On the green field.
Shiori Fujisaki looked up at the sky.
A gentle spring breeze blew by, and her long, ruby-red hair fluttered in the wind.
Of course, the skirts of the sailor-style school uniforms also fluttered in the breeze.
Several photos were swept across the screen by the wind.
They all have different appearances and different styles of dressing.
Players familiar with that day's press conference would recognize it immediately.
These are probably all the romanceable characters that will appear in the game.
[Start Game]
[System Settings]
Furukawa stared blankly at the controller, still trying to process what he had just heard. It has to be said, Gamenova's bold breakthrough in art style this time had a truly significant effect.
Anyone who came by and saw Shiori Fujisaki just now would inevitably be momentarily stunned.
She is so beautiful.
In this era where bare-faced beauty is fashionable, cosmetic surgery is still in its infancy, and the art style of anime tends to be realistic...
This kind of destructive power is even stronger than those ultra-restricted video games that boast live-action co-starring.
Because it completely transcends the control of hormones and strikes directly at the depths of Furukawa's heart.
One look pierced through all the defenses of his soul.
"Thump, thump, thump..."
In the quiet room, the strong, powerful pounding of his heart could not be drowned out even by the game's music.
"A legend circulates within Kirameki High School— "
The voice of " Shiori Fujisaki " begins as a narration. Thanks to the special tuning by Hans Zimmer and the entire audio team, both the soundstage and audio quality have reached a peak in terms of the user experience.
Even though he was using the TV's external speakers, Furukawa felt as if this imaginary girl was whispering in his ear.
Her voice was gentle and soft, telling her story in a slow and gentle way, with a strange kind of magic.
In the blink of an eye, Furukawa was drawn into the story.
"There's a Legendary Tree in the school; if couples who confess their love under it, they will be happy forever..."
As Shiori Fujisaki narrates her lines, a large, lush tree appears on the screen.
A girl stood shyly under the tree.
It seemed to be quietly waiting for something.
As the camera zooms in step by step, in a daze, Furukawa even has the feeling that he is the male protagonist, walking step by step towards Shiori, who is waiting for him.
"Your Excellency..."
Shiori Fujisaki's mouth continued to move, but the narration was suddenly muted at that moment.
Furukawa couldn't hear what she said, but considering the story of the Legendary Tree...
Something seemed to be quietly sprouting in Furukawa's youthful heart.
While players like Furukawa might only have a straightforward feeling of "Wow, that's awesome!"
But even this simple first minute took up a lot of Gamenov's development resources.
To achieve the best results, Lin Lixin even brought the Kojima along as well.
Having been away from home for a long time, he was sent directly to Gainax before he could even get a proper rest.
Gainax has no shortage of supervision.
However, it lacks a supervisor with a "Gamenova vibe".
Neither Hideaki Anno nor anyone else is suitable for this job.
In particular, Tokimeki Memorial is also a sweet romance game.
Hmm... Actually, it's clear that Brother Kojima isn't a suitable candidate for this type of subject matter.
However, he's perfectly capable of handling various storyboard designs. He's worked with Gamenova for so long, especially since he spends all his time hanging out in Hollywood.
In terms of camera skills alone, they are definitely among the top tier.
Even if you sent him to Hollywood right now to direct a movie, it would definitely not be a mediocre work.
As for oversight, to ensure the style didn't go astray, Lin Lixin simply took charge himself.
Lin Lixin himself created the outline and system framework, while the writing team at ELF filled in the details.
The text quality is absolutely guaranteed.
certainly.
Besides the inherent quality of these games themselves.
Gainax can also create something for Gamenova that has never been attempted before.
Game OP.
Many games produced by Gamenova have specially designed opening animations.
But those would either be pixel art or live-action footage, or they'd be live-action like Command & Conquer and Biohazard. For a niche game like this, neither of those formats is really good.
The model that truly suits the market... is, of course, hand-drawn animation!
It's a 1.5-minute opening animation created in a near-OVA format, completely disregarding costs and using every possible means to pile on the best materials.
Even the music for the opening theme was handled by one of the world's top music teams.
Even in Japan's Japan industry at the peak of this bubble era, even with all-out efforts in OVA production, it's difficult to find an opening sequence of this quality.
However, the creation interface after the OP (op) is rather conventional.
It looks like a standard AVG game.
