Hanamushi: Flower Insects
Rewind the hands of time back to 2005, a time when Jayisgames introduced us to the gorgeous yet disturbing work of Hanamushi, a website by Japanese artist, Enu (Akira Noyama), with a distinctly surreal and unique vision. Today, Hanamushi has been updated, adding a most startling, stylish, and downright beautiful point-and-click adventure game, Flower Insects, that will simultaneously mess with your head while leading you on a not-so-gentle tour of the revamped website.
Just click through to the Hanamushi website where you will be confronted with what looks like an unfinished drawing with various links to the website underneath. First, before you do anything else, notice the link at the lower right with the two flags. Click on it to make sure the US flag is on top, as this sets the language for the site to English. Then, find the missing pieces of the doll and her wind-up key, click on them to put everything into place, wind up the doll, and begin. Be prepared for a journey through the mind of the artist behind Hanamushi, a world that looks like it was illustrated by Terry Gilliam on a mind altering substance.
Journey through the land of melting lollipops and bizarre creatures by clicking hands at the top of the screen to move left or right, up or down. Hover the cursor carefully and notice the changes to find clickable areas that yield various bits of clothing or other fashion accoutrements. Collect them all, for they will aid you in your search for... well, that would give away a major plot point. The clothes and other things are not just for playing dress-up with the pretty dolly, they will in fact aid you in your quest, allowing you to enter certain areas or accomplish certain things. Within this bizarre world you will encounter mini-games as well, iterations of old classics such as Simon, Mastermind, Towers of Hanoi, etc., but so brilliantly and uniquely presented you might not recognize them right away for what they are. In the end you will be collecting a staggering 48 pieces of apparel to aid you.
The world of the Hanamushi game is comprised of many scenes and layers; move far enough in one direction and you will discover that space is truly curved, and forward momentum in one direction will eventually place you back where you started. As with the universe, peer as far as you can see forwards and you will find yourself staring at the back of your own head, metaphorically speaking. If you find you need a breather the game automatically saves your progress, allowing you to come back again and again until you have explored every inch. Even when the game is nominally over there are still more wondrous things to use and explore. There is even, if you can find it, a way to erase your progress and start afresh, ready to tackle the game once again.
Analysis: What is most amazing and astounding about this wicked cool game is the fact that the website links are actually incorporated into Hanamushi's exceptional universe, allowing you to explore web content while simultaneously playing a game. How many banner games or portfolios can claim that? It is definitely worth the time to explore these little side worlds while exploring this microcosm of weirdness.
The downside to a game that is so thoroughly artistic is that the mechanics of the gameplay can become a little difficult at times. The washed color palette is visually stunning but can cause difficulty in the color-based puzzles even for folks with normal eyesight. You will find almost no explanations, so the dynamic of first figuring out what a particular mini-game is about may grate on those who are impatient. But for those who are looking to delve deeply into some pretty dark depths, the new Hanamushi game is something to savor.
It is almost impossible to describe the joy created by wandering in the strange, surreal universe that Hanamushi has created. The synthesis of art, animation, game, and experience is nearly flawless, and will leave the casual gamer breathless as they wander deeper and deeper into the morass. Stunning beyond all belief, this is not necessarily a game to play all in one go. Rather, the Hanamushi game is something to consume in small bites, lest you find yourself deep in the abyss that is the imagination of an extremely talented and (perhaps) disturbed individual. Take the time as well to check out the flash games, animations, and fantastical art when you stumble across the links. Well worth the effort, Hanamushi's work is simultaneously stunning, amusing, deeply disturbing, yet deeply and profoundly beautiful. Dive in, and relish the experience.
Walkthrough Guide
(Please allow page to fully load for spoiler tags to be functional.)
Hanamushi: Flower Insects Walkthrough
Opening Screen
Click the four pieces of the doll, and the key. Click the key to wind the
doll and begin the game.
General Info
Click the About icon for instructions and information about the website and its creator.
Many things you can click on will flash or pulse. Many others won't.
Click the hand icons to move between areas.
Click the doll to bring up your inventory.
Click an article of clothing to wear it.
To remove an article of clothing, click it again.
Click the arrow-circle icon to wear a random outfit.
Click the image of the game screen to exit the inventory.
Click the Home, Anime, Illust, Flash, BBS, or Link icons to jump to those screens.
Areas
Melting Lollipop Trees
Nothing to do here. Go left or right.
Pond
Clothing
Click the two candy wrappers to collect the white shoes and the red coat and scarf.
How do I get across the pond?
