Onion Games has announced that their anticipated joy-maker, Stray Children, is set to release (in Japan) on Switch December 26, 2024. We Canadians call that “Boxing Day.�/p>

As someone who is unreasonably affectionate toward Chulip, I’ve followed Yoshiro Kimura for some time now. While I really enjoyed Dandy Dungeon: Legend of Brave Yamada and Black Bird, I’ve wanted to see him revisit the themes that made me fall in love with his work. Stray Children is definitely more in that direction, copping more than a little from Moon: Remix RPG Adventure, a game he worke??d on during his time at Love-de-Lic.

In fact, the story is somewhat similar to Moon, as they both have you getting sucked into another world through a TV screen. Also, like Moon, there’s an RPG aspect, but in something that sounds similar to Undertale, you don’t have to actually participate in combat but can instead talk your way out of situations with avoidan?ce mini-games ?to keep things challenging.

Unfortunately, the date was given during the Japanese Nintendo Direct and it is, presumab??ly, only for the Japanese release of the game. Onion Games has confirmed that it will be working on an English localization, but have stated that it’s likely going to come later. Hopefully, that plan has changed and this is a worldwide release dat??e. I just wouldn’t bet your last donut on it.

Stray Children is coming to Switch on Dece??mber 26, 2024. In Japan, at least.

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We last got a look at the latest project from Onion Games, Stray Children, back in September during the Japanese Nintendo Direct. At the time it was set for winter 2024 in Japan, but those plans have changed and the RPG has now been moved to a general 2024 release window (via Gematsu). 

The official Onion Games Twitter account shared the news about the delay. They said the entire staff is working on Stray Children e??very day, and they ??would appreciate it if everyone could give them a little more time.

With the future of Stray Children in mind, the official website is also hosting a survey. It includes questions and answers in both English and Japanese, and asks everything from basic demographics to Switch game format preference, language options, merchandise, additional platforms, and crowdfunding. They also want to know your favorite RPG and which Onion Games you've played before, so if you're a fan who's looking forward to Stray Children you might want to take a moment to fire off some res??ponses.

Onion Games has a handful of very interesting games to its name, including Million Onion Hotel, Moon: Remix RPG Adventure, and Black Bird. Stray Children is a new RPG from the studio that has some of the Moon staff on board, so there's a lot of pr??omise there already. Here's the previous trailer for those who missed it??:

Hopefully we'?ll find out a more concrete release date soon, but if it means a stronger showing, we don't mind the wait at all. 

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On the other side of the pond, Japan's version of the Nintendo Direct gave us some details on the game that Onion Games has been teasing for a while now. Titled Stray Children, it looks like a return to Yoshiro Kimura's roots at Love-de-Lic, as the style is extremely evocative of Moon: Remix RPG Adventure.

Onion Games has been teasing a new "RPG-style" title for a while now but has been extremely coy about showing anything off. To date, I think the most we've seen is some concept art. Getting to see the game in motion; it's exactly what I was hoping for. Better yet, the opening seems to show the protagonist as a lover of video?? games that gets sucked into an??other world through the TV screen. That's speaking my language.

While the trailer shows off an RPG-like battle set-up, one of the menu items allows you to talk to your enemy. Knowing the sort of joy-maker games that Yoshiro Kimura favors, it's likely that you're supposed to befriend enemies. It has a lot of the same sights and sounds of a typical Love-de-Lic affair, and the trailer mentions that staff from Moon: Remix RPG Adventure are wo?rking on this one. I'm unsure if that refers specifically to Kimura, but t??hat would qualify.

The best news of all is that the trailer gives us a Japanese release window for Stray Children, and it's soon: this Winter. While the trailer is entirely in Japanese, Onio?n Games has stated that it will be coming to the West. The bad news, however, is that its ??release over here is still "TBD."

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Peeling the Layers

Onion Games' game director Yoshiro Kimura has revealed that the indie studio's next release will launch at some point in 2023. The tidbit was dropped in ?an interview rolled out this past weekend to subscribers of "The Secret Onion Cellar" newsletter.

Little has been revealed about the new release since its initial announcement back in 2020. We do know that the mysterious release is a sandbox RPG that will no doubt feature the stylized visuals and thought-provoking narratives synonymous with Onion Games hits such as 1997's Moon: Remix RPG Adventure and 2018's mournful shmup Black Bird. Also, according to?? Kimura, "children" will form the central theme of the new adventure.

