Nusakana

About

Nusakana is a single player role playing game with romance and anime themes. It was developed by Studio Namaapa and was released on November 19, 2015. It received positive reviews from players.

"Nusakana is a single-player Anime RPG that takes around 70 hours to complete. The game invites you to explore Nusakana island, full of secrets, dangers, and over 30 characters. Your choices and time are crucial as you uncover your past and decide your future in this JRPG adventure."

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

88%

Audience ScoreBased on 60 reviews

story7 positive mentions

grinding5 negative mentions

Nusakana offers a unique blend of gameplay elements, including fishing, crafting, and relationship-building, set in a beautifully designed open world that captures a tropical island vibe.
The game features a charming art style and a relaxing soundtrack, enhancing the overall experience and immersing players in its atmosphere.
Despite some flaws, the developers have shown dedication to improving the game, and it provides a significant amount of content and replay value for its price.

The game suffers from a lack of clear direction and guidance, making it easy for players to feel lost and unsure of what to do next.
Many players have noted issues with the English translation, including grammatical errors and awkward phrasing that can detract from the storytelling experience.
Some gameplay mechanics, such as combat and quest design, can feel repetitive or unbalanced, leading to frustration for players seeking a more engaging experience.

story
58 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
83%
5%
The story of Nusakana features a nameable protagonist exploring an exotic island, uncovering personal and broader mysteries while interacting with various characters, each with their own narratives. While the premise is intriguing and offers a non-linear experience, many players find the pacing uneven and the resolution underwhelming, with some quests being confusing and lacking clear guidance. Overall, the game presents a rich world filled with quests and character interactions, but it requires player effort to fully appreciate its depth and potential.
- “The story is probably the best part of the game.”
- “The story and world are vast, deep, and easy to sink into, though sometimes it can be confusing where to go next.”
- “But for those willing to work at it and uncover the secrets of Nusakana, they'll find an interesting story, one that can be somewhat shaped by the player.”
- “The main plot is poorly paced with an underwhelming resolution.”
- “The game eventually shaped the story in a way, so if you have the effort to continue the story, you can see the bigger picture of what's happening.”
- “I felt there was no plot, no general storyline, only odd side-quests.”
music
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
58%
26%
16%
The music in Nusakana is widely praised for its high quality, featuring a captivating blend of jazz and bossa nova that enhances the game's tropical and exotic atmosphere. Players appreciate the soothing soundtrack, which adapts to the day-night cycle, contributing to the overall immersive experience. Many reviewers consider the music to be one of the standout elements of the game, elevating it beyond typical RPG Maker projects.
- “Nusakana is an entirely non-linear and pretty much open world RPG with an insanely good bossa nova-ish soundtrack, made completely with custom assets and with tons of content & replay value, all in an extremely ambitious RPG Maker project that looks nothing like you'd expect out of a RPG Maker game.”
- “Music: combining jazz and bossa nova, the soundtrack is absolutely phenomenal and of extremely high quality, solidifying the tropical and exotic feel the game wants to convey.”
- “The music is also some of the best I've ever heard in any game, ever.”
- “The music?”
- “The concept, visual art, and music in this game is fine and dandy, but the English is broken (or just the way it is phrased, seems off or weird to a native speaker) and just breaks the immersion for me.”
- “A sweet soundtrack mellower than Donovan.”
gameplay
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
56%
19%
The gameplay is characterized by a mix of engaging mechanics such as fishing, crafting, and NPC interactions, alongside a complex battle system and survival elements that can feel out of place in a game aimed at relaxation. While the open-world design offers freedom, it suffers from unclear objectives, and the punishing mechanics can detract from the overall experience. Despite its depth and variety, some players find the gameplay slow-paced and lacking in essential elements, leading to a mixed reception.
- “A fun, relaxing game with quite a lot of neat mechanics like fishing, crafting/cooking, NPC friend events, many side quests, and different endings.”
- “I'm impressed by how well-made the game mechanics are, including the complex battle system, survival elements that increase difficulty, and a dynamic world. The open-world feature is good, but it could provide more clues or clearer objectives.”
- “The gameplay can be very unforgiving and slow-paced at first, especially on the classic difficulty, which is the way the game is meant to be experienced.”
- “The gameplay is a mixed bag and kind of where things go a bit off the rails.”
- “The mechanics that progress time can be aggravating depending on where you have to travel.”
- “Gameplay: Nusakana can be very unforgiving and slow-paced at first, at least on the classic difficulty (aka the 'way the game is meant to be experienced' difficulty).”
graphics
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
37%
19%
The graphics of the game feature a unique and consistent hand-drawn artwork style that many players appreciate, contributing to its charm. While the visuals are generally well-received, some users note areas for improvement, such as text clarity and modernizing certain graphical elements. Overall, the artwork is considered a strong point, enhancing the game's appeal despite minor graphical issues.
- “The developers definitely put a fair amount of their own artwork into this game, which gives it a unique feel.”
- “I hear that most of the graphics are hand-drawn by the developers.”
- “Great artwork, good characters, and most importantly a big mysterious island to explore for its secrets!”
- “The English and graphics are somewhat messy, but honestly it's all just part of the fun.”
- “A good effort and no significant bugs, but lots of grammar issues and a few graphical ones as well.”
- “Some areas of improvement are graphics; the text bars could even be on a transparent color (blue signifies a Win95 color scheme, we are in the 21st century), and battle balancing.”
grinding
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews indicate that "grinding" in games like Stardew Valley is minimal, focusing more on casual activities like farming and fishing rather than extensive level or item grinding. While some players find character recruiting tedious, the overall experience is enhanced by the limited need for grinding, particularly in terms of leveling up, as equipment plays a significant role in character stats.
- “Confusing and tedious character recruiting.”
- “The game isn't exactly full of level grinding, though you do need to grind at a point.”
- “Very little item-farming is needed, if at all.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game's atmosphere is characterized by a charming and relaxing environment that encourages exploration and interaction with characters at the player's own pace. Despite its lighthearted setting, it also presents challenges that require players to engage deeply, reminiscent of the complexity found in games like Dark Souls.
- “All in all, when you play this game, you play it to explore the island, soak in the atmosphere, and get to know the characters, all at whatever pace you feel.”
- “For all the cute, relaxing atmosphere, I can confidently say Dark Souls is a good analogue in terms of how much the player is expected to figure out.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Nusakana offers high replayability due to its non-linear, open-world design and extensive content, making it a standout RPG Maker project. The unique custom assets and engaging soundtrack further enhance the experience, encouraging players to revisit the game.
- “Nusakana is an entirely non-linear and pretty much open-world RPG with an insanely good bossa nova-ish soundtrack, made completely with custom assets and with tons of content and replay value. It's an extremely ambitious RPG Maker project that looks nothing like you'd expect from a typical RPG Maker game.”
- “It has great replay value.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
Players appreciate the humor in the game, noting that the intentional use of broken English adds a comedic touch, particularly for those familiar with similar speech patterns in their own cultures. Additionally, references like the "do you even lift" line contribute to the overall comedic experience, making it enjoyable for many.
- “I like the humor; there are plenty of oblivious references, like the Brometheus line 'Do you even lift?'”
- “The broken English used by the characters is actually funny and adds to the charm of the game.”
- “The humor in the game is spot on, making even the simplest interactions entertaining.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users report that the game's optimization is solid, with no performance issues encountered thus far.
- “Performance: no problems so far.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Character development is highlighted as a crucial element in gaming, with players emphasizing its importance in enhancing the plot and overall storyline.
- “A big part of gaming for me is the plot, storyline, and character development.”