Steam-Heart’s (PC-98)

Steam-Heart’s is a vertically scrolling shooter with explicit erotic interludes, developed by GIGA and published by TGL for the NEC PC-9801 on 15 March 1994. Players (solo or two-player co-op) pilot sleek fighters as either sibling duo Blow (Blondia Varady) or Falla (Fallandia), swapping between rapid-fire Vulcan or piercing Laser mains, six pick-up sub-weapons, a “Weapon Crash” screen-clear and a Boost dash. Each stage ends with a mecha boss piloted by a virus-possessed woman; defeating her triggers a fully illustrated 18-plus “cure” scene that earned the game its notoriety. Character designs are by G-Gundam animator Takahiro Kimura. The first run shipped on five 3.5-inch or 5-inch floppies, bundled with a manual, poster and short comic, and supports optional HDD installation. Ports followed for PC-Engine CD (1996) and Sega Saturn (1998) with toned-down artwork, but the PC-98 original remains the least-censored and only version retaining true two-player play.