Ah, Level-5 - how we love thee. Not only do you make amazing games like Professor Layton, Dragon Quest IX and Ni No Kuni, you also make sure we get a slice of Japanese awesomeness on the Nintendo eShop. Having already brought us downloads of the anime mech-flying shoot 'em up Liberation Maiden, the high-pressure baggage handling mini-game and airport sim Aero Porter and table-top dice-rolling role-playing game Crimson Shroud direct from their Japanese 'Guild 01' collection last October, the newly-announced sequel promises more innovative and creative titles to come. As before, we won't get them all in one handy collection as Japan does, but as individual downloads from the store - and to make things even better, all the titles from the previous trio are set to be discounted until the end of May.
The Starship Damrey
If you like your games with lots of story, then The Starship Damrey may be right up your street. From Chunsoft developers Takemaru Abiko and Kazuya Asano - who are are best known for a pair of SNES 'visual novels' which never left Japan - you find yourself awakening in a darkened room, with no memory of who you are or where you've awoken. Much like similar games (Virtue's Last Reward, Phoenix Wright, The Last Window), there's a lot of reading to be done and puzzles to figure out as you explore the deserted ship, trying to piece your memory back together again. Expect plenty of suspense and intrigue, perhaps even with a dash of horror thrown in, based on the pair's pedigree.
Bugs vs Tanks
In one of those 'so scary you can't believe it's not true' type tales, Bugs vs Tanks tells the tale of an armoured battalion that mysteriously disappeared from amongst the German troops during World War 2. Apparently being shrunk in the wash (which is infinitely better than the alternative, in which we've been invaded by HUMONGOUS creepy crawlies), the tanks suddenly find themselves in a war with all insect-kind, in a suitably odd game from the man behind Megaman. With customisable parts you can fit to your tank taken from a variety of actual WW2 vehicles, it's up to you and your squad to dispense with the huge swarms of bugs as you fight for... reasons we're not entirely sure about. Not every game needs to have a story behind it though, as some mindless insect blasting can be fun too. Even if the antagonists make our skin crawl a bit.
Creepy...
Attack of the Friday Monsters: A Tokyo Tale
From the developer of Japanese Playstation exclusive, My Summer Vacation (a kind of less cutesy Animal Crossing, where you can catch insects, fly kites and generally relax on your aunt and uncle's farm) comes a game with perhaps the greatest name to ever grace the 3DS. Attack of the Friday Monsters: A Tokyo Tale is essentially a "life simulation game" along the same lines as My Summer Vacation, except it's set in a town where monsters from 70s Japanese TV shows come to life every Friday. It also promises a "nostalgic tale sure to warm your heart" as well as giant wrestling robots - we can't wait.
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So there you have it - three more kooky Japanese games soon to be making their way over seas. Unfortunately, there's no word on release dates of any sort yet, apart from a vague 'soon' - but we'll keep you posted on the details. In the meantime, why not check out the short compilation trailer of all three games below:
