Let's get this out of the way right now: a lot of you probably aren't going to be able to get into Flower, Sun and Rain. 

The gameplay is oddly limiting.  The storyline doesn't really make much sense and will probably leave you scratching your head.  Any other developer probably wouldn't be able to get away with making a game consisting of solely number-based puzzles.  That being said, this one will intrigue and beguile you.  The kaleidoscopic dreamland Suda 51 has constructed tends to oscillate from idyllic to nightmarish (if in a very subdued way that may make you think you're losing it) but if you can handle its bizarre set of nuts and bolts, it's consistently engrossing.

Sumio Mondo is a searcher; his profession is to find a person's lost items.  He's been called to the tropical Lospass Island, and more specifically the Flower, Sun and Rain resort hotel, for a job.  Trouble is, he doesn't know who his client is.  Or what he's supposed to be doing.  These are the least of Mondo's problems, however.  Environmental regulations ban car usage on Lospass, so Mondo's forced to run everywhere.  Soon after arrival, Sumio learns of a bomb planted on an outbound plane at the Lospass Airport, but he can't seem to make it there because guests at the FSR keep him inundated with tasks to find their missing belongings.  And, the whole damn island is caught in time loop that keeps repeating the same day over and over again.

Needless to say, FSR is a game that floats lackadaisically through a world where talking pink alligators or middle-aged Japanese businessmen in bikinis seem relatively normal, and very little is what it seems.  The game's ethereal narrative takes place over the course of 18 days (or 18 instances of the same day repeating itself) and is vaguely reminiscent (in style if not content) of Suda's Killer 7, but with less notions of globalization and socio-political psycho-babble. 

Probably the most bizarre thing about FSR is that it refuses to play by its own rules of supposed logic.  Despite the Groundhog Day-like setup, events unfold completely differently from day to day, and Mondo, who should be losing his mind, is perfectly calm about every insane act that takes place.  (Incidentally, each day ends with the bomb-planted plane blowing up in the middle of the sky, through various nonsensical "catalysts" like a briefcase-cum-soccer ball getting kicked into the air or an angel flying out over the horizon after having had enough cocktails—yes, really.)  It's really like walking into a Japanese David Lynch film, only less pretentious and at times slightly more tongue-in-cheek.

Most of your fascination will be focused on the story, because outside of the sheer oddity of FSR's possibly existentialist, possibly meaningless script, gameplay is relatively straightforward.  When you get down to brass tacks, the game more or less takes the biology of a traditional point-and-click and reconstitutes it into a paradoxically linear adventure game.  It's not necessarily a bad thing, per se.  It's just that in FSR the gameplay is sort of the means to an end.  A typical scenario is as follows: at the beginning of each day, Mondo tries to set off for the airport but is inevitably stopped by a hotel guest who wants him to find something.  This could be anything from the aforementioned drunken angel demanding cocktails and blocking the path on the stairwell to a slightly unhinged Frenchman forcing you to find the antidote for a poisoned woman on the hotel roof. 

Whatever the task, Mondo's only tool is Catherine, a computer inside an attaché case with the ability to "jack in" to objects around it and use a numerical system to unlock, or fix, or decode, or create the item in question.  However, since you can only input numbers into Catherine, you have to find the clues to figure out what numerical code will work.  The detective work requires talking to people involved in the scenario, then looking in the hotel/island guidebook—kind of a catch-all brochure, entertainment magazine, and map book brimming with all sorts of seemingly useless information. 

So, if the angel's demanding a certain kind of cocktail, flip to the section about the FSR's bar and figure out the numerical values for the listed ingredients in that particular drink.  The Frenchman, on the other hand, is a soccer fanatic, meaning you should scope out the formation strategies of an Italian soccer team and find the number associated with it.  In this way, context is absolutely crucial to progression. Some of the game's "puzzles" are easy; other aren't.

Aside from solving "mysteries" with Catherine, exploration ( simply finding and getting from Point A to Point B) is the only other gameplay you're going to see.  Interactive objects are highlighted when you're in proximity to them, so there's no endless tapping the stylus on the screen or hitting A.  Don't expect there to be any kind of combat in this one; instead expect to flex your inner numerologist (if you have one).  You may actually have to reach for a calculator before you're through—I did. 

Still, if you're looking for something entirely unique (and surprisingly lengthy) Flower, Sun and Rain might be worth checking out.  If you're a fan of Suda 51's other works you already know what to expect, and for everyone else this review should give you a good idea of just how strange this game really is.  Just watch out for the numbers.  There were a surprising amount of (thankfully basic) equations needed to beat FSR; the game could've easily been called Flower, Sun and Math.  It makes about as much sense as anything else you'll see.


Fun factor: FSR isn't as much "fun" as it is curious.  Your motivation will mostly be to see what happens next, but there's a certain unique charm to the gameplay.

Game length: Surprisingly long.  You'll clock in around 18 hours or so before the credits roll.

Difficulty: Some of the numeric puzzles are tricky to figure out.  Also, either a pencil and paper or a calculator will be required for most people from time to time.

On the negative side: FSR is, in a word, polarizing.  You'll love the quirky-weird (and relatively slow) pacing and puzzle-based gameplay, or you won't.

Bang for your buck: Story mode will last you awhile, and aside from story-based items, Mondo can also locate extra items in each chapter. The more you find the more crazy stuff you unlock, like goofy costumes and whatnot.