This Week’s Topics:

• Rundown Preamble Ramble: The Quest for a Dream TF Metroidvania
• TSF Showcase 2023-39 Electric-Exchanger [Dengeki Exchange] by Neriwasabi
• Another Acquisition, And That’s It! (Aonic Acquires NDreams)
• Indonesia Powers Unite! (Toge Productions Acquires Mojiken Studio)
• Yo, What’s the Deal With All This Goblin Fucking in Hentai? (Natalie and Akumako Discuss Goblin Porn)

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Rundown Preamble Ramble:
The Quest for a Dream TF Metroidvania

So, this past week I’ve been busy moving, but that’s not really all that interesting— just a lot of cleaning, bickering, and schlepping. So let’s talk about something that has been rattling about my head this past week. The idea of a transformation-driven Metroidvania. …Yeah, it’s weird to me that it’s capitalized like that, but if that’s what Wikipedia uses.

I adore the Metroidvania genre, as it is this combination of so many things that I just love to see in games. Exploring an expansive and realized world with visually distinct landmarks. Direct incentives for exploring every nook and cranny in these worlds. The way the player character’s power progresses in parallel to the player’s understanding of the game’s systems and mechanics. A progression built around defeating bosses to get new powers at key points in a campaign. I could go on!

And I think the idea of a transformation-driven Metroidvania is a wonderful extension of the concept of the genre… in part because it is actually not uncommon in Metroidvanias. Metroid is partially driven by transforming between regular Samus and Samus but ball-er. Symphony of the Night had three alternate forms for its protagonist. The proto-Metroidvania Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap and its successor Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom put transformation and form specific abilities at the forefront. And the entire Shantae series has featured different forms to aid the protagonist in traversal. Well, except for Pirate’s Curse…

Transformation represents so many unique gameplay mechanics and ways to interact with the world that I’m not really sure where to begin with theorizing what could be done. It could fundamentally change how the player interacts with the world. It could change how the game feels by shifting the very genre or subgenre of the title upon transforming. And it could facilitate entirely new play styles when it comes to things like combat.

But for as much as I love the concept, I feel as if too many games view transformation as alternate forms, and only design them to be used in certain settings or contexts. The morph ball is only useful when there is an applicable hole, or something that requires the use of bombs and/or power bombs. It is not an alternate way to dispatch enemies or broadly navigate the world. Well, in most instances. It is a tool with about as much utility as an alternate weapon or better jump.

I understand why this is, as it is far easier to design a game around one primary skill set and treat a transformation as a temporary thing only used in some instances. But I would LOVE for it to be seen as practical and useful as, say, using a different character in a fighting game. Or using different styles in a Devil May Cry title. Or using a different character in a hero shooter. If a game is based around traversal, exploration, and combat, then shouldn’t every transformation form have some use when moving through the world, a way to uncover secrets, and a way to defend themselves in combat? Sure, that could easily lead to rapid switching between forms… but if the character can transform a bunch, then why shouldn’t the player be encouraged to transform frequently?

Anyway, what’s gotten me thinking about this has been the recently released TSF Metroidvania Eroge, FlipWitch: Forbidden Sex Hex. A game that… honestly sounds has the potential to be one of my all-time favorites from its basic premise alone. A Metroidvania driven around switching between a male and female forms, set in a world where sex and sexuality are flaunted to the point they become mundane. Also, it has some gorgeous pixel art.

I was initially planning on doing a review of it before the end of the month… but then I remembered how modern video games worked after the developers posted an update. One that promised bug fixes, quality of life adjustments, additional content, and free DLC. I only played a 2.5 hours of the game prior to seeing this news, and I have to say that, for as promising as the title is, it does seem a bit undercooked, and in need of some refinement. 

This puts me into the same dilemma that has been plaguing reviewers for nearly a decade. How do you review a game that has promised adjustments and improvements, and if you have the option to delay a review until a game is in its best state, should you? 

I’m inclined to go with the latter approach, as I want to offer as positive a review as possible, without going on about the game’s potential to be something better. And I’m pretty sure developers would rather have an 8/10 review of their game after they make changes than a 7/10 review with an extra two paragraphs of criticisms that were addressed with a patch.

