Umihara Kawase

93%
Game Brain Score Based on 125 reviews
  • gameplay
  • music
  • graphics
Umihara Kawase Game Cover
It's truly a shame that the series didn't have any sort of presence in the west until quite recently. I feel like if the title had managed to grab an overseas audience we might've seen even more titles from the developers besides the three games they did end up releasing over the last two decades. The series certainly deserved it.
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Umihara Kawase is a challenging physics-based platformer following a skilled fisherwoman. Using her fishing line, players swing, climb, and navigate through levels filled with obstacles and enemies. With a variety of abilities and items, players must outmaneuver and catch creatures while managing resources to complete each stage.

  • PC
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

93%
Audience ScoreBased on 125 reviews
gameplay13 positive mentions
optimization3 negative mentions
  • The game features a unique and satisfying grappling mechanic that allows for creative movement and exploration.
  • It offers a challenging yet rewarding experience, with a steep learning curve that leads to a strong sense of accomplishment as players master the mechanics.
  • The aesthetic and music create a charming atmosphere that contrasts with the game's brutal difficulty, making it an engaging experience for those who enjoy precision platformers.
  • The level design can be unforgiving, with random enemy spawns leading to frustrating and cheap deaths.
  • Boss fights are often criticized for being tedious and poorly designed, detracting from the overall enjoyment of the game.
  • The lack of checkpoints and the need to restart after losing all lives can be discouraging, especially for players who struggle with the game's high difficulty.
  • gameplay46 mentions

    The gameplay of Umihara Kawase is characterized by its old-school precision platforming and a unique grappling mechanic that offers depth and complexity, requiring players to master its physics-based movement. While the game presents a challenging experience with limited lives and no checkpoints, it features well-designed levels with varied mechanics and branching paths that encourage experimentation and skill development. Overall, it appeals to hardcore platformer fans who appreciate its intricate mechanics and are willing to invest time in mastering them.

    • “In addition to featuring all the core mechanics of old arcade games, such as a limited number of lives and no checkpoints or saves, it provides a genuinely challenging platforming experience with considerable complexity in its movement.”
    • “The entire game is built around the mechanic of the fishing line, and it is almost shocking how much depth and variety exist within that one seemingly simple tool.”
    • “Umihara Kawase combines airtight level design with an incredibly deep core mechanic (that crazy elastic fishing line) to create something special.”
    • “An old game with a unique mechanic that fails on its execution.”
    • “The only trouble is that it may take a while to even get a familiar grasp on how the mechanics work.”
    • “If you feel invested enough to learn every single mechanic in depth, and are fine with getting games you only come back to once in a while to see if you can beat them, or can't beat at all, this is the game for you.”
  • music22 mentions

    The music in the game is generally praised for its beautiful, cheerful, and relaxing qualities, enhancing the overall experience with its fitting soundtrack. While some users noted issues with volume settings, once adjusted, the music complements the game's charming visuals and challenging gameplay. Overall, the soundtrack is described as catchy and enjoyable, contributing significantly to the game's unique atmosphere.

    • “The soundtrack is beautiful and fits the game’s theme.”
    • “Paired with pleasant music and nice surreal visuals, it's a lovely game.”
    • “Great music, great art, great gameplay - this game has really surpassed my expectations and become my favorite platformer.”
    • “And don't forget to turn up the music in the settings, for some reason it's so low that you can't hear it by default.”
    • “Soundtrack is decent but not really noteworthy, which is good because you're going to be hearing it a lot as you make your way through 50+ levels.”
    • “Some of the most absolutely sadistic level design I've ever seen in a platforming game, definitely not for the faint of heart despite its cutesy aesthetic and cheery music.”
  • graphics18 mentions

    The graphics of the game are widely praised for their unique, cutesy aesthetic and vibrant visuals that create a charming and surreal atmosphere. While the visuals maintain a nostalgic quality reminiscent of classic titles, some players noted minor issues like glitching water textures. Overall, the combination of appealing graphics and engaging music enhances the challenging gameplay experience, making it a standout in the platformer genre.

