It may be small in scope, but GPTouch's (Hima of Grace's Diary) mini-visual novel Jurassic Heart is big on love. And teeth. Lots and lots of teeth. Created in just two days for the 2013 Pulse Pounding Heart Stopping Dating Sim Jam with design and programming by Guts (Thongrop Rodsavas) and art by Piti Yindee, it's a very short but also very funny game that's unexpectedly earnest to boot. You're a young girl getting ready to go out for the day with a friend of yours, Taira-Kun, to visit a music store to help pick out a ukelele to replace the one you inadvertently were responsible for him breaking. The catch? The two of you might have ulterior motives for wanting to hang out and you're sort of nervous about it. The, uh, other catch? You're not exactly in the same place on the food chain. Just click to select your choices whenever given one, and click the cog in the bottom-right corner of the screen to save or load your game whenever you want. There are a few different endings, so don't be shy!
While Jurassic Heart is short and also silly, I would hesitate before calling it a true parody because it feels more like a loving homage to the dating simulation genre... albeit one that went a little nuts in the best possible way. A goofy premise will only get you so far, however, but what makes Jurassic Heart stand out is both how straight it plays that concept and how genuine the writing is. Everything from the plot progression to the cadence of the dialogue feels like it came straight out of a more straight-laced dating sim, and the result is a wonderfully weird little gem you would never suspect to be half as heartfelt as it manages to be. It doesn't hurt that the artwork by the talented Piti Yindee is absolutely adorable and fantastic either. Jurassic Heart may be short and sort of silly, but any fan of visual novel-style romance games will immediately find a lot to love about it... and maybe we'll see a more fleshed out version one day. Hey, it worked for Hatoful Boyfriend!
Windows:
Download the free full version
Mac OS X:
Download the free full version
Walkthrough Guide
(Please allow page to fully load for spoiler tags to be functional.)
Jurassic Heart walkthrough
I can't really imagine anyone needing a walkthrough for this, but just in case, here's everything you need for sweet, sweet Tyromance.
Good End
1. Treble-Clef or Meat Hair Clip
2. Suggest to split the cost and both pay half.
3. "Not much, really."
Terrible End
In the music shop, insist on paying for it all by yourself.
Normal End
1. Fossil Hair Clip
2. Allow him to pay.
OR:
After the music shop, choose "I have tons of student association work/homework to do."
Posted by: Dora Breckinridge | April 12, 2013 10:04 AM