So far, I've only talked about recent Japanese releases here at Dorei Cafe, because that's what I've been playing recently. However, I do realize a good chunk of the people reading don't read Japanese. I'm not that stupid.
Fortunately, there is a good number of translated games, of varying quality and genres, just waiting to be played. I plan on making proper reviews or just an article rambling about some of them in the future. But for now, as this blog is still in its early days, getting visitors in the double digits when I'm lucky, I think a good old list is in order. Is this me shamelessly doing a popular post format to help get my blog out there? Yes. But I also think lists of recommendations are genuinely helpful.
Now, while Dorei Cafe is about sexual slavery and things that lead to it as a whole, I have no qualms saying my main fetish is mind control. From that jumping-in point I opened my horizons to other ways of enslaving women such as sexual training and conditioning, mindbreak, and so on. So, it's only fair that's the first topic I'll do a dedicated recommendations post on.
I tend to split Mind Control in erotic media into two main categories. One is hypnotic induction, where the victim is put into a trance and given commands and triggers that take effect once they're awake, and the other is brainwashing, done through sci-fi tech or magic sources to directly tamper with the victim's brain and gradually rewrite their personality. Technically any long-term change caused by mind control methods is brainwashing, but for keeping things distinct I like using this little convention. At least to me, "hypnosis" evokes the image of a person in a trance, while "brainwashing" brings to mind the image of someone attached to a chair or with a weird helmet or visor on their head.
Of the 5 recommendations I bring, only 2 involve hypnotic induction, and neither is by the traditional method of using a focus object (like a swinging pendulum) to put a person under. That isn't as popular in Japan as it is in the West. In eroge, induction through sound is pretty popular, like subliminals hidden on white noise or music, specific sound frequencies that act as triggers, etc. This is largely due to the influence of early 2000s hypnosis eroge like the Saiminjutsu series. When there's visual induction, it's usually using a screen pattern (this is what most of the "hypnosis app" type stories do) to instantly shut down conscious brain functions and put the victim in a trance, which most western hypnotic induction fans really dislike. Lastly, there is inducing trance through smells, usually either chemical or magic in nature, that make the victim suggestionable. That also used to be really popular in the 2000s and it's still seen today from time to time. That is not to say there aren't eroge traditional, magician-style hypnosis out there. There are, they're just few and to my knowledge, none is translated. Saimin Yuugi is probably the best of the bunch, for those willing to venture into untranslated games.
I don't think brainwashing is necessarily more popular, it just so happens that some very popular artists and bigger studios have worked on brainwashing games while more traditional hypnosis is in nicher more specialized studios. Hypnosis tends to be its own thing and dominate the game while technology or magic-assisted brainwashing goes well with sexual training and body modification, casting a wider net, as we'll see. So, due to wider appeal, they get picked for translation more often.
Let's get to the recommendations. They're not in any order of quality, just in the order I felt like presenting them.
Kangoku Senkan (series) - Anime Lilith
I said there were 5 recommendations, not 5 games. Easily the most well-known of the list, most Mind Control enjoyers have heard about the series, if not because of the games themselves, thanks to the h-anime adaptation of the first game directed by one Murakami Teruaki.
The series takes place in a sci-fi setting with some pretty clear Gundam inspirations (to the point of the heroines of the first game being dead ringers for the two hot commanders from Gundam Seed, Murrue and Natarle), where mankind expanded to space and eventually war broke between an Earth-based faction and a Space Colony faction. The big difference is that the space faction, the New Solars, ended up on top and became the leading power, while Earth and its allied colonies, the Neo-Terrans (or Neo-Terrors, depending on the translation) have weakened influence.
In the first game, Kangoku Senkan ~Hidou no Sennou Kaizou Koukai~ (something like "Prison Battleship: Voyage of Inhuman Brainwashing and Remodelling), Neo-Terran officer Donny Bohgan is escorting two New Solar higher-ups Lieri Bishop and Naomi Evans in what is supposed to be a diplomatic mission to tighten relations between the two factions. In truth, he has been tasked with using the voyage to Earth to brainwash them into double agents and sex slaves with the cutting-edge brainwashing and body modification equipment hidden in the spaceship, while Lieri and Naomi themselves were tasked with uncovering the secrets of Bohgan's battleship, which New Solar intel points to likely have some kind of hidden facility or weapon.
