The ToHeart visual novel’s remake will be released in Japan on June 26 JST on Nintendo Switch and Steam. The release date was revealed in a Famitsu interview with producer Naoya Shimokawa and director Tsutomu Washimi.
The release will include a 10,780 yen (~US72.11, tax-included) premium edition that comes with a HD remaster of the 1999 ToHeart TV anime, which has 13 episodes, in Blu-ray form. There are currently no plans to sell the premium edition again.
Additional, these cast members were revealed:
• Shogo Sakata as protagonist Hiroyuki Fujita (previously unvoiced)
• Kakeru Hata as Shiho Nagaoka
• Saho Shirasu as Aoi Matsubara
Players will be able to switch to the original voices, which include Yoko Kawasumi (Akari Kamigishi), Yui Horie (Multi), Chieko Higuchi (Shiho), and Mayumi iizuka (Aoi).
Famitsu’s article also includes plenty of screencaps showing off the ToHeart remake’s 3D graphics. According to Washimi, the concept for the remake was to express the event scenes through “visual cinema,” which means using camerawork and motion to make the scenes dynamic. Meanwhile, the 3Dfication of the scenes with character sprites is meant to increase the sense of immersion.
According to the interview, the minigames fom the PlayStation version are not present in the remake. Also, there are currently no plans to remake ToHeart 2 or “further expand the ToHeart universe,” although there is interest in doing so. The possibility of these will depend on the performance of the ToHeart remake.
The original Leaf-developed ToHeart was first released for PC in 1997 before receiving various ports on PlayStation consoles. The first incarnation of the game was an 18+ title. The 1999 PlayStation 1 release introduced the opening song “Feeling Heart,” which is also used in the new 3D remake (performed by YURIKA instead of Masami Nakatsukasa). There is a sequel titled ToHeart2.
MobyGames describes the original ToHeart as:
In this game, the player controls Fujita Hiroyuki, a high-school student who seems to have more interest in romance than in his studies. In his school there are several pretty girls, and his goal is to be nice to one of them, make the right decisions when talking to her, and ultimately win her heart.
To Heart is a visual novel: the player reads text and looks at CG images, occasionally prompted to choose a response or an action out of several available ones. These decisions determine the outcome of the story. Each girl has her own “path” and ending, with various degrees of difficulty to attain.
The PC version of the game has explicit adult content. Subsequent console and handheld releases remove adult scenes and add voice acting to the game.
Aside from the 1999 TV series, another ToHeart anime was 2004’s To Heart 〜Remember my Memories〜.
The ToHeart remake will have a physical edition for the Switch.
Update: Added a paragraph regarding the presence of minigames in the remake and the possibility of a ToHeart 2 remake and more ToHeart games.
Staff
• Character designer: Tatami Honjo
Cast
• Kana Ichinose as Akari Kamigishi
• Hina Yomiya as Multi
Source: Famitsu
