Tokimeki Memorial Girl’s Side: 3rd Story

[Old post I made before site crash, which is why it’s out of order]

Tokimeki Memorial Girl’s Side 3rd Story 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.

Persona 4 post-game impressions

persona48325Meh. Whatever. I liked Persona 3 better.

There, I said it. No one will deny the gameplay elements in Persona 4 are better. In particular it feels really good to be able to hit Square to move around the map. When exploring you can count on an easy supply of Goho-Ms to get out of the dungeon at any time. You can control your party directly. You can control your party directly. You can control your party DIRECTLY. Etc, etc. TBH I rather liked uncontrollable party members in Persona 3, but there’s no doubt that Persona 4‘s system is improved over P3 in every way imaginable.

When it comes to other elements though, I find it sadly lagging behind P3. Firstly the story feels really trivial. In theory a serial killer in a small town should make for a really tense and gripping game, but nobody really seems to care. When someone close to them dies they don’t even attend the funeral, and only one or two people are even upset by it. The townspeople go about their business just as usual and let their children run around town like nothing’s going on. For your party, which has appointed itself unofficial detectives, solving the mystery involves entering the TV once in a while, saving someone, then getting on with the rest of their lives, i.e. hanging out at the mall and eating steak. There’s never a sense of fear or urgency about the whole thing.

The characters are boring too. In fact I’m bored just writing this because it was such a dry game. I didn’t find the lame attempts at humor amusing at all. The cross-gender beauty pageant was an unfunny flop, Teddie was just annoying, Chie was a faint shadow with no real presence, Yosuke was meh in battle and meh outside, it just goes on and on. Not to mention if you don’t do their S. Links then their character development stops right after you face their shadows and is never referred to again. Haa.

The soundtrack was another let down. P3 was one of the few games where I rushed out and got the soundtrack right after finishing it. To be fully honest, P3′s soundtrack got on my nerves in the beginning, but in some sort of perverse Stockholm Syndrome way by the end of the game I loved it. P4… I remember the battle tune, goodness knows I heard it often enough. That’s it. Yah.

The graphics and colors in P4 somehow managed to be grayer and blander than P3′s, maybe to showcase the fact that it’s set in the boring countryside. The whole thing looks washed out, the blurry dungeon effects gave me a headache and writing this review is giving me another headache so I’m quitting.

I didn’t dislike P4, but I didn’t quite like it either. Plop down, do some S. Links (only good one was Death, IMO), do some more S. Links, fight and clear a dungeon in one day, do some more S. Links. Dating sim with fighting, I can live with that. And now that it’s over I can live without it.

Really? Really! DS

logoAre you a fan of visual novels? Or have you at least watched the anime Shuffle! ? Oh, and can you read Japanese? Then erotic game maker Navel has some great news for you! They’re bringing the 18+ computer visual novel Really? Really! to the Nintendo DS on 25th June 2009, two weeks from now.

This new game will almost certainly lose the naughty contents and probably end up rated Teen, but fans of the series can at least look forward to a touch pen interface and some extra content. And lots of cute girls, of course. While the computer game was fully-voiced, it remains to be seen whether DS version will have the same, due to space concerns.

really really dsThe premise behind Really? Really! DS = The game follows the characters of Shuffle!, where Kaede, one of the main characters (orange-haired girl on the left), has lost her memory and needs the player’s help to restore it. One of the features that made the game popular is a series of Ace Attorney parodies, or so the internet tells me. When a character gets a fact wrong, the player has the chance to shout “Objection!” and correct her, all leading to Kaede’s recovery. Stay tuned for my first impressions when the game comes out!

Amanohashi, you sick pervert!

I’m really getting into Tokimeki Memorial Girl’s Side 1 again. When I restarted I found it dull at first 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. Eeeeee! >_< So Suzuka and Moriya are going to have to wait. Amanohashi…buckle up!

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!

Under the Moon ~Crescent~

logo_3Porting an ero-game to the PS2 whenever it’s the least bit successful on PC is the modus operandi of Japanese game companies. Not to be outdone by its peers, Dimple is bringing their 2006 game Under The Moon to the PS2 on June 25th 2009.

Under The Moon ~Crescent~ falls under the category of “otome games”, basically romance games aimed at a female audience, meaning you play a girl who has to woo a variety of bishies. In this game you play the role of Ashe, daughter of the King of Devils. Ashe is a pure, innocent demon girl that’s never left the demon realm before and doesn’t know much about guys. However she’s too weak magically to take over Daddy’s throne so it becomes Ashe’s accidental mission to find a potential successor and get down to some serious loving with him.

under the moon crescentHmm, that doesn’t look too loving to me.

Anyway, the PS2 version includes some extra events, improved CGs and a whole new scenario. Mainly you’ll be romancing the twins Lenny and Seiju, but expect some surprises in there. Under the Moon is termed an “adventure” game, which is just a fancy term for a visual novel with lots of choices. Expect a variety of endings and unlockables depending on which options you pick.

Under the Moon ~Crescent~
June 25th 2009