[Image: Bandai]
This is Baku Tsuri Bar Hunter. It’s for the Nintendo 3DS, and it looks wonderfully peculiar.
In English, the title means “Burst of Laughter Fishing Bar Hunter.” If the fishing-reel peripheral that encases the Nintendo 3DS wasn’t self-explanatory enough, this is a fishing game.
But here’s the catch: You are fishing for barcodes — not, you know, bars to drink at. This is an AR kiddy game, based on a manga debuting this spring, and the trailer below shows how it works: You scan in barcodes, which are then turned into in-game sea creatures. Then, using 3DS motion controls, you fish.
No idea if the actual game is going to be as good as this proof of concept ad, but when I showed it to my two youngest kids here in Japan, they were extremely interested. I am, too.
Comments
6 responses to “So Far, The Most Inventive-Looking Nintendo 3DS Game Of 2018”
I have no idea what I just watched but it was awesome.
Just noticed something…it’s designed around the Original 3DS (at least the pictures and ads are). Do they have XL or even 2DS ones? Seems weird the marketing is all around the OG 3DS
I noticed in the trailer there’s small text that it says it supports 3DS, 3DS XL, New 3DS and New 3DS XL, so presumably the peripheral can be taken apart and extended with different configurations.
Oooh… Collect-em-all creature game using cameras to scan barcodes and AR.
Interesting idea for 3DS, though our mobile phones* can already do that.
*Assuming you’re on the late-2016+ models of iOS/Android devices
“Already”..? Young whippersnappers what don’t know they’re born! Back in my day, there was this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcode_Battler
…and others like it: http://www.retrocollect.com/News/japanese-exclusive-game-boy-barcode-battler-accessory-barcode-boy-finally-emulated.html
I’m heading back to my rocking chair now before the nurse catches me. Pass me my cane.
Good to see Japan still loves their barcode scanner games! So strange the the advertising material uses the original 3DS in 2018 though.
Hahahaha man does anyone remember Skanners?