Despite only being released on PC and the PSP, Gurumin feels like Falcom's take on the classic PS2 title, in all the right ways.

Gurumin's got this nostalgic charm to it through appealing to your kiddy side that just likes cutesy, heartwarming games. The graphics aren't revolutionary, but they get the job done while giving off this PS2 storybook feel. The character and enemy designs are all pretty adorable and definitely remind me of the cartoony feel that the PS2/GC era accomplished with most mascot platformers. The combat's pretty simple to pick up; you can learn most of the special moves within minutes, and chaining together moves (alongside a rhythm meter shown at the top for critical hits, which I found super interesting) to tear down enemies and bosses is super satisfying. And speaking of rhythm, the soundtrack slaps harder than you'd expect any kiddy game would need to, but it's Falcom after all; haven't heard any bad soundtracks from them yet.

But of course, it's a PS2 game, so expect some jank and questionable design choices. You'll constantly be switching headgear/drill types to account for obstacles and enemies, as well as the need to charge your drill to knock off armor for junk, so combat's not super fast paced; keep this mind and reframe Gurumin as a chill dungeoneering adventure for your childlike wonder and you'll get through this just fine. There is a bit of platforming involved and the camera doesn't always give you the best angle to precisely platform and dodge attacks; fortunately free cam saves the day again. And expect some dumb hitbox/hurtbox detection and edge collision, as is par for the course for this generation of games. I think my biggest gripe is that some of the dungeons are more or less earlier dungeons, just mirrored and reversed with additional enemies and obstacles, and it did feel like a bit of padding near the end. Fortunately, taking my time with the game and vibing to the funky beats of the soundtrack helped a ton here.

Overall, Gurumin's not an exceptional work in Falcom's stacked library, but compared to many similar works in the early 2000s, I'd say it does more than make its case. You'll have a good time just doing a few dungeons at a time and bopping cartoon blobs with your drill while banging to the beats, and while the story's nothing mindblowing, it's surprisingly poignant in how it tackles its themes of growing up. I really liked Gurumin despite it not living up to the standards of Ys or Trails, but then again, Gurumin doesn't have to be those; it's a game that appealed to a more simpler, younger me, and I think approaching with less cynicism here's just an important lesson to keep in mind with the things I enjoy. Give this a shot if you're looking for a deeper cut from earlier Falcom or just want an ode to your childhood, I think there's a lot to be garnered here if you're willing to take the time.

Gurumin is a solid platformer that manages to feel unique despite having a small handful of basic systems and conventions.

The graphics are probably what sticks out the most here. Tons of vibrant colors, catchy effects and blobby, not quite low-poly but simple designs. The lowkey Y2K UI goes very well with the high energy feel of the rest of the game. The music is also fantastic, even if a lot of it didn't really stick with me past the level it played in (and some of them repeat a lot).

Aside from some jank when it comes to non-flat terrain and the wallrunning they never officially teach you about, the platforming is fun and sticks to the limits of the physics system. Combat is either button mashing or special attack spamming most of the time, but the little depth brought by the critical hit system is enough to make things interesting even if it really only means you'll be hitting the button at a slightly slower pace. I think that the hats having all the same kinds of bonuses after their level 2 upgrade is a plus, since it means you can wear your favorite outside of bosses and specific aspects without having to worry about optimization too much. It does feel like optimization is somewhat required past the hard difficulty, especially if you want to get the unlock that requires you to beat the optional boss in all of them, but that's a commitment that I'm not sure many people will be into in the first place since it's purely a mechanical challenge and doesn't really net you unique content or extra lore.

Though that does make sense, since it doesn't really commit to the lore that much. It doesn't constantly make fun of its own tropes like a lot of games nowadays do, but it also doesn't really take them all that seriously. I don't think it would have been that deep even if it was all played straight, since the game ends with pretty much all major questions answered, so it's not really a complaint. The twist is very obvious but the execution of it and all emotional scenes work moderately well.

