True Tears
True Tears | |
Genre | Drama, Romance |
---|---|
Game | |
Developer | La'cryma |
Publisher | La'cryma (Windows) Sweets (PS2) |
Genre | Visual novel |
Platform | Windows, PlayStation 2 |
Released | March 31, 2006 (Windows) August 7, 2008 (PS2) |
Manga | |
Written by | La'cryma |
Illustrated by | Asaki |
Published by | Flex Comix |
Magazine | Comi Digi (former) Comi Digi + |
Demographic | Seinen |
Original run | December 10, 2005 – August 21, 2006 |
Volumes | 1 |
Live-action film | |
Directed by | Kazuya Hatazawa |
Released | December 22, 2006 |
Anime television series | |
True Tears (stylized as true tears) is a Japanese visual novel developed by La'cryma, a collaboration between Broccoli, Circus, GameCrab and Rei Izumi,[1] and was originally released on March 31, 2006 for the Windows as a DVD in Japan rated for everyone, followed by a Hong Kong and Taiwanese release on March 31, 2007. A PlayStation 2 version was first announced to be released on March 13, 2008, but was later delayed for an August 7, 2008 release. The gameplay in True Tears follows a linear plot line, which offers pre-determined scenarios and courses of interaction, and focuses on the appeal of the five female main characters.
True Tears has made several transitions to other media. A
Gameplay
The gameplay in True Tears requires little player interaction as much time is spent on reading the text that appears on the lower portion of the screen, representing either dialogue between characters, or the inner thoughts of the protagonist. Before the beginning of every week in the game's storyline, the player is given the option to plan a schedule, and is allowed to pick and view any three days of the given week.[2] Different events occur depending on the days that the player chooses. Every so often, the player will come to a "decision point" where he or she is given the chance to choose from options that are displayed on the screen, typically two to three at a time. Depending on which choice the player makes, the "tear points" of the heroine associated with the events of the day would either increase, decrease, or remains the same. "Tear points" act as a system notifying the player how well he or she is treating a certain character. If a character's tear points exceed the maximum amount of eight, her ending is rendered inaccessible during that specific playthrough. There are multiple plot lines that the player will have the chance to experience. To view all of the plot lines, the player will need to replay the game multiple times and make different schedules and choices during decision points to progress the plot in an alternate direction.
Plot and characters
The story of True Tears revolves around the protagonist Tetsuya Mizuno (水野 哲也, Mizuno Tetsuya), a third year high school student whose role the player assumes, and his interactions with his schoolmates during the second half of his final year attending Mizuho Academy (瑞鳳学園, Mizuho Gakuen), in which the main part of the story takes place. Tetsuya meets Yuzuko Sanada (真田 柚子, Sanada Yuzuko, Voiced by: Yūna Inamura), a heroine and a childhood friend whom he nicknamed Yuzu one day on his way to school. Yuzuko actually has a crush on Tetsuya. To her advantage, she is skilled at cooking and homemaking, but has a timid personality.[3] He later also meets Rui Nakane (仲根 るい, Rui Nakane, Voiced by: Yui Itsuki) at the pool after running errands for Asumi Akiyama (秋山 飛美, Akiyama Asumi, Voiced by: Kyōko Hikami), his cousin who is also the school nurse.[4] Rui is the main heroine in the story, who holds vast knowledge, and is very affectionate towards animals to the extent where her aim is to become a veterinarian.[5] Despite her love toward animals, she has a severe fear of touching cats due to a past incident.