The second game, Kangoku Senkan 2 ~Yousai Toshi no Sennou Kaizou~ (Prison Battleship 2: Brainwashing and Remodelling in the Fortress City) sees Bohgan, under the fake name Dino Dirasso, infiltrating the neutral space colony of Cordelia, a city estate orbiting Uranus, to brainwash the New Solar-leaning next in line for the seat of Archduchess, Maya Cordelia, as well as her legal guardian and army commander Alicia Viewstream into slaves who will hand over the colony to the Neo-Terrans-or maybe even, to himself.
Kangoku Senkan 3 ~Nessa no Sennou Kouro~ (Prison Battleship 3: Brainwashing Route of the Boiling Sand) sees Bohgan bare his fangs against Beatrice Kushan, a Neo-Terran admiral gone rogue, and her daughter Kila, who now lead the "Kushan Army" and rule over Mars as warlords.
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| The heroines of the trilogy |
The three games follow a similar formula: Bohgan abducts the girls and takes them to machines that modify their bodies and brains. The body modification is pretty mild and mostly focused on increasing sensitivity and libido and turning body parts like the mouth into erogenous zones. Meanwhile, the brain is programmed with new (sexual) knowledge and a new personality is nurtured with each session. During the day, the victims are their normal selves, though they may notice something unusual with their bodies, they will have no memory of the kidnapping. When a specific trigger goes off (usually, at nightfall), several common-sense alterations activate, such as believing servicing the male crewmembers is the duty of ambassadors, or that the process of validating the post of granduchess involves sex. This altered state of mind is used for intense sexual training and further brainwashing. As time goes on the sexual activities become more extreme, the excuses more flimsy and due to the extensive modifications the heroines get really suspicious during the day, and it's up to the player to make the right choices to avoid getting caught until the process is completed and the slave personality is ready to overwrite the original, and also to reach the ending they want out of the three or four each game presents.
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| A mix of brainwashing and body modification is the cornerstone of the Kangoku Senkan series. |
All in all pretty solid games that are classics of the genre for a reason. Today they may not be anything groundbreaking but that's because, alongside Alicesoft's Haruka/Escalayer and some other games, they popularized the genre conventions for this kind of brainwashing. But execution is where it shines and they are still some of the best this particular kind of mind control has to offer.
Besides the three main titles, there's also Kangoku Academia, a spin-off with art by Sian (instead of series alumni Kagami Hirotaka) and writing handled by a newer team at Lilith-soft. Many fans refuse to give it a chance due to the different art styles and not having the same protagonist, but I'll vouch for it. It takes place a few years after the main series, with a new protagonist, Albert Payne, who holds a grudge towards two New Solar officers, Julia Bloodstone and Eliza Perlman, and uses their short tenure as lecturers at a New Solar Military Academy on Planet Hermes as an opportunity to brainwash them into debauched whores and slaves as his and his comrades' vengeance. Despite the different team handling it, this game is true to the spirit of the series, bringing in the same focus brainwashing and body modification to assist hardcore sexual training, and is pretty closely tied with the lore the first 3 titles built upm feeling like a very natural continuation while leaving the doors open for an eventual Kangoku Senkan 4 (if Lilith ever gets out of Gacha Hell, that is). Plus, the quality of the CGI is just great, having some pretty creative scenes along with some recreations of scenarios from the earlier games. Julia and Eliza leave nothing to be desired when compared to the girls of the previous games. This is definitely a title that deserves to stand alongside the main series.
A fair warning is that, for those who want exclusivity, in Kangoku Senkan it's pretty common for the protagonist to let his subordinates use his girls. Some games allow the player to pick a favorite for himself and let the boys have fun with the other in different routes, while some will have the protagonist's use of gangrapes and other extreme activities making the "sharing" unavoidable. The protagonists of these games hate the heroines and want to see them destroyed. I'm of the opinion that, since the protagonist is in control of such activities, it's fine. A pimp is not a cuck and all. But I'm not here to have this discussion, feel free to disagree with me on that.
