Nakigē

泣(な)きゲー(Crying Game) is a genre of Visual Novels with the purpose of making the player burst into tears while they’re playing the game.
It is used most famously, and possibly most effectively, by Key who, I believe, also coined the term ‘Nakige’^A).

The word ｢泣(な)きゲー｣ is a portmanteau of 泣(な)き(crying/weeping) and ゲーム(game). Hence ‘Crying Game’.
Nakigē typically follow a specific formula, which had been perfected by Key’s developers^1;2). The formula used is^B): The first half of the game is comedic with a ‘heart-warming’ romantic middle followed by a tragic separation, and finally ending on an emotional reunion.^1;2)
The stated purpose of this formula is to leave a bigger impact on the player after the game is finished, which is achieved by getting them emotionally invested²⁾. This structure has proven to be quite effective, and has led Key to enormous success.

• I realized at some point that this is less of a genre and more of a story structure, but I guess it doesn’t matter too much. The term genre is already quite vague.
• Besides applying to Visual Novels, this structure can also be used to great effect in other mediums. However, as Visual Novels end up being much longer than other mediums, it’s probably most effective here than in other mediums.