History VisualNovel / Narcissu

Sekai Project released the first two games in the series in English on UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} for free in 2014 - downloadable [[http://store.steampowered.com/app/264380 here]]. In 2015, the ''[[http://prefundia.com/projects/view/narcissu-10th-anniversary-anthology-project/6803/ Narcissu 10th Anniversary Anthology Project]]'' was announced and funded by Kickstarter. Along with the first two games, it contains three new stories set in the same universe, along with the one story from ''Die Dritte Welt'' that Kataoka himself penned (the rest being written by guest authors and are currently unable to brought on due to licensing reasons). It was released on Steam a year later, and can be found [[https://store.steampowered.com/app/426690/ here]].

%% * IllGirl: All protagonists and heroines will become this.

* RapunzelHair: Himeko is depicted with ''very'' long hair in the illustrations, though it's never mentioned in the text.

* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: In the third game, one of the stories takes place in medieval Europe and stars a [[ActionGirl swordfighting]] [[PrincessProtagonist princess]]. No, [[http://www.kadohobi.jp/narcissu/images/ch4/04.jpg seriously.]] Incidentally, it's the only one of the game's four stories written by series creator Tomo Kataoka himself.

%% * RomanticTwoGirlFriendship: Setsumi and Himeko.

* {{Utsuge}}: Many have admitted to crying over the original game. However, this is a unique case, as this was not the intentional on the part of Kataoka; according to his notes for the second game, he was surprised that so many have reacted in such away. As such, in ''side 2nd'', he attempted to downplay the deteriorating health and death of the characters in order to have his messages and themes stand out more over the "tear-jerker" elements that would have his audience empathize with the characters. (Although if this was his intention then one wonders why he included the subplot about [[spoiler:[[TearJerker the terminally ill little girl who was abandoned by her parents in Himeko's flashback]]]].)

%%* GoOutWithASmile: Setsumi.

* {{Speedrun}}: Hilariously enough, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuN4395r_Oo someone did one.]]

''Narcissu'' is a freeware doujin VisualNovel by Tomo Kataoka, former head writer of Nekonekosoft and officially translated by insani (at least for the first game), and even though the original company he worked on produced Hentai visual novels, this piece is clean.

%% * CruelToBeKind: Himeko towards Chihiro, not wanting her to feel sad after she passes away, and not wanting to be treated pitifully by her.

* PrecisionFStrike: Twice in the first game; the first when the protagonist [[spoiler:drops a money box he was planning to steal at a pachinko parlor,]] and second when [[spoiler: a pharmacist sees the protagonist's wristband, causing the %% protagonist to run away... straight into the automatic doors.]]
%% * RageAgainstTheHeavens: [[spoiler:Himeko, the final item in the list of 10 things to do before she dies.]]

* {{Utsuge}}: Many have admitted to crying over the original game. However, this is a unique case, as this was not the intentional on the part of Kataoka; according to his notes for the second game, he was surprised that so many have reacted in such away. As such, in ''side 2nd'', he attempted to downplay the deteriorating health and death of the characters in order to have his messages and themes stand out more over the "tear-jerker" elements that would have his audience empathize with the characters.

* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: In the third game, one of the stories takes place in medieval Europe and stars a [[ActionGirl swordfighting]] [[EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses princess]]. No, [[http://www.kadohobi.jp/narcissu/images/ch4/04.jpg seriously.]] Incidentally, it's the only one of the game's four stories written by series creator Tomo Kataoka himself.

%% * JerkassFacade: Himeko towards Chihiro, not wanting her to feel sad after she passes away, and not wanting to be treated pitifully by her.

* UsefulNotes/{{Japanese Christian}}s: Chihiro and Himeko are Catholic, though Himeko claims to be only a "fake Catholic"; her struggle to resolve her crisis of faith before she dies is a major part of her storyline.

* FirstPersonPeripheralNarrator: The unnamed "protagonist".

* IllGirl: All protagonists and heroines will become this.

