1980s Mode Announcement Trailer

Phew…it took a long time to get here, but the day has finally arrived. Yandere Simulator now has 10 rivals and a complete story mode!!

They aren’t the 10 rivals that I announced back in 2016, and it’s a prequel story mode starring a completely different protagonist, but still, I’ve done my best to give people the experience they hoped for back when they first heard about Yandere Simulator.

After 3 months of development and 2 weeks of video production, I am very proud to present the following announcement to you! Please enjoy!

Oh, but I’m not done yet; tomorrow, I will be releasing a 31-minute-long video to discuss absolutely everything in this massive behemoth of an update.

How big is this update, exactly? This is the biggest update that game has ever received (even bigger than the Osana update), bringing the game to a file size of 4 gigabytes! And, as you might be able to imagine, the changelog is huuuuuuuuuuge. Click “Continue Reading” to see it, and to hear a few of my thoughts regarding this long-awaited update!

Changes and Additions

To be honest with you, I don’t think that everything listed below is actually is a complete list of the game’s new content. I added so many dozens of new things to the game that I’m probably going to forget a couple of them if I try to write them all out. But, here’s the best I can do:

New Mode

• In addition to the main story mode featuring Ayano Aishi as the protagonist, there is now a prequel story mode – “1980s Mode” – starring Ryoba Aishi, the mother of Ayano. In 1980s Mode, you must eliminate the girls that tried to date Ryoba’s Senpai in 1989. This mode is accessed directly from the title screen, before the main menu has even appeared.

Rivals

• There are 10 rivals to eliminate in 1980s Mode. (Well, the tutorial girl is rival, too. So, counting Osana, I guess that means there are technically a total of 12 rivals in the game now…)
• Each rival has a unique routine and a set of circumstances that makes it difficult for the player to just walk up to them and kill them at the start of the day (although the early rivals are MUCH easier to kill than the later rivals).
• Although you can kill any rival using any method, some rivals perform a unique action or put themselves into unique circumstances that allow them to die in a scripted way (like Osana’s fan elimination or pool elimination).
• Each rival has 2 interactions with Senpai per day – once at the start of the day, and once again at either lunch or 5:00 PM. The player can sabotage these events to gradually make Senpai hate the rival. Due to limited resources, all rivals share the same set of Senpai Interaction events, but with different dialogue.
• The player can now search through a rival’s bookbag. This will allow the player to learn what kind of boys the rival likes, learn the rival’s likes and dislikes, learn what has been happening in their life lately, and poison/steal their bento anytime before lunchtime.
• Instead of “You can only report panty shots on Monday, you can only report theft on Tuesday…” the player can now frame their rival for breaking any of the school’s rules on any day of the week.
• In order to make a rival willing to accept food from you, you must steal her bento before she eats lunch, so that she is hungry at lunchtime.
• The matchmaking system is completely different in 1980s Mode. Instead of using a headset to give a suitor advice while he talks to a rival, you will have to give him advice before he talks to the rival.
• There is a new befriend/betray sidequest in 1980s Mode. Due to limited resources, every girl shares the same befriend/betray sidequest. (They were all victimized in the same way by the same person, just on different days.)
• Because 1980s Mode is a prequel story mode, there is a “canon” elimination method for each rival.

Aesthetic Changes

• 1980s Mode has “VHS Tape” filter effects to give the game an “80s” feeling. New options have been added to the Settings screen just in case you’d like to disable certain aspects of the filter.
• Nearly every one of the background tracks in 1980s Mode is an eighties-style remix of the game’s previously-existing music music.
• The majority of cutscenes in 1980s Mode are text-only, stylized to resemble what a VCR displays on a TV screen when a VHS tape is starting up).
• The Calendar screen has been updated to have a VCR / VHS aesthetic in 1980s Mode.
• Students wear different school uniforms in 1980s Mode.
• Teachers wear different clothing in 1980s Mode.
• The pause screen is now a notepad instead of a smartphone in 1980s Mode.
• Student portraits have a different look-and-feel in 1980s Mode.
• Ryoba’s laughter sounds different from Ayano’s laughter, and Ryoba’s laugh animation is different from Ayano’s laugh animation.
• Various 3D models – such as the blowtorch, circular saw, and radio – look completely different in 1980s Mode.
• Any in-game text that mentions Ayano’s name has been changed to “Ryoba” in 1980s Mode.
• The music and visuals of the credits sequence are different in 1980s Mode.

