There was an update, and there’s a definite improvement to control responsiveness and general collision detection. It’s still a bit fiddly at times and sometime it just doesn’t respond to button presses – particularly when trying to pull items around – but overall it’s much more playable.
The overarching story – of having fallen down from your cosy perch, and having to make your way back up the building – provided enough impetus to make me want to seek out new abilities and areas. I met a tanooki who transported me 2 metres into a bin, but this indicated that there may be more teleportation in the future. I found a beetle who’d dropped his phone in concrete, who needed a new one – that unlocked photo mode. I found a chameleon who is particularly bad at hiding. I found sparkling areas which allowed me to take a nap. I found a worried duck who’d lost his ducklings, and he game me a useful map. Eventually I found a fish which I ate, which gave me the ability to climb ivy for a short way.
The map showed me where the other fish were. I suddenly became very interested in finding fish.
Each of the fish required a little puzzle. In the shop, I had to find some way to distract the shopkeeper before jumping into the fridge and wolfing the fish down. On a roof garden, I had to turn off a hose to prevent the fish’s owner spraying me. Each fish I ate gave me more stamina to climb. After collecting all the fish, I knew I could make it to the top of the building, and back home.
Of course, I didn’t do that immediately. I found a few more hats, and explored the world some more. I spent ages trying to find a clever way into a fenced-off area on the edge of the map, before noticing there was a little gap between the fence and the wall (left below); I also spent ages trying to catch a bird with a ring around its neck, who’d land in a specific spot but fly off almost immediately (right below).
But it was time to climb. The journey up the tower was largely uneventful, although I did get lost in the scaffolding a couple of times. With four stamina bars I had just about enough to climb onto an air conditioning unit near the top, and then I was home.
The ending was very sweet – being given a collar, congratulations by the crow, and then another nap on the windowsill.
I can jump down again to complete missions, find more hats, and steal more smartphones before dropping them in puddles. I need to find two more rubber ducks to throw in the pond, and another football and goal combination, among other side missions. For now, though, this is completed.
Tim's Gaming Diary 