~B
Tokimeki Memorial Taisen Tokkaedama (Konami, Puzzle Game, PSX/SSat)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
V1.1 3/7/99
Written by: Richard Uyeyama (ru e ama best.com)*
Contributors: Richard Uyeyama
Ken Comeforo
* Instances of the letter "y" and the "at" symbol have been removed
(replaced with spaces) from the above e-mail address in order to prevent
unscrupulous UCE (unsolicited commercial e-mail) bot processes from
adding to the amount of e-mail I already get...
The latest version of this file can be found at:
Just Another Day At Kirameki High
http://www.best.com/~ruyeyama/psx/jadakh.shtmll
Document formatting, organization, and wording Copyright 1997, 1998, 1999
by Richard Uyeyama.
Permission granted by author to duplicate (unaltered) this document in its
entirety for non-profit purposes only. All other rights reserved. Author
reserves the right to rescind specific or general permission, if he sees a
reason (such as loophole abuse) to do so.
Taisen Tokkaedama is a trademark of Konami Co., Ltd. Tokimeki Memorial
and Konami are registered trademarks of Konami Co., Ltd. Tokimeki
Memorial Taisen Tokkaedama is Copyright 1997 by Konami Co., Ltd. All
rights reserved.
"If I had the wings of an angel..."
-- Elizabeth Orme
(The Many-Colored Land,
by Julian May)
Table of Contents:
0. Document History
I. Basic Stuff
1. What is the purpose of this document?
2. What is Tokimeki Memorial Taisen Tokkaedama?
3. Which version(s) of the game does this FAQ cover?
4. What are the differences between the PSX and SSat versions?
II. Game Basics
1. What's the game like, and how does it compare to other puzzle games?
2. So... what's this about attack-patterns?
III. Menus and Modes
1. Can you help me with the Options Menu?
2. Hmmm, how do the three 1P Modes of the game differ?
A. Tokimeki Mode (Story)
B. Kirameki Mode (Arcade)
C. Hirameki Mode (Puzzle)
3. How about the three 2P Modes?
IV. Tactics and Stuff
1. Do you have any tips on setting up chains?
2. Help! How do I beat Rei?
V. Codes, Secrets, and Other Neat Things
1. How do I select my character's outfit?
2. Is there a way to play as Miharu Tatebayashi?
3. How about Rei Ijuin?
4. Is there a "quick continue" command in Kirameki Mode?
5. Is there a game-internal reset code?
6. (SSat) What are these chalkboard sketches I see occasionally?
7. Is there any other neat stuff in the game?
-------------------
0. Document History
-------------------
V1.1: 3/7/99
Okiniiri assigns P1 character in demo battles (PSX) (Options Menu)
"Quick continue" info (Kirameki Mode) added to secrets section
Minor editing in various sections...
V1.01: 3/7/98
Just some minor editing in a couple places...
V1.0: 1/30/98
Launch version
--------------
I. Basic Stuff
--------------
I.1 What is the purpose of this document?
This FAQ is meant as an English language informational resource
for Konami's puzzle game Tokimeki Memorial Taisen Tokkaedama. Basic
strategies, hints, secrets, and other informational bits of data
(including basic menu translations) will be covered in this file.
I.2 What is Tokimeki Memorial Taisen Tokkaedama?
TokiMemo Taisen Tokkaedama is a puzzle game (available in Japan)
based around the characters in Konami's immensely successful Tokimeki
Memorial (abbr. TokiMemo) game, a (Japanese) high school life and dating
simulation (fyi, Tokkaedama is the second puzzle game based upon TokiMemo;
the first is called Tokimeki Memorial Taisen Puzzledama (Puzzledama, imho,
has more similarities to PuyoPuyo than Tokkaedama, though like Tokkaedama,
it does have o-damas and ko-damas...)). However, while knowledge of
Japanese was fairly essential in playing Tokimemo itself, playing
Tokkaedama does not really require any strong Japanese skills.
Tokkaedama is a puzzle game. So if you like puzzle games, this game
may be worth looking into. See section II.1 ("What's the game like...")
for more info on game structure and dynamics.
Tokkaedama is a TokiMemo game. So if you're really into TokiMemo or
the TokiMemo characters, well... =) Yuina with bat wings! ^^;
I.3 Which version(s) of the game does this FAQ cover?
This FAQ will have information for both the Sony PlayStation (PSX)
and Sega Saturn (SSat) versions of Tokkaedama. Thanks to Ken Comeforo for
his assistance in compiling and checking information on his Saturn version
of Tokkaedama. (Thanks, Ken!)
I.4 What are the differences between the PSX and SSat versions?
Yep, there are actually some differences! Firstly, the two versions
have completely different sets of levels for Hirameki (Puzzle) Mode...!
Secondly, the SSat version, taking advantage of the system's internal
clock/calendar, lets you enter both your birthday and Shiori's (just like
in the actual Tokimemo game). Again, taking advantage of the internal
calendar, the SSat version will occasionally have character sketches on
the "now loading" chalkboard. (see section V.6 for more detail on b-day
entry and chalkboard extras) However, the SSat version doesn't seem to
have any attract mode demo battles... And lastly, the SSat version has
some (all?) of the music as CD tracks on the game disc...
