General Game Guide & Tips

Last Updated: August 10, 2023

The following is a general guide and gameplay tips applicable to all iterations of the Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side (TMGS) games. Use this as a quick introduction to gameplay.

A general overview of how each part of the game works will be provided. For those who wish to start the game as blind as possible, without any spoilers, tips will be hidden below each section under a spoilers section.

For more in-depth guides and instructions on how to win specific routes, check out the additional game guides section at the bottom.

About the Games[]

In each iteration of TMGS, you play a girl throughout her 3 years of high school. Tokimeki is a stat-raising as well as time management game. Therefore, you should plan carefully how you will spend your three years. You must balance dating boys, managing relationships (either with boys or girl friends), managing your stat parameters, and school life (success) throughout all three years.

General Gameplay Guide (How to Win)[]

Because TMGS is a stat-raising game, the goal is to end up with either one of the dateable bachelors, or receive an ending with one of your female friends. To do this, you must meet the requirements* for their ending, which includes reaching a certain level of affection with them, going on a certain number of dates and reaching a specific number in different stats.

Endings with a boy's confession will typically require at least 10 - 25 dates. Each boy will have different stats that will require a certain number, usually between 100+ and 200+.

Example: Boy A, who is stylish and values fashion, could require a relationship of Love, 15+ dates and 200+ Style and 100+ Charm in order to receive his confession.

*Each characters' ending requirements can be found on their wiki pages.

Depending on criteria met, it is possible to acquire one of several endings for each male character. The number of endings each boy has varies between games. Secret characters and female characters will always only have one ending.

On the DS versions of older games (TMGS 1st Love Plus, TMGS 2nd Season) and on TMGS 3rd Story, additional endings were added that can involve two boys instead of one.

If you do not reach a high enough relationship with any character, and/or do not meet their stat requirements, then the protagonist will have a "bad ending" where they end up alone.

This is the most general overview of the game. If you'd like to go into the game blind, you can stop reading here. More information on how to play the games can be found below, with tips hidden in spoilers.

General Gameplay Tips[]

SAVE OFTEN! Save before asking for dates, save before a date, and save before important events like Valentine's Day, Christmas parties, etc. It's easy to give a wrong answer and decrease affection, or to mess up on skinship
- It will also be handy to space out your save slots across the school years so that you can go back in time to make changes in how you play the coming months ahead, if events don't work out or if you plan to go back and pursue another route later. For example, spacing save slots for June 1st (1st Year), December 1st (2nd Year), September 1st (3rd Year), etc.
Plan Ahead. Make sure to check the calendar often to look at upcoming events. Use your weekends wisely. Plan dates, shopping, and weekend activities strategically during the month so that you can maximize your goals and avoid undesired events, such as falling sick or being bombed.

How the Games Work[]

Each week, you will make decisions on how to spend your time. Every Monday, selecting a Weekday Activity will make you perform it for the entire week, barring Sundays and special holidays, where you can pick an activity to do for that day only.

(e.x.: On Monday during a regular school week, choosing to Study will make you study you will study from Monday - Saturday, On Sunday, you will choose an activity that will take up only Sunday. If there is a special holiday during that week, you will study every regular weekday and Saturday; choose an activity on each holiday that will take up only that holiday; and choose a Sunday activity.)

You will play through the heroine's 3 years in high school, with each school year lasting year-round from April to May, with semester breaks in-between. In May of the final year of high school, the game will end, with the ending you achieve determined by

More information on these activities/gameplay mechanics can be found below.

Activities 1 — Weekday Activities in TMGS1

Weekday Activities:

Rest
Study
Paint
Club Activity
Exercise
Read magazines
Groom ("gussy up")
Play with a (girl) friend

Weekend Activities in TMGS1

Weekend/Holiday Activities

On weekends and holidays, you access special options unavailable during weekdays:

Calls:
- Call a boy to plan a date
- Call to apply for or quit a part-time job*
Shopping
Asking Tsukushi (TMGS1), Yuu Otonari (TMGS2), or Miyo Ugajin (TMGS3) about your current relationship status with boys and friends, depending on the game
Join or quit a club*

*Only available Sundays

Activities 2 — Unlimited Activities in TMGS1

Unlimited Activities

These are activities you can do as many times as you want in a day. The options are:

Change clothing
Check Internet for information (horoscopes, date spots, fashion)
Options
Calendar
Check e-mail
Load/Save data

Gameplay Mechanics[]

Parameters[]

Parameters are the stats that affect your affection with boys, success of events/activities (such as exams, and cooking during Valentine's Day or club summer camps), and the endings you get with boys. They also affect which characters you meet, as some have a stat requirement before you can meet them. Jobs also have minimum parameter requirements before you can apply to work there. In this guide, "stats" and "parameters" will be used interchangeably.

The parameters are: Intelligence, Fitness, Style, Art, Social, Charm, and Stress.

Stress is a parameter that increases with every action that you do. Once stress reaches 100 or higher, the character will fall sick and sleep for an entire 2 weeks to recover. You can reduce it by either resting (sleeping), wishing for Health at the New Year's shrine, or through the items/gifts given by friends and boys.

In the parameters menu, you will also see a section called Money. The in-game currency is called Rich.

Commands — The activities/commands in TMGS1

The activities and the parameters they affect are:

Study:
- Increases: Intelligence, a bit of Art, and a tiny bit of Style
- Decreases: Fitness, a bit of Charm
Club Activity: See Clubs
Painting:
- Increases: Art, a bit of Style, a tiny bit of Intelligence
- Decreases: Fitness, a bit of Social
Exercising
- Increases: Fitness, a bit of Social
- Decreases: A bit of Charm, Intelligence, and Art
Reading Magazines:
- Increases: Style, a bit of Charm a little bit of Art
- Decreases: A bit of Social and Intelligence
Grooming
- Increases: Charm, a bit of Style, a tiny bit of Art
- Decreases: Social, a bit of Fitness and Intelligence
Rest
- Decreases: Stress and every other parameter

Tips:


Make sure to plan dates, shopping, and other events based off your stress stat, especially after it reaches close to 100. If your character falls sick and a boy is at :D or higher, then he will visit you while you're sick. In this way, you might want to raise your stress to get the event. In TMGS2 and TMGS3, a girl friend will also either call you or visit you while sick, depending on how close she is with you. Doing activities on a weekend/holiday tends to have higher stat raises because you only need one successful day to achieve the same amount of stats as an entire perfect week (success every day of the week). Resting on the weekends also tends to lower stress more than resting during weekdays.

Internet (Checking News)[]

The option to check the Internet leads to the Habataki Watcher, the games' source of news. It gives you information on new date spots, your weekly horoscope, and the monthly fashion column. There is also a section that will list and give information on the current movies showing, and live events/performances playing.

Make sure to check the news for new date spots, or else they will be inaccessible to the player.

TMGS1 Horoscope — The horoscope page of TMGS1

Horoscopes[]

A monthly chart that gives you a break down of each week, and the chances of success in raising your parameters.

Study affects studying, painting, and non-sports club activities.
Leisure affects reading magazines and playing with girl friends.
Health affects exercising and sports-club activities.
Love affects grooming and the success of asking a boy on a date.

The faces give the chances of success for each area:

:D gives a 91% chance of success
:) gives a 77% chance of success
:| gives a 70% chance of success
:( gives a 63% chance of success
X( gives a 35% chance of success

The page will also give you your lucky item for the month, which, if worn, will better your chances of success in activities and asking boys on dates.
Tips:


Especially if you are pursuing a character who requires high stats in every parameter, make sure to follow your weekly horoscope for the best chances of success in raising your stats

TMGS1 Club Cheerleading — Cheerleading club with Natsumi Fuji in TMGS1

Clubs[]

Each game features various clubs that you can join at any time. However, if you resign from a club, you will not be able to rejoin again the rest of the game. Different clubs will raise different stats, as well as introduce you to different characters who are members of that club. Each club will have various events throughout the year such as summer club training camps and festivals.

Certain characters can be met by joining their respective clubs. Joining the same club as a character will also unlock special club interactions and events with them.

There are two different types of clubs: sports and non-sports clubs.

Each club raises and lowers certain stats.

You can only join or quit a job on Sundays.

Tips:


Each club has a summer club camp. At the end of the camp, you will receive a special item that changes with every year. The item usually increases parameters related to the club, and reduces stress. You can join the club right before the summer camp starts (held in August) just for the item.

TMGS1 Job Cafe — The heroine working at Café ALUCARD in TMGS1

Jobs[]

Unlock part time jobs in order to earn extra money. To unlock a job, you must meet its parameter requirements, after which the job will send an email offering work. You can apply to jobs by using a Sunday to call them on the phone.

Each job raises and lowers certain stats. Your character will work 2 times a week, where the job raises/lowers your stats instead of your chosen weekly activity. You will also earn money each time you work.

Note that you can only call to apply for and quit a job on Sunday.

Shopping and Fashion[]

TMGS1 Shopping Example — An example of visiting a shop in TMGS1

In each game, you can go shopping on weekends and holidays at various clothing stores for clothes and accessories.

You will be provided with 1 set of default clothing (everyday and swimwear) that has no style.

For dates, MAKE SURE TO SHOW UP IN APPROPRIATE CLOTHING! A swimsuit must be bought for dates to the beach. If going to the Fireworks Festival, a yukata is recommended to boost affection, as well as a furisode (kimono) on New Year's. Boys will point out if your clothing is inappropriate for the weather, or if you wear the same outfit twice in a row. This will decrease affection.

Each piece of clothing belongs to a style category. If all the pieces of clothing in your outfit are the same style, your outfit will be in that style. (For example, wearing a Sporty top, Sporty outer, and Sporty bottom will give you a Sporty outfit. You can also wear an Elegant one-piece for an Elegant outfit.) Accessories in TMGS1 and TMGS 2 do not have a style, while in TMGS3 they do.

TMGS1 Clothes Pure — An example of Pure style clothing in TMGS1

Each boy has 2 styles that he particularly likes, and 1 he dislikes. If you wear a style he likes, he will compliment you on the date and gain a raise in affection. If he also has a favorite accessory or color, he will compliment you when you wear it. Wearing a style he dislikes will result in a slight decrease in affection, and (if he doesn't like you) a negative reaction . Wearing items that are in style (checked in the fashion column on the Internet) will also raise affection, especially for stylish boys.

A Flea Market will take place on the last Sunday of every third month (TMGS 1 & 2), or the last Sunday of a season (TMGS 3), where you can buy a randomized selection of discounted clothing. Make sure to read the news to find out when the flea market is, or else it will be inaccessible. Also be sure to check the calendar to make sure you don't miss it.

In summary:

To increase affection:
- Wear a boy's preferred styles
- Wear a boy's favorite accessories/color
- Wear a yukata during the Fireworks Festival, and a furisode during New Year's
To decrease affection:
- Wear a boy's disliked style
- Show up in clothing inappropriate for the weather
- Wear the same outfit on two dates in a row

Tips:


When going after a certain boy, the first year will be the most difficult to earn money. To save money, buy at least 1 outfit in the style he likes, and then either a second top or a second bottom in the same style so that you can switch between the two on dates. For colder seasons: If it's hard to find an outer in a desired style, buy an accessory like a hat or shawl. In TMGS 1 and TMGS2, accessories do not interfere with your outfit style while still keeping you warm. The Flea Market's selection is randomized. Save before going so that you can re-load in case you don't like the selection you got. Every December 23rd, Boutique Jess has a special 35% off sale, making kimonos more affordable. In TMGS2 & 3, you can use your card points to further lower the price.

Character Relationships and Dating[]

Meeting Characters[]

To meet a character, you must either join their club or meet a certain stat requirement while performing its related activity on a school day.

(E.x.: If a boy requires 55 Style points before you can meet him, you must Read Magazines and reach 55+ Style points by the end of the week on a school day.)

Secondary and secret characters have their own requirements, which can be found on their character pages.

Princes and default friends (Yuu, Tsukushi, Karen, and Miyo) will meet the heroine automatically on the first day of school.

Tips:


The more boys you meet, the harder it will be to balance bombs. You can mitigate this by avoiding meeting boys: if you meet the stat requirement, make sure to not use their associated activity while you are at school. If below the stat requirement, you can safely perform the activity at school.

Relationships and Affection[]

There are 6 different states you can be in with a boy or girl, depending on the level of their affection for you. The levels are:

😠 Hate >:(
🙁 Dislike :(
😐 Neutral :|
🙂 Like :)
😄 Love :D
🥰 Tokimeki State (Blushing) =^_^=

The relationship states from TMGS, represented by smiley faces

You start out with a neutral (😐) relationship with every character that you meet. The higher your relationship becomes, the more interactions you can unlock with them, and the closer you can act with them (e.x. calling them by more intimate nicknames, doing skinship on more intimate places, etc.).

Ignoring characters after you've met them will cause them to dislike you.

For Boys

The following will increase affection:
- Giving correct/liked answers on dates
- Wearing his liked clothing styles
- Wearing in-style fashion
- Wearing a yukata to the fireworks festival, a furisode to the New Year's shrine
- Raising his associated parameters (those required to get his ending)
- Giving him good Valentine's Day chocolate
- Giving him liked birthday/Christmas presents

The following will decrease affection:
- Giving incorrect/disliked answers on dates
- Wearing clothing styles he dislikes
- Wearing clothing inappropriate for the season (i.e. too warm or not warm enough clothing)
- Ignoring a boy (never interacting with him)
- Having low stats in his required parameters
- (If his relationship with you is high) Giving obligatory Valentine's chocolate
- Giving bad birthday presents

TMGS1 Girl Friend Play with Konno — Playing with Tamami Konno in TMGS1, by choosing her activity

For Girls

The following will increase affection:
- Playing with her (through her activity)
- Accepting her date requests/accepting her gifts
The following will decrease affection:
- On double dates, going on the ride with the boy she likes
- Ignoring her while raising affection with the boy she likes
- Giving bad birthday presents

For Both

The following will increase affection:
- Walking home with or going to a café with them
- Giving their liked birthday presents*

*(To give characters birthday presents, you must first ask Tsukushi, Yuu, or Miyo for their information to find out their birthday. After, you will automatically get the option to buy them a present the day before their birthday.)

Tips:


Some characters' affections will raise quicker than others. (Some boys will warm up to you more quickly than others, while others' affections are harder to raise.) Each boy has different thresholds for affection vs. skinship points that will raise his relationship to the next level. Girls will also raise their affection with you more quickly than boys. Make sure to focus on raising a boy's associated stats; even if he has high affection for you, his relationship won't budge into the next state (e.x.: from :) to :D) without the required parameters This is especially important for characters who are harder to pursue, like those who require very high stats in every parameter, or teachers

Dating[]

Every weekend and holiday, you will have the option to call a boy to ask him out on a date. (Some characters, like secret characters and teachers, cannot be called for dates⁠—instead, you will have to wait for them to ask you out.)

On each date, you will have a choice between 3 answers to give to the boy. Each answer will be either good, bad, or neutral, and affect his affection towards you. The "correct" answer is the one that he will like the most and raises the most affection.

Boys will have dating locations they love, like, dislike, hate, and are neutral towards.

Throughout the year, more dating locations will be unlocked, and seasonal date events will occur during different times. (For example, you can only go to the beach during summer, and the Fireworks Festival will take place on one day during every August.)

Make sure to read the Habataki Watcher (search the Internet for information) to become aware of these new events; they will not be available as an option when asking a boy out until you read about them.

Note: In order to call a boy, you must have his phone number, which can get by asking Tsukushi, Yuu, or Miyo for his information.

Double Dates:

In TMGS1 and TMGS2, if your relationship with her is high enough, you can be asked out on double dates to the Amusement Park by a girl friend, who will bring along the boy she likes and the boy who has the highest relationship you. (If the boy you have the highest relationship with is the one she likes, she will bring along the boy who has the second-highest relationship with you.) In TMGS3, Karen or Miyo will ask you, but do not have a boy they like.

Tips:


When thinking about locations a boy will like/dislike, take into account his personality and likes/dislikes he has revealed through conversations with him Choose dating locations that the boy likes; this will make the three available answer choices Okay, Good, Perfect impressions. Going to a location he dislikes will give answers that only have Terrible, Bad, Okay impressions Choosing a dating location he dislikes increases the chances that he will say no, especially if he doesn't like you Don't go to a dating location with a boy twice in a row; he will express boredom and annoyance Make sure to not wear the same outfit on two dates in a row Buy at least one outfit (preferably in a style your chosen boy likes), and alternate either the top or bottom on different dates to save money Make sure to dress appropriately for the weather, or else the boy will comment on your inappropriate clothing Depending on the game, you can check the weather by looking out the window of your room, or seeing what (Tsukushi or Yuu) are wearing

Tokimeki panel — The Tokimeki Panel in TMGS 1, showing characters that have bombed the player and a bomb that is waiting to go off

Bombs[]

In each game, going too long without interacting with a boy (asking him out on dates, walking with him after school) will cause him to start to "bomb" you.

You will know a boy is beginning to bomb you by: (1) checking the Tokimeki panel, which will show a bomb by the boy (2) a character (Tsukushi, Yuu, Miyo) asking if you've been ignoring a boy (3) the boy appearing after school one day glaring at your character, only saying "........" After these signs start appearing, there is a limited amount of time (around a few weeks to possibly a few months) before the bomb goes off.

