Operation Backlog Completion 2026

My Belated Finding Paradise Review

 Reviews, Video Games  1 Response »  Tagged with: ,
Apr 202018
 

This review is an unusual one, because I thought I already reviewed Finding Paradise.

I named it as one of the best games I played in 2017 (and mentioned that my review would be coming soon), and I didn’t realize I never actually reviewed it until I went to look for my review last weekend and it… wasn’t there.

My guess is that I intended to review it right when my site went down, and by the time it was restored, I forgot. Anyway, let’s talk about Finding Paradise!

Finding Paradise is the sequel to To the Moon. Once again, Neil and Eva enter a dying patient’s memories to alter them in order to fulfill his final wish. The patient is the protagonist from A Bird Story, the shorter game set in between the two.

He presents them with a tricky task: he’d like them to resolve his lingering regrets while leaving as many of his memories unchanged as possible. Like in To the Moon, traveling through his memories lets the story of his life unfold, although this time Neil and Eva are sent back and forth between recent memories and old memories instead of following a linear path backwards.

For me, it wasn’t quite as emotional as To the Moon, but it was still a solid story. I also loved how it played with the series’ premise, leading to a beautiful and thought-provoking conclusion. And of course, there was plenty of humor.

I also went into Finding Paradise hoping for more of the overarching story that was hinted at in To the Moon and expanded on in the free mini-episodes. While Finding Paradise only touches on it lightly, it has a few mysterious events and some intriguing developments that advance it a little further.

Click for major Finding Paradise spoilers
In addition to the obvious scenes about Neil’s work, fans have speculated that the mysterious motorcycle rider (whose scene stands out for having no apparent significance to the plot) and the woman in the brown dress who (according to the child) retrieves the doll without touching the water is Faye.

Since Faye doesn’t exist in the real world and Neil copied her data, this once again suggests that Finding Paradise itself is a memory that someone is revisiting.

Finding Paradise also provides a list of the games in the series.

Since it lists To the Moon and Finding Paradise as the major episodes, with A Bird Story and the minisodes listed in between, I hope this means we’ll see more smaller entries before Episode 3.

Finding Paradise might not be as amazing as To the Moon, but it’s still an excellent game and I can’t wait to see where Freebird Games takes this series in the future. (It may or may not involve lots of murder?)

If you played Finding Paradise, what did you think of it? Where do you think the overarching story is headed?

428: Shibuya Scramble is Coming West This Summer

 Video Games  1 Response »  Tagged with: ,
Mar 232018
 

Several announcements have come from GDC 2018, and one that caught my eye was Spike Chunsoft’s news that 428: Shibuya Scramble will be out in the west this summer.

428: Shibuya Scramble is a visual novel adventure game that first came out in Japan in 2008, on the Wii. It was later ported to the PS3 and PSP, and eventually mobile devices.

Now it’s coming to the PS4 and PC, and that version is finally being localized.

The game features five protagonists, 90 endings based on the choices you make, and a combination of different media types (text, videos, and live action stills).

It’s a mystery, and it sounds like the characters’ stories interact with one another in interesting ways.

I wasn’t familiar with this game before, although I think I heard the title when localization was first announced (or hinted at?) last year, but now I’m interested in seeing what it’s like.

Spike Chunsoft also announced PixelJunk Monsters 2 (PS4, Switch, and Steam), localization of Steins;Gate Elite (PS4, Switch, and PC), localization of Zanki Zero: Last Beginning (PS4 and PC), and the PS4 version of Fire Pro Wrestling World.

(Zanki Zero is coming to the Vita in Japan according to its original announcement, but it looks like that version won’t be coming west.)

Are you interested in 428: Shibuya Scramble or any of the others? Have you been enjoying GDC? Should I cover other game events like I do E3? Let me know in the comments!

Killer7 and Flower, Sun, & Rain Could Be Remastered

 Video Games  1 Response »  Tagged with: , , ,
Mar 192018
 

Last week, I reviewed The Silver Case and asked, “Do I seek out a copy of Flower, Sun, and Rain on the DS, or do I wait in the hopes that it will be the next to be remastered/remade?”

Well…

Over the weekend, there was a special Grasshopper Manufacture event, and reports have surfaced that they’re interested in remastering Flower, Sun, and Rain as well as Killer7.

There has been no official announcement, but people who were at the event confirmed it.

It sounds as though the Killer7 remaster is planned first, with Flower, Sun, & Rain to follow in the future. According to the reports, the plans are vague so far but indicate remasters within the next 10 years.

(Hopefully we won’t have to wait quite that long.)

Following The Silver Case and The 25th Ward, it makes sense that Grasshopper Manufacture and Suda51 would want to revisit other related games. It will be interesting to see if any announcements come from this in the near future.

Are you interested in playing either of these?

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