You don't want to get your feet wet...
Any pair of boots.
Mound of Discarded Toys, Left Side
Clothing
Click the candy wrapper, the green ball, and the clown to collect the blue cap, green striped shirt, and orange boots.
Mound of Discarded Toys, Right Side
Clothing
Click the yellow squirrel to collect the green sandals.
How do I get past the barrier?
You need a certain type of headgear, which you won't collect until later...
The top hat and the halo both work.
Pile of Televisions / Animation
Click the televisions to watch the animations on YouTube.
Clothing
Click the green seed pod to collect the brown hat.
Wooden Creature Walking Back and Forth
Clothing
Solve the puzzle to collect...
Blue socks
What do I do for the wooden creature?
Click the seed pods so the creature catches them in his mouth and eats them. You may notice a different reaction depending on the color of the pod...
The creature needs to eat five pods, of certain colors, in the correct order.
You can solve this by trial and error, or you can find a clue...
The clue is not on this screen.
The clue is at the Entrance to the House.
Entrance to the House
Clothing
Click the red seed pod and the window to collect red socks and orange dress.
What do I do with the colored banner nailed to a tree?
That's the clue for the wooden creature walking back and forth.
How do I get inside the house?
There's an obvious hint on the door...
Wear any blue dress or shirt.
Alongside the House
Clothing
Click the right window to collect the orange spotted dress.
Solve the puzzle of the pictures to collect...
the pink winter hat
What do I do with the pictures on the wall of the house?
Click them; different hand and foot prints appear...
It's a memory game. Click pairs of pictures to reveal matching prints. There are five pairs.
Round-Headed Girl
Clothing
Click the purple puzzle piece and the orange roof shingle to collect purple dress and yellow boots.
Solve the puzzle of the big-headed girl to collect...
the blue dress.
What do I do for the round-headed girl?
Click her head. She throws it into the air...
And it falls down and off the screen, and she flails her arms. Click her body to make her head reappear.
You have to keep her head in the air, catching it ten times; the hands in the windows will keep score.
After the first few catches, the yellow creature will try to knock the head away. Click the creature in between clicking the head to keep it at bay.
Goat Creatures
Clothing
Click the orange gear and the haystack to collect red shoes and brown coat.
How do I get past the goat creatures?
You need a certain hat.
The straw hat.
First Floor of House
You can click on various things, but everything goes back to the way it was...
There's nothing you need to do in this room, except observe.
Second Floor of House
Clothing
Solve the puzzle of the house to collect...
the straw hat
What do I do here??
Observe that the second floor of the house is sort of a mirror image of the first floor.
Make it an exact mirror image.
Light:
on
Yarn:
red ball near the table, purple ball near the wall
Portrait:
tilted up on the side near the wall
Painting:
red section uppermost
Clock:
hands in a diagonal, pointing into the outer corner of the room
Man:
holding a cup of tea with his pipe on the table
Once you've done that, go downstairs to watch the men shake hands, then come back upstairs to collect the prize.
Right Side of Roof
Clothing
Click the three orange roof shingles to collect white sweater, pink boots, and orange winter hat.
How do I get past the flying mouse to the right?
You need something that would scare the mouse.
The cat ears.
Left Side of Roof / Illustration
Click the icons to view full-size pictures. Click the red button to scroll through the five pages of gallery.
Clothing
Collect the sailor suit and the two orange roof shingles to collect the sailor suit, purple elf shoes, and green boots.
Gap and Power Lines
Clothing
Click the two piles of wood to collect the black boots and flower garland.
How do I get across the gap?
If you click the flying creature, it will hover over your head, but nothing happens...
The creature resembles something...
It's a magnet. You need to wear something metallic...
The robot body.
Giant Feet
Clothing
Click the yellow gear and the two stone markers to collect the orange dress, green feathered cap, and black top hat.
Robot Workshop
Clothing
Click the round tank with the bubbles to collect yellow sandals. Solve the puzzle of the robot and click the robot's chest to collect...
robot body
How do I fix the robot?
Place the six squares in the robot's body in the appropriate places.
Once all the squares are in place, the robot's face will light up.
Green means the corresponding square is in the correct place, orange means it isn't.
From left to right, top to bottom: orange, pink stripes, yellow, blue, white, pink circles.
Rotating Gears / Flash
Click the gears to see Flash animations, including old homepages for the site.
Clothing
Click the orange gear to collect pink boots.
Rocket Ship
Clothing
Click the yellow gear to collect red sunglasses.
