This Is The Longest, Strangest Video Game Title Ever

“Thanks, Japan!” That’s a phrase we silly Yanks usually save for games that boast plots, characters, concepts, mechanics and the like that are just outside our comprehension or comfort zone. This time around, we’re using it for a new PS3/PS4 game that boasts a title that is, no joke, 65 words long.

As Geek is reporting, this latest oddball offering coming from D3 Publisher next month is simply called Summertime High School for short. It we want to refer to it by its proper moniker, though, then we have to go with *takes a deep, deep breath* Summertime High School. A Young Man’s Notes – How a New Exchange Student Like Myself Ran Into His Childhood Firend On The School Tour, Then For Some Reason Became Super-Popular With The Girls For His Daily Scoops On The School Photography Club Even Though He Only Takes Panty Shots, And What He Thinks As He Goes On Dates During His Summer Of Island School Life. So, again, everyone with me this time…Thanks, Japan!

To be fair, and despite the fact that the game’s got “panty shots” right there in the title, Summetime High School might turn out to be a pretty good game. D3 has published games like the semi-overlooked RPG, Blue Dragon, as well as the hyper-addictive Puzzle Quest. They’re also responsible for bringing the Earth Defense Force games to market which, just as offbeat as something like Summertime High School, have managed to garner a huge cult following.

A visual novel crossed with RPG elements, you’ll get to spend your time exploring the island, riding your bike, catching fish and, of course, taking lots and lots of photos. Along the way, you’ll have all sorts of long-winded conversations with your classmates and townspeople as you live out your summer in a quiet Japanese paradise.

Here’s the thing, though: There’s also a stealth element to the game. As we mentioned earlier, the main character has a knack for taking shots of his classmates’ panties, so that’s going to be a big focus of the mechanics. You’ll need to hide in bushes and even crawl on your belly to sneak up on the unsuspecting targets in order to take the perfect photo. Yep, that’s a real description I just wrote, and I’m pretty sure I don’t feel super great about it.

That’s a real shame, too, because everything else about the game makes it seem like a nice, relaxing departure from the norm. If you were tasked with taking great shots of everything else on the island, for instance, summertime High School would have become a large blip on my radar to serve as a fun distraction from shooting/stabbing/blowing up aliens and evil cronies.

Ryan Winslett

Staff Writer for CinemaBlend.