Nautical grappling platformer Umihara Kawase returns on 3DS

Umihara Kawase is a bizarre series about a young girl with a fishing line. It's been released on Super Famicom, PlayStation, DS and PSP in Japan, and nowhere here – though there are ways to get it. It's the kind of gameplay you know from Bionic Commando, but focused entirely on the grappling.

Members of the original team have reunited for a sequel on 3DS, Famitsu reports. Called Sayonara Umihara Kawase, the latest release appears to maintain everything that makes the series what it is: insanely complex grappling/line physics, weird fish enemies, and abstract level designs.

The new version adds multiple versions of the main character, including a 20-year-old Umihara, and unlockable costume items for completed levels. The 3D character models don't look great, but this game was never much to look at anyway.

A new Umihara game is exciting in its own right, but it's also another opportunity for someone to localize it. Natsume tried with the PSP version, but it never happened – and that was probably a wise choice given how that game turned out.