The Let's Play Archive

Tokimeki Memorial Series

by vibratingsheep

Part 75: Tokimemo 3, Chapter 4: Working hard, not smart

Tokimemo 3, chapter 4: Working hard, not smart

7/8-7/12: Midterms


I've been choosing my activities with no real purpose, though I should probably be spending more time working on art because Yellow is approximately 50 times better than Green to talk to. This means that Goon's first testing cycle will have great grades in everything except art. Not that it really matters, since Serika doesn't care about grades.

7/13: Watch an infomercial


Setting the cursor to mouse mode and clicking on Goon's television on the weekend leads to an utterly obnoxious 30-second commercial that takes an entire day to watch, but can lead to the acquisition of unique items.

For reference, Tokimemo 3 predates Persona 3 by 5 years.


Bob: What's wrong, Johnny? You seem down!
Johnny: Hey, Bob.
Johnny: Well... my girlfriend dumped me.
Johnny: She said "I don't like short guys."


Woman's voice: Has this ever happened to you?
Woman's voice: If only you had these Secret Boots!
Woman's voice: Buy them today, and the world will look completely different!
Johnny: Wow, it's true! I look 10 centimeters taller!
Woman's voice: Order now, and we'll include special odorless insoles! What a great deal!


Bob and Johnny: Call now! Operators are standing by!
Goon: After watching that, I kinda want it.
Goon: Maybe I'll call in.

Do you remember the Big Shot show in Cowboy Bebop, featuring two uber-American characters speaking with thick accents? Yeah, that's how this one sounds.

7/14: Operators were, in fact, standing by


After watching the infomercial, a new phone number shows up in the phone book for Moegino Mail Order. Calling it eats up another day, and leads to this:

Goon: Hello?
Goon: I'd like to order those Secret Boots for men that I saw on TV.
Goon: My address is...
Goon: Yes, that's correct. Thank you.
Goon: Alright! It's on its way. It should arrive tomorrow night or so.
Goon: I'm pretty excited.

I did some research, and there are only two items from mail order (out of twelve) that have any game effect whatsoever. One is the Secret Boots, which can be worn on dates to really poor effect. The other is the Self-Hypnosis Study Set, which is amazing for stat grinding because it always gives you full preparation for lit, science, and art study.

7/15: Test results


Goon: Looks like I did pretty well this time.

39th: Shiratori Masaki
52nd: Fudou Gunzou
101st: Makihara Yukiko
140th: Tachibana Emi
212th: Shinjo Serika
222nd: Yabe Takuo

7/18: School swim meet

The school swim meet doesn't appear to serve any purpose other than to show you people in their PE swimsuits and boost popularity assuming Goon's Sports stat is high (it is).


Goon: Hey, Shiratori.


Shiratori: Hmph. Another girl has fallen prey to this beautiful body of mine.
Shiratori: Hahaha, it should be a crime to be this gorgeous.
Goon: (.........)
Goon: (I think the best thing to do here is just leave him alone.)
Goon: (Well, whatever, I should just pretend that didn't happen and concentrate on the race.)


Goon: Yes! I came in first!
Goon: And my class won the championship!


Yukiko: You did it! We won!
Goon: Yeah, we all did well.


Yukiko: It's all because of your hard work.
Yukiko: Umm... thanks.
Goon: (I feel pretty lucky that I was able to contribute to our win.)

7/20: Decorating the room

Another of the new systems in Tokimemo 3 is the ability to decorate your own room. Depending on what items you've or acquired, there are different slots in the room where you can equip items and change up what the room looks like.


At the moment, I've only found two items that can be put in the room, so there are only a few slots open.

90% of the items are hideously ugly. Observe: the Petrified Wood item you can find from the Excavation activity.


"What an... interesting table you have, Goon."
"Yeah, I dug up a stump."
"The, uh, the stump really ties the room together."
"Doesn't it?"

7/23: The Traditional Double Date


(ring ring)
Goon: Hello?
Masaki: Hey, it's Shiratori.
Goon: Oh, it's you. What do you want?
Masaki: I'll get right to the point. Are you busy right now?
Goon: Uh, I guess I'm not doing anything.
Masaki: Hmph, I thought as much.
Masaki: Want to go to the amusement park today?
Goon: With you? Why would I ever go to to park with you?
Masaki: Don't worry, you'll just be an extra.
Masaki: I'm bringing two girls with me, so I only called you to make the numbers work.
Goon: (Well, at least he's honest.)
Goon: So, who else is coming?
Masaki: You'll see when you get here.
Masaki: So, are you coming or not?
Goon: Eh, I guess I could go.
Masaki: Then hurry over to the train station.
Masaki: Keep in mind, I have no problems leaving you behind if you're a second late.
(click)
Goon: Well, I guess I should head out.

I want Takumi back. He was oily, but he was friendly.


Masaki: You're late.
Goon: It's your fault for calling me in so late.
Masaki: I extended a special invitation to you. Be more thankful.
Goon: (What a jerk.)


Emi: Good morning.
Serika: Morning.
Goon: Good morning Tachibana-san, Shinjo-san.
Emi: I'm really looking forward to today. Let's have a lot of fun.
Serika: Yeah, should be fun.


Masaki: Ah, everyone's here. Let's get going.


Emi: So, which attractions shall we stop by today?
Serika: Wow, you're way more excited than usual, Emi.
Emi: Yes. These amusement parks are much more interesting to enjoy with this many good friends.
Serika: Good point. Maybe I should be more excited too.
Emi: Yes, please.


Goon: (So, what should I do?)
Option 1: Ride with Tachibana-san
Option 2: Ride with Shinjo-san

Because this is supposed to be the Serika route we're doing here, we'll be choosing 2 each time.


Masaki: Wait a second.
Masaki: Serika-san, would you like to go with me?
Serika: Hmm? With you?
Goon: Hey, wait a second.
Masaki: Hmph. I suppose we should be fair and let Serika-san decide for herself.

Okay, now I really miss Takumi.


Serika: Sure. Hmm...
Serika: Let's go, Shiratori.
Masaki: Hmph. And that's the way it is.

What a jerk.

Masaki: Well, should we get going, Serika-san?
Serika: Yeah.
Goon: (And there they go...)


Emi: Well - shall we go together then?
Goon: Yeah, I guess.


Masaki: So, have you decided what we're riding?
Option 1: Let's go to the Ferris wheel.
Option 2: Let's go to the roller coaster.
Option 3: Let's go to Märchen World.

Well, since Masaki is so interested in cock-blocking us, let's force him to take Serika to all of the places she hates. First up: Märchen World.

Masaki: Märchen World, eh? Alright, let's go.


Goon: (Märchen World is an attraction where you can enjoy the world of fairy tales. It feels like it's just for little kids.)


Emi: I think that Märchen World is such a fun place, but no one was there.
Emi: Serika says that it is because it is so childish, just going inside is embarrassing.
Goon: (Eh.)

We now interrupt our LP for this public service announcement
This is your neck.


This is your neck on drugs.


Any questions?


Goon: (So, what should we do next?
Goon: Ride with Shinjo-san.


Yep. It happens again. So, we're going to go to the other attraction that Serika doesn't like much.



Emi: Ferris wheels are quite nice.
Emi: Even though they just rotate slowly, it feels like taking a mid-air stroll.
Goon: (She seemed pretty happy.)


The third time, Serika said yes. Suck it, Masaki.


Serika: Woo, I feel great.
Serika: This is definitely the reason to go to the park!
Serika: That feeling when you cut through the wind as you drop is unbelievable.
Serika: Although, I feel kind of sorry for Emi. She doesn't like this kind of thing...
Goon: (Well, she looks like she had fun, at least.)


Masaki: It's so late already. Time sure does fly.
Masaki: We should head home soon.
Goon: Yeah, you're right.


Emi: Today was a lot of fun. Let's come back here together some time.
Serika: Well, it was pretty fun. Maybe if I have some free time, we can come again.


Masaki: Yes, if we have another chance we should all come back.
Goon: Yeah.


Masaki: Keep your expectations low. I might not invite you, if I don't feel like it.
Goon: O, okay.

And that's actually how that day ends. What the hell.

7/28: The third labor of Vibratingsheep: The Golden Outfit of Artemis

Here comes one of the least liked parts of Tokimemo 3 (and there are a lot of parts that are disliked): the wardrobe!


It seems simple enough, right? There are four equipment slots. From top to bottom, you have accessories (hats and eyewear), tops, pants, and shoes.

Here's a quick list of every slot and what Goon can wear in each slot at this point in the game:

Accessories

Tops

Pants

Shoes

According to the guide I read, Emi should like the specific combo of Plain T-Shirt, Cotton Pants, and Sneakers in summer. Let's see what happens.

Goon: (Let's see, Tachibana-san is...)


Emi: Fudou-san.
Goon: Hey, Tachibana-san.
Emi: You're right on time. That's wonderful.
Goon: Yeah, you too.


Emi: ...
Goon: Hmm?


Emi: Um, umm, it's -- it's nothing.

This reaction means she doesn't like it, and we lose points. What the hell.

I spent another 15 minutes changing up the outfit to see if she would like any of them. The only one she tolerated was the glasses, suit, and dress shoes, and since outfits decay in effectiveness each time a girl sees you in them, I gave up and went with the original outfit.


