Rakuen (video game)

Last updated
Rakuen
Rakuen cover.jpg
Developer(s) Laura Shigihara
Publisher(s) Laura Shigihara
Designer(s) Laura Shigihara
Artist(s)
  • Emmy Toyonaga
  • Matt Holmberg
  • Steven Davis
Writer(s) Laura Shigihara
Composer(s) Laura Shigihara
Engine RPG Maker XP [1]
Platform(s)
ReleaseWindows, OS X, Linux
  • WW: May 10, 2017
Nintendo Switch
  • WW: March 23, 2023
Genre(s) Adventure
Mode(s) Single-player

Rakuen is a 2017 adventure video game, created by Laura Shigihara. It was built using the RPG Maker XP engine and released on May 10, 2017. It is a sprite-based exploration game, in which text boxes serve as the primary conduit for communication. [2] The name "Rakuen" is translated from Japanese as "paradise." The game is currently available for Mac OS X, Linux, and Windows.

Contents

The game has an estimated run time of around 10–12 hours and is completely free of combat.

On May 10, 2022, the fifth anniversary of the game's release, Shigihara announced on her live Twitch channel that the game was in the process of being ported to mobile operating systems. A Nintendo Switch port, developed by Leeble Forest, was released on March 23, 2023. [3] A direct spinoff, Mr. Saitou , was released on March 24, 2023.

Plot

A boy is laid up in a hospital ward and is visited by his mother every day. The mother brings a book with her to read to him, called Rakuen. It is a story about a magical land that is inhabited by a creature that grants wishes known as the Guardian of the Forest. The mother reveals a secret to the boy that the book's world is real and they can visit it together. [4] The boy asks his mom if they can visit the storybook world so he can ask the Guardian of the Forest to grant him one wish. In order to receive the wish, the boy must complete a set of challenges. The boy's main task is to collect pieces of music for new friends that he makes throughout the game, placing music at the center of the story. As the boy is exploring through the game he comes across an entrance to a parallel fantasy, one that is intimately connected to the real world. He meets really strange characters during his endeavor, (a grumpy onion and a pretentious rose). The boy also undertakes quests on behalf of the hospital patients and their fantasy-world avatars. Some of those quests include searching for lost items, collecting needed items, and figuring out logic puzzles while following basic instructions. The rewards earned from these quests is that your new friends achieve happiness, as in you feel rewarded for the end of their distress. [2]

Reception

Rakuen received "generally favorable reviews" from critics, according to review aggregator Metacritic. Critics gave the game a Metascore of 84/100. [5]

Polygon rated the game a 9.5/10. [2] Polygon has also ranked the game 32nd on their list of the 50 best games of 2017, citing that "The game delivers straightforward quests greatly illuminated by a range of characters whose lives represent the anxieties we all face: rejection, loneliness, guilt, fear and pride." [6]

Awards/recognition

Related Research Articles

<i>Spelunky</i> 2008 video game

Spelunky is a 2008 source-available 2D platform game created by independent developer Derek Yu and released as freeware for Microsoft Windows. It was remade for the Xbox 360 in 2012, with ports of the new version following for various platforms, including back to Microsoft Windows. The player controls a spelunker who explores a series of caves while collecting treasure, saving damsels, fighting enemies, and dodging traps. The caves are procedurally generated, making each run-through of the game unique.

Laura Shigihara is a Japanese–American singer-songwriter, composer, video game developer, and Twitch streamer. She is best known as the lead composer and sound designer for the tower defense game Plants vs. Zombies and the creator of the acclaimed indie RPG Rakuen.

<i>Below</i> (video game) 2018 video game

Below is an action-adventure game developed by Capybara Games. The game was announced during Microsoft's E3 2013 press event, and was indefinitely delayed in 2016. It initially released on Microsoft Windows and Xbox One on December 14, 2018, with a PS4 port released in 2020. The game received mixed reviews upon release.

<i>Gorogoa</i> 2017 puzzle video game

Gorogoa is a puzzle video game developed by Jason Roberts and published by Annapurna Interactive. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, and iOS on 14 December 2017, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on 22 May 2018, and shortly thereafter an Android and Kindle Fire release.

<i>Skyforge</i> 2015 video game

Skyforge is a free-to-play massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by Allods Team in collaboration with Obsidian Entertainment, and published by My.com. Set on the planet Aelion, Skyforge fuses elements of Science fiction and fantasy in its visuals and storytelling, and sees players exploring the world as an immortal who must strive to become a god and defend the planet from alien invasion from other worlds. The project started development in 2010 and received an open release for Microsoft Windows in July 2015, with PlayStation 4 and Xbox One releases following in 2017. The latest major content update, "Ignition", was released on all platforms in September 2019. A Nintendo Switch version was released in February 2021.

