Nostalgic 1999

🎉 The full project now live and free to download!

• Release date: December 8th, 2025

• The current build is version 1.0. The story can now be read in its entirety.
• The project has retired the previous working title Y2K Visual Novel Project and it has been renamed to Nostalgic 1999.
• In version 1.0, Day 5 has been completed, some back-end script clean-up, and additional audio and backgrounds.
• Main menu and the game cover now displays the new key art.
• I still welcome feedback and there may be small updates in the future.
• The previous project was made using Ren'Py 7. The new build is utilizing Ren'Py 8.

A comedic - and grounded - visual novel set before the turn of the new millennium. 

Four people's lives will intertwine for the first time. This is a story of their misadventures and how their relationships will unravel.

Nostalgic 1999 has a wide variety of locations throughout the story. Areas such as hockey arenas, neighborhood sidewalks, bookstores, and vibrant arcades make each day feel more distinct from the last.

The characters switch up their clothing and still keep their respective theme colors. In addition to this, they have many different facial expressions and even different poses that reflect their personalities. This approach has resulted in many unique sprites being used throughout the story.

And of course, this project is also a love letter to that time period. Things like using IRC chat while on a dial-up connection, trendy LCD games that fit in your pocket, or just a fun time playing a game on an old screen: it's all here.

Naomi is your resident bookworm. She enjoys astronomy, tea, live theater, and she is currently following a book series that she loves. She is slow to open up at first. Maybe the other characters have it in them to change that?

Dakota is the heart and soul of the group. She isn't afraid to get her shoes muddy or speak what's on her mind, even if it embarrasses her pals. She's lived her entire life on a livestock farm and is passionate about animals (and making April's life miserable with her jokes).

April is a full on tryhard. She tries to excel at beating people in sports and video games, but maybe she can be a bit too competitive. She is enthusiastic about the latest comic books and technology, and she'll chit-chat your ears off about all of those things.