Steins;Gate

Steins;Gate is the second game in the Science Adventure series, and was initially released on October 15, 2009 on the Xbox 360. It has since been ported to a wide range of platforms, including (but not limited to) the PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita, Microsoft Windows via Steam, and more. A remake of the game, titled Steins;Gate Elite, was released on September 20, 2018. This version of the game replaced the original game’s visuals with animations from the anime adaptation, as well as newly produced animations.

The story is centered around Rintaro Okabe and his friends at the Future Gadget Lab, as they accidentally discover a way to change the past using their microwave. The cast begins to experiment their newfound discovery, changing the past to benefit their various desires. However, they soon discover that messing with time may have dire consequences…

Steins;Gate is widely considered one of the most popular entries in the Science Adventure series, both in Japan and worldwide. Due to its massive success, a wide range of manga, light novels, drama CDs, and other side material was produced. Steins;Gate 0, a canonical midquel to the story, was initially released on December 10, 2015 for Japanese audiences.

The Steins;Gate anime adaptation began airing in April of 2011, and it quickly became one of the most highly acclaimed anime of all time in addition to being the best adaptation of the series. For many fans in the West, the anime adaptation was one of their first experiences with Steins;Gate and the Science Adventure series in general.

Steins;Gate Elite, a remake of the Steins;Gate visual novel for modern platforms (PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, PC), initially released in September of 2018. This remake aimed to provide a more fluid and engaging experience for its readers by replacing the static art of the original game with animations from the anime adaptation, in addition to newly produced animations. The quality of this remake is controversial; some key story moments in the game benefit a great deal from the integration of animations, but other aspects of it suffer from issues such as overused repeated frames and poor animation quality.

The success of Steins;Gate is frequently attributed to its compelling story, combined with many real-world conspiracy theories, and its setting in real life locations across Japan’s Akihabara.  According to Chiyomaru Shikura, the game’s planner, Steins;Gate was written with the concept of “99% science (reality) and 1% fantasy” in mind. This concept is present in all titles of the Science Adventure series to various degrees.

If you are interested in experiencing Steins;Gate, a wide variety of options are available to you. The most recommend path is to purchase the original game on Steam and utilize the Committee of Zero improvement patch in order to have the best possible experience with the game. Notably, a wide range of bundles including Steins;Gate and other games related to it are available on Steam—try searching the game’s name in the store to find the bundle that you prefer.

Here are some alternative paths: Steins;Gate is available for purchase on PC without DRM here. Steins;Gate Elite can be purchased on Steam here, and it comes with a copy of Steins;Gate Linear Bounded Phenogram, a game that features various Steins;Gate side stories. The PlayStation 4 version of Elite comes with Linear Bounded Phenogram, and the Nintendo Switch version comes with Steins;Gate 8-Bit ADV, a spinoff game featuring an alternate take on Steins;Gate’s story. The original Steins;Gate visual novel is also available in English on the PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 3, and iOS devices.

A guide for the visual novel can be found here, courtesy of ItsRigs.

The Steins;Gate anime adaptation is one of the best of its kind, and it is widely considered a decent alternative to the visual novel; however, it is still recommended that anyone who watches the anime also reads the visual novel at some point, because the anime was unable to cover every piece of content that the visual novel introduced. The anime can be legally viewed on Funimation and YouTube, in addition to other official streaming services.

For all Steins;Gate-related news, visit this page.

Characters

Rintaro Okabe

A self-proclaimed mad scientist, and the eccentric main protagonist of Steins;Gate. He assumes the nickname “Hououin Kyouma,” a ridiculous name that sounds cool according to him.

Kurisu Makise

A genius girl who graduated from university at the age of seventeen. Her research on the brain’s memory retention system earned critical acclaim in the scientific community.

Mayuri Shiina

Okabe’s childhood friend and companion. She works part-time at a maid café called MayQueen NyanNyan as a costume maid, and she enjoys creating cosplay outfits. 

Itaru Hashida

Itaru, nicknamed “Daru,” is an experienced hacker in both software and hardware technologies. He is also well-versed in all things pertaining to otaku culture.

Faris NyanNyan

Faris, also known as Rumiho Akiha, is a part-time employee and the owner of the maid café MayQueen NyanNyan. She is an expert at playing RaiNet Access Battlers, an extremely popular and competitive game in Akihabara.

Suzuha Amane

Suzuha, also known as the “Part-Time Warrior,” is a spunky employee at Mr. Braun’s CRT shop. She enjoys riding her bicycle in her free time.

Luka Urushibara

Luka is a close friend of Mayuri, and the so-called protégé of Rintaro Okabe. Despite being feminine in both appearance and personality, he’s a guy. Mayuri is always attempting to coerce him into cosplaying.

Moeka Kiryu

Moeka is a part-time editor for a magazine called “Arc Rewrite.” She is practically glued to her phone, and cannot function without it. Even in conversation with another person, Moeka prefers to communicate via email.

More Steins;Gate

Please note that this is not a comprehensive list of Steins;Gate side material. Please visit this page to view all currently known Steins;Gate-related material.

  • Holy Day of the Calamitous Birth is a canon sequel novella featuring the cast of Steins;Gate. It takes place during the winter after Steins;Gate’s events.
  • Amity of Budding Reminiscence — This Side of Paradise is a short story featuring Rintaro Okabe, Itaru Hashida, and a new character named Otomi Youko. It serves as a prequel to Steins;Gate, and shows how Rintaro and Itaru became best friends.
  • Chaos;Gate is a crossover short story featuring Rintaro Okabe and Chaos;Head’s Sena Aoi. It serves as a prequel to Steins;Gate, and is one of Okabe’s first appearances in the series.
  • Pre-show Breaktime is a short story that takes place one day before the events of Steins;Gate. It serves as a prequel to Steins;Gate, and was included with limited edition copies of the Steins;Gate Divergencies Assort visual novel collection.
  • The Distant Valhalla is a short story starring Kurisu Makise and Rintaro Okabe on the Alpha Attractor Field. It serves a midquel to Steins;Gate, and takes place after a pivotal moment at the midpoint of Steins;Gate’s story.
  • Babel of the Grieved Maze is a drama CD and manga that serves as a midquel to Steins;Gate. Its protagonist is Kurisu Makise, and it sheds additional light on her character development in addition to exploring her relationship with Faris NyanNyan.
  • Steins;Gate 0 is a midquel visual novel and anime to Steins;Gate, and it serves to explain how the true ending of Steins;Gate was made possible. The consumption of both the visual novel and anime is required to gain a more complete understanding of its events. Read more about Steins;Gate 0.
  • Arc Light of the Point at Infinity is a drama CD and manga that serves as a midquel to Steins;Gate, and it explains, in part, how the true ending of Steins;Gate was made possible. It was adapted as part of the Steins;Gate 0 anime adaptation.
  • Tomorrow in the Box is a three-way crossover novella featuring characters from Chaos;Head, Steins;Gate, and Robotics;Notes. The Steins;Gate segment of the story takes place after the events of Steins;Gate.