Join Shin-chan for a weird, but potentially relaxing summer vacation.
Crayon Shin-chan has been a staple anime for kids in Japan since the early 1990s. The butt waving, mischievous boy from Kasukabe, Saitama, has also been the star of a number of games, movies and even television commercials over the years. Not only that, but the manga and anime has even seen release in a number of countries outside of Japan. Now, he gets to tackle the Boku no Natsuyasumi series aka the My Summer Vacation series, in Crayon Shin-chan: Ora to Hakase no Natsuyasumi - Owaranai Nanokakan no Tabi (The Professor and My Summer Vacation - The Seven Day Endless Journey) for the Nintendo Switch in summer 2021. We’re here to break down all of the details about the game in this preview.
My Summer Vacation Series
The Boku no Natsuyasumi series, or My Summer Vacation, has been around since 2000 with the release of the original game on the PlayStation. The game puts players in control of a nine year old boy named Boku (which is one way to refer to yourself in Japanese) as he enjoys summer vacation in rural Japan. There are really no hard goals set in the game and players are encouraged to just kind of enjoy the experience by checking out the sights, collect bugs, fly a kite, talk to people and just generally relax. Several sequels have been released since, and a “spinoff” on the 3DS from developer Millennium Kitchen was released in Japan and English - Attack of the Friday Monsters. While the game is quite different in terms of gameplay, it does feature a lot of familiar aesthetics.
Enter Shin-chan
Now, Shin-chan is being plugged into the My Summer Vacation series with this release. And it’s not just a simple character swap. As you can see from screenshots, the entirety of the game features a look that is very faithful to the anime featuring the same art style, animations and voice work for the characters that you would see on TV or in movies. In the first look at the game which was shown off at the February 2021 Nintendo Direct, Shin-chan and his family are spending seven days of their summer vacation in the rural town of Asso. Here we see the group eating dinner and then Shin-chan enjoying bath time with his dad. The game will have players doing a lot of very chill activities, such as morning exercises, searching for bugs, fishing and generally chatting with the people of Asso. It was shaping up to be an amazing summer vacation until things began to get a little weird. The crew comes across an odd professor, a dinosaur and even a ninja in the city. Even though things look to get weirder at every turn, you’ll be able to make new friends and explore Asso in an attempt to find out what in the hell is going on there.
A few other things that you can see in the reveal trailer are a map of the area as well as a diary. The map screen itself gives you (obviously) a view of Asso, complete with all of the rivers, roads and footpaths. On this screen you can also see a “Picture Diary” in the upper left hand side, notebooks for bugs and fish, a box of toys, a piggy bank (showing how much money Shin-chan has, in this case, 200 yen) and a few other things. It’s not exactly clear what players will be able to interact with, but the notebooks and diary look like they will play a part. It’s actually pretty fitting, too. For elementary school kids in Japan, having summer homework where they have to draw pictures or just write general details of things they did are pretty normal.
Possible English Version?
Will this game ever see release in English speaking territories? Well, it may be a bit of a tough sell. On the other hand, English speaking audiences DID get a Shin-chan game in 2020 on the Switch in Crayon Shin-chan: The Storm Called! Flaming Kasukabe Runner. It’s a completely different genre (being a runner) and it DOES have a free demo, so check it out if you’re interested. At any rate, it’s possible that Kasukabe Runner could have been a way to test the waters for a Western release of future Shin-chan titles. It’s really hard to say, but keep your fingers crossed.
Conclusion
This is just a short look at what’s to come in Crayon Shin-chan’s summer vacation and I think that it definitely looks like it could be an interesting, relaxing addition to the Switch’s massive library of games. But that turns things over to you. What do you think about what you’ve seen of the game so far? Are you picking it up? Are you a Crayon Shin-chan fan? Sound off in the comments below, we’d love to hear from you.
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