I haven't personally played both versions, so I can't comment upon
gameplay, game flow, or CPU difficulty, but I don't expect that they would
be *significantly* different...
Overall, if you have a choice as to which version to get (i.e. you
have both systems), I'd probably recommend getting the SSat version,
because of the little chalkboard extras... ^^ And the CD tracks that you
can play on your CD ROM player (or a regular CD player, if you make sure
to avoid the data tracks)... ^^ But either version, it's basically the
same game, so...
Anyway...
---------------
II. Game Basics
---------------
II.1 What's the game like, and how does it compare to other puzzle games?
Tokkaedama is not precisely similar to any single puzzle game I can
think of. It has aspects of some other puzzle games, but also has aspects
of its own...
Here's basically how the game works:
Tokkaedama has a 6x12 (base by height) playing field. If all of
your columns (i.e. your entire playfield, not just one particular
column) become filled, you will lose. There are two types of pieces
on the board: ko-damas (small, square pieces) and o-damas (large,
round pieces) ("tama/dama" ~= "ball"). You get to move a special
piece around the board called a hane-dama (it looks like a winged
circle), in which you can hold one ko-dama or o-dama at a time. The
hane-dama can switch the piece it's holding with the piece it's
currently hovering over ("tokkae" ~= "switch/give&take"), drop the
piece it's holding if the space it's over is empty, or grab a piece
from the board if the hane-dama is empty.
If three or more o-damas of the same color (there are five
colors) are made to touch each other (vertical or horizontal
adjacency counts as "touching"; diagonals don't count), they will
disappear. Any ko-dama next to (once again, diagonals don't count)
an o-dama that disappears will become an o-dama. Setting off chain
reactions (chains) (one o-dama set disappears, triggering another set
to disappear, etc...) will send ko-damas over to your's opponent's
board in a manner determined by your character's attack-pattern.
The playfield will slowly (it gets faster as time progresses)
inch its way upwards, revealing new pieces (you can even manually
push it up a bit if you're in need of a particular piece), row by
row...
Tokkaedama seems to have been designed to be a game of counter-
attacks followed by counter-attacks. Because of the way the attack-
patterns have been designed (they're all kinda bad, though some are worse
than others), any time your opponent drops a huge attack on you, it's
usually pretty easy to send a fairly large attack right back. Of course,
the same applies for your opponent... So the endgame can get pretty
hectic. And since the attacks don't drop all at once (usually only four
or five rows at a time, I think), or immediately after being accumulated
(there's a time delay before each barrage), the person who's accumulated
the largest attack doesn't always turn out to be the winner; the winner
still has to survive the counter-attacks that are being sent back by
his/her opponent...!
Comparisons to other puzzle games: Attacks don't cancel, like in
PuyoPuyo2 (Compile) or Puzzle Fighter (Capcom). So if both players
complete huge attacks, both players will have to weather out the full
brunt of what the other has prepared... Opponents' attacks don't fall
upon completion of your next move, like in PuyoPuyo, Puzzle Fighter, or
Puzzledama; it seems instead to be linked to idle time, and perhaps also
to completion of large counter-attacks... Attacks don't fall all at once,
like in Puzzle Fighter, but only four or five rows (I haven't done an
exact count) at a time (similar to PuyoPuyo and Puzzledama), giving one a
chance to counter-attack before being completely buried by the next
wave... ^^ Setting up chains is a lot different in Tokkaedama, since you
can switch/move *any* pieces from *any* part of the board (this takes some
getting used to, if you're used to PuyoPuyo-type games, where the pieces
fall from the top (Puzzledama is also like this), and cannot be readjusted
once they've been set down)... And lastly, since characters do have
different attack-patterns, there's still some degree of imbalance in the
game (based upon comparative effectiveness of attack-patterns), though
it's nowhere near as bad as in Puzzle Fighter (imho)...
IMHO notes: I like this game. It's pretty cute. ^^ In terms of
game balance (i.e. skill tends to win over luck), I'd place it somewhere
between PuyoPuyo2 and Puzzle Fighter. Tokimemo fans will probably like
this game too...
II.2 So... what's this about attack-patterns?
When you complete any chain of size 2 or larger, you will accumulate
ko-damas that will clutter up your opponent's board, in a manner according
to your character's attack-pattern. Note that some attack-patterns will
fall upon your opponent's board from the top, whereas some will push
his/her board up from the bottom. Of the basic attack-pattern types,
here's my rankings on which are better and which are worse (imho!), in
descending order of effectiveness:
horizontal, from top
vertical, from bottom
horizontal, from bottom
vertical, from top
So basically, the top two are better than the bottom two. As far as
which of the top two is better, and which of the bottom two is worse...
that's a bit more arguable, depending a lot more upon how you (and/or your
opponent) play...
Here are some tips on handling the top two (better) patterns.
Horizontal, from top: You could try starting from the top of the
ko-dama pattern, which will allow you to proceed down through the pattern
in an uninterrupted chain... but that's kind of risky, especially later in
the game, when the screen's advancing upward a lot more quickly. A safer
method is to keep three columns completely empty, or with only one row
(ideally with two o-damas of the same color... and the third held by your
hane-dama) at the bottom. Then, when your opponent's attack-pattern
falls, all you have to do is set off the bottom row, and you'll chain
pretty much the entire tower of horizontal stripes... and since the o-dama
reactions are happening at the bottom of the screen, there's nothing below
them to ruin the integrity of the rest of the pattern!
