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[Glyph]

I disagree with Glyph's post earlier saying the first puzzle is too hard.  Most games give you an insultingly easy first puzzle.  

True, but then there's an in-between with a solid but still manageable puzzle. And by any means, it wasn't a major concern of mine.

@RoboBob3000: Yes, it's possible. I'm up to level 40. And if you like that one you'll love 35

[jimmynewguy]

40!?!? I feel like I'm missing out... all this time still no solution on level 20 for me.

[Udderdude]

Nice game :O Very well done.

[Tatsunami]

I dragged a 'My Computer' toolbar to Windows taskbar, and I sometimes access things from there. Hanano works fine if I start it directly or from an original shortcut icon, but it goes white screen all the time if I start it via my toolbar. I'm using a 32bit Windows XP SP3.

I figured out the cause. I'll correct it. Thank you for letting me know.

Also about difficulty, I've found certain puzzles much easier than nothers.  Not counting 1-8 since some have instruction text in them, levels 9, 12, and 18 were very easy.  I think this is because there are few moves you can make and some of them will clearly result in having to restart the level.  Perhaps they should have been placed earlier.  I haven't found any especially harder than the others, yet.

I don't think it's always right to have the level of difficulty get higher as players progress. Well... I think a moderately fluctuating difficulty can stimulate players' motivation. Like, I think if players easily beat a level after dealing with several difficult levels, they will feel a sense of relief and confidence because they had braced themselves for that level, expecting it to be about as difficult as before. So, I deliberately left in some easy levels like 5, 16, 18, 21, 22 and so on. (However, I don't think 9 and 12 are easy. Some players may get stuck on these two levels due to something like preconceived ideas.)

By the way, I also designed levels 9 and 10 to be part of the instructions. I think that, for some levels (such as levels 2 and 3), players should be able to discover new rules through experimentation even without explanatory text.

Thank you for your thoughtful feedback.

[Rufini_the_dog86]

I liked it. Swaying difficulty is actually nice, it keeps me playing. I really liked the music too!   

[tipp]

this game has a nice presentation, very fun and lively with good musics as well. very hard though as i only got past level 1. i'll keep trying though, goodjob!

[J. R. Hill]

My favorite part is the dancing people.

Everything else is ace though, the graphics, execution, difficulty spread, etc.

[ithamore]

this game has a nice presentation, very fun and lively with good musics as well. very hard though as i only got past level 1. i'll keep trying though, goodjob!

I can't solve levels 15 and 20. 

Also, I'm glad to see v 1.0 of Hanano has been released.

[jstckr]

Excellent game.

[Valerien]

It's a good game with challenge etc. but sorry guys, the music isn't in tune ! Well the title screen one is, but in game it's not only annoying but not respecting basic counterpoint rules, like you have multiple voices layered but each playing on their own.

But overall, good game.

[Fyren]

I disagree with Valerien and enjoy the music.  I wish there were more tracks, though, since there's a lot of repeating and instrument swapping.

[Triplefox]

It's a good game with challenge etc. but sorry guys, the music isn't in tune ! Well the title screen one is, but in game it's not only annoying but not respecting basic counterpoint rules, like you have multiple voices layered but each playing on their own.

But overall, good game.

I'm pretty sure your complaint is with the

(

) made by PxTone(a problem common to chip music using simple resampled wavecycles). Mitigating it requires a lot of effort from the composer to pick optimally harmonious combinations; I do agree that some tracks in this game suffer more from it than others.

My comments:

It's a good but very hard game. I am not much of a puzzle player I was stuck on level 2 for a long time because I failed to notice that the starting flowers and the player-created flowers were equally capable. I am stuck on level 10 now...

[Valerien]

I'm pretty sure your complaint is with the

(

) made by PxTone(a problem common to chip music using simple resampled wavecycles). Mitigating it requires a lot of effort from the composer to pick optimally harmonious combinations;

Not at all. Cave story's music is in tone (even if the sounds themselves are slightly detuned). Well the fact I make this critique is due to my musical studies, but yet the music would sound a lot better if the melodic lines were opposite, enforcing this way duality in the overall loop (basic counterpoint). In cave story's theme that's the case, but you can take a look at Bach's choirs or even most of Hans Zimmer's, Danny Elfman, Nobuo Uematsu's themes (yeah, big names)... Look at piano sheets and you'll clearly see how voices evolve most of the time in opposite and concerted movements.

