Boku no Natsuyasumi 3

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The opportunities for replay in Boku no Natsuyasumi 3 are many. My first play-through got me most of the way along the bug catching activity of the game. However, I did not progress very far at all with bottle cap collecting or bug sumo, and I completely overlooked the opportunities to help out in Megumi's glass shop. There are 5 different endings and while they are not worth an entire play-through in and of themselves, they make a fun goal for a play-through that includes other aspects of the game.

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The game itself took me around 12hrs to beat and I thoroughly enjoyed my first play-through. Be warned that like many sandbox games that give you freedom to do as you choose, you run the risk of becoming bored if you do not set goals for yourself. The game compensates by being a bit more structured that the typical sandbox game.

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Boku no Natsuyasumi 3 is at it's root an adventure game. It's not the tedious puzzle-solving style adventure game that has you finding items and combining them together to progress to the next section. Rather, Boku no Natsuyasumi 3 is a true adventure game in the sense that you are discovering the world that the creators made for you and seeking out adventure within that world. There is no stat management or progression trees or leveling up of any kind. The enjoyment comes from discovering what is available for you to do, and discovering what those things have to offer.

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Boku no Natsuyasumi 3 for the PS3 captures a great deal of childhood nostalgia in it's portrayal of childhood discovery, but it further recreates that experience of discovery for a non-Japanese gamer in the present. People say that the best introduction to another culture is to stay with a host family so you can experience first-hand what daily life is like. Nothing could be closer to having the opportunity to home stay in Japan in video game form than Boku no Natsuyasumi 3.

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What do you remember the most fondly about your childhood? Perhaps it's that trip to the beach where your grandmother taught you to swim and you discovered those beautiful seashells. Maybe it's that family reunion where you played all day with your cousins and canoed around the lake. Perhaps it's simply all the people who mentored you and introduced you to the world around you. Regardless, the wonder of being a child is the newness of everything and the excitement of it's discovery. Now pretend that this feeling has been made into a video game and you have Boku no Natsuyasumi 3 on the PS3.