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Tom, Legally Certified Date Simmelier

@iiotenki.bsky.social

1.9K followers 96 following 3.8K posts

The Daigo Umehara of dating sims and the Tony Hawk of Tokimemo. Also your neighborhood Japanese game translator for over a decade. DM for work inquiries. 日英ゲーム翻訳者。日本語のメッセージも大歓迎！ 📖 Blog: https://dateemups.com/ ✍️ Portfolio: https://freelansations.com

dateemups.com

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Tom, Legally Certified Date Simmelier @iiotenki.bsky.social · Mar 6

So, here's the deal: if you've got a mid to long-term J>E translation or editing gig for a ten-year vet with AAA, lead translator credits to his name (portfolio link in my bio), let's talk by email or DMs. If not, a share is appreciated. I don't wanna spin my wheels another year. Thanks, folks. 🙏

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Tom, Legally Certified Date Simmelier @iiotenki.bsky.social · 3h

Yeah, I started playing the SNES version of 2 a while back and enjoyed my time with it even more than SNES 1 because of how snappier it is to play and just the sheer environmental variety. Definitely would love to see those levels done in that old low-poly Falcom style from that era. I miss it. 😩

Tom, Legally Certified Date Simmelier @iiotenki.bsky.social · 3h

But definitely be intimidated! The PSP version has some nice QOL improvements and has a brief tutorial up-front that I feel explains the basics well, which the original game lacks. I suspect I'll like the PC version best myself once I play it, but for newcomers, PSP is an easy recommendation. 😌

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Tom, Legally Certified Date Simmelier @iiotenki.bsky.social · 3h

You may also find it a little disorienting because of the perspective and how the camera works, but it's all integral to the fundamental design and the levels are built around it. It basically controls like a first-person dungeon crawler, but from a top-down perspective (so, kinda tank controls).

Tom, Legally Certified Date Simmelier @iiotenki.bsky.social · 3h

Yeah, I'd definitely say so! It has some control quirks that'll take some getting used to as a first-timer to the series, especially since it was originally a PC game meant to be played with a KB&M, but the options offer some settings that are worth fiddling with if you struggle with the defaults.

Tom, Legally Certified Date Simmelier @iiotenki.bsky.social · 5h

It's not just you! The character art is a big part of the visual appeal to these games to me, too. Here's how the shopkeepers look in the SNES version of the game, which are also charming IMO. They tend not to repeat NPCs, either, so it's always fun to enter a new shop and see who's running it. 😌

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Tom, Legally Certified Date Simmelier @iiotenki.bsky.social · 5h

I really need to sit down and play the PC-98 version in earnest and give its keyboard and mouse controls are proper shot since it's a game that was fundamentally designed for it. But I'd say the PSP remake is a perfectly good introduction to the series and is probably easiest to recommend overall.

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Tom, Legally Certified Date Simmelier @iiotenki.bsky.social · 5h

I've only beaten the SNES version, which I like, but it's compromised. The PSP remake is very solid and has some nice QOL stuff over that old SNES port. But it still has some control quirks that I think are just inherent to doing that gameplay on console and it doesn't move as snappy as I'd prefer.

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Tom, Legally Certified Date Simmelier @iiotenki.bsky.social · 5h

It's not nearly as central to the core gameplay in the way that it is in something like Etrian Odyssey. It does auto-fill in walls, floors, and doors as you encounter them, so it's mostly just for marking points of interest you want to return to later. Pretty simple but I still enjoy it. 😌

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Tom, Legally Certified Date Simmelier @iiotenki.bsky.social · 6h

Think I'm resigned to 2025 being the year I forget how to play all other video games that aren't Shiren and Brandish because, whoops, look what I stated playing. I dunno if I'll finish the Brandish remake anytime soon because it is so slavish to the original, but still puts me in my happy place. 😌

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Tom, Legally Certified Date Simmelier @iiotenki.bsky.social · 12h

That's mostly true with character raising sim ones in particular, but yeah. But I agree, even then, it's rare for me to 100 percent because even with the best ones that can be a grind. 😵‍💫 I love most of the mainline Tokimemos, but I feel I know them well enough clearing maybe several routes each.

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Tom, Legally Certified Date Simmelier @iiotenki.bsky.social · 12h

Probably not what you're talking about, but with actual dating sims specifically, I'll say that when I replay them heavily, it's generally because I've found the mechanics deep enough to want to explore them and see how the game reacts/whether the devs have accounted for what I'm specifically doing.

