ACTION BUTTON REVIEWS Tokimeki Memorial 

there is quite an egregious audio error somewhere deep into this video. it lasts about five seconds. please don't ask me if it's "intentional." it's not. why would that be intentional? it happens to involve copyrighted music, as well, which is the worst thing. oh well: this is what happens when you have like 19 audio tracks under your video lol feel free to guess what i was saying there. and sorry if it gets real loud all of a sudden! also you could back me on patreon if you want me to be able to afford to hire more people to help avoid stuff like that in the future . . . !! if i get 1,000 thumbs ups on this comment i'll re-export a fixed version of the video. though in that case, you all gotta comment again . . .

hey listen I know there's a lot to take in here and there's a lot of really dense good stuff, but I think we need to pay some attention to the fact that the ball roll athletics game unearthed that the avatar character has an absolute dump truck ass

"Some of us are so ashamed of even the most inoccent aspects of who we are that eventually we run out of people to be". This quote will pop in my mind everytime I'm not being true to my self from now on.

Me: "I don't care for tropes" Tim: "She called me BUBBUS" Me, sobbing: "Oh my god she called him bubbus"

So, if Edge reviewed this game they would rate it 7/10 "if only you could shoot these girls!"

This is my first exposure to Action Button, I'm completely floored.

Alternate title: Shiori Fujisaki: how I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb

The sociopathic rampage you have to go on in order to win over Shiori in this game is more intense than playing Dark Souls blindfolded

"touched a book unsuccessfully" and "deja zoo" have both absolutely sent me into the stratosphere

"a game where you date girls and not stab men? thats GAY" is probably the funniest way to summarize 90's culture XD

If you were wondering, I can confirm that playing the shotgun sound effect at various speeds and volume levels and flashing a contextually relevant thing on the screen bright red did not get boring during these 6 hours.

During the chapter 'The Itch The Freak Scratched', I was reminded of your earlier reference to Groundhog Day. In the film, Phil Connors uses his days on repeat to learn all there is to know about Rita Hanson (or at least what he initially thinks counts as 'all there is to know'). At the end of his first almost-but-not-quite successful wooing of Rita, she says, "You don’t even know me." "This whole day has just been one long setup." "What are you doing? Are you making some kind of list or something?" "Did you call up my friends and ask them what I like and what I don’t like?" "Is this what love is for you?" "I could never love someone like you, Phil, because you’ll never love anyone but yourself." He objects, but the audience knows the truth. He spends the rest of the film trying to become the kind of person that Rita could love. It seems that in Tokimeki Memorial, the player takes an opposite journey, having high intentions of becoming that person for Shiori, but in the end resorting to what can be gleaned from repetition and meticulous note-taking. I'm sure there are more comparisons to be made...

"...and when we decide we now _finally_ know enough to romance her, we, by necessity, objectify her with a Swiss watch-maker's attention to detail. When we romance Shiori Fujisaki, our erstwhile whimsical return to high school acquires the cold fatalism of factory work." ...FUUUUUUCK. Edit: I think this whole video has made me begin to love critical analysis.

Is that time of the year again: The beginning of it

I’m now convinced tokimeki memorial is one of the most important video games in history

“Is love the verb or the object in the sentence that is life?” Is just plain good writing

This was the last video I watched together with my best friend before she died. Action Button, thank you so much for these last moments you gave us together.

Can't get over that person messaging you about reviewing games literally no one cares about when I'm several hours into this and it's easily the most intriguing game you've talked about/most gripping video you've made so far

Your first playthrough is the most accurate representation of high school I've ever seen. It's basically just 4 years of you hanging out with people that barely like you, but if you don't hangout with them enough they spread rumors about you.

According to an uncited entry on TvTropes (the most reliable source on the internet), if you progress down Nozomi's route to the point of guaranteeing her confession, and then STOP dating her completely for the last few months of the game, she will grow her hair out to look more girly as she confesses her love to you under the tree of legend. To describe the level of detail in this game as "insane" would be an injustice to the entire field of psychology and would necessitate the drafting of an entirely new DSM.

That first run-through where you tried to just at least keep a friendship going while everything collapsed around you leaving you broken and alone at the end was a little bit too real for me

If you wanna be Shiori's lover you gotta get with her friends.

"I'd gone from zero to *_B U B B U S_* in just 8 months."