Since I'm giving out warnings, the games can also have some hardcore content from time to time. Some ryona with the girls getting punched in the belly (often leading to the excretion of an enema), bukkakes, and very rarely (I think only two instances in all 4 games), even scat.
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| Some of the punishments Bohgan and co. inflict on the girls can be pretty cruel. And yes, that is a cyborg horse on the bottom left. |
All four games have complete fan translations, all of them pretty good, but some terminology may vary between them as they were all done by different groups.
Shikijou Kyoudan - Orcsoft
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| If she asked you to lead her sex cult, would you? |
The mind control element enters the story almost immediately once you actually start playing. The Hishin no Kai, the religious organization the protagonist finds himself becoming the leader of, uses incense with strong hypnotic effects during ceremonies to induce a state of religious fervor. Moreover, when (rich) members of the faith ask for personal counseling audiences with the Founder, he may use it to take advantage of them (especially because our protagonist doesn't know jack shit about giving life advice!).
The protagonist isn't completely stupid of course, and he is very wary of Itsuki (the woman who invited him) and her true intentions since she's clearly the one truly in charge of the Hishin no Kai. Among the questions floating around the protagonist's mind are: what were the circumstances of the previous Founder's passing? How can he secure more of the hypnotic drug without Itsuki knowing? who is the angry woman who keeps snooping around the temple's premises? But while the answers don't come, he can have fun with some followers who caught his eye.
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| An unfulfilled housewife, a charismatic young gyaru, a popular idol, and the boss woman herself. |
Shikijou Kyoudan (which translates literally as "Cult of Lust", but was localized as My Life as a Cult Leader) is rather light on plot, but the few twists and turns it has in reserve are interesting and I want to avoid spoiling them. There are multiple endings. One thing I should note is that, while the mind control element is everpresent, unlike every other game in this list there is no common sense alteration or direct puppeteering of the victims. Instead, the mind control drug puts the people who inhale it into a state of relaxation and openness that makes them highly suggestible, and that's more often than not used as a facilitator for sex and also to reinforce certain ideas the protagonist wants the girls to nurture going forward (like for example, for the housewife to continue having more and more worries about her marriage). It's a more chill kind of hypnosis and more fitting to the "drug-induced religious experience" the game's cult setting asks for.
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| Some girls may need some convincing, but the cult can be very persuasive. |
While it's not a light-hearted game, and there are some harder scenes here and there, its atmosphere is much more sensual and steamy than something more hardcore like KS, which is why I chose to talk about them back to back.
Shikijou Kyoudan has an official translation by Kagura Games, and while I didn't play the entire thing in English, it seemed pretty well done.
Shinsou Seiki Elementia - Pin-Point
Shinsou Seiki Elementia ~Kutsujoku no Sennou Saimin~ (Something like Divine Armored Princess Elementia ~Hypnotic Brainwashing of Humiliation~) is the simplest and most straightforward title on this list. It's exactly what it says on the tin, it's a kinetic novel with only one ending, and it is the only game in this list to have a machine-assisted translation instead of one 100% done by a person. Why is it in the list then? To put it simply, because I really like this game.
This is a Tokusatsu-themed game, with Element Venus, the main character, drawing inspiration from transforming heroes like Kamen Rider and Super Sentai. It's fine to think of her as a Magical Girl as well, especially taking into account more technological takes on the genre like Symphogear, as well as her relationship with the only other hero in the setting being reminiscent of magical girls with (often useless) male warriors as love interests.
When evil space invaders that exploit underdeveloped planets for their resources and sell their populations as slaves reached Earth, Element, a power that can be said to be the spirit of the planet itself, chose the young Kisaragi Nozomi to become Element Venus and fight the invading force, led by a man named Genom. Venus single-handedly holds back the invasion, and later even gets a sidekick, Element Knight, who is Nozomi's boyfriend Sakamoto Tohru.
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| Fighting evil by moonlight ♪ Winning love by daylight ♫ ...I'm sorry. |
Hard-pressed to get results, and also itching to get his hands into this mysterious Element power source, Genom concocts a plan to capture and brainwash Venus into his evil female executive and sex slave. Taking advantage of her weak point (Knight), he manages to capture her and the usual song and dance of the steadfast heroine of justice who declares she'll never succumb to evil and the villain who will toy with her mind until she becomes his plaything begins.
