One of the funnier games I've played in a while, and definitely also one of the cutest. Worth anyone's time.
Easy, short, but solid, maybe something you dig out every year or so and play through to hear the funny lines. Feel like a sequel would have advanced the gameplay a lot more.
Also fantastic music, I could let it sit on the main menu all day and not get sick of that song.
Easy, short, but solid, maybe something you dig out every year or so and play through to hear the funny lines. Feel like a sequel would have advanced the gameplay a lot more.
Also fantastic music, I could let it sit on the main menu all day and not get sick of that song.
this game is awesome, love the environments and puzzle mechanics. there's some confusing sections near the end but overall really solid
very awesome story too
very awesome story too
Such a crazy silly game. It's worth playing through just to see what happens next. Though, the game itself is pretty mediocre.
Whooh, Poinie, your mom is bitchin'...
Words cannot describe how absurd this game is. I'm utterly convinced that this game was conceived and developed throughout its life-cycle by a group completely high on acid, because that's what this game feels like. Heck, you could even make the argument that the poins are a metaphor for drugs, with their ability to manipulate emotions and all. With that in mind, the fact that the game design encourages you to use poins to change civilian's emotions to help you progress through the game is... quite frankly disturbing. Yay for drugs...?
Poinie's Poin, both visually and literally, is made as if it were a game for kids. Every location feels like a Skittle colour palette of Candyland themes, giving off this psychedelic, surreal vibe that even outclasses Klonoa. You know, a game about entire dream lands???? They're all painted in the most obnoxious, vibrant hues of the rainbow imaginable, as if to mimic the setting of a preschool cartoon. The gameplay lends itself well to double down on this 'children's game' vibe, with the controls being the most basic 'jump, grab and throw' possible. Most levels quite literally have the solution to a puzzle illustrated right next to it, or have simple, large platforms with small gaps in between that children can easily jump across and go 'Hey look mommy, I made progress!'. Boss fights are also fairly easy to understand, and most of the time the game is generous enough to include large numbers of poins for you to use.
Yet at the same time, despite its in-your-face kiddy aesthetics, this game is clearly not made for children. I think.
If the opening line of this review didn't set off an alarm, it probably should when you actually hear it in-game. This line is delivered by the same pint-sized kid who, earlier on in the game, would call one of your fellow companions a 'vixen' upon meeting her for the first time. The same companion who gets constantly called a 'babe' by the Eric Cartman-sounding duck on your ass. The same duck who, likewise, tells you to either 'go pee or get off the pot' when making a decision.
This shit gets hilariously dark, man! Poinie's a fucking terrorist, have you seen what he does? He floods an entire city by making a pirate fish cry! He causes a dog chef (who says the line 'Today's cooking was really cooking!' unironically) to fucking blow up his own restaurant! An explosion so strong it caused structural damage in the SEWERS! And of course, there's the finale of the game, where Poinie and Lilin crash a ROCKET into Jellytown! You can even see the pavement bursting from the ground due to the impact! And yet somehow, the only thing damaged throughout this whole ordeal was a singular coffee shop. I feel bad for whoever runs that store. Perhaps the darkest thing about the story, though, is that at one point in the game, the leader of the PetitGang tells one of his gang members to go back into HER CAGE??? And then says they need to get a new MUZZLE for her??? And then the girl literally says, and I quote:
"Men! Can't live with 'em, can't shoot 'em!"
??????????????
As if it wasn't already obvious from everything I've said so far, this game is flat out bonkers. It feels more like a parody of a children's cartoon, and as many reviewers before me have put it, a piece of lost, obscure media that only a handful ever remember. What I also appreciate about this game, however, is its qualities as a surreal horror game disguised as a preschool game. I mean, you're constantly reminded of it throughout the experience, from the drug metaphors to the constant annihilation of JellyTown to the crude language. Unlike certain franchise like Poppy Playtime, however, the game does a splendid job about being subtle around it. These moments of absurd darkness are, in reality, sandwiched between mostly childish dialogue and bright colours, leaving them to be quickly brushed aside by both children and their parents alike. Besides, if there's one line that everyone remembers from this game, it's 'Yippie! Yo! You can't touch this!' anyway (can we also talk about the pop culture references in this game? MC Hammer was relevant a decade before this, and there are also nods to Bon Jovi, Mary Poppins and Yoda). This is probably why Poinie's Poin, despite being primarily dubbed and subbed in English, was an exclusive Japanese release, because I hardly believe most Japanese families would notice the swearing, anyway. It's a great thing the Internet wasn't as big as it is today.
One thing that puzzles most of the community today is the fact that Poinie's Poin, with all its obscurity and weirdness, was actually endorsed by Sony Computer Entertainment themselves. Quite frankly, I'm not surprised. SCE has always been weird with their promotion of PlayStation-related content, especially in the 2000s. I mean, why else would they film that fucking baby vs PS3 commercial? Yet it surprises me that 'till this day, the most people know about this game is through Vinny Vinesauce, because Poinie's Poin truly feels like a cult classic video game. With its lost media vibes, incredibly surreal aesthetics, childlike environments and shockingly blink-and-you-miss-it tones of abrupt maturity, Poinie's Poin deserves to be known as one of those 'games of all time', and a game that defined the weirdness of the early 2000s and SCE as a whole.
One thing remains consistent throughout this acid trip, however:
The camera control sucks ass. This truly was an early 2000s PS2 game.
Final rating: 7/10
Focus: whatever the fuck this game is
Theme: what the fuck
Words cannot describe how absurd this game is. I'm utterly convinced that this game was conceived and developed throughout its life-cycle by a group completely high on acid, because that's what this game feels like. Heck, you could even make the argument that the poins are a metaphor for drugs, with their ability to manipulate emotions and all. With that in mind, the fact that the game design encourages you to use poins to change civilian's emotions to help you progress through the game is... quite frankly disturbing. Yay for drugs...?
Poinie's Poin, both visually and literally, is made as if it were a game for kids. Every location feels like a Skittle colour palette of Candyland themes, giving off this psychedelic, surreal vibe that even outclasses Klonoa. You know, a game about entire dream lands???? They're all painted in the most obnoxious, vibrant hues of the rainbow imaginable, as if to mimic the setting of a preschool cartoon. The gameplay lends itself well to double down on this 'children's game' vibe, with the controls being the most basic 'jump, grab and throw' possible. Most levels quite literally have the solution to a puzzle illustrated right next to it, or have simple, large platforms with small gaps in between that children can easily jump across and go 'Hey look mommy, I made progress!'. Boss fights are also fairly easy to understand, and most of the time the game is generous enough to include large numbers of poins for you to use.
