Part 34: 50 first dates

Chapter 3: 50 First Dates

What follows is a primer on dating in Tokimeki Memorial 2. It's out of chronological order since I technically did this after the very first Sports Festival, but the information is valid enough that I need to go back and highlight it here.

Run Datingtutorial.exe -easymode


For the purposes of this tutorial, I called Hikari. She's usually game to hang out somewhere with Goon, unless there's a track meet (you shouldn't ask her out on the third Sunday of a month) or there are certain knuckleheads trying to ask her out on the same day.


Goon: Hello, am I speaking to Hinomoto-san?
Hikari: Oh, Gunma-kun! I was wondering when you'd call.
Hikari: So what's up?
Goon: Hey, so...


UI improvement #1: the game actually highlights eligible days for dates. It also shows the weather forecast for the next few days, which mostly affects whether or not the girl will bring an umbrella - there are some events that are rain exclusive or require no rain, though.


Once you choose a day, the game brings up a map of Hibikino city, divided up into segments. These segments are important because they're divided up by meeting spot - which can lead to awkward double bookings for the incredibly uncareful, but also is important for the Punks Attack mini-event. If you go to the same section of the map three times in a row, that'll trigger the RPG mini-game, instead of going to the exact same spot. It means you have to keep a little better track of everything... well, unless you're out with Akane. Punks will never attack Akane. They know better.

Anyway, the west side of the city is all of the parks. From top to bottom, there's the Riverside Park (gee, I wonder if there are some special sepia-toned events there?), Hibikino Central Park, and the botanical garden. As you can see from the illustration, the shrine is also here for Ennichi purposes. Above the pop-out of Central Park is the skating rink, which comes up every winter. The lollipop is special and will come up later.


The area around Hibikino Station contains all of the fashionable date spots. The shopping district, the karaoke box, the arcade, the movie theater, and the aquarium. The bowling alley opens later in the year, while the burger joint will come up later.


The bottom right side of the map is for places that aren't within the city limits, the beach and the mountains.


The top right of the map is for places accessible by bus - the zoo, the amusement park, and the stadium. The diner will come up later.


Goon: Want to go to the zoo on the 13th?
Hikari: Ummm... yeah, looks like that's fine.
Goon: Okay, let's meet at the bus stop on the 13th.
Hikari: Roger! Don't you forget, okay?
Goon: I'll even be on time. Later.
Goon: (Awesome, I can't wait!)


UI improvement #2: On the actual day of the date, the game reminds you who's on the schedule for the day.


Goon: (I got here a little early)
Hikari: Gunma-kun.
Goon: Hey, Hikari.
Hikari: Thanks for waiting, now let's go!


Goon: This zoo supposedly has a pretty good variety of animals.
Hikari: Yep, that's right. I wonder if they've gotten any new rare animals?
Goon: I wonder? C'mon, let's check inside.


Hikari: Ooh... look at that! It's cuter than I expected.


Option 1: Yeah, the little guinea pig is cute.
Option 2: Yeah, that huge lizard looking this way?
Option 3: Yeah, those raccoons have some nice moves.

Yeah, so this system hasn't changed. Thankfully - I don't think I want anything more than multiple choice in a game this complicated already. Anyway, to show how much Hikari is different from Shiori, let's pick 1


Hikari: Sure, guinea pigs are cute, but no, not them...
Hikari: Look at those raccoons! I've never seen them close up like this.
Goon: (Eh.)


Hikari: Today was fun! Let's do this again, okay?
Hikari: Hey, do you want to walk together on the way back home?

There's some nuance lost in translation here that just doesn't sound right in English. Hikari says "Let's walk together until we have to split up [because our houses are in different directions]" It's a casual and friendly suggestion that doesn't come with any of the blushiness of Tokimemo 1.

Taskkill datingtutorial.exe
Run getin.bat

5/30: Invite Miho out on a date


Goon: Hello, is this Shirayuki-san's house?
Miho: Yes, that's right.
Goon: Oh, Shirayuki-san? It's Fudou.
Miho: Ah, what are you calling about?
Goon: Hey...


Goon: Want to go to the shopping district with me on June 6th?
Miho: That day? Let me check the signs.
Miho: Hmmmm, it looks fine.
Goon: Okay, let's meet at the station square on the 6th.
Miho: Yes, I see. Please don't forget!

What a polite and well-mannered girl! How could this possibly go wrong?

6/5: Sports Festival, round 3


This screenshot has nothing to do with the sports festival, it's just an illustration of how characters will tag along with Goon if their schedule happens to line up with his. Hikari was exercising anyway, why not hang out with her oldest friend?


On this run, I decided to take another shot at the Kibasen mini-game. However, it was not meant to be...


Goon, what happened? Goon? GOOOOOOOON

6/6: Date with Miho


Goon: (Did I get here too early? Shirayuki-san isn't here yet.)


Goon: Shirayuki-san.
Miho: Fudou-san. I'm sorry. I ran a little bit late.
Goon: I just got here too, you're not late. Let's get moving.


Miho: Where do you want to go today?
Option 1: Let's go to the boutique.
Option 2: The fancy shop sounds nice.

Don't be fooled by the English-sounding name, a fancy shop is a fake loanword - it's a store aimed at teens and pre-teens, usually offering things like handbags, accessories, character-based merchandise, simple jewelry, and so on. If you've ever been to something like a Sanrio store, you know what they're like. A relatively close-ish American equivalent would be Forever 21.

Anyway, Miho sure did love her frog when she was a kid, so she should love this place, right?

Goon: The fancy shop sounds nice.
Miho: I can't wait! There's something there I've wanted to check out for a while.


Miho: Which of these do you think suits me best?
Option 1: The red enamel scarf.
Option 2: The clean white ribbon.
Option 3: The desert camo bandana.

