Hameln no Violin Hiki (or Violinist of Hameln as this translates to) is a late released platforming side scroller on the Super Nintendo. It was created by a developer I’m completely unfamiliar with, is based off a popular manga series I’ve never heard of, and was never released outside of Japan. With this information it seems pretty unlikely that I would have ever played it, but this game has garnered quite the reputation. In North America it has gained a cult following. It has been brought to my attention several times, and now that I’m putting in a serious effort to increase my Super Famicom collection I bid and won an original import release of the game.
It’s a side scrolling platform title and therefore I wasn’t too worried about any problems from the language barrier especially with the internet as a helpful resource. While I can see why it wasn’t released (it is after based on a license no one outside of Japan had ever heard of) I’m disappointed it was never released here. This was truly a pleasant surprise and this game quickly became one of my favorite side scrolling platformers of all time. The Violinist of Hameln is very unique, engrossing, and it’s just a treat to play.
The story is introduced to the player via a vaguely animated introductory sequence. Because the text is entirely in Japanese I can only piece it together using written resources, but I’ll give it my best shot. A group of vulgar monsters is attacking a village and threatening a child when a young maiden tries to protect him. The odds are evened when, out of virtually nowhere, a violinist (though his instrument looks more like a cello to me) begins playing music causing the foul beasts to dance uncontrollably. This is Hameln, and he’s a famous hero in these parts. He, along with the aforementioned maiden (who is aptly named Flute) set out to the nearby monster castle to put an end to this tyranny.
The adventure leads them to a variety of villages all under siege by evil creatures, and into the depths of their lairs. From what I understand the scenarios follow events from the manga series on which this game is based, but I honestly wouldn’t know. Either way, let’s move on to the gameplay. The areas you can travel to are separated via a world map wherein you select your destination. There are four different areas in this world, and they each contain one village and several action based levels. You can return to any of these at your leisure, and the town areas are particularly important because here you can purchase items with gold (which is found in the main stages) and interact with NPCs which harkens a bit toward the role playing game genre which is cool.
The game itself is a very unique side scrolling platformer. You control Hameln who can walk, jump, and attack enemies with music note projectiles that fly from his instrument when it is played. At first it’s a little annoying that our hero cannot run, and his walking speed leaves a little to be desired but this is a slow and meticulous game and therefore it makes sense. Your life bar is displayed via hearts at the bottom of the screen and restorative items are hidden in treasure chests strewn about each stage. The character introduced in the opening sequence, Flute, follows Hameln throughout every level. This is where things get really interesting. She too has a life bar, but cannot perish because she’s the main gameplay gimmick here.
Normally a two character set up is the kiss of death for a game like this (Knuckles Chaotix I’m looking at you). Violinist of Hameln pulls it off with surprising finesse. Unlike our main character Flute cannot jump but can climb small barriers. Hameln can pick her up and throw her which is actually more powerful than his default attack. This is also used to destroy specific barriers and is also necessary at some points to get her up to high platforms. By pressing the X button you can command Flute to hold still. This mechanic is often used to keep her out of danger as well as to make her stand on switches or even to have her wait for you to catch up.
The big gameplay element Flute brings with her is the ability to dress up in costumes. These are found within the stages themselves (these are not hidden because they’re required for progression) but can also be purchased from stores. Most of these are based off of animals, but others are mere objects such as a frisbee or curling disc. Others are a little more strange; the flying saucer immediately comes to mind. While many make little sense I still found all of them to be hilarious and fun to use.
The costumes are accessed via the start menu and are each displayed as a cute picture of varying size. I really like the interface for this menu. It’s cute and entirely unique to this game. It’s a good thing too because you’ll be seeing it a lot. Upon selecting one Flute puts on the costume (much to her despair) and gains specific abilities for each of them. For example, the frog suit allows her to jump high when you’re on top of her head, the penguin costume gives her the ability to float across the surface of water, as a robot she can punch and break walls, and more. The different abilities she can use via the costumes keeps the gameplay fresh throughout the quest.
Others transform her into a weapon of sorts that can be used against the enemy. When she’s in the frisbee costume you can throw her at opponents, and as a missile she causes an explosion upon impact. There are a total of fifteen different costumes which is just insane! For the most part these are used to get past certain obstacles, but if you’ve a creative mind you can figure out how to use different powers in the same situation. There are some great puzzles and intelligently designed obstacles that take advantage of this system. The only thing I don’t like is the fact that you have to constantly access the menu to switch Flute’s costumes. As I mentioned earlier it’s mostly painless though. What isn’t is that the transformation sequences take a few seconds to complete.
Violinist of Hameln is an fantastically designed game. Enemy patterns, platform placement, and the wide array of obstacles are all very creative and will often require you to think on your feet. Exploration is greatly rewarded by coins, restorative items, heart upgrades, 1ups, and musical notes that permanently upgrade Hameln’s attack power. With that said it’s not extremely challenging. Difficulty is middle of the road, but in a remarkably pleasant way. Experienced gamers will rarely struggle, and the most trouble I had was against the boss characters.
These usually cannot be hurt until they’re first stunned. How is this done? By throwing Flute at specific targets on their body, of course. The only big complaint I have is the fact that this game lacks any kind of save feature. For a mid 90s release this puzzling. You have to play from start to finish in one sitting which is a little annoying in my opinion. At least the game isn’t particularly long. My first time through I finished the game in around three hours. While this is no doubt disappointing for a full priced release it’s alright by retro standards.
This is a very graphically impressive title. It’s rare to see a side scroller from this era pull off an anime aesthetic that’s immediately evident during gameplay, but this one managed it with a lot of finesse. The environments in the Violinist of Hameln look absolutely fantastic. There’s limited parallax here, but the backgrounds make use of a variety of rotational effects that look marvelous. These feature significant detail, and convey the fantasy anime art style quite well. I really like the character designs here. Both Hameln and Flute look remarkably similar to the drawings on the cover art. What I really like is the fact that they feature so many different frames.
Flute in particular is a really charming character that looks absolutely miserable whenever thrown or shoved into a costume. It adds a lot of charm to the experience; I’ll never forget how despaired she appears when hovering in the sun fish costume. This made me laugh out loud. This is pretty significant considering the game is limited to sixteen bit sprite designs. Music is a central theme to the game, and the developer did not skimp on the soundtrack. I was able to recognize renditions of classic pieces throughout the tracks. It’s really cool, and it all sounds marvelous. They may be limited to chip tune hardware, but everything sounds remarkably good. There’s a big air of fantasy in every piece of music and it makes the game feel all the more epic and grand.
