Hironobu Sakaguchi is a big surfer. He also makes video games. Party Wave is Sakaguchi bringing his love for both together. But is the result a party? Or a bust?
Going into Party Wave, I only had one thing in mind: T&C Surf Designs is the greatest surfing game I've ever played—or rather, it sure as heck was in summer 1988. That was my watermark. And you know what? Party Wave is pretty darn fun.
The object is to ride waves, avoid sea life, and to get a bunch of surfers to pull off tricks without wiping out. The wave riding took some getting used so to get maximum points and pull off tricks. The game didn't seem as responsive at first, but that was probably a timing issue on my part. After I got that down, I had fun.
I like Party Wave. I like the mere concept of Party Wave. I like it even more when I think this is the follow up to Sakaguchi's brilliant Last Story and that this iOS surfing game is from the guy who gave us Final Fantasy.
It's always nice when people can combine the things they love—nicer when they do it well. If only I could play Party Wave, while wearing oversized Jams and a T&C shirt...
Party Wave [iTunes, $1.99]