When a bomb goes off, you will hear an explosion sound effect and your relationships with ALL boys will drop by 40% in the DS versions (60% in PS2 versions). To defuse a bomb, ask the boy out on a date. It will defuse even if he rejects you or can't go because he is busy with work/clubs.

Once a bomb has gone off, an icon showing a detonated bomb will appear on his icon in the Tokimeki panel. To fix the relationship, give him a call, where your character will apologize. Afterwards, it is possible for him to bomb you again. A boy that has bombed you will not bomb you again unless you fix the relationship.

Secret characters and teachers will not bomb you.

Tips:


To defuse a bomb without going on a date with the boy (and therefore spending 2 weekends on him), ask him out on a day that he is unavailable Characters with jobs will have 2 days a week where they have to work. Characters in sports club have a mandatory club meeting every 3rd Sunday of the month. A lower rating in the Love horoscope will increase the chances a boy will reject you; you can try waiting until a week with poor Love luck before calling for a date Inviting a boy to a place he dislikes increases the chance of him rejecting you, thus saving a weekend Especially for harder-to-pursue characters, it is advisable to limit the amount of boys you meet to decrease the chances of bombing. You can avoid boys by never meeting their meeting requirements (i.e. not joining their club, never using their associated commands like Study while at school) In TMGS3, a boy will not bomb you as long as you never interact with him)

Rival Mode[]

In Girl's Side 1 & 2, it is possible to trigger a mechanic where a girl friend will fight with you for a boy's affections. It happens when you interact with both her and the boy she likes, and your relationship with the boy is higher than your relationship with her.

Rival mode is activated when the girl friend shows up and declares her rivalry towards you for a boy's affections. Tsukushi and Yuu will ask if it's true you had a fight with a friend. In the Tokimeki Panel, a "VS" icon will appear next to her face.

Once in rival mode, your relationship with the girl will drop to >:(. She will act cold towards you, and her chibi animations in the activity window will reflect that. She will no longer send emails or New Year's cards. She will also show up before events like Valentine's Day and Christmas to comment on your competition.

If a boy's affection is not kept high enough, it is possible for the friend to steal the boy away and to date him in third year. If this happens, the two will show up and announce to you that they're dating. The boy's relationship with you will then drop down to >:(.

It can be avoided if you never interact with the girl, or if your relationship with her is higher than your relationship with the boy she likes.

It can be deactivated by spending time with her and raising your affection with her. Once you become close friends again, she will give up the boy for you. However, spending time with her in rival mode greatly increases your Stress.

CGs[]

CGs (comic graphics, or character graphics) are special illustrated cutscenes available for every character. They are unlocked by meeting certain requirements. Some CGs are obtained automatically throughout the school year, while others must be unlocked by meeting certain conditions, such as going to a specific dating location with a boy.

Unlocking CGs is not required for any character's ending (but they're really nice to look at!). Unlocked CGs are available to view under the Options or Extras screen in the main menu.

Skinship[]

A gameplay mechanic that was introduced to the series starting from TMGS 1st Love Plus. Skinship is the act of interacting with boys by "touching" them on various parts of their body. Skinship can be performed during dates and during CGs.

On the DS games, it is achieved by tapping the touch screen with your stylus. On the Playstation Portable port of Girl's Side 3rd Story, different buttons initiate different actions such as smiling and teasing.

If done well, it will raise affection with the boy. If done poorly, it will decrease affection instead.

Different symbols (such as hearts, music notes, and tiny hearts) in different colors will mean different things, depending on the game. The different symbols will either decrease or increase friendship or love points. In-depth explanations for each games' skinship mechanics can be found on each game's walkthroughs.

Tips:


No matter how much a guy likes you, don't touch the same spot too often (e.x.: kissing him on the lips too often in a row, pulling his arm too much on one date, etc.) Start off with neutral or safe spots to touch (e.x. torso, arms, eyes) until your relationship progresses with a boy; being too familiar with him too early will cause a decrease in affection As you progress in your relationship (going from neutral to like to love), more intimate skinship spots and actions will be acceptable Avoid touching the boy after giving a bad response, or when he rates the date badly. It will decrease affection. During CG skinship in GS 1&2, make sure to pay attention to what the boy is saying. Don't interrupt him while he is speaking, or touch him at inappropriate times.