School Days (visual Novel)

School Days (visual Novel)

School Days (スクールデイズ, Sukūru Deizu?) is a Japanese visual novel developed by 0verflow, released on April 28, 2005 for Windows and later ported as a DVD game and for the PlayStation 2 (PS2) and PlayStation Portable (PSP). The story, a dramatic slice-of-life, follows Makoto Ito, a high school student who becomes the ambivalent love-interest of several girls during his second term, and the effects this has on himself and his relationships with other characters. Though the game requires little interaction from users, School Days engages the player through a plot that they are given opportunities to change the course of during play. The game concludes with an ending specific to the outcome of the story, some of which became notorious for their graphic violence.

Overflow announced work on School Days in October 2004 and marketed it through public venues that showcased the game's innovative use of anime-like cinematics and voice. The game ranked as the best-selling visual novel in Japan for the time of its release, continuing to chart in the national top 50 for nearly five months afterward. 0verflow would then go on to produce two sequels: a spin-off of the original story called Summer Days, and a parallel story called Cross Days. School Days was remastered as School Days HQ on October 8, 2010 and localized in North America on June 27, 2012. The original game was officially discontinued April 21, 2011.

Following the game's release, School Days made several transitions into other media. The original story was adapted into a manga and serialized in the Kadokawa Shoten magazine Comp Ace; it was later published into two volumes. Comic anthologies, light novels and art books were also published, as were audio dramas and several albums of music. An animated television series, two direct-to-video (OVA) single releases, and a concert film were also produced, the first of which became a precursor for an internet meme when its finale was pulled from broadcast.