Spice and Wolf: My Year With Holo (狼と香辛料 ボクとホロの一年, Ōkami to Kōshinryō: Boku to Horo no Ichinen) is a dating and business simulation game released in Japan on June 26, 2008, for Nintendo DS.
Production[]
Developed by ASCII Media Works in collaboration with the Spice & Wolf Production Committee, the game had several key players involved in the anime help in its production, including the artists responsible for the graphics and cutscene art of Holo. Ami Koshimizu also reprised her voice role as Holo and sang the game’s theme song, Next To You (隣にいるよ, Tonari Ni Iru Yo).
Story[]
A spin-off of the main story, the game takes place in an alternative world and follows the adventures of the player as an original character loosely based on the series’ protagonist Kraft Lawrence. A novice merchant seeking to expand his business, he signs a contract for ownership of a horse-drawn cart, which comes with some very unusual conditions. Accordingly, the player is tasked with the job of delivering Holo, a girl with the ears and tail of a wolf, to her hometown whose location she has forgotten.
Gameplay[]
Gameplay consists of travelling between towns and villages, buying and selling goods while collecting information about the identity of Holo’s hometown, known only as the “Forest of the Ancient Wolves” (古狼の森, Ko Oinu no Mori), a name that has since fallen out of use over the centuries.
Interspersed with travelling, the player can also collect rumors about money-making schemes and view randomly occurring conversation events with Holo that provide the chance to improve the player's relationship with her, a key mechanic in discovering one of three possible locations to clear the game.
Players who clear the game are given the opportunity to start a New Game Plus, carrying over their experience from the previous round. On unlocking all the endings, a special message recorded by Ami Koshimizu can be viewed.
Additional Content[]
Limited Edition Content
The game was released on the same day in limited and regular editions. Those who preordered the game, regardless of the version, received a life-sized poster of Holo as a bride drawn by Jyuu Ayakura, artist of the original light novels. The limited edition of the game also included a replica of Holo’s wheat pouch complete with sound effects and a CD featuring the main theme rearranged into slow and karaoke versions.
English Translation[]
An unofficial fan-translated English patch for the game was released in February 2021. It comes after several previous attempts to produce a translation for the game, and covers everything from the main storyline to the bonus content.