Yet at the same time, despite its in-your-face kiddy aesthetics, this game is clearly not made for children. I think.
If the opening line of this review didn't set off an alarm, it probably should when you actually hear it in-game. This line is delivered by the same pint-sized kid who, earlier on in the game, would call one of your fellow companions a 'vixen' upon meeting her for the first time. The same companion who gets constantly called a 'babe' by the Eric Cartman-sounding duck on your ass. The same duck who, likewise, tells you to either 'go pee or get off the pot' when making a decision.
This shit gets hilariously dark, man! Poinie's a fucking terrorist, have you seen what he does? He floods an entire city by making a pirate fish cry! He causes a dog chef (who says the line 'Today's cooking was really cooking!' unironically) to fucking blow up his own restaurant! An explosion so strong it caused structural damage in the SEWERS! And of course, there's the finale of the game, where Poinie and Lilin crash a ROCKET into Jellytown! You can even see the pavement bursting from the ground due to the impact! And yet somehow, the only thing damaged throughout this whole ordeal was a singular coffee shop. I feel bad for whoever runs that store. Perhaps the darkest thing about the story, though, is that at one point in the game, the leader of the PetitGang tells one of his gang members to go back into HER CAGE??? And then says they need to get a new MUZZLE for her??? And then the girl literally says, and I quote:
"Men! Can't live with 'em, can't shoot 'em!"
??????????????
As if it wasn't already obvious from everything I've said so far, this game is flat out bonkers. It feels more like a parody of a children's cartoon, and as many reviewers before me have put it, a piece of lost, obscure media that only a handful ever remember. What I also appreciate about this game, however, is its qualities as a surreal horror game disguised as a preschool game. I mean, you're constantly reminded of it throughout the experience, from the drug metaphors to the constant annihilation of JellyTown to the crude language. Unlike certain franchise like Poppy Playtime, however, the game does a splendid job about being subtle around it. These moments of absurd darkness are, in reality, sandwiched between mostly childish dialogue and bright colours, leaving them to be quickly brushed aside by both children and their parents alike. Besides, if there's one line that everyone remembers from this game, it's 'Yippie! Yo! You can't touch this!' anyway (can we also talk about the pop culture references in this game? MC Hammer was relevant a decade before this, and there are also nods to Bon Jovi, Mary Poppins and Yoda). This is probably why Poinie's Poin, despite being primarily dubbed and subbed in English, was an exclusive Japanese release, because I hardly believe most Japanese families would notice the swearing, anyway. It's a great thing the Internet wasn't as big as it is today.
One thing that puzzles most of the community today is the fact that Poinie's Poin, with all its obscurity and weirdness, was actually endorsed by Sony Computer Entertainment themselves. Quite frankly, I'm not surprised. SCE has always been weird with their promotion of PlayStation-related content, especially in the 2000s. I mean, why else would they film that fucking baby vs PS3 commercial? Yet it surprises me that 'till this day, the most people know about this game is through Vinny Vinesauce, because Poinie's Poin truly feels like a cult classic video game. With its lost media vibes, incredibly surreal aesthetics, childlike environments and shockingly blink-and-you-miss-it tones of abrupt maturity, Poinie's Poin deserves to be known as one of those 'games of all time', and a game that defined the weirdness of the early 2000s and SCE as a whole.
One thing remains consistent throughout this acid trip, however:
The camera control sucks ass. This truly was an early 2000s PS2 game.
Final rating: 7/10
Focus: whatever the fuck this game is
Theme: what the fuck
Nana-nana-boo-boo
I wanna microwave this fucking child.
Imagine being Super Princess Peach and trying to be a mascot platformer centred around an emotions system just 3 years after this and being worse in every way lmao.
I don't have much to say about this. Definitely an oddity in having a full English dub and text, but the game informs you that the Japanese dub is a stand-in when you start it, and that the English dub is the original one. The animations, credits and main theme are also all in English... but the game only came out in Japan. Lol. Huh
Some funny dialogue in here, cool songs and art (that looks a taaad bit dated but still). But when it ended I didn't exactly feel myself begging for more. Worth a play
I don't have much to say about this. Definitely an oddity in having a full English dub and text, but the game informs you that the Japanese dub is a stand-in when you start it, and that the English dub is the original one. The animations, credits and main theme are also all in English... but the game only came out in Japan. Lol. Huh
Some funny dialogue in here, cool songs and art (that looks a taaad bit dated but still). But when it ended I didn't exactly feel myself begging for more. Worth a play
Tasty low friction Trolligon fieldtrip caked with killer tunes and curveball quips like “I ain't playing wetnurse to some wetass suckling sucker”
Doope!
Doope!
yippie yo! you can't touch this!
poinie's poin is cute, goofy, nanaon-sha-esque platforming goodness with a vague undertone of hostility and unease without overselling it. the english track has this campy weirdness to it; there's a cartman-impression duck guy in it, half the cast sounds like they have headcolds, and there's so much spoken grammatically false and broken english that's played straight with so much false cadence that the entire experience comes off like a candy-coated feverdream.
i'd like to give it more props because the atmosphere, aesthetic and general gameplay concepts are so cool and so good and so clearly what far lesser western indie "aesthetic" titles have tried and failed to capture in the last decade on and on again... but that said this game has a few moments of jank and some general poor design (mostly the respawn points in some areas feeling rather cruel for a kids' game) that i've got to drop it a hair. still a bite sized, fun time! can you dig it!?!
poinie's poin is cute, goofy, nanaon-sha-esque platforming goodness with a vague undertone of hostility and unease without overselling it. the english track has this campy weirdness to it; there's a cartman-impression duck guy in it, half the cast sounds like they have headcolds, and there's so much spoken grammatically false and broken english that's played straight with so much false cadence that the entire experience comes off like a candy-coated feverdream.
i'd like to give it more props because the atmosphere, aesthetic and general gameplay concepts are so cool and so good and so clearly what far lesser western indie "aesthetic" titles have tried and failed to capture in the last decade on and on again... but that said this game has a few moments of jank and some general poor design (mostly the respawn points in some areas feeling rather cruel for a kids' game) that i've got to drop it a hair. still a bite sized, fun time! can you dig it!?!
The mascot character in this is doing a Cartman impression the entire time and the main character keeps saying "you can't touch this" with absolutely the wrong cadence.
Genuinely don't know if I liked it or not but I definitely loved it.
Genuinely don't know if I liked it or not but I definitely loved it.
Even while playing it it felt like it couldn't possibly be an actually real existing thing
Bizarre thing that exists somewhere between parappa and baby sensory video with this weird undertone of vague hostility that makes it feel like if might pull a weapon on you
Loved it????
