Yotsunoha
Encyclopedia
is a Japan
ese visual novel
developed by Haikuo Soft
, and was originally released as an erotic game
on January 27, 2006 for the PC
as a limited edition containing a set of three CD-ROM
s in Japan, followed by the regular edition, released on September 1, 2006 as a DVD
for the PC. A PlayStation 2
version titled Yotsunoha: A Journey of Sincerity, published by Gadget Soft with adult content removed, was also released on August 28, 2008. The story in Yotsunoha focuses on the appeal of the four female main characters. The gameplay
follows a linear plot line, which offers pre-determined scenarios and courses of interaction.
Yotsunoha has since then spawned two spin-off
titles, Osananajimi to no Kurashi Kata and Nono to Kuraso, and has made several transitions to other media. A manga
adaptation illustrated by Japanese
artist
Bow Ditama was first serialized in the Megami Magazine
on January 30, 2008. It was followed by an original video animation
series animated by Hal Film Maker
. This was released on two single-episode DVDs on February 29, 2008 and March 28, 2008. There were also two Drama CDs
, and two Internet radio
shows hosted by Yui Sakakibara
in order to promote the game.
Gameplay
in Yotsunoha requires relatively little player interaction as most of the duration of the game is spent on only reading the text that appear on the screen, representing the dialogue
between the numerous characters in the game. Similar to RPGs, the player is allowed to navigate through the school in a top-down perspective, and is allowed to enter different areas such as classrooms.
At times, the player will come to a point, where he or she is given the chance to choose to navigate through the school with different female characters. During so, gameplay pauses until the player makes a choice. Depending on the choices the player makes, different events might occur as the player enter different areas, effectively progressing the plot in a specific direction. There are four main plot lines that the player will have the chance to experience. To view all of the plot lines, the player will need to replay the game multiple times, picking different girls and access different areas to progress the plot in an alternate direction. One of the player's objective in the original version of the game is to view the hentai scenes
depicting the main character Makoto having sexual intercourse
with one of the heroines.
' s story takes place in an abandoned school named and its surrounding area. The school is a four-story building, housing facilities such as classrooms, the art room, the home economics room, and the light music club's room. There is also a small field outside of the school building, housing the small garden where the characters buried their time capsule prior to their separation.
Childhood friendship plays an important role in the story. Throughout the story, characters are constantly reminded of their childhood memories by different locations in the school. This is further expressed by the characters' emotions before and after their separation, and the time capsule they have buried.
the group of friends buried prior to their separation has been dug up. In its place is a note left by his former teacher Yamamoto, informing him that he has dug up their capsule and hidden it elsewhere in the school. After being reunited, Makoto and his group of friends decide to stay overnight, looking for clues left behind by their teacher, and find the time capsule.
developer Haikuo Soft
, following their previous work on Sukumizu Police. Tatomu and Keikei, two writers who have previously worked on Summer
, planned the scenario used in Yotsunoha, while work on the computer graphics, in addition to character designs, were split between four members, Hīde, Xsara, Koshino and Akira Kasukabe. The music used in the game was composed solely by Ryō Kyōna.
Several improvements have been made to the PS2 version of the game. Gadget Soft hired Suno, a scenario planner to provide additional scenario after the adult content in the game is removed. Hal Film Maker, the studio that has previously adapted Yotsunoha into OVA, was also hired for the computer graphics used in the game.
scenes and additional voice acting for side characters, which was later available to the limited edition through a patch. A PlayStation 2
version titled Yotsunoha: A Journey of Sincerity with adult content removed published by Gadget Soft was originally released on August 28, 2008 as both a limited edition and a regular edition, after it was delayed from its original July 24, 2008 release date.
71, and was later released in stores on January 26, 2007 as a set of two CDs, and featured the voice actors
who have previously provided voice acting for the game, in addition to Kazutaka Ishii who provided voice acting for the character Makoto Yūki. It was later followed by a second Drama CD release, released on April 23, 2008, featuring the voice cast of the OVA adaptation.
artist
Bow Ditama, known for his previous work on Mahoromatic
. The manga series started serialization on January 30, 2008 in the manga magazine Megami Magazine
published by Gakken.
