What a load of ass. No, really – there’s loads of ass on show in this, the second Shin-Chan to appear on DS (in Japan at least). Our ‘hero’, Shin-Chan of the title, barely needs an excuse to bare his buttocks and wiggle them at us. Honestly, who wouldn’t fire a laser ray weapon from their bum crack instead of holding it in their hands?

Anyway, as with the previous game this is a fairly standard platformer at heart – dash through shortish levels, collect stars and fight bosses – but with generous helpings of nuttiness at every turn. Shin-Chan has a number of stylus-and D-pad-activated moves at his disposal, including rolling himself up in a ball and twisting himself around poles to climb them.

More entertaining is when he takes control of the numerous vehicles that are needed to complete the levels – a toboggan to tackle a snowy level one minute, a tank that fires water shells to combat a fiery level the next, and so on. It’s definitely one of the better DS platformers and is easy to get to grips with despite the language barrier.

Apr 22, 2009