The 3DS’s dual screens are used beautifully. The bottom screen is the shop floor, where you interact via stylus. The top screen shows a diorama of the corner, complete with little animations. Watching Shirokuma nervously tap his paws together while waiting for customers never gets old.
Secondly, the price has gone up. Due to the physical-only release and the post-COVID boom in cozy gaming, loose carts now go for $40–60 USD. CIB (Complete in Box) can hit triple digits. Score: Warm Tonkatsu Sauce / 10 Sumikko Gurashi- Omise Hajimerundesu 3DS -JPN- ...
We live in an era of 100-hour RPGs and sweaty battle royales. Omise Hajimerundesu asks for 10 minutes of your time. You wash dishes, arrange bento boxes, and listen to lo-fi music. It is a digital weighted blanket. The Catch (It’s a big one) Region Locking. The 3DS is region-locked. Unless you have a Japanese 3DS or a hacked/homebrewed system (CFW), this cartridge will not boot on your North American or European console. The 3DS’s dual screens are used beautifully
Sumikko Gurashi – Omise Hajimerundesu is not trying to be a masterpiece. It is trying to be a friend. For collectors of weird Japanese 3DS games, or for parents trying to get a very young child into gaming, this is a hidden gem. For everyone else? It is a delightful YouTube rabbit hole to watch, but a hassle to actually play. Watching Shirokuma nervously tap his paws together while
This is an import-friendly gem. The menus are heavily icon-based. To cook a crepe, you tap a strawberry icon, then a pancake icon. To serve tea, you tap the teapot. If you can match shapes and colors, you can beat this game. There are a few dialogue boxes, but they are purely for flavor text.