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Why Robin Makes Batman Better There was an entire hall chock full of merchandise at Tokyo Game Show: dolls, figures, toys and shirt. Mostly shirts though, tons and tons of T-shirts. While I love gaming shirts, they really have to be something special to get me to buy one. Mostly because I don’t have the room in my house for anymore. When I was walking the halls last week checking out the merch this black Doki Doki Majo Shinpan shirt caught my eye.
Not only was it down right bizarre, it was for a game no one in the U.S. will probably ever seen. So yes, I bought it. What I didn’t buy, though, was that shirt next to it. I mean, that’s a finger there sneaking up her skirt and check out those freaked out eyes.
Biggest let-down of the 21st century? The fact Doki Doki Majo Shinpan promised a whole lot of witch/boy-touching then turned out to be a bit rubbish. Shame. Still. Cheer up! If you’ve beaten the game and still can’t get that touching urge out of your system, you can get this from SNK’s TGS booth. The Doki Doki Majo Shinpan “touching pillow” (not the actual product title). It’s as big as, eerily, a child, and even boasts a variant model: a pyjamas version. Or that could just be the other side. So creepy.
What SNK used to be know for? Fighters and Metal Slug. Witch-touching adventure game Doki Doki Majo Shinpan has changed that. The title has been a sleeper hit. SNK isn’t forsaking the fighters, but is branching out. This February, the Osaka-based developer opened an Akihabara development branch. Doki Doki Majo Shinpan was originally conceived as an adventure cell phone game, but later shifted to the DS and subsequently reworked. “I was inspired by the touch panel, and it was a good fit”, says producer Yoshiyasu Matsushita.
The game was unveiled at last year’s TGS and snowballed. Just before release, the game posted higher on the Amazon Japan charts than The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. The game has launched a line of products that range from pillows to coffee mugs. “The reaction really surprised me”, Matsushita says. “I wasn’t expecting that. I was trying to make an adventure game”. What about a possible English localisation? “I don’t know if it would suit American or European tastes. The game is designed for Japanese players,” says Matsushita. A DS Doki Doki Majo Shinpan sequel was announced today. Does that mean Doki Doki is a new series, and we can expect endless sequels? “I don’t think about it”, he says. “I’m just trying to make Doki Doki Majo Shinpan 2. Then we’ll see how that does”. Matsushita is keen on a Wii version, “I am interested in doing a Wii version, but right now, I am very busy with Doki Doki Majo Shinpan 2“.
The sexual themes have raised some eyebrows, but Matsushita says he was never concerned what rating the game was going to get. “If you make something that’s interesting”, he says, “people will play it no matter what”.
Doki Doki Majo Shinpan mouse pads aren’t only out, but available for some serious “testing.” The SNK witch touching game hit DSes a while back and noteworthy for being the closest thing to an erotic game the DS has seen. And this mouse pad? Well, it has jubblies for you to rest your wrist (like mouse pads do). This Akihabara had a small sign which read in English: Touch Free!
There was also a DS touch pen for, well, touching (poking?). A picture display guided along those who still didn’t geddit. Like us.
