This is the outer box of the Rinko deluxe set:
There are even cute chibi illustrations on the box flaps.
Inside the box, there are two more smaller boxes. The one on the left contains the Rinko's Secret art book, the illustrated boards, and a copy of the CD. The smaller box contains the 3DS LL console and the game itself.
This photo shows the back of the art book box. Note the change from winter to summer school uniform when you flip it over.
Here's the front cover of the Rinko's Secret art book (which is beautiful, by the way, with a lot of new illustrations from Mino Taro and even unpublished work in progress).
And here is the packet containing the art prints and the front of the Rinko's Secret CD. The CD isn't a soundtrack this time - it's mostly speech by Sakura Tange (Rinko's voice actor) and the opening song from the new game.
There are four art prints, which printed back and front gives you eight exclusive illustrations all together.
These two are my favourites - especially the one of Rinko sitting on her school chair:
Here's the Rinko's Secret CD beside the box containing the game cart.
And finally, here's the 3DS LL console. It has a beautiful matte finish, which is not reflective like the 3DS and doesn't show fingerprints at all (thank goodness). I love the white base colour, and the print of Rinko is really cool.
And look at those screens. They are 90% bigger than the screens of the 3DS.
First impressions of the game itself? I'm kinda speechless, actually - but I will say one thing. After playing this new game on the amazing custom 3DS LL console (known as 3DS XL in the West), when you go back to the old 3DS game it feels like a toy.
Let me start at the beginning. After charging the battery in my new console (which takes about 3 hours), setting it up with the help of a downloaded English manual, and installing new system software (which also took quite a long time), I was finally able to pop the NLP+ cart inside and start the game.
If you've been reading this blog at all lately, you'll know that I've made the decision not to transfer my data from NLP, but to start a new game from the beginning. The game itself takes around 15 minutes to copy all the necessary files onto your SD card - but, while this is going on, you are presented (on the large LH screen) with a slideshow of backgrounds from the game. This was enough for me! When I saw Fountain Park, the Zoo, Winning Burger and other date locations I've seen THOUSANDS of times before - but saw them on the glorious BIG console - I was almost in tears. The difference is literally like watching a classic movie on TV and then going to see it at the cinema.
It's a night and day difference. Aside from being larger, the images are crisper and more detailed. I really was amazed - and the game itself hadn't even started yet.
I haven't noticed any difference at all in the gameplay of the "friend" section of the game between NLP and NLP+...but, having said that, what a difference the console makes to everything. I met Nene first, then Rinko and then Manaka, and all three girls looked gorgeous. But of course, I am pursuing Rinko. I've played around 30 days now, and I've just had my first date with Rinko at Fountain Park, with the sakura blossoms falling. The atmosphere is so much more immersive now, and I'm reminded of all the things that made my love the LovePlus series in the first place.
I could probably play all the way through to Confession tonight, but I promised myself I would take things slowly this time around and really soak up the feeling of being back in (a slightly new version of) Towano. So I'm happy for the "friend" section to take a few days if need be.
I'm a little apprehensive about the revamped Skinship and Kissing in NLP+. But then again, I always preferred S&K in the original DS game, and that's mostly what the new version seems to have gone back to. Konami never got S&K right in NLP - we all just got used to it.
I have truly loved the experience of playing New LovePlus on the 3DS for the past two and a bit years - but now I know there's no going back. I picked up my 3DS and played a little bit just now, but the magic is gone. I'll probably just play the 3DS game in a very cursory way for the next few days, just until I make sure I get a confession from the Green personality Rinko in NLP+ and I can handle the new approach to Skinship & Kissing. But once that's done, there'll be no going back.
It really is the beginning of a new age.
