LovePlus Visual Novel Review

Easy choices to get one of three high school girls.

PRODUCTION INFO

Konami both developed and published LovePlus for the Nintendo DS, which was released September 2009. In June 2010, Konami released a sequel called LovePlus+. Both the original LovePlus and LovePlus+ were rereleased for the Nintendo 3DS as remakes titled NEW LovePlus and NEW LovePlus+, which were released in 2012 and 2014 respectively.

WHAT TO EXPECT

There's not much of a story in LovePlus; you're just an average guy doing average things... Even the heroines don't have much of a backstory. Then entire purpose of LovePlus is to focus on the dating sim aspect. Nothing more. You just date a virtual girl, and once you become her boyfriend, the game ends. You don't even get to see what happens afterwards. There might be a few changes like how your new digital girlfriend uses your first name instead of your surname, but nothing drastic.

HEROINES

Nene Anegasaki is probably the most famous girl in LovePlus. Not just because a real Japanese otaku had an actual wedding ceremony with her, but also because she has a weird quirk when it comes to cough drops. My character asked her favourite food, and she said cough drops. No kidding. Her cough drop peculiarities even inspired her to appear on some Halls cough drops in Japan. Aside from her weirdness when it comes to lozenges, her personality is actually very mature. She works at a family restaurant called Dixie's, where your protagonist also gets a job. When that happens, Nene is the one to show you the ropes and guide you through it. Not only that, but she guides everyone else through it too; even the manager, which is kind of sad when you think about it. She's kind of got an older sister feeling to her, but she's not actually your older sister.

Manaka Takane is a strict girl who follows the school rules very carefully. She's never tardy coming to class, and she's quick to go home after club activities. She goes to the tennis club, which is where you meet her in the game. At first it seems a little hard to get close to her because she keeps to herself a lot, but she's actually very normal in comparison to someone like Nene who eats cough drops for snacks.

Rinko Kobayakawa is a library committee member with a terrible attitude. She's also the only girl who has any hint of a backstory. It takes a lot of effort and toleration, but once you hang out with her enough, you find out that she has some family problems which are the main cause of her rudeness. She's a troubled girl, but if you insist on sticking your nose in her problems, you can eventually get through to her.

OPINIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS

LovePlus is a bit of a unique dating sim for a number of reasons. Since it was released on Nintendo DS, they make use of all the features of the system, including talking into the microphone and kissing the screen! There is nothing in terms of story, really, which is probably why you can beat the game with your heroine of choice in one sitting, depending on if you have enough time to put a few hours into it. There are only three girls to choose from, which is pretty strange, too. Usually games like this have more female characters, even if you can't date them. I suppose it's hard to add in extra characters if there's no story, though... There are also meters for fitness, intelligence, sense, and charm, which you are supposed to increase for chances of showing off... but really, it's unnecessary. In order to increase each meter, you need to plan out your days to include activities that will raise your stats. Even though the game tests your ability in each category every now and then, it's near impossible to raise each stat very high.

LovePlus reminded me a lot of Amagami for the PSP. That game was a lot more fun than LovePlus, though, in my opinion. LovePlus is too short, the girls are boring without a story, and the choices are so pointless that it makes you feel like a zombie. You just choose the obvious, and it's not difficult at all. So I would recommend Amagami for the PSP as a better dating sim that focuses on the dating aspect. However, if you want another dating sim on the DS, there is Kimo Kawa E, which combines dating sim with board game. Another strange game! That game is the opposite of Love Plus in that it is too hard. For the DS, there is also Spring, but it's actually an American dating sim, so you won't get any cute anime girls and the style will be very different. To be honest, I think you should just play Amagami.