In the Legend of Kusakari, your objective is to avoid enemies at all costs. Beating them is up to other heroes - your real goal is to make sure the grass is all nice and cut. After all, the real heroes are spending time fighting enemies but someone has to keep the gardening up to par! Spanning fifty levels, this puzzle game will have you running across busy battlefields, ensuring each blade of grass is trimmed before moving on to the next level. It’s not a revolutionary game by any means, but Kusakari is a simple, fun game that’s easy enough to have a fun time with.

There are two modes. The first is the aforementioned mission mode, which takes place across fifty levels of avoiding enemies and cutting all the grass before your health runs out. The gardening hero is armed with a scythe for grass removal, and can also do a spin cut that will wipe out all the surrounding grass, similar to Zelda games. It’s easy to get the hang of things, and shouldn’t take more than a couple of hours to beat. And even once you complete the game, there’s always room to improve your times. Trying to obtain the Greenthumb Almanac items that you receive by completing a certain task in each level will also keep the grass flying.

The other game mode is an endless mode, which will last as long as the hero’s energy does. Hitting enemies or running out of time will drain energy, but cutting blue grass will restore energy. The game cranks up the pressure by steadily lowering the maximum health the longer the run lasts. It’s nothing fancy, but easy to get into, and there are even online leaderboards to see how you fare against other gardeners.

I enjoyed the overall presentation of the game for what it was. Graphically, it’s reminiscent of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, which gives it a nice retro look. It doesn’t look as colorful or vibrant as LTTP, but it doesn’t’ look too gaudy either. I think what I gained most from the game is that it doesn’t take itself seriously, especially when you consider the overall premise,. Even though the presentation itself is nothing special it makes up for it with charm that isn’t normally seen in other games.

The quirkiness of The Legend of Kusakari is probably its best feature. It doesn’t take itself seriously and that’s a major part of the fun. It isn’t a blow away awesome experience, but it’s a nice, simple game that doesn’t take that long to beat. With good replay value, a pretty neat endless mode and a charming aesthetic, Kusakari is an easy recommendation for those looking for something to just pick up and play.