Boku no Natsuyasumi 2: Umi no Bouken-hen (2002)

Final day, final calisthenics...

After 30 days of Boku wearing the same clothes, canonically, he finally gets clean ones, what growth.

The goodbyes... they are getting to me...

But wait... WHAT'S THAT???

Yoh launched a new 3-part rocket????

The madman... He did it.

Oh hey, wolfman is still alive! Good to know.

I did it... I'm kinda sad, but I hold some hope that another Natsuyasumi game can be translated before the summer of next year. Thanks to everyone who checked out these posts! It was very fun to keep a diary. I recommend everyone play this game, or if you prefer video essays, watch Action Button Reviews Boku no Natsuyasumi.

But wait... What ending did I get?...

Farewell, Boku rocket.

Second to last update...... Things are coming to an end!!

The ghost girl came back for a mysterious last spoiler, before vanishing in front of my eyes. I think the implication is that she high fived Boku's sister's soul as she arrived, while ghost girl was leaving, but I'm not a theologist.

The good news are piling up... Simon and Nagisa announce that they are engaged already! Not wasting any time those 2. And the official, non-ghost little brother announcement from Boku's dad on the phone.

You know what would make this even better? To have Yoshika around... I wonder how it went arresting that old thief...

OH WAIT!

Yoshika took 3 vacation days immediately to come back to Fumi, what a great surprise. Specially because Boku's leaving tomorrow... So of course she proposes a Beach party at night.

Now the goodbyes start to happen... There's a very cute scene with older cousin Takeshi, where Boku thanks him and they shake on it, clearly about to miss each other very much.

Time for FAREWELL BEACH PARTY! Boku gets a chance to talk to most of the characters, now sitting around the beach, and it's very touching as would be expected.

There's this running joke in the last few days where Hikari feels lonely that her sister is hanging with Yoh again, and she keeps negotiating going back to tokyo with you to live at your house, instead of your new little brother.

I love this response, Boku has impecable comedic timing.

Yasuko and Yoh are super bummed out about being separated again...

But Yoshika doesn't give up, and gives us the first actually sung with lyrics song in the game!

And that's it for the super long, catch-up posts, so no more clogging your Grouvee home screens! This game really is something else, and def recommend playing one day at a time if possible to spread it out.

I don't know how long the August 31st day playthrough will be... but I bet I'll wish for it to be longer.

So continuing on the 20-something days stretch...

A weird dude arrived, but since the INN was full he camped at the beach. Hints are dropped about him knowing Yoshika, so probably another agent, watching for the thief to not leave by boat... But turns out he's also got a crush on her. Who wouldn't!

I found the last Rocket valve for Yoh under a lil bridge near the wolfman, and he let me write Boku's name on it as a reward!

Sadly that wasn't powerful enough to make it fly straight, and it crashed again, away from anyone's reach...

Wolfman sadly tells of how he stopped chasing wolves... When a mysterious beast got away from him. Could that be what Boku buried, after Kenbo the dog found the remains? (Ignore the reflection of my balcony door lol)

The day after this, Boku can't find the wolfman in his charcoal cabin. Suddenly, a wolf howls nearby...

I'll miss you Wolfman.

Something's happening!! Dinner is interrupted!!! What's going on!!!!

Boku can't parse it, but they just arrested Taniguchi the old guy... Yoshika and the tent guy were indeed agents in disguise... And just like that, without goodbyes, they leave the island.

Well, that's not true, Yoshika did leave a letter behind, I couldn't take a picture because it went away very fast, but it said this:

"Hey twerp I'll always remember the times we spent together. See you, Yoshika"

Aaaw. I'll miss her despite the bikini jumpscares.

Oh I almost forget! I'M THE BUG KING! BOW TO ME!

Takeshi tried to pull some shenanigans, but it all proved futile.

But what's that? Check out the name of the bug that defeated it... Yeah, exactly. I went through all of my beetles one by one and the very last, the victor, was my original friend. Famous ButtMonkey. Couldn't have planned it better.

The reward was pretty neat! Access to the peak of mount Totten, the one that overlooked all of my adventures.

Phew! Sorry about the spam, it's almost over, but I did have to go on my own vacation and then cram it all into a few days...

I think there'll be 2 more posts I'll try to space out tomorrow.

Days 20-26~ I'M CAUGHT UP! I'll separate into a couple posts to not make a super long one, but damn this game goes for the heartstrings with sniper-like accuracy.

A new guy arrived at the INN and everything got immediately intense and weird.

So Yoshika is some kind of FBI agent for sure, investigating the theft of some solid gold bars.

And she loves to give me fucking heart-attacks standing right in front of the post-breakfast/dinner camera like this now, terrifying.

These 2 are not being super subtle, but I guess that explains why Nagisa and the boatman didn't quite hit it off...

The wolf man gets all deep talking about wolves, how we'll never see them again because of how separated from nature we are now, and how their howls are warnings for us.

AND THEN EMERGENCY!

Both cousin Takeshi and uncle Genta seem to grow from this event... Genta wants to go back to carpentry, something he loved, but he knows he can't afford to, the INN is what keeps food on the table. And so Takeshi is thinking about taking it over to help out, they really love each other.

