In the world of Strange Anime Licenses, Shin-chan is king. The manga, and in fact the show itself,
make little to no sense on their crudely-drawn, misshapen faces, and the dubbed version widely
available in the States is... well, let�s just say it follows more closely in the �let�s
just write an entirely new script for this source material� tradition established by
such gems as The Super Milk-Chan Show and, of course, Samurai Pizza Cats. So I went into
this game, not knowing what to expect... and then THIS showed up. Inti Creates? The same
team that made the Mega Man Zero series, the Mega Man ZX series, and Mega Men 9 and 10?
Suddenly, my spirits rose. Perhaps I�d be able to make it through this al... kid�s
waving his ass in the air. Strike what I just said. I still don�t know what to make of
this.
In an absolutely twisted example of self-referential humor, Shin-chan and his family have taken
a vacation to CINEMALAND! Where the movies come to life! Which movies? Well, the first
four Crayon Shin-chan movies, released between 1993 and 1996. So he�s at a theme park,
reliving... the movies he himself was in, action-platforming around and collecting freeze-frame
cards that can be viewed in the collection mode from the main menu. Remember how I mentioned
that Inti Creates created this monstrosity? Fittingly, the gameplay is... much better
than it has any business being. Throughout his travels in each of the four films, Shin-chan
can collect new outfits that, after a quick change of wardrobe, bestow various powers.
Yes, you�re witnessing the best use of a Frog Suit since Super Mario Bros. 3. Dude
can even tongue-swing. TONGUE-SWING. And jump on ninja.
Also helping out in the cinematic peace-making effort is Shin-chan�s family, whether it
be digging for buried items, giving a springboard-style boost, or EXECUTING AN ATOMIC LEG DROP STRAIGHT
THROUGH THE FLOOR. Hulk Hogan would be proud, mom. There�s triangle jumping, body-contorting,
some... really weird-looking enemies... and beneath all of it, an incredibly solid game
that�ll appeal - at least in that regard - to any fan of quality action-platformers.
Normally, a game this... let�s call it �eclectic,� that�s a nice euphemism... Normally, a game
this eclectic would have no business leaving Japan, where such strangeness can be somewhat
justified by a cultural connection via a 20-year-long manga series and associated media offerings.
But thanks to a remarkably successful run on television, both of the Shin-chan GBA titles
were localized and published in... Spain. The rest of Europe gets the finger, America�s
still wondering what all the fuss is about, but Spain gets one of the better GBA platformers
I�ve experienced. I blame Manuel. And Felicity in Worcestershire, for that matter, though
I�m fairly sure Fawlty Towers was in Torquay...