I’m happy I got her, but doing four routes in quick succession has robbed me of any and all desire to continue this game. It’s all over for me now, so this will be my final post about Tokimeki Memorial 4 for the foreseeable future. Rui and Tsugumi, I’m sorry. Maybe in a couple of months we can talk about doing this again.

Notable things about Rizumi’s route? Nothing remarkable. I got almost none of her CGs naturally, and couldn’t be bothered to FAQ it. Not that I don’t like her or anything, I’m just tired. The girl herself is okay. I love her fashion sense, and she’s really sweet even on dates that don’t go so well. I can live without the constant references to music, but that’s her “gimmick” so I get it.

Interestingly enough, her confession takes place in the music room and not under the legendary tree. Does this mean our relationship won’t last forever? The MC already sounds a little insecure about her popularity in his ending blurb, which doesn’t bode well for the future. Shame on you, MC, I don’t remember raising you that way!

Final notes about Tokimeki Memorial 4? Skills are a good addition, but I’d like them taken out next time. Once you know what you’re doing, they make things way too easy. I mean, not like the other games were hard either (except TM1, brr), but having 400-600 in every stat by the end of most routes has never happened to me before.

It’s good that the girls change up what they say and do frequently. There are far fewer line and event repeats in one playthrough, although you will naturally see several events over and over on repeat runs. The graphics are simple, but clean. The revolving wheel menu was cool at first, but I was craving a simple straightforward menu after a few days. Battling is fun. Your friends are cool, but I wish you could interact with them even more, ‘cos they were funny. Etc, etc.

Meh, I really don’t have anything left to say about this game. It wasn’t bad, but the girls were all alike: similar faces, similar personalities, similar routes. Some of them seemed a little different, but as soon as they started liking you a bit they became just like everyone else. The stuff I found most exciting on all routes was raising my stats, battling and learning new skills. And if that’s what I want, then any average RPG will do.

Still, I had fun. And it’s motivated me to give Tokimeki Memorial 3 another shot, after a sufficient cooling-off period. I’ll report on that if it ever happens.