TGS 2005: Piposaru Academia Hands-On

TOKYO--Some games are destined only to come out on cell phones in Japan, either because they're catered to the high-tech Japanese cell phone market, or because they're just too obscure to make it to the US. Piposaru Academia might seem like the latter, but only because the current title is misleading. If it were revealed that the game features Ape Escape-style monkeys and if it were released under its subtitle "A Bridge to Bananas," it might just have a chance.

The gameplay is surprisingly simple, but addictive nonetheless. Although the game is meant to feature four different modes, we played only the main one, and we played it on only one of the six total levels in the game. The objective is simple: you escort a bunch of monkeys along a 2D level, up and down hills, until you reach the finish line. The catch is that the monkeys sit on each others' shoulders, effectively creating a tower that wobbles back and forth with your every move. Since you only control the movements of the bottom monkey, you need to account for the movement of the whole tower indirectly. The way to avoid toppling the tower (and losing the game) is to lead the way with the top of the tower. If you simply move to the right, the top of the tower will wobble left and fall over. Instead, you must step back a few paces, let the tower begin to fall forward, and then run forward to catch up with it. When reaching hills, you must step back even farther, and let the top of the tower fall even more forward, so that you can make it all the way up the hill without having any of your monkeys fall behind. Throughout the level, the hills will get steeper and more varied, creating unique challenges for you to get around. Although the game appears to be a bit on the simple side, it's the unique gameplay that holds the most appeal.

The graphics are minimalistic, although you can clearly see the monkeys that you're dealing with, as well as the slope and contour of the hills (instead of the turf) to maneuver through the backgrounds. This game could easily be given an international release date, although no plans have been put in place to do so just yet. We hope to hear more about Piposaru Academia and how it's coming along in the future--especially if that news includes a US release.