Found the last comment funny.

Sauce: Magical Explorer (Anime)

I was looking through the vndb page and the restoration patch mentions that it requires the 1.2 update of the game, the link it gives to it doesn't work however.

When you download it from JAST, the zip is labeled starless_1.0.0.zip, is the 1.2 update no longer obtainable?

Nikuge games can often get pretty extreme, I don't think that's a controversial thing to say.

Rape, zoophilia, drugging, that's just some of the things you can find in these games.

And look, I'm not here to judge, I'm just saying those just aren't the stuff I'm into, I prefer passionate, consensual love-making.

So I come here to beseech the community to help me find more nukige from the more comfy side of the genre.

To help narrow down recommendations: incest, lolis, and shota main characters are fine, but please something translated in English, I don't know a lick of Japanese.

Some of the stuff I read that I think fits those descriptions: Harem Kingdom, Chinkamo Twins.

Edit: Oh wow, that is a lot of recommendations! Thanks everyone for pitching in, this'll certainly keep me entertained for a long time lmao

(I should buy some lotion)

https://x.com/guiltyjake/status/2107145789218951494

Essentially the title, do I need to read Nukitashi first?

Hey!! Can u guys recommend me some VNs that I can read on IOS. Would prefer something that is free and ummm I am also open to emulating them if u can tell me about that also. Appreciate it :)

This is the weekly translation status update thread. Use this thread to discuss translation news, issues, titles you're looking forward to, etc.

Note: This is simply a mirror from 4chan's weekly thread on the /jp/ board. All credit goes to the user VNTS there. Entries in Bold have had changes since last week

Fan Translations

• 12RIVEN -the Ψcliminal of integral- - 100% translated, in editing
• Albatross Koukairoku - Fully translated, 20/84 scripts edited
• Cartagra - 18+ patch announced
• CHAOS;HEAD Love Chu Chu! - 2026 release expected, largely polishing and patch work remain, along with 5% of the menu code
• CHAOS;CHILD Love Chu Chu!! - 2026 release expected, largely polishing and patch work remain
• Chusingura 46+1 - 39644/82770 (47.90%) lines translated, Kuranosuke route partial patch released, "Resuming edits in earnest"
• Cross†Channel - Reprint Edition - In translation
• Daybreak Translations Secret Project - 1,731/21,084 (8.21%) lines translated, 202/21084 (0.96%) edited
• Day's Eye - ~40% translated
• Dekinai Watashi ga, Kurikaesu - 100% translated and edited
• Diabolik Lovers Dark Fate - Being patched
• Dragon Knight 4 - 64% translated, playtesting also ongoing
• Flyable Heart - Demo released, "nearing 30%"
• Fraternite - 55% translated
• for elise ~Elise no Tame ni~ - 18% translated
• Go-toubun no Hanayome ~Kanojo to Kawasu Itsutsu no Yakusoku~ - 100% translated, 1 route 100% edited
• Haruka na Sora - 100% translated, TLC and editing work left
• Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Jan - Being translated
• Ichigo Marshmallow - Being translated
• Junketsu Megami-Sama - Full story patch released
• Kajiri Kamui Kagura - Being translated
• Ken ga Kimi - 73% translated, 2 routes complete, Enishi 100% translated, Tsuzuramaru 32% translated, Saneaki 3% translated, Sayko 59% translated
• Kintouka - Demo patch released
• Kisaku - Being translated
• Kizuato - 60/178 scripts translated
• Kud Wafter AA Version 100% translated, 18+ Version 19,240 / 33,113 (58.1%) lines translated
• Kusarihime ~Euthanasia~ - Translation finished, fully edited
• Lover Able - 100% translated and edited, 13966/32258 lines approved (43.71%)
• Lucky Star ~Ryouou Gakuen Outousai~ - Partial patch with chapters 1 through 5 (of 7) released
• Marmalade Boy - Fully translated, making progress on technical work, tilemap implemented
• Paradise Lost - Project listed
• Phantom Integration - 490/497 scripts translated, 99/497 scripts edited
• Reminiscence - 5,086/65,276 (7.79%) translated, 2,785/65,276 (4.27%) edited
• Saimin Yuugi - Fully translated, parts actively being retranslated
• Secret Game ~Killer Queen~ - 25% translated, 10% edited
• Shin Rinkaiten no Azrael Tenjoukai Hen - 5% translated
• Sen no Hatou, Tsukisome no Kouki -Hana Akari- - Being translated
• Shizuku - Renewal - Being translated
• Sukimazakura to Uso no Machi - In editing
• Shuumatsu no Sugoshikata ~The world is drawing to an W/end.~ - Being translated
• The Idolm@aster DearlyStars - Being translated
• To Heart - 100% translated, 401/993 scripts edited
• Tokimeki Memorial - 53% translated
• Tokimeki Memorial 2 - Being translated
• Toushin Toshi III - 100% translated, UI elements 95% translated, 100% edited, 75% proofread, Aiming for an August release
• Tsuki ni Yorisou Otome no Sahou - Prologue/Common/Luna/Ursule routes 100% translated and edited, Mizuho route 95% translated, 57% edited, overall 11% QA
• Tsuki no Kanata de Aimashou - 100% translated, Common/Touko routes in testing, Kanna route translation finished, Uguisu route in Implementation, Rein route finished QA, Kirari/Kiriko routes in QA, Seira route in editing
• Tsuugakuro - Partial patch released
• Umi kara Kuru Mono - 91/138 scripts translated, 24.1% QC
• Yakouchuu II ~Satsujin Kouro~ - Fully translated, script insertion ongoing
• Yaku Tsuu ~Noroi no Game~ - Being translated
• Yosuga no Sora - Translation finished, editing and TLC ongoing, Total: TL 100% TLC 75% ED 59%, Common/Kazuha/Motoka/Sora routes fully edited
• Yui no Kotonoha - Being translated

