Those were the best days of my life
As mentioned earlier in this blog, Millenium Kitchen is releasing another episode of Boku No Natsuyasumi (My Summer Holiday) a series that is so far exclusive to Japan. With the official release on the 4th of July, this is the second PSP episode to be released, after the remake of the original PSX episode some years ago. Taking full advantage of the Playstation Portable hardware, Setonai Shounentanteidan: Bokuto himitsu no Chizu (or Boy’s Inland Detective Club: Me and the Secret Map according to my friend Sorrel) tells the story of a young boy sent to his family’s house to spend his summer vacation.
As it is customary in this series, the boy will learn about the traditional lifestyle of rural Japan, as well as the flora and fauna of the region. The whole game and narrative consist of a recollection of events from an adult and this particular episode of his life where he had significant experiences as a boy. This nostalgic reminiscence is set somewhere during the 1980’s in the Japanese region of Aichii.
I took some direct-feed pictures from first moments of the game, including the intro and initial credits where the boy, travelling alone in the train, seems eager to reach his destination. Notice the poignant color palette and the character design, both of them defining features of this series. All pictures are sequenced according to the actual game experience, where CGI blends with animated 2D imagery.
The following are gameplay stills. The boy takes the bus to the town and, on the way, he’s drawn by the fisherman’s boat with the number 75 on it. Arriving at the house he meets the uncles, the grandmother and the cousins. For this first day I give you the tour of the house.
This would be the bedroom.
Selecting the bag will enable the boy to change garments.
The poster on the bedroom might refer to a toy capsule collection.
I decided to take a look at this bedroom’s window…
… and was surprised to learn that it had a view over the beach.
Aunt is cooking dinner.
The boy brushes his teeth.
The table is set and it does look delicious. Because they expected a visitor, another table was added for extra places. Itadaikimasu!
As the tradition says, one must thank for the meal. I liked the fact that when the family began eating, the room was lit by the sunset light and once it is finished they already have the lights on. This is what I call a naturalist detail and, in a nutshell, why I think Japanese videogame design is years ahead of the competition.
To help digesting such a great meal I took the boy out for a little walk.
How apropos: for this little boy, Summer has also just begun.
2 years ago