Update 10/129/2024: A new release date for the Steam release of Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien has been announced. And luckily, the fans who have waited for 23 years won’t have to watch much longer.
According to an announcement on Steam, the game will launch tomorrow, October 30, 2024, almost two weeks late compared to the original date, finally letting English-speaking fans enjoy one of the most beloved and complex romantic visual novels of all time.
Below you can read the original article about the delay.
Today is October 18, 2024, and it was supposed to be a joyous day for fans of the beloved visual novel Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien, who have waited for 23 years for an English localization.
Unfortunately, the official X (formerly Twitter) account of the Muv-Luv series reached out to advise that the release on Steam of the Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien: Enhanced Edition has been pushed back at least by one day.
The reason is “adjustments that were required during the review of the game.” Someone at Steam appears to have found something objectionable in the content.
Even more worryingly, the account cautions that further delays may be required depending on the review process.
The release of Kimi ga Nozomu Eien will be delayed to 12:00 10/19 (JST) due to adjustments that were required during the review of the game. We apologize for the delay.
Please be aware that there is also a possibility that further changes to the release date will be required depending on the review status.
Update 10/19/2024: a second delay has unfortunately happened, as mentioned on the Steam Page of the game. The new release date is October 22, but there may be further delays.
Kimi ga Nozomu Eien has been once again delayed due to adjustments that were required during the review of the game.
We apologize for the delay.
The new release date is 12:00 JST at 10/22.Please be aware that there is also a possibility that further changes to the release date will be required depending on the review status.
Update 10/21/2024: unfortunately, a third delay has been announced, and this time, there is no new release date.
“Regarding the Further Delay of “Kimi ga Nozomu Eien: Enhanced Edition” The release of “Kimi ga Nozomu Eien: Enhanced Edition” has been delayed from today’s release date of 10/22, as adjustments and modifications for the rating review are still ongoing.
We sincerely apologize for the repeated delays. Regarding the sale date, we will provide an update as soon as the review process is completed. We apologize for any inconvenience caused and thank you for your understanding”.
This is certainly odd, considering that the game has been ready for several months, and those who backed it during its successful crowdfunding campaign have already received their Steam copy and have been playing ever since.
The announced release date of October 18 was only for those who had not backed the crowdfunding campaign, and you’d think Valve had plenty of time to review the game’s content without having to trigger last-minute delays.
Hopefully, fans won’t have to wait much longer (they have certainly waited long enough), and we’ll keep you updated if anything changes.
If you’re unfamiliar with Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien, it’s a visual novel released originally in 2001 as an eroge for PC and then re-released with the removal of the adult content in following years on multiple console platforms. As you can imagine, this new version on Steam is suitable for all ages as well.
It marks the first time that the visual novel receives an official English localization, so excitement among fans is certainly understandable.
Its developer, Âge, is quite popular for the Muv-Luv series (which many, yours truly included, believe is the best visual novel series of all time), partly set in the same world. Many consider Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien as Muv-Luv’s prequel, and several of its characters appear in Muv-Luv Alternative and its extended universe.
The popularity of “Kiminozo,” as its fans lovingly call it, exploded and expanded to the West with the release of the anime TV series, titled in English “Rumbling Hearts” and aired in Japan between 2003 and 2004. You can currently watch it via streaming on Crunchyroll, at least in some countries.
Full disclosure: the author of this article has backed the Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien crowdfunding project.