' s soundtrack was composed solely by Ryō Kyōna, who has previously also worked on Suku Mizu Porisu, the first commercial project of Haikuo Soft. Aside from the in-game soundtrack, he has also composed the two theme songs used in the game, "Yotsunoha", the opening theme sung by Chata
, and "Shining Orange", the ending theme sung by Yui Sakakibara
. The lyrics of both of the songs were written by Keikei, one of the scenario planners. An original soundtrack disc, containing the music used in the game and the opening and ending themes, were included as an extra in the limited edition release of the game.
The OVA adaptation of Yotsunoha featured a new set of soundtrack, written by artists from I've Sound
. In addition to the new score, two new pieces were used as the theme song. , sung by Yui Sakakibara, and , sung by Chata, who has also written the lyrics for the song herself, were used as the opening and ending theme respectively. A maxi single
containing both of these songs was released on February 29, 2008, while the soundtrack used in the OVA was released on March 28, 2008.
New theme songs were also used for the PlayStation 2
version of the game. The opening theme "Soon" was sung by Yui Sakakibara, with composition by Yūki Mizukami, and lyrics by Himiko. While the ending theme was sung by Chata, with composition by Pējun and lyrics written by Yuka Matsumoto. A maxi single containing the two songs was released on July 23, 2008.
According to a national ranking of bishōjo game
s based on sales in Japan, the limited edition of Yotsunoha was ranked eighth out of fifty when it was first listed. It was then dropped to the twenty-ninth in the next issue, making its final appearance on the chart.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese visual novel
Visual novel
A is an interactive fiction game featuring mostly static graphics, usually with anime-style art, or occasionally live-action stills or video footage...
developed by Haikuo Soft
Haikuo Soft
is a Japanese visual novel studio known for creating adult-oriented bishōjo games. The company began in 2001 as a dōjin soft circle named and created six games in that time...
, and was originally released as an erotic game
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:...
on January 27, 2006 for the PC
IBM PC compatible
IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to...
as a limited edition containing a set of three CD-ROM
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
s in Japan, followed by the regular edition, released on September 1, 2006 as a DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
for the PC. A PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
version titled Yotsunoha: A Journey of Sincerity, published by Gadget Soft with adult content removed, was also released on August 28, 2008. The story in Yotsunoha focuses on the appeal of the four female main characters. The gameplay
Gameplay
Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and player's connection with it...
follows a linear plot line, which offers pre-determined scenarios and courses of interaction.
Yotsunoha has since then spawned two spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
titles, Osananajimi to no Kurashi Kata and Nono to Kuraso, and has made several transitions to other media. A manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
adaptation illustrated by Japanese
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
artist
Mangaka
is the Japanese word for a comic artist or cartoonist. Outside of Japan, manga usually refers to a Japanese comic book and mangaka refers to the author of the manga, who is usually Japanese...
Bow Ditama was first serialized in the Megami Magazine
Megami Magazine
is a Japanese monthly magazine which focuses on bishōjo characters from anime and Japanese computer and console games. It is known for having many posters, pinups and large pictures among the articles. Digital Manga Publishing released compilations of what it determined to be the best of the...
on January 30, 2008. It was followed by an original video animation
Original video animation
, abbreviated as media , are animated films and series made specially for release in home-video formats. The term originated in relation to Japanese animation...
series animated by Hal Film Maker
Hal Film Maker
is a Japanese animation studio founded in August 1993.-Anime produced: is a Japanese animation studio founded in August 1993.-Anime produced: is a Japanese animation studio founded in August 1993.-Anime produced:(Please note that this list only includes original productions or co-productions...
. This was released on two single-episode DVDs on February 29, 2008 and March 28, 2008. There were also two Drama CDs
Radio drama in Japan
Radio drama in Japan has a history as long as that of radio broadcasting in that country, which began in 1925. Some consider the first Japanese radio drama to have been "" which was a radio broadcast of a stage play. Others consider the Japanese translation of Richard Hughes's "Danger" or to be...
