Premise
Go! Go! Nippon! ~My First Trip to Japan~ , developed by Overdrive and published by MangaGamer, is a visual novel about an unnamed foreigner who explores Japan with two girls as his tour guides. The reader can customize their name and Yen/USD exchange rate to better suit their experience.
Our protagonist is a fan of Japanese anime and games. He makes friends with some Japanese people on the internet and decides to stay with them for a week.
Thrilled by the prospect of a week’s sightseeing in Japan, he touches down in the airport, only to discover that his new friends — “Makoto” and “Akira” — are actually a pair of attractive young sisters!
The local culture has some surprises in store on your first night there, but you’ll soon head out on the town! Enjoy the date-like atmosphere as Makoto and Akira take you on a tour of famous sites. You’ll marvel at the beauty and history of Japanese culture, fill up on local delicacies, and even share some thrilling moments with the girls!
The week you spend in Japan will certainly be memorable!
– Official description
Info and Legacy of GGN
Go Go Nippon (or GGN) was developed by Overdrive specifically for the Western market, initially releasing in 2011 in both English and Japanese on MangaGamers website. GGN would see two DLCs in 2015 and 2016 fittingly called Go Go Nippon ver. 2015 and ver. 2016 respectively. The former doubled the amount of content in the game, added widescreen support and emotive features for the sprites. The latter added even more content and Love Interest events.
It currently sits at 6.21 rating on VNDB, Very positive on Steam, and 5 stars on MangaGamer, fittingly enough.
In 2021, MangaGamers starting via YouTube an official Vtubing channel based on GGN, which sadly ended just the other year with Akira and Makoto’s graduation. This likely has something to do with Overdrive officially ending operations in 2022 with the release of their final work MUSICUS! Thankfully, the duo is now voicing the twins of Fuwamoco!
Plot
GGN isn’t exactly heavy on plot. As mentioned, the unnamed protagonist visits his online Japanese friends who he finds out to be girls and, as the reader chooses which places to visit, the MC falls in love with either Akira or Makoto at the end depending on which places you visit. There is definitely a disconnect between the reader and MC, but you do get to know the sisters quite well, and they’re characters liked by many for a reason.
Traveling
GGN has all the bells and whistles you’d expect from a modern VN, such as scene replay, skip text, CG viewer, etcetera, but here are the things that really set it apart from the rest and allow for a genuinely educational yet fun experience.
Over the course of one playthrough, the reader can visit 7 places of their choosing over the course of one in-game week. Regardless of choices, the sisters will take you to Kyoto at the end of your journey.
The game displays two languages within the ADV textbox at once. By default it’s English and Japanese, but you can choose between a handful of languages for both of them – English, Japanese, Romaji, and Chinese. This is really great for Japanese learners who want to read in both languages in case they missed a detail in the JP text.
One of the coolest features about GGN is an in-game button that pulls up a Google maps webpage of the exact location you’re at in the game!
GGN has a sightseeing album with all the details about each city and location within it you visit!
There are also secret locations like Comiket that can only be reached by visiting a specific combination of places. You’ll get an achievement for unlocking each of these, and they’ll be available again in the Sightseeing album.
Critiques
I can’t say I have many negatives to say about GGN, but the only notable ones are:
-Pretty much all of the music is really mediocre. Every melody is really repetitive and sometimes the track doesn’t fit the tone of the scene. I always found myself cranking the music way down due to this.
-The whole romance plot at the end feels a little silly. It’s definitely not the main focus, but it at least makes for a wholesome ending. It’s not offensive nor was meant to pander, but it does make the faceless MC – AKA Guy-Jean – look even more like a weeb chasing after Japanese girls, so it’s kinda amusing in a silly way.
Conclusion
It seems that over the years Akira and Makoto garnered a decent-sized following, but sadly, I doubt we’ll see anything else official for GGN aside from the short-lived Vtuber channel after Overdrive closed their doors. It’s a shame since the 2016 expansion is pushing 10 years! Maybe Mangagamer will do something special for the anniversary? One can at least hope.
If you’re looking for a deep story, this is not that. As a gateway to learning about and traveling in Japan, it’s fantastic. Aside from my small gripes, I’d highly recommended it to anyone who is interested in Japan!
8/10
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