Yesterday, Game Freak announced Ame Nochi Hare Onna, a free-to-play title scheduled to release this winter for iOS and Android (Japan only at the time of writing). Alongside the announcement, the company held a special YouTube livestream starring the title’s director and producer Shigeru Ohmori (the primary director of the Pokémon series since Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire) and scenario director Katsunori Suginaka of Chronogate (known for his involvement in the Pokémon series and Tribe Nine). During the livestream, Ohmori and Suginaka shared some new details about the gameplay and the development background of Ame Nochi Hare Onna.
After wrapping up the development of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, Ohmori says he wanted to try making many different kinds of games. From the various ideas he had came the hit title Pokémon Pokopia, while another one of those pitches ended up becoming Ame Nochi Hare Onna, which was developed pretty much simultaneously with Pokémon Pokopia.
Specifically, the idea for Ame Nochi Hare Onna came from Ohmori observing the way his wife did the laundry. “I wondered if the loop of doing the laundry and checking the weather would match some kind of gameplay, and that’s how I came up with the idea for it.”
The actual gameplay loop revolves around patrolling the city for “sentient trash” monsters, battling them in turn-based combat, and doing laundry. The gameplay is heavily influenced by real-life weather data as well. For example, the weekly weather forecast thumbnails can be used in combat, and different combinations of the weather symbols in your “hand” (if we were to explain it in card-game turns) can offer different effects.
Furthermore, battling the trash monsters means that you will eventually get dirty – and when that happens, you will have to wash your magical girl outfit. The laundry mechanic also changes its efficiency depending on the weather. For example, clothes will dry much quicker on sunny days compared to rainy days. In-game, you will also be able to switch between a range of different magical outfits, each with their own unique powers.
Considering that the game is based on magical girls, many players wondered about what the story itself could entail. Many recent magical girl works tend to feature darker and more dramatic twists as the narrative unfolds, however, Suginaka assured fans that Ame Nochi Hare Onna will feature an uplifting story. “I’ve seen some comments that were like, I don’t want it to end up being a dark story, but rest assured, the whole story is positive just like the game’s visual presentation. We’ve made it into a fun, cheerful magical girl story that anyone can enjoy with peace of mind,” Suginaka said.
Ame Nochi Hare Onna is scheduled to release this winter for iOS and Android.
