Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side: 2nd Season is the best known, and quite possibly most popular, dating sim for girls for the Nintendo DS. It is a port of Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side: 2nd Kiss which previously appeared on the Playstation 2. It was an impressive release for Konami, as the game features nearly complete voice acting and, at times, can function more as a life simulator than a dating game.
One of the highlights of the port was the fact that Konami added in two "secret" guys for characters to go after. Of course I use the term "secret" very loosely, as both characters pop up during the normal course of play and don't need to be unlocked. However certain measures must be taken to earn the love of Taku Komori and Taro Majima. Frankly, I found little emo Taku Komori adorable, so I decided he'd be the one to stalk.
Getting Taku is pretty easy, just play through the game boosting stats and ignoring normal guys for the most part. On the first day of October in the second year of the game, Taku transfers to the school and is introduced to the class by Wakaouji-sensei. He's extremely quiet and shy, and everyone decides to whisper about him and mock him. How cruel! At this point you have to choose the first dialogue option to defend his honor. (You don't 'have' to, but if you want him to stay you should.) Taku will be a bit shocked, but your professor will be impressed and your classmates will shut up.
Taku then seems to just disappear. Wakaouji-sensei is worried, and comes to talk to you outside of class after Taku fails to show up for a week. You'll be given the option to go visit Taku (the first choice) or just not bother. Taku will kind of brush you off when you visit his apartment. Wakaouji-sensei figures a fellow student will have a better chance of getting through to the poor kid, and will then ask you again after another week if you'd mind visiting Taku again, and once again the first choice is to agree and the second is to give up. Once again Taku is shy and hesitant to talk. After this, a special icon will appear that will allow you to visit Taku during the week.
At this point you have only one mission in life – visit Taku. Don't worry about defusing bombs that other guys might send you. Don't waste time studying or making friends. You must dedicate yourself to visiting Taku. On May 5 in the third year of the game, he'll start to come out of his shell and agree to go on the class museum trip the following weekend once he hears you'll be attending as well. In October of the third year he'll finally cave. He'll invite you in to eat with him, go to the aquarium with you, and then finally go to school on his own.
Of course since he's been such a hermit, he's being held back a year. Surprisingly enough, he's insanely popular. In November he'll wait for you after school to walk you home, but then his new friends will come by. He'll agree to go with them with your blessing and says he'll walk you home some other time. Then right before the end of November, he'll come by again to talk to you again after school to tell you how everything is going with him. He'll say he can't walk you home, but wanted to explain.
He comes by once more after that in December. He's waiting again after school to talk to you, and possibly walk you home. Of course by now you're mad because he kept standing you up (The nerve! After all the months you spent visiting him!). You can choose to listen to what he has to say (first choice) or ignore him (the second choice). He'll start to explain himself, but his excuses only make you made and you basically tell him he's only bothering you now and you're sick of how he's treating you. He then looks like a puppy who's been swatted with a newspaper and runs off, leaving your character alone to regret what she's said.
You don't see Taku again until the game ends in March of the third year. It'll be then when he'll run up to you to confess his love. Congrats!
Images courtesy of Konami.