None of this is to say that FlipWitch is a bad game. It’s pretty good. It has every marking of a solid Metroidvania, has good game feel, looks wonderful, and is pretty similar to 2016’s Momodora: Reverie Under The Moonlight. Just, you know, with even more giant titties. 

Though, I am a bit miffed over how it handles the transformation mechanic, as boy mode or girl mode, the character controls basically the same. I get why, as it could be jarring to go from one gameplay style to another. But this, combined with a lack of… in-depth story or character from the protagonist, strike me as lacking something of the essence of a TSF action game. Will this change as the game goes on? Possibly. I only played it for 80 minutes when I wrote this segment (I played it for over 6 hours as of publishing this and am halfway through). And what I have played makes me more than eager to recommend this game. If only for the fact that games like this, that make ‘genderbending’ a central mechanic like this, are nearly unheard of. Also, it’s only $15, and a good 10-ish hours long for a 100% blind playthrough.

So when will I review FlipWtich: Forbidden Sex Hex? TBD 2024. I’m playing it through once, and then I’ll play it again with all the updates and fixes. It’s a weird approach, but Metroidvanias are meant to be replayed, damn it!

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TSF Showcase 2023-39
Electric-Exchanger [Dengeki Exchange] by Neriwasabi

I love Chari so much. They’re such a humble little translator and have done so much to help my understanding of the Japanese history of TSF that it’s kind of crazy. They translated Doron, To Joker…, Boku no Shotaiken (My First Time), Rintarou Panic, and Mahou Shounen Majorian just to name a few. …And I just realized I didn’t do a TSF Showcase on Gyakujo Jigokuen Kiwami.

I do these weekly showcases of older TSF works, but Chari? Chari is the real TSF historian, and the gems they’ve uncovered over the years are gorgeous. They’re also a rather kind person who, as a birthday present, gave me early access to their latest translation, 1992’s Dengeki Exchange. Or if you want to use the English title used at the start of every chapter, Electric-Exchanger. Chari is going to wait a while to post it to MangaDex, fixing a few errors and such, but she generously gave me a public download link to share with you all.

The first two chapters of this manga were previously translated by a group called Exo Scans back in May 2021, and I thought they were the start of something incredible. A wonderfully self-indulgent hentai comedy comic that knew exactly what it was, and had energy for days. I actually mused about commissioning the translation of further chapters as, based on the raws, it seemed as if this comic went in some pretty wild directions. …But Chari went and did it for free!

Electric-Exchanger begins with horndog protagonist Rousuke Yanabe acting like the classically trained pervert he is by hiding in the girl’s changing room. After establishing just what kind of protagonist he is, he hears something amiss in the occult club room, where one of the members is summoning a demon— as you do. Rousuke awkwardly declares that the summoner is a woman and the Demon King of the bottle, Rhys Sicha Kzer, turns him into a girl. But not forever, as he can turn back into a boy if he has sex, and turns into a woman when he is emerged in cold water electrified, hence the title, Electric-Exchanger.

With this in mind, Rousuke decides he needs to get back to normal, and proceeds to rape the regular target of his perversions, Misao Nanase. With his body back to normal, Rousuke continues to be an S-tier pervert, spies on a girl bathing, sees her masturbating in the tub— and gets ka-girl’d again. Under the guise of a perverted girl, Rousuke blackmails her into sex— the other kid of wrestling— and flees to pervert and assault another day. Specifically tomorrow, where the demon summoning girl comes back, zaps Rousuke, and the two battle each other in the art of “lesbo sex.”

Describing the events can make this sound like just another sex-driven TSF comic, but unlike a lot of modern works, Electric-Exchanger is a comedy, and one far more interested in absurdity over titillation. Rousuke is a loud, abrasive, and utterly shameless protagonist who, despite his sex crimes, doesn’t really come off as a creep. He’s just a cartoon pervert doing his thing, and occasionally— often— getting punished for his lurid behavior. The story prioritizes comedic timing over much else, moving swiftly and throwing in regular jokes to keep the reader entertained, and adopting a light irreverent tone with a scattering of references.