On the plus side, none of these efforts ended in her walking away. However, my trial run for this had a similar outfit to the first stream run, with one major difference: Goon wore a hat.


That single addition made it so Emi walked out.

Emi: Um... are you going to walk around in that outfit?
Emi: I, I just remembered something I have to take care of right away.
Emi: I'm sorry. Excuse me!
Goon: (She ran off... did she not like what I was wearing?)

You know what? Screw this game.

YKWSTG count: 2


Goon: Tachibana-san, you're wearing a yukata today.
Emi: Yes, my mother helped me put it on properly.
Emi: Um... how does it look?
Option 1: It's elegant, I like it.
Option 2: It's very cute.
Option 3: It's kinda old-fashioned.


Goon: It's elegant, I like it.
Emi: Thank you. I love the pattern on this yukata, and I was very much looking forward to wearing it.
Emi: I'm glad you like it too.
Goon: (Looks like I made a great impression!)

It feels like so long since I've seen that line.

Goon: There are a lot of stalls and stands here - let's go check them out.
Emi: Good idea.


Emi: The game stalls were over there - should we play something?
Option 1: Let's play the frog jumping game.
Option 2: Let's play Smartball.
Option 3: It sounds stupid, I'll pass.


Smartball is essentially a timed pachinko game where you press buttons and get points, which I should not mock since I work with PopCap Games on a regular basis.


The frog jumping game is a little more interesting as a mini-game, since it takes the least time and doesn't worry about analog buttons or any other aggravating PS2 "innovations". Step 1: A frog rises up from an elevator, Hunger Games-style.


Step 2: Aim at the lilypad of your choice and hold down the button to determine how far you'll launch the frog.


Step 3: Let go of the button, hope you land on a lilypad and receive that many points. You have 3 frogs, unless you are good enough to land on the small, moving wooden platforms that give you 3 more frogs (for a theoretical maximum score of 280 points or so).


At the end of the game, you have to redeem your points. Here are the prizes, their point costs, and their uses:

10 points: Tissue paper (present only)
30 points: Soap set (present only)
50 points: Photo of a female enka singer (present only)
60 points: Photo of a female idol group (present only)
120 points: Hamster (cannot be bought, it's a dummy prize)
150 points: CPU Accelerator (makes the Web Surfing activity faster)
170 points: Leather jacket (can be worn; several girls like this)
200 points: A family trip to Hawaii (present only)

Other years will include various charms that raise stat growth and one that increases after-school encounter rates, while the big prizes are really the big-ticket items. No one likes any of the other items really (although it is potentially hilarious since you are allowed too put on the lipstick before dates). Emi being Emi, I bought the photo of an enka singer for her to see what would happen.


Goon: That went alright, I guess.
Emi: It was good, I had fun watching you.
Goon: Here, I'll give you the prize I won.


Emi: Thank you.
Goon: (Eh.)

Oh well. I shouldn't have expected much more from the 50-point prize, I guess.


Masaki: Y, yo. You two came here too?
Masaki: It's, uh, it's quite a coincidence to see you here.
Goon: Hey, Shiratori. Did you come here alone?


Masaki: Wh, what're you implying? There's no way that a guy like me would go here alone!
Masaki: Now if you'll excuse me, the girl I brought here is waiting for me.
Masaki: Ha! Ha. Ha...
Goon: (So he really is alone?)

8/5-8/9: Aikido summer camp


Goon: Summer camp starts today.
Goon: Time to focus and work hard!

If we hadn't met Emi already, then this is where we would meet her for the first time, since we're in the Aikido club. Other than that, absolutely nothing of interest happens here. It's just a week of forced Aikido.

8/25: The loneliest fireworks

Since we can't contact Emi or Serika yet, plus summer vacation prevents anyone from showing up after school for conversations, this event is pretty much the saddest.


Goon: Oh yeah, the fireworks show is tonight.
Option 1: Watch the fireworks
Goon: Well, I don't have anything better to do.


Goon: It's just as crowded as I expected around here.
Goon: Oh, the show's starting soon.


Goon: Woo! It's awesome seeing the show from the best seats!
Goon: ...
Goon: ...
Goon: Sigh.


Goon: Guess I'll head home.
Goon: Oh. Hey, Shiratori.
Masaki: Hmph. You're not with anyone tonight?
Masaki: To spend such a perfect romantic night alone is so... sad.
Goon: You know what, man, I--


Goon: (Huh? Makihara-san?)
Yukiko: What's wrong, Shiratori-kun? We should hurry.
Masaki: Hmph. As you can see, I'm with her today, and you'll have to excuse us.


Goon: I'm so frustrated right now.

You and me both, kid.

Next time: Progress!


Kind of.