Shin-chan: Me and the Professor on Summer Vacation

Neos

Industry	Video game development
Founded	2018
Key people	Akira Nagashima (producer)
Products	Shin-chan: Me and the Professor on Summer Vacation – The Endless Seven-Day Journey

Shin-chan: Me and the Professor on Summer Vacation – The Endless Seven-Day Journey is an adventure game released in 2021, developed collaboratively by Neos, Millennium Kitchen, and Star Factory, with design and writing led by Kaz Ayabe. Drawing inspiration from the Crayon Shin-chan manga and anime, this title acts as a spiritual successor to Ayabe's Boku no Natsuyasumi ('My Summer Vacation') series. Similar to its predecessor, it offers open-ended gameplay set during a summer holiday, featuring few predetermined objectives.

The project began in 2018 when Neos producer Akira Nagashima suggested merging aspects of Crayon Shin-chan with those of Boku no Natsuyasumi, bringing Ayabe on board in 2019. The development team primarily consisted of members who worked on Ayabe's earlier game, Attack of the Friday Monsters! A Tokyo Tale. Visually, the game stands out by combining two-dimensional, chibi-style Crayon Shin-chan characters with richly hand-drawn backgrounds.

Initially launched in Japan on July 15, 2021, for Nintendo Switch, the game later saw a global release across Switch, PlayStation 4, and Windows platforms in August 2022. Reviews were generally positive, highlighting its art style, immersive ambiance, and faithful representation of the Crayon Shin-chan universe; however, some critics felt it lacked the same impact as entries in the Boku no Natsuyasumi franchise.

Plot

The narrative of Me and the Professor on Summer Vacation centers on the humorous escapades of five-year-old Shinnosuke Nohara ("Shin-chan") alongside his family: father Hiroshi, mother Misae, younger sister Himawari, and their dog Shiro. When Hiroshi departs on a business trip to Kyushu, the family spends their vacation at the countryside home of Misae’s childhood friend in rural Asso, located in Kumamoto. At Kumamoto Station, they encounter Dr. Akuno, an eccentric scientist who gifts Shinnosuke a camera that creates illustrations instead of photographs. Later on, Dr. Akuno reappears accompanied by a dinosaur he claims to have retrieved from the past through time travel and ensnares Shinnosuke in a repeating seven-day time loop throughout his vacation.

Gameplay

The gameplay mechanics closely resemble those found in Boku no Natsuyasumi, a title developed by Millennium Kitchen and helmed by Kaz Ayabe. Players assume control of Shinnosuke within an open-ended summer holiday environment. Unlike the more realistic tone of Boku no Natsuyasumi, this installment incorporates Crayon Shin-chan characters alongside fantastical elements such as dinosaurs.

Players are encouraged to complete Shinnosuke’s vacation diary by collecting pictures and composing stories for a local newspaper but enjoy freedom to explore with minimal mandatory tasks. The laid-back gameplay appeals both to young fans of Shin-chan and adult followers of Boku no Natsuyasumi. An achievement system rewards various activities including insect catching, fishing, gardening, and assisting townsfolk. The game features a day-night cycle that influences which events are accessible at different times.

Production

Development commenced in September 2018 when Neos—known for producing the mobile title Crayon Shin-chan: Otetsudai Daisakusen—initiated work on a home console game based on Crayon Shin-chan. Producer Akira Nagashima proposed blending elements from both Crayon Shin-chan and Boku no Natsuyasumi. By February 2019, Nagashima invited Kaz Ayabe—the director behind Boku no Natsuyasumi—who agreed to join due to his appreciation for Shin-chan’s mixture of fantasy and everyday scenarios.

Initially referred to as ; Ayabe was hesitant to include "natsuyasumi" (summer vacation) in the title to avoid direct comparison with his earlier series. The finalized name set this game apart, though fans informally called it , a nickname Ayabe ultimately embraced.

The development team largely comprised staff who had worked on Attack of the Friday Monsters. Publisher Futabasha along with original series collaborators oversaw storylines, setting authenticity, and character portrayals. Character modeling was supported by animation studio Shin-Ei Animation, which created original designs based on rough sketches from developers; producer Nagashima personally designed Dr. Akuno. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, production shifted toward remote collaboration; Ayabe managed scriptwriting and sound design directly while delegating other tasks such as user interface creation to Star Factory under his guidance.

Setting

The Neos development team aimed to emulate the classic Boku no Natsuyasumi atmosphere, while director Ayabe pursued uniqueness by initially suggesting an unconventional space colony vacation setting instead of a rural locale. Ultimately, Ayabe concentrated on Misae’s roots in Kumamoto. Given that Misae’s parents appeared in the original source and that incorporating unusual elements felt forced, the narrative was set in a town where Misae’s childhood friend resides. In autumn 2019, Ayabe conducted on-site research in Kumamoto, drawing creative influence from landmarks such as the Tsūjun Bridge and the Kuma River to shape the game’s environment.

