24.08.10 / Japanese, dating sim, nintendo ds, otome game, tokimeki memorial, video game / Author: admin / Comments: (1)
Tags: amanohashi, girl's side 3rd story, kouichi, oosako, shitara seiji, tokimeki memorial
Got my fourth ending last night. If I had to rate all the character routes I’ve gotten so far, it’d be Konno > Kouichi > Shitara > Arashi.
I wasn’t moved by Shitara’s route half as much as I thought he’d be. He’s not a bad person by any means, and he warms up to you very quickly, but apart from that there’s not much to him. Okay, so he’s a genius pianist. That’s nice. He’s from a rich family. That’s nice. He’s…got nothing else but piano. That’s nice. He likes tea. That’s nice. And? That’s…IT? Geez, how dull.
For every plus about him, there’s a minus somewhere. Some people have praised his “tsundere” attitude, but as far as I can see he’s more “dere” than “tsun” once you get past his first stage. After that he’s pretty much all over you, with a few prickly moments. I enjoyed some of the funny answers you get when you ask him questions (Like when you ask if he likes classical music and he answers “Do you like food?”), but I was so looking forward to softening him up slowly and surely over time. Kouichi was a much tougher prospect than him.
Second plus, he looks nice on the normal screen, but in my opinion he looks ordinary, weird or outright bad in most CGs. On a related note, his route is stingy with the CGs, and the few ones you get are very boring. Oh look, it’s Shitara standing by the piano…Okay? Oh look, it’s Shitara playing the piano…Okay? Oh look, it’s Shitara standing there with his hand outstretched…Okay?
Third plus, he’s from a wealthy family. He’s got the snooty, childish attitude to match, but that’s still a plus in my eyes because I’ve never dated a rich kid in any of these games before (Amano-pervert doesn’t count). He’s got a fancy house and a bedroom so big it’s got a grand piano in it and you can’t even see the bed. Thanks to that he’s able to take you to formal dance event (once) and invite you to join him in Paris at the end which you waffle on because you’re an idiot.
The flip side of that, though, is that dating him is pretty much like dating all the other guys. There’s no difference between dating Kouichi, who lives in an abandoned restaurant, and dating Seiji with all his money. Where are the fine restaurants? Where’s the hobnobbing with the rich and famous? The cool clothes instead of wearing the same shirt three dates in a row? How about he takes you shopping and buys you something? Where are the cool presents? Not even a Christmas present?! The wine? The trips? The roses? More wine? What’s the point dating a rich guy if he’s just like everybody else?! “Love”? What is this “love” you speak of, is it tasty? :-p
I kid, I kid…sorta. It doesn’t really matter whether he’s rich or not, Seiji’s a decent guy. But it’s true I had expectations that Shitara’s route would be “special” somehow so in that respect it fell way short. As a perfectly normal route to try, thought, it’s worth a playthrough.
And now, since I deliberately failed my first exam and got remedials, it’s time to try for Oosako-sensei’s ending! Who knows, it might surprise me.
14.07.10 / Japanese, dating sim, harvest moon, nintendo ds, video game / Author: admin / Comments: (8)
Tags: bluebell, bokujou monogatari, farming, futago no mura, harvest moon, konohana, nintendo ds, twin villages
I’ve shelved TMGS3 for the time being while I decide which guy to go for next. I’m very satisfied after dating Konno-senpai, so to throw myself back in the dating game for an inferior guy is like, hmm… But I get the feeling Shitara’s route will be all kinds of awesome, so maybe I’ll do that. Thanks to all who wrote about how to change the picture on my desk. I thought for sure Fujiyama was stalking me, *brrr!*
Right now I’m playing Harvest Moon: Twin Villages (a.k.a Bokujou Monogatari: Futago no Mura)! I used to really love Harvest Moon games, but most of the recent ones have been iffy-to-okay, not great. Sunshine Islands would have been great if I hadn’t played it right after Island of Happiness. The similarities between the two made SI feel very stale and unoriginal. In the same way there are a lot of similarities between Twin Villages and Grand Bazaar, particularly in terms of the art style and controls, so it lacks a bit of freshness.
