Why, yes, I am still plugging away at Opoona (Wii)

Or at least I was plugging away at it before I became obsessed with the classic Famicom RPG, Mother, and before I got my hands on a Nintendo Switch. (You can read about my experience with the game otherwise known as EarthBound Beginnings in this post, by the way. And you can reach about my recent Switch acquisition here.)

Regardless, during my last Opoona check-in, I crossed the 20-hour threshold.

That may surprise some of you, as I've made no secret of the fact that this ArtePiazza-made RPG has frustrated and annoyed me on a number of occasions since I first booted it up a couple of months ago. In fact, I detailed most of them in a recent blog post, "A few thoughts on Opoona (Wii) now that I've finally played it for a couple of hours."

Despite its shortcomings, I've enjoyed my time with the game overall. Its combination of intriguing battles, a delightful art style and a brilliant soundtrack tend to outweigh its confusing environments and awkward camera angles.

I say "tend to" here because right around the time I hit the 10-hour mark in Opoona, its negative attributes abruptly overtook its positive ones. That's when it dawned on me that I likely got myself stuck due to a bit of miscommunication (which isn't an entirely unusual occurrence while playing this overlooked Wii game, I'm afraid--thanks in large part to its often-iffy localization).

I won't bore you with all of the details, as they'll be little more than gobbledygook to folks who've yet to experience Opoona, but here's the gist: at one point in the game, you're sent to a place called "Blue Desert" to complete a job. (These are kind of like, but not exactly like, fetch quests in other RPGs--although here they sometimes require you to complete mini-games.) Unbeknownst to me, one of that location's many residents helps you unlock additional jobs, although you have to chat him up and do something for him before he'll assist you in that way.

Although I remember talking with him, I don't remember him telling me he'd grant me access to another job. Or maybe he told me, but shortly thereafter I walked away from the game for the night and promptly forgot the conversation. Regardless, I left Blue Desert before taking him up on his offer--which would have been all well and good if weren't for the fact that you're not allowed to return to the area at that point in the story.

As for why leaving Blue Desert before lending the aforementioned guy a hand caused me to get (temporarily) stuck, that would be because you need the job he opens up to advance to one or more other areas of the game's world.

Thankfully, after a lot of stumbling around, just as much awkward Internet sleuthing and somewhere between five and 10 additional hours of gameplay, I got myself unstuck and pushed forward with my sometimes-aggravating Opoona adventure.

In fact, I've since pushed it forward to the point I'm pretty sure I'm nearing its end. For those of you who've played (and finished) Opoona: is that possible?

I honestly hope it is, because although I've enjoyed a fair bit of my Opoona playthrough, I'm not sure I could handle, say, another 10 or 20 hours of annoying camera angles and needlessly confusing text.

Who knows, though; I've certainly put myself through worse over the years. In other words, don't be surprised if I drop yet another blog post in the near or even distant future in which I celebrate the fact that I conquered Opoona and all of its unfortunately irritating components.

A few thoughts on Opoona (Wii) now that I've finally played it for a couple of hours

Although I've owned a copy of this unique RPG for years now, its disc hadn't seen the innards of my Wii until a week ago.

What prompted me to get off my lazy butt and (finally) start playing Opoona? One of the first things I did after getting settled into our new home was hook up my Wii (mainly to see if it still worked), which in turn pushed me to unpack and organize all of my games.

Looking through my collection of Wii titles made me realize just how many of them I'd never even booted up. So, I decided then and there to free a few from their plastic prisons--beginning with this ArtePiazza-made oddity and Namco's similarly weird Tabemon. (Don't worry, I'll share impressions of the latter in an upcoming post.)

Since then, I've put approximately six hours into the former. That's an accomplishment worth crowing about, if you ask me. After all, Opoona's first hour or two are the definition of challenging. Not because its random battles are overly tough, mind you; rather, it's because the game takes its sweet time in telling you the protagonist's backstory and introducing you to the game's world. Also, the first area ("dome," actually) it drops you into is a real bitch to navigate.

Thankfully, things pick up a great deal once you're allowed to do as you please--which in Opoona generally means trying out a number of curious "jobs" and tackling the various quests that are associated with them.

The first job you're given is called "ranger." Sounds intriguing, I know, but in reality the ranger job is similar to the generic "fighter" role offered up by any other JRPG that's ever seen the light of day.

So, early on in Opoona, you accept a few tasks that force you into the forest that surrounds the opening dome (more become available in time) to fight alien-looking baddies using the titular character's "bon-bon."

Speaking of Opoona's bon-bon, it's the game's main claim to fame--and for good reason. For the unaware: the bon-bon is your main weapon while playing Opoona. It's controlled using the analog stick on the Wii nunchuck peripheral. While in battle, you pull back on the stick (or push it forward, or to the side) and then let it flick in the opposite direction to send your bon-bon careening toward one or more of the enemies that stand before you, à la Dragon Quest.

That's related to another of Opoona's selling points, by the way. If you want, you can play it one-handed, using only the Wii nunchuck. Personally, I prefer using the Wii remote as well, but I like that the game's developers included such an accessible control option.

Anyway, back to Opoona's job and quest system. I only have experience with the ranger and attendant jobs so far, but that's enough for me to guess the game is going to take me in some strange directions between now and whenever I'm finished with it.

