True Love ~Jun’ai Monogatari~ was released by Japanese developer Software House Parsley for the NEC PC-98 in 1995. Four years later, the game was localized for Windows 95 and released in the U.S. and Europe by Otaku Publishing. Despite its popularity, the game has been in licensing limbo and only available to play through unofficial sources… UNTIL NOW!

The Re-Release

The majority of work put into the re-release of True Love ’95 involved uncovering the existing license holders so that fans can support this classic for its 25th anniversary. The game was then ported to the Ren’Py engine to enable it to run smoothly on modern systems with some fabulous quality of life upgrades, such as the ability to resize the window while keeping the retro pixel art looking as good as ever!

The Story

The main character is a single, nineteen-year-old Japanese college senior living in the city of Meiai, forced out by his parents at the idea that independence may attract him a partner. With no direction and unsure of his future, the player embarks on a quest to define themselves and find a person to love. The game is played through a series of days consecutively spanning three months.

At the start of each morning, players designate an activity to pursue for evening, night, and in the case of weekends or vacation, daytime. Each choice impacts the overall profile of the player and points are distributed across stats for passion, appearance, fatigue, scholarship, strength, and art. Depending on the level of these stats, and the order of schedules made during particular days, the player will shift their romantic focus and possibly trigger events and encounters with other characters.