But hey... Boku is immortal, as far as I know, so why don't we check that dangerous cave real quick?

Huh. The funniest thing about finding the stolen gold is that at no point do you get a chance to tell anyone. The game just keeps that extremely important information between Boku and the player lol.

So we shall move on and pretend nothing happened. Oh hey, it led to this door!

IT'S SO HARD TO CATCH UP! It feels wrong to play more than one day at a time! But here I have a summary of days 14-20

Yasuko and Yoh are friends again! Just look at them.

I made the completely unhinged decision to grab an axe and fall a tree next to a river, which allowed me to meet... The Wolf Man. Who turns out seems pretty chill.

Oh, and there was an earthquake. Oops. But a cave did open up, so I know where I'm going next!

Day 13. IM BACK!

I couldn't binge days yet, but dang today was fun! I finally convinced Yoh to go talk to Yasuko and it went great, they are very cute and shy. Also destroyed 356 bugs like nbd.

Tomorrow a Monk is coming to town! Hopefully I'll be able to play several days and start catching up.

Day 12... What is going on.

I went to my daily "say hi to Kenbo the dog" interaction on my way to the forest. Boku decides to unleash Kenbo for some reason, and Kenbo sprints off into the treeline.

I found Kenbo a few screens later, before he gave me 2 barks and went into a spot of the background with some trees that didn't have anything... and disappeared. Turns out there's a secret clearing there, with some "canine looking bones" on the ground.

Boku buries them and creates a makeshift grave, while Kenbo barks happily. Boku doesn't mention this to anyone.

ANYWAY, MOVING ON.

Ghost girl asked me for a shoulder massage, just like the old man (her husband, clearly at this point) and she gives me an old coin to fully sell the old ghost angle. Still wasn't able to show it to the man tho, Boku keeps plenty of dark secrets.

There was also a cute cutscene with the 3 kids looking through their hand at the sun and noticing the power of SUBSURFACE SCATTERING, before they even knew of the word raytracing...

To be continued on August 22nd...

Day 11.

My cockiness got the best of me. The new strong bugs my cousins brought annihilated my crew, but I'll slowly trade them into my own army, don't you worry.

The ghost talk is getting straight up ominous now, I feel bad for her but I hope I can help out the old doctor and give them some closure.

Found Simon taking a pick of the sunset because "it's easier than getting up early for the sunrise", you do you Simon.

I'm leaving on my own Natsuyasumi the day after tomorrow, so I'll probably only have time for one more update before that, but I hope to catch back up after I'm back before August ends.

Day 10... The Queen is dead. Long live the Queen.

The Rhino Queen that is.

I defeated the first King-rank bug my cousins threw at me, and I did it with Takeshi, a bug my older cousin named after himself (very realistic tidbit, my nephew named his pokemon after himself and his brother) that I traded from them (The one Famous Buttmonkey defeated by stepping aside when it charged). I'm now an official club member and friend, and I get to go up to the lookout.

Next challenge shall be defeating enough bugs for them to bring out their secret weapon, after which I'll be let in on the secret of the shortcut to mount Totten's peak. Wait for me Totten.

I also had a few more very sad very ominous chats with the ghost girl and the grandpa, and got another rocker valve for Yoh... I have no clue where the third one might be, unsure if I'll end up looking it up, I'd hate for the 2 lovebirds not to meet again.

Day 9 spells ADVENTURE!

With my uncle fixing the bridge (destroying a post to make the most dangerous possible way to cross) the new area opened up. Tons of new bugs, fish, diving water areas and the rocket that Yoh crashed a few days ago (valve retrieved). The shortcut on the way back was also built using a most dangerous repurposed sign, so clearly my uncle and cousin share the same blood.

I was able to give the rocket valves to Yoh, who is now chilling at his house, and to tease the nurse and the boat guy, who are clearly crushing on each other. Boku's dialogue with these 2 is grade A little stinker behaviour.

The ghost girl was there again, at the clinic... But later that night the old doctor told me no one is using that room! Happy Halloween!!!!!!!

Day 8, short one, no pictures!

I think I fucked up a little and didn't make it in time to the probably-a-ghost conversation, because Hikari's fortune telling didn't warn me about it until later in the day (I guess it can change!) and my uncle stopped me right at the entrance :( I don't love not being sure how things affect time.

I did destroy literally all my cousins beetles in fair combat and saw my uncle repairing a mysterious bridge... so tomorrow there'll be more to explore!

Day 7. When I said ghost house, it was just a filmcow reference, I didn't sign up for this...

Boku and Hikari had a cute date getting to the (definitely) secret beach. She dropped some ominous hints about the weird underground tunnel entrance being cursed. It's a closed gate and my adult brain guess is that it was used as a refuge during the war, but if it has an air draft it means it's open somewhere else...

And then evening comes and a girl appears at the hospital... But is she really there? She says she had some heart issues they never managed to find the cause for, and stops herself before telling me a sad story... Listen game, I've seen Casper, I know what's up.

