Fuck it, I don't care, I don't have reasons, nor do I want them. I am capable of emotion, believe it or not, despite my scrawls of pontification. And I get feelings from these games. The first came out in 2017 (age of political awakening and steady decline) and this came out in 2022 (deep in the age of "it") and I needed it both times. Romance is dangerous for me; I avoid it because I get all up in my lonely feelings. This is my rare chance to curl up in it. There's no logical reason why this works for me so much and other things like it simply don't. I can dissect it or make a nuanced pitch, but it's a waste of words. This is not a recommendation or a review. I'm just saying things. I'm not going to compare one entry to the other; I don't much remember the first one other than adoring it deeply. Sure, maybe some of it is hamfisted this time around, and sure, there are anachronistic memes, but I literally don't care. I just like it. It makes me smile and I get warm fuzzies and I like it. It is so rare that I can just smile authentically and earnestly at art. Vulnerability can be embarrassing but it's liberating. Earnestness will set me free. And if you think it's cringe to find joy in something so vulnerable, then you can leave me the fuck alone

The presentation of this game is surprisingly good with excellent pixel art and animation and a way-too-good soundtrack. However, this game lives and dies on how much you like BurgerTime. If you love BurgerTime, you'll surely like this, but if you don't, then I don't think slapping the Chili's branding is going to make you like it. I will say I also felt the controls were just a little off. Maybe I'm just bad at BurgerTime, but but I found that the pepper would just slip past a ladder I was trying to climb or would inexplicably not climb off at the platformI was trying to. Maybe just a problem on my end, I'd like to hear if others have this issue.

By playing this game, you have the potential to win real burgers from Chili's but, uh, I've actually never been to Chili's. My family doesn't like it, no one I've known in real life likes it, and I guess my whole town doesn't like it cause our local one shut down in 2020 or 2021. I would be down to try it, especially if I were gonna get free burgers, but that's not really an option for me. If you're at all interested in this game or the sweepstakes, you should probably play this sooner than later, I can't imagine it'll be up for long, but maybe it'll outlive the competition (it's still up as of writing this which I wasn't expecting).

also i made the igdb page for this game :)

I started playing this about a week after going to Furry Weekend Atlanta, a convention where I basically fell into a, for lack of a better word, star-crossed love of my life. We've been sappy fucks up to and including today, and I decided to stream this in front of her as our relationship continued to develop together.

It makes every line, emotion, and bounding heartfelt aura of this work speak so loud, to an almost deafening level. I feel Seen in too many respects to name. Melody's self-confidence, difficulty with communicating, trying to be HONEST but not wanting to HURT. Relationships built barely against fears and anxieties, colorful weavings of trying to be earnest and sincere while what feels like world-threatening issues rain on you. Each one of the main cast's troubles holds my talon and makes me stare at what I have worked on, what I need to continue working on, what I should be working on.

It's special. It fucks me up how much of this is a game I wanted to make. I had a whole ~Witch Coven~ story between a cast of stupidly sapphic lovers that I've yet to really make see the heart of day outside a silly AO3 prologue I wrote while frustrated with myself. This work is everything I could've ever wanted to yell out.

It's comforting to have a work that knows exactly what you want. That knows exactly what it is that makes life special in a way you do. SLARPG gives me power and reaffirmation of the happiness I've been through and continue to discover.

I love my girlfriend!! She's fucking amazing!! I love her so much ;-; I can't wait to see the rest of our future together!!! Here's to another adventure!!!

As of recent times I've been on a bit of a Konami binge, playing a handful of Castlevania games, checking out Twinbee for the first time, and lastly giving a proper revisit to a very special title in their vast library known as Tokimeki Memorial. This was a game in a genre I overall don't really approve of or have much interest in, but upon learning about it's infamous "difficulty" and hidden game mechanics I felt enticed to try this out.
As an endless checkerboard pattern scrolls down the edges of the screen as the in game months pass by, with countless failures, frustrations, and dates, I felt engaged by Tokimeki Memorial the entire time. Tokimeki is a game that does not play around. It is not some cookie cutter male power fantasy dating sim that makes you some Chad hero who every girl in the world likes, no. It's a game that isn't afraid to punch you down for being a bad friend or partner to the girls, or point out your own problems with not attending your studies, exercise, or overexerting yourself. You have to earn the friendships with these characters, you need to plan things out, always prepare for the unexpected, and do your best! The gameplay loop is super satisfying to pull off, which made me come back wanting for more.
Now of course the most important part of any game in this genre of course, are the characters. I liked them! I didn't get to see all of them, but they're fun and I struggled to dislike one. The game puts much emphasis on Shiori Fujisaki, who for all intensive purposes is the character the game obviously wants you to go after, but I'd save to disagree honestly? I think Shiori is a better character as just a friend to the protagonist, someone there for him at the right time, but maybe I'm thinking too much into it. Regardless, she's still a fun character like the rest.
The presentation is comfy and endearing. The music has this very nostalgic feel to it that made them a fun listen in game. Alot of the characters sprites have that 90s VN jank to them, but they're still colorful and charming for the time. Also all the girls are absolutely dripped out in some way, especially Yuko lol. 90s fashion in fictional media never fails to wow me I guess.
Tokimeki Memorial is a trial and error filled game with repetitive writing and gameplay, but it makes those special moments feel even more unique. I couldn't really get myself to dislike this game. It's a fun subversion of the otherwise anti-game genre that is the dating sim, that is super engaging especially towards it's latter half with the "bomb" system. I can't really recommend this to the average player, but it's worth checking out if you want to play an oddly popular little series in Konami's catalog. Because flaws and all, when I got to that ending under the tree of legends, it was an immensely satisfying feeling to see the curtain close on this archaic but earnest title in gaming history.