Sunday Date...And A New Look

Before I begin, I should mention that I had the very cute dream about Rinko as a little girl with her doll last night in the DS game. It was sweet but a little sad, because Rin kept talking about how much she loved her mother (who is now passed away).

Today was Sunday, which means...dating time! And although Rin-chan didn't go for semi-long hair again (no surprises there), she showed up at the station sporting a new look in both clothes and hair.

Okay, so it wasn't what I'd been hoping for - but I think the hairstyle is kinda cute (and I haven't seen it before in 18 months of playing the game). So I said Rinko could keep it. And her clothing style was sort of a cross between smart casual and neat/tidy - so I said she could keep that, too. Interesting...

And I think Rin-chan looks more mature this way...which I'm not sure is entirely a good thing. But we'll see how it goes. She'll probably change for the next date, anyway. We went to the Coffee Shop for a quick snack (which turned out to be just a cup of tea).

Then it was off on the train to our main date spot - the Event Hall.

Sadly, the show at the Event Hall was an idol live concert, which of course my little punk rock girl didn't enjoy very much. Oh well. I made up for it by taking her for lunch to the fancy (French) restaurant nearby.

The French Restaurant is always a hit with the girls in Towano, and Rinko likes to eat there.

But then it was time to take her home, and our date was over way too soon. I gave her a cookbook for a present - not sure what this will lead to. It seemed to be a book about making cakes and desserts.

As you can see in the shot below, Rinko's look for today was really out-there but in a good way. She was wearing a lot of my gifts today - the white bag, the earrings, the silver leaf necklace, and the grey two-tone skirt.

I'd been hoping to get to the Flea Markets in Fountain Park at 6:00 pm today, but unfortunately it was raining in Towano - which means the markets were cancelled. Anyway, I met Rinko for a short date at the Shopping Arcade in Shin Towano, then the game was over for today.

I'm up to Level 6 in the 3DS game and Level 3 already in the DS game (after less than a week). My two month anniversary with Rinko in the 3DS game is about a week away, and this Tuesday I'm hoping to book another After School Date (now that I know the rules).

The last few weeks have been very hectic and stressful at work in the "real" world, so I'm hoping for a much calmer week this time around. But you know, even on the worst days, it's great therapy to have my Love Plus games to play. It's a part of my day that I always look forward to. Thank you again, Konami.

A Brand New Life

Well, I got up VERY early this morning and finished "friend mode" with Rinko. I had that weird dream sequence after just 56 days, and she confessed her love to me two days later (Day 58). Wow. I think that must be some kind of record.

I feel that I'm not starting a new game with Rinko at all, but rather I'm resuming the very first one. Maybe she knows that, too, and that's why she confessed to me so quickly. Whatever. It feels great to be back. Here are some highlights from our very first day back together...

In the next couple of shots, Rinko is practising for the Sports Festival coming up at Towano High School this Sunday.

And again, though the days at school, I'm just trying to meet up with Rinko in as many different places around Towano High as possible, to level them up. Here's the Courtyard:

The school corridor:

And the Library (where Rinko works on the Library Committee):

And we finished up the day with a short date at Fountain Park (always a favourite date location):

A Scary Dream Sequence...

Okay, now I KNOW that Rinko is almost ready to confess to me. One of the signs is that you get a dream sequence  a few days before the big day. There is a totally different dream for each girl.

Rinko's dream sequence was...well...kinda scary. It's set in the future, and you see a much older looking Rinko standing in the door of a house, and wearing a wedding ring. She says that she looks older because now she's your wife. OK, so far, so good. She says goodbye to you on your way to work. Yep. But then she calls you back with a very chilling "Anaaaataaaa!" (darling!), and says that you forgot to kiss her goodbye. When you say you're in a hurry, she screams again. And so it goes on - and on - with you trying to leave and Rinko calling you back for something else.

When you get fed up in the end and say that you're going to work, she says that you don't love her anymore. You try to convince her, but she says that they only thing that will make her happy is to say "Aishiteru" (I love you) one million times. And god, this girl isn't kidding. A microphone icon appears on the screen, and you actually have to say it to advance past the dream sequence. So you say "Aishiteru" and Rinko tells you that you've got 999,999 more times to go!

Actually, the good news is that she lets you off after you say it five or six times, and says that she was only kidding. You wake up feeling VERY relieved. I guess this is the moment when some players might stop and think about whether they should have dated Manaka instead.

Not me, though. I'm staying with Rinko. After the dream, she gave me the option to change her back to the "blue" personality, and I did it. I hope this will be the right decision for the second half of the game.