by Dom N., contributor, Inside AX- Anime Expo

Don’t be fooled by the packaging: Go! Go! Nippon! from OVERDRIVE (Kira Kira, Dengeki Stryker) is much more of a narrated tourist guidebook than the visual novel it claims to be. It’s a game with a mission, and that mission is to take the (non-Japanese) player step-by-step through a visit to Tokyo. It’s very focused on that goal, and everything else is merely a sidelight. The girls, Makoto and Akira, are essentially tour books with faces, so if you’re going into the game expecting some kind of emotional response to the contents, you’re going to be disappointed.

As an interactive guidebook aimed at first-time visitors to Japan, Go! Go! Nippon! is a wild success. The game teaches you about the most prominent monuments and tourist sites in Tokyo and Kyoto, all while keeping a handy tally of expenses in either dollars or euros. The information is presented in small doses with pleasantly light banter, so it’s easier to digest than most guide books, and it manages to touch on both the rich history and modern amusements of Tokyo. It mostly avoids the condescension found in many guide books for beginners, but the main character of the “story” is such a awestruck fanboy that there are times when you start to hate him.

The toilet interlude is a little condescending, but still funny.

More important than the walkthrough of popular tourist spots, though, is the practical sensibility that runs through the game. Every prospective tourist knows about the Tokyo Tower, but not everyone knows where to buy and charge a SUICA card to use the subway to get there. Go! Go! Nippon! covers many of the tiny details that people often gloss over, offering handy little tips about table manners, safety, and Tokyo’s infamous rush hour. You may not notice it, but by the time you’re finished with the game, you’ll be pretty well equipped to take a trip to Japan – a country that could use the tourism after the huge hits it took this year.

All in all, you should pick up Go! Go! Nippon! if you plan on making a trip to Japan some time in the near future. It’s an extraordinarily digestible and well-plotted guide book, though cynical old visual novel veterans such as myself may find it to be an awkward successor to the old Kita He series of games, which were basically an advertisement for visiting Hokkaido.

Pros:

• Great interactive guidebook for people who are going to Japan for their first time.
• Covers a lot of practical survival tips, beyond the normal guidebook.

Cons:

• Not a whole lot of storyline, girls are little more than a guidebook with a face.
• No emotional connection with the characters.

Tags: Go! Go! Nippon, MangaGamer, OVERDRIVE, review