NCS Product Synopsis
Update: March 5, 2004
«©NCSX» Starting life on the manga proving grounds of Weekly Shonen Jump, Sakigake! Kuromati Koukou captured the attention of its audience with a cast of high school delinquents whose aspirations in life were to hang out, discuss inane subjects and act like a bunch of bad asses. Lovable bad asses. After amassing a critical audience on the pages of Shonen Jump, Kuromati Koukou made the transition from paper to celluloid when Production I.G. worked the manga into animation form and TV Tokyo started airing episodes last year. Set in the high school wasteland of Kuromati High School, Japanese toughs, slackers, good-for-nothings and other ne'er do wells are all shuffled into one steaming pot of male testosterone. The top clique in Kuromati consists of protagonist Takashi Kamiyama and head honcho Hayashida Shinjirou. Around them, the core crew consists of the slow-witted Akira Maeda, the metallic Mechazawa Shinichi, Gorilla, and Freddy Mercury. Yes, he of the aptly named rock band Queen and Gorilla is an actual gorilla. Noboru Yamaguchi and his gang appear from time to time to provide foil against the boys from Kuromati. In one episode, Hayashida decides that he wants to play baseball and the boys debate about finding enough players to field the diamond. After a while, only seven players are rustled up - two of them being Gorilla and the robot Mechazawa. Maeda soon realizes he's the eighth member and his mom shows up as the ninth. All set. In their outing, they get themselves stranded in a forest clearing and fear for their lives as helplessness sets in. Hayashida saves the day when he disappears for a few hours and returns to camp with packages of instant ramen which he hauls from a nearby convenience store. Unfortunately, he forgets the hot water to sauce the ramen and a squabble breaks out. They're eventually rescued by a female gorilla who saves their whiny hides by leading them to bright lights in a big city. Similar to the manga and animated series, everyday situations with an outlandish bent pop up in PS2 Sakigaki!! Kuromati Koukou and players contribute to the conversations and situations to move the story along. Along with the interaction sequences where the Kuromati crew make their way through each day, there's a group of mini games to play including slots and a primitive fighting challenge where players attempt to defeat a larger than life Freddy Mercury with a stick. While we doubt many even know about this series in the USA, it's one of our favorites from the 2003 season with it's witty deadpan commentary on the Japanese obsession with all things cute (Pooh-tan), high school life, brusque male bravado, and human nature in general. The boys singing "Happy Birthday" to one of their own is a lesson in maintaining the macho image even in times of supposed joy. Since the series is so unknown, we'll probably sell 2 units over the next 3 years but we had to bring the game in just for our own fanboy satisfaction and peace of mind. Also known as Cromartie High School. View the back cover on the main NCSX website. Jan Code: 4988607050733 This document is ©NCSX 2004. All rights reserved. No reproduction in whole or in part of this document may be made without express written consent of National Console Support, Inc.
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