Why's there a full English voice acting track that all seems just slightly off and also features a guy doing a cartman voice
People just singsong cheerfully announce shit like oh her? her sons dead or what does it feel like to play god with people's emotions
The main character keeps saying 'can't touch this' but like in the wrong cadence
Men, can't live with 'em, can't shoot' em
The opening video is maybe the best thing I've ever experienced
Bizarre thing that exists somewhere between parappa and baby sensory video with this weird undertone of vague hostility that makes it feel like if might pull a weapon on you
Loved it????
Why's there a full English voice acting track that all seems just slightly off and also features a guy doing a cartman voice
People just singsong cheerfully announce shit like oh her? her sons dead or what does it feel like to play god with people's emotions
The main character keeps saying 'can't touch this' but like in the wrong cadence
Men, can't live with 'em, can't shoot' em
The opening video is maybe the best thing I've ever experienced
Best game I have ever played
actually the best 3d platformer ever crafted
Man....I don't know entirely how to feel about this one, other than to say: regardless of the quality, this is an entirely unique game and experience, so if that's all you need as a recommendation seek this out.
I guess right off the bat, I love pretty much everything about the presentation, design, and artwork of this. Kind of resting in that Jet Set Radio/Wario/Twinbee/(probably some others) area of an aggressively energetic, sugary style. With no area not being smeared with bright neon candy colors and a constant (somewhat grating) bouncy soundtrack it's kind of an assault. Add in the main element that people will talk about with this, the unexplained full English translation/dub included in a Japan-only game that still feels like a weird rushed dubbing session (the duck stick in your ass talks exactly like Eric Cartman, all the residents of each area have a specific cadence and sometimes rush through their lines and that one gang dog/mouse boy is a guy just holding his nose) and the whole thing ties together that "too weird to take outside of Japan" vibe.
Where things get less cohesive and the cracks in the game start to show is in the actual gameplay, however. Simultaneously, this feels like a baby game meant to just let you experience the world and an obtuse struggle against logic. While I'd say as a whole the game is dirt-easy and seems to be meant for little kids, there are segments that take forever to get through with Poinie's slow speed and solutions to areas that I had to look up videos to figure out (Nightmare World and Bomb Bomb Kitchen being the main ones). The Poin concept of counterbalancing emotions or revealing puzzles is a neat one, and I think with the super short game time they addressed pretty much every variation they could with the mechanics.
So, even though this is both a super short and kind of slog of a game to get through, the amazing visuals (I NEED a full asset rip of this game) and one-of-a-kind nature of this lets me forgive pretty much all the issues (mostly).
I guess right off the bat, I love pretty much everything about the presentation, design, and artwork of this. Kind of resting in that Jet Set Radio/Wario/Twinbee/(probably some others) area of an aggressively energetic, sugary style. With no area not being smeared with bright neon candy colors and a constant (somewhat grating) bouncy soundtrack it's kind of an assault. Add in the main element that people will talk about with this, the unexplained full English translation/dub included in a Japan-only game that still feels like a weird rushed dubbing session (the duck stick in your ass talks exactly like Eric Cartman, all the residents of each area have a specific cadence and sometimes rush through their lines and that one gang dog/mouse boy is a guy just holding his nose) and the whole thing ties together that "too weird to take outside of Japan" vibe.
Where things get less cohesive and the cracks in the game start to show is in the actual gameplay, however. Simultaneously, this feels like a baby game meant to just let you experience the world and an obtuse struggle against logic. While I'd say as a whole the game is dirt-easy and seems to be meant for little kids, there are segments that take forever to get through with Poinie's slow speed and solutions to areas that I had to look up videos to figure out (Nightmare World and Bomb Bomb Kitchen being the main ones). The Poin concept of counterbalancing emotions or revealing puzzles is a neat one, and I think with the super short game time they addressed pretty much every variation they could with the mechanics.
So, even though this is both a super short and kind of slog of a game to get through, the amazing visuals (I NEED a full asset rip of this game) and one-of-a-kind nature of this lets me forgive pretty much all the issues (mostly).
Smiled so much my face hurt. You literally can't touch this.
so freaking cute and silly gameplay not bad at all rly i think this is awesome they just kinda gave up with an ending which sucks but to be expected i guess who cares everyones so fun n unique dancing to all the songs esp main title and the ending song w seq SO CUTE crying whats his name just known as the pooper and eater i love him hes my fav w poinie
esse jogo é meio q um mistério. n q ele tenha alguma história de desenvolvimento sinistra, alguma creepy pasta idiota ou qualquer parada nebulosa por trás.
ele é um mistério pois é meio q difícil dizer qual é a desse jogo. muita gente aqui no ocidente acha q qualquer coisa japonesa engraçada é o resultado de um acidente. q kazuma kiryu em yakuza 2 dando um uppercut em um tigre é algo feito com intuito de ser levado completamente a sério e a gente só acha engraçado por conta do choque cultural.
isso é completa bobagem, mas eu falo isso meio q pra me explicar pq eu realmente n sei se esse jogo é tão engraçado de próposito ou n. só sei q esse jogo é engraçado. MUITO engraçado. e as vezes em um tom estranhamente inconsistente, o q tbm é difícil de dizer se é de propósito ou n. vc vai ouvir algumas frases q vc NÃO esperava sair da boca de uma garotinha de desenho animado cuja frase de efeito é "nanny-nanny-boo-boo", e isso acontece tão raramente q sempre vai te pegar de surpresa.
mas n é por isso q eu amo esse jogo. n só por isso, pelo menos. esse jogo é divertido. esse jogo é fofo. esse jogo tem uma trilha sonora docinha e bonitinha. esse jogo tem uma dublagem maluca. esse jogo tem uma linda estética esquisitinha q n consigo n amar.
mas além de tudo, esse jogo é meio q genuíno. tão genuíno q essa talvez seja a coisa mais esquisita dele. enquanto os créditos rolavam eu percebi q eu tinha me apegado muito aos personagens, principalmente ao titular Poinie, e esse jogo tem nem três horas e meia de duração.
enfim, eu amei esse jogo. se tornou um dos meus favoritos. mas tem uma câmera lixo e alguns chefes bem atrapalhados, e n sei se consigo recomendar pra muita gente. é meio q um jogo pra bbs. mas acho q vale a pena pelo menos ver uns minutinhos de alguma longplay.
ele é um mistério pois é meio q difícil dizer qual é a desse jogo. muita gente aqui no ocidente acha q qualquer coisa japonesa engraçada é o resultado de um acidente. q kazuma kiryu em yakuza 2 dando um uppercut em um tigre é algo feito com intuito de ser levado completamente a sério e a gente só acha engraçado por conta do choque cultural.
