About Umihara Kawase Shun

In 1997, Xing published the sequel to Umihara Kawase on the Playstation, Umihara Kawase Shun. Although they published it, Xing seems to have had nothing to do with the development of the game, and on the title screen credit is given to Xing/Japan Clary Business/Jackpot (I presume the later two developed it and Xing picked up publishing rights). UK Shun (as I'll abbreviate it from here on out) doesn't deviate too far from the formula of the original, but it updates the graphics and sound very nicely along with adding a few great features.

The most obvious change from the first Umihara Kawase is the graphics. Instead of pure 2D sprites, the graphics are now made up of a combination of polygons and sprites. This "2.5D" style has been put to great use in games like Clockwork Knight, Mischief Makers, and Klonoa, and it looks quite nice here too. There's a pseudo parallex effect created by foreground and background images and it adds a nice amount of depth to the graphics. The game is also bursting with more color than before. There are better looking Playstation games out there, but this time around the game is actually quite pretty. The music too, has received an upgrade. The songs are mostly remixes and new arrangements of melodies from the original Umihara Kawase, but they're often quite different while still maintaining the mood of the originals. There are also two vocal themes that play at the game over/high score screen that are in the typical J-pop mould. Like the graphics, UK Shun's music improves on the original while maintaining what worked well in the first one.

UK Shun plays pretty much like it's predeccesor. The physics seem slighty more exaggerated, you can do crazier stunts with the fishing rod, but that's about it. The game is much easier to beat than the original, so long as you choose the easiest to reach exits. If you start choosing alternate paths, the difficulty ramps up quickly. The other notable addition is a practice mode, which allows you to practice any level you've reached. This is a welcome addition that benefits both beginners and experts.

Umihara Kawase Shun is pretty much 55 or so more levels of Umihara Kawase, which is fine by me. Even if it doesn't break any new ground, it doesn't feel like a rehash, since the style of the game is so unique as it is. There are two versions of Umihara Kawase Shun, the original release, and the "Second Edition" reissue from 2000, which adds 5 new levels. Either version is the same basic game, and the underlying game here is a great one. If you've got a Playstation capable of playing Japanese games, get Umihara Kawase Shun. You won't be disappointed.