Choose the direction of your high school romance
I Love You! is a free role-playing video game that lets you woo cute high school boys. Originally developed by Shinogi Shiohara, this cute visual novel dating sim features a playable assertive female protagonist—reversing the traditional role of girls in dating sim games. Take note that this is actually originally a Japanese video game and this version just happens to be the English translation by Moonchime Localization.
Love makes you braver
The story of I Love You! is set in a normal high school where you and your potential love interests attend. You can set the name of your character—however, the game doesn’t distinguish between first name and surname. It’s recommended to just input a surname for the authentic Japanese polite culture. There are three love interests available. There’s also a secret boy you can pursue but his presence isn’t really big compared to the others.
Similar to other dating sims, you pick choices that will stir you in the direction of an ending. These will impact the affection levels of the love interests and will also change how they talk to you. There are 8 endings you can get and numerous CG art from each available route, as well. If you’re ever feeling lost while completing them all, just feel free to consult the game’s strategy guide.
What’s interesting about the game aside from the role reversal of characters is that your own character has no actual internal dialogue or narration. Unlike most VNs, this one only shows what you may have said to other characters based on their reply and what your player choices are. This lets you make up your own exact words as you follow the story—making you feel more like the protagonist of the game.
A cute high school tale
Overall, I Love You! is a nice and short Japanese dating sim that offers a unique take on both its main character and the way she interacts with her crushes. It also has a good number of endings and CGs for you to collect. It could use some tweaking with its naming mechanic, though, as it’s never clarified to you that it only accepts one name and won’t separate first names and surnames.
