Genshin Impact might have topped the most tweeted game ranking of 2021, but it's closely followed by another game quite unknown in the West, Ensemble Stars, here's what you need to know about this idol franchise.
You saw the news by now, Twitter officially shared its stats for 2021, revealing the top 10 most tweeted about games and gaming franchises of the year:
- Genshin Impact
- Apex Legends
- Ensemble Stars
- Final Fantasy
- FGO
- Animal Crossing
- Knives Out
- Minecraft
- Project Sekai
- Fortnite
You're probably already familiar with FGO and Project Sekai if you've been following us for a while. However, we didn't cover Ensemble Stars that much in the past, though that's about to change soon.
- MORE - Pick your Twisted Wonderland dorm!
Ensemble Stars mobile game explained
Ensemble Stars is initially a mobile game by Happy Elements, a Chinese company, featuring male idols. The game features several groups dancing & singing and going through the usual activities associated with idols.
Ensemble Stars is set in an idol training school, and it's up to the player, the sole female student, and producer, to manage the idols. Ensemble Stars is basically a raising simulator. There are events you'll trigger and you need to manage the stats and skills of each character, decide which idol will be in your unit, etc. Idols are represented through cards, and there's a gacha system to get them.
What are Ensemble Stars Music and Basic?
Ensemble Stars was first released on Android on April 28, 2015. And on March 15, 2020, two new sequels were released: Ensemble Stars Music and Ensemble Stars Basic. Both take place one year after the original game.
Long story short, Ensemble Stars Music is a mobile rhythm game with 3D concert scenes, while Ensemble Stars Basic keeps the same raising simulator elements as the original.
One of the main appeals of Ensemble Stars is how the idols' voice cast is incredibly varied. You can find huge names in the industry like Hikaru Midorikawa (Heero in Gundam Wing, Gridman) and many younger and newer voice actors in the same groups.
Is Ensemble Stars getting released in English?
On December 24, 2021, an official Twitter account for Ensemble Stars Music was opened alongside pre-registrations, revealing that an English and western release is in the works. There is no release date estimate yet, however. In the meantime, there's also an Ensemble Stars anime adaptation you could check out to get into the franchise.
Similar to Twisted Wonderland, it's very likely the English release of Ensemble Stars will make it one of the biggest mobile games in the west after its massive success in Japan.
Top 10 most tweeted games about in 2021 - Analysis
Twitter is the most used social media in Japan. And most Japanese players are into the same mainstream games as everyone else. Hence why Fortnite, Apex, and the like are so high up. However, Japanese fans of franchises such as FGO and Ensemble Stars, or Ensta like it's nicknamed, are very vocal on Twitter.
Last but not least, it's interesting to note that Uma Musume isn't included in this top 10. Even though it's by far one of the most popular and lucrative games of 2021, as I explained after placing it 2nd in my top 10 2021 list.
The main reason for that is that Uma Musume discussion is focused on the characters. And they are based on and share their names with real, existing horses. So most of the tweets about Uma Musume are categorized outside of gaming. Most fans rarely ever mention "Uma Musume" or the nickname "Umamusu" in their tweets as well, only citing the horses' names.
There are several Uma Musume fans who got into horse racing with the game. They regularly share news related to real horse racing, and they're all watching and commenting on the races on Sundays. These tweets aren't counted for Uma Musume nor gaming even though they're massive.
Even today, January 11, 2022, "apology 1500 gems" and "emergency maintenance" are trending on Japanese Twitter. Because all Uma Musume players got 1500 gems to make up for emergency maintenance. But only one of these two is being recognized as Uma Musume by Twitter stats.
What do you all think of these Twitter results? Which one's your favorite among these Top 10 most tweeted about games of 2021? Tell us in the comments!