Umihara Kawase Fresh!
- May 28, 2020
- Studio Saizensen
Impressive efforts with a few noticeable problems holding them back. Won't astound everyone, but is worth your time and cash.
Get on Steam"Umihara Kawase Fresh! is a Nintendo Switch action/platformer that follows a young chef named Kawase who discovers a town of her dreams. With over 75 quests and a large explorable map, players will navigate through the town, uncover its history, and battle demons using Kawase's fishing lure. Each quest is replayable in Time Attack mode, and completion unlocks additional content."
Nintendo Switch
PC
Playstation 4
Windows
PlayStation
Reviews
- The game features a charming art style and great music, enhancing the overall experience.
- The challenge levels provide a satisfying and difficult platforming experience, appealing to fans of the series.
- The introduction of a hunger system and crafting adds a unique twist to gameplay, making it more accessible for newcomers.
- The main quest is tedious and repetitive, often requiring players to retread the same paths multiple times.
- The port suffers from technical issues, including a blurry resolution and poor controller support, which detracts from the experience.
- The story is poorly executed and lacks coherence, leaving players feeling unsatisfied with the narrative.
- story41 mentions
- 7 % positive mentions
- 85 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The story in this game is largely criticized for being tedious and unengaging, with many players finding the main quest a repetitive grind that detracts from the overall experience. While it attempts to introduce a narrative and open-world elements, the execution falls flat, with quests often leading to the same locations and lacking meaningful plot development. Overall, the story feels secondary and is considered a weak point, with many players suggesting that skipping cutscenes would not detract from the gameplay.
“First time having a 'real' story in an Umihara game is kind of nice, even if it's not so much a story as it's just making deliveries.”
“It may not be the best translation, but it results in some fun moments, and I still laughed at some of the story (the pigs want pork pizza???).”
“However, it flows better than I expected, and it's still very much mission-based where you go from point A to point B for a series of quests/challenges.”
“The story is a total mess and you will not be missing out if you skip all the cutscenes.”
“The plot certainly isn't worth playing for.”
“The story is a truly insulting waste of time and I honestly think you lose nothing by not having it translated.”
- gameplay5 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The gameplay is largely described as bland and unthreatening, with a tedious food and hunger system that detracts from the experience. While it offers enjoyable grappling mechanics for fans of the series, players must actively engage with these features to fully appreciate the game, especially since it takes about four hours to unlock challenge levels.
“The gameplay itself is everything you could ask for in the series, just some good grappling fun.”
“Still, you need to at least try to engage with the hook mechanics or you won't have any fun.”
“The vast majority of the gameplay is not threatening and just kind of bland.”
“The entire food and hunger system just gets in the way of the gameplay and doesn't really add anything.”
“Just be warned it will take about 4 hours of fairly tedious gameplay before you finally unlock the ability to play all the challenge levels.”
- music4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The music in the game is highly praised, featuring a mix of new tracks and memorable themes, particularly in the overworld and sky areas, as well as the title screen and main menu. While some players found the underground layers less engaging, the overall soundtrack contributes positively to the game's atmosphere.
“The music is as great as ever with new tracks!”
“And special mention to the soundtrack.”
“While I didn't care too much about the underground layers, the overworld and sky area themes are both really good, and the title screen and main menu songs are also very memorable.”
“The soundtrack is repetitive and lacks variety.”
“The music feels out of place and doesn't match the game's atmosphere.”
“I found the audio quality to be subpar, which detracted from the overall experience.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, with reports indicating that it can take around four hours of repetitive gameplay to unlock all challenge levels.
“It's incredibly tedious.”
“Just be warned it will take about 4 hours of fairly tedious gameplay before you finally unlock the ability to play all the challenge levels.”
- graphics2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The graphics are praised for their stylized charm, offering a refreshing update to the visuals of the old games, complemented by enjoyable music.
“I enjoy the new graphics from the old games; they have a stylized charm to them.”
“The graphics are nice and the music complements them well.”
- humor1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is noted for its fun and humorous story, making it a worthwhile purchase, especially when on sale. Users find the humor to be a positive aspect that enhances the overall enjoyment of the game.
“The game is really fun and funny in its story, making it a great pick when it's on sale.”
“The humor in the game adds a delightful twist to the gameplay, keeping me entertained throughout.”
“I love how the game incorporates humor into its narrative, making every moment enjoyable.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game offers solid optimization with rebindable controls and no reported performance issues, featuring faster loading times compared to other versions, though it is limited to 720p resolution in both windowed and fullscreen modes.
“720p windowed or fullscreen only, rebindable controls, no issues with performance on my end, much faster loading times than other versions.”
