, subtitled ''Celestial Globe of Your Heart'', and sometimes abbreviated as , is a Japanese

adult An adult is a human or other animal that has reached full growth. In human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and legal concepts. In contrast to a " minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of major ...

visual novel developed by

Lump of Sugar is a Japanese company specializing in adult visual novels. Founded in April 2005, their first game, ''Nursery Rhyme'' was released later that year. Their third work, '' Tayutama: Kiss on my Deity'', was released in 2008, and was later adapted i ...

and released on January 31, 2014 for Windows

PCs A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or techn ...

. The story of ''Sekachu'' begins with Renri Ōmi's younger sister Kokoro being discharged from the hospital. When he and his friends are cleaning out the Erdõs dormitory, they find various clues which guide them to a mysterious object. The gameplay in ''Sekachu'' follows a branching plot line which offers pre-determined scenarios with courses of interaction, and focuses on the appeal of the female main characters by the

player character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...

. The game was a commercial success at the time of its release, however, sales declined later on that year.

Gameplay

''Sekachu'' is a romance visual novel in which the player assumes the role of Renri Ōmi. Much of its gameplay is spent reading the text that appears on the screen, which represents the story's narrative and

dialogue Dialogue (sometimes spelled dialog in American English) is a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people, and a literary and theatrical form that depicts such an exchange. As a philosophical or didactic device, it is c ...

. The text is accompanied by character sprites, which represent who Renri is talking to, over background art. Throughout the game, the player encounters CG artwork at certain points in the story, which take the place of the background art and character sprites. There are four main plot lines (and a bonus route) that the player will have the chance to experience, one for each of the heroines in the story. Throughout gameplay, the player is given multiple options to choose from, and text progression pauses at these points until a choice is made. Some decisions can lead the game to end prematurely and offer an alternative ending to the plot. To view all plot lines in their entirety, the player will have to replay the game multiple times and choose different choices to further the plot to an alternate direction. There are scenes depicting Renri and a given heroine having sex.

Plot

Setting

Most of ''Sekachus story takes place during spring break in the fictional , which is famous for its math and science courses. This prestigious academy also has a total of eighty eight dormitories. A few students, who attend Kaginomori, are residents of the dormitory. The game, set in the countryside, combines harem and fantasy elements together.

Story and characters

, the main heroine of ''Sekachu'', is being discharged from the hospital. She is a sweet girl who is loved by everyone, and despite her weak constitution, has a bright and lively personality. Kokoro is to join her older brother , the

, at Kaginomori Academy, and board the Erdõs dormitory. Renri is serious, but caring, and his nagging has earned him the nickname "okā-san". He and his friends decide to clean out Erdõs, for Kokoro, and while cleaning out the attic, they discover mysterious keys and incantation-like words, which are clues guiding them to a secret room housing a gigantic object. This is referred to as the "Celestial Globe" by the main characters. Another heroine includes , a beautiful and intelligent girl, appearing to be very ladylike. However, she is fun-loving outside of school. Renri makes other friends during his stay in Kaginomori, such as , an extremely quiet girl who only seems to talk to him. Much of the time, Aira does not change her facial expression. Renri's senpai, , is a genius with dreadful sleeping habits, and tends to speak slowly. She has a pair of dog ears, and a tail.

Development

The production and planning of ''Sekachu'' began right after ''Hanairo Heptagram'', another work by

. The game was originally going to be called , but in mid-development, Celery and Tetsujin wanted to change the title, and searched in bookstores for inspiration. Later on, Tetsujin proposed the idea of ''Sekai to Sekai no Mannaka de'', for a title. Celery directed the game, and wrote the scenario; Tetsujin and Tamaki Ichikawa also contributed to the writing. The character designer was Fumitake Moekibara, who has drawn many character designs in previous Lump of Sugar games, such as ''

Nursery Rhyme A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for children in Britain and many other countries, but usage of the term dates only from the late 18th/early 19th century. The term Mother Goose rhymes is interchangeable with nursery rhymes. From t ...

'', ''Itsuka, Todoku, Ano Sora ni'', and '' Tayutama: Kiss on my Deity''. The game's music was composed entirely by Shigenobu Ōkawa.

Release history

The game's official website opened on August 21, 2013. This site would update information pertaining to the self-described , ''Sekachu''. Before any copies of the game were released, there were two free trial downloads. The first of these was made available on November 8, 2013, and the second on December 30, 2013. Both of these versions included adult content. The game was postponed for a month, before being released as a limited edition DVD-ROM for Windows

on January 31, 2014. A full version of the game was put up for download on the official website - this time, not for free - on October 2, 2015.

Related media

Books and publications

If pre-ordered, then the limited edition of ''Sekachu'' packaging would include a reservation-only booklet, titled ''Sekachu Confidential Official Book''. A 127-page visual fan book was released by

Kadokawa Shoten , formerly , is a Japanese publisher and division of Kadokawa Future Publishing based in Tokyo, Japan. It became an internal division of Kadokawa Corporation on October 1, 2013. Kadokawa publishes manga, light novels, manga anthology magazines su ...

on June 27, 2014. Before the game's release, ''Sekachu'' received a fair amount of publicity in bishōjo magazines such as ''Tech Gian'', '' Dengeki Hime'', ''BugBug'', ''Push!!'', and ''Pasocom Paradise''.

Music and audio CDs

''Sekachu'' has three theme songs: , the first opening theme, and "Recollections", the ending theme, were sung by Kicco. Aira's voice actress, Haruru Aikaze, performed "Sing a Song", the only insert song in the game. A maxi single came bundled with the limited edition's release, containing the three songs and their instrumental versions. The background music of ''Sekachu'' was released in an original soundtrack on January 31, 2014, along with the limited edition's release.

Reception

''Sekachu'' ranked first in terms of national sales of PC games in Japan, in February 2014. Also, ''Sekachu'' was No. 1 in the January 2014 sales ranking on Getchu.com, a major redistributor of visual novel and domestic anime products. The sales of ''Sekachu'' quickly decreased, only ranking at No. 24 the following month on the website. As for the whole year, the game was ranked at No. 18. ''Sekachu'' is part of Bushiroad's Chaos TCG trading card game series, and has been released as a

booster pack In collectible card games, digital collectible card games and collectible miniature wargames, a booster pack is a sealed package of cards or figurines, designed to add to a player's collection. A box of multiple booster packs is referred to as a b ...

References

External links

Official website
*{{vndb, 13224, v 2014 video games Bishōjo games Eroge Japan-exclusive video games Lump of Sugar games Romance video games Single-player video games Video games developed in Japan Visual novels Windows games Windows-only games