What You Need to Know:
- The eagerly-anticipated third Utawarerumono game will release on Steam on January 22nd, 2021, making the whole core trilogy of the popular Aquaplus-developed franchise available on PC. The series is a tactical RPG/visual-novel hybrid with an emphasis on story, great art, and an exceptional soundtrack. It originated on PC back in 2002. Since then it has led to several successful anime series and a variety of other spin-off media.
- The store page for the first game in the trilogy, Utawarerumono: Prelude to the Fallen, is now live on Steam. Its two sequels, Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception and Utawarerumono: Mask of Truth, have been available there since January 23rd, 2020, and soon all three will be available to PC players around the world in English, Japanese, and Traditional Chinese.
- The game is being published on PC by localizer-publisher Shiravune and Japanese giant DMM GAMES and developed as usual by Aquaplus, with a re-polished version of the translation used previously in the console versions.
- Additionally, the two games already on PC will be receiving a simultaneous update to include the new auto-save functionality, along with some minor improvements and fixes.
- Summary: The series traditionally starts with the protagonist awakening in an unfamiliar landscape in the care of a girl with animal ears and a tail. The protagonist and that girl form the core of the party before recruiting a wide, varied cast of friends and allies. Eventually, more serious themes develop as the player and the protagonist learn more about the world, its people, and how things came to be as they are.
- In Japan, the series has sold hundreds of thousands of copies, sometimes within a week of a new game’s launch.
- So what’s so great about Utawarerumono? Well…
- Kick-ass, gut-punching story with long builds and hard twists
- Spectacular, almost instantly nostalgic soundtrack
- Deceptively deep sci-fi/fantasy setting rooted in native cultures
- Contemplative themes about humanity and the world
- Turn-based tactics combat with a cast of immediately-likeable characters
- All three of the games in the trilogy are story-heavy visual novels with occasional grid-based tactical battles in the vein of Final Fantasy Tactics.
- The first game in the series was just called Utawarerumono. It has since been re-titled and re-released in Japan as Utawarerumono: Prelude to the Fallen, with fully revamped graphics and gameplay, and that’s the updated version coming to Steam. With additional proofreading of the English script, an all-new autosave system in combat, and PC and keyboard controls, this is the best version of this classic game to date.
- A man who will be named Hakuowlo awakens in an unfamiliar world and comes to be a leader to the natives, who seem almost to be human… except for their furry ears and tails.
- This game is coming to PC on January 22nd, 2021. It was previously released in English on consoles only in May 2020.
- In September 2015, over a decade after the first Utawarerumono, the surprise sequel Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception was released in Japan on consoles. This game follows a new protagonist, named Haku, who awakens similarly to Hakuowlo in the first game but follows a very different path to his destiny. It features similar combat and systems to the 2002 original, but with much more modern polish and pizzazz.
- Explore, defend and come to love the kingdom of Yamato, a land ruled by the enigmatic Mikado and upheld by its Eight Pillar Generals, as you begin to unravel the mysteries of its anachronistic advancement…
- This is the first of the two games that released on PC back in January 2020. It was previously released in English on consoles only in May 2017.
- Utawarerumono: Mask of Truth came out in Japan on September 2016, just a year after the release of Mask of Deception. This game introduced new mechanics, such as co-op attacks in which multiple party members gang up on a single enemy with flashy animations and dialogue. More importantly, it delivers a conclusion to the story begun in Mask of Deception and to the greater arc of the trilogy.
- See Yamato divided and engulfed in fire. Redefine yourself and your relationships to your allies and enemies, retake the kingdom for the rightful Mikado, and dive to the deep truths at the root of the world…
- This is the second of the two games that released on PC back in January 2020. It was previously released in English on consoles only in September 2017.
- On January 22nd, 2021, PC players will finally have the opportunity to experience the entire Utawarerumono trilogy from beginning to end.
- Wishlist Prelude to the Fallen at:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1151450/Utawarerumono_Prelude_to_the_Fallen/ - In the meantime, impatient players can also consider beginning with the already-released Mask of Deception, another viable entry point into the series:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1149550/Utawarerumono_Mask_of_Deception/ - Visit the store pages for more details, including bundles and DLC!
Utawarerumono Series Outline
The point of origin: Prelude to the Fallen
The re-launch, where we began: Mask of Deception
The emotional and revelatory conclusion: Mask of Truth
More about the PC Release
Source: Official Press Release
About DMM GAMES and Shiravune
DMM GAMES is a Tokyo-based publisher and developer of games, with a PC platform that’s a popular competitor to Steam in Japan and a stable of hit titles including Kantai Collection and Touken Ranbu.
Shiravune is a Tokyo-based visual novel localization team dedicated to bringing Japanese games to a wider audience in English and Chinese. Shiravune's localization & publishing portfolio includes the samurai mystery Master Magistrate, the supernatural horror/romance Iwaihime, PC versions of the tactics-RPG visual novel Utawarerumono series and the hyperkinetic rush that is Marco & The Galaxy Dragon. Follow @shiravune on Twitter for the latest announcements.
Who doesn't love a good prequel?
And it's such an interesting story!