Walkure Romanze

, also known as for short, is a Japanese adult visual novel developed by the visual novel company Ricotta for Windows PCs. It is Ricotta's second visual novel after "Princess Lover!". It was released on October 28, 2011. The game is described by the development team as a . On August 9, 2012, Ricotta announced that a fandisc titled "Walkure Romanze More&More" was in production. The fandisc is scheduled for release in 2013. An anime television series adaptation titled "Walkure Romanze", produced by Eight Bit and directed by Yūsuke Yamamoto, aired from October 6 to December 22, 2013.
Plot.
"Walkure Romanze"s story revolves around Takahiro Mizuno, a student studying at an academy with jousting as the main focus for sport. Takahiro acts as an advisor to the riders of the sport. Takahiro goes through each day tediously until the time of the annual competition draws near. Due to some odd circumstances, his childhood friend Mio Kisaki is challenged to a duel and she is forced to participate even though she has never even ridden a horse before. Takahiro agrees to train Mio as her Begleiter, but only until the duel is over. She later enrolls in the annual competition. She and the four other heroines all want Takahiro to become their Begleiter.
Development.
"Walkure Romanze" is Ricotta's second game, after their first game, "Princess Lover!", released in 2008. The scenario for "Walkure Romanze" is being written by Hare Kitagawa, Takami Tanikawa, Hatsu, Natake, Octopus, assault and Orgel. Kitagawa's authoring credits include "Akiiro Renka", "Happiness! Re:Lucks", and "Time Leap". The art and character designs were handled by Kei Komori, who also worked on "Princess Lover!".
Due to the unusual jousting theme of the game and Komori's personal love for armour, the Ricotta staff had to do a lot of research. With regards to the game, the staff would like the player to pay close attention to how the sport of jousting brings the protagonist and the heroine together, and how the trust between the two slowly blossoms into love. They also stated that they originally had five heroines being designed but the number was later cut down to four.
Release history.
"Walkure Romanze" was originally planned to be released in the winter of 2009 but has since been delayed to 2010. It was scheduled for June 24, 2011 but was then subsequently delayed to September 30, 2011.
Adaptations.
Manga.
A manga adaptation, illustrated by Mitsu King, was serialized in ASCII Media Works' "Dengeki Daioh" between the May 2012 and July 2013 issues. Two "tankōbon" volumes were released: the first on November 27, 2012 and the second on August 27, 2013. A second manga, illustrated by Manoe Nagisa, was serialized in ASCII Media Works' "Dengeki Hime" between the July and November 2012 issues. A third manga, illustrated by No. Gomesu, started serialization in Kill Time Communication's "Comic Valkyrie Web Edition" in the second volume released on January 28, 2013. A fourth manga, titled "Walkure Romanze: Noel Etoile" and illustrated by Sawayoshi Azuma, began serialization in "Dengeki Hime" in the July 2013 issue.
Anime.
An anime television series adaptation, produced by Eight Bit and directed by Yūsuke Yamamoto, aired from October to December 2013. The opening theme is "Un-Delayed" by Miyuki Hashimoto and the ending theme is "MoonRise Romance" by Natsuko Aso.
Music.
The game's opening theme to "Walkure Romanze" is by Miyuki Hashimoto. The song is composed and arranged by Takagō Azuma. The ending theme is and is also sung by Hashimoto. The game also includes two insert songs by Sayaka Sasaki: "Shooting the future" and "Mind Squall".
Reception.
In Getchu.com's 2011 Bishōjo Game Awards (based on user votes), "Walkure Romanze" won first place in the Graphics category, second place in Ero, as well as 20th place overall. The game was also Getchu's fifth best selling game for 2011.