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Game News, Shop and Merchandise

Dragon Quest Gets a Game of Life Collab — Out in Japan October 2026

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Takara Tomy’s legendary Jinsei Game — Japan’s equivalent of the Game of Life — is crossing over with Dragon Quest for the first time in its 85-edition history. Dragon Quest 人生ゲーム (Dragon Quest Jinsei Game) launches in Japan on 24 October 2026, celebrating the franchise’s 40th anniversary, and pre-orders opened today (17 August) at the Takara Tomy Mall and Amazon Japan. English-language media have not yet covered the announcement, which broke across Japanese gaming outlets including Famitsu (Japanese) and Game Watch Impress (Japanese) this morning.

Dragon Quest Game of Life — What It Is

Dragon Quest 人生ゲーム annotated game board showing key squares including Dharma Temple and final boss Zoma
Image courtesy of Square Enix / Takara Tomy

The game takes the classic Jinsei Game board-game format and wraps it entirely in the Dragon Quest universe. Players begin as an adventurer mounted in a horse-drawn carriage — the traditional car token replaced by a DQ-themed wagon — and travel a sprawling board filled with franchise landmarks: the Dharma Temple, Ruidia’s bar, and ultimately a final showdown against the Demon King Zoma. The player who reaches the goal with the most gold wins.

The game supports 2–6 players, is rated for ages 6 and up, and the board measures 520 × 420 mm — a footprint familiar to anyone who’s played Jinsei Game before. Seven companion-pin types represent Adventurer, Hero, Sage, Warrior, Priest, Mage, and Entertainer roles, each cast in a different colour.

How the Board Plays

Dragon Quest Game of Life event squares including Baby Satan encounter and treasure chest rewards
Image courtesy of Square Enix / Takara Tomy

Movement is driven by a spinner roulette, true to the classic Jinsei Game format. Board squares trigger Dragon Quest-style encounters: a Baby Satan might cast Ionazun and drain your Gold, or a treasure chest could hand you a coveted Small Medal. Companion-check squares add real strategic weight — land on one without a Mage or Sage in your party and you lose 12,000 Gold; have the right ally, and you walk away richer instead.

Small Medals — the collectible coins that DQ fans know from the mainline games — accumulate throughout the run and can be exchanged for powerful item cards, including a Metal King Shield valued at 100,000 Gold.

Game Pieces and Components

Dragon Quest Game of Life game pieces including carriage tokens and adventurer, hero, and companion pins in six colours
Image courtesy of Square Enix / Takara Tomy

Component highlights worth noting:

  • Carriage pieces: Six colours replace the classic car token — each a horse-drawn DQ wagon
  • Adventurer and Hero pins: White for your starting Adventurer; swap to gold when you meet the conditions to class up to Hero
  • Companion pins: Colour-coded peg pieces for Sage, Warrior, Monk, Mage, and Entertainer — load up your carriage or leave yourself exposed on enemy squares

Recruit Companions and Class-Change at Dharma Temple

Dragon Quest Game of Life companion cards for Warrior, Monk, Mage, Entertainer, and Sage professions with gold values
Image courtesy of Square Enix / Takara Tomy

Recruiting the right companions is where the strategy lives. Warrior, Monk, Mage, and Entertainer cards are each worth 20,000 Gold and protect you on specific board squares. Land on the Dharma Temple and meet the correct conditions and you can class-change to Sage — worth a premium 40,000 Gold and unlocking board advantages available only to the Sage class. Upgrading your Adventurer pin all the way to a Hero pin is a separate, harder-to-reach milestone.

The Zoma Finale and Item Cards

Dragon Quest Game of Life item cards including Shoes of Happiness and Orb of Light, with Demon King Zoma boss art
Image courtesy of Square Enix / Takara Tomy

Before crossing the finish line, every player must face Demon King Zoma in a roulette battle — there’s no skipping the final boss. Certain item cards tip the outcome in your favour: the Shoes of Happiness (70,000 Gold) and the Orb of Light (50,000 Gold) both carry special effects in the Zoma encounter, so hoarding them is a legitimate long-game strategy. Survive and you reach the goal as a Legendary Hero; lose enough Gold and the title slips away.

