The Big Day!

Today was the day of my big Premium Date with Rinko. The rest of the day was very quiet, as I couldn't call Rinko out on the same day as the date. It started off, though, with an exciting chapter of the "Seishun 1 Page", with Rinko carrying her guitar case in the street, then checking out guitars in the Music Shop.

It was a long wait through the rest of the day...but then, finally, six o'clock arrived and it was time to meet my girlfriend. When I saw her at Shin Towano station, she had a cute short hairdo and very casual clothes.

I had accumulated enough hearts to ask for the "Hair Length Change" option - except I wasn't quite sure what to do. So when Rinko asked me if I liked her hair, I said no - and nothing happened. But then, we went to Aisha Dining for a snack, and she asked me a complicated series of questions, which I think I answered right, to change the length and/or style of her hair. The only option was for medium-long hair. I'm hoping to eventually have Rinko with long hair...but it's nice that you can't jump straight from short hair to long, just like in real life. So medium-long hair will be fine for now. I actually can't wait until she changes (probably on our next date).

The menus are still messed up, because we ordered Pudding A La Mode and ended up with the lemon flavoured ice (kaki-gori).

After that, we headed off on the train for the Aquarium, which is in the Waterfront Area. The main part of our date started off with a romantic walk along the beach at sunset...

Then we arrived at the Aquarium, which was lit up in special display for night-time. ^^

Despite her expression in the next shot, Rinko was very happy there and didn't want to leave.

She was so sleepy afterwards that she fell asleep on the train on the way back to Shin Towano...

But this wonderful, busy and LONG date didn't end there. Rinko came back to my place afterwards. We listened to my one and only CD, played Puzzle Dama, and then Rinko offered to cook a meal for me!

Here is the "Junior Master Chef" at work...

I'm not sure what Rinko cooked, but it looked very tasty.

On the way back to her place, we stopped on a bench in the little park and talked for a while. It was a nice opportunity to kiss her goodnight.

Almost two hours later, the date was finished. Wow, I love Premium Dates in "New LovePlus". I hope I can play through all of them, but I don't want to do it too soon. Spreading them out and doing maybe one every month is a good way to go, I think. (And there are some dates that you can only do at specific times of the year.)

Now I just have to wait for my Rinko-chan to appear with medium-long hair...

A Very Busy Day - Part 2

Well, I made it to the Flea Markets at lunchtime, picked up a Premium Date ticket (for the Night Time Aquarium Visit), bought a CD and a blue punky bracelet for Rinko.

When 6pm rolled around, Rinko met me for the Summer Festival (Matsuri) wearing a very sweet yukata (summer kimono) with a big pink sash. Her default hairstyle was replaced by a very cute, short style with a tiny little ponytail. Kawaiiiii!

We walked up to the Shrine and went around for a while checking out the different stalls. Rinko was very excited the whole time...

Then something caught Rinko's attention, and she pulled me over to the right.

It was a stall selling baked sweet potato! Rin-chan loved eating it very much (although it was pretty hot) and even let me have a bite.

All too soon, it was time to walk home, with a chance to grab a few quick kisses along the way. It's hard to resist kissing your girlfriend when she wears her yukata.

There are two more weeks of the Summer Festival left - and I hope they're as enjoyable as this one has been.

After all the excitement of this weekend - what, with Rinko's birthday, this morning's huge date, and the Summer Festival - maybe the rest of the week will be quieter in Towano. It may have to be, because I have very few hearts and very little money left. I need to wait awhile before inviting Rinko out for the Premium Date, so I can build up my hearts a bit. But I know from my last game that it will be worth waiting for!

A Very Busy Day - Part 1

Well, there were no more special happenings yesterday for Rinko's birthday. But this morning's date was an absolute blinder - probably one of the most PERFECT dates I've had in the world of Towano. Maybe it was just good luck - but I put it more down to the fact that I know so much more about how to play the game now and make it work for me.

When I met Rin-chan at the station, she still had her default hairstyle and was wearing very casual clothes. This is probably because this second game is so new (only Day 5!) that she hasn't sent me any questions about changing her clothes or hairstyle yet. So there was no point in saying that I didn't like them - because there's nothing else for her to change back to. So I just told her she looked fine.

We grabbed a quick bite at Winning Burger. I ordered the Hot Dog Set, but ended up getting the BLT Burger Set. I used to think this was a bug, mixing up the date locations and menu items - but recently I read somewhere that it can happen when you don't use enough hearts (or enough of a particular kind of heart) on your date. I'm not sure - I used three of each heart this time. Have to try using more next time and see if it still happens. Anyway, Rinko didn't care.

We hopped on the train to the Amusement Park. Travelling on the trains in "New LovePlus" makes me miss the wonderful local train system in Tokyo. T_T

At the Amusement Park, I selected the Haunted House, because the green personality Rinko is supposed to like this spot. Anyway, she didn't seem overly impressed.

