Late last year, aNCHOR, ACID, Yoshimune Kouki, and some volunteers organized a successful crowdfunding campaign to produce a new all-ages version of Kimi ga Nozomu Eien and kickstart the KimiNozo Reboot projects. And at last, the KimiNozo Steam release is finally here—for backers at least!
On July 31st, aNCHOR sent pre-release Steam keys for Kimi ga Nozomu Eien ~Enhanced Edition~ to the game’s crowdfund backers. And as of August 1st, the KimiNozo Steam store page has opened up in anticipation of its public release on October 17th! Meanwhile, the crowdfund staff are hoping to start shipping physical goods out in early August.
Kimi ga Nozomu Eien ~Enhanced Edition~ is the title of the all-ages port of Kimi ga Nozomu Eien to the AGES Mk. II engine. Crowdfund organizers explained in backer reports that this title is a reflection of the port encompassing not only the main game but also content from KimiNozo’s side games in one single package. For Japanese audiences, this is the game’s first all-ages port since the PlayStation 2 release back in May 2003. And for western audiences, this port also marks the game’s first-ever English release! So all in all, this release is huge for the game’s accessibility.
Some of you may be wondering about content differences. As per the director’s decision, the all-ages version of the game omits the slave and dog routes. Moreover, the Steam version also cuts the Hotaru route due to concerns of the game not being allowed on the platform otherwise. However, crowdfund staff have indicated that they may release either a patch or a completely separate download version of the game to release the Hotaru route for backers. Physical copies of the game sent to backers also include the Hotaru route by default.
But beyond the Steam release, aNCHOR is also running two other KimiNozo-related initiatives. Firstly, they are hosting a booth at Comiket 104 for both Muv-Luv and KimiNozo. And secondly, they are running a collaboration event between Muv-Luv Dimensions and KimiNozo, starting on August 1st. As part of the collaboration, the entirety of the game’s first chapter is also available for free within Muv-Luv Dimensions.
Released in October 2001, Kimi ga Nozomu Eien (KimiNozo for short) is a romance utsuge developed and published by âge. The story follows the daily lives of a group of four friends: Takayuki, Shinji, Mitsuki, and Haruka. But when tragedy strikes, their bonds are tested more than ever before.
KimiNozo remains one of the most influential visual novels of all time. To date, it has sold over 100,000 copies, making it âge’s second most popular IP, only behind the Muv-Luv series. Fans often consider KimiNozo to be a prequel to the Muv-Luv series, seeing as major characters return in prominent roles. Moreover, series creator Yoshimune Kouki also stated that he thematically designed the two series as “twin works.”
Much like the Muv-Luv series, KimiNozo has received numerous spin-offs such as the Special Fandisk and Sorrow Flows Like the Wind. The KimiNozo Steam port includes content from both these aforementioned spin-offs.
KimiNozo also inspired a 14-episode anime adaptation in 2003, localized under the title of Rumbling Hearts. It later received a 4-episode OVA series from 2007 to 2008, adapting an alternate route. Under the KimiNozo Reboot projects, Yoshimune Kouki hopes to potentially make new anime and live-action adaptations at some point.
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