Steins;Gate

Steins;Gate (シュタインズ・ゲート Shutainzu Geeto) is a Japanese visual novel developed by 5pb. and Nitro+, and was released on October 15, 2009 for the Xbox 360, and PC on August 26, 2010. A port for Sony's PlayStation Portable handheld game console will be released in June, 2011.

The game is described by the development team as a "hypothetical science ADV" (想定科学ADV Soutei Kagaku ADV). The gameplay in Steins;Gate follows a linear plot line which offers pre-determined scenarios with courses of interaction.

Currently the anime is broadcasting in Japan, starting from April 6th, 2011.

Plot Overview

Steins;Gate is set in the summer of 2010, approximately one year after the events that took place in Chaos;HEAd, in Akihabara. However, previous knowledge about Chaos;HEAd is not needed as Steins;Gate is an entirely standalone story.

The story starts with Rintarou Okabe, with Mayuri Shiina towards the Radio Kaikan building on July 28, 2010, in Akihabara for a seminar conducted by Dr.Nakabachi. During the lecture Rintarou loudly screams and accuses Dr.Nakabachi of being a copycat and a fake, but soon interrupted by Kurisu Makise, who approaches Rintarou and questions him as if both of them have met beforehand. However, Rintarou shakes her off with his dellusional yet arrogant attitude, and tries to meet up with Mayuri who lost her recently bought gashapon. Soon, they both heard a scream, and when Rintarou goes to check, he is dumbfounded to find out that Kurisu is dead, with the body of her found with a pool of blood in a room. He leaves the building with Mayuri in a panic and sends a text message to Hashida Itaru about the incident when all the people around him suddenly vanish. They reappear moments later but no one around him seems to have experienced the same phenomena that he did.

Production Overview

Steins;Gate is the second collaborative work between 5pb. and Nitroplus after Chaos;HEAd, with Chiyomaru Shikura of 5pb. headed the planning, scenario written by Naotaka Hayashi of 5pb. wrote the with assistance from Vio Shimokura of Nitroplus. The character designs are done by huke and whereas the gadgets were designed by Sh@rp.

The game was created with the concept of "99% science (reality) and 1% fantasy" in mind. Matsuhara, who was the one originally thought of the concept of the phone trigger system, stated that they initially wanted to incorporate the player's own mobile phone into the system. However, the idea was abandoned due to concerns of clashing with Japan's privacy laws. The story was also a concern, with fear that the topic about time travelling itself feels overdone and concerns were expressed during the development of the story itself.

According to Kana Hanazawa, she was happy to have been selected to be in Steins;Gate as she felt that it was not common to be able to play a part in a serious game. She also thought that the game gives the player more of a thrilling sensation rather than a frightening one and it entices the player to continue reading.

Due to the nature of the story, it is recommended to read through the story without touching any related trailers or synopsis beforehand. Ironically, players who finished the story will immediately realize that the contents of the OP, as well as some trailers contains spoilers to the entire game.

Gameplay

Steins;Gate's gameplay requires little interaction from the player as most of the duration of the game is spent on reading the text that appears on the screen which represents either the dialogue between the various characters or the thoughts of the protagonist.

However, unlike most adventure games where one is given a choice window with multiple choices to affect the direction of the game, the multiple choices are done with the "phone trigger" system - a system where the player can choose to answer or ignore the call when recieving a call. Incoming text messages will have specific words underlined and highlighted in blue, much like a hyperlink on a browser, where the player can select on to reply to the text message. Depending on the selection, some achievements or even hidden scenes can be unlocked. Most phone calls or text messages do not have to be responded to though there are certain points in the game where the player is required to take action. Depending on the player's choices on how to respond to these phone calls and text messages, the plot will progress in a specific direction.

Characters

Main Cast

Rintarou Okabe (岡部倫太郎, おかべりんたろう)

CV：Mamoru Miyano

Age：19

Birthday：December 14

Blood Type：A

Height：177cm

Weight：59kg

Nickname：Okarin,（Self Proclaimed）Hououin Kyouma

A Tokyo Denki University first year student. He is the main protagonist of the story, a self-proclaimed mad scientist and goes by the name Hououin Kyouma instead of his real name, which he almost do not want people to refer him as. However, Mayuri Shiina and Itaru Hashida refer to him by the nickname Okarin (オカリン), a portmanteau of his surname and given name.

Okabe gives off the appearance of being delusional and paranoid, as he frequently thinks of a certain "organization" chasing him, talks to himself on his phone, and engaging in fits of maniacal laughter. He is also arrogant, who he thinks the world is centering around him. But deep inside he is actually a caring individual, who cares a lot of his childhood friend Mayuri Shiina, and also to a certain degree, his sidekick Itaru Hashida (Daru). He also thinks of every lab member he "recruited" as the thing he treasures most.

He also founded his own of what he calls the "Future Gadget Laboratory" (未来ガジェット研究所 Mirai Gadget Kenkyuujo) in Akihabara where he spends most of his time.

His famous quote includes "This is the choice of Steins Gate" and "El Psy Congoroo", which means nothing.

