Game developer Nitroplus‘ Nitro Origin label announced on August 7 its 2000 visual novel Phantom of Inferno will come to the Steam service under the title Phantom: Phantom Inferno on September 4. The game’s contents will be the same as the 2013 PC port. The game will feature Japanese audio and support English, Simplified Chinese, and Japanese.

The Steam page describes the story:

A string of assassinations targeting mafia leaders rocks the criminal underworld, giving rise to rumors of a mysterious organization known as Inferno and its deadliest assassin, Phantom.

While on a solo trip to the United States, a teenage boy finds himself face-to-face with this so-called Phantom—only to discover that she’s a girl roughly his own age.

Stripped of his memories, the boy is taken in by Phantom and trained in the art of killing. As he learns, he grows into an assassin capable of standing alongside her, and is gradually drawn into the organization’s conspiracies.

In this ruthless, lawless world, what will become of the two young assassins…?

Nitroplus first launched the game for PC in 2000 and later ported the game for DVD in 2001 and PS2 in 2003. The game received the Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~ anime adaptation in 2009.

Digiturb released the game for Xbox 360 in 2012 with updated graphics to reflect the anime adaptation, and cast members from the anime will voicing the game’s characters. The game was previously released on PC in 2013.

Sources: Nitro Origin, Steam via Gematsu

The official X/Twitter account for manga creator Tsutomu Nihei‘s editors announced on August 6 that Nihei’s Tower Dungeon manga has over 1 million copies in circulation worldwide.

Nihei launched the manga in Monthly Shonen Sirius in October 2023. Kodansha published the manga’s sixth compiled book volume on March 9.

Kodansha USA Publishing licensed the manga and published the manga’s fifth volume in English on May 5. Kodansha USA describes the manga:

An evil sorcerer slays the king and takes over his body, kidnapping the princess and spiriting her away to the legendary Dragon Tower.

The Royal Guard is rebuffed in their attempt to rescue her, and to replace the wounded, a young farmhand named Yuva is called up into service. With only a pot lid for a shield and a strong back to carry supplies, Yuva joins the soldiers on the perilous quest to climb the tower and rescue the princess. But the Dragon Tower houses untold horrors…!

The manga had a promotional video on March 31 that featured animated clips by studio keel.

Source: Tsutomu Nihei Editorial Staff X/Twitter account

NIS America announced in a trailer on Monday that it will launch Nippon Ichi Software‘s Hono Gurashi no Niwa game in the West under the title Village in the Shade on October 27 for Nintendo Switch, Switch 2, PlayStation 5, and PC via Steam. The company also released a “Sunshine Version” of its trailer.

The game will receive a Limited Edition, which includes a collector’s box, art book, original soundtrack, acrylic block, and a set of metal pins.

The game centers on a young protagonist who is lost and wanders around a mountain, and ends up being taken in by the  people of a certain village. The villagers offer to allow the protagonist to live in the village if they work for the village.

Game mechanics include growing vegetables, taking care of livestock, making furniture and other crafting, and hunting and fishing.  The game features character customization for the protagonist, including hair, clothing, and accessories.

Yu Mizokami (Yomawari game series) is the planner and game designer. Kazuya Takasu (Shin Hayarigami) is composing the music. Mio Katsumata is the lead developer.

The game launched in Japan on July 30. Pre-orders are open for the regular edition, and the Nippon1 Store exclusive editions.

Source: NIS America‘s YouTube channel (link 2)