Kanon is a Japanese visual novel developed by Key, a brand of Visual Arts. It was released on June 4, 1999, for Windows as an adult game. Key later released versions of Kanon without the erotic content, and the game was ported to the Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable and Nintendo Switch. The story follows the life of Yuichi Aizawa, a high school student who returns to a city he last visited seven years prior, and he has little recollection of the events from back then. He meets several girls and slowly regains his lost memories. The gameplay in Kanon follows a branching plot line which offers pre-determined scenarios with courses of interaction, and focuses on the appeal of the five female main characters by the player character. The game once ranked as the second best-selling PC game sold in Japan, and charted in the national top 50 several more times afterwards. Kanon has sold over 300,000 units across several platforms.
Key is a Japanese visual novel studio known for making dramatic and plot-oriented titles. It was formed on July 21, 1998, as a brand under the publisher Visual Arts, and is located in Kita, Osaka.
Planetarian: The Reverie of a Little Planet is a Japanese post-apocalyptic visual novel developed by Key, a brand of Visual Arts whose previous works include Kanon and Air. It was released over the Internet on November 29, 2004, for Windows, and is rated for all ages. The game was later ported to the PlayStation 2 (PS2), PlayStation Portable and Nintendo Switch, as well as mobile devices. The story centers on a man who comes across a malfunctioning robot in a dead city. The man, known simply as "the junker", stays with this robot for a time and attempts to fix the projector of the planetarium where the story takes place.
Tomoyo After: It's a Wonderful Life is a Japanese adult visual novel developed by Key released on November 25, 2005 for Windows PCs. The game is a spin-off of Key's earlier all ages game Clannad. Key later released versions of Tomoyo After without the erotic content, and the game was ported to the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Switch under the title Tomoyo After: It's a Wonderful Life CS Edition; CS stands for "consumer software". The story follows the lives of Tomoya Okazaki, a young man who recently graduated from high school, and his close friend Tomoyo Sakagami as they start to see more of each other in a romantic relationship.
One: Kagayaku Kisetsu e is a Japanese adult visual novel, developed by Tactics, a brand of Nexton, released on May 29, 1998 playable on Windows PCs. The erotic content was later removed when the game was ported to the PlayStation. The story follows the life of Kōhei Orihara, a high school student who has fun spending time with several girls about his age, while at the same time he is gradually being drawn into a mystical alternate space known as the Eternal World.
Itaru Hinoue is the pseudonym of a Japanese artist from Osaka, Japan, who is one of the founding members of the visual novel brand Key under VisualArt's. Hinoue's choice of her pseudonym stems from the manga C by Shō Kitagawa; the protagonist in the manga was named Itaru Amano. Before forming Key, Hinoue worked for the company Tactics where she had a hand in the creation of the company's three games: Dōsei, Moon, and One: Kagayaku Kisetsu e. After forming Key, Hinoue has become known for her work on such titles as Kanon, Air and Clannad. Her dōjinshi circle is known as "Soldier Frog". In September 2016, Hinoue resigned from Key and VisualArt's.
Naoki Hisaya, born Naoki Hayashi, is a Japanese screenwriter who has worked for Tactics, Key and Siesta, but as of 2006, he is a freelance writer. He is well known for being the main writer of the popular visual novel Kanon while working under Key. Additional works include Moon, One: Kagayaku Kisetsu e, and Moon Childe. He is also known for being the original concept writer for Sola and Sora no Method. He later wrote the scenario for the action role-playing game Crystar. He also does work in a dōjin circle named Cork Board.
Moon is a Japanese adult horror visual novel developed by Tactics, a brand of Nexton, released on November 21, 1997, playable on Windows PCs. The game was described by the development team as a "Reaching the Heart AVG". The story follows the protagonist Ikumi Amasawa, a teenage girl who joins a mysterious organization called Fargo in the hopes of discovering why and how her mother died, who was a member of the same group. The gameplay in Moon follows a branching plot line which offers predetermined scenarios with courses of interaction, and focuses on the three female main characters. The game ranked twice in the national top 50 for best-selling PC games sold in Japan.
Nexton Co., Ltd. is a Japanese software publishing company specializing in the publishing and distribution of adult visual novels for 23 game development brands that Nexton is partners with. The company is located in Osaka, Japan. The current president, Akihiko Suzuki has served as the chief director of the Ethics Organization of Computer Software.
Jun Maeda is a Japanese writer and composer. He is a co-founder of the visual novel brand Key under Visual Arts. He is considered a pioneer of nakige visual novels, and has mainly contributed as a scenario writer, lyricist, and musical composer for the games the company produces.
Shinji Orito is a Japanese musical composer originally from Hyōgo, Japan working for the visual novel brand Key under VisualArt's. Before forming Key, Orito worked for another software company named Leaf where he contributed to four games. After leaving Leaf, Orito transferred to another company named Tactics where he had a hand in the creation of three games for that company: Dōsei, Moon, and One: Kagayaku Kisetsu e. After forming Key, Orito has put much work into such famous titles as Kanon, Air and Clannad. Orito has been influenced by the famous Japanese composers Joe Hisaishi and Yuzo Koshiro.
