What is Umihara Kawase?
- The Premise
- Gameplay
- Overview
- Basic Gameplay Techniques
- Pulling Yourself Over
- Swinging
- Bungie Jumping
- Enemies
- Overview
- Beastiary
- Eel
I. The Premise
In the simplest terms, Umihara Kawase could be referred to as a "2D platform game". However, in execution it is far from your standard Mario inspired platformer. In Umihara Kawase, the eponymous heroine is equipped with but one tool to brave the abstract aquatic landscapes, a fishing rod. There are no other weapons or items, and the only powerup is the sparsely placed 1-up. If may sound simple, but in practice it's anything but. The fishing rod can be used as a grappling hook, able to attach to almost any surface (ice being the major exception). Once attached to a surface, Umihara can adjust the length of the fishing line, either to give herself more slack or pull herself in. Additionally, it acts as her de facto weapon, capable of stunning enemies and "reeling them in". Umihara's general helplessness outside of the fishing rod (her only other ability is a meager jump) requires that the player master use of the rod to get anywhere in the game.
The world the games take place has a definite theme of water and sea life. The enemies are mostly fish, with sharks, snail, eels and other water dwelling creatures making an appearance as well. The actual levels are composed mostly of fairly non-descipt blocks, including the typical moving platforms as well as blocks affected by weight (they can be dragged down by standing on them or attaching to them with the fishing rod and pulling them down). There are also various abstract objects placed throughout the levels as scenary, including giant pencils and pencil cases, giant fruits and vegetables, traffic signs, and oddly enough, vending machines. There's no in-game story and I don't have the Japanese knowledge to read the manual, but the general surrealness of the settings leads me to believe the game is set in a dream world.
There are two games in the Umihara Kawase series, the first one is on the Super Famicom, and the sequel Umihara Kawase Shun is on the Playstation. Both remain import only, and it looks like it'll stay that way unless a miracle happens. The future of Umihara Kawase seems to be uncertain, but I wouldn't count out a future installment. The series has a cult following in Japan, and I believe it could have a cult following in the US and rest of the world as well if more people knew about it. Until that happens, this site serves to introduce people to these great games, as well as help others who've already found them get to new levels and improve their enjoyment of the games.
II. Gameplay
A. Overview
There tends to be a lot of confusion regarding Umihara Kawase and how it plays. Often, comparisons are made to Bionic Commando, which also uses a grappling hook like device in a 2D action/platform setting. Bionic Commando is certainly a great game and a classic, but I don't really find it to be an apt comparison. In Bionic Commando, you have no control over your swinging about you attach something, you can either let go or pull yourself toward the platform you latched onto. Additionally, you can only shoot in front of you, straight up, or diagonally up. A closer comparison might be the whip in Super Castlevania IV, which can be used in 8 directions and latches onto hooks that allow you to swing across chasms will full freedom of movement. However, even this doesn't describe how the fishing rod in Umihara Kawase works. If all this sounds confusing, don't worry, the basic mechanics are very intuiative and easy to learn.
Umihara Kawase has a very simple two button control scheme that should be familar to anyone who's played a 2D platformer since the NES days. One button (either B or X on the SNES) jumps, the other button (A or Y) shoots the fishing rod. The directonal pad lets you move of course, but it also lets you determine the direction you shoot out your fishing rod and allows you to control the movement of your swinging when you're swinging/hanging with the fishing rod. Once you've attached yourself to something, simply hold the fishing rod button to stay attached (let go to detach). You can control the length of the "rope" by pressing down to reel in and up to give yourself more slack. If you're attached to an enemy, you can simply press down and "reel it in". In Umihara Kawase Shun, you can also also use the shoulder buttons to shoot the fishing rod diagonally, which comes in handy, but isn't a major innovation. That's the controls in a nutshell, but there are several techniques you can derive from these simple controls.
B. Basic techniques
There are a number of ways you'll find yourself using the fishing rod in Umihara Kawase. I won't cover them all here, but here are a few of the most common ones. I've included some animated GIFs as a visual aid. They're a little big, so if you're on dial-up be patient (or just click stop if you don't care).
i. "Pulling Yourself Over"
This one is for reaching across to platforms you can't reach with just a jump. Shoot your fishing rod out in front of you to a block on the other side of the pit. Press down to "reel in" and you'll be pulled over the chasm.
ii. "Swinging"
This is probably the most common technique used in the game. Simply attach your fishing rod to a block above you and swing from it by pressing left and right. You can adjust the length of the line by pressing up and down. From here you'll most likely jump onto another adjacant platform, but you can also do more advanced techniques to attach to another block and swing again, or use your momentum to send yourself flying upward.
iii. "Bungie Jumping"
This is a simple technique, but it's crucial at certain points. Shoot your fishing rod straight down into the ground below you. Hold it there and jump off. You can either lower yourself down to another platform or pull yourself back up.