Planet Laika

released on Oct 21, 1999

Planet Laika is a Japan-exclusive RPG for the Playstation. It was developed by Quintet, a team responsible for several highly regarded SNES-era RPG's.


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To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour
A Robin Red breast in a Cage
Puts all Heaven in a Rage
A Dove house filld with Doves & Pigeons
Shudders Hell thr' all its regions
A dog starvd at his Masters Gate
Predicts the ruin of the State
A Horse misusd upon the Road
Calls to Heaven for Human blood
Each outcry of the hunted Hare
A fibre from the Brain does tear
A Skylark wounded in the wing
A Cherubim does cease to sing
The Game Cock clipd & armd for fight
Does the Rising Sun affright
Every Wolfs & Lions howl
Raises from Hell a Human Soul
The wild deer, wandring here & there
Keeps the Human Soul from Care
The Lamb misusd breeds Public Strife
And yet forgives the Butchers knife
The Bat that flits at close of Eve
Has left the Brain that wont Believe
The Owl that calls upon the Night
Speaks the Unbelievers fright
He who shall hurt the little Wren
Shall never be belovd by Men
He who the Ox to wrath has movd
Shall never be by Woman lovd
The wanton Boy that kills the Fly
Shall feel the Spiders enmity
He who torments the Chafers Sprite
Weaves a Bower in endless Night
The Catterpiller on the Leaf
Repeats to thee thy Mothers grief
Kill not the Moth nor Butterfly
For the Last Judgment draweth nigh
He who shall train the Horse to War
Shall never pass the Polar Bar
The Beggars Dog & Widows Cat
Feed them & thou wilt grow fat
The Gnat that sings his Summers Song
Poison gets from Slanders tongue
The poison of the Snake & Newt
Is the sweat of Envys Foot
The poison of the Honey Bee
Is the Artists Jealousy
The Princes Robes & Beggars Rags
Are Toadstools on the Misers Bags
A Truth thats told with bad intent
Beats all the Lies you can invent
It is right it should be so
Man was made for Joy & Woe
And when this we rightly know
Thro the World we safely go
Joy & Woe are woven fine
A Clothing for the soul divine
Under every grief & pine
Runs a joy with silken twine
The Babe is more than swadling Bands
Throughout all these Human Lands
Tools were made & Born were hands
Every Farmer Understands
Every Tear from Every Eye
Becomes a Babe in Eternity
This is caught by Females bright
And returnd to its own delight
The Bleat the Bark Bellow & Roar
Are Waves that Beat on Heavens Shore
The Babe that weeps the Rod beneath
Writes Revenge in realms of Death
The Beggars Rags fluttering in Air
Does to Rags the Heavens tear
The Soldier armd with Sword & Gun
Palsied strikes the Summers Sun
The poor Mans Farthing is worth more
Than all the Gold on Africs Shore
One Mite wrung from the Labrers hands
Shall buy & sell the Misers Lands
Or if protected from on high
Does that whole Nation sell & buy
He who mocks the Infants Faith
Shall be mockd in Age & Death
He who shall teach the Child to Doubt
The rotting Grave shall neer get out
He who respects the Infants faith
Triumphs over Hell & Death
The Childs Toys & the Old Mans Reasons
Are the Fruits of the Two seasons
The Questioner who sits so sly
Shall never know how to Reply
He who replies to words of Doubt
Doth put the Light of Knowledge out
The Strongest Poison ever known
Came from Caesars Laurel Crown
Nought can Deform the Human Race
Like to the Armours iron brace
When Gold & Gems adorn the Plow
To peaceful Arts shall Envy Bow
A Riddle or the Crickets Cry
Is to Doubt a fit Reply
The Emmets Inch & Eagles Mile
Make Lame Philosophy to smile
He who Doubts from what he sees
Will neer Believe do what you Please
If the Sun & Moon should Doubt
Theyd immediately Go out
To be in a Passion you Good may Do
But no Good if a Passion is in you
The Whore & Gambler by the State
Licencd build that Nations Fate
The Harlots cry from Street to Street
Shall weave Old Englands winding Sheet
The Winners Shout the Losers Curse
Dance before dead Englands Hearse
Every Night & every Morn
Some to Misery are Born
Every Morn and every Night
Some are Born to sweet delight
Some are Born to sweet delight
Some are Born to Endless Night
We are led to Believe a Lie
When we see not Thro the Eye
Which was Born in a Night to perish in a Night
When the Soul Slept in Beams of Light
God Appears & God is Light
To those poor Souls who dwell in Night
But does a Human Form Display
To those who Dwell in Realms of day

This one was extremely bizarre and I'm not sure it had a coherent point to make but the battle mode was very enjoyable and unlike anything I've experienced in any other game.

