There are many games that remind me of summer – hot days in the back seat with a copy of it Dragon Warrior IIIcool in the cellar while grinding Gran Turismo races – but there aren’t really many games about summer. That’s part of what you do Kabuto Park good looking. A game that not only captures the fleeting moments of childhood summer, but also cram a The Pokémon-adventure style into a game that lasts only a few hours.
Kabuto Park it actually launched last year on PC, but it’s now available on both Xbox and Switch, the latter perhaps being the best platform for it. It takes place over the course of one month, and you play as Hana, a little girl who climbs the competitive ladder of beetle champion while on summer vacation. You do this in the usual way: by collecting bugs, raising them to become stronger, and pitting them against other collectors.
But Kabuto Park it slows down the process a bit. There are only four main screens in the game. One is the map, which you use to go to several locations to catch bugs. As you progress, you’ll earn money that you can use to buy better boots, allowing you to explore new areas like the swamp. Catching bugs involves swinging a net at just the right moment, which becomes more challenging as you encounter rare and powerful critics. There is also a shop where you can buy things like honey to slow down the bugs, making them easier to catch, and a collection screen where you can organize your bugs, feed them candy to level them up, and finally open a shelter for them to live.
Most of the action takes place in the battles. Like The Pokémonyou build a team – in this case, each team is made up of three bugs, all with different stats like strength and defense – and compete against another player. The actual fights play out a lot like a sumo match, as the goal is to push the opposing team out of the ring (which, thankfully, is a tambourine). Bugs will do the push automatically, but you can change the mood of the battle by playing cards that do things like temporarily raise stats or perform quick, decisive kicks to knock opposing bugs into the ring. Simple, at least by modern standards The Pokémonbut there is still a good strategy to build your team and play cards at the right time. Some games can be very intense, especially when the teams are evenly matched.
With each battle, the time moves forward by a day, so you progress both on the competitive ladder and the August calendar simultaneously. I managed to beat the game in about three hours and was very impressed with the method Kabuto Park managed to capture the satisfying arc of an epic RPG in a compact package. Its short nature also fits perfectly with the theme of the game; like your best childhood summers, Kabuto Park it’s temporary and leaves you wanting more.
I have many interests Kabuto Park: lovely storybook art that feels like a warm afternoon, catchy and often funny dialogue, chirping cicadas providing a summer soundtrack. But what I love the most is that there are little games like this. Aside from Millennium Kitchen’s works, many of which are only available in Japanese, there isn’t much else that captures that particular sense of childhood freedom. And now that the game is on Switch, you can find out Kabuto Parkthe idea of summer outside the real.
Kabuto Park is available now on Switch, Xbox, and PC.
