is a series of four dating sims.Note: Citation for dating sim is needed due to common confusion with the

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 ...

genre. Since th
official website
calls it a "恋愛シミュレーションゲーム" (love simulation game), it is considered a true dating sim. ''True Love Story'' and ''True Love Story 2'' were released by

ASCII ASCII ( ), abbreviated from American Standard Code for Information Interchange, is a character encoding standard for electronic communication. ASCII codes represent text in computers, telecommunications equipment, and other devices. Because of ...

for the

PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...

. ''True Love Story 3'' and ''True Love Story: Summer Days, and yet...'' were released by

Enterbrain , formerly , is a Japanese publisher and division of Kadokawa Future Publishing founded on 30 January 1987 as . Magazines published by Enterbrain are generally focused on video games and computer entertainment as well as video game and strategy ...

for the

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...

. The ''True Love Story'' land are notable for their ''gekō'' (下校), or ''walk-home'' system. When the player asks a girl to walk home with him from school, the game enters a special conversation mode. In this mode, in addition to the usual long-term,

strategic Strategy (from Greek στρατηγία ''stratēgia'', "art of troop leader; office of general, command, generalship") is a general plan to achieve one or more long-term or overall goals under conditions of uncertainty. In the sense of the "art ...

"love meter", the girl you are conversing with has a short-term,

tactical Tactic(s) or Tactical may refer to: * Tactic (method), a conceptual action implemented as one or more specific tasks ** Military tactics, the disposition and maneuver of units on a particular sea or battlefield ** Chess tactics ** Political tacti ...

"heartthrob meter" representing her level of immediate interest in the conversation with you. The player is given the choice of approximately 30 topics of conversation to choose from, and the heartthrob meter will increase or decrease based on the appropriateness of his selections. High heartthrob can then be leveraged to ask the girl out on a date, or simply to effect a permanent increase in her love meter. Later ''True Love Story'' games added further complexity to this system, such as a "combo" system measuring the number of consecutive good choices of conversation topics. In large part because of this system, ''True Love Story'' is one of the most

gameplay Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and pla ...

-rich dating sims. An OVA based on the True Love Story; Summer Days, and yet... story was released in 2003. It was 3 episodes long.

Games

There have been 6 installments in the True Love Story. All of them have been developed by

except True Story 3 and Summer Days, which were released by

Main series

*''True Love Story'' ( PS: 1996, re-released on 1998): Player is a high school student who can pursue 9 heroines. *''True Love Story 2'' ( PS: 1999): Player can pursue 13 heroines, including his sister. *''True Love Story 3'' (

PS2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia o ...

: 2001, re-released on 2003): Player can pursue 10 heroines, including his twin sister. *''True Love Story: Summer Days, and yet...'' (

: 2003, re-released on 2004): The only title of the series with an anime adaptation. **

Natsuko Kuwatani is a Japanese voice actress who works for I'm Enterprise as of March 1, 2008. Her major roles are in anime shows and they include Yue Ayase in ''Negima'', Fiore in ''Chrono Crusade'', Alph in '' Nanoha'', Michiru in ''Magikano'', Suiseiseki in '' ...

sung the opening theme of the OVA, Sweet Connection.

Fandiscs

*''True Love Story ~Remember My Heart~'' ( PS: 1997): Fandisc for the original game featuring new heroines. *''True Love Story Fandisc'' ( PS: 1999): A short game featuring two new heroines; a pair of twin sisters.

References

External links

*
Official site
* {{ann, OVA, 4356
''True Love Story'' search
at The Visual Novel Database 1996 video games ASCII Corporation games Kadokawa Dwango franchises Dating sims PlayStation (console) games PlayStation (console)-only games PlayStation 2 games PlayStation 2-only games Video game franchises Video games developed in Japan Video games scored by Noriyuki Iwadare