JPgamer: Dating Sim Month: Go! Go! Nippon!

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And so, Dating Sim Month gradually draws to a close. I hope you've made some enjoyable new discoveries over the course of the past month -- or at least enjoyed reading about my experiences with these games.

This week, I'd like to talk about a relatively recent release: the enthusiastically named Go! Go! Nippon! My First Trip to Japan from Kira Kira creator Overdrive. Well, actually, "recent" isn't quite accurate -- it's been available in English for a couple of years now, but notably, it has only just hit Steam, bringing it to a whole new audience. And, thanks to that new audience, localizer MangaGamer has seen a sharp uptake in sales -- not long after the game became available on Valve's platform, the company announced that it had sold 10,000 copies through Steam. This, of course, is nothing compared to the triple-A titles of the world -- but it's a big success for a visual novel, and a clear signal that there is indeed a market for games like this on mainstream storefronts, albeit a small one.

Go! Go! Nippon! is a curious beast at heart. It's a visual novel. It's a dating sim. But it's also an interactive travel guide to Japan, highlighting a number of tourist hotspots and tidbits of Japanese cultural knowledge that anyone fascinated by our friends in the East will probably find to be a good complement to more formal studies. The game even goes so far as to be bilingual -- all dialogue in the game is printed on screen in both English and Japanese text, though disappointingly there is no voice acting, so those who aren't as familiar with hiragana, katakana and kanji may find themselves struggling to recognize some words at first. If nothing else, though, it's a good means of learning to recognize how common Japanese words and phrases look when written in kana and kanji rather than romaji, which is an important part of study -- spotting common words is as important (if not more so) as being able to remember the symbols for a, i, u, e, o, ka, ki, ku, ke, ko and so on in order, after all.

The game is infused with a great deal of personality, though it's obviously aimed at young heterosexual otaku who are fascinated with Japanese culture and the idea of visiting Japan. The renamable player character is depicted as a slightly awkward individual who bumbles around going "Wow!" at everything immediately after he arrives, and clearly has one or two less-than-wholesome thoughts about his gracious hosts for his visit -- the two girls Makoto and Akira. It's all tame teenage awkwardness, however -- this isn't an adults-only affair, after all, and outside of one or two admittedly gratuitous fanservice scenes where Our Hero walks in on Makoto and Akira in varying states of undress things are kept as decent as in any modern slice-of-life anime.

The game shines in a few different areas, chief among which is the travel guide aspect. Each in-game day sees you picking which tourist hotspot you'd like to visit, and one of the two girls accompanies you to explain a little about the area, its historical context where appropriate and to show you a few of the things people generally like to do around there. This then gives you a bit of insight into their respective characters and what they're interested in, which can subsequently inform your future decisions if you find yourself drawn to one or the other. For example, on the first day, one of the places you can visit is the notorious Akihabara area, where the rather tsundere and tomboyish Akira drags you around some electronics and anime stores, then takes you to a maid café where she admits that she just might, possibly, sort of, maybe be a bit of an otaku herself.

The girls aren't just simpering doe-eyed idiots there for you to charm, however; they both have their own distinctive personalities and sets of knowledge -- and while they both tend to fall back somewhat on well-worn anime tropes, time spent with both of them is enjoyable and rewarding. As previously noted, Akira has somewhat tsundere tendencies, while Makoto is more of the "older sister" type -- but both of them have their own hidden depths and surprises for you to discover as you spend a virtual week in their company.

The game does a good job of introducing you to certain Japanese cultural norms, traditions and rituals, too, even if you're unable to read the kana and kanji text in the Japanese text box. It's Japanese 101-level stuff, admittedly -- things like itadakimasu, irrashaimase and tadaima -- but it's interesting to hear tidbits from the girls such as how being brought a glass of water, some tea and something to wipe your hands on is considered to be basic, expected, fundamental stuff when it comes to hospitality.

It's a few years old now, though, which means some of its information is out of date. "Milktub" from creator Overdrive is apparently keen to create a new version, however -- he said as much in a message posted to fans shortly after Go! Go! Nippon! became available on Steam. Specifically, he would like to add information on things such as visiting the popular Comiket convention, plus further details on areas like Harajyuku, Ikebukuro and Akihabara, more story events and additional facts that will be useful for real-life travellers to Japan -- and he'd like to hear specifically what you'd like to see in a sequel or revamped version, too. You can let him know either via the official Go! Go! Nippon! Facebook page, or via Twitter using the hashtag #GoGoNippon.

For now, well, I've got a plane to catch and a couple of gracious hostesses waiting for me to come back on another trip, so I'll see you all in Japan. Grab your ticket here.