If there's one thing that Flower Sun and Rain definitely delivers, it's that typical Suda 51 charm and humor, filled with so many random pop culture references and off-the-wall humor that it's actually kind of hard to believe it's a Japanese-made game. While there's atmosphere galore here, the puzzles themselves are somewhat obtuse, especially the optional ones, which often feel more like doing math homework than solving a mystery.
Fans of Grasshopper's original work will not be disappointed, but adventure game fans that don't have any previous experience with Suda's work may want to think twice about this one.
Today's release of No More Heroes 2 is not only a chance to step into the foul-mouthed beam-sword-weilding shoes of Travis Touchdown, but also to reflect on the progeny of Tokyo-based Grasshopper Manufacture. Helmed by the enigmatic Suda 51 (so named because his actual first name, Goichi, means 51 in Japanese), the company is known for its wildly inventive, original, and financially risky software. Adopting the slogan "Punk's Not Dead," the company represents the rebellious, individualistic, and at times crude and violent mentality of punk music. Let's take a look at some of the developer's more memorable games.
Yeah I dunno what's up with that, GamerGrenade's been chugging lately. Someone needs to go wind up the turnkey on the server again or something.
Gamertell has posted a positive review of XSeed's DS game titled Flower, Sun and Rain.
From the review:
"Flower, Sun and Rain has everything you expect from a Goichi Suda game. It's stylish, has an incredibly complicated and interesting plot, unusual gameplay mechanics and a wonderful sense of ambiance. While the visuals aren't stellar and the camera constantly fails the player, the controls, characters and stories more than make up for it. And, if the graphics annoy you a bit, keep playing. As the game goes on and Sumio experiences the same day over and over, things start to look different. Sadly, after playing and finishing Flower, Sun and Rain, I get the feeling that only Suda51 and point-and-click adventure fans will pick up and persevere through this wonderful story."
TGH writes:
""Flower, Sun, and Rain" could best be described as the Groundhog's Day of video games, since you play one day over and over, until everything falls into place, and your mission is complete. The plot of the game, while seemingly basic grows into a much more developed, and tangled web as each day repeats and the game's main character, Sumio Mondo ("F.S.R."'s Bill Murray), tries to make it to the airport to stop a terrorist's attack. While it seems like it should be a very basic, and easy task to accomplish, Sumio and his partner, Catherine (a machine in his suitcase that allows him to "jack" into things, essentially hacking them), seem to get tied up in helping out different people every step of the way, and that, in turn, keeps him from stopping the attack… and forcing the day to start over again. It's a concept that stretches out over the different chapters of the game turning the island of Lospass, into a wonderful world of intrigue, and home to a host of well-developed, odd characters.
As the first few chapters of the game progress the tasks that Sumio has to perform are redundant, and grow to be a bit boring, boiling down to basic fetch quests all resulting in the same thing – an unaccomplished mission, and an exploding airplane. If you can work your way through the first few hours of the game's occasionally confusing dialog, and solve all the puzzles you're rewarded with a mostly satisfying ..."
I like what I see, I'm a fan of Suda 51, and this is a very well written review.