[b]Note:[/b] A wonderful friend gifted me a copy of this game. ^^
[h1]Invasion of the monster cats :o[/h1]
[h2]Introduction[/h2]
[i]Hidden Cats in Tokyo[/i] is a cat-themed, hidden object game developed by Nukearts Studio and published by Nukearts Studio and Dartisans. The cats are at it again, but this time, the stakes are even higher (compared to the other games in the series XD). You're tasked with the mission to vaccinate all the cats in Tokyo before they become dangerous creatures known as monster cats. Yup, there's actually a story in this one. It turns out that a gigantic yokai cat is responsible for all the chaos, but fear not. You get assistance from hero cats scattered all around Tokyo as well as Dr. Mashineko, who creates the vaccine to help the cats. Can your team save Tokyo and restore order to the city? :o
As for the gameplay, there are several levels that consist of finding a specified number of cats, special cats, monster cats, cat items, and people. You can zoom in and out of levels (a.k.a. scenes) to find the objects, and you can use the hint function if you get stuck on finding any of them. The number of hints increases as you find more objects. In the final two levels, there's a mini-game in which you have to time your clicks so that the slider is in the green zone of the bar. Of course, plenty of Steam achievements are available, and they count towards a user's global total. In addition, there are Steam trading cards.
[h2]Review[/h2]
Nukearts Studio is one of my all-time favorite developers when it comes to cat-themed, hidden object games. Although this isn't the latest game in the series, it is the last game on my list by the developer that I finally got around to playing. I held off because I read about the initial bugs and such and wanted to wait until they were fixed.
With that said, I love how there's a story in this one. You're tasked with vaccinating the cats in Tokyo, as there's a virus going around that could infect them and turn them into monster cats. It's quite a fun, inventive story, which reminds me of those old school movies about Japan being invaded by a gigantic monster. Also, the inclusion of hero cats makes me think about one of my favorite TV series in Japan about a group of heroes who go off saving citizens from monsters and whatnot. XD There's time travel, too, which definitely goes off on the wacky, but I like it. Sometimes, a story can be just fun and not taken too seriously, and I like that the developers took a risk with presenting a story. ^^
However, I'm sure that it's the gameplay that is the question. [i]Hidden Cats in Tokyo[/i] is still as much fun as the other games in the series. You can use the zoom function to find cats and other objects. I should give a heads up that the zoom in function will only work so much. Even at the maximum zoom in, a few cats might still be difficult to find. Of course, you can use hints if you get stuck, but I should caution that if you do so, you won't be able to earn achievements related to completing areas in expert mode. As for the mini-games I mentioned earlier, I like that the developer added it. Especially, I found the final mini-game to be fun since it involved a clash of the titans, so to speak. XD However, it does require some good timing and fast mouse clicking (or controller button tapping), so this may be a turn off for those who want to enjoy a laid-back, relaxing HOG. At any rate, I was able to obtain all of the achievements, and I didn't need to use the hints at any point.
With the art, it has this colorful, fun, cartoony style that feels fitting for this game. The scenes really make you feel like you're right in the middle of Tokyo, saving cats and whatnot.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3532900561
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3532900844
The objects and backgrounds are drawn well, and I like the colors that are used.
In regards to the music, there are a good number of various tracks. They're very fun to listen to, giving off this lively upbeat as you're going about clicking (and saving) cats and finding other objects. The tracks have this Japanese techno pop feel to them, which is very appropriate.
[h2]Conclusion[/h2]
Would I recommend [i]Hidden Cats in Tokyo[/i]? If you're a fan of hidden object games (especially, cat-themed ones), you like the games by Nukearts Studio, and/or you want a lot of Steam achievements (and some Steam trading cards), then I think it's worth checking out. Granted, the sliding mini-game that I mentioned earlier might be a slight turn off, but with a bit of practice, I found it doable. For the asking price, I think it's worth it, as it took me around 5.3 hours to 100% complete the game. Of course, you can wait to get it on a sale, and it's in a couple of Steam bundles. ^^
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