Yarudora Series Vol. 4: Yukiwari no Hana

Overview

Yarudora Series Vol. 4: Yukiwari no Hana (雪割りの花), which translates to "Snow-Breaking Flower," is the fourth and final installment in the tetralogy of FMV adventure games created by Sony's Suger & Rockets and animation studio Production I.G. The title is part of the Yarudora series of interactive movies released for the PlayStation and is themed around the season of Winter and the liverwort flower. Unlike the previous entries in the series, Yukiwari no Hana features a more sober art style which was created by Masatsugu Arakawa, an animator known for his simple yet realistic designs. Initially released for the PlayStation on November 26, 1998, Yukiwari no Hana later received a port on the PlayStation Portable along with other entries in the Yarudora series in 2005.

Story

An introverted young college student has a crush on his neighbor, a 25 year-old office women named Kaori Sakuragi. They both live in an inexpensive apartment complex in Hokkaido and while the protagonist secretly harbors affections for Kaori, she is already in a relationship with another man. After seeing the two kissing one night, the protagonists looses any hope of confessing his feelings to her. However, one day the police arrive at the protagonist's door asking him if he knows a woman named Kaori Sakuragi. The police tell him that Karoi is unconscious and, thinking that the protagonist is an acquaintance of her's, escort him to the hospital where she is staying. Tragically, Kaori's lover died in a car accident while on a business trip in Miami, Florida causing her to collapse from shock after hearing the news. When she awakens in the hospital, she has lost much of her memory and now thinks that the protagonist is her former lover. In order to not hurt her further and because of his own feelings for Kaori, the protagonist lies to Karoi and pretends to be her loss love.