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To Heart Remake Game Reveals More Cast

AQUAPLUS revealed more cast members on Friday for the remake of its 1997 To Heart visual novel/dating sim game.

The additional cast includes:

• Yuki Nagaku (new) and Aya Hisakawa (original version) as Tomoko Hoshina
• Azumi Satō (new) and Junko Iwao (original version) as Serika Kurusugawa
• Nayuta Sugiura (new) and Sōichirō Hoshi (original version) as Masashi Satoh
• Shinnosuke Ogami (new) and Ryūsuke Ōbayashi (original version) as Sebastian

AQUAPLUS also revealed a video on Friday that previews Akari Kamigishi's theme "Anata no Yokogao."

Shiravune will release an English version of the remake. The game releases in Japan on June 26, and Shiravune will release the game in English on June 25 (or June 26 depending on time zone). Shiravune's release of the game will also feature Chinese as well as English. The release will be the first official international translation of the game ever made.

The game will star:

• Kana Ichinose (new) and Ayako Kawasumi (original version) as Akari Kamigishi
• Hina Yomiya (new) and Yui Horie (original version) as Multi
• Kakeru Hota (new) and Chieko Higuchi (original version) as Shiho Nagaoka
• Shirasu Saho (new) and Mayumi Iizuka (original version) as Aoi Matsubara
• Shōgo Sakata as Hiroyuki Fujita

The game allows players to switch between the original and new voice cast at any time.

Some new features of the game include in-game events fully recreated in CG with cinematic camera presentations. The game will also allow players to switch between one or two lines of text being displayed in a bottom text box (so-called "ADV" presentation in Japanese), or with multiple lines of text overlayed over the graphics (so-called "NVL" presentation in Japanese), as in the original game.

The game's website notes that the game will have a download version on Switch and Steam, as well as a regular physical edition on the Switch. The game will also have a premium edition release on both the Switch and Steam that will include all 13 episodes of the game's 1999 television anime adaptation. Shiravune's English release does not mention the inclusion of a premium edition with the anime.

AQUAPLUS released the To Heart visual novel on Windows for PC in 1997, and later released it as the company's first ever console game in 1999 on the PlayStation (though both versions have many significant plot differences). The visual novel/dating sim is known as a classic in the genre, whose character designs and relaxed pacing have influenced numerous otaku media thereafter. Notably, the character of Multi is known by Japanese otaku as a hallmark of moe character design and writing, with her spirited attitude and cute demeanor contrasting with her sad fate.

The game inspired a television anime in 1999, as well as a second season focusing on Multi titled ToHeart - Remember my memories in 2004. The game received the sequel game To Heart 2 in 2004, which itself inspired a television anime in 2005, as well as numerous OVAs and spinoff games in subsequent years.

Sources: To Heart remake's website, 4Gamer (ルネ)