
A downloadable game for Windows, macOS, and Linux
languages: english / 日本語 / espanol / français / 한국어 / português / ไทย / русский / 简体中文
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three women, three stories, three springs.
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experience the stories of haru, erika, and manami inA YEAR OF SPRINGS, a visual novel trilogy about a trio of friends navigating their feelings of love, connection, and just wanting to belong.
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FEATURES:
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inone night, hot springs, visit the hot springs with haru, a young and anxious trans woman who just wants to enjoy herself on a trip with manami but doesn't want to cause any trouble.

inlast day of spring, start off the reiwa era as erika, a well-meaning ex-delinquent who runs into more issues than expected when trying to plan a spa day for haru.

inspring leaves no flowers, help sheltered university student manami think about what friendship and romance mean to her as she spends a day with haru, erika, and her boyfriend.
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LINKS:
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community copies: the minimum purchase price is set to 5 usd, but by paying above the minimum price, you can donate community copies for other users & also support me in making more games like this.
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streaming guidelines: it's ok to stream this game, but please do not stream the epilogue. i put a lot of love into it so i want people to be able to experience that on their own first.
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content warning: this trilogy discusses issues that people of different genders and sexualities may face, which is a topic that can be sensitive and personal.
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featured in:
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| Status | Released |
| Platforms | Windows,macOS,Linux |
| Rating | Rated 4.9 out of 5 stars (273 total ratings) |
| Author | npckc |
| Genre | Visual Novel,Interactive Fiction |
| Made with | Ren'Py,Audacity,Clip Studio Paint,FL Studio |
| Tags | aromantic,asexual,Cute,Female Protagonist,Lesbian,LGBT,Ren'Py,Transgender,Yuri |
| Average session | About an hour |
| Languages | German,English,Spanish; Castilian,French,Japanese,Korean,Portuguese (Brazil),Russian,Thai,Chinese (Simplified) |
| Inputs | Keyboard,Mouse,Gamepad (any) |
| Accessibility | Color-blind friendly,Subtitles |
| Links | Steam,Homepage,Soundtrack,Patreon,Bluesky |
| Mentions | Come get the Pre-Summer itch.io Selects... |
In order to download this game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $4.99 USD. You will get access to the following files:
Support this game at or above a special price point to receive something exclusive.
if you are in need & cannot affordA YEAR OF SPRINGS, you can claim a community copy donated by other users. tips at above the minimum recommended price go towards community copies.
if you claim a community copy, i only ask that you pay it forward in the future by buying a copy for a friend if you can, or sharing / reviewing / commenting on the game if you can't.
over 600 community copies shared so far!
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as a trans woman who's also aro/ace spec this game hit really close to home. found myself crying a few times throughout but always left feeling so happy:) the way haru, manami and erika are all so unequivocally accepting and supportive of each other is so sweet and really warmed my heart. this was absolutely beautiful and so soft and calming too
Got this on my Switch after eyeing it a couple months and it's a fantastic game. Very cute and simple with lovable characters. However I was not prepared for just how brutal this game is if you're trans. After One Night, Hot Springs I had to take a break it gave me nightmares. Do not mistake this as a bad review I love the game and recommend it. Just be warned if you're sensitive. 10/10 thank you devs!
I bought this game, looking to see what games I could find alone the lines of games I want to eventually write music for. So I found this game and bought it on Steam. Being a trans woman myself, I found myself empathizing with the characters -- especially Haru - rather quickly.
Lovely game overall, and very nice music with a simple but intentional palette.
I always wanted to play this game, but I always forgot about it. I stumbled upon 1 Night version but then I saw the 1 year version but unfortunately, I live in a country 5 Dollar equals to 180 bucks. So I claimed a community copy. I'll leave a review on Backloggd after i finish and rate on here as well. Take care!
im a trans woman with autism tourettes & OCD & i wanted to play a gentle visual novel that wuldnt make me hav a meltdown and this was really good. i enjoyed it. i played it on nintendo switch. i feel sad that haru didnt tell manami the big thing (i hav to be vague cuz its a spoiler but u know what i mean)... but admittedly ive experienced a similar thing in my life so i guess its realistic. u and ur collaborators made a great visual novel good job
started with the free demo and so glad i did so i would be lead to this full game! the first part already left my heart full, this one even more so as it navigated the characters and stories of each girl and had them supporting each other throughout it all🥺 it all tied together so well! and each positive ending felt so rewarding and hopeful, i love this game with all my chest thank you so so much for this!! <33
Normally, I'm pretty shy when it comes to writing comments but I wanted to make one for this game. I loved all three stories that followed these characters. It was the perfect anthology. I was rooting for them the whole way through and I'm glad that all three of them got their happy ending! The art was also so adorable as well!
I'm a lesbian and I'm also pretty sure I'm at least (somewhat) on the ace spectrum. It's to a certain point where I've felt very insecure about being unable to find a partner. I started to cry when I got to the part where Manami talked to Tatsuya about being aroace, and he still wanted to try and make things work with her. I was so happy to see an aroace character be loved that much.
Thank you for making and sharing this game! Getting to play it really meant a lot to me. :,)
EEEEEEEEEEEE!