It's time to rewatch Action Button Reviews all over again... ALL over again

I feel like shiori fujisaki did her grindset during elementary or middle school because she had a crush on the MC. In her journey of self-improvement to catch the MCs eyes, she realized she outstripped him and now can only accept him if he chooses to undergo his own transformation for the sake of her love. She realizes her standards changed and is overwhelmed with joy when she finds you to be exceptional. Seems pretty toxic to me

2:47:04 - “The emulator reloaded so quickly that I felt guilty, so I downloaded an mp4 of the original PlayStation bootup sequence off the internet and played it in VLC.” Only a man of culture and respect for the art would burn daylight for the sake of achieving true 1995 immersion. I salute you, good sir.

I am currently one hour into this review - you haven't even talked about the game yet, but I am fully invested in your thesis AND your life stories. Are you the final boss of video essays?

Tim Rodgers' videos are the JRPGs of video game reviews. You can't remember what you did before starting the video, and by the time it ends, you don't know what to do with yourself. All you remember is hearing him talk about Tokimeki Memorial. It's like, a part of your life now. So you just... start it over again.

My first encounter with this game was a fan translated episode of Japanese TV show Game Center CX where comedian Shinya Arino was challenged to reach the Shiori Fujisaki ending after getting married the week before. He got the ending on his first try by going entirely off his own real life wisdom. After watching this video I now realise that it may be one of the most impressive things ever done in the entire series.

I've never been so excited to watch a six-hour-long video.

I'm gonna be honest, I'm here because John from Super Eyepatch Wolf recommend this, which only makes it more baffling that I apparently already watched half of this video, but I can't remember this, I feel cursed

Who here is watching this around the time that Tokimeki Memorial is up for nomination for the World Video Game Hall of Fame in 2024?

I can’t get over how good this is. The absurd length. The detail. The obscure choice of game that I’m now fascinated by. More like this please.

If Tim Rogers single-handedly brings the Tokimeki Memorial series to the states, it will be a hot day in frozen hell.

If anyone is curious, the Top 11 Albums that flash by at 39:12 are: 11. Mind Game by Miho Nakayama 10. No Fuse by Naniwa Express 09. Gokutsubushi by Jagatara 08. Thanks Giving by Ra Mu 07. Aventure by Taeko Ohnuki 06. Purple Rain by Prince and the Revolution 05. Goat by The Jesus Lizard 04. Sappukei by Number Girl 03. Starbow I Tanpopo hata de Tsukamaete by Starbow 02. Our Connection by Ayumi Ishida and the Tin Pan Alley Family 01. Wispy, No Mercy by Citrus

16:15 "Honestly, when I review a Persona game, it's going to be Persona 2." Instantly subbed. Combined with a 6 hour review of TokiMemo, I can only surmise that you are my sworn brother and I will stand with you against any foe from henceforth until the end of days.

There is an idea of a Shiori Fujisaki, some kind of abstraction, but there is no real Shirori, only an entity, something illusory. Although she can hide her cold gaze, and you can shake her hand a feel flesh gripping yours, and even sense your lifestyles are probably comparable, she simply is not there.

I don't think many English speakers would know this, and I don't know of a better place to put it: the quote "What is a man ? A miserable little pile of secrets" comes in fact from the French writer André Malraux who, in his memoirs published in the 60's wrote "Pour l'essentiel, l'homme est ce qu'il cache : un misérable petit tas de secrets". (For the most part, man is what he hides, a miserable little pile of secrets). I have no idea how it got to Castlevania. That would be an interesting story ! Does it in turn predate Malraux ? It seems like something that could be in Shakespeare. Is it a complete coincidence ? Bonus fact: Malraux only wrote the sentence to refute it: in the book, it's a sentiment echoed by a character that is immediately put down by the author surrogate, who replies: "L'homme est ce qu'il fait !". (man is what he does / his deeds)

I don't know why, but the doom shotgun sound effect never gets old.

Shiori may only date guys that get first place in exams, but have you asked yourself if you're willing to settle for a girl that only got 7th? Know your worth, King 👑

I'm new to your channel and enjoying all of your reviews, but I loved this one IMMENSELY in particular. I also wanted to let you know that - while it's not exactly "bubbus" - my parents' pet name for each other has always been "Bub." Kind of like Wolverine. When my dad proposed, he said, "Will you marry me, bub?" Since you said you found it funny to imagine, I hope this brings you a spark of entertainment 1/100th of how much I was delighted by this video.