isso é completa bobagem, mas eu falo isso meio q pra me explicar pq eu realmente n sei se esse jogo é tão engraçado de próposito ou n. só sei q esse jogo é engraçado. MUITO engraçado. e as vezes em um tom estranhamente inconsistente, o q tbm é difícil de dizer se é de propósito ou n. vc vai ouvir algumas frases q vc NÃO esperava sair da boca de uma garotinha de desenho animado cuja frase de efeito é "nanny-nanny-boo-boo", e isso acontece tão raramente q sempre vai te pegar de surpresa.
mas n é por isso q eu amo esse jogo. n só por isso, pelo menos. esse jogo é divertido. esse jogo é fofo. esse jogo tem uma trilha sonora docinha e bonitinha. esse jogo tem uma dublagem maluca. esse jogo tem uma linda estética esquisitinha q n consigo n amar.
mas além de tudo, esse jogo é meio q genuíno. tão genuíno q essa talvez seja a coisa mais esquisita dele. enquanto os créditos rolavam eu percebi q eu tinha me apegado muito aos personagens, principalmente ao titular Poinie, e esse jogo tem nem três horas e meia de duração.
enfim, eu amei esse jogo. se tornou um dos meus favoritos. mas tem uma câmera lixo e alguns chefes bem atrapalhados, e n sei se consigo recomendar pra muita gente. é meio q um jogo pra bbs. mas acho q vale a pena pelo menos ver uns minutinhos de alguma longplay.
Short and cozy with extremely fun visuals and charm. Not even a remotely great game but the vibes are so perfect for me specifically I have to give it a 10/10.
Also the core gameplay is literally fucking OMORI but not made by a pedophile.
Also the core gameplay is literally fucking OMORI but not made by a pedophile.
Toss in SADX, hit Input 2 on the TV, boom
Ooooooooh shit, Dad's running downstairs. He's yelling to turn it down. Quick, get the remote
Noise! Noise! Noise! Noise! Noise!
The audio-sensory overload of children's media is bludgeoning - an overload of vocal-chord-contorting performances and vorpal echoes. It's not just the sounds themselves, but specific rhythms, candors and patterns in certain catchphrases. I recall this one point in childhood, maybe 12 or so, where I saw Egoraptor's Mega Man X review and was so enamored in the specific gags, I would just repeat things like 'Where do I go, what do I do' and 'Mega Man 12, this land before time' like a parrot.
OOooooooooooh shit he liked Sequilitis, let's tickle his ribcage and push him off a waterfall
I was dumb and stupid, and I thankfully don't do that anymore! Now I bide my time memorizing and repeating whole Homestar Runner episodes in calls!
Also, I have a younger brother that also does this.
I will mouthgurgle about how this relates to Poinie, uhh, 2 paragraphs down from here. Boop of the bop.
Poinie's Poin is a fake game that does not exist and was made up by dreamcast aesthetic twitter pages. It is a Japanese-exclusive PS2 3D Platformer was voice-performed in English FIRST, and has ENG subs to match (with a shitton of typos, but totally legible nonetheless). The dub isn't an option tucked away in a menu like DC Puyo Pop Fever, it's there on the main title and pops up again every time you continue your progress. It's totally warped around the crazy-hazy antics of American 'toons with a capital T, but it's never overtly a 'cartoon parody' - the influence comes down to a synthesis of English wordplay with Japanese character themes and bubblegum imagery, and a heaping helping of 'squash and stretch the models as much as you can'.
Calling this a platformer is a bit misleading tho. If I could describe the experience, it's like, a 5 hour RPG Maker puzzle game turned 3D and injected with ooze. Most of the runtime is spent exploring the hub world or dialogue - which is perfectly ok, 'cause most of it kicks ass. Every line is voiced, and all the vocal performances are rock-solid. Couldn't get enough of these weirdos just mouthing off random things with their dumb vocal inflections and immature mannerisms. The only knock against it is that the platforming is mostly mid-to-bad. Moment-to-moment objectives are vague, and Poinie's toolkit and camera are too limited to do anything creative. Think Ape Escape if there were no gadgets or monkeys to catch.
There was a specific 'my brand of autism is seen' moment in Poinie's Poin, where the game opens with Poinie totally sucked into this dumbass cartoon, and he spends the rest of the game repeating his main catchphrase ("Yippie Yo! You Can't Touch This!") for the entire remaining duration of the game. He says it during plot important events! He says it during cutscene dialogue! He says it when you beat an objective! He even fucking says it in the OST! The entire universe speaks in a similar broken-record prose, spouting off American-English expressions every chance they get.
I was awestruck by the feeling of being a kid and taking in contextless information, processing through air-headed and nonsensical ways, and doing nothing with it - 'cause you're a kid, what can you do but study and play? A lot of shit happens in this game's 3-5 hour runtime but hardly any sticks, it all comes down to wayward shenanigans handled with the frivolity of a backyard wiffle ball game. Just that child-like mentality of responding at 100% emotional investment to something, then moving on as if it never happened. Bess is head over heels with Tom and practically threatens to kill him when he starts groan-inducingly flirting w/ another character, but immediately resumes the Juliet act after the fact. You complete a mission so you can fix up a broken train station, but then the train gives up halfway and takes you home and you never use it again. There's a fucked up bit where a prankster ghost haunts a parent with the vision of their deceased son, and it's not played for laughs or for drama, it's just a thing that happens?? A sacrificial character bit is pulled near the end, and it's the one moment where Poinie genuinely gets knocked out of his 'hehe funny cartoon' mode, and then the status quo in his brain resets as soon as his mom appears. Life goes on.
Anyway yeah, Poinie's Poin is one-of-a-kind. Crazy how little coverage or documentation surrounds its existence despite being a SCE production with a cross-cultural development. In a sane timeline, Sony would just throw the Japanese ROM on the PS4 store, but we don't get nice things here. Fuckin', Syphon Filter and PSP Star Wars games, Jim Ryan? Self-sabotaging loser weirdo.
Ooooooooh shit, Dad's running downstairs. He's yelling to turn it down. Quick, get the remote
Noise! Noise! Noise! Noise! Noise!
The audio-sensory overload of children's media is bludgeoning - an overload of vocal-chord-contorting performances and vorpal echoes. It's not just the sounds themselves, but specific rhythms, candors and patterns in certain catchphrases. I recall this one point in childhood, maybe 12 or so, where I saw Egoraptor's Mega Man X review and was so enamored in the specific gags, I would just repeat things like 'Where do I go, what do I do' and 'Mega Man 12, this land before time' like a parrot.