Gameplay Additions

• 1980s Mode begins with a playable tutorial walking the player through the process of eliminating a rival and disposing of all evidence.
• The game is now capable of spawning female delinquents in addition to male ones.
• The game is now capable of spawning male student council members.
• In 1980s Mode, Info-chan’s screen has been replaced with a new screen where Ryoba writes down her ideas for how to eliminate rivals.
• Smartphones didn’t exist in 1989, so any student with the “Call the Cops” Persona will now have to use a landline phone located in the school’s faculty office.

New Characters

• 1980s Mode features an entirely new cast of students at the school. (The art style and quality of the hair models is inconsistent, so many of them may be changed in the future.)
• The guidance counselor in 1980s Mode is the mother of the guidance counselor during Yandere-chan’s time period.
• The Headmaster is young in 1980s Mode!
• An investigative journalist walks around near the entrance of the school in 1980s Mode.
• All of the pedestrians and shopkeepers in the town are different in 1980s Mode (with the exception of two characters who are present in both Ryoba’s time period and Ayano’s time period).
• One of the new characters added to the game is a serial killer, and will sell you advice on getting away with murder.

The Yakuza

• One of the new male delinquents offers a Task that allows the player to do business with the Yakuza, located in the street scene.
• The male delinquent’s Task takes place in a completely new environment.
• The Yakuza will sell you several items, including an item that is new to the game: an explosive device.
• You can also pay the Yakuza to abduct one of your rivals for you.
• If you have a kidnapped victim inside of your basement, you can sell the victim to the Yakuza for money.
• The Yakuza can no longer be found at the street in Yandere-chan’s time period.
• The Yakuza is one of the only new characters in 1980s Mode who is fully voiced.

Club Changes

• Many clubrooms in 1980s Mode have been completely re-designed, or are now using numerous new art assets.
• The Art Club in 1989 features completely different paintings than the ones from Yandere-chan’s time period.
• The Light Music Club in 1989 resembles the way that the clubroom looked back in the 2015 version of Yandere Simulator.
• The Photography Club in Yandere-chan’s time period are a bunch of goofballs who don’t actually care about photography and just read manga all day, but the Photography Club in 1989 actually take photography seriously and walk around school looking for stuff to take pictures of.
• The Science Club is chemistry-oriented in 1980s Mode.
• There is no “Anime and Gaming” club in 1980s Mode.
• In 1980s Mode, the room that Info-chan used is now occupied by a new club, the Newspaper Club.
• The benefit of joining the Newspaper Club is the ability to write articles that restore School Atmosphere, restore your reputation, or damage your rival’s reputations.
• There is a bulletin board near the entrance to the school that updates with a new newspaper article on a daily basis. (On some days, there won’t be a new article, but Monday is always guaranteed to have a new article.)
• The club posters near the entrance of the school are different in 1980s Mode.
• There are more “Join our Club!” advertisements in 1980s Mode.
• All club leader dialogue is different in 1980s Mode.

Ending

• The ending of 1980s Mode is the one part of the game that actually features 3D cutscenes with voiced characters, instead of text on a screen. The ending spans three cutscenes, and the dialogue changes based on the way that the player eliminated their rivals.
• At the end of the second cutscene, you will be graded on your performance. You can receive 6 grades: F, D, C, B, A, and S. Just to let you know, “F” is an instant game over.
• There is also a hidden grade that is only achieved by meeting very specific criteria: S+. Obtaining the S+ grade will unlock an additional cutscene after the credits with some important lore information.
• I actually subtly disclosed the criteria for achieving S+ somewhere in one of the bullet-points above. I wonder if you spotted it?

