The proliferation of idol-raising mobile games has been astonishing over the years, likely due to the success of Ensemble Stars, which I myself played for about a year or so. I cannot seem to escape it- it seems nearly everyone I know plays at least one, at least on the interwebs. It’s rare I find someone that does not.

I’ve been finding myself wishing I could play some again, but the ones I’ve picked up never seem to stick. I liked The Idolm@ster SideM, but the outfits are tacky and the gameplay quite boring. The language barrier prevents me from playing Cinderella Girls, Shiny Colors, Starlight Stage, and I’ve lost interest in the Love Live! franchise a while ago. I tried the Uta no Prince-Sama game, but found myself bored quickly, and couldn’t bring myself to progress in the story to unlock more songs (and I only like a couple of UtaPri songs myself). I downloded A3!, both in English and Japanese, but I haven’t been able to keep up with it at all- the gameplay isn’t interesting, and too many bad gacha rolls left a sour taste in my mouth, as much as I love the concept and the characters. BProject also had a language barrier, and I couldn’t find time to play, as rhythm games are Very time-consuming. I even played Mr. Love: Queen’s Choice, but I lost interest after about 3 months. I downloaded On Air! to try it, but I couldn’t understand the gameplay, even though I liked the art style.

There’s something appealing about the idol game genre, however. I’ve found myself astounded by how devoted people can be to characters, and the closest I’ve been to that is idolizing Umi Sonoda and Akatsuki (EnStars), but beyond that, interest has petered out quite easily. I myself wish I could have been so devoted, and I feel that the times I were happiest were when I was playing such games. Granblue Fantasy has been a more fulfilling ride, having achieved more in that game than I have most other games, but it feels less satisfying. GBF is accompanied by a lot of groaning, with some excitement, but mostly groaning.

It may be simply a language barrier preventing me from enjoying most games. And the appeal of idol-raising games is that, well, you get to raise them. This is more apparent in Shiny Colors, I think, where you get to do real work in promoting your idol and enhancing their skills, instead of just playing beatmaps or some kind of event. In a sense maybe I am looking for a kind of companionship in the 2D realm, where I can grow alongside someone and support them, without them asking much of me in return (besides my own money, I suppose). I have always enjoyed reading translations of my favorite characters, seeing their quirks and their relationships with other characters. If I had to choose just one game to play, I’d probably choose Shiny Colors or On Air!. A3! is more closer to the idol raising genre, but you only level up cards themselves, and in itself is a long grind. But the sense of growth may be what I am looking for, seeing as how I lack so much of it in my own life.

The biggest barrier has been money. I try to be strictly F2P, and I more or less am, with the exception of the occasional item purchase, but I often find myself overwhelmed with wanting this card and that, and it’s a never-ending onslaught of attention-grabbing units that everyone simply must have. The same could be said for Granblue- the number of limited units they released the past year alone is staggering, some of which are very necessary for meta purposes (looking at Summer Alexiel).

But I want to keep returning to question of why I have been so enamored with the idea of idol-raising games, despite having difficulty keeping up with them. Perhaps it is like supporting real-life idols, without the exploitation attached. Or it is simply having something to look forward to every day- after all, every morning I wake up and think about how much closer I am to E2-ing SilverAsh. Maybe it’s the nostalgia- I played them for much of high school into college, and it’s a familiar, comfortable feeling.

I do think the market is rather oversaturated, and the success of Ensemble Stars! and The Idolm@ster is hard to compete with, though A3! has been doing very well, well enough to get an English release. I think everyone wants in on the market, but it is a very expensive and costly one, and not one I am sure I want to promote. Many players get by with not spending any money at all while some throw thousands into these games, but in the end, they are very good at keeping you hooked. Perhaps it is lucky that I do not understand Japanese, otherwise I’d probably be finding myself trapped in these games.

For now, it’s hard to escape. Every popular franchise seems to get a gacha game these days (looking at the Star Wars and Avengers games). In the end it seems irrational to spend so much time in something that may end, leaving you with. nothing but spent time and money spent, never to be returned. If I lived in a household where console games were permitted, perhaps I’ll be happier. I don’t know.

But in the meantime, I will continue working on E2 SilverAsh, trying to upgrade my Granblue grids, and figuring out where to fixate my attention next. Maybe someday I can break out of this mobile game loop, and pick up a new hobby. I’ve been entertaining the idea of doing math, or studying Japanese, or drawing more. We’ll see, but only after this semester ends.

Signing off.