16bit Sensation: Another Layer

Konoha Akisato has always adored bishoujo games—romances centered on charming heroines—and that passion fuels her dream of making a name for herself as an illustrator. Landing her first job as a sub-illustrator at Blue Bell should be a breakthrough, but the 2023 market is crowded with cheap, formulaic, low-effort releases, and her own workplace sits right in the middle of what’s gone wrong with the genre.

A visit to a retro game shop and a wave of nostalgia for earlier classics takes an unexpected turn when Konoha finds herself in 1992, at the dawn of bishoujo games’ rise. Still reeling, she joins a small developer called Alcohol Soft as an illustrator, convinced her future-honed skills will give her an edge—until she runs into the era’s older tools and techniques. To chase the career she’s always wanted, she’ll have to adjust quickly and learn how to create within a very different time.