Giftpia: Strange, But Beautiful

If you thought Animal Crossing was weird, wait until you experience Giftpia. Details, screens and footage inside.

Recently released in Japan, Giftpia has been well received by GameCube owners there, and some of the best news from Nintendo at this year's E3 was that the game is probably, definitely headed Stateside. Whether or not it's destined for a European release remains to be seen, but since Nintendo Europe have stated it didn't make logistic sense to release Animal Crossing, the dury's still out on that one.

Talking of Animal Crossing, Giftpia is strangely reminiscent in a... strange kind of way. The word Giftpia is formed from the words 'Gift' and 'Utopia' - which is a good start. Welcome to the quirky world of Skip Ltd, the developers of Giftpia...

Giftpia offers gamers a totally new RPG experience: no combat, no weapons, no armor-and no clichés. When Pockle oversleeps and misses his Coming-of-Age Ceremony, he finds himself in deep trouble. According to the laws of his island, he has committed a terrible crime and the courts have chucked him into prison.

But that's not all! Because he's a minor, they've even blurred out his face so no one can see him. Now, he's promised to pay an incredible sum of money to the island's mayor to hold another Coming-of-Age Ceremony. If he really wants to become a true adult, he'll have to learn some responsibility and help the many islanders.

Giftpia offers a truly stylish and colorful alternative to mainstream RPGs. Your island is filled with oddball citizens in need of your help to make enough money to pay for a new Coming-of-Age Ceremony. There are dozens of quests, odd jobs and mini-games. You can go fishing, listen to the local radio station, fix up the town or give the locals a hand.

If Pockle stays up too late, sleep ghosts come and haunt him until he finally passes out. The more tasks you accomplish, the more mature Pockle becomes and the later he is allowed to stay out. And you need to keep Pockle well fed to stave off hunger, too-hunger reduces health, and if he starves, the game ends.

This game is a great and innovative experience, and its English-text showing at E3 was an instant hit with attendees. Stay tuned for more as the game nears some kind of western release.

Adam Doree
Director, Kikizo.com