OOooooooooooh shit he liked Sequilitis, let's tickle his ribcage and push him off a waterfall
I was dumb and stupid, and I thankfully don't do that anymore! Now I bide my time memorizing and repeating whole Homestar Runner episodes in calls!
Also, I have a younger brother that also does this.
I will mouthgurgle about how this relates to Poinie, uhh, 2 paragraphs down from here. Boop of the bop.
Poinie's Poin is a fake game that does not exist and was made up by dreamcast aesthetic twitter pages. It is a Japanese-exclusive PS2 3D Platformer was voice-performed in English FIRST, and has ENG subs to match (with a shitton of typos, but totally legible nonetheless). The dub isn't an option tucked away in a menu like DC Puyo Pop Fever, it's there on the main title and pops up again every time you continue your progress. It's totally warped around the crazy-hazy antics of American 'toons with a capital T, but it's never overtly a 'cartoon parody' - the influence comes down to a synthesis of English wordplay with Japanese character themes and bubblegum imagery, and a heaping helping of 'squash and stretch the models as much as you can'.
Calling this a platformer is a bit misleading tho. If I could describe the experience, it's like, a 5 hour RPG Maker puzzle game turned 3D and injected with ooze. Most of the runtime is spent exploring the hub world or dialogue - which is perfectly ok, 'cause most of it kicks ass. Every line is voiced, and all the vocal performances are rock-solid. Couldn't get enough of these weirdos just mouthing off random things with their dumb vocal inflections and immature mannerisms. The only knock against it is that the platforming is mostly mid-to-bad. Moment-to-moment objectives are vague, and Poinie's toolkit and camera are too limited to do anything creative. Think Ape Escape if there were no gadgets or monkeys to catch.
There was a specific 'my brand of autism is seen' moment in Poinie's Poin, where the game opens with Poinie totally sucked into this dumbass cartoon, and he spends the rest of the game repeating his main catchphrase ("Yippie Yo! You Can't Touch This!") for the entire remaining duration of the game. He says it during plot important events! He says it during cutscene dialogue! He says it when you beat an objective! He even fucking says it in the OST! The entire universe speaks in a similar broken-record prose, spouting off American-English expressions every chance they get.
I was awestruck by the feeling of being a kid and taking in contextless information, processing through air-headed and nonsensical ways, and doing nothing with it - 'cause you're a kid, what can you do but study and play? A lot of shit happens in this game's 3-5 hour runtime but hardly any sticks, it all comes down to wayward shenanigans handled with the frivolity of a backyard wiffle ball game. Just that child-like mentality of responding at 100% emotional investment to something, then moving on as if it never happened. Bess is head over heels with Tom and practically threatens to kill him when he starts groan-inducingly flirting w/ another character, but immediately resumes the Juliet act after the fact. You complete a mission so you can fix up a broken train station, but then the train gives up halfway and takes you home and you never use it again. There's a fucked up bit where a prankster ghost haunts a parent with the vision of their deceased son, and it's not played for laughs or for drama, it's just a thing that happens?? A sacrificial character bit is pulled near the end, and it's the one moment where Poinie genuinely gets knocked out of his 'hehe funny cartoon' mode, and then the status quo in his brain resets as soon as his mom appears. Life goes on.
Anyway yeah, Poinie's Poin is one-of-a-kind. Crazy how little coverage or documentation surrounds its existence despite being a SCE production with a cross-cultural development. In a sane timeline, Sony would just throw the Japanese ROM on the PS4 store, but we don't get nice things here. Fuckin', Syphon Filter and PSP Star Wars games, Jim Ryan? Self-sabotaging loser weirdo.
ITS REALLY GOOD??? LIK,E SURPRISINGLY SO
Okay so this is a very creative idea for a platformer where you lob orbs of raw emotion at your foes to get them to do shit or calm down called 'Poins'
You can fuse them together to make a type you need but also you can platform off of them which feels like dog shit
Sometimes jumping off the poins with the hitbox you need to stand on is so finicky and slippery it (ironically enough) feels like youre standing on jelly and youre trying to find a hard bit within that jelly thatll give you a boost
I swear i didnt even realize you could get an extra powered jump out of bouncing at the right time off of one until the second to last area in the game, and that happened by pure accident of discovery because i thought it was That dumb
This hit box issue i have also transfers sometimes into when youre throwing shit and surrounding bullcrap gets in your face and takes away your poin
but uh.. dude thats really like.. my ONLY complaints for this game
Otherwise its rly... rly.. fun
So if you're one of the few onlookers here that didnt first hear about this game through watching Vinesauce, Poinie's Poin is one of those rare breeds of games where it had a fully credited english cast
everything is dubbed in menus and audio
and yet
it ONLY released in japan, not localized here in the 'states or even europe or anywhere. Something like this kinda happened with Mother 1 or as it's known in its localized form Earthbound Beginnings but Poinie's Poin hasnt got shit in 21 years and it seems like its gonna stay that way as far as I can tell. But thats ok because
this game is so fucking Funny
Most every character in Jellytown is fully voice acted and even the generics for the respective level youre going through get voice acted lines, an accent or some kind of little speaking quirk that they stick to
It's so casually fun its almost like enjoying a silly cartoon or old dubbed anime for a show that just
n e v e r e x i s t e d sometimes
The cover of the game also reflects this, it looks like a pack of candy where you can see the little gummies to snack on from beyond the seethrough plastic its GREAT
There's not just pretty great voice acting here either though, there's variety in pretty much every level and each boss has you doing something atleast a LITTLE different each time. I know I was saying before how poins can be finicky and while thats true youd be surprised to hear I wasnt ever super frustrated with the game to a point of it being soured for me because the poins regenerate in the last place you found them FAST and you dont even need to correct the emotional imbalance of every inhabitant in the area, you Can if you wanna.. but you get nothing out of it!! LMAO like no 100% bonus or nothing for it which is WEIRD but is oddly fitting for the tone and all of this game as an experience. Another thing that's very easy and forgiving about it is that youll find that every time you do something thats majorly relating to the plot, you immediately get a prompt on if you wanna manually go to the next main story thing yourself or if you wanna be teleport nudged right next to where you need to be next
It's really nice :)
final thoughts: It's a weird and funny dumb as hell B-grade ps2 platformer thats easy and not too terribly long but offers a lot of variety and silliness to experience
Eric Cartman is your companion guide for the game
This game hates french people
SO GO PLAY IT YON
PEE OR GET OFF THE POOOOOOT
YIPPIE YO SHOW THEM THEY CANT TOUCH THIS!!!! bitch.
