Rare Squaresoft Dating Game Gets English Fan Translation

Recently, we were sent along a tip (Thanks ChronoMoogle) about an obscure dating game from Squaresoft that caught our eye. Koi Wa Balance is a title that was originally released for the Japanese-only Satellaview peripheral in 1996 - an add-on that allowed Super Famicom owners to download exclusive video games with high-quality sound. And, as such, it is practically unknown in the west, despite having a famous developer.

Nevertheless, a fan translator by the name of Krokodyl has recently gone to the effort of converting it into English, posting their work at the end of last month. This marks the very first time the game has ever been made available in English.

In case you're unfamiliar - and let's face it you probably are - Koi Wa Balance is a four-player party game that takes place on a board, not unlike Mario Party. But rather than competing for coins and stars, you play as one of four brothers who are battling to run a family business, based on a set of rules dictated by your dying grandfather.

For some reason, he wants to give his company to the biggest playboy in Japan, so you'll need to collect kisses by going out on dates, with the person who receives the most being the one who will eventually succeed him.

You'll go on dates by landing on the same square as one of the women on the board and taking them to the location where they wish to go. This could be a cinema, a beach, a theme park, or a soccer match. Along the way, you'll also need to collect gifts too, which you'll use to battle for your date's affection. All in all, it's a pretty ridiculous premise for a game, but should you want to check it out for yourself, you can download the patch and apply it to the BS ROM available elsewhere online.

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