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Kimi no Tame Nara Shineru Impressions

Has Sonic Team gone insane? Read and decide.

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TOKYO--While it wasn't playable on the Tokyo Game Show floor, Sega's upcoming Nintendo DS game, Kimi no Tame Nara Shineru, had a presence there in the form of a small kiosk that played a looping video that featured a touch screen you could interact with. The unique love story game will make extensive use of the DS's touch screen, which will serve as the primary means of input for the title, and it's planned for a December release, alongside the platform's Japanese launch. The game marks a pretty radical departure for developer Sonic Team, which, despite an eclectic background when it comes to games, has never gone down this particular road before.

We had a look around and poked at the kiosk a bit to see what tidbits were being offered on the game. Information is still being kept a little vague, but it's not a stretch to say that this has the potential to become the grooviest interactive stalking game ever. The game casts you in the role an average joe who falls for an above-average girl. As you'd expect, you're not immediately going to show up on her radar, due to your average nature. As a result, some good, old-fashioned stalking is the order of the day as you try to go through the game finding ways to get noticed. The best, or most unsettling, part (depending on how you look at it) is the way in which you'll use the DS touch screen to make magic happen. You'll apparently have to rub the screen, as opposed to the stylus-tapping we've seen in most of the other DS games. What you'll rub and how you'll rub remains to be seen--and we're not going to speculate for fear of having our brains explode.

To add to the surreal experience, the graphics being used for the game are a stylish art deco assortment of archetypal female images in the style of the late Patrick Nagel. In turn, the music we've heard in trailers and on the game's own Web site calls to mind an Austin Powers movie, which suits the funky visuals we've seen. Unfortunately, those who've translated the Japanese title as "I Would Die for You" will be disappointed to hear that music legend Prince is not affiliated with the game in anyway. Bummer.

There's no arguing with Sonic Team's track record of creating quality games, so we're obviously going to keep an open mind as Kimi no Tame Nara Shineru's Japanese release nears. After all, if anyone can pull off a game about an average guy trying to woo a beautiful woman by using the power of his mind and rubbing, it's probably Sonic Team. Look for more on the game as its Japanese release nears. For more updates, be sure to check GameSpot's coverage of the Tokyo Game Show 2004.

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