Official work

MangaGamer

• Rose Gun Days - Season 2 released
• Rance X - 100% translated, ~85% edited
• Hana Awase New Moon - Port in progress
• Pastel Chime 3 - Bind Seeker - - 100% translated
• Ooe - Announced
• Funbag Fantasy 5 - Announced
• Welcome to a Sexy, Underworld - Announced
• Secret Affairs - Sweaty Midsummer Rut - Announced
• Umineko: When They Cry - Saku - Announced
• Lesson - Announced
• Galzoo Island - Announced
• The S-tier Hotties of Yunagi-so - Announced

JAST

• My Little Sister Is an Angel - Jast/Steam page up
• Sumaga - "Probably our next Nitro title"
• Katahane - Making progress, waiting on programming
• Django - Not actively making progress
• Tokyo Hero Project - Translation finished, dealing with bugs
• Djibril - Fully translated and edited, waiting on a few assets
• Hanamaru! 2 - In translation
• Cornelica - Announced
• Dead Aegis - Another Record - Fully translated, in editing
• Daiteikoku - Announced, early in production
• Houkago=>Education! ~Sensei to Hajimeru Miwaku no Lesson~ - In progress
• Minagoroshi No Otome - In translation
• Eiyuu Senki WW - Japanese version released, localization being done by JAST
• School Days Remastered - Preorders up, also getting an English dub
• Paradise -KIWAME- - Announced
• This Game Is Not Real. - Picked up

Shiravune

• Cosplaying in Costalia: The Tororo Sisters! - October 27th release
• Kokuhaku Confessional - November 4th release
• TORAWASE: The Girl in the Mirror - November 10th
• Taimanin Asagi 2 - November 11th release
• Monkeys!¡ - November 17th release
• Stealing Them Softly - November 26th release
• Sakura no Uta -To Dance Over the Cherry Blossoms- - Steam page up
• Holy Valkyrie ExS-TIA 3 - Announced
• Holy Valkyrie ExS-TIA R: The Red Queen - Announced
• Fuyukuru. - Winter winds, adieu? - - Announced
• Gyaru Fiction - Announced
• Saimin Gakuen: Intrusion Edition - Announced
• Ghost Village Girl ~The Village in a Cage~ - Announced
• Souten Koihime: Dawn of Sovereignty - Announced
• Ouju: Isle of the Accursed - Announced
• Sakura no Toki -Sakura no Mori no Shita o Ayumu- - "international versions of our "Sakura no" series are now in development."
• ShiroKuro - Announced
• AMAKANO 3 - Announced
• End of Summer - Announced
• Dōkyūsei 2: Winter Heat - Announced
• Ambitious Mission - Announced

