Umihara Kawase Portable
Originally released on the Super Famicom back in 1994, Umihara Kawase was a platform action game where a little girl swung around the levels with the use of a rubbery grappling hook. Enemy goldfish would pop out of the water below and attack but the real adversity in the game was gauging the lift and distance of each swing to reach nearby platforms.
Fourteen years after its debut, Marvelous has announced preorders for a PSP version of the game which adds new levels and an illustrations gallery. New modes include a Practice Mode to test your skills and a Replay Theater Mode to watch your performance after a level has been completed.
Umihara begins her travels on the lower-right corner of the game screen. By pressing the "SQUARE" or "O" button, a hook is shot out and tethered to platforms which then allows Ms Kawase to gain air, leap from ledge to ledge, and even perform actions reminiscent of a vine swinging muscle man. The "TRIANGLE" and "X" buttons make Umihara jump but it's only a little jump that's primarily used in conjunction with her grappling swings.
To provide adversity, enemy goldfish, lizards and other animals normally found in water mindlessly walk back and forth on platforms but the real challenge is gauging the lift and distance of each swing to reach nearby platforms. Umihara Kawase never sold big numbers in Japan but the original designers likely never targeted the game at a wide audience. The controls are quirky until you discover the hook's tension system and the feats that it allows Umihara to accomplish. Only then will players marvel at the intelligent design that went into the game and sing its praises...
Published by: Marvelous Entertainment
Release date: Mar 27, 2008
Image format: cso
Packed size: 88.62 MB
Serial: ULJS-00137
Filehoster: RapidShare.com
Mirror:
04-05-2008, 02:12 AM
Join Date: May 2007
