The first game released for the PC Engine's Super CD-ROM² System on the 27th of May 1994. It later received ports to the PlayStation in 1995 and versions for the Sega Saturn and Super Famicom in 1996.
Konami director Yoshiaki Nagata led the project with scenario writer Koji Igarashi handling the story. Igarashi received assistance from his girlfriend at the time while writing the script as he played Castlevania: Rondo of Blood.
Tokimeki Memorial sold 1.1 million copies by 1996. Reviewers in Dengeki PC-Engine called it the best release of the month and four reviewers of Weekly Famitsu complimented the game's addictive qualities.
Players controlling a male freshman at Kirameki High School face a unique mechanic called the bomb where neglected girls become angry and gossip to their friends. This action severely reduces love meters across the entire cast of characters and forces careful planning strategies like round-robin dating to avoid disaster.
A fan translation of the Super Famicom port into English was released in March 2022. The original Super Famicom port included an exclusive CD with a radio drama and new arrangement of the ending theme Futari no Toki sung by the majority of the girls.