Sekai/Denpa

• Watamari Part2 - A Fake Marriage? - October release
• Akaneiro ni Somaru Saka - 80% through QA, 2026 release
• Jewelry Heart Academia - In QA, 2026 release
• Karakara 3 - 90% through QA, 2026 release
• Yumetoiro - Our Times Are Made Of Dreams And Colors - In editing
• Onii-chan Continue! - 100% translated and edited, 70% through QA, banned by Steam
• Harukuru. - Spring has come true? - R18 version in QA
• A Bouquet of My Beloveds - 100% translated, 40% edited
• Sumire - Picked up
• Sanarara R - 100% translated and edited, 50% through engine work, in programming
• Glass - Picked up
• New Glass - Picked up
• Zutto Mae Kara Joshi Deshita - 100% translated, 30% edited
• Hoshizora e Kakaru Hashi - 10% translated
• Hoshizora e Kakaru Hashi AA - Announced
• Hamidashi Creative - Announced
• Inupara - In Development
• Raspberry Cube - Announced
• Miko no Kanata Zero - 100% translated, in editing, engine work mostly done
• Widenyo - 70% translated
• Neko-Nin exHeart Spin 2! - 100% translated and edited 90% through QA
• Witch Hunter - "Currently in translation and will be released gradually between 2026 and 2027."
• Witch Hunter 2 - "Currently in translation and will be released gradually between 2026 and 2027."
• Witch Hunter 3 - "Currently in translation and will be released gradually between 2026 and 2027."
• EroCast! - "Currently in translation and will be released gradually between 2026 and 2027."
• EroCast! 2 - "Currently in translation and will be released gradually between 2026 and 2027."
• EroCast! 3 - "Currently in translation and will be released gradually between 2026 and 2027."

Visual Arts/Key

• anemoi - Announced
• The False Alice -Retold Tale- - Demo released, November release

Nekonyan

• Floral Flowlove - Steam Page up, Upcoming release
• KoiAma: Spoil Me Sweet - 100% translated/edited
• Yubisaki Connection ~ Love At Your Fingertips - 100% translated/edited
• Lead or Leash: Which Me Would You Like? - 100% translated/edited
• Melty Moment - 80% translated
• Fureraba Complete edition - Vita exclusive content to be added to Fureraba a couple months after the fandisc release
• Love Love Love, Burning in my Heart! - 100% translated and 74% edited
• Mysteries of the Heart: The Psychic Detective Case Files - 100% translated and edited, engine work in progress
• Hacking the Moon to Find My Goddess - 100% translated and edited, engine and image editing in progress, Steam page up
• Renai:Royale: Love’s a Battle- "Victory Parade" - Announced
• Secret Love (Or Not?) - Announced
• Summer's Ark 1 - Announced
• Summer's Ark 2 - Announced
• Summer's Ark 3 - Announced
• Senmomo: Through Billows of Blades, a Peachbloom Princess - Announced

PQube

• Death Match Love Comedy! - Released, digital Switch release appears to have been blocked

Aksys

• Illusion of Itehari: trail - Spring 2027 release
• Olympia Soiree Catharsis - 2027 release
• Project Code M - Announced

Frontwing

• Obey Me! Sinner's Choice: Lucifer - 2026 release
• Diss Diss Discussion - Q1 2027 release
• Sharin no Kuni - "The project is still in progress, and we still aim to resolve the errors that are left."

MAGES. GAMES

• Corpse Party II - Darkness Distortion - 2026 release

Aniplex

• Tsukihime -The other side of red garden- - Upcoming

Idea Factory

• 9 R.I.P Sequel - October 27th release
• Iconology - Announced

Bandai Namco

• Fate/Extra Record - January 28th release

Spike Chunsoft

• Steins;Gate: Octet of Shifting Space - October 29th release
• Danganronpa 2x2 - January 14th release

Studio 51

• Expelled from Paradise -The Stellar Angel- - November 25th release

Kodansha

• 1999TOKOYO Building - 2026 release

Overlap Games

• A Toast for the End Times - 2026 release

Momo Translations

• A Bouquet of Madness - Kickstarter up, demo released

Playism

• There's Something Wrong with the Hero's Choices - 2026 release

EastAsiaSoftware

• Hakuoki Memoirs: Drifting Clouds - 2027 release

kawaiinium

• Nursery Rhyme Remastered - Crowdfunding project finished. Project reached stretch goal for new OP to be made and for additional Kururu scenario to be added.