Kurisu Makise（牧瀬紅莉栖, まきせくりす）

CV：Asami Imai

Age：18

Birthday：July 25

Blood Type：A

Height：160cm

Weight：45kg

3 Sizes：B79／W56／H83

Nickname：Christina,　Assistant, Celeb 7 (Celeb Seventeen), The Zombie <--- which all of them are nicknames given by Okabe.

The series main heroine. She is a researcher of the fictional Victoral Condoria University, stationed in the neuroscience field. Having had her research published in the academic journal Science at the young age of 18, Kurisu is extremely talented.

However due to the jealousy she recieved around her peers, she didn't have much friends. She has a dislike on person with low manners, and holds little patience on Okabe's erratic behaviour. She is also annoyed with Okabe's constant attempt on giving her different nicknames, which none of them she likes. She is logical, objective and rationale when it comes to analyzing, and though she sometimes pretend not to pay any attention on certain topics, but ended up getting interested and even involved herself into it. In other words, a tsundere.

She is also a frequent visitor of a fictional online BBS called @channel. This is shown when she accidentally replies situation with certain internet memes, which attracted various funny responses from Okabe and Daru. She is also a terrible cook, which she is been commented as a killer, and also lacks common sense in cooking.

For readers who sometimes encounter this particular emoticon 「ヽ(*ﾟдﾟ)ノｶｲﾊﾞｰ」 in pixiv or 2ch, this is actually a random emoticon written by Kurisu herself (on a whiteboard) for one of the inventions invented by her. The emoticon itself became semi popular after the fans discovered it and it got spreaded from there.

Mayuri Shiina（椎名まゆり, しいなまゆり）

CV：Kana Hanazawa

Age：16

Birthday：Feburary 1

Blood Type：O

Height：152cm

Weight：45kg

3 Sizes：B85／W56／H82

Nickname：Mayushi☆

Mayuri is a long time childhood friend of Okabe. A second year high school student studying at Hana Asagi University & Private Academy located at Ochanomizu, Kanda. Okabe cares for her a lot, thinking of her as a little sister. She has a small stature but with a well endowed figure. She calls herself Mayushii☆ (attached with a star) and has a habit of saying "Tutturu~♪" whenever she is meeting someone. She is a bit of an airhead, and does not read the mood well sometimes, and also has an attitude of a little kid. She is also slightly gluttonous, her favourite food is kara-age and banana. However she is also a terrible cook, although not as bad as Kurisu. Her hobbies also include sewing, especially on cosplay costume, and will not hesistate to ask her friend Ruka Urushibara to wear it for her.

She had a grandmother who passed away 6 years ago, and since then she developed a habit of extending her hand whenever she's looking at the sky, which Okabe nicknamed this habit "Stardust Shakehand".

While she is an airhead and does not understand complicated issues most of the time, she can be surprisingly sharp at times, and her observation skills are sometimes above even Kurisu. She is also atheletic, as she can run with her might without panting.

Suzuha Amane（阿万音鈴羽, あまねすずは）

CV：Yukari Tamura

Age：18

Birthday：September 27

Blood Type：O

Height：163cm

Weight：51kg

3 Sizes：B80／W59／H86

Nickname：Part Time Warrior

A part time worker working in CRT shop located below Future Gadget Labatory. She is friendly and lively, and especially love cycling and bicycles. She constantly slacks whenever her boss is not around, and also maintain her bicycle when she has nothing else to do.

Everything else about her is unknown. She has a certain mysterious aura surrounding her. She also uses words that are often incomprehensible, and has no knowledge on many common stuff, as if she is not from this world.

She also refers to herself as a "grown warrior", and seems to be knowledgable in combat and survival, hence, the nickname given by Okabe, "Part Time Warrior".

Faris Nyan Nyan (フェイリス・ニャンニャン)

CV：Momoi Haruko

Age：17

Birthday：April 3

Bloodtype：AB

Height：143cm

Weight：43kg

3 Sizes：B80／W54／H77

A 2nd year high school student studying at Kanaria Private Academy at Yotsuya, Tokyo. She is currently the most famous maid working in Maid Cafe "Mayqueen Nyan Nyan", located at Akihabara. She is also Mayuri's friend, since they both work in the same cafe. She also has a speech habit of ending each sentence with a "-nyan", though it is necessary for every workers in Mayqueen Nyan Nyan to attach "-nyan" at every sentence, Faris would extend her usage even for her everyday conversation. While she is also possibly dellusional, it is unknown whether she fakes it just to go along with her customer (especially Okabe) demands, or she is actually one. She is also one of the top players of the fictional card game "Rainet Access Battlers", and is on the level of a national player. However she has never participated in one.

It is also important to note that her name, Faris Nyan Nyan itself is just a stage name.

Urushibara Ruka (漆原るか, うるしばらるか)

CV：Yuu Kobayashi

Age：16

Birthday：August 30

Blood Type：A

Height：161cm

Weight：44kg

3 Sizes：B73／W60／H77

Nickname：Rukako

A classmate of Mayuri, and goes to the same school with Mayuri.

