Family Do-Over

Post date: Nov 25, 2010 5:38:23 AM

I started a new game of Bokura no Kazoku tonight and it turns out I was wrong about the combination and gender of children always being the same. I wound up with four kids (all girls!) this time, too, so the number of children seems to differ each time you play.

I don't understand every decision I'm making in the game, which is a little tragic since so much of my in-game childrens' development rests upon the choices I select. But I have a pretty good idea of what's going on in general. Do I take my kids on vacation or do I save up to send them to fancier schools? Do I make a decision that will make my sad daughter happy even if it ends up having a slightly negative effect on another daughter? That's the order of the day in Bokura no Kazoku.

The game has something like 30 save slots, so obviously developer Millennium Kitchen really intended players to journey through the growth of a virtual family time and time again. It will be interesting to see how the game changes each time I play and what effects the dynamics of the number and gender of children will have. Man, I really love this game.

Ironically, I ended up getting mad at my son because I foolishly was trying to play Bokura no Kazoku while he was awake and he started getting wild. He tripped over the PS2 game controller cord twice, and it was the second time that got me mad because he seemed to do it did it intentionally, no doubt to try to get my attention. I ended up yelling (even saying "Damn it!"), which I don't feel good about. Bokura no Kazoku is a reminder that time flies and your kids will be grown up before you know it, so in many ways my son was right to distract me. Playing games can be wonderful, but time with family is always better.