1:48:45 I don't know if Shiori is the greatest final boss in video game history, but the line "Shiori Fujisaki, history's softest, smiling final dracula, sits upon an endgame throne as tall as the moon, ready to reveal every miserable secret in your little pile." certainly makes me feel like it!

I've started playing this myself, and found that, as the review states, this game has bonkers amounts of STUFF in it. In my game, Megumi had, by year 3, actually worked up the courage to come and introduce HERSELF to ME /without/ needing Shiori's help, OUTSIDE the Christmas party's gates when I wasn't let in. As this seemed to go completely against her character as I had understood it from watching this video, I was left speechless.

素晴らしい動画をありがとう。 マジで誰か日本語字幕をつけるべきだよ、これ。 トキメキメモリアルをこんなにも深く(？)面白く語れる人は、日本人でもなかなか居ないのでは。

Why does the Doom shotgun blast sfx gag make me laugh EVERY. TIME.

I really hate it when people say they could disscuss a topic for hours without any intention to do so. That's why I watch ACTION BUTTON REVIEWS BY TIM ROGERS

i went into this video thinking that the arboretum was a perfectly acceptable location for a date. i know realize that the reason why the most serious romantic relationship in my life ended is because our final date was at the arboretum. the correlation is clear now.

“At the end of the date she no longer beheld me as though I had a terminal illness.” Died laughing at this. A+

This is one of the neatest videos I've ever seen. First of all, I really really like you! You use poetic language when describing important moments, you have hilarious comedic asides where you say "buddy" and it always makes me laugh, you have great recurring bits. Also, you're a fluent Japanese speaker who moved to Japan to work in the games industry, which is exactly what I hope to do in my future. (That tip about playing Dragon Quest 5 is much appreciated-- I'm going to study abroad in Japan soon and I haven't even gotten to N5 yet) You give games the respect and time they deserve: veritably the opposite of a "played through this game for an hour, didn't like it, too hard" IGN review. You're talking about games that are genuinely interesting, you're respecting the classics (which so few people do nowadays), and you use your time so well! It feels like you have a Harry Potter timeturner, because the amount of games you play and the amount of research you do makes me feel like I have so much more potential, that I could be doing so much more with my time than just playing Tetris and watching RU-vid. Knowing that we're both humans and yet you're being so incredibly prolific, it makes me feel like that same potential is within me as well. Also something about how you made a reference to your own book that you knew no one would ever read was so hilarious and yet so familiar to me as a creative individual who can be ashamed of the art he's made in his life. It's a little crazy to think, you're 41 and I'm 20-- it seems are interests and goals are vaguely aligned and so I see you as a sort of future version of myself. I'm sure this TMI for you, but all in all, I just wanted to say that I really really enjoyed this video. May God bless you man, I hope you keep making great stuff and growing as a person (and maybe get married and have those kids too). I wish you luck!

“Much like in real life, every girl has a birthday” These words are like the devil playing a circus organ in my brain as I consider the birthdays I have neglected

"You wouldn't learn Japanese for just one game, would you?" "I... Look, the man spoke about a single game for six hours uninterrupted and only managed glowing and effusive praise, what am I gonna do, *not* play it?"

A modern masterpiece of social commentary, confessional poetry, and technology infotainment disguised as a video game review.

i’ve literally rewatched THE ITCH THE FREAK SCRATCHED over a dozen times. “We call that a DOUBLE LUNGFUL where I’m from!!”

This video series has come along way since Pac-Man

Tim: "Do you want to listen to the junk shop music uninterrupted for 30 seconds?" Me: Buddy you got me for 6 hours, carry on.

Man, TV is dead. I’ll watch this all day

I can't stop thinking about how Shiori's standards are so high that in a way, the game is about trying to save Shiori from a life of loneliness by repeating this time loop where every ending but one condemns her.

