Anybody Else Share My Experience?

[Scone]

Like someone else here stated, Harvest Moon was my first venture with romance in games via A Wonderful Life on the PS2! Really not the same with the SoS series, it sucks.

But if we're going with games strictly classified as an otome, I don't remember which game was first exactly - but I played through a bunch of Nintendo DS and PC otome games. Games like Love Revo (still a favorite), Black Wolves Saga (why I joined AS in 2014!), Gekka Ryouran Romance, the Ouran Host Club game for the DS, and Princess Debut.

I think the Switch and mobile market gives us a lot of options compared to before, but there really are some gems on the older handheld systems.

 

[ozkun]

I think the first game I ever played was Starry Sky Spring, about 10 years ago. I remember struggling to install it, changing the language, and setting up virtual drives and stuff. It's quite nostalgic. I also played a lot of games with simple art styles like Heartstring Bugs or Frozen Essence by Unbroken Hours. They looked simple, but they were really fun! =))

Now there are so many games to choose from, but I don't have much time to play anymore. But I still really enjoy collecting and anticipating new games =))

P.S: I saw someone mention The Second Reproduction, and I absolutely love that game too. It was the first game I played until midnight, crying under the covers

 

[RenaLin]

I haven't played RE: Alistair, but I have played Backstage Pass, so I guess it's finally time to give it a try!

If you enjoyed Backstage Pass, you should definitely give it a try. It's short and sweet.

 

[fr4pp3cinn]

I started playing otome games with My Candy Love, a browser game, around 2014. Didn't really get into the genre until 2016 though, my first console otome was Amnesia.

 

[pzahhak]

Omg yes! I remember playing Pacthesis games a lot when I was younger. It was probably my gate towards otome games overall!
I especially loved Star Days!

Star Days was super cute! I always hold a special spot in my heart for Wonderland Days since it was the first Pacthesis game I played.

Like someone else here stated, Harvest Moon was my first venture with romance in games via A Wonderful Life on the PS2! Really not the same with the SoS series, it sucks.

But if we're going with games strictly classified as an otome, I don't remember which game was first exactly - but I played through a bunch of Nintendo DS and PC otome games. Games like Love Revo (still a favorite), Black Wolves Saga (why I joined AS in 2014!), Gekka Ryouran Romance, the Ouran Host Club game for the DS, and Princess Debut.

I think the Switch and mobile market gives us a lot of options compared to before, but there really are some gems on the older handheld systems.

Oh my goodness yes! I never considered Harvest Moon on the same level as the dating sims, though I did receive my first HM game at around the same time. It was Magical Melody on the GameCube, and while I know now by HM standards it wasn't a great game, it sparked my love for the series. To the point where outside of the first three games, I own the entire series now, including spinoffs.

 

[tf_charge]

Oh my goodness yes! I never considered Harvest Moon on the same level as the dating sims, though I did receive my first HM game at around the same time. It was Magical Melody on the GameCube, and while I know now by HM standards it wasn't a great game, it sparked my love for the series. To the point where outside of the first three games, I own the entire series now, including spinoffs.

If Harvest Moon is a dating sim, then is Fire Emblem also a dating sim?

 

[Alexz]

I've also started with Pacthesis games haha! Think my fav one was Wonderland days as well and the cheshire cat from it. Can't quite remember it was such long time ago. Then i started downloading free android otomes haha, played a lot of voltage and shall we date series.

 

[ramtam]

If Harvest Moon is a dating sim, then is Fire Emblem also a dating sim?

I believe that having more options for enjoyment is a good thing.

There's definitely something heart-fluttering about Fire Emblem: Three Houses!
If you play your cards right, a happy ending with your favorite guy (or girl!) awaits.

By the way, I used to be Team Dimitri, but after reading Kawachi Izumi (@k_izumi99)'s doujinshi, I've completely switched to Team Sylvain.

 

[pzahhak]

I've also started with Pacthesis games haha! Think my fav one was Wonderland days as well and the cheshire cat from it. Can't quite remember it was such long time ago. Then i started downloading free android otomes haha, played a lot of voltage and shall we date series.

Wonderland Days was my fave too! Now I wanna replay them for nostalgia. Thankfully the series has been successfully archived.

 

[Pixiedust01]

My first otome game was Yo-Jin-Bo - The Bodyguards. Until this game i was only aware of galges. Never knew that was games aimed for women. lol

 

[lambdadelta]

re:alistair and starry sky (in spring) were my first games! i have vague memories of playing princess debut but that didn't go very far lol. i think re:alistair would hold up well, maybe i should replay too...

saw hatoful boyfriend mentioned omg i love it really great vn. it's full of surprises

 

[Kyouri]

I actually started more into general visual novels and galge. Granted, they were more accessible in English compared to otome when I was growing up. But like Narcissu, kana imouto, are ones I remember early on that I enjoyed. It's been more recent years that I've gotten sort of focused on otome. Maybe it's the loneliness. Haha. But a good escape from reality.

 

[Pixiedust01]

saw hatoful boyfriend mentioned omg i love it really great vn. it's full of surprises

Omg, hatoful boyfriend. I played this game too. Never tough a romance with pigeons would make me have fun. It was a good experience.

 

[ninnikuryona]

Does Hatoful Boyfriend count as an otome game? Cause that was my first otome game, and the final route kinda blew me away! I don't remember what the exact reason for me starting the game was in the first place, but I do remember that I wasn't expecting something like that in the "silly bird dating sim", so it was a welcomed pleasant surprise.
I have yet to play Holiday Star though, I really should sometime.

that was my exact experience too! i started reading it because haha romance birds, but then the true route happened and i was bawling my eyes out. it really is a great otome, even if it looks like a dumb parody at first!