Also my new son Nice Joe cleaned shop flipping enemies like hamburgers. I'm destroying all these kids' beetles like nobody's business. Famous Buttmonkey took out the dangerous big boy by taunting it into charging outside of the arena, the madman. I love this little monster.

Also, while I'm watering all of them, I did start watering mine sooner, so my plant is slightly taller than my cousins'... They shouldn't have left it all to me!

Day 6, at the ghost house island.

Time flies... Yoshika is the new guest at the INN, a cool guitar playing college student with a red bandana, you know she's gonna rip some wonderwall one of these days. She's been teasing Simon too, which is irresistible as he is a nerd, and she gave me some cucumber, so she's alright in my book.

Hikari the little sister of my neighbour I've been hanging out with, wants to show me "the secret beach in the morning, but I think that's where I fished my magnificent dinner catch. She seems excited and my cousins were mean to her so I won't say anything. Also she's basically acting as my walkthrough with her origami predictions.

Also I was gonna say shoutout to Mazinger Z on the TV sometimes, but I wasn't able to grab that frame, and I can't remember the name of the anime on this one, so if anyone recognizes it lmk.

Day 5 in Fumi island, big progress!!! Today my family told me the little river next to us has no name, and it falls to me to name it. I take naming things very seriously.

I got my bug strong enough to be given a name, and I took the chance. I also finally remembered to cover trees in sugar water, so tomorrow I might find more future champions.

Caught a huge fish for dinner at a sneaky fishing spot, my aunt was thrilled and the model was bigger than Boku.

Had a nice chat with Simon, a National Geographic photographer staying at the INN, he loves sunsets here and gave me his unhelpful opinion on the river situation.

I finally met my neighbor's Yasuko lost childhood friend and obvious love interest, Yoh. He has a hard time finding the rockets he crashed around the island, but he doesn't know I've already found a part in the middle of the ocean, and this time I didn't even drown.

It's always way too funny to me how your uncle teleports to you on any screen transition when it's dinner time, to take you home, like a nutritionist slenderman.

If I figure out how to get video in here, you'll find a video of my beloved Famous Buttmonkey performing his favorite move, the rear-leg sweep.

Beetle doing a leg-sweep

I'm the king of Fumi now.

Day 3+4 of my Boku no Natsuyasumi 2 summer day by day! Couldn't write yesterday so it's a catchup.

It's not a huge deal because day 3 was mostly fishing small fry, losing at beetle fights and failing to guess what we'll have for dinner... but I did diligently water my plant and massaged the old man for cold hard cash.

Day 4 however, my forlorn middle-schooler neighbor took me on a walk around the lucky jizo statues (I got great fortune) and the rocket pad at the edge of the island... She freaked out afraid she might meet an old friend there, but it was deserted.

Apparently she lost contact with her best friend when starting school and they haven't spoken since... and this kid turns out to be Yoh, the builder of rockets that don't fly too well my cousins keep talking about. I still haven't managed to find and meet him. Before leaving she opened up about a sad song she can't manage to finish writing about a sad cat whose friend leaves... A bit mid and on the nose, but I'm a supportive neighbor and I want her to hone her art.

Then the luck from the Jizo statues came true. I caught a small beetle (I've been told they are the best if you take the time to train them) and it single handedly destroyed like 7 big beetles, leveling up an learning the special attack Living Bomb in the process. We're gonna take over this island, you an I, mark my words.

I also got stung to death and drowned in the ocean, but my aunt has the power to resurrect the death so I was fine in the living room afterwards. (Those were dangerous time for children)

Oh I love this game. It so perfectly captures the feeling of being a kid on a summer vacation that feels endless and magical and then all too short, and I would have loved this even if the immaculate vibes were all it had to offer. But no, Boku no Natsayasumi 2 ALSO has gorgeous 2D backgrounds and great character writing!

The story plays out through short scenes Boku has with the other people in town throughout the month, and they're all very charming. While Boku is having his idyllic, carefree summer vacation, the adults are dealing with the kind of grown-up problems you can't really grasp as a kid—you know something's going on and it seems like it's a big deal but it doesn't make sense. In the various vignettes, they allude to their grief, family conflicts, loss; Boku lends an ear, tries to understand. A lot of these conversations end with him walking away scratching his head in confusion. It all feels like the kind of off-handed comment you hear as a kid that you look back on as an adult and think, "oh wait, that was kind of dark!"

Not to say this game is super serious by any means. You can easily skip the conversations and have a pretty good time just taking in the atmosphere and catching bugs, but I appreciated the time the game spends fleshing out the supporting cast and giving them stories that I cared about. I also appreciated the little sleeping cats strewn about. Did not appreciate the tank controls 😞👎🏻🚫 he is a little boy NOT a large armored vehicle, you are being ridiculous

Looking past that (honestly I got used to the tank controls as I played, still mad about it though), this is a wonderful game that I loved playing. Boku no Natsayasumi 2 feels like stepping into a memory. Thank you to fan translator Hilltop for bringing this game to a whole new audience and helping me to discover a new favorite :)