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Tom, Legally Certified Date Simmelier @iiotenki.bsky.social · 17h

Ahaha, I'm glad it's not just me who's curious, even as someone allergic to the capitalism of it all. 😅 I imagine EA's NFL deal spooked them big time, but... man, if they'd held on for even half a decade, they would've had the last laugh with basketball at least. What a baffling studio to give up. 😵‍💫

Tom, Legally Certified Date Simmelier @iiotenki.bsky.social · 18h

This had me looking up when Sega sold Visual Concepts off and apparently it wa 2025 for about $32 million including their IP? Seems shockingly cheap on the level of some of Square's divestitures, even if Sega was maybe still hurting for cash. I wonder if they kick themselves now for doing it... 🤔

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Tom, Legally Certified Date Simmelier @iiotenki.bsky.social · 20h

Man, to be free of those incessant Japanese YouTube ads warning people that weed will ruin your life and career and make even your long gone ancestors turn their backs on you. I can only envy you. Who knows how many times I'll see those ads this weekend. It's like they know I'm from Colorado... 😩

Reposted by Tom, Legally Certified Date Simmelier

Juno Rylee Schultz @junoryleejournalism.com · 1d

David Simon, creator of ‘The Wire’, being interviewed by Ari Shapiro (NPR)

SHAPIRO: OK, so you've spent your career creating television without Al, and I could imagine today you thinking, boy, I wish I had had that tool to solve those thorny problems...
SIMON: What?
SHAPIRO: ...Or saying...
SIMON: You imagine that?
SHAPIRO: ...Boy, if that had existed, it would have screwed me over.
SIMON: I don't think Al can remotely challenge what writers do at a fundamentally creative level.
SHAPIRO: But if you're trying to transition from scene five to scene six, and you're stuck with that transition, you could imagine plugging that portion of the script into an Al and say, give me 10 ideas for how to transition this.
SIMON: I'd rather put a gun in my mouth.

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Tom, Legally Certified Date Simmelier @iiotenki.bsky.social · 1d

For perspective, I started coming to Japan in 2009 and in all that time shopping at game stores and doujin shops, I think I've seen maybe two or three volumes in person *ever*. None of them individually are PC-98 Touhou rare as far as I know, but at the very least, I haven't seen any in this decade.

Tom, Legally Certified Date Simmelier @iiotenki.bsky.social · 1d

Maybe this is only news to me, but signal boosting this anyway because it can't be understated what a treasure trove this archive of Game Freak's zines is. These volumes only show up VERY occasionally online and command a lot of money; obtaining a full set to scan would've cost thousands of dollars.

Sasha's Retrobytes 🏳️‍⚧️ @sharkabytes.bsky.social · 1d

These were added to Internet Archive in their entirety after the Game Freak giga leak, where previously only a handful could be found.

同人誌GAME FREAK : GAME FREAK : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

☆同人誌GAME FREAK.7z タイトルページ数サイズ発行年月日備考 GAME FREAK Vol.1 14 A5 1983/5/28 ...

archive.org

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Tom, Legally Certified Date Simmelier @iiotenki.bsky.social · 1d

that's very considerate of you, thank you for respecting her boundaries at the expense of whatever equity your parents had in your current house

Tom, Legally Certified Date Simmelier @iiotenki.bsky.social · 1d

An old photoshopped image I previously posted to Cohost of a fake YouTube video titled, "2 Hours of Shiori Fujisaki Rejections to Fall Asleep to." The thumbnail depicts Tokimeki Memorial's own Shiori Fujisaki standing at the school gates at the end of the day, rejecting your character's offer to walk home together. As icing on the cake, the fake user icon is a picture of Tokimeki Memorial's crazed science girl Yuina, as depicted in the puzzle game spinoff Taisen Puzzle-dama.

It's one of the dumbest posts I ever ran on there and I'm still proud of it and completely forget I'd ever made it until browsing through my pictures folder just now instead of finishing this translation assignment I'm supposed to deliver.

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Reposted by Tom, Legally Certified Date Simmelier

Brian Clark (bclarkomp) @onemillionpower.com · 1d

This is the story of Sega's R360: The legendary arcade cabinet that spun players around and left arcade floors far too early. Exclusive interviews, developer quotes, and more!
I'd appreciate not only everyone watching, but also sharing this post and the video!
youtu.be/I-LnKFILB5I

Sega R360: Spinning Dreams in the Arcade

YouTube video by One Million Power

youtu.be

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Tom, Legally Certified Date Simmelier @iiotenki.bsky.social · 1d

One of those tracks in anime where I can practically recall the scene in my head beat for beat just by hearing it, and hardly the only track from Stand Alone Complex's soundtrack to do that, too. I go back to that and Torukia all the time. She sure wrote music that fit both seasons like a glove. 😌

Tom, Legally Certified Date Simmelier @iiotenki.bsky.social · 1d

What a miserable way for them to approach an article. Do they go around leaving 1 star reviews for Sesame Street episodes because they didn't learn anything new as a grown-up??? Jesus, there's more to our coverage than providing people fodder for pub night trivia questions that'll never happen. 😵‍💫

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Reposted by Tom, Legally Certified Date Simmelier

葬送のフリーレン公式 @frieren.websunday.net · 1d

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Tom, Legally Certified Date Simmelier @iiotenki.bsky.social · 1d

Yeah, I haven't been able to make heads or tails of that VO and what the provenance of it actually is and it goes a long way to making the writing issues extra glaring. I might try to see if I can dig up credits for the game later and see if there are any actor credits listed. I'm too curious now. 😩

Reposted by Tom, Legally Certified Date Simmelier

advarcher @advarcher.bsky.social · 1d

A hind D?

#umamusume

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