 

[ninnikuryona]

my memory is very bad unfortunately, but i think my very first proper otome was amour sucre/my candy love. i even remember exploiting the bug that let you farm action points through friends invite lol, i literally had dozens of fake emails and spent hours generating ap! and i even got my classmate to try and play too, even though she wasnt as interested as i was. that was a fun time!

other than that, i read seduce me and thought it was pretty neat (was considering rereading it and reading part 2, but apparently theres ntr in the second game, so im conflicted on that, even though im okay with ntr in eroge). and of course genius inc games, may their soul rest in peace. ichu was another big one, even though its not otome but rather joseimuke with romance elements, but it was so goddamn romantic it will forever have a very special place in my heart....;; i knew of the existence of big commercial otome like amnesia or yo-jin-bo, but i was a little intimidated by them i guess, so i mainly stuck to small indie games

 

[RenaLin]

my memory is very bad unfortunately, but i think my very first proper otome was amour sucre/my candy love. i even remember exploiting the bug that let you farm action points through friends invite lol, i literally had dozens of fake emails and spent hours generating ap! and i even got my classmate to try and play too, even though she wasnt as interested as i was. that was a fun time!

other than that, i read seduce me and thought it was pretty neat (was considering rereading it and reading part 2, but apparently theres ntr in the second game, so im conflicted on that, even though im okay with ntr in eroge). and of course genius inc games, may their soul rest in peace. ichu was another big one, even though its not otome but rather joseimuke with romance elements, but it was so goddamn romantic it will forever have a very special place in my heart....;; i knew of the existence of big commercial otome like amnesia or yo-jin-bo, but i was a little intimidated by them i guess, so i mainly stuck to small indie games

OMG, I farmed action points through friend invites too. I totally forgot about that. And I remember saving up action points every day for a whole month just to spend them all on a new episode later. And that daisy flower game — "he loves me, he loves me not..."

 

[ninnikuryona]

OMG, I farmed action points through friend invites too. I totally forgot about that. And I remember saving up action points every day for a whole month just to spend them all on a new episode later. And that daisy flower game — "he loves me, he loves me not..."

yes!!!! or that bug with the basketball minigame when you could just open it and leave the tab and it would automatically get the highest score.. i sometimes left that tab for HOURS because i forgot about it D: i also remember the theatre play and the staggering 400$ costumes which was a HUGE cost back in the days, so people were naturally stuck.. so many fun memories with this silly little game!

 

[RenaLin]

yes!!!! or that bug with the basketball minigame when you could just open it and leave the tab and it would automatically get the highest score.. i sometimes left that tab for HOURS because i forgot about it D: i also remember the theatre play and the staggering 400$ costumes which was a HUGE cost back in the days, so people were naturally stuck.. so many fun memories with this silly little game!

WHAT?! I didn't know about this bug. How did I miss it?
I also remember how exorbitant the costume prices were, but since I started playing almost from the game's launch, I always had enough money to buy them. But one day I bought the wrong costume and didn't get a poster because of it. That was so brutal

 

[7Senses]

Same here for me, I loved Pacthesis' dating sims! I later on found a couple more dating sims, such as My Cup of Tea and Moonlight Dating Sim from nummyz. Wanting more of Girl x Boy romance games was how I started playing otome games since it opened up the world of visual novels for me!

 

[mistysea]

Another Harvest Moon MFoMT as the first dating sim experience here! Followed by Avalon Code and then eventually Fire Emblem Awakening.
I didn't realize otome games were a thing until like 2012 or so when I stumbled across someone's blog with a detailed playthrough of Amnesia and got instantly interested lol
Tho I didn't get around to actually playing a strictly otome game myself till I discovered the Shall We Date games and started playing Niflheim

 

[a4015]

I happened to come across a blog about otome games, and that's how I got started. Before that, I only read romance novels, but once I discovered otome games, I was hooked in an instant.

 

[YummyYum]

Same here for me, I loved Pacthesis' dating sims! I later on found a couple more dating sims, such as My Cup of Tea and Moonlight Dating Sim from nummyz. Wanting more of Girl x Boy romance games was how I started playing otome games since it opened up the world of visual novels for me!

Oh my gosh I forgot about Pacthesis' dating sims! They opened up my world too- I remember finding her first sim at school when we had free-time on the computers lol. Same with Nummyz. It made me crave Girl x Boy, but at that time there was almost none, then I found Yo-Jin-Bo, and then came across all the Ren'Py games.

 

[inclem3ntia]

Omg I love all these memory trip and throwbacks!!! Honestly same. Pacthesis and Re Alistair amongst other games of that era. Time flies! One of my favorites was Knife of the Traitor... and now I want to replay those old games LOL

 

[oliviya]

That's exactly my backstory too
I was mind-blown that I could read stories where I decided who the MC was gonna end up with.

I originally used to go into websites with free flash games to play dress up games and I stumbled upon Pacthesis, then I realized she had so many other games on DeviantArt and I literally played every single one then she stopped making them which was sad but that made me look into these type of games (I was addicted haha) and that's how I found out about Otome games and I have played so many since. My first one was Yo-Jin-Bo

Speaking of DeviantArt, I also played so many AzurexTwilight games. Her writing was *chef's kiss*

 

[shinichiel]

At this point I don't even remember exactly which was my first, but I remember how hard I tried to get character voices and sleeping modes in the early days. And I still want sleep modes for every game.