Ningyo [iPhone]

Inspired by the artwork of Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849). Play as a fisherman and ride on the tail of Ningyo the Mermaid, who will bring you to spots where you can catch fish. Along the way are Ningyo's kaiju friends. When you come upon a Kappa or Shishi you must catch a fish, then bring the fish to the kaiju friend before they let you pass. If you do not have a fish, the kaiju will eat you!

To play, hold your smartphone horizontally. Slide your left thumb to move left or right. Tap your right thumb to hop and jump. You get a point each time you feed a kaiju friend or turn on a lighthouse. Avoid falling into the sea. Receive a bonus when you reach a score of 10, 20, or 25. Tap the red score on the top right corner to pause or start the game over.

You will encounter ghostly glowing spirits called Yurei. Each time you ride a Yurei the sky gets darker and makes it hard to see anything but them. If you bump into too many Yurei you may have to wait until daylight returns so you can see again. Yurei can be a great help in getting you where you want to go, but they cannot be trusted. They may suddenly go off in the wrong direction, so you must be careful. No matter what happens, keep up with Ningyo. Don't lose your mermaid. She's your only real friend in this adventure.

There are also large salamanders that run really fast. The kaiju love to eat these salamanders, so hop on a salamander for a fast ride, then crash them into the kaiju and land safely on the island below. Advanced move: place your fishing line out in front of the salamander's nose to trigger other salamanders you may encounter. If you get a few going all at once, let the front salamander hit and feed the kaiju, as you ride on through to the next target. Racing salamanders is a fun move to master. You will notice that salamanders move upward when on their own, but when you ride them, your weight causes the salamander to move downward. You can hop off onto islands and hop back on to try and navigate your salamander so that it hits the next hungry kaiju.

Once you feed 10 kaiju friends, you move to the next level, in which you will notice more fishermen out fishing ~ mostly because they heard a rumor of how good the fishing is in this area, so now you have competition. The kaiju friends are happy the shore and islands are busy, because they will eat a fisherman just as well as a fish. It is up to you to strategize. Do you feed the kaiju fish, or do you cross over to the dark side and feed Ningyo's kaiju friends the other fishermen? It's up to you. Kaiju don't care. They'll eat anything that's made of meat.

Another fun move to master is picking up other fishermen onto Ningyo. You must stand on the very back of Ningyo's tail while facing forward. There is a low island with a single fisherman. If you do nothing he will hop onto the front of Ningyo as you pass. Now the front of Ningyo has a fresh batch of kaiju bait. If you come to a Kappa or Shishi, they will eat the fisherman on the front of Ningyo, giving you another point. Creepy, right? It's a weird game, but it makes Ningyo so happy.

As you advance you will find ways to amuse yourself, like pushing the fisherman pulling up nets onto a Yurei. The kaiju friends will eat the fisherman, and you get a point each time you feed a kaiju friend. You can push other fishermen onto Ningyo the mermaid, and when they reach a kaiju friend it will eat the fisherman, giving you another point. So you can play in different ways, either only using fish to feed kaiju, or going on a murder spree and feeding other fishermen to the kaiju. The more you play this game, subtle details are revealed during gameplay which will create new and different strategies for the player to consider. How far can you ride a Yurei or Salamander and survive? Each time the course is random and different, which can be very exciting and challenging for a fisherman and his mermaid.