Back on April 1, we saw the announcement of Yohane the Parhelion: Blaze in the Deeplblue, and of course, the date meant that many wondered whether it was an April Fool's prank. The trailer was also removed, but perhaps predictably, history repeated itself.
The game is real, developed by Inti Creates, and it'll be released on November 16, 2023, for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. Yes. Everyone gets it, for good measure.
A bit of history is required to understand how funny this is. On April 1, 2022, fans of the Love Live! series were surprised by the announcement of a spin-off anime based on the popular Love Live! Sunshine. It was revealed as a fantasy story focusing on Yoshiko Tsushima’s chuunibyou alter-ego Yohane.
Fans laughed, many argued that it was an awesome idea, and then most moved on and forgot all about it, as you usually do with April Fools' pranks. Yet, there was a plot twist coming: in June of the same year, the announcement came that Genjitsu no Yohane: Sunshine in the Mirror (localized in English as Yohane the Parhelion: Sunshine in the Mirror) was actually real and will debut on July 2, 2023.
Today we learn that the same trick has been executed twice as the game dedicated to the anime is real as well. What can I say, besides "Well played"? You can check out the trailer below.
If you're unfamiliar with the game, here's how it's officially described:
Yohane the Parhelion" is an official spin-off of "Love Live! Sunshine". "Yohane the Parhelion: BLAZE in the DEEPBLUE" is a 2D action game set in that fantasy world. The player takes control of Yohane as she ventures into a mysterious dungeon alongside her partner Lailaps. She must challenge the monster-infested labyrinth to rescue her missing friends. As Yohane crafts new equipment from the items she finds and gains the power of her comrades, she'll be able to explore more and more of the dungeon. Parts of the dungeon will have randomized layouts, making for a hack & slash action game that stays fresh each time you play it.
If you're interested in the Love Live! franchise, the old and beloved mobile game Love Live! School Idol Festival was recently shut down but a sequel titled Love Live! School Idol Festival 2: Miracle Live! has already been released in Japan for iOS and Android. A global version including an English localization (on top of Korean and Traditional Chinese) is also in the works, and its release date will possibly be announced during an event at Anime Expo this week.
