Part 42: A summer filled with frogs and fish
Chapter 11: A summer filled with frogs and fish6/5: Daily life event with Hikari
Hikari: Gunma-kun.
Goon: Hey, Hikari. What's up?
Hikari: Don't ask me why, just lend me your English book!
Goon: I don't mind, but why?
Hikari: Hey, you asked me why!
Goon: Sorry, I couldn't help it.
Hikari: Don't laugh at me.
Hikari: Truth is, I overslept this morning. So I just grabbed my backpack and ran out the door.
Goon: Pfffffff
Hikari: Hey, you laughed at me!
Goon: Sorry. It's just so unlike you to do that.
Goon: Here.
Hikari: Ooh, yay! Later!
Goon: (It looks like she's got a cold.)
6/11: Read the new Hibikino Watcher
Mail order (far left): With this, you'll score perfectly on all your tests! "Self-hypnosis study device."
Movie information (bottom left): Saving Private Lion. "Have you met Sergeant Lion yet?"
Aquarium information (text above movie information): The aquarium is undergoing renovations. "The aquarium is currently closed for renovations. Rumor has it they're building a stage - stay tuned!"
The Merry-go-round is closing (top left): "Unfortunately, Hibikino Amusement Place's Merry-go-round is closing. But a new attraction seems to be opening in November!"
The beach is open (top right): "The day you've been waiting for is July 1st! Summer means the beach! The beach means swimsuits! Taste the joy of being buried in the sand!"
Hibikino Amusement Place Night Parade (right): "The annual Hibikino Amusement Place Night Parade starts in mid-August! Your girl will melt in the romantic atmosphere!"
Ennichi (bottom right): "The 4th Sunday of every July is Hibikino Shrine's customary Ennichi celebration! See your girlfriend in a yukata and try your hand at katanuki!"
Fireworks (bottom right): "The fireworks show is on the last Saturday of August! Burn the beauty of our fire flower art against the starry sky into your eyes!"
6/11: Invite Miho to go shopping on 6/18 (she accepts
6/18: Shopping with...
Miho. For the sake of speed, I went to the Fancy Shop on each of these occasions, since Miho's Fancy Shop event conveniently doesn't require making any choices, allowing me to hold down L2 and skip all dialogue until it's time to giblo. And there is a bit of giblo to skip until B-ho shows up.
RELOAD COUNT: 107, 108, 109
6/18: Shopping with B-ho
I spent some time switching between the Miho and B-ho images to see the difference. It's a slight angle change on the right shoulder strap. Eesh.
B-ho: Where are we going today?
Goon: Let's go to the Fancy Shop.
B-ho: Let's hurry! They have some things I've had my eye on.
B-ho: I found a lot of Kero-chan goods here.
Goon: (Kero-chan? Oh, right, she's talking about Kero Kero Debeso-chan.)
Option 1: You bought a ton, it looks like you got enough for two.
Option 2: You bought a ton, let me carry it for you.
Option 3: You bought a ton, I got sick of waiting.
This conversation is way better for Miho than it is for B-ho - the best B-ho option is 2, which is merely neutral. But the conversation is refreshingly honest, at least.
Goon: You bought a ton, let me carry that for you.
B-ho: If I told you I was planning on that from the beginning, would you be angry?
Goon: (Eh.)
RELOAD COUNT: 110
6/18: Shopping date, take 5
B-ho again.
B-ho: Where are we going today?
Goon: Let's go to the boutique.
B-ho: There are some clothes I really want! Let's move.
B-ho: Sorry for keeping you waiting so long.
B-ho: There were so many things I wanted.
Option 1: You bought a ton, it looks like you got enough for two.
Option 2: You bought a ton, let me carry it for you.
Option 3: You bought a ton, I got sick of waiting.
Yes, these are in fact the exact same options, but in a different place. As you might expect, the same answer has 4 different reactions based on location and Miho/B-ho.
Goon: You bought a ton, let me carry it for you.
B-ho: Thanks. Honestly, I was counting on you doing that for me.
Goon: (Looks like I made a great impression!)
6/25: Hikari's birthday
Goon: Oh yeah, isn't today Hikari's birthday?
Goon: I should get her a present.
Goon: (Okay, I should head over there and give her a present. What should I give her?)
Best option: Glass ornament
Good option: Reference book.
Bad option: Sneakers
For those of you who are paying attention, you may notice that sneakers have gone from "good gift" in year one to "bad gift" in year 2. Hikari doesn't want to be thought of as just Goon's athletic friend anymore!
Picking the best option here leads to a more involved dialogue than the normal birthday event, which we need to see in order to dodge Hikari bombs as long as possible.
Hikari: Hey, Gunma-kun. What're you doing here?
Goon: You think I don't know it's your birthday?
Goon: I brought you a present.
Hikari: Hahaha, thanks. Oh, come on in.
Goon: Hm? Sure.
Hikari: Hey, mind if I open my present now?
Goon: Go ahead.
Hikari: Wow! It's beautiful!
Hikari: But wasn't this expensive?
Goon: You shouldn't worry about it, Hikari.
Hikari: Why?
Goon: Well, um, how can I put this...
Goon: I, uh, I just wanted to see you smile.
Hikari: You're so stupid.
Goon: Hey, wait a second. Didn't you used to say -
Goon: "I'm not stupid, you're stupid for calling me stupid."
Hikari: Geez! You're such an idiot!
Hikari: ...
Hikari: Thank you!
And there, we can see the first callback to the childhood prologue. Specifically, the line comes from part 1, when Hikari and Goon play in the sandbox. It's a throwaway line that's easy to forget... unless you're Goon and Hikari.