Release Date, Pricing, and Where to Import

Dragon Quest 人生ゲーム is a Japan-domestic release priced at ¥7,150 (tax included) — roughly S$62–65 at current exchange rates. Pre-orders are live from today at the Takara Tomy Mall and on Amazon Japan. Physical stock hits toy specialists, department stores, and mass retailers across Japan on 24 October 2026.

No Singapore or Southeast Asia retail release has been announced. For local fans, the most practical route is Amazon Japan via a freight-forwarding or proxy shopping service. The board and cards are in Japanese, so this is best suited for Dragon Quest fans comfortable with basic Japanese or those adding it to a DQ40 anniversary collection. For more on the broader celebrations, see our Dragon Quest XII: Beyond Dreams reveal and DQ40 anniversary roundup. More DQ40 merchandise and event news are also listed in our Game News section.

Manga Anime, News

Love Live! App Developer ODD No Declares Bankruptcy — ¥10.3 Billion in Debt

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The developer behind Link! Like! Love Live! has collapsed. ODD No Inc., the Tokyo-based studio responsible for the school idol rhythm game, received a bankruptcy commencement order from the Tokyo District Court on August 5, 2026, alongside two affiliate companies — just over two months after the game itself closed its doors. The scale of the financial damage is staggering: liabilities of ¥10.32 billion (around SGD 87 million).

A Game That Tried to Live in Real Time

Link! Like! Love Live! gameplay showing the rhythm game and real-time streaming feature
Image courtesy of ODD No / Sunrise

Link! Like! Love Live! launched in May 2023 as the smartphone home of the Hasunosora Girls’ High School Idol Club — a new group within the beloved Love Live! franchise. What made the game unusual was its real-time calendar system: in-game events ran on a literal calendar, with the idols living out their school year day by day in sync with real life, complete with live-streaming sessions that fans across Asia tuned into regularly.

For Singapore fans who had followed the Love Live! franchise through concerts, physical merchandise, and earlier series entries, Hasunosora felt like a new chapter worth following closely. The real-time idol life format proved enormously engaging — but it also placed an extraordinary operational burden on the developer.

When ODD No announced the game’s shutdown in April 2026, the company cited skyrocketing operational costs and insufficient human resources to sustain the system. As relayed by Automaton West, ODD No described the real-time calendar’s operational demands as "unimaginable" and "far greater than for any typical live-service game." The game ended service on June 30, 2026.

「Dream Believers」— the game’s opening theme, via 蓮ノ空女学院スクールアイドルクラブ公式チャンネル on YouTube

The Financial Picture — A Mountain of Debt

Link! Like! Love Live! official logo and title card
Image courtesy of ODD No / Sunrise

Credit investigation firm Tokyo Shoko Research published a breakdown on August 13 (Japanese), reported by Automaton West: ODD No’s liabilities had reached ¥10.32 billion ($64.7 million USD / approximately SGD 87 million) as of the fiscal year ended December 2024. The game’s net loss for FY2023 alone was ¥5.6 billion, leaving the company with a liability excess of ¥6.8 billion at the end of that year.

The final months were marked by dramatic signs of distress. In December 2025 and again in March 2026, ODD No’s own headquarters — which doubled as the CEO’s home — was subjected to provisional attachment orders filed by alleged business partners. This legal measure freezes assets to protect creditors’ ability to recover what they’re owed once formal bankruptcy proceeds.

The bankruptcy proceedings, as reported via ITMedia (Japanese) and covered in Automaton West, cover ODD No alongside two affiliated companies — all three received commencement orders from the Tokyo District Court on August 5.

A Bruising Year for Mobile Game Developers

ODD No’s collapse is part of a wider reckoning in Japan’s mobile gaming industry. Automaton West reports, citing Tokyo Shoko Research data, that 10 mobile game developers went bankrupt between January and July 2026 alone — versus just 3 for all of 2025. With ODD No added to the tally, the sector is on pace for a new annual record.

