One of the nicer benefits of writing my thoughts on Umihara Kawase is that I don't feel obligated to repeat myself when reviewing its sequels, seeing as the core gameplay usually stays the same. If you wanna know what the deal with Umihara Kawase is, then skim my review of the Super Famicom title. The review below is focused on what's unique/different in this specific entry.
The PS1 helps give this title a more defined style, and it's right up my alley. Yumi, enemies, and foreground elements look like they were sketched out in colored pencil, which gives the surreal environments the feeling of being in a high school notebook's doodles. The stages themselves take place on platforms rendered in 3D, and the gameplay has been improved just enough for me to prefer this game over the SFC one. Enemies do still randomly spawn, but it happens significantly less frequently, almost intentionally. The physics have been tweaked so that your backpack is heavier, which leads to much more reliable manipulation of the physics overall. In the SFC game, Yumi felt like a yo-yo at times. Here, she feels like a bungee cord, which I find preferable. The music exchanges the upbeat tunes of the SFC game for chill beats that make me feel like I've gone fishing. I do somewhat miss the more upbeat music from the original game though.
I just vibe completely with this game, there's no other way for me to say it. The Steam version is inexpensive and very welcoming to newcomers, thanks to how you unlock an extra continue for every 10 unique stages you clear. I didn't officially reach one of the game's ending doors until I had 30 chances to throw myself at a single level. Trust me, it's a learning experience. That being said, there's a bit of stuff that the original PS1 versions had that was gutted in future releases. Shun has legitimate advertisements for branded tea and fishing equipment. It's nothing as egregious as what we have in current day, I'm assuming that their small independent studio just did what they had to in order to keep the lights on. Shun also has vocal tracks that play at the ranking screen. It may be worth checking out those versions if you're a purist. If nothing else, do me a favor and listen to the wonderful vocal tracks, seen here and here. I've played plenty of both the PS1 and PC versions, and will certainly be back for more in the future.
The PS1 helps give this title a more defined style, and it's right up my alley. Yumi, enemies, and foreground elements look like they were sketched out in colored pencil, which gives the surreal environments the feeling of being in a high school notebook's doodles. The stages themselves take place on platforms rendered in 3D, and the gameplay has been improved just enough for me to prefer this game over the SFC one. Enemies do still randomly spawn, but it happens significantly less frequently, almost intentionally. The physics have been tweaked so that your backpack is heavier, which leads to much more reliable manipulation of the physics overall. In the SFC game, Yumi felt like a yo-yo at times. Here, she feels like a bungee cord, which I find preferable. The music exchanges the upbeat tunes of the SFC game for chill beats that make me feel like I've gone fishing. I do somewhat miss the more upbeat music from the original game though.
I just vibe completely with this game, there's no other way for me to say it. The Steam version is inexpensive and very welcoming to newcomers, thanks to how you unlock an extra continue for every 10 unique stages you clear. I didn't officially reach one of the game's ending doors until I had 30 chances to throw myself at a single level. Trust me, it's a learning experience. That being said, there's a bit of stuff that the original PS1 versions had that was gutted in future releases. Shun has legitimate advertisements for branded tea and fishing equipment. It's nothing as egregious as what we have in current day, I'm assuming that their small independent studio just did what they had to in order to keep the lights on. Shun also has vocal tracks that play at the ranking screen. It may be worth checking out those versions if you're a purist. If nothing else, do me a favor and listen to the wonderful vocal tracks, seen here and here. I've played plenty of both the PS1 and PC versions, and will certainly be back for more in the future.
BlazingWaters
10 months ago
really need to play these at some point fr