Written by: Richard on September 27, 2012.

Now when you think Japan, you think of culturally weird things that would be out of the norm for American audiences. Now I don’t mean just transitioning bread over rice, no, I mean the schoolgirls,virtual pop stars, gundams, weird arcade games, hentai, and used panty vending machines. And of course, gaming is no deterrent from absorbing the weirdness of it all.

Parappa is my most favorite Japanese game, that isn’t a typical video game

Over the years notable games like Deadly Premonition, Parappa the Rapper, Incredible Crisis, Lollipop Chainsaw, and Galgun would be sold onto the Japanese gaming market, and sometimes make it over to America. For every awesomely depicted JRPG like Valkyria Chronicles or Recettear,  there’s always another weird Japanese-centric game that we can never explain to our friends. But despite that, some of these games are legitimately great and are totally worth the time.
So with TGS closing I’d like to show you the top 3 weirdest games from TGS 2012:

3) Puppeteer:
Now by all means, saying that a game is weird does not imply that it’s bad. But in my case it means out of the norm, and Puppeteer does a great job with invoking an original theatrical setup for a game. The trailer depicts the game setting as entirely on-stage theater performance, so the lights, stage, actors, puppets, audience reactions, and props give an appearance like it’s all part of a theater show or old-school puppet show. The style is very quirky and dark (almost Tim Burton dark) and reminds me of Double Fine’s Stacked in terms of it’s art style and toy like mechanics . Nonetheless, for an indie-developed game this would probably be the highest recommendation amongst all the games on this list to actually buy. I really am extremely impressed by the art style and would actually love to review this game sometime in the near future. Coming to a theater near you…get it…theater….the game…oh never mind.

2) Brain Kiss:
Because I wasn’t on the actual show floor of TGS, it’s fair that I can only judge the game by what I see from other videos and reviews. So when I saw this game being demo’d I can only describe this game as the closest thing to approaching (lack of better term) mindfuck. The game is supported via iOS systems and requires both players to have headset on while the game instructs you to look into each others eyes for a “scientific” compatibility test. Just saying, I would love to be compatible with any of the very pretty girls promoting it at the TGS booth… damn, opportunity missed. Naturally this game is super gimmicky and very quick to judge, but uniquely I can see this being used at fairs or events for random fun, but not really being purchased by iOS users for personal use.

1) This creepy leg touching game:
Now if I was caught having this game for any reason, there is NO explanation in the world that would help me recover from that situation. So the game acts like a rhythm game (probably closest to Osu! or Elite Beat Agents) as you tap on parts of her legs as the circle closes to invoke….umm….a reaction of some sort. Now, I was only able to see very few videos of this game but every one of them had the generic ‘Japanese school girl with knee high socks’ deal, VERY much associated to the weirdness of Japan. As you continue the game you get more points and she moans more as you get a higher and higher score. I honestly cannot see how this would be successful in any mobile device (it was played on an Android) in the US or Japan, but certainly there must be some odd-fetishy market for this. Well in any case, this has to be the weirdest game I have ever seen which in turn is winner of this very contest!

Now as each year goes by, more and more games will come out of Japan’s Tokyo Game Show and will affect the gaming market in the USA. Of course, with games like Valkyria Chronicles, Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, Dead or Alive, Ace Attorney, Pokemon, or even Monster Hunter; we will always look forward to what comes out yearly. But while you guys look for the up and coming Japanese hard-hitting games, I will be looking for the quirky games that would make my inner otaku fan boy out. Now that said, What was the weirdest game to you at Tokyo Game Show 2012?  Was there anything that was weird or original that made you interested in checking out? Leave your responses in the comments below!!