In an additional letter to the fans, as printed by Gematsu. Kimura candidly speaks of the stress and turbulence of being an indie studio, detai??ling some of the psychological and physical pressures of working under budget and within limitations, while being completely unsure as to whether your release will ultimately hit it big on release. Kimura notes that it is also a very expensive process, that can take its toll on the expenses you have aside for basic living and other day-to-day costs.

"I??ndie game developers are basically bizarre creatures that are constantly running, laughing, and playing chess, all while bleeding profusely," concludes Kimura, in a typically colorful and visceral statement, before signing off deligh??tfully as "Your Indie Game Making Uncle".

Black Bird is available now on PlayStation, PC, and Nintendo Switch, and is well worth your time.

Onion Games' new sandbox RPG due out in 2023 [Gematsu]

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Great Onion Games sidle with Sony

The wonderfully talented developer/publisher Onion Games has offered up a release date for the PS4 and PS5 ports of two of its finest releases, Black Bird and Moon. The two titles, invariably available on PC, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch, will be ?available to purchase on both PlayStation platforms from December 16, in ports that have been a long time coming.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbkrO1i4zV8

Idiosyncratic adventure Moon was originally released on PS1 in Japan �way back in 1997 �before making its grand return on Switch in 2019. The "Anti-RPG" casts players as a fairly non-descript RPG NPC, tasked with picking up and restoring the world in the wake of the destruction caused by the game's "hero." Essentially, a parody on the tropes of the RPG genre itself, Moon receives plaudits even today for its subversive ideas and sighing, dry comedy. Developer Toby Fox cites the title as one of the key inspirations behind their own topsy-turvy fantasy adventure, Undertale.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=-teYMMF4owM

Released on PC and Nintendo Switch back in 2018, Black Bird is a gloomy but alluring shmup set within a grim victorian world. The story concerns a lonely young girl who dies a quiet and innocuous death, only to be reborn as the fated bringer of chaos: The Black Bird. While the horizontally scrolling shmup features mechanics and tropes typical of the genre, its unique, almost steampunk style, dismal hues and tones, and melancholic but wholesome narrative won over an army of fans outside of the typical shmup community. You can check out CJ Andriessen's review of the Switch edition right here.

Black Bird and Moon will arrive on the PlayStation Store for PS4 and PS5 on December 16. Moon will also be released on PC in the future.

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*Smooch* *Smack* *Slurp*

I have a fascination with Yoshiro Kimura. I’ve frequently trumpeted my love of Chulip on this site, and I was privileged enough to review Moon with CJ Andriessen over a ye??ar ago. The thing is; I’m not always in love with Yoshiro Kimura’s games, but they scratch a very particular itch I have. Whenever someone asks me “what kinds of games do you play?�my answer is to turn my nose up and say, “games that I haven’t played before.�Onion Games makes thos??e. Good, mediocre, or bad, they’re something I’ve never experienced.

Mon Amour doesn’t fall far from that tree. If you asked me to describe it, I’d say it’s Chulip mixed with Flappy Bird. It’s easily the most insubstantial game I’ve played from Onion Games â€?I had it completed within a few hours of starting it â€?but I certainly donâ€?™t mean that as damnation.

Mon Amour (Nintendo Switch, PC [reviewed])
Developer: Onion Games
Publisher: Onion Games
Released: October 14, 2021
MSRP: $8.99

As the story goes, you’re some dude whose wedding is crashed by witches. The bri??de-to-be is turned into a mouse and whisked away with the rest of the wedding guests. Your job is to rescue all the guests by giving them a smooch. But will your rampantly promiscuous approach to hostage negotiation throw a wrench in the gears of your would-be marriage?

Don’t think about that now�Oops, you’re dead. You have to press a button to flap. You didn’t press it. You?’re dead.

The goal of Mon Amour is easy to convey. You have to get your dapper gentleman across the screen and smash into the lady(?) on the other side. It’s dead simple! However, if you want to climb the leaderboards and rescue the princess, you’re g???oing to need to learn the little facets.

For starters, don’t touch the buildings. The city begins to encroach from the top and bottom of the screen, and they’re the main obstacles in your quest to chap some lips. You can keep them at bay wit?h explosive fru?it and hearts that are spewed out whenever you perform mouth-to-mouth.

The fruit is pretty self-explanatory. The different varieties have different magnitudes of blast waves, but the muskmelon gives you a shield. Don’t just pick them up willy-nilly, you may need them in emergencies, like in the final level of e??ach section where you face a random obstacle.

The hearts, on the other hand, need cultivation. Love, if you will. When two of them press together, they grow into a larger heart. Once they get big enough, they’ll explode when you touch them, again helping you clear the way of ob??stacles. The big ones also give you more points, while the small ones aren’t even worth picking up. Learning to direct where your momentary lover spurts out their hearts can help you rack up lots of points and demolish the landscape.

