My Month with Chulip, Part 4

Well, the first month of my "Bye-Bye, Backlog" project is over and done with. How did I do? Not so well if you were hoping I'd actually finish my first selection--that being Natsume's odder-than-odd PS2 title, Chulip.

Still, I gave it my best shot and put a good 12 to 15 hours into this sucker, which is saying a lot when you consider how completely obtuse Chulip tends to be.

'Chulip Fan Sprite' by iamnotapixelartist

Actually, that's the main reason I've yet to finish it. Although I absolutely loved the game when I started playing it, over time it came to feel like a chore--thanks in large part to the fact that getting to its end credits seems to be all but impossible without the use of a guide or FAQ.

Don't get me wrong: I'm usually not against calling on such things. In the case of Chulip, though, it often feels like I'm tethered to them (as in, I have to turn to them over and over again in order to make any real progress), which I can't help but find a bit (or a lot) irksome.

Am I giving up on this title now that January's over? Not at all. Yes, my focus throughout February will be on my second "Bye-Bye, Backlog" selection (which I'll reveal first thing tomorrow), but I'll also continue to spend some time with this one until I've "beaten" it.

So, expect to see a "Great Gaymathon" review of this Punchline-made game sometime between now and the end of the month. In the meantime, look for weekly updates about my February "Bye-Bye, Backlog" selection starting this Sunday.

See also: Previous 'Bye-Bye, Backlog' posts

My Month with Chulip, Parts 2 and 3

I know my previous post about my month-long playthrough of this quirky PS2 game was called "'Bye-Bye, Backlog' diary entry #1: Chulip (PS2)" and, as such, as this one should be titled "'Bye-Bye, Backlog' diary entry #2 and 3: Chulip (PS2)," but I decided late last week that header was a bit too unwieldy and as a result changed it to the one you see above. Anyway, I'm sorry if that confused any of you.

I'm also sorry I didn't publish this post last week as I promised I would at the start of this project. I would have, I swear, but the fact is my lone PS2 memory card decided to give up the ghost shortly after I began playing Chulip earlier this month. Thankfully, I was able to replace it on Tuesday, and I restarted my playthrough the very same day.

Since then, I've spent about 10 hours with this overwhelmingly odd game. The question is: am I still enjoying it? I'd say so, yes, although I'd also say I'm not enjoying it as much as I thought I would after I wrapped up my first hour-long experience with it.

Before I get to why that is, I'd like to mention a few of things that keep me coming back to Chulip despite the fact that I'm feeling a little let down by it at the moment.

* First, I love Chulip's weird-to-the-point-of-being-unsettling character designs. Although I usually prefer games that feature a more uniform art style, I think this one's mix-and-match aesthetic is a perfect fit for its overall "feel" (which, for me, is the video game equivalent of a David Lynch film).

* Speaking of unsettling, does any other word better describe the looping, lo-fi voice snippets that accompany every conversation the game's pint-sized protagonist has with his many (strange-looking) neighbors? I certainly can't think of one. (Don't take that to be a complaint, by the way. I actually find the voice snippets to be pretty funny--albeit a bit creepy, too.)

'Bye-Bye, Backlog' diary entry #1: Chulip

Well, I actually went through with it.

Yesterday, I started playing Chulip, Punchline's weirdo adventure game that Natsume rather quietly released for the North American PlayStation 2 in 2007 (nearly five years after it hit store shelves in Japan).

I didn't play it for very long, unfortunately, as I had too many other things to do. I was able to devote about an hour to it, though, and I plan on putting another hour or so into it today.

As for what I think of it so far:

* I love the art style, which kind of reminds me of the Nintendo 64 version of Mother 3 that never saw the light of day.

* I'm similarly fond of the soundtrack, and even the oddly garbled voices that spew forth whenever you decide to chat up one of your neighbors.

* Speaking of odd, that's about the only word I could use to describe Chulip's localization. Was it intentional, or did the folks at Natsume rush it? I have no idea, but I'm guessing it's the latter, as it's often hard to discern what you're supposed to do next.

* My only real complaint about the game so far: the lovelorn protagonist's walking speed. Would it have been so hard for the crew at Punchline (Chulip's developer) to provide players with a run button à la Animal Crossing? I have a feeling the lack of one is going to grow into a rather sore point as I spend more and more time with this quirky PS2 title.

* Conversely, my favorite aspect of Chulip so far is the animation that's triggered whenever you try to kiss someone who isn't in the mood to be kissed. Sadly, you can't overdo it or you'll find yourself staring at a "Game Over" screen.

Anyway, that's what I think of the game after my admittedly brief first experience with it. Expect to see another round of impressions this time next week. In the meantime, please share your own thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.

See also: 'Bye-bye, backlog'

The Great Gaymathon Review #44: Katamari Damacy (PlayStation 2)

Game: Katamari Damacy

Genre: Arcade-Action

Developer: Namco

Publisher: Namco

System: PlayStation 2

Release date: 2004

I'm sure this has been said many times before, and by better writers than myself, but I think it's quite possible that Katamari Damacy's backstory--which involves the colossal King of All Cosmos getting plastered, destroying the solar system and then asking his diminutive son to rebuild it--is the best to ever appear in a video game. At the very least, it's one of the wackiest. It's only a smidge wackier than Katamari Damacy's gameplay, though, which puts players in the role of the aforementioned pint-sized prince and tasks them with rolling the titular katamari (Japanese for "clump" or "clod") over anything and everything in sight in order to make it grow as large as possible. (Most of the objects in each stage stick to said katamari if they touch it and if they're smaller than it. All of that junk is then somehow used to recreate the stars and other celestial bodies that were obliterated by the king.) Unsurprisingly, this Keita Takahashi-designed title's graphics and soundtrack are pretty wacky, too--the latter, the bulk of which was composed by Yū Miyake, especially. Don't take that to mean this is one of those games that is so weird it's no fun; Katamari Damacy has fun in droves. In fact, I'd say it's one of my all-time favorite titles. The only possibly negative thing I can say about it is that I wish every stage had an "eternal mode" and that said mode was unlocked from the start (as it is, each level begins with a strict time limit), as exploring the game's beautifully realized set pieces at will--with Miyake's energetic tunes blaring in the background--is an absolute blast.

See also: Previous 'Great Gaymathon' posts