Tetsuya is later confronted by Katsura Yukishiro (雪代 かつら, Yukishiro Katsura, Voiced by:
Other characters include Hikari Ogasawara (小笠原 光里, Ogasawara Hikari, Voiced by: Ami Koshimizu), a friend of Yuzuko's, and Mako Momose (百瀬 真子, Momose Mako, Voiced by: Akeno Watanabe), Io's fellow broadcasting club member who strives to be a comedian.[9] The two often appears together as supporting characters, but in addition to Asumi Akiyama, the two are also side-heroines. Keigo Sakuragawa (桜川 圭悟, Sakuragawa Keigo, Voiced by: Hideki Tasaka) is Io's stubborn elder brother.[10] Despite usually arguing with his sister over her ideals, he is actually quite fond of her and sometimes gets overprotective, to her dismay. Riku Morioka (森岡 陸, Morioka Riku, Voiced by: Masahito Yabe) is a friend of Mizuno. He is often depicted as a comic relief character, but also accompanies the protagonist on events like the school's festival. Gion Inoue (井上 祇園, Inoue Gion, Voiced by: Yukari Fukui) is a girl whose childish appearance resembles a grade school student.[11] She constantly mixes in onomatopoeia phrases in her speeches.[11]
Development
True Tears was first announced on May 4, 2005 at the Dream Party convention hosted at the
Release history
True Tears was first released for Windows on March 31, 2006, as both a limited edition and a regular edition.[13] The limited edition contained the game itself, a handkerchief, and a calendar; the regular edition did not contain the aforementioned extras.[1] It was then followed by a Hong Kong and Taiwanese release on March 31, 2007 published by T-Time Technology.[16] A PlayStation 2 version published by Sweets was announced to be released on March 13, 2008,[17] but was later delayed for an August 7, 2008 release.[18] The PS2 game contained the game itself, a drama CD and an illustration booklet.[18]
Related media
Internet radio shows
There were two Internet radio shows based on True Tears. The first radio show was titled Radio True Tears: Rui and Honoka's Mizuho Academy Broadcasting Club (ラジオトゥルーティアーズ るいと穂香の瑞鳳学園放送部(T_T), Radio True Tears: Rui to Honoka no Mizuho Gakuen hōsō bu), and was hosted by Yui Itsuki, Erina Nakayama, and Yukari Fukui. It began broadcasting on November 4, 2005 on Radio Kansai,[19] followed by an online stream every Wednesday,[19] and continued to broadcast every Friday until March 31, 2006. It was followed by a second radio show titled Yui and Sakura's Tear Radio: Special (ゆいとさくらの てぃあらじ 番外編, Yui to Sakura no Tia Raji: Bangai-hen) hosted by Yui Itsuki and Sakura Nogawa. It was first streamed online on June 8, 2006, with a new episode streamed online on every second and fourth Sunday of the month. It was retitled Yūna and Erina's Tear Radio: Pure Album (優奈と恵里奈の てぃあらじ 〜pure album〜, Yūna to Erina no Tia Raji: Pure Album) on November 10, 2006, after the host was changed to Yūna Inamura and Erina Nakayama, and continued to be streamed under that title until September 28, 2007.
Manga
A
Audio CDs
Two pieces of theme music were used in the visual novel. Noriyatsu Agematsu, who has previously also provided composition for
Two
Live action movie
True Tears was also adapted into a 35-minute live action film entitled True Tears: Pure Album. The film was released on December 22, 2006 as a direct-to-video release.[22] It was directed by Kazuya Hatazawa, and starred Azusa Takeda as Rui Nakane, Arisa Suzuki as Yuzuko Sanada, Makoto Kawahara as Katsura Yukishiro, Miki Tachibana as Honoka Uehara, and Hikari Kajiwara as Io Sakuragawa. Yūna Inamura and Erina Nakayama, who voiced Yuzuko Sanada and Honoka Uehara in the visual novel respectively, also appeared in the film.[22]
Anime
A thirteen-episode
Reception and sales
Unlike Da Capo II, one of the two games that often appeared alongside True Tears in advertising campaigns,[25] the game did not enjoy as high of a sales record, ranking forty-first out of fifty on the national ranking of bishōjo games based on amount sold in Japan during the last two weeks of March 2006,[26] compared to D.C. II's first place debut on the same chart two months later.[27]
Notes and references
- ^ a b c d "Product info of the game True Tears" (in Japanese). La'cryma. Archived from the original on November 16, 2007. Retrieved April 28, 2008.