7/2: Ask Miho to the beach on 7/20 (she accepts)
7/10-7/14: Midterms
33rd: Fudou Gunma
93rd: Hinomoto Hikari
107th: Sakaki Takumi
126th: Minazuki Kotoko
140th: Hokari Jun'ichirou
179th: Shirayuki Miho
Holy crap, Miho's math and science are awful
7/20: To the beach!
B-ho, hurray!
B-ho: There sure are a lot of people here. You think everyone's here to swim?
Option 1: There isn't a single person who comes to the beach and doesn't swim.
Option 2: The beach isn't just about swimming.
Option 3: I think there might be some people fishing, too.
Option 2 seems best.
Goon: The beach isn't just about swimming.
B-ho: You say such smart things. And by that, I mean I'm not going to swim either.
B-ho: I'll keep my reasons a secret.
Goon: (Looks like I made a great impression!)
At this point, I realized that I hadn't set a date for Ennichi on 7/23 - which isn't necessary, but is an easy way to gain points. So...
RELOAD COUNT: 111
7/15: Ask B-ho to the beach on 7/20 (she accepts)
7/16: Ask B-ho to Ennichi on 7/23 (she accepts)
7/20: Beach date, take 2
Miho this time. Curses!
Miho: There sure are a lot of people here. You think everyone's here to swim?
Option 1: There isn't a single person who comes to the beach and doesn't swim.
Option 2: The beach isn't just about swimming.
Option 3: I think there might be some people fishing, too.
For this choice, at least, Miho and B-ho have the same thing in mind.
Goon: The beach isn't just about swimming.
Miho: That's true. I can see plenty of people who aren't swimming.
Miho: Hehe, just like me.
Goon: (Looks like I made a pretty good impression.)
7/23: Ennichi
Honest question, can anyone tell the difference between Miho and B-ho in the yukata? Not just the eyes open/closed thing from the previous year.
Miho(?): I picked this yukata based on my fortune, but do you think it looks good?
Option 1: It really suits you. You look cute.
Option 2: That yukata is pretty, especially the pattern.
Option 3: You really took care in putting on that yukata.
Same dialogue as the Ennichi in chapter 4, and the same set of reactions. So let's just see which one this is.
Goon: You really took care in putting on that yukata.
B-ho: Yes, I'm very proud of that.
Goon: (Looks like I made a great impression!)
For this year, I chose the goldfish scooping mini-game...
Which I continue to be not so great at.
B-ho: If you can't catch at least that many, then it's no fun.
Goon: (Eh.)
RELOAD COUNT: 112
7/20: Beach, take 3
Miho this time. Nothing new.
7/23: Ennichi, take 3
Eyes closed, so this is B-ho, right?
Goon: You really took care in putting on that yukata.
B-ho(?): Yes, my mother showed me how.
Goon: (Looks like I made a pretty good impression.)
Nope. It's Miho. The eyes are no longer a tell. Let's skip ahead a few reloads.
RELOAD COUNT: 113
Beach Miho, then Ennichi B-ho on this try.
RELOAD COUNT: 114
By the way, screw katanuki. That mini-game's just plain annoying.
B-ho: Hey! Man, it's like you've totally killed the fun!
Goon: (I made a really bad impression.)
Death Glare Count: 8
RELOAD COUNT: 115
Miho twice, and another failure at the katanuki mini-game.
RELOAD COUNT: 116
7/20: Beach, take I don't remember anymore
B-ho!
7/23: Ennichi, take I don't remember anymore
B-ho again! But I mashed Circle too hard again and only got the "pretty good" option.
Combined with just getting one turtle in the goldfish scooping mini-game, B-ho's overall impression was only average. But you know what? She showed up twice, so that was good enough for me to stop reloading and keep moving forward.
7/30: Ask Miho to go bowling on 8/6 (she accepts)
8/6: Bowling for B-hos
B-ho on the first try again! Thanks for the pity, RNG.
B-ho: There are so many people here, and it seems like they all love bowling.
Option 1: Well, of course everyone here would love bowling.
Option 2: Do you not like it, Shirayuki-chan?
Option 3: So, want to get started?
Goon: Do you not like it, Shirayuki-chan?
B-ho: No, I like it. Well, I like watching it.
Goon: (Looks like I made a pretty good impression.)
Good enough! (It's the best answer anyway). Save and move on.
8/14: Summer camp!
As a reminder, B-ho cannot show up to the fireworks show, she cannot show up to summer camp, and she can't show up on the class trip. So, thankfully, neither of these August events will require reloading.
Goon: (Summer camp starts today!)
Miho: Is something wrong?
Goon: Oh, no, I was just firing myself up a little.
Miho: *giggle* You shouldn't get too excited just because we have underclassmen now.
Miho: If you get too enthusiastic now, it could get you in trouble later.
Goon: Don't worry, I know better.
8/16: Miho summer camp event
Goon: Hey, Shirayuki-chan. Good morning.
Miho: *yawn* Oh... good morning.
Goon: You sure look cute in your pajamas.
Miho: Hm? What? Oh... oh no, please don't stare.
Goon: Hey, Shirayuki-chan?
Goon: She just ran off.
If we had somehow managed to get Miho's affection above B-ho's, we could actually use the peeking event to drop Miho's affection level. However, it's not necessary since B-ho has a significant enough lead to show up for the Sports Festival. Thank goodness, because I didn't want to see any more of Bakuretsuzan's backside.
8/26: Fireworks!
Due to B-ho being ineligible for the fireworks show, I chose the "go watch alone" option.
Goon: The fireworks sure were pretty.
Goon: ...
Goon: This feels somehow empty.
Goon: I should go home.
September 1st is the beginning of disc 3, so this is a good stopping point for now.
Next time:
