History Main / DatingSim

The Dating Sim is a type of game designed to set up goals, usually in the forms of schedules and stats corresponding to social skills, which must be achieved to discover a story focused entirely around the CharacterDevelopment of the player's chosen girl/guy, get [[HGame into his/her pants]], or both. This leads to MultipleEndings, though some Dating Sims make it possible to see several of these "endings" in a single playthrough.

* Season 3 of ''{{Anime/Aggretsuko}}'' opens up with Retsuko playing a dating sim called ''Heartthrob! Virtual Boyfriend'', featuring a handsome {{bishonen}} unicorn named Seiya, to cope with a recent breakup. She ends up going into debt due to blowing all her money on buying items for her virtual boyfriend.

* ''VideoGame/HarvestMoon'' games include DatingSim subplots.

* ''VideoGame/StardewValley'' - Having DatingSim subplots in the vein of ''Harvest Moon'', its direct inspiration.

* In ''Literature/FullMetalPanic'', Sousuke's classmates attempt to prepare him for a date by having him play a DatingSim. His military-wired mind causes him to be blatantly honest to the girl, upsetting her and losing the game, much to his consternation.
* In ''Manga/{{Genshiken}}'', shameless {{Otaku}} Madarame spends almost a whole episode in a room alone with DungeonMastersGirlfriend Saki, trying to work up the courage to talk to her. This is emphasised by dream sequences in which he imagines her as a character in a DatingSim, complete with ArtShift - and repeatedly ends up clicking 'Do nothing'. He bemoans in his internal monologue how real life has more choices than just three, and how it's [[ButThouMust not always obvious which one to make]].

* ''Manga/NoMatterHowILookAtItItsYouGuysFaultImNotPopular'' also makes focus on DatingSim tactics (particularly of the ''Otome'' variety), but unlike the above example it gets played in a CringeComedy setting akin to ''Anime/WelcomeToTheNHK''.

** The fourth episode of the Haiyoru! Nyarani short flash animation. Nyarko is seen playing ''[[Creator/HPLovecraft Lovecraft]] [[VideoGame/LovePlus Plus]]''. It's an {{Inverted|Trope}} DatingSim, the character has [[SanityMeter SAN]] among the [[TabletopGame/CallOfCthulhu character's stats]], which measure your resistance to the {{Yandere}}s [[StalkerWithACrush who are after you]]. Lose enough SAN and you end up with her forever, wallowing in your mutual insanity.

* ''Manga/TheWorldGodOnlyKnows'' takes this to {{metafiction}}al levels, featuring a DatingSim {{otaku}} who captures escaped spirits by applying his knowledge of dating sims and their sub-genres.

* DatingSim elements are sometimes present in Western [=RPGs=], especially when the player has some control and customization over the PlayerCharacter.

[[quoteright:350:[[LightNovel/{{MM}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Ryuumaru_M_9586.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"Let's see; she's smiling, so option one should work -- unless that throwaway line of dialogue back in Chapter 2 was hinting that she was actually a {{Tsundere}} and so I should choose number two...[[GuideDangIt hold on while I check the FAQ.]]"]]

* ''LightNovel/NyarukoCrawlingWithLove'':

* ''VisualNovel/Doukyusei'' - [[TropeMakers One of the first hugely popular and successful games in the category]], [[TropeCodifier paving the way for everything that came after]].

* ''VisualNovel/DokiDokiLiteratureClub'' - presents itself as one of these, but quickly GenreShift[=s=] into horror.

* ''VisualNovel/TokimekiMemorial'' - [[TropeMakers One of the first hugely popular and successful games in the category]], [[TropeCodifier paving the way for everything that came after]].

* ''LightNovel/ListenToMeGirlsIAmYourFather''

* ''LightNovel/DateALive'' plays this straight with the twist that the protagonist doesn't make the decision making part. Rather, it's his ''sister'' and the Ratatoskr crew aboard the [[CoolShip Fraxinus]] who makes the decision making part.

* In ''Lightnovel/FullMetalPanic'', Sousuke's classmates attempt to prepare him for a date by having him play a DatingSim. His military-wired mind causes him to be blatantly honest to the girl, upsetting her and losing the game, much to his consternation.

