This article was part of the “Hear Me Roar” section of the old Hentai Neko and is one of those that are deemed still relevant in today’s version of the Otaku Fridge. This was never dated, however, which means that this was written sometime in 2001. By default, the Otaku Fridge’s system is dating this January 1, 2001.
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Hello all, my name is Michael Thomas. I’m writing this essay to discuss with you bishoujo computer games; what they are, and why they are important.

First, lets go over some definitions. What does “bishoujo” mean? Bishoujois Japanese for “cute girl” or “pretty girl.” Now this attractiveness can come from many sources; having a shy personality, being flirty, having long hair, being very shapely. All this is because different people find different things attractive. Bishoujo is often used in Japanese Anime, to describe anime movies and series’ where the focus is on attractive, or pretty young girls. For example, Sailor Moon’s full name is Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon, translated “Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon”. For an equivalent American example, the WB show Angel has bishoujo elements in the forms of many of the female vampires, and in the two girls Angel works with to gain his humanity. Bishoujo is also used to describe manga, Japanese comics/graphic novels, that also have these elements.

But, what is a bishoujo game? Well, if people enjoy watching shows with pretty girls, why not make a game with pretty girls; i.e., a bishoujo game. In other terms, it’s a computer game, drawn in the Japanese Animation style, where one of the main elements is pretty girls. These games could be anything from a visual novel, to a raising sim, to a role-playing game.

So why not just call these games, RPGs or Adventures? Because part of the purpose of the game is to make memories with these girls you meet. This can be something as romantic as trying to find your true love, during your last year of school; or something more risque like having to train a maid to perform exotic pleasures. These games are very popular, and have long been available in Japan from game companies like Crowd, Elf, Will, Csware, and others with titles such as the Viper series, Charu-Hana, Re-Leaf, Gloria, Tokimeki Check-in, Brave Soul, Doukyusei, Kakyusei, Tokimeki Memorial, and others. Currently, for the American market, this genre is still in its infancy. Only three companies exist (Peach Princess, Himeya Soft, and JAST-USA) that translate and port these games into English. Dave Endresak, of Peach Princess, gave these very in-depth comments on the bishoujo market, and the vast amounts of work that have to be done to just translate a game into English, during an interview with Gamers Press.

Now, according to ESRB standards, these games would be labeled “AO” (adults only). This doesn’t mean that these games are graphically pornographic. The material in these games is akin to what you’d see in an R, or NC-17 rated movie (adult themes, nudity, sexual situations, mature themes). Now, yes, there are bishoujo games that are very pornographic; but there are also Hollywood movies that are as well.

Some very famous Japanese Anime artists have also done work on bishoujo games. Artists like U-Jin, Hiroyuki Utatane, Satoshi Urushihara, Shikage Nagi, and others. So many of these games have very well done art, both in terms of the girls, and of the locations and events.

It may sound like these games are only made for boys, as they have plenty of cheesecake shots. This isn’t true. Girls would also enjoy these games, as the stories can be very deep, the character interactions are sincere, and the romantic scenes are very well done. It would be akin to how girls enjoy romantic movies. And, to say that girls wouldn’t enjoy a game where people have intimate situations is offensive as well. Watch the movie American Pie or American Beauty; just as many girls in those movies are interested in sexual situations as the guys are. These games have a wide variety of material to offer many different people. That’s what makes them appealing to both demographics; there is something for everyone in the bishoujo game genre.

Another large item these games have to offer is they are different. They aren’t another MMORPG, or Turn-based-Strategy, or FPS. They are often a completely new type of game. Many are similar to the Dreamcast game Shenmu. In Shenmu you have the overall story-arc of trying to avenge your father, but you also need to do normal stuff, such as shop for groceries, and attend school. Not only do you have specific people events, but you also have everyday events that deal with the game as well. For a bishoujo game example, in Kakyusei, you play the part of a High School Freshman, and you’re trying to win one of the 16 girls hearts. Now, each girl has a different personality, and a different background. So, sure, you might take Izumi to all the places she likes to go to, but if you don’t spend some time working hard at school, she’ll still think of you as a slacker. So, as Shenmu has these “everyday events” many bishoujo games do as well, further immersing you in the game.

Add in the replayability of these games, where you can choose to try to win the heart of the shy girl the first time, and then, the class princess the 2nd time, you get games that have not hours worth of gameplay, but entire weeks. In contrast, most of the games currently on the American market account “replayability” as “put the difficulty up, and give you a couple new weapons to use.” In a bishoujo game, you get a whole new game each time, as each of your choices affects the path the game takes. For example, it’s estimated that Final Fantasy VII has game-play time of 40 - 70 hours; not bad, but if you consider that at least 30 hours of that will be spent on encounters with random monsters, it really cuts down on the overall gameplay. Gloria (ported to English by Himeya Soft) has a game-play time of 200 hours, of which all of it is story.

There are currently three companies in the US who are porting these games over into the English market, and one European company also translating these games. Peach Princess, JAST-USA, Himeya Soft, and Hobbybox Europe.

If these types of things sound interesting to you, feel free to visit the companies’ sites to check the games, and the art of the games, out. And if something seems intriguing to you, pick up a game. You might be surprised at how much fun, and how enjoyable these sorts of games are. If you can’t find these games at your local anime stores, or computer stores (like EB, Best Buy, Circuit City, or Babbages), ask that they start to carry them.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and learn a bit more about the bishoujo computer game genre. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at ltcraggs@three-musketeers.net.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 1st, 2001 at 12:17 pm and is filed under Animanga, Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.