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Japan’s disgustingly cute ‘Alpaca Evolution’ gets a prequel

Rick Martin Rick Martin
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We previously wrote about the very strange, but very cute Alpaca Evolution mobile game, which has managed to attract over 5 million downloads in Japan [1]. And now a new version has been released – or rather, to be precise it’s a prequel, appropriately titled Alpaka Nii-san Begins. If you recall the original game, you are an alpaca who beats up on your alpaca brothers, absorbing them into your body to evolve into monstrous new forms of alpaca. In this new iteration, the gameplay is essentially the same, but we have the option of choosing from two storylines (‘power’ or ‘subservient’), with four possible endings. And if you make it to the ending, you’ll know the mystery that lies behind these funny animals. So far the game is ranked 10th overall in the Japan App Store on iOS, and if the previous version is any indication, it is likely to hit the top spot too, perhaps sometime over the weekend. If you’d like give Alpaca Nii-san Begins a try, you can pick it up for free over on the App Store or on Google Play. To get an idea of how the game is played, check out our video for…

alpaca-evolution-begins

We previously wrote about the very strange, but very cute Alpaca Evolution mobile game, which has managed to attract over 5 million downloads in Japan [1]. And now a new version has been released – or rather, to be precise it’s a prequel, appropriately titled Alpaka Nii-san Begins.

If you recall the original game, you are an alpaca who beats up on your alpaca brothers, absorbing them into your body to evolve into monstrous new forms of alpaca. In this new iteration, the gameplay is essentially the same, but we have the option of choosing from two storylines (‘power’ or ‘subservient’), with four possible endings. And if you make it to the ending, you’ll know the mystery that lies behind these funny animals.

So far the game is ranked 10th overall in the Japan App Store on iOS, and if the previous version is any indication, it is likely to hit the top spot too, perhaps sometime over the weekend.

If you’d like give Alpaca Nii-san Begins a try, you can pick it up for free over on the App Store or on Google Play. To get an idea of how the game is played, check out our video for the original Alpaca Evolution below. (Via VS Media)

  1. The title is actually Alpaca Nii-san, or ‘brother alpaca’, but the developer Cocosola translates it as ‘Alpaca Evolution’. Also, the five million downloads figure is taken from its English iOS app description. Some of the other app descriptions differ in their total.  ↩

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Japan’s disgustingly cute mobile game ‘Alpaca Evolution’ hits 4 million downloads

Rick Martin Rick Martin
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Japanese mobile game publisher Cocosola has announced that its Alpaca Evolution game has surpassed the 4 million downloads mark. I was pretty surprised back in March when it was announced that the game had reached a million downloads, so naturally, 4 million is no small feat either. The object of the game, as I previously mentioned, is to bash your fellow alpacas and absorb them into your own body so you can evolve into something of an alpaca monstrosity. Yes, it’s very weird, but at the same time it’s sort of cool too. You can see more about how it works in our demo video above. While the gameplay is painfully simple, the character appears to have hit the same kimo-kawaii sweet-spot as Ponos’s Battle Cats. And like Ponos, which is capitalizing on the appeal of these cute characters by expanding into merchandising, Cocosola is selling game-related goods as well. If you pop over to runatown.com, for example, you can check out a wide assortment of Alpaca Evolution iPhone cases (pictured below). The game was originally released back in February, meaning that these four million downloads have come within the very short time span of less than three months. So…

Japanese mobile game publisher Cocosola has announced that its Alpaca Evolution game has surpassed the 4 million downloads mark. I was pretty surprised back in March when it was announced that the game had reached a million downloads, so naturally, 4 million is no small feat either.

The object of the game, as I previously mentioned, is to bash your fellow alpacas and absorb them into your own body so you can evolve into something of an alpaca monstrosity. Yes, it’s very weird, but at the same time it’s sort of cool too. You can see more about how it works in our demo video above.

alpaca-niisan
4 million downloads in less than 3 months

While the gameplay is painfully simple, the character appears to have hit the same kimo-kawaii sweet-spot as Ponos’s Battle Cats. And like Ponos, which is capitalizing on the appeal of these cute characters by expanding into merchandising, Cocosola is selling game-related goods as well. If you pop over to runatown.com, for example, you can check out a wide assortment of Alpaca Evolution iPhone cases (pictured below).

The game was originally released back in February, meaning that these four million downloads have come within the very short time span of less than three months. So its pace thus far is impressive to say the least.

Cocosola says that new updates to the game are on the way very soon, bringing new evolutions for fans of this very strange game. (Cocosola, via VS Media)

alpaka-nii-san

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Alpaca bashing game inexplicably popular in Japan with 1 million downloads

SCORE 1,184 Rick Martin Rick Martin
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We’ve featured some strange Japanese mobile games here on SD Japan in the past, but this one ranks way up there among the strangest. Alpaka Evolution [1] is a simple game with simple graphics, but its quirkiness appears to have helped it past a million downloads since the game’s initial release for Android on February 5, and for iOS on February 23. The game starts out peaceful enough, with a herd of alpacas grazing in a meadow. But you control one of these alpaca, and with a tap or a swipe you can deal a knockout blow to one of your many brothers. Now, before we hear from the animal cruelty folks, I should clarify that the objective of the game is actually to not kill alpacas. But rather the goal is to absorb as many of your fallen brothers as you can, and evolve into a bigger, more powerful alpaca. The game was developed by a company called Cocosola, and many of its titles appear to be equally off the wall [2]. The app has been the top casual game on Japan’s Google Play store this week, and it has been a top 25 title for iOS for the…

brother-alpaca

We’ve featured some strange Japanese mobile games here on SD Japan in the past, but this one ranks way up there among the strangest. Alpaka Evolution [1] is a simple game with simple graphics, but its quirkiness appears to have helped it past a million downloads since the game’s initial release for Android on February 5, and for iOS on February 23.

The game starts out peaceful enough, with a herd of alpacas grazing in a meadow. But you control one of these alpaca, and with a tap or a swipe you can deal a knockout blow to one of your many brothers. Now, before we hear from the animal cruelty folks, I should clarify that the objective of the game is actually to not kill alpacas. But rather the goal is to absorb as many of your fallen brothers as you can, and evolve into a bigger, more powerful alpaca.

The game was developed by a company called Cocosola, and many of its titles appear to be equally off the wall [2]. The app has been the top casual game on Japan’s Google Play store this week, and it has been a top 25 title for iOS for the majority of time since its release on that platform.

I find it pretty fascinating that a game like this can be so popular [3]. There really isn’t anything to drive you to continue than the curiosity of seeing what grotesque shape your alpaca will mutate into. Currently the game is monetized with in-app advertising, but this might be yet another instance where brand merchandising represents a big opportunity. Who wouldn’t buy a plush mutated alpaca?

Check out our short video demo of the game above. If you’d like to try it out, you can get it on the App Store or over on Google Play. (Via Axelgames)

  1. The game’s title literally means ‘Brother Alpaca,’ but the company appears to have used the name ‘Alpaka Evolution’ (yes, with a ‘k’ and not with a ‘c’) for English.  ↩
  2. I especially look forward to giving Bikini Cat a try.  ↩
  3. Although didn’t that ear-cleaning game also get a million downloads?  ↩

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  2. alpaca-evolution-begins Japan’s disgustingly cute ‘Alpaca Evolution’ gets a prequel
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