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There are many games that remind us of summer. Cooling off in the basement with Dragon Warrior III in the backseat on a hot day, racing Gran Turismo, etc. But there really aren't many games about summer. This is one of the reasons why Kabuto Park is so attractive. It's a game that not only captures the fleeting moments of your childhood summer, but also packs a Pokemon-style adventure into a game that lasts just a few hours.

Kabuto Park captures the fleeting joy of summer vacation

The bug-slaying game also distills the Pokémon formula down to its essence.

Kabuto Park actually launched on PC last year, but is currently available on both Xbox and Switch, with the latter probably being the ideal platform. The game takes place over the course of a month, and you play as Hana, a young girl working her way up the competitive ranks of the Beetle Battle Championships during her summer vacation. This is done in a traditional way. Collect bugs to grow stronger and compete against other collectors.

However, Kabuto Park has streamlined this process considerably. The game only has four main screens. One is a map that you use to navigate to several locations to catch bugs. As you progress through the game, you'll earn money that you can use to buy better boots, which will allow you to explore new areas like the swamp. Catching bugs involves swinging a net at the right moment, which becomes more difficult as you encounter rarer and more powerful animals. There's also a shop where you can buy things like honey to slow down the bugs and make them easier to catch, as well as a collection screen where you can sort out the bugs and feed them candy to level up and eventually unlock a terrarium to house the bugs.

Most of the action takes place in combat. You build a team just like in Pokémon. In this case, each team consists of three bugs, all of whom have unique statistics such as strength and defense, and play against other players. The actual fight is very similar to a sumo match. The goal is to knock the opposing team out of the ring (lovingly called a tambourine). Bugs automatically perform push tasks, but you can turn the tide of battle by using cards that do things like temporarily boost their stats or deliver a quick, decisive kick to knock opposing bugs across the ring. It's relatively simple, at least by the standards of modern Pokémon, but there's still a fair amount of strategy involved in assembling your team and using your cards at the right moment. Some matches can be very competitive, especially if the teams are evenly matched.

Each battle moves the clock forward one day, so you'll be running the competitive ladder and the August calendar at the same time. I beat the game in about three hours, and was particularly impressed by how Kabuto Park captured the satisfying arc of an epic RPG in such a compact package. Its brief nature also fits perfectly with the theme of the game. Like the best summer moments of your childhood, Kabuto Park is short-lived and leaves you wishing for more.

There are many things I like about Kabuto Park. It's lovely storybook art that feels like a warm afternoon, charming and often funny dialogue, and the sound of whining cicadas providing a summer soundtrack. But what I like most is that there are very few games like this. Aside from Millenium Kitchen's work, most of which is available only in Japanese, there aren't many works that capture that special feeling of childhood freedom. Now that the game is out on Switch, you can experience Kabuto Park's vision of summer in the real outdoors.

Kabuto Park is now available on Switch, Xbox, and PC.