Anime Play
AnimePlay is the name for the format a series of games released by Hirameki International (a subsidiary of the Japanese ren'ai publisher Hirameki) are distributed in.
These are the only English-language bishōjo games that are playable on plain DVD players; they can also be played on PCs with DVD-ROM drives or video game consoles which can play DVDs like the PlayStation 2 or Xbox. The restrictions of the DVD format mean that these games are missing many features present in most bishōjo games, however, such as separate volume controls for music and voices; controlling the speed at which text is played; and ability to save the game at any point.
These games are also notable for being the only bishōjo games available in English which do not contain sex scenes and thus are suitable for under-18s.
The following games have been released in AnimePlay format:
- Phantom of Inferno, a crime drama
- Amusement Park, a romantic drama
- Day of Love, a high school romance
- Tea Society of a Witch, a magical fantasy
- Azrael, a ghost story: status unknown
- Canary, a school love story: status unknown
- Hooligan, an action love comedy: status unknown
- Tea Society of a Witch: released in summer 2004
- Hourglass of Summer: released in summer 2004
AnimePlay is also a quarterly magazine published by Hirameki International. It features a thin print edition, with the majority of its material on an interactive DVD. The magazine mostly reviews the above Hirameki International ren'ai games that are playable on DVD players. It does review anime and manga as well. The magazine published its first issue in July 2003.
See also
