It’s not often we get a game series at Retro 101 that we
haven’t heard much about before, but the Umihara Kawase games certainly
qualify. Starting life on the Super Famicom and appearing more recently in a DS
compilation the games feature tranquil styled, fish filled, worlds and feature
puzzles and platform filled stages navigated by swinging around on a fishing
line.
The latest game arrives on EU shores via digital download
and it finally allows us to see what all the fuss is about. The game follows female
protagonist Yumi as she tries to reach the exit door in each self-contained
stage. The game is equal part puzzle game and platformer and the first thing
you’ll need to do is work out how the fishing line works.
Yumi can attach her fishing line to most surfaces and then
use it to climb and swing around the levels as well as using it to stun and
capture enemies. The skill comes from knowing how to build momentum when swinging
and how to catapult yourself around the levels. It takes a fair while to get used
to and when we first started playing it produced much frustration early on.
Slowly though, you begin to get into the way of thinking you need to progress and
then everything clicks and you’ll be working out in your head exactly how to reach
those ledges that seemed impossible to get to.
The initial stages don’t offer up too much challenge and you
may mistakenly think you’ve seen everything the game has to offer fairly
quickly. We reached what we assumed was the first boss, a frustrating encounter
with a large walking fish, expecting upon defeat for more levels to open up.
Instead, the end credits rolled. A little dismayed we returned to the world map
only to notice paths branching off from levels we had already beaten.
There are around fifty levels hidden away and the branching
paths on the world map show which levels have hidden exits. Finding the exits
on each stage is challenging enough but actually reaching them can be teeth-knashingly
frustrating. This is perhaps one of the games main problems as players may find
they hit a wall fairly quickly and then struggle to see the rest of what’s on
offer. Once you do manage to get onto another set of levels it feels great but
it takes a lot of skill to do and many may not have the patience for it.
The game allows for some stunning displays of skill and however
good you think you are a quick search on YouTube will reveal some Jedi-like
abilities of other players. There’s no hiding the fact that it does take some
dedication though. This is not the sort of game that you can just pick up and
play and get to grips with straight away. It will require time to be put in and
you need to accept that you are going to see some stages over and over again
while you hone and improve upon your line throwing.
There are hidden back packs in each level as well which add
a small collectible element to the game. Picking these up unlocks art work and music
and are a nice, if non-essential, addition to your antics. Aside from this it
is the sheer time attack nature of the game that will keep you playing. Levels
you initially beat in minutes can be completed in seconds upon mastery of the
controls and it’s interesting to see how the fishing line can be manipulated to
shave seconds off your best time.
Overall, Sayonara Umihara Kawase is something a little different
for 3DS owners to get to grips with. It’s an excellent concept that is
implemented well and for those willing to put in the time required to master it
there is a good few hours of game here. If you get the time attack bug then it will
last for an age as you try and shave yet more seconds of your best time. We’re
glad to see the game series finally make it Europe and we look forward the next
instalment.
Overall 8/10
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