Doshin the Giant was first publicly displayed at Nintendo's Space World '99 trade show on August 27–29, 1999. Developer Kazutoshi Iida recalled a "continuous line of people queued to use the eight playable test units, and the 'Large Screen Experience'". He said that the foreign press received the game "very enthusiastically".
Doshin the Giant was a hit game in Japan, peaking at #1 and becoming the ninth best-selling game of 2002. In the UK, it peaked at #9 and is the 65th best-selling game (and 22nd best-selling GameCube game) of 2002 and hit the top of the GameCube charts. Doshin went on to appear as a trophy in Super Smash Bros. Melee, holding a villager in his hands; Jashin appears as a secret trophy in the lottery as Hate Giant.
Drew Mackie of the Singing Mountain podcast noted the game for its "trippy tropicalia" soundtrack and said it was "worth a second look".
Kyojin no Doshin: Kaihō Sensen Chibikko Chikko Daishūgō
Kyojin no Doshin Kaihō Sensen Chibikko Chikko Daishūgō is a 64DD expansion to the original, released on June 30, 2000. It requires the Doshin the Giant disk to operate.
Gameplay
For the first time started, the game will ask for Doshin 1 disk to modify the game the way, that each of its events will be logged if encountered.
In the game, a child is told to go to sleep and is pulled out of bed and through the window, into a world of dreams. There, Doshin is now imprisoned, and the child can tinkle 2D hearts on people and the giant. The main objective of the game is to watch the 17 mini black and white movies collectively titled More Than Giant. The player must repeatedly go back and forth between the two disks to verify that monuments were built in game 1, and to complete tasks that the "Queen Companions" request of them.
Another objective is to free Doshin from his imprisonment, by causing him to grow larger than his cage. This will cause the game credits to begin.
The player can also gather help to free Doshin. After creating monuments in "Doshin 1" and their counterpart pavilions, children will appear in the Expo area. The player can tinkle on them with their hearts, and they will join the player's team, becoming "Teamers" or teamsters. There are two other teams that the player can choose from at the start of the game. When enough pavilions are completed the player can battle the other teamster groups in a tinkle contest. If the player wins, the loser's team members become neutral and can be added to their team.
Reception
Peer Schneider of IGN rated the game at 2.5 out of 10, citing the graphics, controls, and gameplay. He said it "[l]ooks and plays like it was programmed in two weeks. Controls are bad" and "this add-on disk is a glorified movie player." The only thing he found appealing about the game was its presentation, saying that "[t]he Param team definitely has a sense of humor. Both Doshin games will make you laugh because they're so absurd." He ended his review of the game with one word: "Painful".
See also
- Dualism, the theological concept
- Black & White, a similar god sim, game where the player can be either good or bad, by Lionhead
- SimCity 64, another 64DD game where the player builds a city, and needs to protect its citizens from disasters
- Aquanaut's Holiday and Tail of the Sun, two other games by designer Kazutoshi Iida