Today's Konami Press Start showcase was relatively low-key, but there was one game showcased that absolutely blew my mind – just not, necessarily, in a good way. Konami Wai Wai World Craft is a modern reimagining of a wild NES platformer that was never released outside of Japan. Normally, I'm all about this kind of thing – but this new take on Wai Wai World seems to have transformed into Konami's take on Roblox.
Wai Wai World Craft was actually announced around last year's Tokyo Game Show, but the news seems to have flown under the radar for most Western gamers. But, well, who would really take notice? The original Wai Wai World was released for the Famicom in 1988 and was never localized globally on the NES. But its bizarre concept has helped it stand out among the vast '80s Nintendo library for modern retro enthusiasts.
The 1988 Wai Wai World is a Castlevania-style platformer where you rescue an array of characters from each of the game's major levels. The gimmick is that each level is based on a different Konami game, and the characters you rescue are the protagonists from those games, and saving them unlocks them as playable characters. You'd be able to play as Simon Belmont, or even Mikey from the Goonies – a film Konami had built a beloved video game adaptation of. In the pre-Smash Bros. era, seeing different video game franchises mashing up like this was a heck of a novelty.
Wai Wai World Craft still features an array of playable Konami characters, including Simon and Contra star Bill. But instead of old-school action platforming, this is a "UGC platform" where you create your own levels, share them online, and play with friends. In other words, it's a Roblox-like.
"In Wai Wai World Craft," executive director Hiroshi Tanibuchi explains in today's presentation, "you can use existing games as a building block and add your personal touch by changing the rules, introducing new enemies and gameplay mechanics, and customizing the stages and game world."
The building tools look similar to those in Minecraft, and everything demonstrated in the footage appears to be simple platformers. The way the multiplayer features and creation tools are presented are very similar to Roblox, but it looks like the creation tools here are far more limited. Which, uh… look, I'm no game market analyst. But I feel like a lesser version of Roblox targeted at kids far too young to remember Konami's classic IP is a concept that has some issues.
But hey, maybe I'm treating the idea too cynically, and feeling bitter about never getting an English version of the original Wai Wai World. We'll see how Wai Wai World Craft turns out when it eventually launches as a free-to-play game across PC and mobile sometime in the future.
