Strawberry Tomato is a brand new room escape game from the Gotmail team of Japan, the same folks behind Il Destino, The Privacy and The Shochu Bar. You begin locked in a vacation home trying to find a way out to meet a mysterious woman. The layout and general design of Strawberry Tomato is similar to Gotmail's previous releases: move around the room using the arrows on the side of the screen, and click on objects to examine them. Puzzles force you to look in every conceivable corner for items and clues, so keep your eyes peeled for suspicious spots in the distance and objects that beg to be moved.
Expect the same great-looking 3D visuals as before, but this time you're trapped in an Arabian-themed room and must hunt for clues to escape. Investigate cabinets and drawers, look behind chairs and piece together number puzzles all in search of an elusive key that leads to freedom.
Analysis: The Gotmail point-and-click games all offer very pleasing eye candy including 3D rendered models and elaborate environments. It should be no surprise to learn their games keep increasing in popularity with every release. This is not necessarily a good thing since the Gotmail servers don't seem to be able to keep up with the load. We had to wait the better part of a day just to get a browser to load the game. Once the game was loaded, however, it was smooth sailing.
In terms of gameplay, there were several moments that the game seemed like a click fest while attempting to find all the hidden hotspots, which aren't always obvious. Pixel hunting is alive and kicking in this Gotmail production, but if you can get past that there is an engaging game with some challenging puzzles in the usual Gotmail style. It's a game that will surely please point-and-click and room escape aficionados around the world.
Note: To those having difficulty getting the game to load: if at first you don't succeed, reload, reload, reload. You know you're getting closer when you are asked to choose a language, Japanese or English. If, after selecting a language, a white percentage indicator does not appear (give it a few moments), reload again or you may be waiting all day for naught. Total download size: 10MB.
Walkthrough Guide
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Detailed walkthrough for Strawberry Tomato
Move chair from right side table. Zoom in under the table, what's that little dot on the wall next to the chair leg? Click on it, notice the outlet.
Zoom all the way out. Check out the left table. You can move the chair out of the way, but why?
Zoom out to the view of the corner with the blue door and the big stone. Zoom in on the little picture on the wall. Take note of the shape in the corner and the number underneath the picture (they change each time you play).
Zoom in on the blue door. Click the doorknob…it's locked.
Zoom out and click on the trash bin. You found and OUTLET ADAPTER. Well we know where this should go. Return to the first table and try plugging it in. It won't fit. Maybe you should have a closer look at this adapter. Double click to examine an object. As you examine the adapter you realize it has many types of plugs on it. Click till you see the 3 round prongs set in a triangle. Then click on it one more time so they face away. Now try plugging it in. Aha, it fits.
Zoom out. Let's keep looking around. Go left twice so you're 1 screen to the left of the blue door. Another little picture on the wall. You know what to do. Don't go away yet. There's something peeking out from behind the big terracotta pot. Let's check it out. It's a panel with the word CLOSE on it. Nothing to do here yet. Zoom out.
Go left and click on the white shirt so it moves out of the way. Check out the picture that was hiding and make a note. Zoom in on the painting under the shirts. There's a code to be found. Maybe the numbers behind the pictures will have something to do with it.
Zoom out and go left. Let's check the main door juts for kicks. Yes, it's locked. Zoom out and go left. There's another table. Zoom in twice. What's this thing in the square box? Looks like a little white ball, but you can't pick it up. It's not a little white ball, but a light. Leave it where it is. You can move this chair out of the way too, but why? Click on the plant to learn it's a Gooseberry plant.
Zoom out once and click low to zoom in on the big terracotta pot in the corner. Click twice to move it out of the way. Something is in the mouse hole. Click and you get a WOODEN STICK.
Zoom out and go left. Zoom in on the fireplace. It's too dark to see inside. Zoom out. There's another picture on the right to take note of. Click on the cabinet. You can't open it. Not much in your inventory but what the heck, let's try. Highlight the WOODEN STICK and the door opens. You get a SHIRT. Now open the one next to it. It's empty. Move left and open the dessert case (dark little knob on the left). Get yourself a GOOSEBERRY JELLY. Zoom out and go left. There's something on top of the dessert cabinet. Take a look. Something needs to sit there.
Zoom out and check out the rest of the cabinets on the left. Open the bottom right cabinet. There's nothing there. But wait…there's a faint outline against the back. Click on it. It's a panel that opens to reveal a mechanism with the word CLOSE on it. Try pushing the bottom of the gray part and watch a quick scene. Aha… something needs to hold this one in place so the other panel you found earlier can also be activated, You have a stick, give it a try. Nope, not this time. Zoom out and open the bottom left cabinet. It's empty too. Move up now. Those two little ones are fake drawers. Move up. Open both cabinets and zoom in on the bowls. You lift each one up and you find a red STONE. Nothing else of interest in this cabinet. Time to try the top. The left one is empty. Open the one on the right and zoom in. It yields a BOABAB TREE plant.
Zoom out once. There's something poking out from behind the left of the cabinet. Look at the picture and note the symbol and number. Zoom out and click on the floor near the left of the cabinet. There's something behind there. You can't reach it, but you have a long stick. Use your stick and you get an ELECTRIC FAN. Examine the fan and click on the blue outer part of the fan so it folds down to create a stand. Put it back in your inventory. The table with the outlet is just to your left. Go ahead and plug in the fan and turn it on. As it spins you see a letter. Make a note of it.
