is a
visual novel
A , often abbreviated as VN, is a form of digital semi-interactive fiction. Visual novels are often associated with and used in the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves. They combine a textual narrative with sta ...
produced and published by
Chunsoft. Marketed by the company as a "sound novel" rather than a video game, it is the progenitor of the developer and publisher's sound novel series and of the format of electronic entertainment now usually known generically as a visual novel.
Koichi Nakamura
is a Japanese video game designer. A programming prodigy, Nakamura gained fame while still in high school; in 1982, he entered Enix's first national programming contest and claimed runner-up prize with his entry, '' Door Door''. In 1984, he fou ...
conceived the title after showing his work on the ''
Dragon Quest
previously published as ''Dragon Warrior'' in North America until 2005, is a franchise of Japanese role-playing video games created by Armor Project ( Yuji Horii), Bird Studio (Akira Toriyama) and Sugiyama Kobo ( Koichi Sugiyama) to its pu ...
'' role-playing video games to a girl he was dating. On finding she did not enjoy them, he was encouraged to make a video game that he described as "for people who haven't played games before." Influenced by the early
survival horror
Survival horror is a Video game genre, subgenre of Survival game, survival of the players as the game tries to frighten them with either horror graphics or scary ambience. Although combat can be part of the gameplay, the player is made to feel l ...
game ''
Sweet Home Sweet Home or Sweethome may refer to:
Places in the United States
* Sweet Home, Arkansas
* Sweet Home Central School District in Amherst and Tonawanda, New York
** Sweet Home High School (Amherst, New York), a New York State public high school
* S ...
'', he developed it into a horror-themed interactive story. The game sold over 400,000 copies in Japan, including over 300,000 copies for Super Famicom and 100,000 for PlayStation. It was later adapted into the film ''
St. John's Wort
''Hypericum perforatum'', known as St. John's wort, is a flowering plant in the family Hypericaceae and the type species of the genus ''Hypericum''.
Possibly a hybrid between '' H. maculatum'' and '' H. attenuatum'', the species can be found a ...
''. A
sequel
A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the sam ...
, ''
Kirigirisō'', was release