Baka

Tokimeki Memorial 2 arrived a few days ago. (from France o_O) Just started playing it. (FIVE disc O_o) The graphics are of course much better than the original Saturn-era Tokimemo, but the gameplay reminds pretty much the same with some additions.

The best addition is of course the Emotional Voice System, now they actually speak out your name instead of skipping it during dialouges. (well using that feature takes up a lot of blocks on your memory card though…) The EVS is so good that the name mix quite well with the rest of the dialouge in terms of pitch etc, (which you can configure) not like those flat voices that digital dictionaries have.

Another addition is the weather system. The calender now shows weather forecast for the next one plus week and you have to take it into account when arranging dates etc. If, for example, it rains on the day you are going to the beach, then you just wasted away two weekends. (one for the phone call and one for the actual date) Well it IS a nice touch and the backgrounds and characters actually changes according to the weather, but sometimes it’s a pain in the ass when your next free timeslot hasn’t had its weather forcasted yet, so you have to take a stab in the dark. (or play it safe and go to an indoor location, which not all of the girls like)

Oh yeah, and the childhood event mini-game was quite surprising. :P You start the game in disc one as an elementary student and you walk around your town in a sort of rpg-like isometric view for around 4 days. During that time, you have to trigger some childhood events, which can only be done at specific time. Depending on the number of childhood events you manage to get, (there’s a way to get them all) it will affect your relationship with the girls in the actual game. (for example an event in the actual game will only take place if the two of you shares a certain childhood memory)

And there seems to be some male competitiors who might affect your ending… Also you get to meet Rei’s (from the original game) sister, Mei, who seems to be less of a pain than Rei was. :X

Due to the lack of FAQs, I’m still not sure if there is still the “bomb” thing that the original had. They are a pain in the ass… wtf will a girl, who you met only ONCE, be angry at you for not paying her attention? (and thus, causing all the other girls to hate you…)