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GiFTPiANo other game had more fanboys emailing IGN with the question, "When is this game coming to North America?" than did Giftpia. After all, Giftpia seems more like a real game than Animal Crossing did when it was first unveiled. To confuse American gamers even more, Nintendo published Skip's second game, Chibi-Robo, which has a lot in common with Giftpia. Released in May 2003, Giftpia is a quasi-adventure "communication game," overseen by Chrono Trigger alum.
Somewhere along the line, cel-shading became popular on the GameCube
Step into the shoes of Pockle, a young boy with purple hair, giant eyes, and a girlfriend. He's scheduled to become a man (no thanks to the girlfriend), but unfortunately he misses the all-important coming-of-age ceremony. As a result, the mayor of Nanashi Island has him arrested and fined for five million Bell (yes, the same currency found in Animal Crossing). This punishment is a bit harsh for a boy, though, so Pockle ends up having to do community service while dragging around a ball and chain and having his face pixilated in shame. Not even Tom Nook is that mean! He must go around, catching fish and picking fruit to make back the money in order to hold another ceremony, but along the way, he learns that money isn't the only thing to life. The villagers run into all kinds of trouble, and Pockle can advance the story by helping them out. Substitute Pockle for a small robot and a nightly curfew for battery recharges and you basically have a island-scaled Chibi Robo.
The charm of the game comes from its candy-coated visual style, detailed graphical effects, sense of humor, eclectically varied soundtrack, and subtle nods to other Nintendo games.
I bet Pockle could still become a man...
It's amazing that we haven't seen this game on the GameCube, especially when you consider that it's similar to but more accessible than Chibi-Robo. To further confound you, Nintendo had shown the game in English at E3 2003. Let's face it, Giftpia could be the Animal Crossing for a gamer audience: a multi-layered, open-ended adventure that puts emphasis on helping others, problem- and puzzle-solving, and exploring the world around you. Nintendo insists that regular releases will crucial to maintaining Wii's interest. Even if it gets saved for a rainy day, or rather a release drought, a simple retooling of Giftpia with even just tacked on Wii Remote gameplay, coupled with a localization that only Nintendo's Treehouse team could pull off, could make Giftpia the sleeper hit of the next generation.
Like the DS, Wii is all about publishers taking a chance and giving gamers something that hasn't been seen before. Legend of Golfer, Homeland, Quiz King, and Giftpia are all titles with their own innovations that few gamers have ever heard of before, let alone played. Even in Japan, these games weren't huge successes. They are prime examples of how games could shine given the proper platform. Is Wii that platform? To all the publishers out there, there's only one way to find out!