* ''VideoGame/{{Eversoul}}''

* ''[[VideoGame/RivalsOfAether Lovers of Aether]]''

* ''VideoGame/LuckyRabbitReflex''

* ''VideoGame/TheIdolMaster'' games all include this, except ''Live For You'' and ''Shiny Festa''.
* ''VideoGame/IslandSaga''

* ''VisualNovel/HatofulBoyfriend''

* Likewise, one episode of ''Anime/MagicalShoppingArcadeAbenobashi'' featured a world that partially functioned as a Dating Sim (with an all-girl cast and drawn in a {{Moe}} style), to the point of Sasshi requesting a replay so he could end up with a different girl.
* ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'' parodies the genre in a pre-BossBattle cutscene. When the boss, a geeky chameleon named Francis, meets Princess Peach, the game turns into a dating sim with Francis playing it and the player providing her responses. Princess Peach quickly becomes annoyed at the concept, and sics Boomer on the [=Nerr2Babe=] Interface - which has the side effect of nuking Francis' video card. Cue the BossBattle, folks.

** Don't forget [[HighSchoolAU Gakuen Hetalia]].
* In ''Lightnovel/FullMetalPanic'', Sousuke's classmates attempt to prepare him for a date by having him play a DatingSim. His military-wired mind causes him to be blatantly honest to the girl, upsetting her and losing the game, much to his consternation.
** A similar arc occurs with Vanilla in ''Anime/GalaxyAngel''.

* [[http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Arch_PD.php This bonus arc]] of [[Webcomic/DanAndMabsFurryAdventures DMFA]] is an AffectionateParody of this.
* This is the main point of ''Webcomic/ExperimentalComicKotone''.

* ''Manga/TheWorldGodOnlyKnows'' takes this to {{metafiction}}al levels, featuring a DatingSim {{otaku}} who captures escaped spirits by applying his knowledge of dating sims and their sub-genres.

* Done as a joke at a comicon in Japan, where Studio Pierrot showed a redubbed set of Manga/{{Bleach}} clips meant to be an advertisement for an upcoming dating sim.
* There's two 'dates' in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker'', where you can go to the beach with either Paz or [[GayOption Kaz]]. You speak to them using the Co-Op battle cries, and then (if they like you) you can invite them into the cardboard box for [[SexyDiscretionShot quality time]]. They're parody, but both Paz and Kaz have different personalities which come out during the dates (Paz likes being complimented and treated gently, Kaz likes being punched and Big Boss staring at his crotch with the binoculars). Hilariously, you have to successfully seduce both to get the HundredPercentCompletion conversation.
* In the Strong Bad email [[http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail81.html date]], Strong Bad creates the “WebAnimation/HomestarRunner and Marzipan Extra Real Dating Sim XR” to simulate what he imagines what Homestar and Marzipan actually do on a date. It's mostly just them saying "Duh", occasionally pausing to talk about how awesome Strong Bad is.

* The JournalComic [[http://doodlediaries.comicgenesis.com/d/20110325.html Doodle Diaries]] featured a short parody of dating sims, starring the three main characters as the love interests.
* ''LightNovel/DateALive'' plays this straight with the twist that the protagonist doesn't make the decision making part. Rather, it's his ''sister'' and the Ratatoskr crew aboard the [[CoolShip Fraxinus]] who makes the decision making part.
* Parodied in ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' with Giffany, a perky AI from a Japanese dating sim [[AIIsACrapshoot which gained sentience]] and became a psychotic {{yandere}} towards anyone who plays her game.
* ''[[http://jamespatton.itch.io/masques-and-murder Masques and Murder]]'' is a vicious GenreDeconstruction: your three "suitors" are detestable scumbags who murdered your father and brother and you work at improving your skills and impressing them not to find true love with them, but to make them let down their guard enough for you to kill them in revenge.
* ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'':
** Flirting with Papyrus during your battle with him unlocks an optional dating sidequest. As Papyrus's never dated before, he consults a guidebook on what to do and ends up believing that you're ''madly'' in love with him even if you spend the entire date insulting him. Not only that, but his LargeHam personality leads to him treating the date as more like a competition to see who has the most "Dating Power". At the end of the date, he admits that he doesn't like you in that way and would prefer to just be friends.
** The True Pacifist route includes a similar comedic "date" with Alphys at the local garbage dump. Being a bit GenreSavvy, she brings gifts intended to increase your RelationshipValues with her, but they're all obviously intended for a different person, namely Undyne, who [[LoveLetterLunacy actually wrote the love letter Alphys mistakes you as the author of]]. The date turns into more of a pep talk session that's then unceremoniously interrupted by Undyne.
* ''Manga/MonthlyGirlsNozakiKun'' had a story where Mikoshiba convinced Nozaki to try a dating sim in order to try and understand girls better. After a false start[[note]]Nozaki decides to role-play the male lead from his manga ''Let's Fall in Love'', which results in him telling all the girls in the game to leave him alone, justifying it by saying that the character already has a LoveInterest[[/note]], they end up getting emotionally invested in the main character's best friend Tomoda and decide to write a {{Doujin}} to address the fact that he ended the game without a girlfriend. However, the only character with whom Tomoda has any meaningful interaction is the main character himself, which results in the doujin unintentionally becoming BoysLove.
* Week 6 of ''VideoGame/FridayNightFunkin'' is set inside of a [[{{Retraux}} 16-bit]] Dating Sim set in a stereotypical Japanese high school, whose protagonist is in love with [[LoveInterest the Girlfriend]]. This week introduces visual novel-style dialogue boxes to provide cutscenes before each song. [[spoiler:By the third song, it's revealed that the Senpai is actually [[TrappedInTVLand someone who was imprisoned within the dating sim]] by Girlfriend's Father, and he wants to steal the Boyfriend's body to escape and get revenge.]]
* Season 3 of ''{{Anime/Aggretsuko}}'' opens up with Retsuko playing a dating sim called ''Heartthrob! Virtual Boyfriend'', featuring a handsome {{bishonen}} unicorn named Seiya, to cope with a recent breakup. She ends up going into debt due to blowing all her money on buying items for her virtual boyfriend.
* ''VisualNovel/ClassOf09'' advertises itself as a "reverse dating sim" where instead of playing an average joe looking to date a bunch of cute girls players assume the role of a hot girl who only strings guys along for her own personal gain. As stated by the game itself:
-->It's not a dating sim. It's a '''rejection sim.'''

