And then there's Docomodake. From the slim amount we've played so far, this game is in fact seven kinds of awesome; at least the first few levels are. This is one that came out of nowhere for us, is now sitting in our DS (and was played for a bit over Thanksgiving Break), and is surprisingly fun. Oddly enough, this tiny fungi of a creature is actually a mascot for Docomo, a Japanese cell phone carrier, and has become a pretty impressive little celebrity, spawning instructional "how to visit Japan" videos, waves of merchandise, and now - for seemingly no reason, or even acknowledgement of its ties to the cell phone business - its own game. What the hell?
But alas, if you were to ask us whether we enjoy the company of a gigantic mushroom, we would say yes. Yes indeed we do.
Docomodake is an odd game, but it's concept is pretty simple. It isn't the most polished affair, but unlike most of the gaming fodder out there that tacks a license onto "genre X" and expects to sell phenomenally, this game is about an idea, and we like games about an idea. In Docomodake, players control a giant mushroom-woman-thing, with regular platformer controls used to maneuver her from place to place – jumping, dashing, and digging – and stylus control used to pull off some pretty unexpected maneuvers.
The first stage revolves around the Mama Docomodake, as she ventures into the woods to grab food for her kids. While she can get pretty far with basic movement, jumping, and digging, narrow areas and high up platforms stop her from continuing through levels, so a new stylus-based "Mini" system takes over. By tapping and dragging on Docomodake, up to four Minis can be pull off of her, reducing her size to half-height (16X16 on the screen) with four mimics also moving around with her. These Minis still obey the laws of collision, but they can be grabbed and pulled around the world with the stylus, and even used to solidify as in-level blocks for Docomodake to walk on, stacked as tall columns for her to jump up on, or rolled into a ball with a quick double-tap to use as a throwing object for attacking enemies or hitting switches.
The idea is to collect as many coins in each level as possible, so while any player could move through a level and get from start to finish, it'll take more skill to create in-level ladders and platforms with the Minis in order to reach the highest (and narrowest) areas. Circling the Minis allows you to select them and combine them back with their Mama Docomodake, though it is possible to leave them behind and continue on. We're still pretty early on with the game, but already we've seen switches to hit with Docomodake Minis, platform areas, weight-based puzzles that require the main Mama to be big enough (and thus heavy enough) to drop platforms, and a combination of each strategy together to make for some pretty tough little puzzles. We're sure there's more to come as we trudge through the five areas, eight stages, and dozens of sub-stages in the game, but we'll cross that mini mushroom-made bridge when we come to it.
We've got first video of the game in action below, with the first six or so minutes of the adventure shown off. Be sure to check it out, and the look for more on Docomodake as we continue our coverage on the game. It's an odd one, but we're having a blast with its unique, unconventional design.