Opoona is one of those games where it's more fun to destroy monsters with Bonbons rather than eat them.
The story revolves around the titular character--named Opoona--who finds himself stranded on the planet of Landroll after he and his family traveling onboard a spaceship run into serious trouble. With his loved ones gone and his options all but nil, Opoona is forced to make the best out of a sticky situation by doing what we Earthlings do all the time--find work, make a living and keep his head above water for as long as he can. Only then will he find clues to the whereabouts of his parents and younger siblings, and ultimately discover that his crash-landing on Landroll was no accident.
The world of Landroll is an expansive environment. You'll have numerous opportunities in taking on various avenues of employment the moment you receive your Ranger's License-- from defeating monsters called Rogues to serving food at a cafe, there's no shortage of tasks that you can do. Apart from getting paid, you'll unlock restricted areas that allow you to explore more of what Landroll has to offer as most of the jobs you're asked to do require exploration throughout the planet's lush atmosphere.
When you're fighting enemies, the game shifts to traditional turn-based role-playing combat similar in part to the likes of Dragon Quest. However, instead of using weapons, Opoona's got a nifty little device called a Bonbon (no, not the chocolate-covered ice cream delicacies) that he launches at enemies like a kid playing dodgeball in recess. Enemies that appear in different planes of the field can be attacked by your Bonbons by charging your analog stick back a few seconds and simply flicking it, and you can do so in three different ways--an overhead, underhand and side throw. Bonbons can be equipped with a variety of attachments that affect its mass and weight--(i.e. slower bonbons are stronger, but lighter bonbons are faster but do less damage) And Rogues aren't the only things you need to contend with when in battle--you've also got a time limit working against you, as battles must be won within a window of only two minutes before Opoona wipes out due to exhausting his temporal energy from prolonged Bonbon use. To put it simply, he'll run out of batteries.
But perhaps the most interesting aspect of the entire game is its unique, unorthodox control scheme. You'll use the Wii nunchuck exclusively as your primary controller by holding it in your right or left hand--movement, throwing Bonbons, talking to characters--that sort of thing. It's safe to say you can play Opoona in one hand and easily eat your ham and cheese sandwich in the other without skipping a beat or getting residue on your game controller. Of course, if you don't fancy this sort of scheme at all, there's always the option of using the Classic Controller instead.
There are times when the game can be as disorienting as it is delightfully strange, especially when you're exploring Landroll for the first time, and the game's poor use of a map doesn't help much. As mentioned before, Landroll is a big world, and that in itself is a blessing and a curse. You are often given little direction as to what to do next, and it's easy to get lost especially with a cumbersome camera working against you. The tasks you perform throughout the game range from exceedingly enjoyable to downright tedious, and character dialogue is dry, formulaic and lacking any real personality. The music by Hitoshi Sakimoto is fantastic as always--even though some of the themes don't necessarily fit the quirky nature of the game, they're far from out of place. Much of the game's graphics are beautifully realized, whereas other areas could have benefited just as much. Still, none of it is ugly, so you'll enjoy spending as much time taking in the sights as you would throwing Bonbons capriciously at bad guys.
Opoona is a game that has the potential of growing on you if you play it long enough. Probably even more so if you opt to use the Nunchuck. And it's one of those rare gems that you might be able to duly appreciate and tell your friends about--unless they happen across this writing. It's at a great price now, so if you have an interest in the adventures of a young boy with a Bonbon on his head, pick it up.