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Why I love Japan’s stupidest mobile games

Rick Martin 2013.05.08

It has been said many times that Japan’s mobile space is unique. And I’m repeatedly finding that this uniqueness extends to the kinds of mobile applications and content that the country produces. And while I don’t want to say that Japan has weird taste, some of the more exotic creations (we’ve highlighted many of them before) that have come from this country are mind boggling from my western point of view. But in a way, that also makes Japan’s app space sort of beautiful. Earlier today I mentioned Alpaca Evolution, which is a ridiculous game where you have to bash all your alpaca brothers and absorb them into your own body as you evolve. It’s a crazy concept, but the artwork is great, the game play is simple – and surprisingly it’s a lot of fun. Is it dumb? Definitely. Is it great? In its own way, it’s that too. Another iPhone game I came across today might be even more simple, and maybe more ridiculous too. It’s called Pluck Hair, and it tasks players with (you guessed it!) plucking hairs as fast as you can with a gentle swipe of your finger, but if you do it incorrectly or…

It has been said many times that Japan’s mobile space is unique. And I’m repeatedly finding that this uniqueness extends to the kinds of mobile applications and content that the country produces. And while I don’t want to say that Japan has weird taste, some of the more exotic creations (we’ve highlighted many of them before) that have come from this country are mind boggling from my western point of view. But in a way, that also makes Japan’s app space sort of beautiful.

Earlier today I mentioned Alpaca Evolution, which is a ridiculous game where you have to bash all your alpaca brothers and absorb them into your own body as you evolve. It’s a crazy concept, but the artwork is great, the game play is simple – and surprisingly it’s a lot of fun.

Is it dumb? Definitely. Is it great? In its own way, it’s that too.

Another iPhone game I came across today might be even more simple, and maybe more ridiculous too. It’s called Pluck Hair, and it tasks players with (you guessed it!) plucking hairs as fast as you can with a gentle swipe of your finger, but if you do it incorrectly or in the wrong direction, you’re charged with a time penalty.

In a way, it disturbs me that I played this game for about a half an hour. And it disturbs me even more than I bothered to record a video to show it to you (see below).

But there’s a very simple element of joy that exists in this game. I think it’s the same flavor of joy that exists in the Nameco series of games, where it just feels good to harvest mushrooms.

To put it in simpler terms, I think it’s the same reason we all like bubble wrap.

Undoubtedly many readers will dismiss it as stupid. It’s easy to say that this is just Japan being Japan. And I’m not saying that games like Pluck Hair aren’t stupid.

But I really like that somewhere in Japan there’s a developer who pensively said to himself, “A hair plucking game? F**k yeah, I think that’s a good idea.”

That’s just awesome.

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7 crazy apps from Japan that should be April Fools’ jokes, but aren’t

SCORE 2,243

Rick Martin 2013.04.01

Earlier we told you about seven April Fools pranks from around the Japanese web today. And in keeping with the theme of this very tedious day, here are seven made-in-Japan mobile applications that we sort of wish were April Fools’ Day jokes. But incredibly, these are all real. 1. Face Pants Camera There something of a running joke in some circles in Japan called ‘kaopan,’ where folks sport ladies panties over their faces. One software developer has recently taken things a step further by creating an Android app called Kao Pants Camera, an AR application that superimposes a pair of panties over your head, just in case you don’t have any handy. (ht VS Media) 2. Kenstagram: Photobombing centaur Another bizarre photo application is the ever-so-strange Kenstagram, which has a variety of filters like many photo apps. But when you take your picture, a pesky centaur pops into the frame, photobombing your pic. It’s truly one of the weirder apps I’ve come across, but is strangely fun at the same time. Check it out over on iTunes. 3. Battle Cats, and its odd sense of humor This very weird (but awesome) game has a strange sense of humor when describing…

Earlier we told you about seven April Fools pranks from around the Japanese web today. And in keeping with the theme of this very tedious day, here are seven made-in-Japan mobile applications that we sort of wish were April Fools’ Day jokes. But incredibly, these are all real.

1. Face Pants Camera

There something of a running joke in some circles in Japan called ‘kaopan,’ where folks sport ladies panties over their faces. One software developer has recently taken things a step further by creating an Android app called Kao Pants Camera, an AR application that superimposes a pair of panties over your head, just in case you don’t have any handy. (ht VS Media)

2. Kenstagram: Photobombing centaur

Another bizarre photo application is the ever-so-strange Kenstagram, which has a variety of filters like many photo apps. But when you take your picture, a pesky centaur pops into the frame, photobombing your pic. It’s truly one of the weirder apps I’ve come across, but is strangely fun at the same time. Check it out over on iTunes.

