Kita e

Sega exclusive

The player, a second-year high school student (17 years old), travels from Tokyo to Sapporo in Hokkaidō (hence the basic title of the game Kita E - To The North). There, he encounters eight different girls, including the lead character Kotori Haruno, whose family he stays with during his time up north. In the game, the player explores the island, plays video games, does karaoke, goes shopping -- and most of all, tries to find that special someone to share his heart with.

Released: 1999
Platforms: Dreamcast
Genres: Romance Visual novel
Developers: —
Publishers: —
Country: Japan

About

Kita e (北へ。; "Northward.") is a Japanese game series, set in Hokkaidō. The series was developed by Red Company and published by Hudson Soft. An anime version and a manga adaptation have also been released.

Keywords

dating

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Development

The series began with Kita e: White Illumination (北へ。White Illumination), which was released on March 18, 1999, for the Dreamcast. A fan disc, Kita e: Photo Memories (北へ。Photo Memories), was released on August 5 that same year. On October 30, 2003, the series hit the PlayStation 2 platform as Kita e. ～Diamond Dust～ (北へ。～Diamond Dust～) was released.

A sequel to Diamond Dust, Kita e: Diamond Dust + Kiss is Beginning came out October 28, 2004. An animated music video based on the visual novel entitled Kita e. ～Pure Session～ (北へ。～PURE SESSION～) was released on May 31, 2000. An anime series entitled Kita e.

Reception

White Illumination sold 25 thousand copies in its first week.

The anime adaptation received positive, albeit not spectacular, reviews. Anime News Network's Theron Martin said that "the series as a whole is very approachable even to those who aren't normally anime fans." and "It doesn't forge any new ground and isn't outstandingly creative in the stories it tells, but it doesn't need to be to deliver a quality product." Zac Bertschy, also with ANN, called the anime unremarkable and "fairly banal", but did say that "It's really refreshing to watch a show based on a dating sim that doesn't make you wish you could reach through the screen and slap the characters around a little bit."