Gamertell

Title: Tokimeki Memorial: Girl’s Side: 2nd Season
Price: $48.90
System(s): Nintendo DS
Release Date: 2/14/08
Publisher (Developer): Konami (Konami)
ESRB Rating: N/A
Pros: Improved skinship mode, more guys, lots of extras for the DS release, bombs are easier to defuse, extensive voice acting
Cons: If you don’t speak Japanese, you’ll need a guide for your first play-through. CG scenes are harder to get.
Overall Score: 10/10

Tokimeki Memorial: Girl’s Side: 2nd Season is amazing, and is now my all time favorite DS title. Before you start thinking this is some single 20-something’s chance to recapture her youth, check out Amazon Japan, where TMGS: 2nd Season has been in the top 25 DS sellers for months. TMGS: 2nd Season is a quality game and an example of how all ports should be executed. It features additional content, characters, voice work, mini-games and extras without tarnishing the memory of the original title.

I just completed my first play-through about fifteen minutes before writing this review. Since much of the gameplay is identical to the original TMGS: 1st Love DS game, I will use the review to chronicle my first TMGS: 2nd Season adventure.

I’ve always favored outgoing and talented guys (both in real life and in games), so I decided to go for Hariya Kounoshin for my first boyfriend. It also helped that he reminded me a lot of Nobu from the NANA manga and his voice actor is Zach from FFVII: Advent Children and Crisis Core: FFVII. The game begins with a quiz this time around: the first three questions determine your beginning statistics and the next two determine who you will share an accidental kiss with. Hariya loves stylish, charming girls, so I set that up and arranged for him to be my accidental kiss. My new life then began!

First Year

My beginning position was somewhat detrimental. My room choice determined that Chiyomi, the straight-A student, would be my best friend - there goes my social life. Hariya wants pretty girls! It is way to much work to be smart AND pretty in TMGS games, so there is no way I’m wasting my time trying. Before I get angry comments, let me explain: studying lowers the style stat and raises intelligence and reading magazines lowers intelligence and raises style. Hence the predicament.

So I started reading fashion magazines. Two days later I met the man of my video game dreams, and he is struck by my potential. Then I meet Haruhi. Haruhi also wanted Hariya. So the snubbing had to start, because I can NOT afford rival mode. Past games have shown my ineptitude when it comes to rival mode. I’d lost both Kazuma and Madoka to rivals in TMGS: 1st Love. In an attempt to make friends who won’t steal my man, I decided to join the art club.

After my induction I am confronted by Chris, who has more braids, beads and bows in his hair than any man should have. He’s like a male version of FFX-2 Rikku. He too was enamored by me and I unintentionally charm him. As horrifying as this was, I needed to be social to unlock the job at the music store where Hariya worked. I had to deal with the Corn-row King. Maybe on the club trip we could take turns doing each other’s hair.

The next two months brought glad tidings. I had successful dates with Hariya, accepted a job at Saeki’s father’s cafe and made friends with Hisoka. Hisoka is another pretty girl, and to celebrate our newfound friendship, we spent a month doing our makeup and hair in the girls’ bathroom. My style stat passed 70, my social’s hit 50 and my charm was around 60. My intelligence, however, started to dip into the 30s and I had trouble using three syllable words. Hariya’s love was costly.

By the time Christmas rolled around, things were awesome. Hariya was smiling at me, Hisoka was my best friend and even Chris liked me. Then, a week before Christmas, Haruhi stopped me when I was headed home and asked if we can go to the cafe together. I didn’t have a choice, and so went along. She then declared that Hariya is hers! The nerve. After I sacrificed studying from March until December! No way! Rival mode was on.

Second Year

The holidays passed. I took a job at Music House Nei, where Hariya worked> He loved the Christmas gift I got him and he asked me to go to temple with him on New Years. I had to ditch Hisoka as a friend though. See, she was too pretty. When I hung out with another pretty girl, it made me look less pretty. I mean Chris already succumbed to her charms. I saw the eyes he made at her when Hariya and I double dated with the two of them. So she’s out. I don’t need her anymore anyway.

