2024 has been filled with games that had impressive narratives, and a nice chunk of them were huge RPGs that demanded a lot of time from players. For the SmashPad staff in general, with all the JRPG fans we have, it was difficult to “breathe” in between all these big releases, and it made more bite-size games desirable. Maboroshi Artworks’ Last Time I Saw You was such an example of a welcome smaller entry.
The game’s publisher, Chorus Worldwide, isn’t shy when it comes to these smaller games, but they also are no slouch when it comes to deeper narratives either. Known for the Coffee Talk series, When The Past Was Around, and A Space For The Unbound, Last Time I Saw You fits right in for players who enjoyed the tightness of those titles. In fact, comparisons to titles like the aforementioned A Space For The Unbound, Night In The Woods, or Until Then (one of my Top 10 Games of 2024) are about as one for one as they get.
Last Time I Saw You takes place in 1980s Japan. Players take control of a kid named Ayumi who dreams about this young woman he constantly approaches but wakes upon reaching her. After a rough rainstorm floods his home, he finds the mysterious dream girl while exploring the nearby woods that villagers are discouraged to go into. Ayumi finds out that because he sees her, he becomes responsible for saving his home from the cataclysmic event that’ll happen during the next storm.
Last Time I Saw You just looks absolutely stunning with every screenshot.
Aside from its Japanese origins, what really sets this game apart from other games just like it in the genre is its hand-drawn art style. Every still you can pull from this game looks absolutely exquisite. In fact, when I got my hands on one of the demos at Steam NextFest, it was primarily the art style that pulled me and got my to wishlist the game.
To further envelop you into this world, a lot of the characters and themes you’ll come across are based in old Japanese folklore. Aside from talking animals, you’ll come across a kappa and a whole bunch of other mystical beings on your quest to prevent this cataclysm from happening.
The rough reality here is that Ayumi is just a kid in grade school. Not only is he entering the forest against his parents wishes, but he has a curfew to deal with. He has friends to talk to and hang out with. He has errands to run and chores to do for his parents, and this is stuff that a lot of the creatures and the woman in the forest don’t understand, and it’s interesting seeing this sort of internal conflict make its way into the game as you experience this scripted stuff day by day.
Seeing the theme of protective Asian parents really hit home.
Gameplay in Last Time I Saw You is mostly running around town and talking to people, while doing the occasional fetch quest, but things open up considerably once you reach a point in the game where you find yourself in the forest a lot. From there, the game will have a fair amount of platforming as well as action gameplay using a baseball bat as a weapon, but nothing comes hard. With the exception of this 8-bit video game at Ayumi’s house, you shouldn’t die.
As simplistic as all this is, the addition of platforming and light action was a breath of fresh air, having played so many games where all you do is walk around talking to people. It’s exactly what you expect out of a cozy title like this, and the fact that it’s no longer than seven hours makes it approachable to virtually anyone looking for a short enjoyable experience.
If you want to Platinum this Last Time I Saw You, this 8-bit game will be the bane of your existence.
One thing that’ll make the experience a little longer is with the aforementioned video game at Ayumi’s house. It’s really just there to offer you something else to do, and there’s one main reason people will want to play through it–the achievement, and it’s a hard one to get. The gameplay in this minigame is kind of like the original Mario Bros. arcade game where you wanna rid the screen of enemies, except it’s completely reliant on your ability to accurately deliver and dodge projectile attacks and the reason why it’s so difficult is you have to beat all five levels of the game with limited lives. I spent almost an hour for three straight nights trying to get this trophy, and I got it on my first try on my third night trying.
Difficult minigame for the platinum aside, Last Time I Saw You is a worthy $16 experience if you’re looking for a palette cleansing game to play between big games or if you just need a beautiful cozy game to play that has nothing to do with farming. Last Time I Saw You is a game that checked a lot of those boxes for me, and I think a lot of people will find something to enjoy with this title.
