Ganbare Neo Poke Kun - review by substance J

Ganbare Neo Poke Kun review by substance J

Be worried - someone at SNK isn't quite sane. The proof? Ganbare Neo Poke Kun. This twisted combination of variety gameplay and light Tamagotchi-esque life simulation is without question the weirdest piece of software ever to appear in my collection. When Ganbare Neo Poke Kun was originally revealed as one of the key titles in SNK's 2000 lineup, I wasn't sure what to think of it, other than being greatly disappointed. After reading some good impressions of the game, I became interested in it (in more of a car crash onlooker sense of curiosity). My reason for getting the game is equally odd - upon seeing the hand sculpted art used for the box cover, I decided (being a sculptor myself) to take a risk and drop my $40 on this bizarre little diversion.

Graphics
The visuals of Ganbare Neo Poke Kun are diverse and of varied quality, since the game is divided into so many different genres and styles. Much of the time spent playing is devoted to observing Poke Kun's home within your Neo Geo Pocket (if that doesn't make sense, just keep reading). It's obvious that a lot of time was spent in creating this environment, as it's filled with tiny details from the floor mats and steaming teapot, to the girlie pin-ups on a wall of flashing circuit boards. The internal clock is even utilized to add to the detail, as the backdrop changes from day to night in real time. Neo Poke Kun himself is very well designed (he'll grow on you, trust me) and loaded with different animations (many of which surprised me, with all the random variations), as are the supporting characters. The mini games offer a large assortment of graphical styles, since nearly all of them represent different genres. These can range from Atari 2600 quality dots and lines to fully animated fighting game characters. Some mini games are actually very impressive, sporting techniques like sprite warping, and even vector graphics to create a remarkable 3D feel. No NGP owner should go without seeing the mini game "Space Destroyer". Think of it as SNK's 'Space Balls' to Sega's 'Star Wars Arcade'.

Sound
Like the graphics, the quality and style of the music and SFX will fluctuate depending on what mini game or area you're playing. Inside Poke Kun's home you'll find background beeping, pinging, and other typical 'computer' sounds, and of course the doorbell (something you'll be hearing often). Then there are the odd voice samples produced by a loudspeaker that infrequently appears on the wall, like someone saying "bonjour!" and a rather, how shall I put it...lusty...female voice. Some of the mini games contain very nicely composed background themes (always in the style of the game that is being mimicked), while others (the Pong clones for example) contain no music at all. Sound effects stack up similarly.

Gameplay
After eyeing a simple title screen, you'll be immediately thrown into Neo Poke Kun's world when booting the game up for the first time. After observing the little fellow in his home for a few moments, it becomes apparent you have no direct control over any of his actions - just methods of altering his environment. The joystick can be used to turn the ceiling light on and off, trigger bugs to crawl from the floor, or cause a hand (or occasionally other body part) to extend through the mail slot of the front door. This door is actually a central gameplay element, if you can believe that. Whenever you press the A button, the doorbell will ring. Generally when the door is opened, a person (or similar...) enters the room, which can be good...or bad. The event that takes place with the visiting character is usually odd, sometimes disturbing, but always extremely funny. Some characters might use Poke Kun's bathroom, play some music, perform an odd trick, attack someone (their target usually being our little yellow friend), or from time to time, cop a feel (don't ask). Even stranger, a giant nose…or a giant nipple will occasionally burst through the door (really, don't ask). Poke Kun's reaction to these situations can range from joy, to indifference, hate, fear, embarrassment, etc. When Poke Kun isn't dealing with bothersome visitors, he's usually keeping himself busy by sleeping, eating, playing his own NGP, picking & flicking, or doing construction work amidst the circuitry of the NGP hardware.

But right now you're probably wondering, "what the hell is the point?" The point is, in theory, the lovable mini games. 30 of them, in fact! By hitting the B button when you think Poke Kun is happy, you'll be taken to a menu of mini games to be unlocked. Each time Poke Kun reaches a certain level of happiness, a new game will be unlocked.

Why are these mini games so cool? If you've been a gamer for a while, you'll quickly notice that most or all of them are parodies of popular titles or genres. The first few you unlock are reminiscent of the dark ages of gaming - Pong clones, Breakout, Galaga, Space Invaders, and plenty of simple lines for graphics. But each new page of mini games you unlock represents a different era, and you'll soon be running into clones of the 8 and 16-bit days, like Ghosts & Goblins, Tetris, Bomberman, Street Fighter, Fatal Fury, and so on. All of them have a comedic or slightly sadistic overtone, like using the tractor beam of a UFO to abduct the cast of King of Fighters as specimens to be stored in liquid filled tanks (along with a Cow or two). Then there are some games that are just plain weird (as if the others are normal?). The most notable of which forces you to break up fist fights between groups of naked men at a Japanese spa. What, you don't like the sound of that? That's alright, there are also great parodies of Bemani, Gundam, Dungeons & Dragons (complete with dice rolling), even a twisted dating sim called Doki Doki Street. All the games are fun to play, but I find the most enjoyment comes with the "shock value" of them all. Good stuff.

Overall
Ganbare Neo Poke Kun was a game I never entertained the idea of trying, let alone paying actual money for. Somehow I ended up buying it, and I'm very glad I did. The mix of humor, gameplay, clever sprite tricks and cool art (it took time, but it grew on me) is unlike anything else I've played, so it's very refreshing. The way the game is set up, it feels as if Poke Kun is really inside your Neo Geo Pocket, just living his weird day-to-day life (real clock-based time progression adds a lot to this). If you're open to some crazy Japanese humor, I definitely recommend purchasing Ganbare Neo Poke Kun. Watching Poke Kun's interaction with other characters has an odd sort of voyeuristic quality that provides just as much fun as the mini games themselves. Though the parallels I see between Poke Kun and myself are slightly disturbing. Perhaps I'm getting into this too much....