Chulip

Chulip (チュウリップ) is a video game developed by Punchline and released on October 3, 2002 in Japan by Victor Interactive (now Marvelous Interactive) for the PlayStation 2. After several delays, the game was released in North America on February 14, 2007 by publisher Natsume exclusively to GameStop stores. The game is well-known for its unique Japanese themes and humor, and its focus kissing as being part of the gameplay.

The title is a play on words; a cross between chu, the Japanese onomatopoeia for the sound of a kiss, and the word lip. Chulip also happens to be the Japanese spelling of tulip, the flowering plant.

Plot
During a beginning dream sequence, the male protagonist kisses the girl of his dreams under the talking tree known as the Lover's Tree on a green hill. The player can then name both the protagonist and his dream girl, similar to what is seen in certain Harvest Moon games. The dream takes its course, the tree ends the sequence saying they lived happily ever after. However, once the protagonist wakes up, he and his father are just moving into the village of Long Life Town, which appears very much like a Shōwa period Japanese village. Coincidentally, the girl of his dreams lives in this town, but she flatly rejects him due to his reputation as coming from an incredibly poor family. To improve his reputation, the player must kiss other characters. En route to strengthening the character's heart and improving his reputation, the player must also write a killer love letter. When the treasured Love Letter Set is stolen, the player must track the missing pieces.

Gameplay
The gameplay is similar to most role-playing games in that the main character has a simplistic inventory, levels up to gain hit points (hearts), and spends most of his time in dialog. To gain more hearts the player has to find and kiss other characters in the game, finding out how and when to kiss other characters is a puzzle in of itself. Saving takes place in various bathrooms in the game (most of which have to be cleaned by various denizens).

The game and its characters follow a 24-hour day schedule similar to what is seen in the Harvest Moon Series in a free roaming world, and each non-playable character has their own schedule. In the daytime, many of the characters of the game are walking around the streets happily. Most of these characters go home to sleep at night, apart from a select few. The Policeman, for example, will attack your character on his nightly patrols. Some characters come out of their underground living apartments through holes in the ground at certain times in the day, if the player looks through these holes, clues are given in regard to when they come out or when to kiss them. These clues can be cryptic at times.

After a denizen comes out of the ground, the player has to find the opportunity to give them a smooch. To succeed, it is required to wait for the correct time where they will be happy and press the corresponding button. If the player succeeds he will be one step closer to leveling up (similar to an experience point system). To level up, the player must return home and go to sleep, where his progress will be recited by his father, and the Lover's Tree will give him more hearts and a new title if he advances. There is also a photo album in the characters home which contains pictures of the person kissed in various situations with quotes.

As the story progresses; players gain access to new areas of the game world via train, which include many more underground residents and hazards. After certain steps, when waking up, the protagonists father reads the latest front page news. Additional information can be found on another page when talking to him.

Development
Chulip took a full two and a half years to develop after its initial planning with 1 year and 3 months devoted to programming. Director Yoshirou Kimura began work on the project as he helped his colleagues at Love-de-Lic finish their final game, L.O.L.: Lack of Love.

Audio
The musical score to Chulip was composed by Hirofumi Taniguchi. The soundtrack was released by King Records in Japan on a single disc on November 22, 2002. Tracks 35 through 44 composed the "Long Life Film Soundtrack" and tracks 45 and 46 are bonus tracks.

Reception
In Japan, Chulip sold 6,645 copies during its first week of release. Chulip received mostly average reviews upon its release in North America. Many reviews cite the games quirkiness and charm as its major strong points, however criticizing the relatively simple gameplay at the same time. While receiving generally mid-range scores, most of the reviewers nonetheless recommended the title.