Preface: Despite Hiroyuki Kanno having written the scenario for the earlier Etsuraku no Gakuen (悦楽の学園), reading reviews of C’s Ware’s later games, one gets the impression that both the company and Kanno only broke out beginning with Desire. Amongst Kanno’s writing work during the 1990s, Etsuraku, and the later Xenon, remain the only games to not be ported to consoles and enjoy a higher degree of fame. Whether or not this has to do with the quality of the games, their content, or both, remains up for debate. Coverage of Etsuraku both before and after its release in magazines such as Fantasienne, Megastore, and PC Angel emphasized the excitement of the story’s sexual nature. In contrast, coverage of Desire discusses both the game’s erotic content and story with Fantasienne‘s reviewer being so taken in by the game’s writing that they forgot to talk about the sex scenes altogether. Desire thereby represents a turning point for Kanno where despite being writer working on erotic games, his stories would earn a reputation for being engaging works of mystery and science-fiction.
The review of Desire which appears in Fantasienne can be read here. Note, the linked page and Fantasienne magazine are NSFW.
How long will the violent cycle of fate continue….
Never mind that. The game was worth playing. Desire became well known due to the hardcore and sexual nature of its story and while it’s developed by C’s Ware, this time, the direction was brilliant, resulting in an excellent story. Albert, a newspaper reporter, travels to the isolated ocean laboratory Desire to investigate the mysteries of the island and inexplicably finds himself encountering all sorts of strange characters. Regarding the game’s features, the narrative can be seen from the perspective of both Albert and his girlfriend, Makoto. Whereas Albert’s route allows players to experience the story, Makoto’s instead allows the opportunity to see the story itself unfold. Each route is skillfully directed, as if it were a film, resulting in a much more engaging experience.
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