Dies irae (video game)

is a visual novel video game developed by Light, originally released in 2007 in Japan. A TV anime adaptation, Dies Irae, premiered in October 2017. As in most visual novels, the gameplay mostly consists of reading text on the screen (representing narration or dialogue) accompanied by images showing characters and locations. At certain points in the story, the player can choose options which influence the path, or "route", the story takes. Prior to the events of the story, the Longinus Dreizehn Orden, a group of sorcerers, perform a ritual in Berlin during World War II, using the lives lost in battle as a sacrifice for their spell. After the war ends, they disappear, but are rumored to return. In present-day Japan, Ren Fuji is released from the hospital after recovering from a brawl with his friend Shirou, when the Longinus Dreizehn Orden returns. Dies irae was developed by Light, and was produced by Hattori Michisato and written by Takashi Masada, with art by G-Yuusuke and music by Keishi Yonao. It was developed during the 2000s PC boom in Japan, when the audience of Japanese video game players on Microsoft Windows grew, and the introduction of simpler development tools lowered the barrier of entry. Light experimented with games at the time, and created things they wanted to make; after developing Paradise Lost, they decided they wanted to make a serious game themed around battles, which led to the creation of Dies irae. Michisato described the game's theme as "the reason to fight for and protect your loved ones", and "the stubborn pride of men". Development was challenging, leading to the game being released unfinished; this first version was released on December 2, 2007 for Microsoft Windows with the subtitle Also sprach Zarathustra. Development continued, and a second version, Acta est Fabula, was released on December 25, 2009; the game was not completed until its third version, Amantes amentes, which was released on June 28, 2012 for PlayStation Portable and on August 31 of the same year for Microsoft Windows.