Many anime and games have spawned off of each other. The Castlevania games got an anime adaptation and popular anime like Dragon Ball Z have gotten tons of video games. In the niche gaming world of dating sims, anime adaptations also exist.
The dating sim subgenre of video games that have existed since the 90s. What makes a game a dating sim is that traditionally the end goal of the story is to end up in a romantic relationship with another character that the player can choose from the cast. Presently, the most successful RPGs have taken on a bit of dating sim elements and blending them into action-adventure games.
When it comes to pure dating sim games though, they are known to be tailored more towards Japanese gamers and are considered niche to international audiences. In fact, international audiences may be aware of the anime, but not the dating sim games that inspired them in the first place.
Updated on August 19th, 2021, by Allison Stalberg: Dating sims are getting a tiny bit more popular. This can be part of an increase in human isolation, from just more word-of-mouth on the internet, or a combination of the two. Some would consider dating sims to be a guilty pleasure, but that stigma is getting old as dating sim games became more internationally normalized. After all, some of the most popular video games are those that include romancing someone out of a selection of characters (like Mass Effect or Fire Emblem).
The anime inspired by these games also played a role in making these titles more popular and less internationally obscure.
12 Hakuoki
- The game was released in 2012 in North America.
- The anime was originally released in 2010.
Technically, Hakuoki is an otome game. Otome is a bit of a subgenre of dating sim games, as it always has a female lead who chooses a male character to form a strong bond with (and the bond is not always necessarily romantic). Not only is this title an otome game, but it also is historical fantasy. The game inspired an anime that lasted for three seasons. Not only that, but it got two movies.
The story follows a girl among the Shinsengumi (a special police force during Japan's Bakumatsu period). Various characters have an affection meter and how the game ends partly depends on where the meter is at.
11 Sakura Wars
- The first game was released in 1996.
- The anime was released in 2000.
Sakura Wars is a steampunk dating sim owned by Sega. While its first game was released in the '90s, the latest entry came out in 2019. The anime and games feature women with magical abilities and steam-powered mechs that they use to fight supernatural enemies. There are five titles to the main series and plenty of spin-off games as well.
The anime has 25 episodes and has a very different story than the games.
10 Prince Of Stride
- The game was released for the PS Vita in 2015.
- The anime was released in 2016.
This dating sim combines sports and romance. The sport in question is called "Stride," which is a lot like parkour. The sport has teams that consist of six people that run through town. The main character is Nana Sakurai (though players can change her name), and she becomes the leader of her own team and must prepare herself and them for the tournament.
The game came out for the PS Vita in 2015 and got a 12 episode anime just a year later.
9 Amnesia
- The game was released in Japan in 2011.
- The anime was released in 2013.
This trilogy was for the PS Vita from 2011 to 2013. It is another otome game and contains five different storylines. The player chooses a card deck symbol between Heart, Spade, Clover, Diamond, and Joker, each standing for one story route with a specific male character. Each route is in a parallel world. As the game title hints at, the main character has amnesia. Depending on the route, the protagonist also gets amnesia in different ways.
The anime series got 12 episodes and was released in 2013.
8 La Storia Della Arcana Famiglia
- The game was released in 2011.
- The anime was released in 2012.
The Italian title for this game translates to "The Story of the Arcane Family." It was released in 2011 for the PSP and has its foot in several genres from reverse-harem to adventure and romance. The story is about a powerful organization that makes contracts with Arcana cards that give them various powers. The leader of the organization decides to retire and holds a contest for who will be the new boss. Whoever is the new boss will also win his daughter's hand-in-marriage.
The leader's daughter, Felicità, is not happy about this and joins the tournament herself to decide which of the contestants she truly loves.
7 Photo Kano
- The game was released in 2012.
- The anime was released in 2013.
Released in 2012, this PSP game is about a second-year high school student named Kazuya Maeda. He likes to do photography and meets girls at his school through that passion. An anime series based on Photo Kano came out in 2013 with 13 episodes. The game was popular enough to get an enhanced version for the PS Vita in the same year as the anime release.
While players are given options as to which girl to date, the most well-known one is on the game's cover, Haruka Niimi. She is Kazuya's childhood friend.
6 Galaxy Angel
- The game was released in 2000.
- The anime series was released in 2001.
This sci-fi strategy dating sim has multiple games which could be played on the PS2, Xbox, and PC. There is an original trilogy as well as a sequel trilogy. Those who watch the anime and those who play the games might know the characters as different people though, as their personalities are altered depending on the media. The storyline is pretty different as well.
The protagonist is Commander Takuto Meyers, and he can pick one of the Galaxy Angels to romance.
5 Doki Doki Literature Club
- The game was released in 2017.
- The anime was released in 2019.
Doki Doki Literature Club is a psychological horror story dressed as a dating sim, and that is part of what makes it famous. It deconstructs the genre in a way that is surprisingly impactful in its plot twists. It has won awards, which is not very typical of dating sims, and it dives into themes such as depression and grief. It is certainly not a title for the light-hearted.
The anime version is far less known. It is directed by Takashi Watanabe, who has also directed Space Pirate Mito, Boogiepop Phantom, Slayers, and Demon King Daimao.
4 Girl Friend Beta
- The game was released in 2012 in Japan.
- The anime was released in 2014.
Released only in Japan in 2012, the first Girl Friend Beta game is actually for iOS and Android. Later in 2015, it got its own console game for the PS Vita. The anime series came out in 2014 with 12 episodes.
The games are not known for their plot, as they mostly come down to interacting with virtual female characters and trying to get their intimacy meter up. Players have a ton of choices since there are over a hundred female characters, each with a unique voice actress.
3 Comic Party
- The game was released in 1999.
- The anime was released in 2001.
Sometimes abbreviated to "Comipa," this dating sim was actually inspired by a real convention called "Comiket" that occurred in Tokyo twice a year. Comic Party was released in 1999 for Windows, Dreamcast, and PSP. A manga and anime adaptation for the game came out around the same time in 2001. The anime got a sequel called Comic Party Revolution.
The story's protagonist is Kazuki Sendō and he is at a monthly Comic Party convention. The player's choices both influence how many copies of his work he can sell as well as which woman at the convention he can date.
2 Angelique
- The first game was released in 1994 in Japan.
- The anime was released in 2006.
Only launched in Japan, Angelique is a series with many games, spin-offs, and film adaptations. It is pretty popular among import gamers and there has been a strong desire for the series to get localized for non-Japanese players. The first Angelique game came out in 1994 and the latest in 2021.
The games spawned a 13 episode anime and a sequel in 2006 and 2007. As for the series story, its fantasy elements render it complex. Basically, the next Queen of the Cosmos is being chosen. Players take the role of a contender to be the next Queen, Angelique. As she completes her examination, she has nine guardians to pick from as possible lovers.
1 Amagami
- The game was released in 2009 in Japan.
- The anime was released in 2010.
This dating sim came out only in Japan for the PS2 in 2009. Around the same time, a manga for it was released. A year later, the anime Amagami SS came out with 26 episodes. Two years after that, the anime got a sequel.
The story is pretty basic. The player takes the role of a male character whose heart was broken on Christmas Eve. However, he meets six girls during his second year of high school and is ready to try love again.