Survival Kids

"Happy birthday to you!"

Turning 10 is a momentous occasion in any youngster's life. With the advent of double digits comes a whole slew of exciting changes: the very outer throes of puberty, that intangible cusp of adulthood slowly being reached, and the responsibility of maturity being heaped upon you in droves. Many children experience these earthshaking changes, but only one is marooned on a barren island after a violent storm sinks their father's cruise liner.

Congratulations! You are that child.

Unexpected birthday treats aside, this unique adventure is presented in the game Survival Kids, a rare treasure brought to us by Konami. Despite a relatively limited release in the United States, the game was successful enough to generate a sequel (albeit an untranslated one) and another impending installment on the Nintendo DS; the longevity of this somewhat obscure title is certainly a plus, because despite a rather whacked out premise Survival Kids is actually very good. Crafted with an obvious amount of creative forethought, the puzzles are inventive and entertaining and the gameplay never grows stale. Granted, it can grow a little frustrating after the fourth time a boar leaps out of a bush and eats your face, but despite some minor gameplay issues the experience remains consistent and fun.

The boon of Survival Kids's gameplay is that it is never too elaborate. The systems are kept to a very abbreviated life/hunger/thirst/fatigue system, where the former reigns supreme. Once one of the latter categories hits rock bottom, expect your health level to plummet. At any rate, this is a very well-designed system with a couple of rather unusual quirks. The most prominent one is that your fatigue rises extremely quickly; your character can take like 50 steps before he or she just collapses into unconsciousness. Very frustrating, considering you need to get the anemic bastard back to your hut before their life bar begins to drop. Conversely, shifts in hunger are surprisingly rare and very slow at that, where it got to the point that I rarely had to eat anything if I was quick enough. I suppose that I'd end this thought by providing an ample warning to watch your fatigue meter.

Besides all of your body's own misgivings, there are plenty of pitfalls among the island to watch out for. Wild animals who are less than happy to see you abound, and sometimes edibles might not exactly be as harmless as they seem. Your little island getaway is brimming with primeval dangers, but fortunately you are offered plenty of alternatives for survival. If you need food, you can find some wild foliage with plenty of various effects or you can hunt down an innocent rabbit and eat its dead flesh. (Vegetarians might be averse to this, but sometimes it's your only option.) Likewise, if you're accosted by a large angry beastie, then you are equipped with several ways to defend yourself: use your knife, gun it down with a bow and arrow, or run like hell. There's always plenty to worry about in Survival Kids, one of the most worrisome aspects being your very limited backpack space. You can have very few items on you at a time, which means that if you don't want to drop things then you have to ferry back and forth between your hut and wherever you need to be now. It's realistic but a bit frustrating at times.

The game is not exactly plot-driven, but it manages to stay out of remediality by creating a small cast of likable characters. You even have something of a primitive dating sim within Survival Kids, one which will affect the ultimate outcome of your game (of which there are 8). The endings are varied to some extent, but a majority of them tend to conclude with you or someone else dying, but it's a lot of fun to collect them all, and not too terribly difficult or exhausting. Aside from all of the trappings of island survival, you'll also find plenty of traces of a past civilization, unusual documents, and even human interaction, all of which really help to liven up the setting in which you are playing.

Graphically, the game is pretty much par for the course as far as the very outdated GBC goes. The in-game graphics are extremely unspectacular, but it has a few nice-looking CG anime screens. The important thing is that object sprites are clearly drawn enough to be able to discern at a glance what they are, which saves the player from a lot of confusion. Sound is generally catchy, but nothing special. Be prepared to hear the Jungle Zone theme a lot; you could do worse as far as the song itself goes, but it'll start to get on your nerves.

Survival Kids is a proverbial diamond in the rough for this tired old system. Full of originality, verve and fun, the game will be sure to last you a very long time. And did I mention that you get a monkey? How cool is THAT?

Graphics: 7/10
Sound: 6/10
Gameplay: 9.5/10
Plot: 7/10
Overall: 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/06/05