REVIEW: ‘Shin-chan: Me and the Professor on Summer Vacation -The Endless Seven-Day Journey-‘ is Refreshing (Switch)

If you have ever thought to yourself “I sure would love to go on the whimsical adventure known as everyday life through the eyes of a 5-year-old”, Shin-chan: Me and the Professor on Summer Vacation -The Endless Seven-Day Journey- is the game for you. The game combines the characters of the hit Crayon Shin-chan anime and manga series with the gameplay of the famous Japanese My Summer Vacation video game series. The game was developed by the folks at Millenium Kitchen, who were the creators of the original My Summer Vacation game. Similar to Live A Live earlier this year, this marks the first time a My Summer Vacation game has been released in the West, even if it doesn’t carry the full My Summer Vacation name.

Shin-chan: Me and the Professor on Summer Vacation -The Endless Seven-Day Journey- starts off with 5-year-old Shinnossuke, the titular Shin-chan, and his parents leaving for a relaxing summer vacation in Kumamoto. The Professor is quickly introduced to the family as they arrive at the Kumamoto station, who gives Shinnosuke a camera to use to document his vacation.

Players don’t actually get to use the camera, unfortunately, since moments in the story are captured automatically, but players do get to choose which moments to immortalize in their scrapbook. Shin-chan spends his days doing whatever it is a 5-year-old on vacation with limitless freedom would do, and the moments captured in his scrapbook are then presented to the local newspaper editor.

The core gameplay progress all revolves around Shin-chan finding stories interesting enough to get into print in the local newspaper. The beauty of that is that you don’t feel a need to check off certain boxes, there is certainly freedom to do what you want regardless of whether or not it will make a good story for the paper. The gameplay is simplified as well, with players really only needing to use basic inputs to complete tasks or start conversations.

The freedom of play allows for some excellent escapism and, combined with relatively simplistic gameplay, it has plenty of replayability for anyone looking to jump into a quick summer vacation, albeit virtually. That doesn’t mean progressing the story doesn’t have value though, as improving newspaper subscription numbers can earn Shin-chan his much-desired date with Yoshiko, the university intern working for the paper.

The best part of Shin-chan: Me and the Professor on Summer Vacation -The Endless Seven-Day Journey- is that it takes ordinary, mundane things and shows them through the eyes of a 5-year-old with an extremely active imagination. The simple setting of a quiet vacation in a scenic town gets turned upside down partway through, but it feels completely organic given these are the adventures of a zany child.

Fans of the Crayon Shin-chan franchise will not be surprised by how wild the story can get, but newcomers may be caught a bit off guard by the sudden change of pace. Whether expected or not, the quality of writing for the story and characters makes it all work perfectly. You can’t help but root for Shin-chan, both when he’s catching insects or embarking on the more outlandish experiences the Professor brings about.

On top of the excellent story beats and characters, Shin-chan: Me and the Professor on Summer Vacation -The Endless Seven-Day Journey- is an absolutely beautiful game to look at. The different backgrounds for each location in Kumamoto are meticulously designed and have so much loving attention to detail.

The characters are drawn in the typical Crayon Shin-chan style, which may take a little for newcomers to get used to, but the unique characters really stand out in the incredible environments. There are times when the camera controls can get a little wonky, and some angles make completing actions a little hard to judge because of the perspective, but given how important the environment is to the foundation of the story I never really saw it as too big of a problem.

Shin-chan: Me and the Professor on Summer Vacation -The Endless Seven-Day Journey- is a refreshing adventure seen through the eyes of a 5-year-old with an incredibly active imagination. Be it normal interactions with family or friends or some of the wackier story elements further in, there is enough to keep any player satisfied. If you’re looking to escape on a whimsical trip, Shin-chan: Me and the Professor on Summer Vacation -The Endless Seven-Day Journey- is a fantastic choice.

Shin-chan: Me and the Professor on Summer Vacation -The Endless Seven-Day Journey- is out now on the Nintendo Switch and will be releasing soon on PlayStation and Steam.