OdiakeS is a Japanese composer from Tokyo, Japan who has worked for a variety of visual novel companies. His first work was on the game One: Kagayaku Kisetsu e under Tactics. When the staff of One left Tactics to create the company Key, OdiakeS became a member of Key and had a hand in the musical composition of Key's first title Kanon. After Kanon was complete, OdiakeS left Key and became a freelance artist; over time he has been employed by several different visual novel companies. OdiakeS has also been active with his dōjin music circle SJV-SC.
Eternal Fantasy is a Japanese adult visual novel developed by Circus, released on November 22, 2007 for Microsoft Windows, as both a standard edition and a limited edition. The gameplay in Eternal Fantasy follows a linear plot line, which offers pre-determined scenarios and courses of interaction, and focuses on the appeal of the main female characters, but differs from traditional visual novel in that the player is allowed to navigate in an overworld map from a top-down perspective, and its utilization of a combat system.
Rewrite is a Japanese visual novel developed by Key, a brand of Visual Arts. It was released on June 24, 2011 for Windows PCs and is rated for all ages. Rewrite is Key's ninth game, following other titles such as Kanon, Air, and Clannad. Key released a fan disc expanding on the game's story titled Rewrite Harvest festa! on July 27, 2012 for Windows. Rewrite was ported to the PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, while Harvest festa! was ported to the PlayStation Vita. An English version of Rewrite for Windows was released by Sekai Project in 2021; they will also release Harvest festa! in English. The story follows the life of Kotarou Tennouji, a high school student with superhuman abilities who investigates supernatural mysteries with five girls from his school in the fictional city of Kazamatsuri. This ultimately leads him into the middle of a conflict between familiar summoners and superhumans with the fate of the world at stake.
5 is a Japanese adult visual novel developed by Ram and released on July 25, 2008, for Windows. 5 is Ram's third game. The developers described 5 as a "dramatic adventure", and a "noisy northern province love comedy". The game's tagline is, "Five little love tales which are likely to be buried in snow." 5 has typical visual novel gameplay.
Key Net Radio was a Japanese Internet radio program produced by VisualArt's and the visual novel studio Key in regard to Key and the games the brand produces. Thirty broadcasts were released online from December 13, 2007, to August 30, 2010. The show was hosted by Shinji Orito and Itaru Hinoue of Key, and another woman named Chiro who works for Pekoe, another visual novel studio under VisualArt's. Guests have been known to appear on the show including Jun Maeda and Na-Ga of Key. Each broadcast was recorded and were available via download on Key's official website after being edited by Orito, though Hinoue filled in for Orito on some occasions. The episodes were available for download on the radio show's official blog for the first nine broadcasts, and the first 27 episodes are no longer available for download. The more recent broadcasts could be listened to on VisualArt's' YouTube channel named Visual Channel. Listeners could submit thoughts about the show and any requests they may have for the show, along with submitting questions to the host trio. Key Net Radio's mascot is named Kirara and is drawn by Itaru Hinoue.
Itaike na Kanojo is a Japanese adult visual novel developed by Zero, a brand under Visual Art's. Itaike na Kanojo was first released as a PC game for Microsoft Windows on October 24, 2003, and was later released as a DVD TV game and an Android game. A renewal edition of the game was also released. Itaike na Kanojo is playable on the RealLive scripting engine. The gameplay in Itaike na Kanojo follows a branching plot line which offers pre-determined scenarios with courses of interaction, and focuses on the appeal of the main heroine Honoka Nanase.
Kamikaze Explorer! is a Japanese adult visual novel developed by Clochette. It was first released for Windows PCs on May 27, 2011. Kamikaze Explorer!'s story follows the main character Keiji Hayase, and takes place in the future, where the younger generation use a special power called Metis. The gameplay follows a branching plot line which offers pre-determined scenarios with courses of interaction, and focuses on the appeal of the five female main characters by the player character.
Loopers is a Japanese science fiction horror visual novel developed by Key, a brand of Visual Arts. It was released on May 28, 2021 for Windows and is Key's 15th game overall. An English version was released on Steam in June 2023. It was ported to iOS and Android devices, as well as the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4. The story follows high school student Tyler and his friends who get caught in a time loop, continuously repeating the same day seemingly without end. Before long, they meet others caught in the same predicament who call themselves "loopers", and the two groups join forces to try to break out of the loop.
Lunaria: Virtualized Moonchild is a Japanese science fiction visual novel developed by Key, a brand of Visual Arts. It was released on December 24, 2021 for Windows and is Key's 17th game overall. It was ported to iOS and Android devices, and also the Nintendo Switch. The story follows high school student Tabito Kamishiro, known as T-bit when playing the virtual reality racing game Skyout, which earns him an income in the form of prize money. One day, he wanders onto an unknown server on the Moon and meets the AI avatar Lunar-Q, who earnestly wants to see the Earth herself.
