OVERVIEW
 
Surely, you've played the game of janken at least once in your life. You know it better as rock-paper-scissors or roshambo depending on where you live. Here we have that game with a twist. Instead of flashing hands in a competition, you are shooting your hand at enemies that will match the opposite hand. While the game may seem straightforward in some parts, there are times when random elements will come into play.
 
The story isn't really clear but you play the role of either the witch named Poi or a mercenary named Cykke and you venture through 100 levels (10 rounds with 10 sections each) of Janken shooting action.
 
Graphics - A-
 
The graphics are not exactly pure but I love the fact that the levels are designed to be a different kind of isometric. Where most isometric levels in games are tilted to be slanted diagonally like in Viewpoint, this game actually tilts the level towards you so it actually looks like it is in 3D. For the level graphics themselves, they are awsome and they actually play a role on how you play some of the levels like the heaven level which takes place in the clouds. The guide which tells you which line you are standing will not be there. There is also the Mountain which moves in a curve so you will have trouble telling where the enemy is and your shots will curve. The enemies for the most part are color convenient if you configure your controller right because they come in blue, red, and green but more on that in the Gameplay/Control section.
 
Gameplay/Controls - B
 
You move along six planes shooting monsters with the correct hand. The blue fingers are vulnerable to the rock hand (Square by default), the green ogres are vulnerable to the paper hands (Circle by default), and the red trolls are vulnerable to the scissor hands (X by default). When the going gets tough, you can freeze the action momentarily (Triangle by default). If you pay attention to where the incoming monsters are paired, you can shoot one of them and most if not all the rest of the group will die with them. Ex: If you see a red troll next or behind a blue hand, kill the hand and the red troll will die with it because the hand represents scissors and the troll represents paper and the rock kills everyone in a chain reaction. So if you add a green ogre to the mix and if it is next or behind the red troll then it too will die but if its next or behind the hand, then it will stay alive because it's not within the chain so you would have to kill the ogre first to kill all three since it represents rock and thus completes the chain. If you see a monster that is flashing all sorts of colors then killing that monster will kill all the other monsters on the screen.
 
Sound/Music - B-
 
Not to much a fan of the music but it's not too bad. There is an annoying sound effect that happens after you kill a set of enemies and then there is that ear shattering scream that Poi makes whenever she gets killed.
 
Replay Value - A+
 
Despite all I said about the previous categories, this game has a lot of replay value especially when it comes down to you figuring out a strategy on completing the level most notably the 10th section of the stage where you must meet special conditions to finish the level outright.
 
Overall - B-
 
Finger Flashing is one of those games that never made it to the US until it was released under the import section on the Playstation Network and out of those games, it's one of the few obscure titles that is worth getting because aside from this English fan translation, you don't have to be Japanese literate to enjoy the game. On the PSN, Sony did not bother making an English translated version but it won't make or break you.

Good review. Well worded, well organised. Overall good job. Keep up the good work.