Days of Memories

Lore & Background

Subsequent entries expanded the series' scope. Days of Memories ~Kare to Watashi no Atsui Natsu~, released on November 1, 2006, was marketed as a dating game for girls, featuring male characters from The King of Fighters and other SNK series. Days of Memories ~Koi wa Good Job!~, released on April 3, 2007, focused on characters in work-related roles, introducing original character Karen Ōkain. A compilation of the first three games, simply titled Days of Memories, was released for the Nintendo DS on June 14, 2007, with enhanced graphics and a viewing mode. Later entries included Days of Memories ~Junpaku no Tenshitachi~ (June 19, 2008), featuring characters from The King of Fighters XI and KOF: Maximum Impact 2, and Days of Memories ~Boku to Kanojo to Koto no Koi~ (May 1, 2008), which included characters from The Last Blade series. A second DS compilation, Days of Memories 2, was released on April 24, 2008, covering the fourth through sixth games.

Reader's Guide

The Days of Memories series is significant as SNK's foray into the dating sim genre, leveraging its extensive roster of fighting game characters in a romantic, parallel-world setting. The series spans eight main titles and two compilations, released between 2005 and 2008, primarily on cell phones and later ported to the Nintendo DS. It is notable for including both male and female perspectives, with one game marketed specifically to girls, and for introducing original characters that expanded the SNK universe. The compilations for the Nintendo DS helped preserve the early entries and made them accessible to a wider audience. The series' use of characters from The King of Fighters, Samurai Shodown, and The Last Blade demonstrates SNK's cross-franchise integration, appealing to fans of its fighting games. While the series did not achieve the mainstream success of SNK's core fighting titles, it remains a unique part of the company's history, showcasing its willingness to experiment with different genres and storytelling approaches.

Did You Know?

• The first game in the series, Days of Memories ~Boku to Kanojo no Atsui Natsu~, was released on October 17, 2005, for cell phones.
• Days of Memories ~Ōedo Ren'ai Emaki~ is set in feudal Japan and features only Samurai Shodown characters.
• Days of Memories ~Kare to Watashi no Atsui Natsu~, released on November 1, 2006, was marketed as a dating game for girls.
• A compilation of the first three games was released for the Nintendo DS on June 14, 2007, with new graphics and an extra viewing mode.

A Summer of Romance on the Cell Phone

Days of Memories launched in October 2005 as a mobile phone dating simulation from SNK, giving the company a foothold in the Japanese cell-phone gaming market. The core premise is deceptively simple: the player is handed the entire month of July and must use that window to build a relationship with one of the featured heroines, reaching a conclusion where a workable romantic connection has been established. Every title in the series takes place in a parallel world separate from the fighting-game universes the characters normally inhabit, allowing SNK and ADK personalities to interact in a slice-of-life context rather than on a stage. The first entry, subtitled Boku to Kanojo no Atsui Natsu, assembled a cast of fan-favorite heroines from their respective debut titles—including Athena Asamiya, Mai Shiranui, Leona Heidern, and Kula Diamond—alongside an original male lead named Kyoya Kaido. By framing a roster of fighters as romanceable characters within a single summer, the series carved out a distinctly different tone from SNK's competitive fighting-game output.

A Crossover Canvas for SNK's Roster

Across its run, the series functioned as a rotating showcase for characters spanning multiple SNK and ADK franchises. The earliest titles leaned heavily on The King of Fighters and Fatal Fury heroines, but Ōedo Ren'ai Emaki broke from that pattern by featuring exclusively Samurai Shodown personalities such as Nakoruru, Saya, and Mikoto, set against a Feudal Japan backdrop. Later entries broadened the net further: Boku to Kanojo to Koto no Koi became the first installment to bring in The Last Blade characters like Angel and Whip, while Junpaku no Tenshitachi drew its roster directly from The King of Fighters XI and KOF: Maximum Impact 2, introducing figures such as Ninon Beart, Elisabeth Blanctorche, and Luise Meyrink. The series also served as a testing ground for original characters—Shizuku Misawa debuted in the second title, and subsequent games added exclusive figures like Shino, Chiyo, Karen Ōkain, the Ichitsuka twins, and Kamisaki Misato. Notably, Alice Garnet Nakata, who first appeared in a Fatal Fury slot machine, made her Days of Memories debut in Junpaku no Tenshitachi before later surfacing in The King of Fighters XIV.

Shifting Lenses and Settings

Each installment in the series recontextualizes its characters through a distinct narrative lens, preventing the formula from feeling repetitive. The first two titles follow the standard male-perspective romance, but Kare to Watashi no Atsui Natsu flipped the camera entirely, marketing itself as a dating game for girls and casting Kyo Kusanagi, Iori Yagami, Terry Bogard, and other male fighters as the romanceable cast. Ōedo Ren'ai Emaki transported the action to Feudal Japan, pairing Samurai Shodown heroines with warriors like Haohmaru and Genjuro Kibagami, and notably became the first entry to depict the heroines' living spaces. The workplace-themed Koi wa Good Job! placed characters in jobs tied to their fighting-game personas, while Boku to Kanojo to Koto no Koi repeated that professional angle with a different roster. Junpaku no Tenshitachi, drawing from the KOF XI era, introduced a fresh set of heroines alongside side characters like Mignon Beart and the Ichitsuka twins. This willingness to swap eras, genders, and occupational settings gave each release a recognizable identity while keeping the core July-romance structure intact.

The DS Era and Series Wrap-Up

Although the series was conceived for Japanese cell phones, its most visible console moment came with the Nintendo DS compilations. In June 2007, SNK bundled the first three titles into a single DS package, upgrading the visuals and adding an extra viewing mode that let players look at characters from new angles. A second DS compilation followed in April 2008, collecting the fourth through sixth entries. These ports gave the mobile-only originals a second life on a handheld with a broader audience. The final standalone release, Boku to Kanojo to Koto no Koi, appeared in May 2008 and marked the series' last new entry, introducing The Last Blade characters and an exclusive heroine named Kamisaki Misato. Looking back, the eight-title run from 2005 to 2008 stands as a compact but varied experiment: SNK took its fighting-game roster out of the ring and into summer romances, feudal courts, and office settings, proving that even the most iconic combat characters could carry a lighter, relationship-driven narrative.

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