The method of brainwashing used in Elementia is very reminiscent of Kangoku Senkan (as well as heroine corruption games by the forefathers of the modern incarnation of the genre Maika and Alicesoft), with a helmet reprogramming the brain and several needles and tendrils modifying the pain receptors of the body to turn them into erogenous zones. Between sessions, Nozomi has her common sense toyed with, doing extremely perverted actions with Genom's mooks while believing to be delivering justice, or sucking delinquents cocks as part of her duties as Student Council President.
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| Elementia wears its genre influences on its sleeve. |
Meanwhile, Knight is desperately searching for her, but Genom is keeping tabs on him and makes sure he's always too late to meet Nozomi, who is returned to the safety of Genom's lair after he's done playing for the day, feeling completely humiliated by what she was unknowingly made to do. It's a race against time as Knight tries to locate her before Genom's programming completely erodes Nozomi's resistance and turns the pure paragon of justice into a perverted slave of evil.
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| The Holy Princess of Justice, everyone. |
The sexual content is rather tame in comparison, mostly keeping to exhibitionism and a gangbang or two as far as sex scenes themselves are concerned. There's a strong Netori undercurrent throughout the game, as you play from Genom's perspective and one of the main obstacles keeping Nozomi's hope from crumbling is her love for Tohru. It goes as you'd expect. The brainwashing process leads to not only Nozomi's sluttification but also her corruption to evil, with a new twisted version of her heroine costume to match.
For those wondering why I said more spoiler-y stuff about this game than the others, well it's because it uses the standard plot for heroine corruption stories. You know what is going to happen, the interesting is the moment-to-moment of how Genom toys with Nozomi's mind for that training session, the gap between pre and post-corruption Nozomi, and the excellent art by Satou Kuuki.
As for the translation, as I mentioned it's partially machine-translated, with a translator working on some of the script and just "brushing up" other parts. While far from ideal, it's also readable and nowhere near the level of mistakes that come to mind when people think of Machine translations. The game's plot is simple enough that the poor translation doesn't hinder your understanding and Nozomi's voice actress does the job of carrying the emotion the often dry translation doesn't.
Saimin Gakushuu: Secret Desire - Dark One
Saimin Gakushuu (which translates to "Hypnosis Study", not to be confused with Saimin Gyakushuu which is another game entirely) was the first game by Dark One, bringing together Saiminjutsu series writer NATORI Ika and artist Aiue Oka, of Ijirare: Fukushuu Saimin (Bullied: Revenge Hypnosis) and Saimin Seishidou (Hypnotic Sexual Counseling) fame. So there were a lot of expectations around this game. It's hard to live up to this kind of hype especially when the game gets developed during the height of the covid-19 pandemic.
Well, here's the thing: this game is good, just not outstanding. The artwork is the strong suit, Aiue Oka is a great artist. All the girls are sexy, there's a good variety of scenes and sex positions, some with pretty creative framing that probably come from Oka's experience with manga, and there's a decent amount of endings. On the downside, the game could certainly be longer, and while NATORI and Oka are both huge names in Mind Control hentai, I think they're not a particularly good match (as in, Oka's sex is too vanilla in nature for NATORI's ideas).
What makes this game special, particularly in the context of translated mind control games and this recommendation list, is that it has the best example of traditional hypnotic induction. Which was to be expected given the writer. I feel this is the one the people who are into hypnosis itself and not just the power trip of mind-controlled slaves will enjoy the most (hell, most of the routes result in a loving, if twisted relationship rather than a master-slave one). Though fair warning, the game's short-ish length does make some things progress a bit too fast for the kind of hypnosis it's using. That may be an issue or a boon depending on taste.
The protagonist in this game is enrolled in a school that is far above his capacity - or rather, his willingness to study, and as a result he keeps bringing the class averages down. From his classmate Natsuki to his homeroom teacher Ayako to the student council president Tsukino and her mother and headmistress Suzuka, everyone treats the protagonist as a liability and an annoyance.