Vertical, from bottom: Try to keep at least one column as empty as
possible, to give you room to work with. After the first wave of ko-damas
appear (pushing your screen up from the bottom), manually push your screen
a bit further up (!). This should give you some usable o-damas at the
bottom of the screen, where you want them (it's quicker than trying to
transport three of them all the way to the bottom). If there are three of
the same color, then just arrange them vertically (ideally at one of the
edges, but if rushed for time, anywhere will do), so they'll take out
most/all of vertical columns. If there's only two (or one) of the same
color, grab what you can from the top of the screen to set up a trio of
vertical o-damas at the bottom...
Hope that helps!
Oh, one last note on attack-patterns... The instructional booklet
actually lists three of the patterns wrong! Yukari's Tokimeki Mode
pattern, and Ayako's and Saki's 3-nen-sei Kirameki Mode patterns have
mistakes in the instructional booklet. Here are the mistaken patterns and
their corrections:
Character Mode in manual in game
Yukari Tokimeki y r r r r y y r r r r y
y y y y y y y y y y y y
y r r r r y y p p p p y
y y y y y y y y y y y y
(fr. bottom) (fr. bottom)
Ayako Kirameki (3-nen-sei) y b b b b g y r r r r g
y p p p p g y p p p p g
y b b b b g y b b b b g
y r r r r g y r r r r g
(fr. top) (fr. top)
Saki Kirameki (3-nen-sei) b b b b b b y y y b b b
y y y y y y b b b g g g
g g g g g g g g g r r r
p p p p p p r r r p p p
(fr. bottom) (fr. bottom)
--------------------
III. Menus and Modes
--------------------
III.1 Can you help me with the Options Menu?
Sure. Here are the contents of the Options Menu:
LEVEL - EASY, NORMAL, HARD. Set game difficulty (CPU skill).
CONTROLLER - 1P/2P A TYPE, B TYPE.
SKIP - ON, OFF. Skip Mode disables dialogue sequences.
POSITION - (+/-)0 to (+/-)10. Reposition screen up or down.
SOUND - STEREO, MONO.
OKINIIRI (Preference) - choose voice for in-game system sounds.
OMOIDE (Memories/remembrances/records) - endings you've gotten.
MEMORY CARD - SAVE, LOAD.
Some notes:
Defaults: Level NORMAL, Controller A TYPE, Skip OFF, Position +/-0,
Sound STEREO, Okiniiri ALL.
The LEVEL setting doesn't seem to make a difference in getting
characters' omoide, so you can set it as easy (or hard) as you want.
CONTROLLER settings: For A TYPE, during gameplay, the O button (A or
C button SSat) is used to switch/drop/grab with the hane-dama, and the X
button (B button SSat) is used to manually push the field upward. For B
TYPE, these buttons are reversed.
The OKINIIRI option only affects a couple things in the game, but
it's still kinda nice to have, if you like a particular girl's voice or
manner of speaking for some reason... ^^ These are the things I've found
that the Okiniiri option affects: Level select ("easy/normal/hard")
option, "Now saving/loading" message (and the "can't find your memory
card" message), 1P Tokimeki Mode "Please enter your name" message, and of
course, the actual Okiniiri selection (except for "All"). =) The "All"
selection will make it so that a girl is randomly chosen for each line...
though the "save/load" voice always seems to be whatever was used last
(Shiori is default) on the Options screen... Oh, one more thing the
Okiniiri option seems to affect is which of the three instructional demo
gets played in attract mode (see section V.7 for more info on the
instructional demos)... Also, it seems that a girl selected for Okiniiri
will always appear (on the P1 side) in the demo battles (PSX only; the
SSat version doesn't seem to have demo battles...).
Here's the order of the name listings for the Okiniiri option. The
names in the Omoide section will also show up in the same pattern (except
there's no "All" in Omoide)... Names are given here in "Western" name
order (given name first, family name second). Miharu won't be available
in the Okiniiri list unless she's available as a playable character (see
section V.2).
All
Shiori Fujisaki Yukari Koshiki
Mio Kisaragi Yuko Asahina
Yuina Himoo Mira Kagami
Ayako Katagiri Megumi Mikihara
Saki Nijino Yumi Saotome
Nozomi Kiyokawa [Miharu Tatebayashi]
Lastly, note that Tokkaedama does not have an auto-save feature
(though it does auto-load at the beginning), so make sure to manually
SAVE once in a while, lest you lose any newly made high scores or records
or omoide!
III.2 Hmmm, how do the three 1P Modes of the game differ?
In order (top down), the three 1P modes you can select are: Tokimeki
Mode (story mode, 6 levels), Kirameki Mode (arcade mode, 9 levels), and
Hirameki Mode (puzzle mode, 99 levels)...
Do note that characters' Tokimeki Mode patterns and Kirameki Mode
patterns are actually different(!)... in some cases significantly so! So
you may have to adjust your game tactics somewhat, depending not only upon
which character you play (and/or play against), but also which mode you
play...
