This one i have covered before but it's such a nice game that it's getting a second chance to be covered again as i can now show some footage as there's not much about.
There are not many games like this out there it's pretty unique, millenium kitchen's boku no natsu yasumi series of games where you relive your childhood through the eyes of a young Japanese kid in various beautiful settings obviously provided Konami with inspiration as in 2008 they released their own take on a nostalgic game with houkago shounen. While yes it's a blatant copy of the idea, Konami managed to make it their own with a bit of a different feel to the game and it really is something special.
The story revolves around a young boy called Osamu whose family will be moving to another town in exactly a months time, you relive these 4 weeks through his eyes. Just 4 weeks to say goodbye to everyone and try and enjoy yourself with the remaining time left. During the week there is a set pattern you wake for school and then after shool is done you can explore the rest of the little mountain village you live in, a day is about maybe 10 mins of game time and as you move about the sun will evenually set and then one of your family will come to find you for supper if you are not at home by then. Although the town is small there are enough things in there to keep you occupied, down the street is the dagashi shop (traditional Japanese sweet shop) where you will find most of the kids spend their time, outside are a few retro games and some gashapon machines which you can play.
The little rubber toy cars you win from the capsules in the gashapon are used to play a racing game if you find the right place, using the spring plunger at the end of a pen you can flick them around a course via the touch screen. Playing the picadilly circus game can win you medals to use in the shop and playing the coin flicking game can win you a ticket to exchange in the shop for various sweets if you manage to get it in the winning slot at the bottom. There are also bottle tops to find which you can use in a game of menko which is like the Japanese version of pogs.
In the shop is all manner of traditional Japanese sweets and they are all based on real sweets in Japan, i certainly recognise the sakura mochi and choco balls. You don't start out with much money at all in the game but hidden around the village are empty bottles if you collect these and return them to the shop you will get a refund to have some spending money.
At your secret clubhouse where you sometimes hang out there are various games to try out like the hoola hoop and the pogo stick, along with seeing how far you can skip stones across the river. Around the town are other places to play about like in the schoolyard been able to use the monkey bars and launch yourself off the swing or try to slide down the rail on the steps leading upto the temple. Each day is a bit different with the story as the days go along depending on who you talk to and what you do will make various events happen, how you interact with your friends will determine the outcome on filling the friendship stats for them. Some of these events can be really charming and a little bittersweet towards the end especially the final days before you move. One thing that i really love is the graphics and the soundtrack, it creates such a wonderful atmosphere very few DS games have this kind of detail. One thing i did really enjoy is on an evening after supper when you can watch tv, some evenings the pop music station will be on and you can record songs off the tv onto the tape deck and then play them back for proper retro nostalgia but with a Japanese twist.
A few of the days gameplay here.
The game is fully playable in Japanese but obviously you'll miss out on the story.
There are not many games like this out there it's pretty unique, millenium kitchen's boku no natsu yasumi series of games where you relive your childhood through the eyes of a young Japanese kid in various beautiful settings obviously provided Konami with inspiration as in 2008 they released their own take on a nostalgic game with houkago shounen. While yes it's a blatant copy of the idea, Konami managed to make it their own with a bit of a different feel to the game and it really is something special.
The story revolves around a young boy called Osamu whose family will be moving to another town in exactly a months time, you relive these 4 weeks through his eyes. Just 4 weeks to say goodbye to everyone and try and enjoy yourself with the remaining time left. During the week there is a set pattern you wake for school and then after shool is done you can explore the rest of the little mountain village you live in, a day is about maybe 10 mins of game time and as you move about the sun will evenually set and then one of your family will come to find you for supper if you are not at home by then. Although the town is small there are enough things in there to keep you occupied, down the street is the dagashi shop (traditional Japanese sweet shop) where you will find most of the kids spend their time, outside are a few retro games and some gashapon machines which you can play.
The little rubber toy cars you win from the capsules in the gashapon are used to play a racing game if you find the right place, using the spring plunger at the end of a pen you can flick them around a course via the touch screen. Playing the picadilly circus game can win you medals to use in the shop and playing the coin flicking game can win you a ticket to exchange in the shop for various sweets if you manage to get it in the winning slot at the bottom. There are also bottle tops to find which you can use in a game of menko which is like the Japanese version of pogs.
In the shop is all manner of traditional Japanese sweets and they are all based on real sweets in Japan, i certainly recognise the sakura mochi and choco balls. You don't start out with much money at all in the game but hidden around the village are empty bottles if you collect these and return them to the shop you will get a refund to have some spending money.
At your secret clubhouse where you sometimes hang out there are various games to try out like the hoola hoop and the pogo stick, along with seeing how far you can skip stones across the river. Around the town are other places to play about like in the schoolyard been able to use the monkey bars and launch yourself off the swing or try to slide down the rail on the steps leading upto the temple. Each day is a bit different with the story as the days go along depending on who you talk to and what you do will make various events happen, how you interact with your friends will determine the outcome on filling the friendship stats for them. Some of these events can be really charming and a little bittersweet towards the end especially the final days before you move. One thing that i really love is the graphics and the soundtrack, it creates such a wonderful atmosphere very few DS games have this kind of detail. One thing i did really enjoy is on an evening after supper when you can watch tv, some evenings the pop music station will be on and you can record songs off the tv onto the tape deck and then play them back for proper retro nostalgia but with a Japanese twist.
A few of the days gameplay here.
The game is fully playable in Japanese but obviously you'll miss out on the story.
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