itch.io

Thanks a lot!

I appreciate that! Sorry I couldn't help more with the payment.

As far as I'm aware, Itch only accepts payment via Paypal or Stripe. Is that not the case?

No, the Steam version is a standalone .exe file.

I really enjoyed the story! The cutscenes and box art are beautiful, as well. Can't wait to see more from Heian Horror Labs.

Sadly, that seems to be a knockoff version (I only sell the game "officially" on green cartridges). However, seeing as The Retro Room Games shop is currently sold out, I can only hope there's a working version of the ROM included on that cart. If you did order from The Retro Room, then perhaps they failed to inform me that they switched to grey.

Whatever the case, I hope you enjoy the game! I'm actually in the process of producing physical versions of Batty 1 and 2 myself to sell on the official Batty Zabella website. Those should hopefully be available this month or next.

The first game's manual wasn't handled by me personally, so I never had access to the full resolution files to make a PDF manual like I did for the second game. However, I'm in the process of making an updated manual for a new batch of physical releases, so I may drop a digital version on here once that's finished.

Appreciate the feedback, and thanks for playing all the same!

Nice work so far. The Game Boy camera photos definitely work well for the project.

Thank you so much! I love that people are still discovering the series on here. Hopefully you enjoy the sequel just as much as the first game.

It was my pleasure! I'm happy I was given the opportunity, and it definitely drew in a lot of new fans. I hope to work with them again in the future.

Thanks a lot! Always makes me happy to see Batty's fanbase growing.

Thank you so much! I think it's awesome that people are still discovering the original game and having a great time with it. Nothing makes me happier as its creator.

The wall outside Bat-Son's room: bottom left, middle top, upper right.

This was a bug that never got resolved, so thank you very much for the info! I will look into it soon.

I tried to make sure the game was fully polished before release, but clearly didn't find every issue. I'll at least make sure this gets fully resolved for the cartridge release, but there will probably be an update to the web version before that, too.

It really means a lot to see fans of the series that are dedicated enough to make time for stuff like this, so thanks a lot! Also, I'm glad to hear people are still discovering and enjoying the original game.

Batty 2 ended up being a lot more work due to my process for the artwork, and as a result missed the mark for its originally intended Christmas release date. Rather than rush the game, I decided to polish it as much as possible so that the digital version could at least come out on New Year's Day. So, I am still planning a full physical release for the sequel and hope more people will discover it when marketing for that begins.

Now that's a comment!

Sorry that it took so long, and thanks for your patience and dedication!

There are still things happening behind the scenes for the series, like plans to finally get the physical version of Batty Zabella 2 released this year. It means a lot to still have fans supporting the series, even when there's not much news. Usually when there isn't news, it means something is being worked on, though.

No problem at all. Thanks for the interest!

Originally I was contacted by an individual named Paul Roberts that wanted to help me get the game localized. I was curious to see how the process would work, and ultimately through him I was introduced to a company called "Lokilize" based in Estonia. They were very professional, and I would work with them again (although their website/focus seems to have changed since I worked with them).

The reason I decided on a German version was because, at the time, that was the language I'd seen most requested. Currently I have no plans for future localizations of the original or second game unless there's a surge of interest in non-English versions, or unless I eventually make a connection that can help me promote the game to a non-English audience.

Thanks a lot!

A lot of people found the boss encounters a bit tricky in the original game. For the most part I'd recommend sticking to a spot where the healing sparkles are guaranteed to spawn and hitting the dark orbs whenever they show up nearby.

The second game doesn't have boss encounters, for the record.

I anticipated people completely forgetting the toilet phantom until the very end of the game, so I wouldn't expect that to affect anything at 11PM, but thanks for the info. When I get some time, I'll take another look.

I tried recreating the issue, but everything worked as expected:

• Waited for the girl to crash outside the house, brought her to Carol
• Made it to 10PM, got Bat-Son to help place Rudolph on altar
• Went to the kitchen and took the empty wine glass
• Headed to the basement, spoke to Carol, and was given blood for the ritual regardless of which item slot the glass was in
• Used blood on Rudolph at the altar
• Triggered 11PM and game continued as normal

I also tried completing the Don sidequest before speaking with Carol, and she still offered to fill the glass. Is there anything I did differently that you can think of?

