Why must good things always happen to other people? While today’s joint Nintendo Direct and Indie World showcase was full of amazing updates on existing games and announcements of new projects—like a Trails in the Sky remake—one of the best announcements of the day only aired in Japan. Konami’s seminal dating sim, Tokimeki Memorial, is getting a remaster.
If you’ve never heard of Tokimeki Memorial, then you should go watch this six-hour-long video from former Kotaku staffer Tim Rogers on why the game is so important. But if you don’t have all day for that, then let me give you the short version. Released in 1994, the game isn’t the first dating sim ever made but it is one that helped codify the genre’s core pillars, putting players in the shoes of a high school boy who manages relationships with a bunch of cute girls he can romance.
Tokimeki Memorial has some excellent characters, wonderful writing, and deceptively deep gameplay full of secrets to uncover on your way to finding love. The game has become something of a beloved classic, even if it’s never received an official English translation. Fans have been craving one for years now and the announcement of a remaster, still exclusive to Japan, is a bit disheartening. The remaster is an updated version of Tokimeki Memorial: Forever With You, the 1995 release of the game for PlayStation, Sega Saturn, and Windows 95.
This remaster, officially titled Tokimeki Memorial: Forever With You Emotional, will release sometime in 2025 and comes after Konami promised the series would get some big news to celebrate its 30th anniversary. Hopefully the outcry from fans will convince Konami that now is finally the time to localize Tokimeki Memorial into English and other languages.
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