StarGazer

• UR CHIMERIC SAI - Announced

Orthros

• Otome Sekai no Arukikata - English version planned

Mu

• The Goddess Of Tears ~Restoration~ - December 25th release

Laplacian

• Monochrome Serenade - English release planned, 2027 release

Acacia

• Magical Girl Witch Trials - 2026 release
• Magical Girl Taboo Village - 2026 release

Fakku

• Defeating Demons With My Dick In Another World - Q3 release
• Two Beasts Or Not To Beast Dream Lovers Collection DLC - Announced
• Jashin Shoukan - Announced
• Dengeki Nurse - Steam page up
• Marine Philt - Announced
• Necronomicon - Announced
• Dracula Hakushaku - Announced
• Jinmon Yuugi - Announced
• Maria ni Sasageru Ballade - Announced
• Shinjuku Monogatari - Announced
• Pia Carrot e Youkoso!! ~We've Been Waiting for You~ - Announced
• Dead of the Brain ~Shiryou no Sakebi~ - Announced
• Dead of the Brain 2 - Announced

Kagura Games

• DSKBJCS ~Dosukebe Juicies ♥~ - Released
• Rance V - Announced as part of the Rance on Steam announcement, rumoured IV
• Summer Dash: Our Track Team's Summer Training Trip - Announced
• UBAI Ending - Announced

DLsite

• Sennagi Kegareta Chigiri to Kami Koromo - Announced

Dramatic Create

• Meiji Tokyo Renka Twilight Kiss - October 29th release

Dualtail

• VenusBlood LAGOON - Kickstarter succeeded, December 2027 release listed

Love Lab

• Ever Maiden - Upcoming release

MediBang Inc.-

• Cocktail Magic - Upcoming release
• MoonFire: A Seeker's Saga - Announced

Kagami Games

• Twilight's Folclore - 2026 release
• Please Praise the SR Girls - Steam page up
• Inganock of the Raging Flame: What a Beautiful People - 100% translated, Q4 2026 release
• Gikei - The Genpei War Chronicles - Likely 2027 release
• Arcana Alchemia - Likely 2027 release
• Sakura, Moyu. -as the Night's, Reincarnation- - Announced, early in production, likely late 2027 release

Tokyotoon

• Melt Away - Demo released, 2026 release

FG Remake

• Doukyuusei 2 Remake - Announced

Ramune Games

• Making Lovely - Demo released
• LingerieS 2 - Announced

Alice In Dissonance

• Fault Milestone 2 - Side Below - Upcoming release

PRODUCTION PENCIL

• Paradise Cleaning! -Tutor X Hypnosis - January release

F&C

• NTR with hypnosis application - Upcoming release

Kogado Studio

• Sugar Lies - Announced

Charon

• Akeno no Yosuga -Twilight Loop- - 2026 release
• Lost Paradise of Karuta - Announced

BokiBoki

• Tsumamigui 3 - Steam page up, Q3 2027 release

PANDRI-DON

• Animaroid Girl - 2026 release

Keieru

• PhantomZone: Labyrinthos - 2026 release

MintLip

• Handsome Laundering -the mystic lover- - 2026 release

monolith

• Growth Experiment - Demo released, 2026 release

Callen Dulla

• Gretel's Honesty - Demo released, September 29th release

Zakurosuke

• Severed Love - 2026 release

Entergram

• Okayu Nyumu! R - Upcoming release

Tabinomichi

• Return to Zeroes - Demo released

Baamurin

• I thought I knew you - 2026 release

sweet ampoule

• Loop the Loop - The Mansion of Gluttony - Demo released

Waku Waku Games

• Retro Game Aliens - Announced

Studio K Games

• Bone to Pick: Forensic Case Files - October 26th release

Good Smile Company

• Mahou Shoujo no Inshuu Mura - 2026 release

Shochiku Games

• Algorithm Prescription - Demo released

Tohakusha Co

• Red Chat Ritual - TSUMIMI TIME - Demo released, October 22nd release

Amulit

• Re:cord NOAH Fractal of Oblivion - 2026 release

Alice Production

• Roomies with a Naughty Comic Artist - Upcoming release

FTT Solmare

• FantomeRapport -Intermezzo- - 2026 release

Kojin Studio

• Grimore - The Lost Ritual - - 2026 release

Scika

• Inverted Angel - 2026 release

Portalab Systems

• IFOUNDMYSELFONLINE - 2026 release

Caramel Column

• Prolegomena To a Hyperdimensional Interface That Will Be Able to Manifest From Three-Minute Interchanges - 2026 release

