Reviewing the DS version for 1UP.com, Barnholt positively noted the surreal story and music, but felt that the gameplay began to falter during the second half and called the graphics "perhaps even worse" than the PS2 original. He concluded that the game was most suited to dedicated fans of Suda's work, and that it showed the increased quality of his work on later titles more than having its own qualities. Matthew Razak of Destructoid found the gameplay elements "seriously lacking" and faulted most aspects of the title, which contributed to the low score. Despite this, Razak felt that people should play it and experience its unique deconstruction of game cliches, a theme that he realized ran through all of Suda's subsequent work. Eurogamer's Oli Welsh found that most of the puzzles presented to the player were forced in and distracted from the main narrative, but noted that the odd elements within the game fitted well into the story's surreal style. He was fairly negative about the graphics, despite the stylized look helping alleviate the downgrade from the PS2 original. In conclusion, he called the game's dated appearance and style "a double edged sword", both entertaining and annoying players with its mechanics and styling. "Game Informer"s Joe Juba enjoyed the bizarre characters and story, in addition to the artistic styling and music. His main complaints were focused on tedious sections within the gameplay and the "blocky" graphics. He said that, unless the player believed in sacrificing everything for style, "Flower, Sun, and Rain" could not be recommended.