Toki memo & Brooktown High : Senior Year

I read Brooktown High : Senior Year was released. It's the first dating simulation game in North America. Here are images and here is the review. Konami America said the game was made based on the Japanese dating game Tokimeki Memorial, after they exhibited the game sample at E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo 2006). Hmm, really. What part? Actually both are dating games, but something big is different.

I have never played Tokimeki Memorial (we say Tokimemo), but I knew it was a craze among some types of guys, maybe "Akiba kei". The main character "Shiori Fujisaki" was an idol for those guys. Actually Fujisaki and other girl characters are the greatest attractions of the game. Guys did "Moe" and "ハァハァ" to girls in the game.

"ハァハァ" (hah hah : adjective, the highest class of Moe. Originally it was the sound effects of masturbation. Usually it is written with this face mark.)

Guys did "ハァハァ" to her talking, reactions, and activity, even though girls gave them cold, heartless rejection. And also they did "ハァハァ" to the game's free gift "Shiori Fujisaki” post card with odor and they did "ハァハァ" to a life size figure of Fujisaki. Although the purpose of the game was to go dating or to win her heart, "Moe" love for the character was the reason of the game’s popularity. Was this the point Brooktown High was made for? Do the creators expect the same reaction from American players? I don't think so.

Here are Japanese guy's comments about the Brooktown High : Senior Year. "This is a good sample that Japanese Moe is Americanized." "Hmm I don't think Americans understand the essence of Moe." "Oh, Americans can be romantic or hah hah in this game?"

Hmm, really? My impression is different. This is Brooktown High : Senior Year and this is Tokimemo. It is not the issue of quality of character or aesthetic taste between Americans and Japanese. I think the American Brooktown High : Senior Year seems simply a simulation/ strategy game to win and Tokimemo seems to be a sort of controllable Moe animation. They have different concepts. I suppose Konami did it on purpose because Japanese Tokimemo type games won't be good in the U.S. (I hope so) What do you think? There are many non-Japanese sites about Toki memo"; I want to know their comments about Brooktown High : Senior Year.

P.S  as a woman, I will 引く　(step back psychologically ) when I know he is playing Toki memo...

Comments

[abhay]

I was very shy with playing toys spatially this type of toys ,these were the days, but now I am a senior citizen living the last stage of my life.......

[wholesale china]

The cultures are so different and the things I hear about American high school just don't fit into a series' that scores high for it's sensitive

[Yoshi]

Sorry, never tried this but the idea of an Americanised version of Tokimeki Memorial hardly appeals to me. The cultures are so different and the things I hear about American high school just don't fit into a series' that scores high for it's sensitive, nostalgic approach. Unless Konami manages a Wonder Years for this Brooktown High thing, I'd rather stick to the Japanese version.

[Katy]

i think the dating games can become popular in the US, but i also think that a guy who owns one will be made fun of. its kinda embarrassing to play a game like that.

although, id play it and not be ashamed (but im a girl).

theres just nothing like that in america... i want to play it!

[tokyorosa]

I think these games are not so popular in America because dating in America is a whole different animal than in Japan. First, men and women can mix freely and date without the expectation of marriage, so we get a whole lot more practice at it than do most Japanese. We don't need sim dating because we can engage in the real thing!

[TronDD]

Don't confuse the "interactive novels" with "dating sims". I think both Tokimemo and Brooktown High are dating sims. You interact with the characters in order to balance stats and depending on the numbers, you reach some goal (a particular girl, I'd guess).

"Interactive novels" or Visual Novels are stories you read and make a few decisions during. No stats, little interaction.

I love Visual novels and also kinetic novels (same idea but they have no decisions) because you get all the depth of a book plus images, music, and voice. I've never liked the dating sims, I find reducing everything you do to a stat or number to be very boring.

[bshock]

I know the Tokimeki game only by reputation, and I don't know anything about the Americanized version. (I try to avoid dating sims; they seem too much like I'm cheating on my wife ;-) However, I would tend to agree with your analysis of the Japanese dating sim -- it does seem more like a "controllable Moe animation."

In fact, I sometimes think that referring to these as "games" may be a slight misinterpretation. To me, they seem more like what Americans would call "interactive novels." Of course, the concept of the interactive novel is not very well known yet.

It is interesting to me that this entertainment form is so popular in Japan, but seems to have only a limited popularity in the U.S. Perhaps this suggests Americans don't need to control an imaginary version of reality, because they are under the illusion that they have a great deal of control over their lives?