This game begins in an idealised Chinese landscape, a pleasantly exotic place with bamboo forests and delicate breezes and soft leaves underfoot. The writing itself is rather soft and fragrant, and altogether leaves me feeling like I'm in a kind of furry oriental pot-pourri, which is not at all a bad thing.
I would much prefer the game to continue in this mould, but unfortunately it isn't long before it starts dispensing precious Eastern wisdom at me. Each solved puzzle yields another gem of spiritual martial mumbo-jumbo, all presented in a rather didactic tone, and without irony.
You come to the understanding that the bamboo forest appears to be a balancing point between the Yin and Yang of the lake and cavern - and that there are elements of Yin within Yang, and vice versa. One cannot exist without the other.
After witnessing the battle between the crane and snake, you begin to understand that it is possible for soft motion to overcome rigidity. The snake demonstrates this in its yielding style - as do the rocks and sea. The hardest stone can be worn by the motion of water, from its gentlest to its most fierce action. You begin to wonder if this philosophy can be used to overcome others in battle.
If this were a Christian game, by this point I'd be laughing openly. If the above is slightly more tolerable than "After witnessing the battle between the crane and snake, you begin to understand that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Saviour", then it's only because Eastern religions tend to be more opt-in, at least when presented by their Western advocates. But in both cases, I prefer to opt out.
Rating: 4 (6th place)