Anna MirabellaIn 2012, Dandelion – Wishes brought to you – was released by Cheritz, and it left a lasting impression on the otome game scene. Aside from the game’s stat-raising mechanics and dating system, the visual novel features a unique storyline centering around animals who turn into humans (or humans with animal ears), which the MC can then date. Definitely not your average officially English translated visual novel experience in 2012.
Whatever your thoughts on the game’s execution, I think there’s little room for argument when it comes to how cute the love interests’ animal counterparts are! It’s hard not to want to gush over them, and when the men turned into actual humanoid love interests, I was sad to lose the pets I was once caring for, especially the bunnies!
If you’re an animal lover, here are a few more games with adorable animals that you’ll want to check out.
Love Spell: Written in the Stars (Philia)
Have you played Love Spell yet? If not, you’re in for a treat! Aside from the tantalizing story premise and amazing art, there is the one and only Philia. Philia is a pink penguin with small white wings wearing a purple witch hat. Her cute blue eyes look like they’re full of innocence, but when you converse with the little penguin, you’ll find out just how sassy she is. Philia’s role is to help the main character in her newfound mystical situation, so you’ll be seeing quite a bit of her. Honestly, a talking penguin is a really unique (and adorable!) feature.
Code Realize (Sisi)
I know what you’re thinking. Anna, again? Yes, I am mentioning Code: Realize again, but for good reason! I present to you Sisi, the steampunk corgi that lives in Saint-Germain’s manor with Cardia and her crew. Aside from the classically adorable corgi look, he’s got a top hat AND a bow tie! There’s a small patch in his fur which is shaped like a heart. Sisi is a dapper little corgi pup with a big personality. He’s got a mechanical leg that fits into the steampunk theme really well, but it’s always left me with more questions than answers. Still, it’s nice to have a dog running around while you play through the story!
The Inn Between (Cat)
If otome games are not your thing, here’s a boys’ love game that features a cute animal. Well, two cute animals, but only one has a visual in the demo of the game. If you play far enough into the demo of The Inn Between, the main character Myka will stumble upon a magical inn where a cat is waiting to lead him around the place. While the cat isn’t named, it does get quite a lot of attention, including a CG with the cat sitting in front of a door with another cat’s face! Precious.
Check out our review of The Inn Between’s demo here.
Play Dead! (Thief)
The first installment of this series was made for Spooktober Jam 2020. Currently there are three parts available to download and play yourself. Play Dead! follows a punk rock band through their comedically scary journey with a ghost dog. You heard me right, ghost dog. Need I say more? Thief is cute and that alone makes playing this Scooby-Doo-esque game worth it!
If you’re interested in learning more about this game, we reviewed the first part here.
There are so many more visual novels that feature adorable animals. If you think of any not on this list, be sure to share them with us in the comments below!