"accidentally joined the brass band, as one does" this is more or less what happened to me in real life, in both middle school and high school

"The time of the first page of a romance novel had passed, and here we stood on the last page of a coming of age novel." a+++

This is a game that I had the intention of playing for years on end. One day, when I felt my Japanese comprehension was enough, only then would I play. I watched an hour of the video, just for the historical context and left it there. But with Roger's personal relation to the game hitting me on such a personal level, being in a somewhat similar place in life at the time of his first playthrough, after a week of having the game constantly bouncing around my mind, I burned the disc. Just for later. I put the disc into my PS1s disc tray. Just to appreciate the art on my CRT while I was at home to see it. I picked the last save slot, so it wouldn't get in the way of my future, real playthrough. I played for 18hours. To my surprise, it was almost perfectly suited to my level of Japanese. Midway into the second year, I decided to try for Shiori. I don't really know why. Shamelessly (shamefully) I looked up Shiori's stat requirements and went to save-scumming, bomb disarming and watching the will and guts stats teeter on the balance. If only my PS1 wasn't skipping audio throughout the confession. At least it was stable enough for me to clearly hear the「好きだ」. God, the satisfaction. I'm just ranting because of the immediate impact of this game, but the point is: You probably don't read these comments, but regardless, thank you for the inspiration and the final push to just make me play it. I copied my save to slot one.

I ended up playing the recently fan-translated SNES version of this game purely because you made what might be my favorite video game review ever.

Fun fact: Tim Rogers says "aboretum" way more than the word "anime" in this video. That's impressive

I love how he mentions an actual date from his own life with no context and does not explain it at all. This happens multiple times.

this comprehensive video breakdown of Tokimeki Memorial is such a masterpiece that it belongs in the library of congress, though the hard drive on which it's stored would not fit in the library of congress due to the entire usable space of the library of congress (and its parking lot) being occupied by all the printed-out game pieces which are used in the hypothetical board game adaptation of Tokimeki Memorial

Rewatching this again three years later. Still a banger.

I'm really glad Super Eyepatch Wolf sent me over here. This was one hell of an experience!

"I will not be translating this game" "Konami I could translate this in my sleep"

as someone who just wept after finishing a playthru of tokimeki memorial girl's side 3, i cannot wait to feel equal parts informed and justified 💘

I was almost brought to tears when he brought up that he actually did tell the girl on the swim team that he had a crush on her and they became friends. I really understood how much that meant to him

The twist that fucking Suda51 gave you wisdom to romance a digital girl is just amazing

I remember the first time my buddy accidentally crossed the “Sports Girlfriend Threshold” we were running on a bike path and suddenly he disappeared It was only after that I noticed the shimmering wall of reflected light where my friend had disappeared I never saw them again

"Never use the word 'literally' unless it's for a really good joke." "Now I found myself inadvertently and literally [...] romantically involved" Well done

It's an interesting coincidence that 14 three-year high school playthroughs is 42 years of in game time, and that's how old Tim (almost) was in real life.

me at the beginning of this video: of course you didn't translate the whole game that would be crazy me at the end of the video: god i wish the game was translated

5:29:58 "I wish I could talk to more people about Tokimeki Memorial 2" Sorry, I had to find copies of both Tokimeki Memorial and Tokimeki Memorial 2 and play through them both. I'm here now. Tokimeki Memorial 2 completely owns, hi.

Yuina is written in an over the top way, Mechs, aliens, etc, but I think part of her appeal is that she is still a recognizable high school type: the standoffish cool girl who spends vast chunks of time on some solitary pursuit. For those of us who grew up in the 80s/90s, imagine her with dyed black hair as head of the Camera Club, spending hours in the school’s photo lab. If you chat her up about lenses she’ll play, but you better know your stuff. For the millennials and Zoomers, substitute like website design or video production. Boom, totally plausible. That’s a heartbreaker for the right teenaged guy.

I have watched this while working at a warehouse at least 5 times and I never get tired of it. This is my favorite review on all of youtube, hands down

In case you're wondering, at 4:51:01 he says "間抜け野郎" (manuke yarou). This translates to "buffoon". I had to look this one up.

This is the modern equivalent of a travelling man sitting down by a hearth of a social gathering place and telling about his travels with useful info, jokes and weirdly personal and heartfelt anecdotes mixed in, to anyone who'll listen. You have a way with words mr. RU-vid man.

What Tim is referencing when mentioning "Idoru," and says "Tokimeki Memorial is a Cyberpunk artifact." Idoru is a book by William Gibson, as he says, but it's only after reading it that I understand what he means exactly now. It's a Cyberpunk novel about, basically, a man marrying an idol AI from Japan. That's not exactly true, but it's not wrong either. Read it yourself (you really should) to figure out where I lied. So, when the professor and author of that wonderful article speculates on the nature of "2D syndrome" (which had only grown more true over time) they were literally writing "truth" to a Cyberpunk book that had recently came out... to the creator of Cyberpunk. It's highly ironic, and ties directly into the theme of this season on the channel. In the sense that Gibson predicted such a scenario "Cyberpunk," that makes Tokimeki an "artifact" of Cyberpunk by way of definition. Artifact means "a human made object." It came full circle.

