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Romance Game
aka: Ren Ai

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Romance games, known in Japanese as ren'ai (romantic love) games, are a category of video game that covers several mechanics and demographics. The distinguishing factor of these games is that the primary goal of the game is to establish a romantic relationship between the Player Character and one or more of the NPCs. Although the genre originates in Japan, they are also made elsewhere, particularly in the form of "doujin-soft" (noncommerical fanmade games).

Most ren'ai games are Visual Novels (a type of Interactive Fiction) or Dating Sims (a type of Simulation Game), although many are hybrids, such as Role-Playing Game / Dating Sim or Action Game / Visual Novel. Many ren'ai games contain some erotic content; those where this is a major feature may be classified as eroge (short for "erotic games").

See also Romance Sidequest for games where the romance isn't the main focus.

See also "Reborn as Villainess" Story for a (mainly Light Novel) genre that emerged in The New '10s which combines this with Isekai to turn the genre's (alleged) tropes on their head.

Bishoujo Games:

In Japan, the term "Bishoujo (beautiful girl) game" covers any game for men that offers pictures or animation of attractive girls, regardless of gameplay style or narrative content (see Bishoujo Genre). In the West, the term is generally used to cover ren'ai games aimed at a male audience.

Examples of Bishoujo Games:

Otome games:

Games aimed towards a female audience that focus on Girl x Boy relationships primarily. A game will feature a female protagonist with one or more male characters; the majority are Visual Novels with romantic elements. Many are made by departments or subsidiaries of bishoujo game companies; for example, Tokimeki Memorial has an otome game spinoff, Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side.

Not to be confused with otoge, which is Japanese slang for Rhythm Game.

Examples of Otome Games:

Boys' Love Games:

Games that focus on Boy x Boy relationships primarly. Like otome games, most are Visual Novels and many are made by departments or subsidiaries of bishoujo game companies; for example, Togainu no Chi was made by Nitro+ CHiRAL, a subsidiary of nitro+ . While these games can be aimed at a female audience this isn't always the case, others are aimed at gay men.

Examples of Boys Love Games:

Yuri Games:

Games that focus on Girl x Girl relationships primarily. The term "yuri" does not imply a particular target audience; games aimed at a male audience and games aimed at a female audience are both included under the "yuri" label.

Examples of Yuri Games:

Other:

Games that don't fall into any of the above categories, or fall into all or most of them. Often times these games let the player choose the gender of the protagonist or their gender is left ambigious. Although not always the case, there are typically mixed-gender love interest options.note 

Examples of other romance games:

Alternative Title(s): Renai Game, Bishoujo Game, Otome Game, BL Game, Boys Love Game, Ren Ai, Yuri Game

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