Early times of Jacob Honda
Once upon a time, in a land far, far away (actually, just Japan), there was a chap named Makoto Nishizaki. He was an engineer at a company that shall remain nameless (but let’s just say they weren’t making bananas). Makoto lived the glamorous life of a corporate slave, chained to his desk like a galley rower, with the luxurious perk of sleeping on cardboard boxes in the office. Fancy!
One fateful day, after his boss had once again agreed to some cockamamie last-minute specifications (as bosses do), Makoto decided he’d had enough. Channeling his inner Sammy Lee (known in Japan as the OG Tiger Mask), he performed a spectacular aerial maneuver on said boss and gracefully exited stage left. Thus began Makoto’s journey as a game developer extraordinaire.
Realizing that game development needed a touch of the bizarre, Makoto set out on a talent hunt. He stumbled upon Mellisa Kato, a poetic soul selling her magnum opus under the Shinjuku overpass, guitar in hand. Next, he rescued Iain Thomas, who was doing his best impression of a lost puppy around LAOX in Akihabara. And just like that, the dream team of Jacob Honda was born. When exactly? Oh, sometime around 2014… give or take a century.
Since the formation of Jacob Honda
After a series of wacky adventures, the team set up shop in Yamaguchi City, a town so off the beaten path it makes Atlantis look mainstream. In December 2017, they birthed their first digital baby: ‘A Blue Perfume Bottle’ (or ‘Garasu Bin Ni Utau Yousei’ for the Japanese market). It graced Google Play and Play Store with its presence (though it’s currently playing hide and seek). The game made a splash in the media, bringing in some sweet, sweet ad revenue. Funnily enough, walkthrough sites and YouTube gamers made more money from it than the team did. But hey, who’s counting? (They were, actually.)
Featured in Famitsu App (ooh la la!)
Walkthrough on iPhoroid (for those who couldn’t figure out how to open a bottle)
February 2019 saw the release of ‘the Anthurium’ (aka ‘Torawarebito No Hensou-kyoku’ in Japanese), another escape game that has since escaped from the app stores.
4Gamer.net wrote about it (probably)
Gamebiz mentioned it (we think)
Current Jacob Honda: The Game Development Collective That’s Still Trying to Debug Life!
Then 2020 hit, and COVID-19 decided to play the ultimate escape game with everyone’s plans. The team had to cancel all their upcoming titles faster than you can say ‘pandemic’. Times were tough, but like a phoenix rising from the ashes (or more accurately, like a gamer respawning), they’re back in action as of 2024.
Now, they’re cooking up ‘Class 3, Third Grade’ (or ‘Nagoyaka 3-kumi’ for the Japanese market) for Steam. If the gaming gods are smiling, it should hit your screens between late 2024 and early 2025. They’re also on the lookout for any kind souls willing to help with other platforms or promotion. So, if you’re feeling generous and want to support a bunch of lovable misfits, give them a shout! Who knows, you might end up in their next game… probably as an NPC, but still!