネタバレに対する異端審問と戦うホセ1世 (loosely, "Jose the First, fighting with the Inquisition against spoilers")
freeware for Windows XP, Vista

A simulation/real-time strategy game with intense battles
This is a real-time country-taking type simulation game set in a fantasy world. Players aim to become the singular master controlling their continent and conquer the whole area. Or, you could play as a retainer or rogue.
The game progresses through two patterns: turn-based tactical maps and real-time battles with large unit groups.
Each unit is differentied with its own diverse class, skills and statuses, and special techniques.
*This is an original scenario based on Vahrenturga. Check out Vahrenturga itself, as well as other original scenarios, too!
*Depending on your play environment, you may receive an error message upon attempting to start the game from a shortcut. In that case, you should start the game directly from "Vahren.exe" from within the game folder.
*If you get an error message about d3dx9_35.dll and the like, download the dll file online and stick it into the folder where Vahren.exe is.


Hikari no Me wiki
Patches are listed here.
After downloading the game from Freem or Vector [game/ software download sites], download the patch and overwrite it.
(If there is no link to the patch, the registration site has the latest version.)

[Screenshots, left to right]
- Also has a cute heroine.
- Choose one from about 30 territories.
- Simple events also pop up during battles.
- Battle scenes accurately recreated from recent times
- (Example Battle) Footsoldiers and war elephants step into the hornet's nest of riflemen
- The computer proficiently utilizes knights on the field
- The stronghold is fiercely guarded by artillery and emplacements.
- Desert, tundra, and mountain maps also included
- Elaborately-adjusted game balance
- With an excusable amount of singular battle scenarios

Highlights
- A game where you simply hire units and invade enemy territories.
- It seems that you can clear it in five turns.
- There's a tutorial and manual in there. Have at it.
- If there's any character you dislike, crush them with an enemy territory.

Language Difficulty: ★★★ ( 3 / 3 )
Yeah, you're going to be busy enough with the fast-paced real-time battles to fumble around with a dictionary for any words you don't know. For those looking for the real thing, you've found it! For those seeking a Japanese strategy game they can play without learning an entire language, especially if this title piqued your interest, come back next week. I've got some exciting news for the both of us.

How to Download
Press the blue button under the social media icons in the freegame mugen page above, find the third green link on the page (as of 12/23/2017, it says "光の目 v6.63"), and click the small button under the URL that says "ダウンロード".

That's all for this week! Next week will bring another strategy game and a good reason for the long silence.

[Update] Release of ELMIA!

After a long absence (November was just a vague memory...), we return to delivering Japan's hidden indie gems!

This time, we have great news: for those waiting for the release of ELMIA, featured here back in July, you can finally get your hands on the full, English-translated version!

For those of you who don't know, it's a 2D platformer in which your character must strategically time teleportations to their fairy friend, both of whom are controlled simultaneously by the player. It gets intense, but with staggered difficulty levels you can have fun no matter what your skill level is.

Get ELMIA on Steam!

As of this posting, they're still waiting for their first English review on Steam! Will you be the one to bring ELMIA into the spotlight?

Price $9.99
OST $7.99

If you'd like to try it out a bit before committing to purchase, the demo is still available to download for free!

(Psst... if you aren't interested in leaving a review yourself but would like to read one, I'd keep an eye on Tokoshie Gaming's blog. They reviewed the demo here, and they seem to be following Aecrnia's Twitter updates! Let's hope the release is enough to get them out of hiatus.)