Oh, here's the placement of characters on the character select group
photo (this applies to all modes of the game), in case you were wondering:
Mira Megumi Saki Yumi
Ayako Yuko Shiori Yuina
Nozomi Mio Yukari [Miharu]
Yes, that conspicuously empty spot in the lower right corner is where
Miharu appears. =) The Player 1 default is Yuko, and the Player 2 default
is Shiori...
A. Tokimeki Mode (Story Mode)
-----------------------------
After selecting Tokimeki Mode, you will be prompted to input your
name. Alas, there don't seem to be any provisions for inputting Western
characters. Here's the input chart the game uses (regular characters (the
game uses hiragana; no katakana or kanji options...) in CAPS, small
characters in lowercase):
A I U E O MA MI MU ME MO GA GI GU GE GO
KA KI KU KE KO YA YU YO ZA JI ZU ZE ZO
SA SHI SU SE SO RA RI RU RE RO DA DJI DZU DE DO
TA CHI TSU TE TO WA (W)O -N BA BI BU BE BO
NA NI NU NE NO a i u e o PA PI PU PE PO
HA HI FU HE HO tsu ya yu yo - ~ . ! ?
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 {- -} E N D
The hiragana character set is based upon the five vowel sounds in
Japanese. For those of you unfamiliar with Japanese, they're exactly the
same five vowel sounds as in Spanish. For those of you unfamiliar with
Spanish (or its close linguistic relatives), the five vowel sounds can be
approximated in English thusly: awe, ee, oo, eh, oh (saw, tree, true,
bread, dough). But due to the differing nature of English vowels (ahem),
of course, this is not entirely correct... Consult a Japanese language
reference for more information on Japanese vowels, character sets, and the
construction of words...
Anyway, you can enter a name up to five characters long. If you
don't enter a name (select "END" without inputting anything), the game
will assign the name "Yoshio" (Yumi's brother) to you.
Oh, pretty much all of the character names would be inputted as
they're spelled. The two exceptions to this are: "Yuko" actually has a
long "u", so would be constructed "YU-U-KO". Similarly, "Ijuin" (Rei's
last name) also has a long "u", so would be constructed "I-JI-yu-U-I-N";
of course, since that's one character too long for the name input, I guess
it's a moot point, but... ^^;
Once you've chosen a name, you'll get the standard character
selection screen. Each character has a different story in Tokimeki Mode.
Before each battle (or whatever), there will be a little conversational
sequence that introduces your opponent; these are what can be turned off
with SKIP MODE (in the Options Menu)... Anyway, here's a basic summary of
what each character's story is about:
Shiori on her way to confess her love to the player character (you)
Mio studying for exams!
Yuina same thing she does every day... trying to take over the world!
Ayako painting portraits (convincing people to model for her)
Saki brought 2 lunches to school; who could the second one be for...?
Nozomi at the beach, no one's swimming; Nozomi's gonna convince 'em!
Yukari gone to the pool, then realizes... she doesn't know how to swim!
Yuko gone karaoke-ing!
Mira out bargain shopping
Megumi trying to find loving homes for some abandoned kittens...
Yumi snowball fight!
Miharu reminiscing; memories of stalking the player character...!
And here's some data on who each character encounters in their
Tokimeki Mode story (Rei is always round 6, but the other 5 will appear in
a random order), in case you want to plan your tactics according to who
your opponents are going to be...
Character outfit 1P Tokimeki Mode opponents
Shiori Fujisaki school Yuina Saki Mira Megumi Yumi
Mio Kisaragi school Shiori Ayako Yukari Yuko Miharu
Yuina Himoo school Mio Ayako Saki Yukari Yuko
Ayako Katagiri school Shiori Mio Nozomi Yukari Mira
Saki Nijino street Mio Ayako Nozomi Yuko Megumi
Nozomi Kiyokawa swim Shiori Mio Ayako Mira Yumi
Yukari Koshiki swim Shiori Saki Nozomi Yuko Megumi
Yuko Asahina street Ayako Nozomi Mira Megumi Miharu
Mira Kagami street Yuina Saki Yukari Yumi Miharu
Megumi Mikihara street Mio Yuina Nozomi Mira Yumi
Yumi Saotome street Mio Yuina Yukari Yuko Miharu
Miharu Tatebayashi varies! Shiori Yuina Saki Nozomi Yumi
[prologue: street Rei: school school school street swim street]
And conversely, in case you're wondering whose stories your favorite
character(s) appears in, here's another little chart:
Character Appears in 1P Tokimeki Mode stories for:
Shiori Mio Ayako Nozomi Yukari Miharu
Mio Yuina Ayako Saki Nozomi Megumi Yumi
Yuina Shiori Mira Megumi Yumi Miharu
Ayako Mio Yuina Saki Nozomi Yuko
Saki Shiori Yuina Yukari Mira Miharu
Nozomi Ayako Saki Yukari Yuko Megumi Miharu
Yukari Mio Yuina Ayako Mira Yumi
Yuko Mio Yuina Saki Yukari Yumi
Mira Shiori Ayako Nozomi Yuko Megumi
Megumi Shiori Saki Yukari Yuko
Yumi Shiori Nozomi Mira Megumi Miharu
Miharu Mio Yuko Mira Yumi
In playing your 1P Tokimeki Mode game, you can continue as many times
as you want *before* you get to Rei (round 6), but once you get there, you
will only have one chance to defeat him. If you win, you'll get the
"good" ending for your character (which will be stored in your Omoide, and
can be saved to your save file), and if you lose, you'll get the "bad"
ending (some are worse than others!). Note that the ending credits and
song (vocal) will also be different...