I met a new guy at the beginning of the second year. It was at the third years’ graduation. See, in Japan high school lasts three years. So I met this guy Taro at the graduation. He told me I was pretty cute. Like I don’t already know that. When I tell him so, he then takes it back! He says on second thought I’m not all that after all. Like I need his approval. Hariya was already almost at Tokimeki state.

In fact, on our first date in April he walked me home. Along the way we played this touchy love-love mini-game. Like when I’d see a heart on his head or upper body, I’d have to tap there to make him like me more. If I touched the wrong spot, or a blue heart, he’d like me less. It was fun and made him love me more.

I did have to take some remedial lessons with Wakaoji-sensei around August, because apparently loving Hariya’s made my character dumb as a stump. No surprise there - my intelligent stat was in the single digits. (It would hit 0 by November in the second year and never recover.) Thankfully in all the following finals my social, style, art and charm stats were high enough to save me from mandatory studying.

A lot happened after that. There was a school trip, where Hariya and I paired up to venture around and engaged in a pillow-fight with Hisoka and Chris. Apparently they were dating by then, but that didn’t keep him from hiding with me after the pillow-fight. Then in October this new kid Taku joined our class. Taku was totally a goth emo-kid. I felt kinda bad for him though, because everyone picked on him. So I stood up for him. Even though my I.Q. was lower than my shoe size, Wakaoji-sensei decided I’d be a good study-buddy for Taku and asked me to visit him.

Third Year

I must have screwed up. It all started around Valentine’s Day. I made my super special chocolate for Hariya, even though I am awful at that game and needed all four tries to make perfect chocolate. (My low intelligence stat at work perhaps.) When I went to give it to him, Haruhi got all up in my face about it. I ignored her and gave it to him anyway. Then I went to save my game around the end of February, and my save file no longer showed my character with Hariya! I know! The horror! Instead of the two of us singing happily, it showed Hisoka and I sewing. I hadn’t hung out with her since the end of first year!

I began my push to save my virtual relationship. My style stat was 250 and my charm was 175, and the Hariya ending only required 200 and 150. I stopped visiting Taku. I ignored the birthdays of all other characters. Every weekend was devoted to dating Hariya or scheduling dates with Hariya. I’d sleep during the week, and study fashion magazines if my stats started to drop.

Around November there was a momentary reprieve. Once again Hariya appeared in my save file image. I relaxed and took a few weekends off to defuse bombs from other guys and buy a kimono for New Years. Then, at the beginning of February, things went downhill again. Once again Hariya left my save file and Hisoka returned.

I decided to accept my fate. I was sure any day I’d come across Hariya and Haruhi together. I was too stupid to attempt to win Wakaoji, who had showed affection for my character throughout the first year. I hadn’t dated Chris enough to qualify for his ending. Taku left because I hadn’t spent enough time with him. There was less than a month left. A best friends ending with Hisoka was better than any little brother ending, so I breezed through my last few weeks.

Then came the moment of truth. I graduated and arranged to work at the music shop. After the ceremony I wandered around the campus and found my way to the lighthouse. The door was open. I went inside. After a moment, I heard someone else come in.

It was Hariya! It was a miracle! I received that sweet confession I had spent three days playing to earn. It was everything I thought it would be, and more. Suffice to say, from this diatribe, I adore this game. I totally recommend it. Personally, I’m looking forward to possibly going for Wakaoji or Taku on my next play-though. Probably Wakaoji, since his voice actor is also voiced Sephiroth (FFVII: Advent Children and Crisis Core: FFVII) and Takumi Ichinose (NANA).

COMING NEXT WEEK: Next week Important Importables will talk about Bemani games. If you don’t miss a single installment of Important Importables, or want to know right away when the next column is up, then sign up for the Gamertell Newsletter and RSS feed.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last week Important Importables reviewed Rune Factory 2.

Site [Play-Asia] Site [YesAsia] Site [NCSX] Site [Himeya Shop]