Season of the Sakura (さくらの季節, Sakura no Kisetsu) is an Adult Visual Novel developed by Tiare and published by JAST for the PC-98 in April 26, 1996. It was first translated to English and published for MS-DOS computers by JAST USA in 1996. It was re-released again for Windows as part of both JAST USA Memorial Collection and JAST USA Memorial Collection Special Edition, on March 21, 2003 and June 28, 2012, respectively, adding compatibility with modern Windows systems (although only up to Windows Vista). The game is notable for the blatant Cast of Expies in which were based the main love interests' design and in some cases, personality:
- Mio Suzuki, Reiko Sawamura, and Kiyomi Shinfuji are Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu.
- Ruri Shiromizu, Aki Hinagiku, Kyoko Kobayashi, and Makoto Shimazaki are Rei, Asuka, Misato, and Kensuke.
- Meimi Nakano and Seia Yoshida are Meimi and Seira.
- Shoko Nishino is Shoko Inaba from the first Welcome to Pia Carrot.
Shuji Yamagami is a sixteen (eighteen in the English translation)-year old japanese student starting his first year on the Kotobuki Preparatory School, where he meets nine girls over the course of the year. In standard Visual Novel fashion, the player is able to look, talk, and think about various choices, and these choices the player makes will determine who will be Shuji's girlfriend at the end of the year. As one of the earliest Visual Novels released outside of Japan, it was well received due to being a well written Porn with Plot game with a strong cast and story.
That's right, that was the beginning of all the tropes...
- The Ace: Shuji when is introduced to the Tennis and Baseball clubs of the School. Except for the Swimming Club.
- The Bet: On the second chapter, after seeing that Shuji doesn't really want to join any of the clubs, Reiko, Kiyomi, and Mio decide to make a bet with him: if he defeats all of them on their respective clubs, they will let him alone, and if he loses to one of them, he will join the respective club. However, they start to make loopholes so that Shuji must join a team (except for Reiko, who didn't need to due to Shuji being afraid of water and a poor swimmer), he's The Ace, after all.
- The Cameo: Rin Watanabe, the Gamer Chick from Tiare's Runaway City (Meisou Toshi) makes an appearance in an Arcade in two ocassions.
- Cast of Expies: As mentioned above, that was one of the reasons for which this game was notable back then.
Also, it marks the only western "appearance" of any girl from the Welcome to Pia Carrot Visual Novel series in any form outside of the previous OVAs. - Easier Than Easy: If you want Shoko, the only thing you have to do is to accept her when she worries about Shuji during the Sports Festival. She continues where she stopped when the two first met, and Shuji and Shoko get together. The End.
- Exact Words: When Shuji is caught between the three-way battle with Reiko, Kiyomi, and Mio about which club Shuji should join, he asks Makoto to tell them something. He then replies: "Something.". He doesn't want to get involved.
- Game Over: If you try to choose a girl at the end of the year and she rejects Shuji. He gets roped by the director to the Action Hero Club, losing the girl. He gets used to it and prepares to salute the new first-years.
- Gratuitous English: The title for the fourth chapter, HERE COMES NEW CHALLENGER(S), and almost the title for the seventh chapter: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR Reiko. In the latter case, Reiko's name is spelled in Kanji (鈴子).
- Multiple Endings: There's an ending for each one of the girls and one bad ending if you don't have enough "points" for the girl you choose.
- New Transfer Student: Ruri, she has transferred a total of a hundred times, and that's the reason for her antisocial behavior. Blame her Stage Mom and her ridiculous demands to each school for that.
- Nurse with Good Intentions: Shuji's mother, Hidemi. My Beloved Smother aside, she's the major reason for Shuji's stubborness to get medicine, go to a hospital for treatments, and all of that stuff. Notable past fears that he remembers include: being put in a ice-cold bath when he had a just a typical summer cold fever, and being wrapped in five blankets with the room furnace cranked up. Shuji even got a heatstroke for that! Even Minako Aino was not that bad!Shuji: I just can't believe it when she says she went to a nursing school...Oh, right. But they didn't let her graduate.
- Sex for Services: How Shoko is introduced at the end of the second chapter. According to Reiko, this is not the first time she has attempted this. She claims that is because of Love at First Sight with Shuji, but Reiko (and Kiyomi and Mio) aren't having any of it.
- Visual Metaphor: At the end of the third chapter, everyone at the viewing party has passed out from drinking (except Kyoko) and are represented as face-up big fishes (with one of them wearing glasses, representing Kiyomi).Shuji: It looked just like a fish market...
