|
A ren'ai game (恋愛ゲーム)
is a Japanese adventure video game focusing on
romantic interactions with anime girls. It is a subgenre of
bishōjo games. "Ren'ai" is a Japanese word meaning "romance".
Some but not all ren'ai games contain erotic content. Bishōjo games
containing hardcore pornography are generally called H games rather
than ren'ai games. The terms dating sim and visual novel
are often used as synonyms for "ren'ai game" in English, but strictly
speaking they are narrower subgenres. The terms love sim or
love adventure game are more accurate translations of "ren'ai
game" for casual use in English. See bishōjo game for a detailed discussion
of terminology.
Characteristics
Dōkyūsei established the basic conventions for ren'ai games in 1992. In a typical ren'ai game, the player controls a male avatar surrounded by female characters. The gameplay involves conversing with a selection of artificial intelligence-controlled girls, attempting to increase their internal "love meter" through correct choices of dialogue. The game lasts for a fixed period of game time, such as one month or three years. When the game ends, the player either loses the game if he failed to properly win over any of the girls, or "finishes" one of the girls, either by having sex with her or achieving eternal love. This gives the games more replay value than some other game genres, since the player can focus on a different girl each time, trying to get a different ending.
There are many variations on this theme: high-school romances are the most common, but a ren'ai game may also take place in a fantasy setting and involve such challenges as defending your girl from monsters. Ren'ai games, as their name suggests, generally strive for a romantic atmosphere.
Famous ren'ai games
The following are a few especially popular or influential ren'ai games.
There are thousands of ren'ai games in existence, but the games on this list were successful enough for an anime series to be based on them.
See also
| 
