There are eight main plot lines that the player will have the chance to experience, one for each heroine. Every so often, the player will come to a point where he or she is given the chance to choose from multiple options. Text progression pauses at these points until a choice is made. To view all plot lines in their entirety, the player will have to replay the game multiple times and choose different choices to further the plot to an alternate direction. The game is divided into two chapters, with the first one revolving around the events leading up to August 20 and the second chapter set three years later. It is in the second chapter that the game allows the player to choose to pursue one of the eight heroines and also has endings if the player chooses to pursue more than one of the girls at the same time. The updated version for Windows Vista, Kimi ga Nozomu Eien: Latest Edition, contains a third chapter. The original Windows edition has 14 endings, and the DVD version for Windows has two additional bad endings. In the adult versions of the game, there are scenes with sexual CGs depicting Takayuki and a given heroine having sex. Later, the consumer port versions were released without the adult content.
Plot
Kimi ga Nozomu Eien's story revolves around the main protagonist Takayuki Narumi, a male high school student. The first chapter, which takes place between July 6 and August 20, 1998, serves as a prologue to the second chapter. Takayuki is set up with Haruka Suzumiya by their friends Mitsuki Hayase and Shinji Taira. Takayuki ends up in bed with a nude sprawled out Haruka, but their relationship is not consummated due to performance anxiety. Mitsuki stops Takayuki on her birthday and has him buy her a ring, which results in him being late for his date with Haruka. At the end of the chapter, caused by Takayuki not being able to arrive in time, Haruka ends up in a coma because of an accident. In chapter two, during the three years since the accident, Mitsuki has been taking care of Takayuki and they have formed a relationship. Takayuki has also taken a part-time job at the Daikuuji (Sky Temple) family restaurant. Haruka's sister contacts Takayuki to tell him that Haruka has come out of her coma and is asking to see him.
Development and release
Kimi ga Nozomu Eien is the fourth visual novel developed by Âge. The producer and head planner for Kimi ga Nozomu Eien was Hirohiko Yoshida, the executive director of Acid, the publishing company that Âge is under. The scenario was written by three people: Hayato Tashiro (under the name Kichikujin Tam), Ai Shibuya (under the name Maro Guts), and Hokuto Matsunaga (under the name Hanjūryoku Seimei Maa). Art direction and character design was done by Kai Sugihara (under the name Baka Ōji Persia). The music in the game was produced by Lantis and composed by Abito Watarai.
Kimi ga Nozomu Eien was released as an adult game on August 3, 2001, playable on Windows PC as a CD-ROM. It was re-released as a DVD on July 25, 2003 under the title Kimi ga Nozomu Eien: DVD Specification, and on March 28, 2008 in a Vista-enhanced edition known as Kimi ga Nozomu Eien: Latest Edition. In addition to being built on an improved game engine and featuring improved graphics, the re-release also included the story content of the Special FanDisk and an all-new third chapter for selected heroines. The first consumer port of the game was released for the Dreamcast on September 26, 2002 by Alchemist. A PlayStation 2 port by Princess Soft was released on May 1, 2003 under the title Kimi ga Nozomu Eien: Rumbling Hearts.
The Kimi ga Nozomu Eien: Special FanDisk released on June 25, 2004 contains Kimi ga Nozomu Daiisshō (君が望む第一章, lit. The first chapter you desired), a retelling of the first chapter of the game allowing for greater control over Takayuki's actions in the first chapter. The player is now allowed to prevent the accident or end up with someone else altogether. It also includes a collection of short stories featuring the game's various characters, a game version of True Lies from the Kimi ga Nozomu Eien Drama Theater vol. 4 Radio Special, the Kiminozo Radio Shucchōban (君のぞらじお出張版) radio special, a parody of Muv-Luv Extra featuring Kimi ga Nozomu Eien's characters called Muv-Nozo (マブノゾ) and a version of the puzzle game Marii no Okatazuke 2: Ayumayu Funtō-hen (マリーのおかたづけ2 あゆまゆ奮闘編)).
Reception and legacy
On release, the video game magazine Famitsu scored the Dreamcast version of the game a 31 out of 40. The anime series was reviewed at Anime News Network, where reviewer Theron Martin commented that Rumbling Hearts "proves to be an involving and compelling look at how tragedy can impact matters of the heart." He also commented that the series' slow pacing, especially during the first two episodes, were a problem, comparing it to Saikano, although it worked better in later episodes. He also stated that the animation was not adequate, stating that "The character artistry looks good enough to support the story and offers a wide variety of physical appearances for its female characters, but often isn't fully integrated with the backgrounds and has a not-completely-refined quality about it in many scenes."