The Love Live! franchise itself is unaffected. The Hasunosora idols continue to have music, merchandise, and an active YouTube presence — their story simply moved back to other media after the app closed. For Singapore Love Live! fans who want to keep up, the broader franchise continues through other anime and music releases still in active production.

But the closure of Link! Like! Love Live! — and now its developer’s bankruptcy — is a sharp reminder of how costly ambition can be in the live-service space. Running a real-time idol school life, in perfect sync with the calendar, seven days a week, turned out to be a different matter entirely from building a great concept on paper.

Manga Anime, Shop and Merchandise

Blue Archive × ZOZOTOWN: Black Collection Pre-Orders Open Now

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Blue Archive just kicked off pre-orders for its second ZOZOTOWN collaboration — and this time, Gehenna Academy’s Prefect Team is trading their school blazers for full black-military drip. The Blue Archive × ZOZOTOWN BLACK COLLECTION opened for orders today, 13 August 2026, at noon Japan time, with a pre-order window running all the way to 7 September.

Gehenna’s Black Military Collection

The collection centres on four Gehenna Academy students — Hina, Ako, Iori, and Chinatsu — reimagined in original outfit illustrations by artist Sola Nijihashi (Japanese). The theme is unmistakably military-chic: fitted black silhouettes, red accent stitching, and Gehenna Academy insignias worked into the garment designs. This is the second ZOZOTOWN drop for Blue Archive; the first featured the Arius Squad in streetwear.

What’s in the Black Collection

Blue Archive × ZOZOTOWN Black Collection hoodie — black with red stripe accents
Image courtesy of NEXON Games / Yostar / ZOZOTOWN

The full lineup runs to eight product types, mixing wearables with desk collectibles:

  • Graphic T-shirts (6 character variants) — ¥4,400
  • Open-collar long sleeve shirt — ¥9,350
  • Hoodie — ¥9,900
  • Long pants — ¥9,900
  • Long coach jacket — ¥39,600
  • Reversible MA-1 bomber jacket (black outside, Gehenna-red lining with embroidered insignias) — ¥36,300
  • Big acrylic stands (4 variants — one per character) — ¥2,200 each
  • Rubber play mat (all four characters across a full-width mat) — ¥3,850

The standout piece is the reversible MA-1 jacket: flip it inside out and the red lining reveals embroidered Gehenna faction symbols across the back — a detail fans of the game’s lore will appreciate immediately.

Blue Archive × ZOZOTOWN Black Collection reversible MA-1 bomber jacket showing black exterior and Gehenna-red lining with embroidered insignias
Image courtesy of NEXON Games / Yostar / ZOZOTOWN

Order Dates and What Singapore Players Should Know

Blue Archive × ZOZOTOWN Hina Big Acrylic Stand in black military outfit
Image courtesy of NEXON Games / Yostar / ZOZOTOWN

Pre-orders close 7 September 2026 at 11:59 PM Japan time, with items shipping in mid-December 2026. All items are exclusive to ZOZOTOWN — there is no retail or overseas retail channel.

ZOZOTOWN does not offer direct international shipping, so Singapore fans looking to pick up pieces from the Black Collection will need a Japan forwarding service. Services such as Tenso and Buyee support ZOZOTOWN orders and deliver to Singapore; expect Japanese domestic shipping (¥1,500–3,000 roughly) plus the forwarder’s fee on top of the item price, so factor that in before checkout.

Blue Archive × ZOZOTOWN Black Collection rubber play mat featuring Iori, Ako, Hina, and Chinatsu across a wide desk mat
Image courtesy of NEXON Games / Yostar / ZOZOTOWN

Blue Archive continues to be one of the most collab-active gacha titles for licensed fashion in Japan. If the Black Collection follows the first ZOZOTOWN drop, orders will close without a restock — Gehenna fans in Singapore who want a piece of the collection should plan their forwarding setup before 7 September. Check our anime and game coverage for more merchandise news.

