Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Gurumin | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Developer(s) | Nihon Falcom |
| Publisher(s) |  Nihon Falcom
|
| Platform(s) | PC, PlayStation Portable |
| Release date | December 25, 2004 (PC)
|
| Genre(s) | Action Adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | CERO: A (All ages) ESRB: E10+ (Everyone 10+) |
| Media | CD-ROM/DVD-ROM (PC) UMD (PSP) |
| System requirements | OS: Windows 98/Me/2000/XP CPU: Intel Pentium III 800 MHz (Intel Pentium III 1 GHz recommended) RAM: 192MB (256MB recommended) (Windows 98/Me) 256MB (384MB recommended) (Windows 2000/XP) Hard drive space: 1.3GB Display: 32MB VRAM, DirectX 8.1 compatible 3D accelerator |
Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure, known simply as Gurumin (ぐるみん) in Japan, is an action adventure video game developed by Nihon Falcom Corporation. Originally released on December 25, 2004 for PC. A PSP version was later released in Japan on June 29, 2006 and North America on February 13, 2007. Gurumin is the first game by Falcom to feature voice acting.
The actual origin of the title "Gurumin" has never been officially explained, but it's likely a combination of the Japanese word "guruguru" (basically an onomatopoeia for spinning) and the kanji 民 (min), which means "people". So ぐる民 "gurumin" could potentially be interpreted as "people of spinning/twirling," or to expound a bit, "twirlanders."
Contents |
[edit] Story
A young girl named Parin goes to live with her grandfather in Tiese Town after her parents are called overseas on an excavation trip. After being told that there are no other children in Tiese, she finds what looks like another girl who is being threatened by a dog. Parin rescues the girl and discovers that she is actually a monster (お化け obake?)which only children can see. To thank Parin, the monster takes her to a crack in the back wall of the town which is revealed to be a portal to the monster world. A group of monsters known as phantoms begin a series of attacks on Monster Village. Parin, who unearths a legendary drill, decides to fight against the phantoms and restore Monster Village.
[edit] Gameplay
Gurumin is a 3D platform game with heavy emphasis on action through combat. Parin can acquire various headwear which have varying effects while equipped such as protection from water damage, stronger attacks or HP restoration. Each piece of headwear can be upgraded to increase their effects. Parin's drill has up to four power levels that are increased through combat or restoration points in levels and decreased by taking damage. The current level of her drill dictates damage that can be dealt and can change up and down frequently in each level. Various consumable items can be bought or found which are used during levels to restore HP or drill power.
Gurumin offers a bit of replayability by offering new difficulty levels upon completion of the game. The game starts with Beginner and Normal modes; Hard, Happy and Crazy modes are opened up with completion of the previous difficulty level. While each difficulty alters the strength of the enemies, some also change other elements of the game such as removing environmental hazards in Beginner mode, an altered game script in Happy mode (Japanese version only) and only allowing damaging of enemies through critical hits in Crazy mode.
In addition to headwear that gives characters various abilities and protection there are also a number of outfits that can be equipped. Matching the right outfit with the right hat could unlock additional abilities. These are acquired by purchase (vending machine), completing the game at a set difficulty level, or through other means such as playing on the right date when a special event happens.
[edit] Main Characters
[edit] Residents of Tiese Town
- Parin
- The main character of the game. Parin is 12 years old and her favourite food is strawberry shortcake. She wields a drill as her weapon and can equip various hats and headwear to varying effects.
- Hyperbolic
- Parin's grandfather. He is the mayor of Tiese.Former wielder of Parin's drill
- Fan
- Owner of the cake shop in Tiese.
- Disk
- Owner of the discount shop in Tiese.
- Cylinder
- One of the town's miners. He occasionally loves to flirt with Fan and Parin and asks them out to a date but usually gets rejected.
- Pamela
- A resident of Tiese Town who loves gossip. Known as Plane in the Japanese version.
