Yumi's Odd Odyssey

If you enjoy 2D platform games, this is a must-own. A young girl, equipped with nothing but a fishing line and lure, somehow ends up in a dream-like world of mutated salt-water and fresh-water creatures. In other words, it's a 2D platformer with a grappling-hook mechanic. Sounds ridiculous right? Well there's a reason this series is so good, and it mostly has to do with how well designed the grappling mechanic is. You're basically free to do whatever you want with the hook, as it can attach to walls, ceilings, and floors. You can retract it, loosen it, swing, rappel -- anything you've done before in a grappling game, you can do it here. For instance, you can attach the line to the ground, jump off a ledge, and use the anchor point to slowly descend safely down to another ledge below. The movement mechanics allow you to really get creative. The game world of Yumi's Odd Oddysey is constructed from a set of interconnected levels known as fields. Each field connects to one or more fields deeper within the game via doors, and each field has several secrets to uncover. Combine that with completing with others to complete levels quickly and for score, and you have a ton of replay value. The controls are incredibly tight and the music is excellent, the backgrounds and aesthetics are good looking too. The only flaw I can find with the game are some of the 3D graphics, for example when exiting a level through a door, you'll notice some clipping. That and I much prefer the 2D graphics of the originals.

Developing your habilities through the rubbing stick is the key to succeed and advance through the stages, and it is this characteristic that gives Yumi's Odd Odyssey its value. It is like Dark Souls. You have to lose a lot, fall to death to discover your weaknesses and to get the swing of the things. I am sorry to the losers who are weak, because this game, although shows a anime style, is for real true hardcore games. Don't touch it if you are just a call of duty player, like the last two reviewers, but if you like challenges like 1001 spikes, la mulana and so on, give it a try! There is nothing compared to this game. Try out also Umihara Kawase (snes) and Umihara Kawase shun (psx), the other games of this awesome serie.