Once upon a time, there was a show called Shin-chan. It was prevalent in Japan (and still is nowadays), but it made it’s way to the USA and Europe as well. It was a dubbed version of the original anime and was broadcasted in the Netherlands by Fox Kids/Jetix. The dub turned an already inappropriate series, into an even more inappropriate series. I’ll explain more later in this review… but now that I piqued your curiosity, let’s shake into the review.
So…, what is Shin-chan?
More exact words haven’t been spoken when I searched for the official synopsis of the anime known as Crayon Shin-chan (クレヨンしんちゃん). I’ll quote it for your reading pleasure:
“Just because an anime features a young protagonist does not necessarily mean that it is an appropriate series to show your children. Young Shinnosuke, or Shin-chan for short, is a very creative young boy that lives with his eccentric parents, Misae and Hiroshi, as well as his Prima Donna younger sister, Himawari, and has loads of unique friends to boot. Everyday life for little Shin-chan is full of funny (and shocking) moments, most of which stem from his unnatural and sometimes profane use of language, as well as his constant acts of inappropriate behavior. Shin-chan’s famous “elephant” gag is one of the most defining moments in Crayon Shin-chan, simply because it is the epitome of crude comedy, one of the core themes of the series.”
I don’t want to explain too much, but I think you can use your power of suggestive thinking on what the elephant parts apply. If not – give this a try, a song by Dan Bull about the same stuff.
クレヨンしんちゃん!
So, what’s the point of Crayon Shin-chan: The Storm Called! Flaming Kasukabe Runner!! you ask? Well, you will join everyone’s favorite five-year-old Shinnosuke (Shin-chan) in making a Fierce Dash to collect sweets and Golden Balls. A runner, comparable with Super Mario Run, Runbow, or Jetpack Joyride (and every other game of the sorts). Meanwhile, you can get lots of different costumes using Golden Balls, obtained by proceeding from one stage to another and completing special missions! These Golden Balls are entered into a Gatcha-system, which gives Shinchan and his friends a variety of cosplay clothes, which are probably well-known to people familiar with the anime and movies.
I hear you think, anime and movies? Plural? Yes, Shin-chan has currently been on the air since 1992, produced over 27 films (with another releasing this year), and a spin-off called Shin-men (The spinoff is set in a parallel world known as Shin Jigen (Shin Dimension). The titular Shin-men team is composed of five heroes with supernatural powers symbolized by fire (Gou), water (Sui), wind (Hyuu), greenery (Naoki), and iron (Kan). Together, they fight against their enemy, the evil pigs of Ton-Men).
When we take a look at the total amount of games, it comes close to 40, spanning across multiple platforms (from PC to Gameboy and now Switch). So yeh, Shin-chan is a big deal, kind of. In the Netherlands, we mostly remember Shin-chan due to the dub, which caused his signature dance move into the bare-buttocks dance (blote billendans). You can imagine my parents weren’t the happiest when this show was on tv – and no, not because we wanted to copy the stuff we saw – you pervert.
Gameplay
Let’s get back to the game at hand, though. So, Crayon Shin-chan: The Storm Called! Flaming Kasukabe Runner!! is a runner, which combines Gatcha (randomized gifts by inserting something of value) and colorful levels into a game with lots of levels. Each level has three challenges, based on points. By collecting a certain amount of points, you will be rewarded with coins, a costume, unlocking a new level, etc. To make it easier to collect points, you can use these costumes to upgrade Shin-chan (more sweets, a barrier to shield you from damage, etc.), or add a crewmember to your running team. This gives additional points or a handy tool, which makes the level easier (or makes you last longer).
You can even add an adult to your team, which gives you even more bonuses, so go ahead and combine your ass off (yeh, that was intentional). There are more than 100 costumes, which are not easily unlocked due to the Gatcha system. The same goes for the crewmembers, which can be bought with the in-game currency. Most of them are well-known characters, which are, of course, in the game with the official names. I remember Goutarou Gou (the action hero from Shin-chan) as the Gemaskerde Muchaco (Masked Muchaco).
Anime-graphics
Graphics-wise the game looks like the anime (and manga). Joyful, colorful and lots of stuff that makes you wonder if this is a kids game, or targeted at adults. Due to the safe nature of the setting of the game, it’s a fine game for kids. The timing can be a bit hard, due to some lag/performance issues at the start. I had a few frame drops when a lot happened at once in-game, but nothing out of the ordinary. Shin-chan offers two modes, one in which you follow a standard course, based around events from the anime, the other is based around a super-hero theme. Neither really give depth to the story, since there is no real story. When you pick this up, expect a runner, based around the Shin-chan franchise. Expect a fun runner, since it’s good and it keeps me entertained to improve my score. The only hold back could be the price point, since it’s currently priced at 9,99$ and only available through the USA-shop. So, maybe wait for a price drop and then decide if you want to relive some of your childhood trauma, all over again.
Shin-clusion
So, to conclude. Crayon Shin-chan: The Storm Called! Flaming Kasukabe Runner!! is a good runner, but could have been more. Take a look at Runbow, which added an in-depth story mode in which you explored a little bit of the narrative behind the running. Shin-chan has enough lore to add this dimension but ended up as a fun cash-grab for some nostalgic fans. As stated above, the price point is a bit steep, so maybe wait till it’s around the 5 bucks mark. Then, pick it up, give it a go and entertain yourself for a few days. Or you could check in with your parents, to see if they kept the old dubbed DVDs..?
