Description:
You are Takayuki Yamano. You become the reluctant manager of the Yamano Inn after your parents decide to open a resort elsewhere. Your duties keep you very busy throughout the day, but you don't mind because Yamano Inn is a popular destination for lots of pretty young ladies. With ten beauties to choose from, finding love and happiness is all in your hands! But watch out, if you're not careful about what you say and do, you could very well ruin someone else's life... or end up all alone.

Review:
Before anything else, I'll have to say that never has a bishoujo game mesmerized me into playing like a maniac for days till I got every single CG and ending... until Tokimeki Check in!

The game begins with your character, Takayuki Yamano, trying to figure out which chore to do. A bit later, a bevy of beauties check in and you find yourself with more interesting things at hand. Exactly how you play Takayuki determines which girl you'll end up with... if any at all. There's a girl for just about every taste -- from the elegant and standoffish brunette Kyoka to the sultry and flirtatious blonde Yuki. Schoolgirls, debutantes, and career-oriented ladies... Tokimeki Check-in! offers a smorgasbord of delights for any hot-blooded male. Don't get me wrong... there is more to it than just aimless skirt-chasing. Each girl has her own set of traits and dilemmas, and getting involved means that you'll face whatever is up with her too.

While gameplay consists of clicking on choices during decision points, the relatively short and snappy dialogues keep things moving along nicely. Tokimeki Check-in! branches out early, and almost every option you pick will affect the outcome you'll get. There are a total of 17 possible endings, which greatly enhances the replay value. All the characters have one "best" ending, but some have "good" and "bad" endings as well.

The artwork is absolutely stunning. Not only do the scenes brim with color and life, but each character is rendered beautifully yet distinctly. You won't feel like you're just looking at the same girl with different hair. The characters' resemblance to each other was one of my main gripes about Crowd's other title -- Xchange, and I'm happy to find that this is no longer a problem with Tokimeki Check-in!. Sexually speaking, Tokimeki Check-in! is very graphic. You'll see everything... down to the hairs and bodily secretions. Tokimeki Check-in! also features the original Japanese voices, all of which are fitting for the characters being portrayed. I especially love the jubilant ending theme song that plays when you get any of the "best" endings.

Tokimeki Check-in! is a moderately challenging title -- it's not exactly easy but it's not hard either. Undoubtedly one of the best bishoujo games I've played, Tokimeki Check-in! is a real winner. Here's hoping that we see more titles of this caliber (or even greater) in English.

Miscellanies:
Tokimeki Check in! comes in two discs. The game itself and the CG, music, and event galleries are on the first disc. The second disc features other extras like desktop themes (complete with character voice sound files), pre-production sketches, additional character CGs, demos and trailers of other Peach Princess titles, and lots more!

Screenshots:

Shopping - click on title to purchase:

J-List Tokimeki Check in! (PC Game)
Rightstuf Tokimeki Check in! (PC Game)

Publisher: Crowd Co. Ltd. / Peach Princess (English version)

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