Okay so this is a very creative idea for a platformer where you lob orbs of raw emotion at your foes to get them to do shit or calm down called 'Poins'
You can fuse them together to make a type you need but also you can platform off of them which feels like dog shit
Sometimes jumping off the poins with the hitbox you need to stand on is so finicky and slippery it (ironically enough) feels like youre standing on jelly and youre trying to find a hard bit within that jelly thatll give you a boost
I swear i didnt even realize you could get an extra powered jump out of bouncing at the right time off of one until the second to last area in the game, and that happened by pure accident of discovery because i thought it was That dumb
This hit box issue i have also transfers sometimes into when youre throwing shit and surrounding bullcrap gets in your face and takes away your poin
but uh.. dude thats really like.. my ONLY complaints for this game
Otherwise its rly... rly.. fun
So if you're one of the few onlookers here that didnt first hear about this game through watching Vinesauce, Poinie's Poin is one of those rare breeds of games where it had a fully credited english cast
everything is dubbed in menus and audio
and yet
it ONLY released in japan, not localized here in the 'states or even europe or anywhere. Something like this kinda happened with Mother 1 or as it's known in its localized form Earthbound Beginnings but Poinie's Poin hasnt got shit in 21 years and it seems like its gonna stay that way as far as I can tell. But thats ok because
this game is so fucking Funny
Most every character in Jellytown is fully voice acted and even the generics for the respective level youre going through get voice acted lines, an accent or some kind of little speaking quirk that they stick to
It's so casually fun its almost like enjoying a silly cartoon or old dubbed anime for a show that just
n e v e r e x i s t e d sometimes
The cover of the game also reflects this, it looks like a pack of candy where you can see the little gummies to snack on from beyond the seethrough plastic its GREAT
There's not just pretty great voice acting here either though, there's variety in pretty much every level and each boss has you doing something atleast a LITTLE different each time. I know I was saying before how poins can be finicky and while thats true youd be surprised to hear I wasnt ever super frustrated with the game to a point of it being soured for me because the poins regenerate in the last place you found them FAST and you dont even need to correct the emotional imbalance of every inhabitant in the area, you Can if you wanna.. but you get nothing out of it!! LMAO like no 100% bonus or nothing for it which is WEIRD but is oddly fitting for the tone and all of this game as an experience. Another thing that's very easy and forgiving about it is that youll find that every time you do something thats majorly relating to the plot, you immediately get a prompt on if you wanna manually go to the next main story thing yourself or if you wanna be teleport nudged right next to where you need to be next
It's really nice :)
final thoughts: It's a weird and funny dumb as hell B-grade ps2 platformer thats easy and not too terribly long but offers a lot of variety and silliness to experience
Eric Cartman is your companion guide for the game
This game hates french people
SO GO PLAY IT YON
PEE OR GET OFF THE POOOOOOT
YIPPIE YO SHOW THEM THEY CANT TOUCH THIS!!!! bitch.
What do you look for in a game YON?
Fun mechanics and engaging gameplay YON?
Interesting story with twists and likeable characters YON?
Metroidvanias, castleroids, search actions, loseyourwayers, indy jones platformers YON?!
Fun? Amusement? Enjoyment? Entertainment? A simple quality for simple minds who require simple things in a simple medium. Have I got the recommendation for you from me, of which was given to me from someone else and is now given to you.
Nanny-nanny-boo-boo!! This isn't some boring grey-brown shootbang garbage. It's got more character in it's pinky than the crap these days! La-di-da-di-da. 🎵
Sometimes all you need is an ultra-colorful platformer about finding your house as a silly little kid, with off-the-wall dialogue that will make you recite it for weeks. It's as childish as the kid you're playing as, but... goddamn was I a happy childish person by the end of it. Seriously no reason not to play it, it's short and as sweet as sweetarts with English readily available everywhere. There's even no problems on PCSX2 YON! No excuse YON!
So either pee or get off the pot. /treyparkervoice
YIPPIE YO! YOU CAN'T TOUCH THIS!
Fun mechanics and engaging gameplay YON?
Interesting story with twists and likeable characters YON?
Metroidvanias, castleroids, search actions, loseyourwayers, indy jones platformers YON?!
Fun? Amusement? Enjoyment? Entertainment? A simple quality for simple minds who require simple things in a simple medium. Have I got the recommendation for you from me, of which was given to me from someone else and is now given to you.
Nanny-nanny-boo-boo!! This isn't some boring grey-brown shootbang garbage. It's got more character in it's pinky than the crap these days! La-di-da-di-da. 🎵
Sometimes all you need is an ultra-colorful platformer about finding your house as a silly little kid, with off-the-wall dialogue that will make you recite it for weeks. It's as childish as the kid you're playing as, but... goddamn was I a happy childish person by the end of it. Seriously no reason not to play it, it's short and as sweet as sweetarts with English readily available everywhere. There's even no problems on PCSX2 YON! No excuse YON!
So either pee or get off the pot. /treyparkervoice
YIPPIE YO! YOU CAN'T TOUCH THIS!
‘Coolio to the max!!!'
Played during the Backloggd’s Game of the Week (Jan. 17 – Jan. 23, 2023).
The Alvion studio, created in 1996, brought together creators who had gained experience on the PlayStation. Some had been in the industry for many years, such as Tomikazu Kirita, employed by Konami before moving towards Sony. His work includes a variety of games, from Tokimeki Memorial (1994) to Sparkster (1994), embracing both adventure and action-oriented genres. This topical eclecticism is reflected in the rest of the team. The director, Hajime Yoshikawa, was involved in Circadia (1999), Alvion's first game, a blend between an RPG and a visual novel against the backdrop of a mystery. While Alvion, like many small Japanese studios, is nowadays mostly called upon to help out with larger projects, their earliest titles were unique and reflected a very particular conception of the video game medium. Poinie's Poin is the perfect illustration of this experimentalism, at the crossroads between genres.
The player assumes the role of Poinie, a very young child, in a rather disconcerting in medias res beginning. Immediately, the protagonist is thrown into a big city, without any reference points. This is a very clever debut, as the player quickly understands that little Poinie is lost and is looking for his mother. After a short exploration in the streets of Downtown, the adventure finally begins and Poinie goes from citizen to citizen, asking them if they know where he lives, while helping them with their problems. Meanwhile, Lolo, a rebellious girl, decides to attack Downtown with toxic poins, coloured spheres which change living beings into monsters by altering their emotions. Poinie's Poin is, with this very simple premise, a game for children and the title fully exploits this aesthetic. The game is vibrant, with a palette ranging from pastel to glossy: it exudes an absurd, dreamlike, cartoonish beauty, entirely appropriate for the different levels Poinie explores: the restaurant's kitchen is literally a volcano, while the fridge houses the snowy level. With every new location, Poinie's Poin comes up with fresh ideas to push its absurdity to the next level, as if it were powered entirely by fizzy sugar.
