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World End Economica is a science-fiction visual novel set in the far future, taking place in a thriving colony on the moon. There, far away from Mother Earth's slowly collapsing society, the pioneers of off-world settlement live life at the bleeding edge of human progress and profitability. That's not an obvious setting for a coming-of-age story to play out, but then again, Spice and Wolf author Isuna Hasekura was never one to reach for low-hanging fruit. And now the whole three-chapter saga is available, bundled onto a single release for the Nintendo Switch: World End Economica Complete.

If the title sounds familiar to you, you'd be right: World End Economica Complete has been around in some form for the better part of a decade at this point (sans the "Complete" in the title). An early crowdfunding success story, the game first launched in English in 2014 as part of the early wave of visual novels on Steam. Though its third and final episode was localized in 2018, this Switch-based remaster and compilation marks the first time the entire story is available in English outside the PC.

That story follows one Yoshiharu "Hal" Kawaura, a young man and one of the first generation of people to be born and raised on the moon. Hal is a vagrant, having run away from a provincial existence with his farmer parents. He did so to chase a dream of making it big and going to Mars, armed with nothing more than a laptop and the arrogant ambition only a teenager can manifest.

Of course, big dreams aren't easily realized, and Hal opens the first episode of World End Economica Complete living out of a net café, dodging the cops, and making money by day trading on the market. Hal has a keen sense for stocks that belies his lack of formal education, parlaying that instinct into a mini-career as a guerilla stockbroker. In the dank confines of alleyways, flophouses, and convenient restaurants, he builds up seed money to fund his big score and take the prize in a virtual stock-trading contest.

Of course, life isn't exactly kind to pint-sized, would-be Gordon Gekkos, and Hal quickly lands in a crisis only the helping hand of a stranger can help solve. That stranger is Lisa, a local missionary with a soft spot for those in need. Put up at the neighborhood church (itself an oddity in the secular-capitalist jungle of the moon), Hal meets his first new friend, the surly, acid-tongued mathematical genius Hagana.

It's an interesting beginning to start the story on and helps introduce the hypercapitalist setting of the lunar colony to readers. I say "readers" here rather than "players" because even by the standards of a visual novel, World End Economica Complete is somewhat thin in the visual department. Thanks to Hasekura's expository style, much ink is spilled elaborating on the nuances of financial markets and the factors that influence Hal's decisions. Unfortunately, comparatively little is spent on making these explanations more interesting to the eye. More than a few times one will get pages worth of text on a single image of a landscape, elaborating on one aspect or another of stock trading.

Thankfully, Hasekura's writing and the localization are strong enough to keep these technical explanations comprehensible. As an investment and finance layman I at least felt like I learned a few things coming out the other side of the game. And yet, the lack of illustrations or attempts to creatively represent some of these concepts left me feeling that I'd have finished all three episodes considerably faster had this been sold to me as an actual novel rather than a visual novel.

Speaking of episodes, the very structure of World End Economica Complete dates the production somewhat. Split into episodes released over a period of several years, each ranging from seven to ten hours in length, it calls back to the days when developers were experimenting with episodic releases. And that structure actually works against the game, somewhat, because its first episode is by far the roughest and hardest to stick with.

That's because, bluntly speaking, Hal is a huge jerk. Arrogant and callous, yet almost infuriatingly naïve, he's just difficult to root for as the permanent viewpoint character. Early on he even considers committing what amounts to sexual assault as a way of getting one over on the first girl he meets. He regards people with contempt and seems to think of nothing other than his ambition and what he needs to do to realize it. In other words, he's practically an avatar of childish selfishness masquerading as savvy greed.

Naturally, this first episode is a "pride before the fall" sort of situation. Characters don't need to be perfectly nice, nor should they be. But it's not surprising that some early impressions of World End Economica - including on this very website - skewed negative. When all that's available is the first episode, without a clear timeline that there will be a payoff at the end, it's easy to take the constant bickering between two kids with crappy attitudes and check out.