, and two Internet radio
Internet radio
Internet radio is an audio service transmitted via the Internet...
shows hosted by Yui Sakakibara
Yui Sakakibara
, is a female Japanese choreographer, dancer, singer, songwriter, and voice actress from Hyōgo, Japan. She appeared on Kōhaku Uta Gassen as back ground dancer behind Ami Suzuki in 1999 and 2000. She used to use the name and others in her previous voices...
in order to promote the game.
Gameplay
Gameplay
Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and player's connection with it...
in Yotsunoha requires relatively little player interaction as most of the duration of the game is spent on only reading the text that appear on the screen, representing the dialogue
Dialogue
Dialogue is a literary and theatrical form consisting of a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people....
between the numerous characters in the game. Similar to RPGs, the player is allowed to navigate through the school in a top-down perspective, and is allowed to enter different areas such as classrooms.
At times, the player will come to a point, where he or she is given the chance to choose to navigate through the school with different female characters. During so, gameplay pauses until the player makes a choice. Depending on the choices the player makes, different events might occur as the player enter different areas, effectively progressing the plot in a specific direction. There are four main plot lines that the player will have the chance to experience. To view all of the plot lines, the player will need to replay the game multiple times, picking different girls and access different areas to progress the plot in an alternate direction. One of the player's objective in the original version of the game is to view the hentai scenes
Hentai
is a Japanese word that, in the West, is used when referring to sexually explicit or pornographic comics and animation, particularly those of Japanese origin such as anime, manga, and computer games. The word hentai is a kanji compound of 変 and 態...
depicting the main character Makoto having sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
with one of the heroines.
Setting and themes
The main part of YotsunohaChildhood friendship plays an important role in the story. Throughout the story, characters are constantly reminded of their childhood memories by different locations in the school. This is further expressed by the characters' emotions before and after their separation, and the time capsule they have buried.
Principal characters
- Voiced by: Hideki TasakaHideki Tasakais a Japanese voice actor who currently works for Sigma Seven. He is best known as the voice of Reks in the original Japanese version of Final Fantasy XII and Duelo McFile in Vandread.-TV Anime:*Blood+ - Gestas*Diamond Daydreams - Tezuk...
(OVA) - Makoto is the male protagonist of Yotsunoha. Despite being friendly, and always thinking for his friends before himself, he has trouble of expressing his feelings to others.
- Voiced by: Yui SakakibaraYui Sakakibara, is a female Japanese choreographer, dancer, singer, songwriter, and voice actress from Hyōgo, Japan. She appeared on Kōhaku Uta Gassen as back ground dancer behind Ami Suzuki in 1999 and 2000. She used to use the name and others in her previous voices...
- Nono is the main heroine of Yotsunoha. Despite being one year younger than Makoto, she is really helpful, taking tasks such as cooking and homemaking for Makoto and Iori, who lived next door to her prior to their separation. She has moved to Kansai region after the school's closure.
- Voiced by: Junko KusayanagiJunko Kusayanagiis a female Japanese seiyū from Kanagawa, Japan.-Visual novels:2000*Natural*Aries2001*Suika*Lagnalock*Univ*Yukigatari*Pia Carrot 3 as Akemi Hasegawa2002*Popotan as Nono*Boku to, Bokura no Natsu...
(game), Yūko GotōYuko Gotois a Japanese voice actress who works for Production Baobab. In direct contrast to her cute-and-vulnerable moé typecasting, Yūko in real life is a devotee of biker culture who dresses and acts as such when not working, right down to her motorcycle...
(OVA) - Iori is one of Makoto's childhood friends, and is the oldest of the group. Prior to their separation, she lived in Makoto's house, and despite being older than him, would always refer him as her elder brother at home. She has an affection towards sweets and snacks, to the extreme where she brought only tidbits despite her plans of staying at the school overnight.
- Voiced by: Shizuku Ibuki (game), Mai GotōMai Goto (voice actress), is a female Japanese voice actress from Hokkaidō, Japan.-Anime:* Pocket Monsters: Diamond & Pearl , Maririn* Yoake Mae Yori Ruri Iro Na -Crescent Love- , Mai Asagiri...
