Yu-No

"Every decision we make is merely a branch on the tree of possibilities"

Imagine having the chance to live a week - or even a day - over and over again as many times as you wished, and being able to map out all the possible outcomes of each word spoken or action taken until all the possible ground had been covered. No, it's not ''Groundhog Day: The Video Game,'' but I guess Yu-No feels that way, sort of.

In Yu-No, the main character finds a glowing orb his late father hid in their house, and he discovers that the orb allows a person to travel back to the point and place in time where it is left. Eventually, he finds more orbs and can place them carefully to revisit conversations and actions. It may sound tedious, but it's all in service of a really good plot that involves your live-in, female TV reporter ''sister,'' her sexy female co-anchor, students, a teacher and a school doctor at a nearby school (all hot women, of course), bad guys, top-secret plans, inter-dimensional travel and an alternate universe.

In ''Groundhog Day,'' the protagonist's ultimate objective was to become a better person through witnessing and understanding how his actions affect others - to find the one true and good path. In Yu-No, the main character's purpose is to solve a mystery by filling out all the paths, seeing the entire puzzle of everything that could possibly have happened as a result of his actions, both good and bad. This quality is not unlike that of many dating sims or graphic adventures, but the mapping system and the need to bounce around between different times and decision-paths to unlock secrets provides a totally unique experience. You may branch off in one direction of possibilities and hit a dead end, because you lack a certain item or piece of knowledge. But never fear, because you can warp back to the past, make different decisions, find the needed item and then return to the locked door to find it can now be opened.

The graphics, while offering little in the way of animation, are detailed, original and beautiful. The women are among the sexiest anime I have ever seen, and non-erotic elements receive an equal amount of careful attention.

The MIDI music creates a perfect, dark mood and is unlike that of any other game I've played. It's simple and elegant, remains in the background and is just right. The real stars of the show from an aural standpoint are the many voice actors who speak the characters' words. Nearly every NPC line in the game is spoken, accompanied by text.

The game's one big shortcoming is its lack of replayability. I doubt I will play Yu-No again for a long time, but I know I will eventually play it again because I enjoyed the experience very much. Still, once you've finished it, all of the scenes are unlocked for repeat viewing, so there is no real reason to play it over.

Yes, Yu-No was originally an ''adults only'' game (for the PC 98, I think) that included lots of sex and nudity. However, unlike most games in that genre, the story and play mechanics of Yu-No transcend the ''adult-ness'' of the game and create a one-of-a-kind experience that succeeds on every level. The Saturn version still contains countless erotic images, pushing the envelope as far as any ''yellow rating'' game available for the system. But its time/dimension-travel story is so interesting and so immersive that Yu-No would have succeeded as a game even if all the characters were fat men in pajamas.

But they're not fat men. In fact, most of the characters are extremely sexy women with ample cleavage. I have never played an ELF game (aside from early, crude efforts such as the original Dragon Knight games) that put such an emphasis on top-heavy babes.

Other than the vastly improved graphics, addition of excellent voice acting and removal of all ''R-rated'' nudity, there is very little different from the original, which is a very good thing. Yu-No is not a dating game. It's a science-fiction story with an erotic twist. Some of the situations are very serious and disturbing, while others are touching and emotional. The final segment of the game is just mind-blowing - I cannot think of a more rewarding ending to a more demanding game. For that, I give Yu-No a perfect 10.

I guess I am gushing here. It may seem ridiculous, since it's probably obvious from the above review that I do not fully understand the game's plot (I minored in Japanese but my kanji skills are atrocious). I spent about 100 hours playing the first time through, with kanji dictionary in hand. Still, the plot is so multi-layered and the text so voluminous that in many parts I simply rushed through because I had to see what would happen next. I believe completing this game does not require as much Japanese fluency as it does simple logic, thoroughness and common sense. And it's worth every minute of it.

10/10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 12/10/02, Updated 12/10/02