Genre: RPG
Publisher: Konami
Developer: Konami
Release Date: September 27, 2005

Buy 'LOST IN BLUE': NDS

The announcement of the Nintendo DS was, at first, taken very badly by the gaming press and much of the community. "Nobody needs two screens," people said. Industry "analysts" like Matt Cassamassina spouted rubbish about how risky a move such a device would be, and mulled over the more business-savvy alternatives Nintendo could have followed through with instead. Jack Thompson probably winced at the idea of the "inevitable" stylus-driven murder simulators, and shortly thereafter had dollar signs replace his pupils. Two screens? A touch screen on a portable system?

It was like – no, not like, it was – throwing the failed connectivity concept into a single device that would replace the Game Boy – the platform we all knew and loved – and tarnish Nintendo's reputation forever. After the Nintendo 64, and now the GameCube, those damned symbols of Nintendo's fall from grace after the neck-in-neck race between their SNES and Sega's Genesis/Mega Drive, the DS would be the final nail in the coffin. The Virtual Boy was one thing. Screw the consumer twice, and you end up like Sega did. The journalists and fans asked, "Does Nintendo really want to publish dying franchises like Tenchu on ex-competitors' platforms?"

And the most important question of all was, "How will these games work in the first place?"

That question is the very embodiment of what Nintendo wanted the gaming community to feel like. Now that the Revolution controller is no longer vaporware, it suddenly makes sense why Nintendo would want to present such an enigma to their dedicated fanbase. With new methods of input, gaming would change. Simply put, developers are becoming far too accustomed to the traditional methods of input; methods which keep the gamer at somewhat of a distance from the game.

I'm going to take a turn right now. Let's take a look at Survival Kids, one of Konami's most interesting and overlooked titles for the Game Boy/Game Boy Color. It still stands today as a game like no other – almost – and, despite some flaws and simplistic gameplay, is one of the best games on the platform. Why Konami took such a chance with Survival Kids is completely unbeknownst to me, but it, along with Legend of the River King is a strange but welcome addition to the Game Boy library. Thanks to its low budget, Survival Kids was allowed to be whatever its creators wanted it to be, and it ended up as a strange Zelda-meets-Robinson Crusoe experience, bringing unsuspecting players onto a dangerous island, left to scrounge for food, water and warmth, all while fending off vicious animals. It was an experience many thought would never be repeated again, a game forever left to be a unique glimmer in the eyes of the few who played it.

It is appropriate, then, that the spiritual successor to Survival Kids, Lost In Blue, would be released on such a unique handheld.

The story is as simple and perfect as such: A boy is flung off a boat during a terrible storm, left to the waves. He washes up on shore and shortly thereafter meets a young girl who fell into his same predicament. Now they must live off the land, spending every waking moment struggling to survive.

From the start, Lost In Blue takes on a much more serious tone than Survival Kids, as can probably be gathered from the differing monikers given to the respective games. The characters in Survival Kids were much more lighthearted, driven by an extreme willingness to live; the cast of Lost In Blue is defeated from the start, a hair short of hopeless, and the player must struggle to bring their spirits -- along with their bodily needs -- up to par in order to keep them sentient.

Because of this, Lost In Blue ends up being a much more daunting experience, somewhat to the detriment of the game. Also, the Zelda-inspired action is removed, leaving the player focused solely on survival through sustenance (hunting live animals is present in the game, which I will discuss in detail shortly). Survival Kids was hard enough; Lost In Blue is a game meant only for the most dedicated players. Even fans of Maxis' ever-popular The Sims will find Lost In Blue to be difficult, thanks to the appalling needs of the Lost In Blue cast; these children can starve to death in a single day, given the chance!

The true beauty of Lost In Blue's gameplay comes with the sum of its parts, along with surmounting its incredible initial challenge. Once the island becomes familiar, and the uses and effects of specific items clear (mushrooms, I'm looking in your direction), the game switches gears from being a massive headache to a nearly relaxing experience, with much of the routine being filled with fantastic mechanics that could only work on the DS.

Sand must be wiped away with the screen. Fires are started by see-sawing between the L and R buttons, punctuated by blowing into the microphone (which seems to accept only the type of white-noise caused by swift air-flow into the mic). During desperate times, shaking trees and digging around in the sand with the stylus for edibles and raw materials for tools is a must. After a spear is built, animals can be hunted down and prepared by your female companion, who handles all the cooking. Spices can be found by poking around in the ground, which increase the effectiveness of food on the appetites of the characters. These are all tasks that, on their own, serve to do little with the DS interface, but when played all together, highlight the wonderful qualities of the machine. Lost In Blue truly would have been much less of an experience to be had if it had released on a different platform.

Graphically, it is simultaneously professional and weak, mostly due to the limitations of the DS hardware. Truly, this should have been a fully 2D game, as the mix between 2D graphics during some of the stylus-driven sections and the polygonal overworld is not as seamless as it could be. The jagged 3D capabilities of the DS are extremely weak, while its 2D powers have been showcased in fantastic-looking titles such as the latest Castlevania, another Konami release. Lost In Blue would have fared better as a 2D game.

And sonically, as with most handheld games outside of your regular PSP release, Lost In Blue sounds years behind the times, with the same, basic MIDI theme repeated endlessly, and the characters emitting little more than the same handful of grunts throughout. Full voice acting would not have been appropriate for this game; however, the awkwardness of the chosen samples could have been dealt with.

Lost In Blue is one of the better games on the platform, along with other especially unique titles such as Trauma Center and Kirby's Canvas Curse. It is a perfect showcase of what's to come and although it is somewhat frustrating at first, it truly is a rewarding experience later on.

Score: 8.0/10