There are many games that have a lot of passion put into them. That passion can be evident in the artwork, the writing, the gameplay or any number of other elements of the game. It’s always a pleasant sight to see a game made with the same love for gaming that the creators grew up on. They can take their favorite games and put a new spin on them to make something original for a new generation. A great example of this is Cricket: Jae’s Really Peculiar Game.
The Role You Play
You mainly play as the titular Jae, a young boy who recently lost his mother to cancer. He is kind and compassionate, but still courageous enough to carry on in spite of his loss. He fights with a rake and uses many support abilities in battle. Jae is joined in his journey by his best friend Zach, a brash but kind boxer; Symphony, an awkward free spirit who fights with a traffic cone; Acacia, an unfiltered no-nonsense girl who uses a megaphone as a weapon; Twila, a native who commands mystical powers; and Charlie, a techno genius who battles with robots.
Plot
Jae is still mourning his mother’s death after losing her to cancer. After he and Zach go to put flowers on her grave, they meet Symphony, who comes crashing down from the sky on a homemade rocket. She is on a mission to travel to Yimmelia, a mythical place where wishes can come true. After hearing about her mission, Jae wants to travel with Symphony to Yimmelia to make a wish to have his mother back and have it come true.
Gameplay
Cricket uses a turn-based combat system with timed hits. When you time your hits or blocks correctly, you can do more damage on your hits and take less damage when blocking enemy attacks. Another key aspect of combat is the tide meter. The meter gradually increases during combat and points can be spent strengthening attacks or increasing reaction time for attacking or blocking. You can also team up with your other party members for different party members for different combo attacks. The options change depending on what abilities you have learned and which characters you have in your party.
Length
Cricket has a rather linear and straightforward story. You progress from one stop in your mission to the next with very little in terms of extras or sidequests. There is also little need to spend time grinding for experience or searching for extra items. The intent is really to follow the main story from the beginning of the game to the end with little detour. With that in mind, Cricket takes about 8-10 hours to finish.
Music
Cricket’s soundtrack pays homage to the classics while remaining as original as possible. The melodies of several songs tend to incorporate chiptunes and other retro-inspired sounds throughout the soundtrack. The soundtrack provides a good ambiance for the wide variety of locations the game brings you to, from towns to sewers to forests and many other locations. The music also adds a lot of weight to some of the more emotionally heavy moments in the game.
Notable Features
Cricket has some pretty distinct artwork and character animation. It is all very colorful and bright and it is present throughout every aspect of the game. Both the playable characters and enemies show off a lot of animations during combat, which adds to their personalities. It’s especially present during the handful of boss fights throughout the game. It also helps to offer contrast from some of the darker moments in the game and leave a more lasting impression.
The Talking Parts
The dialog is one of Cricket’s strongest features. There are a lot of conversations between the characters that carry a lot of emotional weight. Jae is open about the hardship of losing his mother, and his friends have similar personal struggles that they are coping with as well. These range from chasing personal aspirations to identity crises to struggling for attention. Each of the characters plays off of each other well with dialog that can hit very hard at unexpected times and leave a strong impact on the player.
Z…We’ve Reached the End. Anything Else?
Cricket tackles a lot of emotionally heavy subjects. From the loss of a loved one to struggling to gain acceptance from your parents to struggling to be the best in a very competitive field. The story is upfront with the type of hardships that the young main characters will experience and accurately conveys their strong emotions. This was a trend that was very prevalent in 1990s cartoon shows, which did not talk down to children and the same delivery is executed here.
Final Summary
The passion and effort that went into making Cricket: Jae’s Really Peculiar Game is very evident throughout the game. The writing and animation are excellent and it pays plenty of homages to classic RPGs. It tells a story of confronting loss and overcoming hardship in a way that children can easily handle. It’s a great game I can gladly recommend.