Gaming vs the Backlog: Gurumin – A Monstrous Adventure

Gurumin is a cute 3D action-RPG that is more than the sum of its parts and that has drawn me back into Playstation Portable (PSP) gaming. I spent 16½ hours in the game on a modded PSP-2000. The game was developed by Nihon Falcom and published in Europe by 505 Games in 2007.

I play ball-of-energy Parin—or how I named her, Smaxy—who turns her summer holiday stay with her grandfather into a light-hearted adventure in an alternate monster dimension. The monsters are not grim and scary, though, and turn out to be odd but very likable fellas; just like all the other colorful characters the story is sprinkled with.

I appreciate the subtle Zelda reference. Just one example of the charming details in Gurumin.

It is not long before I am tasked with saving the day; equipped with my weapon—a legendary and trusty drill—and various headwear that I find during my forays into the surrounding dungeons connected by an overworld map. Each dungeon takes me between 10 and 30 minutes which makes Gurumin a perfect game to play in short bursts. The catchy soundtrack, the fully voiced cutscenes, and some smart environmental storytelling always helped me to get back in the game and immerse myself into the realm of Tiese Town and Monster Village.

The overworld map connects the various places of interest.

All the game mechanics are on the simpler side: Fighting comprises of dodging, jumping, and several (charged/special/combo) drilling attacks that are mainly used against one type of enemy, the eery-looking phantoms. Bosses play in an entirely different league and put up a welcome challenge. My combo attacks have juicy animations and I enjoyed coming up with tactics to clear waves and groups of enemies in the most effective way. The puzzles never leave genry-typical terrain; there is a lot of lever-pulling, torch-lighting, and wall-breaking. The controls work well on the PSP, except some of the platforming passages that can be downright frustrating due to wobbly controls, fixed camera angles and constant manual re-aligning.

My main character stands in front of two treasure chests that seem tricky to reach.
Hmmmmm…

I am by no means a completionist, rather a good-enough gamer and my track record in Gurumin is no different: There is still an album to complete, quite some platinum medals to unearth, two dungeons to master, and a bonus boss to slay. But I managed to get the good ending, unlocked hard mode and new abilities via outfits. Enough reason for me to call it a day and look forward to revisiting Gurumin in the future—maybe on the Nintendo 3DS?! Because this gem of a game might not shine when examining its individual components, but the overall package is an adorable and more than competent title that has deservedly gathered somewhat of a cult following online.

Proof that I completed the game. Make sure to watch the credits that include some lovely animated sequences that really tie the story together.

★★★★☆

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