Gamertell

We already know that it’s a fairly common practice in Japan for popular mascot characters to receive their own video games. It happens, and is usually no big deal.

Except in the case of Ochaken, the little Sega Toys tea dogs who could.

These little mascot toys ended up finding substantial success not only as mascots, but as video game stars. The characters have spawned GBA and DS games, as well as an anime series and spin-off Ochaneko (tea cat) characters.

The best part is, due to the genres that the Ochaken games belong to, all the games are import friendly. You can get through the pet sims and platformers without being able to read or speak Japanese.

The GBA era

There were four Ochaken Game Boy Advance games released, though the odds of finding them online is pretty slim now. After all, they were released between late 2003 (Ochaken no Heya) and late 2005 (Ochaken no Boukenjima: Honwaka Yume no Island).

Since they’re so old, it’s difficult to find a lot of information on these games. The first game, Ochaken no Heya seems as though it was a pet-sim/mini-game collection, similar to the later DS release of the same name. The second game was Ochaken Kururin: Honwaka Puzzle de Hottoshiyou, and it was a puzzle/action game. The last two games, Ochaken no Yume Bouken and Ochaken no Boukenjima: Honwaka Yume no Island, were both action games.

Ochaken no Heya DS

Once Ochaken made the move to the DS, the series split into two different genres. The first, is the Ochaken no Heya DS series. This is a pet simulation game where you raise, play with and decorate various Ochaken dogs and a few Ochaneko cats.

Ochaken no Heya DS was the first game, and it came out back in 2006. It’s the most basic of the three available so far. You play with existing Ochaken and Ochaneko characters, decorate their home and take part in mini-games.

Ochaken no Heya DS 2 came out a year later in 2007, and basically was very similar to the original game, only with more content. There were more mini-games, more dress up items, more toys, more furniture options, more locations to explore - I think you get the idea.

The most recent addition to this line is the 2008 release Ochaken no Heya DS 3 which, as you can probably guess, is similar to the previous two games. The main attraction this time around is that the Sweets Ochaken and Ochaneko characters, that is the 17 dog and cat characters with various candies, treats or fruits for ears, now appear in the game.

Ochaken no Daibouken

The Ochaken no Daibouken series are classic platformer games with various mini-games thrown in for good measure. So far two games have been released, Ochaken no Daibouken in 2007 and Ochaken no Daibouken 2: Yume Ippai no Omocha Hako. The premise of each game is you pick an Ochaken and an Ochaneko to traverse the various levels, with the dog and cat both having unique abilities.

I was fortunate enough to be able to borrow the first game, Ochaken no Daibouken, from a friend to give it a test run. In it, you join the dogs and cats as they journey around the world. You go through levels collecting assorted items and using different character abilities. At the end, you’ll encounter a mini-game challenge. Each country has it’s own area to traverse. It’s very straightforward, but extra souvenirs or collection items can be uncovered in the levels. You can even design your own Ochaken or Ochaneko. The game wasn’t terribly challenging, but it was fun.

Ochaken no Daibouken 2 is very similar. Once again, you control the dogs and cats through a journey that takes part in a fantastic, toy-like kingdom. You also can customize an Ochaken or Ochaneko again, play mini-games, read brief comics or unlock little virtual toys. In addition to all that, there are now new touch screen controls to help the characters overcome specific challenges in levels and the characters have new tools they can use.

COMING NEXT WEEK: Important Importables look at some DS and PSP straps. If you don’t miss a single installment of Important Importables, or want to know right away when the next column is up, then sign up for the Gamertell Newsletter and RSS feed.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last week Important Importables talked about Puffy AmiYumi..

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