I love it how, every now and then while browsing the Xbox Live Indie Games channel, I’ll happen to stumble upon a Japanese indie game. Not a major product that’s been localized. Not a huge multinational Japanese company that has American and European divisions creating games… a genuine Japanese indie developed game. I love it. So when I saw へっぽこ騎士 on the channel today, I decided to take the plunge and give it a go in this special international version of XBLIG Thursday.

Now, before I begin, you should probably know that へっぽこ騎士 means Tinker Knight according to Google translate. Whether that’s a correct translation or not, I can’t really say, but it sounds like it could be correct. I mean, Tinker Knight certainly sounds like a video game title, right?

Additionally, I have no idea what the story is beyond the game’s description on the XBLIG channel:

This is a story of a boy who had got to get back a princess kidnapped in the course of things. You can get a weapon or enchantment at every stage you cleared. Go with your three weapons and three enchantments! [sic]

Like I said above, this game certainly hasn’t been localized.

So what do I know about the game? Well, after playing the trial for about 20 minutes I can tell you it’s actually a fun little platformer. Everything is pretty standard, you’ll be running and jumping over things. If something gets too close to you you can kill it with your sword, or spear. Everything you’d expect, really, in a game called Tinker Knight.

Of course, what initially drew me into the game, aside from it’s obvious Japanese origins, was the game’s charming anime graphics. Normally I’m not a huge fan of anime (the cartoons never really do it for me), but these graphics just seem so bright and cheerful that I have a hard time not enjoying them. It reminds me a lot of Castle Crashers in that it almost feels like I’m playing right in a cartoon.

へっぽこ騎士 is available right now on the Xbox Live Indie Games channel for 240 MS points ($3). If you are not fluent in Japanese and would prefer to read the directions/menu in English, the developer has set up a very helpful website to guide you through (link below). While I can’t recommend this game as a buy necessarily, I do at least recommend giving this game a try just so that you can experience a true Japanese indie game.

[Try/Buy, English Help]

[This is not a review. This is a "first impressions" piece based on less than an hour of gameplay.]

Screenshots