Ah Tokimeki Memorial, it’s a quirky game by Konami where it kickstarted the dating simulation genre. But in recent times, the franchise itself remained dormant thanks to Konami’s current priorities, with its spinoff Tokimeki Idol performed badly that the servers were shut down, leaving Konami to release the offline version of the game.
But still, the franchise is still being celebrated 25 years later, although Haruo Yaguchi will have a hard time scoring one girl in Tokimeki Memorial since fighting games is his expertise.
Anyways, Makoto Ono gave Haruo Yaguchi the Playstation port of Tokimeki Memorial since her house won’t allow video games, even as far as owning one because Moemi Gouda is very strict.
Then again, Haruo owns a Sega Saturn and he doesn’t have the Sony Playstation on his home… that’s until he realized that he borrowed the Playstation from Koharu Hidaka.
And so, Haruo plays Tokimeki Memorial on Koharu’s Playstation. There’s no pressure on playing a dating sim, right?
Just kidding, turns out that Haruo is getting some pressure from not only Koharu, but also his mom and Makoto as they want to see if he has what it takes to score one girl in the game.
Sadly, he didn’t get one girl, not even Shiori Fujisaki. Well, I guess Haruo is not good at playing dating sims aside from shoot ’em ups.
Even the likes of Makoto Ono and Koharu Hidaka called him out on his mediocrity, which is why it’s reflected on Haruo Yaguchi and his bad understanding on girls’ feelings.
Um Haruo, why don’t you take tips from Keima Katsuragi. He’s the king of dating sims!
Oh yeah, let’s go back to Makoto Ono where she revealed to Haruo Yaguchi that it’s her fault that she rebelled against her family and their strict rules, which is why Akira Ono suffered the most of their strict parenting (via Moemi Gouda) is because Makoto’s parents don’t want another rebellious child.
In any case, Makoto wants to help Akira no matter what, but it’s gonna be hard for her since Moemi-san is getting more strict than ever. So, Makoto asked Haruo to do something to cheer her sister up, something that’s unique! But you know what, Haruo will do something about it… but he’ll have to create something in secret.
Heck, Yaguchi wants to hide his plans from both Doi and Miyao since it’s a surprise gift to Akira Ono. Then again, I wonder what kind of gift will Haruo make?
Why it’s none other than video games of course as Yaguchi creates a role-playing game using RPG Tsukuru on the Super Famicom. Of course, RPG Tsukuru (or RPG Maker) has become a popular tool for game makers who created outstanding titles like Yume Nikki.
Then again, how will Haruo give a video game to Akira when her family forbids video games? Well, there’s a solution to that.
Turns out, the old butler got a Super Famicom hidden in his room, which means that Akira can play video games under Moemi’s watch.
Anyways, after many days of creating an RPG in RPG Tsukuru, Haruo Yaguchi finally made “Ono Quest” which is based on Akira Ono’s daily life.
And really, despite being a slacker most of the time, it appears that Haruo made a fine job of creating an RPG that’s relatable to Akira’s struggles such as being lectured by Moemi Gouda.
I must say that Akira Ono is enjoying it after a day of tutoring. Then again, it doesn’t last long…
That’s because Moemi Gouda found out that Akira Ono is playing video games and thus throw the Super Famicom to the trash can.
For Moemi-san, she won’t tolerate of having Akira play video games right under her nose. But for Akira however, that was the last straw from Gouda…
…as she runs away much like last time. Really Moemi Gouda, you made a horrible mistake of throwing away one of Akira’s pasttime when she’s done with your grueling lessons!
Hell, even Makoto Ono called Moemi-san out for her cruel behavior towards Akira, but Gouda remained unfazed as it’s the right thing to do.
Oh, and let’s not forget about the family butler as he’s saddened that his Super Famicom got thrown out, but more importantly he told Gouda not to be overtly strict towards Akira because she might turn into an unpleasant person later on.