Oh, on the subject of continues... note that, unlike in PuyoPuyo,
continuing does not reset your score in Tokkaedama, so if you like keeping
your high score list meaningful (as I generally do), don't use continues
in Tokimeki Mode! (only scores from 1P Tokimeki Mode are recorded on the
high score list) Unless your score won't make the high score list... or
you're not planning on updating your save file, of course.
B. Kirameki Mode (Arcade Mode)
------------------------------
After selecting Kirameki Mode, you'll get a screen with three
choices. Representative of the three years of high school (Japanese high
schools have 3 years), this is actually a difficulty select screen! From
left to right, we have 1-nen-sei (Freshman), 2-nen-sei (Junior), and
3-nen-sei (Senior). 1-nen-sei (easy) has only 3 stages. 2-nen-sei
(normal) has 9 stages, as does 3-nen-sei (hard). After selecting the
difficulty (year), you'll get the standard character select screen. Oh,
do note that the characters' attack-patterns are slightly different for
their Senior year...
Opponents in Kirameki Mode are chosen randomly (you can even face
yourself), except for Stage 9, which is always Rei (similarly, Stage 9 is
the only place Rei will appear...).
Completing a Kirameki Mode game (any difficulty) will get you a
credits sequence that's the same as the "good ending" credits in Tokimeki
Mode. By completing a game with a character in Senior year, you will also
earn a character portrait (stored in your Omoide) which can be saved onto
your save file...
C. Hirameki Mode (Puzzle Mode)
------------------------------
After selecting Hirameki Mode, you'll get the standard character
select screen. Select any character (it doesn't matter which, so you
might as well select your favorite... =) ). After selecting a character,
you'll get a level select screen. Select a level by pressing up or down
on the d-pad, and press START, [O], [X], [square], or [triangle] (A, B, or
C button SSat). (If this is your first time in Hirameki Mode, just hit
one of those buttons, and you'll begin on level 1)
Hirameki Mode is 99 levels long. Basically, each level has a puzzle
set up on it which you're given a limited number of moves to complete.
Switching, dropping, or grabbing a piece counts as a move. The three
basic completion conditions are: 1) Remove all pieces from the board
(nothing can be left, even in the hane-dama), 2) Trigger a chain of n
length (no more, no less), and 3) Cause n pieces (o-dama) to disappear at
the same time (other stuff may happen before or after this, though).
For those of you who have trouble reading the Japanese, here are the
conditions for the first few levels, which should be enough so you can
figure out what the rest are...
PSX - LV 1: 2-chain, in 2 moves
LV 2: 3-chain, in 2 moves
LV 3: Remove all, in 4 moves
LV 4: 6 at once, in 3 moves
SSat - LV 1: Remove all, in 2 moves
LV 2: Remove all, in 2 moves
LV 3: Remove all, in 2 moves
LV 4: 6 at once, in 3 moves
LV 5: Remove all, in 4 moves
LV 6: 2-chain, in 2 moves
Here are what each of the buttons do in Hirameki Mode:
PSX SSat
START Exit to title screen. X
[square] Exit to level select. Y
[triangle] Start current level over. Z
O Switch/drop/grab piece. A/C
X (no function) B/START
Finishing level 99 (i.e. all the levels) will earn you a color
version of the character select group photo (including Miharu, even if she
isn't yet available), and a short "congratulations" message from the
character you completed level 99 with.
Anyway, for more information on the PSX Hirameki Mode (hints and
solutions for all 99 levels!), see my PSX Tokkaedama Hirameki Mode hints
file, and/or solutions file, both of which should be available via my
Tokkaedama webpage (address at top of this document)...
III.3 How about the three 2P Modes?
For a 2 player game, the only difference between the modes is the
attack-patterns. Type A will use the characters' Tokimeki Mode patterns.
Type B will use the characters' Senior year (3-nen-sei) Kirameki Mode
patterns. Type C (Cho:setsu Rensa Mode) will give each character an
attack-pattern that's completely of one color (the color closest to their
hair color).
Here's a list of the hair color equivalents for the Type C
attack-patterns (all of these patterns fall from the top, btw):
Shiori red Yukari red
Mio green Yuko red
Yuina blue Mira pink
Ayako pink Megumi yellow
Saki blue Yumi yellow
Nozomi green Miharu green
Rei yellow
For more information on Miharu and Rei, see section V of this FAQ...
After you've selected from one of the three 2 player modes, you'll
get another screen where you get to select how long a match you'll be
playing (9 is a 5/9 round match, 7 is a 4/7 round match, etc...). The
next screen is where you assign a relative handicap to the players. You
can probably tell from the pictures, but the higher up your hane-dama is,
the easier things will be for you, relative to the other player. Handicap
appears to be based upon initial speed of upward screen advance...
Finally, after assigning the relative handicap, you get to the character
select screen. Note that if you selected a number of rounds larger than
1, you'll be selecting a character for each round (for round 1, you'll
play your first selection, for round 2, you'll play your second, etc...).
---------------------
IV. Tactics and Stuff
---------------------
IV.1 Do you have any tips on setting up chains?