I’d actually say the sex is the worst part of the comic, being pretty vanilla and low-detail by today’s standards, especially with the censoring, blank backgrounds, and disembodied faces that fill the scenes. They do their job, but it almost feels like the author wasn’t super into them, and just wanted to get through them, as they lack the same exaggeration and visual indulgences seen throughout the rest of the comic.

On that note, while I think the first three chapters of Electric-Exchanger are good… the story really comes into its own during its latter seven chapters, where it becomes a video game inspired fantasy isekai comic. If that sounds like a wild genre shift, that’s because it is. 

It goes from a grounded setting of a Ranma parody to some amalgamation of Dragon Quest, Dragon Ball, and generalized early 90s fantasy anime. And you know what? I have zero complaints with that.

The Rhys Sicha Kzer, is revealed to be an actual king of a fantasy land, who needs Rousuke’s help in rescuing his wife from the God of Darkness and Destruction, Mijin Coppa Sama. With Mijin trying to fuck Ehysz’s wife for three days nonstop so she… releases a powerful jewel that will make him invincible. Does that make sense? Not really, but it’s good enough to make the story go vroom!

Rousuke is turned into his female form and given some armor straight out of Dragon Quest before he is sent into Mijin’s conspicuous lair, alone, as a rank 16 bishoujo. And from here… the comic just turns into a sex comedy action story. One part action, one part sex and lewd, and two parts comedy.

I write it off as being something simple, but it’s actually pretty tricky to find the right balance between these things. A creator needs to throw in enough action and intense moments for there to be a reasonable amount of stakes. The action needs to emulate and be reminiscent of the prevailing action that is being parodied— namely Dragon Ball. And the sex scenes need to feel like a natural extension of the perverted world the characters are in, and not like something arbitrary. It’s a balance I have tried to strike before— namely in Psycho Bullet Festival 2222— and Electric-Exchanger is so damn good at it that I’m kind of shocked that it even exists. 

It can be hilarious, it can be dramatic, it is throbbing with an energy so immense that it warrants an electric pun, and it is most of all ruthlessly confident in what it is. Hell, the creator even left comments in between the margins making fun of the comic. And it all ends on a punchline that feels like the creator is dropping the mic, walking away from an explosion, and farting on their way out of the room, all at the same damn time. Everything this comic tries, it does.

Electric-Exchanger is… honestly, not that great of a TSF story. Rousuke does not seem too interested in lesbian sex over PIV sex. The whole perverted guy turning into a girl angle seems to be more driven around creating a perverted girl who acts like a guy. For half of the story, it’s easy to forget that the whole magical sex change thing is even there. And… I’m pretty sure the creator just got bored with the Ramna parody thing halfway through and wanted to make a completely different story. Creators are sometimes just like that.

But as a story, as a manga? This is a gosh darn treasure that I’m incredibly grateful to Chari for uncovering like this. It’s funny, throbbing with personality, unabashed in what it is, and overall a splendid time. It’s an inspiration to people who like to futz with genre bashing, and it makes me immensely curious about what Neriwasabi got up to over the… three decades since this work. 

…And a lot of it is just Final Fantasy XI hentai. Huh. Well, I guess that makes sense. Dude’s gotta eat somehow.

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Another Acquisition, And That’s It!
(Aonic Acquires NDreams)

For acquisitions this week, we saw Aonic acquire NDreams for a crisp $110 million, and if neither of those names sound familiar to you, then we’re in the same boat, bucko! So let’s figure out who are these people.

NDreams is a VR game developer who started out developing games for PlayStation Home,  Sony’s attempt at the ‘metaverse’ back in 2008. …Actually, it just occurred to me how forgotten PlayStation Home is, and I think that is due to the fact that not a lot of people actively used the service, or became heavily invested into it. Which is a shame, as it was a super ambitious— Wait, sorry, got distracted, because I tend to not pay too much care to VR game developers, as I know VR would make me feel sick.

