Attack of the Friday Monsters! A Tokyo Tale is now available on 3DS eShop

Written by Brandon Hofer on July 18, 2013

News: Level-5’s latest title hits the Nintendo 3DS eShop which takes place in 1971 Tokyo and deals with monsters appearing in the city.

Attack of the Friday Monsters! A Tokyo Tale is now available in North America on the Nintendo 3DS eShop. Created by veteran game developer Kaz Ayabe with his company, Millenium Kitchen and published by Level-5, Attack of the Friday Monsters! A Tokyo Tale will introduce players to Japan’s “Showa” era of the nation’s early 1970s and a town on the outskirts of Tokyo, Fuji no Hana, where the monsters on TV come to life every Friday. Attack of the Friday Monsters! A Tokyo Tale was previously released only in Japan as part of the GUILD02 collection, featuring masterworks by some of the industry’s most respected game creators.

“Kaz Ayabe has been an innovative part of Japanese game development for more than two decades. An avant-garde game designer, his rich and compelling storytelling has excited and entertained millions of fans for an entire generation,” said Akihiro Hino, President and CEO of Level-5. “Attack of the Friday Monsters! A Tokyo Tale represents Ayabe’s first work since the award-winning Boku no Natsuyasumi and his very first original title released outside of Japan, giving Western players their first ever opportunity to experience this cutting-edge game designer for themselves.”

“This unconventional game takes place in Tokyo in 1971, 42 years ago from today. Back then, giant monsters (kaiju) appeared routinely on a specific day of every week in Japan - that is, the world inside the TV shows “came to life.” For children of the time, it was an invaluable extension of everyday life,” said Kaz Ayabe, CEO and Game Designer of Millenium Kitchen. “I tried to create the childhood dream of living in this world as a compact game with a certain level of satirical poignancy. The courage we muster in times of distress and our tolerance towards other people is important in any age. We created this game so players can relive that wonderful time where no one questioned the values of those innocent years of your childhood.”

Attack of the Friday Monsters! A Tokyo Tale allows players to step into the life of a young boy, Sohta, and experience life in the suburbs of Tokyo through the lens of an innocent child’s eyes. As Sohta, the son of a family of dry cleaners, players advance the story by interacting with the town’s unique and quirky residents to reveal episodic mysteries that portend to the strange events surrounding the appearance of a giant monster every Friday. Tied intrinsically to the story is the in-game collectible trading card game, “Monster Cards,” that players can collect, combine, and battle with in an effort to become the “boss” of the other children around town. Successfully becoming the “boss” allows players to gather crucial information pertaining to where to go next that otherwise would be withheld according to the children’s rules of the game.

Attack of the Friday Monsters! A Tokyo Tale is available on the 3DS eShop for $7.99. Will you be downloading it?