* DatingSim elements are sometimes present in Western [=RPGs=], especially when the player has some control and customization over the PlayerCharacter.
* Flash games: a number of English-speaking fans have created stat-driven dating simulations using Flash. The "sim date" games emphasize gameplay over story or characterization. There are a number of games which use original characters and settings, both for male and female audiences. Others are based on popular series, such as Naruto.

* The awkward dialogue of [[http://www.funny-games.biz/festival-days-sim-date.html Festival Days]] must be seen to be believed.

* The ''Dawnguard'' DLC for ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'' has shades of this in the form of [[FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire Serana]]. Throughout the questline, when her past and lineage are slowly revealed, you can be polite and understanding in your dialogue, or you can be forceful and rude. While you can't marry her, if you're polite enough, [[spoiler:you can convince her to cure herself of vampirism if you ally with the Dawnguard]].
* ''VideoGame/MountAndBlade'' is mainly a StrategyRPG, but it does have a rather complex courtship system that allows you to woo and possibly marry various ladies. Each lady has a certain personality that affects her opinion on certain matters (your character's Honor and Renown, tournament dedication, various bits of poetry you can recite, etc.). Of course, since the game takes place in a medieval setting, there's [[ArrangedMarriage more to it]] than just winning ''her'' favor most of the time...

* ''Man Enough'' is a 1994 FMV game that involves exchanging cheesy pick-up lines with beautiful women.
* ''VideoGame/ClarencesBigChance'': At the end.
* ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' held a temporary, [[GameWithinAGame client-based instance of this]] called ''Spirit Bonds'' during their 2020 "Spirit Blossom" lore event, centering around a FeaturelessProtagonist [[TrappedInAnotherWorld getting stuck the]] SpiritWorld of the game's mythology and encountering [[AlternateSelf alternate versions of several playable champions]] on varying paths, most of them with a hint of romantic subtext. In order to advance the stories (and earn the in-game rewards for doing so), players would need to complete missions for the characters in the proper ''League'' game, including killing enough monsters, dealing tons of damage, avoiding death, etc.

* ''VideoGame/TheIdolMaster'' games all include this, except ''Live For You'' and ''Shiny Festa''.
* ''VideOGame/IWasATeenageExocolonist'' includes tracking the RelationshipValues of your {{Love Interest}}s and boosting them by giving them gifts and bonding with them. However, dating them is optional since the flirt options are clearly marked so you can skip them while you can still [[EvolvingTitleScreen earn them on the title screen]] regardless by maxing out their heart meters.

* ''LightNovel/SisterPrincess''

* ''VideoGame/{{Apostle}}'' A cross with EasternRPG

* ''VideoGame/HuniePop''

* ''I Just Want To Be Single!'' is an "anti-dating sim" where the socially-awkward, aromantic protagonist Aya has to convince her UnwantedHarem of eccentric schoolgirls she just wants to be friends. She has to keep her relationship levels high, [[DoWellButNotPerfect but no so high the other girls fall in love with her]].

* ''VisualNovel/MonsterProm'' - A competitive dating sim in which up to 4 players can work together so everyone get a date or compete for the same date for the school's prom.

** ''VIdeoGame/SummonNightSwordcraftStory''
** ''VIdeoGame/SummonNightSwordcraftStory2''