Yumi’s Had an Odd Odyssey

It’s possible you’ve heard of Yumi’s Odd Odyssey before; and no, I’m not talking about the announcement that just occurred. Way, way back in E3 2008, over five years ago, Natsume announced a title by that name for PSP. This was an enhanced version of Umihara Kawase Shun, the second game in the series originally released on Playstation in Japan back in February 1997 — and Japan only. It was said to be one of the better platformers we never received during that era in the mid-to-late 90s. An aura of mystery hovered — and still hovers, really — around older games released in a language you didn’t understand, and couldn’t play because of system region restrictions — the last of which is mostly a thing of the past these days, unless your name is “Nintendo.” Said aura led to an increased in the interested audience’s desire to play this particular game and the original Super Famicom title; at least, among the small audience that pays attention to games like these. While no publisher was willing to take a chance on the title when it released on PSOne, Natsume was equipped to translate and release it for the niche audience that existed on PSP.

But there was a problem, one we were never sure if Natsume knew. The PSP version was a mess. It’s loaded with glitches that impeded game progress, and protagonist Umihara/Yumi’s physics were changed in way that made platforming harder, especially in the maddeningly difficult bonus levels. Months passed with no comment from Natsume about its whereabouts, until Natsume president Yasuhiro Maekawa explained in an interview with Gamasutra’s Brandon Sheffield that they couldn’t bring it over due to licensing issues. That sounds legitimage, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if the port quality had something to do with them dropping it.

Yet it could have had something to do with why they never considered Umihara Kawase Shun ~second edition~ Kanzenban DS, which contained ports of the first two games. Despite hopes rising when it was announced, they never made their way over here.

We’ll likely never get those games, but that didn’t stop the interested audience from opening their eyes when a new game was announced for 3DS: Sayonara Umihara Kawase, a title being developed with Agatsuma Entertainment. The “Sayonara” part of its name indeed means “Goodbye,” meaning it’s the last game in the franchise. Though previous Umihara titles weren’t huge sellers in Japan, franchise creator Kiyoshi Sakai mentioned to USGamer’s Jeremy Parish (in an article you should read, by the way) that platformers like this aren’t the kind that can sell on the retail market anymore, even if they’re on the gaming system that dominates the competition. Games that rely on practicing and honing your skills to surpass difficult obstacles have tragically fallen out of favor with the mainstream market around the world. It’s times like this where it’s a shame Japan doesn’t have a thriving digital market where games like these can be sold without going through the cost of printing game cards or CDs  and retail distribution, but the country has been slow to catch on in that department. But they’re getting there.

However, it will have its chance to shine in the digital market when it makes its way here. We received hints that it was coming over for a good while — since before E3 this June, in fact. There was another hint dropped at Tokyo Game Show. But now we officially know who’s bringing it over, and
it’s…Natsume.  And they plan on calling it Yumi’s Odd Odyssey. What a strange twist of fate. As implied above, the game will only be released as a digital download through the Nintendo eShop. It wasn’t a huge seller in Japan, so Natsume probably never considered releasing it at retail here. The company has a better chance of profiting on it if it’s only sold digitally. The game doesn’t have much text, so sales expectations shouldn’t be too high.

While you’re here, you probably want to know who you’ll be playing as, and how the game plays. While Yumi/Umihara herself returns from the previous games, as both a 20-year-old and a-year-old, the game has two brand new playable characters. There’s Emiko, a 9-year-old Norwegian/Japanese girl, and Noko, who’s 18 years old. You might ask why there are two playable nine-year-old girls in the game, and I’d tell you that’s because it’s a game that has to sell to the modern Japanese otaku audience. There’s also the case of 20-year-old Yumi’s assets, which…you know what, never mind that. Moving on.

All of the girls play similarly, using a Yoyo to swing from one platform to another while fighting walking fish in a dream-like world. Bizarre? Absolutely. It’s a game with 90s-esque Japanese game design sensibilities and aesthetics. The closest comparison is Bionic Commando, a platformer also reliant on swinging, but the Umihara games don’t control like those. The games really do their own thing, and that’s part of what makes them a tough sell in what’s becoming a tougher market.

Natsume won’t need to find a big audience, but here’s hoping there’s a good player base that appreciates its unique approach to platforming. Keep your eye on the eShop early next year.