Name: Doukyuusei 2 (Classmate 2) (67.50% in 8 votes)
Type: ADV
Platform: SATURN
Company: Elf
Release date: 1997
Reviewed by: D-E-X
Overview:
You played Ryuunosuke, who is a senior in Yasohachi HS. It is the winter holiday and you have about 2 weeks to "have fun" before the school restarts and the cramming for college begin. If you are lucky and smart, you might even get a steady girlfriend before the vacation is over.
Special Note:
Both the DOS/V version and the Sega Saturn version are reviewed here. The score for the Saturn version is on the left while the score for the PC version is on the right. The score for the PC version is used in the index.
Story:
It starts with a lengthy prologue. A week of school before the vacation begin. Here, you are introduced to most of the characters (usually the school girls). There is almost no choices (none that matter at the least) in this section. After the calendar struck December 24, the game begins. You have until midnight January 7 to have fun, looks for girls, etc. The story is very good, not as detailed as Elf's later games (such as Kakyuusei or Yu-No) but it is a good story nonetheless. Every people has his/her own personality., from Yui's kid-sister like reply, to Youko's school brat, to Yoshiki's ecchi, manipulating and cowardly self. There are some heart-warming sequence and some sad sequence. Well, even though my Japanese knowledge is rather poor (I only understand 50% of the dialog if it is not spoken), it is very good indeed. If you get a good ending, it says that you live happily ever after with the girl you get (in one case even a happy end for another person involved). Call me a romantic fool but I think it is better than looking a bunch of H-scenes with a stupid story in it.
H Content:
The Dos-V version beats the Saturn version hands down. I think it is the only category that the Dos-v version beats the saturn version. In the dos-v version, there are quite a whole lot of H-pics, and most of them are very explicit. Some even shows acts of sex (not as graphical as Elf's other game, Isaku, but it is something that usually is shown on Playboy channel). The saturn version has most of the h-scenes toned down and some of the H-scenes are totally missing (the bonus ones if you can answer the Quiz king correctly). No full frontal nudity for example, even in Yui's bath scene, her breasts are covered by soap foams. Yet, the H-content in the saturn version is more like one of the racier eps of Silk Stalkings. The H-dialog for both of them are the same though (I think) so you can use your own imagination. Anyway, if you buy the game for H content alone, you should buy the computer version (either Dos-V or Win95J)
Graphics:
What can I say, the graphics are very good. The graphics are done in anime style without going overcute or bouncy. The older women looks beautiful (like something out of City Hunter, you know what I mean) while the young ones are cute. It defines the term "Elf Girl style" for me. The CGs are done very tastefully also. I give the saturn version a nod because it is done in higher resolution, probably more color (or better blending effect of the TV) and bigger (3/4 of the screen in game mode and full screen in Girl's Room mode instead of 1/2 screen in Dos-V version). There are also extra pics for the girls in the saturn version.
Sound:
The music are composed beautifully for all version. Each character and situation has its own theme and they are somewhat catchy. The saturn version wins this category. The saturn version has voice actors which enhanced the dialog and story for me (heh.. imagine my surprise when a difficult looking kanji on the screen correspond to a very easy word). Furthermore, the music is remixed in the saturn version to take advantage of Saturn's superior sound chip, making it better than the FM synthesis of a Sound blaster. Most of the remixed themes are better suited for me because of more # of instruments and better tempo (I like the faster pace Misa's theme better, just like Doukyuusei 1 instead of the slower version of Dos-v D2). Lastly, the end credits in the saturn version is accompanied by a real song, with vocals and everything. The song comes from the Doukyuusei 2 OVA I believe. The only reason I didn't give the saturn version a 10 is because I am spoiled by Doukyuusei 2 CD box set in which all the themes are remixed with a lot more instruments than the saturn version. The saturn version still feels like game music, while the CD box set feels like a concert.
Game Play:
The setup is the same for both version. There is a map mode and room mode. You walk around in the map mode as in any 3rd person perspective rpg. Entering a building will put you into room mode, where you can either meet people or find it empty. Then the look cursor will appear and it will change into talk mode if you can talk to people. Pressing a button will open a menu with the choices like Leave the place or stay. There is also a big map mode where you are shown a map and a cursor. In this mode you can go to a place by clicking on a building and the character will automatically go there. You can only save when you are in your own room and click on the bed, then sleep for at least 1 hour. This suck IMO because you waste valuable time for just saving. Each girl has its own ending, and there is a bad ending where you didn't get any girl. The multiple ending increases the longetivity of the game, although I really wonder how much time to be spent to get all the girls. I give the saturn version a better grade because of the extra girl and the less # of buttons on the game pad. (In dos-v version, I have to peck all the keys on the keyboard before finding the key that can fastforward the conversation).
Extras:
Both version includes the music room and girls room when you beat the game. The music room is where you can listen to the music and the girls room is the place to see "event scenes" (not generic girl in front of scenery pics) associated with the girls you gotten even though the scenes are not shown when you are playing the game itself (like the sky trip scenes, I didn't go to the sky trip when beating the game with Yui but it is shown). The saturn version of the girls room is better because it shows the pics in full screen mode.
The saturn version has an extra character only found in the saturn version (well.. not really extra, it is Hikari, Karen's manager, but she can be "gotten" in the saturn version instead of just becoming an npc in dosv version). The saturn version also includes a mini game called Sotsugyousei or Graduate Student, a mini game found in D2 extra disk for dos-v version. You play a graduate student (a different character) returning back to the world of D2 and interacting with D2 characters. You have about 3 days to "win" this game. I don't know how to win this game but I have a feeling that it has something to do with chasing Miyuki, a girl created specifically for this game. The saturn version also has a short movie (from D2 OVA I believe) that is shown after you finish the prologue. It shows Yui and Sakurako with piano music in the background. Really sweet.
Bonus:
For the Dos-v version, this is one of the first fully Japanese games I actually played and beaten so it holds a special place for me. For the saturn version, well the sensation is overwhelming. After I finish the game, I have a feeling of finishing a good anime series, the same feeling I get after watching Giant Robo 7 (anime fans, don't ask me where I got it). From the movie at the end of the prologue to the ending song, everything is nice in D2 saturn version. Now, if only the ecchi scenes are intact from the dos-v version.
Total Score: 87%
This game is good... it will just be a H-anime video for those who don't understand and it will be a great game with a story that's going to shock everybody to people who understand... and also many many special thanks to Spirit ^^;...
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