That said, there's a lot of... weird things in this game. "Anime bullshit" is the best word to describe it even if the term is very reductive and sometimes harmful. We've got: the grown ass adult asking the literal child on a date, the gay stereotype (complete with That One Voice) henchman, the culturally insensitive hats, questionable language around minors (coming from what I assume is the Urn?) and all that. It's not really ingrained into the game in a way that feels like it's integral to the game so it's easy enough to tune it out, but it's still there and it gets kinda uncomfortable.

A gameplay related complaint I have about this game is that it'll reuse level geometry pretty often. Some levels are straight up mirrored versions of past levels, which I feel would have been made better if they were actually presented as such instead of being treated as brand new ones. It's not like they're bad levels by any means, but with the level design all being a kinda reliability-over-ambition sorta deal (think Mario) it is very noticeable and very easy to get tired of.

Overall though, I had a lot of fun with this game! Don't think I'll be doing all the optional content it has to offer, but maybe I'll come back in the future to nab some of the remaining desktop wallpaper unlocks. They're actually really nice!

Played through the game five times because I'm one of those freaks who loves getting every steam achievement.
It has a charming, unique visual style and a pretty good soundtrack to bop along to. I think the gameplay is pretty good too, but after around two playthroughs the charm of the visuals wears off and leaves you with just the janky controls and combat.
The game's hardest difficulty level is where all of its otherwise minor issues become glaringly apparent: the slippery controls and the resultingly torturous platforming, the half-baked combat system, the large amount of seemingly pointless padding (for one: does the final upgrade cost for a piece of gear really have to be 999 junk when you average around 30 for cleaning out a level?), and the dull tedium required for S ranks. It honestly kind of made me despise the game.
Although this seems like a lot of harsh criticism, I do recommend it for a casual playthough. Just once around it's a fun little adventure. I guess.
(My initial rating for this game upon completion was 3.5 stars.)

I want to like Gurumin more than I actually should, but the constant thought of certain aspects in this game hold me back from my feelings of saying "Gurumin is great". In reality, Gurumin is a very charming game, but suffers from a few notable problems that makes playing it feel more like a chore at times.

Often I likened how Gurumin gives you a ranking at the end of the level and the fact it has a homing attack that made me really want to compare this game to Sonic. Sadly, this isn't the case though as ranking the highest rank simply means you beat all the baddies and smashed all the vases. Never once does this game really acknowledge you for how you do something over just doing it. And sure you can get higher ranks of plus signs to show that you didn't get all that hurt, but really in the end it doesn't mean anything to the game as a whole. On top of that, the game's control system constantly trips over itself with how often you want to do one move, but end up getting locked in another. Due to how animation works with your character and how slow each attack is, often this will led to your character getting hurt or pulling off the wrong move. It's not something that makes the game unable, but it is something that stops it from making levels with a little more flare and oomf than "looking for vases on this map". While i don't think every game has to be or act like Sonic to be fun; the fact Gurumin had so much potential with it's formula is upsetting to me.

The game also has two difficulty spikes that are completely optional, but should be noted as something you need for completion so it can make people that just wanted to chill with a nice fun game, have nightmares about it. Simply put, soccer shouldn't be played with a super slow drill, and the super boss for this game doesn't really need to go THAT HAM on you. Thankfully the rest of the game doesn't suffer from this, and is certainly something a child can take care of with ease.

As mentioned before Gurumin has a wonderful ride of style and charm, and a lot of that has to do with it's music and aesthetics. From it's wonderful title screen music to it's final boss guitar solos, Gurumin really be popping your ears off with great tunes. On top of that, everything is so nice and stylish that this game practically looks great, even for an old PSP game. Each level has a wonderful linear open design to explore, and something that helps with the games difficulty and controls at times. Many of the characters are quirky and fun too.

Really Gurumin is a good adventure game for all ages that has a few warts to it, but they are all on the bottom of this iceberg that largely it doesn't feel right to criticize it too harshly. If you love Wario land or Sonic games, I certainly feel you will find your way home here.

I love this game. It's not going to change your life, but if you want to chill and play some comfy videogames, this should high up on your priority list.

Gurumin's got really colorful aesthetics, nice music, and decent gameplay.

I've played through it on the GOG version, but also played the PSP version on an emulator and both run excellently so you've got choices in experiencing this cool lil game.