TGS’ 2004 Madcap Recap Feature

This yearâ??s Tokyo Game Show was typical, really. Never is Japanâ??s leading videogame exposition merely a parade of mainstream blockbusters. Oh no, no. Japan is a country whose population lives for Hello Kitty keyrings. Little surprise, then, that we saw some far out stuff at this yearâ??s Tokyo Game Show. Here we tell the other side of this yearâ??s TGS story: that of the crazy sub-culture bubbling away beneath the likes of Gran Turismo and Final Fantasy.

Physical activity and videogames are terms rarely caught together in single sentences. At the Tokyo Game Show, the notion of a gamerâ??s sedentary life is thrown out of the window and taken down to the local gym. Everywhere we looked, people were dancing, posing unusually, and swinging bats/clubsâ?¦ moving to the pulsating beat of off-the-wall Japanese software.

Sega encouraged the public playing of its own Sega Superstars, which is not a terrible idea. But Konami asked the public to stand before its screens, cower before its booth babes, and bat through Powerful Pro Baseball with a luminous baton in hand. At least no one was hurt.

TGS provided the perfect opportunity for graduates of Japanâ??s many videogame schools to show off their projects. We had the chance to play a few of these games. One of them, the title of which we forget, played like a stripped down version of your favourite 3D platformer. However, the gameâ??s design was totally bonkers. An unusually large amount of grapefruit featured. Because of that, and thanks to gameâ??s disturbing main character, we suffered nightmares of grapefruit death for two nights running. Have a look at the images here, but donâ??t stare too long.

Back in the realm of sanity, we were pleasantly surprised by Iremâ??s innovative booth design. The R-Type company erected an earthquake-shattered building in which to house the demo of its sequel to Zettai Zetsumei Toshi (aka SOS), an earthquake survival game. Queues to enter the crumbling shell were inexplicably huge. Perhaps it had something to do with the megaphone-equipped Irem staffâ?¦

Horse games featured prominently at TGS, of course. Derby Owners Club Online was one of the most prominent (and popular) titles on Sega Sammyâ??s stand. Queues of people lined up to ride their chosen nag at a networked steeplechase. Donâ??t ask why, thatâ??s not the point. What is the point? Weâ??re not sure, but a PSP horse racing game was creating quite a stir over in Sonyâ??s booth. Crowds gathered to see footage of this portable jockey (tautology, yes?) game, and they werenâ??t disappointed when Sony beamed in-game video of the title on a huge PSP monitor above head.

Dating sims, however, were not quite so prevalent this year as they have been in previous years. But reliable developers such as Tonkinhouse saw to it that those hentai (literally, â??pervertâ??) games on show received more than their fair share of attention. The simple head-turning formula? Girls dressed in maid outfits and/or outlandishly cute attire. Because male show-goersâ?? brains donâ??t reside in their skullsâ?¦

Other eye-catching presences were invariably so because of their insistence on cosplay. Cosplay, as you may know, is the Japanese art of dressing as your favourite videogame character or fictitious idol. We saw Chun Li, Morrigan, Cloud Strife, and even Super Mario himself (though â??twas a girl underneath). On SNKâ??s stand there was a professional to show how cosplay really ought to be done. She looked like she could kill us with a single high kick. Scary.

This yearâ??s biggest games for little kids were cuter than ever. Hamsters and cats featured prominently in many of these simple platform and puzzle games. Our favourites were definitely the hamster games, as introduced to us by the adorable creature here pictured. Heck, we were even allowed to sit on hamster beanbags while playing. As they say in Japan â?“ â??Kawaii!â?

Thanks to all this surreal activity, the ambience at TGS was pleasantly far out. This sensation was only accentuated in the exhibition centreâ??s dedicated Press Room, where a fellow member of the press (from Germany, we ascertained from his accent and blond moustache) became irate as his websiteâ??s server crashed and subsequently used the f-word as though it was about to expire. Poor chap.

Still, our TGS was chilled and bizarre. Just how we like it.