TGS 2005: Patlabor: Come Back Mini-Pato Hands-On

TOKYO--OK, raise your hands if you remember Patlabor Mobile Police. This Japanese animated series about a ragtag crew of mech-driving keepers of the peace was originally released quite a number of years ago, so you're excused if you have no idea what we're talking about. One of the last things we expected to find on the TGS floor was a Patlabor game, but Patlabor: Come Back Mini-Pato for the PSP is very real and was playable at the Bandai booth, so we scooped up a demo unit to see what the cast of the anime was up to after all this time.

Apparently, they've gone superdeformed and are into the crazy minigame business. Patlabor: Come Back Mini-Pato is a collection of little games presented in a comic style, with all the characters represented as hand-drawn cutouts of themselves mounted on paper. In some cases, you can see little sticks coming out from the bottom of the characters, as if they were children's puppets being jostled about. Things start off with the leader of the Patlabor force moving over to talk to his stalwart crew about the actions they are to undertake. Upon hearing about their various missions, the reaction shifts from minor panic to complete and abject terror, but despite their misgivings, they're still ready to move their adorably cute selves into action to save the world from whatever happens to be giving it trouble.

One game we played let us select three characters that we then took through what appeared to be a sewer of some sort. There was a simple maze of paths to navigate, some items that we could pick up, and a few scattered enemies in our way, like rats and bats. Each character had a jump and a basic attack that we could employ, and one hit was generally sufficient to sock enemies into oblivion. The three characters all moved together in a line. If we got hit, one hit would be enough to put a character out of commission, and the next person in line would then step up to lead the group. (The unconscious forms of downed members would be dragged along behind without ceremony.) Another minigame showed giant mechs getting one-shot punched as they moved to rampage through the city.

We'd say that an English release of this game would be unlikely, but there's no telling about crazy little minigame compilations. We'll bring you more information about Patlabor: Come Back Mini-Pato as it surfaces, so check back at this gamespace for your Patlabor needs.