|
«©NCSX» In the relatively short history of Japanese dating games, males have generally been the aggressors. With the exception of Graduation M and Tokimeki Girl's Side, it's the boys who pursue the girls. The appearance of male dominance mirrors real life, until the realization settles that it's the female who subtlety controls the dating game in both video and real worlds. In Konami's twist on the Tokimeki franchise, you play a female high school student who enters a private high school for a three year stint. In that time, one uses charm, guile and really good clothes to catch a man and perhaps love. Clothing plays an important factor in the game since it helps attract the opposite sex. Accessories (really) also help to create a snazzy outfit which will dazzle the boys. Girl's Side boasts 200 outfits to select from, which may be purchased with proceeds from your part time job. Failing fashionistas with no sense of style are able to rely on a younger brother for hints and clues as to who the boys at school are talking about and what they like. Using this covert information, girls may undergo transformations to attract the alpha males they fancy. About the Konami Dendou Collection In Japan, good games usually enjoy three lifetimes. The best enjoy up to four or five before they succumb to the rigors of time and market satiation. The first lifetime is the initial release of the game at full price where 100,00 to a few million copies are sold. The first release is where the publisher hopes to make most of its return on investment. Nary six months (or thereabouts) later, the publisher submits the game for "the Best" collection which is Sony's budget banner for older but still good games. Other than Sony's standard fees and printing costs, Best games at Y2800 are pretty much pure profit - the development and marketing costs have been factored into the first printing of the game and product awareness is already out there. Should the publisher want to sow its oats for a third time, they'll normally release the game under its own in-house budget label. In Konami's case, it's called the Dendou Collection.
|