So earlier in the year I made this jam game Tetherlure (you should play it you should play it) for 1-Bit Jam. The conceit is that you control 2 characters chained to each other, and progress by throwing your non-controlled character with your controlled character's ability. The idea was this kinda step between slapstick and sappy bonding, it was a fun excuse to draw a cute couple getting Broadside School Fed Up The Bone Bulge while talking about cringe shit sitting in their brains.
And then a few weeks ago I found this game, which has a very similar mechanic! This little Enix nugget, based on a music-themed manga and anime, does the same 'throw your partner' shtick. But instead of controlling a princess and her knight chained to each other, you play a wandering bard/hero, Hamel, and the random town bumpkin he drags along for the ride, Flute.
Unlike Tetherlure, Hameln no Violin Hiki isn't an equal opportunity slapsticker: You only directly control Hamel, and Flute acts as the load-bearer. You throw her to break objects and hit enemies, step on her head for extra jump height, and stuff her into animal costumes for additional movement tech. She's not happy about any of it, I don't know how she doesn't have debilitating bone fractures by now. There's a bit of it that seems cruel at first, but it gets kinda lampshaded - the story kinda makes out Hamel as a fraud whose helpless without lugging other people around, and the bit I heard about the source material seems to suggest the same? idk
The gameplay is thankfully consistently great, I was taken aback by how clever the level design is. You assimilate a huge library of costumes as you go, and with exception to some event-specific ones, there's still excuses to use your old ones as you get the better, overpowered ones. Hell, most puzzles are open-ended enough to give you like, 3-5 ways to potentially solve them. It's very liberating. Hell just collecting the costumes is half the appeal, I'm always waiting to see what fucked up abomination Flute's gonna cry her way into next.
Honestly the weirdest thing about this game is that it ends a full world before it feels like it's supposed to, you fight this angelic character that you'd assume is like, the second-hand man of the real final boss, but you beat them, they talk about you needing to become stronger to fight your dad, and then it cuts to the characters walking in the sunset while the credits roll????????? I can only assume it was handled this way so players would have to watch the anime to see how things resolve, but, c'mon who fucking does that??? I assumed I got a bad ending somehow but nope.
The music is also really hit-and-miss, kinda fucked up for a game themed mostly around music. The translation's rough, there's a currency system that basically goes unused because of how powerups are doled out, the second boss is obscenely bad and almost made me drop the game, but, whatever. Still definitely worth a play, it's not often a licensed game makes me want to check out the source material.
And then a few weeks ago I found this game, which has a very similar mechanic! This little Enix nugget, based on a music-themed manga and anime, does the same 'throw your partner' shtick. But instead of controlling a princess and her knight chained to each other, you play a wandering bard/hero, Hamel, and the random town bumpkin he drags along for the ride, Flute.
Unlike Tetherlure, Hameln no Violin Hiki isn't an equal opportunity slapsticker: You only directly control Hamel, and Flute acts as the load-bearer. You throw her to break objects and hit enemies, step on her head for extra jump height, and stuff her into animal costumes for additional movement tech. She's not happy about any of it, I don't know how she doesn't have debilitating bone fractures by now. There's a bit of it that seems cruel at first, but it gets kinda lampshaded - the story kinda makes out Hamel as a fraud whose helpless without lugging other people around, and the bit I heard about the source material seems to suggest the same? idk
The gameplay is thankfully consistently great, I was taken aback by how clever the level design is. You assimilate a huge library of costumes as you go, and with exception to some event-specific ones, there's still excuses to use your old ones as you get the better, overpowered ones. Hell, most puzzles are open-ended enough to give you like, 3-5 ways to potentially solve them. It's very liberating. Hell just collecting the costumes is half the appeal, I'm always waiting to see what fucked up abomination Flute's gonna cry her way into next.
Honestly the weirdest thing about this game is that it ends a full world before it feels like it's supposed to, you fight this angelic character that you'd assume is like, the second-hand man of the real final boss, but you beat them, they talk about you needing to become stronger to fight your dad, and then it cuts to the characters walking in the sunset while the credits roll????????? I can only assume it was handled this way so players would have to watch the anime to see how things resolve, but, c'mon who fucking does that??? I assumed I got a bad ending somehow but nope.
The music is also really hit-and-miss, kinda fucked up for a game themed mostly around music. The translation's rough, there's a currency system that basically goes unused because of how powerups are doled out, the second boss is obscenely bad and almost made me drop the game, but, whatever. Still definitely worth a play, it's not often a licensed game makes me want to check out the source material.
DeemonAndGames
7 months ago
Jokes aside, I'll try it out, It sounds very interesting, as this game does, super beat concept for a game, specially for one that released on the Famicom. Great review!