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Flower, Sun, and Rain
Publisher: Marvelous Entertainment / XSEED
Developer: Hand
Genre: Adventure
Release Date: June 16, 2009
Platform: Nintendo DS
Rating: T - Teen
Reviewer: Eric
The weird and definitely strange Playstation 2 game that never came to the
States is finally arriving on Nintendo’s portable the DS. This port of the
cult-classic PS2 game is better kept at its cult-classic status. Flower, Sun,
and Rain is a concept that is better as a game to be shown off to friends, not
to actually be played for any sort of reason.
Flower, Sun, and Rain is a modern title that looks like a piece of art that has
full blown motion. The game has the look of an old PC game that has you clicking
your finger away to find clues and solve puzzles. All of the games puzzles range
in difficulty and all you need to do is use your stylus. No mouse or finger
clicking needed.
What this game is lacking is gameplay. To be honest solving some of the games
puzzles can be so mind blowing you may be finding your DS collecting dust rather
than plugging it in for a full charge in your battery. Flower, Sun, and Rain
will throw numbers at you for puzzles and you will have no idea where they came
from or what they are for. The games first real puzzle is a mystery; it may take
you quite some time to get the game started.
You are never given any real instructions on what clues you need to solve
puzzles or where you can find clues to advance into the game. The best method to
move along in this game is the guess and check way. Just keep punching in
numbers or moving your stylus, it will eventual work.
The games graphics are way too choppy and bulky. All of the characters hands are
bigger than their heads! The only thing that looks remotely like a real Nintendo
DS game in 2009 has to be the palm trees. Seriously everything else is just a
huge mess that deserves to have been kept on the Playstation 2, in the country
that it was originally released in.
Along with the games graphics there is the big problem in the camera angles.
You’ll have to suffer through mindless back tracking through camera work that
was seen during the peak of the GameCube. That is not a complement, trust me.
During fixed camera angles the game is even that bad to play through. Why would
the developers make players walk all the way into a corner for no reason when
they lead you to believe, almost all the time, that you have to? Fantastic…
On the plus side the game does have some pretty memorable voice work. The music
and sound effects could use some fine tuning but when you have full blown voice
work like this on a cartridge based game somebody deserves a gold star.
Final Verdict
Clearly there is a difference between art and video games. When it comes to
Flower, Sun, and Rain I think it would have been much better if this game stayed
on the very pieces of paper the developers wrote their ideas on. Flower, Sun,
and Rain goes to show you that developers are not afraid to try new ideas, but
at the same time those risks need to be thought through completely.
Rating Breakdown
Gameplay: 2 out of 10
+ Easy to move the stylus around.
- What the hell is going on in this game?
Graphics: 4 out of 10
+ Small details make the game look passable on store shelves.
- Polygons the size of melons on human hands? Is 1991 at the
door?
Audio: 7 out of 10
+ Nice voice work for a Nintendo DS game.
- The music just sounds weird, wrong, and strange.
Replay Value: 3 out of 10
+ Puzzles will have you coming back for more if you want a
challenge.
- Why would you come back when you don’t know what’s going
on?
Overall
4 out of 10
More reviews:
MetaCritic: 5.6/10
TestFreaks: 6.3/10
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