[Save File #1]
[April 4, 1991]
[Affiliation]: [Not affiliated with any club/organization]
[Name]:[]
[Nickname]:[] [Number of Successful Users]:[0]
The naming system remains the same; players can freely input their surname, given name, and nickname.
This gameplay style quickly became popular in the industry after it was first introduced in the early days of the Legend of Zelda.
What's surprising is that although " Tokimeki Memorial " was released simultaneously in Japan and Europe and America this time...
However, the Japanese version of " Tokimeki Memorial " specifically adapted the input method for the names.
Of course, there's also the must-try feature of selecting your birthday and blood type to enhance the immersive experience.
But just as Furukawa pressed confirm, the game seemed to freeze, suddenly redirecting him to the interface for selecting birthday and blood type.
"Huh? Is there a bug?"
Furukawa paused, about to retype it, when he suddenly heard Shiori Fujisaki's voice reciting.
Do you remember my birthday and blood type?
"Huh?"
He then suddenly noticed that the line of text written above was different from before. It wasn't [your birthday and blood type], but rather...
[Please enter Shiori Fujisaki's date of birth and blood type:]
After careful recollection, Furukawa suddenly realized a startling fact.
At the press conference that day, and in the subsequent activities of several idols, Shiori Fujisaki, who debuted as the center, never revealed her birthday or blood type.
This was completely opposite to the behavior of others, as if they were deliberately hiding something.
So that's what it was for?
You can choose the birthday of your favorite female lead...
Furukawa swallowed hard, hesitated for a long time, and then, almost as if possessed, filled in Yaguchi's data.
Yaguchi- kun is just like Shiori Fujisaki.
She is excellent in both character and academics, gentle and considerate, and also very beautiful.
It's completely not something a sewer maggot like myself could touch...
Especially after entering high school, the two, who used to occasionally exchange a few words, began to completely isolate themselves after their social circles were completely restructured. Furukawa even had a feeling that Yaguchi had always been subtly avoiding him at school.
It's like hiding from trash...
"Forget it, I should enjoy my youth. Let's play video games."
Furukawa put all those chaotic thoughts aside and officially started the game.
My name is Furukawa Kentaro.
[Also a freshman at this Private Kirameki High School.]
Fortunately, I was admitted to my dream school as my first choice.
I don't know how to describe my joy.
[Because I was actually able to be with the person I've secretly loved for so long.]
[ --Shiori Fujisaki, attended the same school.]
[In fact...]
[She and I have been childhood sweethearts, living next door since elementary school...] "..."
Furukawa unconsciously tightened his grip on the handle, his eyes glancing out the window.
Through the thin window screen, one could vaguely see the lights shining from the neighbor's house through the high courtyard wall.
What is Nami doing now?
He's probably eating those fancy pastries he doesn't understand while diligently studying, right?
But he himself hid in his room, secretly playing dating games without even turning on the lights...
I was daydreaming again, imagining myself enjoying campus life freely, just like the male protagonist in the game.
[However, we are worlds apart.]
[But we could only ever maintain a friendship...]
It has to be said that this kind of subject matter is incredibly universal.
It perfectly captured the sensitive, fragile, and conflicted feelings of countless students who had just gone through the college entrance exam season.
It was practically a massive social experiment demonstrating the Barnum effect. Countless players in their rooms gasped in surprise at that moment.
Holy crap, that's totally me!
This period happens to be the time when young men and women experience the stirrings of romantic feelings and are most repressed.
"Thump, thump"
A hand reached out from the direction of the deskmate and gently tapped the table in front of him.
The vibrating device inserted into the handle suddenly vibrated twice.
Due to technological limitations, it could not achieve the true HD vibration of later generations, and only had fixed intensity levels that could be adjusted.
But for players who have only ever seen SNES and Sega controllers, this is already a game-changer.
The vibration felt just like someone had actually tapped on the table in front of me.
The immersion already created by the storyline was instantly amplified several levels.
The perspective shifts.
He was a lively and cheerful boy, completely different from someone like me with a gloomy personality. His name Yoshio.
Based on the plot and character design, she is my best friend at school.
Yoshio: "Hey! Why are you looking so gloomy?"
Furukawa: "Ah... it's nothing..."
" Furukawa (This guy is such a sleazy bastard...)"
Furukawa scratched his head.
This game is like it can sense what you're really thinking.
Indeed, that was the first thought that crossed his mind when he saw this character Yoshio.
Perhaps this is the charm of distinctive character design.
Even a male character hidden away in a remote corner of the village can be memorable at first glance.