Over the past four days, this video has been getting me through a breakup with the person I thought was my life partner, whom I’ve been with for almost the last four years. This has got to be the most immersive, enjoyable, and touching piece of game criticism I’ve ever seen, and it’s been such a source of comfort this week that even at this length, I really didn’t want it to end. It’s also given me a crush on Tim Rogers. Take me out on a date, Tim.

Did you trick her into loving you- or did the game trick you into becoming her ideal boyfriend?

hearing Tim Rogers say that he'll review P2 is like hearing Tim Rogers whisper "I love you" in your ear.

42:14 Just saying that I appreciate that you literally had footage with "hit" (in baseball terms) in the background while you're talking about a hit (in sales terms) even though not many would pick it up. Got a small chuckle out of me.

I searched on RU-vid "the first dating sim ever made" And found this video, I was concerned at first but watched all of the video in the end.

Apparently Tim's ten (11) favorite albums of all time: 1. Citrus - Wispy, No Mercy 2. Ayumi Ishida & Tin Pan Alley Family - Our Connection 3. Starbow - Starbow I 4. Number Girl - Sappukei 5. Jesus Lizard - Goat 6. Prince - Purple Rain 7. Taeko Ohnuki - Aventure 8. Ramu - Thanksgiving 9. Jagatara - Gokutsubushi 10. Naniwa Express - No Fuse 11. Miho Nakayama - Mind Game

Shiori hates having her picture drawn...what a profound thing for an idealized perfect hotly drawn anime-girl to feel. Meta overload.

I love how the comparison between Doom’s demons lends context to your constant use of the shotgun sound effect in the summary sections.

I just.... need More!... every 6 months i drop your playlist in the background while i'm working. There's no content around thats equally humorous and insightful as Action Button. Whenever you find yourself creating again, I'll be there to binge:-)

Me at the beginning of the video: there is no way this game is more interesting than persona 4 and chrono trigger Me an hour in: this game is much more interesting than chrono trigger and persona 4

I love how in the first 30 minutes of the review there's notices like "Please see the epilogue for more context." BITCH THAT IS 5 HOURS AWAY.

Love how you're just casually throwing in an anecdote about working with freaking SUDA51 around 4 hours into the video

Tim, you may not care for Yuko, but I will never forget, nor deny my friend and I's delight at noticing Yuko was in something called "Beans Club" realizing "Beans Club" was a band when we saw it on the magazine and then seeing aforementioned "Beans Club" with her. I am a member of Beans Club, and you can't change me

It's a day later and I still haven't recovered from the description of the opening of Persona 5 as "[cancelling[ the gym teacher."

I am so happy this video exists. I knew about tokimeki memorial when I was in high school and I played the Tokimeki Memorial: Girl's Side 3 on a borrowed Nintendo DS pirated card with a translated file. I immediately fell in love. I played TMGS1 & 2 and when TMGS4 came out I waited anxiously for a year until the translated version was available. I desperately want to play the original title and I've tried before through translating every line of dialogue that comes up on the screen. But it's basically unplayable like that. This is such a beautiful game, I am yet to see a dating or just dialog based game that can make you relate and feel connected and nostalgic about fictional characters and a high school youth I had never even had. It's quite bizarre in an amazing way. Also no, being rejected by a machine is not easier at all. I remember on my first playthrough I was just playing intuitively and after weeks of arduous play I got the bad ending and...man it was kind of heartbreaking not even gonna lie.

This game is one of the 12 finalist for the world video game hall of fame this year

I have good news, Heartthrob Memorial now has an english translation out! It's the SFC version, but its better than nothing!

You are a true legend may the algorithms bless you

"Some of us are so ashamed of even the most innocent aspects of who we are that, eventually, we run out of people to be." Fuck. Been struggling lately with my social anxiety and timidness and just overall inability to adequately express myself to others. That quote hit like a brick, and was a revelation about myself I needed to hear right now. Thanks.

This video convinced me to finally start taking Japanese classes at 29 years old. Dragon Quest V here I go!