Save Ruika! — Looping with a Losing Heroine Demo
A short romance adventure where you loop again and again with a losing heroine to help her finally win. She cries, gets mad, loses again—and still refuses to give up. Does a brighter future await Ruika?

Sign in to add this item to your wishlist, follow it, or mark it as ignored

This game is not yet available on Steam

Coming soon

Interested?
Add to your wishlist and get notified when it becomes available.

Check out the full game

 

About This Demo

● About This Game

Save Ruika! — Looping with a Losing Heroine is a time-loop romance adventure about reliving the same story over and over with Ruika, a losing heroine you desperately want to save.

In the final episode of the anime Kirameki★Actors, you watch as Ruika Harumachi—a bright, devoted girl who tried harder than anyone—has her heart broken and ends up sobbing alone in the clubroom.

“I want to save Ruika.”

The moment you make that wish, you suddenly find yourself inside the anime.
Standing right in front of you is Ruika herself, moments after her heartbreak.

And then, somehow, the two of you leap back in time to the beginning of the story—

Now you can change everything.
Now Ruika might still have a chance to win.

But no matter how many times you start over, Ruika keeps losing in love.
Keep her rival away. Change the course of the story. Try every plan you can think of...
Somehow, something always goes wrong.

And yet, Ruika refuses to give up.
She cries, she gets mad, she picks herself back up—and keeps fighting against fate.

Keep going, keep going, Ruika.
You look so cute when you're crying!

...Will she ever find her happy ending?

● Story

You find yourself in the world of Kirameki★Actors, an anime centered on a struggling high school drama club.

Itsuki Imai is the anime's protagonist, a former child actor.
Shiroha Fuyutsuki is the main heroine destined to end up with him.
And the girl who brought both of them into the drama club is your favorite losing heroine, Ruika Harumachi.

In the original anime, Itsuki and Shiroha are drawn together as though they were meant for each other.
Ruika supports them both—and ends up with a broken heart.

But what if you could act before they fall for each other?

Ruika recruits you as her partner, and together you set out to rewrite the story and make sure she ends up with Itsuki instead.

Unfortunately, changing the story is easier said than done.

You originally planned to support Ruika from the sidelines, but before long, you're dragged right into the plot yourself—joining the drama club, growing unexpectedly close to Shiroha, and causing all kinds of unforeseen changes.

Worse still, Ruika's plans fail one after another.
No matter how many times you loop, she somehow finds a new way to lose.

Every reset breaks Ruika's heart all over again.
But she still refuses to surrender. She cries, gets angry, gets back on her feet, and tries again.

“No way! This doesn't count! Next time, I'm definitely going to win...!”

Can Ruika finally become the heroine who wins...?

● Characters

You (in the Anime World) & Ruika

Ruika Harumachi

The losing heroine of Kirameki★Actors.
Bright, devoted, caring, expressive, and fiercely competitive.

She was the one who invited both her best friend Shiroha and Itsuki to join the drama club—but in the original story, the two of them end up together, leaving Ruika alone with a broken heart.

She gives you the nickname “Cupy” after your sudden appearance and tries every scheme she can think of to defy fate and become the heroine who finally wins.

You (Name Customizable)
Default Name: Hikage Urakata

A viewer of the anime Kirameki★Actors.
Immediately after witnessing Ruika's heartbreak,
your wish to save her somehow pulls you into the world of the story itself.

Supporting Characters — Itsuki, Shiraha, Kaname & Fuwari

Itsuki Imai

The protagonist of Kirameki★Actors and the boy Ruika has fallen for.
Once a famous and exceptionally talented child actor, Itsuki left show business after the relentless schedule and pressure made it difficult for him to hold on to his sense of self.
Somewhat guarded and socially withdrawn, he has become isolated even at school.
But after Ruika invites him to join the drama club, he slowly begins to find his way back to acting.

Shiraha Fuyutsuki

The main heroine of Kirameki★Actors, who ends up with Itsuki in the original story.
Quiet, elegant, and talented at seemingly everything,
Shiroha joins the drama club after being invited by Ruika—and discovers something she genuinely wants to pursue for the first time in her life.
Ruika is her closest friend, and Shiroha has absolutely no desire to hurt her.

Fuwari Natsuno

The drama club's only first-year student, a laid-back underclassman who mainly handles sound.
She always seems sleepy and absentminded, but she's surprisingly observant—and sometimes casually points out exactly what everyone else is trying not to say.
She may look like the cute little-sister type, but she also has a curious and somewhat sadistic streak.
She isn't afraid to poke her nose into her seniors' love lives, either.

Kaname Akiba

The dependable president of the drama club, responsible for both writing and directing their productions.
Calm, capable, and extremely popular with the other girls at school, Kaname can be strict when training her club members, but she pays close attention to each person's individual strengths and talents.
She is the central figure holding the drama club together.

● Features

  • A time-loop romance adventure about saving a losing heroine who keeps getting her heart broken

  • A short, fast-paced visual novel with a strong comedic tone

  • Unlock the True Ending by collecting every Bad Ending

  • Ruika Harumachi: an expressive heroine whose dramatic reactions are half the fun

  • A youthful school-club rom-com atmosphere centered on a struggling drama club

  • A story combining losing heroines, time loops, time travel, a story-within-a-story, and theater

  • The full version is planned to include additional endings, post-ending stories, and new scenarios featuring newly illustrated outfits

● About the Demo

The demo includes the entire free portion of the game, from the beginning of the story through its True Ending.

There are 8 Bad Endings to discover in the demo.
Find them all to unlock the True Ending.

Loop through the story again and again with Ruika—not only to help her finally win, but also to discover all the different ways things can go wrong.

The demo is designed to stand on its own as a complete short visual novel.

See for yourself just how many ways Ruika can lose...
and what kind of ending awaits her after all those failures.

● About the Full Version

The full version is planned to explore Ruika and the other characters' stories far beyond what is shown in the demo.

A summer drama-club retreat at a seaside inn.
Brand-new outfit artwork.
And what happens after the True Ending

The full version is also planned to include even more looping scenarios, additional Bad Endings, bonus materials about the in-story play, and character-focused side content.

● Recommended For Players Who...

  • Enjoy visual novels built around collecting Bad Endings

  • Like romance adventures and school-life rom-coms

  • Want a short game that still delivers a satisfying, complete story

  • Enjoy comedy-focused visual novels

  • Love losing heroines who are so unlucky you can't help but laugh, yet so lovable you can't help but root for them

  • Enjoy time-loop stories where failure is part of the fun

AI Generated Content Disclosure

The developers describe how their game uses AI Generated Content like this:

Generative AI was used as an assistive tool for translating parts of the scenario and in-game text. All translated content has been thoroughly reviewed, refined, and proofread manually by the developer to ensure natural phrasing and quality.

System Requirements

    Minimum:
    • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
    • OS *: Windows Vista
    • Processor: Intel or AMD 1.8GHz
    • Memory: 2 GB RAM
    • Graphics: DirectX 11
    • Storage: 500 GB available space
    Recommended:
    • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
    • OS *: Windows Vista
    • Processor: Intel or AMD 1.8GHz
    • Memory: 2 GB RAM
    • Graphics: DirectX 11
    • Storage: 500 GB available space
* Starting January 1st, 2024, the Steam Client will only support Windows 10 and later versions.
Review Filters