As far as the story goes, there are two villages you can live in: Bluebell Village and Konohana Village. Hundreds of years ago the two mayors had a falling out and the two villages have theoretically been on bad terms ever since. Theoretically. I came into the game expecting some real rivalry and hostility between the two villages, but everyone’s actually really friendly. Even the two mayors have more of a friendly rivalry, they say the funniest things when they compete in the cooking contest (taking part in which is the only way to reunite the villages, go figure). Plus you can go to any of the villages any time you want, shop there all you want, do quests for the other villages, talk to people, you might even be able to woo the girls on the other side with no real consequences, and basically have a good time with no restrictions.
Futhermore, Bluebell is supposed to be the “ranching” village and Konohana the “farming” village, but you can start 
keeping cows and chickens in Konohana right away (mine keep falling sick, though), and I’m pretty sure you can grow crops in Bluebell too. What that means is that apart from the decor, there’s not much to choose between the two. Even better, you can up and move to the other village between the 23rd and the 30th of every season if you want. I’m yet to figure out why this would be a good idea when you can travel there any time, but this is more evidence that the rivalry is practically non-existent.
As far as the game itself goes, I’m only on Year 1 Spring 26, so I don’t want to come down too hard on it just yet. I’ll limit myself to two complaints for now: One, the map is rubbish. Remember the map from Sunshine Islands, how you could see where everyone was with one glance? In Rune Factory 3 the map even tracked movements, which was really convenient. Yeah, well, say goodbye to all that. Twin Villages’ map is awful and lacks a lot of detail. You can only see where your character is at any point in time, nobody else. You get a slightly more indepth map when you’re in town, but when you’re exploring the mountains and other places, tough luck. It wasn’t so bad in Grand Bazaar because there weren’t that many places to go, but in Twin Villages it’s extremely annoying.
Second complaint, time still moves way too slowly. They brought back that system from Grand Bazaar where if you water the crops twice a day they grow faster, but the minutes pass so slowly that you’ll be done with all your watering, foraging and quests with game-hours to spare. Luckily I learned my lesson in the last game, so I don’t chase those extra days, I just go to bed. Unfortunately the time affects other things, particularly festivals. Most of them start in the afternoon, so you might have to wait up to five real-time minutes to progress with the game if you’re taking part in one. It sounds short, but there’s nothing to DO while you’re waiting, so you’re just sitting there staring at the screen…staring…staring…starinZzZzZz…
But still, I just started. After having to eat crow on my initial Atelier Lina review, I’m going to be as optimistic as possible about this game until I’ve finished at least one year. I’ll write a second post on the game then.
11.07.10 / Japanese, dating sim, konami, nintendo ds, otome game, romance, tokimeki memorial, video game / Author: admin / Comments: (8)
Tags: junpei, karen, konno tamao, kouichi, miyo, ruka, tokimeki memorial
Konno-sempai is mine at last, tra la la la! I thought he would be harder than that, but I just went by my usual method and it worked out fine. I identified Academics as his most important stat and raised it like crazy, and then I raised all the other stats normally and got him in the end. I had something like Ac – 238, Sp – 160, Soc – 260 etc, etc by the end, but since I didn’t raise my Charm that high, I wasn’t elected Rose Queen. Doesn’t matter though, ‘cos I got to be in the school play twice, first with Konno as my prince and then with Miyo and Karen (who looks spiffy as a prince, TMGS4 really needs a girl-girl option).
My verdict on Konno? His route actually blew me away. The guy himself is on the dull side, but he’s a kind, decent, hardworking and respectful character without being a complete milquetoast like Sakuya in GS1. Even on the worst of dates he never gets nasty or snippy with you or tries to order you around. I mean, this is a guy who spends his Christmas Eve playing Santa for little kids in hospital! He’s like the model boyfriend, right?
Even better, his route appeals to the overachiever in me because even in games I hate getting bad results in exams. On Konno’s route you can study like crazy and get praised for it. Remember how Madoka in GS1 would get all cool towards you if you were too smart? I hated that. Konno’s end is good too: you both go to a first class university and keep dating, and with a stable guy like that, you might as well vote this “Ending most likely to end in a Wedding and Four Kids.” It’s an ending with a future, catch my drift?