* JerkassFacade: Himeko towards Chihiro, not wanting her to feel sad after she passes away, and not wanting to be treated pitifully by her.

* PowerTrio: In ''Side 2nd'': Himeko (Id), Chihiro (Superego), and Setsumi (Ego).
* PrecisionFStrike: Twice in the first game; the first when the protagonist [[spoiler:drops a money box he was planning to steal at a pachinko parlor,]] and second when [[spoiler: a pharmacist sees the protagonist's wristband, causing the protagonist to run away... straight into the automatic doors.]]
* RageAgainstTheHeavens: [[spoiler:Himeko, the final item in the list of 10 things to do before she dies.]]

* RomanticTwoGirlFriendship: Setsumi and Himeko.

* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: ''Way'' on the cynical side.

Sekai Project released the first two games in the series in English on UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} for free in 2014 - downloadable [[http://store.steampowered.com/app/264380 here]]. In 2015, the ''[[http://prefundia.com/projects/view/narcissu-10th-anniversary-anthology-project/6803/ Narcissu 10th Anniversary Anthology Project]]'' was announced, an endeavour to release all remaining untranslated material related to the series as well as to fund brand new title that will conclude it, in English.

* SoapOperaDisease: The first game and prequel have a total of four terminally ill characters; not one of their ailments is ever specified, although one of the translators [[http://narcissu.insani.org/med.html#4.1 has done some speculation.]] [[spoiler:In case you're lazy to read there, Natsumi probably got [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cystic_Fibrosis Cystic Fibrosis]].]] At any rate, none of them seems to be sick enough to prevent them from traveling all over the country and subsisting on junk food.
* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: In the third game, one of the stories takes place in medieval Europe and stars a [[ActionGirl swordfighting]] [[EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses princess]]. No, [[http://www.kadohobi.jp/narcissu/images/ch4/04.jpg seriously.]] Incidentally, it's the only one of the game's four stories written by Tomo Kataoka himself.

* {{Japanese Christian}}s: Chihiro and Himeko are Catholic, though Himeko claims to be only a "fake Catholic"; her struggle to resolve her crisis of faith before she dies is a major part of her storyline.

* CrazyPrepared: Setsumi.

* FanTranslation: Officially acknowledged by the maker.

* RomanticTwoGirlFriendship: Setsumi and Himeko. [[LesYay You know it's true.]]
* SavedFromDevelopmentHell: The English translation of Side 2nd has quite a history behind it, as a combination of lack of time due to work for one translator and the complete ''disappearance'' of the other delayed the game past its scheduled release. It is slightly infamous for taking nearly three years to complete since its announcement.
* ShoutOut: There's a small one in the second game, where in one scene Himeko remarked that she doesn't take it kindly to be [[Manga/InitialD overtaken by a Levin]].
** It is, in part, a translator thing since in the voice-over Himeko only stated that the car passing her is a "Hachiroku", and neither the original text or the translated text make any description of the headlights that could be used to identify the variant. A well-informed fan, of course, knows that a Toyota [=AE-86=] comes in two forms, both available as a 2-door notchback coupe or a 3-door hatchback: the Corolla Levin (as the text said), and the more famous Sprinter Trueno. The translators made it a bit more funny, since there are actually two Levins in ''Manga/InitialD'': the ''[=AE86=]'' Levin owned by Wataru Akiyama, and the ''[=AE85=]'' Levin owned by [[ButtMonkey Itsuki Takeuchi]].

* VitriolicBestBuds: Himeko and Yuka.

* AuthorAppeal: Cars

* [[spoiler:BittersweetEnding]]: [[spoiler:Please refer to LetThemDieHappy.]]

* {{Determinator}}: The protagonist, while suffering lack of medication and fatigue, is able to drive the car for a whole week with only small rest and not so healthy diet.
** Though according to one of the translators, this may just be a case of the author taking some creative liberties as to what a person with untreated terminal lung cancer is able to accomplish. See below.

* FirstPersonPeripheralNarrator: The unnamed "protagonist."

