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TOKIMEKI MEMORIAL TAISEN TOKKAEDAMA
SLPM-86036
Copyright (C) 1997 Konami Computer Entertainment of Japan
Sony Playstation, 1 Player
Puzzle
¥5,800
— by David Van Cleef
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Konami obviously knows where their bread is buttered. The TOKIMEKI MEMORIAL
franchise is still at such a high level of popularity in Japan that anything
related to the game will have a built-in sales audience no matter what the
particulars. With this in mind it's no surprise that Konami has already
released one arcade game (TOKIMEKI MEMORIAL OSHIETE YOUR HEART) and two
console games this year, with at least three more due before it's through.
TOKIMEKI MEMORIAL TAISEN TOKKAEDAMA is the most recent console release for
Playstation, and has already seen quite brisk sales.
TOKIMEKI MEMORIAL TAISEN TOKKAEDAMA, like its predecessor, PUZZLEDAMA, is
based on an already existing game engine with no noticeable changes in gameplay.
As rows of balls are slowly pushed up from the bottom of the screen you move
your cursor around. Picking up a ball from under the cursor, you
can then move it to another point on the screen and switch it with a
ball at that location or release it in an empty space, to drop down onto the
puzzle. If at any time three or more balls of the same color
become adjacent, they will disappear, allowing balls above them to fall down
and possibly start a chain reaction. A long string of matches will also
cause additional balls to be dropped on the opponent's or CPU's side of the
screen, or have balls scroll up faster than usual, hastening
his eventual doom. There are two modes of play, Tokimeki and Kirameki modes.
The former is a total of 6 rounds, the latter offering 3 levels of play with
varying difficulty and game length. The pattern in which the colors of the
scrolled and dropped balls will appear varies depending on the character you
select at the start of the game, providing even more variety in play.
The game graphics are identical to the arcade TOKKAEDAMA. To customize the
game for the TOKIMEKI MEMORIAL environment, the backgrounds have been changed
to pictures of the various TokiMemo girls. Unfortunately most of the artwork
is rather uninspired. The body proportions and poses all appear identical
across the spectrum of girls, leading to some rather freakish looks when
the characters are pasted onto the bodies. The ending sequences are fairly
good though, and the SD characters shown while the credits roll are
extremely good.
Thankfully the game is fairly playable. The various modes give a wide degree
of challenge, although you need a win on either Tokimeki mode or second/third
year (difficulty) of the Kirameki mode to get an ending. One feature which
players of PUZZLEDAMA will definitely appreciate is that the CPU does not
appear to cheat during the final stage.
Overall the game is fairly enjoyable. Puzzle game fans will be sure to get a
good deal of mileage out of it, although the substandard art is a big
disappointment to TOKIMEKI MEMORIAL fans. It's disappointing to see Konami
so blatantly cashing in on its property based on name alone.
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