Jack and the Beanstalk: A Hidden Story, how many leaves does it take to reach the top of the beanstalk?
Keep in mind the above is the English title.
The original title is 잭과 콩나무: 숨겨진 이야기 (jaeggwa kongnamu: sumgyeojin iyagi)
I know, I know, this is an English website with primarily English games, but sometimes there are games that don’t have English translations and I hope that JAB Team could get them in the future. This is one of those games that came up in my Steam Discovery queue and the art looked too good to pass up.
And we all should be familiar with this storyline, right?
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Gameplay
I’ll admit, I went in expecting this to be more of a visual novel than anything else, though I knew you could move around on-screen as you played. Sure, there’s no battle initiatives and the path is pretty dang linear, but it’s not about just speaking with the characters.
You’re trying to get to the top level of this beanstalk asylum, let’s call it. In order to find the information you need, (which I guess is what happened with your sister Emily?), you’ll need to complete some puzzle areas!
Well this was a little rough for me, seeing as I don’t know Korean, but with a little help from a translation app, the puzzles aren’t difficult.
In fact, I solved one by accident.
There’s also multiple choice when you’re deciding on what to do or speaking with someone. And you can actually die before getting to the end so…choose the right answer at the right moment.
Graphics
I’m a sucker for games featuring pixel art.
Not the pixelated graphic overload that also seems a bit basic (I’m thinking of Noita with that description), but the ones that go into detail that you can really know what it is at first glance. The textures of the leaves of the beanstalk in the game, the cute little characters.
But it’s not a pure pixel game.
There is cell-shaded style graphics when the characters are speaking to each other, and the each have their own unique looks. Though I wonder why they look like they do…I’m not sure if it’s actually mentioned in the storyline or if it’s just not something the main character 잭 is bothered about.
Though he comes from a place seemingly of humans.
Navigation
You can’t explore in this game, and so it’s very linear.
In order to move on from a specific area, you’ll have to complete a specific puzzle or task. So even if you’re like me and can’t read Korean and are confused on where to go, there’s no backtracking or forward progression until you get something done. In most cases, it’s not difficult to know what needs to be done.
Soundtrack
Sometimes, I didn’t pay it much mind, as it can be pretty subtle. I did find myself thinking the music didn’t totally fit the theme of the game and I would sort of tune it out as I went through the conversations. Other times the music would cut out and there’d be silence.
Which I assume might be moments of tension or self-reflection, but I can’t be sure. They’re definitely noticeable when they happen.
As for sound effects…there’s a couple loud ones that might need a trigger warning for specific people. If you do something wrong in a puzzle it’ll sound a buzzer at you, signifying you did something wrong.
Final Thoughts
It’s a super short game, really, and I actually really loved it.
Even without being able to read it, you can kind of piece together what happened or make up your own reasoning for things. The art style was pleasing and the music, while maybe not always on point, had its moments depending on the area you were in.m
What if you can’t read Korean?
I mean, you can play the game without knowing Korean. It sort of sucks, because you’re not getting the full storyline–even though the outer layer is the Jack and the Beanstalk tale, albeit a different rendition. (Plus, where’s the psychological horror when you can’t even read between the lines?)
If you’re interested in understanding Korean while this game has yet to have English subtitles, then you might want to check out these sites:
- First Step Korean via Coursera
- Learn Korean via Rosetta Stone
- Korean for Absolute Beginners 1 via Udemy