She's not paying attention to the frogs on the wall at all? That's odd... well, she's wearing a white hair ribbon, so 2 could be safe. Meanwhile, I learned today that enamel is a material that people will actually wear on their bodies.


Miho: It's hard to think of what I'd coordinate with it, so I'll pass.
Goon: (I didn't make a very good impression)




Miho: That wasn't as fun as I was expecting.
Miho: Well, I'm heading home now.

What... what just happened?

RELOAD COUNT: 3

6/5: Sports Festival, part 4


One more crack at the Kibasen!


SUCCESS! All shall fall before the power of the Goon!


Hikari: That was awesome! We worked really hard for that.
Goon: (Hehehe, you're making me blush.)

6/6: Date with Miho, take 2

Alright. We know what the bad answer is now, so this should go smoothly.


Goon: (Did I get here too early? Shirayuki-san isn't here yet.)


Miho: Fudou-san. I'm sorry. I ran a little bit late.
Goon: I just got here too, you're not late. Let's get moving.

Wait weren't you wearing a different outfit last time? What's going on?


Miho: Where do you want to go today?
Goon: Option 2: The fancy shop sounds nice.
Miho: Oh good. My horoscope said that my lucky spot for the day is the fancy shop.

I'm ready this time. If she doesn't like the red scarf, then I have no idea what kind of person we're dealing with here.


Miho: Wow! It's the Kero-chan corner! Kero-chan! Kero-chan!
Goon: Kero-chan? Oh, you're talking about Kero Kero Debeso-chan.
Miho: Ding ding ding! It's really popular with a lot of girls.

Kero Kero Debeso translates to "ribbit ribbit outie" - if you don't know what it looks like, please refer to every childhood picture of Miho, as well as the mouse cursor in all of the gameplay screenshots.

Goon: Yeah, looks like.
Goon: I've seen a lot of girls carrying it.
Miho: I've been a fan since I was little. Isn't it cute?
Goon: Y, yeah.
Miho: I know, right~?


Miho: Today was even more fun than I'd predicted. I'm really glad I came...
Miho: Okay, it's time for me to head home.

Wait, that's it? There wasn't even a choice, she's just happy? Okay, it's time to make a new save and then reload.

RELOAD COUNT: 4

6/3: Walk home with Jun

Yes, you can walk home with the guys in Tokimemo 2. A few of these events will give you vital information about them and their goals, others will give you tips about talking to girls. And the rest of them serve well for cockblocking purposes.


Goon: Jun!
Jun: Yo, you going home right now?
Goon: Yeah. Wanna walk together?
Jun: Yeah, sure. There was a question on tonight's homework that I wanted to ask you about.
Goon: (I had fun walking home with Jun.)

6/5: Sports Festival, take 5

This time, I wanted to show everyone the 3-legged race. This event has the strongest effect on the affection of a single girl, so under normal circumstances it can be kind of dangerous... unless Takumi is out to sabotage you, in which case he'll team up with you purely so you can't get tied to a girl. If your sports stat is high enough, the revenge is nothing short of amazing.


Hikari: Gunma-kun.
Goon: Hey, Hikari.
Hikari: Say, do you have a partner for the 3-legged race yet?
Goon: No, not yet.
Hikari: So pair up with me!
Goon: With pleasure!
Hikari: Yay! Let's win this!


The 3-legged race is more of a coordination check than a stats check... unless you plan on dragging Takumi in your dust cloud, which is a completely valid option that I wholeheartedly endorse. Just like in real 3-legged races, it's all about coordinating outside leg, inside leg with your partner. On 1, you hit L1. On 2, you hit R1. As you settle into a rhythm, your partner will speed up the cadence and you can zoom along pretty well.


Hikari keeps a pretty good pace, which shouldn't be that surprising for a sprinter.


SUCCESS!


Hikari: That was awesome! We worked really hard for that.
Goon: (Hehehe, you're making me blush.)

6/6: Date with Miho, take 3


Goon: (Did I get here too early? Shirayuki-san isn't here yet.)


Miho: Fudou-san. I'm sorry. I ran a little bit late.
Goon: I just got here too, you're not late. Let's get moving.


Miho: Where do you want to go today?
Goon: Option 2: The fancy shop sounds nice.
Miho: I can't wait! There's something there I've wanted to check out for a while.


Miho: Which of these do you think suits me best?
Goon: The red enamel scarf.


Miho: This is great! ...isn't it. I wonder if I should buy it.
Goon: (Looks like I made a great impression!)


Miho: I'm glad I came. This was super fun.
Miho: Please, invite me out again some time.
Miho: Let's walk together on the way back home.

Same translation note as Hikari above - in a few words, she says "Let's walk home until our paths have to split." It still sounds awkward in English.

Coming clean

Alright, time to stop playing dumb.

Congratulations, Goons. Whether out of malice or curiosity, you have successfully voted for the most confusing, most RNG-based path in Tokimemo 2. The reason that Miho's picture in this thread was different than the others was because Miho has the worst-kept secret in Tokimemo...



There are two Mihos. Here's what I will tell you so far:

• It is random which Miho will show up on any given day.
  
• They have separate affection meters and stats.
  
• The best way to tell the difference between them (in year 1, at least) is to have a good enough understanding of Japanese voice patterns to tell which one talks like Princess Zelda and which one talks like Sheik trying to talk like Princess Zelda.
  
• I hate you guys.
  

So here's the next poll question:

Right now, I have two save games. Which should I pick up from next time?

A, where the date with Miho has her talk about Kero Kero Debeso-chan the frog and how much she loves it.

B, where the date with Miho has her act really picky about fashion.

This is not a vote on which Miho path we will go down. There is a lot of time for us to make that decision.

Next time: Miho Gear Solid: The Twin Frogs