News, Shop and Merchandise

Pokémon’s 30-Year Pokédex Is Out Now in Japan — All 1,025 Species, One Book

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Thirty years, nine console generations, and 1,025 Pokémon later, publisher Overlap has done what fans dreamed about since the days of Red and Green: put every single species in one official book. The Pokémon Official National Pokédex 1996-2026 (ポケモン公式ぜんこく図鑑 1996-2026) went on sale in Japan on 7 August 2026, and if you collect anything Pokémon-related, this one belongs on the shelf.

Pokémon 30th Anniversary Special Movie — via Pokémon Asia ENG on YouTube

What the Pokémon National Pokédex 1996-2026 Contains

This is not a strategy guide. Supervised by The Pokémon Company and produced in cooperation with Game Freak, the 448-page full-colour B5 volume covers all 1,025 species with data current as of March 2026 — meaning it includes the Pokémon introduced in LEGENDS: Z-A. Each entry lists type, classification, height, weight, abilities, hidden abilities, and Pokédex descriptions drawn from the latest games. Every species name appears in both English and Japanese, which makes the book genuinely usable even if you don’t read Japanese.

Evolution chains flow naturally across each spread, and explanatory columns walk readers through mechanics that can trip up casual players — Mega Evolution, Dynamax, Terastallization, and Regional Forms all get their own breakdowns. Navigation is handled by a National Pokédex number index and a 50-syllable (gojuon) alphabetical index. Price: ¥2,750 (tax included). Publisher: Overlap Inc.. ISBN: 978-4-8240-1717-8.

Sample spread showing Pichu, Pikachu and Raichu evolution chain including Alolan Raichu and Mega forms from the Pokémon Official National Pokédex 1996-2026
Image courtesy of The Pokémon Company / Overlap

Three 30th Anniversary Art Books Land in December

Alongside the Pokédex, Overlap has announced three companion art books, all due 18 December 2026 at ¥5,500 each. They split 30 years of franchise history into three eras:

  • Volume 1: Red/Green through HeartGold/SoulSilver (Generations I–IV)
  • Volume 2: Black/White through Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon (Generations V–VII)
  • Volume 3: Let’s Go through LEGENDS: Z-A Mega Dimension (Generation VIII onwards)

Combined, the three volumes total 1,500 pages of sprites, 3D models, illustrations, and promotional artwork spanning the full run of the franchise. No international release has been announced for any of the four books — so Japan is currently the only source.

Index grid pages showing hundreds of Pokémon thumbnails from No. 739 to No. 954 in the Pokémon Official National Pokédex 1996-2026
Image courtesy of The Pokémon Company / Overlap

How Singapore Fans Can Get a Copy

The Pokémon Official National Pokédex is available now at Pokémon Center Online Japan and major Japanese booksellers. Amazon Japan ships internationally, and specialist import retailers stock it as well — factor in shipping when comparing prices, since the base ¥2,750 (roughly S$26–28 at current rates) goes up once postage is added. No Singapore retail or local distributor has been confirmed, so import is the route for now.

The good news for non-Japanese readers: with English species names throughout, the Pokédex is a practical reference rather than just a display piece, even if you skip the Japanese descriptions. If you’ve ever wanted a single book that answers “which generation introduced that Pokémon?” or “what’s the English name for that form?”, this is it.

Sample spread featuring Kyogre and Groudon including their Primal Reversion forms from the Pokémon Official National Pokédex 1996-2026
Image courtesy of The Pokémon Company / Overlap

The December art books are available for pre-order through importers. With the Pokédex and all three art volumes together, Singapore collectors would have a complete visual archive of 30 years of Pokémon — the kind of set that does not come around twice. Keep an eye on our merchandise coverage for updates if an English edition or regional distributor is ever announced.

Game News, News

Pokémon TCG 30th Celebration: Japan Lottery Opens Monday

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The Pokémon TCG 30th Celebration set does not land until 16 September 2026 — but in Japan, the race to secure the MEGA series products begins this Monday, 10 August. Pokémon Center Online Japan is opening lottery applications for four anniversary products, and for the first time it is tying the winning odds to identity verification. Here is what importers and collectors keeping an eye on the Japanese market need to know — and what Singapore fans waiting for the local launch can expect.

