Getter Love!!

Getter Love!!^[a][b] is a dating sim party video game by Hudson Soft for the Nintendo 64. In the game, four players compete to be the first to get a girlfriend by successfully romancing their female classmates. It was released only in Japan in December 1998, and received mixed critical reception. Hudson created an idol group based on the characters to promote the game. A few typing-themed spinoff games were released between 2001 and 2002. The game later received an English fan translation in 2023.

In Getter Love!!, players control a male freshman at Panda High School, who is competing with his friends to get a girlfriend before the end of their summer vacation. Players can customize their name, hairstyle, and personality type.^[3] The goal is for players to build up connections with the female NPCs, with the intent of eventually declaring their love. The first player who acquires a girlfriend will win the game.^[3] The game features seven romanceable girls, collectively known as the "Panda Love Unit": trendy Ayumi Shirai, childish Natsuki Itou, free-spirited Hana Tsuzuki, standoffish Makoto Minagawa, shy Kiiro Amami, sickly Shizuku Morimura, and excitable Meihua Lee.^[3] Each girl has different personality traits, favorite locations, and topics of interest.^[7] Alfonso Roberto Martini, an Italian exchange student, is the game's host who explains the rules and provides updates on the players' current standings throughout the game.^[3]

At the start of each game, one of the girls is designated as already being an acquaintance of the players, making her slightly easier to romance.^[2] Players are given a time limit of two in-game weeks to successfully confess their love to one of the girls.^[3] Each day is split into three phases during which the players can act: morning, evening, and night.^[3] During each of these phases, each player will select an area on the map to visit, with all players and NPCs moving to their destinations simultaneously after the last selection has been made, known as the Simultaneous Activity Map System (SAMS) mechanic.^[3] During SAMS segments, players have a limited ability to dash, to arrive for a date early or reach a destination before a rival, or brake, to avoid running into someone and triggering an unwanted interaction.^[7]

When a player enters a location, they may encounter NPCs that can alter the player's stats, offer information about the girls, or grant "topic balls" which can be used to start conversations during dates.^[7] Items can also be purchased from shops, which can be given as gifts to the girls or used to interfere with rivals.^[8] If the player encounters a girl, they can chat with her, offer her a gift, or ask her out on a date.^[3] Players will earn love points by talking to girls, giving them gifts, or using topic balls during a date, with gifts and topics the girl likes being worth more points.^[3] Conversely, choosing topics the girl dislikes or missing an arranged date will cost the player love points.^[3] During dates, special events may occur that will significantly increase the number of love points earned.^[9]

During the game, players must manage an appearance meter, which will lose them love points if they do not maintain their hygiene; a stamina meter, which will cause them to miss dates if not sufficiently rested; and money, which can be spent on items and dates.^[2] If two players enter the same location, a battle minigame will take place. The winner will be able to steal a rival's items, topic balls, or money.^[9] An eighth girl, self-obsessed Reika Kongouji, can also engage in unsolicited attachment toward any of the players, causing her to lower the player's stats and ruin dates with the other girls when she is encountered.^[7][9] Any time they encounter a girl, players can choose to confess their love. The player's success will be determined by whether they have earned sufficient love points.^[3] Each girl has four different possible endings that can be earned based on the number of love points the player has accrued with them.^[7]

The standard game mode can be played in single-player against CPU-controlled rivals Chikashi, Daisuke, and Sesshuu, or in multiplayer for up to four players. There are also two alternate multiplayer modes: one in which players all compete for the same girl's affections, and one in which players attempt to earn the most cummulative love points from all the girls. A battle mode allows players to play any of the battle minigames.^[9] A "Memories" menu allows players to replay any of the topic balls, special events, or endings that they have encountered in previous games.^[9]

Getter Love!!'s concept originated in December 1995 with designer Kokoro Nakamura, who had been attempting to come up with ideas for a four-player competitive game for the then-nascent Nintendo 64. Noting the popularity of romance games like Tokimeki Memorial (1994) at the time, Nakamura decided to adapt the genre for a multiplayer format.^[3][8] The name of the game and its characters were chosen by random chance through fortune telling.^[3] At one point, the development team considered including as many as 50 possible love interests.^[2] Some of the non-datable NPCs were based directly on members of the development team.^[2] Nakamura noted that Makoto was the game's most popular girl among Hudson Soft employees.^[9]

Getter Love!! appeared as part of Hudson's lineup at the 1998 Tokyo Game Show,^[10] and was released on December 3 of that year.^[1] To promote the game leading up to release, Hudson held an audition on September 24 for actresses to portray the members of the Panda Love Unit in an idol group of the same name.^[9] The seven winners were spotlighted in issues of Dengeki Nintendo 64 and The 64 Dream, and held a live concert in Meguro on December 24, with subscribers of the magazines granted free admission.^[2][7] On December 18, Pony Canyon released a Getter Love!! soundtrack album featuring tracks from the game, some of which had been given new lyrics written by Kaori Morikawa of the Go-Bang's and performed by Panda Love Unit, as well as several lines from the game recorded by the group's members.^[2]

Reception to Getter Love!! was mixed. Japanese publication Weekly Famitsu gave the game a score of 26 out of 40 points.^[1] Game Criticism felt that the competitive nature of the gameplay made it more accessible to a wide audience than traditional dating games.^[4] Reviewing imported copies, N64 Magazine and Total Control found the game impossible to effectively play due to its extensive use of Japanese text.^[5][6]

A spinoff game, Typing of the Date, was released for Dreamcast on September 27, 2001.^[12] It removes the party game elements in favor of typing challenges and minigames using the Dreamcast keyboard.^[13] Makoto, Ayumi, and Shizuku all return as potential dates; the remaining girls, as well as other characters like Alfonso and Reika, appear in NPC roles.^[14] Two other typing-themed spinoffs, "Gettyping Love!!" and "Gettyping Love!! 2", were respectively released on October 25, 2001, and February 12, 2002, for cell phones via the i-mode mobile service.^[15][16] Getter Love!! characters also make guest appearances in the 2001 Game Boy Advance game Hatena Satena.^[17]

An English fan translation patch for Getter Love!! was released in December 2023. The patch took four and a half years to develop, and was released to coincide with the game's 25th anniversary.^[8]

• Official website at the Wayback Machine (archived August 13, 2004)