Game:

Tokimeki Memorial (1994)

Duration: 55:02

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Tactical Fighter is one of many "Life Management" games released in Japan, published by Media Rings (of "Zero4" fame) and developed by Dream Japan in 1997... if you've ever played "Princess Maker", "Tanjou: Debut", "Sotsugyou Graduation" (an English version of "Sotsugyou II: Neo Generation" was released simply as "Graduation"), "Mercurius Pretty", "Metal Angel", "Hyper Securities", "Tokimeki Memorial", etcetera (blah), you sorta know what to expect here.

The game's plot involves the player taking in the daughter of a once-great martial arts champion who disappeared during a ruthless battle in the organized fight club, S - Grand Prix of the Tactical Fight Tournament, leaving her displaced and without a trainer. You are a prodigy and a renowned fighter yourself. You trained with her father, but abandoned your urge to fight due to mysterious circumstances. Being the only lead to go off of, you are her last hope, so you reluctantly take her in and form a training regimen for her, but she's also gotta work and pay her way... you get three years to whip her into shape so she can participate in the tournament, win, and learn what really happened years ago.

With the over-saturation of these titles on the Japanese market at the time, games used a great number of perks to differentiate themselves from the crowd: Tokimeki Memorial used a multitude of mini-games and top-tier audio/visuals to cement its legacy, Dekitate High School added mild Sim City elements on top of TM's offerings, Metal Angel allowed a bit of freedom by giving you limited control during fights, Tanjou: Debut had quiz games, Hyper Securities 2 has 3D driving segments, the list goes on. Tactical Fighter was born during the rise of K-1 and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), adopting a martial arts theme to accentuate it, but every other facet of the game is bare bones and rudimentary. The in-game graphics and animations are pretty neat, but the music is a bit low quality and the cutscenes (what few there are) are low budget. It is considered "kusoge" in some circles ("crap" game in the milder sense), but it's not a BAD game in the traditional sense; it just doesn't stand out much at all.

Some good things to say about it? It's an entry-level management title since you only balance one character (some balance multiple) and it is easy to understand even with minimal Japanese comprehension with clear graphics and illustrations. Heck, with the right choices and gifts, you can succeed right out the gate and as long as you keep her stress and stamina good, you'll have no problems. The game has your usual pros and cons where certain activities raise some parameters and lower others, but I like that the game has seasonal shops to buy different items to really help mitigate losses or boost areas you don't work regularly. I like that activities branch off into other activities as you build connections with NPCs who leak info about jobs or opportunities, giving a bit of an organic feel to the recurring characters (some who are also in the tournament) and I like meeting rivals while exercising or at work, beating them, and learning their "hissatsu waza" (ultimate technique). You get to dress your gal in over a dozen outfits and can reach a multitude of mini-endings as well as a general good and bad ending.

Some bad things? The game is engineered for you to fail for at least the first year, so don't fight anybody unless you want to lose and have her upset at you (you "could" beat the weak jogger and the fast food clerk, but it's not worth the risk). You have no control of fights; the A.I. fights for you and while there are certain stats that influence combinations and attack speed, the CPU is usually superior in this regard (few regimens raise those parameters significantly), so you will likely rely on brute strength and saving before major fights starting out. There are preset events that drop chunks of your stats or greatly elevate stress... you can mitigate this depending on your order of events (can't take 20 points from kick speed if it's already zero), but this requires familiarity through subsequent playthroughs (stress management is easy to keep it below 150). The main story is thin and kinda blargh (in part due to the apathetic sponge of a main character who spends the girl's earnings...pimp?) and the characters aren't as developed as better games in this genre.

All that being said, this game was a cheap buy for me and I liked some of the fights and accessibility of the title. Had I gotten this at retail, I may have felt differently, but as it is now, it's a modest entry point to see if these games are your jam. It helped pad Media Works portfolio, got Dream Japan a few bucks, and was a Saturn exclusive. This video shows a variety of things. Enjoy.

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