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MiKandi Japan, Laplacian Develop Original E-Gene Visual Novel Series

MiKandi Japan announced on Tuesday that it is partnering with visual novel developer Laplacian to develop an original visual novel series tentatively titled E-Gene. Laplacian will write the scenario and provide artwork, while MiKandi Japan will produce and publish the game.

The game will be fully voiced in Japanese and will have English and Japanese text.

Laplacian game producer Ono Wasabi described the game as centering on historical conflicts but reframing them to be about cats and dogs:

Marie Antoinette, who was on the side of the dogs during the revolution led by the cat side, incurred the wrath of the public when she said “Well, if all the cats are gone, let them keep dogs”.

Joan of Arc made all other dog lovers rabidly jealous when she declared that she had heard the voice of Dog - the cat fanatics wouldn't accept her devout dog-ly ways either, and so she was executed as a heretic.

And of course, the Republicans and Democrats over in the USA - when it comes down to it, that's all about dogs and cats fighting too. The great disputes between dogs and cats continue ever on...

In our story, great historical figures are being brought back to life using genetic technology, when another grand dispute unfolds. And to top it off, these great figures are coming back… as adorable animal girls!

The character in the above image is Oda Nobunyaga, a parody of the famous Japanese historical figure Oda Nobunaga.

MiKandi Japan will fund the first game in the series through its Patreon page, and the game is planned for release in fall 2018. The company is also planning to launch a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign to fund further developments in the series.

The company's successful Kickstarter campaign to localize Laplacian's Newton and the Apple Tree (Newton to Ringo no Ki) ended in January. MiKandi Japan previously ran a successful Kickstarter to localize the Libra of the Vampire Princess (Kyūketsu-hime no Libra) visual novel in 2016.