3RRSS DoukyIF

The year was 1996 and the place was Japan. It was August and love
was in the air. One boy, Takuro-san, knew that he had to get some fast
love before classes started up again. This is the story of one man, a
man who in his quest for love helped push dating sims to new heights
and has provided canon for many to follow and copy. Doukyusei If, or
Classmates If, is an import experience that has to be seen to be
believed-so let's get going.

As you can tell, the story is like most dating sims: single guy wants a
girl so he woos all the ladies around him. Please note that with the
exclusion of one character, the Doukyusei games (and Kakyusei) are
all fairly separate adventures that don't really relate all to much to
another. Sure by now, the story may seem clichéd: with the male
character living alone (usually in these games the main character has
deceased parent, or they are always working) and the girls themselves
all fitting certain stereotypes that otaku fan boys will find hot.

The girls in this game, while nice, do not seem to match the level of
uniqueness in the sequel (Doukysusei 2). There are some similarities:
you can date a convenience store clerk, a school teacher (by the way
the teacher in this one is way hotter), tomboys, quiet girls, and so
forth. There are also the underclassmen (err…women) to interact with,
like the girl who works at the flower shop and other ladies. Of course
then you throw in the school nurse, the girl that works at "cat's eye"
(wink wink) and a "patrol girl." One of the coolest parts was the ability
to date Kurumi, who is your best friend's girlfriend. I have fond
memories of going to the park and taking a boat ride with her-only to
sneak a peak at her panties. Awesome.

The gameplay is similar to the sequel. The game is time-based with
events happening at different places at certain times. You start out in
your room in your maison (Japanese hotel) and from there you venture
the streets (ala cute 2D graphics) looking for some ladies to chat with.
The town is split into two areas; to go back and forth from them you
have to take the monorail. The town is nowhere near as big as the
town in the sequel but there still are a lot of different places to go to.
Try checking for ladies at these locations: coffee shop, flower shop,
love hotel, school, park, playground, and many more.

Of course, with all these girls there are so many different stories. I like
the one where you are in your room and you can look out the window
and see a nearby house. Sometimes a woman will be in the backyard
doing yard work. Eventually you can go over and meet the lady.
Needless to say, after some introductions you soon find yourself
underneath her and sexual situations arise. Another nice one is going
on a date with the convenience store girl. You stop by one day to find
the school nurse and the girl inside the shop, and the nurse
encourages you two to go on a date. You go to the coffee shop and in
the conversation you drop your spoon; so you go under the table to get
it. Here you sneak a peak at the girl's panties and then proceed to pick
up your spoon. After that you go to the playground and you touch her
body. Great stuff.

The game is time-based and you do have a set amount of money
(traveling and dates can get costly) but you can take a part time job
for the day to earn some cash. You can also speed up time by a set
amount of hours to get to certain events faster. Saving is done when
you return to your room and sleep. Also in your room on the computer
you can read profiles on the girls or change things in the Options
menu. The gameplay is easy to understand once you understand the
game menu. The top choice is usually Leave, the second is Enter, and
the third is Never Mind. When you get to places you move your cursor
(the game is compatible with the mouse or controller) and click on
things. Depending what you click on the mouse cursor takes a
different shape. When talking to people it turns into a person, when
you meet your rival it turns into a fist (as you can punch him), and
when fondling girls it turns into a pair of groping hands. No kidding.

One thing of note is that there is no English walkthrough for this one.
However, after weeks of extensive searching online for Japanese
guides, I have concluded that there are many Japanese guides to be
found for those truly lost. If you don't get the girl before the school
year starts again prepare to see a screen with your lonely character
under the falling cherry blossoms. The game is also one disk, and there
are no anime scenes.

The graphics are really good. I love the 2D town and being able to walk
everywhere and go to all the different places. Also the screen changes
colors when your in the morning, afternoon, and night. The CG is all
very good and there are many panty shots to be found. This is a yellow-
label game so no real nudity, just really suggestive stuff, and loads of
panty shots. The girls all look great, but they don't have much variation
to their pictures: eyes blink but mouths do not move and emotions do
not change. This makes things a little harder when you're trying to
pick choices in a conversation and you don't know if you're pissing her
off or not (unless you can read Japanese or pay close attention to the
tone of voice).

The girls do not have full voiceovers; they only have voices when they
have important things to say. Still, there is a ton of audio in the game.
Also each girl has her own little piece of when you talk to her. Add in
the town theme and the sound quality is really nice. The main
character has no voice and isn't really shown because it's supposed to
be you. When I played this game I often just muted the game and
popped in the George Michael album "Patience." It goes really well
with the game and I consider it to be a second soundtrack.

With about ten girls to go after this game will keep the patient gamer
busy trying to finish the game with each girl. That task in itself, for a
western gamer, seems rather impossible. Just be ready to see
whatever CG you can. It still is a very enjoyable experience. This game
can get rather addicting as well. Once you start it's hard to stop. But
you can pop it in and just look at the CG pictures you've seen of the
girls.

Doukyusei If has also spawned an anime series that was released in
America. It was released on VHS a long time ago under the name "End
of Summer", it was, of course, an adult anime with dirty bits but fans of
the series may want to check it out. Also, there is the strip-mahjong
game that's based off this game that was also released on the Saturn.

But if I had to choose between Doukusei If or Doukyusei 2 then I would
take the sequel in a heartbeat: it has the walkthrough and the game
itself is also much bigger and better. Of course, this one also has loads
of charm and hot scenes as well. Also Doukysei If is a fairly common
Saturn game and doesn't sell for very much. This one is recommended
for fans of the series, or fans of dating sims who have already played a
few and know what they're getting into. If that's you then good luck
and never lose sight of your dreams: to have sex with as many anime
girls as possible.

Review by: Orochi Sonic