With the choice of an extra place to go, I chose to have a meal at the Italian Restaurant in the Towano Hill Area. It's so nice here - just like a real Italian Restaurant - and Rinko was very happy to go there. I ordered the Mix Pizza, but instead I got something else - the Pepperoncino. Once again, Rinko didn't mind. I actually think she'll eat just about anything...she doesn't seem fussy about food at all.

And then, surprisingly (so early in this new game), Rinko invited me back to her place after the date. I chose to do a study session with her - studying the Foreign Language (English) because it's about the easiest for me to find the right answers for in the Official Guide Book - and passed all three times. The first time, your girlfriend makes tea and a snack for you. The second time, she changes into a different outfit and poses for you. And the third time...well, that's the "Intimate Photo Session", which I wasn't able to figure out at all the first time I played.

In this mode, you get to use the gyrosensor and both screens of the 3DS. You can move around the room pretty freely and snap photos of your girl from lots of different angles. You can also say stuff like "cute", "pose" and "cheese". It's a blast, though the photos tend to only capture what's on the top screen. Sadly.

I also gave Rinko a gift of a white shoulder-bag, which I seem to have also picked up when I cashed in the TV Bros 100 rich password protected item on Friday. She absolutely loved it. And it's nice to get something for nothing.

Wow, that was an amazing date, and it took about an hour to play.

Next, at 12 noon, I'm going to the Flea Markets at Fountain Park to buy a Premium Date ticket and maybe a CD as well. ^^

Expensive Lunch!!!

Today's date was a really interesting experience. First, we went to "Winning Burger" for lunch. When you're on a date in "New LovePlus" and you go for lunch, you get a menu and can actually order (and pay for) food! And then, when the food arrives, you watch while your girl actually picks it up and eats it!

I wanted to impress Rinko, so I ordered the most expensive thing on the menu (which of course I couldn't read). Guess what it turned out to be? An American-style burger, fries and Coke. Maybe it's a luxury item in Japan...who knows. All I know is that I just paid 22 rich for a Happy Meal!

"Rich" is the name of the in-game currency, by the way. You start off with 50 rich, and have to earn more by working at your afternoon job at Dixies. Now half my money is gone!!!!

Anyway, Rinko enjoyed her Happy Meal. T_T In the next photo, you can see that she's actually taken a bite out of that burger. Those fries look pretty small, though...

The date continued at the Sports Centre. This was Rinko's choice, not mine (she actually called me out for the date this time, and that's where she wanted to go). We did some ice skating first, then Rinko changed into this yellow leotard for exercise class. I kissed her five times during this scene - my first five kiss moment with Rinko in the new game - and she liked it so much that she offered me four more. This is called "Refrain Kiss".

At the end of the date, I gave her the red scarf. But she still told me that the date was "giri giri" (just barely okay). Maybe she was kidding??? The earth moved for me, Rinko.

Starting Off...Again

Having successfully cleared Stage One of the game with the green personality Rinko as my girlfriend, I started off again today on Stage Two after my heartbreaking data loss. One of the most exciting things about Stage Two is the ability to use the in-game camera almost anywhere. If you're walking down the street, or on a date with your girlfriend, you can just stop, click the camera icon, and take a photo. Your girlfriend will wait and pose for you! Later on in the game, when you've earned enough money, you can even upgrade your camera with better lenses, more effects, etc.

These photos show how beautiful the 3D character modelling is, and also how detailed and textured the backgrounds are in almost every shot. Here you can see Rinko walking to school with me on the first day. It's late winter in Towano, and my girlfriend is wearing a blue woollen jacket, a grey scarf, and snappy red gloves. But look at the background detail - paving stones, brick fence, metal gate, trees and even a street sign. Wow.

Rinko very sweetly asked me to hold her hand. When you see a silhouette of your girlfriend appear on the bottom screen of the 3DS, you have entered the "skinship" mode, which means you can use your stylus to touch her. To hold her hand, just watch the eye meter (to see when not too many people are looking) and touch any part of her arm. She'll usually tell you whether it's okay to hold her hand or not. If it is, then touch her arm a second time. Then she walks closer to you, like the picture below, and voila! You're holding hands. Rinko usually blushes when I do this.

Once again, check out the detail of the house in the background. Another cool thing about the in-game camera is that you can move it around in the 3D environment, change the angle of the shot, and so on. This is Rinko's default hairstyle, by the way.

Rinko phoned me to arrange our first official date later in the day. She wore a camo cap and also changed her hairstyle. Sometimes early in the game this happens randomly, and then later your girlfriend will ask you if you like her current hairstyle or if you want her to try something different. Eventually I want to have Rinko with either long or medium-long hair...though the short hair is cute for now.

But the BIG surprise was when Rinko brought out a bento box lunch to share with me! I've never seen this happen in "LovePlus" or "New LovePlus" before, and it was just so charming.

You can't see it very well in this shot, but Rinko ate her lunch very politely with a pair of pink chopsticks. It's so cool that you can actually watch your girlfriend eat in the new game!