While Aonic is a small Swedish company with several studios under its belt who… has a heavily limited online footprint beyond their website and LinkedIn page. Per their LinkedIn, they are a decentralized collective of small-to-midsize game developers, which… sounds interesting. It kind of runs contrary to them spending 9 figures to acquire another company, because what collective pays for someone to join up, or at least pays that much, but… whatever.

This is just a midsize guy acquiring a little guy, Worth noting, but I have no major comments on it.

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Indonesia Powers Unite!
(Toge Productions Acquires Mojiken Studio)

Oh hey! Now there’s a name I recognize! Toge Productions is an Indonesian developer/publisher I first looked into when they acquired fellow Indonesia developer Tahoe Games. A move that I was all in favor of, as Indonesia is not really seen as a place where games are made— even though loads of art outsourcing is done to Indonesian studios. So developers coming together to support each other is only a good thing in my mind. 

Next, I remember them as the publisher for A Space of the Unbound. A well-received adventure game that ran into some issues after its former distributor, PQube, basically stole grant money from them. Which is somehow worse than if they just didn’t pay them. However, it turns out that, after two months of communication, all parties came to an agreement on the matter… even if PQube was still dropped as the publisher.

That experience had to be immensely difficult for both Toge Productions and their partner Mojiken Studio. But they got through it, the game has been out for over ten months, and prior to announcing their next project, they announced an acquisition. Mojiken is now part of Toge Productions, but will remain their own team.

Much like with Toge’s prior acquisition, I think this is a great thing, and a way for a group of people to help pave the way for a games industry in their home country. Moves like this are the only way that a games industry can grow in countries like Indonesia, and the more countries with an established games industry, the better. It leads to more creators with unique perspectives and ultimately enriches the medium as a whole.

Also, while I would love to make some cheeky comment about how Indonesia is the number 2 country for Natalie.TF readership, that figure has gone down to number four. The UK and Japan have become number two and three respectively, and in 2023, China of all places is my number two country. Your guess on that is as good as mine.

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Yo, What’s the Deal With All This Goblin Fucking in Hentai?
(Natalie and Akumako Discuss Goblin Porn)

Yo, what’s the deal with all this goblin fucking in hentai?

Akumako: “…Do you just barge into people’s rooms and ask them questions like that? Is… that just a thing you do? Are you an RPG character or something?”

I only noticed this within the past year or so, but I am frequently seeing TSF hentai comics set in generic fantasy worlds that involve goblins in some sexual context. Sometimes it involves the goblins switching bodies with or possessing women, sometimes it just involves a protagonist getting raped by them. But if one is reading a fantasy story with some porn content… there’s a good chance there will be some goblin fucking, and that’s weird… right?

Akumako: “…Uh, no? Did you actually think before you said that, or…”

Okay Missy, explain why it’s obvious that goblin fucking is en vogue at the moment?

Akumako: “Because sword and sorcery fantasy is mainstream and popular across the world, including Japan— and especially my homeland of NiHell. All ‘cos it provides a familiar yet ‘exotic’ setting where fantastical feats are seen as more ‘grounded.’ A lotta people got wet boners after Goblin Slayer became a smash hit, and really like the idea of seeing these pretty anime bitches get railed by something tiny, green, gross, and smegma-scented. Goblins have humanoid figures, so it is easy to project onto them and recognize them as human adjacent, but are also distinctly monstrous. Which makes them great as rapists, especially for gangbangs. You get four dudes in a room for a gangbang, and shit just flat out sucks like a monkey’s wet ass. But with four goblins… you can do that shit in a Samurai Suzuki. Or a cave. Same difference.”

…Right, people are really big into sizeplay for whatever reason and picky about heights. I guess there’s also the angle that fat ugly bastards might hit a little too close to home for some people. It is easier for them to pretend that rapists are not human creatures, but rather these monkey brained critters. …And then there was that whole cultural push about people entering ‘goblin mode’ after that term went viral in 2022. So people can identify with horny goblins even more, especially after the pandemic wrecked so many people’s… everything.

