At times, the player will come to a point, where he or she is given the chance to choose to navigate through the school with different female characters. During so, gameplay pauses until the player makes a choice. Depending on the choices the player makes, different events might occur as the player enter different areas, effectively progressing the plot in a specific direction. There are four main plot lines that the player will have the chance to experience. To view all of the plot lines, the player will need to replay the game multiple times, picking different girls and access different areas to progress the plot in an alternate direction. One of the player's objective in the original version of the game is to view the hentai scenes depicting the main character Makoto having sexual intercourse with one of the heroines.
Plot
Setting and themes
The main part of Yotsunoha's story takes place in an abandoned school named Mochizuki Academy (望月学園, Mochizuki Gakuen) and its surrounding area. The school is a four-story building, housing facilities such as classrooms, the art room, the home economics room, and the light music club's room. There is also a small field outside of the school building, housing the small garden where the characters buried their time capsule prior to their separation.
Childhood friendship plays an important role in the story. Throughout the story, characters are constantly reminded of their childhood memories by different locations in the school. This is further expressed by the characters' emotions before and after their separation, and the time capsule they have buried.
Principal characters
Makoto Yūki (結城 誠, Yūki Makoto)
Voiced by: Hideki Tasaka (OVA)
Makoto is the male protagonist of Yotsunoha. Despite being friendly, and always thinking for his friends before himself, he has trouble of expressing his feelings to others. Makoto choose Nono over everyone else before she left.
Nono Nekomiya (猫宮 のの, Nekomiya Nono)
Voiced by: Yui Sakakibara
Nono is the main heroine of Yotsunoha. Despite being one year younger than Makoto, she is really helpful, taking tasks such as cooking and homemaking for Makoto and Iori, who lived next door to her prior to their separation. She moved to the Kansai region after the school's closure.
Iori Yuzuki (柚姫 衣織, Yuzuki Iori)
Voiced by: Junko Kusayanagi (game), Yūko Gotō (OVA)
Iori is one of Makoto's childhood friends, and is the oldest of the group. Prior to their separation, she lived in Makoto's house, and despite being older than him, when at home would always refer him as her elder brother. She has an affection towards sweets and snacks, to such an extreme that she brought only tidbits despite her plans of staying at the school overnight.
Matsuri Amachi (天地 祭, Amachi Matsuri)
Voiced by: Shizuku Ibuki (game), Mai Gotō (OVA, PS2 game)
Matsuri is another childhood friend of Makoto's. She has the highest academic scores among the group of friends, and stayed at a local school after their school's closedown. Matsuri is considerably more inarticulate and anti-social after the reunion, as a result of taking Makoto's comments before their separation too seriously.
Arisa Yuki (雪 亜凜沙, Yuki Arisa)
Voiced by: Miru (game), Sayuri Yahagi (OVA, PS2 game)
Arisa is a weak and quiet girl who has transferred into Makoto's class shortly before its closure.
Story
The story of Yotsunoha revolves around a group of friends, reunited after being separated for three years as a result of the closure of Mochizuki Academy, the school they have attended in together. Upon arrival, Makoto Yūki, the protagonist discovers that the time capsule the group of friends buried prior to their separation has been dug up. In its place is a note left by his former teacher Yamamoto, informing him that he has dug up their capsule and hidden it elsewhere in the school. After being reunited, Makoto and his group of friends decide to stay overnight, looking for clues left behind by their teacher, and find the time capsule.
