By Manufactured by Nekosha | DORA DORO: “Tora, a tabby cat, steals fish from the market to feed her young siblings”

It Is Once Again Famicase Season, The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

None of these games are real, but they probably should be

7:08 PM EDT on May 9, 2024

Oh boy.

I spent 17 years at Kotaku, and do you know what the only constant in my entire time there was? It was writing a Famicase blog every May. I'm extremely happy, then, to make it an 18th year running here at Aftermath.

For those who know what this is, stop reading and enjoy! For those who don't know what Famicase is, every year the indie Japanese games store Meteor holds an exhibition where artists from all over the world submit fake Famicom cartridges featuring game ideas that can be cool, interesting, funny, macabre, whatever! Maybe all of those things! Note that these games aren't real, and you can't play them; they're just jokes/pitches/ideas.

There are actual cartridges hanging on the wall in the store if you're lucky enough to be able to visit in person, but since most of us can't, the best we can do is admire them from afar courtesy of Meteor's online showcase. You can view them all there, and definitely should, but for now I'd also just like to highlight some of my favourites:

By Anton Romero | SKATE-ON SAGA: "Grind your zweiboard against pavement and steel as you defend San Vincenza from the draconian regime of ARDOR. Explore the streets of your hometown and use it to your crew's advantage to evade and get an edge against the invading seraphic forces."

By Maxime Bourgeois | DREADFALL: "It is beaconing you! Will you answer the call of the never-ending tower that fell from the sky? Use strategies, alliances, and the inevitable sacrifices to ascend this dreadful tower and discover its secrets and riches. How far will you make it?"

By Mateusz Czech | BODY GOLF: "This is a sports game for adults. We play as human bacteria that have adopted a human body as a mini-golf course. The game takes place both outside and inside the human body. Take a golf club in your hand and see how many holes you can score!"

By BAKAkid | NO RAMEN NO LIFE: "Earn credits at the job you hate. Spend credits on ramen. Repeat."

By Sayuki | 3 DAYS OF KAZEPPIKI: "I caught a cold and shut myself in my room. When I'm just hanging out in my usual room, I feel someone's eyes on me… Hallucination? Reality? A slightly mysterious and heartwarming life game where you can get involved in various mysterious phenomena depending on your heat gauge."

By Jinsei | NEKOMORI: "It is dangerous to step into forbidden territory easily. Even if a fluffy cat greets you… the first step you take may lead to an endless space with no exit."

By Jolos Carsé | MEET ME AT THE PANORAMA: "Maru, an old friend didn't show up when you arrived at your old hometown, later you get a message with his apology and ask you to meet him at the Paranoma, the mysterious mountain where he has things to tell you before leaving from this reality."

By Dan Ogawa | DRAFT QUEST: "You become a scout for a professional baseball team that is forever at the bottom, and travel all over Japan to find golden eggs! An exciting draft meeting, an exciting local stadium, and now it's time to start playing around!"

By Batfeula | BACK TO SCHOOL: "Your wish has finally come true and you are young again, but oh no! You have to go back to school now!"

If you'd like a more tangible copy of the exhibition, Meteor is selling the catalogue online, and they ship worldwide.

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