Thankfully, this isn't a problem for World End Economica Complete. All three chapters are there, and you can even play them out of order if you wish (I don't recommend this). It's thus easier to get invested in the story, and stick with it. It also helps that the second and third episodes, taking place years after the first's cliffhanger ending are considerably improved in all respects.

It took quite a few years to get to this point, but it feels like World End Economica Complete has finally arrived in a form that does its story justice, and visual novel fans with a mind for novel sci-fi and a willingness to tolerate the rougher edges of indie production have a new, meaty story to sink their teeth into.

The post World End Economica Complete Lives on the Moon but Tells a Grounded Story appeared first on Siliconera.

Earlier this week, Team SpicyTails released the first promotional trailer for the anime adaptation of World End Economica. This is the same anime that Team SpicyTails went through a crowdfunding process in order to gain advertising funds for back in December, and the anime itself was funded by Japanese investor Akira Katayama in order to give back and inspire more people to become investors.

Check out the anime trailer below:

The original World End Economica visual novels were released as part of three volumes, and it seems that the anime will mainly focus on the end of Episode 1, Episode 2 with bits of Episode 3. The anime is being animated by ENISHIYA, a company which to this point seems to only have worked on music videos and commercials for Weathering With You up until this point. Hal/Haru is voiced by Shouya Chiba, Hagana is voiced by Natsumi Haruse, Eleanor is voiced by M.A.O., and main antagonist Barton is voiced by Masashi Ebara.

The plot of World End Economica involves the successful colonization of the Moon, and how it becomes regarded as the haven of mankind due to pollution on Earth. However, the Lunar colony is also ruled by ruthless capitalism, to the point where only two rules matter: Never take a loss, and never forget the first rule. Amidst all this, a young boy named Yoshiharu (Haru for short) runs away from home, and begins to play the Lunar stock market in order to earn the fortune that he desires.

All three episodes of World End Economica are immediately available on PCs. Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation Vita versions of the visual novel series are in development. An official Twitter for the series is now available, and a manga adaptation by Haruichi Hashimoto is in the works.

The post World End Economica Anime First Trailer Shows Off Haru, Hagana, and The Lunar Stock Market appeared first on Siliconera.

Back in mid-November, World End Economica author Isuna Hasekura began Kickstarter and Campfire crowdfunding projects in order to raise money for an anime adaptation of the three-part visual novel series. While the Campfire project succeeded a while ago, as of today the Kickstarter has also been fully invested in.

To be specific, the money made via these crowdfunding projects will entirely be used for much-needed advertising for the anime. Currently, a trailer is being worked on, and the bill for all aspects of the anime proper have been funded by investor Akira Katayama, who wanted to use this as a way to interest people in the finance world as a way of giving back.

On Twitter, Hasekura thanked overseas backers for their .

All three episodes of World End Economica are immediately available on PCs. Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation Vita versions of the visual novel are in development, with Sekai Games’ last update saying they should arrive in Winter 2019. The anime’s Kickstarter campaign will end on January 4, 2020.

The post World End Economica’s Anime Kickstarter Is Now Fully Invested appeared first on Siliconera.

The World End Economica anime Kickstarter has begun. Revealed at the end of October 2019, it is asking for ¥5,000,000/$46,050 by January 4, 2020. As of 9:15am CT, over $21,000 has been raised. Interestingly enough, World End Economica author Isuna Hasekura noted in the pitch that, “All of the money we receive from you, our ers, will be used for advertising fees.”

When talking about the project, Hasekura noted that an investor named Akira Katayama emailed asking if it would be possible to make a World End Economica anime, suggesting footing all the costs for the production. After meeting with Katayama, Hasekura accepted. He noted that the visual novel’s popularity and a concern that they “might not be able to get the best anime studio or voice cast to work on it.” They are working on an anime trailer, footing all the production costs on their own, and are asking for fans to help crowdfund ments to spread the news about World End Economica and make a quality project possible.

