AKB1/48: Idol to Koishitara… is a romance adventure game starring all AKB48 pop idol group girls. The story begins in a dreamy setting where all the females love you, but you must ultimately choose only one. AKB48 (AKB is an acronym for Akihabara, a Tokyo electronic district) is a 48-member J-pop idol group. Members change, and their popularity is determined by votes cast by the group’s supporters. The first game in the series takes place in Tokyo (background visuals during visual-novel-style gameplay are photos from numerous well-known Tokyo sites). Instead of anime visuals, the game plays like a visual novel, with real-life settings and actual idols in various poses over the backdrop image. The game advances one day at a time when you spend time with one of the idols, either on a date or in casual conversation.
The player is given a list of letters from AKB48 girls and their profiles. You can respond to the message based on who sent it to you, eventually leading to a date with that individual. You can call the individual of interest and arrange a meeting. During the date, which functions as a visual novel, you can choose a dialogue option to reveal the girl you’re with, whether you’re rude, indifferent, or like her. This may lead her to call you again at the next day’s start. Some correspondence occurred irregularly when the female enjoyed how she felt on past dates with you.
Similarly, the addresses of the girls you were disrespectful to will be removed from the list until only one remains. At first, all 48 girls are offered as potential girlfriends, and idols will wear a particular costume exclusively for you during specific escort event scenarios. During visual novel gaming, any event scene allows you to toggle off on-screen text and zoom in and out. You may access various unlockables from the menu, such as graphic cards, event sceneries, and steel photographs, while collected cards can be swapped with other players. The AKB48 soundtrack does not need to be unlocked and may be heard using the BGM player. It also allows the player to choose the default BGM tune and theme song for each of the ABK48 members. AKB48 members perform voice acting for each of the AKB48 girls in the game.
