Dōkyūsei (video game)

Dōkyūsei (同級生; lit. Classmates) is an erotic dating sim visual novel. Originally released in 1992 by ELF Corporation for the PC-98, it became a foundational title in the dating sim genre and spawned a video game series.

A heavily altered 1999 Windows port was the basis of a 2021 remake, which received English and Chinese releases in 2022. A Game Boy Color mahjong game with Dōkyūsei characters, Jankyusei (雀級生), was released in 2001.

Set in a fictional Japanese town during the final summer vacation before high school graduation, the player controls a male student (default name is Takurou) who has spent the first half of summer working part-time and now has four remaining weeks to create lasting memories. With no fixed linear storyline, the game unfolds across 22 in-game days divided into morning, afternoon, and evening segments, during which the protagonist explores everyday locations such as schools, parks, and city streets. Through player-driven choices, he meets, interacts with, and courts one of fourteen potential romantic partners, while contending with rival suitors and managing limited time, with each branching route culminating in a romantic outcome shaped by the player's initiative and decisions.

Dōkyūsei revolves around wandering through different locations in a town, conversing with whatever character the player happens to meet. To finish the storyline of a particular girl, the main challenge is to learn the times of day when the girl will be in a location.

Dōkyūsei was ported to FM Towns and X68000 in 1993, PC Engine and MS-DOS in 1995, and Saturn in 1996. A heavily altered Windows version was released in 1999. Another Windows version using the updated art but with the original script was released in 2008.

A remake (based on the 1999 Windows version) was released in 2021 in Japan and in 2022 in English and Chinese, as Dōkyūsei: Bangin' Summer.^[2][3][1] The international version of the remake was developed by the company Shiravune, a subsidiary of DMM Games.^[4][5] Both an all-ages and adult version was released, with the adult version containing erotic scenes and racier dialogue.^[6] The remake was ported to PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch in Japan in 2024.

There was an OVA series made from Dōkyūsei in 1994–1995, which was originally a 45-minute one-shot, but the original release was expanded into two half-hour episodes, with two more episodes added, for a total four. The first two episodes were released as End of Summer, and episodes three and four were released as End of Summer 2 in the North American market by SoftCel Pictures, an imprint of ADV Films. A two-episode sequel, titled Dōkyūsei Climax Files, was released in 1995–1996.

End of Summer is about a boy who seeks after a redheaded girl named Mai and along the way runs into difficulties (and trysts) with several other girls, namely, Kurumi, Miho, Misa, and Satomi. It was renowned for its romantic attributes^[7] and quality of animation.^[8] The depth of character development has been reviewed as being above average, although the format forced on it by OVA requires some compromises with realism.^[9]

An OVA based on the remake, Dōkyūsei Remake The Animation, was released in 2022 and 2024.

Dōkyūsei helped popularise the modern dating sim genre.^[10] Jun Maeda, co-founder of visual novel studio Key, credits Dōkyūsei as a pioneer in the nakige ("crying game") genre and as an influence on Key's own such games.^[11] The game started a series, which includes Dōkyūsei 2, Kakyūsei and Kakyūsei 2.

The international version was well received by critics, with Ivanir Ignacchitti of GameBlast commenting on the historical value of the title^[12] and Thomas Knight of NookGaming noting that the remake does well at fixing most of the issues that would make the game seem dated.^[13]

• Dōkyūsei at The Visual Novel Database
• Dōkyūsei (Windows version and Remake) at The Visual Novel Database
• End of Summer (OVA) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Dōkyūsei: Climax (OVA) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia