Brooktown High - Hands-On
One of Konami's most popular franchises in Japan is the Tokimeki Memorial series of dating simulations. There have been to date four Tokimeki games for various systems, released in that great land, and each has been a relatively smashing success. Now, Konami has banded together with Backbone Entertainment (Death Jr.) to produce the first American dating-sim, Brooktown High. This is obviously an attempt to corner an untapped market, but does that market even exist outside of Japan? Backbone and Konami have actually done a surprisingly good job at making sure the dating-sim market, if there is one here, will take notice of this title. Considering that Konami brought both Tokimeki and Brooktown development teams together on this project, their chances of success in this endeavor are sufficient enough to warrant the investment, especially if it pays off.
Justine with the Freaks & Ghouls
Brooktown High is an exclusive PSP game, aimed at the prospect of providing the experience of dating handsome dudes and hot chicks to those that possibly never experienced the pleasure during their high school days. Now, thanks to Brooktown High, they can design a character that suits their personality to a T and try and do the best they can to get in the good graces of those chicks and dudes they always wanted to date but never could. Brooktown High provides the player with a wide array of customization in the character creation process, as well as your character's subsequent look throughout the game creating virtually endless possibilities and providing a strong replay-value (which a game like Brooktown High desperately needs as a solid foundation.) While Tokimeki Memorial is an almost entirely 2D game, Brooktown High is completely 3D; utilizing some brilliantly modeled and animated 3D assets to create a visual style that is if anything, unique.
The gameplay is based on the same basic idea as any other dating-sim, which is to strike up a conversation with the guy or girl of your choice and attempt to "say the right thing" so as to temper the individuals attitude into liking you more and allowing the relationship to proceed to the next level, and then the next, etc. The one key difference between Brooktown High and 90% of Japanese dating sims, however, is that Brooktown does not end in explicit sexual situations, and while it's entirely possible Konami's possible fan base for this title will become nonexistent after they read that sentence, it needs to be said! The player can attempt to enter into a relationship with twenty different male and female non-player characters, which fall under the preconceived social cliques of Jocks, Nerds, Preppies and Rebels. Each of the twenty possible chicks and dudes has a different personality, from snobbish rich kids to Goth chicks to vacuous bimbos, and it's your job as the player to learn how to speak to these people in a manner that will convince them to like you more and more as time progresses.
Spin the Bottle Anyone?
One of the brilliant aspects of Brooktown High is its writing, much of which is witty and quite entertaining, that keeps the game going when a lack of action would otherwise bore most gamers to tears. Brooktown features around 70,000 lines of dialogue, 30% of which is spoken material. The sheer volume of possible responses between the player and his quarry are enough to keep the game going, however Backbone knew this probably wouldn't be enough to hold most gamers, so they included several mini-games, including joke-telling, shopping, and – our favorite - tongue wrestling. One can only imagine what the latter requires – and what the Nyko accessory may look like
Konami's position on this front is dubious, at best. While it's possible this game could really take off in the States (and elsewhere in the world), whether or not there is actually an existing fan base for this genre is something the sales charts will reveal in time. Until then, Konami is taking a chance in the hopes they are the first to tap into this market, and while my initial reaction to seeing this title earlier was decidedly less than enthusiastic, it was a much earlier build, and Backbone has really brought it together nicely. If they're going to take a shot at an untapped market they may as well do it with the best title they can, and that's precisely what they've done. Brooktown High is an interesting and entertaining title, and it's quite possible that if a fan base for dating sims doesn't exist yet, it could very soon.
Brooktown High is due for release in Spring '07.
-Fozzibab