Why? Take the attendant job. The first few quests or tasks you're given upon accepting that occupation have you filling orders at an intergalactic fast-food joint and delivering room service at a bustling hotel.

Admittedly, tackling those tasks is a lot less enjoyable than taking out baddies with the rubber-ball-esque bon-bon, but it's a nice change of pace nonetheless.

Given the above, it should be pretty clear that Opoona isn't your typical console RPG. For the most part, I've found that to be a good thing during my six-hour playthrough. I like its characters, I like its sci-fi setting, I like its snappy battles, I like its breezy soundtrack, and I like its overall aesthetic.

On the other hand, traversing the game's (unquestionably beautiful) environments veers between semi-tedious and tortuous. The huge domes that serve as its hubs are especially enraging. The game fails to provide you with a useful map, so when an NPC says something like, "go ask Mary in the library about this," you invariably spend a good 10 or 15 minutes (if not more) trying to find said location.

The fields outside Opoona's domes are less aggravating in terms of their layouts, but that doesn't mean they're without fault. My main knock against them at the moment: although you can move the camera while wandering around the game's interior spaces, you lose that freedom while outdoors. As a result, it's not unusual to find yourself in awkward positions that make it difficult to parse exactly where you are or where you're going.

Those gripes currently keep from flat-out recommending Opoona, but they aren't keeping me from continuing through its adventure. The bulk of it interests me to the point that the aforementioned niggles are fairly, but not entirely, easy to ignore.

Who knows if that will hold true until I encounter its credit roll, or until I prematurely walk away from the game--whichever happens first. I hope it will, though, as I'd really like to see Opoona through to the end.

In the meantime, have any of you played this Koei-published Wii title? If so, what's your opinion of it?

#ADecadeofDS: Pop Cutie! Street Fashion Simulation

Amount of time devoted to this game in the last week--Four hours, two minutes.

Most recent boss toppled, location reached or milestone achieved--Sadly, I'm still working my way through this game's second stage, which won't mean much to those of you who've yet to play the game (and may not even mean much to those of you've actually played it, truth be told). Also, I've competed in--and was declared the victor of all but one--five of Pop Cutie's fashion battles so far.

Overall comments on the experience--To be completely honest, I bought Pop Cutie! assuming it was going to be little more than a half-assed knock-off of Nintendo's criminally under-appreciated (outside of Japan, at least) Style Savvy games.

Boy, was I wrong.

After all, though the two titles mentioned above are similar in terms of theme--both focus on fashion and on running a clothing shop--that's where the likenesses end.

The aesthetics of Pop Cutie! are far, well, cuter than those of Style Savvy, for starters. Specifically, whereas the latter's art style leans toward slick and even sophisticated, the former's is more "precious" and cartoonish.

Speaking of which, the look of Koei's (yes, the same Koei that brought the world the Dynasty Warriors and the Nobunaga's Ambition series also made Pop Cutie!) contribution to the portable fashion genre is sure to turn off more than a few people at first glance. Hell, my initial reaction to it was to scrunch my face in sour disgust, and I tend to like adorable-looking games more than your average Joe.

Over time, though, the weird aesthetics of Pop Cutie! grew on me to a surprising degree--to the point that I'm nearly ready to say I actually kind of like them.

Anyway, Style Savvy and Pop Cutie! also differ pretty substantially in terms of how they play. In the former, designing clothes and running a "très chic" boutique are fairly detailed, hands-on experiences, and players are given a lot of control over how they accomplish those tasks. The corresponding activities in the title that's at the heart of this post, on the other hand, feel far more "detached," if that makes any sense.

I guess you could say that in Pop Cutie! fashioning frocks and selling them from a showroom floor are depicted as they may be in a mobile title. They're almost mini-games, but not quite. (A couple of examples: while in your shop, you can man the cash register, but only with the most minimal of input, or you can restock the shelves; outside your shop, you walk the streets and pick flowers to discover new colors for your designs or chat with passersby to learn of new clothing styles.)

Don't take that as a complaint, by the way. Although I found this cart's gameplay a bit basic and even disappointing at first, I had a pretty drastic change of heart after wrapping up my first hour or two with it. Now, I find the whole she-bang to be sweet and endearing and breezily fun.

Will I continue to play this game in the coming days, weeks and maybe even months?--If I'd have had to answer this question a week ago, I likely would have said, "I doubt it." Today, though, I'm far more open to the idea. 

Once you come to terms with this game's quirks--its sometimes-awkward controls, its far-from-appealing-at-first art style--it's actually quite a lot of fun. As such, I have a feeling I'll put at least a few more hours into this cartridge before it goes back into its pastel-plastered case.

Do I recommend it to others?--I guess so, but with some reservations. What I mean is that I think only a small percentage of people who own a DS or 3DS are likely to bother playing Pop Cutie! long enough for it to get under their skin, so to speak, so I'd say that if you've spent some time with any of the Style Savvy games (or anything remotely like them) and enjoyed the experience, you may want to give this one a go, too--especially if you can find a fairly cheap copy.

Next up--Maestro! Jump in Music

See also: previous 'A Decade of DS' posts