We first covered this landmark set when The Pokémon Company revealed it in June, including its historic first-ever simultaneous worldwide release and the 30 unique Pikachu illustration variants inside every pack. The lottery details below are new, confirmed via Dengeki Online’s 8 August report (Japanese).

What Japan’s Lottery Covers and When It Opens

Four MEGA series products are going on sale exclusively through a Japan-region lottery on Pokémon Center Online:

  • MEGA Expansion Pack “30th CELEBRATION” BOX — ¥7,200 (approx. S$68). This is the flagship booster box: multiple packs of the six-cards-per-pack Japanese expansion, all foil.
  • MEGA “30th CELEBRATION Premium Deck Set Espeon & Umbreon” — ¥6,200 (approx. S$59). A ready-to-play deck set anchored by Espeon and Umbreon.
  • MEGA “30th CELEBRATION FUTURISTIC BOX” — ¥27,500 (approx. S$261). The premium collector’s box featuring the set’s new Futuristic rare cards — Mewtwo ex, Mew ex, Greninja ex, and others in a never-before-seen card rarity tier.

Lottery applications for these three products open Monday 10 August at 12:00 JST and close Friday 14 August at 16:59 JST. A fourth product — the MEGA “30th CELEBRATION Card Set” (nine card types, ¥10,800 / approx. S$103) — has its own separate lottery from 28 to 31 August.

Pokemon TCG 30th Celebration Futuristic rare cards including Mewtwo ex and Jirachi ex
Image courtesy of The Pokémon Company

The New Anti-Scalper Measure: My Number Card Verification

For this lottery, Pokémon Center Online Japan is splitting applicants into two tiers: Players Club: Identity Verified and Players Club: Unverified. According to Dengeki Online (Japanese), “the majority of winning allocations are designated for the identity-verified tier,” making prior verification with Japan’s national ID card system — the My Number Card (マイナンバーカード) — a meaningful advantage.

This is a direct response to the scalping problem that has plagued high-demand Pokémon TCG releases in Japan over the past few years. By requiring government-issued ID to unlock the better lottery odds, The Pokémon Company Japan is also de facto locking out overseas resellers who do not hold a Japanese national ID. Singapore-based resellers who have historically obtained Japanese product through proxy services will find this lottery particularly difficult to access through the usual channels.

What Singapore Collectors Should Do

Pokemon TCG 30th Celebration Elite Trainer Box
Image courtesy of The Pokémon Company

If you do not have a Japanese Pokémon Center account with My Number Card verification, you cannot enter this lottery directly. The good news is you do not need to. The 16 September 2026 simultaneous worldwide release — the first time the Pokémon TCG has ever launched a set on the same day globally — means Singapore fans will have access to the international English-language products on exactly the same day as Japan. Pre-orders for the English-language 30th Celebration range are already open via major international retailers and local games shops.

The English Elite Trainer Box contains nine booster packs and a full-art promo Nidorina card. The Pokémon Center edition has eleven packs and two full-art promos. Each pack contains five fully foil cards — there are no non-holo commons in this set — plus one of the 30 Pikachu rare variants drawn by a different illustrator. Collecting all 30 will be the collector challenge of the year.

Watch the Official 30th Celebration Trailer

[Official] Pokémon TCG – 30th Anniversary Global Synced Release — via Pokémon Asia ENG on YouTube

Singapore pre-orders are expected at major game retailers and electronics chains that carry Pokémon TCG products. The September 16 date is confirmed; local SGD pricing has not been officially announced at time of writing. Check the Pokémon section for updates as they land.

Manga Anime

DAN DA DAN ~Occultic Stage~ Opens in Tokyo on 26 August — Full Cast Revealed

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DAN DA DAN is coming off the page and onto the stage. 舞台「ダンダダン」～Occultic Stage～ — the manga’s first-ever live theatrical adaptation — opens at Tokyo’s Nippon Seinenkan Hall on 26 August 2026, and with two official PVs already out and an English ticketing site now live, it’s clearly built to reach audiences well beyond Japan.

What Is the DAN DA DAN Stage Play?

