Sega Nerds

Review: Roommania #203 (Dreamcast)

by Warren on January 10th, 2007

The PC has it’s share of ‘Life Simulation’ games, but aside from Seaman and maybe Seventh Cross Evolution, Dreamcast seems to have been left in the dust. I assume it’s safe to say that a Sims game will never be ported to the Dreamcast (or maybe I’m wrong) so what are Dreamcast fan’s to do when they’re in the mood to manage (or completely wreck) a virtual human life?

Import, that’s what! WaveMaster’s Roommania #203 is about as close to a Sims title as the Dreamcast has seen, but it isn’t entirely the same. The premise of Roommania is this: The player takes control of a spirit that lives in Neji Taihei’s apartment. The spirit makes it his mission to basically aid Neji into not becoming a loser, wacky hijinks ensue.

The way Roommania differs from the usual Sims type game is that you can not buy or manage anything in Neji’s apartment, you can’t really even directly control him. The player, as the spirit, must find a way to complete a given task simply by influencing Neji. You do this by throwing what look like ping pong balls at an object in rapid succession. Yeah, I have no idea why ping pong balls would get Neji’s attention either, but what ever floats his boat.

At the start of each mission, you’re presented with a video of what specific challenge you need accomplish. These range from simply making Neji get on the computer, or listen to a CD to meeting a girl or trying not to get shot. The video is a big help in determining what object you need to throw balls at and what time of the day to do the specific task (night or day). For instance, in one mission, you’re asked to find some way to get Neji to use the bathroom. In order to do this, you need to make him drink water from a cup twice in under two minutes.

If the game sounds a little offbeat and silly, it’s because it is. The entire game is light hearted and has that unique style of Japanese humor. Neji is the loser you love to root for and messing with him from time to time is more tempting then in usual Sim games. At one point you’re asked to move Neji’s favorite table, which he smokes at … all the time, to the middle of the room. Just to mess with him. Did you ever see the face WWF WWE wrestler Scotty 2 Hotty makes seconds before doing ‘The Worm?’ Well, thats what Neji’s face looks like right after he finds his table has been moved.

We’re treated to such thrilling entertainment as Neji brushing his teeth, watching TV while smoking, talking on the phone, listening to music while smoking, getting out of bed, smoking while smoking and reading magazines while smoking. But, it’s all very endearing and I think most players will grow to love the antics of our … hero. Pity about his lungs, though.

I’m sure I’m missing a lot of the jokes in the game, since it’s entirely in Japanese. (other then most of the posters in the apartment.) At one point, you’re forced to watch a 10 minute IM conversation between Neji and two other people, I’m sure it’s a barrel of laughs, but for us gaijin it’s about as boring as watching paint dry … while smoking. I don’t think this is a big problem, however, since it’s easy to get the gist of what’s going on and you can usually figure out how things in the apartment are going due to Neji’s reactions. (THE WORM! IT’S THE WORM!) A little doll version of Neji, which changes color, is shown in the corner at all times so you can monitor his mood and actions more easily. The only way you can really fail in the game is too throw the balls at something too fast. This tends to stress Neji out, which can only lead to more smoking.

A neat feature of the game is the ability to view any of the TV Shows, voice clips, songs and radio programs you’ve all ready heard later in an extra’s menu. The game actually features some great music from past Sega games such as Jet Set Radio, Metropolis Street Racer and Clockwork Knight, among others. A real treat for any Sega Nerd.

The game may sound linear, but only if you want it to be. You can choose to ignore the objectives your given and retry them later if you wish. Me, I’m gonna do anything I can to get Neji to drop those smokes. Take up sewing, man.

  

  

Roommania #203 is one of the funniest games on Dreamcast (along with Shenmue and House of the Dead 2 thanks to the voice acting, but this one is genuinely funny) and if you know what you’re in for (a guy loafing around his apartment), I think it’s an interesting and charming game. If not a bit simple. 8/10

Share This

POSTED IN: Review