If you check the map in the basement, you're able to speak with Carol about the sacrifice. Not that you need to check the map, but there is a spider icon showing that the player can speak with her. I guess you already figured that out, though!

Thanks for the feedback! Definitely makes me happy to see people being so enthusiastic about the series.

There are a couple of hidden things in BZ2. There's only one guaranteed phantom encounter on each playthrough - the toilet one. Two additional phantoms appear at 11PM. There are six in total, so you'd need to replay at least three times to see them all (they are randomized upon starting a new game, so simply reloading a 10PM save would not work). If you found the mailbox letter and called the "ICB Hint Hotline," the mascot will tell you something else that relates to the phantom encounters. This letter is different when playing with a completed playthrough, for the record. Batty also comments on most four letter curse word combinations when using the phone, and I put a self cameo in the game if the player dials my name.

Also, the character "Don" in the basement is actually based on a real person that plays in a band where I live. He also coincidentally worked at the arcade which was "featured" in BZ1. Just a little "behind the scenes" trivia. His band is called Squander, and they are awesome:

The Western Nightmare Continues... | Squander

-RAMBLING AHEAD-

I don't want to reveal too much about the future of the series, but originally I had considered XOXO XMAS as a simple "reskin" of the first game's art assets but with a new story. If you check the original game's page you can still see a Christmas post I made two years ago with a picture of Batty wearing an early version of her Christmas outfit. This was roughly when I had started the idea for a holiday spinoff, and during that time I was already planning a more "ambitious" sequel taking place in a totally different environment. Needless to say, the Christmas game evolved into a much more critical entry, but the ideas I had already written for Batty in a new environment are still being worked on for the third chapter. As of now, I only have three games planned.

Here are a couple of "prototype" screens I mocked up for that original version of XOXO XMAS, if you're interested. Clearly the final game became a wildly different beast:

I didn't expect many people to discover the second victim right away, but cool to know that you did! She even existed in the demo.

***SPOILER ALERT for anyone not wanting to know***

Both spots are in the house. B1 and 2F. If you want a more obvious hint, let me know!

It was so cool to see somebody cosplaying as Batty and enjoying the demo for the second game. Thanks a bunch, Peepo!

Yeah, the demo only covered the majority of 9PM, so there was quite a bit more added to the full game. I'm not a huge fan of the "early access" model, so when I release a demo, it really is just a sample of the final product that I don't intend to update beyond that.

As for the game being "darker," Batty would tell you that she had absolutely nothing to do with killing that guy!

I was working constantly to get it finished, but didn't quite hit the original Christmas release plan. Hopefully it'll be worth the wait for you!

Thanks so much for the support! I definitely tried to make something special with this one.

Thanks so much for the support!

Thanks so much for reviewing the game! I appreciated the section about my inspirations for the character of Batty. Nice job.

Haha, yes it was quite the honor!

There will be a restock! Not sure when exactly, but they are just waiting on more carts.

I wasn't aware they were totally sold out on the Retro Room website. I'll get in touch with them about it. Thanks!

Definitely nice to hear people are checking out the video, and thanks for the compliments on the final artwork! It really makes the effort worth it.

Thanks! Glad some folks are finding it interesting.

As long as you have no intention of selling your own carts of the German version, then you have my blessing. There could potentially be an "official" release one day, but as of now the German version didn't make enough money to warrant a full physical edition.

I'm continuing to promote the series as much as possible, especially with the sequel in development. A lot of people are still only now discovering the first game, so if demand increases for a physical German version I may consider it (after all, it's the version that actually has a full Super Game Boy border).

If you do make your own cartridge out of pure fan passion, I'd definitely be interested to see photos! Thanks for asking.

Glad to hear that. I'm hoping folks enjoy it just as much as the original, or even more!