Written: 11.24.06
Acquired: 10.11.06
Status: Cart only
Price: $29

There are games you hear about, and instantly know it's right up your alley. But sometimes it all seems too good to be true, and you find out the game's been cancelled, never made available on physical cartridge or whatever. Sutte Hakkun was that to me -- a game which I had thought was an exclusive BS-X game (a type of Super Famicom downloading service in Japan)



Hakkun's a delightful thinking man's game

Fact is: Nintendo did put out copies in August '98 and upon discovering this revelation I knew I had to get it. My mercenary came through yet again





                                                                                          IT LIVES!!!

Sutte Hakkun is a platform-puzzler.
Taking command of a translucent
creature resembling a dipping bird,
your goal is to reach the rainbow
orb(s) in each level

Sounds simple, right?  Right...






Some levels have 2 orbs

The buttons are very simple. "B" jumps and "Y" pecks. By pecking, you can absorb helpers (i.e. blocks) and move them to new positions to help you reach the exit. There are also jars which contain red, yellow or blue paint. By pecking, you can suck the color out of a jar and transfer the paint to blocks, causing the block to move in a set pattern, depending on the color you've injected

Red goes up and down, yellow diagonally and blue horizontally. Of course they don't travel the full length of the screen... there would be zero strategy if that were the case. Rather, the blocks travel a short distance back and forth






LOOK WHAT I CAN DO

Absorb blocks through your proboscis

[Beak!  BEAK! -Ed.]





You are what you, er, absorb

  







                                                                      Reposition blocks (only after you absorb 'em)

Suck paint

Sutte Hakkun translates to "Suck and Blow."  [We're all mature enough here right?  -Ed.]  And that's exactly what you'll be doing a lot of. In this game, I mean. At least in this game. [Oi -Ed.] You'll spend a lot of time sucking paint and transferring them into the translucent blocks

Of course you can freeze a block's movement by sucking the paint out of 'em, and it's by this method that allows you to change a block's height to better suit your goal

Observe:

Red causes that block to move vertically

                                    






                                                                                        Jump on, then jump off

Suck out the red and then put it back in

                                  That block will now travel
                                  higher based on where
                                  you've injected it.....

.... Allowing you to access the orb!

The beauty is, there are multiple ways to solve a level. The method seen above is just one, but I've completed level 1 and some of the others in different ways. It's really awesome to see how many different solutions there are, but they all get you to your end goal: The Next Level

To dump a color harmlessly, simply press down

LEVEL 2 AT A GLANCE

Hop on

                             






                                                                                     Suck it, then put it back in

Hop on the "new and improved" block

     







                                                                               1 down, 1 to go.  The last orb is easy

There are many stages, with 10 levels in each stage. The further you advance the crazier they get. Trust me, the later ones are INSANE. Just be grateful there's no time limit!

This coming from Nintendo and all, you'd think Sutte Hakkun to be filled with nice little details.  And you'd be right.  Look no further than the stone that goes from smile to frown the moment you hop on its head.  DoReMi Fantasy had a similar gig

Press "R" to scan the level -- later
stages have a bigger layout so this
comes in handy

And of course, different slots are available to save high scores and whatnot






CLOSING THOUGHTS

A fine action puzzler that will last ages on account of the later stages being damn tough. I dare call it a must-have for every SNES owner who enjoys staring contemplatively at the screen until inspiration breaks through with the resolute "A-HA!"