More importantly, for some reason all his CGs are really easy to unlock. I mean, really easy, you just walk around town, bump into and bam, new CG. Or you go on a date, pick a certain store and bam, new CG. For most other guys you often need a FAQ: “Spring, Year 2, Affection must be XYZ, Go to store X and do YYY while holding ZZZ and singing AAA”, obscure stuff like that. I got all his school CGs except one, all his love CGs except one and all his (that other one) CGs, again except one. And I love getting CGs, so Konno’s path was the most satisfying for me so far.
On the minus side, he really is a bit of a bore. I mean, just a bit. They went a little overboard on the Mr. Perfect Guy thing (did I mention he’s totally hot without the glasses?), so even his attempts at angst and depth – the whole “nobody really sees me for who I really am” bit – come across as a bit shallow and empty. And since he’s your senior you don’t get to compete with him on grades and you don’t get to go on the school trip with him, which is a bit sad. But he’s still a breath of fresh air from gruff old Kouichi or weird Ruka or playboy Junpei so I’ll take him any day.
What’s next? I’m trying to find some detailed FAQs or walkthroughs because I want those secret characters! I ran into one at the bookstore, some old-looking guy, I’m sure there’s at least one or two others. And I hear you can date your teacher, which I do NOT want to do. I mean, that’s just wrong on so many levels! And he’s not even cute. Anyway, the search continues!
06.07.10 / dating sim, harvest moon, konami, nintendo ds, otome game, romance, tokimeki memorial, video game / Author: admin / Comments: (15)
Tags: dating sim, girl's side 3rd story, konno, nintendo ds, otome game, Rose Queen, sakurai kouichi, tokimeki memorial
Nyeheheheh! Dum-dum-dum, another one bites the dust! I must say about Kouichi, if he wasn’t supposed to be one of the ‘main’ guys, he might be one of my favorites. It’s just that I have higher expectations of the “face of the game”, so to speak, so the idea that the game developers thought a rude, ugly, brusque, lazy, violent underachiever is enough to set my heart on fire really gets my goat.
Having said all that, Kouichi isn’t that bad. I mean, he stops being mean to you pretty quickly, and he doesn’t hit you like Saeki used to. The last few months of his game are really sweet, especially the part where he thanks you for making his three years of high school so wonderful, d’awww!
He’s really easy to get, too. I used a second-year save left over from when I dated Fujiyama. Digression: there seems to be a bug in this game. You know the picture frame on your desk? It looks like once a guy’s picture goes in there, it never goes out again, so I had to deal with Fujiyama’s mug staring at me all day even after I’d friendzoned him, and even now that I’ve started a brand new game to go after Konno-senpai (ZOMG, he’s such a bore), he’s still on my desk even though I haven’t even met him yet! Weird.
Anyway, what was I saying? Oh yeah, Kouichi. His requirements are really low. He likes the planetarium, the vintage motorbikes exhibition, go-carts at the amusement park, the Tongari Boys event at the Event Hall, the bowling alley, the medal games at the arcade, etc etc. Nothing you wouldn’t expect. For stats, I went overboard and had all my stats high enough to get elected Rose Queen by the end of 3rd year (all you get is a spiffy red robe), but later I checked some sites and someone’s stats for getting him: 【学力】137【美術】135【運動】128【気配り】206【流行】163【魅力】137
I want to play something else to keep the game fresh a little longer while tiding me over until Harvest Moon: Twin Villages comes out, but I keep coming to this again and again and again. Heeeelp!
02.07.10 / Japanese, dating sim, impressions, konami, nintendo ds, otome game, romance, tokimeki memorial, video game / Author: admin / Comments: (6)
Tags: dating sim, fujiyama arashi, girl's side 3rd story, karen, miyo, nintendo ds, oosako chikara, otome game, ruka, sakurai kouichi, tokimeki memorial
Bwahahaha! All your Fujiyama Arashi are belong to me! Mwaha!
He was a piece of cake. Since there were no guides or wikis out when I started, I had to go with my gut, and my gut told me that the sporty guys are always the easiest to get. You just work your sports stat up as high as it will go, keep the rest of your stats up (everything was at least 130 by the end) and date him regularly until he’s all over you. Oh, and join the judo club when he asks you to. I also chose to work at the Habataki Pool where he also works, which was kind of fun.
