Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin (The Direct Mini XSEEDed Expectations)

So here's this beautiful farming-fighting-side scroller that debuted in the Japanese Nintendo Direct Mini, but is still coming out here on November 20th.  It looks beautiful, and what with that weird hookshot-like thing helping you climb, looks like it could be pretty fun to play too.  I'm up for playing as a rice goddess - how about the rest of you?

This actually looks gorgeous, and was by far the best thing in the direct . . . so why wasn't it in our direct?

One of life's great questions. It looks at first glance like the sort of game that might only come out in Japan, but it isn't. Bizarre.

Aye, that does look alright and I thought I was onto something when I noticed it was published by Marvelous in Japan & Xseed here but they are just a subsidiary anyway so the different publisher reason probably doesn't work.

The popular theory was that this whole mini Direct only happened because Nintendo had some contractual obligations to show off third party games which would have been in the E3 show. Perhaps Sakuna was only required for aJapan showing?

Buskalilly wrote:

This actually looks gorgeous, and was by far the best thing in the direct . . . so why wasn't it in our direct?

Shin Megami would like a word but yes this does look good but as I said elsewhere the Japanese Direct I had plenty I'm looking forward to

I just wrote a post in another thread saying I don't like things any more, but I take that back pretty sharpish - this looks lovely! I didn't bother checking the video when it was pointed out that Japan saw games we didn't, as I assumed it meant they weren't for us - but that's a pleasant surprise. If I was in the room with someone else, I'd be saying "Wow, aren't those crops realistic!", probably to some confusion.

Oh wow, that looks lush! The combat looks really neat and it looks like it'll be a visual treat. One to keep an eye on, for sure!

You're half way to a cheesy rapping TV commercial there.

The combat is really neat
It is a visual treat.
The music is an Asian delight
And these bad guys put up a fight.
It's one to keep an eye on for sure.
This game is never a bore.
If you're not playing Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin
You might as well be sitting in your pants pooing.

I mean if this was late '80s Nintendo we were dealing with here, that might actually have happened.

Genuinely think this would be a better strategy than what's going to happen, which is that it won't get advertised in the West at all.

Sad, but true.

Hopefully it'll pick up some word of mouth buzz provided it's a good 'un!

Thanks Mas for alerting me to more Sakuna content existing!



Yeeeeeeeeeeah I'll be playing with Japanese voices if that's an option. That aside: all of the Muramasa vibes!

Ooft! Those voices are pretty terrible but the game does look good though.

Oooft, those battle sounds can get to fuck. Yeah, that's some grating VA.

But besides that, the game looks great! Rice farming looks cosy.

It's so cosy I might ask for it as a Christmas gift. Completely the wrong seasonal feel, but eh.

This might now be on my xmas list as well as I don't know what's happening about my PS5 that I don't want to ask for The Pathless on PS5 for instance if I don't have a console, and this looks like something I would enjoy playing on Switch still.

That PS4 experience reads like a bad time, Mas. Hope you can get it fixed soon.

Meanwhile, I've officially asked for this for Christmas. It looks like it might need a bit of patience, which is never my strong suit; but hopefully there'll be enough joy in growing my own rice to make up for it.

I got this one for Christmas! Some initial thoughts:

It's giving me properly massive Muramasa vibes, which is great. The combat's based around juggling and momentum, and while it doesn't match up to Muramasa's aerial dash-based business at this stage, there's still time. I rely far too much on one special move because when I'm surrounded by enemies I can only remember one or two combos.

The rice farming is... fine. I've turned its difficulty down to 'easy' after reading a bunch of reviews that were sceptical of that aspect. Bits of it are pretty therapeutic, bits of it are just dull, and the rice all turning up is a whole big JRPG number rush. That said, the rice ticking away in the background puts a timer on everything else, which is a bit of a pain. The game's designed around it, but so was Pikmin 1 and I didn't like that.

The game looks really nice: it won't win any awards, but it's properly transported me to a Japanese rice field and that's what I wanted out of it. The music's pretty decent, the Japanese voice acting is more comprehensive than I expected, and the environmental noises... well, there are cicadas, and since I'm not Buska that's really what I'm after.

It's good! Flawed, but good. A really nice experience. Looking forward to more, despite the time pressures.

Sounds good, I may wait on it a bit though

I'm really liking this now. Levelling up the farming is so nice, the dialogue's really cute, the atmosphere's lovely... The bosses are tough, but in the 'always feeling doable and satisfying to take down' way. I've still not quite mastered the combat yet, but I am managing to use more than the one special move now.

It is a bit of a slow burn - just like rice-farming itself, I guess. Also, with all the dialogue and the numbers, it feels more like an RPG than anything else: something to bear in mind if you don't like JRPGs. That said, it's probably already my most charming atmospheric game of 2020 (just remembered that the charming award goes to A Short Hike).

It's going on the pick up list

I had no idea this was out already until I saw an ad for it on the telly at the gym.

Balladeer wrote:

That said, the rice ticking away in the background puts a timer on everything else, which is a bit of a pain.  The game's designed around it, but so was Pikmin 1 and I didn't like that.

Oh, this actually sounds pretty good!

And that's in Japan. If it got a single offline advert in the UK I'll eat my hat. As in, I'll order an edible hat specially and eat it.

Natch. It (the rice and also the threat of everything in your storage reaching its sell-by date) makes the exploration segments a bit more urgent, as does the onset of night and much more powerful monsters. Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing will be up to the individual. I think the loop's pretty good, but it does get annoying sometimes!