The game is clad in a slightly irreverent fiction, yet it remains very good-natured and respectful of its characters, much like Crayon Shin-chan (1990). At the same time, Americanis influences, typical of the early 2000s, can be felt throughout the game. The style is similar to PaRappa the Rapper (1996) – Kirita was the executive producer on the second opus – and the game emphasises its full English dubbing as the standard version, even though the title was never officially localised for the West. The dialogue is written with exceptional candour and it is hard not to smile every time Poinie blurts out 'Yippie yo! You can't touch this!' or 'Coolio!'. While it seems obvious that he is unable to understand all the subtleties of the grown-ups, he always does the best he can and, in return, the rest of the cast is very protective of him, despite the appearances. The PetitGang eventually uses his catchphrases, while the adults always help him in his quest to find his mother. Toxic poins are seen as disruptors of the social contract, as they reveal suppressed desires, but the game always reminds players that it is through moderation and respect for others that a congenial society can be fostered.
This upbeat message is, of course, wrapped up in a sugary, childlike shell. The title makes a lot of effort to communicate non-verbally, to help young players progress. The main mechanics revolve around the poins spheres, which can take on three colours, and it is quite easy to grasp how they work. Similarly, there are many signs scattered around the world, to give indications through small cartoony drawings. These elements are very welcome and offer real accessibility for children, especially with the full dubbing – Poinie cannot read the signs, so his companion Poin reads them aloud – but they do not fare well with certain archaic game design features. The camera cannot be controlled manually, and therefore it is not uncommon to miss an important element. Likewise, some rooms have a slightly obtuse resolution, leading to a poor pacing in the progression. This lack of clarity is damaging and highlights the discrepancy between the title's ambition and its practical implementation: whether in the Jungle level, Halloween Manor or Planet Point, getting stuck for a few minutes and trying to brute-force a solution is not unusual.
The platforming action can also be confusing, especially with such an unreadable camera. Often it will be stuck in a wall or refuse to turn with the L1 reset. The boss fights, while providing real diversity within the game's basic concept, are sometimes frustrating, due to Poinie's somewhat unpleasant movements. The battle against Halloween, for example, requires clearing away the poins that support the gravestones, but the boss's hitbox is so large that projectiles often end up on them, rather than on the intended target. These issues are never critical, but detract from a game full of creative ideas. Even outside of the main quest, the player can explore Downtown and see a bustling city. After meeting Pillow, Poinie can go to the bar to attend the party, which was mentioned at the beginning of the game: while the title is brimming with good intentions and a sincere desire to be creative, Poinie's Poin never really has the means to fully achieve its ambitions, with some passages begging for more interactivity.
Nevertheless, Poinie's Poin is bound to charm, over the three hours that make up its adventure. The levels are always short enough not to exhaust the player, and the staging ideas follow one another without interruption. The cast is always engaging and one cannot help but feel a real affection for Poinie's reactions, both in his bursts of joy and excitement – such as when he goes into space with a rocket, like his hero – and in his moments of fear or sadness. Like a delightful children's tale, Poinie's Poin has a happy ending, without any fuss or fanfare. There is no dramatic twist: after all, it was always and only about helping Poinie find his mother. But the adventure that ensued and the friends made along the way are wonderful memories in the eyes of a child. Poinie probably doesn't understand the sadness of the PetitGang and Lilin, when he says goodbye to them. It is perhaps the most beautiful evidence of Alvion's sincerity. In the eyes of the ingenuous child, every day is an adventure; in the eyes of the grown-ups, every day that passes adds to the yearning. Navigating between these two themes, the studio has crafted a title with undeniable charm for everyone.
Played during the Backloggd’s Game of the Week (Jan. 17 – Jan. 23, 2023).
The Alvion studio, created in 1996, brought together creators who had gained experience on the PlayStation. Some had been in the industry for many years, such as Tomikazu Kirita, employed by Konami before moving towards Sony. His work includes a variety of games, from Tokimeki Memorial (1994) to Sparkster (1994), embracing both adventure and action-oriented genres. This topical eclecticism is reflected in the rest of the team. The director, Hajime Yoshikawa, was involved in Circadia (1999), Alvion's first game, a blend between an RPG and a visual novel against the backdrop of a mystery. While Alvion, like many small Japanese studios, is nowadays mostly called upon to help out with larger projects, their earliest titles were unique and reflected a very particular conception of the video game medium. Poinie's Poin is the perfect illustration of this experimentalism, at the crossroads between genres.
The player assumes the role of Poinie, a very young child, in a rather disconcerting in medias res beginning. Immediately, the protagonist is thrown into a big city, without any reference points. This is a very clever debut, as the player quickly understands that little Poinie is lost and is looking for his mother. After a short exploration in the streets of Downtown, the adventure finally begins and Poinie goes from citizen to citizen, asking them if they know where he lives, while helping them with their problems. Meanwhile, Lolo, a rebellious girl, decides to attack Downtown with toxic poins, coloured spheres which change living beings into monsters by altering their emotions. Poinie's Poin is, with this very simple premise, a game for children and the title fully exploits this aesthetic. The game is vibrant, with a palette ranging from pastel to glossy: it exudes an absurd, dreamlike, cartoonish beauty, entirely appropriate for the different levels Poinie explores: the restaurant's kitchen is literally a volcano, while the fridge houses the snowy level. With every new location, Poinie's Poin comes up with fresh ideas to push its absurdity to the next level, as if it were powered entirely by fizzy sugar.
The game is clad in a slightly irreverent fiction, yet it remains very good-natured and respectful of its characters, much like Crayon Shin-chan (1990). At the same time, Americanis influences, typical of the early 2000s, can be felt throughout the game. The style is similar to PaRappa the Rapper (1996) – Kirita was the executive producer on the second opus – and the game emphasises its full English dubbing as the standard version, even though the title was never officially localised for the West. The dialogue is written with exceptional candour and it is hard not to smile every time Poinie blurts out 'Yippie yo! You can't touch this!' or 'Coolio!'. While it seems obvious that he is unable to understand all the subtleties of the grown-ups, he always does the best he can and, in return, the rest of the cast is very protective of him, despite the appearances. The PetitGang eventually uses his catchphrases, while the adults always help him in his quest to find his mother. Toxic poins are seen as disruptors of the social contract, as they reveal suppressed desires, but the game always reminds players that it is through moderation and respect for others that a congenial society can be fostered.
