Toei or not Toei? That is the question.

Earlier this week, long-established film producer Toei, the company behind classic films such as The Street Fighter, Black Rain, Battle Royale, and Tora! Tora! Tora!, made a surprise announcement that they were launching Toei Games, a new division specializing in video game production.

▼ The Toei logo is a classic on par with the MGM lion.

Part of the reason many were surprised was that, in addition to feature films, Toei also has very popular youth programming, such as Kamen Rider and Super Sentai. Meanwhile, Toei Animation has released some of the most popular series ever made, such as Dragon Ball, Sailor Moon, and Pretty Cure, to name only a very few. And since many of these properties already have game adaptations, some thought that perhaps Toei was going to take control of their associated game franchises going forward.

However, Toei was clear in saying that Toei Games will release completely original games rather than base them on other Toei divisions’ films and programs. On 24 April, they gave everyone a look at three of these titles, all set for release on the PC via Steam.

▼ The Toei production logo was faithfully recreated in pixel art by the masters at Kairosoft.

First up is Killa: Kill the La, a dark fantasy game by Black Tangerine in which you assume the role of Valhalla, a young woman whose orphanage was burned down and mentor was killed, his last words to her being: “Kill the La.”

▼ The game is done in a very unique and eerie puppetry style.

Valhalla then makes her way to a mysterious island where she meets nine people named La, and has to use her powers of resonance to unlock their pasts and discover who her mentor was talking about.

Also, presented in stylish black ink artwork is Hino from UnGloomStudio. This game follows Hino and her Moni-Moni skeleton companion as they try to find a safe place in a world of darkness.

The gameplay involves overcoming highly unsettling monsters and eluding traps, while at the same time unravelling why you are even in this world and reaching one of the game’s multiple endings.

And on the brighter side of games, Toei is set to release, there’s also Debug Nephemee from Nephemee Studio. This game pits you against the entire world of Nepherum that is glitching all over the place in a bright pixel art style.

It’s inhabited by Nephemee, who are also suffering from bugs and will attack. The key to debugging them is understanding their unique personalities and responding accordingly. Rescuing them also involves playing four mini games at the same time, perfect for anyone who loves multitasking.

It’s a bit of a surprising move for a company that has released some of the biggest names in Japanese film, television, and anime to lead with a lineup of titles from indie game developers. Some comments online lauded their ambition and independence, while others felt disappointed Toei didn’t do more with what they had to work with.

“Toei Games… are a lot different from what I was expecting.”
“I thought they were just going to make games from their own stuff, but this is much more aspirational.”
“Killa is coming to Toei Games? Cool!”
“I’m really looking forward to Hino.”
“I don’t see the point in making these Toei productions. I wasted my time getting my hopes up.”
“All the titles sound so gloomy, though.”
“It feels beneath Toei to release indie games.”
“They said they weren’t going to use Toei IP, and the pixel art logo was a pretty good indication of where they were going. I don’t know why anyone is surprised.”

The simplest path to some easy cash would have been for Toei Games to start off with a bunch of Spider-Man, Dragon Ball, and Pretty Cure games, but video game rights to those series are tied up in deals with Bandai Namco and Sony. Instead, Toei Games is clearly planning to forge its own path from the ground up. Despite the risks, it’s an ultimately healthier way to establish an identity of the company’s own, and, if successful, could pay off very well in the long run.

It seems like a good start for now, with an interesting starting lineup of games, putting a cinematic focus on deep storylines and artistic presentation. Their release dates haven’t been determined yet, but they all look like they’re well worth the wait and can be wishlisted on Steam.

Related: Killa: Kill the La, Hino, Debug Nephemee Steam pages
Source: PR Times, Hachima Kiko
Images: PR Times
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