What do I do with the rocket ship?
First, you need to activate it.
There are three things you need to do to activate the rocket ship.
Light the device attached to the top wire; rotate the lever attached to the middle wire; connect the plug attached to the bottom wire.
Second, you need to enter the rocket ship correctly...
When you enter the rocket ship, the windows light up in different colors.
See the three colors highlighted in the device attached to the color wheel?
You need to match the window colors to the colors in the device.
The windows light up in the colors of clothing you're wearing.
Enter the rocket ship while wearing clothing that matches the colors in the device. You will need to do this several times. Come back later if you don't have the right clothing.
How do I get past the barrier?
You need a certain type of headgear, which you won't collect until later...
The top hat and the halo both work.
Cats
Clothing
Click the two piles of wood to collect the rabbit ears and black dress.
Solve the puzzle of the cats to collect the...
cat ears
What do I do with the cats?
Click the small cat. It looks at the big cat; it seems to be shy.
Click the eyes of the big cat; they change color between red and blue.
Why is the small cat shy?
Its eye doesn't match the big cat's eyes.
Turn all the eyes red. Clicking an eye toggles that eye and the adjacent eye.
Click each eye once.
Chains / Link
Click the images to visit other sites.
Clothing
Click the clump of chain links to collect jack-o-lantern head.
Floating Fish, Head End
Clothing
Click the clump of chain links to collect purple bat wings.
How do I get past the floating fish?
See the fish swimming, and the bubbles?
The floating fish is a made out of water.
You need something to help you swim.
The inner tube.
Mushrooms and Snail
Clothing
Solve the puzzle of the mushroom and click the bone to collect...
the inner tube
What do I do with the snail and the mushroom?
Click the snail; he moves back and forth.
Mouse over the stalks; a dotted line appears, either Xed out or not, from the stalk where the snail is to the stalk you're mousing over.
Click when the line is not Xed out; the snail jumps and a mushroom segment is moved.
Observe the sign; a bigger mushroom segment cannot be placed on a smaller mushroom segment.
It's Towers of Hanoi; move the stack of mushroom segments to the rightmost stalk.
Hints:
Begin by moving the smallest segment to the middle stalk.
Every other move involves the smallest segment.
The smallest segment always moves from left to right.
Bulletin Board / BBS
Click the two sides of the bulletin board to draw a picture or write a comment.
Clothing
Click the purple mushroom to collect halo.
Spiky Mound, Left Side
Clothing
Click the purple mushroom and the clump of vines to collect the cat body and mummy feet.
How do I get past the spikes?
You need something to protect your feet.
The spikes are very dangerous; normal boots aren't good enough.
The metal boots.
Floating Fish, Tail End
Clothing
Click the clump of vines to collect Frankenstein head.
How do I get past the floating fish?
See the fish swimming, and the bubbles?
The floating fish is a made out of water.
You need something to help you swim.
The inner tube.
Insects
Clothing
Help the insect girl to collect...
the metal boots
What do I do for the insect girl?
Click her body; she tilts back and forth.
Click her head; she sticks out her tongue.
Help her catch the four flying bugs.
It's just a matter of patience and timing.
Spiky Mound, Right Side
Clothing
Click the two clumps of vines to collect the apple head and cat feet.
How do I get past the spikes?
You need something to protect your feet.
The spikes are very dangerous; normal boots aren't good enough.
The metal boots.
Spiky Mound, Top
Clothing
Solve the puzzle to collect...
angel wings
Where is the puzzle?
Pull the cord above your head.
How do I solve the puzzle?
Click the bulbs. If you click the right one, it lights up. If you click the wrong one, it shatters, and you have to start over.
How do I know the right order?
It's Simon Says: Watch the order in which the creatures flap their wings.
How many times do I have to do this?
Three times; first with a sequence of 4, then 6, then 8. If you make a mistake, you have to start over.
Bedroom
Clothing
Solve the puzzle to collect...
red hair bow
Where's the puzzle?
Click the girl in the bed until the puzzle appears.
Also, pay attention to the room...
How do I solve the puzzle?
It's a sliding tile puzzle. Click a tile adjacent to the empty space to slide it. Rearrange the tiles to recreate the image of the bedroom.
Which tile is missing?
The tile that would show the girl's legs.
What happens after I solve the puzzle?
After solving the puzzle in the bedroom, you reappear in the Giant Feet screen, but the giant feet are gone, and a third stone marker has appeared. Click the new stone marker to collect the red bow.
