E3 2012: SunFlowers on PSVita is like Pokemon with plants

While The Game Atelier's SunFlowers may not have been one of the biggest attractions at this year's E3, this flower-themed puzzle game of sorts was definitely one of the cutest games at the show. Putting it simply, SunFlowers is like Pokemon with plants, as you'll control the happy sun as it shoots rays of sunlight down to flower buds at the bottom of the screen to help them grow. The more you play, the more flowers you'll collect, until you've eventually collected - or captured - them all.

It's more complicated than just using sun rays however, as direct contact with these rays will actually burn the flowers. You'll need to make sure the ray flies through a white, puffy cloud first, turning the sun ray into rain that will water the plant, thereby helping it grow. Clouds move automatically left and right across the screen (you'll hold your PSVita vertically to play), so it's all a matter of timing as you use the back touch pad to move the sun left and right and tap on the screen to shoot a sun ray.

Obstacles like thunder clouds will work against you, as rays will transform into lightning bolts when they come into contact with them. These burn the plants as well, requiring quick work to drop a rain shower onto the flower(s) to heal them. There are multiple difficulty levels to choose from, along with at least two flower groups to collect. The normal gameplay mode sees you collecting flowers like tulips, daisies, and of course sunflowers, while a tropical mode introduces more colorful and unique varieties to your garden.

Speaking of your garden, this is where you'll keep track of the different kinds and quantities of flowers you've collected, bringing in the aforementioned Pokemon feel. If you're a collector at heart, you'll want to go back to levels and collect as many flowers as possible until you've filled in every blank spot in your garden. All the while, you'll be met with incredibly charming and downright adorable graphics, as most flowers are just as happy to be collected as you are to collect them.

SunFlowers doesn't have a release date as of this writing, and there's no word as to whether or not the game will come to iOS, but as The Game Atelier's other titles have made the jump (like Flying Hamster), I wouldn't say an iOS version of SunFlowers would be too much of a stretch. Either way, you can learn more about the game by visiting the SunFlowers Facebook page, or by checking out our hands-on demo in the video below.

Are you interested in trying SunFlowers on PSVita when it launches sometime this year? Would you play the game if it made the jump to mobile platforms? Sound off in the comments!