The smallest possible World End Economica anime pledge someone can make and get a reward is the ¥3,000/$28 Intern level. This gives people a Steam key for the three-episode visual novel, rights to see the PV ahead of others, and an original PC background. The estimated delivery window is May 2020.

All three episodes of World End Economica are immediately available on PCs. Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation Vita versions of the visual novel are in development, with Sekai Games’ last update saying they should arrive in Winter 2019. The anime’s Kickstarter campaign will end on January 4, 2020.

The post World End Economica Anime Kickstarter Will Pay Its “Advertising Fees” appeared first on Siliconera.

Today, SpicyTails announced that they will be beginning a crowdfunding campaign for their economics-themed visual novel series World End Economica on November 14, 2019.

Check out the main visual, drawn by Harutoshi, below:

Team SpicyTails mentioned that more information on why an animation project for this series is happening now in 2019 will be revealed on the 14th, the first day of the crowdfunding effort.

World End Economica is available on PC via Steam.

The post World End Economica Anime Crowdfunding Project Will Begin To Raise Money On November 14 appeared first on Siliconera.

Earlier today, Team SpicyTails revealed that they are working on something new for the World End Economica series of visual novels.

The original trilogy of visual novels released between 2014 and 2016, and tells the story of a young man named Haru (translated as Hal in Episode 3). The original game is currently available on Steam in a bundle for all three episodes here.

Check out the reveal tweet below:

２０１３年に完結した金融系ビジュアルノベルの金字塔『WORLD END ECONOMiCA』の新企画が始動します！！ 詳細は１１月頭に告知開始です！！
In November 2019, a new project for "WORLD END ECONOMiCA" will start!!! pic.twitter.com/vQts7xBfZN

— SpicyTails@ (@spicytails) October 14, 2019

The new World End Economica project will be revealed in early November 2019.

The post SpicyTails Teases A New World End Economica Project In The Works appeared first on Siliconera.

Back in June 2014, Sekai Project began a World End Economica complete edition Kickstarter to ensure all three episodes of the Spicy Tails and Isuna Hasekura visual novel.  Now, the latest Kickstarter update has provided details on how the console and handheld port is going, while also noting people who backed the project and chose a PlayStation Vita version will be able to swap to a different platform.

The last part of that update might have provided an initial scare, as Sekai Project’s update only noted, “Backers who got the PSVita version will have the opportunity to switch to other platforms.” However, in a follow-up comment, it noted, “We're still planning PSVita releases, but we're also offering backers to switch to other platforms. We can't guarantee a physical release for PSVita though.”

In other news, the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation Vita World End Economica ports now use the latest version of Unity and are being finished. Platform-specific requirements will come once those are done, then it will enter quality and assurance testing. After that, the games will be submitted to Nintendo and Sony.

Back in June 2019, Sekai Project noted that the World End Economica Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation Vita version had a Winter 2019 release window. It is immediately available on PCs. Apple iOS ports are also planned. No update has been issued regarding physical rewards, though Sekai Project promised news would be coming via its Kickstarter in December 2018.

The post World End Economica Vita Versions Still Planned, But Don’t Have A Guaranteed Physical Release appeared first on Siliconera.

At PlayStation Experience, Siliconera got a chance to speak with Project LUX creator, Isuna Hasekura, best known as the author of Spice and Wolf, who talked World End Economica and working on VR.

Using the stock market for a setting for a visual novel is pretty unique. What inspired the story of World End Economica?
Isuna Hasekura: The Lehman Brothers Bankruptcy, the big bust in 2008 about that situation I found to be very fascinating. I thought it would be interesting to write a story based on the power of the financial markets to help and save people. As a hobby and enthusiast, I like the concept of stock trading.

What is the name of the book?
Hasekura: In FED We Trust: Ben Bernanke’s War on the Great Panic by David Wessel.

