If you were hanging around the visual novel scene in the mid-2000s, you probably remember the absolute chokehold minori had on the community. They weren't just making games; they were basically trying to reinvent how we look at 2D art. While most developers were content with a character sprite slapping against a static background, ef the first tale arrived and decided everything needed to move. It was cinematic before "cinematic" became a marketing buzzword every AAA studio used to justify a boring tutorial.
Honestly, it's kinda wild looking back.
The game first dropped in Japan way back in December 2006. Since then, we've had the MangaGamer localizations and the eventual Steam release in 2019. But even in 2026, there’s something about the way this story is told that feels more "human" than half the stuff coming out today. It’s not just a romance game. It's a brutal, beautiful, and sometimes exhausting look at what happens when your dreams and your feelings for someone else start crashing into each other.
What ef the first tale Actually Is (and Why It Isn't Your Typical Romance)
Most people see the anime first. You know, the one by Shaft—ef: A Tale of Memories. It’s great. But the visual novel is the source code. It’s split into two halves, with the first tale covering the first two major story arcs.
You’ve got a prologue and two chapters. The game frames everything through a conversation between two mysterious figures, Yuko Amamiya and Yu Himura, meeting at a church on Christmas Eve. Yuko starts telling these stories, and that’s how we dive into the lives of the actual protagonists.
Chapter 1: The Miyako Miyamura Situation
The first chapter follows Hiro Hirono. He’s a high schooler, but he’s also secretly a professional shojo manga artist under the pen name Nagi Shindo. He’s tired. He skips school. He’s basically burning the candle at both ends. Then he meets Miyako Miyamura.
She steals his bike on Christmas Eve to chase a purse snatcher. Typical "manic pixie dream girl" setup, right? Well, sort of. But the game goes way deeper. Miyako isn’t just some quirky girl; she’s incredibly lonely and has some serious baggage regarding her parents. Hiro has a childhood friend, Kei Shindou, who is also in love with him. This creates a love triangle that doesn't feel like a tropes-list, but more like a slow-motion car crash where you care about everyone involved.
Chapter 2: Kyosuke and the Price of Ambition
The focus shifts in the second chapter to Kyosuke Tsutsumi, Hiro’s friend. He’s an aspiring filmmaker who is obsessed with capturing the "perfect" shot. He becomes fascinated by Kei (the girl from the previous triangle) and wants her to be the star of his film.
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It’s a bit of a tonal shift. It deals with the obsession of being an artist—how you can sometimes treat people like props for your "vision." It’s messy. It’s honest. You’ve probably felt that weird guilt of using a real-life experience for a creative project. This chapter captures that vibe perfectly.
Why the Visuals Matter So Much
You can't talk about ef the first tale without mentioning Makoto Shinkai. Yeah, that Shinkai. Before he was winning awards for Your Name and Suzume, he was directing the opening animations for minori. You can see his fingerprints everywhere—the lens flares, the focus on passing trains, the way light hits a dusty classroom.
Minori used an engine called Musica. Instead of the standard "sprite on left, sprite on right" layout, they used over a thousand CGs. They had:
- Lip-syncing that actually matched the Japanese voice acting.
- Animated eyes that blinked and shifted.
- Perspective shifts that made it feel like a movie camera was moving through the room.
It sounds basic now, but in 2006? It was revolutionary. It removed that "static" feeling that keeps a lot of people from trying visual novels.
The Reality of the "Eroge" Label
Let’s be real for a second. This was originally released as an adult game (eroge). If you buy it on Steam today, you’re getting the "All Ages" version. MangaGamer usually provides a patch for the original content, but honestly? The sex scenes aren’t the point.
Unlike a lot of titles from that era where the "H-scenes" felt tacked on for sales, in ef, they actually felt like part of the character development. They weren't just there for fanservice; they were often used to show the vulnerability and the physical manifestation of the characters' desperation to connect. That said, the story holds up perfectly fine without them if you're just here for the drama.
Navigating the Narrative Structure
One thing that might trip you up is how the game handles choices. Modern visual novels usually have a million branching paths. ef the first tale is much more linear.
It’s a "kinetic" experience for the most part. There are choices, but they often lead to immediate "Bad Ends" if you deviate from the intended emotional path. The developers wanted to tell a specific story with a specific message. If you’re looking for a "choose your waifu" dating sim, this isn't really it. It’s more like being a passenger on a very emotional, very pretty train.
Actionable Insights for New Players
If you’re thinking about picking this up on Steam or looking for an old physical copy, here’s the "pro-tip" breakdown:
- Don't Skip the Prologue: It seems like flavor text, but the stuff with Yuko and Yu is the glue that holds the entire series together. Everything they say matters for The Latter Tale.
- Play in Order: Do not jump into The Latter Tale first. You’ll be lost. The emotional payoff for characters like Renji and Chihiro in the second game relies heavily on the world-building done in the first.
- Check Your Specs (Even Though It's Old): It runs on almost anything, but older visual novel engines can sometimes be finicky with modern Windows 11 high-DPI scaling. You might need to run it in compatibility mode or windowed if the text looks blurry.
- Listen to the OST: Tenmon, the composer, is a genius. The music is a huge part of the experience. Don't play this on mute while watching YouTube.
ef the first tale remains a landmark in the genre because it refused to be "just" a game. It pushed the boundaries of what a 2D narrative could look like. It reminds us that love is rarely clean, dreams are usually expensive, and Christmas Eve is a great time for a mental breakdown.
To get the full experience, make sure to set aside enough time for Chapter 2, as the pacing can feel slower than Chapter 1 but pays off significantly when the perspectives start to shift. Once you finish, your immediate next step is to grab The Latter Tale to see how the overarching mystery of the church and the "nun" Yuko finally resolves.