I do agree that some tracks in this game suffer more from it than others.

Yeah, this complaint was mostly about the game loop.

[Innomin]

Review:
So, first off, I wanted to say that this is a fantastic game! It took a while to solve all the levels (and then a bit longer to re-solve them so I could make the hints), but it was really challenging and satisfying to complete. My one gripe is that the final game complete screen is a bit lackluster, but that was only because I was expecting some nice "You are the master" text, or something like that. However, I thought it was very interesting that the level select screen kept changing shapes, and there were other details that made the game stand out and seem very polished.

I agree with your decision to vary the challenge (even towards the end of the game), because I never felt like I hit an insurmountable wall of difficult levels. It was very motivating, and insured that when I did get stuck, I still felt like I could get through all 50 levels eventually. The rules of the game are simple, but incredibly complex, which also helped make the game more accessible. However, you have a real talent for making levels, and the game never felt repetitive, and always felt hard. Which is a good thing.

Overall, it was a brilliant, challenging game, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm worried that the unlocking mechanic might limit its feasibility to weaker players, though, so I decided to make hints for every level, for people that are stuck at just one. I think it might have been better to make the game have two uncompleted levels unlocked, so people could skip one if they were really stuck.

As far as bugs, I only found two: (I have a win7 x64 machine)
- when you deselect the 640x480 window, then reselect it (and hold on the menu bar),
  the display shrinks to 320x240 and moves to the upper left corner.
- this is an aesthetic bug at best, but the main screen displays what level # you
  last completed. I think it should display the level you are currently on.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And now, what you have all been waiting for. These are mostly not solutions, just hints that should trigger the "eureka moment" usually needed to solve a puzzle. For some of the harder levels I had to be more obvious, though, because it was just too hard to define.

Don't abuse this list, or you'll ruin the main fun of the game.

01) Try dropping the yellow block on the other side.
02) Flowers that bloom on colored blocks are equally as useful.
03) That yellow block needs to move to the other side of the gap.
04) Don't bloom that red block too early.
05) All three blue blocks need to fall down the left gap.
06) The gray block can transport colored blocks on top. You'll need to make 2 trips.
07) To fall to the bottom, the wide block needs to go right first, then left.
08) To get past the wide block, you need to lift the red block somehow.
09) The red block that blooms up can still be swapped after it blooms.
10) Try pushing both blue blocks simultaneously, with a blooming flower.
11) There is only one blue block that blooms up. Use it wisely.
12) Make sure that horizontal bloomer at the top doesn't fall.
13) Bloom that red block at the furthest flower. You'll need some makeshift ceilings.
14) Fill both gaps with bloomed red and yellow blocks. The top half is unimportant.
15) You need to lift that red block twice. Transport it with the horizontal yellow.
16) Bloom both red blocks to make bridges. The starting heights are important.
17) The horizontal blue needs bloom early. Make a tower to the right of the flower.
18) Don't let that top gray block fall more than one space.
19) Swap sides at the top first. Use blooms to push a third block back up to the top.
20) Move the blue across the top of the huge block. Then put the other blue block on
    the yellow flower, to help you stack the two yellows. Bloom blue, then red.
21) The blue box starts a chain reaction. Nudge a few boxes to prepare for it.
22) Bloom and stack the red blocks to move the blue across.
23) You'll need to stack blue and yellow boxes on top before blooming anything.
24) Make an eight-wide bridge and push it up, then bloom the yellows at the bottom.
25) Get the blue box to the bottom by lifting the huge block. Then let it fall.
26) Keep the horizonal bloomers high, and use that bump in the ceiling smartly.
27) No colored block can reach the upper right corner. Bloom to lift something else.
28) Use the space above the red flower to lock the bridge in place.
29) Completely fill that upper elevator, so you can push all three reds with blooms.
30) Bloom the lowest red box using both yellows. Then build a red tower.
31) You'll need to raise the red block twice, on top of a huge block.
32) Move the reds onto the 2-wide, then use the 3-wide to transport the others down.
33) The horizontal bloomer can't fall. Use the 1-blocks to let the top red fall left.
34) Lift the huge block first. Then, using reds, get both blues across smartly.
35) Only move the red with the 3-wide, and keep it high enough to bloom, then block.
36) Get the horizontal red bloomer across, moving the top blue right to stop a bloom.
37) Bloom all three low reds simultaneously, by stacking the reds above to fall.
38) Complete the pattern in the middle, then watch the chain reaction!
39) Push up the huge block with the reds. Then move a blue onto a bloomed red box.
40) The 2-high can never be pushed high enough. Try making a slope with one bloom.
41) Lock one of the high 2-wides above the yellow box. Raise the right with blooms.
42) Get the left red fully right without blooming, by raising the huge block twice.
43) First, swap the top left red with the gray box below the 2-wide. Then, get the
    3-wide through the right gap. Bloom both reds and lock one in the wall. Make the
    3-wide a platform and move the bloomed red left, to bloom blue and the last red.
44) Bloom the horizontal red, then blue, then lift blue with red. Then bloom yellows.
45) You have to push up both color flowers. The very bottom is important.
46) The 4-wide goes below the huge block. You only need one blue to go right.
47) Move the yellow past the flower using the low 2-wide, but don't move it further.
    Get the 3-wide locked into the right wall, then lift the low 2-wide with a bloom.
    Then stack both blues and the high 2-wide to bloom the red flower.
48) Bloom both blues and stack grays on top, to move yellow to the other 2-wide gap.
    Make a gray floor in the largest pit, and bloom the low red. Using the blue, put
    the vertical red on the low platform (without blooming it). Now, move a gray
    across and onto the blue (using the blue in the gap), and bloom the high red.
49) Lock the four-wide on the left ledge, and move the blues underneath it. Then,
    use the tall gray to push up the 7-wide block with the low red. Swap the
    horizontal blues, then bloom the two vertical blues in the leftmost gap.
50) Drop the horizontal red, but don't bloom it. Push the low 3-wide fully right.
    Stack the low unbloomed reds, and transfer the high red and gray across (leaving
    yellow on top of blue box). In the right shaft, stack gray, red, blue to bloom.
    Bloom the blue on the left, then move the yellow bloomed box across the top.
    Now, make sure to get the low 3-wide all the way to the left before blooming
    the last yellow. From here, it should be obvious to solve. Phew - that was hard.