    • “Really amazing platformer with a very specific charm you can't find anywhere else thanks to the graphics, music, art direction, and fish.”
    • “Each level is full of bright visuals, wonderful music and challenging obstacles and enemies to overcome.”
    • “Aesthetically, it's a great looking game in how bizarre it is.”
    • “I bought this back in 2019 as soon as I saw the SNES aesthetic (completely unaware this originally released in 1994) but soon dropped it because I couldn't make much progress past the tadpole.”
    • “Despite the cutesy graphics, the difficulty is psychotic and a lot of practice and advanced techniques are required to consistently beat most levels.”
    • “Don't be fooled by the cutesy graphics and laid-back music.”
  • story10 mentions

    The game's story is minimal and often described as non-existent, focusing instead on gameplay and exploration without overbearing narratives or characters. Players appreciate the engaging world and musical tracks, but the lack of a clear motivation or storyline leaves some feeling that the experience is more about the challenge than a cohesive narrative. Overall, it is characterized as an arcade experience that prioritizes gameplay over storytelling.

    • “Greatest story ever told in the medium.”
    • “No overbearing story, no annoying characters, no unnecessary padding and cutscenes.”
    • “It's hard to say what the story or motivation is, but with a few good musical tracks and an interesting world to explore, it's a lot of fun.”
    • “There's no real story as far as I know since reaching an ending just brings up the credits.”
    • “UK is a purely arcade experience, with no story or any other unnecessary trappings.”
    • “Just when you conquer a challenging field, you'll be filtered by the next immediate level, and have to spend a long time in practice mode trying to get through it before you return to the story mode to try and do it for real with limited attempts.”
  • humor4 mentions

    The game's humor is characterized as both quirky and dark, with elements like a funny hat that highlight its comedic yet sinister tone. Players appreciate its unique and quaint sense of humor, which adds to the overall experience.

    • “I'm sure there's a funny hat related to the events of this game.”
    • “It can show you both how funny and how evil this game can get.”
    • “This game sure has a quaint sense of humor.”
  • replayability4 mentions

    The game is praised for its high replayability, offering unique levels and interesting mechanics that encourage multiple playthroughs. Players find it enjoyable and challenging, making it a worthwhile experience for fans of platformers.

    • “Still, if you like platformers with interesting gimmicks, I would definitely recommend trying this one, because when you master it, it's actually very fun to play and has high replayability.”
    • “This gives the game tons of replayability, as you won't see every level in each playthrough.”
    • “Fantastic difficult 2D platformer with tons of replay value.”
  • optimization2 mentions

    The optimization of the game has received positive feedback, with users noting significant performance improvements over the original SNES version, particularly in eliminating lag caused by the heavy physics engine. Overall, the gameplay remains consistent while running smoothly.

    • “The gameplay overall is still exactly the same as the Sufami version, with many performance improvements.”
    • “The original SNES game suffered from lag due to the heavy physics engine, but this runs smoothly without any problems.”
    • “The gameplay overall is still exactly the same as the Sufami version, despite many performance improvements.”
    • “The optimization feels lacking, as the game struggles to maintain a stable frame rate during intense moments.”
    • “I expected better optimization; the loading times are frustratingly long and disrupt the flow of the game.”
  • atmosphere1 mentions

    The game is praised for its pleasant and warm atmosphere, creating an inviting and enjoyable experience for players.

    • “This game has a very pleasant atmosphere and a warm feeling to it.”
  • grinding1 mentions

    Players appreciate that the game's progression relies on skill improvement rather than traditional grinding for stats, making the experience feel more rewarding and engaging.

    • “The result of this system is that you get through the game by actually improving, not by getting lucky or grinding up stats.”
    • “Grinding feels like a never-ending chore rather than an engaging part of the game.”
    • “The amount of time required to grind for resources is excessive and detracts from the overall enjoyment.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

95% average critic score

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