Customer Reviews

Tail of the Sun

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I used to write for Game Informer and this goofy little game has had a lasting impression on me. If the words "best game ever" cause your brain to lean more towards a Halo or a Final Fantasy than a Katamari Damacy, this one's not really for you. It's weird. It's kind of... bad. Yet it's delightful. You're a cave man. You run around and hit various animals with a stick to get food. You fall asleep for a good 20 seconds at a time (often sliding down mountains in the process). The only real goal of the game involves running back and forth and repeating a task. It's inexplicably awesome to some of us. If you have or want Pepsi Man in your gaming library, this one's definitely worth grabbing.

What can i say about Tail of the sun? It is the most original game I have ever played. The object of the game is to kill mammoths and collect their tusks to build a tower to the sun. You dont have to do this though, actually, it is alotmore fun to just run around from island to island killing, eating, sleeping and exploring. I cant really explain this game in words too easily. If you like original games, this game is a MUST!

I bought this when it first came out. I knew it wasn't going to be a standard action or strategy game. Anyway, it was by ArtDink, which was enough for me to buy it.

What I got was astounding. This is one of a tiny number of games to have a vast world to walk around in! (We need more vast worlds in games. Preferably procedural ones, to cut down on the disk space.) Shame there's no way to look southward, or have longer lives. Also, there is an ultimate limit to the tribe which you cannot exceed, meaning everything is limited if you're trying to collect tusks. Fortunately, you can usually get enough in time.

There is also a vast cave system if you know where to look. In the south continent is the largest entrance, but if you go all the way there your tribesman will die of old age, lost in the enormous cave.

The worst problem with this game today is there is no way to make a map of the game since everything is in 3D. The manual had a crude map but it just wasn't accurate.

I've seen all the different endings to this game-- a bunch of strange CG sequences which sort of show the tribe's possible futures.

This is an exquisite and beautiful, and very misunderstood game. It's too bad most people can't see past the primitive 32-bit graphics and interface. It's just the game's STYLE.

Tail of the Sun has a simple premise and simple gameplay: you're a caveman trying to survive, evolve, and build a tower of mammoth tusks that reaches so high into the sky it catches the tail of the sun. The game involves taking your caveman (or woman, if you so choose - you get to pick which tribe member you play next each time one dies) out into the wilderness and exploring every nook and cranny, trying to make sense of the world around you. Along the way you'll eat many, many fruits to both help you survive (it is possible to starve to death) and to shape the attributes at which you want to excel - you can become an excellent jumper, hold your breath underwater for longer periods, evolve quickly, run quickly, to name a few. Each food makes a slight, unique impact on these attributes, and you must balance these attributes, deciding what is most important to your tribe's survival. As you explore, you will encounter animals from nearly harmless monkeys to deadly sabretooth tigers, from which you can gather meat to bring back to your tribe and help it grow. You'll also encounter caves, solve little mysteries of the world, and, of course, battle mammoths to build your tower - the ultimate goal of the game.

I'll say it now, the graphics and sound are nothing particularly standout or beautiful. If you must have your eyecandy or an epic musical score to set the mood for your game, look elsewhere. On the up side, however, the graphics aren't so bad you can't tell what you're looking at, and the sounds and music are decent enough that, while you probably won't be humming them for hours after shutting off the game, they won't make you want to mute the game, either.

Tail of the Sun is a fairly easy game with simple controls that could be mastered by just about anyone, including children. Its repetitive nature is what prompted me to give it just four stars - after I had satisfied my curiosity as to exploring the rest of the world and decided that sabretooth tigers just weren't worth my time to bother trying to kill, it quickly devolved into an exercise of running to the nearest spot I knew had mammoths, killing one, bringing it back to my tribe, and repeating, over and over, until the tower was complete. I'm sure this wasn't the way the game was exactly intended to be played by the developers, but there it is. Eventually that's all there is to do, and it does become repetitive. There probably isn't much for replay value unless by some strange chance you manage to finish your tower while exploring and still haven't satisfied your urge to explore the prehistoric world, or you have some burning desire to see whether you're able to finish it with a different attribute setup.

Overall, the game is just a fun, light little diversion that will keep you busy for a few hours just dying to see what's around the corner or what happens when that tower is finished. I had a lot of fun playing it, and other fans of quirky games will probably get a big kick out of this game.

So you wanna be a caveman? or cavewoman? then this is for you! now you might think it sounds silly but this game can devour your life whole. as of this writing I have recieved a copy *again* and its as fun now as it was way back then and its soundtrack is still excellent and the night sky and stormy skies make this game a true winner! Did I mension the sound? its stunning. never in a game have I heard music and effects this good. I absolutely recommend this to any harvest moon nuts *like me* or anyone whom likes simulations. you start off as your sole tribe member but as you explore the earth *all of it* you will find other animal life, cavemen, and even aliens! its a weird game but its loads of fun. I had been playing what seemed like an hour when I looked at the time and saw 7 hours had passed! I am telling you this is great! the objective of the game besides getting your tribe to grow and advance *yep weapon improvements* so you can finally hunt the Wooly Mammoths for their tusks to build a tower to grab "the tale of the sun" right down to how the game shows your tribes history as a cave painting. I truly wish this would come out for a next gen system like PS3 or PC. Buy it before it vanishes and you miss one of the great art style games *think ico but 1st gen graphics*
Graphics: kinda ugly now. still 4 stars for the evening skies.
Sound: Superb 5 Star every sound Rocks! from eating to waterfalls!
Fun: this rating scale isn't big enough for 10 star fun. so 5 stars
Overall: One of the Forgotten Gems of the PS1 grab a copy or you will end up buying one all scratched up off ebay. or worse.
Buy It Here !!!
Tail of the Sun

Tail of the sun is a unique gaming experience. Not much to look at graphically, but a HUGE world to explore. While this HUGE world is inviting, there is little point to exploration other than to find the 8 or so different animals to kill. Evolving your tribe is little more than killing an animal. No contact with the other tribe members unless you die and need to pick a new one or they do that funny little dance when you have village upgrade. The only changes during the game is your fist becomes a stick, then a axe, then a spear, WOW. You do find aliens(which you can kill), a giant nose, a huge bone, a few ruins, and caves. But the camera angles are soo terrible you get trapped in a cave and cant find your way out. Your person will fall asleep at a moments notice which is funny but stupid too.A intersting foray for a few hours, it took about 6 hours to beat on the medium setting. Which may seem short but if it lasted longer it would be too long to take. Anyways enjoy if you like deep exploration with curious but useless results.

you'll play this game for hours and always find something new this game is very cool and you won't be sorry to play it their are multiple endings and it is fun to just explore

Hey, it's not really a game. It's not Tekken, Max Payne, but it is loads of fun and there are hours of exploration to be done. Much like Aquanaut's Holiday it's just an experience, there is no game to it. Just lose yourself and let go. Tail of the Sun is a great ride.

I collect rare PS one games as a hobby, and this game was on ebay when I bought it, I've never heard of it, so I tried it out. Compared to a lot of rare games (so many of them suck) this is original and creative and fun. very enjoyable. Often funny. Graphics are okay, camera angles just about piss me off sometimes. i would definitely get this game if you are a ps one game collector.

this game is a joke.The tail of the sun is not for someone who is serious about strategy games.I give this game a very low score on my never buy list.the graphics are somewhat lost in the 80's.