Sure. Here's an easy way to set up a quick 6-chain. Basically, just
line up vertical columns of three along the top of your initial work area.
For example, something like:
x Y G R B P
B y G r b P
B Y g r B p
So now all you'd have to do is put a B piece at the "x", or below the
two B pieces, and you have a quick 6-chain!
If you want to make something longer, just build down from there,
using horizontal sets of 3, maybe something like this:
x Y G R B P
B y G r b P
B Y g r B p
Y Y y
g g g
B B b
Just remember to keep the edge piece of your first horizontal set as
a ko-dama, or the row will get set off too soon (if the row was "Y y Y",
for example, the vertical B set above it would set off the Y set,
shortening your chain...).
From there, you can keep building downwards (fairly easy), or you can
steer your chain back to the side (a little harder, since you have to be a
lot more careful about not accidentally setting something off, or ruining
the integrity of your chain in the setup...). So you can get something
like:
x Y G R B P
B y G r b P
B Y g r B p
g r p Y Y y
g r P g g g
G r p B B b
Once again, remember to keep the bottom piece of the first horizontal
set on the branch as a ko-dama, or the column will get set off too soon...
Oh, and remember that, as your first set of six progresses across the
screen, it'll be turning any ko-damas immediately below into o-damas, so
be careful not to have anything which may get prematurely triggered
because of this! Also, if your opponent has dropped any pieces on top of
your pattern structure, be aware that they can also potentially destroy
the integrity of your chain... Here are examples of these:
p p p {- G turns p to P,
x Y G x Y G which triggers
Y column B y G B y G top two P pieces
triggers B Y g B Y g below, ruining
R column! -} g r p g r p {- chain...
g R P g r P
G R p G r p
To help guard against things like this, you can actually set up a
"buffer" row under your initial three. This gives you a little less room
to set up the really long chains, but it makes things a bit safer (and
perhaps quicker) to set up. Here's an example of this:
x Y G R B P
B y G r b P
B Y g r B p
x B g Y Y y
g r p g g g
g r P B B b
G r p G g G
Make sure the buffer row doesn't interfere with anything, of course.
Oh, one more advantage of the buffer row is that you can store the trigger
piece (in the above case, a "B") there, so you know you'll have it for
when you need it... and it's a lot closer to where you'll be using it (one
of the two "x" marks) than the bottom of the screen... =)
Anyway, if you want (and have time), you can continue weaving your
chain down and across, down and across, as above...
IV.2 Help! How do I beat Rei?
Rei is a tough opponent! Mostly because his attack-pattern is
significantly better than anybody else's in the game! (Rei's attack
patterns are listed in section V.3, in case you're interested...)
In other words, if you do a large attack on him, he gets an easy (or
fairly easy) counterattack out of it, but if he does a large attack on
you... you don't. So... since doing large attacks on Rei actually turns
out to be disadvantageous to you... don't do any large attacks!
More specifically, simply stick mostly with 1-chains (does that even
count as a "chain"? ^^; ), perhaps doing the occasional 2-chain here or
there. But mostly, just do 1-chains. Keep the board as clear as you can.
Eventually, the screens will start advancing much more quickly (the music
will change too). Rei won't be able to handle the quickly advancing
screen as well as you (hopefully) can... so if you just keep your own
screen away from the top for long enough, Rei will succumb to the screen
advance, and lose!
General tip: When triggering pieces, try to convert as many ko-damas
as possible into o-damas (since ko-damas are essentially useless for
1-chains), giving you more pieces to work with. Since Rei's pattern falls
from the top, the top edge of your pattern of pieces (before the ko-damas
fall) is usually a good place to work...
Tips for when the going gets rough (screen advance becomes really
fast): While your pieces are disappearing, your screen won't be
advancing... so try to trigger as many 1-chains (or whatever) as you can!
If possible, trigger vertical (or L-shaped) clusters over horizontal ones,
since those will lower a column further; similarly, by concentrating on
(and/or around) one particular column, you should be able to keep it
further from the top... When you trigger a set, try to switch the trigger
piece with another o-dama; ko-damas cannot be used to trigger anything, so
switching with a ko-dama means you'll have to use another move (more time)
to pick up an o-dama anyway, so... When Rei's screen is fairly close to
the top, it's actually decently safe for you to trigger any longer (longer
than 1, that is... =) ) chains you can come up with, since he won't really
have much time to trigger a counterattack; also, longer chains will keep
your own screen from advancing for longer periods of time...
For some of the characters with the better patterns, you can actually
just play against Rei normally, and build up a huge attack, and try to
bury him under it. There's still some element of risk, but if your
character's pattern is one of the better ones, it's doable. In fact, I've
actually done this with Shiori (who has one of the better Tokimeki Mode
patterns) before... Using the "Rei method" above, however, is generally
the safer route, I think. It has a much higher success rate (nearly
perfect) for me, at least. ^^
----------------------------------------
V. Codes, Secrets, and Other Neat Things
----------------------------------------
V.1 How do I select my character's outfit?
As you may have noticed, each character in the game has three
different outfits. For the sake of alliteration, I've labeled these
"street", "school", and "swim". =)
Anyway, while for 1P Tokimeki Mode, you are unable to select your
character's outfit (it's pre-assigned by the nature of the character's
story), for every other mode of the game (yes, including Hirameki Mode),
you can select your character's outfit as follows:
PSX SSat
[square] street clothes Z
[triangle] school uniform Y
O swimsuit A/C/X
In 2P mode, if both players select the same character and outfit, the
game seems to randomly assign one of the players a different outfit...
