{"id":348138,"date":"2024-09-05T06:00:18","date_gmt":"2024-09-05T13:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/operationrainfall.com\/?p=348138"},"modified":"2024-09-04T19:27:45","modified_gmt":"2024-09-05T02:27:45","slug":"review-natsu-mon-20th-century-summer-kid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/operationrainfall.com\/2024\/09\/05\/review-natsu-mon-20th-century-summer-kid\/","title":{"rendered":"REVIEW: Natsu-Mon: 20th Century Summer Kid"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\"Natsu-Mon<\/a><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
Title<\/th>\nNatsu-Mon: 20th Century Summer Kid<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Developer<\/th>\nToybox Inc., Millennium Kitchen<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Publisher<\/th>\nSpike Chunsoft<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Release Date<\/th>\nAugust 6th, 2024<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Genre<\/th>\nOpen-world Adventure, Life Sim<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Platform<\/th>\nSwitch<\/strong>, PC<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Age Rating<\/th>\nEveryone<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Official Website<\/a><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Natsu-Mon: 20th Century Summer Kid<\/em> is not a game I had been watching or was expecting to do a review for. However, when I was informed we had a copy for review, I decided I could use a relaxing summer game to play. Last year, I took on a different game for review that I had hoped would be my relaxing summer game, and it was not that, whatsoever. But Natsu-Mon<\/em> looked like it could actually be what I hoped and thus, I decided to take it on. I spent 32 hours playing this game throughout August and I\u2019m now finally ready to give my thoughts.<\/p>\n

\"Natsu-Mon<\/a><\/p>\n

The game takes place during this kid\u2019s summer break in 1999. Satoru is an elementary school kid whose parents have been running a traveling circus troupe. They stop by Yomogi Town where they\u2019ll next be setting up the circus and doing shows later that summer, in the middle of August. Satoru is pretty much left to his own devices while enjoying his summer break in Yomogi. Right from the start you\u2019re sent out to explore the town.<\/p>\n

\"Natsu-Mon<\/a><\/p>\n

The game is an open-world adventure where you control Satoru and do all kinds of stuff. See, your ultimate goal is to study whatever you want for your summer research project, which all the elementary school kids in town find themselves doing for summer homework. To complete this project, Satoru is provided a study set, which includes a sketchbook and colored pencils for making a picture journal to document his adventures. Throughout the game you can either activate the sketchbook documenting whenever you want during the day, or let it happen automatically when you go to bed each night. Either way the pictures appear on their own, but you can choose how in depth the text goes about the latest events and choose a stamp for the corner of each picture. Satoru draws scenes for events he finds significant that occurred during the day and also all fish and bugs he catches are documented when you newly catch one. Fish, you never really know what you\u2019re catching before reeling them in. You can kinda guess based on the shape or size of their shadows, but otherwise it\u2019s a bit of a mystery. Bugs, you\u2019ll know if they\u2019re brand new ones you haven\u2019t caught yet because new bugs will have white circles around them, and old ones you\u2019ve caught previously won\u2019t.<\/p>\n

\"Natsu-Mon<\/a><\/p>\n

You\u2019re mostly free to explore and discover stuff at whatever pace you like, since you can change the time speed in the game\u2019s settings to a much slower pace, or a quicker one. One of the circus members, Tokotoko, will collect you each night at 5 for dinner, and also you\u2019ll have to go to bed by 10. If you send yourself to bed before you pass out at 10, you can get up early and do the radio exercises at the local shrine. You\u2019ll get a stamp card to fill out each day that you go. Also, between those hours of 5 and 10 at night, you can\u2019t explore the whole map like you can before dinner, only nearby areas closer to the Ashitaba Guesthouse where you\u2019re staying.<\/p>\n

\"Natsu-Mon<\/a><\/p>\n

Some of the activities you\u2019ll find yourself spending your August days on are: fishing, catching bugs, climbing stuff, swimming and even helping the local elementary school kids investigate mysteries around town. The fishing rod you won\u2019t get until a few days into the game, and there\u2019s also an acorn shooter you can buy with money you earn. You can sometimes find coins out and about to fund your purchases, but it\u2019s usually mere pocket change. You can get more cash by locating and collecting various colored diamonds in the area and selling them at one of the available shops. Plus, there are other various items laying around worth a bit less, like the numerous plastic and glass bottles laying at construction sites or near rivers. Eventually, you\u2019ll also find dig spots where you\u2019ll either get junk in varying degrees of quality you can sell, or fossils to donate to the local museum. You can donate these fossil pieces to the museum, in addition to very specific rare fish and bugs whenever you manage to catch them. Satoru will get paid for the stuff you donate to the museum too.<\/p>\n

\"Natsu-Mon<\/a><\/p>\n

I had a lot of fun exploring all over the place, climbing stuff, finding new secrets and investigating the mysteries throughout Yomogi Town. There\u2019s even a neighboring town called Tonari Town. You can take a train between the two towns, or you can take a bus to numerous bus stops across the map as you find and activate them. Also, in the beginning of Natsu-Mon<\/em>, you won\u2019t be able to climb very far or run for too long at once. Satoru is limited by his Sticker Gauge. This Sticker Gauge is essentially a stamina meter. There is a limited number of stickers you\u2019ll be able to collect and you do this by completing the different tasks available in the game. You\u2019ll get stickers for donating rare bugs to the museum, for playing with a little ghost girl a certain amount of times, for locating very specific ancient treasures, and many other goals found throughout the two towns and surrounding areas.<\/p>\n

Atmosphere wise, the game is quite pleasant. There isn\u2019t a lot of music in the game, mostly you\u2019ll be hearing the sounds of nature. For example, the sound of nearby ocean waves rolling in, or the cicadas buzzing on trees. Every now and then though, at certain spots on the map, a bit of pleasing music will play in the background. Visually, the game is a very simple cartoon style. You\u2019ll also see stuff cut-in now and then as you get closer. Although, I\u2019m not sure if this is simply an aspect of the game no matter what, or if you\u2019d also see it on PC. This review is strictly covering my experience with the Switch version of the game.<\/p>\n

\"Natsu-Mon<\/a><\/p>\n

Ultimately, I truly enjoyed the time I spent on Natsu-Mon: 20th Century Summer Kid<\/em>. It was fitting to play this game slowly throughout the month of August and it was definitely the carefree summer adventure I was looking for. One last thing I\u2019d like to mention, while on the normal time speed, the game days can seem to move a bit too fast to accomplish much. Despite that, I really do suggest enjoying the game at your own pace and playing it as carefree as possible. A new game plus mode is included, where you can transfer your sticker energy and quests you\u2019ve already completed over to a new path. I wouldn\u2019t worry about getting everything possible done in one playthrough. Also, the game has a $15 DLC expansion with more to do and some extra story revolving around a radio station. Unfortunately, I don\u2019t yet have that DLC and can\u2019t tell you whether or not it\u2019s worth the cost. But, if a relaxing slice-of-life summer adventure in a Japanese town back in 1999 sounds like a fun time to you, then I do highly recommend this game. I should also mention that while I did spend 32 hours on the game, I spent most days on the relaxed time speed. So, your playtime with this one may vary and you\u2019ll have to decide for yourself if you think it\u2019s worth $40 for the base game.<\/p>\n

Review Score<\/th><\/tr>
Overall<\/th>www.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.com<\/td><\/tr>
<\/td><\/tr><\/table><\/div>\n