And all from the comfort of your own toilet if you have a laptop.
2019 is certainly shaping up to be the year of the toilet seat in Japan. First, the Amazon Prime series The Benza (The Toilet Seat) has been getting rave reviews and won big at this year’s Seoul Webfest. Now, a video game by the name of Gekiso! Benza Race: Toilet Shooting Star (Running Wild! Toilet Seat Race: Toilet Shooting Star) has hit the online market place of Steam.
In Gekiso! Benza Race you can chose from one of five elite toilet racers:
Balanced racer Koki Kawaya of Japan represents Team Kawaya but has drawn criticism for using a western style toilet.
Muscle-bound Gary Splash from the USA barely fits on his commode, but uses his bulk for momentum and knocking other racers off course.
Speed demon Tumalino with Brulee1010 of France is sometimes too fast to handle corners tightly, but comes with a force field of cleanliness to protect him for other drivers’ attacks.
Moreno Botton, uses his tight handling to lead Italy’s Hescatore Team Racing and run circles around the competition. His high level of control may come from his unique backwards stance.
Germany’s Ben Hunbalt, whose ancestor was the inventor of the Hunbalt Engine which made Benza Racing possible, has the skill and discipline of an F1 driver along with offensive capabilities that fill other toilet racers with fear.
Toilet racing purists might be disappointed to learn that the game is less of an authentic toilet racing simulator and more of an arcade style game like Mario Kart. Nevertheless, it still looks like steaming loads of fun.
In addition to handling the ramps, curves, and traps of the various courses such as Toto Town and Ben Joe Street, players get an array of special power ups and weapons to catch other drivers with their pants down.
Gekiso! Benza Race is the first game made by indie developers Da-Soft. According to the Japan Benza Racing (JTR) website, which lays out an extensive history of toilet racing, it has been in development since early 2016.
The game appears to have been in many ways a labor of love by a small group, and still in need of fine tuning. The Da-Soft website makes the following disclaimer:
“Lastly you may have other option that to invest us (Da-Soft) 1 million dollar, and there is possibility to solve underlying issues.
Your 1 million dollar may give us much more vitality, and it may be bringing amazing version ups.”
And yet despite its superficial imperfections, comments so far have suggested that Gekiso! Benza Race is a lot of fun despite having some control issues. However, the fact that players are driving toilets, it’s hard to lodge a serious complaint against their handling and responsiveness.
▼ One Steam user’s playing experience. The way each race starts different is an especially interesting touch.
Like any challenge, it takes effort and practice to rise in the ranks of the JTR, and for those who persevere, the coveted title of “The Toilet” (It sounds a little better in Japanese) awaits. Those who cannot, however, may have to settle for the toilet paper guns and gamer toilets that the real world has to offer.
Gekiso! Benza Race is now available on Steam for 700 yen (roughly US$6.60)
Source: Gekiso! Benza Race, Japan Benza Racing, Netlab
Top image: YouTube/Official Gekiso! Benza Race
Images: Gekiso! Benza Race
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