I first discovered otome games during a summer vacation in Japan. I was staying at my cousin's place, and he had a PlayStation, so I went to a game rental store to pick out a few games to play.
While browsing, I noticed a "girls' games" section. Back then, there weren't many games specifically marketed toward girls, so it immediately caught my attention. Most of the titles were similar to Harvest Moon, games that appealed to everyone regardless of gender, but one game stood out. That was Angelique.
It was the first romance-focused game for girls I had ever seen. Had a cute package. I rented it, started playing, and got hooked almost instantly. Before leaving Japan, I ended up buying a PS2 and several otome games to take home with me♪