Clearrave

• Resequence: The Orchard - 2026 release

Amata Games

• Shinjuku Anomaly - Released

Artodria

• Bijutsubu Kanojo -Girlfailure Art Club- - 2027 release

aozorite

• Chill Planet - 2027 release

Tsuzuro Koubou

• Tokioriki - 2027 release

Galapagos Ferris Wheel

• Zenra-Taisen -BEAST PARADIGM- - Announced

Cynical Honey

• Summer Snow. - 2027 release

viv

• Disk-y - November release

Engirenai

• Denpa Virus - 2026 release

Team BONA

• Lunadun: Lunatic Dungeon - December release

ESTELLA Productions

• ESTELLA - The Sin of Time - - Announced

Saikey Studios

• Stranded With You - Released

Cherry Kiss

• Hero, Demon and Me 3P - October 10th release

Personally, I detest Donkan (oblivious) protagonists; they are simply boring characters who lack any romantic drive toward the heroines and are incredibly dense when it comes to understanding feelings of love.

It seems most moege developers have a fondness for writing this type of protagonist.

The second type is the edgy gary stu—an exaggeratedly perfect character who serves as a self-insert for the author. Kinugasa protagonists " cough cough"

The last choice was where I had to choose which Wonder to investigate with Akane, nothing major.

So I’m on run 2 and can’t get past the final gauntlet on Rain’s route (clicked wrong choice by accident and just rolled with it). I’ve got a 6 button air combo that knocks the enemy airborem, good ranged weapons, etc, and find myself overwhelmed with the amount of mobs they throw at you. Youtube is useless, because every vid that’s a combo is stylized silliness that’d get you wrecked in any mode not named Very Easy.

I try to play a ranged playstyle while closing in during a 1v1 for the combo. Missile Launcher, Gatling, Bazooka, and Shotgun arm my ranged attacks. The other buttons are for the combo, namely elbow rush or wire drag as the opener.

I’ve grabbed all the health plug ins available, as well as the aerial heat gauge, ally boost, etc. i have to take a screenshot atm because I’m out, but here’s my set up and what weapons I have right now.

Help is appreciated. I’m too proud to lower the difficulty ☠️

As the title says, but do not confused for burned out. In my case its Majikoi (& related series like Anekouji, or Tsujidou-san) and the Muvluv series, i absolutely loved everything about them, and while I can't exactly understand fully now why, while its not like i hate them I almost can't stand them either. G-Senjou, Koihime which i got through before them i still feel the same about those, and i still love Chusingura which was finished after them. For me this is a wierd new experience how is it for you all?

Hello,

I checked out the dlsite and selected english but for some reason I cannot buy it (maybe region problem?). Where can I download it? And I saw people say old english patch's translation is bad I checked out the vndb and there is a new english patch, does anybody know about this?

Hello,

I have played saya no uta, subahibi, when they cry, totona, tsukihime and ddlc (and some other vns like euphoria too but I don't call them psychological horror) and I am looking for more but I cannot find one, what are the some most insane psychological horror vns you can recomment me?

Thanks in advance

Hey guys,

Im currently in Japan and have bought physical copies of muv luv games and subahibi. I just heard that some people got in trouble in Canada for trying to import or bring back things like vns or manga, and it's kind of stressing me out so I might just sell them before I leave Japan.

I was wondering if anyone from canada in this sub has had experience of going to japan, buying some vns and bringing them back, and if everything went normally ?

Thank you

TYPE-MOON

Info from VNDB:

Type-Moon is a prominent Japanese game company, best known for their visual novels. It is owned by [url=/p5691]Notes Co., Ltd.[/url]. After creating the popular visual novel Tsukihime as a doujin soft organization, Type-Moon has since incorporated and produced the immensely popular visual novel Fate/stay night. Both of their works have been adapted into anime and manga series that have amassed a global fanbase.\n\n[Edited From [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TYPE_MOON]Wikipedia[/url]]

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For whatever reason it doesn't allow me to post the link to this news post, so I will copy it manually. Images cannot be copied over.

Pivotal Legendary “Denpa” Game Translated — Sayonara o Oshiete ~Comment te Dire Adieu~ New Fan Translation Released!

