Flower, Sun and Rain
Another day in paradise...
Words: Matthew Castle, NGamer UK
Its make or break time, readers. Are you a Sudafan, or does his brand of barking anti-game leave your head bunged up with confusion and in need of a proverbial Sudafed? Ummed and ahhed over No More Heroes and killer7? Flower, Sun and Rain is the decider; a game of such incredi-silliness were amazed it managed to secure a release alongside its plain Jane shop-shelf neighbours.
Imagine Professor Layton, only the prof is a total jerk. Items and minds on the isle of Lospass need jacking, and jacking requires a code divulged by cryptic clues. Basic arithmetic is common, but most rely on probing a digitised 40-page guidebook for hints. Problem is, the book veers from condescendingly obvious numbers blaring out at you in neon green to aggravatingly vague. Mental stumbling blocks are one thing, repeatedly tripping on a poorly phrased riddle quite another.
Its a drawn out experience. While the puzzles are simple, theyre placed to force backtracking and ten-minute hikes across the island thats ten minutes of holding down a button with only electronic riffs on classical melodies to keep you company. Some will find it hypnotically monotonous, while everyone else will see FSR as unacceptably barren.
Exchanging killer7 and Heroes shooting and slicing for miles of road dotted with conundrums makes FSR Sudas most trying production to date. Saying that, its also his most obviously amusing, with existentialism sitting quite happily side-by-side with knob gags. Bar a total unraveling of sense during a math-based climax (think Die Hard 2 meets the SATs) the tale is accessible and intriguing throughout. Ultimately, this is a game that has the gall to force weak puzzles and eye-mangling graphics on you, before introducing a character whose sole role is to point out how awful the game is. Yes, the game basks in its own flaws. Ridiculous, dull, broken and hilarious in equal measure, FSR is essential Suda lore and worthless to non-believers. You have been warned.
Nov 3, 2008