As we discussed before, VTubers have become a massive presence online with plenty of fans, some of which are in the gaming industry, as seen with Nyatasha Nyanners’s cameo in Like a Dragon: Ishin!. One such fan, Kay Yu, with a talent for developing games, created HoloCure: Save the Fans!, a clone of Vampire Survivors (a game that The Captain happens to like), and Magic Survival. HoloCure: Save the Fans! has VTubers rather than vampires, and it has taken the VTuber community by storm since its launch on June 24th, 2022.
HoloCure: Save the Fans! Brings VTubers to Battle
Kay Yu’s fan game HoloCure: Save the Fans! had proved immensely popular right away, but after the VTubers began streaming it, the game took off. In a Twitter post, Kay Yu was excited about the popularity and announced they had to restructure the leaderboards because too many people were playing for their database to handle them. Fans have even set up a Wiki page to provide more information on the game, while Kay Yu seems to run the official Twitter account.
Despite this being a fan game where the developer, artist, and musician are making no money, it is still in active development, as confirmed by Kay Yu on Twitter. Save the Fans! was developed following Hololive’s Hololive Derivative Works standards, so it is not monetizable. Although, given its sheer popularity, it’s a wonder that Cover Corp., the company that manages Hololive, doesn’t step in and make it an official game with Kay Yu and his team at the helm.
The team’s love and appreciation of all things VTuber is evident in every sprite in the game. Callie found gameplay details referencing Hololive, shown below, but we should also highlight the character art by Potato.
VTubers Take to the Battlefield
HoloCure: Save the Fans! is a chaotic game that the VTubers embraced wholeheartedly. Mori Calliope enjoyed her first run, pointing out the numerous VTuber references. Players can choose their favorite VTubers to take to the battlefield, face off against fandom-based enemies, and equip items referencing VTubers to aid them in battle. The HoloMyth members are available from the start, but players can unlock VTubers from other generations via the gacha system, which uses in-game currency.
Oozora Subaru also had some fun and became quite animated when a “beeg Smol Ame” came stomping her way. Yobio animated the event.
Nanashi Mumei Takes the Crown
Kay Yu has been keeping track of the fastest times in HoloCure, and recently posted the result Hakos Baelz reached during her Time Mode run. Back then, her 8:31 clear was impressive.
https://twitter.com/HoloCureGame/status/1624977527956733952?s=20
However, Nanashi Mumei didn’t let up and posted a much faster run that seemed to drain the life from Kay Yu. Mumei’s fans seemed to think she was growing too powerful, as there was speculation that a recent update nerfed some items.
https://twitter.com/nanashimumei_en/status/1626427396751773696?s=20
Mumei’s most recent run highlights the skills she gained while repeatedly running the game.
When Creators Play Their Games
It was likely an exciting moment when Kay Yu saw the VTubers he idolized play the game he helped create. As was recently discussed, the legendary mangaka Hiro Mashima made his own fan game based on his series EDENS ZERO. He made it in RPG Maker and titled it Rebecca to Kikai no Youkan.
Like HoloCure, it’s completely free to play, and Mashima seemed excited to work on it when he posted his progress updates.
お待たせしました！僕が作ったフリーゲーム、明日の昼頃リリース予定です！原作知らなくても楽しめるように作ったのでぜひ遊んでください。 pic.twitter.com/KoZB1CAbpc
— 真島ヒロ (@hiro_mashima) March 15, 2022
スペースで話題に出た趣味で作ってるフリーゲームです。まだ制作中ですが来年の早い時期には完成しそうです。 pic.twitter.com/0KTPlYP8QN
— 真島ヒロ (@hiro_mashima) December 17, 2021
It is endlessly fascinating to watch a creator, or the subject of a game, play the game itself.
Have you been playing HoloCure: Save the Fans!? Do you think you can beat Mumei’s record? Do you hope Kay Yu adds more VTubers to the character roster? If so, which VTuber? Let us know in the comments below.
