Some of our readers may recall the eccentric indie game そろそろ寿司を食べないと死ぬぜ! sorosoro sushi wo tabenaito shinuze ("I’m going to die if I don’t eat sushi!") developed by the humorous and talented Japanese indie game creator ただすめん Tadasumen (@tadasumen), which we introduced last year when it was still in development.

Now, it would seem that the talented indie game developer has a mini-game in store for us, and it's just as quirky and surprising as the last one.

The objective? Free "macho men" stuck in the ceiling of a school gym by throwing balls at them. Why are there macho men stuck in the ceiling of a school gym and how did they get there? These are questions that may never be answered, and knowing the reason would probably ruin the fun.

In Japan, and perhaps in other countries, volleyballs sometimes get stuck in the rafters or other parts of the school gym ceiling. Although it doesn't always work, students throw another volleyball at them to dislodge them. In a quirky stroke of genius, Tadasumen replaced the stuck balls with macho men with inexplicably rubbery bodies who literally "bounce back" into shape once they hit the ground.

"A game where you rescue macho men stuck in the (school) gym ceiling. How about this as a new esport game?"

Look at all the macho men stuck in the ceiling!

Reproduced with permission from ただすめん Tadasumen (@tadasumen)

You can hit them with regular volleyballs...

Reproduced with permission from ただすめん Tadasumen (@tadasumen)

...or spend your normal balls to get an exploding ball.

Reproduced with permission from ただすめん Tadasumen (@tadasumen)

The macho men scream when they fall but quickly "bounce back" into shape, letting out a triumphant "Justice!" as they pose.

Reproduced with permission from ただすめん Tadasumen (@tadasumen)

Inert macho men substituting for objects is something of a recurring theme in Tadasumen's mini-games. For example, in 2020, he made a "macho scooper game" imagining macho men like coins or toys inside an arcade game...

...and a "macho slide" in which macho men replace somen noodles in the traditional Japanese practice of nagashi-somen in which somen noodles travel down long bamboo slides, and diners pick them up with their chopsticks as they pass by.

The rescuing macho men stuck in the school gym ceiling mini-game will eventually be released and available on Tadasumen's website, so stay tuned!

You can also look forward to his next game which, just like "I’m going to die if I don’t eat sushi!", finished a successful crowdfunding campaign last month. It's a horror game in which you exorcise ghosts of idol fans trapped in the ruins of a concert arena by using a penlight:

Tadasumen links


By - grape Japan editorial staff.