Tanuki no Tabi

One of the most popular animals in japan is the Tanuki, namely their version of the raccoon, and as such we shouldn't be surprised that game based on their lives have sprung up out of nowhere. One such title is Tanuki no Tabi, a top-down, action-adventure shooter that takes place in a world where three clans Tanuki should be living in peace, but instead wage war on each other.

The game starts out just like an anime, where you play as a care-free little Tanuki who's biggest achievement is making the flowers in his garden grow. All is fine until your sister gets kidnapped and you have to use your seed shooter to battle foes until you eventually manage to get her back and resume the celebrations back at your village.

Despite being a chunky little tanuki, you move around your environment with relative ease, and can even spring, thus the top-down shooting aspect of the game is more about you moving around a lot, dodging enemy fire. Speaking of which, you can fight back either using your seed shooter as a gun, or by employing the various skills bestowed upon you by the gods whenever you decide to pray at their shrine.

The chosen keybindings should relatively feel familiar for those of you who played loads of JRPG titles, but at the same time seem confusing to those unfamiliar with the genre. You get to do quests, break objects, defeat swarms upon swarms of powerful enemies and all this in your attempt at saving your beloved tanuki sister.

Tanuki no Tabi falls into that distinct category of games where you have to force yourself to play the first few minutes because the graphics are not so polished, but in the end it is the gameplay that will make you stay. overall, it is definitely a game worth trying, especially if you love tanukis.