If economics were the theme of World End Economica, what is the theme of Project LUX?
Hasekura: If you were to use that analogy, the theme would be to enter the 2D world. I had an interest in VR and I wanted to explore the concept of immersion.

What can you do in a VR story like Project LUX that you can’t do in a visual novel?
Hasekura: The main thing is the interaction. There is more I wish could have done with interacting with characters, but the one thing I feel I accomplished is Lux (the main character) looks adorable. Being able to see the world around you and the choices that are made, but honestly there is more that could have been done.

What would you like to do with VR if you were to continue Project LUX?
Hasekura: Creating other types of character interactions is not a major objective. If I were to do a sequel to Project LUX creating a VR game I would like to showcase cute, adorable characters like Lux.

What do you hope people will feel after playing all of the episodes in Project LUX?
Hasekura: The first Lux is cute. Of course I would like to hear their thoughts on if the story is good. First, is the character is cute. The second is they enjoyed the story and number three is to understand this not just a game.

Project LUX is available on PC via Early-Access on Steam. The game is also headed to PlayStation VR. World End Economica is also available on Steam.

The post Project LUX Creator On Making Cute VR Characters And World End Economica Inspiration appeared first on Siliconera.

With the economics of lunar city in chaos, it will be up to the player to navigate the deals and narrative to make their cash-based dreams come true in World End Economica: Episode 3, the final instalment in the World End Economica trilogy.

Taking place sixteen years after the colonization of the moon, sci-fi visual novel World End Economica: Episode 3 has the players working to raise funds, which the main character needs “to stand where no man has stood before.” To do so, players will have to be careful with their decision making, as the main rule of the stock market here is to never, ever take a loss.

Set eight years after the first episode, this chapter will resolve the events of the World End Economica story should players make the right decisions.

World End Economica: Episode 3 is available now on Steam, either as a standalone or in a bundle with the previous two episodes.

The post World End Economica: Episode 3 Ends The Journey To Enormous Wealth appeared first on Siliconera.

The latest issue of Famitsu has announced a series of visual novel ports, according to Hachima Kikou. FuRyu will be bringing established games to the Nintendo 3DS in Japan as part of a new Catalyst line. The first three games in this series will be the first episode of World End Economica, The House in Fata Morgana, and Higanbana no Saku Yoru ni: Dai Ichi Ya.

All three games will be available via the Japanese eShop on July 27, 2016. World End Economica’s first episode and Higanbana no Saku Yoru ni: Dai Ichi Ya will be ¥800 each, and The House in Fata Morgana will be ¥950. 

Both World End Economica and The House in Fata Morgana are immediately available in English on PCs, with Sekai Project taking care of the former and MangaGamer handling the latter. Sekai Project will also be bringing World End Economica to the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita in 2017.

The post World End Economica And Other Visual Novels Are Coming To The 3DS In Japan appeared first on Siliconera.

At E3 2016, Sekai Project announced it would be working with Mighty Rabbit Studios and Limited Run Games to port some of its PC visual novels to PlayStation platforms, complete with limited physical editions. At Anime Expo 2016, a PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita version of World End Economica was announced. The kinetic visual novel written by Isuna Hasekura, the writer of Spice and Wolf, will be coming to the console and handheld in 2017.

In World End Economica, readers follow a boy named Haru who lives on the moon. In fact, his parents were some of the first colonists and he was actually born there. Except, now that people have actually colonized the moon, it’s quickly reaching the point where no planet or territory lies beyond people’s reach. Haru has run away from home and turned to day trading in internet cafes to earn enough money to go where no one else has ever been. In the game’s three episodes, we see him find a new “home” and “family” for himself as he chases his dreams.

Physical editions of both the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita versions of World End Economica will be available through Limited Run games. They will have reversible covers and include a pre-order bonus. As an extra reward, the 1,829 people who backed the game’s Kickstarter will get first dibs on PlayStation platform pre-orders.