V.2 Is there a way to play as Miharu Tatebayashi?
Of course. =)
The standard method for releasing Miharu as a playable character is
simply to get all 11 standard characters' Tokimeki Mode omoide (i.e. get
the "good" ending for all 11 characters). Once you've done this (make
sure to save your progress, since there's no auto-save feature!), you'll
find that Miharu has appeared on the character select group photo, in the
conspicuously empty spot in the lower right corner... =) She'll also
appear in the "Okiniiri" list in the Options menu, btw... Miharu is
playable in all modes of the game, and you can even earn Tokimeki and
Kirameki Mode omoide for her! (yes, she even has her own Tokimeki Mode
story)
There's also a code that will (temporarily) release Miharu as a
playable character. Go into 1P Tokimeki Mode. Now at the name entry
screen, enter the name "Angel" (E-N-JI-e-RU (see name input chart in
section III.2.A if you need help))... and that's it! Miharu will have
appeared on the character select screen. Oh, you don't have to play a
game as "Angel", btw... just exit out of the character select screen
(X button PSX, B button SSat) and enter a new name, or even select a
different mode of play...
The "Angel" code is only a temporary code, however. Miharu will
remain a playable character only for the current game session (so long as
your system is not turned off or reset). Saving to your save file won't
make Miharu permanently playable.
There are, however, two ways in which you *can* make Miharu
permanently playable via the "Angel" code... Firstly, if you get either
(or both) of Miharu's omoide and save that to your save file, Miharu will
become permanently playable! And secondly, if you set the Okiniiri option
to her voice via Options Mode (and save that setting to your save file),
so long as you don't change the Okiniiri from her voice on your save file,
Miharu will remain a playable character...
Here are Miharu's attack-patterns, btw, so you'll know how to play
as/against her...
Character Tokimeki Kirameki (1-2) Kirameki (3)
Miharu b y r p y r
g y y y y g b y r p y r
g r r r r g b } y } r } p } y } r
g b b b b g b y r p y r
g p p p p g b y r p y r
(fr. bottom) (fr. top) (fr. top)
V.3 How about Rei Ijuin?
You bet!
Here are Rei's attack-patterns, btw, so you'll know how to play
as/against him...
Character Tokimeki Kirameki (1-2) Kirameki (3)
Rei r p y p
b r b r b r b b g g
y y y y y y r y p y r p (same as 1-2)
p g p g p g b g b g b g
b r b r b r r y p y r p
(fr. top) (fr. top)
The only way I've found to get Rei as a playable character is via a
code. For the code to work, however, Miharu must first be available as a
playable character (it's not necessary for her to be permanent, though;
the "Angel" code will do just fine). So anyway... if Miharu's playable,
then at the title screen (the one that says "PRESS START", as opposed to
the one which prompts you to choose between "START" and "OPTION"), do the
following code (on either controller PSX, 1P controller SSat):
PSX u,u,d,d,l,r,l,r,X,O
SSat u,u,d,d,l,r,l,r,B,A
The SSat version has a tone to let you know you've done it correctly,
though the PSX, for some reason, doesn't. Anyway, if you've inputted the
code correctly, you'll now find that Rei is available as a playable
character in every mode of the game *except* 1P Tokimeki Mode (Rei has no
story of his own!). Like the "Angel" code, this is a temporary code,
lasting only as long as the current game session. Since I haven't found a
way to save Rei to the save file, it looks like you may just have to input
the Rei code every game session you want to use him...
Anyway, since the original character select screen doesn't really
have room for another character, you'll find that, after doing the Rei
code, you'll have a new character select screen (for every mode except 1P
Tokimeki Mode)! The new character select screen arranges the characters
in a circle, just like on the cover of the game (Rei's in the center)!
And just like the cover art, everyone now has angel wings! ^^ And yes,
Yuina still has bat wings! ^^; And Rei has archangel wings...
Here's the arrangement of characters on the new character select
screen:
Shiori
Nozomi Yuina
Saki Yumi
Miharu Rei Megumi
Mio Mira
Ayako Yukari
Yuko
Both players' default is Shiori. Pressing right on the d-pad will
proceed clockwise around the ring. Pressing left will proceed counter-
clockwise. Rei can be reached by pressing down from Shiori or up from
Yuko.
When your marker is on a character, that character's wings will start
flapping/fluttering. If in 2P mode, both players put their marker on the
same character, you can actually get two sets of wings fluttering! ^^;
Oh, one last note for people familiar with the actual Tokimemo game
(everyone else can safely ignore the contents of this paragraph; it
doesn't directly deal with Tokkaedama): Yes, I already know about the
"secret" (in regards to Rei's past), so you don't have to e-mail me with
that particular piece of info; if you don't know what I'm talking about,
just ignore this paragraph. I believe in not revealing spoilers, as a
general matter of policy, so... ^^
V.4 Is there a "quick continue" command in Kirameki Mode?
There sure is.
PSX - At the "Continue?" prompt, press SELECT to continue your game
with the same character (and costume) you were just using (pressing START
will return you to the character select screen, as normal).
