Arcade Game #03: KiKi KaiKai

奇々怪界, lit. “Mysterious Ghost World” + Pocky and Rocky

KiKi KaiKai is a shoot ’em up video game developed and published by Taito Corporation (prior to becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary of Square Enix, the creator of the Final Fantasy franchise) originally for Japanese arcades in 1986. The game was later included in Taito Legends 2 for the North American and European releases for the PlayStation 2 and the original Xbox in May 2007, including the Japanese-only Taito Memories Vol. 1 for the PlayStation 2 in July 2005. The game’s composer is Hisayoshi Ogura.

Set in Feudal Japan, the player must assume the role of a Shinto miko (shrine maiden) named “Sayo-chan” (小夜ちゃん, renamed “Pocky” in Pocky and Rocky, details later) who must use her ofuda scrolls and ohari Gohei wand to defeat a number of renegade spirits and monsters from Japanese mythology. The game is noteworthy for using a traditional fantasy setting in a genre otherwise filled with science fiction motifs.

As Sayo-chan, the player can attack by either throwing her special ofuda scrolls in eight separate directions, or by swinging her purification rod directly in front of her. These techniques can be upgraded by finding special paper slips left by defeated enemies that will either enhance their power or improve their range. Sayo can be damaged by coming in contact with an enemy, and can only be hit once before she is knocked out and must resume the level from a preset continuation point. At the end of each level, the player must face a powerful boss monster that takes several attacks to defeat and is more difficult than normal enemies.

The arcade game was added in HAMSTER Corporation’s Arcade Archives for the Nintendo Switch and the PlayStation 4. The protagonist of the game’s design, as well as the ghost enemies, would later become heavy influences for the characters Reimu Hakurei and equivalent ghost enemies respectively in the Touhou Project games on the PC-98.

Japanese box art

Taito allowed Natsume to release Pocky and Rocky (known in Japan as KiKi KaiKai: Nazo no Kuro Manto, 奇々怪界 謎の黒マント, “Mysterious Ghost World: The Riddle of the Black Mantle”) for the Super Famicom/NES, which was released in late 1992 in Japan and 1993 overseas. It follows the adventures of the same young Shinto miko named Pocky and her best friend and companion, Rocky the tanuki (known as Manuke (魔奴化) in Japan — who was last seen as a final boss in his original arcade debut) as they attempt to save a group of creatures known as the Nopino Goblins.

The screen can move either horizontally or vertically and the player-controlled characters can move in eight directions. The game features six levels and allows its players to continue indefinitely. In single-player mode, the player can choose to play as either Pocky or Rocky. In two-player cooperative mode, both characters are on the screen at the same time.

Pocky can use her ofudas to hit enemies from afar or swing her gohei to damage enemies close up. Likewise, Rocky can throw leaves across the screen or quickly turn his backside and swing his tail. Both characters can slide across the ground to cover the area quickly. If a player bumps into the other while sliding in a two-player game, it will cause the other player to spin out of control across the screen, damaging any enemies they come in contact with. A limited-use special bomb attack can be used to hit several or all the enemies present on the screen. There are some differences between both characters. Pocky moves and slides slightly faster than Rocky does. However, Rocky’s slide attack goes a longer distance. Pocky’s bomb attack is more powerful than Rocky’s, although Rocky’s bombs cover a wider area. Pocky can also perform a spinning attack whereas Rocky is able to transform into an invulnerable and immobile statue for a short time. I also made a Winamp skin based on the SNES video game.

Natsume would follow up with Pocky & Rocky 2, released in Japan as Kiki Kaikai: Tsukiyo Soushi (奇々怪界 月夜草子, “Mysterious Ghost World: A Moonlit Night”) for the same console, released in 1994. There are some changes:

• Pocky’s hair is bluish-gray/purple and is noticeably longer (at least on the title screen)
• Pocky’s hanao straps on her zōri are red instead of the original white
• Like the first game (and later carried over for other games), her eyes are brown (hazel)

The game is played in a top-down view, featuring many elements from classic shoot ’em up games but giving the player free eight-directional movement. Player one controls the main protagonist, Pocky, who attacks by throwing ofuda talismans (referred to as “cards” in English versions). Pocky can pick up items to improve her attack power and new clothes to protect herself from damage, as well as throw player 2’s character and use magic. Player 2 assumes a supporting role as one of Pocky’s friends each possessing a unique attack and unlimited lives. If there is no second player, the supporting character will be CPU controlled.

Pocky can use Player 2’s character as a utility in various ways. Using “magic”, she can force herself into her partner’s mind and control their body for a short time, enabling unique abilities depending on who she possesses. Additionally, she can throw her partner at enemies to attack, doing massive damage to the enemy but temporarily killing the thrown character. This exploitation of player 2 is a departure from the previous game, in which player 1 and Player 2 had similar powers and were equally valuable. The sequel is very harder than the first one, and Natsume would stop licensing any Taito game after its release.

The third and final game would be Pocky & Rocky with Becky, known in Japan as Kiki Kaikai Advance (奇々怪界あどばんす), which is developed by Altron for the Game Boy Advance and distributed by Taito Corporation. The game was published by Altron in Japan, and localized by Natsume in North America.

The gameplay is similar to that of the Pocky & Rocky series. Players select a character to play from — Pocky, Rocky, or Becky (Miki-chan (美紀ちゃん) in Japan). Long ago, a demon took over and a shrine maiden sealed the demon. Later, the demon breaks out and the gang — Pocky, Rocky, and Becky — has to defeat the demon before it is too late.

Sayo-chan (v.b. Kawasumi Ayako) appears as a playable character in Space Invaders ’95, also known as Akkanvader in Japan, released in 1994 for the arcades, and, along with Miki-chan (v.b. Kikuchi Shōko; note that her haori is orange in the arcade version, while in the PSX version, her hakama is green, similar to that of Luigi from the Mario franchise), Pop’n Pop — a puzzle video game released for the arcades in early 1998.

Hang on a sec… Natsume and Taito are working on…

…Pocky and Rocky Reshrined! The release date will be spring 2022. Tengo Project consists of staff who worked on the original, as well as Wild Guns: Reloaded and Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors.

Unfortunately, Ame-no-Uzume — one of the new characters for the reboot — was censored in the west, possibly to avoid the “attack on sexy women” and political correctness. This decision was not made by Nintendo because they had a family-friendly policy before they dropped it — the decision was made by NatsumeAtari because they possibly feared that the series might attack attractive female characters in a video game viewed by the western audience.