Announced on 6 April 2026 to mark the manga’s fifth anniversary on Shōnen Jump+, Occultic Stage covers the opening arc of Yukinobu Tatsu’s manga — the fateful first encounter between sceptic Momo Ayase and occult-obsessed Okarun, and their run-in with the fearsome spirit Turbo Granny. Director Imagine Ito of high-physicality theatre troupe Umebō is helming the production, with original music by Ryō Konishi and choreography by Yuki Noda and suzuyaka. The script is by Shinjiro Kameda, with production supervised by Shueisha.

The second promotional video, the 邂逅編 (“Encounter Arc”), focuses on the story beats anime fans will know well — and shows just how much the production is leaning into the series’ manic energy.

【第2弾PV -邂逅編-】舞台「ダンダダン」～Occultic Stage～ — via 舞台「ダンダダン」公式 on YouTube

DAN DA DAN Stage Play Full Cast

The production makes one especially clever casting decision: two actors play Okarun to distinguish his normal self from his cursed, transformed state — a choice that honours how dramatically different the character becomes once possessed.

  • Momo Ayase — Yuiri Murayama
  • Okarun (Ken Takakura, normal) — Raimu Ninomiya
  • Okarun (transformed) — Hiroki Hyakuna
  • Seiko Ayase (Momo’s grandmother) — Aoi Nakabeppu
  • Aira Shiratori — Riko Tanaka
  • Acrobatic Silky — Risa Yamazaki

Anime voice actress Mayumi Tanaka has been confirmed as the voice of Turbo Granny for the stage run — bridging the stage and anime versions and giving longtime fans an extra reason to pay attention to every scene.

DAN DA DAN Occultic Stage first key visual showing Momo and Okarun beneath a UFO abduction beam
Image courtesy of 舞台「ダンダダン」製作委員会

Tokyo and Osaka Dates — Tickets Available Now

The production runs across two Japanese cities:

  • Tokyo: 26 August – 3 September 2026, Nippon Seinenkan Hall
  • Osaka: 11–13 September 2026, Sky Theatre MBS

Tickets are on sale via the official ticketing page. The team has set up an English-language ticketing option — an intentional move for international fans. For Singapore audiences with a Japan trip in the pipeline this August or September, the Tokyo run has 12 days of performances across the main hall. Check the manga and anime section for more franchise news as it breaks.

Acrobatic Silky lucky cat prop from DAN DA DAN Occultic Stage
Image courtesy of 舞台「ダンダダン」製作委員会

Special Fan Events at Every Show

The experience extends beyond the curtain. Every performance includes an Occult Performance & Photo Session after the main show — a curtain-call add-on that is notably rare for Japanese stage productions. Rotating talk sessions with director Imagine Ito, scriptwriter Shinjiro Kameda, and composer Ryō Konishi are scheduled throughout the run, and select performance days will feature exclusive cast video messages. A lottery-based poster giveaway is also planned.

The manga’s fifth anniversary is in full swing, the anime continues to build momentum, and this stage production is the centrepiece of the celebrations. If you have any interest in seeing the Turbo Granny arc brought to life by a company that specialises in physical, effects-heavy theatre, the window is 26 August onwards.

Game News

Expeditions: Samurai Enters Steam Early Access — Feudal Japan Tactics With Co-op Launches Today

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Campfire Cabal and THQ Nordic have launched Expeditions: Samurai into Steam Early Access today, 7 August 2026. The turn-based tactics RPG drops you into feudal Japan at the tail end of the Sengoku period, with simultaneous combat resolution and two-player co-op as its standout mechanics.

Expeditions: Samurai Early Access Out Now — samurai overlooking a red sky landscape

Setting and Story

Set in Japan circa 1600 — the turbulent close of the Sengoku period — Expeditions: Samurai puts you in the boots of Captain Flynn, a foreign privateer drawn into the country’s political and military chaos. The Expeditions franchise has built its reputation on historically grounded settings; this is the third major entry after Expeditions: Viking and Expeditions: Rome.

