You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension: a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You're moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. You've just crossed over into... the Out Of Your Comfort Zone. Playing room escape games can be a comforting pastime, as we've all grown familiar with what to expect; y'know the stuff, intuitively using objects and solving puzzles to find the final exit. Newly emerging Japanese game developer Detarou challenges our notions of comfort and familiarity in Henna Escape, a surreal and almost totally unintuitive point-and-click game.
While the basic premise of Henna Escape is similar to most other room escape games, that is using your mouse to locate objects and solve puzzles to find your way out, the normality pretty much ends there. You start out thinking you know exactly what's going on, until you do ordinarily normal things, like open a closet door or look through a window. Who knew that someone in a panda-suit holding a red balloon could be so creepy? And you won't believe what a flower-pot is for... Okay, I am exaggerating just a little tiny bit, because guess what? There's a screwdriver. And guess what else? It does screwdriver stuff. This is a Japanese escape game, so there are moments when you click and receive information in Japanese, but the puzzles are completely solvable without having to resort to translations.
This is certainly a game that will leave you thinking "What was that all about?" and you will probably even finish it wondering how the heck you even did. We all love those cute Minoto games, and Henna Escape continues the tradition of quirky Japanese games, but in an edgier way. Trippy moments aside, the slick graphics and smooth gameplay definitely make this game worth playing.
So prepare yourself for a trip into the unknown and the unexpected, and when you get through to the other side congratulate yourself for trying something new. Ah, what am I saying? You're going to love it!
Walkthrough Guide
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Walkthrough:
First screen (Door):
Investigate the robot
Look at his head
On his ear there's a green circle with a 1 in it
Look at the painting
Note numbers and shapes
You'll need to know that there are 4 yellow squares and 4 yellow circles
Turn Right (Bed Screen):
Investigate the bed
There are three things to find here (two you can pick up)
Under the covers you'll find a green kissy face
Under the bed you'll find a remote and a code - green square with a six, yellow circle, red circle, blue square
On the wall above the bed is a piece of tape with a torn corner
The torn corner matches one of the corners from the code paper
The code paper is upside down! Reverse the order - blue square, red circle, yellow circle, green square with a NINE
Investigate the dresser
In the big cupboard is a man screaming at a pot
Give him the green kissy face and you'll take the pot
In the bottom (small) cupboard you'll find a doll
Examine the doll and disassemble for the screwdriver!
If you investigate the urn, a little guy will poke his head out - you can't do anything with this yet
Turn Right (Window):
Investigate the trash can
Get the sheet of paper
Squares and Circles are interchangeable!
Look at the window - a panda with a balloon is staring at a despressed man
There's a vent in the upper right - you can't do anything with it yet
Turn Right (Buddha):
Investigate the Buddha
Take the happy frog coin from his right hand
Investigate the door
There's a man inside covering up his t-shirt
If only he had something else to hold
Give him the pot!
You now know that a Yellow square plus a green circle equals a blue square
Door:
Give the remote to the robot
He presses the button - but where's he facing?
Go back and check the window
The air vent has activated - balloon now shows a red three
Now that you have the screwdriver, use it on the metal panel
Pick up the lighter
Investigate the lighter - click to open and light. What to burn?
Burn the piece of paper with square = circle
Bed Screen
Investigate the urn
You need that little guy out of there
Drop in the burning paper and pick up the key!
Buddha Screen
Use the key on the metal door
You need a four digit code
Remember the paper under the bed
We need a blue square, red circle, yellow circle, green square (which is nine)
From the painting we know there are 4 yellow circles
From the window and balloon we know the red circle is three
From the guy's t-shirt we know that the blue square is equal to yellow square plus green circle
There are 4 yellow squares in the painting and the green circle on the robot's ear had a 1
Blue square is therefore 5
So enter the code - 5-3-4-9
Robot Screen:
Door is now unlocked - go through it!
Turn left - that door isn't going to be very helpful
Make a u-turn - what does this machine do?
Zoom in on the square metal panel
Is that a coin slot?
Put in your happy frog coin and press the button
Boom! Your "door" is now open
Posted by: DuncmanG
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January 4, 2011 11:27 AM