Developer: h.a.n.d. Inc
Publisher: Limited Run Games, Neos Corporation
Platform: PC, Switch
Tested on: PC
Shin Chan: Shiro and the Coal Town – Review
While we’re definitely aware of the existence of Shin Chan, our knowledge of the long-running Japanese manga is very limited. We vaguely recall watching a handful of episodes of the Dutch-language dub of the Crayon Shin Chan anime on Saturday mornings two decades ago. From what we remember, it depicted the slice-of-life shenanigans of a crudely drawn five-year-old with a foul mouth. It was an entertaining but forgettable show for us. We never would have expected to spend extended time in the company of the brash toddler twenty years later. Enter Shin Chan: Shiro and the Coal Town, a video game adaptation of the Shin Chan series. How did we feel about this reunion? Read on to find out.
Story
Set over the course of a lazy summer, Shiro and the Coal Town puts you in the shoes of Shin Chan, as his family spends time in the rural town of Akita, where our hero’s father needs to be for his job. After a couple of tranquil days, Shin Chan follows his dog Shiro, and the pair end up in the Coal Town. It’s here that Shin Chan meets a wide variety of characters, including Yuri, a local inventor who wants to improve the town. However, there’s also an evil property developer, who claims to want to get rid of the town’s waste… but his plans also include getting rid of the town’s diner and mine carts. It’s up to Shin Chan, Shiro, and their new friends to deal with this dastardly villain. We should note that the overarching story is the weakest part of Shiro and the Coal Town, and that it hinges on a predictable plot twist. That’s not to say that the writing is bad, but the strengths of Shiro and the Coal Town’s narrative aren’t in the main plotline but in the game’s world-building and how the trademark humor of the series is implemented. Of course, said humor is a bit of an acquired taste: Shin Chan lusts after women a lot older than him, isn’t afraid to whip out his naked buttocks, and blurts out things without a filter.
Graphics
The deliberately crude art style is integral to Shin Chan’s aesthetics. Whether or not the character designs are appealing is a matter of personal preference, but we can say that the way everything is depicted is faithful to the source material. That’s not to say that the entirety of Shiro and the Coal Town looks crude. The star of the visuals is the environment, which looks absolutely gorgeous. You’d expect the juxtaposition of the realistic and beautifully lit backdrops to clash against the simplistic cartoon characters, but in practice, this works surprisingly well.
Sound
The summer feeling that Shiro and the Coal Town sets out to evoke is emphasized by its soundscape. The relaxing music and ambient sound effects certainly do a great job of creating a tranquil atmosphere. The game sounds exactly like you’d expect, and we mean this in the best way possible. Whether it’s the sound of flowing water or the constant chirping of cicadas, Shiro and the Coal Town sounds just about perfect. There’s also voice acting, and although we’re not familiar with the Japanese voice cast for the anime, we’re assuming that the main cast is reprising their role here. They certainly sound like they are familiar with the characters.
Gameplay
At its core, Shiro and the Coal Town is a life sim game, in the same vein as something like Animal Crossing, albeit one with more narrative elements. The game’s pacing is tranquil and relaxing, aiming to capture the feeling of lazy summers gone by, from the perspective of a child. In this case, that child is our five-year-old protagonist of course. Early on, Shin Chan fills his days with the kind of activities you’d expect: things like catching bugs and collecting rocks, as well as fishing and growing vegetables under the watchful eye of one of the locals. Your findings are recorded in a book, with one of your goals being of course to collect everything there is to find. Additionally, Shin Chan is a helpful little fellow, and the villagers of Akita can definitely use the help of our intrepid toddler with simple side quests in the form of chores. The game follows a slow but steady pace, with days bookended by Shin Chan getting hungry or sleepy. We’d have been content if Shiro and the Coal Town had been just a relaxing collectathon, but after a couple of days of collecting, you’ll unlock access to the titular Coal Town and things really start to open up.
The Coal Town offers a very different setting compared to the rural Akita, which translates into a different gameplay style as well. In the Coal Town, Shin Chan is tasked with attracting more clients to Yosio’s family diner, which leads to all sorts of side stories about the customers. You’ll need to add new meals to the menu, according to the preferences of the visitors, based on what they tell you. It’s a simple but effective way to flesh out the NPCs, and we really enjoyed getting to know the cast. The second big draw in Coal Town is a minecart minigame, where you race against an opponent to try and obtain the most gemstones. It’s a surprisingly fleshed-out part of the game, tying into the main story. You can customize your cart, and there are several tracks to master and opponents to defeat -including by ramming into their cart.
Being such a slow burn, Shiro and the Coal Town is a fantastic game to unwind with, and it’s best not to rush through things but instead try and appreciate the game’s pacing. Shiro and the Coal Town doesn’t play out in real-time as Animal Crossing does, but we found that it is still best enjoyed in short bursts in a similar way to Nintendo’s famous life sim series. The mechanics are incredibly simple and accessible, but the game can quickly devolve into a repetitive grindfest if you decide to rush through things. That approach is diagonally opposite to the philosophy of the game. In fact, the way the NPCs interact with Shin Chan illustrates a longing for a lifestyle that has become increasingly rare. It’s as if the game tries to educate its players about the mindset that it should be approached with. We’re not saying that Shiro and the Coal Town is a particularly deep or philosophical experience, as this is still essentially an adventure about a toddler who thinks fart jokes are the epitome of humor. However, Shiro and the Coal Town does deliver an exercise in slowing down and mindfulness of sorts. That’s more than we could have expected from a licensed anime game.
Conclusion
Adaptations of popular anime can be hit or miss, and we’re happy to say that Shiro and the Coal Town falls into the former category. What the cozy gameplay lacks in depth, it more than makes up for in atmosphere. Despite the high energy of its foul-mouthed protagonist, Shiro and the Coal Town perfectly captures the relaxed, low-stakes feeling of summers gone by. The overarching narrative is admittedly a bit lacking, but don’t let that stop you from joining Shin Chan and Chiro in visiting the Coal Town.
No Comments