The 3ds is a handheld that I have always held a soft spot for and was always looking forward to seeing what games would be coming out for it. This lead me to watching a video that listed and showed gameplay of all sorts of games I'd eventually come to try such as Yokai Watch, Project X Zone, One Piece Umlimited World Red, and of course this. Intrigued by its weird, dreamlike aesthetic and interesting looking gameplay, I really wanted to play this. At the time I saw this video, it was a Japan-only release so when I heard it was getting a localization, I was pretty happy even if I'd be waiting awhile to get enough money to buy it. Time passed and I eventually got a Ps Vita. Already knowing that they announced and released this port I bought it instead of the original 3ds version. I had a lot of fun playing through this even if this game tore me a new one multiple times during the 27 hours I played to get all 5 endings.

I knew well before I started playing Sayonara Umihara Kawase that it was going to be difficult, but even with this knowledge, I was surprised that it was as hard as it was. Even though I found this game to be pretty harsh difficulty-wise, it rarely felt unfair when I died. Beating the game will require a solid understanding of its mechanics, trial & error, and most importantly patience.

The first 10 levels serve as almost a tutorial for what the rest of the game has to offer. There are also some instructions in the gallery you can read that showcase some of the tricks you'll use to move around with your lure. With those two things in mind, the game does its job in teaching you how it works and preparing for the more difficult levels.

This game has a decent amount of content in it too. You get 4 characters Umihara, young Umihara, Noko, and Emiko. Umihara is the default character, Noko has the ability to slow down time for a few seconds, and Emiko and young Umihara have the ability to make a checkpoint if you get to a certain part of a level. The variety not only makes the characters feel a little bit more unique from one another but they also help make the game a little bit easier. This version adds 10 new levels the 3ds version doesn't have and it even throws in the original Umihara Kawase as a bonus. I haven't seriously started a playthrough of the original Umihara Kawase but I probably will eventually down the line.

The only things I can really say bothered me were there were a few times where I'd try to reel the lure back to a jump and I wouldn't be able to get the momentum I should have gotten and that one last part on level 24. Where that tiny gap to door 55 is placed is absolute bullshit and I am convinced I just got lucky on it.

I may have nearly gotten filtered a handful of times, but I never gave up and I'm glad I didn't. This is the first game that I've beaten in a very long time where I am genuinely proud of myself for doing so. If you're looking for a fun platformer that will put your skills to the test then I would definitely recommend this on any available platform.