2024 has been filled with games that had impressive narratives, and a nice chunk of them were huge RPGs that demanded a lot of time from players. For the SmashPad staff in general, with all the JRPG fans we have,…
2024 has been filled with games that had impressive narratives, and a nice chunk of them were huge RPGs that demanded a lot of time from players. For the SmashPad staff in general, with all the JRPG fans we have, it was difficult to “breathe” in between all these big releases, and it made more bite-size games desirable. Maboroshi Artworks’ Last Time I Saw You was such an example of a welcome smaller entry.
The game’s publisher, Chorus Worldwide, isn’t shy when it comes to these smaller games, but they also are no slouch when it comes to deeper narratives either. Known for the Coffee Talk series, When The Past Was Around, and A Space For The Unbound, Last Time I Saw You fits right in for players who enjoyed the tightness of those titles. In fact, comparisons to titles like the aforementioned A Space For The Unbound, Night In The Woods, or Until Then (one of my Top 10 Games of 2024) are about as one for one as they get.
Last Time I Saw You takes place in 1980s Japan. Players take control of a kid named Ayumi who dreams about this young woman he constantly approaches but wakes upon reaching her. After a rough rainstorm floods his home, he finds the mysterious dream girl while exploring the nearby woods that villagers are discouraged to go into. Ayumi finds out that because he sees her, he becomes responsible for saving his home from the cataclysmic event that’ll happen during the next storm.
Last Time I Saw You just looks absolutely stunning with every screenshot.
Aside from its Japanese origins, what really sets this game apart from other games just like it in the genre is its hand-drawn art style. Every still you can pull from this game looks absolutely exquisite. In fact, when I got my hands on one of the demos at Steam NextFest, it was primarily the art style that pulled me and got my to wishlist the game.
To further envelop you into this world, a lot of the characters and themes you’ll come across are based in old Japanese folklore. Aside from talking animals, you’ll come across a kappa and a whole bunch of other mystical beings on your quest to prevent this cataclysm from happening.
The rough reality here is that Ayumi is just a kid in grade school. Not only is he entering the forest against his parents wishes, but he has a curfew to deal with. He has friends to talk to and hang out with. He has errands to run and chores to do for his parents, and this is stuff that a lot of the creatures and the woman in the forest don’t understand, and it’s interesting seeing this sort of internal conflict make its way into the game as you experience this scripted stuff day by day.
Seeing the theme of protective Asian parents really hit home.
Gameplay in Last Time I Saw You is mostly running around town and talking to people, while doing the occasional fetch quest, but things open up considerably once you reach a point in the game where you find yourself in the forest a lot. From there, the game will have a fair amount of platforming as well as action gameplay using a baseball bat as a weapon, but nothing comes hard. With the exception of this 8-bit video game at Ayumi’s house, you shouldn’t die.
As simplistic as all this is, the addition of platforming and light action was a breath of fresh air, having played so many games where all you do is walk around talking to people. It’s exactly what you expect out of a cozy title like this, and the fact that it’s no longer than seven hours makes it approachable to virtually anyone looking for a short enjoyable experience.
If you want to Platinum this Last Time I Saw You, this 8-bit game will be the bane of your existence.
One thing that’ll make the experience a little longer is with the aforementioned video game at Ayumi’s house. It’s really just there to offer you something else to do, and there’s one main reason people will want to play through it–the achievement, and it’s a hard one to get. The gameplay in this minigame is kind of like the original Mario Bros. arcade game where you wanna rid the screen of enemies, except it’s completely reliant on your ability to accurately deliver and dodge projectile attacks and the reason why it’s so difficult is you have to beat all five levels of the game with limited lives. I spent almost an hour for three straight nights trying to get this trophy, and I got it on my first try on my third night trying.
Difficult minigame for the platinum aside, Last Time I Saw You is a worthy $16 experience if you’re looking for a palette cleansing game to play between big games or if you just need a beautiful cozy game to play that has nothing to do with farming. Last Time I Saw You is a game that checked a lot of those boxes for me, and I think a lot of people will find something to enjoy with this title.
by Danreb Victorio