* GenkiGirl: Himeko
* GoOutWithASmile: Setsumi.
* [[IllGirl Ill People]]: All protagonists and heroines will become this.

* [[spoiler:LetThemDieHappy]]: [[spoiler:Both the protagonist and Setsumi discovers several things along the way, and both of them will die with happy memories that they share.]]

* RoadTripPlot

* ThereAreNoTherapists: No mention is ever made of clinical psychologists or psychiatrists on the 7th floor hospice [[spoiler: despite how hospice inpatients are known for starving themselves to death; it's in the "rules"]]. This may be [[http://psy.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/48/6/517 justified]] by the relatively low numbers of such people in the Japanese health system and the cultural stigma against seeking psychiatric help.
** That said, [[TruthInTelevision it's fairly common]] in RealLife for terminal patients to intentionally starve (or more commonly, dehydrate) themselves in order to hasten death, even in places where physician-assisted suicide is legal. Some end-of-life care professionals even recommend it outright.

** It is, in part, a translator thing since in the voice-over Himeko only stated that the car passing her is a "Hachiroku", and neither the original text or the translated text make any description of the headlights that could be used to identify the variant. A well-informed fan, of course, knows that a Toyota [=AE-86=] comes in two forms, both available as a 2-door notchback coupe or a 3-door hatchback: the Corolla Levin (as the text said), and the more famous Sprinter Trueno. The translators made it a bit more funny, since there are actually two Levins in InitialD: the ''[=AE86=]'' Levin owned by Wataru Akiyama, and the ''[=AE85=]'' Levin owned by [[ButtMonkey Itsuki Takeuchi]].

* ShoutOut: There's a small one in the second game, where in one scene Himeko remarked that she doesn't take it kindly to be [[InitialD overtaken by a Levin]].

* SoapOperaDisease: The first game and prequel have a total of four terminally ill characters; not one of their ailments is ever specified, although one of the translators [[http://narcissu.insani.org/med.html#4.1 has done some speculation.]] [[spoiler:In case you're lazy to read there, Natsumi probably got [[http:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cystic_Fibrosis Cystic Fibrosis]].]] At any rate, none of them seems to be sick enough to prevent them from traveling all over the country and subsisting on junk food.

* SoapOperaDisease: The first game and prequel have a total of four terminally ill characters; not one of their ailments is ever specified, although one of the translators [[http://narcissu.insani.org/med.html#4.1 has done some speculation.]] [[Spoiler:In case you're lazy to read there, Natsumi probably got [[http:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cystic_Fibrosis Cystic Fibrosis]]]] At any rate, none of them seems to be sick enough to prevent them from traveling all over the country and subsisting on junk food.

* SoapOperaDisease: The first game and prequel have a total of four terminally ill characters; not one of their ailments is ever specified, although one of the translators [[http://narcissu.insani.org/med.html#4.1 has done some speculation.]] [[Spoiler: In case you're lazy to read there, Natsumi probably got [[http:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cystic_Fibrosis Cystic Fibrosis]]]] At any rate, none of them seems to be sick enough to prevent them from traveling all over the country and subsisting on junk food.

* SoapOperaDisease: The first game and prequel have a total of four terminally ill characters; not one of their ailments is ever specified, although one of the translators [[http://narcissu.insani.org/med.html#4.1 has done some speculation.]] At any rate, none of them seems to be sick enough to prevent them from traveling all over the country and subsisting on junk food.

Sekai Project released the first two games in the series in English on {{Steam}} for free in 2014 - downloadable [[http://store.steampowered.com/app/264380 here]]. In 2015, the ''[[http://prefundia.com/projects/view/narcissu-10th-anniversary-anthology-project/6803/ Narcissu 10th Anniversary Anthology Project]]'' was announced, an endeavour to release all remaining untranslated material related to the series as well as to fund brand new title that will conclude it, in English.

-->''This is the story''
-->''of a girl whose heart was standing still''
-->''and a boy whose breath was being stolen away,''
-->''both of whom die.''