Desperate people don't make the smartest choices, so, the protagonist goes online and purchases a sketchy gadget that claims to teach during your sleep through hypnotic subliminals. Just pop in the memory card with the recordings of the subject you want to learn, turn the device on, relax and it will put you into a trance and transmit the knowledge straight to your brain. With zero expectation this will actually work the protagonist tests it out... And it works. And soon one thing leads to the next and the protagonist starts to think of the possibilities a hypnotic device like that can open up to him beyond not fumbling his exams. He sets up a few experiments in the nurses's office at school and wouldn't you know it, while he's pretending to be asleep with the device ready to go under one of the other beds, who walks in if not the beautiful student council president. Once she's relaxed, the frequency puts her into a trance, and the protagonist starts experimenting with giving her commands...
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| Why study when you can bang the school's authority figures instead? |
The translation is by Kagura Games and it is pretty good.
Cara the Blood Lord - Anime Lilith
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| Love me some evil women, especially when they're under my command |
There's also the fact that this is an often overlooked game. Lilith has Taimanin as its most well-known series, and it overshadows everything else they did. Some niche fanbases will know some of the other games, like mind control fans with Kangoku Senkan, but Cara is one of those games that falls through the cracks. It shares the mind control elements with Kangoku Senkan and the more general atmosphere (mixing magic, demons and slightly futuristic technology) and violence with Taimanin, and ends up overshadowed and outclassed by both. But this doesn't mean this is a bad game, not by a long shot. This is golden age Lilith soft and peak Kagami material. There is much to be enjoyed and the mere fact people just pass this game by because it's not from one of the Big Two Series is enough for me to put this recommendation here. I slept on this game for years before giving it a chance and the more people I can help not make this mistake, the better.
In the world of Cara the Blood Lord, there was a longstanding and open conflict between humans and vampires for centuries, but now the world has entered a new era of peace between the two kinds thanks to the previous King of Vampires and his daughter and current Queen, Cara. There are still groups of Vampire supremacists who look down on their fellows who stopped drinking human blood and want an end to the peace treaty. Among these was Gram, Cara's uncle and leader of an underground human trafficking ring. His business was brought to light and he was killed by Cara and her bodyguard Marika. Except, of course, not. He's our protagonist after all. Using the forbidden art of manipulating bugs (think the crest worms of Fate/Stay Night) he managed to survive and build himself a new body, and now plans revenge.
Cara is staying for a while at the Hayato School of Magic, Japan's foremost school of magic and exorcism, led by Cara's long-time friend Kitae, the strongest human mage. The school is protected by a barrier that keeps out any non-invited vampires, so the students can learn without worry of attacks from the supremacist faction. Cara will be staying there for security reasons before she goes to an important political summit between humans and vampires. Gram, of course, found a way to infiltrate the barrier and now wants to turn Cara into his slave before the summit so he can not only have his vengeance but also deal a blow to the peace between kinds.
To this end, like I said before, he uses a special bug that spreads through the victim's body, taking over and overwriting their nervous system into one that stimulates sensitivity and makes pain pleasurable. It feeds off sexual energy (or actual semen, it's been a minute since I played), growing until it reaches the brain and permanently bonds the victim to Gram's will. Kitae is the first to fall victim to this, becoming Gram's loyal slave who gleefully helps him plot the demise of her former friends.
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| Cara's closest human friend only thinks of her Master now. |
From there on the game splits into two routes depending on which targets the player chooses to be brainwashed next, as besides Marika, Cara is also guarded by Azuma, a vampire hunter and teacher at the school. This is something I really like in mind control stories and no other game in this list offers: the heroines you already have under your control actively help you get the next ones. Kangoku Senkan has that across multiple entries, but I mean in the same game. Cara does this really well, to the point I'd say this is the thing that makes the game for me, along with the art. Seeing the girls fight the pleasure only to become evil at the end and then help trick and capture their allies is great. If Saimin Gakushuu is for fans of plausible hypnotic induction this is for fans of being evil.
The fan translation of this game was made by RunQ and it's really good.
And that concludes my recommendations. I'm sure there are plenty of translated Mind Control Eroge that I left out due to ignorance or bad memory. Feel free to leave your own suggestions in the comments.
At some point, I plan on making recommendation posts about translated games of other genres but for now, I already have other things lined up to post, including a review and the start of another longform post series. So stay... Tuned? God no, I feel old saying that. Check the blog once in a while will ya?!