Ayabe acknowledged difficulties stemming from restricted creative liberties when adapting an existing franchise. Unlike Boku no Natsuyasumi, where players control a customizable protagonist, Shinnosuke is a predefined character, which led to adopting a third-person viewpoint alongside introducing a female narrator to impart a nurturing storytelling ambiance. To reconcile Shinnosuke’s young age with gameplay flexibility, surreal components—such as a bamboo periscope surveilling him near water—were incorporated. Reflecting Shinnosuke’s lack of interest in retaining captured creatures, the developers created a magical camera mechanic that produces illustrations, encouraging players to photograph insects and fish for a visual diary before releasing them or completing requests from townspeople.

Graphics

To maintain consistency between the distinctive Crayon Shin-chan art style and the game’s environments, characters are represented by multiple models depending on the viewing angle rather than a single 3D model. This approach ensures features like Shinnosuke’s characteristic cheek bulge always face outward.

The models were developed by Star Factory; Ayabe highlighted challenges related to height disparities between adults and children affecting scene composition, which resulted in camera angles positioned lower than those used in Boku no Natsuyasumi. The unique animation-like motion was preserved by employing limited animation techniques that reduce frame rates.

Backgrounds were initially modeled in 3D and subsequently redrawn in 2D after finalizing camera placements. Ayabe personally supervised screen and camera arrangements to effectively manage production scope and optimize visual elements on screen. While originally anticipated to resemble the simplicity of TV anime backgrounds, Convoy’s art team delivered more realistic backdrops enhanced by effects from Star Factory.

Audio

The original voice actors from the Crayon Shin-chan animated series returned to reprise their roles in Me and the Professor on Summer Vacation, supplemented by new performers for original characters introduced in the game. The soundtrack was composed by Noisycroak, recognized for their work on Attack of the Friday Monsters. The theme song, titled "Spinning Round the Milky Way" (まわる僕らと銀河系), was arranged and performed by Sacco Saito, with lyrics penned by Kaz Ayabe and music composed by Eijo Sakamoto. Remarkably, Saito arranged the theme without prior exposure to the game’s storyline.

Release

Me and the Professor on Summer Vacation was revealed during a Nintendo Direct presentation on February 18, 2021, and subsequently launched in Japan for the Nintendo Switch on July 15, 2021. It was offered in both a standard edition and a special edition, the latter including a 60-page companion booklet, a notepad modeled after Shinnosuke's in-game diary, and a code granting access to the digital soundtrack. This title represents Neos' inaugural home console release and is the first 3D Shin-chan game since 2006’s Crayon Shin-chan: Saikyou Kazoku Kasukabe King Wii. Prior to its launch, a preview event for distributors was held in Tokyo in late June 2021.

The game later expanded into Asian territories with releases in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and South Korea on May 4, 2022, featuring voice casts adapted for each locale. A worldwide rollout for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 was announced on June 28, 2022, followed by PC versions via Steam (announced August 4) and Epic Games Store (announced August 8). The global release supports multiple languages including English, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese.

Digital versions became available internationally on Switch (August 11, 2022), PlayStation 4 (August 25), and Steam (August 31). Physical copies for North America are slated for release through Limited Run Games in both standard and collector’s editions.

Reception

Me and the Professor on Summer Vacation garnered "generally favorable" ratings according to Metacritic. By June 2022, it had sold approximately 400,000 copies worldwide.

The publication 4Gamer.net commended the title’s authentic depiction of Japanese summer and its faithful Crayon Shin-chan atmosphere. Meanwhile, Famitsu described it as "a masterpiece appealing to both adults and children." Takuya Watanabe of IGN Japan awarded it an 8/10 as a Crayon Shin-chan game, a 7/10 as a spiritual successor to Boku no Natsuyasumi, but only a 5/10 when evaluated as an original adventure game, citing a disparity between the game’s ambition and its execution. Adesh Thapliyal from Polygon referred to it as an "ersatz sequel" to Boku no Natsuyasumi, praising its faithful adaptation of the source cartoon material despite placing less focus on realism.

Shaun Musgrave of TouchArcade described it as an "excellent adaptation" that will satisfy fans of the Bokunatsu series, though he noted it is not quite as engaging as those titles. Roland Ingram from Nintendo Life pointed out that the game occasionally sacrifices gameplay fluidity for atmospheric effect but lauded its surreal aspects alongside "top-tier" backgrounds and three-dimensional models.