Shin-chan: Shiro and the Coal Town is a sequel to 2022’s Shin-chan: Me and the Professor on Summer Vacation, with both games being a mash of two very Japanese properties. Like the 2022 title, Shin-chan: Shiro and the Coal Town mashes together the iconic Crayon Shin-chan manga with the gameplay of a more obscure, Japanese bug-catching series, Boku no Natsuyasumi or My Summer Vacation.
At first glance, Shin-chan: Shiro and the Coal Town feels very much like its predecessor. It takes place in a nostalgic Summer countryside, where the player assumes the role of the titular 5-year-old, with the crux or main gameplay loop of the title revolving around collecting bugs, fishing and doing odd jobs for the town’s NPCs.
Fortunately, Shin-chan: Shiro and the Coal Town is a marked improvement over its cozy predecessor, complete with a few new gameplay mechanics to boot, on top of a brand new story revolving around saving a small town from the grips of a no-good corporation. Starting with the quality of life improvements in Shin-chan: Shiro and the Coal Town, the sequel addresses the movement of Shin-chan when transitioning from screen to screen, making it easier not to get turned or around find yourself disoriented due to the reliance on old-school fixed camera angles.
“Shin-chan: Shiro and the Coal Town is a marked improvement over its cozy predecessor…”
Additionally, it’s a little bit easier now to catch insects and interact with other objectives in the game, adding to the overall laid-back nature of the experience. Now, on to the new additions, Shin-chan: Shiro and the Coal Town further iterates on the bug and fish-catching mechanics of the game, with both new critters to catch, along with vegetables that the player can harvest. These can even be used to create recipes, which unlock shortly after making it to the coal-mining town of the game.
Recipes can be used to further along NPC quests and their relationship with the player, which further incentivizes catching or gathering repeats of already catalogued goods. Outside of the cooking, bug catching, and fishing elements present in the game, players can also race mine carts after unlocking the mine area within the new town. Players can also customize their mine carts with various fun and quirky elements that add to the cutesy charm of the title.
Finally, a young woman who is the resident scientist in the coal mining town enlists the help of Shin-chan and his friends. She wants them to help create a whole assortment of out-of-the-box and zany inventions, which slowly add flourishes to the town, progressing the story.
Like 2022’s predecessor, Shin-chan: Shiro and the Coal Town’s story, at first glance, is a simple one. Shinsuke is once again on his summer vacation, and this time, he is brought back to the countryside due to his father’s work responsibility. However, things quickly snowball after Shin goes after his dog Shiro, who both wind up in the titular Coal town after hitching a ride on a rogue minecart. From here, Shin discovers the wider cast of characters and slowly but surely involves himself in their lives, eventually rising to thwart the plans of nefarious forces that lurk below the surface.
In truth, Shin-chan: Shiro and the Coal Town isn’t a massive departure from its 2022 counterpart. However, fans of the source material will surely appreciate the quality of life improvements, new narrative, and overall charm the sequel brings, making it worthwhile for those interested.
If you’ve never experienced the first game, or even if you’re unfamiliar with the property, Shiro and the Coal Town is a novel take on a cozy genre, reminiscent of games like Animal Crossing with the camera angles found in old school pre-rendered RPGs and survival horror titles. Thankfully, unlike the former, Shin-chan’s latest outing is a beautiful anime rendition of the Japanese countryside that anyone can appreciate.
Shin-chan: Shiro and the Coal Town is available on both the Nintendo Switch and Steam, which, on PC, despite its barebones video options, looked great on my 4K OLED display, making it a perfect fit for both the Steam Deck OLED or the Nintendo Switch equivalent.
