SAMPAGUITA
Copyright © Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony PlayStation
Anime Simulation
1 Player
¥5800
Available Now
Where to buy
—by Kenneth Lee
|
|
The third installment of Sony's genre-defining YARUDORA series is
SAMPAGUITA. While the other games in the YARUDORA
series are excellent in their own right, it is this third game in the series
that attracted my attention in the first place when they were initially
announced earlier last year. And the reason? Shirow Masamune. The
talented artist and creator of many cool manga and anime such as APPLESEED,
DOMINION: TANK POLICE, and GHOST IN THE SHELL, is also responsible for the
character designs and illustrations for this new game.
What sets SAMPAGUITA (the autumn title)
apart from the other two YARUDORA games is the unique artistic
style and intriguing story. Like DOUBLE CAST and
KISETSU O DAKISHIMETE (the summer and spring titles),
SAMPAGUITA
is an interactive anime game somewhat similar to classic arcade
games like DRAGON'S LAIR and SPACE ACE.
Games like these enjoy much
greater popularity in Japan than they ever did in North America, and
they've evolved to become much more complex. They have generally replaced
the "twitch factor" of making instantaneous decisions with turn-based and
menu driven formats, allowing the player to think about what to do next.
In addition, after beating this game you can save your endings to memory
and watch the entire anime again as one long movie! What's even sweeter is
that Sony even included the option for 16x9 widescreen anamorphic picture viewing!
SAMPAGUITA's name comes from the Tagalog name for a fragrant flower that
grows throughout Southeast Asia. Like the flower, the central female
character in this game, Maria Santos, is a sweet, exotic "flower" lost in
Japan, and her mysterious background must be uncovered. I don't want to give any more away, since the
story and its intricate plot twists are the main reason to play the game. Besides, there
are 28 endings (one more than the previous YARUDORA games), comprised of 3
good, 5 normal, and 20 bad endings. Suffice it to say that SAMPAGUITA is
an action/romance game, and fans who've been waiting for a little more
spice in the YARUDORA series can finally get it here.
Unfortunately, this also highlights the game's weakness in the lack of a
blockbuster budget. Make no mistake, the YARUDORA series as a whole is
excellent. For the amount of animation that is necessary in a 2 hour story
(as long as an anime movie), and to have 28 different endings, Sony Japan
has done a great job. The overall quality is very high, but this story has some
high-powered action sequences that just beg to be "fully animated" with many frames per second,
similar to the TALES OF DESTINY opening. The
YARUDORA series has been extremely effective in
bringing drama, mystery, and romance to life. But action-based stories often contain many sequences
requiring more frames of animation per second in order to smoothly portray swift movement, explosions, etc.
And so it is with SAMPAGUITA. But don't get me wrong, this is my
favorite game of the YARUDORA series, and overall it is highly enjoyable.
Perhaps the highlight of SAMPAGUITA is the combination of Shirow Masamune's
gorgeous art with the ubiquitous "ichiban" seiyuu (#1 voice actress),
Hayashibara Megumi. Here, she does an outstanding
job of delivering a shy, frightened Filipino girl, Maria Santos. In
addition, the music throughout the game is excellent, with ambient tracks
that set the mood perfectly.
SAMPAGUITA is yet another great game in Sony Japan's
YARUDORA series of
PlayStation games. Like the previous two games, SAMPAGUITA provides an
intriguing plot, wonderful characters, and high replay value with 28
different endings. In addition, it encapsulates a beautiful synergy of two
of the highest powers of anime: Shirow Masamune's gorgeous art with
Hayashibara Megumi's stunning voice acting. One can only hope that more of
such creative efforts will continue in the future, as there is only one
YARUDORA game remaining; the winter title,
YUKIWARI NO HANA. Imagine
seeing more of Shirow Masamune, or Fujishima Kousuke (AA! MEGAMI-SAMA), or
Yuuki Nobuteru (RECORD OF LODOSS WAR, ESCAFLOWNE, BATTLE ANGEL) in a game
with a higher budget and together with the best seiyuu. The
possibilities are
endless. 
Rating: **** out of 4 |
