This involves asking or being asked on dates by the love interest, doing an activity with them, and responding to their questions or comments. There is also often a pure dating aspect of gameplay in simulations. The potential partners usually require a certain parameter or parameters to be at a certain level for them to fall in love with you. The main character (the player) often has several parameters, such as looks, style, intelligence, talent, etc., that can be raised through various activities in normal gameplay. In simulation otome games, there is also other gameplay which affects the plot, either by playing minigames or by raising stats. In the visual novel examples of the genre, the player proceeds in the story by selecting dialogue or action choices which affect their relationships in a decision tree format. While the plots of otome games differ greatly, there is usually a single female main character, and several good-looking males of varying 'types'. The goal of these games is to have your desired partner fall in love with you (with a confession of love or proposal at the end) and have a relationship with them, but the requirements for gaining a 'good end' differ from game to game. Other common elements in otome games are the importance of voice acting, CG stills, and a small epilogue or set scene at the end of the game when a character is successfully finished. Dessert Love), were later toned down and re-released for the PS2.
Some games that were originally released on a PC platform with some sexuality (e.g. This is also due to the fact that many otome games are released for the PlayStation 2 platform, on which no pornographic content is allowed by Sony. Otome games are usually targeted towards the teenage market, and thus have little sexuality in them. There are also games targeted towards females that are focused on romance between males, called boys' love games ( ボーイズラブゲーム, bōizu rabu gēmu ?), and sometimes there are Boys' Love elements in otome games, but the two genres are usually kept separate.
The genre has many style elements in common with shōjo manga, and plotwise they are often similar to harem manga.
It will be released under the name Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom for the PSP handheld console.
Hakuouki: Shinsengumi Kitan was announced for a North American release on Februby Aksys. McKenzie & Co(1995) from American Laser Games and Girl's Club (1992) from Philips Interactive were simulation games for girls developed and released in the US in the past. The latter two also include options for lesbian romance. Ĭommercially available English-developed otome games in modern times include Date Warp, Fatal Hearts, and Heileen. Early games borrowed heavily from the iconography and story conventions of "retro shoujo manga", "the archetypical girly heroines, the emphasis on pure, sexless, tranquil romance and on a peaceful, stable setting", but as the category expanded, other narrative and gameplay elements were introduced, including action/adventure, combat and plots in which "the heroine can ‘save the world’ and ‘get the guy’ at the same time". In 2006, Famitsu's listings for the Top 20 selling love games included seven otome games. Angelique is credited with "set up the specifics and conventions of women’s games: a focus on romance, easy controls and utilizing other multimedia." In 2002, Konami released its very successful Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side, which brought many new fans to the still-new genre. The game was originally targeted to pre-teen and younger teenage girls, but became unexpectedly popular with older teenagers and women in their 20s. The first otome game is generally acknowledged to be Angelique, released in 1994 by Koei in Japan for the Super Famicom, and created by an all-female team.