Wonder Project J2: Koruro no Mori no Josette

Overview

Wonder Project J2: Koruro no Mori no Josette (in English, "Wonder Project J2: Josette of Corlo Forest") is a raising simulation developed by Givro and published by Enix in 1996 for the Nintendo 64. Wonder Project J2 was the final entry in the Wonder Project J franchise and was one of the few games developed by the short lived company Givro Corporation before it closed in 1997. WPJ2 was later ported to Japanese cell phones by Square Enix Mobile on April 12, 2010.

Neither version of Wonder Project J2 were released outside of Japan but a hacker/translator named Ryu released an English patch for the N64 version on December 15, 2007.

Story

Wonder Project J2 takes place 15 years after the events of the first Wonder Project J game and focuses on a gijin (robot) girl named Josette. The game begins with Josette leaving her home on Corlo Island and traveling to Blueland, where she must learn to behave like a human and ultimately stop an empire from destroying the world.

Gameplay

The player interacts with Josette through Bird, her robotic bird companion. The player has no direct control over Josette, but her actions can be influenced through Bird. Josette will ask questions that the player must answer to influence her decisions. By controlling Bird, the player is free to tell Josette to do specific things. However, Josette ultimately has a mind of her own and will do things around the room if left alone. Josette can also refuse to do things that the player asks if she's not in a good mood or too tired.

It is ultimately the player's responsibility to use Bird to teach Josette the things she needs to know so that she'll eventually be able to live on her own among humans. The player can answer "Yes" or "No" to her questions and approve or disapprove of her actions. All these decisions shape what Josette knows and understands about herself, the world, and its people. Alternatively, the player can also choose to ignore her inquiries, but advancement is not guaranteed. There are no true right or wrong answers to most of her questions and actions, as they'll get her to experience different kinds of emotions such as happiness, anger, sadness, depression, annoyance, and embarrassment. Advancement through the game is dependent on how well the player's teachings and Josette's learning mesh with other activities on Corlo Island. Only by raising her properly will Josette be able to achieve the game's final goal.

Trivia

• Wonder Project J2 was the last soundtrack that composer Akihiko Mori worked on before his death in 1997. Mori had worked on several video game soundtracks in the past including the original Wonder Project J and Mystic Ark.
• Wonder Project J2 is often praised for its Ghibli-esque art style, so it should come as no surprise that WPJ2's character designer was famed Ghibli animator Akihiko Yamashita. Yamashita is well know in the anime industry for doing key animation on films such as Spirited Away as well as design work in shows like Giant Robo.
• Nintendo Power wrote a two page article about WPJ2 in the magazine's 96th issue. The article was instrumental in introducing the Wonder Project J franchise to American fans and may be the reason that the original WPJ was fan translated fairly early in the history of rom hacking.