There is no easy way to describe this game.

Okay, so it’s about pigeons.  And it’s a dating game, of the otome variety, if you know the term.  In a high school setting.  Yes, it really is an actual game; someone thought of this.  And then made it.

And then it garnered enough attention on this side of the ocean to warrant a translation of the full version of the game in English.

It was released last night, and you can download it right here, a marvelously appropriate Valentine’s Day gift indeed.

What do you mean you don’t want to play the absurd dating game about schoolgoing pigeons??  OF COURSE YOU DO.

Okay, so let me level with you on some things about this game.  It isn’t some slapped-together April Fool’s joke.  There is a legitimate backstory behind the concept of the game’s premise, and it’s more intriguing than you think.  Furthermore, no matter which bird you decide to pursue romantically, you are guaranteed an entertaining and fleshed-out story.

So, let’s check out this game I’m playing, Hatoful Boyfriend.

I know what you’re thinking.  This looks ridiculous!  Okay, so it is ridiculous.  But it’s also really fun!  It’s crazy and fun!  Crazy-fun!  And I can promise you that before you’re halfway through your story, you will entirely forget that the characters are pigeons.  Really!  Okay.  I’m done trying to convince you of Hatoful Boyfriend’s legitimacy.  Let’s just play.

Bunny Bani.  That’s me.

Hmmm…

And then our friend, Ryouta Kawara, shows up:

Hey!  That’s not a bird, that’s a boy!  No, no, it’s just an image that’s simulated for you so you can attribute a human face to your birdie friend.  You’ll never see his cute Shotaro face again after this introduction.

The first term begins.  Bunny Bani goes about her first day of school, meeting all kinds of new birdie friends!

There’s Nanaki Kazuaki, our homeroom teacher.  Tends to doze off in mid-sentence.

The transfer student, Sakuya Le Bel Shirogane.  Bani-chan is optimistic, but he just sounds like a snob to me!

A trip to the library introduces us to this shy fellow, Nageki Fujishiro.

A commotion in the hallway just after that brings us face-to-face with Yuuya Sakazaki, the kind of birdie everybirdie should know.

Oh, dear.  Most players should want to avoid the intimidating doctor, Shuu Iwamine, after hearing Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy playing so ominously in the background of this introduction…

and then there’s Oko San.

That’s all of the birds that will be introduced for now.  If you happen to scope out the Demo Version of the game (along with the English Patch) because you’re not committed enough to drop ~$5 on the Full Version, these are all of the birds that you’ll see.  However, now that the full version is out, there is one… special… additional… character.

I’ll try to scope him out as best as I can, but the truth is I’ve already played through this once (last night, just after I finished downloading it), and went through the whole game without so much as a glimpse at the new guy!  Looks like you’ll just have to sit tight and read along with my adventures if you want to see if I can find him this time. :3

Now, before we end this introduction to our pigeony adventure, let’s see the first set of options we’ll get to choose from.  Let’s choose what Bunny Bani will spend most of her time doing after class!

Oh, oh??  What is this?  ‘Infirmary Staff’?  This is especially interesting, because remember that I said I already played through this once last night?  Well, that fourth option was not there that time!  There is an absurd amount of replay value packaged up inside Hatoful Boyfriend, not only due to the branches and branches of stories, but because of stuff like this – options that aren’t even available to you unless you’ve cleared the game a certain number of times.

And thus ends part one!  Which after-school task will Bani-chan choose??  Which bird will capture her romantic affections, and will she survive the ordeals ahead??  The implications are more grave than you even know…

One last time, here’s the link to download Hatoful Boyfriend for yourself.

Next: Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Ending

Wednesday, February 15th, 2012   6:34 pm
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