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Flower, Sun, and Rain
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Graphics & Sound:
I'm nerdy enough to the point where I regard the luminaries of the videogame industry in the same way others regard high-profile actors, musicians, and authors. I view Grasshopper Manufacture's Goichi Suda (Suda51 to the fans) as the Howard Hughes of the game industry. I highly doubt that Suda himself is that weird, but his games sure as hell are. This is the guy behind the cult classic No More Heroes and the polarizing Killer7. Everything he makes walks the fine line between style and mind-blowing insanity. I've yet to see a game from Suda51 that isn't all kinds of bizarre, and if Flower, Sun, and Rain is any indication, we may never see the day when he makes something grounded in reality. Of course, that's not what I'm here to judge - my job is to determine whether or not this game is worth a look. Here's the skinny: if you're a fan of all things weird and you like mysteries, you might appreciate what this quirky title has to offer. As a game, FSR is neither exciting nor particularly engaging, but the story is so far into left field that it manages to be oddly captivating. I'd even go so far as to say that the narrative makes it somewhat easy to look past the almost complete absence of actual gameplay.
Flower, Sun, and Rain follows a Suda51 tradition - it looks low-budget, crazy, and stylish at the same time. Everything is ultra-blocky, just like a first-generation Nintendo 64 or PlayStation game. The opening cutscene plays like an extremely long and drawn-out Japanese music video, one that seems to have nothing to do with the game itself. I won't lie -- despite all I've just said, this game cannot be described as good-looking. What FSR lacks in technical proficiency is made up for with slick Menu screens and a charming independent flair.
Flower, Sun, and Rain boasts an eclectic soundtrack and some interesting audio work. The music alternates between classical, jazz, and funk, with a lot of piano -- and it's a good fit. When it comes to dialogue, the development team went with a direction that is totally in sync with the rest of the game's style. It sounds like the developers included voiceovers, but it all sounds intentionally garbled (think Animal Crossing with robot voices). Also, when you solve a puzzle, the four-note fanfare from No More Heroes's title screen will put a smile on your face, regardless of if you've played the game or not. |
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Gameplay:
Flower, Sun, and Rain places you in the role of a hero who is every bit as eccentric as No More Heroes's Travis Touchdown and Killer7's Harman Smith. Sumio Mondo is a wise-cracking, fourth wall-breaking detective whose job is to uncover secret truths that lay just beneath the surface of the world around him. He has been hired by the proprietor of Lospass Island's Flower, Sun, and Rain hotel to uncover and derail a terrorist plot. If you think this sounds like a cookie-cutter plot for a mystery game, think again. FSR's story is a PG-13 Alice in Wonderland that begins weirdly enough, and incrementally jacks the absurdity factor up to levels beyond all measurement. I'll continue the metaphor without spoiling anything: the Mad Hatter and his buddies are no match for the weirdos who constantly get between Sumio and his destiny. The dialogue is incredibly cryptic, almost to the point where it is impossible to make sense of any of it. You may not understand much of what goes on, and sometimes you'll even question how well you understand your own language. However, there is a distinct and fascinating narrative thread that manages to ground itself just enough for it to tie itself into several intricate knots. You'll definitely want to see how far down the rabbit hole goes.
Sumio's quest is to get to the airplane and do the job he has been hired to do. However, it seems everyone on Lospass Island wants him to solve their own personal problems. Sumio isn't a personal mediator like Dr. Phil, and he certainly lacks the SIGINT ninja skills of Sam Fisher. So how does he go about solving Lospass's problems? Sumio's got what he calls "the Ultimate Computerized Unlocking Device," a seriously weird tool he affectionately refers to as Catherine ("Working with a Catherine is always better than working with a Bob," quips Sumio). Catherine is a jack-of-all-trades divining machine that literally jacks into any object, inanimate or otherwise. For example, the game's first puzzle actually requires you to jack into someone's left eye and input your date of birth. Sumio also finds himself in possession of a book that basically contains every hint you'll need to solve the mysteries of Lospass Island.
A pedometer located at the upper left of the DS's touch screeen tracks every step Sumio takes. That must be some kind of self-deprecating joke. If that's the case, it's a very well-deserved jab. Put simply, there is way too much navigation and backtracking in FSR. You will run, and then you'll run some more, and you'll walk down a short hallway, only to top all of that off with some more running. After that, you'll solve a puzzle with help from your Guide Book. Then you'll run some more, followed by even more running. Finally, you'll see a cutscene. Second verse, same as the first. Every now and then, the monotony is briefly broken, but the tedium is often impossible to shake off.
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Difficulty:
Flower, Sun, and Rain is a tough game, occasionally to a fault. You're not going to blaze through this game unless you read a walkthrough. If the puzzles don't confuse you, the lack of direction will bother you.
There are two key problems with FSR's difficulty level. The first problem is the fact that several of the game's puzzles are simply a matter of finding the right segment of the right page of the Guide Book. Since it's a pretty big book, it's tough to find exactly what you're looking for. To be fair, however, you'll feel pretty cool when the scattered red pixels converge on Catherine's screen to spell the word "HIT."
The second problem is in actually moving Sumio around. Navigation is a pain due to the uncontrollable camera and oversized environments. (If memory serves me correctly, I believe I've already mentioned how much running you'll do in this game.) This problem is directly tied into the game's single most crippling flaw. The most difficult part of FSR is finding the patience to actually make progress.
Like other mystery adventures, Flower, Sun, and Rain has very little replay value. Once you're done uncovering the mysteries of Lospass Island and the Flower, Sun, and Rain hotel, you're done.
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Game Mechanics:
For a game that prides itself on being so off-the-wall, Flower, Sun, and Rain makes use of a very simple slate of gameplay mechanics. The D-pad is what you'll use to guide Sumio around Lospass Island. You can use the stylus and touchscreen, but it feels like a gimmick that is neither practical nor comfortable. When prompted by a red exclamation point, you can investigate points of interest by tapping the screen. It's simple enough.
Sumio can access Catherine at any time. She contains your Guide Book, a handy memo pad for notetaking, some reference materials, and game saving options. If you encounter a puzzle that needs solving, Sumio will automatically open his trusty companion... after launching into a spiel containing no less than five scatterbrained one-liners or pseudo-proverbs. After that, it's all a matter of finding the correctly-shaped jack for the object's plug. Using the DS's touchscreen, you must choose one of several jacks and drag it from Catherine to whatever needs to be jacked into. It's all trial-and-error, but it's not frustrating, because the wrong jack doesn't result in any kind of loss (that is, with the exception of your time). Puzzles are solved by inputting sequences of numbers with a combination dial. Performing all of these actions is not overly complicated, unlike all of FSR's subject matter.
As I mentioned, there is no camera control to speak of. This is inexplicable, because there are two shoulder buttons on the top of every DS that go completely unused in FSR.
Flower, Sun, and Rain bears all the trademarks of a Suda51 game, but it's not even close to his studio's best work. There's not a whole lot of game here, and it can get extremely tedious at times, but I can guarantee this much -- you haven't played anything like it. |
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-FenixDown, GameVortex Communications AKA Jon Carlos |
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