Name: Fresh! ~Teens Memory~ (91.25% in 8 votes)
Type: ADV
Platform: WINDOWS
Company: Bell-Da
Release date: 1999
Reviewed by: Lamuness
Like most high-school romance Hgames, the intro of Fresh! ~Teens Memory~ is very typical. You play the role of Narusawa Daisuke who is now living with your grandfather and just got transferred to a new high school and meet new people etc. Really nothing too interesting about the background plot. However, the really good stuff comes after this mediocre starting point coz you don't really play the role of solely Daisuke.
What makes this game definitely stand out from other high-school romance Hgames is the use of the Liason System. What is this you ask? Well, Liason is a Hgame previously released by the same company Bell-Da. What makes Liason special is that the story uses a special system where occasionally it changes perspective of the character throughout the game. This means that times you play the role of the hero and occasionally changes to the girl's perspective. This way, the player can truly understand the story situation according to the girl's viewpoint. I didn't play Liason so I can't comment on the game.
Anyways, Fresh! uses the same Liason System but said to be a much extensive version of it. From time to time you will switch perspectives from Daisuke to the girls so you can understand what they are thinking and more importantly how they are feeling deep inside their hearts. This means that not only will you make decisions for Daisuke but occasionally for the girls also. This really makes the story much much richer, more detailed and more well-crafted. This is because most Hgames are in the perspective of the guy and you never get to know how the girls feel unless someone tells you. In my opinion, I really really admire this game system because it really makes the dramatic effects of the storyline much better. Besides the Liason system, with the help of *really* good voice acting, it is safe to say that Fresh!'s story is better than *most* of high-school type Hgame plots I have ever experienced. Not to mention that at many occasions the events really really funny which makes the game more enjoyable.
Gameplay-wise, it's really a visual novel than an AVG, because there aren't alot of choices to make, sometimes the game will give you hints to what the choices will lead to. Therefore, one should not have any trouble with this game. However, one interesting thing about it is that there are total of 6 girls in the game but you can only have "access" to 3 of them. As you finish the game with a happy ending with one of these girls, one more will become "available" when you replay the game.
Graphics-wise, insane. Fresh!'s graphics can really match some of the current elite Hgame titles. I have nothing to say about the hi-quality graphics. Also, I really like the uniform design in this game with a little blue cape over a sailor suit. Girls-wise, some of them have to most sugoi (awesome) figures I have ever seen in high school girls. Even though they are sugoi, the body is not disproportional unlike other Bell-Da games, and the girls still look beautiful. Take a look at the last screen shot. Music wise, it's nicely done but they are all in WAV format so you know what I mean, and as I said before, the voice acting, which is 100% even for the male characters, is excellent.
Bad points... There aren't any but there aren't none. There isn't anything unenjoyable (since it's really well-crafted) except for some technical annoyance. For one thing, it is kind of tedious to load a save file because you have to go through the prologue in order to load a game, meaning that there is no load option at the title screen.
Other than the minor tidbits, overall Fresh! ~Teens Memory~ is an extremely well-made and well-crafted game. With insane hi-quality graphics, excellent 100% voice acting and most importantly, a well thought out storyline, it is safe to say that Fresh! is one of the best games for the summer of 1999, comparable with Kanon and Comic Party. Anybody who can read Japanese and place emphasis on plot and likes high-school romance should definitely not miss out this game.
PROS: Well-crafted storyline, really good multi-perspective system, insane-quality graphics, excellent 100% voice acting which means basically everything except gameplay perhaps? Love that uniform design~~sugoi 3-sizes...
CONS: Some minor technical problems/nuisances.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS GAME TO: People who can read Japanese and place heavy emphasis on plot in Hgames. Anybody who likes high-school romance type games.
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