My first play through of Tokimeki Memorial was a disaster. I completely failed to understand the bomb mechanic, instead focusing solely on Shiori Fujisaki (as common sense would dictate), while also overlooking the importance of the physical appearance attribute. My last year of school consistent of "dates" where girls would show up before immediately leaving without saying a single word, just so that I could return home and hear a bomb explode.
One Action Button video later, I decided I would try again. Embracing the bomb mechanic and round-robin dating various girls lead to a much better experience. Though no girl can compare to Shiori, the game does a great job of letting you discover each girl's personality, and there's a bounty of bonus scenes to stumble upon as the dates progress.
I even found my opinions of the girls changing as I came to learn more about them. Ayako Katagiri seemed rather boring to me at first, as she was disinterested in all of our initial dates, but later on we found our groove, and she became my favourite girl (after Shiori, of course).
But here lies my problem, because by the end of the game I had multiple girls blushing at me, and even though I would go out of my way to pick dumb conversation options with most of them, and pick the best options with Katagiri, the game refused to pair me up with Katagiri at the end. Not as deflating an ending as my first play through, but still not a satisfying one.
Maybe one day I'll do another play through and see what other girls and scenes I can discover, but with the information that the game hides from you about how it's going to resolve at the end, it makes it a harder proposition to consider.
One Action Button video later, I decided I would try again. Embracing the bomb mechanic and round-robin dating various girls lead to a much better experience. Though no girl can compare to Shiori, the game does a great job of letting you discover each girl's personality, and there's a bounty of bonus scenes to stumble upon as the dates progress.
I even found my opinions of the girls changing as I came to learn more about them. Ayako Katagiri seemed rather boring to me at first, as she was disinterested in all of our initial dates, but later on we found our groove, and she became my favourite girl (after Shiori, of course).
But here lies my problem, because by the end of the game I had multiple girls blushing at me, and even though I would go out of my way to pick dumb conversation options with most of them, and pick the best options with Katagiri, the game refused to pair me up with Katagiri at the end. Not as deflating an ending as my first play through, but still not a satisfying one.
Maybe one day I'll do another play through and see what other girls and scenes I can discover, but with the information that the game hides from you about how it's going to resolve at the end, it makes it a harder proposition to consider.
Se Tokimeki Memorial não existisse, Persona 5 não existiria.
Um clássico absoluto que infelizmente nunca saiu do japão, o gameplay dele é simples mas muito efetivo, personagens super carismáticos e a ost que só tem musica boa. No começo pode demorar pra engatar mas quando você pega o jeito e para pra pensar você já ta completamente investido nos personagens e o jogo consegue te emocionar, me emocionei muito no final quero mt rejogar e fazer outras rotas em outro momento mas totalmente satisfeito e feliz que eu consegui sentar embaixo da árvore da lenda com a garota que eu queria no jogo :)
Um clássico absoluto que infelizmente nunca saiu do japão, o gameplay dele é simples mas muito efetivo, personagens super carismáticos e a ost que só tem musica boa. No começo pode demorar pra engatar mas quando você pega o jeito e para pra pensar você já ta completamente investido nos personagens e o jogo consegue te emocionar, me emocionei muito no final quero mt rejogar e fazer outras rotas em outro momento mas totalmente satisfeito e feliz que eu consegui sentar embaixo da árvore da lenda com a garota que eu queria no jogo :)
went in expecting a fun time with some girls, came out realizing I've never felt true stress until I had three girls simultaneously trying to rumor bomb me while trying to squeeze in the fireworks date with Ayako while Yumi and Yuko are both screeching about walking home with me
My game shelf looks way cooler with a box this pink and girly on it.
I played it mainly as Japanese practice, and I would always play for longer than planned because it's so easy to get lost doing "just one more turn". It's not too difficult to finish but there's always tension when your planning gets messed up by a surprise bomb warning. You get really invested in your little guy's dating life.
I played it mainly as Japanese practice, and I would always play for longer than planned because it's so easy to get lost doing "just one more turn". It's not too difficult to finish but there's always tension when your planning gets messed up by a surprise bomb warning. You get really invested in your little guy's dating life.
Shiori, if ya really liked me you would've appreciated me at 120 guts, 100 science and 100 art.
I took you on dates and you were really playful, and blushing
Like you invited me over to your room to reminisce about the ring, and then in the park we talked about sneaking out, we walked home after the christmas party and you admitted you stopped talking to me first
But I don't know, Megumi confessed to me and we have cute dogs now so bye-bye
I took you on dates and you were really playful, and blushing
Like you invited me over to your room to reminisce about the ring, and then in the park we talked about sneaking out, we walked home after the christmas party and you admitted you stopped talking to me first
But I don't know, Megumi confessed to me and we have cute dogs now so bye-bye
Very good. Very deep
What makes Tokimeki Memorial so addicting is the way in which it gameifies highschool life, reimagined as a "survival game" of managing your responsibilities, passions and relationships. Not too exciting of a game, since winning the heart of any girl that isn't Shiori Fujisaki is disappointingly easy, but seeing the years go by as your bond with the cast of wonderfully diverse, decently characterized girls evolves can be incredibly immersive. An ugly amount of repeated dialogue hurts this immersion, though, and the ways in which you can interact with the girls are extremely brief and limited.
Had to play this after watching the Action Button review, and although that video was longer than my playthrough of the game, I still had some pleasant surprises and takeaways, most notably 1) this game has an incredible sense of humor and 2) the mental exercise of keeping requisite information at the front of your mind as you strategically schedule out your months makes for an exquisitely satisfying gameplay loop. The game’s biggest accomplishment, however—which I fully anticipated from the AB review—is how much personality/complexity they manage to imbue these characters with using such simple building blocks
Tell me why
I'm stuck as a virgin with rage!
Tell me why
I so need a cute girl my age!
Tell me why
I never wanna hear you say,
"I have a boyfriend!"
-The entirety of Tokimeki Memorial
I'm stuck as a virgin with rage!
Tell me why
I so need a cute girl my age!
Tell me why
I never wanna hear you say,
"I have a boyfriend!"
-The entirety of Tokimeki Memorial
Very interesting mechanics and cute girls. It's got a lot of minigames. The bombing mechanic isn't nearly as threatening as you'd think it would be as long as you deal with a girl who's about to blow right away.