Ø Story
Encyclopedia
The music of Love Story was composed by Konatsu Yuzunogi and includes two vocal songs, "Hello Again" and "Old Friend", both sung by Aya Hirayama
with lyrics written by Haru Yuki. The original soundtrack of the game was published in Japan on May 17, 2000 by First Smile Entertainment. It comprises 36 tracks.
and GameSpot
compared the game to Digital Pictures
' Sega CD games and its storyline to the movie Ghost
. GameSpot gave the game a 5.8 out of 10, stating that the video quality was good, despite occasional compression artifact
s, while the few non-video sections were considered "more like average PlayStation
graphics than those of a PlayStation 2 game". GameSpot noted that an understanding of the Japanese language is indispensable to play the game, and that even then non-Japanese players are likely to find Love Story odd due to the high amount of cultural references present in the game.
IGN, however, felt that the quality of the graphics varies greatly, with the worst instances being comparable to "a heavily-artifacted RealVideo
file". IGN also stated that these artifacts are "awful" and detrimental in one of the minigame in which the player must search for a girl hiding in a large crowd. IGN also rated the acting as particularly bad, "on the same level as a good episode of Power Rangers
", although some performances were seen as better than others. They also felt that the interactions between the real actors and the computer-generated
image of the ghost were awkward. Regarding the sound quality, they remarked that all looped dialogues have a high-pitched frequency playing in the background, which can be annoying for sensitive hearing. Finally, they noted that the game is short and can be finished in 24 or 48 hours despite spanning two DVDs.
Aya Hirayama
is a Japanese actress who has appeared in various films including Waterboys , as well as appearing in two television programs in her native Japan, Waratte Iitomo and Itsumo futari de. Aya was born in Kuroiso, Tochigi, Japan which is now part of Nasushiobara...
with lyrics written by Haru Yuki. The original soundtrack of the game was published in Japan on May 17, 2000 by First Smile Entertainment. It comprises 36 tracks.
Reception
The game received mediocre reviews in English-speaking territories. Reviewers for IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
and GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
compared the game to Digital Pictures
Digital Pictures
Digital Pictures was a worldwide American video game developer, founded in 1991 by Ken Melville and Tom Zito.On the Sega CD versions of certain games, if they are played on the systems "audio CD" mode, there is a short track of a phone ringing with a male voice answering "Good afternoon, Digital...
' Sega CD games and its storyline to the movie Ghost
Ghost (film)
Ghost is a 1990 romantic drama film starring Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg. It was written by Bruce Joel Rubin and directed by Jerry Zucker.-Plot:...
. GameSpot gave the game a 5.8 out of 10, stating that the video quality was good, despite occasional compression artifact
Compression artifact
A compression artifact is a noticeable distortion of media caused by the application of lossy data compression....
s, while the few non-video sections were considered "more like average PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
graphics than those of a PlayStation 2 game". GameSpot noted that an understanding of the Japanese language is indispensable to play the game, and that even then non-Japanese players are likely to find Love Story odd due to the high amount of cultural references present in the game.
IGN, however, felt that the quality of the graphics varies greatly, with the worst instances being comparable to "a heavily-artifacted RealVideo
RealVideo
RealVideo is a suite of proprietary video compression formats developed by RealNetworks – the specific format changes with the version. It was first released in 1997 and is at version 10. RealVideo is supported on many platforms, including Windows, Mac, Linux, Solaris, and several mobile...
file". IGN also stated that these artifacts are "awful" and detrimental in one of the minigame in which the player must search for a girl hiding in a large crowd. IGN also rated the acting as particularly bad, "on the same level as a good episode of Power Rangers
Power Rangers
Power Rangers is a long-running American entertainment and merchandising franchise built around a live action children's television series featuring teams of costumed heroes...
", although some performances were seen as better than others. They also felt that the interactions between the real actors and the computer-generated
Computer graphics
Computer graphics are graphics created using computers and, more generally, the representation and manipulation of image data by a computer with help from specialized software and hardware....
image of the ghost were awkward. Regarding the sound quality, they remarked that all looped dialogues have a high-pitched frequency playing in the background, which can be annoying for sensitive hearing. Finally, they noted that the game is short and can be finished in 24 or 48 hours despite spanning two DVDs.
External links
- Love Story homepage at the Square Enix website
- Archive of Love Story homepage from Enix website