Say it in Red | Episode 28: Tokimeki Memorial - Part 1

Say It In Red

Oh hey, it's you! I bet you wanna know what all the girls in our school think about you. Sure Sure Sure, you know I've got your back! Let me just flip through my notes.............
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Tokimeki Memorial? Yeah, here's all the info I have on her!
This week, Sara and Runa are joined by fellow 90's dating sim enthusiasts KT and Cristaly to play through the groundbreaking, foundational, and immensely engaging classic Tokimeki Memorial! As a young boy entering high school, it's your goal, your truest desire, to date your neighbor and childhood friend Shiori Fujisaki. You've known Shiori for years, you've had a crush on her for longer than you can remember, and as you walk home with her after your entrance exam she tells you the legend of a tree that can grant young couples a lifetime of happiness. The trouble is that you're... kind of lame. In every way. High school won't last forever and you've only got three years to study, work out, shower and flip your hair, hone your artistic talents, build your spirit, and become someone worthy of standing at Shiori's side. She wants you to, after all, but she's not going to accept anything less than her exceptional standards. Surely, knowing how much she expects from you, you won't be swayed by any of the other cute girls you meet along the way... will you?
Konami's Tokimeki Memorial (1994) is quite possibly the single most influential dating sim to ever exist. It's impact reaches across genres, across mediums, through the decades, and even if you've never played Tokimeki Memorial yourself we can guarantee that you've played games influenced by it. In the game you play as a boy in high school trying to date girls and while our main character is focused on Shiori, players may quickly find themselves drawn to one of the other cute girls who run into you (sometimes literally) as you go about your high school life. The core of Tokimeki Memorial is simple and ingenious: Choose activities to raise various stats, and based on those stats you may either encounter new girls, trigger events, or do better during exams. Every Sunday afternoon, or on holidays, you can call someone as well - either your assigned Best Friend Yoshio, who can give you information about how each girl feels about you, or one of the girls you've met to ask her out on a date. This very simple gameplay loop is extremely effective, catches hold of you quickly, and keeps you hooked through three years of high school while you date girls, avoid bombs (girls bomb you if you neglect them by the way, this is just a known fact), and wait with bated breath to see who ends up confessing to you under the tree of legend on graduation day.
Come, the spring of your youth is upon you! And just how long do you plan to keep Shiori waiting?
This is the first of our two Tokimeki Memorial episodes so look forward to the next Tokimemo episode coming out in July! As always, if you enjoy the show please rate us and write a review if you have time - it helps tremendously and we read and appreciate each one! You can also find more information by following us at sayitinredpod on twitter, and unlock bonus episodes and other content by pledging over at our patreon!