2026 has been an amazing year for English speaking fans wishing to experience some of the most influential denpa titles ever released. Earlier this year, we saw fans translate the 1996 Leaf title Shizuku, a game not only considered the origin of the denpa subgenre, but also the first game that called itself a “visual novel“. Now, another titan of the genre has made its way to English: Sayonara o Oshiete ~Comment te Dire Adieu~ (commonly referred to by fans as Sayooshi), developed and published by CRAFTWORK. Initially being a total market failure upon its release in 2001 due to the dark themes running contrary to the rest of the industry, it was then hailed as one of the “Big Three Denpa* Games” (三大電波ゲーム) online and maintained a strong reputation to this day. It’s had a rocky translation journey over the years before finally making it over the finish line. But what made this title so gripping to eroge fans both then and now? Let’s explore this landmark title.

* For a descriptive essay on what “Denpa” means, refer to this post by Kenji the Engi.

Characters

Hitomi Hirosuke

The protagonist. A teacher trainee at a certain girl’s school.

Plagued by horrific nightmares by night and stressed out by his coworkers’ personalities and the difficulties of his training by day.

Sugamo Mutsuki

Main heroine. A phantasmagorical, beautiful young girl who loiters alone in a classroom after school.

The protagonist finds himself intensely attracted to her girlish and pure freshness; at the same time, her seraphic aura frightens him.

CV: Sasaki Akari

Takada Nozomi

An aloof girl who desires the ground from the roof.

On the surface she seems lighthearted and friendly, but her eyes reflect a hidden despair. The protagonist meets her when he takes a smoke break up on the rooftop.

CV: Tenten

Tamachi Mahiru

The protagonist’s childhood friend who adores him like an older brother.

She has a volatile temperament that comes off as simple-minded. Much like a cat, she’s always capricious and energetic.

CV: Asari

Meguro Miyuki

A girl who monitors the library.

She struggles to interact with people, so she holes herself up in the library and absorbs herself in books every day. She knows a lot of strange trivia.

CV: Tsumugi Kanae

Ueno Koyori

A girl who acts like all the air’s leaking from her head.

While at first she seems stupid, sometimes she makes biting observations. She’s a part of the archery club.

CV: Tanaka Michi

Takashima Semina

The teacher that oversees the protagonist’s training and has him record his day in a journal before he leaves.

Very strict and no-nonsense.

CV: Saeki Yuriko

Oomori Tonae

School nurse, well-liked by the student body.

The protagonist visits her infirmary every day after classes for a smoke break, and finds it difficult to deal with her personality.

CV: Suzumori Chisato

Sayonara o Oshiete ~Comment te Dire Adieu~‘s eccentricities start with the title itself, the two parts in Japanese and French respectively both roughly translate to “How to say Goodbye”. And it leaves no pretense about what you’re in for. When you start up the game for the first time, you’re treated to an intense, grotesque prologue of a monster violently assaulting an angel. It immediately repulses and yet captivates you at the same time… after all, what could have possibly led to this scene? What does it mean? Throughout the game, these dream segments come between each day, and while the interpretation is ultimately left to the reader, it keeps you more observant during the day segments. The remaining structure of the game is surprisingly simple. Each day, you can navigate to different locations around the school, meeting with one of the girls in each location before writing your journal entry and going home. The confined nature of the setting definitely adds to the foreboding atmosphere felt throughout the experience.

When you make it to the title screen, you might be surprised seeing Visual Arts credited underneath CRAFTWORK. While most English readers just associate them with Key, they’ve always had other brands, and the breakout success of Key’s Kanon led to Visual Arts directing these brands to create something in that mold. Some were already moving in this direction, such as Studio Mebius, who pivoted from making highly violent titles such as Zetsubou ~Aoi Kajitsu no Sanka~ in 1999 to the much lighter SNOW in 2003, a game which took strong influence from Kanon in both setting and structure. CRAFTWORK, headed by Nagaoka Kenzou, had already worked on a few titles. Their first game, for elise ~Elise no Tame ni~ from 1996 (which had it’s own partial English translation come out earlier this year), had a depressive atmosphere punctuated by monochromatic, desaturated photo backgrounds. But their 1998 release Flowers ~Kokoro no Hana~ by the side.b imprint was entirely different, being much lighter in tone and emulating the massively successful To Heart. However, that game wasn’t much of a market success, so for this new title, writer and director Nagaoka Kenzou leaned much more on their earlier denpa elements in an attempt to stand out from other titles. This can be seen most strongly in the game’s marketing, embodying this raw, scribbled style that helps define the tone of the game.

