Tokimeki Memorial

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Tokimeki Memorial
Box art for "Tokimeki Memorial 3"
ときめきメモリアル
(Tokimeki Memorial)
Genre Dating
Game
Developer Konami
Publisher Konami
Genre Dating sim, Romance
Rating CERO: B
Platform PC Engine (PCE)
PlayStation (PS)
Super Famicom (SFC)
Sega Saturn (SS)
Windows 95 (Win)
Game Boy Color (GB)
PlayStation 2
PlayStation Portable
Released 27 May 1994 (PCE)
13 October 1995 (PS)
9 February 1996 (SFC)
19 July 1996 (SS)
4 December 1997 (Win)
11 February 1999 (GB)
9 March 2006 (PSP)
OVA
Directed by Hajime Kamegaki
Studio Studio Pierrot
No. of episodes 2
Released 17 June 1999, 08 October 1999
Runtime
TV anime : Tokimeki Memorial Only Love
Directed by Nobuhiro Takamoto
Studio Konami, AIC A.S.T.A.
Network Japan TV Tokyo
Original run October 2, 2006 –
No. of episodes 26

Tokimeki Memorial (ときめきメモリアル?) is a popular dating simulation series by Konami. It consists of 6 main games, Tokimeki Memorial, Tokimeki Memorial 2, Tokimeki Memorial 3 ~ Yakusoku no Ano Basho de ~ (At the Place we Promised), Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side, Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side 2nd Kiss, and Tokimeki Memorial Online, in addition to a large number of spinoffs. The games are notable in the dating sim genre for being highly nonlinear. Their nickname amongst their fans is the contraction TokiMemo.

Tokimeki Memorial's relatively high degree of exposure in the West is probably the reason why the term "dating sim" became used to refer to all romantic anime games.

The gameplay in Tokimeki Memorial focuses on scheduling, dating and stat-building. The player must organize his time between asking out members of the opposite sex and developing his abilities at school and sport (with the long-term goal of becoming more seductive, not out of any intrinsic value). Dates are frequent but very brief, with usually only one multiple-choice question to determine whether your partner's love meter will increase or decrease. One playthrough lasts for a fixed period of 3 years of high school (on the order of 5-10 hours of play), at the end of which the character with the highest love meter confesses their love. None of the games in the series contain erotic elements.

Tokimeki Memorial has been adapted into a 26 episode anime TV series, Tokimeki Memorial Only Love, produced by Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. and based on Tokimeki Memorial Online, which premiered across Japan on October 2, 2006.

Contents

[edit] Tokimeki Memorial

Tokimeki Memorial was first released for the PC Engine in 1994. It became unexpectedly successful, due to its good graphics and voice acting, and was released again as Tokimeki Memorial ~ forever with you ~ on the PlayStation and the Sega Saturn in 1995 with a new opening video, improved graphics and sound, and new minigames.

In 1996 it was released again on the Super Famicom as Tokimeki Memorial ~ Densetsu no Ki no Shita de ~, and although drastically reduced in graphic and sound quality (the only voice clips were available during loading,) included an exclusive CD with a radio drama and new arrangement of the ending theme, Futari no Toki this time sung by the majority of the girls instead of just Shiori Fujisaki (the heroine of the first game).

Again, in 1999 the game was re-released on the Game Boy Color in two versions, Tokimeki Memorial Sports Version ~ Kotei no Photograph ~ and Tokimeki Memorial Culture Version ~ Komorebi no Melody ~, dividing 10 of the characters between the two games and adding three new winnable characters, Patricia McGlass, Munakata Naomi, and Izumi Kyoko. The Game Boy Color versions also featured a Beatmania mini-game, compatibility with the Super Game Boy, a screen saver mode, and a two-player versus minigame.

In 2004, the game was released once again on mobile phones in Japan, and in 2006 was ported to the PlayStation Portable portable system, which is virtually identical to the PlayStation version.

The first game in the series is particularly notable for its "bomb" feature, where neglected, infrequently-dated girls would eventually become angry and gossip to their friends, severely reducing love meters across the board. In the middle of the game, when the number of known girls was high, these "bombs" became the primary concern of the player, forcing careful planning and strategies like round-robin dating. Although the feature was still present in the later games, it was considerably reduced in importance and the difficulty in avoiding it.