Sad thing is, unlike Shiba from TMGS2, Arashi didn’t do it for me at all. I don’t like his stupid hair or his dorky face, his voice is blah, almost nothing happens with the sports club, you almost never get to see him blush, his sense of fashion is boring and repetitive, etc, etc, over and over again. I got him because he was easy, but I’m not satisfied!
Unfortunately I’m also not satisfied with most of the rest of the game. Most of it is because I replayed TMGS1 extensively last year, so a lot of the locations and events in the game are very familiar to me. I should have let at least two years pass between replays, because after the first year the whole thing was one giant snoozefest.
Much has been made of the two princes you get to woo in this game, but in my humble opinion…they’re both dicks. When I compare their assholish lines and behaviors to dear, sweet Kei Hazuki in the first game, ahh, what a difference. He was a little cold in the beginning, but he was a really cool, decent character. Saeki Teru was a serious dick too, but at least he wasn’t a borderline crook like Kouichi and Ruka in this game. These guys are slimeballs.
Having said that, I can kind of see myself going for Kou. He reminds me a lot of Shiba in terms of being mean-looking 
but probably sweet when you soften him up. Near the end of my game I somehow found him liking me (gotta pinpoint the stats he’s attracted to and go for him), plus I know his tastes are rock-and-roll and motorbikes, so it shouldn’t be too hard to date him. He showed up three whole times at my workplace to sneer at me and by the end I was thinking “Oooh, just wait till I get my hands on you!!” Ruka’s just a creep though, so forget about him. Sakuraaaaaiiii!
Other last impressions: I really like what they did with the girl friends in this game. I hated the two-faced, backstabbing bitches in the previous two installments. “Hey, we’re friends, right?” “Right, until I want to get my sticky hands on your man that is.” I really hated them. In my game I got to be friends with Miyo and Karen, who is totally a lesbian, and you get to hang out with them and have sleepovers and stuff, call them on the phone, make Valentine’s chocolate together, etc, etc. It’s a lot of fun and they seem to genuinely like you, which is really cool. I just wish there was a second pair of friends you could get, that would be even better. Btw, Room #6 is really cool, I want it.
Last thought: Your class teacher is GROSS. Even his name is gross, Oosako Chikara. Sounds like a fish or something. He looks all of 12 years old, his voice is weird and you don’t even get to date him so I don’t know what he’s in the story for. What were the Japanese thinking?! I can’t wrap my mind around this one.
Gotta go, I’m going to play something else for a while and then come back to get Kou later on. He WILL be mine!
11.01.10 / RPGs, dating sim, otome game, romance / Author: admin / Comments: (0)
Tags: angelique special 2, dating sim, julius, neoromance, olivier, oscar, otome game, psx, randy, rpg
Well, actually I haven’t won yet, but I’m getting there. I found a very good Japanese strategy site on the subject, the URL of which I have sadly forgotten, and I used it to ensure that I now have 6 hearts to Rachel’s 4, and two guardians (Julius and Randy) at my beck and call. Right now they love me so much they’re building the universe for me on their own, while I focus on raising stability at the academy. I’m going to chat up Oscar, Victor and Olivier as well in case I ever need them to vouch for me at the monthly review (doubt it will be necessary at this rate) and before too long the universe will be mine! *evil cackle*
Anyway, for the benefit of anyone who’s been playing this game and getting whupped by Rachel, here’s how to do it.
1. At the beginning, ask her to go easy on you. This is only necessary for the first playthrough, after that you can play it hard mode. It’s the first option on the third question she asks at the start, but if you don’t understand enough Japanese to know that much, you should probably stop now.
2. Pick a good zodiac sign and blood type. Check Marfisa’s compatibility guide to know what the best ones are.
3. Find out who the hardworking guardians are. “Hardworking?” you ask? Yeah. In this game, not all guardians work equally hard. If you ask two different guardians to put energy into your planet, they might put in different amounts. This ranges from 2 all the way to even 7 for “a lot” of energy. Each stat needs energy 10 to form a planet. If you ask a hardworking (7 energy) guardian for “a lot” of energy, you’ll get 2 planets in 3 days. By contrast a lazy (2 energy) guardian will take 10 days to give you the same results. You have a limited number of hearts and days to work with, so naturally you need to maximize your results.
