GoNintendo Impressions - Zenses Ocean

Game Factory is known for games that you don’t want. I don’t think that many readers on this site rushed out to buy Build-a-Bear Workshop DS, or Strawberry Shortcake. The guys at Game Factory are totally willing to admit that, too. They know that you guys don’t like their games, which is why they are going with an original creation to try and reach out and expand their audience. Zenses Ocean is a Game Factory/Shin’en project that aims to provide the user with an experience, rather than just giving them a game to blast through. The theme of the game, as well as the soundtrack are a very big part of the experience. This was the one game where the rep requested that you wear headphones on the summit floor in-order to get the full experience that the game was trying to present. I’m glad I put them on…because it really did make my time with the game more enjoyable.

Zenses Ocean is a collection of puzzle games that is geared towards puzzle fans, casual gamers, and females in general. It was made very clear that Zenses Ocean doesn’t set out to tell you that you’ve won or lost. Scores are kept, and there are a goals to achieve, but you never see a game over screen. Instead, you are given encouraging messages that try to make you feel good about how you’ve just done. While I was playing, I saw ‘nice job, try again!’ and ‘keep it up!’ messages when I lost. It may sound cheesy, but I thought this was a pretty cool aspect. It really plays into the overall themes at work. I think a lot of casual gamers will appreciate messages like this, instead of giant ‘GAME OVER’ screens in their face.

Zenses Ocean is completed centered around an ocean theme. Every puzzle game in the collection sticks with this theme. This is best understood by breaking down a few of the games in the collection.

Shell Twirl puts you deep underwater, where you’ll be matching shells in the upper right/left hand corners of the touch screen to a wheel of shell shadows in the middle. All you do is touch and drag the shells to their corresponding shadows. As you take a shell, another one replaces it until the shell wheels in the middle of the screen are complete. As you make it through each level, more shells are added to the wheels, and you are given a shorter time limit.

Hot Spot shows you the outlines of imaginary fish/sea creatures, and you have to build that same creature on the bottom screen. There are a bunch of body parts that you have to twist and place on a body shell to match the top creature exactly. Once again, this is timed, and the further you get in the game, the less time you will have to complete your creature.

Wave Breaker has a set of beach-related items on the bottom screen. There are divots, shells, starfish and more. It’s up to you to remember the order that they are in. After a few seconds, a wave rushes down from the top screen and clears all the items away. You will then be asked to recall what item(s) fell into what spot(s). Sometimes you will be asked to remember one item, others you’ll have to place numerous items.

The beach theme plays well into the games, and provides a nice setup for the activities. As expected, some of the games aren’t as fun as the others, but the three I’ve listed above all seemed like something you could really get into. The game soundtrack, as mentioned before, does a wonderful job of keeping you calm and relaxed as you play. Deep, rich, electronic music that is slow-paced, and helps to put you in a zen-like state. I think the emphasis on music is a great idea.

Zenses Ocean seems like a great first step for Game Factory. Depending on the price, I might be inclined to add this to my collection. I could think of a bunch of people in my family that would really love this game. I am not sure that they would get the same experience out of the music and theme that I did, but the gameplay will most likely keep them entertained.