I didn't think it was you who made this game!
I played it years ago on mobile, and I loved it so much but forgot the name. This game has a very special place in my very soul, so thank you npckc :D
(If I start going on about how much this game means to me, I might write an entire book here! So I'll leave it in my collection and play every so often)
I bought it and read it on steam, I just want to say its such a nice warm and gentle story with loveable characters! I really loved the lgbt topics discussed here really really spot on. maybe A year of Springs 2 one day? I'd love to see more of Haru, Erika and Manami! also question: would you ever release these VNs on the apple app store one day?
This game talks about a legal requirement to be sterilized before trans people can have their gender legally changed. That has just been ruled unconstitutional by the Japanese Supreme Court! Progress! Japan's top court issues landmark transgender rights rulingーNHK WORLD-JAPAN NEWS - YouTube
for reference though, quoting linked article (https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/japans-top-court-set-rule-sterilisation-requirement-gender-change-2023-10-24/), "a decision by the judges to ask a lower court to deliberate on a separate clause, requiring that the genital organs of people who want to change their gender resemble those of the opposite gender, was met with disappointment."
that said, this is still definitely good news, even if there is room for improvement! thank you for sharing this here.
Thanks for releasing this game for GNU/Linux!
I loved all the characters and stories, but エリカ really stole the show for me.
I thought this line eloquently summed up what made this game great:
嫌な思い出はおいておいて、
良い思い出は大事にする。
The soundtrack is great too!
(I realized the Review function on itch is actually only visible to the game creator, so I copied it here):
While the premise didn't grab me immediately, I gave it a shot on account of the Japanese language option and was pleasantly surprised. I loved this game!
The art is cute, the soundtrack is lovely, and the characters are easy to connect with. It broaches difficult topics in a way that feels refreshing and respectful without being overbearing. These stories are about finding where you belong in the world—and friendship. I think those are things that will resonate with anyone.
It feels very human and honest, especially when you get to those moments the narrative has been building up to for the whole chapter.
The full game is only a few hours long and I read it in Japanese. The Japanese script is well-written while using simple language that should be approachable even to beginners. I think you should experience this story in Japanese if you know the language!
This game has been so beautiful and heartwarming for me. Life as a trans woman is tough, and seeing a game with such a cute art style, of three friends trying their darnedest to support each other and make each other feel loved, (I didn't expect the aroace reveal, but I can say, it was beautiful to see. I know the importance of representation might seem overemphasized sometimes, but I can assure you, the mention of the words "aromantic" and "asexual", the idea that I wasn't alone in this experience, not exactly one of oppression, but of utter confusion and doubt... it brought me to tears). I'm currently endeavoring to transcribe the Japanese translation so that I can better puzzle out the kanji I don't know, and just in general practice my Japanese. This game is so beautiful and sweet, I really can't thank you enough.
I'm interested in giving this game a playthough, but I don't know which language to use! English, or 日本語? The former is my native tongue, but the latter I'm confident in using too. My main question though is what languages was the script original written for (i.e. not localized by a third party)? If it was originally written in Japanese, then I'll absolutely play it that way!
I loved this game!! The soft art style was very comforting and the themes really hit home for me as I was going into it not expecting many lgbt+ topics, but it was a pleasant surprise as a bi trans woman. I think this is the only game that has made me cry (in a good way). I grew to love all of the characters; even though I found Erika to be abrasive at first, I warmed up to her once I saw her more caring side. If you ever decided to make a sequel with the same characters, I would buy it in a heartbeat. I just wish this game were longer tbh, but perhaps I’ll play again sometime in the future. The music is also soothing and I’m currently listening to the soundtrack. The writing was thoughtful and heartfelt. Again, great work and please keep up what you’re doing! :)
hi
im a big fan of your games! i claimed a community copy and i really enjoyed it, although i feel very guilty for not paying it tho. im too young to get a credit card and i dont have paypal, also i literally cant pay anything online rn with k plus. im planning to try and make a paypal account in the future and try to transfer some of the money from my k plus account to there to purchase it. ill try to talk to a friend and ask if they wanted the game so i could send them the game either online or using a flash drive. im pretty sure that i will be able to pay for this one day!
as for the game, awesome writing as always. society can be cruel sometimes, and i understand the pain they were in. i relate to the three of them in a way. i dont have much time to write now, thanks for this awesome game!
The cozy atmosphere of this game gives me so much hope for myself and my friends, even when society doesn't seem to be friendly towards us. The characters feel very real, and their stories are ones I will always remember.
The writing is incredible, and I have a special fondness for the last one. I started crying as Manami was starting to realize certain things about herself because of how closely her feelings mirrored mine when I was in her position.
I just wanted to say thank you very much for making these games and this collection. The depiction of transgender topics and romance feels very earnest and raw while still having a hopeful spin to it. I love that the characters are flawed but nice friends who remind me a lot of me and the people I know. Everything hits close to home and gets sometimes quite emotional for me and the whole series has been close to my heart since I played all three a year and a half ago. Now I played this collection on console and I really like the epilogue too and it's good to support the creator finally! :D