(OVA, PS2 game) - Matsuri is another childhood friend of Makoto's. She has the highest academic scores among the group of friends, and stayed at a local school after their school's closedown. Matsuri is considerably more inarticulate and anti-social after the reunion, as a result of taking Makoto's comments before their separation too serious.
- Voiced by: Miru (game), Sayuri YahagiSayuri Yahagiis a Japanese voice actress from Tokyo, Japan. She has also been the narrator of Animax since October 2007.-Anime:*Asu no Yoichi! - Sakon Saginomiya*Asura Cryin - Ania Fortuna*Bakugan Battle Brawlers - Ai...
(OVA, PS2 game) - Arisa is a weak and quiet girl that has transferred into Makoto's class shortly before its closure.
Story
The story of Yotsunoha revolves around a group of friends, reunited after being separated for three years as a result of the closure of Mochizuki Academy, the school they have attended in together. Upon arrival, Makoto Yūki, the protagonist discovers that the time capsuleTime capsule
A time capsule is an historic cache of goods or information, usually intended as a method of communication with future people and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians...
the group of friends buried prior to their separation has been dug up. In its place is a note left by his former teacher Yamamoto, informing him that he has dug up their capsule and hidden it elsewhere in the school. After being reunited, Makoto and his group of friends decide to stay overnight, looking for clues left behind by their teacher, and find the time capsule.
Development
Yotsunoha is the second commercial project of the then dōjin softDojin soft
, also sometimes called , are video games created by Japanese hobbyists or hobbyist groups , more for fun than for profit; essentially, the Japanese equivalent of independent video games. Most of them are based on pre-existing material, but some are entirely original creations...
developer Haikuo Soft
Haikuo Soft
is a Japanese visual novel studio known for creating adult-oriented bishōjo games. The company began in 2001 as a dōjin soft circle named and created six games in that time...
, following their previous work on Sukumizu Police. Tatomu and Keikei, two writers who have previously worked on Summer
Underbar Summer
is an adult Japanese visual novel developed by Hooksoft which was released on July 15, 2005, playable on the PC as a CD; a PlayStation 2 consumer console port called _Summer## followed on August 24, 2006, by GN Software. An updated version of the original game, called , which is compatible up to...
, planned the scenario used in Yotsunoha, while work on the computer graphics, in addition to character designs, were split between four members, Hīde, Xsara, Koshino and Akira Kasukabe. The music used in the game was composed solely by Ryō Kyōna.
Several improvements have been made to the PS2 version of the game. Gadget Soft hired Suno, a scenario planner to provide additional scenario after the adult content in the game is removed. Hal Film Maker, the studio that has previously adapted Yotsunoha into OVA, was also hired for the computer graphics used in the game.
Release history
Yotsunoha was first available to the public as a free game demo, released online on September 24, 2005, which gives the player a glimpse into the story and gameplay of Yotsunoha. The game was later released as a limited edition containing a set of three CD-ROMs for the PC on January 10, 2006. It was later followed by a regular edition, released on September 1, 2006 as one DVD. This version of the game contained new computer graphicCG artwork
CG is a term most commonly known in the West for its use in Japanese webpages to denote digital artwork. In traditional Japanese, it is an abbreviation of the Japanese gairaigo , used to refer to any form of digital artwork, from digitally shaded dōjinshi to legitimate cinematic art...
scenes and additional voice acting for side characters, which was later available to the limited edition through a patch. A PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
version titled Yotsunoha: A Journey of Sincerity with adult content removed published by Gadget Soft was originally released on August 28, 2008 as both a limited edition and a regular edition, after it was delayed from its original July 24, 2008 release date.
Adaptations
Drama CDs
There have been two sets of Drama CDs based on Yotsunoha. The first Drama CD release was titled . It was first available to the public at ComiketComiket
, otherwise known as the , is the world's largest self-published comic book fair, held twice a year in Tokyo, Japan. The first Comiket was held on December 21, 1975, with only about 32 participating circles and an estimated 600 attendees. Attendance has since swelled to over a half million people....
