Legendary Dating Sim Tokimeki Memorial: forever with you Getting Nintendo Switch Remaster

The Japanese Nintendo Direct on August 27th featured a surprise game getting a remaster, Tokimeki Memorial: forever with you! The famed dating sim for the SEGA Saturn is getting a brand new remaster for the Nintendo Switch…. But just like the original release, will only be released in Japan as of the writing of this article.

For those of you unaware of the Tokimeki Memorial series, it is a famed dating sim, which inspired many troupes and designs for the dating sim and visual novel genre. It was originally released by Konami for the PC Engine CD on May 27, 1994 in Japan, later being remade on the PlayStation 1 and SEGA Saturn in 1995 and 1996 respectively.

The remaster uses the same voices, interface, and graphics from the original Saturn/PS1 release, with one slight exception. You can toggle between the game’s original graphics, and all new art created for the remaster!

The game has no release date, only a release year of 2025. No western release or localization in any language besides Japanese has been announced yet.

One of the indications we may not see a western release, is due to the announcement being left out of the Nintendo of America Direct that streamed at the same time as the Japanese one. Instead, featuring another dating sim in its place, called Date Everything! which seems more like a wacky, less serious dating sim in its genre.

In response to the criticism, Joshua Taipale, who worked on the game, responded on X (formally known as Twitter), explaining his love for the genre and Tokimeki, and support for a future English localization:

Hi, I worked on Date Everything. We love and respect visual novels of all kinds and DE was made to be a fun, absurd take on a traditional formula. 🙂

Love the old Key/Visual Art’s stuff, Katawa Shoujo etc. Couldn’t be happier for TokiMemo — fingers crossed for an English loc! https://t.co/VbWMOMNKFU

— Joshua Taipale (@atelierjoshua) August 28, 2024

He’s even worked on traditional games in the dating sim genre as well:

I work on more “traditional” VNs too. 🙂 Wrote some music for GLASS HEART by @EternalLoveInc — it’s available now! https://t.co/0ex063j5Cr

— Joshua Taipale (@atelierjoshua) August 28, 2024

In the end, we here at SHIRO! agree that the dating sim genre (and by extension the visual novel genre as a whole) has not been taken seriously in the West. It seems like bad timing for a game in the same genre as Tokimeki taking its place in the American Direct, which caused fans to take out their frustration on Date Everything! when it doesn’t deserve the heat.

We send well wishes towards the developers of Date Everything! And hold out hope Tokimeki Memorial will get an English localization!

Let us know what you think in the comments below!