This upbeat message is, of course, wrapped up in a sugary, childlike shell. The title makes a lot of effort to communicate non-verbally, to help young players progress. The main mechanics revolve around the poins spheres, which can take on three colours, and it is quite easy to grasp how they work. Similarly, there are many signs scattered around the world, to give indications through small cartoony drawings. These elements are very welcome and offer real accessibility for children, especially with the full dubbing – Poinie cannot read the signs, so his companion Poin reads them aloud – but they do not fare well with certain archaic game design features. The camera cannot be controlled manually, and therefore it is not uncommon to miss an important element. Likewise, some rooms have a slightly obtuse resolution, leading to a poor pacing in the progression. This lack of clarity is damaging and highlights the discrepancy between the title's ambition and its practical implementation: whether in the Jungle level, Halloween Manor or Planet Point, getting stuck for a few minutes and trying to brute-force a solution is not unusual.
The platforming action can also be confusing, especially with such an unreadable camera. Often it will be stuck in a wall or refuse to turn with the L1 reset. The boss fights, while providing real diversity within the game's basic concept, are sometimes frustrating, due to Poinie's somewhat unpleasant movements. The battle against Halloween, for example, requires clearing away the poins that support the gravestones, but the boss's hitbox is so large that projectiles often end up on them, rather than on the intended target. These issues are never critical, but detract from a game full of creative ideas. Even outside of the main quest, the player can explore Downtown and see a bustling city. After meeting Pillow, Poinie can go to the bar to attend the party, which was mentioned at the beginning of the game: while the title is brimming with good intentions and a sincere desire to be creative, Poinie's Poin never really has the means to fully achieve its ambitions, with some passages begging for more interactivity.
Nevertheless, Poinie's Poin is bound to charm, over the three hours that make up its adventure. The levels are always short enough not to exhaust the player, and the staging ideas follow one another without interruption. The cast is always engaging and one cannot help but feel a real affection for Poinie's reactions, both in his bursts of joy and excitement – such as when he goes into space with a rocket, like his hero – and in his moments of fear or sadness. Like a delightful children's tale, Poinie's Poin has a happy ending, without any fuss or fanfare. There is no dramatic twist: after all, it was always and only about helping Poinie find his mother. But the adventure that ensued and the friends made along the way are wonderful memories in the eyes of a child. Poinie probably doesn't understand the sadness of the PetitGang and Lilin, when he says goodbye to them. It is perhaps the most beautiful evidence of Alvion's sincerity. In the eyes of the ingenuous child, every day is an adventure; in the eyes of the grown-ups, every day that passes adds to the yearning. Navigating between these two themes, the studio has crafted a title with undeniable charm for everyone.
Such a solid and bizarre game with great music and colorful visuals. The included english translation makes the whole experience all the more memorable with how wacky this game gets.
Ever feel like a whole game is designed purely for you and your taste in gameplay, aesthetics and general vibe that you cannot even fathom giving it anything less than a perfect score? Like in spite of limited-even-for-the-time camera controls, slightly overambitious mechanics and repetitious objective design, there's so much appealing, hyper specific things of interest vying for your attention that you're consistently engaged from the get go, right up to the end screen? The sort of thing that you just know you'll be hyperfixated on for months, listening to the OST on loop, memorizing it's script down to the syllable and doodling all the characters for no other reason than for pure adoration for it all?
Well, I'm pretty sure that's Poinie's Poin for me right now. I'm losing my mind at just how at home I felt playing through this early 00's treasure trove of saturated colour, psychedelic pop/rock/IDM/acid fusion soundscapes and some truly off-kilter writing (with the VA to match)! Like, I keep trying to find some sort of flaw or catch or asterisk here that prevents me from recommending it to other 3D platformer/PS2 game/90's cartoon aficionados, but... no, it really is just that easy! Go play it somehow if this (or any of the other review here) intrigue you, it'll be 6 hours you won't forget!!
It's Coolio To The MAX!!!
Well, I'm pretty sure that's Poinie's Poin for me right now. I'm losing my mind at just how at home I felt playing through this early 00's treasure trove of saturated colour, psychedelic pop/rock/IDM/acid fusion soundscapes and some truly off-kilter writing (with the VA to match)! Like, I keep trying to find some sort of flaw or catch or asterisk here that prevents me from recommending it to other 3D platformer/PS2 game/90's cartoon aficionados, but... no, it really is just that easy! Go play it somehow if this (or any of the other review here) intrigue you, it'll be 6 hours you won't forget!!
It's Coolio To The MAX!!!
This game is pure spectacle, a sensory overload of bright colors, loud sounds, and questionable choices from the word go that make it endlessly captivating and impossible to ignore, even if the end gameplay takeaway is that it's "solid enough."
Such a fascinating title from Sony’s backlog, it has some odd quirks like the camera but it is a shame titles like this are long gone.
you play as a 3 year old
i aint playing wetnurse to some wet ass suckling sucker
the combination of the aggressive sugary sweet vibes in this game and the inexplicable full english dub and subtitle options, which include some guy doing a cartman impression, honest to god made me feel like i was playing some fake game invented for the creepypasta im the victim in or something. not to be "childhood fucked up" reddit over a cute children's game w some p cool style on its own terms but i dont know how else to emphasize how bizarre it is that this came to be, and there is hardly any info on how it happened. just popped out of the aether to be actually scarily ahead of its time???
This is a game that is absolutely supposed to be meant for children, from its mostly-silly plot and colorful, weird characters, and especially its low difficulty. Yet, for one thing, the writing is something that probably would've warranted a strange T-rating had it ever been shipped in the US ("Your mom is bitchin'!"). For another, the mechanics and world are so well-thought-out and creative that I couldn't help but love essentially every minute of this game. Genuinely, this game may only take 4 to 5 hours to complete, but those are some delightful 4 to 5 hours.
It could've done with an analog camera and a more efficient way to lob Poins, I'll admit. But damn, this really is just a perfect import, down to having an entire English localization on the disc (I wouldn't be shocked if some of the curse words were a planned feeble attempt to sell the game to older audiences who would've looked at the cover and scowled). Maybe there are better platformers out there in the world, but no game may ever feel like this, unless it gets a sequel by sheer luck.
It could've done with an analog camera and a more efficient way to lob Poins, I'll admit. But damn, this really is just a perfect import, down to having an entire English localization on the disc (I wouldn't be shocked if some of the curse words were a planned feeble attempt to sell the game to older audiences who would've looked at the cover and scowled). Maybe there are better platformers out there in the world, but no game may ever feel like this, unless it gets a sequel by sheer luck.