Akumako: “Also, goblins are just good tools if the point of your porn is to defile something beautiful. Like an Elven princess. Not only are they getting fucked, but they’re getting fucked by something inhuman. Something that stinks in more ways than one. Then there’s the—”

Oh, I just thought of something! Goblins are bestiality that skirts around bestiality laws, because goblins aren’t real!

Akumako: “…Only you would think like that, you weird degenerate bitch.”

Anyway, I got to thinking of this after I remembered that Onna Kishi Goblin by Shindou Ondi was a thing and read Irekawari no Wana ~Elf Majutsushi Liza no Kikan~ [The Body Swapping Trap ~Liza the Wizard Elf is Back~] by Proto Hotel. Neither of which are TSF Showcase fodder by the way. 

Onna Kishi Goblin is trying to be an ecchi comedy, but its humor doesn’t really land to me, and it runs through what few jokes it has pretty quickly. 

~Liza the Wizard Elf is Back~ has good ideas, but 10 of its 42 pages could be cut to make for a more succinct story, and I’d say the story only really gets interesting at page 33. The initial ending is surprisingly powerful and emotional, offering a flavor of body horror and disgust that captured my attention. It’s actually something that I would take inspiration from if I wanted to write something more fucked up and depressing than TSF Series #018. …Only for the final three pages to brush that artistry under the rug. 

Akumako: “Okay, are we done? Somebody needs to get back to moving all your shit, and for some reason, that somebody is me! You’re not even letting me live in this condo!”

I said you could sleep in the living room…

Akumako: “You won’t even have a couch for three months! Do you expect me to sleep on the floor?”

It’s either that or on the exercise bike…

Akumako: “You know what? Fuck moving, fuck you, and fuck this whole damn realm. I’m going back to NiHell, where I belong!”

*POOF*

…And that’s the end of this Rundown. Good bye, everyone! I hope my American readers had a nice Thanksgiving without too much talk of genocide!

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Progress Report 2023-11-26

I moved into my new house this past week, and things are still very much a WIP. I need to order some new cables, as my mouse is too far away from my computer, get some rugs to dampen the echo of the ~1,500 square feet of emptiness, get a humidifier so my skin’s not so dry, etc. Still, the new place is nice and is the warmest home I have ever lived in. The joys of living above a heated garage!

2023-11-19: I wrote 2,100 words for the Rundown and… I dunno, like 3,000 for the 2023 Ramble? Word count is 15,925.

2023-11-20: 2023 Ramble word count reached 20,492, so that’s 4,500 words in a day. The draft’s nearly done, and I wound up rambling about AI for almost 3,000 words.

2023-11-21: I had to get things organized for moving day. Did some mortgage and bills related stuff I was putting off until today. I added about 1,000 words to the 2023 Ramble, and that’s about all I can do until the latter half of December aside from creating header images. So I spent the rest of the evening reading a backlog of TSF comics for potential showcase fodder, and wrote up a 700 word tangent on goblin fucking. I love my job… that I don’t get paid for.

2023-11-22: Moving day. FUCK OFF!

2023-11-23: Moving day part two! And I sprained my ankle because women’s shows suck. FUCK!!!

2023-11-24: Started work on CH 6-14 yesterday for VD2.0, and now the chapter is at 3,700 words. Also, played FlipWitch and Lachlan Snell’s Robot Battle Maiden life sim RPG for a few hours.

2023-11-25: I finished the draft of CH 6-14 for VD2.0, word count is 4,999. It was a weird chapter to kick off an act, and a weird chapter in general. I played a bit of FlipWitch and Robot Battle Maiden. And I also started work on the outline of the E3 2015 body swap chapter that I just decided would be part of this story. The outline wound up being 2,500, just giving me a series of notes to vamp off of, because FUCK was E3 2015 busy.

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Verde’s Doohickey 2.0: Sensational Summer Romp Progress Report:

Current Word Count: 147,354

Estimated Word Count: ~700,000

Total Chapters: 75

Chapters Outlined: 43

Chapters Drafted: 18

Chapters Edited: 0

Header Images Made: 0Days Until Deadline: 185