One of the first things you’ll notice about the beginning of Rakuen is that it’s dim, like someone turned the brightness down on your Nintendo Switch when you weren’t looking. Exploring the hospital with the nameless boy, you’ll notice everything is covered in a dull sheet of white. Colors aren’t popping on your OLED screen. You’ll quickly get used to it and it’ll start to feel normal, just like how living in a hospital would become to a child – they’re incredibly resilient.
And once you guide the boy and his mother to Morizora’s Forest, the vibrant colors – all sorts of violet and yellow and green hues – will pop off the screen and fully immerse you in the fantasy realm. This is just one of the ways developer Laura Shigihara uses the environment and its color pallet – along with her incredible score and insanely well written characters – to bring the world of Rakuen to life and contrast it with the mundane, sad, and sometimes morbid realm of reality.
Rakuen, first released on PC in 2017 and now available on Switch, follows a young boy living in a hospital. His name isn’t stated, nor is the reason for his stay, but you’re given enough context early on to know his time has no end in sight. The boy is occasionally given the a-ok by his doctor to leave his bed and so he explores the confines of his unfortunate home. He talks to Sue about her marble collection and the worlds they contain, gets yelled at by Tony – who hasn’t had his coffee yet! – and tries to sneak into boarded off sections of the hospital.
Morizora, the Forest King.
The boy’s mother visits her son, and, knowing he wishes he could get away, travels with him to the fantasy realm of Morizora’s Forest – the vibrant world straight out of their favorite storybook, Rakuen. They seek an audience with Morizora, the forest king, to be granted one wish. Morizora, however, has fallen into a deep slumber and can only be awoken by the song “Mori no Kokoro.” Once you’re given the quest of learning the song to awaken the king the game truly takes off.
The boy and his beautifully supportive mother travel around the fantasy realm, interacting with the hospital’s inhabitants who have become adorable creatures in this realm or, in one case, a grumpy bear. Through five different quests, the boy will help his neighbors reconnect with loved ones, find happiness, or solve unfinished business. I could go into more depth about the individual quests but I (A) think it’s best to go in not knowing where the stories may go and (B) have already cried enough because of this game.
I thought I could handle the emotional weight of Rakuen. I was wrong. The game hit me like a wave in my final play session, starting with Kisaburo’s plot until the credits started rolling. In need of a good cry? Look no further than Rakuen.
Sue’s quest was my favorite, and I could read about her marble worlds all day long.
The gameplay of Rakuen’s quests is simple enough. There’s no combat to worry about – the quests are mostly full of environmental and logical puzzles that are easy enough to follow. There’s even a dedicated “Talk to Mom” button – in case the game wasn’t wholesome enough already – that can give you a hint if you’re unsure of where to go next. I really appreciated the occasional helpful reminder if I, for example, forgot who I was supposed to deliver an item to or which section of the forest to explore next.
Rakuen’s aesthetic is wonderful – it’s like an HD Gameboy Advance game. It even has black bars on the sides of the screen to change the aspect ratio. The music is beautiful as well as Shigihara shows off her talents as a composer, songwriter, and singer. The final rendition of “Mori no Kokoro,” sung by Shigihara, Andy Hall, and Dale North, is exceptionally moving. The game also makes great use of silence – there are times during the more emotional scenes where the score drops out completely, which would immerse me further in the narrative. Overall, the aesthetic and music of Rakuen combine to elevate an already extremely touching story.
The vibrant leeble village, home to some familiar friends from the hospital.
In addition to Rakuen, the deluxe edition on Switch includes Mr. Saitou, a short game set in the world of Rakuen, and a couple animated shorts. Mr. Saitou started as satire of office work culture before turning into a fantasy adventure where a salaryman who has all but given up on life rediscovers his strength, bravery, and happiness thanks to an impressively kind child. It contains more humor than the main game, but still hits you in the gut at the end. The animated shorts, Farmer in the Sky, are fun and humorous and show that the world and art of Rakuen work just as well in 3D as they do in 2D. I certainly wouldn’t mind for more animated shorts in this style or even a 3D game set in Rakuen.
After spending the last few days in the world of Rakuen, I’m not sure if I’ll ever really leave it – or if I’d want to. Even with its tear-summoning narrative, the world of Rakuen is one full of empathy, selflessness, and connection. It presents a beautiful alternative to the real world and provides a space for those of us who sometimes wish to live in a fantasy to do just that.
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