A Raunchy Good Time

Showa American Story director Xiangyu Luo was born in China and remembers rumors in the 1980s that Japan's economic prowess had grown so powerful it could buy America. Of course, that didn't happen, but Nekcom's upcoming action RPG, Showa American Story, which is set to launch sometime this year, is set in a world where it did. Hollywood is Neo Yokohama; Japanese immigrants have formed gangs like the Warriors, who don clown makeup and 1980s club attire; and protagonist Chigusa Choko has been resurrected from the grave and will kill many of the Warriors (and other enemies in her way) while searching for her sister. 

It's an interesting premise, made even more interesting by the fact that Luo and team have morphed it into a Quentin Tarantino-inspired action RPG that's raunchy, bloody, absurd, and hilarious. Though the combat feels clunky and could use more fluidity, it's still packed with personality in weapon design and animation. And that personality extends to the rest of the game, especially its characters and RGG-style storytelling. 

There are a few demos I can choose from in the small booth I arrive at for this Gamescom preview of Showa American Story. I select the first one, which sees Choko, the charismatic Bubba, and Michael Hero, who strolls along with us in a wheelchair. We walk up streets that wind around the mountain that used to be famous for hosting the Hollywood sign, but now it reads Neo Yokohama. 

We soon come across a band of enemies known as the Warriors, and yes, they are dressed like a street gang from 1979's The Warriors. They're threatening a random man who didn't pay the sex worker whose services he used, and despite his pleas for mercy, they pick him up, spread his legs, and bash his crotch into the tree over and over. I, as Choko, arrive at the scene, and my first bout of combat ensues. 

I primarily use a katana for now, using light and heavy attacks to slash through them, damaging their health bars and increasing a stagger meter. It could use some work, as swinging the sword feels sluggish, like it's stuck in mud, and there's a noticeable amount of input lag, too (though that could be the result of the demo and the Gamescom show floor). It's still fun, though, as various combos trigger hilarious and brutal animations. I slice arms, necks, and more while puncturing bellies and stabbing enemies over and over by pressing X during a fast QTE button-mash segment. 

I also have a machine gun with limited ammo that feels fine, and a shotgun that's perfect for execution-style finishers. I also notice Lou and his interpreter in the room laughing at "how American" my use of the shotgun is. 

After this combat encounter, I'm presented with dialogue options to ask how the tree is, considering a human being was just smashed into it over and over, or how the man's "balls" are, considering they were just smashed into a tree over and over. It's obviously played for laughs, and it works.

I finish this conversation and continue making my way up the mountain, picking up an American Flag weapon on the way. It's a large, slow-swinging weapon that attacks enemies in large swaths, great for swarms of Warriors or the zombies (I'm not sure why zombies exist in this world, but they do) that I fight later. It's my favorite weapon of the demo, too, because its execution move is overly and satirically patriotic, and it's hilarious. I also pick up a massive BioShock Big Daddy-style drill that lets me pierce through multiple enemies at a time across a given combat arena. 

Later, I learn there's a man who owns an onsen at the top of this mountain who is in trouble and in need of saving. It turns out, he's being spit-roasted (literally butt naked over a fire) by two men who turn out to be the final boss of this demo.

These two men are very large, buff, and backed by the William Tell Overture as their boss fight song, and the entire battle feels all the more patriotic because of it. That said, the clunky combat got in the way of what is clearly meant to be a fun and over-the-top encounter. Part of that clunkiness stems from the game's desire for you to use weapon-switching combos, which, while hard-hitting and flashy, are hard to pull off because you have to use a strange combination of R1 and D-pad buttons; it doesn't feel great. I have some other issues with combat, such as its confusing Rage system and stamina system, but I get the sense I'll be more comfortable with these mechanics in the full game, when I'm not having to rush past tutorials to complete a 30-minute demo. 

Combat issues aside, though, Showa American Story made me laugh, and not a lot of games do that. Its world is absurdist but charming, its characters are off-the-wall, and I enjoy the America-by-way-of-Japan-by-way-of-1980s-Chinese-rumors setting. I look forward to exploring more of it and seeing what else Choko is up to when the game launches later this year.