World End Economica’s first two episodes are immediately available on Steam for PCs.

The post World End Economica Will Enjoy A New Beginning On PlayStation 4s and Vitas appeared first on Siliconera.

em>Episode 2 of World End Economica will be released on Steam this month, Sekai Project announced at Anime Expo today. You can watch a trailer for it above. Here’s a story summary:

From the creator of Spice and Wolf, Isuna Hasekura, comes World End Economica. Haru woke up with his life but without his dream. 4 years after the incident, he finds a new cause, as a driven young lady offers him a chance to return to investing and to find justice.

As previously reported, World End Econimica is by Isuna Hasekura, the creator of Spice and Wolf. Siliconera’s playtest of the first episode can be found here.

The post World End Economica Episode 2 Out This Month appeared first on Siliconera.

Sekai Project have posted an update regarding what’s going on with chapter 2 of World End Economica. The publisher says there have been unforeseen complications with the production and translation process, so the game will unfortunately not make its May 2015 release date.

Meanwhile, World End Economica chapter 1 is currently being ported to Unity. The Unity build of the game is in alpha and Sekai say they’re in the process of updating the art to 1080p. They add that they’re developing the Unity port in a way that future Unity ports of games running on World End Economica’s engine will be possible with less hassle.

This includes World End Economica chapter 2, which will be ported to Unity once chapter 1’s port is complete. As of now, chapter 2 is still in its translation phase. 7 out of 11 of the game’s chapters have been translated, and 6 have been edited.

The post World End Economica Chapter 2 Delayed Says Sekai Project appeared first on Siliconera.

Nyu Media, Playism and other doujin game publishers have teamed up to hold a “Japanese Indie Festival” discount sale on Steam that will run until August 17th. The sale is being held to celebrate the Comic Market 86 event in Japan.

The cool thing about the sale is that nearly every game can be picked up for less than $5. The only ones over $5 are World End Economica: Episode 1 and Astebreed (above). Everything else ranges from $1.01 to $4.99.

Some of the highlights are: Croixleur for $3.99, La-Mulana for $2.99, Vanguard Princess for $2.49 and Cherry Tree High Comedy Club for $2.71. Those are some pretty steep cuts, considering some of these games normally cost as much as $14.99.

The post Steam Sale Has A Bunch Of Japanese Indie Games On Discount For Dirt Cheap appeared first on Siliconera.

Sekai Project recently held a Kickstarter campaign to help them translate episodes 2 and 3 of World End Economica, a visual novel by Spice & Wolf author Isuna Hasekura. The campaign asked for a modest $22,000 in contributions, although it has already gone well beyond that point, and currently sits at $32,000 in funding.

The other announcement Sekai Project made this past week was that they’ve licensed PacoProject’s “PacaPlus” for a Steam release. PacaPlus is a game aimed at people that are “fans of fluffy, fluffy alpacas”. Here’s how it’s described:

The story follows the life of a certain Kazuma Saeki who is living the life. Surrounded by friends, especially his cute girlfriend Yukari Izumi, his school days could not be any better. However, on a bus ride back from “Alpaca Kingdom” he wakes up from a nap and finds that it’s not Yukari that’s sitting next to him but an alpaca. An alpaca that talks exactly like Yukari in fact...

 

What will happen to Kazuma and his life with an alpaca? How exactly does an alpaca play the violin? What is the connection between “Alpaca Kingdom” and what happened to Yukari? Pick up the game and get to the bottom of this fluffy mystery!

In addition to its Steam release, physical copies of PacaPlus will be made available at Anime Expo this year. You’ll be able to grab them from Booth#1530, which is where you’ll find Sekai Project and their goods.

Finally, Sekai Project will also be bringing Fault Milestone One to Steam once localization is complete. You can learn more about that game here.

The post Sekai Project Translating The Rest Of World End Econmica… And An Alpaca Game appeared first on Siliconera.