The end goal of Mon Amour is to find and kiss all the characters and then finish the 50th level. This can be a bit vexing since some of the characters show up randomly. Thankfully, you don’t have to play the entire game repeatedly to get another shot at these lip ?targets. Yo??u can select a hapless kiss victim from a bestiary of them, then start from that level.

Liberated libertines count as health, so taking a knock will deduct one from your kissing conga line. Losing a lover drops your post-level bonus, and moreover, they don’t get counted towards the 64 needed to complete the game. You absolutely have to get everyone to safety to get their heads counted, which can be a t??all order.

That’s the lot of it. As I said, Mon Amour is a simple game. It’s a single-button title that requires a lot of repetition to get the more niche mechanics down. That’s fine if the right spin is put on things, but Mon Amour doesn’t seem to carry Onion Games�usual love for going off-scrip?t.

A lot of my disappointment doesn’t stem from the fact that there's very little gameplay depth. That’s fine. Dandy Dungeon was pretty basic when you boiled it down, but it sucked me in and kept me hooked for hours. Plus, it was well-written and constantly surprising. Mon Amour is not like that. It’s a simple game, and while the typical Onion Games personality isn’t completely absent, there’s no oppo?rtunity to shine.

The simple gameplay had deceived me into thinki?ng that?? there was going to be some sort of twist somewhere. It never happened. Maybe that’s a fault in my expectations, but it makes it difficult to defend the game.

I don’t regret playing Mon Amour. I feel obligated to continue the complete Yoshiro Kimura discography, and I can’t have a gap in it. It has the bizarre aesthetic and quirky soundtrack I’ve come to expect, I just don’t think it’s required reading. It can, however, teach us?? about love itself. It's rather brief. It will likely get you killed. You should seek quantity over quality.

Mon Amour, as seen on the box, is fine. It even has that sometimes annoying “one more turn�addictiveness. That doesn’t last long, and beneath that, there’s nothing to sink your teeth into. It’s the Taco Bell of Onion Games. It’s tas?tes like food, it’s inoffensive, but once you di??g in, you won’t find any real meat.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

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I'm crossing you in style, some day...

Hot off the news that Onion Games' great shmup Black Bird is preparing to take flight on PlayStation platforms, the quirky publisher has also revealed that its classic "Anti-RPG" Moon is also getting set to woo new players, with PlayStation and PC ports currently in the works. Much?? like Black Bird, a release window has not been revealed.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbkrO1i4zV8

Originally launched on PlayStation in 1997 �before making a comeback on Nintendo Switch in 2019 �Moon is a fun parody of the RPG genre, and sees the player control a relatively non-descript NPC, tasked with cleaning up and repairing the damage, destruction, and broken hearts left by a gallant RPG "hero". Enjoyably innovative in its meta nature, whilst still providing typical RPG action, Moon received praise for its wry, subversive humor, and solid, player-defined soundtrack. Developer Toby Fox cites Moon as being a huge influence on his own meta adventure, Undertale.

The new release will offer new generations of players the opportunity to check out this unique, genre-breaking adventure for themselves. We will be sure to give you a heads up when both Moon and Black Bird receive an official release date. In the meantime, you can check out CJ and Zoey's review of the Nintendo Switch release right here.

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And when the sky was opened...

Onion Games has announced that its awesome 2018 release Black Bird is getting a long-awaited PlayStation port. The gloomy bullet-hell shmup will arrive on PS4 and PS5 at some point in the future, though a release window was not revealed. Check out the reveal trailer below, courtesy of Gematsu.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=csP2M8tkmME

Black Bird is the tale of a young girl who passes away �ignored and alone �on an ignoble street corner, only to be reborn as "The Calamity": a fabled Black Bird destined to?? bring destruction to the town. What follows is a story-driven shmup, packed with beautiful story-book imagery, pulse-pounding bullet-hell action, and a surprisingly hefty dose of dark humor. As the Bl?ack Bird, players battle waves of enemies and boss characters, en route to one of eight different endings.

What fate does The Calamity have in s??tore for this universe and ?its people?

Black Bird was reviewed back in 2018 by Destructoid's own CJ Andriessen, who found it to be a wondrous experience �packed with fantastic music, gorgeous visuals, and thoroughly compelling action. It may have taken its sweet time, but this PlayStation port will be the grim magic of this unique shmup to an even wider audience, so be sure to keep your own beady eyes out for its eventual release. We will, of course, keep you informed when a rel??ease date is officially announced.

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