Trivia

• The tutorial sequence is about the first girl that Ryoba ever killed, who would later become a ghost that haunts the third-floor girls’ bathroom. This is the “Phantom Girl” who first appeared in the game in 2014.
• Ryoba’s laughing animation was designed to resemble the original laugh animation that was created in 2014. You’re welcome, Jay.
• The uniform that students are wearing in 1980s Mode is modeled after some concept art that was made for Yandere Sim 2014.
• The school nurse is a girl with a pink ponytail and a big booty again, just like in 2014. You’re welcome again, Jay.
• “Witness-chan”, a character who appeared in a video in early 2015, is now a fully-functional student in the game.
• Two other obscure characters from 2015 – “Study-Kun A” and “Study-Kun B” – are also fully-functional students in 1980s Mode.
• The music in Ryoba’s room is the original music for Yandere-chan’s room that was created in 2015.
• The new delinquents are the pompadour boys and sukeban girls from 2015.
• The first characters I ever added to the game – the “rainbow girls” and “rainbow boys” – are back in 1980s Mode.
• One of the new characters – Himeko Dereguchi – represents “Himedere-chan” from Kuudere Simulator.
• The Journalist has numerous voice lines (most of them only heard in cutscenes towards the end of the game). The voice actor who provided the voice for the Journalist is the same guy who recorded the “Journalist Tapes” back in 2015! Yes, that’s right, he returned after 6 years to reprise his role!! What a legend!! What a god!! Thank you, Bradley!!

Known Bugs

• I think teachers have smartphones in 1980s Mode. Oops! I’ll have to replace the 3D models of their smartphones with a new model representing the primitive-looking cell phones that existed in 1989.
• There is a bug that gives the player free alcohol and cigarettes. I have absolutely no clue what causes this bug. Enjoy it while it lasts, I guess?

Closing Thoughts

Usually, when I release a big new update, I simultaneously release a video that thoroughly describes and explains all of the game’s newest content. This is usually the “first impression” that most people receive of the game’s latest content. I have prepared a 31-minute-long video discussing (almost) all of the new content in 1980s Mode. However, I worked hard on the 1980s Mode Announcement Trailer, and I want it to remain up on my channel as my most recent video for at least 24 hours. So, I will not be releasing my 31-minute video until tomorrow. This makes me feel a bit nervous, because it means that, for the next 24 hours, there is potential for people to get confused by some of the new content in 1980s Mode.

If you play 1980s Mode and you encounter stuff that makes you say, “Huh? This is weird. Why is it like this? I don’t understand!” the video that I release tomorrow will probably clarify a lot of things for you.

I hope that you will be kind towards the update, because I worked really hard on it. However, I did create this mode specifically to allow people to playtest the experience of eliminating 10 rivals and provide feedback that could be used to improve the game, so you’re welcome to tell me what you feel I could improve upon; that’s the entire point of this update.

I anticipate that, over the next few days, I will be releasing back-to-back new builds to remove any bugs that people discover, and make miscellaneous gameplay adjustments to provide a better experience. If the very first build of 1980s Mode is kinda janky, please forgive me; I’ll endeavor to improve the experience as quickly as possible over the next few days.

Phew…it’s been a long journey to get to this point. I really wish that I could take a break for a few days, but stepping away from the game at this crucial point in time is simply not an option, since I wouldn’t want the big fancy new update to be stuck in a buggy state immediately after its release. I hope that things will go smoothly…but if there are any bumps along the way, I’ll do my best to fix everything as quickly as I can!

As always, thank you very, very, very much for all of the patience that you have shown to me, and thank you for following the development of Yandere Simulator!!

Fixes / Changes / Additions outside of 1980s Mode

• The benefits of “Low Leg Panties” and “Old-Fashioned Fundoshi” have been swapped. It is now the Low Leg panties (obtainable before going to school on the first day of the game) that double your Study Points, enabling you to max out one of your school subject stats (such as Biology) by the end of the first day of school.
• It should no longer be possible for the player to get stuck between a door and a wall if a student closes a door while the player is against a wall.
• Fixed bug that would prevent characters from performing their animations properly after the player returned from the Beat-Em-Up minigame.
• There are now separate books in the library for passing time / training the suitor, instead of one book being used for both actions.
• It is now possible to interact with button prompts while crouching; you no longer need to stand in order to activate button prompts.
• Fixed bug that would cause the game to think that a bloody weapon was still present at school even if it had been incinerated.
• The “bring item from home to school” menu now has a text box that offers a description of the currently-highlighted item.
• You will no longer automatically drop things when transitioning between standing and crouching.
• One of the teachers at school is a smoker, so there is now a box of cigarettes on her desk.
• Increasing your Psychology stat will now increase the effectiveness of your gossip.
• Replaced some of the props on the roof of the school (such as the clock face).
• The screwdriver is now located in the Workshop rather than the Science Club.
• Metal detectors will no longer detect the makeshift knife as a weapon.
• Replaced most of the decorative models in the Light Music Club.
• Updated the textures that the bullies use for their phones.
• Changed Raibaru’s hair texture.
• Changed Horuda’s hair texture.