It's always a curious thing when games are sold exclusively at one chain of stores. I can understand if, hypothetically, Big Box Store shells out big bucks to have the exclusive sales of Frat House FPS Sequel. The built-in fanbase will want the game and rush to the nearest Big Box Store, that store makes enough money to profit from their initial investment, and the publisher still got their game out there to the masses and made some extra cash while they were doing it. What bothers me is when smaller, somewhat unknown or niche games are exclusive to one store, making it harder to find and less likely that curious gamers unfamiliar with the property will give it a chance. I was worried when this happened last year with the long-awaited Chibi-Robo: Park Patrol which found its way exclusively to Wal-Mart shelves, but thankfully that game turned out wonderfully. And so now, some three months after its release exclusively to Toys R Us, I have finally gotten my hands on a copy of Soul Bubbles for the Nintendo DS. I can't say whether it was worth the added trouble of having to go find it, but I can say that so far it is one of the most enjoyable DS titles I've played in months.
First off, check out this beautiful opening screen that welcomes you when you start the game.
I already like this third-party developer.
The gameplay itself so far feels like a wonderful mix of LostWinds and Locoroco. Transport a bubble or series of bubbles containing spirits around an obstacle-filled labyrinth using the incredible lung capacity of a floating mostly naked kid (he wears a scarf). The controls really utilize the DS hardware remarkably well. I keep imagining playing Soul Bubbles with dual analog sticks and, while certainly possible, its just not as fun or intuitive. The art direction is downright impressive, with lush landscapes and beautiful particle effects. As demonstrated in LostWinds, when a game's play mechanic is based around wind and blowing, it is imperative that every element in the environment react naturally with the breeze or the fourth wall is broken, and in this regard Soul Bubbles is an astounding achievement. The farther along I venture into this world, the more it seems every individual element has been carefully considered. Much like in Boom Blox, I am often miffed when something doesn't move the way I want it to, but accept that hey, that's realistic physics and I just kind of suck.
I'm only about halfway through the game right now, having cleared the fourth of eight worlds, and only recently has the game really started to demonstrate its nefarious environmental challenges. Slime is sticking my bubbles to walls as angry bees attack or wind tunnels are shooting my bubbles wildly into mazes of sharp thorns and puffer fish. I was particularly smitten with one recent puzzling section where it was required to capture lake water in a bubble, run it along a path and into a thorned vine, releasing the water below onto a rock that split the water into two streams to put out two fires, and later another lake that was closed off by vines, so I had to pop the bubble and then quickly form a new bubble to catch the water that fell through the vines. Despite the steady increase in difficulty, though, there is never a sense of urgency or of real imminent danger, which is much appreciated in a portable game. The levels so far have ranged from two to twelve minute playthroughs on the first try, perfect for on-the-go adventuring, and every stage has a healthy smattering of hidden objects to collect.
Completing a stage presents you with how many souls were safely delivered, how much hidden stuff you gathered, and your time, meaning Soul Bubbles should have a healthy chunk of replay value to collect everything, especially for speedrunners. Rapidly devouring all of my DS playing time, Soul Bubbles is easily the most casually hardcore game I've played since Eden.
Previously on Whatcha Playing:
The Thirst For Adventure, Pointing At Things, and Not Knowing What to Say
Cleaning House, Finding Roots
How Does Your Garden Grow?
The New Adventures of the Nintendo DS
Fallout (Metaphorically Speaking)
Loving/Hating Mario Kart Wii