Flower, Sun, and Rain: Murder and Mystery in Paradise
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Player's Review
Originally released for the PS2 as a Japan-only exclusive, this game seems to have some connection to The Silver Case in terms of plot (and maybe its universe), another of Suda51's titles that received a localized remaster for PC and PS4 in 2017, along with a Switch 1 port four years later. I'm not sure if it's a follow-up to that game, either direct or indirectly, but I know that its success in Japan back on its day was the main motivation for the development of this one.
The game tells the story of Sumio Mondo, a man who works as a 'searcher'. He decides to start a new adventure in a very strange island located in Micronesia, with the main objective of stopping a terrorist attack coming from the island's airport. During his mission, he also encounters many things which at the beginning he is unable to understand why, but that later on he finds out after listening to some islanders and other travelers about their experiences, including the fact the so-called 'lost paradise' was once a research center to develop a group of exotic superspecies with special adaptations to survive under extreme conditions. He also seems to be stuck in some sort of a time loop where each time an airplane explodes, everything is reset except his memories. Sumio takes advantage of this power to find out who's behind the terrorist attacks.
The gameplay here is mainly focused on gathering hints from NPCs for many of the story puzzles, as well as using his briefcase named 'Catherine' as a tool not only for puzzle solving, but also to check out your hotel guidebook which has a lot of hints, take notes to avoid forgetting some bit of a hint, and to save your progress at any time. This NDS version adds a few quality of life improvements over the PS2 original, such as a step counter which rewards you with some minor upgrades upon reaching a certain amount, optional 'Lost and Found' puzzles (completing all of them rewards you with extra costumes) which are all covered in this longplay, and also fixes to some bugs present in the original version.
For some puzzles I first show off the hint in the guidebook before going to the solution for consistency reasons. However, there is one special L&F puzzle that naturally requires solving another one that's found much later in the game to get the solution for the former, so thanks to a guide I was able to directly tackle it. In any case, I included the entirety of the guidebook at the end of the video for reference, as well as all 51 items you get from the extra puzzles.
Overall, a very interesting adventure game you should try especially if you're a fan of Suda51's stuff, though I personally prefer the original PS2 version. You don't get the QoL features that are exclusive to this NDS port but the better graphics and music compensate that. It doesn't mean this version in specific is bad, as the chiptuned soundtrack still sounds good to be honest, considering the technical limitations of the handheld.
00:00:00 - Start
00:00:17 - Intro scene
00:04:06 - Request 00: Welcome to the "Flower, Sun, and Rain"
00:29:06 - "Flower, Sun, and Rain" introductory scene
00:33:47 - Request 01: Gymnopédie #1
01:00:44 - Request 02: Air in G (I)
01:31:06 - Request 03: "From the New World" - Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95
02:01:38 - Request 04: 'S Wonderful
02:32:25 - Request 05: The Entertainer
03:10:50 - Request 06: Air in G (II)
03:38:48 - Request 07: Children's Corner
04:07:21 - Request 08: Ave Maria
04:33:45 - Request 09: Rhapsody in Blue
05:12:06 - Request 10: I Love You, Porgy
05:51:18 - Request 11: Clair de Lune
06:30:05 - Request 12: I Got Rhythm
06:54:18 - Request 13: La fille aux cheveux de lin
07:13:21 - Request 14: Träumerei
08:26:40 - Request 15: Prélude a L'Après-Midi d'un Faune
08:54:07 - Request 16: Pavane pour une infante défunte
09:16:36 - Request 17: Kill the Past
09:53:30 - Request 18: An American in Paris
10:46:18 - Ending & credits
10:56:28 - Extras
The game tells the story of Sumio Mondo, a man who works as a 'searcher'. He decides to start a new adventure in a very strange island located in Micronesia, with the main objective of stopping a terrorist attack coming from the island's airport. During his mission, he also encounters many things which at the beginning he is unable to understand why, but that later on he finds out after listening to some islanders and other travelers about their experiences, including the fact the so-called 'lost paradise' was once a research center to develop a group of exotic superspecies with special adaptations to survive under extreme conditions. He also seems to be stuck in some sort of a time loop where each time an airplane explodes, everything is reset except his memories. Sumio takes advantage of this power to find out who's behind the terrorist attacks.
The gameplay here is mainly focused on gathering hints from NPCs for many of the story puzzles, as well as using his briefcase named 'Catherine' as a tool not only for puzzle solving, but also to check out your hotel guidebook which has a lot of hints, take notes to avoid forgetting some bit of a hint, and to save your progress at any time. This NDS version adds a few quality of life improvements over the PS2 original, such as a step counter which rewards you with some minor upgrades upon reaching a certain amount, optional 'Lost and Found' puzzles (completing all of them rewards you with extra costumes) which are all covered in this longplay, and also fixes to some bugs present in the original version.
For some puzzles I first show off the hint in the guidebook before going to the solution for consistency reasons. However, there is one special L&F puzzle that naturally requires solving another one that's found much later in the game to get the solution for the former, so thanks to a guide I was able to directly tackle it. In any case, I included the entirety of the guidebook at the end of the video for reference, as well as all 51 items you get from the extra puzzles.
Overall, a very interesting adventure game you should try especially if you're a fan of Suda51's stuff, though I personally prefer the original PS2 version. You don't get the QoL features that are exclusive to this NDS port but the better graphics and music compensate that. It doesn't mean this version in specific is bad, as the chiptuned soundtrack still sounds good to be honest, considering the technical limitations of the handheld.
00:00:00 - Start
00:00:17 - Intro scene
00:04:06 - Request 00: Welcome to the "Flower, Sun, and Rain"
00:29:06 - "Flower, Sun, and Rain" introductory scene
00:33:47 - Request 01: Gymnopédie #1
01:00:44 - Request 02: Air in G (I)
01:31:06 - Request 03: "From the New World" - Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95
02:01:38 - Request 04: 'S Wonderful
02:32:25 - Request 05: The Entertainer
03:10:50 - Request 06: Air in G (II)
03:38:48 - Request 07: Children's Corner
04:07:21 - Request 08: Ave Maria
04:33:45 - Request 09: Rhapsody in Blue
05:12:06 - Request 10: I Love You, Porgy
05:51:18 - Request 11: Clair de Lune
06:30:05 - Request 12: I Got Rhythm
06:54:18 - Request 13: La fille aux cheveux de lin
07:13:21 - Request 14: Träumerei
08:26:40 - Request 15: Prélude a L'Après-Midi d'un Faune
08:54:07 - Request 16: Pavane pour une infante défunte
09:16:36 - Request 17: Kill the Past
09:53:30 - Request 18: An American in Paris
10:46:18 - Ending & credits
10:56:28 - Extras
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