what a beautiful game.
it starts out slow -- the action limit seems like a bigger deal than it is, and once you start leveling up it quickly becomes a non-issue. what follows is that you start to unfold this huge, colorful world filled with characters of all shapes and sizes, and a story that lets you take it at your own pace.
the time management aspect feels fairly natural and while there are times where you're stuck waiting (the end of the game i was skipping through weeks just to finish the last sidequest) it starts to feel less and less exhausting as you take in more of the world around you. part of me wishes some of the ui was better, particularly in shops: you can only buy one of an item at a time, meaning if you want a stack of them you have to mash the A button for a good while. but you start to realize it's not about hoarding, about grinding the fishing to get money (you can actually make it through the game without ever donating to hager, which i wish i had looked into sooner). i mean, sure, i could buy a hundred octolips and never have to walk anywhere again. but i'd miss the sounds of the birds, the ambient background tunes. the wind in the valley. flora's song in the town. the crickets.
is it hard? yes. will you need a guide? most likely. will it make you feel like a genius for completing a puzzle by yourself? absolutely.
so go and save those animals! talk to plants! build a rocket! survey robots! buy some records! (buy all the records. make a little playlist of your favorites and share it with me.) get wasted on an island full of musical monkeys! talk to little mushroom creatures in a foreign language! have a drink with wanda. catch some fish. smell the roses.
collect all the love you can. wring out every little drop, every ounce of it. and when you do, when you've loved as hard as you can, shut the game off. but never stop loving.
it starts out slow -- the action limit seems like a bigger deal than it is, and once you start leveling up it quickly becomes a non-issue. what follows is that you start to unfold this huge, colorful world filled with characters of all shapes and sizes, and a story that lets you take it at your own pace.
the time management aspect feels fairly natural and while there are times where you're stuck waiting (the end of the game i was skipping through weeks just to finish the last sidequest) it starts to feel less and less exhausting as you take in more of the world around you. part of me wishes some of the ui was better, particularly in shops: you can only buy one of an item at a time, meaning if you want a stack of them you have to mash the A button for a good while. but you start to realize it's not about hoarding, about grinding the fishing to get money (you can actually make it through the game without ever donating to hager, which i wish i had looked into sooner). i mean, sure, i could buy a hundred octolips and never have to walk anywhere again. but i'd miss the sounds of the birds, the ambient background tunes. the wind in the valley. flora's song in the town. the crickets.
is it hard? yes. will you need a guide? most likely. will it make you feel like a genius for completing a puzzle by yourself? absolutely.
so go and save those animals! talk to plants! build a rocket! survey robots! buy some records! (buy all the records. make a little playlist of your favorites and share it with me.) get wasted on an island full of musical monkeys! talk to little mushroom creatures in a foreign language! have a drink with wanda. catch some fish. smell the roses.
collect all the love you can. wring out every little drop, every ounce of it. and when you do, when you've loved as hard as you can, shut the game off. but never stop loving.