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Doujin Soft

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The term "doujin soft[ware]", also known as "doujin games", refers to a sub-genre of doujinshi — essentially, self-published video games. They can be considered Japan's equivalent to an indie game; while the term "indie" exists in Japan, it is a relatively new concept which refers only to games released through commercial channels.

Doujin games are generally released for Windows-based computers, and, like doujinshi, doujin soft may offer games based on one or more intellectual properties, or entirely original works. The most frequent genres seen in this category of games are platformers, fighting games, RPGs, shoot 'em ups (often Bullet Hell shooters), and visual novels. These games are often released at special Japanese conventions, such as the Comic Market (a.k.a. Comiket) and Reitaisai. Depending on the game's subject matter, they can also be considered fan games (e.g. Grief Syndrome to Puella Magi Madoka Magica) or a homage to another favorite franchise (e.g. RosenkreuzStilette to Mega Man). Most of the time, doujin game developers manage to avoid getting Screwed by the Lawyers concerning the use of another intellectual property, while a few others aren't so lucky, such as Rockmen R: Dr. Wily's Counterattack.

Doujin video games has been around for a very long time. One of the most prominent (and well-known) long-runners of the doujin scene is the Touhou Project series, with its first entry debuting in 1996; since then, it has expanded across 22 official games in the series and a cornucopia of fan-games. That is not to say there aren't other doujin game series that have contended for such a position and legacy. Other doujin series, such as Fate/stay night and the Higurashi: When They Cry series, have even migrated into the realm of mainstream anime and manga.

Obtaining these games, however, can a difficult endeavor for those outside of Japan (freeware ones are easier to get), given the level of obscurity of certain titles and limited print runs. There's also the matter of the games themselves being in Japanese, which can problematic if it's very text-heavy (usually in the case of visual novels and RPGs) or when a game requires you to learn something you can't read. Often at times these games get translated by fans with the knowledge of the Japanese language and the proper know-how of hacking, editing, and re-programming a game to run in a completely different language, and the willingness to do so. Also, some games are already in English and comes with English documentation, which makes playing them easier.

In recent years, there have also been a very small but growing number of publishers, independent or otherwise, that localize these games outside of Japan and bring them overseas. There are also a few specialty online retailers that can import the original pressings of a doujin game, if copies are available in stock and if shipping the game in question isn't taxing on your wallet. Additionally, some doujin games have been re-released and localized digitally through digital distribution services such as DLsite, and Steam to make things easier for those who could not attend to the events where they were originally released in and alleviate the cost of importing the games overseas. Some games even get some quality-of-life improvements or even special bonuses one way or another for their overseas release, depending on the publisher.

Notable doujin soft titles include:

    open/close all folders 

    Action Game 
  • A Witch and Fabricated Shadows

First-Person Shooter

  • Another Bound and Another Bound NEO (a Metroid Prime-esque freeware game)

Run-and-Gun

  • Armored Hunter Gunhound (a mecha run-and-gun game)
  • Gigantic Army
  • Gun Star (a run-and-gun Lucky Star fan-game; not to be confused with Gunstar Heroes)

Third-Person Shooter

  • Dysnomia
  • Homura Combat and its expansion pack (a Puella Magi Madoka Magica meets Earth Defense Force fan-game)
  • Soul Saber 2

    Action-Adventure 
  • The Legend of Derella (A The Legend of Zelda-styled game featuring characters from Idol Master)

Metroidvania

    Adventure Game 
Interactive Adventure

    Beat 'em Up 

    Card Battle Game 
  • No Net Card

    Fighting Game 

    Platform Game 

    Puzzle 
  • Cinderella Escape!

    Role-Playing Game 

    Shoot 'em Up 
Vertically-scrolling Shooter
  • Akashicverse ~Malicious Wake~ (a surreal shoot 'em up where special weapons are activated akin a fighting game)
  • Aurora Blast and its sequel (a shoot 'em up series with very fast bullet patterns)
  • Blue Wish
  • Blue Sabers
  • The Chaste Full-metal Maiden -Leiria- and its remake (formally retail doujin games now officially freeware)
  • Cho Ren Sha 68k (a freeware retro-styled shooter)
  • Crimzon Clover
  • Graze Counter
  • Green Wind
    • Eden's Edge
    • Eden's Aegis
  • eXceed series:
    • eXceed-Gun Bullet Children-
    • eXceed2nd-VAMPIRE- and eXceed2nd-VAMPIRE REX-
    • eXceed3rd-JADE PENETRATE- and eXceed3rd-JADE PENETRATE- BLACK PACKAGE
  • Vertical shooters by Orange_Juice:
  • Hitogata Happa from the Gundemonium series
  • HECTOR '39 (a freeware shoot 'em up featuring Miku Hatsune)
  • HELLSINKER
  • The Hurricane of the Varstray -Collateral Hazard- (from the doujin circle behind Trouble Witches)
  • Lethal Application
  • Meglilo The Witchborg
  • Patriot Dark (a formally retail DoDoPatchi-esque freeware shooter)
  • Rozen Diadem (freeware shooter based on Rozen Maiden)
  • RefRain ~prism memories~ (from the makers Samidare and Seihou)
  • ring^-10 (a retro-styled shooter; from the makers of Patriot Dark)
  • Samidare
  • Seihou
    • Shuusou Gyoku
    • Kioh Gyoku
    • Banshiryuu
  • Strike Witches STG (a freeware PC one, not the Japan-only Xbox 360 one)
  • The Tale of ALLTYNEX series:
  • Touhou Project, to this day the undisputed king of doujin videogames in general, thanks to its combination of Cute 'em Up with Japanese mythology, massive amounts of fanart and lots of characters with plenty of room to adapt to whatever a doujin work needs.
  • TWINS / TWAIN series:
  • Stella Vanity
  • Warning Forever
  • Wolflame
  • Zillion Beatz (a music-based vertical shooter)

Horizontally-scrolling Shooter

  • Armed Seven
  • cloudphobia
  • Diadra Empty
  • EXTRAPOWER: Star Resistance
  • Gundemonium, GundeadliGne, and Gundemonium Recollection from the Gundemonium series
  • PriZhm
  • Revolgear II (freeware Gradius-esque shoot 'em up)
  • Revolver360 and Revolver360 RE:ACTOR
  • Rolling Gunner
  • Satazius
  • Horizontal shooters by Orange_Juice:
  • Supercharged Robot VULKAISER
  • Trouble Witches series:
    • Trouble Witches Episode 1 ~Daughters of Amalgam~
    • Trouble Witches Episode 2 ~With Descendents of Ancient Dragon the Souless~
  • Zangeki Warp

Rail-Shooter

  • Gunner's Heart
  • SHAFTDIVER

Other

  • Ether Vapor (a shoot 'em up with changing gameplay, going from a vertical shooter, horizontal shooter, and even a rail shooter)
    • Astebreed (spiritual successor to Ether Vapor)
  • Erst Kerf (an RPG adventure game with an overhead shoot 'em up perspective)
  • Every Extend
  • QUALIA (localized as Qlione by Rockin' Android)

    Visual Novel 

    Miscellaneous 
Board Game:
  • 100% Orange Juice!, a crossover game by Orange_Juice featuring characters from some of their games (SUGURI, Flying Red Barrel, and QP Shooting)

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