Japanese developer Xero is a pretty big name in bishoujo visual novels, but none of their previous titles have had a western release. Now, with the help of localization specialist MiKandi, they’re bringing Libra of the Vampire Princess to English speaking gamers – so long as the $125,000 goal is reached.

Libra of the Vampire Princess

Unusually for a visual novel localization, Libra of the Vampire Princess is still hot off the press. The original Japanese version was only released in October, 2015. You play the part of Shuma, who, shortly after the death of his mother, learns that he is the heir to the Embroche vampire bloodline and is abducted by a “ringleader” vampire intent on awakening his powers. It really hasn’t been Shuma’s month.

Judging from the videos on their Kickstarter page, the game mixes serious drama with comedy and supernatural battle scenes. The character sprites and backgrounds are gorgeous and the soundtrack is also of a very high standard. I really like the blend of vampire battling, intrigue, romance, and humour. If they had made it an otome game instead, I could see it being popular with the Twilight audience. This is one of those games where you’ll know pretty much right away whether this is for you or not, but if you’re still on the fence, I’ll help you out. Libra features a werewolf maid, a busty vampire hunter from the Vatican, and a scythe-wielding vampire temptress and former-nun.

Libra of the Vampire Princess

It seems as though Xero and MiKandi are doing an excellent job of reaching out to the community and listening to feedback. They already dropped their proposed Kickstarter budget of $170,000 to $125,000 in response to feedback from fans. Additionally, they’ve promised an uncensored 18+ patch for Steam users with no mosaic, which I know will be important to a lot of VN fans. Since I’m not a huge fan of eroge games, I probably won’t back Libra of the Vampire Princess but I’ll definitely be looking out for it on Steam if the campaign is successful. At the time of writing, they’ve raised just under $35,000 with 38 days to go, so success seems all but guaranteed.

Track the progress of the Libra of the Vampire Princess Kickstarter in our Campaign Calendar.

 

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About the Author

Phil Ings

Phil's lifelong gaming obsession began when he played Spellbound on a friend's ZX Spectrum. Thus began a love of games, particularly character-driven games and those with a strong narrative. In 2015, he wrote, designed, and programmed the comedy superhero adventure, Supreme League of Patriots. When he's not playing games, writing about games, or making games, he can usually be found ranting that John Noble should have won an Emmy for Fringe. His all-time favourite games include Star Ocean 2, Persona 4: Golden, Fallout 3 and Life is Strange. He is a self-confessed PS Vita evangelist and recovering JRPG addict.

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