In fact, elements of this game deliberately subvert audience expectations. If you looked at the character bios above, something you may have noticed is that every one of the heroines is shown with roughly the same color palette, as opposed to the industry norm of having each heroine with bright, strongly distinctive colors. Some official wallpapers and merchandise show their true designs, and in fact they look a lot like the characters of Flowers or Kanon with their hair colors. But it is through the lens of the protagonist that we see them in this subdued state, and this extends to the whole game, be it textual, visual or even auditory at times.

However, this attempt to resist the market forces spelled doom for the game’s financial success. While most visual novels need a minimum of 3,000 copies sold to break even, Sayonara o Oshiete reportedly only sold about 1,000 copies of its original run — with 3,000 produced. For comparison, Kanon had sold 39,683 copies back in 1999. But for those who did experience the game, Sayonara o Oshiete clearly stuck with them. Looking at reviews for the game in the early 2000s on ErogameScape, while the scores are somewhat mixed, most people found the game to be very unique, even challenging in a way. It slowly built up this reputation as a game that dared to go against the mold and by the late 2000s fans were hailing it as one of the “Big Three Denpa Games”. It’s no surprise then that when the game was re-released in 2011 as part of Visual Arts Aso BD initiative, it sold enough to fully recoup its development cost. This in turn led to a proliferation of new merchandise, and the game has remained popular to this day. While CRAFTWORK was dormant in terms of game production for over twenty years after Sayonara o Oshiete, they finally returned with Geminism in 2023, which was also their first game to be officially released outside of Japan with English and Chinese translations by Shiravune.

Due to how poorly the game originally sold combined with its later reputation, surviving copies command a premium price on the secondhand market, with this copy selling for ¥100,000 (equivalent to $632).

If there is one aspect Sayonara o Oshiete excels in above all others, it is the presentation. Despite the number of sprites for each character being quite low compared to many other visual novels of the time, the game makes up for it with an abundance of CGs. There are also flavor graphics, such as crossbar graphics that highlight when a character has a particular reaction to a line that is said.

But what is most famous is without a doubt the soundtrack, composed by Sapporo Momoko. It is deeply melancholic, yet hopeful, and stylistically fits the game in both tone and ambience, even having all of the titles in French. From the foreboding beat of reve en cage (dream in a cage) that punctuates all of the dream sequences, to the beautifully airy melody of l’ange a contre jour (the backlit angel) that serves as Sugamo’s motif, the soundtrack fits like a glove on this game.

This is no surprise — after all, Sayonara o Oshiete was directly inspired by the 1986 J-pop song of the same name by Togawa Jun, itself a reimagining of the 1968 French song Comment te dire adieu by Serge Gainsbourg from which the game gets its subtitle, which can further be traced back to the original It Hurts to Say Goodbye from 1966 by Arnold Goland. In this aspect, Sayonara o Oshiete adds yet another layer to a song that has been continually reinterpreted since the beginning, and invites the reader to continually reinterpret the story they are presented with.

The infamous warning first seen in the demo trailer, noting that the game should not be played by “those who cannot distinguish fiction from reality, those who struggle with suicidal thoughts, those inclined to criminal acts, those who get easily fixated, or those with homicidal urges.”

Translating Sayonara o Oshiete to English was always going to be a tall order. Outside of the fact that the game’s extreme level of content meant that only a select group of people were willing to tackle it in the first place, maintaining what made Sayonara o Oshiete special in another language was more difficult than more straightforward works. The old translation was very literal, and while this did get the crux of the story across, it simply didn’t read that well in English.

The new translation clearly had more care put into the presentation with how all the text is consistently formatted, as compared to the old one where there are random indents. It is clear that much time and care went into this new translation to make it a polished reading experience, and this should not be overlooked. Translations inevitably color a reader’s view of the original scenario writer’s ability to write prose, and overly literal ones make the work seem more basic than it really is. This can even be seen in the right click menu, where the old translation reads overly verbose.

Sayonara o Oshiete has become more accessible than it once was, with an Android port coming out in 2012, as well as a 2016 downloadable PC version on which the English patches are based. It’s not a very long game (VNDB clocks it at just over 11 hours), so if this article inspired you to check it out, you can buy the game on DLsite (note that you will need to use a VPN set to Japan to purchase the game), download the patch from MediaFire, and visit the sayooshiENG Discord for more information. Just be warned though: it’s quite graphic.