Atmospheric Japanese shrine with stone steps and gong in Expeditions: Samurai

Combat and Companions

The core combat mechanic is simultaneous turn resolution: both sides commit their orders before anything plays out, which rewards anticipating your opponent over pure reaction. Outside of combat you can use stealth to sidestep fights entirely, and the game lets you split your party to handle multiple objectives at once.

You’ll recruit up to eight companions over the course of the campaign. The game also supports two-player co-op — unusual for the genre, and a natural fit given how the split-party mechanics work.

Dialogue scene: Tanaka Takayuki speaks with Captain Flynn in Expeditions: Samurai

What’s in Early Access

The current build contains Act 1: five main quests and three side quests, with an estimated eight hours of content. The full campaign is scoped at roughly 60 hours, with a 1.0 release targeted for 2027.

Turn-based combat UI with stats panel inside a Japanese building in Expeditions: Samurai

Pricing

Expeditions: Samurai is PC and Steam only for now. The standard price is US$29.99, with a 34% launch discount taking it down to US$19.79 for a limited time.

Early Access Release Trailer

If the Expeditions formula has clicked for you before, the feudal Japan setting and simultaneous-resolution combat make this an easy recommendation at the discounted launch price. Expeditions: Samurai is available now on Steam.

Game News, Retro Gaming

Cotton Rock With You Launches 6 August on PS5 and Steam

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The Cotton franchise turns 35 this year, and SUCCESS Corporation is marking the milestone in style: Cotton Rock With You — Oriental Night Dreams launches 6 August 2026 on PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2 and PC (Steam). Full English subtitle support is confirmed, meaning Singapore fans can grab it without any language barrier — whether digitally on Steam or as a physical import.

Cotton Rock With You – Release Date Trailer (Japanese) — via Gematsu on YouTube

Cotton’s Sweetest Adventure Yet — A Japan-Themed Setting

The Cotton series has charmed shoot-’em-up fans since 1991, following the young witch Nata de Cotton as she chases her beloved Willow candy through fantastical worlds. For this 35th anniversary entry, developer Studio Saizensen swaps the usual magical-kingdom backdrop for the streets, shrines and scenery of Japan — giving the series a fresh look and feel that feels both nostalgic and new.

Studio Saizensen returns on development duties after helming the well-received Cotton Rock ‘n’ Roll: Superlative Night Dreams (2021), and the Japan theme feeds directly into the game’s visual style and stage design. Think torii gates, festival lanterns and traditional aesthetics rendered in the studio’s sharp, colourful anime art style.

Cotton and Silk in a story cutscene in Cotton Rock With You
Image courtesy of SUCCESS Corporation

Ten Characters, Sixteen Stages

Cotton Rock With You ships with ten playable characters — eight returning cast members from Cotton Rock ‘n’ Roll: Superlative Night Dreams, joined by two guest pilots new to the series.

Leading the roster is Nata de Cotton herself, whose magic shot changes type based on the crystal she collects mid-stage. Holding the Shot Button casts spells, and her bomb hits hard. Each of the returning characters brings their own distinct shot type and bomb, giving veteran fans reasons to experiment across runs.

Izuna from Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja on the character select screen in Cotton Rock With You
Image courtesy of SUCCESS Corporation

The two guest characters are Izuna from Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja and Psyva Ria from the Psyvariar 3 series — an inspired pairing of classic Japanese gaming properties. Izuna is a close-range fighter who attacks with blades and kunai: hold the Shot Button for Kunai Barrage (up to 99 hits), or the Special Button for Dimensional Slash.

Izuna close-up in a story scene in Cotton Rock With You
Image courtesy of SUCCESS Corporation

The game spans 16 stages: six selectable main stages, plus bonus and final levels. Story segments between shooting sections are fully voiced, with SUCCESS confirming they have expanded the adventure content beyond what Cotton Rock ‘n’ Roll offered.

How Singapore Fans Can Play Cotton Rock With You

The game launches with a generous language roster: English, Japanese, Korean, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles are all confirmed. That makes the Steam version fully accessible as an import even without a Japanese account.

