At Anime Japan 2023, Square Enix unveiled the release date for their “friendship bonding simulation adventure” visual novel, Ketsugou Danshi: Elements with Emotions. The title will be officially released on June 29, 2023, in Japan for Nintendo Switch at the price of ¥3,300.
A DLC package will also be sold sequentially, containing additional characters. Pre-orders are planned to begin around April to May. Furthermore, the mobile version is also planned to be released this summer.
The base game will include four elements: Saku Minamoto (Hydrogen), Eito Yasukata (Oxygen), Rikka Kasumi (Carbon), and Shiki Uroku (Berilium). The other elements: Nanase Tosho (Nitrogen), Misora Ukiishi (Lithium), Jin Kurogane (Iron), Izayoi Seiryu (Sulfur), Ichina Shiozuru (Chlorine), and Kuon Todoroki (Fluorine) can all be acquired as DLC for ¥1100 each and will be released sequentially after the game’s release. Players can also purchase a bundle containing the base game and a Season Pass that will allow access to all of the aforementioned DLC as it comes out.
Furthermore, a comic serialization and novelization are also confirmed. The comic, titled Ketsugou Danshi: Commitments to Dawn, features the younger days of Saku Minamoto on his first steps as a Shikenkan officer. The novelization, titled Ketsugou Danshi: Fragments from Dusk, will feature a compilation counting the “hidden pasts of the Shikenkan officers.” The comic will be updated every Sunday, and the novel will update every Tuesday via Square Enix’s MangaUp! app in Japan. Much like the game, it is unknown if we’ll see this comic or light novel come west.
Lastly, an opening cinematic was also shared, featuring “Rebel Singing” by Noriyasu Agematsu:
Ketsugou Danshi: Elements with Emotions is a brand-new “friendship bonding simulation adventure” visual novel, where players will bond together with the Shikenkan, special boys that wield the elements of the periodic table, as the world comes to an end in 50 days. The player takes on the role of a mediator who has to create various chemical reactions by combining the power of the Shikenkan and fighting against the enemy force. The game is set to release in Japan only for Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android in Japan on June 29, 2023. A Western release is unconfirmed as of yet.