End Game
Once you have collected all 48 articles of clothing, the end game begins. The About icon will be flashing; click it for a congratulatory message, and a list of additional items to collect. The collected items appear in your inventory screen.
Crayon of seven colors
Where?
Entrance to the House
What does it do?
Allows you to change the dolls hair color.
Eraser
Where?
Melting lollipop trees
What does it do?
Erases your data, allowing you to replay the game.
Stale movie projector
Where?
Rocket Ship
What does it do?
Shows a movie of the doll moving through the world; will show where the other items are, if you haven't collected them yet.
Mysterious mirror
Where?
Smiky Mound, Left Side
What does it do?
Displays the game as a mirror image.
Then what?
Once you collect all the additional items, click the About icon again for an updated message, and sketches from the creation of the game. Keep closing and opening the About screen to see more sketches. Congratulations, you're done!
Clothing
Head
Straw hat
Second Floor of House
solve the puzzle:
Make the second floor a mirror image of the first floor.
Blue cap
Mound of Discarded Toys, Left Side
in the candy wrapper.
Black top hat
Giant Shoes
behind a stone marker.
Green feathered cap
Giant Shoes
behind a stone marker.
Brown hat
Pile of Televisions
in the green seed pod.
Pink winter hat
Alongside the House
click the pictures correctly:
Memory game; click the pictures to reveal matched pairs.
Orange winter hat
Right Side of Roof
under an orange roof shingle
Flower garland
Gap and Power Lines
under a pile of wood.
Halo
Bulletin Board
behind the purple mushroom.
Red sunglasses
Rocket Ship
under the yellow gear.
Cat ears
Cats
solve the cat puzzle:
make all the big cat's eyes red.
Rabbit ears
Cats
under a pile of wood.
Jack-o-lantern head
Chains
under a clump of chain links.
Frankenstein head
Floating Fish, Tail End
behind the clump of vines.
Apple head
Spike Mound, Right Side
behind a clump of vines.
Red hair bow
Bedroom
solve the puzzle.
Torso
Blue dress
Big-Headed Girl
keep the girl's head in the air 10 times.
Green striped shirt
Mound of Discarded Toys, Left Side
under the green ball.
Red coat and scarf
Pond
in a candy wrapper.
Orange dress
Entrance to the House
inside the window.
White sweater
Right Side of Roof
under an orange roof shingle.
Inner tube
Mushrooms and Snail
solve the mushroom puzzle:
Towers of Hanoi; move the mushroom segments to the rightmost stalk.
Robot body
Robot Workshop
solve the puzzle of the robot:
Turn all the lights green by correctly placing the colored squares.
Cat body
Spiky Mound, Left Side
behind the purple mushroom.
Black dress
Cats
under a pile of wood.
Orange dress
Giant Shoes
under the yellow gear.
Sailor suit
Left Side of Roof
not hidden.
Orange spotted dress
Alongside the House
inside the right window.
Purple dress
Big-Headed Girl
under the purple puzzle piece.
Brown coat
Goat Creatures
inside the haystack.
Angel wings
Spiky Mound, Top
solve the puzzle:
Simon Says; watch the wings
Purple bat wings
Floating Fish, Head
under a clump of chain links.
Feet
Red shows
Goat Creatures
under the orange gear.
White shoes
Pond
in a candy wrapper.
Green sandals
Mound of Discarded Toys, Right Side
under the yellow squirrel.
Purple elf shoes
Left side of roof
under an orange roof shingle.
Yellow sandals
Robot Workshop
in the round water tank.
Cat feet
Spike Mound, Right Side
behind a clump of vines.
Red socks
Entrance to the House
in the red seed pod.
Blue socks
Wooden Creature Walking Back and Forth
feed him the seed pods in the correct sequence of colors:
red, blue, yellow, blue, white
Orange boots
Mound of Discarded Toys, Left Side
under the clown.
Pink boots
Right Side of Roof
under an orange roof shingle.
Yellow boots
Big-Headed Girl
under the orange roof shingle.
Green boots
Left Side of Roof
under an orange roof shingle.
Black boots
Gap and Power Lines
under a pile of wood.
Pink boots
Rotating Gears
under the orange gear.
Mummy feet
Spiky Mound, Left Side
behind the clump of vines.
Metal boots
Insects
help the insect girl
catch all the flying bugs.
Story
The story is revealed by the scene in the bedroom.
A young girl and her parents died in a car crash. The doll - the player character - misses the young girl, her owner, and is trying to find closure.
Posted by: chipmunk
|
January 18, 2010 8:44 PM