Popotan

Popotan is a visual novel in which players spend most of their time in reading dynamic text, representing either dialogue between the various characters or the inner thoughts of the protagonist. After progressing through text, players either come to a "decision point" where they must choose from multiple options, or the text will end and the player must move to a new location, or, in the DVD-ROM and PS2 versions, use a shortcut option to continue to the next event. Time elapsed between decision points varies. The game pauses at these points and, depending on which choice the player makes, the plot will progress and may branch off in a specific direction. The player must romantically pursue the three sisters, and can seek other characters if one of the sisters' scenarios has been completed.

A special music mini-game commences at certain points in Mii's scenario. The goal of the mini-game is to max out "Magical Girl Mii"'s magical power meter by hitting balls at the right moment. The outcome of the mini-game affects the storyline. Successfully completing her scenarios unlock an omake option on the main menu, allowing the player to play the mini-game with different music tracks.

Popotan takes place in the distant future within the remnants of Tokyo, destroyed by a cataclysm and since altered by geological transformations. The disaster was caused by a giant dandelion structure resembling a spire that arose in the city atop a hill. The main location of the game is a European-style mansion, seen as completely out-of-place in the city. Much of the daytime is spent outside the mansion wandering around town meeting characters and triggering event sequences.

The player assumes the role of Chris, the protagonist of Popotan. Chris is a high school dropout who dislikes the direction of society and refuses to get a job. He wanders the streets making a living as a guitar-playing busker. He feels he cannot play well without an audience, which is hard to find as a drifter.

Petit Ferret developed Popotan in 2002. Seki Hayabusa and Iwashinichi Shimizu handled scenario development, and Akio Watanabe designed its characters while working under the alias Poyoyon♥Rock. Higuchi Hideki and Kajihara Masahiro composed music for the series; Under17 contributed theme music with vocals. Petit Ferret created over 1,000 two-dimensional computer graphics for backgrounds, events, and character poses.

Though only characters' mouths and eyes are animated, numerous poses exist for both major and minor characters; Petit Ferret created slightly fewer graphics for the latter to reduce production costs. The game uses a character placement system to display the characters relative to the protagonist; distant characters appear small, and grow larger as the player approaches them.

Popotan visual novels released by Petit Ferret enjoyed strong initial sales. PCNews' national rating of bishōjo games listed Popotan's initial CD-ROM release at ninth place around one-and-a-half months after its release; it stayed on the charts another half-month at twenty-first. It returned six months after release for a brief stay at forty-sixth shortly before the fan disc was released. The DVD-ROM re-release rose to twenty-fourth in overall sales one month after its debut.

The fan disc's release propelled it to eleventh among the most sold bishōjo games within one month. The PS2 port Oshiete! Popotan received a score rating of 22 / 40.