Steve Jackson's Sorcery! is a series of interactive fiction adventure video games developed by Inkle for iOS, Android, Windows, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch, first released on May 2, 2013. The games are based on Steve Jackson's Sorcery! gamebook novels: a four-part spin-off series of the larger Fighting Fantasy series.

Duelyst was a free-to-play digital collectible card game and turn-based strategy hybrid developed by Counterplay Games, who initially self-published the title but was later published by Bandai Namco. It had been released in an open beta period in 2015, and the full game was released on April 27, 2016. Due to declining player counts, servers for Duelyst were shut down on February 27, 2020.

<i>The Witcher Adventure Game</i> 2014 video game

The Witcher Adventure Game is a board game set in the universe of The Witcher. A tabletop version was created by CD Projekt Red and Fantasy Flight Games. A digital video game version was developed by CD Projekt Red and Can Explode Games.

<i>Hidden Folks</i> 2017 hidden object video game

Hidden Folks is a hidden object game developed by Adriaan de Jongh and Sylvain Tegroeg. In the game, players are presented with a series of animated, interactive scenes and must find hidden characters, objects, and animals. The game was released for iOS, Android, Linux, macOS, and Windows in February 2017.

<i>The Long Journey Home</i> (video game) 2017 video game

The Long Journey Home is a 2017 space exploration video game by Daedalic Entertainment for Windows, macOS, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.

<i>Breached</i> (video game) 2016 video game

Breached is an action puzzle video game, developed Drama Drifters and published by Nkidu Games.

<i>West of Loathing</i> 2017 video game

West of Loathing is a comedy adventure role-playing video game developed by Asymmetric Publications and released on August 10, 2017.

<i>Unity of Command II</i> 2019 strategy video game

Unity of Command II is a turn-based wargame developed by 2x2 Games, and co-produced by Croteam. The game was released on November 12, 2019. It is the sequel to Unity of Command.

<i>Space Hulk: Tactics</i> 2018 video game

Space Hulk: Tactics is a turn-based tactics video game developed by Cyanide and published by Focus Home Interactive. The game is set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe and is based upon the turn-based strategy tabletop miniatures board game Space Hulk. The game was released on 9 October 2018.

<i>Thea: The Awakening</i> 2015 video game

Thea: The Awakening is a 2015 strategy video game developed and released by MuHa Games. It is based on Slavic folklore and includes minigames based on several different genres. It was followed by Thea 2: The Shattering.

<i>Eador: Masters of the Broken World</i> 2013 video game

Eador: Masters of the Broken World is a strategy video game made by Russian company Snowbird Game Studios. It was released in 2013 and is a remake an older game, Eador: Genesis.

<i>Six Ages: Ride Like the Wind</i> 2018 video game

Six Ages: Ride Like the Wind is a 2018 strategy simulation fantasy video game developed by A Sharp, and the sequel to the 1999 game King of Dragon Pass. The game was released for iOS on June 28, 2018, followed by a Windows version on October 17, 2019. Set in the fictional world of Glorantha, the player controls the fate of a semi-nomadic clan trying to survive during a mythical period when deities walked among mortals. The game was positively received by critics, who cited its story, art and gameplay. It was followed by Six Ages 2: Lights Going Out.

<i>Druidstone</i> 2019 video game

Druidstone: The Secret of the Menhir Forest is a tactical role-playing game developed and published by Ctrl Alt Ninja for Windows on May 15, 2019.

<i>Mr. Saitou</i> 2023 video game

Mr. Saitou is a 2023 adventure game developed by Laura Shigihara. It is set in the same world as Rakuen.

References

  1. ↑ Shigihara, Laura (2017-01-02). "Hi Everyone! (Developer here^^)". Steam Discussions. Retrieved 2017-12-09.
  2. 1 2 3 "Rakuen review". Polygon. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
  3. ↑ Romano, Sal (December 4, 2022). "Rakuen for Switch launches March 23, 2023". Gematsu. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
  4. ↑ Walker, John (2017-05-12). "Wot I Think: Rakuen". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 2018-05-07.
  5. 1 2 "Rakuen for PC Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  6. 1 2 Polygon staff (2017-12-18). "The 50 best games of 2017". Polygon . Retrieved 2018-02-12.
  7. ↑ "2018 Independent Games Festival announces Main Competition finalists!". IGF. 2018-01-02. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
  8. ↑ "Best PC games of 2017". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. 2017-05-12. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.