Apparently we weren’t the only ones during the Nindies Night that hadn’t heard of this title before… it released for the PC back in 2004 and then for the PSP in 2007, and although it was well received and developed a decent fan base, a sequel was never made and the game sort of… faded away. Until now!
Gurumin 3D: A Monstrous Adventure is an action RPG being ported and localized to the Nintendo 3DS by Mastiff Games. The team showcasing this at the booth, we should mention, were very enthusiastic, if not a little shy about talking about the game to people (we tried this one at the very beginning of the night, so the team seemed to be trying to find their footing… mostly, we think they were realizing just how many times that night they’d have to explain what the game was and where it came from to people who’d then stare at them blankly, saying “never heard of it”).
Anyway! The star of Gurumin 3D is a young girl named Parin, who ends up in a world full of monsters and armed with a… drill. Yes, but not a normal drill. It’s a legen-wait for it-dary drill! Her task is to fight the monsters, known as Phantoms, and free the village from being terrorized.
There are 35 hours of gameplay in this title, and with a 10-15 minute demo, it’s hard to get the full sense of the scope. That said, the controls weren’t too difficult to get a handle on, and combat became almost a bit repetitive during the short time we played.
The artwork is definitely a throwback, so fans of cell-shaded RPGs will enjoy the visuals, and long-time gamers will recognize the vocal talents of industry vets like Tara Strong. It’s a cute game, like Zelda games with a bucket of adorbs tossed over it.
It’ll be value priced when it releases in October, so the title may appeal to old fans and new alike.
