[Mr. Business]

Whereas the vast majority of modern games concern themselves with things like, say, takin' a gat to some dude's dome, Natsume has decided to port over a game that breaks this mold completely. The game in question is the much-delayed Chulip!



So what the hell is this Chulip? Well, most people who care already know, but for those who don't the premise is pretty simple: you're a young boy who wants to kiss a certain young girl, but alas, she won't kiss you. Maybe it's your smell. Maybe it's your taste in clothes. Maybe she knows that you can't hold down a 9-5. Whatever it is, there's clearly something that you need to do in order to kiss this girl: you must kiss everyone in your town who isn't her first! Makes sense, no? Well, perhaps I'm not doing the storyline justice: the purpose of all this kissin' is to prove that you're a good guy by opening the hearts of the town's lonely, downtrodden residents! Maybe I'm not doing the idea justice. Maybe there's no justice to be done. The premise is pretty simple, after all, and you really don't even need to buy into it to see the appeal of the game. The look of the game alone is suggestive of something quite different and possibly even amazing.

Looking at the game and its premise, it's hard not to draw a parallel between Chulip and Katamari because of their "Japanese" "quirkiness." However, looking at the two games, Katamari is a bright game that's mostly cheerful, while Chulip is as dark as a French Post-Apocalypse film. Seriously, for a game with such a happy premise, the game looks downright dystopian in some shots. Another game I feel compelled to make comparisons to is Final Fantasy VII, specifically with regards to the backgrounds. Actually, the characters from Chulip are also pretty low-poly, but unlike the world they inhabit, the characters are rather cute and amusing. Anyway, Midgar and the world of Chulip share a dark, low-polygon aesthetic. Assuming that the backgrounds from FFVII could be updated to roughly the same standard as Chulip's backgrounds, I imagine that environments from the two games could co-mingle quite nicely. I personally think that the aesthetics are the game's biggest draw of all. The premise of kissing people is cool and all, but the game simply looks downright lovely. Obviously, some would be inclined to disagree with such an assertion, but maybe those people are just asking for more than the game actually needs.

Anyway, the game is supposed to be funny. I can't confirm or deny this. I'm not going to try to--at least, not until I've played. Spun any differently, the game could be something else entirely. One could almost see the game's story being modified slightly and applied to a dating sim full of young girls with dishplate eyes and an unhealthy love for their brother/son/student. Still, from what I gather, the game is a funny-ha-ha sort of affair. Overall, it makes the most sense this way.

Comedy and adventure, as gaming genres, seem to be inextricably linked. This is probably because the two complement each other well; a joke and an adventure game operate similarly: there is a setup, an execution, and a puchline or result. Perhaps these steps will beget further jokes and adventures down the line! Either way, the complementary structures are a lovely thing when united into one sweet package--hence a lot of nostalgia for old Lucasarts and Sierra games, which combined hilarious comedy with clever adventure and puzzles to stupendous effect. Chulip reminds me of the point-and-click adventure games of my youth; while it ain't precisely the same thing, it's the closest thing the world has seen in quite a while. Even if the graphics don't do it for you, the fact that it's an adventure and comedy game has to be worth something to just about anyone except perhaps the most humorless of heathens.

Anyway, the game is something like $30.00, and EB/Gamestop somehow got exclusive distribution rights for it. I imagine the game will be somewhat rare, since it hasn't been hyped to the gills, except by young fools on message boards (myself, for instance). Either way, if you have 30.00 USD, maybe you should buy it. It is scheduled to be in stores on February 19th, 2007, but it might even be in those very same stores right now (not that any EB or Gamestop locations are still open at this hour, except maybe on the West Coast)!

Anyway, I'll be playing it on Thursday, but feel free to post about it before then. Even if it ends up being the most horrible game of 2007, it's still worth experiencing! Besides, it only costs about 5% of what a new PS3 would, so the experience practically pays for itself!

Oh yeah, here's some screenshots. They probably look a lot better than this messy-ass post I just made.
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Taking a break.

[NightsB]

yay chulip

mrbusiness we can talk about this game as an experience

[Mr. Business]

[Pijaibros]

I will buy this

I will play this

I probably won't post about it
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[Mr. Business]

[NightsB]

Chulip is a kissing simulation by Natsume. The ultimate goal of the game is to kiss a girl under a tree.

[Pijaibros]

[option]

I wondering about this game actually.

The premise seems cool, and the screens look pretty welcoming.

What I want to know most though, is if the game centers around fetch quests or conversation or what. How do you go about kissing other people? I'd imagine its not just a hide-and-seek game so whats the mechanic?
The other thing I wonder is what the music is like.


Youtube has failed me on finding out ether (or have I failed at youtube?)

[Leau]

Hey is it out yet? I see it listed on sites like EBgames and the like, but it doesn't seem to be available in stores anywhere. Did you recieve it for some kind of advance review purposes Mr. Business?
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[nocturnedelight]

I pre-ordered it on ebgames, along with the silly keychain. I did the free shipping, so I still haven't received it yet. :(

right here is the link to order with the keychain:
http://www.ebgames.com/product.asp?product%5Fid=B281681A
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[Mr. Business]

I don't have it yet either. I'm no game reviewer by any stretch of the imagination, and if you esteem me as such, then you look upon me too highly. I did, however, preorder it. Moreover, it shipped from Dallas, TX, which means that it basically shipped from one part of this city to another, as I live here in Dallas (most of the time). So it goes that I will probably have the game by tomorrow (today, really, since it's 1:31am here); today is actually the game's current official release date. It seems like this one will hold.
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Taking a break.

