There are moments in life when you’re left wondering “what the hell did I just see?” Things that baffle you beyond reason. Hatoful Boyfriend<\/em> is one of those things. It’s no secret that some cultural peculiarities of the Asian world will always puzzle us Westerners (and vice-versa), particularly in the entertainment sector. But this…<\/p>\n First things first: The first thought that comes to my\u00a0mind in association with dating sims\u00a0is \u201cdirty little secret\u201d. It\u2019s not\u00a0the kind of game\u00a0you\u2019d normally go trumpeting around the rooftops about. I\u2019m fairly sure, however, that you\u2019ve never experienced anything quite like this UFO before. I certainly haven\u2019t. Let\u2019s start with the premise: in the not-too-distant future, a particularly Obviously, since there are no humans around at the school, her only romantic prospects lie with birds. And before you start backing off in dubitative disgust, I assure you that nothing sexual ever happens. There isn\u2019t even any PDA<\/abbr> to speak of. Thankfully, might I add. That\u2019s not to say that nothing dodgy<\/em> ever happens, because one of the potential romantic subplots is steeped in textual gore (and some innuendo). And two others are so The first part of the game This is all rather straightforward, and the game, additionally, never overstays its welcome, by making each storyline manageably short (about 30 mins). Moreover, you can fast-forward through parts you’ve already seen by clicking on the arrow in the upper right corner of the screen.\u00a0Each ending grants you an image in the Gallery, as well as some mysterious notes in the Archive section of the main menu, which add a disquieting undercurrent to things. Once you\u2019ve seen them all, including a side-storyline which involves pairing up two other birds who have nothing to do with the school, and a ‘bad ending’ where the heroine fails to romance anybody\u2013or \u201canybirdie\u201d, as the game humorously puts it\u2013and, startlingly, gets killed by a group of hawks for it (these two You wouldn\u2019t expect talking birds to make for particularly relatable characters, and, while I\u2019m not familiar with the conventions of the dating sim genre, I don\u2019t\u00a0suppose that character development is a priority. Surprisingly enough, though, these birds do get their own backstories (most\u00a0are substantially padded out in the extra ![\"There](\"https:\/\/grafskaya.club\/mysst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/there-are-no-words.jpg\" "\\"There")
<\/a> Hatoful Boyfriend<\/em>, as the name indicates, is a dating sim. This is not a genre I would normally touch with a 10-foot pole, but this game was brought to my attention by an utterly fearless forum acquaintance, who pointed out that, not only was it\u00a0completely insane, but also surprisingly well-thought out (how’s that for a paradox?). My curiosity was piqued and, since it only cost $5, and since I\u2019m always up for unusual experiences, after some deliberation, I decided to take the plunge. For the record, there is a free demo version available, but trust me, you WANT to get the full version. That is, provided you want the game at all. Not only does it include a secret character, but a substantial extra storyline as well. The latter\u00a0basically explains the entire backstory of the game (you’re in for some shocks, let me tell you), but also puts you in control of a different character and is very<\/em> different in tone.<\/p>\n<\/a>virulent mutation of the avian flu wipes out most of humanity and simultaneously makes birds sapient. Not exactly your usual sappy romance setting. Be that as it may, the consequence is that birds take over society, and a human girl (that\u2019s your protagonist) finds herself enrolled in a high-school for gifted birds. All the while living in a cave and hunting for her meals. I\u2019ll just let all that sink in for a moment.<\/p>\n<\/a>WEIRD that no description could ever do them justice. That aside, this premise is also what explains the title of the game; \u201chatoful\u201d is a play on the word \u201cheartful\u201d: \u201chato\u201d means \u201cpigeon\u201d in Japanese. Not that \u201cheartful boyfriend\u201d makes very much sense in English, but we\u2019ll just let that slide. The actual translation of the game is fun and well-executed, barring some rare, bizarre cultural references and the odd typo\/spelling mistake.<\/p>\n<\/a> is devoted to establishing the setting and introducing the potential romantic interests (except the secret character, whom you\u2019ll have to go digging for). For starters, you can pick your character\u2019s name at the beginning of the game. You can also opt to have a ‘humanised portrait’ of each of the eight\u00a0romance options displayed. Whenever a potential prince charming is first introduced, a title screen with his name and portrait appears. If you pick the humanised option, there will also be a picture of what he would look like if he were human (well, except one of them…he just looks like a bird in both). This greatly helps to make them more relatable. <\/a>Otherwise, you\u2019re stuck with a pigeon, three fantails, a quail, a partridge, a mourning dove and a bleeding-heart. Sexy (not). They are, respectively, the protagonist\u2019s best friend, two aristocratic fellow-student brothers and a wacky sports enthusiast, the narcoleptic\u00a0math teacher, the creepy school doctor, a quiet bookworm and a\u2026well, I guess anime-freak will have to do as a description. Yeah, that\u2019s the secret character.<\/p>\n<\/a>Anyway, the concept is simple: once you decide which birdie makes your character\u2019s heart flutter (ho ho ho), you then proceed to win their affection by choosing specific actions or lines of dialogue in conversation or at certain events (there\u2019s a sports event, a school festival, fireworks, etc.). You can save at any time, which is helpful if you\u2019re at all unsure of what to do. Every once in a while, you\u2019ll also have an electives day, where the heroine can choose between attending math, music or gym class, which will raise one of her stats: wisdom, charisma or vitality, respectively. This will affect her chances with some of the options. Some of them even have slightly different outcomes, depending on which stat you choose to boost. Finally,\u00a0you can also buy some beans to gift to the bird of your choice for the in-game equivalent of Valentine\u2019s Day. Each has their preference, so this affects the protagonist\u2019s chances as well.<\/p>\n<\/a>endings can be achieved in one go, by the way), you\u2019ll have access to the aforementioned extra storyline. This\u00a0takes longer than the usual playthrough, restricts saving to certain key moments, involves all potential romantic interests, with you in control of the best friend, and\u2026let\u2019s just say that it\u2019s a mix of crime, thriller, horror, melodrama, comedy, romance, RPG<\/abbr> and sci-fi. And that it will blow your mind.<\/p>\n<\/a>storyline), and, after a while, they just start feeling like ‘normal’ characters, and you end up empathising with some of them. Not all romances end well, and not all of them are equally successful in their execution: there is, for example, a definite bias towards the best friend, who easily gets the most\u2013rather moving, might I add\u2013content and makes the most sense as a partner. Two of the other romances are also very predictable.<\/p>\n