Overview
Umihara Kawase is a 1994 platformer for the Super Famicom that heavily uses physics in its gameplay. The player, as the eponymous heroine Umihara Kawase (her name is actually an abbreviated Japanese proverb concerning the preparation of salt- and freshwater fish, both of which feature heavily in the game as enemies), must navigate through levels with optional goals and alternate exits using only her fishing line. The fishing line can support her weight, and can be attached to sides of platforms and used to swing across gaps or rappel up and down to reach new areas. Umihara can grab onto ledges and pull herself up once she's close enough to the lip, and later levels require trickier maneuvers, using the elasticity of the fishing line to propel Umihara through the air like Spider-Man.
The game's ending is contingent on the amount of total time taken to beat the fiftieth stage. Players can skip ahead by finding harder-to-reach alternate "warp" exits to shave off time, and beating the game within a strict time limit leads to a better ending.
Umihara Kawase saw multiple sequels. A 1997 game for the PlayStation, Umihara Kawase Shun ("Shun" means "in season", continuing the fish/cookery theme), is essentially a graphically enhanced remake. The original Umihara Kawase eventually received a fan translation, though was never officially released outside of Japan.
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