- Popon
- A young girl of Parin's age who appears in Tiese after completing the game once.
[edit] Residents of Monster Town
- Pino
- The monster that Parin saves at the beginning of the game. She is the younger sister of Puku.
- Puku
- Pino's older brother. He continually gives Parin advice along her journey.
- Poco
- A monster who loves dancing. He frequently explores the human world and Tiese Town.
- Pierre
- A French monster who tries to be a gentleman. He never misses his afternoon tea.
- Rocko
- The largest monster living in Monster Town. Although he is made of rock he is not as strong as one would imagine. He is known is Iwao in the Japanese version. Iwa (岩) is Japanese for rock.
- Chucky
- The youngest monster living in Monster Town. Despite his currently innocent appearance, he is supposed to grow into a frightening monster when he is older.
[edit] Phantoms
- The Prince "Avenging Prince"
- The leader of the phantoms. His identity is initially shrouded in mystery. Later, he is revealed to be Puku. He uses either cards, swords, or his gun to attack. He occasionally teleports whenever he is too far from the middle of the battle stage.
- Bob "Phantom Enforcer"
- A large phantom with a suit of armor. He doesn't really pose a threat, as he just runs around the battle stage attacking Parin whenever he can. However, the armor makes him invincible to attacks.
- Mosby "Mysterious Flying Phantom"
- A loyal phantom who speaks in gibberish that no one understands. Her power is the ability to launch several fireballs which attack Parin.
- Roger "Manly Sea Monster"
- An effeminate phantom who desires the affection of The Prince. His power is the ability to become large and rolling around the battlefield.
- Cream "Master of Disguise"
- A saucy phantom who often quarrels with Roger over The Prince. Her power is disguising herself as other people. In the story proper, she disguises as Parin and pulled pranks on the townfolks.
[edit] Voice Cast
[edit] Japanese Version
- Masako Okawachi (大河内雅子?) as Parin (パリン)
- Yasunori Masutani (増谷康紀?) as Hyperbolic (ハイパボリック)
- Naomi Shindō (増谷康紀?) as Plane (プレーン)
- Moyu Arishima (有島モユ?) as Pino (ピノ)
- Hisayoshi Suganuma (菅沼久義?) as Puku (プク)
- Chie Satō (佐藤智恵?) as Poco (ポコ)
- Yasuhiro Takato (高戸靖広?) as Pierre (ピエール)
- Masaharu Satō (佐藤正治?) as Iwao (イワオ)
- Naomi Shindō (進藤尚美?) as Chucky (チャッキー)
- Hisayoshi Suganuma (菅沼久義?) as The Prince (王子)
[edit] English Version
Mastiff, the North American publisher of Gurumin for the PSP has announced the voice cast for the game [1]. The voice overs are being directed by Kris Zimmerman (Dead Rising, Metal Gear Solid).
- Amber Hood as Parin
- Justin Shenkarow as Puku and The Prince
- Steve Blum as Motoro and Bob
- Kim Mai Guest as Pino, Chucky and Pamela
- Dee Bradley Baker as Rocko, Digby and Puchi
- Robin Atkin Downes as Pierre and Doug
- Tara Strong as Cream, Mosby and Baby Tokaron
- Quinton Flynn as Roger and Poco
- Michael Gough as Hyperbolic and Giga
[edit] French Version
French voices were recorded at KBP studios, Paris, France
- Marie-Charlotte Leclaire as Parin
additional voices:
- Nessym Guetta
- Phillipe Dumond
- Thierry Kazazian
- Frédérique Marlot
- Florian Signolet
- Alexandra Carijo
- Julie Calipege
- Martial Leminoux
[edit] Critical reception
X-Play gave the game a four out of five.
A press release from Mastiff states that Gurumin is becoming hard to find in retail and they are working hard to make more copies available. As of May 8, 2007, more copies of the game are available in stores. Mastiff has also lowered the game's price to $19.99 USD.
