Games
Rediscovering: Koro Koro Post Nin
This is a repost of a brief game review from c.2002.
This Japan-only title is a relatively late Playstation release and bears all the hallmarks of a rushed late-release product. Low initial pricepoint (Y3,800), simple, two-dimensional gameplay, minimal voices and backgrounds, and no bonuses or unlockables. It does have one thing going for it, however, and that is undeniable cuteness. In this respect it is not at all short on deliverables.
If you’ve ever played Taito’s brilliant Cameltry you’re already familiar with the concept here. Rotate the background and your character will fall downwards. Unlike Cameltry however there are two goals in Korokoro Post Nin. You play Akane, a newspaper delivery girl, and you have to deliver a paper to each mailbox on the stage before you can use the exit.
There are a few other subtle differences between this game and Cameltry. Akane will run faster if she’s touching the wall than if she’s in free fall – meaning you spend a lot of time hugging the walls rather than drifting across open spaces to your goal. This is counterintuitive at first but serves to reinforce the fact that you must be touching the same surface as the mailbox to deliver a newspaper.
There’s a small radar showing the un-delivered mailboxes in the corner, which comes in very handy in later levels. Every time she delivers a paper she shouts “Shinbun!” in that cute Japanese voice you’ll soon grow to despise. Shinbun is, of course, Japanese for “newspaper”.
There are occasionally enemies in your path, and the only way to kill them is to tilt the platform so steeply Akane runs through them. She makes a happy sound and a motion trail follows her when she reaches this speed. There are also barriers that need to be smashed this way later on.
The game gets rapidly harder, but not rapidly enough to keep you from getting bored of the whole concept pretty quickly. I think the best thing about this game is the fact that it’s very kid-friendly and has a very seriously attractive cover.
Beyond that there’s just not much to it. It’s Cameltry without the strange name. Or rather, it’s another rotate-a-game with a strange name and some different dynamics that, sadly, don’t ultimately redeem it. For the disgusting fanboy in you it might be worth a few dollars for the pretty colours, but for the game player you shouldn’t bother unless you find it cheap.
--NFG
[ Feb 10 2025 ]
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