3. Battle Cats, and its odd sense of humor

This very weird (but awesome) game has a strange sense of humor when describing the characters in the game. Among the more notable foe descriptions (and I’m quoting directly here):

“Hippo: This dangerous Bi-sexual hippo has confidence in stamina and power. She has multi-attack skill.”

“Croco: He was saved by Dundee. Took many licenses by correspondence education.”

“Elephant: His idol girl is chubby with big tits. Loves collecting porn magazines”

The game’s odd approach appears to have won it quite a few fans too. More than 4 million, in fact.

4. Alpaca-bashing game ‘Alpaca nii-san’

Much like the afore-mentioned Battle Cats, this game has its cute moments until the ridiculousness overwhelms you. It starts out as a peaceful field full of alpacas, until one goes rogue and starts bashing his brothers in the hopes of absorbing them and evolving into, well, something more. We’re just not sure what that ‘something’ is. Check it out for yourself over on iTunes or on Google Play.

5. ‘Everyday ear-picking’ mobile game

Yes, its a game based on cleaning your ears. Or rather, based on cleaning someone else’s ears. These kinds of ear picks are often used here in Asia, and the service is often offered in some spas. But to base a mobile game around ear picking? We wish it was a joke, but sadly its not! Get it for iOS or Android if you dare.

6. Porn star calculator

I don’t use calculator apps very often, but this is one that I had to test out. For science, as they say. Mihiro Calculator works just like any other calculator app, except that when you press the buttons, Mihiro (who is a porn acrtess, by the way — did I not mention that?) speaks each button press in a variety of voices. Some of them sexier are than others, so proceed with care if you try it out yourself. Get it on iTunes here.

7. And a bouncing prime minister

This is a weird app from the folks over at Riko Design, starring the current Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe jumping on a trampoline in front of the National Diet Building. Your challenge is to time the jumps just right to propel him higher into the stratosphere. Like many of the games above, it doesn’t really make sense, but it’s sort of fun anyway! Get it on the App Store if you’d like to try it for yourself.

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Alpaca bashing game inexplicably popular in Japan with 1 million downloads

SCORE 1,157

Rick Martin 2013.03.19

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…

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)

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. ↩
I especially look forward to giving Bikini Cat a try. ↩
Although didn’t that ear-cleaning game also get a million downloads? ↩

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Ewww! Japanese ear-picking mobile game hits 1 million downloads

Rick Martin 2013.02.28

Japan has more than its fair share of strange mobile apps and games, and we hope to show you a few of them every now and then on this site – just because they’re fun. One such application is called Everyday ear-picking, which has just reached the 1 million downloads milestone. The game has you cleaning some stranger’s ear, as he provides feedback (in Japanese) as to how your doing. If you’re lucky, you might fish out some really big blobs of ear muck, which you can then add to your collection book. In the latest update to the game, the developers have added even bigger pieces of ear-muck for you to fish out [1].　Check out the video below for a closer look at how it works. While it’s pretty amazing that an ear-picking/cleaning mobile game even exists at all, it’s perhaps even more amazing that a million people have downloaded it. Initially released back last fall, the iOS version has been a steady top 50 ‘entertainment’ app for about three months now, while the Android version peaked last November when it was a top 5 game on Google Play in Japan for about three weeks. But overall, it’s a…

Japan has more than its fair share of strange mobile apps and games, and we hope to show you a few of them every now and then on this site – just because they’re fun. One such application is called Everyday ear-picking, which has just reached the 1 million downloads milestone.

The game has you cleaning some stranger’s ear, as he provides feedback (in Japanese) as to how your doing. If you’re lucky, you might fish out some really big blobs of ear muck, which you can then add to your collection book. In the latest update to the game, the developers have added even bigger pieces of ear-muck for you to fish out [1].　Check out the video below for a closer look at how it works.

While it’s pretty amazing that an ear-picking/cleaning mobile game even exists at all, it’s perhaps even more amazing that a million people have downloaded it. Initially released back last fall, the iOS version has been a steady top 50 ‘entertainment’ app for about three months now, while the Android version peaked last November when it was a top 5 game on Google Play in Japan for about three weeks.

But overall, it’s a good example of how a fun, unique idea with a dash of humor can hit a sweet spot with casual gamers in Japan, even with ridiculously simple artwork and gameplay. (via Gamer.ne.jp)

Did I just write that sentence? I think it’s time to call it a day! ↩

strange apps

Why I love Japan’s stupidest mobile games