Natsu-Mon: 20th Century Summer Kid Review – Review

From publisher Spike Chunsoft comes cozy adventure game Natsu-Mon: 20th Century Summer Kid. You play as the titular sweet summer child, Satoru, who is spending his vacation in the Japanese countryside, specifically Yomogi Town, which is surrounded by trees, mountains, and sea. If you’re looking for a light and breezy experience in the vein of Animal Crossing or 2021’s Shin-chan: Me and the Professor on Summer Vacation (also developed by Millenium Kitchen), then Natsu-Mon might well scratch that itch.

The overall pacing of Satoru’s summer break is a relaxed one, and the game’s greatest strength is the way in which it genuinely emulates the feeling and sensibility of a youthful summer. The main story is light and takes a backseat to gameplay, but it revolves around a circus troupe that has come to town and needs to raise money to continue operating. It’s also a group that Satoru is eventually intended to lead, so you have a vested interest in the troupe’s success. Much more than this single narrative is the many others you find as you explore your surroundings and speak to the locals.

For example, you encounter a group of kids who are playing at being detectives, and as an outsider to the group (one of whom literally labels you “Visitor”), you are tasked with assisting the group with a variety of quests. Other townsfolk have jobs for you, too, and many of these tasks reward you with items, money, or stamina-boosting stickers. You’ll want to gather a bunch of these stickers early on so that you can climb to higher places and spend more time sprinting around. As much as the pace is relaxed, there are still sizable distances to cover, and not having to take a breather as often makes for good motivation to lend a helping hand.

When you’re not playing white knight, you can go fishing, catch bugs, and collect treasures (like precious stones/minerals). Whereas Animal Crossing asks you to denote these pick-ups to a museum, Natsu-Mon focuses on the creation of a personal journal. When Satoru fetches a new bug in his trusty net, he’ll open up his vacation journal and make a sketch of his finding, including a mini description. Every so often, you’ll hit a milestone number of bugs or fish, which will complete a sidequest and grant another reward. One feature that really stands out is how insects you haven’t yet caught are highlighted with a clear ring around them, drawing your attention towards a worthwhile catch. At the end of each day, just before you hit the hay, you’ll add events and accomplishments to the journal, each with their own small, medium, or large caption, and so it is that your summer exploits are chronicled.

Where 20th Century Summer Kid stumbles is in the fairly plain dialogue and interactions with other characters and a general sense of repetition. You can see who is where on the map screen, and even throw down a marker to guide you towards them, but these conversations are less interesting than the exploration aspects of the game. This could be chalked up to the concept of a child speaking to adults, which makes some sense. While there is a charm to the quaint world of the game, it’s found more in the simple design of the surroundings and the sense of discovery from roaming to your heart’s content.

There’s a joy in collecting seashells by the beach and an equally powerful sense of guilt from missing morning exercise. This is a countryside that lives and breathes, and an experience that really isn’t meant to be rushed. When you’re unsure of what to do next, the topic of the dinner time meal will often turn to an event to come or task to be completed, getting you back on track. That said, if you treat playing the game just like living through your own childhood summer vacation, you may be able to get a lot more out of it. Just pick a direction and see where it takes you.

Even though I haven’t experienced all that Natsu-Mon: 20th Century Summer Kid has to offer, I’ve seen enough to know that it should well serve a niche looking for a laid-back, Animal Crossing-like experience. The game follows a one-month summer countdown, so it’s unlikely that you’ll see everything on offer during a single playthrough. Almost every single in-game day brings something new, though, and if you have patience enough to buy into the premise, you’ll be rewarded with your own chill summer break. It has some rough edges, but it’s hard not to jive with the small town vibes of Satoru’s summer home.