Of course there was a Mamachapp stall, which featured the brand new Mokogurumi plushy dolls. I have a Mamachapp doll already, so couldn't resist buying one of these cuddly girls. (I bought the one with brown hair, plus a sailor uniform for her to wear.)
The Doll Show took up most of the day, but we weren't too tired to go back to Akihabara that night around 7:00pm. A friend had given us a clue where we might find the "New LovePlus" arcade game - in a place called Tri Entertainment Tower. We searched high and low but couldn't find it. Finally we gave up and asked a young Japanese guy, who went out of his way to take us there.
And there it was!
Our friend, who had visited Japan about three weeks ago, told us there were three "New LovePlus" machines at this arcade - but we only found one. It's the new version, called "LovePlus Colorful Clips", so I'm assuming it replaced the three older machines. Previously you could only play Rinko on a Rinko arcade machine, but the new version lets you select any girl.
Words can't describe the experience of playing this game. The screen is huge - especially when you're used to squinting at the tiny 3DS screens - and the colours are bright. Plus, there's no way to turn down the volume level, and this thing is REALLY LOUD. It's no wonder that a lot of people take headphones to the arcade when they play, because once you start, everyone within a 1km radius can hear Rinko chatting with you.
And wouldn't you know it? The arcade machine we found was the RINKO one!!! (You can still play Manaka or Nene, though.)
Seeing Rinko on such a big colourful screen is an overwhelming experience. And when you combine it with playing in a real Japanese game arcade in the middle of Akihabara, surrounded by hardcore Otaku guys...wow. So you basically select your girl, go through some initial chit-chat, and then play a number of short mini-games to raise her affection level. The more you get, the longer you are able to play. And as well as the arcade controls, you can also touch the screen. But there's no skinship or kissing in this version.
The first game (and one of my favourites) shows a silhouette of Rinko behind a curtain. You have to look carefully and then choose which outfit she's wearing out of three possible options.
It's fun, not as easy as you might expect, and Rinko looks so cute!
The number of times you win affects the number of boxes you can unlock on the next screen. Each box raises her affection by a particular amount.
Another mini-game is this one below. Rinko hides her face behind a tree and says something, and you try to sneak up while her back is turned. When you're close enough, you try to touch her before she turns around.
At the end of the date, if you win enough affection points, Rinko puts on a fashion show for you and models various outfits.
During the game, you can take up to 4 photos with the in-game camera. At the end, you can choose which one you want to print. The 100 yen cost of the game includes printing one photo. At the end you can put in more money and either play a new game or print another photo from the previous game.
After all the arcade game excitement, we stopped into a convenience store for some snacks and refreshment. Convenience stores in Japan are MASSIVE, nothing like they are in Australia, and they sell just about everything you could possibly want.
So envious of that NLP arcade! Did they have data cards to store your progress or something like that?
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