is a bishōjo

Bishojo game

A , or , is "a type of Japanese video game centered on interactions with attractive anime-style girls". These games are a sub-genre of dating sims targeted towards a male audience....

 eroge

Eroge

An or Ero-ga is a Japanese video or computer game that features erotic content, usually in the form of anime-style artwork. Eroge originated from galge, but unlike galge, they feature erotic/pornographic content.-History:...

 for MS-DOS

MS-DOS

MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...

. It was translated to English in 1996 by JAST USA

JAST USA

JAST USA is a licensor and distributor of English-language bishōjo games, some of which are as dating sims or eroge. It was founded in 1997 with Sakura Soft's Season of the Sakura and JAST's Three Sisters' Story as its first eroge titles...

, and re-released for modern Windows systems in 2002 as part of the "JAST USA Memorial Pack". It is widely regarded as one of their best early games, and still often called one of the best dating sim

Dating sim

Dating sims are a video game subgenre of simulation games, usually Japanese, with romantic elements. They are also sometimes put under the category of neoromance. The most common objective of dating sims is to date, usually choosing from among several characters, and to achieve a romantic...

s available in English, despite its relative age and the fact that its graphics and interface have been far surpassed by more recent English releases. This popularity can be attributed to the game's strong characters, evocative setting, and high replay value

Replay value

Replay value or replayability is a term found in combination with video games, but it may be also used to describe other kinds of games, movies, music, or theater plays. In video games, the term replay value is used to describe the entertainment value of playing a game more than once...

: each of the girls has her own personality and story, and in some cases it is difficult to make the correct choices to get together with a particular girl.

It is also notable for its thinly veiled references to several popular anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 series, including Neon Genesis Evangelion, Magic Knight Rayearth

Magic Knight Rayearth

is a Japanese manga series created by Clamp, a manga artist team made up by Satsuki Igarashi, Ageha Ohkawa, Tsubaki Nekoi and Mokona. Rayearth combines elements from the magical girl and mecha anime genres with parallel world fantasy....

and Saint Tail

Saint Tail

, is a magical girl manga and anime series. Originally a twenty-four part manga by Megumi Tachikawa, the story was brought to television anime by producer Tokyo Movie Shinsha, with forty-three episodes and one short, broadcast by ABC...

: each of the female characters bears a striking resemblance in appearance and (in most cases) personality to a girl from one of these anime.

The characters' ages were altered as part of the process of translation from Japanese to English. The main male character and most of the girls were originally sixteen and in the first year of high school, with only the two characters in third year being age 18. However, in order to avoid controversy over the sex scenes involving these girls who were younger than the American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 age of consent

Age of consent

While the phrase age of consent typically does not appear in legal statutes, when used in relation to sexual activity, the age of consent is the minimum age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to sexual acts. The European Union calls it the legal age for sexual...

, JAST changed the ages to 18 for first years and 20 for the third years, claiming that Kotobuki Preparatory School was a special institution for students who'd finished school.

Story and Gameplay

The player controls Shuji Yamagami, a Japanese high school

High school

High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

 student, over the course of a Japanese school year from April to March. Shuji meets eight girls over the course of the year, any of whom can end up as his girlfriend

Girlfriend

Girlfriend is a term that can refer to either a female partner in a non-marital romantic relationship or a female non-romantic friend that is closer than other friends....

 - if the player makes the right decisions. The setting and scenes are romantic: the game skips over the drudgery of school life and focuses on holidays and time spent with his friends, as he gradually falls in love with one of the girls.

The game is played by reading through text and selecting actions for Shuji to perform from a menu. The menu is two-level, so a typical set of options to choose from might consist of LOOK -> (at the) ROOM, LOOK -> (at) REIKO, THINK -> (about) REIKO, TALK -> (to) MAKOTO, TALK -> (to) REIKO.

Characters

Character	Synopsis
Shuji Yamagami	The main character whose actions the player controls. While he apparently succeeds at virtually everything he tries, he is clueless about girls. He is also completely unable to swim and is terrified of the ocean.
Reiko Sawamura	Two years older than the main character. A kind-hearted girl and strong swimmer. Looks like Umi Ryuzaki from Magic Knight Rayearth.
Kiyomi Shinfuji	A classmate of Shuji's. Academically gifted and a little shy. Looks like Fuu Hououji from Magic Knight Rayearth.
Mio Suzuki	A bright and active girl in Shuji's year who loves tennis. Looks like Hikaru Shidou from Magic Knight Rayearth.
Ruri Shiromizu	A very introverted and quiet girl who transfers into Shuji's class. She initially refuses to smile or even talk to anyone. Looks like Rei Ayanami from Neon Genesis Evangelion.
Aki Hinagiku	A loud and aggressive girl in Mio's class, she is Mio's rival in tennis. Looks like Asuka Langley from Neon Genesis Evangelion.
Seia Yoshida	A gentle and kind girl in Shuji's class who is a strong Catholic. Looks like Seira Mimori from Saint Tail.
Meimi Nakano	A stubborn argumentative girl in Shuji's class. Cares little about school because she plans to join her mother's circus troupe. Looks like Meimi Haneoka from Saint Tail.
Shoko Nishino	A shallow girl in Reiko's class who likes football. Looks like Shoko Inaba from another dating sim titled Welcome to Pia Carrot Welcome to Pia Carrot is a Japanese visual novel series by Cocktail Soft . The series is an eroge and anime have been based on it.The games are all set around restaurants in the fictional "Pia Carrot" chain, and most of the female characters are waitresses at these restaurants. The individual restaurants in the chain... .
Kyoko Kobayashi	The homeroom teacher of Shuji's class. Easy-going and informal, she sometimes meets up with her students socially. Looks like Misato Katsuragi from Neon Genesis Evangelion.
Makoto Shimazaki	Shuji's best friend, a boy who loves playing at anything military. Looks like Kensuke Aida from Neon Genesis Evangelion.