So how do you find out who works hard and who doesn’t? Well, as soon as you’ve set everything up in the game, save at the table in your room. Then for the next couple of days, visit all of the guardians in turn and ask them to put in a lot of energy. One day, one guardian, until you’ve visited all 9. Then go to your planet and check the new chart. You’ll see who put in more energy, and who put in less. Note it down somewhere. By the way 6 and 7 energy guardians are rare, and you’ll most likely have only one or two 4-5 energy guardians per game, most of them will be 2-3. That’s okay, but you need at least one hard worker.
Also note down which elements the universe needs most of. at this early stage it’ll probably range from between 7 to 15. Any element (and accompanying guardian) which requires less than 10 energy should be ignored. Because no matter how much energy you pour in, it’ll never grow your egg (shining ball of energy) so don’t bother. If those are the guardians you like, consider restarting because it’s completely random. Strictly speaking you can still go ahead and use that element if the guardian is hardworking, but I believe you get better results with the elements you need more of. What I really need is more research on this matter.
4. Before you reset after finding out who works hard, visit the fortune-teller and check who you’re most compatible with. With any luck you’ll be most compatible with the ones who work hardest AND your planet will require >10 of their energy. But even if you’re not, don’t re-start unless they’re completely lazy (2) and/or the planet requires less than 10 energy from the hardest working ones. I mean, you can go for it, but you’ll be fighting uphill all the way. Anyway, reset now and start afresh from day one, focusing only on those worth your time.
5. Your next task is to grow your egg twice, using your hardest working guardian(s). It should only take a few days if you’re doing it right. Just grow it twice, because apparently if you go up to three Rachel starts hurting you. So grow it to two.
6. Next ask two guardians for energy until you reach 9 for each one. You might have to use “small” infusions of energy for it. No problem. Just make sure that you can maximize both in one night, two at most.
7. Good, now hang in there while Rachel goes ahead and raises the egg as well. She should contribute her lot too. Let her get about two growths for now.
8. While this is going on, start charming one or two of your most compatible guardians. Your days will go like this – talk to them about yourself, then visit the fortune-teller to raise compatibility until it’s at 100. If it’s at 100, raise compatibility for the next guardian. One weekends, date them. If you’re using an emulator and can reset easily, take them to the park and try to answer their questions. Otherwise stick to your room or the lake for a safe date.
9. A day or two after Rachel gets 2 growths (make sure she doesn’t get 3), step in immediately and raise those last 2 growths (the ones at 9, remember?). Ta-daa, you’ve got 4 to her 2, and the queen will instantly award you with your first extra heart.
10. After that, play the game as normal. Keep raising your guardians’ love till it’s at 175+, at which point they’ll start helping you on their own. Occasionally ask them to pour in energy for you, but keep the focus on raising stability at the academy. If you outstrip Rachel too far she’ll try and hold you back, so just stay a little ahead of her, maybe 3 or 4 planets, not too many. Be sure to keep up the guardians’ love, and to keep studying.
And that’s it! Not so hard, so long as you don’t let her get that first heart, and make sure you get the second heart too. Here’s a tip if she’s got a guardian on her side: visit him and ask him to work for you. Either to hurt her (not recommended ‘cos she can take revenge), or to help you. If he’s working for you that day, he won’t give her any bonuses.
Have fun!
09.01.10 / Japanese, dating sim, otome game, video game / Author: admin / Comments: (0)
Tags: angelique special 2, dating sim, ps2, ruva, simulation
Gyaaaa! I hate losing! I let my guard down for five seconds and that evil rival Rachel run me over! After 100 days she has, like 20 planets and I still have five! AND she’s got six hearts to my four. At this point I don’t see any way I could possibly catch up, so I’m going to start all over again.
I wasn’t planning to play this game more than once, initially, because it’s so similar to Angelique Duet. Same guardians, largely the same gameplay, same interface, etc. Not to mention Angelique Special 2′s graphics are practically SNES quality, eww. But I can’t stand to lose so easily, so I have to fight for my rights!
