<figure id="attachment_369279" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 4032px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-369279"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="dfcf22c0"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/04/fe82c304aab722ab0fb76a38650190c0.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-369279" class="wp-caption-text">Mr. RF Maruyama is an avid collector of retro video games and a video game enthusiast himself. He is an avid collector of retro games himself. He is involved in various activities to preserve not only bishojo games, but also other classic games, and he is constantly collecting information and patent-related information for this purpose.</figcaption></figure>
There is a genre called &#8220;&#8217;90s bishojo games.
Although not as frequently discussed as role-playing games such as &#8220;Dragon Quest&#8221; or fighting games such as the &#8220;Street Fighter&#8221; series, it was one of the genres that dominated the culture of the time. The &#8220;bishojo game culture of the &#8217;90s&#8221; is said to be more active today than ever before. We interviewed RF Maruyama, producer of BEEP Akihabara, a store at the forefront of retro game culture.
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&#8211;What was going on in the world of &#8217;90s bishojo games?
 The rights were complicated, but it seems that they have been sorted out here. The terrestrial anime &#8220;16-bit Sensation ANOTHER LAYER,&#8221; set in a bishojo game development company in the &#8217;90s and &#8217;00s, was broadcast from the end of last year until the beginning of this year, and a remake based on &#8220;Classmate 2&#8221; (ELF), &#8220;Classmate 2 Remake&#8221; (FG REMAKE) The combination of these major developments, with pre-orders starting in February and the release in June, has generated a lot of enthusiasm. Around me, people are asking &#8220;Which of the different purchase benefits will I get depending on the store or site I go to? The question is how many to buy.
&#8211;(Laughs.) &#8211; What is the attraction?
 Laughs] &#8212; What is the appeal of these games? Works that could be called a legacy of bishojo games were lovingly introduced and recognized by young people. Among the many masterpieces, &#8220;Doukyuu 2 is one of the most iconic games of its time.&#8221;
&#8211;What was so great about &#8220;Classmates 2&#8221;?
 The first game, &#8220;Doukyousei,&#8221; was released by ELF in 1992 as an 18-rated PC game. It was a big hit thanks to its beautiful graphics and screen structure, the gameplay in which the main character walks around town and school during long vacations, meets classmates and teachers in town, and develops a romantic interest, and the tension of the final confession. The tension of the final confession was a big hit. I was also of the direct hit generation, and although I don&#8217;t remember the amount of money I spent just for this game, it was a lot of money for me at the time, probably over 100,000 yen, and I bought a 200 megabyte hard drive (laughs).
 After the first game was a hit, it took three years for the second game to be released to the world. More beautiful girl characters appeared in the game, including younger sister characters and motherly women, expanding the range of targets, and the many PC game magazines of the time were filled with articles on &#8220;Doukyuu 2. At the time, most game characters wore sailor uniforms or blazers, but the uniforms in &#8220;Doukyousei 2&#8221; were a cute, original design based on a tartan check. This became so popular that many of the subsequent games featured original uniforms with elaborate designs. I think this was the pioneering moment when this &#8220;culture&#8221; was introduced.
 The series has also been sold in home video game versions, which are not 18-rated. The first game has already been remade and sold well. Since the home version of the first game was released this past April, it was inevitable that the second game would be released, and I feel that the &#8220;long-awaited&#8221; feeling is so strong among users.
<figure id="attachment_369280" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 4032px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-369280"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="648e1a17"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/04/b209cd1dad9095ca957d0fa250575b71.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-369280" class="wp-caption-text">The PlayStation version of the game has been ported to various hardware platforms. While there were some disappointing aspects, such as the milder expressions and long load times due to the rating, there were also some pleasant elements, such as the addition of two new characters.</figcaption></figure>
&#8211;Is the game still capturing the hearts and minds of younger users?
 There are still many people who play games &#8220;for those who know the old days and want to relive them&#8221; or &#8220;if only the games of those days could be played on PCs and tablets today. However, there is a steady increase in the number of younger people who are interested. There are quite a few ports of games from the bishojo game boom that can be played on today&#8217;s PCs, and there are also some remakes. The &#8220;Fate&#8221; series, the &#8220;Muv-Luv&#8221; series, and the &#8220;Daimon Ninja&#8221; series, which have become popular social games, were originally bishojo games, and many young users have learned about the bishojo game culture from them. There are many young users who got introduced to the bishojo game culture through these games. There are quite a few people who play these games not as ports or remakes, but on the PCs of the time.
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead="I want to play it on PC-9801VM!"></div>
<figure id="attachment_369281" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 4032px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-369281"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="83db8223"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/04/8b3ff9aa0e22bab203e4147fb418112d.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-369281" class="wp-caption-text">PC-8801, PC-9801, X68000, FM-TOWNS, MSX&#8230;&#8230; and other PCs of the time were sold in actual working form. Those who know those days may have forgotten about them now, but the moment they see them, they will remember them with an &#8220;Oh! and memories of some of the items that helped you back then will come back to you.</figcaption></figure>
&#8211;Can a PC from nearly 40 years ago work today in Reiwa?
 Yes, it does. For example, we repair and sell PCs from those days. After all, there are quite a few people who say, &#8220;The original ones are the best. Many people are attached to the PCs of the time, especially NEC PC-9801VM, because they were used in the business world.
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 They also have a sense of existence as objects. Many of the games of the time had beautifully designed packages that conveyed a sense of the world just by looking at the box art, giving them a great sense of ownership. For collectors, they are an irresistible reminder of those days. Although people tend to think that they are expensive, you can start with 50,000-60,000 yen. Depending on the timing, you can buy game software for as little as 500 yen if it has been sold in large quantities, such as &#8220;Classmates 2&#8221;. Even those with a special disk can be obtained for as little as 1,500 yen.
 Game magazines and strategy books of the time are also very deep. Bishojo game strategy books of the time include development journals and introductions of developers, which convey an atmosphere of enthusiasm and dreams. There are also many original drawings and setting materials, and you can read comments from the creators, which are very elaborate. It&#8217;s interesting even when you look at it now. Once you get started, I think it will be a hobby that you can get into quite a bit. The boxes are large and stimulate nostalgia. The fact that the real thing, the object, is there is a feeling that satisfies the desire for ownership, something that is being lost in the digital age. At our store in Akihabara, we have many actual machines and games in their original packaging, as well as CDs, magazines, and a variety of other goods from the era.
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The works that came out in Reiwa that tell the story of those days will open the door to your youth, and even for those who are not familiar with those days, how about trying a new hobby by experiencing the culture of that era with a passion that is different from that of today?
<figure id="attachment_369284" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 4032px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-369284"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="58b75ae2"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/04/830fa8c029ca69aba37e44a73bfb2292.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-369284" class="wp-caption-text">One of the shelves in the used PC game section at BEEP Akihabara. There is a wide variety of games, from classics to rarities to lost works. The credits on the back of the package may surprise you, such as &#8220;Did Hound Dog provide the music for this bishojo game? You may be surprised to see the credits on the back of the package.</figcaption></figure>

 Miyu Kurusu is a freelance writer. Her main areas of expertise include humanities, social issues, and subcultures, and she is active in reporting and writing articles for magazines, newspapers, the Internet, and other media. Author of many books.

 Miyu Kurusu

B1, Nakae Building, 3-9-8 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 03-6206-9118 
03-6206-9116 
URL: www.akihabara-beep.com 
X ID: @BEEP_akihabara

 BEEP Akihabara

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