Tokimeki Memorial

Dating games can be a cute and fun way to pass the time, and this simulation is no different. Tokimeki is special because it shaped the industry in Japan, and is largely thought of as the first Japanese dating simulator. With the popularity of these games in Japan today, even being referenced in anime and manga, it shows how important this game is to the industry.

Due to its popularity, this game has gone from a simple PC game to having options across a wide variety of gaming platforms, including Playstation and Sega Saturn.

A young boy looking for love

The story of this plot is simple. You are a young boy who plans to travel to Japan in order to attend High School there. While you are there, your greatest hope is to win the love and affection of one of 12 dazzlingly beautiful young ladies.

In order to win their affection, you must raise your stats in different fields, and always keep your promises. If you fail to keep a promise, that lady will become angry, and may even spread rumors about you, lowering your chances with the other girls as well.

Neglecting your date for too long can also cause problems, and to make things more complicated, there is a rival male in the game vying for the affections of these ladies. In order to succeed, you’ll need a good balance in all of these different things.

A classic dating game

This game was one of the very first, and because of it there are a few problems with it that have been worked out in later episodes of the game as well as new dating games. One of these is that after the initial play through, playing future versions to try and win new women over result in the game feeling a bit repetitive. This game is special however, because it is the original. All other dating games were based off of this first one, which makes it valuable not just for its own plot, but for its historical value. If you’re curious about dating games but are afraid of horrifying your family with it, this game does not have any sexual content, making it a perfect starter game to the romance field.

If you like this one, you may enjoy similar otome games such as High School Love.

Cute Graphics

Despite being an older game, created all the way back in 1994, the game still has charming graphics, cute voices, and a well developed stats system that make the game enjoyable even 16 years later. Although the graphics are somewhat pixelated, all it does is give the game a retro throwback feel which is still very appealing.

Pros

• Interesting mechanics
• Original gameplay

Cons

• Can be repetitive