While the outlook and behaviour Ruka is nothing short of what a pretty girl lacks, Ruka is actually the heir son to Yanabanagi Shrine. In other words, he is a trap.

Lacks confidence, and also very shy. But he's a guy. Has an innocent aura that make even dellusional guys like Okarin fell onto knees. But he's a guy.

Though obvious, as a heroine Ruka has the smallest breast in the series. But he's a guy. Cute is justice! But he's a guy. He has an event which will shock players who read the story ( but however understandable). But he's a guy. He is, in a way, a trap that makes anyone think irrationally. Understandable because he is a guy!

Moeka Kiryuu (桐生萌郁, きりゅうもえか)

CV：Saori Goto

Age：20

Birthday：June 6

Blood Type：B

Height：167cm

Weight：54kg

3 Sizes：B88／W59／H88

Nickname：Shining Finger（閃光の指圧師, シャイニングフィンガー）

A part time editor working in "Arc Rewrite". She has difficulties communicating with people verbally, and she prefers communicating with cellphone instead, even if they are right in front of her. Her message tone however is 180 degree different from her real attitude, and her frequency of message sending is extremely fast , to the point of spamming. Due to her fast typing speed, she is being nicknamed "Shining Finger" by Okabe.

Due to searching for IBN5100, she wanders around Akihabara looking for it.

Itaru Hashida (橋田至, はしだいたる)

CV：Tomokazu Seki

Age：19

Birthday：May 19th

Blood Type：AB

Height：164cm

Weight：98Kg

Nickname：Daru

A sidekick and also a friend of Okabe, nickname "Daru". Goes to the same university with Okabe, and is also a first year student. He is an active otaku and does not hide his tendencies, being a frequent visitor of @channel, and frequently uses its terms in his everyday speech.

He has a very large, obese body and has difficulty breathing sometimes. He is often annoyed at Okabe's dellusion antics, as well as his unwillingness to pay for food whenever they are eating together. Even so, he believes in Okabe as a friend. He is also a large fan of Faris, and is all over her toes whenever he is seen together with Faris.

Daru is also an experienced hacker and has extensive knowledge about computer hacking. He is also experience in gadget makings, though he claims that he is better in software than hardware, all of the gadgets produced, from hardware up to its software were all created by him.

Yuugo Tenouji (天王寺裕吾, てんのうじゆうご)

CV：Masaki Terasoma

Nickname：Mister Brown, Manager (by Okabe)

A shop manager who is managing his own CRT shop, located just downstairs of Okabe's Future Gadget lab. Suzuha's boss, he claims to love CRT, as well as being especially protective of his daughter, Nae. Yuugo is the only character where Okabe dare not go against with, considering he is the one that allows Okabe to use his place (and his TV) for free. He also claims to "kill" anyone who harms his daughter, and his CRT.

Due to that, Okabe consider him to be disgusting in a way.

Nae Tenouji (天王寺綯, てんのうじなえ)

CV：Ayano Yamamoto

Age：11

Birthday：November 9th

Bloodtype：A

Height：137cm

Weight：31kg

Daughther of Yuugo. She sometimes appear to play with Suzuha, and is on good terms with Mayuri. She is however afraid of both Okabe and Daru, and dare not get close to them, despite being harmless. (Or maybe it's better not to get close to Daru...)

The reason why Nae is afraid of Okarin is due to his dellusional acts, and thus Yuugo is very protective of her.

Sub Cast

4℃（Sid）

CV：Minoru Shiraishi

A DQN (jerk troll) who is extremely arrogant and thinks he's the best player in Rainet Access Battlers. While he is a player representing Ikebukuro (under his group Viral Attackers) on the prefecture tournament of the game, he climbed up to this status through dirty tricks and arrogance. He is also dellusional, apparently below even Okabe.

Dr.Nakabachi（ドクター中鉢, どくたーなかばち）

CV：Mitsuru Ogata

An exiled scientist and physics researcher, and is known by most of the people as a fabric inventor. Though he recently open a lecture to announce his finished study about time machine. He was immediately exposed by Okabe as a fake because his theories and studies are all copied from John Titor's findings instead of his own.

Urushibara's Father

Ruka's father. He is the current head priest of Yanabanagi Shrine. Though from the outside he looks to be a gentle guy as well as normal, he is suspeced by 2ch to be the most perverted guy ever in the series.

Okabe has even said (from the Visual Novel) that "He has a very gentle manner, a person worth respect. Aside from his mistaken ways of bringing up Rukako..."

He is also the only person who refer Okabe as Hououin Kyouma.

John Titor (ジョン・タイター)

A self proclaimed time traveller who appeared suddenly at @channel, year 2010. Claims to be coming from 2036, and has a mission to go back on time in year 1975 to retrieve a retro PC named the IBN5100. John Titor's time travel theories caused a big discussion and arguements in the board itself.

The character John Titor is based on the real one from our real world. Although for reasons unknown, only Okabe himself seems to remember this...