Update One Hundred and Ninety-Six: 4 July 2018

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Did you love Psychonauts and the metaphorical realism of going into people’s heads and solving their problems, but wanted to cry a lot, lot more? Do you think that there’s a raw, emotional realness that’s exposed in the honesty and simplicity of children’s fairy tales that is a blade of truth like no other? Want a RPG Maker talky-feely game with actual puzzles in it? Again, do you want to cry?

Rakuen is your game.

It is a fantastic work of art, a lovely many-layered story that’s rewarding on all levels and that’s tied together in a way that feels familiar but isn’t boring. The pixel art is great, the music is lovely, and the feels are real. Even though the story, on its surface, might come across as… too easy - you play as a boy in a hospital, helping other patients - the way its done avoids all melodrama. It’s pain and joy from the perspective of a child, and it, unlike a lot of other media, actually talks the talk AND walks the walk at driving home themes of positivity, being brave against life dealing you a shitty hand, and working hard at helping other people. You go on an RPG adventure and your mom comes along and it’s the best.

An early scene in the game has the Boy’s mom read him his favorite bedtime story, which is a quest that you yourself undertake. Right before the perspective switched to the bedtime storry, my gut said, ‘Now what would be REALLY cool is if this part is voiced’ - and lo, it was. That kind of design sensibility to know exactly what to do when to really set up and/or deliver the kidney punch to your tearducts is reflected throughout the game to wonderful effect.

It works.

It’s not all sunshiney happiness, either - there are some unsettling horror bits, and the game handles the tone change from goofy to series and bright to gloomy and all back again very well. It’s also surprisingly long, but never feels bloated or boring. Like Psychonauts the game has you doing different things in different segments of the stories - exploring caves, collecting things, surviving creepy hospital mazes, doing puzzles, serving tea. It was really fun to play in this world.

I mean, it’s not all perfect. I really wish more or even all of the characters had portraits, and there were a handful of moments most notably Benny’s death in Tony’s section that just fell flat, very noticable in an otherwise pitch-perfect game. I sometimes wished I had a ‘jog’ button just so I could cross areas I’ve already been faster.

Beyond that, though, Rakuen is to me what I think To the Moon is to a lot of other people. I didn’t resonate with the latter all that much - to put it mildly - but Rakuen is, to me, spectacular, and deserves a spot of distinction.

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Oh, and on a whim I decided to take an evening to replay

to play on New Game+ and mop up my last few achievements. It was even better the second time around, and I rank it among my favorites.

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Next up: I’ll play two more games before I launch into FF12. First up, girlfriend’s choice. We both have copies, so we’ll play it simultaniously!

See you soon!