Renai game Renai game University of New Orleans Category="Computer and video game genres"
Anime games
Formats
Visual novels
Dojin games
AnimePlay
Genres
Erotic games
Renai games
Gender-specific
Bishōjo games
BL games

A ren'ai game (恋愛ゲーム) is a (mostly) Japanese genre of adventure video games focusing on romantic interactions with Anime-style characters, usually girls. "Ren'ai" is a Japanese word meaning "romance".

Ren'ai games may contain some erotic content. However, "bishōjo games" containing hardcore Pornography are generally called H games rather than ren'ai games. Ren'ai games are frequently referred to as dating sims and visual novels in English, but the terms love sim or love adventure are more literal translations of the term. (See bishōjo game for a detailed discussion of terminology.)

Characteristics

[image] Dōkyūsei (Classmates) 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.

Many titles also exist where the player character is female and potential objects of affection are male-Angelique, Harukanaru Toki no Naka De, La Corda D'Oro, Kimagure Strawberry Cafe, and Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side are just a few-this genre is known as GxB. Also of note is the BL genre. While fewer in number, there are also female/female (GxG) titles and titles with no specific gender lines ("All pairings") in existence.

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, unique, or influential ren'ai games.

See also