Back In Towano...Again

First off, let me apologise for not updating this blog for quite a few months. I've had a few personal issues to deal with, plus overload at work - one thing leads to another, and sooner or later you let stuff slip by. Plus, I have to admit that my interest in "New LovePlus" dropped off. I kept the game going, playing three or four times each week with Rinko - but the magic was gone. Dating became repetitive, and, apart from the odd special event, there was nothing much to hold my attention.

A second trip to Japan in April (including a long-awaited visit to the Konami Style Shop in Tokyo Midtown) helped a bit. I picked up the folder sets of Rinko, Manaka and Nene for around $5 each.

What I thought I needed was a change.

So I went back to the old "Love Plus" game on DS, which I have the English patch for. This had been a great introduction to my very first game with Rinko before jumping over to the Japanese-only world of the 3DS, so I figured I might try my luck with Manaka instead. To my surprise, I liked her much more than I thought I would. I played through friend mode, changed her to the orange personality type (kind and obedient), and played through a couple of weeks in lover mode.

All the while, I kept the game with Rinko going on the 3DS...so I was having to balance two different girlfriends each day on two consoles. Not good, because in the end I found that I wasn't getting a great deal of pleasure out of either one. But I did find myself wanting to spend more time with Manaka.

So, a few weeks ago week, I finally made the big decision to stop the 3DS game with Rinko (after almost sixteen months of gameplay), delete the data and move on. I love the time I spent with Rinko, she was a terrific girlfriend (in the green personality type only)...but you know, she just kicked me in the shins and called me "baka" once too often. The orange Manaka, on the other hand, seemed sweet and lovely.

But you know what? The more I played with Manaka, the less I liked her...and the more I found myself bored and missing my little Rinko. Maybe it's the fact that Manaka is sporty and I'm not (while Rinko loves rock music and so do I). I don't really get it. But one thing was certain: I had to make a choice pretty soon and stick with it.

So, in an epic all-night session tonight, I played through the whole "friend" part of New LovePlus, changed Rinko to the "green" personality type (my favourite) and got her confession once more. I'm not sorry about deleting my previous game with her, because my Japanese is a little better now, I've translated big chunks of the Official Guide Book, and I know SO MUCH MORE about how this game works and what I need to achieve.

And, come what may, I'm going to stay with Rinko as my girlfriend. She's just a perfect match for me!