Zoom out and go left to the locked door in the corner. Highlight your dessert and try the knob now. Must be some dessert to open a locked door. Go into the cellar. Go left and take a look around. Zoom in and then again on the right where there's a gray rectangle looking thing against the wall. You realize it is water. Zoom out and eyeball the little canal thing that the water flows down. It goes to the steps. Zoom in on where the water meets the steps. You find a dark STONE. Now look at the round thing in the middle. Something round looks like it should fit here. Put the BOABAB TREE in the center. You notice 3 little holes where little round objects might fit. You have 2 stones you need a third. Leave the cellar.
Go to the floor between the two tables. Zoom in on the floor. A hold magically appears in the floor. You try your stones but they don't belong there. Try the WOODEN STICK. But before you put the stick in the hole, examine the stick and zoom in on the hole. Now put the RED STONE in the stick's hole. Then put the stick in the hole on the floor. Click on the lower half of the stick (this could take some doing) and you will be taken to a view of the red stone that now shines light into the fireplace. Don't pull out the stick. Go to the fireplace and retrieve a STATUE. Examine the statue. It's quite dirty. Now you can go back and retrieve your WOODEN STICK. Examine it and take the RED STONE back out.
Take your dirty STATUE and go to the cellar where you can rinse it off. Now your statue is clean. Examine your STATUE, turn it around and note the map on its back. There is an arrow telling you where to put the STATUE. Leave the cellar and walk around the room. You can't help wondering why you can zoom in on that little light in the square box on the table. Put your STATUE on over the light and click on one of the light holes. Take a look at it. Note the letter. Take your STATUE back. Remember that resting spot on top of the dessert case shown on the statue's map? Try you statue there next. Okay, nothing happens. But he does look like he's pointing at something. Zoom out once and click the top of the cabinet. Get a pair of SUNGLASSES. Take your STATUE back. You're not done with him.
Go to the blue double doors. Click on a glass pane to zoom in. Then click the lower right corner of the window by the chairs to zoom in. "It reflects the sky like a mirror." Well, you haven't found any mirror. Do you have anything else that might reflect? Try your SUNGLASSES. A series of shapes appear. Note their order. You've seen these shapes before and they correspond to numbers. Now you can get the code for the painting beneath the shirts. When you see UNLOCK zoom out. Look at the painting and slide the painting down to reveal a grid. If you took the time to examine your statue closely, you've seen something like this before. If not, examine the back of your statue.
Remember those two letters you found? They are coordinates on the grid. Find the box they correspond to and click on it. A red dot will be there. Look at your statue again. Where in the room would the spot of the red dot be? (The coordinates for the red dot change with each game). Find the spot that the diagram shows and zoom in on the floor in that area. You get a MINIATURE HOUSE. And oh, joy, another code to find. You try the one you already found but it doesn't work. Go back around the room and check all the pictures again. They now have different numbers corresponding to the shapes. Get the new set of numbers. Now you try the new numbers with your old sequence. Nothing happens. Maybe there's a new sequence. Go back to the sunset view and try your SUNGLASSES again. Now you get a new sequence of shapes. Examine your MINIATURE HOUSE and try your brand new code. Voila! It works and you get a STONE. Now you have 3 stones. You know where they go. Off to the cellar.
Place the three stones in their respective slots around the BOABAB PLANT. Ooh, pretty lights. The plant goes into the stone. Click in the hole to view the plant. Now leave and take a walk around the room. Go back and check on your plant. It's grown a little. Zoom out and zoom back in again. It's grown a little more. If it hasn't, leave the room and come back. Click around the branches of the BOABAB plant. You snapped a BRANCH off. Examine the cut end of the branch and read the comment. An insect? A hint, perhaps? Leave the cellar.
Go to the table with the plant and light box on it. Click on the upper left window pane. You've opened a window. You might let an insect in. Highlight your BRANCH in your inventory and click on the large wooden post in the corner near the window (near the middle of the post). You've smeared the sap on the post. Don't waste your time staring at it. Take a walk. Go back and look at the sap…nothing. Walk around some more. Keep doing this until you see a bug stuck on the sap. Take the beetle and examine it. Keep clicking on the beetle until it's really pissed off.
Go to the secret panel in the bottom right cabinet left of the dessert case. Zoom in and use your BEETLE on the mechanism. It now says OPEN and so does the other hidden panel. Go to the other panel. Incase you can't find it again, it's behind the big terracotta pot next to the bench. Open the panel and see a box inside. From the box get a SPOON. You might be feeling kind of hungry about now but you can't eat your dessert. This is a special dessert, you must find a perfect spot to eat it.
If you have the stick and statue still in your inventory you can put them in back in the last place you used them (hole in the floor and resting spot on the dessert case). Perhaps go look at a lovely sunset, but which view. Perhaps one you haven't looked at yet. Go to the table by the fan on the floor. Move the chair out of the way and click the chair seat. You get a sunset view. Now you can enjoy your dessert. To eat the jelly, you need to turn the fan so that it's facing the chair. If you still can't eat it you may need to visit the website by clicking the link that you see when you examine your GOOSEBERRY JELLY. You should go there anyway, because I think you can't finish the game unless you at least open the link, for me it opened in a new window but for others it didn't, so make sure you open the link in a new window.
So now you've eaten, but you're still locked in. What about the plant? Go take a look at it. Aww, there's a little blossom on it. Better leave it alone for a bit. Leave and come back again. Now the blossom has become a nut. Pick the NUT off the tree. Examine the NUT. It splits open to reveal a KEY!!! Time to leave this joint. Use the KEY on the double doors and leave.
To be continued...
Posted by: Rewyn
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August 21, 2007 5:35 PM