Natsu-Mon: 20th Century Summer Kid

I bought this on Switch when it first came out in Japanese. I'm still only halfway through the game (playing on slowest time setting). I bought it for sale on PC a while back, with the DLC. I wanted to finish it on Switch before starting it on PC, but the low frame rate was depressing and deterred me from continuing. I recently decided to try [b]copying the save files from my Switch, and it works!! No decryption or conversion needed.[/b] Yay!! Now I can continue playing it on the PC instead. At full resolution and frame rate. I'm a big fan of the Boku no Natsuyasumi (My Summer Vacation) series by the same creator. So I had to get this game. There are almost no other similar games. Anyway, my incomplete pros and cons (for now): [b]Pros:[/b] - Bright, colorful, simple, clean visuals. - Interesting, fun, cute, likable characters. Personally, I like the character designs. - Free exploration. - Nice world, nice immersive atmosphere. - Nice music, although it only plays during important scenes. - Lots of things to do. - One of VERY few games of its kind, ie. games set in modern Japan, games about nostalgia, games about everyday life. - Mostly voiced, but not fully. More than many other games. - Japanese voices are very nice. [b]Cons:[/b] - I think this game would've been better if it wasn't open world. The world is a little too big with a lot of empty space. Too much time spent running back and forth. Boku Natsu maps were more compressed and thus more optimized. - The open world is very obviously heavily influenced by Breath of the Wild, especially the item collection presentation and gliding. I think this takes away from the immersion. - Some characters obviously share the same archetype. I'm assuming this was for Switch optimization purposes because the game runs pretty badly on the Switch. - I'd strongly prefer character creation for open world games, but I forgave this game because there aren't any games like it. - Some people have complained the protagonist is so agile that it feels like playing a ninja and detracts from the nostalgic summer vacation feel. I sort of agree. - Some people don't like the character designs, but I do. - I generally dislike stamina systems. - Not fully voiced. But there's a lot of dialogue. - Maybe I'm not playing properly, but it feels like the way time passes constantly in this game makes me feel like I need to rush to get stuff done each day. I'm pretty certain this wasn't as much of an issue in Boku Natsu, because in that series time only passes when you change screens. But I guess if you don't care about getting stuff done then you can just play at your own pace anyway.

I can't think of a better game to play during Summer (or at any time of the year, really). If there's a game that made me feel nostalgic of my childhood Summers this is the one. Relaxed, cute, fun, with rich interactions and a big map to explore and discover. I can't recommend it enough.

Heartwarming: this classic ex-Sony developer still pulls a Sony the old fashioned way: by blatantly copying Nintendo and doing it worse. Natsu-Mon is game-ified to an extreme fault. Part of me doesn't entirely want to blame the open world nature of the game, but it doesn't help that this game has the exact same questing system, stamina system, and movement states as BotW. It even has the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ paraglider for God's sake. It all contributes to the facts you're given too much control, and too much information. The very idea I'm playing as a "20th Century Summer Kid" goes out the window when I can constantly pause the game to check a map and a clock, or when the second I catch a bug it starts a checklist, or that I can approach an ore and mine it with a pickaxe I didn't have to find or earn, or when I can go into the settings and literally control the flow of time, or when I can still explore massive chunks of the map at 5:00 without being called in for dinner. Sure the game is still fun in a sense, but stepping back to look at all this, it just makes me ask what's the point? I can go anywhere and do any chore I please without consequence, and let's be real, without action too. By that, I mean since there's so little to manage in time and resources, I don't really think about the events I'm triggering and how I'm going about them. Eventually I sorta stopped caring about the game. I stopped wanting to seek out achievements or events because I just knew it'd be the same things over and over. The days blended in, and the summer didn't feel eventful. I honestly tried to do the whole "play 1 in-game day per real day of August" schtick people love doing, and, well, I decided to write about the game now instead of waiting til the end. I really hope this is just an experiment and not the norm for whatever Millennium Kitchen makes next. Which thankfully seems to be the case since the Shin-Chan games exist, but if this was supposed to be a way of truly succeeding Boku no Natsuyasumi, I'm afraid they failed miserably.

現実の夏休みをいい意味でも悪い意味でも思い出せた作品。 ゲーム開始から色々とできることがあり、制限されたスタミナの中で一日を目いっぱい楽しみクエストをこなして解放される要素とそれに応じて増えるスタミナで更に色んな場所で個性的な島のみんなとの会話や友情を深め虫取り魚釣り！楽しい！ ・・・とワクワクしながら楽しめるのも最初の2週間ほど 基本的にできることはその2週間＋αで遊びつくしてしまう。アスレチック的な場所は城だけ、スタミナ限界も気にしなくてよくなったあとは毎日のラジオ体操とひたすら図鑑に載ってない虫の白丸を探す。みんなとの会話も非常に薄味で内容はほぼなく能動的に会話したいとは思えない。みんなにキャラ付けはされているがサトルとの会話というよりそのキャラの独り言を聞かされている感覚。 マルチエンディングらしいが色々とコンプリートしてもコンプした要素に優先度が設定されているらしくグッドエンディングなどは存在しない作品なので見たいエンディングのために要素をコンプリートしないようにする、というのがコンプ癖の人間には難しい仕様。しかも日中は時間を飛ばすことができないので二週目以降他もエンディングが見たくてもやることがなければただひたすらぼーっと空を眺めるくらいしかやることが無くゲーム内でヒマだなぁと思ったのは中々にシュールだった。 DLCも非常に薄味で少しのストーリーと虫と魚が追加されるのみ。・・・ただしこれのおかげでゲーム内で3日はやることが増えるので助かる。 なんだか前半はあんなに楽しかったはずなのに後半は急に気持ちが冷めて何に対しても飽きたなぁ・・なんて思う様が小学生時代の夏休みに祖母の家に行っていたことを思い出させられノスタルジックな気持ちにさせられた。そうか、これが夏休みか あと初日に両親がまともな理由も無しに子供を置いて急に消え、一か月も経った最終日付近でふらりと帰ってきて何事もなかったようにずっと食卓を一緒に囲んでいた今日子さんと純子ちゃんの席を奪ったのはストーリーが薄味な今作でも屈指の人間の邪悪ポイント。

This might be a perfect video game. So charming in every aspect. Makes you so nostalgic for those long summer days of your childhood. Gameplay is so addictive and fun. My first play session with this game stretched out to 7 hours because you want to just keep exploring further and further, collect a few more bugs, catch a couple more fish. It's a perfect summer game

If you are like me and you would like to enjoy a cozy game, but find it difficult to enjoy some of the classics of the genre like Animal Crossing or Stardew Valley due to their aggressive economizing and large amount of busywork, this game might be for you. Explore, have fun, catch bugs, and don't worry about your mortgage or the fate of a whole town.

あの「ぼく夏」シリーズの正統進化版！ やりたいことをやってるだけでもOKのゲーム性は変わらずで、とても楽しめました。 なつもん！2を切に望みます！

This is one of the best games there are. This game knows what being a kid in summer feels like and it is just nice enough to give you a taste of those sweet August vibes. Inject this game into my veins please, thank you very much!