Yuki’s on a mission to get a (hot) girlfriend and nothing shall stand in her way! Not even her game’s overly lengthy title, Yuki’s Palpitating, Passionate, Phenomenal, and quite frankly Proficient quest for a (hot) girlfriend!!! (aka. Yuki’s 4p). Sure, Yuki is a textbook useless lesbian protagonist, but at the same time, undeniably adorable and so very huggable. What’s not to like?
Nothing. Nothing at all. Yuki’s 4p is a visual novel with a relatively simple premise: getting Yuki a girlfriend (or, to quote the game’s page, “maybe three?”), and you better believe our protagonist is determined to make it happen. I’m not entirely sure it would be accurate to claim she wears her heart on her sleeve, although to some extent, yeah, she does. That also goes for every other character in the story though, which is pretty much both why and how the whole thing starts.
With five different endings and three cute girls to date, there’s quite a lot to this one, and I say that in spite of the fact that it took me less than an hour to get all endings. It just feels longer somehow, which might have something to do with the overall quality as the writing excellently balances comedy and romance with the odd serious conversation sprinkled in for good measure. Of course, the lovely character designs help too, Yuki, Spica, Chinatsu, and Haruka all look as expressive as Yuki, Yuki’s 4p‘s resident excitable little ray of sunshine.
But what about everyone else, what about… Yuki’s potential girlfriends? Oh, they’re quite the bunch, each with their own unique personality traits. Something that is kinda essential in a dating sim-ish game like this is to ensure it won’t be easy to decide who’s, you know, ‘best girl’. So let’s see: is Yuka better off with Spica, the hot, sparkly redhead? Or perhaps Chinatsu, the soft, cuddly cookie-making wizard (note: not an actual wizard)? Ah, or last – but by no means least – Yuki’s childhood friend, Haruka? Much like Chinatsu, she knows her way around a kitchen, and it’s not like Haruka’s a total stranger, unlike Chinatsu and Spica. What? Just saying.
Anyway, that’s what’s what in Yuki’s 4p: a super colourful, super gay, super cute visual novel depicting Yuki’s attempt(s) at getting a (hot) girlfriend, an experience that I ended up enjoying even more than I expected, going in. It might be considered relatively short, clocking in at around forty minutes for all five endings, although it didn’t actually feel that way, which is more important. Oh, and a sequel was released late last year. You better believe I’ll be playing (and reviewing) that one real soon. In other words: Yuki’s Palpitating, Passionate, Phenomenal, and quite frankly Proficient quest for a (hot) girlfriend!!! is a very easy recommendation.
Yuki’s Palpitating, Passionate, Phenomenal, and quite frankly Proficient quest for a (hot) girlfriend!!! is available on itch.io, for free (pay-what-you-want).
