Giraffe and Annika
Behind the Game
Before I review a game, I usually like to do some research on who actually made the game to get a little information on the expertise of the game developer.
The game director is Atsushi Saito, a seasoned game developer who has 20 years of experience in the industry. He has worked on the cult classic Gitaroo Man (PS2/2001) and its sequel Gitaroo Man Live! (PSP/2006), which both are rhythm games in the same vane as PaRappa the Rapper (PS1/1996). Atsushi has extensive experiences through his 20 years in rhythm games on all platforms in multiple aspects of game development like character 3D modeling, illustration, background design, lead UI design, art director, and now director of this new original work Giraffe and Annika. He also has extensive experience in manga and figure creation under a pseudonym “Paper Palette” which shows up prominently in the game design of Giraffe and Annika.
The composer of the music in this rhythm game is Tomohiro Harada. Tomohiro has worked with Atsushi on many of the same games on sound production, composing, and arrangement. He is also an accomplished music creation software designer establishing Sonia Inc. and Sorasoledo. Along with his musical prowess, he has be driven to develop sound design for people with disabilities.
With getting to know who made the game a bit, I have my expectations set for the game. I’ll be focusing on art design, music, and game play since these will be the driving factors of Giraffe and Annika as a whole. Story and character development will be a happy plus if they are done well along with those three main aspects.
Delight to the Eyes
Manga Cutscene - Giraffe & Annika - PLAYISM and Atelier Mimina
The art design of this game is beautiful. Your adventure in this game is on a fictional island called Spica. The island itself is some of the best level design paired with art that I’ve seen in a long time. Giraffe and Annika also blends a manga art style into its cutscenes flawlessly giving an interesting change of pace.
One flaw though was the character animations were a bit stilted in a couple of instances through out the entire game, but it didn’t take away from the total experience of the game. Overall, this game is gorgeous and a delight to the eyes. It shows that Atsushi and his art team really put in a lot of effort into this game, and for an indie title, they went over the expectations I had going into it blind.
Live Orchestra
Mid boss battle + Giraffe & Annika - PLAYISM and Atelier Mimina
Along with the art design, the music is done very well. Tomohiro blends subtle piano melodies with other classical sounds setting the tone of adventure for the island of Spica. The music sounds like it was a live orchestra, which is a pleasant surprise when most indie developers opt for fully synthesized music or chip tune.
The rhythm sections of the game highlights Tomohiro’s arrangement style well. Through the climax of the game, the music helped the emotions of the story which only made the entire experience of the game better. I enjoyed all of the music in this game and look forward to more of Tomohiro’s music in future games!
It’s Not Gitaroo Man!
This is where I had some problems with the game as a whole. The rhythm sections of the game are very few, and the game consists more adventure platforming and story telling. I came into this game thinking it was going to be like Gitaroo Man, but was surprised by a more story driven adventure. It took a little bit of learning to get a hang of the aspects of the platforming. Like many platformers, the camera would be a little finicky and proved to me more of the challenge in this game.
Boss Battle - Giraffe & Annika - PLAYISM and Atelier Mimina
The rhythm sections of the game were done well, but have a bit of a learning curve to understand when to hit the button. It’s a very simple system. You slide either left or right and hold the A button or left click when the “rythmo orbs” hit the indicator. The only variation on this is holding down those buttons for longer stretches or dodging different projectiles being thrown out by the boss.
Annika The Protagonist - Giraffe & Annika - PLAYISM and Atelier Mimina
In spite of some of the problems I faced with the platforming sections, the story made up for it. The story alone was what kept me playing until the very end. I was invested in the characters and universe that Atsushi crafted. Annika as a sole female protagonist never fell into the normal tropes, which was refreshing. Some games have very unforgivable flaws in this section, but this is one where working through some of the kinks is well worth it to experience the narrative.
Refill Please!
In short, I enjoyed this game. I played this for 6 hours, finished the story and collected half of the collectibles hidden through out. I’m kind of disappointed in the length of the story just because I want more of it! That is probably the best thing any developer want from its player base, and I’ll be looking forward to more games developed by Atelier Mimina.
I am giving Giraffe and Annika a “Refill Please!” meaning go out and buy it now! It’s available on February 18th, 2020 on Steam. They are planning a console release at some point, but no release date for that has been nailed down yet. I’m looking forward to seeing this come to the Nintendo Switch!
Refill Please!: It’s good! Buy it now!
Needs Sugar: Needs something else to make it playable.
Let it Cool: Buy it when it’s on sale.
Dump It: Not worth it.
Special thank you to publisher PLAYISM and developer Atelier Minima for giving RNG & Tea the opportunity to play and enjoy Giraffe and Annika. This is not a paid advertisement for the game.