Thanks again for a fantastic game, Tatsunami!

[paladin_t]

...
Don't abuse this list, or you'll ruin the main fun of the game.

01) ...
...

Thanks again for a fantastic game, Tatsunami!

Wow~ So neat, I've been at 10th for a long time.

[Innomin]

Wow~ So neat, I've been at 10th for a long time.

You're welcome! I read a lot of feedback from people stuck at one level, so I thought I would just make the hints myself. It's actually why I first visited this forum (looking for a hint to 27... it seems so easy now, in comparison to the later levels...).

[ithamore]

15) You need to lift that red block twice. Transport it with the horizontal yellow.
...
Thanks again for a fantastic game, Tatsunami!

Thanks for the hints, but I still can't figure out how to lift the red block more than once. So, I did some creative cheating by copy/pasting in the data folder in order to skip it.

I wrote to Tatsunami about this, and he's cool with this method of skipping levels as long as it keeps the game fun for the player.

[Innomin]

Thanks for the hints, but I still can't figure out how to lift the red block more than once. So, I did some creative cheating by copy/pasting in the data folder in order to skip it.

Heh, that works, I guess. I don't think I can add to the hint without giving the whole puzzle away, though. Just don't bloom those blues until they're useful!

[droqen]

This game is awesome O:

I don't usually like puzzle games very much for one reason or another, but...

a) the way entities function is concrete and simple.

b) the level design is amazing.

c) I never feel like my time's been wasted on a boring or pointlessly chore-like level.


This is definitely one of my favourite puzzle games :x So far I haven't had a problem with the difficulty - if it simply got harder and never let up, I'd feel like I'm building a horrible solid  all for myself. Even the easier levels are a lot of fun.

I'm on level... 27 or so, I think. I was pleased when I realized the level 20 credits were a preface to the next ring :D

[ahaa]

hi, i loved this game and i am solving for a month i guess (slowly : ). it is one of the best puzzles i have ever seen. so thank you for creating it. however i need help for level 33. i am afraid i will need help more later but i have no rush. i think i am stuck in lvl 33 for 3-4 days. so i will be glad if someone shows the way to solution? thank you