*Note: I received a free game code for the Nintendo Switch for my honest review of the game. Thank you to Stride PR for the game code!
The minute I heard and saw the gimmick of Kokoro clover as an anime game that is styled as a Saturday morning cartoon I was intrigued. I'm sure many of us have fond memories of getting up early, pouring that bowl of cereal, and sitting down to watch our favorite Saturday morning cartoons. The game completely has that vibe and right from the start I found it charming with the bright colors, anime style, and a genre I was absolutely familiar with, magical girls.
The game itself is set up as twelve episodes which give you pieces of the story that tie in quite well to the overall main story. The main menu has the game set up according to how challenging you want it to be with Story mode being the casual setting, Adventure mode is the story with none of the dressing, and Boss Rush mode which lets you do a challenge fighting all the bosses. There are cute mini games that lets you earn coins to purchase monsters for your monster book in the shop and the Library shows you information on all the characters in the game as well as monsters you have fought.
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| Lots of options to choose from. |
The story introduces us to the main character, a sweet spirit summoner named Treffy. Treffy has lived alone most of her life with her grandpa in the woods because the people of the village are scared of her because of her powers. Treffy seems happy and is just living her life with her two spirit summons Undine and Salamander until one day the cartoon super villain of the story Valx Vulcan shows up looking for the mysterious Kokoro Clover gem to use for his evil plan. It's here that the story in Kokoro Clover really takes off.
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| Treffy and her grandpa. |
The gameplay in Kokoro Clover is fun! It's not hard to follow either as you jump and shoot things with Treffy's wand. She can also transform with the help of Undine and Salamander depending on what the area requires. It plays like a classic side scroll game, but with its own elements with a catchy musical soundtrack, bright colors, and dancing. Yes, dancing. In some fights Treffy can dance and win a battle which is in itself pretty amusing. The episodes aren't terribly long and yet you can replay them to get collectibles such as character trading cards, monster cards, new elemental forms, and new character assists. This makes the game fun for everyone, but not too challenging so you don't feel frustrated.
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| Treffy battles a monster. |
Just like a real Saturday morning cartoon, there are also commercial breaks. These are short and adorable with scenes from the game itself setting up the next chapter and showing characters that are part of the story. It blends in really well with the whole aspect of the cute cartoon vibe. There is usually one commercial break per episode so it doesn't wear out its welcome.
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| One of the cute commercial breaks. |
I liked the story because it was entertaining with comical villains and interesting friends Treffy meets on her adventure. It was easy to follow which works well for younger kids who play the game and it's lighthearted. Even villains like Valx Vulcan aren't so bad as the story reveals why he's a villain and I laughed about it because it was rather silly, but quite amusing. There are also gacha style games in some of the episodes which add a layer of whimsy that makes it a blast to play. I loved the art style and design of the monsters and elemental transformation. The fact that Treffy's hair color and color of her outfits change with them really sells the magical girl aspect and it's very cute.
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| A cute monster trading card. |
Kokoro Clover Season 1 isn't a long game, I finished it in about an hour. Don't let the shortness of it fool you however. It brings a lot to the table with the cute anime style, charming characters, fun gameplay, and some very cool extras with the minigames and trading cards. You can even go back and replay episodes to get any collectibles you missed which I did and it was still a great time for me. Kokoro Clover Season 1 is such a cute game and it's a fun romp with the Saturday morning cartoon spirit. Channel that inner child and check it out for yourself because you will have a great time!
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| Treffy having fun with her spirit summons. |
*Kokoro Clover is available on the following platforms: Nintendo Switch, Steam
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