REVIEW: ‘Umihara Kawase BaZooka!’ Left Me Wanting More (PS4)

Umihara Kawase BaZooka!, a game published by Studio Saizensen, is a fast-paced action game that’s available to play on PS4, Nintendo Switch, and Steam. The game centers around players having to clear the screen of enemies by performing skillful combos with their Bazooka and a fishing rod. Players can choose from over 22 characters and play various modes that include 40 stages. Whether working together or going against each other, the multiplayer modes add endless possibilities for players to enjoy the game.

One of the main, unique elements of Umihara Kawase BaZooka! is its battle mechanics. Players must use their fishing rods to capture enemies. Captured enemies can be used as Bazooka ammo to fight against other enemies. Bigger enemies are much harder to capture, meaning that players will have to use their fishing rods much longer to capture them. All characters have their own special skills, which are referred to as Skills A and B. Because each character has their own special skills, players will need to figure out what character they prefer to use. Other objects in the game can be used as ammo, which makes things much easier for players to defeat enemies. When players manage to take down multiple enemies at the same time, they gain a chain ball that can be used more than once. Players can also change their starting directions at the beginning of each stage to jump right into the action.

Throughout every level in Umihara Kawase BaZooka!, the information displayed on the screen plays a large role. For one, every player on screen has a health and skill bar. Players can take an average of three or four hits before losing a life. Lives can be gained once players gain more than 50,000 points. As players use skills, their skill bar goes down. It can be replenished as more enemies are defeated. Each stage requires a certain amount of coins to be collected in order to clear it. Coins are collected by defeating a certain amount of enemies. Players are given a certain amount of time to clear each stage in a level, which is something they have to be cautious about. Leftover time carries over to the next stage to be cleared.

The options that are made available in Umihara Kawase BaZooka! can be very beneficial while playing the game. One option allows players to change the game’s language, which offers more accessibility to players. Some languages players can choose from are Spanish, French, and Chinese. Another setting players can change is the layout of the controls. After playing a few stages, I couldn’t get used to the original control layout. Finding that I could change what the original layout was helped a lot to improve my experience playing the game. For those that may need this setting more, it can eliminate certain buttons altogether to make playing the game more simple.

Although Umihara Kawase BaZooka! had many characters and levels to offer, I found myself wanting more. Had there been a main story mode for the game, I would’ve found myself much more invested to continue playing. The gameplay felt very repetitive even though each level required a different amount of coins to complete. Within the first few hours of playing, I had cleared one level but wasn’t excited to go through the same experience with the other levels. Even playing with other players in different multiplayer modes, a lot of the gameplay didn’t spark much excitement.

I can’t say I really enjoyed playing Umihara Kawase BaZooka!. The mechanics of the game were unique, but they weren’t enough to fully capture my interest. There were many characters to choose from and various possibilities to get the most out of playing the game but they weren’t enough to garner any enjoyment. Overall, Umihara Kawase BaZooka! feels like the type of game that can be enjoyed leisurely rather than something to spend long periods of time on.

Umihara Kawase BaZooka! is available for purchase now for PS4, Steam, and Nintendo Switch.