The standard edition is priced at ¥6,380; a limited edition at ¥11,880 bundles in an acrylic stand set of Nata de Cotton, an original soundtrack CD and an art book. Singapore PlayStation Store availability has not been confirmed, but the Steam version is expected to be globally accessible, and Play-Asia is stocking the physical edition for international shipping.

If you love Japanese shmups, import-friendly releases like Cotton Rock With You are exactly what the Switch 2 and Steam era has been good for. Catch up on more game news while you wait for the 6 August drop.

Game News

Tensei Game: Karma x Cross Launches August 6 — Dragon Quest Creator Meets Blue Lock Author

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Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii and Blue Lock author Muneyuki Kaneshiro have joined forces on something delightfully menacing: a sugoroku party game expressly designed to end friendships. Tensei Game: Karma x Cross launches on Nintendo Switch in Japan on 6 August 2026 — this Thursday — via the Nintendo eShop at ¥3,980 (tax included).

Tensei Game: Karma x Cross promotional art featuring a masked figure and ghost characters
Image courtesy of ArtePiazza

Two Legends, One Very Dangerous Board Game

The collaboration sounds almost too good to be true. Horii — the mind behind the Dragon Quest series, one of the most beloved JRPG franchises in Japan and a longtime favourite among Singapore fans — serves as supervisor. The original concept comes from Kaneshiro, whose manga work includes Blue Lock (currently tearing up streaming charts) and the survival-horror series As the Gods Will. Development is handled by ArtePiazza, the studio behind the classic Dragon Quest remakes on Nintendo DS.

That As the Gods Will energy is unmistakeable once you hear the premise. You are dead — stranded in Rinnekai, a dark fantasy afterlife world — and your only way out is winning a 22-turn sugoroku (board game) race to earn reincarnation. The catch: only three of the four players can actually be reborn.

Tensei Game: Karma x Cross sugoroku board overview with four player stat panels and a purple eight-sided die
Image courtesy of ArtePiazza

How the Reincarnation Race Works

Spread across 22 turns split into two halves of 11, players roll an eight-sided die and accumulate Karma — the game’s currency — to purchase a Soul Vessel, their ticket to rebirth. Karma flows from cooperation and betrayal in equal measure: land on the right square and you can hire supernatural characters like the white wolf demon Kitsune Key to curse a rival, trigger board events that redistribute accumulated fortunes, or simply sprint ahead while your friends scramble.

Tensei Game: Karma x Cross wolf monster Kitsune Key offering to curse another player for Karma
Image courtesy of ArtePiazza

Multiplayer supports one to four players locally, with online play available for two to four participants (a Nintendo Switch Online membership is required). Friends can battle online with up to three players per console. The 22-turn structure keeps sessions tight and the chaos concentrated — very much by design.

Tensei Game: Karma x Cross bear character launching a powerful attack on the sugoroku board
Image courtesy of ArtePiazza

Watch the Trailer

「転生ゲーム カルマxクロス」はこんなゲーム！！ — via ArtePiazza on YouTube (Japanese)

Playing It in Singapore

Tensei Game: Karma x Cross is a Japan-exclusive eShop release at launch, with no global version announced. For Singapore players, that is not a hard barrier: the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 are fully region-free, and the Japan Nintendo eShop is accessible via a Japanese Nintendo Account. At ¥3,980, the entry price is reasonable for a local-multiplayer title.

Keep in mind the entire game — menus, event text, card descriptions — is in Japanese, with no English localisation announced. Blue Lock fans and Dragon Quest veterans comfortable with JP titles will find the sugoroku flow intuitive from the first roll; the deeper karma-spending mechanics will reward some reading ability. For anyone planning a gaming night, it is worth setting up accounts and practising the menu navigation before friends arrive.

Whether an English version arrives will likely depend on how the Japan launch goes. Given the profile of both creators and the surge in Blue Lock’s global profile, it would be a surprise if publishers left localisation entirely off the table. In the meantime, this Thursday is the earliest Singapore Switch owners can get in — via the Japan Nintendo eShop. Full details at the official Tensei Game site (Japanese).

Browsing for other upcoming releases? Check our game news archive for more Nintendo Switch 2 coverage.