Planet Laika is a late PS1-era game by Zeque, the people who worked on Kowloon's Gate, which I have not played, and Quintet, developers of ActRaiser, Terranigma and more, which I am quite the fan of, although they mostly handled the more technical aspects. Still, alongside the general style intriguing me, I threw it on the backlog and told myself I'd play it someday. That day ended up, quite fortuitously, being the day before Christmas. It turns out this game's very very Christmas-themed so that was a very fun coincidence.

Anyhow, what is this game, what's all the fuss about? Good question. Gameplay-wise, it's as simple as it gets. You run around and you talk to people, and that's really it, no real puzzles besides figuring out where the next plot beat lies. The world is small but dense with things, and that's a good thing because you'll have to backtrack a lot. As a fair warning there is no guide and the game may seem kind of obtuse, but as long as you run around and speak to everyone you'll figure out what to do without much of an issue. You'll need to pay attention, but considering the sheer thickness and complexity of the plot, as well as generally the fact that most of the dialogue is quite interesting, that's probably a good thing (If you're like me and easily forget names, I'd definitely put aside some special effort to committing them to memory, even what may seem like minor NPCs all get arcs of some sort throughout the story and you will definitely want to keep up with them).

There's also combat, some weird pong-like minigame that very much fits the game's alien nature, and while I struggle to call it a highlight it generally never gets in the way of the fun thanks to its rarity. Something that might, however, is the fact that all screen transitions take some 3-4 seconds, which means backtracking will be a lot of staring at black screens. Not a deal breaker by any means but it will definitely have you holding your finger over the fast-forward button sooner or later.

One of Laika's most defining characteristics is their ability to shift between their normal state and their three alternate identities. While story-wise this is absolutely essential and very very interesting, I do feel this is a bit underbaked in terms of actual progression- most of the game is spent as the mute Laika rather than the chattier and more interesting identities, with Ernest, the big strong one, barely getting any dialogue before the endgame. That's not a deal-breaker at all either, though, because from start to finish this is a really damn cool game.

Let's set aside all the actual story, Planet Laika could be talking about literally fuck-all and it'd still be a fun time just because of its sheer style. Every single screen has some cool visuals, every single character has some interesting things to say, and every single cutscene has some really damn effective stylistic flair. The soundtrack is full of these ethereal synths and ambiance that really gets you into this surreal world that seems to abide by no logic at all. It's some pro stuff, and I think just the visuals alone will dwell in my memories a lot more than any other aspect of Planet Laika- or of most other games, for that matter.

I do think that the game does fall a bit regarding the actual story though. Don't get me wrong, it's good, it deals with some tough themes and does this well, but as others have pointed out it does come off as very rushed. The game's about 10 hours long and almost all of them are dedicated to rapid-fire plot reveals, to the point that it's very hard to follow. This may be on purpose but I do feel like it takes away from the result just a bit.

Planet Laika has inspired lofty trains of thought this past week regarding the transient nature of daily life, the miraculous circumstances that lead to a pair of people meeting each other, and how easily trauma can take away everything from you. while the vehicle it chooses is as fantastical as "dog people in space", between the nonsensical eccentricities of Mars' colony dwellers are heart-stopping moments of clarity through which Laika communicates its core ethos.

while there is no regaining lost time, you are not a slave to the events which brought you here today. while there might exist a darkness in you that cannot be illuminated, living alongside it and accepting it is possible. you are not leaves that fall at autumn's beckon. you must will yourself to fall.

look, it's snowing. merry christmas.

Still thinking about this game even after finishing it ages ago. God.

I'd go more in-depth as usual but its been a while since I played the game so I don't really wanna get any details wrong. But I will say the experience felt quite special. It's one of the few games that's always constantly in the back of my mind, cropping up to the front more often than most other games or even other media I've experienced.

The game isn't without its faults, but combined with its aesthetics and wacky presentations, Planet Laika showed me a story that I still think about from time to time. The many different things it tries to tell, the themes it was trying to convey, the struggles of all the different characters and how they handled them, whether the game handles them excellently or underbaked they'd leave an incredible impact on me.

It's just such a wildly creative yet often intense and unnerving game, I'm finding it difficult to describe why I feel so strongly about it. I just, vibe with it a lot. I totally recommend this game, if at least for a trippy experience, with the hopes for enjoying a really creative, wild, but passionate and often profound game.

Playing this on my new anbernic handheld, which is very enjoyable. Obviously this is a very special game, and the art style is very appealing to me. It's unexpectedly very heady and emotional, and I'll probably keep picking it up slowly for a while.