SCHOOL: Kirameki High, MAIN CHARACTER: Fujisaki Shiori

[edit] Tokimeki Memorial 2

Tokimeki Memorial 2 was released for the PlayStation in 1999. It came on 5 CDs, featuring unmatched graphics and voice acting and a groundbreaking "Emotional Voice System (EVS)" where the girls could pronounce the player's name. It also became a big hit in Japan. Its gameplay followed the same template as the first, but with lesser emphasis on bombs and a greater emphasis on solving unique challenges specific to each girl. As a result, a different strategy had to be devised for every playthrough.

SCHOOL: Hibikino High, MAIN CHARACTER: Hinomoto Hikari

[edit] Tokimeki Memorial 3

Tokimeki Memorial 3, released in 2001 for the PlayStation 2, further pushed the technical limits for dating sims, being the first game to have fully 3-D animated cel-shaded girls. However, many fans were disappointed by the appearance of the girls, which although well-animated did not look as polished as 2d art, as well as by the simplified gameplay system. The game did not sell as well as expected.

SCHOOL: Moegino High, MAIN CHARACTER: Makihara Yukiko

[edit] Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side

Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side, released in 2002 for the PlayStation 2, is often mistaken by Western gamers to be the first serious attempt by a major industry player to expand the market for ren'ai games to female players, though other games and even entire series existed long beforehand, including Arubarea no Otome, McKenzie & Co, and most notably KOEI's Angelique (which Konami was most likely attempting to compete with). It reverse play the traditional formula, featuring a cast of bishounen. It also had several "girl-oriented" features like choosing fashion accessories and decorating your room.

SCHOOL: Habataki High, MAIN CHARACTER: Hazuki Kei

[edit] Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side 2nd Kiss

Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side 2nd Kiss is the most recent TokiMemo game released by Konami. It is made for PlayStation 2, and is the response to the incredible popularity received by "Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side." The game is customized to meet the satisfaction of most female players. Utilizing the EVS system, the characters in the game even call out the player's name. The game includes a whole new cast of characters and love interests to choose from.

SCHOOL: Hanegasaki High, MAIN CHARACTER: Saeki Teru

[edit] Tokimeki Memorial Online

An online version of Tokimeki Memorial, "Boys' & Girls' Gakuen Community Game: Tokimeki Memorial Online" will be released in March of 2006 in Japan for the PC, a first for the series.

No game in the series has ever been translated or officially released in the West, though they can easily be purchased from import game stores. In the case of Tokimeki Memorial Online (TMO), the basic version is a free download.

In order to play TMO, one must setup a free Konami ID and buy an account key from Konami with Japan issued credit card or WebMoney; it is possible for people outside Japan to buy WebMoney via e-currency exchange between e-currencies such as Paypal, e-Gold, and WebMoney.

A new anime based on Tokimeki Memorial Online, Tokimeki Memorial Only Love, was announced at the Tokyo International Anime Fair in March.

[edit] Spinoffs & Merchandise

Tokimeki Memorial spinoffs and merchandise include:

  • Numerous related video games:
    • Two puzzle games based on the first game: Tokimeki Memorial Taisen Puzzle Dama (released in arcades, for Windows 95, PlayStation, and Sega Saturn) and Tokimeki Memorial Taisen Tokkae Dama (released for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn.
    • One puzzle game based on the second game: Tokimeki Memorial 2 Puzzle Dama (released for the PlayStation.)
    • The Tokimeki Memorial 2 Substories series, consisting of three games (each game focuses on three of the girls from Tokimemo 2). The games are highly regarded for the mini-games in each game. The first game in the series, Dancing Summer Vacation focuses on Kotobuki Miyuki, Yae Kaori and the series' first (and so far, only) set of twins, Shirayuki Miho & Shirayuki Maho. The mini game for this game revolves around one of Konami's other famous game series, Dance Dance Revolution using remixed Tokimeki Memorial 1 and 2 songs. The second game ("Leaping School Festival") focuses on Ichimonji Akane, Akai Homura and Ijuuin Mei. Unlike the other two Substories games there are three mini games in this game (one for each girl). The final game in the series, "Memories Ringing On" focuses on Hinomoto Hikari, Asou Kasumi, Minazuki Kotoko and Sakura Kaedeko. There are two mini games in this game (Bowling and Billiards). It should be noted that most girls appear in each game and can also be won but the characters that are not at the centre of the game do not get as much story as the main heroines of the corresponding game.
    • Tokimeki Memorial 2 Music Video Clips: Circus de Aimashou ("Let's Meet At The Circus") which was released on the PlayStation 2. The game concentrates on 5 girls from the Tokimeki Memorial 2 game (the girls being Nozaki Sumire, Hinomoto Hikari, Asou Kasumi, Yae Kaori, Akai Homura and Ijuuin Mei). Essentially being a collection of mini-games revolving around Sumire, you are able to choose one of the aforementioned girls before competing in the mini-games and if you then play through and win the mini-games you are treated to an animated music video set to one of the chosen girl's image songs.
    • Tokimeki Memorial Private Collection (for the PlayStation, featuring a mini-game where you pick one of the girls from Tokimemo 1 to be your partner and she would ask you questions based on TokiMemo 1 (the questions would revolve around the girl - ie: what's her birthday, phone number, favorite items etc). If you answer 10 questions correctly you are able to go to the beach with her and see her in her outfit.
    • Tokimeki no Houkago, a quiz game for the PlayStation where you pick one of the other female characters from Tokimemo 1 as your partner and try to win her. It should be noted that unlike the Private Collection game this game contains questions on general real life topics (and not the actual Tokimeki series) of the time (sport, manga, books etc). It should also be noted that this is the only time in the game's series (for Tokimeki Memorial 1 - 3) where you can also win with a male character. You can pick Saotome Yoshio (the info otaku where you get all the information on the girls) as your partner. There is an ending with him where you both make a promise to each other to find a girlfriend. Essentially this is like the "Bad Ending" from Tokimemo 1 only with pictures added. Also this game expands on the endings from Tokimemo 1 somewhat in that you get to see pictures of them (with some slight animation) corresponding to their endings. For example, Katagiri Ayako wants to go to Paris to go to an art school. Her ending involves you seeing her off at the airport (accompanied by a picture).
    • Fujisaki Shiori
      Tokimeki Memorial Selection - Fujisaki Shiori, a game devoted to Fujisaki Shiori, the main heroine from Tokimemo 1. There is not much gameplay involved, as the game consists of an image gallery, two animated music videos and a mini game where you play Rock, Paper, Scissors with Shiori.
    • A series of three romantic drama/adventure games were also released for the PlayStation and the Sega Saturn, each one focusing on a specific girl from TokiMemo 1. The first was Nijiiro no Seishun ("Rainbow-colored Youth",) featuring Nijino Saki, who cheers you on as you spend the game trying to make it on the school soccer team's main line up. The second game, Irodori no Love Song ("The Many Hues of a Love Song"), focused on Katagiri Ayako with the player trying to compose a new song in time to win the school festival's band contest. The third and final drama game was Tabidachi no Uta ("Poem of Journeys") and featured both Fujisaki Shiori and Tatebayashi Miharu sharing a similar story about the player running a marathon just before graduation that branches off into different directions depending on which girl you choose to pursue.
  • A two-episode anime OVA based on the first game.
  • A play action movie loosely associated with the first game.
  • Numerous CDs have been released ranging from soundtrack CDs to vocal image song CDs from all of the 6 main games.
  • A collectible card game.
  • A collectible set of poker cards. The cards were sold in "packs" like the "boosters" for a collectible card game, but were all regular poker cards with artwork of the various characters on them, and no specific card game beyond the games that can be played with a normal poker deck.
  • "Life-sized", posable and dressable dolls of Hinomoto Hikari and Yae Kaori from Tokimeki Memorial 2. Although not "anatomically correct", they were often subject to derisive comparison to sex dolls.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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