- ^ "Game introduction at True Tears official website" (in Japanese). La'cryma. Archived from the original on May 5, 2008. Retrieved April 28, 2008.
- ^ "Yuzuko Sanada's character profile at True Tears' official website" (in Japanese). La'cryma. Archived from the original on April 19, 2008. Retrieved June 6, 2008.
- ^ "Asumi Akiyama's character profile at True Tears' official website" (in Japanese). La'cryma. Archived from the original on November 13, 2007. Retrieved June 6, 2008.
- ^ "Rui Nakane's character profile at True Tears' official website" (in Japanese). La'cryma. Archived from the original on November 16, 2007. Retrieved June 6, 2008.
- ^ "Katsura Yukishiro's character profile at True Tears' official website" (in Japanese). La'cryma. Archived from the original on February 9, 2009. Retrieved June 6, 2008.
- ^ "Honoka Uehara's character profile at True Tears' official website" (in Japanese). La'cryma. Archived from the original on February 9, 2009. Retrieved June 6, 2008.
- ^ "Io Sakuragawa's character profile at True Tears' official website" (in Japanese). La'cryma. Archived from the original on June 19, 2008. Retrieved June 6, 2008.
- ^ "Mako Momose's character profile at True Tears' official website" (in Japanese). La'cryma. Archived from the original on May 31, 2008. Retrieved June 6, 2008.
- ^ "Keigo Sakuragawa's character profile at True Tears' official website" (in Japanese). La'cryma. Archived from the original on March 19, 2008. Retrieved June 6, 2008.
- ^ a b "Gion Inoue's character profile at True Tears' official website" (in Japanese). La'cryma. Archived from the original on May 31, 2008. Retrieved June 6, 2008.
- ^ "An announcement of the game True Tears" (in Japanese). Game Watch. Archived from the original on May 4, 2008. Retrieved May 14, 2008.
- ^ a b c d "Information on the Windows release of True Tears". Insani. Retrieved May 19, 2008.
- ^ "A list of Maihama's work on ErogameScape" (in Japanese). ErogameScape. Archived from the original on February 9, 2009. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
- ^ "A list of Nekono's work on ErogameScape" (in Japanese). ErogameScape. Archived from the original on February 9, 2009. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
- ^ "List of romance video games published by T-Time Technology" (in Chinese). T-Time Technology. Archived from the original on April 15, 2008. Retrieved May 7, 2008.
- ^ "Official website of the PS2 version of True Tears" (in Japanese). La'cryma. Archived from the original on August 10, 2008. Retrieved May 18, 2008.
- ^ a b c "Product Information on the PS2 version of True Tears" (in Japanese). La'cryma. Archived from the original on January 1, 2008. Retrieved April 28, 2008.
- ^ a b "Information on the radio shows at True Tears's official website" (in Japanese). La'cryma. Archived from the original on March 23, 2008. Retrieved May 17, 2008.
- ^ "True Tears volume one on Gamers online store" (in Japanese). Broccoli. Archived from the original on December 25, 2008. Retrieved May 19, 2008.
- ^ "Agematsu's profile on Elements Garden" (in Japanese). Elements Garden. Archived from the original on October 13, 2007. Retrieved April 29, 2008.
- ^ "True Tears' page at Getchu.com" (in Japanese). Getchu. Retrieved June 21, 2008.
- P.A.Works. December 10, 2007. Retrieved January 5, 2008.
- ^ "True Tears announcement, Kitani discusses development. Anime adaptation confirmed" (in Japanese). Game Watch. Retrieved May 19, 2008.
- ^ "PC News ranking for bishōjo games; True Tears placed at forty-first place" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on April 18, 2007. Retrieved May 17, 2008.
- ^ "PC News ranking for bishōjo games; Da Capo II placed at first place" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on August 23, 2006. Retrieved May 17, 2008.
External links
- Visual novel's official website (in Japanese)
- Anime's official website (in Japanese)
- True Tears (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
- true tears at The Visual Novel Database