71, and was later released in stores on January 26, 2007 as a set of two CDs, and featured the voice actors
Seiyu
Voice acting in Japan has far greater prominence than in most other countries. Japan's large animation industry produces 60% of the animated series in the world; as a result, Japanese voice actors, or , are able to achieve fame on a national and international level.Besides acting as narrators and...
who have previously provided voice acting for the game, in addition to Kazutaka Ishii who provided voice acting for the character Makoto Yūki. It was later followed by a second Drama CD release, released on April 23, 2008, featuring the voice cast of the OVA adaptation.
Manga
Yotsunoha was also adapted into a manga series, illustrated by JapaneseJapanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
artist
Mangaka
is the Japanese word for a comic artist or cartoonist. Outside of Japan, manga usually refers to a Japanese comic book and mangaka refers to the author of the manga, who is usually Japanese...
Bow Ditama, known for his previous work on Mahoromatic
Mahoromatic
is a sci-fi romantic comedy manga and animeseries which contains elements of the literary genre of tragic dramas. It is about a female android former soldier, Mahoro...
. The manga series started serialization on January 30, 2008 in the manga magazine Megami Magazine
Megami Magazine
is a Japanese monthly magazine which focuses on bishōjo characters from anime and Japanese computer and console games. It is known for having many posters, pinups and large pictures among the articles. Digital Manga Publishing released compilations of what it determined to be the best of the...
published by Gakken.
OVA
Yotsunoha was first announced to be adapted into a series of two OVAs on July 3, 2007 at the Rondo Robe convention hosted in Tokyo. A preview to the series was then streamed online on February 22, 2008, followed by the first volume's release on February 29, 2008 one week later. The second volume was then released on March 28, 2008. Both volumes contain the episode itself and a book containing illustrations by Hīde.Music
YotsunohaChata
is a Japanese singer who has performed theme songs for games and anime.She has also participated in various dōjin music circles. Her own private circle is called Usagi Kinoko.-History:...
, and "Shining Orange", the ending theme sung by Yui Sakakibara
Yui Sakakibara
, is a female Japanese choreographer, dancer, singer, songwriter, and voice actress from Hyōgo, Japan. She appeared on Kōhaku Uta Gassen as back ground dancer behind Ami Suzuki in 1999 and 2000. She used to use the name and others in her previous voices...
. The lyrics of both of the songs were written by Keikei, one of the scenario planners. An original soundtrack disc, containing the music used in the game and the opening and ending themes, were included as an extra in the limited edition release of the game.
The OVA adaptation of Yotsunoha featured a new set of soundtrack, written by artists from I've Sound
I've Sound
I've Sound, or simply called , is a Japanese techno/trance music production group based in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. Led by Kazuya Takase, it features the talents of seasoned "sound creators" and many different female vocalists, known as to their fans....
. In addition to the new score, two new pieces were used as the theme song. , sung by Yui Sakakibara, and , sung by Chata, who has also written the lyrics for the song herself, were used as the opening and ending theme respectively. A maxi single
Maxi single
A maxi single or maxi-single is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an a-side song and a b-side song.-The first maxi singles:...
containing both of these songs was released on February 29, 2008, while the soundtrack used in the OVA was released on March 28, 2008.
New theme songs were also used for the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
version of the game. The opening theme "Soon" was sung by Yui Sakakibara, with composition by Yūki Mizukami, and lyrics by Himiko. While the ending theme was sung by Chata, with composition by Pējun and lyrics written by Yuka Matsumoto. A maxi single containing the two songs was released on July 23, 2008.
Reception and sales
Based on the sales on solely Getchu.com, Yotsunoha was placed at fourth place out of twenty when it was first released in January 2006, and while it didn't make any further appearances on the monthly charts, it was placed at thirty-six out of fifty, out of all sales recorded during the first half of the year on the same website.According to a national ranking of bishōjo game
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....
s based on sales in Japan, the limited edition of Yotsunoha was ranked eighth out of fifty when it was first listed. It was then dropped to the twenty-ninth in the next issue, making its final appearance on the chart.