We played Giraffe and Annika, a visual proposal in the Ghibli style that aims to tell us an emotional story through the eyes of a girl.
We can say that waking up on a paradise island could become the dream of many who seek to live a unique and unrepeatable experience. A perfect destination to listen to the roar of the ocean waves, watch its sunsets or experience its warm and exotic climate. Precisely if we have learned anything from video games is that the islands have that magical, mysterious essence and most importantly, a long history that accompanies them that makes them special. And is that in this case, not all islands can be as idyllic as they seem.
We analyze Giraffe and Annika, a title developed by the studio Atelier Mimina that arrives in its version of PC and consoles. With an attractive visual proposal in the Ghibli style, her story will invite us to travel to paradise through the eyes and emotions of an innocent girl.
Waking up in paradise
We are located on the leafy island Spica where our protagonist Annika wakes up after having completely lost her memory. On the island we are not alone and we will soon notice the presence of a mysterious boy named Giraffe who will request our help to find three missing elemental crystals. To obtain these crystals we will only have one option, arm ourselves with courage and delve into the dangerous dungeons of the island. With this beginning we embark on a mysterious journey to try to remember Annika's past, discover Spica and learn her new powers.
A metroidvania-style exploration system
Giraffe and Annika is an action-adventure title in which we control Annika, a girl who wants to recover her memories. And is that Annika along with Giraffe, will not be the only ones who will inhabit the beautiful Spica. The islanders are colorful and friendly animals that will ask us for some missions to be able to advance in the story. With simple missions of the type "Run, go and tell him" we will have to travel the island on foot to reach our goal. Making an obvious tribute to feline animals, throughout the game we found references to furry four-legged friends; be it in its numerous objects, its additional art unlockables known as "Meowsterpiece", and of course, in the appearance of its two main protagonists.
As we complete parts of the story we will be enabling new areas to visit on the map in the Metroidvania style, along with new skills to explore the island such as jumping, swimming and sprinting. In Giraffe and Annika we find ourselves with a limited and little challenging exploration where, as a corridor, we must complete the mission that we are asked to advance, making the title just a story to let yourself go and enjoy the aesthetics of the island at our own pace. . The course of the day in the game will be essential to organize our time and fulfill our deliveries. Sometimes we will have to wait for the day or night to pass before we can complete missions or have access to certain places. Dusk on the island will allow us to access the dungeons and of course, it will be where we will meet our enemies. Fortunately we can always sleep in any cabin until the next morning or night to get us straight into the action. Or, better said, his measured action.
A colorful setting where the action is absent
Despite being a fantasy and adventure title, we have the drawback that the game won't exactly shine. Basically we will find two enemy types; the ones we will run into as we progress through the dungeons and the final bosses. In this way we can only evade the attacks that our enemies give us since we will not have any way to attack. Annika will not fight her enemies in the dungeons, although she will be able to defend herself against the final bosses. We will not have weapons, magic, or combat strategy since we can only move from left to right and we will limit ourselves to blocking the attacks of the final enemies by keeping a single button to the rhythm of the music. With a combat style similar to the mechanics of Guitar Hero, we must follow the beat of the music and not fail in our musical combinations or we will lose health points. Our objective will be clear, we must shoot down the final enemy to get an elemental crystal. And so on. In fact, the enemies in the game are presented to us as a mere step to advance the story. Once we hunt them down, we will obtain an elemental crystal and we will obtain new memories of our character that will contribute more information to the plot.
Image and sound
Although the game has some aspects to polish in terms of its playability and development, we can say that its strong point is its audiovisual commitment. Both his physical appearance and the sound are his two tricks to liven up the game and give him at least one opportunity to continue advancing. Giraffe and Annika is a story about fantasy, and that is why they correctly present some of the most important parts of the game as a comic. Each section of the story has its own music, this being a pleasant and catchy musical thread that will take us better into its magical atmosphere. One of the aspects that we miss is that at no time is the sound dialogues used throughout the game, since we will always use the subtitles and in this case, they are not translated into Spanish.
A good concept little used
We can say that despite good intentions in general Giraffe and Annika falters in many respects. With a peculiar combat system, in the title we will not find a complex plot, deep characters, or fierce enemies; but rather the opposite, being a friendly and little challenging version. The skills that we will be acquiring in the game are unattractive improvements that are far from what we hope to find in an adventure title with these characteristics. Where swimming, sprinting and jumping should be present in the beginning as it is an exploration based game. As for his story, he doesn't get us hooked on his story, despite having some unexpected little twist and getting attached to some of his characters. On a visual level, it has some striking characters that could well be inspired by the classic Ni no Kuni or the Ghibli studio, and manages to enter its relaxed and relaxed atmosphere that will allow us to visit the island at our own pace. The game lasts 4 hours and is a proposal to enjoy a light, simple and action-free story.
THE BEST
- Its music and aesthetics liven up its gameplay
- His story at the beginning invites us to want to know more
- The freedom to visit the island and manage our time as we please
WORST
- The combat system and challenges it poses
- His narrative pace decreases as we go through the story.
- More complexity was expected in terms of the plot and its characters
- Not translated into Spanish
- Its short duration makes it a "half-hearted" adventure
CONCLUSION
Giraffe and Annika is a visually appealing game that falls short in many respects, emphasizing above all its gameplay and plot development. It is an entertaining proposal although it is quite far from what we know within the adventure genre.
