These days I was focused way more on beetle sumo. I'm starting to learn more about how it works, and it does seem like there's luck to it too. I decided to use save states just for the beetle sumo because I wanted to test some stuff out and see how it reacts, and I just wouldn't be able to do that as easily if I had to wait a day for my bug to be eligible to go back into the ring every time it loses.
So far, I can confirm:
- Bigger bugs of the same species are better than smaller bugs (especially those with the BIG tag)
- Match-ups matter. Talking to Shigeru, I get hints every now and then about which bugs face-off better against others.
- Sometimes, poking to ~50% stamina is better than poking a little bit. The longer they stay angry, the more likely they are to perform their learned skills. How much more likely? No idea. But from my save state testing it feels like there's a little increase.
- Once you make it to the Strong rank, trade for their bugs. Butterflies are super valuable, so catch them while running around to trade for beetles. By trading, you're more likely to find other species earlier, bigger bugs, and even... a jumping mantis??? Hey ref, is that even allowed?

Now I need to make it through all the King rank bugs they have, but I can only face them a day at a time. I've got a high-level Big Red-Footed Stag and a Big Gold Oni that have been my go-to's, now I'm just trying to assemble all the different beetles to learn more about them from Takeshi. I can still do it a little at a time though, so that's chill.
Otherwise, there's still lots to love from the small interactions you have with all the characters. Boku's the kind of kid who'll stand in the middle of two adults speaking and interject with the first thought that pops into his head, no filter. So there's lots of great lines and reactions. It's very kid-like and endearing, honestly.
I'm also really loving the quiet moments and fun little interactable bits. You can take a bath with your cousins and they just sit with you in awkward silence. Or you can go in by yourself during the day and it's just you, in this big bath, peering over the edge. Like, the framing here is so great.

Or if you go at the end of the hall on the second floor of the guest house and look out the window of the kitchen, you get to see this screen again but with a little Boku peeking out of a window.

The use of the wide angles here is especially perfect. And I think that's what I really love about the use of fixed camera rooms with prerendered backgrounds: they pop up as little surprises, punchlines to a joke. Suddenly you switch to a new space and it can be either way bigger or way smaller than you expected. Or it can lead to wonder. The path to Okusawa was blocked off for so long but you only ever saw the entrance to it from above, with a downward-tilted shot. Then as soon as you cross into it, BAM! It opens up, the camera's lower and pointed up with a wider lens to accentuate the vastness and possibility of the space you're about to enter.
There's something to that you just don't get from dynamic, constantly moving cameras in a game. And I'm charmed by the way the fixed cameras are being used for comedy or wonder as opposed to horror. It works so well.



