Bonito Days Review

Bonito Days feels like the perfect game for anyone wishing it was summer again. This chill and relaxing game has you playing as a flying fish who can roll into a ball and glide in the air. Your character has a massive sweet tooth and while cruising through the air eats as much candy as possible. Bonito Days has both a single and multiplayer mode available for up to four players to compete locally for the highest score. There is a tutorial mode that is super easy to follow and shows you how to transform your ball form into fish form so you can glide through the air, and how to land in the target zone. 

The goal of Bonito Days is to get the most points possible in all of the courses. The game has six food-themed cups with five different tracks to challenge. Noodle Cup, Chicken Cup, Soup Cup, Herb Cup, and Ramen Cup are all available to try. Just looking at these cups is making me hungry! You try to nab as many sweets and power-ups as possible before you lose altitude and crash; your little fish can only glide for so long before it heads towards the ground. To finish the level you will need to land your fish ball on the large target. Different areas of the target are worth different amounts of points. So if you try to line up your landing, take into account that you will be in ball form when you land and you will roll, unless you have a power-up like a heavy weight that will prevent your fish from rolling. 

Bonito Days gives you the option to use inverted controls when you are gliding around, if you are accustomed to playing flight games like that. I have used inverted controls ever since I played Star Fox on the Super Nintendo. There really isn’t too much you need to do other than roll down the track and hit the button when you want to glide. Then when you want to stop gliding and drop, you hit that same button again. It is super simple to learn the basics, but it may take some practice to avoid splashing right into the water or hitting the walls when gliding. If you are in ball form you can bounce into anything you want, it will just take some time to get used to the crazy camera. It reminds me of Super Monkey Ball, so if you have ever played that game, you know exactly how your ball form controls. Sometimes it is really hard to see where you are going, so you may roll right off the track; I wish the camera would stay stationary and angled behind you instead of moving. 

Each of the five courses in the cups are set up so you get to attempt the best score possible three times. When I was beginning I found that I wasted a lot of attempts being greedy and going after candy when I wouldn't be able to maintain altitude. After a few tries learning where the numerous target zones were, I got more of a feel of how long I would be able to glide and still have time to get back. The purple multiplier rings are definitely tempting, but most of the time they are in a spot far out of your way so you may not make it back before you run out of time. So you will have to prioritise what you will grab.

Bonito Days has customisation options for your flying fish. You get to pick combos of two colours and also the pattern that is on their side. Once you select these, the game gives you a random name. My favourites so far have been Iron Fish, Sandwich Artist, and Bananna Slammer, especially with Bananna being spelt wrong. The visual style of Bonito Days reminds me of pictures you would see in a children’s book, everything is super cute and colourful. The music makes me think of summer and is incredibly relaxing; iIt’s a mix of instrumental songs, and Japanese pop songs that you might hear in an elevator or lobby. Either way it all sounds incredibly happy.

I feel that Bonito Days works better as a multiplayer game where you take on your friends and try to get the highest score. The courses only take a minute or so to run through, so if you are playing by yourself it can get quite repetitive. Competing against others definitely adds to the fun. If you need an easy-to-play title for someone younger this might be worth checking out, but with 20 short courses, there isn’t a ton to play here on your own.