|
|
|
|
ヤムヤム
©Pandora Box
©Bandai 1995
Release: 1995-02-17 (¥9800)
Cartridge SHVC-AYMJ
3D Shooter/Role Playing Game
|
Yam Yam (also known as Yum Yum) is a 3D shooter with a sprinkling of
RPG-inspired elements developed by Pandora Box and published by Bandai. The game
relates the adventures of a mole-boy called Magu Magu and his unusual pet Yam Yam.
They both travel the country and undertake
a sprawling adventure that spans 28 missions, all assigned to them by local townspeople.
Interestingly, whereas villages can be visited en route following a traditional single-screen
formula, traveling between them activates 3D shooting phases where the boy, riding firmly on his
pet's back, defeats waves of vicious monsters and other creatures. These phases are at the core
of the gameplay, killed enemies award the player with experience points and additional gold bars
or medicinal herbs can be collected along the way. The money can then be spent to purchase better
weapons, stronger armors or special magical powers. Yam Yam has few more tricks up his
sleeves - although he generally stays on the ground and jumps over obstacles, he can, in some
occasions, use his tail as a spinning-blade and fly around the screen at ease. However, the RPG
elements are not limited to gaining experience points and purchasing skills - missions can't be
activated until a number of tasks in the villages have been completed. They range from talking
to a specific person, giving them some money to gather more information or even carrying them
around inside Yam Yam's large belly! Finally, the most
unusual feature of Yam Yam is to reset the character's level and money after each
mission - Magu Magu and Yam Yam both wake up underneath a tree and realize
that it was all but a dream...
|
|
A special gold version of Yam Yam exists - it is rumored that the game was
given away as a competition prize and was bundled with four original phone cards, an
artwork signed by Tetsu Hiro and a winning letter. As of today, only one copy
of the game has surfaced (maybe onle one was ever made ?) and it is currently on display
at the Japanese store Mandarake Nakano (you can visit their website
for more information).
|
O
M
A
K
E
|
|
|
|
|
Click on picture to enlarge |
|
|
|
LK
|
|
Add your Pov here !
|
P
O
V
s
|
|
Yam Yam is definitively a nice idea and an unique blend of 3D shooting and RPG
elements. It could have been a Space Harrier meets Dragon Quest kind of affair.
The game is looking solid, with incredible character design and witty graphics all over; but
more importantly, it has a wonderful sense of humor. The various cutscenes and dialogs are
funny and entertaining - I love watching Yam Yam shouting at random and scaring villagers
out of their wits. However, Yam Yam also has a couple of major drawbacks. The fact that
you lose everything after each mission feels really cheap and unnecessary. This feature is
ultimately frustrating and after a while I had a hard time convincing myself to delve further
into the game. Then the shooting phases become progressively repetitive and monotonous, with
the same enemies and backgrounds cycled over and over. Finally, you'll need quite a strong
knowledge of Japanese to get the most out of the game and won't be able to access all the
shooting phases (as a matter of fact, some parts are admittedly tricky to figure out, even
if you can read Japanese). All in all, there has never been anything quite like Yam Yam
in the genre and the core concept is undoubtedly clever, but it ends up being just a "good"
game held back by some really questionable design choices.
|
|
|
|