[Mr. Business]

How are we supposed to be pronouncing this game's name anyway?

chOO-lip?

chuh-lup?

chuh-lip?

chah-lup?

I've been pronouncing it as "chuh-lup" (spoken very fast), but I'm pretty sure that's wrong. My guess is that the first pronunciation is probably the best one.

The guy at EB thought I said "churlip" or something like that when I asked him about the game.
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Taking a break.

[Pijaibros]

[Mr. Business]

Hm, I probably won't be getting this game today, actually. As it turns out, February 19th is President's Day; the post office will be closed. Perhaps I'll just drive to EB and pick up a second copy. Might be a handy thing to have, especially if circumstance compels me to force this game upon my friends and demand that they play it.
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Taking a break.

[Aaron]

I was all set to get this game until I saw a handful of screenshots. Now I can stand poor graphics, lousy character design, etc., but the one thing I can't deal with is bad grammar, and from the screens I've seen, the English version is loaded with it. So let me know if they fixed that in the final release, so I can give it another look see.

[Gironika]

"Chu-lippu" should be the right pronounciation?
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[Mr. Business]

[sawtooth]

[Pijaibros]

[option]

[SplashBeats]

Churippu hasn't posted in this thread yet.

[Gironika]

[Pijaibros]

Because I'm at work and have not gone out to get my copy at the local game shop, I am going to bitch about the boxart to fill space.



Who the hell decided that American cover? It's damn hideous compared to that lovely Japanese art!

How is something that looks graphically worse than Animal Crossing, at first glance, being showcased on the cover expected to sell copies? Even if someone has positive things to say about it, one look at that American cover art can turn even the best sympathizers sour. I do like that little postman, however. Reminds me of Aiai from Super Monkey Ball.

Of course anyone who is buying this game probably is one who knew about the title beforehand.
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[Shapermc]

OH GOD IT'S A FUCKING BLUE DISC!!!!!!!!

I'm on my 25th+ attempt at getting this to load :(
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The bad sleep well at The Gamer's Quarter

[schild]

Get a PS3.

It's worth it just for the virtual memory cards.

[Shapermc]

My tax return is going towards a new camera. Perhaps next year.
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The bad sleep well at The Gamer's Quarter

[GcDiaz]

[Shapermc]

Ok, it took over 15 minutes of hitting reset :(

Anyways, my wife found that the manual says "Mr. Policeman has a disease."

This game could be amazing. There's an old man face that popped out of the knot of a tree. It told the boy and girl to kiss.

It also has animal crossing -esque voices.

EDIT: You refill your health by going to the bathroom, and the character animations are fantastic. Good first impressions here.

EDIT2: Just got a cold sweet potatoe out of large trash bin, and met the first neighbor. These characters are really quirky.

EDIT3: The manual is mostly a walk through/guide. Pretty handy if you end up getting stuck, but there are a lot of spoilers in it.
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The bad sleep well at The Gamer's Quarter

[Mr. Business]

Well, I have this box IN MY HAND, but sadly I can't play it until at least Thursday. Argh!

Anyway, have fun, folks. This shit is OUT!
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Taking a break.

[Pijaibros]

[Shapermc]

My console hates to read them (both my modded and unmodded brick PS2s). I have to hit reset dozens of times hoping that the console actually loads them and doesn't send me to the red screen of disc read errors. Most people don't notice this problem because so few games are released on blue discs anymore and this happens with age (the lens begins to suck). Blue disc are CDs, Silver Disc are DVDs, and Gold Discs are... DVDs? Something like that.
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The bad sleep well at The Gamer's Quarter

[Toups]

[SplashBeats]

Open your PS2 up and clean the lens with a dust free cloth. Should help.

[NightsB]

i can't find this game in stores yet :(! i'll look in manhattan tomorrow. until then, here's a scan of the e3 flyer:



it has another side but it's just the game's ugly american box art with some text scrolled on it.

[schild]

My Gamestop got 2 copies in. My preorder. And the manager took the other copy because I preordered it.

Good luck finding it.

Can we say "rarest" PS2 game?

[Felix]

first gen consoles have a really easy repair job you can do if they start to have a hard time with one format or the other. it's on gamefaqs.

[Shapermc]

Just saw a Mr. Saturn-alike

Also, I think my wife kissed a zombie.
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The bad sleep well at The Gamer's Quarter

[Leau]

[Churippu]

Posting in this thread to yet again say this game was based off me. The japanese asked me if they could make a game about my life and I said "Yes."

[Anonymous]

God damnit, I guess I finally have a good reason to invest in an american PS2 (except for translated Katamari Damacy of course, and maybe Rule of Rose). Because it's not coming out in euro land, right?

[SplashBeats]

Fliptop/swap software might be a better idea, dude.