*Note: I received a free code for the Nintendo Switch for my honest review of the game. Thank you to Neos Corporation for the game code.
I love Shin-chan and if you've ever read the manga or seen the anime you know it's fun, silly, and also sweet showing the importance of family and friends. I was instantly drawn in by the concept of this game because it looked cute and fun. The official name of the game is Shin-chan: Me and the professor on Summer Vacation - The Endless Seven Day Journey. That's quite a mouthful, but it gives you a hint about what to expect in the game.
The game starts with five year old Shinnosuke Nohara "Shin-chan" getting ready for a week long trip to visit his mother's childhood friend in a rural town called Assou a play on the real city of Aso. When the family arrives at their destination a mad scientist named Dr. Akuno approaches them and gives Shin a camera that prints illustrations rather than photos. This seems a little odd, but they don't think anything of it until the next day Dr. Akuno shows up with a dinosaur he claims he extracted with time travel in order to wreak havoc. This is the right amount of interesting and silly for a Shin-chan game and the rather calm reaction from the family makes it even funnier.
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| Shin-chan is ready for the Summer. |
The first day lets Shin introduce himself to everyone and explore the village a little bit. The game also explains some of the controls and how Shin's camera works. I really liked the camera because you can take a look at the pictures that Shin took in his room and it looks like a very cool picture diary. It's also a neat way to save your game. The illustrations are cute and whimsical, adding a fun way to track things you've done in the game.
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| Picture diary of adventures! |
Summer Vacation is very much a chill, relaxing experience because getting to play as Shin who is a five year old kid shows that joy of enjoying the Summer and getting to be a kid. The days are about 30 minutes and then you get about 5-10 minutes of night where you can talk to the other characters before Shin has to go to bed. There are quite a few places for Shin to wander and he can do a variety of things such as fishing, catching bugs, or one of my favorites taking pictures with the camera for the local newspaper. The game definitely celebrates that sheer joy that kids have of just getting to be kids during Summer vacation and having fun. At the end of the week, Dr. Akuno shows up and uses his time travel abilities to reset the week, hence the endless Summer aspect of it which keeps things going until the main story is resolved.
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| Shin does a little night fishing. |
There are side quests Shin can do as well in the form of doing favors for people in the village like watering crops on a farm, delivering a specific type of herbs to a grocery store owner, or catching a variety of fish for someone. I found it was easier to just pick one or two things to do each day so Shin could wander to his heart's content. I really liked watering crops on the farm because then you could harvest them and those were part of some side quests too. The rewards for the quests gives Shin some cute badges, stickers, and really colorful trading cards.
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| Ready to water the crops! |
Another thing that amused me was the morning stretches. Every morning, Shin and his family do morning exercise and all the characters in the game join. There's a cheerful fun song and as the story progresses, there are more noticeable characters and dinosaurs added. It's cute and hilarious and put a smile on my face every time.
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| Morning exercise time! |
My absolute favorite thing in the game however was Dinosaur Showdown. Shin can befriend the kids from the village and play this game with them. It feels very much like a fighting card game and it is such a blast to play. You can get different dino cards when you buy a snack called Chocobi from the grocery store. Then you get to use these cards to play the game with the local kids. It's very easy to follow akin to Rock, Paper, Scissors and you can even compete in a Dinosaur Showdown tournament. The designs for the various dinosaurs are colorful and the battles aren't long so it keeps your attention. I got really hooked on this minigame and strived to collect all the dino cards.
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| Dinosaur Showdown is fun! |
There are of course the usual Shin-chan jokes with Shin mishearing things adults say and a few innuendo jokes which if you're familiar with the series itself is a big part of the humor. Some are hit or miss, but I found myself chuckling a lot at most of them. The best part of the game is there's no hurry. You can take your time and enjoy everything. The artwork for the game itself is beautiful. I found myself just stopping to admire the surrounding areas with beautiful, bright flowers or the clear sparkling river. The music and ambient sound for the game is lovely too and together it creates such a relaxing mood and allows you to appreciate everything the game offers.
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| Wow, those are some pretty flowers! |
Shin-chan is definitely all about the laid back vibes and it delivers that perfectly. The overall main story itself isn't very long; I finished it in about eight hours. You can play through again with everything you've collected and get things you may have missed. The game was a delight to play and just like the Shin-chan series it shows the importance of family, friends, and enjoying each day as it comes.
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| Shin enjoys a rainbow. |
*Shin-chan: Me and the Professor on Summer Vacation is available to play on the following platforms: Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4, and Steam
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