Flower, Sun, and Rain: Murder and Mystery in Paradise Play

Summary

Playing the DS version of Flower, Sun, and Rain feels like stepping into a quirky, sun‑drenched resort that’s been re‑imagined for a handheld. The port, handled by h.a.n.d. under Grasshopper Manufacture’s eye, swaps the original’s controller scheme for stylus‑driven puzzles, letting me tap, drag and connect the odd‑shaped jacks on the Catherine suitcase‑computer right on the touch screen. Each morning I’m greeted with a fresh "Lost and Found Report"—a batch of numeric riddles that range from birthday‑code shuffles to simple math, all logged in a handy notepad where I can doodle clues as I wander the island on foot.

The game rewards wandering too; a step counter tallies my distance and unlocks extra costumes for Sumio Mondo, while the dual‑screen layout keeps the map on the bottom and the 3‑D world on top. Musically, the soundtrack is a lounge‑y remix of classical pieces, courtesy of Masafumi Takada and Shingo Yasumoto, which oddly complements the garbled, foreign‑sounding voice clips that replace full dialogue.

Critics were split—some praised the eccentric story, humor and soundtrack, while others lamented the blocky graphics, sluggish pacing and forced puzzle sections. Even with its visual downgrade, the DS edition retains the surreal charm that makes the title a memorable, if polarizing, slice of Suda 51’s catalog.

Storyline

Flower, Sun, and Rain is set on the Micronesian resort island of Lospass, where the "searcher" Sumio Mondo checks into the Flower, Sun, and Rain hotel to defuse a bomb planted on a departing plane. He quickly becomes distracted helping locals and guests, and the bomb detonates, crashing the plane into the island. The next morning Mondo wakes to the same day, and for two weeks he repeats the loop, each time failing to stop the explosion and edging closer to madness.

On the fourteenth repeat, assassin Sundance Shot shoots Mondo on the hotel roof, prompting federal agents Yoshimitsu Koshimizu and Remy Fawzil to investigate. A high‑school student, Toriko Kusabi, confronts Shot, and the two strike a deal that resurrects Mondo. He then meets Tokio Morishima, a character from The Silver Case, who admits he created the loop to protect a secret: Lospass is an artificial breeding ground for a hyena‑like species whose silver eye grants immortality, spawning the native Sundance Tribe.

The bomb, stolen by Shot, is finally disarmed, and Mondo learns that both he and Shot are genome clones of Sumio Kodai. After accepting the memories of his predecessors, Mondo leaves the island, meeting Bocchwinkur—revealed to be Tetsuguro Kusabi—on the departing plane.

Edited by Maya Carter