I’m glad that there are people who are worried about Akira’s struggles, but I wonder what Akira’s parents think of her especially when she’s under the watchful eye of Moemi Gouda?
Anyways, let’s move onto the next scene where Haruo Yaguchi is currently working part-time in order to not only buy the newest video games, but also buy tickets for the upcoming AOU Show.
On the other hand, Haruo was visited by Moemi Gouda as she wants to talk to him, and also wants to make amends with her strict tutoring towards Akira Ono…
…by giving Haruo a rare Sharp Twin Famicom instead of the Super Famicom that she throw away in the dumpster. I guess she’s not into video games which is why Moemi-san bought a Sharp Twin Famicom, which is a combined unit of Nintendo’s Family Computer with the Disk System.
Also, good luck finding games from the Famicom Disk System that are in working condition because most of the disks are finicky to run.
Anyways, it seems that Moemi Gouda wants to apologize towards Haruo Yaguchi for criticizing his hobby for playing video games as she removes her glasses.
But you know what, I think it’s best for Moemi-san to apologize towards Akira Ono for her strict behavior. Even though she wants to turn Akira into a respectable woman in society, her spartan way of tutoring would backfire in the long run.
Also, Haruo told Moemi-san that she looks better without her scary glasses. Anyways, Yaguchi returns to work so he can earn cash for buying the latest games.
Now then, let’s move onto the next scene where Haruo Yaguchi will go to the 1995 AOU Show together with his mother Namie. Then again, it’s weird to have someone bringing his/her parent to a gaming convention.
That’s until Haruo saw Akira Ono from out of the blue. Wait, did Moemi-san and her parents allow Akira to go out? This can’t be happening!
Of course, Haruo’s mother told him to go out with Akira because c’mon, you can’t have a doting mother tag along the ride. And besides, Namie supports Haruo… except when he got bad grades of course.
And so, both Akira Ono and Haruo Yaguchi went to the 1995 AOU Show where they’ll get their first hand on the latest video games coming out…
…like Soul Edge (or Soul Blade) from Namco where they took inspiration from SNK’s Samurai Spirits into a stunning 3D weapon-based fighting game.
Of course, Akira will pick big-bodied characters like Rock while Haruo will pick the unusual Voldo. Maybe he wants to try weird characters because of their unique gameplay mechanics.
Also, they tried playing Fighting Vipers, one of Sega’s fighting games where it has characters with armor and walled stages.
Of course, Sega would create unique fighting games like Last Bronx and Sonic the Fighters before settling with Virtua Fighter in later years.
Anyways, Akira picked the main character Bahn which Haruo is planning to pick that character. Then again, I wonder if he’s okay playing a Bahn mirror match with Akira Ono?
After a day of testing out the latest games at the AOU Show, it’s time for Akira Ono and Haruo Yaguchi to head home with their goodies on hand. They’re not just satisfied, they enjoyed everything there!
One last thing, it appears that Akira Ono showed her memento to Haruo Yaguchi. It’s a pink toy ring that Haruo gave it to Akira before heading to the United States, which serves as a reminder that both Akira and Haruo share fond memories and passion of playing video games regardless of their status.
Man, I’m crying upon seeing this scene and I’m hoping that they’ll stay like this forever, although it would be best if Haruo would take hints on Akira’s intimate feelings for once.
Anyways, that’s about it for the extra episodes of High Score Girl! And like I said before, it was a great experience of not only featuring various video games, but having an interesting story where the main male character interacts with both heroines through video games. Then again, Haruo is still oblivious to both Koharu and Akira’s affection that he’s gonna get bombed just like in Tokimeki Memorial.
Sadly, we’re not gonna get another season since getting permission from various game companies is hard and- Never mind, it appears that J.C.Staff will have a sequel in the works and I can’t wait to watch it in October 2019! With that said, try watching High Score Girl if you’re fond with video games, especially fighting games.
The Anime Rambler - By Benigmatica 