When the Nintendo DS launched most developers had no idea what to do with its unique features. They did however try to take advantage of the expanded casual audience that the platform attracted. There are games you wouldn’t find on any other handheld or console for that matter. One of these such titles is Sprung from Ubisoft. While visual novels have long been popular in Japan at this time they were never released in North America. That’s why one from Western developers came out of left field. The game was called Sprung, and it was released to pretty low reviews. I recently decided to give it a shot and despite my low expectations I was still disappointed. Let’s take a look.
Sprung is a text adventure game where you make various dialogue selections when prompted during conversation with NPCs. At the start of the story you choose between one of two characters; Becky or Brett. Both scenarios take place in the same settings but with different circumstances. The two storylines are intertwined in that they are friends helping each other out. Your ultimate goal as either one is to romance characters (again, via dialogue selections) and find a mate. I’m sugarcoating it as you may be able to guess because of the game’s name (which is kind of sleazy and in bad taste if you ask me). Either way the action takes place at a ski resort and several nearby areas. Neither scenario is interesting in any way, but some of the characters are at least somewhat likable. The writing is over the top but has it’s moments as well.
The unique feature of the DS that this game does make use of is the dual screen set up. Your dialogue and character appears on the bottom screen with the object of your interaction on top. This owrks pretty well because reading reactions to your prompts. Characters facial expressions will change if they’re pleased with what you’ve said or disgusted. Sometimes you won’t get any kind of reaction at all, and other times they’ll try to hide what they’re feeling. Unfortunately it sounds a lot deeper than it actually is. At the very least characters seem to have some kind of affection system because their responses change if you’ve buttered them up. Despite this gameplay is extremely basic and if you start with more conservative responses you’ll generally be successful.
Sprung tries hard to be funny. Really hard. Some of the choices you can make did make me smirk a little. It’s unfortunate then that you’re punished for making them often by not getting conversations to where they need to be by the end of the chapter. Additionally the game tries a little too hard to be ‘spicy’ at times. It’s clear that Sprung was meant to target the teenage audience, but it may be a little too inappropriate. There are references and even jokes about STDs, promiscuity, and dialogue choices that are downright disrespectful to both genders. I imagine having the words “the game where everyone scores” was meant to turn away protective parents from letting their children play it, but the graphic style and general presentation make it clear this was aimed at a younger audience. This story told through colorful faux-anime graphics didn’t sit right with me.
In a rather odd twist the game is divided into chapters, and each has their own objectives. This may be something like obtaining items by steering the conversation in specific ways or by befriending people. If you fail to complete the objective by the end of the chapter then you have to restart. For a game about dating you spend a lot of time not on dates, or even trying to woo members of the opposite gender. I realize that they’re trying to create a universe that feels believable but I’m sure people who bought this game didn’t bargain for that. Unfortunately a lot of the dialogue choices are really vague. You can make progress and completely undo all of it with one wrong selection. On this subject Sprung really tested my patience. It’s a little frustrating especially when you have to wade through all that text multiple times.
Another huge issue with Sprung is how linear it is. Yes, I understand that this is a visual novel and they aren’t exactly known for that. The problem is that Sprung gives that false pretense of giving you real options. You’ll almost always come to the same story conclusion at the end of each chapter. If you don’t then you’ll have to restart it. The objectives are often quite boring from things like getting befriending someone so you can get a pass into a club, or arranging a date for one of your character’s friends. There are some spicier options such as competing to get as many girls’ phone numbers as possible in a club. Obviously the target audience wants to do things like this in a video game, and it’s surprising that Sprung for the most part fails to deliver.
Sprung is also too long for it’s own good. I’m no expert on the genre but the few visual novels I have played clocked in at just a few hours apiece. These had branching stories and different endings which encouraged multiple plays. This is how it should be done. Unfortunately this isn’t Sprung’s perogative. Yes there are two different scenarios but given the subject material these two are clearly aimed at specific persuasions. The scenario I completed took eight hours to reach the credits. A few hours would have just been boring, but something this long is downright tortuous. The linearity and false pretense of choice doesn’t do it any favors either. The developers clearly didn’t understand the genre and just wanted to make something spicy for the platform to attract teenage gamers.
Graphically this one is a mixed bag. I already touched on the faux anime character designs which are kind of a mix of Japanese style and Saturday morning cartoons and how it feels out of place for a game with this subject material. The character designs are kind of bland to me because they’re so generic. Backgrounds suffer the same fate and it’s clear the artists hearts just weren’t there when drawing them. On the plus side characters have a fair amount of animation when changing expressions. This moves wonderful with a lot of frames and is actually pretty impressive. The cast is actually pretty small which I imagine was a measure taken because the artists had to animate everyone a fair bit. The music itself ranges from average to decent. Much of it is pretty boring but well composed. Overall the presentation and music are okay but not amazing.