SSat - At the "Continue?" prompt, press the A button to continue your
game with the same character (and costume) you were just using (pressing
START will return you to the character select screen, as normal).
V.5 Is there a game-internal reset code?
Yep.
PSX - On the 1P side, hold L1+R1+SELECT+START for a second or two,
and the game should reset to the title sequence.
SSat - On the 1P side, press A+B+C+START, and the game should reset
to the "PRESS START" screen. Hitting the reset command again from there
will exit you out of the game to the SSat CD player interface...
V.6 (SSat) What are these chalkboard sketches I see occasionally?
Since the Sega Saturn has an internal clock and calendar, it can take
advantage of those in some games... Basically, the character sketches
which occasionally appear on the "now loading" chalkboard appear on dates
which have significance in the actual Tokimeki Memorial game. Things like
character birthdays, and dates of special events. For some of the events,
there will just be something written on the chalkboard, instead of a
sketch, btw...
Anyway, I'm not going to list everything here (since I don't have an
organized list of event dates; check a TokiMemo FAQ... or just try various
dates on your own...), but here's a list of character birthdays (I haven't
tested any of these, but...), if you want to play around with your
Saturn's calendar settings, or whatever:
Player (selected by player) Yukari Jun 13
Shiori (selected by player) Yuko Oct 17
Mio Feb 3 Mira Nov 15
Yuina Jul 7 Megumi Sep 5
Ayako Sep 30 Yumi May 16
Saki Jan 13 Miharu Mar 3
Nozomi Dec 3 Rei Aug 23
Yoshio Apr 4
The first time you load your game (SSat), you will be prompted to
enter first your birthday, then Shiori's (just like the actual Tokimemo
game). Press up/down on the d-pad to change the number, and left/right to
switch fields (month, day). Once you've set your b-day, press A or C, and
you'll get a "Is this correct? (YES, NO)" prompt, so select your answer
and press A or C. Once you've successfully entered your b-day, repeat the
process for Shiori's birthday...
V.7 Is there any other neat stuff in the game?
CD tracks - Miharu appears on the warning track ("This is a CD ROM;
don't play this disc on a CD player", etc...) in both the PSX and SSat
versions. Also, the SSat version has most of the game music as CD tracks
on the game disc! ** WARNING - Do not play CD ROM data tracks on regular
CD players! You risk damage to your system, your speakers, and your
hearing! ** Playing CD tracks from a game CD via the CD Player on your
game system is generally safe, though, since it's programmed to filter the
data tracks out, so it won't send them to the audio output...
Title screen vocalization - As it turns out, the way in which the
characters speak the title of the game at the end of the OP sequence
actually changes, once Miharu is available as a playable character! The
main difference is that Yukari will speak more normally (for her), so her
segment will have become rather significantly timing-displaced (out of
sync with the rest of the characters), by the time she actually
finishes... ^^;
Instructional demos - There are actually three instructional demos,
each with four of the characters explaining the rules. The content is
basically the same for each, but the dialogue (and character interaction)
is somewhat different, of course. =) If you like a particular one (or
just like a particular character), you can set the game to always play a
particular instructional demo by setting the Okiniiri option (in the
Options Menu) to any of the girls who appear in it; if the Okiniiri option
is set to "All", the game will repeatedly cycle through all three (spring,
winter, then summer, it seems)...
Anyway, here's who's in each, listed by the season of the BGM (these
are variations of the BGM tracks used in the actual Tokimemo game, if I'm
not mistaken)...
Spring BGM - Ayako Megumi Shiori Mio
Summer BGM - Yuko Nozomi Yumi Saki
Winter BGM - Yukari Yuina Mira (Miharu)
End credits seiyuu name order - In case anybody's interested, here's
the order the characters and their seiyuu (voice actors/actresses) are
listed in the end credits. The character you won with will always be
listed first, but the following is the "standard" order from which
everything is derived: Shiori, Yumi, Rei, Mio, Yuina, Ayako, Saki,
Yukari, Nozomi, Mira, Yuko, Megumi, Miharu.
Credits sequence SD character pattern deviances - During the credits
sequence for the "good" endings (including the Kirameki Mode endings),
there will be two lines of SD (mini) characters on-screen, one along the
top, and the other along the bottom. The two lines of characters will go
through a sequence of synchronized or sequential actions arranged to the
end music. However, for each character, there will be a point in the
credits sequence where one of the SD characters will deviate slightly from
the pattern set by the rest. Here's the standard order of SD character
actions:
[enter from left] sync confused/concerned
sync bow wave bow
sync yay sync win
wave yay (long!) alt bow
mid yay mid yay
sync bow sync lose
sync walk (t:r, b:l) sync walk (top: left, bottom: right)
alt win alt yay
sync lose alt win
alt yay [exit to right]
sync win [mid return, mid win]
And here's a list of which SD character to watch (they all seem to be
during the "confused/concerned" segment), numbered from left to right
(they're all on the top row):
Shiori 9 Yukari 9
Mio 5 Yuko 9
Yuina 4 Mira 4
Ayako 8 Megumi 7
Saki 3 Yumi 2
Nozomi 6 Miharu 1
Rei 5
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The latest version of this file can be found at:
Just Another Day At Kirameki High
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