The creators of Danganronpa and Zero Escape tried to develop a children’s game

Too Kyo Games was founded in 2017 by Kazutaka Kodaka, the man behind the Danganronpa series, and Kotaro Uchikoshi, the head behind the No escape Games. Two titans of visual novels for cerebral death games, the fact that they would be working together was a big deal. The first game the two worked on together in the new company was World’s End Clubwith a primary school class in the main roles, who initially find themselves in a game of life and death.

While the pre-release advertising gave the impression that the game would Danganronpa Series about high school students being forced to kill each other, World’s End Club It’s not actually a killing game. It’s not even a visual novel – it’s a puzzle platformer. Rather than an emotional thriller like the creators’ older works, the game is much more of a slice of life mystery. While the characters and plot are engaging, the platforming leaves a lot to be desired. A lot of passion has been put into the game’s story and presentation, making you wonder if World’s End Club would have been better as an anime than as a video game.

A killing game for children… or not

Related

Putt-Putt, Freddi Fish and Pyjama Sam: A look back at the games that shaped our childhood

Many ’90s kids still remember their first video games, and they have a lot in common. Here’s a look back at three of the most popular.

World’s End Club begins with an elementary school class on a field trip. Suddenly they are caught in an explosion and wake up in an underwater theme park. A malicious black and white AI mascot named Pielope tells them that they will play a “game of fate” in which Anyone who does not complete the tasks assigned to him will be eaten by the “Sludgebot”.

The children go about their tasks, but of course they gradually disappear when they fail. Some even betray the other children in order to win. Danganronpa Fan, this will all sound very familiar… until the character Reycho frees the rest of the class from the Sludgebot and the game is declared over. It turns out that everyone is alive! With a submarine, the class escapes the amusement park and find a strangely empty Japan when they come to the surface.

Aside from a few alien monsters, the towns are deserted, and the kids realize they’re on the other side of the country from their hometown of Tokyo. And so the class – calling themselves the “Go-Getters Club” – sets off back to Tokyo, hoping to find out what happened to Japan along the way.

As the children travel, they all realize that They have developed a special power that allows them to traverse levels or fight enemies. Throughout the different levels, the player takes control of different classmates and sometimes stops at base camps where Reycho can talk to his friends about what has happened so far. The change from another killing game to a “road trip mystery” will disappoint fans who wanted more Danganronpabut as for the tone of the game, the lighter plot fits very well.

It’s a lot of fun to see the Go-Getters Club talking to each other, hearing their backstories, and even waiting for each child to develop their special power. The game also offers alternative paths, such as choosing whether the next destination should be Fukuoka or Oita and which classmates will accompany Reycho. Here No escape Fans will recognize some of the classic branches of the Uchikoshi story. Although the game is much less brutal than its older brothers, Kodaka and Uchikoshi’s talents shine through in telling the story.

Back to brutality

Related

What would a Pokémon game for an older audience look like?

Pokémon has been capturing the hearts of children for over a quarter of a century, but what would it look like if they released a Pokémon game with an age rating of T?

World’s End Club has its dark moments, but compared to the execution of teenagers in Danganronpa or people who lose weapons in No escapeit is definitely one of the lightest fare ever produced by Kodaka or Uchikoshi. This isn’t necessarily a disadvantage, but it could be painful for anyone still recovering from the end of both trilogies. The strength of the game lies in the capriciousness of these children marching to Tokyo and the antics they get up to along the way.

The vivid character designs ensure that the journey home remains exciting, even if the game still pretends to be about murder. Character designer Take had previously created human characters for the 7th and 8th generation of the Pokemon Franchise. Her art fits very well with the tone of World’s End Clubwhich creates a nice dichotomy at the beginning between the (supposed) stakes of the game of fate and really complements the wonder of the twelve friends who travel the land on adventures.

But why was the game aimed at a younger audience? Although it was still rated T for Teen in the US, that is still a lower rating than M for Mature, which all Danganronpa And No escape Games. Kodaka was actually quite excited to tell a story with younger children this time, compare it with Earthbound And The Goonies in a Reddit AMA:

There used to be games for kids like Earthbound and The Goonies, but there aren’t many games like that anymore these days. Having a game from a kid’s perspective or being able to do things with kids as the main characters is something comparatively fresh and new.

And honestly, these comparisons are pretty apt! Just because people aren’t dying all the time this time doesn’t mean that the game doesn’t contain nightmare material. Shigesato Itoi would be proud of how the game could bring horror into the experience. In Japan, World’s End Club has an age rating of Cero B – corresponds to approximately 12 years and older.

So while parents may not be willing to buy the game for a fourth-grader, a seventh or eighth-grader would be fine with it. But on the other hand, Earthbound‘s Giygas was in an E-rated game, and the strange red ghost creature has been haunting players of all ages ever since Earthbound Approved…

Come for the history, stay for the history

Related

2023 is a great year for cooperative platform games

2023 will see the release of several new co-op platform games from major franchises, bringing a much-needed revival to the genre.

Kodaka and Uchikoshi are, as already mentioned, known for their visual novel thrillers with very dark content. While Danganronpa (somewhat infamous) often included various mini-games for variety, the appeal of the series (and of No escape) was ultimately about solving puzzles with puzzles. World’s End Club has the mystery but no puzzles. Instead, it tries to be more of an action-adventure game with puzzle platforming. While the platforming is perfectly playable, there is one problem: it’s not much fun.

World’s End Club motivates the player to complete each level through the sound alone, it really gives the feeling of “kids on adventure” experiences. But if the platform gameplay was more interesting and faster, the game would easily go from B to A. The characters move slowly, everyone can only do one move besides jumping, and obstacles are very clearly indicated. That’s why the game would have worked better as a show: Besides being able to make story scenes even more dynamic without limiting them to preset model animations, the sluggish levels would be much more interesting if they were reinterpreted as just the story-relevant parts.

Since each character has their own special power, it would be a lot of fun to see them in an anime or use them more creatively in the game. One member of the Go-Getters Club can breathe fire. Another can change their gravity so they can walk on the ceiling instead of the floor. Someone can even transform into what is practically a Power Ranger! However, because the gameplay is so limited, the full potential of these special abilities is not utilized.

It was a missed opportunity not to give each character at least one additional way to use their powers in the game. The Gravity Shifter could have been given the ability to change the gravity of other objects it touches, for example like Uravity from My Hero Academia. This way, they could harm their enemies by taking advantage of the dynamics of gravity-altered objects to hit a giant alien directly in the face.

Related

The ending of Danganronpa V3 is a misunderstood masterpiece

Danganronpa V3 features one of the boldest and most controversial endings in video game history, but its infamous finale teaches an important lesson.

Kazutaka Kodaka and Kotaro Uchikoshi are talented writers. Despite all the platform game’s weaknesses, fans of their previous works could still World’s End Club it’s worth playing through just to see what the two have cooked up this time. But while the story is so much fun, the mediocre gameplay hurts even more – instead of making the player feel like they are on the journey with the Go-Getters Club, the adventure levels feel more like obligations that must be fulfilled before the story can move on.

Despite the company name, Too Kyo Games is not just a game studio. It was a co-producer of the anime Akudama ride And Tribe Ninethey will release a game for the latter at some point. There is a beta test planned for July 2024 though! But that’s beside the point. The point is that Too Kyo Games is no newbie to anime production, so if the Go-Getters Club ever resurfaces, an anime adaptation of the game would be a great place for it.

World’s End Club is currently available on Nintendo Switch, Steam, and Apple Arcade.