Here’s my plan for victory:
Make the guardians like me!
This is the main factor behind my loss. In the beginning I was concentrating on creating a universe while Rachel ran around trying to get the guardians to like her. Now look who it paid off for instead? HER! Ruva likes her so much now that he’s building planets for her, two at a time. How could I ever possibly compete with that?! And when it comes to who gets a heart, it’s all about who the guardians vouch for more. I need those extra two hearts! Need them!! So restarting, getting guardians to like me, then when I have about two hearts I can focus on planet building. Yoshaaa! Let’s do this!
06.01.10 / RPGs, dating sim, romance, tokimeki memorial / Author: admin / Comments: (0)
Tags: 2nd kiss, amanohashi, dating sim, kei, moriya, suzuka, tokimeki memorial
I’m really getting into TMGS1 again. When I restarted I found it dull because I’d spent so much time doing TMGS2, but once I got friendlier with Kei-kun, awww, he’s so sweet! More on him later. I also took a liking to Suzuka, and even Moriya doesn’t seem so “eww” any more. So instead of just one playthrough…I think I’ll do three more!
But Amanohashi is such a pervert! I’m a student in your school, you sick freak! I mean yeah, I’d been seeing him around campus and he gave me a lift once, but the first time he invited me on a date, you know where he wanted to go? To the pool! And not innocently either! As soon as we got there he was like, “I can’t wait to see what you look like in a swimsuit!” I barely even know you, you dirty old man! This is our first date! And then he had the temerity to diss my swimsuit too!
…all of which makes him sooo incredibly hot. Hahahahaha. I also got the DS extra where you meet him in town in casual clothes. OMG, Squeeee power to the max! So Suzuka and Moriya are going to have to wait. Amanohashi…buckle up!
18.12.09 / RPGs, dating sim, harvest moon, nintendo ds / Author: admin / Comments: (0)
Tags: harvest moon, island of happiness, nintendo ds, rpg
Island of Happiness cover
I’m doing a replay of this game, ever since I gave up on it back when it first came out, out of boredom. I’ve made it to Winter 1 and now I’m rediscovering why I quit the first time. Winter is boring! I’d forgotten how boring because the most recent HM games I played, RF2 and 3, had winter farming and lots of other stuff to do. In IoH it’s wake up, feed animals, wrangle wonderfuls out of Chen, mine if I want, sleep. Repeat. And repeat. And repeat.
Mining is kinda fun though, and this time round I definitely want to get married so I’m toughing things out. My goal now is to make a ton of money in the mines this season, buy as many town upgrades as I can in spring, get married, have a kid and then put at end to the game. I hate having unfinished business.
You might be wondering what’s happening with the more recent games I’ve been playing (Saga 2 DS, DQIX) and why I’m playing old stuff over them. Well, I’m wondering that myself. I guess it’s just the case that sometimes the old, familiar game is more fun to play than the newer, drier ones. But I’ll get back to them eventually.
09.12.09 / Japanese, RPGs, dating sim, nintendo ds, otome game, tokimeki memorial / Author: admin / Comments: (0)
Tags: 3rd story, dating sim, himuro, konami, madoka, nintendo ds, otome game, RPGs, sakuya, tokimeki memorial
This game was announced last month, but I haven’t posted about it because there’s nothing to post. I mean, it doesn’t matter WHAT they announce, I’m going to play it anyway. I might complain afterward, but I’m sure as hell not going to miss out on it, so just tell me the release date and let me start saving up.
A few minor details have come up about which guys are going to be in the game, but unlike in Harvest Moon, I prefer not to know who’s available ahead of time. Even the shot of the main guy at the top is a little much for me, especially since he doesn’t look my type. So don’t expect me to keep tabs on what’s going on in the world of TMGS3 until it’s good and ready to come out.
The paucity of info leads me to believe we won’t be seeing it for months and months anyway, so I’m going to focus on other things. Like using the time to conquer the few remaining guys in TMGS1. I only ever got Madoka, Himuro and the headmaster, so I’d like to get a few others (except Sakuya ‘cos he’s eww) while I wait. Busy busy busy.
