Japanese Romance Visual Novel
A beloved Japanese romance visual novel set in the remote hot-spring village of Hoori. Snap the legendary sword in half, meet your unexpected fiancée, and untangle a curse that has shadowed the town for centuries.
Senren Banka (千恋＊万花) is a visual novel from Yuzusoft, the Japanese studio known for warm, character-driven romance stories. It first appeared in July 2016 and quickly became one of the most talked-about games of its kind, later passing one million copies sold. The English edition, localized by NekoNyan, is now available to play directly in your browser on Nutaku.
It is a story about a boy, a broken sword and the girl he is told to marry — told over roughly forty to fifty hours of reading across four main heroine routes and two side routes, with dozens of endings, lighthearted comedy and moments of real drama. If you like slow-burn romance, folklore and a village full of secrets, this is the game for you.
Hoori is a tiny mountain town with no train station, famous only for its hot springs and its stubbornly traditional way of life. Festivals, shrine duties and long summer evenings give the setting a warmth that carries the whole story.
Every story needs a beginning, and here it is: the divine blade Murasamemaru, stuck in a stone for generations, snaps in half the moment the protagonist lays a hand on it. The sword's spirit, Murasame, wakes up — and she is not happy.
To make amends, the protagonist must marry Yoshino Tomotake, the earnest shrine maiden of Hoori. What starts as an absurd arrangement slowly becomes one of the sweetest romances in the genre.
Behind the village's cheerful surface runs a darker thread: a curse tied to the shrine, the sword and a sacrifice made centuries ago. Every route peels back another layer of the mystery.
Four heroines carry the main story — the shrine maiden, her ninja friend, the sword spirit and a foreign student — while two side heroines add their own chapters. Your choices decide whose story you follow.
Character art by Kobuchi, Muririn and Senji, an opening theme by KOTOKO, and a different ending song for every heroine. Forty hours of story, and the presentation never lets you down.
The rare visual novel that balances comedy, folklore and genuine feeling without ever dropping a thread. I finished every route and immediately wanted more.
I came for the art and stayed for the writing. The heroine routes feel like four completely different books sharing one beautiful village.