Post by yanki on Jun 28, 2009 1:57:05 GMT -5
The next game made by Grasshopper Studios headed by Suda51 has finally made it's way to the US shores. Suda51 is a name familiar with the cult hit Killer7 and No More Heroes, has brought one of his older PS2 titles to the Nintendo DS and let the rest of the world give it a try. Awww, how thoughtful. Flower, Sun, and Rain is what one would expect from Grasshopper, but will it be a hit or a flop amongst Western gamers?
You play as Sumio Mondo, a searcher who has been invited to Lospass Island. Sumio is given the task by the manager of the Flower, Sun, and Rain Hotel to stop terrorists from destroying a plane with a bomb the next day you arrive. The problem is that the plane blows up anyway without Sumio even stepping out of his room! One would think this would be game over for our hero or it being a past failure that haunts him, but no. Right after the plane explodes, Sumio is awakened to the same morning. Time keeps repeating itself, starting again when Sumio fails to prevent the bomb from going off. It is your job to finally get to the airport, one time or another.
The gameplay is rather simple. All you do is solve puzzles with numbers. You can also retrieve "Lost Items" by checking a list in your room every morning, which does change every new day. These only give you goods and unlockable costumes. They are a challenge, so if you love that a hard mathematical-mental challenge, these are for you.
There isn't much to the game other than the puzzles and the story. However, I must let you know why this might not be for you.
You have to walk Sumio all over the island. And I mean ALL OVER!!! There isn't an elevator in the hotel and you must walk around the environment to get to where you want to go. It doesn't sound bad here, but trust me, it is tedious and rather annoying, particularly in one chapter. Thankfully, that one does give you a break, though a rather small one.
The other issue is the story. Admittedly, it will keep you interested in the game and at the same time lost. The thing is, this game is actually connected to "The Silver Case", a game released before the original version of "Flower, Sun, and Rain" in Japan. The Silver Case is expected to also get a DS port and come to the US, but some nut decided to release FSR first (it's not out yet in Japan either). There are some localization errors, however they are small and more or less kind of an awkward read.
If you consider yourself a Suda51 fan, you will want to get this game and you will most likely enjoy it. If you consider yourself hardcore and like to try something new, give it a shot. Otherwise, I wouldn't bother playing it. Personally for me, I would give the game a 4/5 because I was so hooked in discovering more of the story, but at the end, I would give it a 3/5 due to the somewhat tedious nature of moving from one place to the next and the confusing story, but I still enjoyed the game immensely. At least it convinced me to purchase The Silver Case when it comes over here.
You play as Sumio Mondo, a searcher who has been invited to Lospass Island. Sumio is given the task by the manager of the Flower, Sun, and Rain Hotel to stop terrorists from destroying a plane with a bomb the next day you arrive. The problem is that the plane blows up anyway without Sumio even stepping out of his room! One would think this would be game over for our hero or it being a past failure that haunts him, but no. Right after the plane explodes, Sumio is awakened to the same morning. Time keeps repeating itself, starting again when Sumio fails to prevent the bomb from going off. It is your job to finally get to the airport, one time or another.
The gameplay is rather simple. All you do is solve puzzles with numbers. You can also retrieve "Lost Items" by checking a list in your room every morning, which does change every new day. These only give you goods and unlockable costumes. They are a challenge, so if you love that a hard mathematical-mental challenge, these are for you.
There isn't much to the game other than the puzzles and the story. However, I must let you know why this might not be for you.
You have to walk Sumio all over the island. And I mean ALL OVER!!! There isn't an elevator in the hotel and you must walk around the environment to get to where you want to go. It doesn't sound bad here, but trust me, it is tedious and rather annoying, particularly in one chapter. Thankfully, that one does give you a break, though a rather small one.
The other issue is the story. Admittedly, it will keep you interested in the game and at the same time lost. The thing is, this game is actually connected to "The Silver Case", a game released before the original version of "Flower, Sun, and Rain" in Japan. The Silver Case is expected to also get a DS port and come to the US, but some nut decided to release FSR first (it's not out yet in Japan either). There are some localization errors, however they are small and more or less kind of an awkward read.
If you consider yourself a Suda51 fan, you will want to get this game and you will most likely enjoy it. If you consider yourself hardcore and like to try something new, give it a shot. Otherwise, I wouldn't bother playing it. Personally for me, I would give the game a 4/5 because I was so hooked in discovering more of the story, but at the end, I would give it a 3/5 due to the somewhat tedious nature of moving from one place to the next and the confusing story, but I still enjoyed the game immensely. At least it convinced me to purchase The Silver Case when it comes over here.